Trump just announced "Project Freedom," a U.S.-led operation to escort trapped ships out of the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday.
- Dozens of neutral vessels from countries with no role in the conflict have been stuck in the Strait, running low on food and supplies - Trump says the U.S. will guide them safely out as a humanitarian gesture - Trump warned that any interference with the process "will have to be dealt with forcefully" - He added that U.S. representatives are having "very positive discussions" with Iran and that talks could lead to something positive for all sides Will Iran allow this or will they start firing on ships crossing and talking up their mines again?
CHINA HAS NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE.
China just officially told its companies to ignore US sanctions on Iranian oil and keep buying. China bought more than 80% of all oil Iran exported in 2025. The US sanctioned five Chinese refineries and froze their assets to stop this. China's response was to issue a formal government order stating the sanctions "shall not be recognised, implemented, or complied with." The US is trying to cut off Iran's oil revenue to pressure Tehran. China just made that strategy impossible to enforce. Source: Bull Theory
AI CapEx is the largest area of year-over-year cash use growth, followed by research and development.
> up 42% year-over-year > accelerating from 22% Buybacks, on the other hand, are out of favor. 🧐 > Falling to just 1% year-over-year > Had been up 6% Source: Markets & Mayhem
GAMESTOP CEO COHEN SAYS OFFERING TO BUY EBAY FOR $56B: WSJ
Cohen offering $56B for $EBAY, or a 20% premium to the closing price on Friday. He already has a 5% stake Offer is $125 / share in cash and stock. He has a letter from TD Bank to provide $20B in debt financing. According to Cohen: “There is nobody who is more qualified, based on my experience, to run the eBay business," "It could be a legit competitor to Amazon," Source: Negligible Capital
The Pentagon just announced 15,000 service members, guided-missile destroyers, over 100 aircraft, and unmanned platforms deployed to the Strait of Hormuz. Operation begins Monday morning.
Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official then told CNN, on the record, that Project Freedom "is NOT an escort mission." The Wall Street Journal said the same. The administration is calling it a coordination framework. Governments talking to insurance companies talking to shipping firms. 15,000 troops. 100 hundred aircraft. Guided-missile destroyers. Coordination framework??? really? Source: Brian Allen
Factset notes that Mag-7 GAAP earnings growth for Q1 is now expected to come in at an astounding +61.0% up from 22.4% at the end of the quarter
(March 31st) with 4 of the top 5 contributors to SPX earnings growth coming from this cohort (Alphabet, NVIDIA, Amazon and Meta, the other is Micron) That said, Factset notes that the three of those who have reported though each were boosted by one-time non-cash items: "The (GAAP) EPS actual for Alphabet for Q1 2026 included a net gain of $37.7 billion primarily due to net unrealized gains on non-marketable equity securities. The (GAAP) EPS actual for Amazon.com for Q1 2026 included pre-tax gains of $16.8 billion included in non-operating income from investments in Anthropic. The (GAAP) EPS actual for Meta Platforms for Q1 2026 included an $8.03 billion income tax benefit." Source: Factset, Neil Sethi
Berkshire Hathaway $BRK.A has now dumped stocks for 14 consecutive quarters, the longest selling streak in its history
Source: Barchart, FT
There is a manufacturing boom underway in America.
Source: Anthony Pompliano
