Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open,” sending WTI oil crashing 11.4% in the largest single-day drop since the war began. S&P 500 closed above 7,100 for the first time (+1.20%); Nasdaq’s winning streak hit 13 sessions — longest since 1992. Netflix (NFLX −9.72%) tanked on weak Q2 guidance and Reed Hastings’ board exit. Fed’s Waller: rate cuts viable if Hormuz stays open. A $127B IEEPA tariff refund portal launches Monday.
Tag Archives | Federal Reserve
MIB: Strait Relief — Record Highs, Oil Collapse, $127B Tariff Refunds, and a Fed Forced to Recalibrate
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MIB: Triple Catalyst Day — Iran Ceasefire Crashes Oil, Record Bank Earnings Lift S&P Past 7,000, Trump Threatens Fed Independence
Trump threatens to fire Powell by May if he doesn’t resign, rattling bond markets. Oil crashes 7.87% as Iran ceasefire extended — Trump says war ‘very close to over.’ Fed Beige Book warns gas at $4/gallon and hiring freezes spreading. IEA sees first global oil demand decline since COVID. S&P 500 hits record 7,022 — above 7,000 for the first time. Tesla rockets 8% on AI5 chip milestone (UBS upgrades from Sell). BAC, MS, BLK all post record/near-record Q1 earnings.
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MIB: Blockade Economics — Hormuz Chokes Oil Markets, Traps the Fed, and Markets Bet on Diplomacy
S&P 500 +1% as investors bet on Iran diplomacy despite Hormuz blockade and oil near $98. Oracle soared 12.7% on AI utilities platform launch (ORCL). Goldman Sachs beat Q1 estimates but fell 2% on FICC miss (GS). Trump threatened 50% tariffs on China over Iran arms shipment reports. Cleveland Fed inflation nowcasting hit 3.56% — rate cuts now a 2027 story. Meta set to overtake Google in global digital ad revenue for first time ever.
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MIB: All-Time Low — Consumer Sentiment Collapses as CPI Stalls the Fed and Semis Soar on Tariff Relief
March CPI hit 3.3% (gasoline +21.2%) but core held at 2.6% — Fed stuck. Michigan consumer sentiment crashed to an all-time low of 47.6. Semis surged on Trump tariff exemptions (AVGO +4.69%, AMD +3.55%). TSMC confirmed AI demand is booming: Q1 revenue +35% to $35.7B. Meta locked in $21B with CoreWeave through 2032 (META +3.4%). FICO plunged 14% as the Senate opened a probe into mortgage credit score pricing.
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MIB: Ceasefire Euphoria — Oil Craters 14%, S&P Surges, Then the Strait Closes Again
S&P +2.51%, Dow +1,325 pts on Trump-Iran two-week ceasefire — but the Strait of Hormuz partially halted again by day’s end as the truce frayed. WTI -14.5%; semiconductors led: INTC +11%, LRCX +10%. Travel surged: UAL +10%, CCL +11%. Energy the only loser: XOM -5%, CVX -5%. UNH +9.4% on $13B Medicare Advantage windfall. FOMC minutes revealed rate hike discussions — Friday’s March CPI is the next test.
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MIB: Kharg Island — Iran Strike Risk, Oil at $114, and the Market Held Its Breath
Trump’s Iran 8pm deadline looms as US strikes Kharg Island — WTI hit $114 intraday before settling at $110. CMS finalized Medicare Advantage +2.48% rates (UNH +9.37%, HUM +12%). NY Fed gas price expectations hit 4-year high of 9.4%. Trump restructured Section 232 metal tariffs to 50%/25% tiers. AVGO +6.21% on Google AI chip deal through 2031. DXY slid below 100 as gold hit $4,732.
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MIB: $4 Gas, $113 Oil, and a Tuesday Deadline — Iran War Tax Hits Main Street as CPI Bomb Looms
Iran ceasefire talks collapse; Trump’s Tuesday 8pm deadline threatens escalation (WTI $112.87/bbl). March CPI due Friday: +1% MoM forecast, sharpest spike since 2022. Tesla Q1 delivers 358K vs. 365K expected, 50K vehicles unsold (TSLA -2.15%); JPMorgan’s $145 target stands. Trump signs 100% pharma tariffs on branded drug imports. S&P 500 +0.45% on ceasefire hope; VIX elevated at 24.17. Gas $4.11/gallon — up 38% since war began.
