MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: Stocks shrugged off uncertainty around the Middle East conflict, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing at new record highs and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping slightly.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields rose ahead of next week's hearings for Kevin Warsh, President Trump's pick to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar ticked down against rivals as oil futures remained under pressure.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures gained a penny to close at $91.29 a barrel amid optimism about a potential second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.
HEADLINES
Trump Threatens to Fire Powell if He Doesn't Resign When Fed Chair Term Ends
President Trump doubled down on the Justice Department's criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying in a television interview that he won't drop the probe and threatening to fire Powell if he doesn't resign when his term as chair ends next month.
"Well then I'll have to fire him, OK?" Trump said in a Fox Business interview that aired Wednesday morning.
Fed officials are protected by a law that limits the reasons they can be removed. The Supreme Court is now weighing the bounds of that law as it prepares to rule on another case stemming from Trump's attempt to fire a different Fed official.
IMF Sees Global Government Debt Matching Annual Output in 2029, a Year Earlier Than Expected
The U.S. and China are set to drive a sharp rise in government debt over the remainder of this decade, while a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could see an even larger buildup, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.
In a twice-yearly report on government budgets, the Fund said debts are likely to match the annual output of the global economy by 2029, a year earlier than previously forecast. That level has only previously been reached in the aftermath of World War II.
The Fund said debts could hit 117% of global gross domestic product by that year in adverse circumstances, and 121% if the war were to be prolonged.
U.S. Import Prices Rise Less Than Expected in March
U.S. import prices rose less than expected in March from February and were driven by higher costs for fuel imports, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Wednesday.
Overall import prices rose 0.8% in March, slightly lower than the downwardly revised 0.9% increase in February, the data showed.
That result was less than the 2.4% increase expected by a consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Year-on-year prices were up 2.1%, the BLS said.
U.S. Home-Builder Sentiment Slips Amid Economic Uncertainty
Confidence among U.S. home builders fell in April as rising building materials prices, elevated interest rates and an increased economic uncertainty weighed during the heart of spring-buying season.
Here are the main takeaways from the National Association of Home Builders' latest report released Wednesday:
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, a gauge of builder confidence in the market for newly built single family housing, was 34 in April, down from 38 in March. The reading was the lowest level since September 2025. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal expected a reading of 37.
Bank of America's 30% jump in equities revenue pushes stock toward a two-month high
Shares of Bank of America rallied Wednesday, after the banking giant reported first-quarter profit and revenue that rose more than expected, boosted by strength in its sales and trading business.
Boosted by recent volatility as a result of the Iran conflict, BofA's BAC equities business saw revenue soar 30% to record levels. An easier regulatory environment, which has boosted merger and acquisition activity, helped drive a 21% increase in investment-banking fees.
"[W]e saw healthy client activity, including solid consumer spending and stable asset quality, indicating a resilient American economy," said CEO Brian Moynihan.
Morgan Stanley beats Wall Street earnings forecasts - by a wide margin
Morgan Stanley has comfortably beat expectations in its first quarter, with earnings per share 41 cents higher than Wall Street consensus.
The New York-headquartered bank reported earnings per share of $3.43 in the period ending March 31, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02, according to data compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group.
In three days that have been packed with major Wall Street banks reporting results for the period, Morgan Stanley, the last of them, posted revenue of $20.6 billion, an increase of 16% year-on-year. Mean forecasts stood at $19.8 billion.
Live Nation Illegally Monopolized Concerts and Ticketing, Jury Finds
A federal jury on Wednesday found that Live Nation illegally monopolized the ticketing market for major concerts in the U.S., in a win for a group of states that accused it of overcharging music fans and pressuring venues to use its dominant ticketing service, Ticketmaster.
The verdict came after five weeks of trial and nearly four days of deliberation by jurors in a New York City federal court. The Justice Department made the decision last month to settle its case against Live Nation, leaving more than 30 states to try their claims without the federal government.
