MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: U.S. stocks rose slightly as optimism about the artificial-intelligence boom offset concerns about rising fuel prices.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields rose amid concerns about deadlocked peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar ticked up against rivals due to inflation concerns.
COMMODITIES: Crude futures settled higher after President Trump rejected as unacceptable Iran's counterproposal to end the war and said the cease-fire was on life support.
HEADLINES
Housing Market's Spring Is Shaping Up as a Bust After April Sales Were Flat
Home sales were flat in April, dealing a substantial blow to a housing industry that was counting on a strong spring season to emerge from an extended slump.
Sales of existing homes rose 0.2% in April over the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.
That slight gain marked a reversal from March, when home sales dropped a revised 2.9%. But April numbers were far below expectations. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 3% increase.
U.S. Employment Trends Index Ticked Up in April
A reading of the U.S. labor market from The Conference Board rose in April, reflecting a relatively healthy labor market despite economic uncertainty amid the war in Iran, a gauge of employment showed.
The Employment Trends Index, or ETI, rose to 105.77 in April, from a downwardly revised reading of 105.52 in March.
"The index's recent stability is a notable break from the ETI's downward drift throughout 2025," said Mitchell Barnes, an economist at The Conference Board.
Fox Picks Up Two More NFL Games for Next Season
Fox has acquired two additional NFL games for the 2026-27 season, the company said on its quarterly earnings call with analysts Monday.
The additional games come as the relationship between Fox and the NFL has grown increasingly frayed in recent months over the league's decision to put more games on streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Fox Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch raised concerns about the damage to broadcast networks such as Fox if more NFL games migrate to streaming, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
KKR Private-Credit Fund Takes $560 Million Loss
KKR's largest private-credit fund held by individual investors took a $560 million loss in the first quarter when a growing number of loans tipped into default.
The write-down-equivalent to about 10% of the fund's net asset value-is one of the biggest indicators so far of underlying problems in a large private-credit fund. Defaults in the fund jumped to 8.1% in the first quarter from 5.5% in December, KKR said.
The $12.3 billion fund-a business-development company called FS KKR Capital-has been under pressure since last year, when it disclosed its largest investment was underwater. The stock tumbled further this year when big loans to software maker Medallia and dental service company Affordable Care went into default.
Cerebras Boosts IPO Price, Seeking to Raise $4.8 Billion
Cerebras Systems said it will offer 30 million shares in its planned initial public offering at a price of $150 to $160 a share, up from its previous plan to offer 28 million shares at a price of $115 to $125 a share.
The IPO would raise $4.8 billion at the upper end of the pricing range.
The company will grant the underwriters of the IPO the right to purchase up to an additional 4.5 million shares.
Trump Clears Way for More Beef Imports, Aiming to Bring Down Record-High Prices
The Trump administration is opening the way to import more steaks and ground beef from overseas, part of a broader effort to address record-high beef prices.
The administration is planning to temporarily reduce tariffs on beef imports as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would suspend the annual tariff-rate quota-which applies a higher tariff rate after a certain level of beef imports are reached-on all beef-exporting nations, enabling more of the product to enter the U.S. at lower tariff rates.
The administration also plans to direct the Small Business Administration to increase loans and access to capital for U.S. ranchers, and to reduce protections for gray and Mexican wolves under the Endangered Species Act, a focus of rancher complaints. The administration will reduce some regulations for U.S. cattlemen, including Agriculture Department rules requiring them to use electronic ear tags on livestock.
Apollo Strikes Deals for Two Live-Events Businesses
Apollo Global Management struck deals for two different live-events businesses as part of a plan to create a platform for in-person gatherings.
The firm said Monday it was set to buy publicly traded Emerald Holding and privately held Questex, with plans to combine the two companies.
Dream Finders Homes Bids to Acquire Beazer Homes for $704 Million
Dream Finders Homes submitted a bid last week to acquire Beazer Homes USA for about $704 million, the home builder said Monday.
Beazer shares were up 31% to $24.60.
Dream Finders said it had made several attempts to engage with Beazer's management and that it was making the proposal public for the benefit of Beazer shareholders.
