Market News Today — AI-Curated Stock & Crypto Headlines

The Fed’s balancing act

Plus tech earnings

French lenders miss out on trading boom powering Wall Street banks

BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole report higher first-quarter profit but are unable to fully capitalise on market volatility

StanChart books $190mn charge on Iran war

Asia-focused bank reports record quarterly profit even as it sets aside funds to hedge against Middle East risk

Oil prices hit new highs on fears of fresh US military action against Iran

Brent crude rises 4.5 per cent above $123 a barrel in Asian trading to highest level since conflict began

Bank of England in stand-off with FCA over trading firms’ capital

Rare dispute emerges after watchdog proposes to boost liquidity for groups such as Jane Street and Citadel Securities

Private equity’s tempest in a teapot

CVC and KKR are facing the prospect of extended ownership of food businesses they acquired from Unilever

UAExit adds momentum to the Opec doom loop

The Emirates’ departure reflects the cartel’s declining market share and the ongoing energy transition

KKR explores $10bn sale of ex-Unilever spreads business

Private capital firm hires bankers to sell Flora Food Group after ditching targets to make its portfolio plant based

Prices in Iran climb as war rattles economy

Inflation has hit 50% during conflict while many expect Strait of Hormuz stand-off to exacerbate stagnation

UAE withdrawal from Opec reopens rift with Saudi Arabia

After putting on a united front during the Iran war, the Gulf’s most consequential rivalry has burst into the open …

Does trade cause peace? Ask an economist

Researchers have been trawling history to measure the pacifying effects of moving goods around

Russia loses its way in the Sahara

Losses to Malian militants by Wagner Group’s successor call into question future of Moscow’s military adventurism in Africa