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Market Snapshot

📉 Banana Bits

• Hormuz tolls shifting to yuan boosted Chinese payment stocks.

• BOJ’s rate outlook is turning murky amid ongoing war uncertainty.

• Japanese firms are pulling back on buybacks after a six-year streak.

• Investors yanked $5.3B from blue-chip bond funds in the year’s biggest outflow.

• Hedge funds are dumping global equities at the fastest pace in 13 years.

• Nvidia-linked bets are getting structured via a new prediction-market note.

Market News

Up, Down… Thanks to Oil

U.S. stocks clawed back sharp early losses Thursday as investors focused on potential progress around the Strait of Hormuz, even as oil prices surged on escalating Middle East tensions.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each closed 0.1% higher after earlier plunging, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude jumped about 12% to roughly $112 per barrel.

The turnaround followed reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been closed since the war began.

The proposal would reportedly require ships to pay tolls to Tehran, though the waterway is considered international, and any attempt by Iran to control passage would likely face strong opposition from Western and Gulf states.

Markets remain highly sensitive to geopolitical headlines. Stocks initially sank after President Donald Trump issued fresh threats against Iranian infrastructure during negotiations, fueling concerns that disruptions to global energy supply could persist.

Treasury yields were little changed, with the 10-year yield near 4.30%, while cr*ptocurrencies slid and the dollar strengthened against major peers.

Peel Take: Right now, oil is the market’s steering wheel. Every headline about the Strait of Hormuz swings risk sentiment: optimism about reopening lifts equities, while escalation fears drive oil higher and stocks lower. Even with Thursday’s rebound, the macro tension remains unresolved, energy shocks risk pushing inflation up while weakening global growth, leaving markets trapped in a volatile, headline-driven cycle.

What's Ripe

Globalstar Inc. (GSAT) 13.4%

• GSAT jumped 13% after a report that Amazon was in talks to acquire satellite operator Globalstar, according to the Financial Times. Shares of rival satellite firm Iridium Communications also rallied 15% following the news.

• Amazon declined to comment on the report, while Globalstar and Apple, which owns roughly a 20% stake in Globalstar, did not respond to requests for comment.

• Peel Take: If the deal happens, it would signal Big Tech doubling down on space infrastructure. Satellites are becoming critical for global connectivity, AI data transmission, and direct-to-device services. For Amazon, acquiring a satellite operator could strengthen its Project Kuiper ambitions and deepen competition with players like SpaceX’s Starlink, turning orbit into the next battleground for cloud and connectivity.

EchoStar Corp. (SATS) 6.7%

• SATS rose 6.7% as space-related stocks rallied following the successful launch of Artemis II by NASA.

• The mission sent four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, marking a major milestone in the Artemis program. Shares of rival satellite operator AST SpaceMobile also surged 10% as investor enthusiasm spread across the space sector.

• Peel Take: Space stocks are increasingly trading, like AI infrastructure plays, investors are betting that the next wave of connectivity, defense tech, and satellite broadband will happen in orbit. Big missions like Artemis don’t directly boost revenue for companies like Rocket Lab or AST SpaceMobile, but they validate the long-term demand for launch and satellite infrastructure, which keeps speculative capital flowing into the sector.

What's Rotten

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) 5.4%

• TSL slid 5.4%, making it the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 for the session. The EV maker reported first-quarter deliveries of 358,000 vehicles, up from 337,000 a year earlier but missing Wall Street expectations of about 366,000 units.

• Peel Take: For Tesla, growth isn’t enough anymore; expectations are the real benchmark. Even though deliveries rose year over year, the miss highlights slowing momentum in the EV market as competition intensifies and global demand cools. Investors are increasingly focused on whether Tesla can reignite growth through new models, AI autonomy, or robotics, rather than relying solely on vehicle sales.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL) 3.0%

• UAL fell about 3%, while Southwest Airlines dropped 1.7% and Alaska Air Group slipped more than 0.9% as airline stocks broadly declined.

• Investors grew concerned that higher oil prices triggered by the Iran war could keep jet fuel costs elevated, squeezing airline profits. Several analysts also cut price targets on airline stocks, further pressuring the sector.

• Peel Take: Airlines are highly sensitive to fuel prices, which typically make up 20–40% of operating costs. When crude oil spikes, as it has amid the Middle East conflict, investors quickly price in the risk of shrinking margins and weaker earnings, making airline stocks one of the first sectors to sell off when energy prices surge.

🧠 Technical Trip

Interview Q&A from Houlihan Lokey

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📚 Lesson from the Library

🎥 Corporate Restructuring Program: Fixing Businesses Under Pressure

Understand how firms restructure debt, stabilize operations, and recover value under stress.

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🌟 WSO Academy Q4 Update

🧠 Improved Mentor Preparation Before Sessions

We’ve also upgraded the system to give mentors more context about students’ background + prior sessions. Ultimately, equipping them with all the information they need about you before your session begins.

Mentors now have easier access to:

• Notes and feedback from students’ previous sessions

• Students’ progress within the program

• Students’ recruiting goals and timeline

This allows mentors to pick up right where the previous session left off and give more targeted advice during each call.

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🦈 Deal Deep Dive

M&A, IPOs, And Other Notable Transactions

• SpaceX is targeting a massive $2T valuation in its IPO push.

• OpenAI struck a deal with TBPN to expand into media content.

• Coinbase, Cloudflare, and Stripe are competing to shape AI-driven payments.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo invested in Beckham-backed health brand IM8.

📊The Daily Poll

Previous Poll:

Who bears the biggest cost if pharma tariffs rise?

Consumers: 61.7% // Drugmakers: 12.8% // Insurers: 21.3% // Governments: 4.2%

Student Success Corner

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Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

A three-digit code for certain locks uses the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 according to the following constraints. The first digit cannot be 0 or 1, the second digit must be 0 or 1, and the second and third digits cannot both be 0 in the same code. How many different codes are possible?

Answer: 152

Today

The total cost for Company X to produce a batch of tools is $10,000 plus $3 per tool. Each tool sells for $8. The gross profit earned from producing and selling these tools is the total income from sales minus the total production cost. If a batch of 20,000 tools is produced and sold, then Company X’s gross profit per tool is

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Happy Investing,
Chris, Vyom, Ankit, Mitchell, Fernanda, & Patrick

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