Israeli Shekel's Calm Under Threat as Options Signal Turmoil

Options traders are bracing for the Israeli shekel to experience wilder moves than at any time since the start of the Gaza war in 2023 — a hedge against any breakdown in the resilience it's so far shown against the nation's multiple ongoing conflicts.
Implied volatility, a bet on currency turbulence reflected in one-month derivatives, jumped to the highest since March 2023 this week, surpassing levels seen when Hamas attacked Israel in October that year and triggered a multi-front conflict. That's left the shekel as the most volatile currency in the world, excluding the Russian ruble, according to Bloomberg rankings.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

32 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Iran Stands Alone Against Trump and Israel, Stripped of Allies

(Bloomberg) -- Iran's leaders are discovering they're on their own against the US and Israel, without the network of proxies and allies that allowed them to project power in the Middle East and beyond. Bezos Wedding Draws Protests, Soul-Searching Over Tourism in Venice One Architect's Quest to Save Mumbai's Heritage From Disappearing JFK AirTrain Cuts Fares 50% This Summer to Lure Riders Off Roads NYC Congestion Toll Cuts Manhattan Gridlock by 25%, RPA Reports As the Islamic Republic confronts its most perilous moment in decades following the bombing of its nuclear facilities ordered by US President Donald Trump, Russia and China are sitting on the sidelines and offering only rhetorical support. Militia groups Iran has armed and funded for years are refusing or unable to enter the fight in support of their patron. After decades of being stuck in a game of fragile detente, the entire geopolitical order of the Middle East is being redone. The Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel was only the beginning. It led to multiple conflicts and tested decades-long alliances. It offered Trump, on his return to power this year, a chance to do what no president before him had dared by attacking Iran so aggressively and directly. Since Israel started strikes on Iran on June 13, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken of goals beyond neutering Tehran's nuclear threat, even hinting at regime change. But the risk is that an isolated Iran could become more unpredictable with its once-steadfast allies keeping their distance. 'As Iran faces its most critical military test in decades, further tangible assistance from either Moscow or Beijing remains unlikely,' said Bloomberg Economics analysts including Adam Farrar and Dina Esfandiary. 'While both maintain bilateral strategic partnerships with Tehran, neither Russia nor China is a formal military ally, and neither is likely to provide significant military or economic aid due to their own limitations and broader strategic considerations.' Iran isn't getting any support, either, from the BRICS grouping of emerging markets that purports to want a new global order that's not dominated by Western nations. The organization — set up by Brazil, Russia, India and China and which Iran joined in early 2024 — has been silent over Israel and the US's attacks on the Islamic Republic. Iran signed a strategic cooperation treaty with Russia in January and it was a vital source of combat drones early in President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. However, Russian officials have made clear the pact includes no mutual-defense obligations and that Moscow has no intention of supplying Iran with weapons, even as they say Tehran hasn't asked for any. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Turkey on Sunday he plans to travel to Moscow to discuss the situation with Putin on Monday. He can expect warm words and little practical support. That's a far cry from 2015, when Russia joined Iran in sending forces to Syria to save the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad, which was eventually toppled by rebels last year. Moscow risks losing another key ally in the Middle East if the government in Tehran led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei falls. Yet while the Kremlin has condemned the Israeli and US attacks, Putin is distracted and stretched — militarily and economically — by his war in Ukraine. China, too, 'strongly' condemned the US strikes as a breach of international law. But it hasn't offered assistance to Iran, which sells some 90% of its oil exports to Beijing. Iran's Gulf neighbors urged restraint and warned of potentially devastating implications for the region if Iran retaliates against US assets in the Middle East. Nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates spent months trying to use their geopolitical and economic heft to bolster nuclear talks between the Americans and Iran. In the end, the talks have been overtaken by military power. Iran's proxy militant groups are mostly absent too. Hezbollah in Lebanon, hitherto the most potent member of Tehran's 'axis of resistance' was pummeled by Israeli forces last year, much as Hamas was. Israeli strikes on Assad's military in Syria, meanwhile, played a part in his government's collapse. Hezbollah still poses a threat and on Sunday the US ordered family members and non-emergency government personnel to leave Lebanon. Still, the group's not threatened to back Iran by firing on Israel, as it did right after Hamas' attack in 2023. The Houthis in Yemen are an exception and hours about the US strikes on Iran, they issued fresh threats against US commercial and naval ships. Yet they risk another American bombardment like that one Trump ordered before a truce with the group in May. The Europeans, meanwhile, are increasingly irrelevant, in terms of swaying Trump and Israel, and Tehran. The UK, France and Germany have historically held an important role in the Middle East. They represented the dominant economies in Europe. The first two were colonial powers in the region and in the case of Germany, given its Nazi past, there was a strong pro-Israel voice. Both the UK and France have had to handle a vocal voter constituency that was pro Palestinian and complicated their messaging. That was not always an easy needle to thread. The current UK government is led by Labour, whose legacy was damaged by Tony Blair's decision to join US President George W. Bush in his invasion of Iraq in 2003. So for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has finally wrested control of the country from Conservatives, there is no upside to supporting any US military involvement. Trump didn't seem to need it, and the UK was happy to stay out of it even though it has enough of a presence that it could have been useful. Europeans find themselves sidelined with little power to influence the outcome. At the Group of Seven summit, Trump put France's President Emmanuel Macron in his place for suggesting the US was working toward a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. That did not stop Macron from working the phones, but the harsh reality that has filtered through is that Europe has its own existential crisis much closer to home. It needs Trump to at least make a cameo in The Hague for a NATO summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. The organization's leaders want assurances the US post-World War II commitment to stop Russian expansionism still stands. Europe has provided back channels for Iran in the past. In a climate where Europe and the US aren't working together on Iran, it's possible some valuable diplomatic signaling may be lost. That's one side effect of the US going it alone and of Europe being a bit player, as the crisis in the Middle East deepens. --With assistance from Eric Martin. Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028? Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros The US Has More Copper Than China But No Way to Refine All of It Can 'MAMUWT' Be to Musk What 'TACO' Is to Trump? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Tom's Guide

