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President Trump's public endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the upcoming elections in Israel was already unprecedented for a sitting American President when he first issued it on Oct.18. And so it is raising eyebrows that Trump has issued yet another full-throated statement endorsing him, just within 48 hours of the high stakes vote in Israel.

Sunday night saw Trump put out a second statement, saying that the US and Israel need to "finish the job" against Iran. It comes amid reports Washington and Tel Aviv have been planning a round three major bombing campaign. 

"To the people of Israel, to those who haven’t seen it, I am attaching the Endorsement I gave one week ago to your Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu. As everyone is aware, including the enemy, Bibi and I have had a great relationship in winning together," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post which actually borrows heavily from the original endorsement post.

"I did the Venezuelan attack, one of the most successful military operations in history but, before that, we did Operation Midnight Hammer, stopping the world’s number one state sponsor of terror from obtaining a nuclear weapon."

"When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister! Israel was called The Little Satan, with the United States being called The Big Satan, by some very evil people. There can no longer be the chant heard around the World of ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’ and there won’t be. Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started," Trump added.

Axios is reporting that an embattled Netanyahu essentially begged his ally in Washington to do more to keep him in office:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — fighting for political survival in Tuesday's elections — has pleaded with President Trump in recent days to show more public support for his campaign, according to a U.S. source with knowledge and an Israeli source briefed on the matter.

The U.S. source said the White House sees Netanyahu's aggressive lobbying as a "sign of desperation" and an indication that the Israeli leader thinks he's trailing.

Indeed polls show Netanyahu's Likud is trailing main rival, Gadi Eisenkot and his Yashar party.

Palestinians are about to realize that Netanyahu was the moderate.

— Ipwnkyle (@ipwnkyle) October 25, 2026

But neither of the two major blocs is believed yet to be able to take enough seats to secure a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Rather than face defeat, there's growing speculation that Netanyahu could launch a new Iran attack before tomorrow's vote as a big distraction - given also the historical pattern of Netanyahu engaging in wars while staying in power.

On Sunday Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image depicting a nuclear explosion in Tel Aviv. He claimed that anyone else taking power would subject Israelis to the danger of a "second Holocaust."

New Netanyahu post: https://t.co/rkxcCaQjeS

— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) October 25, 2026

Netanyahu also warned that that future generations "will not forgive us if we miss this historic window of opportunity" - and that Iran must be dealt with while Trump is still in office.

As a reminder, 77-year old "Bibi" has led Israel for nearly 19 of the past 30 years, and he's constantly emphasized security, in many ways becoming a kind of permanent wartime prime minister. He's overseen the decimation of Gaza in the wake of the Oct.7 attack, and wars in Lebanon, Syria, and occasional strikes on Yemen. The Iran war remains the biggest conflict he's overseen, which has seen ballistic missiles and drones rain down on Israeli cities and bases as part of previous Iranian retaliation waves.

Update(1635): Somewhat surprisingly, Iran appears ready to be flexible concerning its conditions and matters of the timeline related to the Hormuz crisis and standoff with US forces:

Iran Says It Could Accept Shortening Proposed Seven-Day Deadline if Conditions Are Met

In Tehran on Monday, Iran informed delegates from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan that it is willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in four to seven days if the US lifts its blockade.

State media cited Supreme National Security Council official Ali Bagheri Kani as confirming the flexible timeline, adding that diplomats are now organizing the next round of negotiations.

Riyadh is meanwhile stressing de-escalation:

The Saudi Foreign Ministry has stressed “the importance of opening channels of negotiation to prevent a return to military escalation” following a meeting of senior officials from the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement states with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday.

Tuesday will witness a big meeting in Moscow: President Vladimir Putin is due to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in the Russian capital.

*  *  *

There are many indicators that the US and Israel could soon attack Iran again, with media consensus in the US pointing to the likelihood of a renewed bombing campaign after the midterm elections.

In the interim, regional countries are scrambling for a diplomatic breakthrough, seeking to stave off the next escalation round, given also that past Iranian retaliation has imposed a huge cost on America's Gulf allies.

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey in Tehran for high level talks, the deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Bagheri, has confirmed Monday.

This includes Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani Army Commander General Asim Munir, and Turkish Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin - who will engage the Iranian side on "regional security".

Notably, these three countries are signatories to the Mecca Defense Pact and are also allies of the United States, with Turkey being a NATO member.

Iran's Bagheri stated, "The Islamic Republic of Iran's model of defense based on internal and domestic capabilities has become a successful model for building national security."

"On the other hand, Iran's strategic policy is to ensure regional security through regional countries and confront any foreign interference and influence, led by the American and Zionist regimes," he added.

Bagheri praised the "fruit of the heroic efforts and struggles of the armed forces and the Iranian nation" and expressed hope that Iranian resistance to US-Israeli aims would result in a "region with stability and peace and on the path of progress."

Reuters has cited a senior Iranian official who says the meeting was initiated by Pakistan.

