Maria · A bookshop · Brooklyn · salt 80 wearing Free PeopleWorld leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly in New York today: Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, three wars in one building. Trump threatened to annihilate Iran; Cuba walked out. The market's read: oil down 1.7%, on hopes the talking means less war. Maria, in a Brooklyn bookshop, asks who the speeches are for.
Tuesday 22 September, the UN General Assembly opened in New York. On the live-news lane today: Trump addressed the Assembly (CNBC, 14:24 UTC), threatened to annihilate Iran (The Guardian: 'stunning, even for him'), slammed Iran and Cuba and boasted about his record (CNBC 15:18), told CNN 'you should not be here covering me' (CNBC 15:55), and Cuba walked out as he spoke (The Hill 15:31). The agenda underneath is three wars at once: Iran, Gaza, Ukraine (CBS). Rubio said Trump is open to meeting Iran's president on the sidelines (The Hill 13:57). The market read it as diplomacy: 'Oil prices reverse gains as United Nations General Assembly meeting lifts hopes for Iran war diplomacy' (CNBC 09:30). By 15:04 ET the WTI oil ETF USO was down 1.7%, Brent's BNO down 0.7%, energy down 0.6%, the S&P flat. Maria's other question: every leader gets fifteen minutes at the podium, and the machine a few miles away measures it as a one-and-a-half-percent move in a barrel of oil.
