Good Afternoon. It lasted 48 hours. Iran's foreign minister declared the Strait of Hormuz "completely open" on Friday -- then Iran shut it down again Saturday, citing U.S. "breaches of trust." Oil surged and the market's brief flirtation with peace is looking like a premature celebration.

—Rosie, Wyatt, Evan & Conor

🔥 What’s Hot: 🔥

🥶 What’s Not: 🥶

1. Markets Snap Win Streak as Iran's Hormuz Reversal Sends Oil Surging Back Above $95

The News: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which closed at all-time highs on Friday after Iran declared Hormuz "completely open," pulled back sharply on Monday after Tehran reversed course and re-closed the strait over the weekend. The S&P 500 fell roughly 0.30%, the Dow was flat, and the Nasdaq 100 slipped ~0.32% -- snapping what had been a 13-session winning streak, the longest since 1992. WTI crude surged roughly 6% to $89 per barrel and Brent climbed above $95, erasing more than half of Friday's 13% crash. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up to 4.27% from 4.25%.

Why It Matters: Friday's euphoria was built on one assumption: that the Hormuz reopening signaled the beginning of the end. That assumption lasted 48 hours. The reversal is a reminder that in a conflict with this many moving parts, progress isn't linear. For investors, the whiplash is particularly painful because the three-week rally had attracted significant new money -- the CNN Fear & Greed Index jumped from 22.6 to 63.3 last week, and much of that "peace trade" positioning is now underwater. The losses were contained, not catastrophic, which suggests the market isn't panicking -- but it's no longer celebrating, either.

What to Watch: This is the biggest earnings week of the season: Tesla reports Wednesday, UnitedHealth on Tuesday, Intel on Thursday, plus United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest, and ServiceNow. If earnings are strong enough, they could offset the geopolitical drag. If they disappoint, the selloff deepens.

Source: Investopedia

2. QXO Bets $17 Billion on TopBuild

The News: QXO, the building materials distributor run by serial dealmaker Brad Jacobs, announced a definitive agreement to acquire insulation company TopBuild for $17 billion, or $505 per share -- a 23% premium to Friday's close. TopBuild shareholders can choose cash or 20.2 shares of QXO stock per share, with the total deal funded roughly 45% cash and 55% stock. TopBuild surged 18% in premarket trading. The combined company will have $18 billion in revenue, 28,000 employees, and 1,150 locations across the U.S. and Canada, making it the second-largest publicly traded building products distributor in North America.

Why It Matters: Brad Jacobs doesn't buy companies for their existing business -- he buys them for the platform. TopBuild gives QXO dominance in insulation, and the real growth driver is data centers, where thermal management is becoming a billion-dollar problem. Jacobs explicitly cited "large, complex projects like data centers, where scale matters" in the deal announcement. With AI infrastructure spending accelerating, the demand for high-performance insulation and thermal solutions in hyperscale data centers is growing faster than residential construction. For investors, this is a bet that the AI buildout needs more than just chips -- it needs the buildings that house them.

What to Watch: Antitrust scrutiny. The combined company will be number one in insulation and waterproofing in North America. Regulators may push for divestitures in overlapping markets. Also watch QXO's stock -- the 55% stock component means TopBuild shareholders are betting on Jacobs' track record, not just the premium.

Source: WSJ

3. Marvell Surges 7% on Report That Google Is Negotiating a Deal for Two New AI Chips -- and Broadcom Drops

The News: Shares of Marvell Technology jumped more than 7% in premarket trading after The Information reported that Google is in negotiations with Marvell to design two new AI chips: a memory processing unit that would work alongside Google's existing Tensor Processing Units, and a new TPU built specifically for inference -- the phase of AI where models serve users rather than learn from data. Broadcom, which recently agreed to manufacture future iterations of Google's AI chips, fell roughly 1.5% on the news. The talks are at the design-services negotiation stage and no contract has been signed.

