In a sweeping 6-3 decision issued today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s congressional map with a second majority-Black district is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The ruling in Louisiana v. Callais (No. 24-109) delivers a major victory for Republicans by sharply curtailing the Voting Rights Act’s ability to compel the creation of predominantly Black or Hispanic districts – a development that could help the GOP protect and expand its House majority in the 2026 midterms and beyond.

Writing for the Court, Justice Samuel Alito held that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, properly interpreted, did not require Louisiana to draw the additional majority-Black district in Senate Bill 8. Because the state’s use of race was not justified by a compelling interest, the map violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

A Major Reset of Voting Rights Law

Huge victory for GOP with big implications for race for House https://t.co/QRTl01bxt2

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 29, 2026

The decision does far more than resolve one Louisiana map. It fundamentally updates the legal framework for Voting Rights Act challenges that has been in place since Thornburg v. Gingles (1986). The Court made three critical changes that will make it significantly harder for plaintiffs to force race-conscious districting:

Illustrative maps must be race-neutral: Plaintiffs can no longer draw “demonstration maps” that deliberately maximize majority-minority districts. Any alternative map must fully comply with all of a state’s legitimate, non-racial districting goals – including traditional criteria and the state’s partisan political objectives.
Race must be disentangled from party: To prove political cohesion and racial bloc voting, plaintiffs must now control for partisan affiliation. Simply showing that Black voters and white voters support different candidates is no longer enough if the pattern tracks party preference rather than race.
Focus on current intentional discrimination: The “totality of circumstances” analysis must center on evidence of present-day intentional racial discrimination in voting. Historical discrimination and generalized “societal effects” carry far less weight.

These changes align Section 2 more closely with the Fifteenth Amendment’s prohibition on intentional racial discrimination and the Constitution’s general bar on race-based government action.

SCOTUS issues opinion in Voting Rights Act case

6-3 strikes down Louisiana map along ideological lines

Likely means there will be one less Black opportunity district

BUT does not strike down Section 2 of VRA

Quick read is that only affects handful of districts right now https://t.co/8tR9kdS6ys

— Sam Shirazi (@samshirazim) April 29, 2026

Developing…

The drama over Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Trump’s pick for next Fed chair appears to be over.

Moments ago, Warsh won the backing of the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday in a 13-11 party-line vote, putting him on track to be confirmed by the full Senate before Jerome Powell’s term ends May 15, Bloomberg reproted. 

Warsh’s nomination had been held up by Republican Senator Thom Tillis until the Department of Justice agreed last week to drop (for now) a criminal probe into cost overruns in a renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters. Tillis, who saw the probe as “bogus” and a threat to the Fed’s independence on monetary policy, said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he received assurances the department wouldn’t reopen the case unless the Fed’s inspector general, who is also reviewing the project, sends a criminal referral.

As expected, Democrats weren’t won over: Senator Elizabeth Warren warned that Trump is still intent on controlling the Fed; Democrats have also demanded an end to a legal pursuit of Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

“The stink of stagflation is in the air,” Warren said. She said confirmation of Warsh would help Trump dominate the Fed’s monetary policy. “Trump has not been subtle about his takeover,” she said.

The vote makes real the prospect of a Warsh-led Fed that promises the biggest shake up of the US central bank in years. Having raised the prospect of “regime change” as part of his bid to win Trump’s nomination, Warsh has promised to shrink the Fed’s $6.7 trillion balance sheet, establish a new framework for managing inflation and change how the central bank communicates with the public. He has, however, offered few details on how he might pursue each of these goals.

Warsh is almost certain to face heavy pressure from Trump over monetary policy. In a CNBC interview on April 21, the president said he’d be disappointed if Warsh didn’t cut rates as soon as he took office.

