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Diplomacy Window: US, Iran Weigh Truce Extension with Hormuz Still Shuttered (Bloomberg)
The US and Iran are considering a two-week ceasefire extension to allow more time to negotiate a peace deal, reducing the prospect of a return to fighting despite an intensifying standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. Mediators between the warring sides are seeking technical talks to overcome the most contentious issues preventing an agreement that would extend beyond next week, when an initial truce will expire.
War
Reality Check: Markets Are Too Blasé on War’s Economic Toll, Policymakers Warn (Bloomberg)
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are historically beacons of free trade, capitalism and financial market wisdom. But at their spring meetings, the emerging theme has a contrarian vibe: Investors are underestimating the economic damage from the Iran war.
Across public panels, private dinners and other meetings on the sidelines of this week’s events in Washington, the growing consensus is that the impact of the conflict on the global economy is likely to get significantly worse before it gets better — even if a lasting peace is negotiated soon.
Fed Exit, or Else: Trump Threatens to Fire Powell If He Doesn’t Exit Federal Reserve (Bloomberg)
President Trump said he would fire Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve if he does not leave that post “in time,” and insisted that the Justice Department investigation into the central bank leader would continue.
“I’ll have to fire him, OK, if he’s not leaving on time. I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business.
Powell’s stint as the leader of the central bank expires in May, but his term on the Board of Governors does not end until 2028. Powell has said that if his successor is not confirmed before his term as chair ends in May, he would serve as chair pro tempore.
Shoes to Servers: Shoemaker Allbirds Suddenly Says It’s an AI Company—And Stock Jumps 800% (Bloomberg)
Allbirds, the once-buzzy maker of wool sneakers valued at more than $4 billion in its heyday, announced a new business plan just days before it was set to close down for good: AI computing infrastructure.
And in a stock market that’s reacted in knee-jerk fashion to just about anything related to artificial intelligence, it did just that — sending Allbirds shares up 582% by the time the trading day ended Wednesday.
Innovating in AI: Agentic AI Becomes a Key Bloomberg Terminal Cornerstone as ASKB Developments are Mapped Out in New Roadmap (The Trade)
Wayne Barlow, Bloomberg's global head of terminal products, tells The Trade: “The roadmap itself is driven very heavily by the feedback that we’ve been getting from customers. One of the earliest types of feedback that we get is that people trust Bloomberg to power their portfolio analysis." Read the full story here
and the press release here.
And tune in today to the AI in Finance Summit in London. See the agenda here and watch on LIVE <GO>.
Climate Transparency Push: France Takes Another Step Toward Transparency in Corporate Green Data (L'Agefi)
Climate efforts are meaningless without comprehensive, reliable, and accessible data, L'Agefi reports.
This is precisely what the Climate Data Steering Committee (CDSC) — created in 2022 by French President Emmanuel Macron and the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions, Mike Bloomberg — is working on.
On April 15, the CDSC announced a partnership with Ademe aimed at “expanding global access to high-quality, standardized climate data.”
In practical terms, this partnership involves integrating carbon emissions data from 4,500 French companies onto a single platform: the Climate Data Utility.
This tool, developed by Bloomberg’s teams, is already online, free of charge, and open to everyone—from individuals to investment professionals. “This is the first time that climate disclosures collected under a national mandatory reporting system will be made available via the Climate Data Utility,” the CDSC and Ademe announced in a joint press release.
Read the full piece from L'Agefi here to learn more.
Upcoming Royal Tour: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Will Visit D.C., New York and Virginia (New York Times)
Flying Advisory: European Airports Warn New Border System Causes Up to Three-Hour Delays (Financial Times)
The Security Card: Trump’s Go-To Justification for Contentious Decisions is "National Security" (New York Times)
President Trump offered a surprising justification last month for forging ahead with construction of his White House ballroom: Halting the $400 million project would pose a grave threat to national security.
It was hardly the first time the administration had invoked national security to justify a contentious decision. Over the past year, top officials have cited similar concerns when stripping union rights from thousands of federal workers, pausing the construction of wind farms off
the East Coast, and exempting oil and gas drilling in
the Gulf of Mexico from protections for endangered species of whales.
“When you look under the hood, they’re fake national security emergencies,” said Patrick Parenteau, an emeritus professor at the Vermont Law and Graduate School. “This is a power grab. This is his way of circumventing Congress.”
Travel Trends: China Poised to Become Top Tourism Economy as Foreigners Skip US (Bloomberg)
NYC Taxi Turf: Mamdani's Waymo Ban Protects Broken Taxi System (Bloomberg Opinion - Gautam Mukunda)
Last week, Waymo’s test permits expired in New York and the city didn’t renew them. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said AV policy will be “focused on the drivers,” saying the city is “committed to delivering for the workers who keep this city running.” The country’s largest market is closed to autonomous vehicles.
He’s not asking if autonomous vehicles are safe or good for all New Yorkers — just if they’re good for cab drivers.
Music News: Madonna Announces New Album ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor: Part II’ Will Be Released July 3 (Variety)
The Caffeine Bench: Wall Street’s Elite Team of Coffee Tasters Who Keep the Global Market Running (Wall Street Journal)
The people who gather in a small room on the eighth floor of the New York Stock Exchange look like a group of middle-aged caffeine addicts. They sit around sniffing coffee beans and slurping coffee.
They’re part of an elite team of graders who help keep the commodities market running. Their ratings help set US futures-market prices for arabica, and in turn, the global coffee industry.
The test to become a grader isn’t easy. The four-day exam, given roughly once every five years, including this week, has a razor-thin pass rate.
Those wanting to be a part of the klatch must first prove their abilities in a three-stage test. The first part is a written portion, where prospective graders are tested on rules and regulations regarding coffee grading. In the second portion, which is more than three hours long, they are tested on their ability to grade the coffee based on smell and color, the Wall Street Journal reports.
If they pass those two portions, they are brought back to the grading room, sometimes months later, for the final “cupping” exam—smelling, tasting and spitting coffee in front of proctors to determine whether there are defects that make it unusable.
This month’s test kicked off Monday. Getting selected requires a strong application, including references and at least five years of experience working in the industry. Working at a trading desk, as a grader at a coffee company or at a warehouse counts. Being a barista “absolutely” does not, says Stacy Moeller, who runs the grading room.
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