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U.S. Forces Shift Toward Middle East as Trump Softens Tone on Iran

  The state bank building burned during Iran's protests, on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 19, 2026 A new wave of American military assets is moving toward the Middle East, even as President Donald Trump adopts a more measured tone in his public comments about Iran. The deployments include naval and air defense elements positioned to reinforce U.S. interests in the region amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding Iran’s political climate and nuclear ambitions. The decision to reposition forces follows weeks of heightened tension, during which Washington signaled a willingness to respond forcefully if Tehran escalated its activities. Recently, however, Trump has emphasized that he hopes to avoid direct conflict, framing the military movements as precautionary rather than provocative. Despite the shift in rhetoric, the scale of the deployment suggests that the United States is preparing for a range of potential outcomes. Defense officials have indicated that additional assets could ...
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Inflation Falls in June for First Time Since 2020

A closely-watched report on US inflation revealed that consumer price increases cooled further during the month of June. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined by 0.1% over the previous month and increased just 3.0% over the prior year in June. This marks a deceleration from May’s flat month-over-month increase and the 3.3% annual gain in prices. Notably, it’s the first time since May 2020 that monthly headline CPI came in below 0%.

On a “core” basis, which excludes the more volatile costs of food and gas, prices in June climbed 0.1% over the prior month and 3.3% over last year—cooler than May’s data. Economists had expected a 0.2% monthly uptick in core prices and a 3.4% year-over-year increase.

The markets responded to this report, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling about 9 basis points to trade around 4.2%. While inflation has remained stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target on an annual basis, recent economic data suggests that the central bank may consider cutting rates sooner than later. Markets are now pricing in a roughly 87% chance that the Federal Reserve will begin rate cuts at its September meeting.

This data adds to other rate cut signals across the labor market and economy. The labor market added 206,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, ahead of economists’ expectations. However, the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.1%, the highest reading in almost three years.

Notably, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge—the core PCE price index—showed inflation easing in May, with a year-over-year change of 2.6%, in line with estimates and the slowest annual gain in more than three years.


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