Meanwhile, Warsh has vowed to protect the Fed’s independence. In his hearing last week Warsh blamed the Fed for allowing inflation to surge following the Covid-19 pandemic. While he said high prices remain a problem for Americans, he also floated the idea of a new framework for dealing with persistent inflation, though didn’t offer specifics. He also steered clear of committing to a near-term path for interest rates and suggested Fed officials have made a habit of providing financial markets with too much guidance on where policy is headed.

The combination of Warsh’s calls for a smaller balance sheet, new ways to think about inflation and communication changes put Warsh in the spotlight to explain how he’ll defend the Fed’s independence, said EY-Parthenon Chief Economist Gregory Daco.

“Taken together, this points to a more centralized, less transparent and potentially more politically-exposed policy framework,” he said.

Earlier, Warsh and his wife, Jane Lauder, reported assets worth at least $192 million in financial disclosures filed as part of his nomination.  But his total net worth is likely much larger and makes him one of the wealthiest Fed officials in the central bank’s history. Bloomberg has estimated his wife’s net worth at $2.5 billion, many of which are market-dependent. Democratic lawmakers called for more scrutiny of Warsh’s assets, while Warsh has promised to quickly divest from certain funds for which he hasn’t disclosed the underlying assets, citing confidentiality agreements.

The U.S. is intensifying pressure on Iran and China across two fronts.

First, on the military side, The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump told top aides to prepare for an extended U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a move that would strangle Tehran’s oil revenue.

Second, on the economic side, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is warning financial institutions about sanctions exposure related to Chinese independent “teapot” refineries, particularly in Shandong Province, due to their continued purchases and refining of Iranian crude.

Taken together, the message from President Trump to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent is very clear: Washington is squeezing Iran’s oil revenue at both ends of the supply chain, through a continued blockade of the Hormuz chokepoint that enables exports and the Chinese refining network.

“China purchases approximately 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports, with teapot refineries accounting for the majority of these imports. This revenue ultimately benefits the Iranian regime, its weapons programs, and its military,” Treasury explained in a press release, adding, “Some Chinese teapot refineries have used the U.S. financial system to conduct dollar-denominated transactions and procure U.S. goods.”

What OFAC is doing is urging banks to tighten controls, conduct enhanced due diligence on transactions involving China-based refineries, and communicate sanctions expectations to correspondent banks.

Treasury also imposed sanctions on 35 entities and individuals for their roles in Iran’s shadow banking sector.

The reason the Treasury singled out Shandong Province is that the area in China is a core hub for China’s independent refineries.

Efforts to end the US-Iran war, now entering the third month, have morphed from an air campaign against Tehran to an economic war with hopes that the Trump administration can economically squeeze Tehran into a favorable peace deal that includes winding down its nuclear program.

“Iran’s shadow banking system serves as a critical financial lifeline for its armed forces, enabling activities that disrupt global trade and fuel violence across the Middle East,” Bessent said in a statement, quoted by Reuters.

“Illicit funds funneled through this network support the regime’s ongoing terrorist operations, posing a direct threat to U.S. personnel, regional allies, and the global economy,” Bessent said, adding any institution that facilitated or engaged with these networks was at risk of “severe consequences.”

OFAC has already imposed about 1,000 sanctions on Iran-related individuals, ships, and aircraft as part of a campaign to exert maximum economic pressure on Iran’s shadow banking.

Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, told Reuters that the Trump administration should go after Chinese banks that have supported Tehran.

“Washington keeps talking about waging a maximum pressure campaign, but it is still avoiding the one move that would actually matter,” Erickson said. “If you are not willing to target the Chinese banks propping up the regime in Tehran, you are not going for the jugular, you are running a charade.”

The U.S. economic pressure campaign on Tehran, as well as China, comes as Trump travels to Beijing next month to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

As expected, the Bank of Canada – which was the day’s first G5 central bank to hit the tape ahead of the Fed’s decision at 2pm ET – held interest rates unchanged at 2.25% as expected, saying adjustments to borrowing costs would likely be small if the economy and inflation evolve as expected, while stating that it is looking through the war’s immediate impact on inflation but will not let higher energy prices become persistent inflation.

