South Korea producer prices rise in March at fastest in more than 3 years reut.rs/4tVeeDE

NYT: “Justice Dept. Charges Prominent Civil Rights Group With Financial Crimes” Republicans have accused the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is best known for investigating hate groups, of unfairly targeting conservative and Christian organizations.

Lufthansa cuts 20,000 flights to save fuel as prices soar, per FT

the fact that Vance cancelled the trip, means that the option below is very much real

JD Vance has officially cancelled his planned trip to Pakistan.-AP

No date or time, Trump extends ceasefire

STEVE WITKOFF AND JARED KUSHNER ARE ALSO STILL IN THE US. THE DHSGOV PLANE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE THEM THIS MORNING FROM MIAMI TO EUROPE AND TO PAKISTAN DIDN'T LEAVE UNTIL SEVERAL MINUTES AGO AND IS MAKING ITS WAY NOW TO WASHINGTON DC. - AXIOS REPORTER

Exactly this. Note that also SEC chair is the same one of back then that unregulated so much (as he is now). And Bessent who has a great record only when he followed the guide of Druknemiller and Soros but on his own he burns money.

RFK Jr. just said that immigration is to blame for the outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S., not him.

The Pentagon formally unveiled its $1.5 trillion budget for fiscal 2027, calling for raises of 5% to 7% for troops, an increase of 44,000 personnel in the overall force and spending half of the overall amount on defense capabilities and weapons systems. www.stripes.com/theaters/us/...

So we really are down to a game of chicken…. Iran has conveyed "informally" to Pakistan that once the US delegstion led by Vice President JD Vance departs from Washington, it will greenlight its delegation to leave for Islamabad.-Pakistan Media

There is an ETF for anything. Even a Global X S&P Catholic ETF #$CATH ... Real Christian values populate the index... 🤡 (Vance Catholic values not Pope or Jesus Catholic) like Palantir etc Hancock Fund All Cap Core C took the appropriate ticker JFCCX www.indexologyblog.com/2026/04/20/t...

Pakistani media reporting that Pakistan has asked the United States and Iran to extend the ceasefire by an additional two weeks, and tomorrow its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif may announce the extension of the ceasefire.-Al-Arabiya

Kuwait declares force majeure on oil shipments amid Hormuz blockade, Bloomberg News reports reut.rs/4vFA2ET

LNG. Indonesia. Eni finds major offshore deposit. It could be operative by 2028. Geopolitical implications of that will be not small imho. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

This newsletter is built on regulatory arbitrage that faces immediate scrutiny. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/news...

Patel is seeking $250 million in damages after alleging an article from last week was malicious and inaccurate. on.wsj.com/4ttAKE2

👀 likely they are going to break up Lebanon with "an offer they can't refuse". This will create more long term conflict not less.

Iran’s apparent rejection of a second round of U.S. talks was likely strategic posturing, not a breakdown in negotiations. Tehran is now open to resuming discussions but has not made a final decision. Officials describe their stance as “realistic,” aiming to secure better terms.

Ffs

US Navy has struck an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after it was warned to stop.

The conflicting messages coming out of Iran are a sign of something significant: a power struggle is under way in the Islamic Republic. Register for free to learn what is causing the tensions econ.st/48dQFgZ Photo: Getty Images

@hakyungkim.bsky.social good point on FT Unhedged 🎁 Bonds are not an hedge anymore It’s the convenience yield too low? Or an Admin unreliable? Chart of the Week: Are Treasuries losing their haven status? giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

⚠️ Palantir released what it describes as a vision for “The Technological Republic” in which it argues AGAINST democratic and cultural pluralism and FOR militaristic supremacy enforced by a technocratic elite who produce AI weaponry. These points stand out:

"Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial: Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later."

As noted earlier, Iran operates with two distinct power centers, and the one that truly matters is the faction that controls the military. The U.S. is almost certainly not talking to that group.

Possible second launch? A ballistic missile has possibly been launched from North Korea. We will inform you as soon as further updates are available.

Ashley St Clair, former MAGA influencer and Elon Musk’s baby mama, posted a TikTok 6 days ago called “How MAGA influence campaigns operate” and it's WILD. www.tiktok.com/@ashstc/vide... It's 9+ minutes long and worth the watch. And no, it does not work like this on The Left.

Un soldat français de la Finul tué au Liban dans une embuscade attribuée au Hezbollah

Space is filling up fast: around 2,700 dead satellites and 140 million debris fragments. EU-funded researchers are now exploring how to recycle satellites in space, or beam debris back to Earth before it spirals out of control. Discover more: link.europa.eu/C6XbWb 🧪

Plus haut, plus vite, plus fort et plus mortel : en 🇷🇺, un même arsenal pour tuer toute compétition, sportive comme politique. @paugog.bsky.social @ilasserre.bsky.social @emgryn.bsky.social @comitediderot.bsky.social @nicolastenzer.bsky.social @nataliapouzyreff.bsky.social @elietenenbaum.bsky.social

“The reason we have no criminal gangs in Zimbabwe is that the biggest gang is the ruling party,” says a businessman there. While the country’s economy is doing better than many outsiders assume, its politics are as nasty as ever

@matt-levine.bsky.social and @kgreifeld.bsky.social cracked me up with everything adding an AI. The best is not Allbirds is Myseum ai... a wedding... planner? Where guests taking pictures are the ... photographer?

Kept repeating this too. Full effect of these events will unfold down the road much more. 2027 particularly.

US Treasury Department issued a Russia-related general license on Friday allowing the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of April 17, according to Reuters.

If you use all caps in a professional email the government should make you wear a clown suit and an ankle monitor for like a year.

Like Katt Williams said… “he can’t even be an eyewitness”. They truly chose all the worst people for the job in this Administration.

Iran's enriched uranium is "as sacred to us as the soil of Iran and will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman. -Tasnim

There of course are these reports: Numerous ships making the break for the Strait of Hormuz this evening have made abrupt U-turns and are heading back towards the Persian Gulf. Over a dozen ships have already turned back.

An Iranian source familiar with the talks: The next step will be agreeing on a framework for negotiations, not a final agreement. Issues of uranium enrichment and the fate of the highly enriched uranium are to be decided in the talks, and haven’t been decided yet.-Al Jazeera

Two bases of power in Iran…. Media outlets affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued rare and sharply worded criticism of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iran’s negotiating team after he announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on X. iranintl.com/en/202604172614

Soooo we're back to EXACTLY where we started BEFORE Trump went to war? Amazing how Trump & Hegseth spin this as progress or worse "victory". It is neither. It is an epic failure of the Trump Administration from loss of lives needlessly to wasting billions of taxpayer money all for ego.

Jaw dropping article by @kayewiggins.ft.com and Stefania Palma on how the Trump administration’s disinterest in white-collar crime has caused a bear market for defence lawyers. The quotes are all 😮from the intro down. www.ft.com/content/befa...

suuuuuuuuuuuuuuureeeeeee

suuuureeeee

Dario Amodei has lunch with the FT www.ft.com/content/9e0e...

The Bell reports that the Kremlin handed control of the internet to FSB’s 2nd department, the same unit linked to poisoning Navalny and Kara-Murza. Now they’re enforcing WhatsApp-Telegram blocks in a “compromise” crackdown. This is what it’s come to: en.zona.media/article/2026...

JPHEQX collar that expired end of March would have been perfect now. The current one not so much.