FBI Director Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit Monday against The Atlantic magazine and its national-security reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, escalating a high-profile clash over a Friday article that alleged Patel’s “erratic behavior,” excessive drinking, and unexplained absences have alarmed colleagues and raised national-security concerns.

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 4, 2025. Daniel Heuer/AFP

In the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Patel accuses the publication and Fitzpatrick of publishing the story “with actual malice” despite being “expressly warned, hours before publication, that the central allegations were categorically false,” having access to “abundant publicly available information contradicting those allegations,” and ignoring “obvious and fatal defects in their own sourcing,” CNN reports.

The Atlantic article, titled “The FBI Director Is MIA,” relied on more than two dozen anonymous sources – including current and former FBI officials, members of Congress, and hospitality-industry workers – to portray Patel’s leadership as a “management failure” and his personal conduct as a potential vulnerability. It detailed claims of “bouts of excessive drinking” at venues such as the private club Ned’s in Washington, D.C., and the Poodle Room in Las Vegas, rescheduled meetings due to late-night drinking, and incidents in which Patel’s security detail allegedly struggled to wake him and once requested breaching equipment to access a locked room. The piece also suggested Patel is deeply paranoid about being fired and that President Trump has privately expressed displeasure over his behavior, including a viral video of him chugging beer with the U.S. men’s hockey team.⁠

Patel’s attorney, Jesse R. Binnall, sent a detailed pre-publication letter to The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick on April 17, disputing the claims point-by-point and demanding the outlet refrain from publishing. Binnall later posted the letter publicly on X, writing: “They were on notice that the claims were categorically false and defamatory. They published anyway. See you in court.”

This is the letter we sent to The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick BEFORE they published their hit piece on FBI Director @FBIDirectorKash. They were on notice that the claims were categorically false and defamatory. They published anyway.

See you in court. pic.twitter.com/Ke8cqNh8hY

— Jesse R. Binnall (@jbinnall) April 17, 2026

Patel himself responded defiantly on Fox News Sunday, calling the story “fake news” and promising legal action the next day. “We HAVE to fight back against the fake news,” he said. “If the fake news mafia isn’t hitting you with baseless info, you’re not doing your job!”⁠

🚨 WOW! FBI Director Kash Patel is SUING The Atlantic after they reported he gets drunk all the time and constantly has “unexplained absences”

“You want to attack my character? Come at me. I’LL SEE YOU IN COURT!”

“Absolutely. [The lawsuit] is coming TOMORROW. FOR DEFAMATION.”… pic.twitter.com/7X5PqQlP3p

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 19, 2026

The suit seeks $250 million in damages, a figure Patel’s team described as necessary to hold the outlet accountable for what they call a “sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece.”

Authored by Amin Haqshanas via CoinTelegraph.com,

US aluminium giant Alcoa is reportedly nearing a deal to offload its long-idle Massena East smelter in upstate New York to Bitcoin mining firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG).

The company is in advanced discussions and expects the transaction to close “in the middle part of this year,” CEO Bill Oplinger told Bloomberg on Friday. The site, located along the St. Lawrence River, has been inactive since 2014 after Alcoa shut it down amid rising energy costs and global competition.

Built for 24/7 heavy industrial operations, aluminum smelters come with pre-existing substations, transmission lines and high-capacity grid connections. That makes them attractive targets for Bitcoin miners and data center operators, who often spend years securing similar infrastructure approvals from scratch.

Massena East also benefits from hydropower supplied by the New York Power Authority, a key draw for energy-intensive computing firms seeking low-cost and lower-carbon power sources.

US smelters reborn as crypto, AI data centers

The potential sale comes amid a broader trend across the US, where retired industrial sites are being repurposed for digital infrastructure. Earlier this year, Century Aluminum sold its Hawesville smelter in Kentucky to TeraWulf for $200 million, with plans to convert it into a high-performance computing and AI facility rather than traditional industrial use.

TeraWulf shares are up 80% YTD. Source Bloomberg 

Meanwhile, NYDIG has been growing its footprint in Bitcoin mining infrastructure. The firm, owned by Stone Ridge, already holds a stake in Coinmint, which operates mining hardware at the same campus under a long-term lease.