“A policy rate close to current settings looks appropriate to support adjustment in the economy and return inflation to target,” BOC Governor Tif Macklem said adding that “There may still be a need to adjust the policy rate depending on how the risks evolve. But if the economy evolves broadly in line with the base case, changes in the policy rate can expected to be small.”

At the same time, officials flagged major risks to their outlook, including a review of the North American trade deal, the conflict in the Middle East and ongoing damage from the impacts of US tariffs, which could all require different responses for monetary policy.

Macklem explicitly outlined how officials may have to adjust borrowing costs more significantly in some scenarios. He noted that while additional US trade restrictions could prompt cuts to the policy rate, rising and persistently elevated energy prices would lead to tightening.

“If oil prices continue to increase, and particularly if they remain elevated, the risk that higher energy prices become generalized inflation increases,” Macklem said. “If this starts to happen, monetary policy will have more work to do — there may be a need for consecutive increases in the policy rate.”

Macklem said Canada is being buffeted by global events and geopolitical uncertainties, higher global energy prices are pushing inflation up, and monetary policy is focused on ensuring jump in energy prices does not turn into persistent inflation

The governor said the BOC has three key messages:

Canada is being buffeted by global events and geopolitical uncertainties, but our economy is growing and is expected to continue to grow.
After more than a year with inflation close to the 2% target, higher global energy prices are pushing inflation up. The surge in gasoline prices combined with still-elevated food price inflation is squeezing more Canadians.
Monetary policy is focused on ensuring the jump in energy prices does not turn into persistent inflation, while helping the economy adjust to global headwinds. We are committed to keeping inflation low and stable overtime.

Middle East

Since previous forecast in January, the war in the Middle East has sent global energy prices sharply higher, increased financial market volatility and disrupted shipping for fertilizer and other commodities. This has lowered the outlook for global growth while boosting inflation.

Growth 

Growth looks to have resumed after contracting at the end of 2025. Consumer and government spending are contributing to growth, while US tariffs and trade uncertainty are weighing on exports and business investment.
The conflict in the Middle East will affect the composition of growth, but the impact on overall growth is expected to be small because higher global oil prices increase the value of our energy exports even as they squeeze consumers and many businesses.

Policy

Our baseline forecast assumes oil prices will come down and US tariffs will remain at the current levels. If this holds true, a policy rate close to current settings looks appropriate to support adjustment in the economy and return inflation to target.
There may still be a need to adjust the policy rate depending on how the risks evolve. But if the economy evolves broadly in line with the base case, changes in the policy rate can be expected to be small.
However, uncertainty is unusually elevated, and there are many possible outcomes. Monetary policy may need to be nimble.

Outlook

We are closely monitoring the impact of the conflict in the Middle East and how the economy is responding to US tariffs and trade policy uncertainty.
Governing Council is looking through the war’s immediate impact on inflation but will not let higher energy prices become persistent inflation.
As the outlook evolves, we stand ready to respond as needed.
The Bank is committed to maintaining Canadians’ confidence in price stability through this period of global upheaval.

“While the war in Iran may alter its composition, overall GDP growth is little changed in the updated forecast,” the bank said. “Since Canada is a large net exporter of oil, higher oil prices increase national income even as consumers are squeezed by higher gasoline prices.” Previously, the bank said it could not predict the length and scale of the Iran conflict, calling the economic impact “highly uncertain.”

The monetary policy report notes that its projections for inflation and growth are highly conditional on the assumption that US tariffs remain unchanged and that oil prices gradually decline to $75 per barrel by mid-2027.

Both the Iran war and US trade policy pose both upside and downside risks to inflation, the bank said. While a prolonged conflict in Middle East could stoke inflation further, it could also have a more negative impact on global growth.

The bank also warned that businesses could face more costs adjusting to US tariffs, which would risk fueling inflation. But tariffs could also weigh on demand by more than expected and a review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement scheduled for July 1 could yield an outcome that is worse than assumed, dragging on growth and inflation.

