Ceasefire will be indefinite, Trump says, as top economist puts risk of recession at 40% if Hormuz stays closed |
Ceasefire will be indefinite, Trump says, as top economist puts risk of recession at 40% if Hormuz stays closed
Good morning. On Fortune’s radar today:
Gates Foundation investigates ties to Epstein.
Ceasefire will be indefinite, Trump says.
Hormuz closure pushes chance of recession in the U.S. to 40%.
Markets: S&P futures decline after record high.
Iran could face the USA in the World Cup 😬
Kevin Warsh may not arrive at the Fed until after the war.
Record high yesterday, profit-taking today
S&P 500 futures were down 0.5% this morning, a sign of profit-taking after the index rose 1.05% yesterday to a new record high of 7,137.9.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 declined 0.39% in early trading and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.83% before lunch.
Asia: South Korea’s KOSPI closed up 0.9%, a new all-time high. But elsewhere, traders sold off. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was off 0.75%. India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.8%. China’s CSI 300 was down 0.28%.
Brent crude was above $103 this morning. That’s up from its recent low of $85 on April 17, per TradingEconomics.com:
Gates Foundation investigates its ties to Epstein—weeks before Bill Gates faces Congress
The Gates Foundation has commissioned an external investigation of its past engagement with Jeffrey Epstein, CEO Mark Suzman told staff in a memo this week. At the same time, billionaire co-founder Bill Gates prepares to testify before Congress in June about his relationship with the late sex offender. The probe follows Fortune’s March investigation into how Epstein embedded himself in Gates’ inner circle. Epstein spent a decade building a network of intermediaries to get closer to Gates. The network included Gates’ “right hand” and chief science advisor Boris Nikolic; a former Gates Foundation senior adviser named Melanie Walker; and Mila Antonova, who was reportedly Gates’ former mistress. Epstein went so far as to help Antonova, a Russian citizen, secure a visa, put her up in his New York apartments, fund her coding classes, and send her wire transfers. Epstein then used these favors to try to pressure Gates, Fortune found—writing to Gates’ deputy Larry Cohen in April 2018 that he had put Antonova up in his New York apartment and that Gates was “playing with fire.”
Must-read: How Jeffrey Epstein pulled Bill Gates and Microsoft into a web of sex, money, and secrets - Eva Roytburg
Ceasefire will be indefinite, Trump says, but experts say it could be months before Hormuz reopens
President Trump confirmed there was no........