us will not allow houthi attacks to imperilfreedom of navigation and britain s prime minister rishi sunak saying the uk will always stand up for freedom of navigation and free flow of trade. the big question is will the strikes work? britain s defence ministry says the strikes have already been a blow to the hootie s ability to threaten merchant shipping. the real risk is that the conflict in gaza will escalate throughout the red sea region. major shipping lines and oil giant bp have already diverted vessels around southern africa adding time and cost to journeys rather than risk the red sea. if the crisis continues the increased cost of oil as well as goods could be passed on to consumers. hampering efforts to curb inflation and reduce interest rates. the houthi have attacked 27 ships to date disrupting commerce on those key shipping lanes between europe and asia and they account for about 15% of the world s shipping traffic. the boss of shipping giant maersk has told the bb
Higher Canadian and U.S. futures, and rising crude oil and bullion prices point to a positive start on Bay Street Monday morning. Optimism about rate cuts by the Fed and several central banks in Europe is also expected to aid market's rise.
Despite paring some early gains, oil futures settled modestly higher on Monday with geopolitical tensions, and Saudi Arabia's decision to hike its selling price for the European and Asian markets supporting the upmove.
Canadian shares may open higher on Friday, tracking firm crude oil and bullion prices, and strong European markets on the back of some encouraging economic data.
Schwab clients were net buyers in March, with the most pronounced buying within the Information Technology, Health Care, and Consumer Staples sectors
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