The bank left its estimate of the neutral rate — the level of borrowing costs that neither restrict nor stimulate economic growth — between 2.25% and 3.25%.

In kneejerk reaction,the USDCAD rose from 1.3692 to 1.3710 as the BOC acknowledged that it will look through the war’s immediate impact on inflation. 

Thanks to the war in Iran, JetBlue Airlines is passing the cost along to us – announcing during Q1 earnings on Tuesday that while the airline had strong revenue performance, prices are going up due to rising fuel costs. 

A JetBlue Embraer 190 taxis on the tarmac at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., on June 29, 2021. Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

“While the macro environment, particularly fuel, has become more volatile, we are taking decisive actions to manage what is within our control, including adjusting capacity, optimizing revenue, and maintaining disciplined cost control,” said CEO Joanna Geraghty. 

“At the same time, we are seeing clear evidence that JetForward is on track and working, and we remain confident it is the right plan to transform our business and get us closer to our financial priorities.“

As the Epoch Times notes further, JetForward is the airline’s turnaround strategy introduced in 2024, concentrating flights between the Northeast and leisure destinations such as Florida and the Caribbean.

This announcement follows last month’s notice that the airline would increase checked baggage fees by at least $10.

Going forward, JetBlue named specific actions it will take to deal with increased fuel costs, including 30 percent to 40 percent “fuel recapture” pricing during the second quarter, rising to 100 percent by early 2027. Using this strategy, the airline plans to offset the escalating costs by recovering those expenses through higher ticket prices, fees, and other adjustments.

The airline also intends to cut its flight capacity, with the reductions focused on off-peak travel periods, and implement additional cost-saving measures.

It revealed that the average fuel price during the first quarter was $2.96 per gallon—an increase of $0.39 per gallon year over year, or a 15.2 percent increase. Its first quarter 2026 system capacity also decreased by 1.7 percent year over year.

Still, the company’s operating revenue increased by 4.7 percent year over year to $2.2 billion during the first quarter, while its operating revenue per available seat mile grew 6.5 percent year over year.

The airline’s operating expense per available seat mile also increased during the first quarter by 8.3 percent year over year.

As a result, the company reported a net loss of $319 million, or $0.86 per share, for the quarter, compared with a loss of $208 million, or $0.59 per share, in the first quarter of 2025.

Some positive highlights of the first quarter include $500 million in committed aircraft financing, with the option of increasing that by an additional $250 million, and the repayment of $325 million of 2021 convertible notes. JetBlue ended the first quarter with $2.4 billion in liquidity.

“As we look ahead, we are seeing continued strength across the booking curve, with momentum carrying into the second quarter supporting our unit revenue outlook,” JetBlue’s president, Marty St. George, said in the report.

After a recent string of ‘soft’ survey data, this morning we get some ‘hard’ data and it was far stronger than expected.

Preliminary headline durable goods orders for March rose 0.8% MoM (better than the 0.5% MoM exp), and the first increase after a three month decline to start the year (which was the first 3-month decline since Nov 2019).

The increase took place despite continued weakness in aircraft orders manifesting as a 21.1% drop in nondefense aircraft and parts in March. 

Meanwhile, core durable goods orders (prelim for March ) rose even more, up by 0.9% MoM (and stronger than the 0.4% expected.

That was 12 straight months of gains, pulling core orders up 7.62% YoY – the most since July 2022.

Bookings for non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a proxy for investment in equipment, surged by 3.3% MoM after an upward revised 1.6% increase a month earlier.

Finally, shipments figures (which plug into GDP) were also comfortably stronger than expected (+1.2% in March versus +0.6% forecast), which suggests upside risks to Q1 forecasts.

It remains to be seen, however, how the war impacted demand for capital goods. 

