GOOD MORNING!     Renewed tension and violence in the Middle East held the markets’ attention and pressured the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) near-term futures contract to rise more than 15% on the week.  But it was encouraging inflation reports that had traders re-assessing bets on an imminent short-term rate hike by the Fed and had the Treasury yield curve bull steepened as short-to-intermediate maturity yields moved lower.  The NFIB small business survey, the Beige Book and retail sales emphasized the economy’s current resilience but none of that helped stocks on the week.  Geo-politics and valuation concerns had tech stocks dragging down the benchmark equity indices on the week.  Fed Chair Warsh’s testimony on Capitol Hill was boring as he mostly said what Committee members wanted to hear, i.e., he would stop the inflation tax that was bugging American citizens.   
     

     Mediators are stepping in to try to slow or stop the escalation of violence in the Persian Gulf and neighboring countries.  That, and tech company earnings later this week, have the markets in a bit of a risk-on trade.  Oil is steady, stock index futures are modestly higher and Treasury yields are marginally higher.  With Fed in silence time ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting and little on the economic release calendar for the week, geo-politics is likely to be front and center for the markets.