The forces under Donald Trump’s command have put their feet up this weekend. It has been two days since America launched new strikes against Iran, following 13 nights of back-and-forth attacks. The calm may not last. On Friday Mr Trump was threatening a return to full-scale war. Our new article looks at his options; few of them are good. 

The longer the war goes on, the higher oil prices are likely to go. Some analysts see them topping the level of $139 a barrel reached in 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Similar predictions at the start of the Iran war did not pan out. But this time energy markets are more precarious.

What to expect in the week ahead:

▸ Meta and Microsoft will announce their quarterly results on Wednesday. Both companies’ share prices have fallen of late; investors are worried about their spending on AI. Apple reports on Thursday. A recent surge in its stock price saw it overtake Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company. 

▸ A big day of diplomacy awaits Donald Trump on Tuesday. He is expecting visits from Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, and Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister. Both leaders are also reported to be attending the funeral of Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, on the same day. 

▸ The Federal Reserve will announce its latest interest-rate decision on Wednesday. Lorie Logan, one of the Fed’s rate-setters, has said rates should rise because “inflation has been too high for too long”, but the bank is generally expected to leave rates unchanged at next week’s meeting. The Bank of England will deliberate on interest rates on Thursday. Two of the nine members of its Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise rates at its previous meeting.