Why It Matters: Google already spends billions on custom AI silicon with Broadcom, so the Marvell talks signal something bigger: Google wants a second major chip partner, and it wants chips specifically optimized for inference, not training. Inference is where the money is -- every time you ask an AI a question, that's an inference workload, and Google processes billions of them daily. Marvell's NVLink Fusion partnership with Nvidia gives it a unique position: it can integrate into both Nvidia's ecosystem and Google's TPU roadmap simultaneously. For investors, this is a signal that the AI chip market is widening beyond the Nvidia-Broadcom duopoly.

What to Watch: Whether a formal contract is announced. ASIC development timelines suggest any Marvell-built chip wouldn't reach production until 2028, so this is a long-term play. In the near term, watch Broadcom's earnings and guidance for any signs that Google is diversifying spend away from its primary chip partner.

Source: CNBC

4. Blue Origin's New Glenn Puts AST SpaceMobile's Satellite in the Wrong Orbit -- and the Stock Crashes 15%

The News: AST SpaceMobile shares plunged roughly 15% on Monday after Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin placed the company's satellite into the wrong orbit during a New Glenn rocket launch over the weekend. Blue Origin confirmed the satellite separated from the rocket and powered on, but was placed in an "off-nominal orbit." The satellite has since been deemed lost. It was Blue Origin's first commercial launch using a recycled New Glenn booster -- a technical milestone for the rocket -- but the payload failure overshadowed the achievement. AST SpaceMobile is building a cellular broadband network in space designed to connect standard smartphones directly to satellites.

Why It Matters: AST SpaceMobile had been one of the most speculative bets in the space sector, and the satellite loss is a significant setback for a company that needs orbital hardware to prove its business model. The failure also raises questions about New Glenn's reliability for commercial payloads -- Blue Origin successfully landed the recycled booster, but delivering a satellite to the wrong orbit is a mission failure regardless of the reusable hardware milestone. For investors, the 15% drop reflects the binary nature of space stocks: one failed launch can destroy months of market cap gains.

What to Watch: Whether AST SpaceMobile has insurance coverage for the lost satellite and how quickly it can schedule a replacement launch. Blue Origin has not commented publicly since confirming the off-nominal orbit. Watch for an FAA investigation, which could delay future New Glenn launches.

Source: CNBC

5. The Biggest Earnings Week of the Season Is Here: Tesla, Intel, UnitedHealth, and the Airlines All Report

The News: Nearly 20% of S&P 500 companies will report earnings this week, making it the most consequential stretch of the season. The headline act is Tesla on Wednesday after the close, followed by Intel on Thursday. UnitedHealth reports Tuesday morning amid an ongoing investigation into its billing practices and a leadership shakeup. United Airlines reports Tuesday evening -- with its CEO having recently proposed acquiring American Airlines, a deal that would create the world's largest carrier. American Airlines and Southwest report Thursday. ServiceNow, IBM, Lam Research, and Intuitive Surgical round out a packed schedule.

Why It Matters: Earnings season has been quietly strong -- bank results exceeded expectations across the board last week -- but the real test is whether tech and consumer-facing companies can deliver in a wartime economy. Tesla is the most watched name: deliveries rose year-over-year in Q1 but fell sequentially, and analysts expect the company to pivot its narrative toward AI and autonomous driving. Intel is expected to show improvement as hardware shortages ease. For the airlines, the key metric is whether fare increases have kept pace with jet fuel costs that are 40% higher than a year ago. If this week's earnings are strong, they could provide a floor for the market even as geopolitical risk rises.

What to Watch: Tesla's call will set the tone for the Magnificent Seven reporting season. Watch for commentary on the SpaceX IPO's potential impact on Musk's time and attention. UnitedHealth's billing investigation could trigger sector-wide selling if the company guides lower. And the airline earnings will be the first real read on how consumers are absorbing war-driven inflation.

Source: Investopedia

6. Iran Closes the Strait of Hormuz Again

The News: Iran announced on Saturday that it has re-closed the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, citing U.S. "breaches of trust" during the ceasefire. The reversal came less than 48 hours after Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared the strait "completely open" on Friday -- a move that sent oil crashing 13% and stocks to record highs. Vessels reported being hit by gunfire attempting to cross the strait, and Iran reimposed strict military controls on the waterway. Iran's parliament speaker said Washington and Tehran still have "significant hurdles to overcome" before any deal, while Trump said the U.S. would not accept "blackmail" over the strait.

