MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: Stocks added to gains amid hopes that the Strait of Hormuz would soon reopen.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields were mixed after a February consumer inflation report that was in line with economists' expectations.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar continued to retreat as fears about an energy shock subsided.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures rose amid concerns that Israel's bombing of Hezbollah in Lebanon would thwart the U.S.-Iran cease-fire deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
HEADLINES
Fed's Preferred Inflation Metric Was Stubborn Before Iran War
Monthly price increases as measured by the Fed's preferred gauge sped up in February, the Commerce Department said Thursday, showing that inflation remained persistent even before the Iran war began.
The personal-consumption expenditures price index rose by 0.4% in February, up from a 0.3% increase in January. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the monthly increase in the core version of the index was also 0.4%, in line with analysts' expectations.
The 12-month PCE inflation rate held steady at 2.8%, and the core annual rate ticked down to 3%, from 3.1%. The Federal Reserve aims for 2% PCE inflation, a target that has been exceeded for about five years.
The economy slowed sharply even before the Iran war. Where does it go from here?
From not very good to bad to worse - that sums up the changes in gross domestic product in the fourth quarter. The economy weakened at the end of the past year, suggesting the U.S. entered 2026 with little momentum.
Fourth-quarter GDP was revised down again, to 0.5% from 0.7%, showing a big slowdown in growth in the final three months of last year. Originally, the increase in GDP was reported as 1.4%.
By contrast, the economy grew at a frothy 4.4% annual pace in the 2025 third quarter and 3.8% in the 2025 second quarter.
U.S. Jobless Claims Rose More Than Expected Last Week
U.S. jobless claims rebounded last week to their highest level since February, painting a blurry picture of the labor market after a strong jobs report in March.
The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits was 219,000 in the week through April 4, up 16,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 203,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were expecting to see 210,000 new claims. Last week's jobless-claims figure was the highest since the week through Feb. 7.
Meta Commits $21 Billion in Expanded AI Cloud Deal With CoreWeave
CoreWeave expanded its long-term agreement with Meta Platforms, providing the company with artificial-intelligence cloud capacity through December 2032 for about $21 billion.
The cloud services provider on Thursday said the deal will provide increased support for the development and deployment of Meta's AI initiatives. Dedicated capacity will be deployed across multiple locations under the expanded partnership, including some of the initial deployments of Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform.
CoreWeave-which first signed a deal with Meta to provide AI cloud infrastructure last fall for about $14.2 billion-said the deal signals accelerating demand for infrastructure capable of supporting complex and large-scale AI workloads.
Amazon CEO Presses His Case for Big AI Spending
Amazon.com Chief Executive Andy Jassy said the company would focus on expanding rural delivery, investing heavily in robotics and generative artificial intelligence to better serve its customers.
For the third consecutive year, Jassy used his annual shareholder letter to highlight Amazon's vision for AI as a key driver of its next phase of growth. He also emphasized faster delivery on orders and providing high-speed internet access to rural communities.
Here are some of the main takeaways from Jassy's letter:
Sazerac Eyes Deal With Jack Daniel's Maker Brown-Forman
Sazerac recently approached Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman about a potential deal, according to people familiar with the matter.
Sazerac's interest comes as Brown-Forman has been in deal talks with another competitor, French spirits-maker Pernod Ricard.
Shares of Brown-Forman surged nearly 14% in Thursday midday training after The Wall Street Journal's report of Sazerac's approach.
Eli Lilly Weight-Loss Pill Becomes Available in U.S.
Eli Lilly's Foundayo weight-loss pill is now available in the U.S. following the Food and Drug Administration's approval earlier this month, the company said.
The drug is available through Eli Lilly's direct sales platform and telehealth providers and is shipping to retail pharmacies, the company said.
Amazon Pharmacy and GoodRx said patients would be able to access Foundayo through their platforms.
Ares Management to Buy Whitestone REIT in $1.7 Billion Deal
Alternative investment manager Ares Management has agreed to buy real-estate investment trust Whitestone REIT in an all-cash transaction valued at about $1.7 billion.