Last year, Crusoe Energy also agreed to sell its Bitcoin mining business, including its digital flare mitigation operations, to NYDIG.

Bitcoin miners pivot to AI

NYDIG’s renewed push into Bitcoin mining comes as other miners are increasingly pivoting toward AI and cloud computing as shrinking margins in mining push them to diversify revenue streams.

Earleir this year, MARA Holdings acquired a 64% stake in French infrastructure company Exaion, giving the company a foothold in AI services. Other miners, including Hive, Hut 8, TeraWulf and Iren, are also repurposing mining facilities into data centers, while some, such as CoreWeave, have fully transitioned into AI-focused infrastructure.

Shares of Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods fell in late-morning trading in New York after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department’s antitrust division has opened a criminal probe into major meatpackers.

The report follows President Trump’s push for an investigation into meatpackers as supermarket beef prices remain near record highs.

Criminal antitrust cases are typically brought for alleged price-fixing, collusion, or bid-rigging. While the DoJ previously disclosed an investigation into beef companies after Trump called for action, it had not provided details on whether it was criminal.

In early November, Trump publicly stated, “I have asked the DOJ to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who are driving up the price of Beef through illicit collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation.”

“We will always protect our American ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by majority foreign-owned meat packers, who artificially inflate prices and jeopardize the security of our nation’s food supply,” Trump continued.

Beef prices at supermarkets have soared to record highs after years of drought, and elevated input prices led to the smallest U.S. herd in a generation. Trump’s tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter, have also curbed imports.

Also, last year, Trump suggested the U.S. would buy Argentine beef to increase domestic supplies and curb higher prices for Americans. This, in turn, angered U.S. cattle ranchers.

Shares of top publicly traded meatpackers, including Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods, fell after the WSJ report hit.

Tyson Foods

Smithfield Foods

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has pointed out that “Four meat packers control 85 percent of the meat processed in the U.S.”

Meanwhile, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and 12 other senators have proposed legislation that would force the nation’s largest meatpackers to break up their operations across beef, pork, and poultry.

Related:

The Problem Of The Meatpackers

Drought Engulfs 60% Of U.S. As Farmers Begin Spring Planting

The DOJ’s criminal investigation into beef companies comes as the Trump administration attempts to push forward with affordability policies as the K-shaped economy continues hammering the working poor.

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday at 10AM ET in what is shaping up to be one of the most politically charged confirmation hearings in the central bank’s modern history.

Warsh, a former Fed governor who has spent years criticizing the institution as directionless and in need of “regime change,” now has the chance to outline his vision for remaking the world’s most powerful central bank. But he faces a delicate balancing act: signaling loyalty to Trump’s push for lower interest rates while reassuring markets, lawmakers, and global observers that he will safeguard the Fed’s independence and keep inflation in check.

The hearing arrives against a backdrop of extraordinary tension. Trump has repeatedly attacked current Chair Jerome Powell, attempted to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook (a move now before the Supreme Court), and backed a Justice Department criminal probe into Powell and the Fed over a $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project. Powell has called the investigation politically motivated.

Markets continue to price in meaningful confirmation risk. As of this writing, Polymarket currently assigns roughly 33% odds that Warsh will be confirmed in time to replace Powell when his term expires on May 15.

Kevin Warsh confirmed as Fed Chair by May 15?
Yes 33% · No 68%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

ANZ Research expects him to affirm his commitment to the Fed’s independence and resistance to political pressure on rates, while arguing that strong productivity growth – aided by artificial intelligence – and the government’s deregulation agenda are structurally disinflationary forces that could support easier policy over time. Warsh has long described the Fed’s roughly $6.7 trillion balance sheet as “bloated” and views its reduction as central to restoring a sound monetary policy regime.

Warsh, 56, served on the Fed Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, the youngest person ever appointed to the role at age 35. A Stanford public policy graduate and Harvard Law alum, he previously worked in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley and as an economic policy adviser in the George W. Bush White House. During the 2008 financial crisis, he acted as the Fed’s key liaison to Wall Street, helping navigate the Bear Stearns and AIG rescues.

