Trending Market News

Berkshire Hathaway significantly underperformed the S&P 500 in April 2026 as the broader market rallied to record highs amid easing geopolitical tensions with Iran. While the S&P 500 surged, Berkshire's stock remained relatively flat, with the company's B shares closing 9.7 percentage points behind the index by mid-April, marking its biggest performance gap of the year.

• Berkshire's Class B shares went from leading the S&P 500 by 1.8 percentage points on March 30 to trailing by 9.7 percentage points by April 18, the widest gap in 2026
• Both Berkshire share classes are down more than 12% since Warren Buffett's CEO succession announcement, though about 3% above their early-August 2025 lows
• The S&P 500 rally was driven by reduced fears about global conflict, earnings, artificial intelligence, and inflation following the index's late-March low near a 10% correction

The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in favor of Apple on April 17, rejecting medical technology company Masimo's attempt to reinstate an import ban on Apple Watches. The decision follows an ITC judge's finding that Apple's redesigned watches do not infringe Masimo's blood-oxygen reading technology patents. This ruling allows Apple to continue selling its smartwatches with modified health features.

• Apple redesigned its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches to display blood-oxygen data on associated devices like iPhones rather than on the watch itself, avoiding patent infringement after an initial import ban in December 2023
• The dispute stems from Masimo's accusations that Apple hired away its employees to steal pulse-oximetry technology, part of a six-year legal battle between the companies
• Masimo can appeal the ITC decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has separate ongoing litigation against Apple in California federal court for patent infringement and trade-secret theft

OpenAI announced the departure of two executives on Friday: Bill Peebles, who led the now-defunct Sora video app, and Kevin Weil, vice president of OpenAI for Science. The exits add to a series of recent leadership changes at the AI startup, including the medical leave of product chief Fidji Simo and the stepping down of marketing chief Kate Rouch.

• OpenAI is decentralizing its OpenAI for Science division to bring research work closer to teams building model capabilities, products, and infrastructure
• Weil joined OpenAI in 2024 as chief product officer before launching OpenAI for Science, while Peebles joined in 2023 and helped launch Sora, which briefly topped Apple's App Store
• The departures follow several recent leadership changes, including Brad Lightcap's transition to 'special projects' and medical leaves for both Fidji Simo and Kate Rouch

Meta plans to conduct its first major layoffs of 2024 on May 20, cutting approximately 10% of its workforce (around 7,900 employees from a base of 79,000), with additional cuts planned for later in 2026. The reductions are tied to an AI-driven efficiency push as CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeks to streamline operations and reduce management layers. This marks Meta's most significant workforce reduction since its 2022-2023 'year of efficiency' restructuring that eliminated 21,000 jobs.

• The May 20 layoffs will affect about 10% of Meta's nearly 79,000-person workforce, with further unspecified cuts planned for the second half of 2026
• Meta is reorganizing teams and creating a new 'Applied AI' organization focused on developing autonomous AI agents that can write code and perform complex tasks
• The cuts reflect broader tech sector trends, with companies like Amazon and Block similarly reducing headcount by nearly 10% citing AI-driven efficiency gains

Cerebras Systems, an AI chipmaker valued at $8.1 billion, is filing for an IPO after previously withdrawing plans in 2024. The company has secured major deals including a $20+ billion agreement with OpenAI and is expanding its cloud-based AI chip services. This move comes as investor demand for AI technology IPOs strengthens after a drought beginning in 2022.

• OpenAI has committed over $20 billion in spending on Cerebras products through 2028 and will receive warrants to purchase Cerebras equity
• Cerebras pivoted from selling chips directly to operating them in its own data centers as a cloud service, competing against Nvidia's dominant GPU offerings
• The company raised $1.1 billion at an $8.1 billion valuation in September before withdrawing its previous IPO attempt to focus on financial performance and strategy

Alamar Biosciences, a Fremont, California-based protein biomarker detection company, debuted on Nasdaq with a valuation of $1.5 billion. The stock opened at $22.60 per share, 33% above its $17 IPO price, reflecting strong investor demand for the diagnostics technology company founded in 2018.

• Shares opened at $22.60, representing a 33% premium over the $17 offer price
• The company sold approximately 11.3 million shares in the IPO
• Alamar develops instruments to detect low-level protein biomarkers in blood for disease research and diagnostics

Italy is concerned that UniCredit might offer to relocate its headquarters to Germany to facilitate its $41 billion takeover bid for Commerzbank, despite UniCredit's assurances that its head office will remain in Italy. Rome may use 'golden powers' to set conditions on any deal to protect national interests, with the headquarters location described as a red line for Italy's government.