Bond yields rose after the better-than-expected housing and capital goods data. The war is an ongoing risk that can belatedly sour hard economic data, but soft data is more up to date. On that front, we have yet to see the manufacturing ISM turn down. As Bloomberg’s Simon White notes (in the chart below) the ISM leads durable goods new orders by about three months.

Meanwhile, as reported earlier, housing data for March also held up well, largely thanks to housing starts, driven by one-unit structures, even as multi-unit ones fall. Building permits, on the other hand, were ugly, but that is a very forward looking leading indicator, and was likely driven by the spike in rates. 

The US economy is overall in remarkably good shape given the age of the cycle. That should keep yields supported. However, the longer energy prices remain elevated, that will become more in question.

Glass bottle and jar company O-I Glass plunged the most in premarket trading in more than six years after it slashed its full-year adjusted EPS outlook, blaming higher energy costs tied to the Gulf-related energy shock.

The major glass-container manufacturer, producing bottles and jars for the beer, wine, spirits, beverage, and food-packaging markets, now expects adjusted EPS of $1.00 to $1.50, down sharply from its prior forecast of $1.65 to $1.90 and well below the $1.67 Bloomberg Consensus estimate. 

Slide 8 detailed O-I Glass’ Full Year 2026 Outlook impacted by the energy shock in the Middle East:

The chart on the right is O-I Glass reassuring investors that it has hedged or mitigated a large portion of its European natural gas exposure. It says 75% to 80% of its 2026 year-to-go EU natural gas exposure is covered at rates better than current index prices, and more than 50% is already mitigated for 2027.

First-quarter results were also weak (courtesy of Bloomberg):

Adjusted EPS 5c vs. 40c y/y, estimate 11c

Net sales $1.54 billion, -1.7% y/y, estimate $1.47 billion

Americas net sales $871 million, -0.2% y/y, estimate $826.3 million

Europe net sales $655 million, -1.8% y/y

Americas oper. profit $142 million, +0.7% y/y

Europe operating profit $0 vs. $68 million y/y

From early February through Tuesday’s close, O-I Glass shares had already fallen roughly 40% as investors priced in the Gulf energy shock now working its way through the company’s cost structure. Shares are down another roughly 18% in premarket trading. If losses hold, it would mark the stock’s largest one-day drop since March 9, 2020. 

O-I Glass’ deteriorating outlook highlights how quickly the energy shock spread worldwide (read Goldman). 

With mortgage rates still relatively low, despite a recent jump in interest rates, and a top-down push for affordability, Housing Starts for March soared while the more forward-looking Building Permits disappointed, unexpectedly plunged.

Housing starts soared 10.8% MoM in March (far more than the -0.4% expected drop) while Permits plunged 10.8% MoM (and worse than the -0.4% decline expected)…

This pushed the SAAR totals for Starts to 1.502 million, far above the 1.390 million expected, and the highest since Dec 2024, but Building Permits fell to their lowest since Aug 2025

Under the hood, Single-Family Starts jumped 9.7%, the most since Feb 2025, and Multi-Family Starts soared 9.6% MoM, while Permits did a mirror image, plunging 23.5% MoM (biggest drop since June 2023) and Single-Family permits plunged 3.8%

The lowest mortgage rate since Aug 2022 (aside for the modest Iran war jump) likely helped spark homebuilder appetite to start building, even if it did precisely the reverse with permits. 

Overall, the report was a mixed bag overall, and tough to project given the impact of surging oil which translated into even higher yields on the mortgage rates for the foreseeable future. 

Wingstop shares fell the most in six months in premarket trading after the company cut its full-year outlook and reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter sales, citing a pullback in traffic as management pointed to “continued pressure on consumer spending.”

The chicken chain, with 2,653 locations across the US, now expects 2026 domestic same-store sales to decline at a low single-digit rate, down from its prior forecast of flat to low single-digit growth. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg forecast a .4% contraction this year, after lowering their forecast from about 1.3% in mid-February when Wingstop last reported earnings.