After leaving the Fed, Warsh became a vocal critic, arguing the central bank had strayed from its core mandate through over-reliance on complex models, opaque communication, excessive regulation, and a bloated $6.7 trillion balance sheet that distorts markets. He has long called for shrinking that balance sheet to reduce moral hazard and free up resources for the real economy.

His views appeared to evolve in 2025 as Trump’s return loomed and Powell’s term wound down. In July interviews on Fox Business and CNBC, Warsh advocated for rate cuts, citing potential productivity gains from artificial intelligence, deregulation, and housing disinflation. He has argued that aggressive quantitative tightening (QT) could offset the stimulative effect of lower rates, allowing the Fed to ease policy without reigniting inflation.

The Economic Backdrop: Iran War Fuels Inflation Uncertainty

Warsh’s testimony comes at a fraught economic moment – as the US-Israel war on Iran has driven a sharp surge in energy prices, pushing up inflation and prompting the Fed to pause further rate cuts after three reductions in late 2025. The federal funds rate currently stands at 3.5%–3.75% – with officials largely expected to hold steady at their next meeting.

Wholesale prices jumped 4% in the latest month, with energy costs up sharply. Fed officials, including Governors Christopher Waller and others, have stressed a “wait-and-see” approach, noting that a swift resolution to the conflict could reopen the door to cuts later in 2026 – but prolonged disruptions risk embedding higher inflation.

Warsh has previously pitched a multi-pronged case for eventual rate cuts centered on productivity surges and balance-sheet reduction. Analysts say he may argue for lower rates a year out while cautioning against premature easing now.

Political Hurdles Cloud Confirmation Path

Even as the hearing proceeds, Warsh’s path to confirmation remains uncertain. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a key Republican on the Banking Committee, has repeatedly vowed to block any Fed nominee—including Warsh—until the DOJ probe into Powell is fully resolved. Trump has signaled he wants the investigation to continue.

Democrats are united in opposition. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the committee’s top Democrat, met with Warsh last week and emerged with “new concerns,” citing incomplete financial disclosures. All 11 Democratic members of the panel have called for delaying the hearing until the DOJ investigations end.

Senator Elizabeth Warren Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Warsh’s financial disclosures, released earlier this month, show joint assets with his wife, Jane Lauder (of the Estée Lauder fortune), totaling at least $130 million – $192 million or more, depending on valuation ranges. He has pledged to divest conflicting holdings if confirmed, but transparency questions persist.

What to Watch Tuesday

According to Bloomberg, lawmakers from both parties are expected to press Warsh on:

His commitment to Fed independence – how will he respond to Trump pressuring him on rates?
How he hopes to shrink the balance sheet without disrupting money markets or liquidity.
Banking regulation amid a broader deregulatory push.
Greater Fed-Treasury coordination.
Updates to the Fed’s economic models and public communication.

Experts like former Kansas City Fed President Esther George have welcomed Warsh’s ideas but stressed the need for clarity to preserve credibility. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde recently warned that perceived political interference anywhere undermines global central bank trust.

Investors will scrutinize every word for signals on future policy. A misstep – either appearing too deferential to Trump or too dismissive of inflation risks – could roil bond markets and push long-term yields higher. Deutsche Bank chief U.S. economist Matthew Luzzetti noted that Warsh must thread the needle: outline a credible path to lower rates over time while forcefully defending independence. Luzzetti also points out that Warsh’s argument for rate cuts is driven by a belief in disinflationary forces from deregulation and AI. 

Although we have not heard from Warsh recently, his comments prior to his nomination indicated support for rate reductions based primarily on a forecast that anticipates strong disinflationary forces from deregulation and AI. While we expect he will maintain this narrative about the economy, recent developments have weakened the case for lower rates – labor-market data have stabilized, PCE inflation has surprised to the upside, and the war in Iran poses further upside risks to inflation. -Matthew Luzzetti, DB

Powell’s term ends May 15. Whether Warsh is in place by then hinges on resolving the Tillis standoff and navigating Senate dynamics. Republicans are growing impatient with the delay, with some quietly urging the administration to drop the probe.

