![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2269675043.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Markets rose broadly across the globe this morning on news of more peace talks in the Middle East. Oil is at $95 per barrel, pretty much where it was yesterday. S&P 500 futures were flat this morning before the open in New York. The Index closed up 0.8% yesterday to hit a new record high at 7,023. Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 was up 2.38% and is also at a record high. South Korea\u2019s KOSPI was up 2.21%. China\u2019s CSI 300 rose 1.1%. In Europe the Stoxx 600 ticked up 0.11% and the U.K.\u2019s FTSE 100 was flat in early trading.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
ONE BIG THINGAnti-AI groups in the spotlight after the attack on Sam Altman<\/p>\n
The firebombing and attempted murder of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has drawn attention to two anti-AI groups linked to the alleged arsonist: Pause AI and Stop AI. Both have condemned the violence and said the suspect is not a member of their organizations. But who are these groups, and what do they want? Fortune\u2019s Sharon Goldman talked to Pause AI US leader Holly Elmore, the Berkeley-based activist with a PhD from Harvard. The group has \u201cno reason to think that this person had much to do with us,\u201d she said, he \u201cdidn\u2019t get any further in onboarding or having any official role.\u201d<\/p>\n
IRANPeace is in danger of breaking out\u2014but the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Iran are considering a two-week extension to the ceasefire, Bloomberg reported. Separately, President Trump said the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will engage in talks for the first time in 34 years. Lebanon, however, denied talks were happening this morning. Context: Iran once denied peace talks were on the cards, too\u2014right before its officials showed up in Islamabad to discuss an end to the war.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz remains almost totally blocked. The U.S. military says zero ships have passed their blockade, which began on Monday, and 10 ships have been forced back through the Strait and into the Gulf.<\/p>\n
Cat and mouse: Two sanctioned ships linked to Iran did manage to sneak through the Strait by hugging the coast of Iran, per Bloomberg.\u00a0
\nThe Rich Starry, the Chinese ship Fortune is tracking that made a failed escape attempt on April 14, appears to be sitting just off Iran\u2019s Qeshm Island, near the entrance of the Strait today, according to MarineTraffic.com (map below).\u00a0
\nTrump said: \u201cChina is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also – And the World. This situation will never happen again.\u201d Read his statement here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why gas prices don\u2019t fall even if you have energy independence<\/p>\n
The U.S. remains bountifully supplied with almost record-high crude oil and natural gas production. President Donald Trump has touted the nation\u2019s \u201cenergy independence.\u201d So why is the average price for a gallon of gasoline $4.11?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is that oil is a global commodity. We may have plenty of oil\u2014there\u2019s no shortage of U.S. oil\u2014but energy independence is somewhat of a fallacy,\u201d said Jim Wicklund, veteran oil analyst and managing director at the PPHB energy investment firm, in an interview with Fortune\u2019s Jordan Blum. \u201cWe still have to pay the going world price. It\u2019s a global price.\u201d<\/p>\n
DIMON DIVERSIFIESJamie Dimon sells $40 million in shares of J.P. Morgan<\/p>\n
J.P. Morgan boss Jamie Dimon sold the stock as part of a pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plan and he still holds 76.3 million shares valued at $23.4 billion, SEC disclosures show. It\u2019s his second sale of 2026 so far, Fortune\u2019s Amanda Gerut tells me. In February, Dimon sold 69,512 shares for $21.4 million. The company previously announced he would be diversifying his holdings in JPM.<\/p>\n
MORE FROM FORTUNE<\/p>\n
Exclusive: The doctors and education experts who studied AI\u2019s impact on the young call for a 5-year moratorium in schools – Catherina Gioino<\/p>\n
Meet the Americans refusing to pay their taxes in protest of the Trump administration – Jacqueline Munis<\/p>\n
Teacher, blame thyself: Yale report savages Ivy League schools for destroying American trust in higher education – Nick Lichtenberg<\/p>\n
German workers take more than a day off work sick, every single month\u2014so now the government is stepping in and proposing to cut their pay for it – Orianna Rosa Royle<\/p>\n
This CEO pirated video games as a teen and became a hacker for the Air Force. Now he\u2019s built a $3 billion cyber firm – Preston Fore<\/p>\n
CHART OF THE DAYThe war exacerbated the K-shaped economy<\/p>\n
This chart from Bank of America shows the difference in discretionary spending trends among higher-income households and lower-income households, as compared to middle-income folks. \u201dThe gas price shock puts greater strain on discretionary spending by lower-income HHs [households], since they spend a larger share of their income on gas, and save less,\u201d analyst Shruti Mishra says, while \u201chigher-income HHs have seen a bigger increase in tax refunds due to the OBBBA [One Big Beautiful Budget Act].\u201d<\/p>\n
NUMBER OF THE DAY19%<\/p>\n
The percentage of small-businesses who say taxes are their biggest problem, per the National Federation of Independent Business survey. Taxation is the most-cited No.1 problem for small firms, the survey says. Chart via Christopher Hodge at Natixis:<\/p>\n
THE FRONT PAGES TODAY<\/p>\n
The pope versus the president: how Leo became Trump\u2019s fearless foe – FT<\/p>\n
TSMC first-quarter profit rises 58%, beats estimates as AI demand fuels record run – CNBC<\/p>\n
Scoop: Trump discussed “Jesus” meme with Bill Pulte before posting it, sources say – Axios<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s \u2018Triumphal Arch\u2019 Draws Backlash, Even From an Expert Who Proposed It – NYT<\/p>\n
NJ Gov demands FIFA foot the bill for 775% hike in World Cup train tickets – NY Post<\/p>\n
ONE MORE THINGThe diamond market hits rock bottom<\/p>\n
The cost of a \u201cbasket\u201d of diamonds\u2014that\u2019s how natural diamonds are priced on the open market \u2014 \u201chas fallen more than 50% since 2022, and is now at its lowest level on record,\u201d according to Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Sl\u00f8k.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
#Iran #peace #talks #hunts #rogue #ships #Strait #Hormuz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Markets rose broadly across the globe this morning on news of more peace talks in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[245],"tags":[1003,504,8748,376,166,1087,303,1602,8749,502,503,3741],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4028\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}