Statements such as “huge escalation as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea are closing” ,“the U.S. is ready for a massive attack against Iran, bigger than ever before”, “Iran warns of an ‘eye for an eye’ response if the U.S. follows through on its threats” and “Ukraine reports striking 180 merchant vessels in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea”—when combined with the increasingly dominant style of sensationalistic headlines and bullet-point assertions from media outlets and some security commentators—do not reduce ambiguity. They amplify it. These formulations tend to generate a panic-tinged perception of an impending “perfect storm” and systemic chaos among public opinion and among the markets that are directly or indirectly exposed.