April 9 — What Matters Today (Live Updates)

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Latest updates at the top:

W.H.O. simulates Ebola outbreak.

PLTR dropped sharply today, falling over 7–8% to around $130 after Michael Burry renewed his criticism of the stock, specifically warning that Anthropic is ‘eating Palantir’s lunch’ in the enterprise AI space. The move triggered some contagion selling across other high-valuation AI names.

Half of data centers for 2026 cancelled or delayed

SHOCK: AI has already replaced work for 20% of full-time employees

President Trump issues new statement on tucker carlson, megyn kelly, candace owens, and alex jones.

Netanyahu doubles down on refusing ceasefire in Lebanon — ‘We will continue bombing Hezbollah.’

Ghalibaf says ‘time is running out.’

Ayatollah vows revenge, signals Hormuz shift, warns Arab neighbors.

Court ruling backs Pentagon control over AI vendors during conflict while limiting Anthropic access to defense work

The US and Iran have agreed to hold high-stakes negotiations in Islamabad starting Friday, April 10 (or Saturday April 11), with the goal of reaching a more permanent agreement. The talks will focus heavily on Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and nuclear program, but there has been no joint confirmation of an official “Verification Summit” or a hard “uranium handover” deadline on April 10.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry confirmed that recent attacks have knocked out capacity at the Manifa and Khurais facilities, resulting in a total of approximately 600,000 barrels per day offline. Operations were also halted or disrupted across multiple other energy sites. Oil prices dropped under $96 earlier on Israel-Lebanon negotiation headlines before reacting to the production loss news.

Quick Breakdown
Manifa: ~300,000 bpd reduction.
Khurais: ~300,000 bpd reduction (from a prior strike).
Total impact: ~600,000 bpd offline, with additional disruptions reported at other production, refining, and petrochemical sites.

The ministry described the attacks as targeting key energy infrastructure in the Eastern Province and elsewhere.

Netanyahu reaffirmed that there is no ceasefire in Lebanon and that Israel will continue striking Hezbollah with full force. He also authorized his cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon focused on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations. Heavy Israeli strikes (part of Operation Eternal Darkness) hit targets in southern Beirut suburbs and some areas of central Beirut yesterday, but there was no new ‘blitz’ or carpet-bombing of central Beirut today.

Watch the oil markets, they tell you everything. Right now, it’s cautious optimism.

Federal Appeals Court Allows Pentagon to Designate Anthropic as a Supply-Chain Risk

Trump and the White House have set the Islamabad summit this Saturday (April 10–11) as the deadline for reaching a ‘real agreement’ with Iran. The current two-week ceasefire is framed as a temporary pause during which Iran must begin verifiable removal or dismantlement of its enriched uranium stockpile. Trump has signaled that U.S. forces remain in position for potential renewed strikes if the ‘real agreement’ is not reached and fully complied with.

OIL PRICES DROP AFTER NEWS THAT TRUMP REQUESTED ISRAEL TO LESSEN ATTACKS.

NATO’s Rutte just confirmed the alliance is ready to run a Hormuz mission if asked

Fox News reports US and Iran to hold in person peace talks in Pakistan on Saturday

Breaking | Trump asks Netanyahu to scale back Lebanon attacks.

BREAKING: Iran deputy foreign minister says Pakistan stopped escalation.
Tehran warns US must choose between war and ceasefire amid rising regional tension

European leaders demand US ceasefire with Iran include Lebanon – NYT

Pakistan continues active mediation efforts between the US and Iran ahead of the Islamabad talks scheduled for April 10–11

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has repeatedly called for an immediate truce followed by direct negotiations with Israel to prevent further destruction in southern Lebanon, while Israeli strikes continue in the Litani area and southern Beirut suburbs.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned countries against unaffordable fiscal measures to combat inflation and highlighted widespread fiscal space constraints globally. She also noted that AI could boost global productivity and growth by around 0.8%, while potentially affecting up to 60% of jobs in advanced economies.

Inflation stayed stubbornly high heading into the Iran war, Fed’s preferred gauge shows

FT | Despite promises from Iran, nothing has really changed.

