The unexpected events of the past week in Venezuela have shone a light on a potentially more muscular geopolitical approach of the US government in 2026. Brent crude prices have shown some volatility, but are only modestly higher on the week, moving from around $61/barrel to $62. On equity markets, the S&P 500 has had a solid, if unspectacular week, gaining about 1.5% last week. All in all, markets appear to have boxed off the Venezuela attack as geopolitical noise that is unlikely to affect the economy. On the upside, the European economy, while lagging the US in terms of growth, has shown remarkable resilience to recent shocks from Brexit, to Covid, to the war in Ukraine.

Source: Irish Examiner January 12, 2026 10:22 UTC