• UniCredit is preparing a 35 billion euro ($41 billion) all-stock bid for Commerzbank after building a stake since September 2024, aiming to open 12 weeks of dialogue despite strong German opposition
• Italy has 'golden powers' that allow it to set conditions on corporate deals to protect national interests, including preserving registered offices or key management functions in Italy
• The headquarters issue is part of a broader EU dispute, as Brussels has opened an investigation against Rome for claiming it can vet banking mergers on national security grounds, challenging Italy's use of golden powers

Reliance Industries rejected two Iranian oil cargoes days before a U.S. waiver on Iranian oil sanctions expires on April 20, citing unmet compliance requirements. The Indian refiner had been authorized to purchase Iranian oil under a temporary waiver that the U.S. Treasury announced will not be renewed. This marks India's largest private refiner stepping back from Iranian oil ahead of renewed sanctions enforcement.

• Reliance rejected cargoes on tankers Derya (2 million barrels anchored near Sikka port) and Lenore, while at least five Iranian tankers had been authorized for Indian purchase under the expiring waiver
• U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed Wednesday that waivers on Iranian oil purchases will not be renewed when they expire, reversing a March policy that had eased sanctions to manage oil prices
• State-run Indian Oil Corp purchased a 2-million-barrel cargo earlier in April, while the status of other authorized tankers remains unclear with some vessels disappearing from tracking data

Netflix's recent bid for Warner Bros. Discovery assets has signaled a potential shift in its long-standing 'builder not a buyer' strategy, raising questions about future M&A activity as streaming competition intensifies. Though Netflix walked away from the $72 billion deal after Paramount submitted a superior bid, co-CEO Ted Sarandos acknowledged the company built significant M&A capabilities through the process. The stock dropped 10% after earnings as investors worried about unchanged full-year guidance despite the deal's termination.

• Netflix collected a $2.8 billion breakup fee after Paramount outbid them for WBD in February, with Sarandos stating the deal was 'nice to have, not a need to have' for the streaming giant
• A potential Paramount-WBD combination would create a major competitor by merging Paramount+ and HBO Max, changing the streaming landscape significantly for Netflix
• Analysts noted the 'bigger surprise' was unchanged full-year margin guidance despite avoiding WBD-related M&A costs, contributing to the stock's 9.34% decline in extended trading

State Street Corporation reported higher first-quarter profit on Friday, driven by increased fee revenue and client activity amid market volatility. The custody bank, which serves institutional investors like asset managers and pension funds, benefited from portfolio rebalancing triggered by geopolitical tensions including the Iran war and a selloff in AI-exposed software stocks.

• Net income reached $764 million, or $2.49 per share, with total revenue rising 16% to $3.8 billion year-over-year
• Total fee revenue jumped 15% and net interest income rose 17%, reflecting heightened client activity during volatile market conditions
• Assets under custody and administration stood at $54.52 trillion as of March 31, up 17%, while assets under management totaled $5.62 trillion

Deutsche Bank has informed regulators of a possible violation of Russia sanctions rules that cap deposits from Russian individuals at 100,000 euros ($117,940). The potential breach was discovered after the bank formed a working group earlier this year to review compliance with stricter sanctions laws.

• The issue emerged from an internal compliance review conducted by a working group established in early 2025 to study stricter sanctions requirements
• EU sanctions rules limit deposits from Russian individuals to less than 100,000 euros (approximately $117,940)
• Deutsche Bank stated it proactively informed supervisory authorities and is implementing measures to improve its sanctions compliance processes

Ford is recalling approximately 1.4 million vehicles in the United States due to a software issue affecting the powertrain control module (PCM). The recall was announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday, April 17.

• The recall affects 1,392,935 Ford vehicles across the U.S.
• The issue involves faulty powertrain control module (PCM) software, which manages engine and transmission functions
• NHTSA officially disclosed the recall, indicating potential safety or performance concerns requiring software correction

Apple's iPhone shipments in China grew 20% year-over-year in Q1 2025, outpacing all major competitors despite a 4% overall market decline driven by supply chain disruptions and rising memory chip costs. Apple and Huawei were the only top vendors to post growth in the world's largest smartphone market, with Huawei retaining the top position at 20% market share.

• Apple achieved the strongest growth among major vendors at 20%, while Huawei grew 2% and maintained its market-leading position with 20% share
• Overall smartphone shipments fell 4% as rising memory chip prices forced vendors to increase prices, particularly on budget handsets to protect margins
• Xiaomi saw shipments plunge 35% to sixth place due to high base effects from aggressive price cuts and government subsidies in the prior-year period

Uber is purchasing an additional 4.5% stake in Delivery Hero from Prosus for approximately 270 million euros ($318 million), paying 20 euros per share. The sale is part of Prosus's effort to comply with European Commission requirements to reduce its Delivery Hero holdings in order to complete its 4.1 billion euro acquisition of Just Eat.

