30 Apr 2026, 06:54 by Newsquawk Desk
- US CENTCOM is to brief US President Trump on new plans for potential military action in Iran on Thursday, Axios reported citing sources. The plan includes a short and powerful strike potentially targeting infrastructure to break the nuclear issue deadlock.
- The FOMC held rates at 3.50-3.75% as expected; voted 8-4 to hold rates (Miran voted for a 25bps rate reduction; Hammack, Kashkari, Logan dissented on easing bias in statement).
- Within the FOMC statement, a key...
29 Apr 2026, 11:20 by Newsquawk Desk
- Trump has told officials to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, WSJ; Trump said they are doing very well in the Middle East.
- An update that lifted energy briefly overnight and while the move pared into the European morning, benchmarks are at fresh highs with WTI peaking just below USD 104/bbl.
- The fresh energy highs have weighed on fixed, though only modestly pre-FOMC and with brief EGB respite on German state CPIs.
- USD lifts into the...
29 Apr 2026, 07:15 by Newsquawk Desk
- Trump has told officials to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, WSJ; Trump said they are doing very well in the Middle East.
- APAC equity performance incrementally improved across the session, with outperformance in the Hang Seng & Shanghai Composite.
- USD rangebound, lifted briefly on the WSJ report. Peers are broadly contained into the Fed.
- Fixed income was hit on the WSJ report, but has since retraced the...
28 Apr 2026, 11:10 by Newsquawk Desk
- US President Trump is reportedly not satisfied with and is unlikely to accept the Iranian proposal; CNN reports that the US and Iran are not as far apart as they seem.
- BoJ maintained its policy rate as expected, though subject to a hawkish 6-3 vote split, dissenters highlighted upside risks to inflation. Ueda non-committal on the timing of the next move.
- European bourses firmer, lifting incrementally after a contained open. US futures are mixed/lower into...
28 Apr 2026, 07:10 by Newsquawk Desk
- US President Trump is reportedly not satisfied with and is unlikely to accept the Iranian proposal; CNN reports that the US and Iran are not as far apart as they seem.
- BoJ maintained its policy rate as expected, though subject to a hawkish 6-3 vote split, dissenters highlighted upside risks to inflation.
- APAC pressured after the reporting around Trump, Nikkei 225 underperformed after the BoJ's hawkish-hold.
- DXY initially contained but then...
27 Apr 2026, 11:10 by Newsquawk Desk
- Iran communicated a three-stage negotiating process to the US; 1) focus on ending the war and receiving guarantees, 2) then on the Strait of Hormuz, 3) and finally on nuclear issues.
- The US cancelled sending Witkoff & Kushner to Pakistan, suggesting it was a waste of time; Trump is to hold a situation room meeting on Monday, Axios.
- European bourses are modestly mixed, with US equity futures also holding around the unchanged mark; Qualcomm +12% on reports of an...
27 Apr 2026, 07:15 by Newsquawk Desk
- Iran communicated a three-stage negotiating process to the US. The US cancelled sending Witkoff & Kushner to Pakistan; Trump to hold a situation room meeting on Monday, Axios.
- APAC stocks benefited from reporting around the Iranian communication, both European & US futures point to a contained open.
- DXY under pressure to the modest benefit of peers across the board, antipodeans lead after the Axios report.
- Fixed income softer but off...
24 Apr 2026, 15:09 by Newsquawk Desk
- MON: German GfK Consumer Confidence (May), US Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index (Apr)
- TUE: BoJ Policy Announcement (Apr), Spanish/Italian Retail Sales (Mar), Italian PPI (Mar), US ADP Weekly Employment Change, US House Price Index (Feb), US CB Consumer Confidence (Apr), US Richmond Fed Index (Apr), US Dallas Fed Index (Apr)
- WED: Fed Policy Announcement (Apr), BoC Policy Announcement (Apr), BCB Policy Announcement (Apr), Australian Inflation (Mar), Spanish HICP...
