Sanctions are backfiring on the West, and it's bad for Europe's banks, US consumers, and Nvidia.

• A Moscow court is backing Russia's claim to recover up to €200B in frozen funds at Euroclear, and Russia has already seized over $50B in Western assets inside the country.
• Europe is stuck: keep the money and China stops trusting Euroclear with its bond market, or pay up and look weak. Either way, trust in Western financial plumbing takes a hit.
• The US is quietly extending waivers for Russian oil because gas prices are too high. Trump is also reportedly floating waivers for Iranian oil, fearing inflation could wreck Republicans at the midterms.
• Trump is threatening a major strike on Iran but Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pushing for delay since their economies are already hurting.
• Nvidia's China revenue has collapsed from 25% to under 5%, and Jensen Huang's recent China trip produced photo ops but no deals. Meanwhile US hyperscalers are borrowing 30% of their AI buildout costs as bond yields climb toward 5%.

Outlook: Expect more pressure to ease sanctions on both Russian and Iranian oil to calm inflation, while Europe scrambles to avoid a fight with Russia that scares off Chinese investors.