• Uber will pay 20 euros per share for the additional 4.5% stake, totaling approximately $318 million
• The European Commission required Prosus to significantly reduce its Delivery Hero stake as a condition for approving its 4.1 billion euro Just Eat acquisition
• Prosus remains committed to selling the required portion of its Delivery Hero stake within the regulatory timeframe

French telecom operators Bouygues, Iliad-Free, and Orange have raised their consortium bid to acquire most of Altice France's assets to 20.35 billion euros ($23.97 billion), up from a rejected 17 billion euro offer in October. The deal would significantly reshape France's highly competitive telecom market, which has been characterized by prolonged price wars that have pressured operator margins and revenue growth.

• The improved bid of 20.35 billion euros represents a nearly 20% increase from the consortium's initial 17 billion euro offer that was rejected by Altice in October
• A successful acquisition would consolidate one of Europe's most competitive telecom markets, where operators have engaged in multi-year price wars
• The three major French telecom operators are working together as a consortium to acquire most of Altice France's assets

Tesla is recruiting semiconductor engineers in Taiwan for its Terafab project, a vertically integrated AI chip manufacturing complex. The company has posted nine engineering roles targeting candidates with expertise in advanced chipmaking processes, particularly those below 7 nanometers. This hiring push reflects growing demand for AI chip capacity amid constraints at major manufacturers like TSMC.

• Terafab will combine logic, memory, packaging, test, and lithography mask production under one roof to support edge-inference processors, space-hardened satellite chips, and high-bandwidth memory
• Job postings seek engineers with 5+ years experience in sub-7nm processes and reference 2-nanometer-class technologies, as well as TSMC-developed packaging techniques like CoWoS and SoIC
• TSMC acknowledged the competitive threat but noted there are 'no shortcuts' in semiconductor manufacturing, as building new fabrication plants takes two to three years

OpenAI has agreed to pay chip startup Cerebras more than $20 billion over three years to use servers powered by Cerebras chips, according to a report by The Information. In exchange for this massive commitment, OpenAI may receive an equity stake in Cerebras. The deal represents one of the largest chip procurement agreements in the AI industry.

• The $20+ billion agreement spans three years and involves OpenAI using Cerebras-powered servers for its computing needs
• OpenAI can receive an equity stake in Cerebras as part of the deal, potentially deepening the partnership between the AI leader and the chip startup
• Reuters could not immediately verify the report, which was originally published by The Information citing unnamed sources

The Japanese government will provide up to 60 billion yen ($380 million) in subsidies to Sony for an image sensor manufacturing plant in Kumamoto prefecture. Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa emphasized that image sensors are critical for autonomous driving and physical AI applications. Sony is a leading manufacturer of image sensors used in smartphones alongside its entertainment business.

• The subsidy amount totals up to 60 billion yen (approximately $380 million) for the Kumamoto facility
• Japan's government aims to secure stable supply of image sensors deemed 'indispensable' for autonomous driving and physical AI technologies
• Sony is a major global producer of image sensors for smartphones in addition to its entertainment portfolio spanning games, movies, music, and anime

California's gasoline inventories have fallen to record lows as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts fuel imports from Asia, pushing state gas prices to $5.86 per gallon, highest in the U.S. The state's reliance on Asian refined products and isolation from national pipelines makes it particularly vulnerable, with analysts warning the full supply impact will hit in coming weeks.

• California's four-week average gasoline stocks fell to 9.44 million barrels (lowest since records began in 2005), while crude inventories dropped 23% year-over-year as refinery closures eliminated 20% of state refining capacity
• Gas prices jumped 26% since the Iran war began to $5.86/gallon statewide versus $4.09 national average, driven by the state's unique low-smog fuel blend, higher taxes, and import dependence
• State officials expect adequate supplies through mid-May from alternative sources, but analysts warn the full import shock will become visible at pumps within 1-2 weeks as Asia shipments (typically several weeks in transit) dry up

Valero Energy Corp has partially restarted its 380,000 barrel-per-day Port Arthur, Texas refinery following a March 23 explosion and fire. The smaller 115,000-bpd production line is operating, while the larger 210,000-bpd AVU-146 crude distillation unit remains shut for heater tube repairs discovered during post-blast inspection. The shutdown AVU-146 unit accounts for 2% of Gulf Coast refining capacity and 3.4% of Texas's total capacity.

• The operational AVU-147 crude distillation unit processes 115,000 barrels per day, while the damaged AVU-146 unit (210,000 bpd) remains offline pending heater tube repairs
• The AVU-146 unit represents significant refining capacity: 2% of the U.S. Gulf Coast's 9.62 million bpd total and 3.4% of Texas's 6.13 million bpd capacity
• Diesel prices rose 16 cents per barrel the day after the March 23 explosion; one lawsuit has been filed alleging injury despite no official injury reports