34 minutes ago

• Tom's Guide

Apple is reportedly considering buying Perplexity AI in iPhone maker's biggest-ever acquisition

Apple is reportedly considering its most ambitious acquisition yet: AI startup Perplexity, whose AI-driven search engine and chatbot are among the leading ChatGPT alternatives with around 15 million users. According to a new Bloomberg report this week, Apple's head of mergers and acquisitions, Adrian Perica, has been in talks with services SVP Eddy Cue and the company's top executives about a potential offer. Discussions are still in a very early stage, and Apple has yet to make a bid, but executives have met with Perplexity several times over the past few months, Bloomberg reports. Another possibility is a team-up with Perplexity, rather than an acquisition. The ultimate goal would be to integrate Perplexity's tech into an AI-based search engine or use it to make Siri smarter now that Apple's planned AI revamp for its assistant has been pushed into 2026. Similar to ChatGPT Search, Perplexity is a cross between a traditional search engine and an AI assistant. It uses large language models to comb the web to answer user queries in a conversational way, similar to interacting with a knowledgable assistant. It's also built with cross-platform accessibility in mind, so users can access its AI-powered search and assistant features on a wide range of devices. Acquiring Perplexity could be a strategic fallback for Apple if regulators force the company to end its partnership with Google. With Perplexity under its belt, Apple could accelerate the development of its own AI-powered search engine across the best iPhones, helping it close the gap with competitors like Google and Meta in the AI race. It couldn't come at a better time too. Bloomberg reported on Friday that Meta tried to scoop up Perplexity first earlier this year before moving ahead with Scale AI. At WWDC 2025, Apple was cagey about a concrete timeline for the full rollout of Apple Intelligence upgrades for Siri. It's quickly becoming clear that Apple need some outside help bringing its intended AI features to market, and Perplexity could fill that role. If a deal is reached, it'd be the largest in Apple's history. Perplexity is valued at around $14 billion, a figure that dwarfs Apple's most significant deal to date: buying Beats for $3 billion back in 2014. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.

Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

Bank of New York Mellon approached Northern Trust to discuss potential merger, WSJ reports

(Reuters) -Bank of New York Mellon Corp approached Northern Trust last week to express interest in merging with its smaller rival, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The chief executives of BNY and Northern Trust had at least one conversation, but no offer was discussed, the newspaper reported citing people familiar with the matter. BNY may approach Northern Trust in the future with a formal bid, however it may not result in a transaction, the report added. BNY has a market cap of $65.55 billion while Northern Trust has a market cap of $21.76 billion, according to LSEG. In May, BNY received a licence to set up a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, joining other banks lured by incentives as the kingdom seeks to boost its appeal as a financial hub. Bank of New York Mellon declined to comment, while Northern Trust did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data