Donald Trump’s swing through the Middle East last week saw his administration agree to the development of a major data center project in the UAE, and with it shift US policy on technology export controls, say Arthur and Laila. In the same visit, the US president seemed to consolidate US diplomatic preeminence, yet Tom Miller says that the influence of China remains significant. As a Damocles sword is held over Iran by both the US and Israel, Tom Holland considers the endgame for the US-Iran nuclear talks. Lastly, Tom Miller considers the strategic fallout resulting from the recent India-Pakistan military engagement.

It may offend against every long-cherished investment tenet you can think of, but in recent months the price of oil has been behaving much like a play on US technology stocks. In recent months the biggest single contributory factor determining oil prices has been the volatility of the US administration’s policymaking, which has had an outsized impact on expectations for global oil demand.

Arthur Kroeber and Tom Miller look at different benchmark trade deals, one between the US and the UK, the other between the UK and India. In addition, Tom Holland previews Donald Trump’s coming state visit to the Gulf Arab states, and Tom Miller looks at China’s efforts to court Latin America and examines the latest India-Pakistan fighting.