The companies on Thursday said Ares will pay $19 a share for Whitestone, a 12% premium to Wednesday's closing price of $16.94 for the Houston company.
The takeover price is 26% above Ares' closing price of $15.02 on March 5, before Reuters reported that the REIT was exploring a sale.
Volkswagen to End U.S. Production of Its Only American-Made EV
Volkswagen will stop producing the ID.4 electric crossover at its Tennessee assembly plant, the latest casualty in the U.S. auto industry's retreat from EVs.
Production of the crossover will stop in mid-April as the plant prepares to change its higher-volume gas SUV, the Atlas, to the 2027 model year, the German automaker said Thursday. The ID.4 is VW's lone EV built in the U.S.
"The EV market continues to challenge the industry, requiring measured decisions throughout the last few years to navigate this unpredictability," Volkswagen's American subsidiary said.
American Is the Latest Airline to Raise Baggage Fees
American Airlines is the latest airline to boost bag fees as the industry contends with a rapid run-up in the price of fuel.
American said Thursday that it would raise the cost of checking a first and second bag by $10 each, following similar moves by United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest.
American will charge $50 for a first bag and $60 for a second for customers who pay at the airport on domestic and short international flights. Those who pay in advance will get a $5 discount.
BlackBerry Looks Beyond Automotive to Power Growth Ambitions
BlackBerry is targeting doubt-digit revenue growth in fiscal 2027, driven by its QNX real-time operating system segment, and is pushing the software into new markets beyond its automotive roots.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said Thursday that about 20% of QNX's revenue now comes from outside the automotive sector. Chief Executive John Giamatteo expects that share to grow as robotics and artificial intelligence-driven machines increasingly require the kind of real-time, safety-certified software.
BlackBerry, once known as the maker of the ubiquitous smartphones, has since shifted to a software and cybersecurity company. Its QNX operating system powers critical functions in cars, medical equipment, industrial robots and other systems where reliability is key.
TALKING POINT Fund Giant Vanguard Is Embracing AI. What Its New Tool Does for Financial Advisors.
Vanguard wants deeper relationships with financial advisors, and artificial intelligence may help it tighten those bonds. On Thursday, the giant asset manager said it was launching Expert Insights, an AI-enabled portfolio analysis tool that complements the company's existing tools for advisors.
Expert Insights will help advisors design, pressure test, and improve client portfolios, according to the company. Vanguard is giving a select group of advisors early access to Expert Insights. It will be embedded later this year within Vanguard's open-access Portfolio Analytics Tool, which is free for advisors, according to the company.
Many advisors, particularly those at registered investment advisory firms, use Vanguard's low-cost funds in portfolios they construct on behalf of their clients. In addition to its funds, Vanguard also provides advisors with research and tools.
Sid Ratna, head of digital and analytics at Vanguard's financial advisor services unit, says advisors already use Vanguard's Portfolio Analytics Tool to get feedback on risks and opportunities to help strengthen a portfolio's potential long-term success. AI can improve the experience by generating digestible insights and recommended actions that are aligned to Vanguard's unique perspective, Ratna says.
"With Expert Insights, we're providing advisors with a clear, straightforward way of communicating the advantages of their clients' portfolios, opening more time for advisors to spend coaching and building trust with their clients," he says.
Vanguard is the latest company to roll out AI tools for advisors. Earlier this year, Altruist, a custodian and financial technology company, added a tax planning tool for Hazel, its AI platform for advisors. The news sparked a selloff in wealth management stocks as investors weighed whether it could spur advisors to switch firms to gain access to better AI tools. In general, financial advisors report AI is making them more productive, but there are concerns that it could ultimately pressure the fees that they charge clients.
Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com
--Andrew Welsch, Barron's
Expected Major Events for Friday
06:00/GER: Mar CPI
08:00/ITA: Feb Industrial Production
12:30/CAN: Mar Labour Force Survey
12:30/US: Mar CPI
12:30/US: Mar Real Earnings
14:00/US: Feb Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories & Orders (M3)
14:00/US: Apr University of Michigan Survey of Consumers - preliminary
16:59/GER: Feb Balance of Payments
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April 09, 2026 16:40 ET (20:40 GMT)
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