First-quarter domestic same-store sales fell 8.7%, exceeding the 5.4% decline expected by analysts. Adjusted EPS of $1.18 topped estimates, helped by lower-than-expected costs, including chicken wing costs.

Here’s a snapshot of first-quarter results (courtesy of Bloomberg):

Total domestic stores comp sales growth -8.7%, estimate -5.43% (Bloomberg Consensus)

Adjusted EPS $1.18 vs. 99c y/y, estimate $1.03

Revenue $183.7 million, +7.4% y/y, estimate $188.4 million

Adjusted Ebitda $65.4 million, +9.9% y/y, estimate $63.4 million

Total location count 3,153, +3.2% q/q, estimate 3,154

Domestic franchise restaurants 2,596, +15% y/y, estimate 2,599 
International franchise restaurants 500, +29% y/y, estimate 497

Cost of sales $24.7 million, +8.2% y/y, estimate $26.1 millions

SG&A expense $34.4 million, +9.6% y/y, estimate $35.7 million

Net addition of stores 97, -23% y/y, estimate 90

Important to note: Wingstop’s core customer base appears to skew younger, making it highly exposed to lower-income consumer pressures, such as the national average gasoline price topping $4 per gallon.

Wingstop bust-cycle… 

We have highlighted what has happened in convenience stores and gas stations when gas topped the politically sensitive line of $4 last month.

Read:

Here’s What Happened Inside Gas Stations When Gas Hit $4

Here’s What Happened Inside Convenience Stores When Gas Hit $4

Related:

Goldman: Fast Food’s ‘Bang For The Buck’ Gains As Casual Dining Appeal Craters

Perhaps Wingstop needs to run promotions or offer ‘BNPL’ loans for their chicken orders to bring back younger customers.

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The average price for a gallon of gasoline hit its highest level in four years on Tuesday as the cost of a barrel of oil remains elevated amid the conflict with Iran, according to a prominent analyst.

Customers pump gas at a gas station in Miami on April 13, 2026. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The national average price for a gallon of gas was $4.17, “the highest level since 2022,” and surpassed the $4.16 price reported earlier this month, said GasBuddy analyst Patrick de Haan in an X post on April 28.

“We’ll continue to head higher for now,” he added.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) also said the price for a gallon of regular gas reached just above $4.17, showing a 6-cent increase from Monday.

The price of gas and oil surged after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, prompting the country to respond by attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz and launching its own strikes on neighboring countries in the Middle East.

Diesel was significantly higher on Tuesday, with AAA showing the price for a gallon at $5.46, an increase of 2 cents over Monday’s average.

According to an AAA report in March, the nationwide average price for a gallon of gas stood at around $2.98 on Feb. 26, two days before the U.S. military launched the strikes.

A federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) graph shows that gas prices reached $4.21 per gallon in April 2022, several weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Prices may have been impacted by the United Arab Emirates’ announcement on Tuesday that the oil-rich country was quitting the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), dealing a blow to the oil producers’ group. The exit of the UAE weakens ‌OPEC’s control over global oil supplies and will widen a rift between the UAE and neighboring Saudi Arabia.

UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei told Reuters in ​a telephone interview that the decision was taken after examining the country’s energy strategies. He said the UAE had not discussed the issue with any other country.

“This ​is a policy decision, it has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to level of production,” ⁠al-Mazrouei said.

OPEC Gulf producers have been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which roughly a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, due to Iranian threats and attacks on vessels. The Trump administration has pushed for Iran to reopen the strait while maintaining a U.S. naval blockade on Iran’s ports.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday provided an update on the U.S.–Iran conflict, writing in a Truth Social post that Iran informed the administration that it is in a “state of collapse” and wants to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He did not provide other details.

Earlier on April 28, an Iranian military official told the semi-official IRNA news agency that Tehran considers itself still at war with the United States amid the blockade and ceasefire.

Trump and administration officials have said that gas prices will likely go down after the war ends. “I think they’ll be much lower. Before midterms? Much lower,” he told Fox Business in mid-April.