Saudi Arabia has made clear it will not join any offensive military actions against Iran alongside the US and Israel. Riyadh has blocked the use of its bases and airspace for strikes on Iranian territory and has repeatedly refused to allow its land or airspace to be used for US or Israeli operations against Tehran.

Eligible males aged 18-25 will be automatically registered for US military draft starting this December.

JUST IN – Iran rules out restrictions on enrichment programme: nuclear chief — AFP

AMD is ripping higher today (+4.6% to ~$231.80 at yesterday’s close, with continued strength pre-market on April 9).What’s Driving the MoveAMD is catching a strong AI tailwind in the broader ceasefire relief rally (lower oil = good for risk assets and tech).

Key catalysts:

  • Bank of America hiked its 2026 global semiconductor revenue forecast to $1.3 trillion (up ~$300 billion), naming AMD (alongside Nvidia, Broadcom, and Marvell) as one of the primary beneficiaries of hyper-accelerated AI infrastructure spending.
  • Positive analyst commentary: Several desks are highlighting AMD’s growing AI GPU momentum (MI300/MI450 series), data center wins, and potential for more GW-scale cloud deals. Some investors are openly saying “forget Nvidia for a moment — AMD’s AI moment is coming.”
  • Broader sector momentum: The entire semiconductor group is up big on the relief rally + fresh AI optimism.

Meta removes ads for social media addiction litigation

Disney To Lay Off Up To 1,000 Employees In First Cuts Under New CEO Josh D’Amaro

February 2026 Personal Income and Outlays (including PCE inflation)

  • Personal Income: -0.1% month-over-month (weaker than the expected +0.3–0.4%)
  • Personal Spending: +0.5% month-over-month (slightly stronger than expected)
  • Headline PCE Price Index: +0.4% m/m → +2.8% year-over-year
  • Core PCE Price Index (Fed’s preferred gauge): +0.4% m/m → +3.0% year-over-year (held steady, slightly below the prior month’s 3.1%)

 

Q4 2025 GDP (third/final estimate): Revised sharply lower to +0.5% annualized (from the previous second estimate of +0.7% and the advance estimate of +1.4%). This is a dramatic slowdown compared to Q3 2025’s strong +4.4% growth.

February 2026 core PCE inflation: Held steady at 3.0% year-over-year (in line with expectations and the previous month’s revised 3.1%).

Oil climbed above 99 dollars as Iran accuses US-Israel of violating the ceasefire with fresh Lebanon strikes, even as Hormuz tanker traffic stays near zero with ships forced to turn back despite the supposed reopening.

Kevin Hassett is publicly pushing for lower rates ahead of Kevin Warsh’s Senate confirmation hearing on April 16, arguing that AI productivity gains and fiscal policy should allow the Fed to resume easing. Meanwhile, SOFR has remained relatively flat near 3.59–3.62% in recent sessions, and Goldman Sachs’ delta-one desk has described rates as the primary ‘north star’ for positioning, noting that equity risk/reward looks less attractive at current elevated levels.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is scheduled to hold a regular press briefing at 1:00 PM ET today

Iran’s IRGC warned of possible sea mines in the main shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz and mandated new IRGC-designated alternative routes (closer to the Iranian coast near Larak Island) for all vessels, requiring close coordination with Iranian forces. The advisory was issued on April 9, 2026, one day after the ceasefire announcement.

Retail gasoline prices edged up to around $4.16–$4.25 nationally on Thursday morning despite WTI crude crashing 13–16% the day prior. Analysts say it could take 1–2 weeks for the national average to drop back below $4, and likely months before it approaches pre-war levels near $3.

Over 426 oil tankers, 34 LPG carriers, and 19 LNG vessels remain anchored in the Persian Gulf as of Thursday morning. Fewer than two bulk carriers (and no oil tankers) have exited the Strait of Hormuz since the ceasefire was announced. The strait is ‘open’ on paper but remains a parking lot in practice.

BREAKING: Pezeshkian threatens to walk away from ceasefire citing continued Israel aggression in Lebanon