Week of 18 May 2026
Weekly markets 18 05 2026
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Inflation from the Iran war is now unmistakeable — US CPI at its fastest since 2023, UK 30-year gilts at their highest since 1998, and commodity ETFs seeing their biggest daily inflow since Ukraine. The ECB is expected to hike twice more and the scramble for inflation hedges is accelerating. We look at the UK's plan to loosen post-crisis ringfencing rules and free up £80bn in lending — the banks are pleased, but the man who wrote the rules calls it a "10% hole in the ringfence." We close with the biggest energy deal ever: NextEra's $67bn purchase of Dominion, fuelled by AI's insatiable power demand.
