Oil Surges Past $100 as Hormuz Blockade Takes Effect, Putting Pressure on Inflation Outlook

West Texas Intermediate crude closed above $99 per barrel on Monday as the US naval blockade of Iranian ports took effect at 10am Eastern Time, reinstating the energy market anxiety that had briefly subsided during last week’s ceasefire rally. The day’s session illustrated in compressed form the uncomfortable reality facing global economies: the geopolitical situation…

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Goldman Sachs Earnings Enter a Market That Has Changed Its Mind About Everything

Goldman Sachs is scheduled to report first-quarter 2026 earnings on April 13, the first major bank to report and therefore the first institution-level data point that will tell investors how Wall Street itself navigated one of the most volatile quarters in years. Goldman is expected to deliver on multiple fronts: trading revenues typically benefit from…

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UBS Trims S&P 500 Targets as the Iran War Keeps Equity Strategists on Edge

Before Tuesday night’s ceasefire changed the immediate calculus, UBS Global Wealth Management had already moved decisively, revising its year-end S&P 500 target from 7,700 to 7,500 and trimming its mid-year forecast from 7,300 to 7,000. The note, dated April 6, reflected a banking institution recalibrating for a world where oil remains elevated and geopolitical uncertainty…

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NXP Semiconductors: When the World Electrifies, Someone Has to Build the Nervous System

NXP Semiconductors is a NASDAQ 100 company, with a market capitalization of $49 billion. Every major technological transition in modern history has required an enabling layer that the public rarely sees. The railways needed steel and signalling. The internet needed fibre and switching equipment. The current wave of electrification, automation, and intelligent connectivity is no…

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