Why It Matters: Friday's Hormuz opening was the biggest de-escalation signal of the entire conflict, and its reversal in under two days is the clearest sign yet that Iran is using the strait as a bargaining chip, not offering a genuine concession. The pattern is now unmistakable: open Hormuz to crash oil and signal goodwill, then close it again to restore leverage. For global markets, the implication is that Hormuz will remain a volatility machine until a permanent deal is signed. Brent crude jumped back above $95 on the news, erasing more than half of Friday's historic drop. The strait handles roughly 20% of the world's crude supply.

What to Watch: Whether any commercial tankers that entered the strait during Friday's "open window" are now trapped or diverted. The ceasefire expires Tuesday (April 22), and if no extension or deal is reached, the military situation could escalate further. Iran's willingness to fire on vessels attempting transit is a significant escalation from previous closures.

Source: CNN

7. The U.S. Seizes an Iranian Ship in the Gulf of Oman

The News: The U.S. Navy captured an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday after it allegedly attempted to bypass the American blockade on Iranian ports. Separately, the U.S. attacked another cargo ship that it claimed tried to break the blockade. President Trump announced that U.S. officials will engage in a second round of peace discussions in Pakistan starting Monday and reiterated threats to target Iran's power infrastructure and bridges if an agreement is not reached before the ceasefire expires Tuesday.

Why It Matters: The vessel seizure is the most direct naval confrontation between the U.S. and Iran since the blockade began, and it signals that Washington is enforcing the blockade aggressively even as it negotiates in Pakistan. Trump's dual-track approach -- seize ships on Saturday, send diplomats on Monday -- is classic pressure diplomacy, but it's also ratcheting up the risk of a miscalculation. The infrastructure threat is new and specific: bridges and power plants are civilian targets, and targeting them would represent a major escalation beyond the military and energy strikes of the past seven weeks. For markets, the message is clear: the deadline is real, and Tuesday is the make-or-break moment.

What to Watch: Whether Iran sends its delegation to Pakistan this week. Tehran has expressed "skepticism" about participating, which could be posturing or a genuine signal that talks are collapsing. Pakistan's army chief has been shuttling between both sides and remains the key intermediary. If Iran doesn't show up, the ceasefire expires with no framework for renewal.

Source: WSJ

8. SK Hynix Begins Mass Production of Next-Generation AI Memory for Nvidia's Vera Rubin Platform

The News: South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix announced the commencement of mass production of next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips specifically designed for Nvidia's upcoming Vera Rubin AI server platform. The stock surged more than 3% on the Seoul exchange, leading the Kospi higher. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.88% and the Kospi gained 0.44% as Asian markets shrugged off the Hormuz reversal, focusing instead on AI infrastructure demand. China kept its benchmark lending rates steady for the 11th consecutive month as Middle East energy costs continued to weigh on its growth outlook.

Why It Matters: Nvidia's Vera Rubin is the next-generation AI platform after Blackwell, and SK Hynix's production announcement confirms that the AI hardware cycle is accelerating, not slowing. HBM chips are the critical bottleneck in AI server performance -- they determine how much data a GPU can process simultaneously -- and SK Hynix's ability to mass-produce them for Vera Rubin means Nvidia's most powerful platform is on track for its expected late-2026 or early-2027 launch. For investors, the fact that Asian markets rallied on AI chip news even as Hormuz re-closed is a signal: the AI trade is now strong enough to compete with geopolitics for market attention.

What to Watch: Whether Samsung and Micron can match SK Hynix's timeline. SK Hynix has been the dominant HBM supplier, and a production head start on Vera Rubin chips could widen its lead. Also watch for Nvidia's commentary on Vera Rubin demand when the company reports earnings next month.

Source: CNBC

Q: How do you find a princess?

A: You simply follow the foot prince.

The process of moving money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA, paying income tax on the converted amount now in exchange for tax-free growth and withdrawals in retirement. Unlike Roth contributions, there are no income limits on conversions.

"With the S&P 500 pulling back from record highs on Monday, financial advisors are reminding clients that market dips can create Roth conversion opportunities -- convert at lower values, pay less tax today, and let the recovery grow tax-free."

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