China pivots to Trump regime change

Monday 14 September 2026

War headlines from over the weekend.

Saudi shuts Yanbu after Iraqi-based drone attack. 6 weeks for repair?
Multiple ships on both sides bombed in Hormuz.
US limits air defence of Hormuz ships as night is no longer “safe”.
Houthis shut Bab al-Mandeb to Saudi ships.
Trump demands Ukraine stop bombing Russian diesel refineries.
Iran/Gulf states Hormuz meeting is postponed.

Debate is all over the place about how much oil and products are restricted, but no matter how you cut it, it falls short. Dated Brent was at $118.56 a barrel on Friday, and futures are up 3% this morning, while distillate cracks remain unhinged.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:

$24.99 / month

$249 / year

Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe

About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.