The Friday Review

What we are reading:

Here are five interesting reads to close out the week. Consumer sentiment just hit an all-time low of 44.8 on the UMich index. Markets are near record highs.

🏚️ The 'extend and pretend' era in commercial real estate is over. Lenders including Goldman and Deutsche Bank are selling distressed loans at discounts as steep as 85 cents on the dollar, chipping away at $130B in troubled property debt. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-15/real-estate-lenders-are-eager-to-offload-troubled-loans-even-at-a-loss

🏦 Regulators proposed the first overhaul of the CAMELS bank rating system since 1996, shifting examiner focus toward quantifiable financial risk. Banks and their boards should pay attention. https://www.reuters.com/world/us-banking-regulators-propose-overhaul-bank-rating-system-2026-05-19/

🛢️ The WSJ on the oil mystery at the center of the Iran pressure campaign. Iran's actual export volumes don't match the official narrative, and the gap matters for energy markets. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/the-oil-mystery-at-the-heart-of-americas-pressure-campaign-on-iran-7b88d43a

🎙️ Deutsche Bank's Ozan Tarman and Aditya Singhal on the Odd Lots podcast: how to read markets when headlines move faster than fundamentals. It’s worth the hour. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deutsche-banks-ozan-tarman-and-aditya-singhal-on/id1056200096?i=1000768526262

🛒 UK supermarkets are freezing prices as the Iran conflict ripples through supply chains — a tangible data point on how the war is translating into everyday economic reality. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/supermarkets-freeze-prices-iran-war-0b8tlmh8c