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Happy Thursday. Now that Lululemon and LinkedIn are on board, we’re declaring this week CEO succession announcement week.
Stock futures are down this morning after all three major indexes rose.
Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.
1. Return to top
In this distributed photo provided by U.S. Central Command, U.S. forces patrol the Arabian Sea near the M/V Tuska on April 20, 2026, after firing on an Iranian-flagged vessel that the U.S. accused of attempting to violate the U.S. naval blockade of an Iranian port near the Strait of Hormuz.
US Navy | Getty Images
of S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite Oil prices soared to record highs yesterday after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran, overshadowing concerns about rising oil prices and the passage of tankers through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Here’s what you need to know:
The extension of the ceasefire did not reopen the strait, and traffic remained largely unchanged between Tuesday and Wednesday. The speaker of Iran’s parliament said reopening the sea route, through which about 20% of the world’s crude oil supplies passed before the war, would be “impossible” as long as the US continues to blockade Tehran’s port. Amid the lockdown, the Pentagon announced yesterday that Navy Secretary John Phelan would be leaving the Trump administration “immediately.” “We are facing the greatest energy security threat in history,” Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said in an interview with CNBC this morning.brent Oil prices soared above $100 a barrel on Wednesday, but stocks could still rise. The rebound pushed the three major indexes into positive territory this week, putting them on pace to extend their longest weekly winning streak since 2024. Follow us here for live market updates.
2. Low charge level
A Tesla car charges at a Tesla Supercharger station on March 30, 2026 in Pasadena, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
tesla Yesterday, the company announced first-quarter profits that beat expectations, but sales for the same period fell short of analysts’ expectations. The electric car maker also forecast higher spending than previously expected, sending its stock price down more than 3% before the bell.
The company on Wednesday confirmed plans for “more affordable trims” for its Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan, as the company struggles to compete with rivals’ cheaper and more advanced models. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, who has increasingly focused on Tesla’s efforts in self-driving technology and humanoid robots, also told analysts that older models with Hardware 3 computers cannot run Tesla’s new “unsupervised” fully self-driving technology.
Tesla’s release comes as the company grapples with increased competition as well as backlash over Mr. Musk’s political comments. As of Wednesday’s close, the company’s stock price was down nearly 14% year-to-date, making it the worst performer among mega-cap tech stocks this year.
3. Trimming
U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh testifies during his Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, on April 21, 2026.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
Kevin Warsh told senators this week that he wants the Federal Reserve to use a “trimmed average” of personal consumption spending instead of the core price index when measuring inflation. But Bank of America warned yesterday that this could backfire.
Trump’s pick to lead the Fed said he likes to strip out temporary price increases to better understand general trends in inflation. Bank of America said that using this methodology, inflation would appear more moderate today, but it could include smaller shocks and could ultimately result in adjusted growth rates that are higher than core PCE.
This is not unprecedented, the bank said. In 2019 and 2020, the trimmed median inflation gauge tracked by banks was higher than core PCE.
4. Voting has ended
The Warner Bros. logo appears on the water tower at Warner Bros. Studios on February 27, 2026 in Burbank, California.
Tama Mario | Getty Images
warner bros discovery Shareholders are scheduled to vote today paramount skydanceproposed to acquire the entertainment giant. It’s the latest step in a takeover drama that includes an internal love triangle and an 11th-hour plot twist.
Paramount is offering $31 a share to buy all of WDB, which includes networks CNN and TNT and the Warner Bros. movie studio. The proposal beat out proposals from competing companies. Netflix and comcast.
Institutional Shareholder Services, a leading proxy advisory firm, gave its approval to the deal. However, ISS did not abandon its support for the possibility of a golden parachute compensation for WBD CEO David Zaslav included in the proposal.
5. Cheer up
A Spirit Airlines plane at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Uncle Sam is interested in Spirit Airlines. The White House is negotiating a loan package to bail out low-cost airlines, people familiar with the matter told CNBC yesterday.
The deal could include $500 million in government financing, the people said. This could pave the way for the government to take a stake in the Florida-based airline as it faces imminent liquidation.
Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year in August, has struggled with rising fuel costs, engine recalls and a blocked acquisition. jet blue airlines.
daily dividend
boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau yesterday that “all systems are on board” to increase production of its famous 737 Max aircraft. This could help limit losses for aircraft manufacturers. Watch the full interview:
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Spencer Kimball, Sam Meredith, Kevin Browninger, Holly Ellyatt, Laura Kolodny, Lillian Rizzo, Leslie Josephs and Phil LeBeau contributed to this report.
Davis Giangiulio helped produce this newsletter. Josephine Rozzelle edited this version.