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MIB: $111 Oil, Drug Tariffs, and a Tesla Gut-Punch — Markets Stare Down the Iran Abyss
WTI surges +11.6% to $111.69 as Trump vows 2-3 more weeks of Iran war with no Hormuz off-ramp; gasoline $4.08 nationally. S&P 500 recovered from -1.5% to close +0.11% after Iran/Oman signaled a Hormuz monitoring protocol. Trump unveiled 100% tariffs on patented drugs (120-day phase-in). Tesla deliveries 358K missed by 12K (TSLA -5.42%). Oracle confirms 30,000 layoffs to fund AI expansion. March NFP tomorrow — markets react Monday.
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MIB: Oil Shock, Semiconductor Selloff, and Powell’s Dovish Pivot Reshape the Market
Iran War Day 31: Trump threatens to obliterate Iran’s energy infrastructure unless Hormuz reopened immediately (Tehran: demands “unrealistic”). WTI +5.39% to $105; gas $3.99 nationally, up $1.01 in one month. Google TurboQuant AI compression crushes semiconductors: MU -9.92%, LRCX -5.43%, Nasdaq -0.73%. Powell “looks past” oil shock at Harvard — rate hike odds collapsed from 52% to 2%. Russell 2000 -1.51% vs Dow +0.11% — small caps pricing in recession. Nike earnings tomorrow.
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MIB: $100 Oil, Five Straight Down Weeks, and a Consumer Sentiment Reading From the Abyss
WTI crude above $100 for first time since 2022; Trump’s Iran deadline extension did nothing to calm markets. Dow enters correction; S&P posts 5th straight losing week — worst streak in 4 years. Macquarie warns 40% chance of $200 oil, $7/gallon gasoline if war lasts to June. Gold surges to $4,521/oz as VIX spikes 13% to 31. AZN +2.74% on Phase 3 COPD breakthrough. UMich crashes to 53.3 — bottom 1st percentile of all-time survey history.
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MIB: Four Days to War — Iran Denial Sends Gold to $4,509 as Tech Cracks and Bonds Flash Stagflation
Iran ceasefire countdown (4 days remain) fades as Iran denies talks — Gold surges to $4,509 (+1.58%). Alphabet (GOOGL -3.85%) faces EU DMA fine deadline tomorrow; potential $34B fine looms. Tech rotation intensifies: Nasdaq -0.77% vs. Russell 2000 +0.53%; Oracle -4.70% despite BofA Buy reinstated. GE Vernova +3.03% on Morgan Stanley $960 target. Richmond Fed manufacturing hits 0 — first non-negative in over a year. Goldman Sachs delays first Fed rate cut to September.
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MIB: Arrested, Crashed, and Breached — SMCI Co-Founder Busted, Semis Collapse, and S&P Falls Below Its 200-Day
Fed’s hawkish echo crushes markets: S&P -1.51%, VIX +11%, 200-DMA breached for first time in 214 sessions. Semis rout: INTC -5%, MU -4.81%, NVDA -3.28% on post-GTC sell-the-news. SMCI co-founder arrested for smuggling $2.5B in Nvidia chips to China (SMCI -28%). 10Y yields spike +10 bps to 4.384%. Iran targets Gulf energy — WTI hits $98. FedEx surges +9% after blockbuster beat-and-raise.
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MIB: Stagflation Trap — Hot PPI, Hawkish Fed, and $100 Oil Push Recession Odds to 49%
Hot PPI (+0.7% MoM) and a hawkish FOMC dot plot slam markets — S&P -1.36%, Dow -768 pts. WTI crude near $100 as Strait of Hormuz enters week three; Moody’s raises US recession odds to 49%. AbbVie -5.20% as J&J wins FDA approval for competing oral psoriasis drug. Mastercard -3.57% on $1.8B stablecoin BVNK acquisition. Micron (MU) reports record Q2 revenue of $23.86B AMC (+196% YoY); markets react Thursday.
