Technologies

Iran says the U.S. is standing in the way of Hormuz deal amid talks with Oman

Iran and Oman are approaching a deal to secure safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz and future administration of the vital economic artery.

The U.S. is obstructing an agreement between Iran and Oman to secure a safe transit route through the Strait of Hormuz, the Islamic Republic’s hard-line Revolutionary Guard said Wednesday.

Iran and Oman have already reached an agreement on their respective shares of the vital economic artery, controversially including revenues associated with its administration, the influential military group told the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

The Revolutionary Guard said the strait would remain closed if the U.S. does not accept Iran’s conditions.

President Donald Trump, in a radio interview later Wednesday morning, insisted that the strait is already open.

“We take a lot of ships through the strait now. We’re taking them in,” Trump told conservative radio host Glenn Beck.

“Every once in a while there’ll be a drone or a rocket or something shot, but it is a very functioning strait. A lot of oil is pouring out,” the president said.

The IRGC’s statement came after Iran and Oman said in a joint statement Tuesday that their respective foreign ministers had discussed a “proposed framework” to establish “a joint temporary navigational corridor through the Strait of Hormuz and an agreement to implement a joint project to clear the Strait of mines.”

Trump has recently claimed that the U.S. and Iran are engaged in behind-the-scenes negotiations, even as Tehran has denied any such talks are taking place. Last week, however, Trump said the parties were done talking and had no plans to resume communications.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Trump said he’s in no hurry to restart negotiations with Iran.

“I have no time schedule, none. I’m not in a hurry. I have no time schedule at all,” Trump said when asked how much time he was giving Iran to return to talks.

Trump also told Al Jazeera that he thinks economic measures and military operations against Iran “are both effective.”

Two days earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a plan to economically isolate Iran by threatening to slap secondary sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s “enablers.” Those sanctions, unveiled nearly six months into the war, have yet to be imposed.

Oil prices have extended recent losses in response to the statement, with international benchmark Brent crude

Just five commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, below the 10-day average of 15, according to preliminary data from Kpler. Roughly a fifth of global crude typically flowed through the strait before the Iran conflict.

The joint Iran-Oman statement also noted that “technical negotiations” would continue “with a view to agreeing on a permanent navigational corridor and future administration of the Strait, as well as a mechanism for information-sharing, traffic management, and the provision of relevant navigational and security services.”

Contributing to pressure on oil prices in recent days, the U.S. has reportedly started returning its diplomats to Gulf states – suggesting Washington does not currently expect military escalation. Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency also reported late on Tuesday that the U.S. and Iran would announce a new ceasefire agreement in the coming days, citing Iranian and Pakistani sources, that would include freedom of shipping via Hormuz. However, this could not be independently verified, and the White House did not respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.

U.S. holds back on secondary sanctions

It comes after Bessent’s pledge on Monday to launch an “economic D-day” on the Iranian regime, threatening to target Tehran’s “enablers” and trading partners in efforts to strangle its economy. This included a list of 60 individuals, entities and vessels.

However, the U.S. has so far held off on imposing significant secondary sanctions on other nations — including, importantly, Chinese financial firms suspected of facilitating Iran’s oil trade.

“Why would I want to blow up the global financial system? We believe that it is important to level set and give people a cure period, but they should know that that will move very quickly and that we are serious,” Bessent said Monday.

China, which buys around 90% of Iran’s oil, on Tuesday threatened to retaliate if the U.S. opted to expand economic pressure on nations trading with Tehran.

Beijing “will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its rights and interests,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Technologies

Mercari shares wobble as Pokémon card listing curbs rattle investors

Mercari shares rebounded as investors weighed the impact of temporary Pokémon card listing restrictions. Citibank called the stock oversold, while the company said the curbs will remain until it can ensure a safe trading environment.

Mercari shares climbed more than 4% on Friday, extending their rebound from a selloff triggered by the Japanese online marketplace’s restrictions on listings of Pokémon’s 30th anniversary products, announced Tuesday.

