Iran escalated Monday — UAE activated missile defenses, Trump rejected Tehran’s 14-point proposal — driving WTI to $105/bbl and a 10-of-11-sector S&P selloff. Amazon’s Supply Chain Services launch cratered UPS –10% and FedEx –9%, applying the AWS playbook to logistics. Spirit Airlines liquidated — first major US carrier collapse in 25 years — after $4.51/gallon jet fuel killed a $500M federal rescue. NY Fed’s Williams raised 2026 inflation to 3%, signaling no cuts; the SLOOS confirmed C&I tightening across all firm sizes.
MIB: Stagflation Flush — Oil $105, DJTA –4.82%, Spirit Liquidated, Williams Kills 2026 Cuts
MIB: S&P 500 All-Time High on Earnings Strength as GDP Miss, Oil Blockade, and No-Cut Odds Dominate
Trump’s Hormuz blockade sent Brent to $126 intraday (settling $114); US gasoline hits $4.30/gallon, threatening $190B in annualized spending losses. S&P 500 set record 7,209 — best April since 2020 — as GOOGL, CAT, and LLY each surged ~10% on earnings beats while META fell -8.65% on $145B AI capex without ROI clarity. Q1 GDP +2.0% (slight miss), PCE 3.5%, ECI +0.9% — markets price 77% odds of no Fed cuts in 2026; Warsh clears Senate Banking 13-11, confirmation due May 11.
MARKETS : Paper Barrels. Physical Barrels. One Reckoning.
On April 7, Dated Brent hit $144.42 — the highest physical crude price since 1987. The same day, Brent futures settled near $109. The headline oil price is not a physical price. It is a cash-settled financial instrument priced inside a domestic supply system insulated from the largest supply disruption in history. The divergence is not a market anomaly. It is the mechanism by which the crisis suppresses its own response. The real price is invisible. The response it should trigger does not exist.
MIB: Strait Relief — Record Highs, Oil Collapse, $127B Tariff Refunds, and a Fed Forced to Recalibrate
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.
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.
MIB: WTI -9.5%, S&P Reclaims 200-DMA, Gold Unwinds as Iran Ceasefire Hopes Muddy the Picture
WTI crashed 9.5% after Trump announced a 5-day pause on Iran strikes — but markets rallied, S&P 500 +1.15% back near 6,580. Gold shed 3.6% as safe-haven bids unwound. Palantir +6.7% on a Pentagon Maven AI contract. S&P reclaimed the 200-DMA after a 3-day streak below. GDPNow slipped to 2.0%, its lowest this cycle. Bitcoin +4.5% to $71K.
SP-500 Probability Model (SPM) V1.0
Introduction NOTE : Subsequent to this research note, we also launched an SP-500 Probability Model that measured probability of market tops (peaks). The MARKET-TOP probability model uses the inverse logic of the MARKET-BOTTOM probability model discussed in this research note. In other words, we look at low volatility instead of high volatility from the VIX component, we look at gains instead of drawdowns, consecutive up-weeks instead of consecutive down weeks, we look at duration of rally as opposed to duration […]
The SP-500 200-day average “Goodbye Kiss”
The SP-500 today has met back with its 200-day moving average after spending a “protracted period” of 46 trading days below it. Contrary to popular belief, history since 1972 shows this to be a bearish event, with more downside likely. Many participants on the stock markets like to use the 200-day moving average (200dma) to determine if we are in a bull or bear market. We deploy far more robust, diverse and accurate models as described in our highly popular research […]
Great Trough Detector Improvements
You will notice a new layout for the Great Trough Detector (GTR) chart as shown below. The Signal Panel has been revised to be more intuitive and we have added a new count panel below that: 1. The Signal Panel The first task of this panel is to highlight your two main opportunities: Class-B : When the 13Wk New Hi/Lo breadth signal prints a reading below 27.4 “Correction Warning” Class-A : When the 13Wk New Hi/Lo breadth signal prints a […]
