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Commercial Israeli banks process transactions with Palestinian banks — about $10 billion in trade per year, and paychecks for tens of thousands of Palestinians with jobs in Israel. Normally, the government protects them legally if any funding finds its way into terrorists’ hands. Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich recently threatened to end these waivers. In this episode, what could happen to the Palestinian economy if he follows through? Plus, what’s included in “cost of living” indexes, why consumer confidence is rising, and are we in a climate change housing bubble?

Consumer confidence ticked up; home prices set a record; a big oil merger gets the thumbs-up from shareholders.

The consumer confidence index improved after three months of decline; home prices hit another record in March; T-Mobile struck a deal to purchase much of U.S. Cellular; bond investor Gross says Trump presidency would be worse for markets.

Hurricane season officially begins this week, and forecasters are predicting a record number of storms to barrel through the Atlantic Ocean this year. While that means potential destruction to homes, businesses and infrastructure, one industry is particularly at risk: oil and natural gas. We’ll unpack. Plus, “there is no economic solution for a political problem”: Trinity College professor of economics Ibrahim Shikaki reflects on Gaza’s economy at time of war.

Beneath the tremendous human suffering wrought by war in Gaza is a harsh economic reality. Today, we’re examining the state of the Palestinian economy before, during and potentially after the war, and will hear more about Palestine’s entrenched dependency on Israel’s economy. But first: The White House is introducing a set of carbon credit standards to help figure out if carbon offsets are achieving what they purport to.

From the BBC World Service: Soccer superstar David Beckham has signed a deal to be a global ambassador for AliExpress, an online retail platform owned by Chinese technology giant Alibaba. The announcement comes as the Euros soccer tournament is due to kick off in Germany next month. Plus, billions of dollars are being poured into AI despite lack of uptake, and the FBI is investigating the sale of stolen British Museum goods.