April 13 — What Matters Today (Live Updates)

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Latest updates at the top:

FINRA has proposed eliminating the $25,000 Pattern Day Trader (PDT) rule and replacing it with risk-based intraday margin requirements, potentially lowering the effective threshold for margin day trading to around $2,000. The SEC’s decision deadline is April 14–16, 2026, with the change not yet finalized or effective.

US blockade of Iranian ports intensifies as CENTCOM begins interdicting every vessel that paid Tehran’s maritime “transit toll” in international waters

China hikes rare earth prices by 45%

OpenAI’s CFO has warned internally that the company may not be ready for a 2026 IPO due to heavy spending commitments and projected multi-billion-dollar losses (around $14B cited in some internal forecasts for 2026).

SpaceX, which posted a nearly $5B loss in 2025, is also preparing for a potential 2026 listing at a multi-trillion-dollar valuation target. Concerns about liquidity events and high valuations amid massive AI-related burn rates are circulating, even as hype around these “mega-IPOs” builds.

Iran threatens to block Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The IMF is slashing its global growth forecasts in the upcoming April 2026 World Economic Outlook due to Hormuz disruptions and the Middle East war, with emerging markets expected to be hit hardest. Higher energy costs are baking in elevated inflation pressures, even as consensus still prices in some eventual return to normal that may prove difficult under the current energy transit regime.

The stagflation risk is now a central scenario in official projections, though markets continue to lean toward a soft-landing path.

OpenAI backs Illinois bill limiting liability for AI disasters

The US naval blockade of Iranian ports is now fully in effect, with traffic to and from Iranian facilities heavily suppressed, while vessels transiting to and from non-Iranian ports continue unimpeded. CENTCOM has scaled back from a full Strait of Hormuz closure but is maintaining pressure following the failure of talks in Islamabad.

FedEx CFO John W. Dietrich steps down June 1 coinciding with Freight spin-off while the company reaffirms FY26 outlook and 2029 targets

Hezbollah secretary general declares the group will not capitulate and will confront aggression while coordinating with Lebanese officials; he also urges cancellation of Tuesday’s meeting with Israeli officials in Washington.

TRUMP: WE MAY STOP BY CUBA AFTER WE’RE FINISHED WITH IRAN

TRUMP SAYS WON’T BE PLEASANT IF IRAN DOESN’T MAKE A DEAL WITHIN 2 WEEKS

Turkey says NATO should reset ties with Trump at next summit, prepare for future

Into the kill zone: Trump orders US sailors to seize Hormuz after he destroyed Iran’s navy… but shadow fleet still lies in wait

LME three-month copper climbed to its highest level since early March, rising over 1% amid ongoing uncertainty from the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, while industrial metals, particularly aluminum push higher on supply disruption fears.

JUST IN: Oil tanker bound for China reportedly forced to turn around due to the U.S. naval blockade, per ship tracking data.

The US Navy (USS Abraham Lincoln and 11 destroyers) began a formal blockade of all ships entering or exiting Iranian ports as of 10:00 AM ET today.

Existing US home sales plunged 3.6 percent month-over-month in March despite falling mortgage rates

Housing demand weakness deepens

The NY Post report appears based on unverified claims, not official Iranian positions.

Iran’s nuclear chief (Mohammad Eslami) and Foreign Ministry have repeatedly stated in the past week that uranium enrichment is a “non-negotiable sovereign right” and “necessary” for any ceasefire deal.

Hollywood studios continue slashing production with a 30% drop in industry employment from late-2022 peaks

Entertainment names face margin pressure from higher energy costs.

US forces confirm the Hormuz blockade will extend beyond ports and oil terminals into Iranian waters in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea

Bloomberg Economics warns the Hormuz blockade sharply reduces chances of near-term diplomatic resolution and will drive higher oil prices, weaker global growth, and renewed inflation risks

Russia is evacuating nearly all of its personnel from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, leaving only a small essential team of around 20 staff to monitor critical equipment amid heightened risks of further strikes.

Lloyd’s of London and the London marine insurance market have significantly repriced and, in some cases, restricted war-risk coverage for the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions. Meanwhile, most Western and non-aligned commercial tankers have quietly withdrawn from the strait, leaving the limited remaining traffic dominated by the Iranian “shadow fleet” and a handful of Moscow-linked or Iran-tolerant vessels navigating under the new toll regime.

65 percent of Americans oppose building new data centers in their community per Quinnipiac poll

This hits exactly as AI infrastructure bottlenecks create clear winners but face local pushback

Netanyahu confirms Vance told him the main US issue remains full removal of enriched uranium from Iran with no enrichment for years or decades

Bulls pricing any diplomatic off-ramp at the open are dead wrong

Netanyahu’s confirmation of the enrichment red line is the unpriced second-order political mismatch no one aggressively hedged yet.

3 carrier groups in the Middle East a blockade on 20% of the worlds oil supply

USS Abraham Lincoln (CSG-3) — operating in the Arabian Sea, conducting combat operations.

USS Gerald R. Ford — back operational after repairs and supporting operations (Eastern Mediterranean / Red Sea area).

USS George H.W. Bush — departed Norfolk on March 31 and is en route / arriving to join, creating the third carrier presence in support of Operation Epic Fury.

Goldman Sachs reported strong Q1 results with EPS beating estimates at $17.55

Equities trading revenue outperformed

FICC missed