U.S. stock indexes finished the holiday-shortened week narrowly mixed, fluctuating throughout the week amid a slew of headlines regarding escalating tensions in the Middle East. Smaller-cap indexes performed best for the week, followed by the Nasdaq Composite, which posted modest gains. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept the funds rate unchanged. The Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections showed that policymakers expect to make two interest rate cuts through the remainder of the year, unchanged from their previous projection; however, expectations for inflation and unemployment by the end of 2025 both rose, while projections for GDP growth declined. On Friday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller made comments suggesting the central bank could be in a position to cut rates as soon as July. US economic data releases generally surprised to the downside: retail sales decline while housing starts hit five-year low. U.S. Treasuries generated positive returns as yields across most maturities decreased. The pan-European STOXX Europe 600 Index ended 1.54% lower as BoE held rates steady while SNB cut rates. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index gained over the week while China stocks retreated. This was the best week for the dollar index in four months. The dollar gain was gold’s loss. Oil prices rose for the 3rd week in a row testing YTD highs. Crypto had a tough week ending with some more serious selling pressure on Friday, dragging Bitcoin back to a $102k handle...