BUSINESS NEWS
- Markets shudder as Strait of Hormuz starts resembling a combat zone. ‘We’re prepared to subject you to disabling fire’
by Jason Ma on April 19, 2026 at 11:13 pmTensions in the Gulf escalated Sunday, when the U.S. Navy seized a ship for the first time as part of its blockade, with a destroyer firing at a blockade runner.
- UAE in talks with U.S. for possible financial lifeline, WSJ says
by Maria Paula Mijares Torres, Bloomberg on April 19, 2026 at 9:49 pmUAE Central Bank Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama raised the idea of a currency swap line with Federal Reserve and Treasury officials during meetings in Washington last week.
- 8 children between the ages of 1 and 14 are dead after a Louisiana shooting that was ‘unlike anything most of us have ever seen,’ police say
by Gerald Herbert, John Seewer, The Associated Press on April 19, 2026 at 9:13 pmThe suspect died after a police pursuit, and the victims included children related to the gunman.
- Canada’s PM says strong U.S. economic ties were a strength but are now a weakness that must be fixed. ‘We have to take care of ourselves’
by Jim Morris, The Associated Press on April 19, 2026 at 9:03 pm“The U.S. has changed and we must respond,” he said. "It’s about taking back control of our security, our borders and our future.”
- Trump says Marines have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to evade blockade after Navy blew a ‘hole in the engineroom’
by Michelle L. Price, Samy Magdy, Sam Metz, The Associated Press on April 19, 2026 at 8:49 pmTrump on social media said the ship was warned by a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman to stop, but it did not.
- The explosion of U.S. debt is wiping out the ‘safety premium’ of Treasury bonds, and time is running out for an orderly fiscal solution, IMF warns
by Jason Ma on April 19, 2026 at 7:24 pm"In other words, Treasuries now offer a higher yield than the synthetic-dollar equivalents for hedged G10 sovereign bonds."
- Federal government launches broad probe into mysterious disappearances and deaths of top scientists. ‘We haven’t found anything alarming yet’
by Jason Ma on April 19, 2026 at 5:09 pm"A lot of the nuclear security scientists are in DOE. So yes, of course we are looking into this.”
- Blue Origin launches New Glenn, suffers issue deploying craft
by Sana Pashankar, Edward Ludlow, Bloomberg on April 19, 2026 at 3:25 pmWhile the satellite separated from New Glenn’s second stage, it entered an “off-nominal orbit,”, or the wrong orbit, Blue Origin said.
- The FBI is easing hiring requirements and turning to social media to attract applicants to rebuild workforce depleted by firings and resignations
by Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press on April 19, 2026 at 3:16 pmAt the same time, the Justice Department has opened the door to hiring prosecutors right out of law school to help fill vacancies in U.S. attorney’s offices across the country.
- Gen Z is ‘Chinamaxxing’—and it’s less a love letter to Beijing than an indictment of America
by Nick Lichtenberg on April 19, 2026 at 12:00 pmA viral TikTok trend is handing Beijing a cultural moment that decades of propaganda never could. Are we entering the Chinese century?