Jason Brodsky, a hawkish think tank pundit, has reacted to the diplomatic scramble in Tehran:

The stories write themselves at this point. I would not be surprised to see a last minute call from regional countries to President Trump pleading for a delay in any military operation against Iran, citing that progress is just around the corner on negotiations or deal that will later fall apart.

Over the weekend, just prior to the Mecca Pact countries' delegations going to Tehran, Qatari mediators were also once again in the Iranian capital to "de-escalate regional tensions."

Senior officials from Iran, Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have begun a four-way meeting in Tehran, hosted by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei. Participants include Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman and Turkish Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin.

— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 26, 2026

Meanwhile, CNN is reporting that the White House has plans to relaunch major attacks on Iran, and that more American forces are being deployed to the Middle East, so that strikes against Iran could be carried out "within 96 hours of receiving" an order from the president.

According to that reporting:

Sufficient forces are now deployed in the region to carry out the potential attacks, the sources said. The scope of new US military operations would likely go beyond efforts to simply “mow the lawn” or maintain the status quo by striking radars, launchers and other Iranian assets that can be quickly reconstituted — as has been the case since Trump halted full combat operations earlier this year, the sources added.

“It will be a big effort,” one of the officials told CNN. That view has been echoed by other current and former US officials familiar with internal military planning discussions — some of whom say it is a question of when, not if, Trump will issue a go-order. They believe it could come any time before the end of the year, though most likely after the US midterm elections.

But it remains the that US administration has yet to define the end goal or 'mission accomplished' moment, now in month eight of what was supposed to be a "two to four-week" conflict. So far, escalation has tended to simply beget more escalation, and not an offramp.

It seem they all went to Iran to deliver the final threat. https://t.co/1Akhe5rHHT

— Ali (@MerruX) October 26, 2026

A major new bombing campaign would put immensely more pressure on Iran, but would do the same for America's Gulf allies, given they would probably face a huge wave of retaliation from the IRGC in the form of ballistic missiles and drones.

A week that sees a barrage of macro news, earnings, political developments, capital markets events including the massive Anthropic IPO offering doc and a record equity offering by Meta, also has a flood of coupon issuance to contend with starting with today's $69BN in 2Y paper which sold to tepid demand ahead of this week's FOMC decision. 

Let's see how the auction did, starting with the high yield 4.708% which was modestly below last month's 4.787% which was the highest since June 2024. This tailed the When Issued 4.705% by 0.3 bps, the biggest tail since March. 

The bid to cover was  2.589, down from 2.627 last month and the lowest since also March, when it dipped to 2.440.

But it was the internals where the biggest surprise, or rather disappointment, was to be found, as foreigners (Indirects) took down just 45.7%, a sharp drop from the 57.8% in September and the lowest since November 2021. Offsetting this collapse in foreign demand was a surge in Direct demand which sent the Direct bid sharply higher from 29.0% to 41.3%, the highest on record...

... leaving 13.0% to Dealers, or roughly in line with recent activity.

Overall, this was a surprisingly poor auction, which tailed the 2nd most of 2026, but judging by the dramatic collapse in foreign demand, it is almost surprising the results weren't far worse. 

Job cuts and downsizing announcements across corporate America have gained momentum, a trend we featured in a report last week titled "Tech Layoffs Surge As Corporate America's AI Blitz Raises Fears The Worst Is Yet To Come."

Days later, Bloomberg reports that Microsoft will offer voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees while spending heavily on artificial intelligence and data center expansion.

NEARLY 1 OUT OF 3 (60,000 EMPLOYEES) AT MICROSOFT BEING OFFERED VOLUNTARY TERMINATION Emails should be going out any minute to those receiving the offer. Absolutely insane.

— LayoffHedge (@LayoffAI) October 26, 2026

"This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support," Chief People Officer Amy Coleman wrote in a memo earlier today.

The memo cited by the outlet says workers on selected units in the US, Canada, India, and the UK at the vice president level and below will be eligible for the voluntary buyouts.

Some employees in data centers, sales, and marketing are excluded. Benefits will match a standard severance package, according to the report.

Bloomberg data shows Microsoft employed 223,000 people at the end of June and has cut thousands of jobs in recent years. The Big Tech firm's total workforce began to plateau in 2022.

What we reported on Friday:

The AI layoffs are here: *AMERICAN EXPRESS TO CUT 5% OF JOBS, ABOUT 3,500 EMPLOYEES *BARCLAYS TO CUT 5,000 JOBS AS AI STARTS CREATING EFFICIENCY *EBAY CONFIRMS JOB CUTS OF ABOUT 9% *NETFLIX TO LAY OFF 6% OF GLOBAL STAFF, OR ABOUT 1,000 JOBS: WSJ

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 23, 2026

A deeper dive into layoffs across corporate America:

Bloomberg story counts featuring terms such as "job cuts," “layoffs," and "firings" jumped Thursday to their highest level since early May.

We're certain the worst is yet to come.