The Pittance and the Pen

The Hormuz toll is a pittance. The refineries are at the edge. The Hasna went down. Saudi shut Project Freedom. Saturday Iraq seats Finance. May 14 Beijing.

David E Atterton

07 May 2026 — 7 min read

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Two jobs. 18-hour days. The drift you've been seeing in the writing. Today the day job ended. What changes for you, three things opening, and what I need from you next.

Five pens on an open portfolio at the UN Security Council at dawn. Four Gulf tassels, one American. Eagle watching.

The Gulf Signed Tuesday

4 Gulf monarchies signed Rubio's Iran resolution. Trump paused Project Freedom; blockade stays. Pezeshkian called Iraq's PM-designate. May 9 the cabinet ships.

A black oil barrel tipped over on the US Treasury Department steps at dawn, torn parchment beside it, eagle landing above.

The Empty Chair at OPEC

UAE walks out of OPEC after 59 years. Mazrouei names the Strait. Pentagon pulls the briefing hours before Trump's deadline. Iraq seats Finance next week.

Hands feeding an Iraqi 25,000-dinar note into a digital banking scanner at a Baghdad central bank counter at dusk.

The Quiet Work

Alaq names the architecture that would carry a new rate is already 95 percent built. The Finance chair decides the rate. The deadline is looming.

Bald eagle in raptor stoop, bronze arrows in talon, descending on a coiled serpent at a Treasury colonnade at dawn.

Treasury Names the Snake

Treasury named the snake Friday. Iran handed Washington a 14-point bill Saturday. Iraq's cabinet locks May 27. The plumbing is going live.

Brass schoolhouse wall clock minute hand at XII above an open blank military briefing folder; flag and bald eagle behind.

Day Sixty

60-day War Powers mark hit today. Joint Chiefs briefed the next strike list. Senate failed to stop it the sixth time. Trump named the playbook: Caracas.

A presidential hand pressing the Great Seal of the United States in deep navy wax across a nautical chart of the Strait of Hormuz, lit by a single brass desk lamp.

The Order

Trump locks the Iran oil blockade long-term. Brent touches $126. UAE leaves OPEC tomorrow. Powell takes the Eccles seat.

A starred-cuff hand holds a US Treasury eagle embosser suspended above a single Iraqi dinar note at dawn, empty chair behind, calendar showing 27.

The Toll Booth

Treasury made the Hormuz toll a sanctions risk Tuesday. UAE walked out of OPEC. The Iraqi PM-designate is the chair of a CBI-banned bank. The dinar peg is the next variable on the list.

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ISO 20022: The November 2025 Deadline That Reordered Global Finance

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Central bank gold vault with rows of gold bars stacked on steel shelves. A new shipment of wrapped gold bars sits illuminated on a middle shelf. Security cameras visible in upper corners.

Basel III Gold Tier 1: Why Central Banks Are Hoarding at Record Pace

The LBMA denies the reclassification. Central banks are hoarding gold at record pace. Three years. 3,220 tonnes. Watch what they do. Not what they?

Iraqi dinar banknotes in desert sand with oil derricks and construction cranes

Iraq's $16 Trillion Question: Why the Currency Stayed Frozen for 20 Years

Iraq currency explained - $16 trillion in resources, a rate set during military occupation, and the 17-year political block now removed. Documente

Gold bars stacked in a vault beside legal settlement documents

Gold Manipulation: The Exposed Evidence Banks Paid $920 Million to Settle

Gold manipulation evidence exposed - JP Morgan's $920M settlement, the London Silver Fix phone call, and why banks just flipped long. Documented.