New record amid war
Bloomberg
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Tehran and Washington appear to be edging closer to a second round of talks and a ceasefire extension over the US-Israel war with the Iran. Still, Donald Trump’s decision to escalate the standoff by blockading Iranian traffic through the Strait of Hormuz risks doing even more damage to Iran’s biggest oil customers. Pakistan’s military said a delegation from the country arrived in Iran on Wednesday as Islamabad continues to mediate the exchange of messages between the two sides. Iran sees a prolonging of the US blockade as “a prelude to a breach of the ceasefire,” said Ali Abdollahi, the commander of Iran’s joint military headquarters, according to state TV. Iran’s armed forces “will not permit any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman or the Red Sea” if the blockade continues, he said.  On Wall Street today, the lack of bad news from the Persian Gulf was taken as good news. Stocks extended their streak of gains, pushing both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes to record highs as investors piled into equities on optimism over a ceasefire—and robust corporate earnings. —David E. Rovella What You Need to Know TodaySilicon Valley behemoth Alphabet may not be the first name that comes to mind when thinking of who deserves a winning lottery ticket. But an early investment in Elon Musk’s SpaceX has positioned it for a 12-figure windfall. Google LLC owned a 6.11% stake in the company at the end of 2025, according to a new disclosure the space startup filed this week in Alaska. At a $2 trillion valuation, which SpaceX hopes to exceed in its initial public offering, a holding of that size would be worth $122 billion. But there’s some bad news for Google. Its stake likely was diluted following the February merger of SpaceX with Musk’s xAI. It now looks to own roughly 5% of SpaceX following the transaction, according to Bloomberg calculations. That means the stake would be worth only $100 billion. Live Nation Entertainment illegally monopolized the live events industry and overcharged fans, a New York federal jury held Wednesday, dealing a major blow to the largest US concert promoter and ticket seller. Following a six-week trial, the jury found in favor of a coalition of 33 states and Washington DC that sued the company, handing a massive victory on all their antitrust claims after the Trump administration bowed out of the case. “This is a historic and resounding victory for artists, fans, and the venues that support them,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “In the face of dwindling antitrust enforcement by the Trump Administration, this verdict shows just how far states can go to protect our residents from big corporations that are using their power to illegally raise prices and rip-off Americans.”  California Attorney General Rob Bonta A provider of ventilation and filtration systems just raised $2.23 billion in the biggest US listing of an industrial company in close to three decades—since UPS went public, in fact. Chicago-based Madison Air Solutions sold 82.7 million shares at $27 each in an offering that was said to be multiple times oversubscribed. The pricing gives the company a market value of $13.2 billion. So what’s the big deal? Madison’s US commercial business includes health care, manufacturing and logistics—and data centers. The unit drove about two-thirds of revenue last year, according to filings. North America’s aging housing stock, the growth of data centers and high hopes for reshoring advanced manufacturing are increasing the size of the estimated $40 billion market for specialized air systems. A stunning show of first quarter earnings for big financial firms has been accompanied by the upended lives of 5,000 bank employees terminated in the same period. The dismissals come after the banks shrank headcount last year as well, feeding fears that even companies that are performing well won’t be looking to add staff as they pour money into artificial intelligence. None of the bank executives touting profits this week linked their job reductions to AI. Still, last quarter’s cuts were far greater than a year earlier, when the lenders collectively reduced headcount by 707 employees. “AI gives us places to go,” Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said Wednesday to analysts. “We’re still in the early stages of what all this will do. But we’re seeing real benefits out of it today.”
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