Bloomberg — 2026-04-06#

Lead Story#

President Donald Trump has escalated his showdown with Tehran, threatening to obliterate key Iranian civilian infrastructure by a Tuesday deadline unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened,. Iran has flatly rejected a proposed ceasefire, demanding a permanent end to the war, which sent crude oil surging and whipsawed US equities as the window for diplomacy violently narrows,, .

Markets & Economics#

• Blue Owl Stock Closes at a Record Low Amid Private Credit Exodus (Source): Shares of Blue Owl Capital plunged to a record low amid mounting health concerns in the $1.8 trillion private credit sector, forcing peers like Barings to cap redemptions, . However, Goldman Sachs narrowly dodged the broader investor exodus, reporting first-quarter redemptions of just under 5% by relying on stickier institutional investors, .
• Growth Slows at US Service Providers as Price Gauge Surges (Source): The US service economy expanded at a slower pace in March, with employment shrinking by the most since 2023. Concurrently, input prices accelerated sharply, underscoring persistent inflationary pressures that have bond traders betting the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates on hold for the coming year,.
• Humana, CVS Climb After Medicare Finalizes 2.48% Rate Hike (Source): The US Medicare program finalized a 2.48% rate increase for private insurers in 2027, offering a meaningful improvement over initial proposals . The better-than-expected adjustment provided a boost to the sector, sending shares of health insurers climbing .
• Saudis Raise Asia Oil to Record Premium as War Upends Market (Source): Saudi Arabia raised the price of its main crude grade to Asia to a record high premium as the Strait of Hormuz closure chokes global supplies. The geopolitical energy shock is severely impacting markets, with Phillips 66 estimating nearly $1 billion in first-quarter losses from short positions on oil and related derivative contracts .

Business & Industries#

• SpaceX’s IPO Pitch Centers on Elon Musk’s Ability to ‘Sell the Dream’ (Source): Elon Musk’s SpaceX is hosting banker meetings to pressure-test a staggering $2 trillion valuation target . If successful, it would mark the largest initial public offering in history, heralding a new era of mega-IPOs that could soon include giants like OpenAI and Anthropic , .
• Industrial Firm Madison Air Seeks to Raise $2.23 Billion in IPO (Source): Madison Air Solutions Corp. is looking to raise up to $2.23 billion in what would be the largest US industrial IPO in nearly three decades .
• Amazon Reaches US Postal Service Deal for 1 Billion Packages (Source): Amazon reached a new agreement with the US Postal Service to deliver one billion packages, securing a vital lifeline for the beleaguered government agency and ensuring rural delivery coverage for the e-commerce giant .
• Neurocrine to Buy Soleno Therapeutics for $2.9 Billion (Source): Neurocrine Biosciences agreed to acquire Soleno Therapeutics for $2.9 billion to expand its portfolio of treatments for rare genetic disorders .
• Robinhood, BNY Mellon Tapped to Run Trump Accounts for Children (Source): Bank of New York Mellon and Robinhood Markets have been tapped to manage child accounts created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act . Robinhood is increasingly banking on this “Trump bump,” young investors, and new 401(k) offerings to drive its broader push into the S&P 500 .

Policy & World#

• Trump $2.2 Trillion Budget Pairs Defense Boost, Agency Cuts (Source): President Trump asked Congress to enact a $2.2 trillion budget for discretionary programs in 2027. The proposal pairs massive cuts to domestic agencies with a substantial defense spending increase to $1.5 trillion, up from the $1 trillion sought for fiscal year 2026.
• RFK Jr. Lays Groundwork to Rebuild Weakened Vaccine Committee (Source): Following a prior court defeat, the Department of Health and Human Services adopted new rules allowing Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to handpick members for an influential vaccine advisory panel .
• Supreme Court Clears Path for DOJ to Erase Bannon Conviction (Source): The US Supreme Court paved the way for the Trump administration to officially wipe out conservative activist Stephen Bannon’s criminal conviction for defying a congressional subpoena.

Opinion & Analysis#

• The Iran War Just Broke the Petrodollar (Source): The virtuous loop where America underwrites Middle East stability in exchange for Gulf states recycling their dollar revenues into US Treasuries has been shattered by the current conflict, marking a fundamental and permanent rewiring of global energy security and finance , .
• Who Knew ‘Slick’ Gavin Newsom Was Such an Economic Maestro? (Source): Despite prevailing media narratives, California under two-term Governor Gavin Newsom became the top-performing economy among developed nations, a boom that quietly drew Elon Musk’s Tesla engineers back to the state after a high-profile relocation to Texas .