The American Times News | Economy, Geopolitics, Calculators

Central banks no longer hold gold because modern currencies need to be backed by it. They hold it because gold serves a different purpose in today's reserve system: diversification, long-term value preservation, crisis resilience and independence from any single issuer or payment network. That role has become more visible in 2026. The World Gold Council's latest central-bank survey found that central banks have accumulated an average of about 1,000 tonnes of gold a year over the past four years, roughly twice the 500-tonne annual average recorded during the preceding decade. The survey also found that 89% of reserve managers expect global official gold holdings to increase over the next 12 months, while a record 45% expect their own institutions to add gold. The trend is not uniform across every country, and central banks remain sensitive to the cost of gold, liquidity needs and broader market conditions. But the strategic reasons for holding bullion have become increasingly im...

The Middle East conflict is increasingly producing consequences far beyond the battlefield. As fighting between the United States and Iran enters another volatile phase, courts and international institutions are becoming more involved in disputes connected to the region, Iran is struggling with an unusual leadership vacuum, and the economic effects of war are spreading through energy markets, shipping and national budgets. The developments are separate but connected by a broader problem: governments are making security decisions while legal institutions, political systems and economies are simultaneously under pressure. The result is a more complicated crisis in which military escalation can generate court battles, diplomatic disputes can affect domestic politics, and disruptions in one part of the region can create costs thousands of miles away. The latest developments provide three particularly important indicators of where the wider crisis is heading: the growing role of legal insti...

Six months after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has used a written message to urge Muslim countries — particularly Gulf states — to unite against what he described as their “real enemy.” The message comes at a moment when Iran remains locked in a prolonged confrontation, the Strait of Hormuz is disrupting global energy flows and the economic consequences of the war are being distributed very unevenly, with households and travelers absorbing higher costs while some investors and defense-related businesses have benefited. (Reuters)  Khamenei's August 30 message was issued for Islamic Unity Week and marked his first major public statement of this kind since he was injured in the February 28 U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He called for greater cooperation and mutual defense among Muslim states and questioned whether the suffering of Palestinians could have been red...

The United States is preparing to use an upcoming G20 finance meeting to broaden international pressure on Iran, turning sanctions enforcement into a major issue alongside global growth, trade imbalances, debt and supply-chain resilience. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to press finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s major economies to reduce remaining commercial and financial links with Tehran, after Washington expanded its sanctions campaign this week. ( Reuters) The timing matters because the sanctions push is unfolding while the conflict involving Iran continues to disrupt energy markets and major shipping routes. The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the economic risk: the waterway carried about 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products in 2025, roughly a quarter of global seaborne oil trade, according to the International Energy Agency. A prolonged disruption therefore creates consequences well beyond Iran and the United ...

  The Iranian rial has fallen to a historic low as Tehran braces for a new U.S. sanctions campaign that Washington has described as one of its most aggressive economic offensives yet. On the open market, the U.S. dollar crossed 2 million Iranian rials on Sunday, according to market reports, marking another sharp deterioration in the currency’s value as diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran remain stalled. AP News The timing is significant. The Trump administration has spent recent weeks escalating economic pressure on Iran, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled to outline the next round of measures on Monday at 2 p.m. EDT. Bessent has called the planned campaign the “toughest sanctions in history,” while Reuters has reported that the measures are expected to target not only Iran but also foreign businesses and countries that continue significant economic dealings with Tehran. That means the immediate economic story is not simply that another sanctions pack...

  The outlook for U.S. monetary policy has become more complicated rather than clearer as inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target while the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran continues to create risks for energy prices and global supply chains. The latest data have weakened the case for assuming that cooling inflation will automatically give the Federal Reserve room to cut interest rates. The change is significant because the previous June data showed some monthly easing in the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure. But the latest July figures, released on August 26, show that annual inflation remained elevated. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 3.7% from a year earlier in July, unchanged from June, while core PCE inflation remained at 3.3%.  At the same time, the Federal Reserve has already acknowledged that the Middle East conflict is adding uncertainty to the economic outlook. At its July 29 meeting,...