24 Apr 2026, 11:00 by Newsquawk Desk
- "Israeli media: A limited operation against Iran may be carried out to avoid a prolonged war", Al Arabiya reports.
- Chinese Securities Regulator says that China is to allow qualified foreign investors to trade treasury futures from April 24, 2026, for hedging purposes only.
- Downbeat sentiment across European bourses, SAP +6% after a EUR 10bln share buyback; NQ outperforms, with INTC +23% post-earnings.
- FX price action lacklustre, CHF and JPY...
24 Apr 2026, 07:10 by Newsquawk Desk
- Israel is on high alert in anticipation of a possible renewed war this weekend, according to Al Arabiya, citing Channel 13.
- Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ghalibaf resigns from the negotiating team following the intervention of the IRGC, N12 news reported.
- US President Trump said the US is to work with Lebanon to protect itself from Hezbollah and that the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is to be extended by three weeks.
- NQ futures outperformed...
23 Apr 2026, 11:22 by Newsquawk Desk
- "Somalia closes Bab al-Mandab Strait to Israeli shipping", IRNA reports; "The move comes as a direct response to Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, Yemen Press Agency reported on Wednesday".
- European bourses are mostly lower; US equity futures also extend lower, TSLA -2.7% post-earnings.
- USD and NOK outperform, GBP shrugs off political instability as PMIs firm, NZD underperforms.
- EZ PMIs initially helped fixed income...
23 Apr 2026, 09:00 by Newsquawk Desk
- US President Trump expects Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi to remain part of Iran talks and said the 3-5 day ceasefire is not true, according to Fox.
- Iranian President Pezeshkian said Iran has welcomed dialogue and continues to do so, while he stated that a breach of commitments, blockade and threats are the main obstacles to genuine negotiations.
- Crude futures were higher but off today's best levels after an early aggressive move to the upside was faded shortly...
23 Apr 2026, 07:00 by Newsquawk Desk
- US President Trump expects Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi to remain part of Iran talks and said the 3-5 day ceasefire is not true, according to Fox.
- Iranian President Pezeshkian said Iran has welcomed dialogue and continues to do so, while he stated that a breach of commitments, blockade and threats are the main obstacles to genuine negotiations.
- Crude futures were higher but off today's best levels after an early aggressive move to the upside was faded shortly...
22 Apr 2026, 10:50 by Newsquawk Desk
- US President Trump said the US have been asked to hold their attack on Iran until such time as its leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.
- It was reported that Iran received 'some sign' the US is ready to break the blockade, spurring mild risk-on at the time.
- UKMTO reported two separate incidents near Oman and Iran, with the latter spurring upticks in the crude complex.
- European bourses opened higher but have since...
22 Apr 2026, 06:45 by Newsquawk Desk
- US President Trump said the US have been asked to hold their attack on Iran until such time as its leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.
- More recently, it was reported that Iran received 'some sign' the US is ready to break the blockade – a rise in sentiment was seen.
- UKMTO said it received information about an incident 15 nautical miles to the northeast of Oman in which a container vessel was approached by a single IRGC...
21 Apr 2026, 11:00 by Newsquawk Desk
- IRIB reported that no Iranian delegation, primary or secondary, have travelled to Islamabad and that reports about the departure of such officials and claims about meeting times were inaccurate.
- US VP Vance is expected to travel on Tuesday for talks, Trump says the deal will be far better than the JCPOA.
- Iranian officials told WaPo that they have largely agreed on the broad outlines of the agreement, and Pakistan sources also expect an agreement by...
21 Apr 2026, 07:05 by Newsquawk Desk
- US VP Vance is expected to travel on Tuesday for talks, Trump says the deal will be far better than the JCPOA.
- Iranian officials told WaPo that they have largely agreed on the broad outlines of the agreement, and Pakistan sources also expect an agreement by Wednesday.