Microsoft CEO Testifies About Sam Altman's Firing in Elon Musk Megatrial
Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella took the stand in a landmark trial, testifying at length about OpenAI's temporary ouster of Sam Altman in a case pitting the tech giant and the startup against billionaire Elon Musk.
After Altman was briefly pushed out of OpenAI by its board members in November 2023, Nadella said he pledged his support to potential new leaders but also wanted to ensure that Altman and others didn't create a competing company or join Google.
"That was obviously very concerning to me," said Nadella. "Given all of that competition, I just wanted to make sure we could hang on to the band that created all this technology."
Mosaic Pulls Guidance, Cuts Spending as Fertilizer Costs Surge
Mosaic is facing surging costs due to the war in the Persian Gulf.
The fertilizer producer said Monday that prices for key ingredients such as sulfur, ammonia and urea are continuing to climb as demand increasingly outstrips supply. As a result, the company is curtailing some production, cutting capital spending and reassessing operating plans.
"Many producers are struggling to secure raw materials, resulting in an already tight market becoming even tighter," Chief Executive Bruce Bodine said on a call with analysts. "To put it simply, there is not going to be enough phosphate to meet global demand."
TALKING POINT Private Credit's Hot Streak Is Over
Private-credit firms delivered eye-popping returns to investors in recent years. That hot streak is over.
The latest earnings results across the industry show returns that appear to be entering a more modest chapter, just as investors have grown worried about other aspects of private-credit funds that lend to riskier companies.
Ares Capital Corp., Golub Capital and other publicly traded funds marked down their net asset values in the last quarter after lowering the valuations of loans they made to software and other companies. Others like KKR's largest private-credit fund held by individual investors and Sixth Street Specialty Lending also trimmed their dividends.
Apollo Global Management said this past week that gross returns on its direct origination funds that include investment-grade loans to companies were 0.5%, down from 2.6% a year ago. Gross returns reflect dividends paid to investors as well as their investment's change in value, before fees.
Earlier, Blackstone and Blue Owl also reported lower returns for the period from a year ago.
Just a few years ago, investors had enjoyed mid- to high-double-digit annual gross returns, fueled by a confluence of unusual circumstances. During the pandemic, for instance, private lenders stepped up to supply credit to borrowers when others were pulling back, earning strong returns for doing so. That was followed by a dealmaking frenzy that drove up demand for borrowing.
--AnnaMaria Andriotis
Expected Major Events for Tuesday
05:00/JPN: Mar Indexes of Business Conditions - Preliminary Release
06:00/GER: Apr CPI
08:00/ITA: Mar Industrial Production
09:05/GER: May ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment
10:00/US: Apr NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism
12:30/US: Apr CPI
12:30/US: Apr Real Earnings
12:55/US: 05/09 Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index
16:00/US: World Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimates (WASDE)
18:00/US: Apr Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the U.S. Government
20:30/US: API Weekly Statistical Bulletin
23:01/UK: Apr UK Nations and Regions Growth Tracker
23:50/JPN: Apr Bank Lending
23:50/JPN: Mar Balance of Payments
23:50/JPN: Apr International Transactions in Securities
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Tuesday
ACCESS Newswire Inc $(ACCS)$ is expected to report $-0.06 for 1Q.
AI Financial Corp (AIFC) is expected to report for 1Q.
Achieve Life Sciences Inc (ACHV) is expected to report $-0.30 for 1Q.
Amentum Holdings Inc $(AMTM)$ is expected to report for 2Q.
Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp (AP) is expected to report for 1Q.
Anavex Life Sciences Corp (AVXL) is expected to report $-0.07 for 2Q.
$Aramark(ARMK-W)$ $(ARMK)$ is expected to report $0.43 for 2Q.
Arvinas Inc $(ARVN)$ is expected to report $-0.92 for 1Q.
Broadwind Inc $(BWEN)$ is expected to report $-0.07 for 1Q.
C4 Therapeutics Inc $(CCCC)$ is expected to report $-0.26 for 1Q.
Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc $(CRBP)$ is expected to report $-1.30 for 1Q.
D-Wave Quantum Inc (QBTS) is expected to report $-0.09 for 1Q.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
May 11, 2026 16:36 ET (20:36 GMT)
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