“A good trader watches his capital as carefully as a professional scuba diver watches his air supply.” — Anonymous

1. Trump Extends Iran Cease-Fire Indefinitely With Peace Talks in Limbo — President Trump said that the U.S. will extend its cease-fire with Iran and continue the blockade of the country’s ports until its leaders present “a unified proposal.” The move came after Vice President JD Vance canceled plans to travel to Pakistan on Tuesday for negotiations with Iran over ending the war, highlighting uncertainty about future peace talks. The official Telegram account of Iran’s supreme leader published threats to attack U.S. and Israeli forces.
Israel and Hezbollah traded accusations that the other side was violating an Israel-Lebanon cease-fire, ahead of a second round of negotiations set for Thursday in Washington.
2. US Says No Firm Deadline for Iran Proposal Amid Hormuz Standoff — President Donald Trump said the truce agreed April 7 would stay in place indefinitely while Washington waits for Iran to submit a new peace proposal, though Tehran says it has no plans to take part in negotiations imminently. Vice President JD Vance had been prepared to fly to Islamabad to resume discussions, before it became clear Iran would not send its own delegation. The US maintained a naval blockade on ships going to and from Iran’s ports to pile pressure on the Islamic Republic, in a move Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called a violation of the ceasefire. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post that while Iran welcomes talks, the
3. Virginia Voters Narrowly Approve Measure to Boost Democrats in Midterms — The Virginia delegation to the U.S. House is currently split almost evenly—six House Democrats to five Republicans—closely reflecting the blue lean of the state, which elected Democrat Abigail Spanberger as governor last year and sided with Kamala Harris over President Trump in 2024. Democrats pushed for new, temporary district lines intended to make the map 10-1 in their favor. Backers have said the gerrymandering is needed to counter efforts by Trump and Republicans in Texas and other states to create more red seats in the closely divided House. Opponents have said the proposal undermines Virginia’s past efforts at fair representation. Virginia was following the lead of California, which voted overwhelmingly last year to redraw its lines to create several more blue districts.
4. Hormuz Traffic Grinds to a Halt After Iran Seizes First Vessels — Only one ship, bulk carrier LB Energy, was seen moving through the waterway early Thursday, with none seen entering. Products tanker Ocean Jewel is currently idling at the entrance to the corridor, having aborted a transit not long after Iranian forces began firing at three ships.
Two of those attacked vessels, the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, were subsequently boarded by Iranian forces, marking a new stage in Tehran’s efforts to exert control over traffic through Hormuz. US forces say they have turned around 31 ships since its warships began barricading Iran’s coastline on April 13, most of them oil tankers.
5. DOJ Drops Powell Probe, Smoothing Path for Warsh to Lead Fed — The Justice Department is ending a controversial investigation into building-renovation cost overruns at the Federal Reserve, potentially clearing a path to confirmation for Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next chair of the central bank. Pirro served subpoenas to the central bank in January as part of a criminal investigation into the cost overruns and congressional testimony Powell provided on the matter. The subpoenas prompted a sharp response from Powell who accused the administration of launching the investigation in response to the Fed’s refusal to lower interest rates to Trump’s satisfaction.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: