Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
Bunker busters, such as the GBU-28 and GBU-57A/B, are primarily manufactured in the United States by companies like Raytheon and Boeing. These bombs are designed to penetrate deep underground targets, making them effective against fortified structures.
Wall Street reacts to Trump’s airstrikes on Iran, calling it a “shattered illusion of containment.” Oil, crypto, and global markets brace for impact as Polymarket predictions prove accurate.
The U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites has sent shockwaves through Wall Street, with investors and billionaires reacting to what many now see as a turning point in global markets — and geopolitics.
“This shatters the illusion of containment,” wrote SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes. “What was a regional proxy conflict is now a high-stakes, U.S.-driven air war targeting WMD infrastructure — with unpredictable spillovers across energy markets, global shipping lanes, and risk sentiment.”
--- Iran's Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and gas flows.
--- U.S, urges China dissuade Iran closing strait of Hormuz
GEEZ, just when one would like to have an 'ALLIE' give a helping hand.
There must be a super plan we citizens are without knowledge.
"How will the Iran conflict affect the global balance of power? Answering this question may seem a fool’s errand given how fast events are moving now that U.S. President Donald Trump has joined the war on Israel’s side. A lot depends on whether Tehran retaliates or sues for peace. Still, it is possible to identify some factors that will help determine whether the United States, China, Russia and Europe emerge from the conflict with more or less power. Will Iran’s nuclear programme come to an end, will war topple its regime, will a new government be less hostile to the U.S., or will the country descend into anarchy?"
There will be oil/gas price spike, justified or not. Iran will never run out of weapons, supplied by either China or Russia. Close the Straits? US will attack Iranian naval assets on the water, or coastal bases. Bet me?
I am taking the liberty of quoting excerpts from an excellent post by richardsok that appeared on the BIG BANG! Investors site:
"Trump's penchant for crowing victory on TV last night was unfortunate. He preens and congratulates himself too early and too much -- a habit of his. He's attempting to show his attack was a pain-free surgical strike without consequences. In truth, the mullahs do NOT have to seek peace. They still have a hundred ways to strike back.... including terror, sleeper cells, mining Hormuz Straits, Jihad eruptions from sympathetic quarters, and small scale bio/chemical "events". The American public's patience for easy-to-start wars is notoriously brief; more so after initially promising disasters in Afganistan, Iraq, Lebanon in recent memory. By itself, air power has not had great historic success in ending wars -- merely prolonging them and making people more grimly determined.
With our debt-growth trajectory already unsustainable, another war would be economically foolhardy for the US. There are more ways than military defeat to kill a great republic. Endless wars, crippling expense and financial collapse will do the trick too. Powell was exactly correct not to reduce interest rates the other day.
Wars have ways of surprising us all. Three long years ago it was "Ukraine is doomed! Surrender! America's fault! Putin will unleash nukes if NATO aids Zelensky!" (The posts are still preserved here on BB, I hope.) Well, well, well. The "doomed" side is still grimly hanging on and striking back harder than ever.
Wars end only when the LOSERS say they're over. Now we see how the mullahs respond."
"A U.S. official said that six B-2 bombers dropped a dozen 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs on the Fordo nuclear site, which lies deep underground, and Navy submarines fired 30 TLAM cruise missiles at the Natanz and Isfahan sites. One B-2 also dropped two bunker busters on Natanz, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations."
If accurate, I am supposing that those facilities are gone. Probably a good time for Iran to consider re-entering peaceful society. Not a lot to lose anymore IRT their nuclear ambitions.
I am also going to suppose that if they keep lobbing weapons at Israel, that Israel will use the opportunity to continue to degrade their entire military and defense infrastructure. It may come down to just how suicidal those nitwits are.
As a friend noted, "Trump created the problem. The single reason Iran was so close to obtaining a nuclear weapon is that Trump destroyed the diplomatic agreement that put major, verifiable constraints on their nuclear program. So of course the "MSM is doing a bang-up job right now of ignoring the fact that a criminal POTUS unilaterally declared war and instead focusing on Iran’s nuclear capabilities which had a deal w/USA until same criminal pulled out of it because it was achieved under Obama. Trump is a threat to peace everywhere."
It certainly looks that way. Some Trump voters, in (and outside) MAGA are enraged, who knows if they find a way to rationalize being lied to again. It is their "brand".
IMO "Totally obliterated" has become the new "Mission Accomplished"
I can see FOTUS whining that the intelligence community's skeptical BDA (bomb damage assessment) is 'wrong' and that he 'doesn't care' what they say, because only he knows the facts. And the 'facts' are that we 'won' bigly, so powerfully, and everything's been totally destroyed, believe me.