The company said the limits will stay in effect for as long as it believes a safe and secure trading environment cannot be guaranteed.

Its stock closed 6.4% lower on Wednesday, the day the restrictions began, before rebounding to finish 1.4% higher on Thursday.

The shares were also outperforming the Nikkei 225 on Friday morning, with the index up about 1%.

Mercari said it introduced the temporary listing ban because of concerns that a spike in transactions after the anniversary products’ release could result in trading disputes and harassment of users involved in those transactions.

Citibank linked Wednesday’s drop of more than 6% to Mercari’s announcement of the Pokémon card listing restrictions. The bank said Mercari’s recent share-price weakness had pushed the stock to “overly pessimistic levels,” describing the shares as “oversold” and the decline as an investment opportunity.

Growth in the value of goods sold on Mercari’s marketplace in the second half of fiscal 2026 surpassed expectations, while a rebound across several categories could support double-digit growth, the bank added.

Citi also said the suspension of trading in certain products was unfavorable for Mercari, but added that the effect was not large enough to cause the bank to change its forecasts.

The restrictions arrive during a worldwide Pokémon card boom. Online marketplace eBay said “Pokémon” was searched more than six million times on its U.K. site in July, highlighting ongoing demand for trading cards.

Pokémon card prices have risen 1,350% since 2020, according to an index compiled by Collectors, which owns card grading agency Professional Sports Authenticator, Verum previously reported. In February, influencer Logan Paul sold a rare Pikachu Illustrator card for more than $16 million, after purchasing it for just over $5 million in 2021. New cards can sell out within minutes, with people coordinating on X and Discord to find out where to go.

A post on X this month claimed that a Pokémon card sold for $2.7 million at auction, setting a record.

Mercari signed an agreement with The Pokémon Company in 2023 to encourage safer trading of Pokémon products on its marketplace, and introduced a policy in 2025 that allows it to restrict listings when issues such as fraud, transaction disputes or extreme price swings threaten marketplace safety.

Technologies

Bank of Japan raises interest rates to 31-year high, flags concerns over inflation

The decision was split 7-2, with board members Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato dissenting from the hike.

The Bank of Japan has raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%, the highest level since 1995.

The move also marked a quickening in the BOJ’s rate hike cycle since it started monetary policy normalization in March 2024, with the rise taking place three months from the BOJ’s last hike, as compared to six months previously.

The decision was split 7-2, with board members Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato dissenting from the hike. The duo are seen as reflationists and were appointed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi earlier this year.

The rise in rate hikes was widely expected, with almost 90% of economists surveyed by CNBC expecting the 25-basis-point tightening. Those surveyed also correctly predicted the dissenters to the decision.

In its statement, the BOJ said the move was because of a risk that inflation will deviate upward to beyond its 2% target.

The central bank added that it aims to stabilize underlying inflation at “around 2%” so that price rises do not overshoot its target and adversely affect the Japanese economy afterward.

The hike comes amid rising inflation in the country and a historically weak yen, with the latest inflation headline rate for August at 1.9% and Tokyo and Washington conducting a coordinated intervention to prop up the yen.

The currency traded at 156.64 after the decision, weakening 0.45%, while the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield fell 4.9 basis points to 2.947%.

Dissenter Asada noted that as the core inflation rate was below 2%, he was of the view that the economic situation may not be strong, and instead advocated for a hold. Core inflation for August stood at 1.7%, down from 1.8% in July.

Sato also said current economic and price developments did not appear to have substantially accelerated compared to before.

The U.S. has been vocal about Japan continuing its rate-hiking cycle, pressuring Takaichi’s preference for an easy monetary policy and an expansionary fiscal policy.

Most recently, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda to take “decisive market and monetary steps” at the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting earlier this month.

Technologies

Crude oil ends the week unchanged as Saudi pipeline disruption proves less severe than anticipated

Oil prices held steady at week’s end as traders determined the Saudi pipeline incident would not significantly disrupt global supply.

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