United States economy · April 2026

The United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, leading to a sharp drop in oil prices and a surge in global stock markets. The deal is expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global oil supplies. Oil prices fell by as much as 17% following the announcement, while stock indexes like Germany's Dax saw significant gains. Traders had placed a large bet of nearly $950 million on oil prices falling just hours before the ceasefire was made public. (ongoing coverage) Meta has released new artificial intelligence models as part of a major company push, while also shutting down an internal AI token leaderboard. Anthropic, an AI company, says it has developed a new system too powerful to release publicly due to safety concerns, and its CEO suggested AI could eliminate more than half of all current jobs. President Trump has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on countries that supply military weapons to Iran. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's March meeting show officials are increasingly open to raising interest rates this year, citing inflation concerns from energy price surges.