Next Week Macro Outlook: US-Iran Agreement May See "Phase One Deal," US-Japan Interest Rate Path Expected to Become Clearer
May 24. After nearly three months of conflict, Iran, the U.S., Pakistan, and several international media outlets signaled Saturday that negotiations are making progress, with all parties moving toward milestone outcomes. Should this trend continue to be confirmed and implemented next week, risk appetite could return to capital markets, leading to a rally in U.S. equities and cryptocurrencies.
On the macro front, top officials from the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan (BoJ) will deliver speeches next week, offering further clarity on near-term interest rate expectations. Key upcoming events include:
- Tuesday, 10:00 PM ET: U.S. Conference Board May Consumer Confidence Index
- Wednesday, 8:00 AM JST: BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks at the bank’s Monetary Policy Meeting
- Wednesday, 8:15 PM ET: ADP U.S. Employment Change for the week ended May 9
- Thursday, 8:30 PM ET: Canada’s Q1 Current Account; U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ended May 23; U.S. April Core PCE Price
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Iran National Football Team Moves World Cup Base from USA to Mexico
May 24 (Xinhua) — Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s Football Federation, announced on Wednesday (May 23) that FIFA has approved relocating Iran’s FIFA World Cup base camp from Tucson, Arizona in the United States to Tijuana, Mexico.
In a statement released by Iran’s Football Federation, Taj noted the move was prompted by difficulties the national team faced obtaining visas for its original U.S. base. The Iranian side asked FIFA to shift the camp to Tijuana, and local preparations in the Mexican city have already been completed.
Tijuana lies on Mexico’s border with the United States, roughly 20 kilometers from San Diego, California.
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Base AI developers use Agent to dissect SpaceX's financial report embellishment details, taking 12 minutes and costing $1.87
May 24 — Base Ecosystem AI Builder Nick Prince shared today that he used his AI tool, agentic.market, to produce a SpaceX Investment Memorandum uncovering unreported financial details about the aerospace firm.
Key takeaways from the memo: SpaceX’s listed long-term debt is $29.1 billion, but Prince says the actual figure is around $42 billion — including a $20 billion SpaceX Bridging Loan due in September 2027, which was used to fund the xAI acquisition.
The company also has three major outstanding commitments, including a $19.6 billion EchoStar Spectrum Commitment and the Cursor (Anysphere) Option Agreement, among others.
In SpaceX’s 2025 financial statements, the management team artificially inflated Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $9 billion, Prince alleges, by improperly deducting depreciation, equity incentives, and segment-specific projects.
The entire memo took only 12 minutes to create and cost just $1.87, paid via the x402 protocol. For background: agentic.market is a publ
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U.S. Media Exposes U.S.-Iran Agreement: Reopening of the Strait, U.S. Lifts Port Blockade, Nuclear-Related Issues, etc.
May 24: U.S. media outlet AXIOS has revealed details of the upcoming U.S.-Iran agreement. The deal will include a 60-day ceasefire extension, during which the Strait of Hormuz will reopen. Iran will be allowed to sell oil freely and enter into negotiations regarding limits on its nuclear program. The U.S. will lift its blockade on Iranian ports and grant certain sanctions waivers to enable Iran’s unimpeded oil sales.
Additionally, the draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) includes Iran’s commitment to never pursue nuclear weapons. Iran has verbally signaled to the U.S. via intermediaries its willingness to make concessions on suspending uranium enrichment.
It is important to note that the exposed details have not yet been confirmed by Iranian officials.
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South Korea will welcome a Stock Leveraged ETF next week, with the first batch tracking Samsung and SK Hynix.
South Korea is set to roll out its first batch of single-stock leveraged ETFs next week (as of May 24th), tied to chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, with an aim to deliver twice the daily returns of their underlying stocks. Analysts expect strong demand for these products from South Korea’s more than 14 million retail investors. However, against a backdrop where the KOSPI index has posted intra-day swings of up to 5%, this investor enthusiasm could further amplify market volatility.
The CEO of Singapore-based Fibonacci Asset Management stated, “These ETFs will exacerbate existing concentration risk, creating a structural challenge for long-term investors amid persistently high index volatility that makes navigating the Korean market difficult.”
Yoon Jaehong, an analyst at Daewoo Future Asset, projects net inflows into the Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix-linked leveraged ETFs (scheduled to launch at the end of May) could reach as high as 5.3 trillion Korean won. He also
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