Hormuz Traffic At Standstill After US Ship Seizure Confirming the Schrodinger nature of the notorious waterway , the Strait of Hormuz is now just closed even more than before Iran and the US said the vital oil channel had been reopened. Traffic through the strait on Sunday and Monday was reduced to a trickle following a Saturday surge, after Tehran rejected a continuing US naval blockade and moved...
Hormuz Traffic At Standstill After US Ship Seizure Confirming the Schrodinger nature of the notorious waterway , the Strait of Hormuz is now just closed even more than before Iran and the US said the vital oil channel had been reopened. Traffic through the strait on Sunday and Monday was reduced to a trickle following a Saturday surge, after Tehran rejected a continuing US naval blockade and moved to seal the waterway again. The reduced movement underscores just how quickly hopes unraveled that cargoes could once again resume. On Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait was “completely open” for commercial shipping, while US President Donald Trump said Iran was removing sea mines from the waterway. That prompted oil prices to plunge and dozens of tankers to race toward the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. But Iran quickly declared that the passage was closed again as it emerged that the US operation in place since April 13 would not be lifted. And rejected: the two tankers taking the neutral route, Minerva Evropi and Nissos Keros, have turned around; the Sanmar Herald which appears to be taking the Iran-sanctioned Larak island route is proceeding. https://t.co/aceBI7ki0B pic.twitter.com/gmkM37iA1U — zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 18, 2026 The Hormuz crisis flared again over the weekend after the US Navy seized an Iranian vessel, during a turbulent period marked by Iranian forces firing at ships and reimposing controls across the strait. The developments pushed oil and natural gas prices higher after Friday’s big declines, reflecting fears of prolonged supply constraints. The chaotic, start-stop nature of ship traffic through the strait underscores just how difficult it will be to fully restore oil and gas flows that are vital to the global economy, where energy producers need to have visibility months in advance before restarting production. According to Bloomberg, just two liquefied petroleum gas carriers and two oil product tankers move...
Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Corp. is pursuing an initial public offering to help reopen an Idaho mine, according to people familiar with the matter, adding to a pipeline of mining listings as elevated metals prices draw investor interest. The US-based company is working with Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal , the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information...
Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Corp. is pursuing an initial public offering to help reopen an Idaho mine, according to people familiar with the matter, adding to a pipeline of mining listings as elevated metals prices draw investor interest. The US-based company is working with Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal , the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. A listing could raise about $400 million, said one of the people. Deliberations are ongoing and details, including timing and size, could change. Representatives for Sunshine Silver, Electrum Group and Scotiabank didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for BMO declined to comment. BMO’s pipeline of Canadian IPOs is the strongest since 2021 and includes several miners, the bank’s Co-Head of Global Equity Capital Markets Peter Miller said in emailed comments, while declining to comment on specific transactions. Read More: Canada’s IPO Market Looks for Revival With AGT, Apotex Deals North American mining companies are set to test investor appetite for new listings tied to metals that are experiencing surging demand. Other deals in the works include Lumina Metals Corp. , which is marketing a roughly C$343.7 million Toronto IPO, Barrick Mining Corp. ’s potential listing of its North American gold mines and McEwen Copper Inc. , which aims to raise about $300 million in an IPO by year end for an Argentina project. Sunshine Silver is trying to reopen and expand a defunct mine in Idaho’s Silver Valley, a prolific hub for the precious metal. The firm has invested more than $180 million into the project, expanding its land package and upgrading infrastructure in an effort to return the mine to production in 2028. The company is co-owned by Electrum Group , a private investment firm focused on natural resources. It raised $75 million in September in a round led by an affiliate of Electrum, according to a statement at the time. For the latest news on equity ...
Getty Images By Mandy Xu Cross-Asset Volatility: Implied volatilities normalized across asset classes last week as momentum built toward a peace deal between US and Iran. Equity, rates, credit, and FX implied volatilities all fell below their long-term averages (see Exhibit 1), with the VIX Index ending the week nearly 2 pts lower to 17.5% - now lower than when the Iran War first started in late F...
Getty Images By Mandy Xu Cross-Asset Volatility: Implied volatilities normalized across asset classes last week as momentum built toward a peace deal between US and Iran. Equity, rates, credit, and FX implied volatilities all fell below their long-term averages (see Exhibit 1), with the VIX Index ending the week nearly 2 pts lower to 17.5% - now lower than when the Iran War first started in late Feb. Interest rate volatility fell as inflation expectations declined, as the market reverted back to pricing in Fed rate cuts for the year (currently ~50% implied probability of a cut by Dec). Only oil and gold volatilities are currently still trading at elevated levels, though both still fell meaningfully last week. WTI 1M implied volatility collapsed by nearly 30 pts wk/wk to 47% as oil prices fell below $90/bbl – though notably we still see strong demand for call options with skew remaining inverted throughout the front 6-month tenors. This suggests that despite the widespread optimism of an imminent deal, oil traders still see an elevated risk of a prolonged conflict – a prescient call given the weekend developments. Equity Volatility: When the equity market bottomed at the end of March, options traders were initially skeptical of the rally. As we highlighted in our last report , most of the initial activity was investors fading the rebound by selling calls and resetting hedges. But since April 8th, that has changed dramatically. SPX 1M call skew, a measure of demand for upside calls, has surged from near a 1-year low to now the 90th percentile high on the back of FOMO (see Exhibit 2). Put skew, conversely, has fallen to the 15th percentile low over the past year, with hedgers largely throwing in the towel. This outsized bullish activity can also be seen in the SPX put/call ratio, which fell below 1 last week – this is highly unusual as we typically see more puts trading than calls (the last time this happened was Nov 2019). Investors caught offside by this sharp rally ...