Now, the group of states will likely try to persuade a judge during a new phase of proceedings that splitting up Live Nation is the only way to fix a broken market. Live Nation shares were down more than 6% after the verdict was read.
Sazerac Offered to Buy Brown-Forman for Around $15 Billion
Sazerac offered to buy Brown-Forman for around $15 billion, people familiar with the matter said.
Sazerac recently approached the Jack Daniel's maker about a potential deal, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. The interest comes as Brown-Forman has been in deal talks with another competitor, French spirits-maker Pernod Ricard.
Sazerac offered Brown-Forman $32 a share, the people said.
Fed's Beige Book Shows Iran War Has Economy on Edge
Businesses spent much of March awash in uncertainty about how the Iran war will affect their costs, customers and the broader economy, according to a survey from the Federal Reserve.
The central bank's anecdotal Beige Book, published Wednesday, showed that the Middle East conflict has quickly eclipsed other concerns as the overarching risk on many managers' minds. Often, companies have pressed the pause button as they await clarity on how long tensions will last.
"The conflict in the Middle East was cited as a major source of uncertainty that complicated decision-making around hiring, pricing, and capital investment, with many firms adopting a wait-and-see posture," the Fed's Beige Book reported.
TALKING POINT Wall Street Is Searching for Cockroaches in Private Credit. Here's What Has Happened So Far.
Private credit was the shiniest thing on Wall Street for years. Investment firms started lending directly to private companies and others without using banks as middlemen, often at high interest rates. Investors poured money into private-credit funds, which offered steady returns by paying out interest income in dividends.
For many wealthy individuals, the funds were akin to gaining access to the market's velvet-roped sections, where the best returns tend to be kept for only the biggest names.
Now, a series of events has investors talking about bugs inside the $2 trillion industry.
Defaults and losses have sparked a debate about the quality of private-credit loans and the future of the industry. Some of the individual investors the funds were heavily marketed to are asking to get their money out-and finding out it can be hard to do so quickly.
JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon memorably captured the drama in October 2025, warning, "When you see one cockroach, there are probably more." (Though his comment referred to the broader credit markets, many on Wall Street have adopted the metaphor for private credit's stumbles.)
Private-credit executives say the squeamishness is overdone, that institutional investors are still putting money into private credit and that the industry's overall performance is strong.
Here are some of the key developments:
--Ben Glickman
Expected Major Events for Thursday
06:00/UK: Feb UK trade
06:00/UK: Feb Index of production
06:00/UK: Feb Index of services
06:00/UK: Feb Monthly GDP estimates
08:00/ITA: Mar CPI
10:00/FRA: Feb OECD Harmonised Unemployment Rates
10:00/FRA: 4Q OECD Quarterly Labour Market Situation
11:30/UK: Mar NIESR Monthly GDP Tracker
12:30/CAN: Feb New motor vehicle sales
12:30/US: Apr Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey
12:30/US: 04/11 Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report - Initial Claims
12:30/US: U.S. Weekly Export Sales
13:00/RUS: Weekly International Reserves
13:15/US: Mar Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
14:00/US: Jan Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment - To Be Rescheduled
14:30/US: 04/10 EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report
20:30/US: Foreign Central Bank Holdings
20:30/US: Federal Discount Window Borrowings
23:01/UK: Mar Scottish Retail Sales Monitor
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Thursday
ADF Group Inc (DRX.T) is expected to report $0.41 for 4Q.
AMCON Distributing Co (DIT) is expected to report for 2Q.
Abbott Laboratories $(ABT)$ is expected to report $0.86 for 1Q.
Alcoa Corp $(AA)$ is expected to report $1.56 for 1Q.
Bank First Corp $(BFC)$ is expected to report $2.19 for 1Q.
Bank of New York Mellon Corp $(BK)$ is expected to report $1.94 for 1Q.
Cass Information Systems Inc $(CASS)$ is expected to report $0.63 for 1Q.
Celularity Inc $(CELU)$ is expected to report for 4Q.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2026 16:36 ET (20:36 GMT)
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