- APAC stocks were mixed, but with some optimism from the above updates; however, reports that Iran may not attend prevented any significant move.
- USD posted mild gains, looking...
20 Apr 2026, 11:00 by Newsquawk Desk
- Iran reversed the brief reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and said the waterway had returned to “strict control” after accusing the US of not meeting its obligations and refusing to lift the blockade on Iranian ports, with at least three attacks reported on commercial ships following the re-closure.
- Pakistan Army Chief Munir spoke to President Trump and told him that the Hormuz blockade is hurdle to talks, according to a Pakistani security source cited by Reuters; Trump reportedly told...
20 Apr 2026, 07:00 by Newsquawk Desk
- Iran reversed the brief reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and said the waterway had returned to “strict control” after accusing the US of not meeting its obligations.
- US President Trump posted on Sunday that “Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz – A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement!”, while Trump stated that his representatives are going to Islamabad and will be there on Monday evening for negotiations.
- US President Trump said...
17 Apr 2026, 13:09 by Newsquawk Desk
- MON: BoC SCE (Apr), Chinese LPR (Apr), German PPI (Mar), Canadian Inflation (Mar), New Zealand NZIER Business Confidence (Q1), New Zealand Inflation (Q1)
- TUE: Eurogroup Foreign Affairs Council (Apr), UK Jobs (Feb), German/EZ ZEW Sentiment Index (Apr), US ADP Employment Change Weekly, US Retail Sales (Mar), US Pending Home Sales (Mar), Warsh Senate Hearing
- WED: CBRT Policy Announcement (Apr), Bank of Indonesia Policy Announcement (Apr), UK Inflation (Mar),...
17 Apr 2026, 11:20 by Newsquawk Desk
- Israel and Lebanon 10-day ceasefire took effect from 17:00EDT on Thursday. Despite this, reports indicate that Israel bombed several villages in southern Lebanon after announcing the ceasefire agreement.
- US President Trump said the Iran war is going swimmingly and should be ending pretty soon, added going to see some incredible results.
- European bourses mixed; US equity futures remain near ATHs, NFLX slips after maintaining guidance and co-founder stepping...
17 Apr 2026, 07:10 by Newsquawk Desk
- US President Trump said they are making a lot of progress on Iran, and he is not sure the ceasefire needs to be extended, while he added that Iran is willing to do things today they previously weren't.
- US President Trump said he had excellent conversations with Lebanon’s President Aoun and Israeli PM Netanyahu, while he announced that the leaders agreed to formally begin a 10-day ceasefire from 17:00EDT on Thursday.
- Israeli security official said the military has no...
16 Apr 2026, 11:25 by Newsquawk Desk
- The Trump administration's goal is to bring both sides to the brink of an overarching deal to end the conflict that can then be pushed over the finish line in a second face-to-face meeting.
- A military advisor to the Islamic Revolution Leader says Iranian Armed Forces’ launchers are ready to hit American warships and sink all of them, Press TV reported.
- European bourses printing mild gains, TSMC earnings lift the tech sector; US equity futures muted just shy of...
16 Apr 2026, 07:10 by Newsquawk Desk
- The Trump administration's goal is to bring both sides to the brink of an overarching deal to end the conflict that can then be pushed over the finish line in a second face-to-face meeting.
- Iran could consider ships being able to sail through the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz without interference or attack as part of a deal with the US.
- Iran and the Pakistani mediator will discuss details of the messages exchanged between Tehran and Washington...
15 Apr 2026, 11:20 by Newsquawk Desk
- AP reported that effort to extend the US-Iran ceasefire has made progress with mediators aiming to extend for at least another two weeks. Both sides gave an “in principle agreement” to extend the ceasefire.
- The Pentagon is sending thousands of additional troops into the Middle East in the coming days, WaPo reported citing US officials. This move aims to pressure Iran while the US mulls the possibility of additional strikes or ground operations if the ceasefire...