wellesenterprises Kevin Warsh, the former Fed governor whom President Donald Trump nominated as Federal Reserve chair, will face a barrage of questions on Tuesday during his confirmation hearings in the Senate. Senators from both parties will seek his assurance that he'll maintain the central bank's independence. The hearings occur against a backdrop of the Department of Justice investigating curr...
wellesenterprises Kevin Warsh, the former Fed governor whom President Donald Trump nominated as Federal Reserve chair, will face a barrage of questions on Tuesday during his confirmation hearings in the Senate. Senators from both parties will seek his assurance that he'll maintain the central bank's independence. The hearings occur against a backdrop of the Department of Justice investigating current Fed Chair Jerome Powell for his management of the multibillion-dollar Fed renovation project. Powell has stated that the probe is part of the administration's pressure campaign to lower interest rates. Additionally, Trump has tried to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook on allegations that she lied on mortgage applications. In his opening statement , Warsh will stress the importance of Fed independence. He, though, sees more danger from internal factors, such as straying to fiscal or cultural issues, than from external ones of elected officials voicing their opinions on where interest rates should be. He's likely to tread carefully when pressed on monetary policy and where the interest should be. Trump had previously said he wouldn't nominate anyone who wasn't in favor of reducing rates. For years, Warsh was known as a policy “hawk” who argued for elevated interest rates to fight inflation. In 2025, though, after Trump returned to office, he started advocating for lower rates, citing expected disinflationary effects from tech-fueled productivity gains. He has also pushed for a smaller Fed balance sheet. Legislators will likely ask him how he would accomplish that and what timeframe he's envisioning. Analysts have said that balance sheet adjustments will take time so as not to spook financial markets. Warsh has also become a vocal critic of the Fed, saying it has strayed from its primary role of central bank. Thus, he's likely to be questioned on how he intends to change the Fed's culture. In his opening statement, he said, "I believe a reform-oriented Federal Reserve can make a...
Portland General Electric ( POR ) is expected to announce a dividend increase this April, extending its 19-year streak of consecutive dividend growth. Looking at historical patterns, experts anticipate that the company will likely record a consensus annual dividend of around $2.17 per share. This works out to about $0.5425 every quarter, reflecting an increase of ~3.3% from the current ~$0.5250 di...
Portland General Electric ( POR ) is expected to announce a dividend increase this April, extending its 19-year streak of consecutive dividend growth. Looking at historical patterns, experts anticipate that the company will likely record a consensus annual dividend of around $2.17 per share. This works out to about $0.5425 every quarter, reflecting an increase of ~3.3% from the current ~$0.5250 distribution. The company paid out a dividend of about ~$0.5250 per share back in January 2026, which works out to an annual yield of 4.01%. Before that, in April of last year, the company raised its dividend slightly by about 0.6%, from $1.67 to $1.68. Over the past five years, the dividend has grown at ~5.49%, with a payout ratio of ~68.26%. As far as dividend quality metrics are concerned, the company carries a B rating for safety, a B- for growth, an A- for yield, and an A- for consistency. Portland General Electric ( POR ) is set to report its Q1 2026 earnings before the market opens on Friday, May 1, 2026. More on Portland General Electric Portland General Electric: Strong Dividend, Bailing Out Berkshire's PacifiCorp Portland General Electric: Move To The Sidelines Or Trade Out - Your Choice (Rating Downgrade) Portland General Electric Company 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Utilities offering the highest dividend yields amid rising market uncertainty Mid-Cap utility stocks ranked by quant ratings after earnings season
There's a major confirmation hearing in the Senate tomorrow that institutional investors will be glued to. Individual investors should listen in, too, as the nominee's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee could provide real insights about where the stock market will go from here. I'm talking about Kevin Warsh, of course, President Donald Trump's pick to be the next Federal Reserve chair. ...
There's a major confirmation hearing in the Senate tomorrow that institutional investors will be glued to. Individual investors should listen in, too, as the nominee's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee could provide real insights about where the stock market will go from here. I'm talking about Kevin Warsh, of course, President Donald Trump's pick to be the next Federal Reserve chair. Few -- if any -- government officials have the power to move the stock and bond markets that the Fed chief holds. Continue reading
The S&P 500 has soared past 7,000 for the first time. Our team reflects on the market’s rapid rebound and dissects the financial reports we’ve received so far.
The S&P 500 has soared past 7,000 for the first time. Our team reflects on the market’s rapid rebound and dissects the financial reports we’ve received so far.