Speaking of whicih, is Gabbard still selling herself out to Emperor Hirocheeto after he threw her under the bus this week? (yes, of course she is...)
Seems to me that Iran wouldn't have to do much at all to convince commercial shippers that they don't want to take the risk of transiting the Strait.
There goes the TACO trade.
I would think that the Strait is exactly how we get drawn in further, should Iran decide to go down that road. They like to use those little speed boats for swarming an adversary. Which may not work very well, given that all resources will be on high alert. But, even a failed attempt on one of our assets, is likely to provoke an outsized response.
Seems to me that Iran wouldn't have to do much at all to convince commercial shippers that they don't want to take the risk of transiting the Strait.
There goes the TACO trade.
I would think that the Strait is exactly how we get drawn in further, should Iran decide to go down that road. They like to use those little speed boats for swarming an adversary. Which may not work very well, given that all resources will be on high alert. But, even a failed attempt on one of our assets, is likely to provoke an outsized response.
I'm thinking most tankers won't want to be in the area when that sort of stuff is going on. And they may not be able to get insurance anyway. Besides, Iran will have plenty of anti-ship missiles.
I'll place the link at this thread, as this is a likely to be more frequently checked thread for at least Sunday.
As of 6pm EST, one may view some markets pricing. The link is set for the commodity tab. One may also find some activity at the 'Index' tab. More will be active after 8pm EST. A thank you to @Junkster for the site lead.
It's notable that other than one incident Israel evidently hasn't made a systematic effort to destroy Iran's oil production and transportation facilities. Since those facilities would be an easy target I'm thinking that is a card that is deliberately being held in reserve.
I'm sure he'll still find some way to blame Biden for anything bad that happens in response, though ....
Sunday’s 8:00 AM briefing would seem to bear that out. “Blame game”. Not sure how to play this. Might do some buying on a big dip. Looks muted so far. I don’t know about the national security part of all this. But it costs money to blow things up. Get ready for higher inflation.
Sunday night futures are reflecting a nothing out of the ordinary weekend. The street really seems to be disconnected from the news right now. How long might that last? Who knows?
Satellites show damage to Iran's nuclear program, but experts say it's not destroyed
U.S. officials say that strikes conducted on three key Iranian nuclear sites have devastated its nuclear program, but independent experts analyzing commercial satellite imagery say the nation's long-running nuclear enterprise is far from destroyed.
"At the end of the day there are some really important things that haven't been hit," says Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, who tracks Iran's nuclear facilities. "If this ends here, it's a really incomplete strike."
In particular Lewis says the strike doesn't seem to have touched Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium: "Today, it still has that material and we still don't know where it is," he says.
"I think you have to assume that significant amounts of this enriched uranium still exist, so this is not over by any means," agrees David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security, which has closely tracked Iran's nuclear program for years.
The independent assessments stand in stark contrast to congratulatory statements from the Trump Administration in the wake of the strikes: "Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated," Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during a Pentagon press conference on Sunday. "The operation President Trump planned was bold and it was brilliant."
Both Lewis and Albright say that the strikes themselves may well have been effective, although it is difficult to say for sure. Satellite imagery shows six deep holes in the ground around Fordo, and ashy debris over much of the site. Albright believes that bunker-busters were used to try and strike at the enrichment facility's ventilation system, along with the main hall where uranium-enriching centrifuges were kept.
"I think the purpose of the attack was to take out centrifuges and infrastructure and they feel they accomplished that," Albright says.
But as evidence that the strikes may have missed the uranium stocks, both Albright and Lewis point to commercial satellite imagery from the days before the strike. The images show trucks at two key sites — Isfahan and Fordo. The trucks appear to be sealing tunnels that serve as entrances to underground facilities used to store uranium, possibly in anticipation of an American attack.
Both experts believe Iranians could have also moved their enriched uranium out of the sites in the run-up to the U.S. strikes: "There were trucks seen in imagery apparently hauling stuff away," Albright says. "One would assume that any enriched uranium stocks were hauled away."
The International Atomic Energy Agency had assessed that Iran has more than 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium 235 — enough for around ten bombs, according to independent experts. That 60% enriched uranium is carried in relatively small containers that could fit easily into cars, says Albright.
Although Albright believes the program has been substantially set back, he thinks it could still be reconstituted. He says Iran may also have thousands of uranium-enriching centrifuges that were never installed in Natanz and Fordo. It might be possible to move the uranium to another, covert facility, where it could be enriched to the required 90% for a nuclear weapon in a relatively short period of time. Even then, Iran would have to take further steps to fashion the uranium into a weapon.