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MIB: GTC Sparks Relief Rally — Nvidia’s $1T AI Forecast, FOMC Dot Plot, USMCA Launch, and the Hormuz Oil Clock
Nvidia’s GTC keynote delivers $1T AI chip order forecast (NVDA +2.2%), snapping the S&P’s 3-week losing streak (+1.01%). Meta plans to cut 20% of staff (16K jobs) to fund $135B AI build. USMCA formal review launches — US and Mexico
begin talks with a July 1 deadline. Oil retreats ~4% from overnight highs but Hormuz stays closed. FOMC convenes tomorrow; stagflation dot plot is the week’s defining risk. Bitcoin hits 6-week high ($74.5K, +3.7%).
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MIB: Q4 GDP Revised to 0.7%, Iran Vows Hormuz Shut, S&P Posts Third Weekly Loss, Adobe CEO Exits
Iran’s new supreme leader vows Hormuz closure permanent; WTI near $100 for second straight day. Q4 GDP revised to +0.7% — stagflation trap confirmed. S&P 500 records third consecutive weekly loss, Nasdaq -0.68%. Adobe (ADBE) -7.5% as CEO Narayen exits after 18 years despite record Q1 beat. Trump’s Russia oil sanctions relief fails, allies furious. All eyes on FOMC March 17-18 — Powell’s stagflation signal is next week’s defining risk.
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MIB: Oil Crosses $100, Record G7 SPR Release, FOMC Blackout Begins & February CPI Due Tomorrow
WTI crude breached $100/bbl intraday (peak $119) — biggest oil supply disruption in history. G7+IEA authorized a record 300-400M barrel SPR release. Trump told CBS “war is very complete” — Dow swung from -900 to +239 in hours (S&P +0.83%, Nasdaq +1.38%). NOC +6%, LMT hit all-time high as defense broke out. CCL -6%, RCL -4% as cruise lines bled. Oracle reports tonight; February CPI drops tomorrow.
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MIB: Stagflation Confirmed — 92K Jobs Vanish, WTI Hits $88, and Trump Demands Iran’s Unconditional Surrender
Feb payrolls -92K (S&P -1.3%), worst miss in years — unemployment jumped to 4.4%. Trump demands Iran ‘unconditional surrender’; WTI surged to $88 as Hormuz stays shut (Day 7). GDPNow crashed to 2.1% from 3.0% in four days. MRVL +23.2% on AI data center blowout. Fed cuts repriced to July; markets now price two 2026 cuts.
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MIB: Senate Clears Iran Strikes, Services PMI Hits 4-Year High, and Broadcom’s AI Revenue Doubles to $8.4B
Iran peace talk whipsaws oil — NYT reports secret Iran-CIA outreach, Tehran denies; VIX tumbles from 26.4 to 20.4. Broadcom AI revenue doubles to $8.4B, Q2 guidance $22B (AVGO up AMC). ISM services PMI hits 56.1%, strongest since 2022. ADP +63K, but January slashed to 11K. CrowdStrike (CRWD) +1.79% on earnings digest; Ross Stores (ROST) +7% on Q4 beat. Senate defeats war powers resolution.
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MIB: Hormuz Crisis Day 3 — Oil +15%, Stagflation Signal Flashes, Fed Pulls Back on Rate Cuts
US-Iran war enters Day 3 — gold hit $5,417 record Monday, oil +15% this week. S&P 500 -0.94%, trimmed from intraday -2.5% loss after Trump’s Navy escort announcement. Fed’s Williams and Kashkari pull back from 2026 cut forecasts as 10Y yields rise on stagflation fears. UAL -4.09%, DAL -5% on fuel shock. Target (TGT) +7.5% on earnings beat. CrowdStrike beats after the bell.
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ECONOMY: The Recession Warning With an Asterisk
For over 2 years now, our commentary has made the point that the labor market – more particularly Payroll Employment and the Employment Level household surveys – were the “last man standing” in a sea of negative or weak leading data. For this reason, the NBER coincident models (all 3 of them) were not confirming recession. However the latest Friday BLS downward revisions, on top of countless before them, are becoming the straw that could break the camels’ back. The […]
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