Oil surges after US seizes Iranian vessel near Strait of Hormuz

• WTI jumped 6.21% to $89.06 and Brent rose 5.27% to $95.14 in early Asian trade Monday after the US Navy seized an Iranian vessel accused of breaking a blockade near the Strait of Hormuz.
• The surge reverses Friday's sell-off of more than 9% in both benchmarks, which followed Iran's initial agreement to reopen the strait after a 50-day blockade.
• More than a dozen tankers, including three sanctioned vessels, transited the strait after the blockade was lifted Friday, but shipping restrictions were then reimposed over the weekend.
• Iran's state media reported Tehran has no plans to participate in new talks and accused the US of violating the ceasefire, raising the risk of a return to full conflict.
• US equity futures slipped alongside the oil move, reflecting broader market anxiety over the unresolved standoff.

Why it matters: A US seizure of an Iranian vessel near Hormuz directly tests the ceasefire that was holding through April 22. The Nasdaq winning streak and the 10% WTI selloff from April 17 were both priced on…

Blue Origin's New Glenn delivers AST SpaceMobile satellite to wrong orbit on first commercial mission

• Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket placed an AST SpaceMobile satellite into an incorrect orbit during its third flight, the vehicle's first commercial mission.
• The FAA grounded New Glenn after classifying the event a mishap, requiring an investigation before the vehicle can fly again.
• AST SpaceMobile shares fell following the disclosure; the company has not said whether the satellite can be maneuvered to its intended orbit.
• The flight also marked the first reuse of a New Glenn booster, meaning Blue Origin was testing two significant milestones simultaneously.
• The failure complicates Blue Origin's efforts to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 in the commercial launch market.

Why it matters: The orbital miss directly threatens ASTS's constellation buildout timeline. If the satellite cannot be maneuvered to the intended orbit, AST loses one of a limited number of BlueBird units, delaying…

Apple names John Ternus as CEO, Tim Cook to become executive chairman in September

• Apple announced Monday that John Ternus, currently senior vice president of hardware engineering, will succeed Tim Cook as CEO on September 1, becoming the company's eighth chief executive.
• Cook, 65, will remain CEO through the summer to manage the transition, then assume the role of executive chairman; existing non-executive chairman Arthur Levinson will shift to lead independent director.
• Johny Srouji, previously senior vice president of hardware technologies, will become chief hardware officer in an expanded role, taking over Ternus's engineering portfolio.
• Cook's 15-year tenure saw Apple revenue rise to over $400 billion annually and market capitalisation grow roughly 24-fold to $4 trillion at Monday's close.
• Ternus's primary strategic challenge will be closing Apple's gap with AI-native peers; the company delayed a Siri upgrade, replaced its AI leadership in December, and is now building on Google's Gemini model for a refreshed assistant.
• Apple also faces continuing exposure to Trump administration tariffs on Chinese and Asian imports, a supply chain dependent on geopolitically sensitive manufacturing, and compressed demand for AI chip memory.

Why it matters: Ternus inherits Apple's AI deficit at the worst possible moment: the company is building its refreshed Siri on Google's Gemini rather than proprietary models, and its prior AI leadership was replaced…

FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for $250M over drinking and absence claims

FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic after the magazine published a report citing more than two dozen sources alleging he engaged in excessive…

Why it matters: A $250 million defamation suit by a sitting FBI director against a national publication, premised on the actual malice standard, has negligible probability of success on current precedent. The…

USA Rare Earth acquires Brazil's Serra Verde for $2.8bn

USA Rare Earth has agreed to acquire Brazilian miner Serra Verde in a $2.8 billion cash-and-shares deal. Serra Verde is reported to represent more than half of non-China heavy rare-earth element…

Why it matters: Serra Verde reportedly supplies more than half of non-China heavy rare-earth element production. USA Rare Earth acquiring it concentrates the entire Western supply of dysprosium and terbium into a…

Polymarket seeks $400M raise at $15B valuation as ICE deepens commitment

Polymarket is in talks to raise $400 million at a $15 billion valuation, according to The Information, as it seeks additional strategic investors beyond NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange to…

Why it matters: ICE's deepening commitment to Polymarket, now totaling over $640 million across equity stakes and secondary purchases, ties ICE's data infrastructure revenue thesis directly to prediction market…

Trump executive order fast-tracks psychedelic drug research, lifting sector stocks

President Trump has signed an executive order designed to accelerate the regulatory pathway for psychedelic drugs used in treating mental illness, triggering a broad rally in psychedelics equities.…

Why it matters: The executive order compresses regulatory timelines that have historically been the primary barrier to institutional capital entering psychedelics biotech. Oppenheimer's non-symbolic framing suggests…

Warsh pledges rate-setting independence while vowing to rein in Fed's broader remit

Kevin Warsh, nominated by President Trump to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, will tell the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that monetary policy independence depends on the Fed…

Why it matters: Warsh's prepared remarks prioritize inflation over labor market, and his explicit narrowing of Fed independence to monetary policy functions signals a structurally more hawkish reaction function than…

Jersey Mike's files confidentially for IPO with Blackstone backing

Jersey Mike's, the sandwich chain backed by Blackstone, has submitted a confidential IPO filing with the SEC. The company has not disclosed the number of shares it intends to offer or the expected…

Why it matters: A Jersey Mike's IPO at a valuation meaningfully above the 2023 Blackstone entry price of roughly $8 billion would validate the current fast-casual/QSR multiple expansion trade. Chipotle and Wingstop…