"The program has been seriously set back, but there's a lot of odds and ends," Albright says. Ultimately he thinks the only way to truly end Iran's nuclear program is through additional nuclear inspections by international monitors and cooperation from the Iranian regime, probably though some kind of diplomatic agreement.
Lewis agrees: "Even the most brilliant bombing campaign probably is not going to get us where we want to be," he says.
Comments
Wickipedia Link
d,d,d."A real master negotiator"
Mmm...the report below is a reminder.
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/06/19/iranian-and-iranian-backed-attacks-against-americans-1979-present/
Wall Street reacts to Trump’s airstrikes on Iran, calling it a “shattered illusion of containment.” Oil, crypto, and global markets brace for impact as Polymarket predictions prove accurate.
The U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites has sent shockwaves through Wall Street, with investors and billionaires reacting to what many now see as a turning point in global markets — and geopolitics.
“This shatters the illusion of containment,” wrote SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes. “What was a regional proxy conflict is now a high-stakes, U.S.-driven air war targeting WMD infrastructure — with unpredictable spillovers across energy markets, global shipping lanes, and risk sentiment.”
I'm sure he'll still find some way to blame Biden for anything bad that happens in response, though ....
No Congressional authorization needed.
rforno said:
Boy, if only Congress was alive today to witness such actions, I'm sure they would be plenty upset and immediately do something to rectify things.
I think I saw a pic of them on the back of my milk carton....apparently alive, but missing.
Gentlemen..........well done with the comments about Congress.
why am i not surprised amateur war profiteers would not know this would already be priced in.
--- U.S, urges China dissuade Iran closing strait of Hormuz
GEEZ, just when one would like to have an 'ALLIE' give a helping hand.
There must be a super plan we citizens are without knowledge.
ARTICLE
Answering this question may seem a fool’s errand given how fast events are moving now that U.S. President Donald Trump has joined the war on Israel’s side.
A lot depends on whether Tehran retaliates or sues for peace.
Still, it is possible to identify some factors that will help determine whether the United States, China, Russia and Europe emerge from the conflict with more or less power.
Will Iran’s nuclear programme come to an end, will war topple its regime, will a new government be less hostile to the U.S., or will the country descend into anarchy?"
https://www.reuters.com/commentary/breakingviews/iran-conflict-could-tilt-global-balance-power-2025-06-22/
"Trump's penchant for crowing victory on TV last night was unfortunate. He preens and congratulates himself too early and too much -- a habit of his. He's attempting to show his attack was a pain-free surgical strike without consequences. In truth, the mullahs do NOT have to seek peace. They still have a hundred ways to strike back.... including terror, sleeper cells, mining Hormuz Straits, Jihad eruptions from sympathetic quarters, and small scale bio/chemical "events". The American public's patience for easy-to-start wars is notoriously brief; more so after initially promising disasters in Afganistan, Iraq, Lebanon in recent memory. By itself, air power has not had great historic success in ending wars -- merely prolonging them and making people more grimly determined.
With our debt-growth trajectory already unsustainable, another war would be economically foolhardy for the US. There are more ways than military defeat to kill a great republic. Endless wars, crippling expense and financial collapse will do the trick too. Powell was exactly correct not to reduce interest rates the other day.
Wars have ways of surprising us all. Three long years ago it was "Ukraine is doomed! Surrender! America's fault! Putin will unleash nukes if NATO aids Zelensky!" (The posts are still preserved here on BB, I hope.) Well, well, well. The "doomed" side is still grimly hanging on and striking back harder than ever.
Wars end only when the LOSERS say they're over. Now we see how the mullahs respond."
There goes the TACO trade.
I am also going to suppose that if they keep lobbing weapons at Israel, that Israel will use the opportunity to continue to degrade their entire military and defense infrastructure. It may come down to just how suicidal those nitwits are.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelabramwell/trump-supporters-react-to-us-bombing-iran?origin=hfspl
I can see FOTUS whining that the intelligence community's skeptical BDA (bomb damage assessment) is 'wrong' and that he 'doesn't care' what they say, because only he knows the facts. And the 'facts' are that we 'won' bigly, so powerfully, and everything's been totally destroyed, believe me.
Speaking of whicih, is Gabbard still selling herself out to Emperor Hirocheeto after he threw her under the bus this week? (yes, of course she is...)
As of 6pm EST, one may view some markets pricing. The link is set for the commodity tab. One may also find some activity at the 'Index' tab. More will be active after 8pm EST.
A thank you to @Junkster for the site lead.
Trading Economics Site
This, from NPR:
Satellites show damage to Iran's nuclear program, but experts say it's not destroyed