Warsh has described the Fed as needing fundamental reform to better serve its dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment. Tuesday’s hearing will reveal whether senators believe he is the right person to deliver it—or whether the institution’s independence will emerge intact from one of its most turbulent periods. The stakes, as one political scientist put it, could hardly be higher.

By Monday morning US Central Command had released fuller video showing the dramatic night vision footage of Sunday’s capture of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, after it refused to follow US orders to withdraw from its planned passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Pentagon soon after the interdiction and boarding released a very brief, limited clip of a US warship firing on the vessel from afar – or also what might have been a warning shot. Later it released short footage of the actual Marine boarding, which occurred in the dead of night:

The footage shows American special forces helicopters surrounding the stricken vessel as an elite team of Marines rappel onto its deck. The ship has since been identified as the Touska, already under Washington sanctions. The vessel could now become the “spoils of war” as the US effectively takes control of its contents.

CENTCOM in releasing the footage described in greater detail: “U.S. Marines depart amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) by helicopter and transit over the Arabian Sea to board and seize M/V Touska. The Marines rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel, April 19, after guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) disabled Touska’s propulsion when the commercial ship failed to comply with repeated warnings from U.S. forces over a six-hour period.”

The boarding operation went down a little after midnight in Iran, and the particular destroyer that initially fired on the Touska was the USS Spruance. It has used its 5-inch (127 mm) MK 45 gun to hit the ship’s engine room.

The Iranian vessel tried to cross from the Arabian Sea through the Strait of Hormuz and was headed to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas when it was intercepted.

On Sunday President Trump had written on social media, “Our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room.”

As of Monday, Trump is warning that he could order renewed major attacks and bombardment of the Islamic Republic, if it refuses to negotiate or if it doesn’t compromise in talks, especially on the contested enriched uranium issue. Tehran has vowed never to transfer its stockpile to the US or outside the country.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, has blasted past 800,000 BTC in total holdings after announcing its latest purchases.

Strategy acquired 34,164 Bitcoin for $2.54 billion between April 13 and 19, according to an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

As Helen Partz reports for CoinTelegraph.com, the buy ranks as Strategy’s third-largest Bitcoin acquisition on record by coin count, behind purchases of 55,500 BTC and 51,780 BTC in November 2024.

Holding around 780,897 BTC after a $1 billion purchase just a week ago, the company now holds 815,061 BTC, purchased for $61.56 billion.

Source: SEC

The new acquisition was made at an average price of $74,395 per coin, slightly below the company’s average acquisition price of $75,527.

Strategy’s STRC funds more than 85% of the purchase

Similar to a few recent acquisitions, the majority of Strategy’s latest purchase has been funded through Stretch (STRC), the company’s perpetual preferred security.

According to the filing, STRC generated $2.18 billion, or about 85.7% of total proceeds, while sales of Class A common stock (MSTR) contributed $366 million.

Source: SEC

Last week marked several new records for STRC, including the company’s largest single-day buying spree through its at-the-market, or ATM, program.

On April 13, STRC set a new estimated daily record of about 7,741 BTC, based on the sale of 11.9 million shares through its at-the-market, or ATM, program, generating more than $1 billion in trading volume, according to STRC Live.

The stock set another record the following day, with an estimated 9,364 BTC tied to 14.4 million shares sold through its at-the-market, or ATM, program. The two days combined brought an estimated 17,204 BTC, marking a 518% surge versus the four-week average.

Strategy co-founder Saylor had teased the purchase on Sunday, signaling another large bitcoin acquisition ahead of the announcement. The company also disclosed on Friday plans to pay STRC dividends twice monthly.

“If we were to move forward with paying STRC semi-monthly, we would be in category one, the only preferred in the world that pays semi-monthly dividends. We think this is unique and attractive,” Strategy CEO Phong Le said.

Market-Cap/NAV Nears 1 Again…

Finally, recent gains for Strategy stock have lifted its market cap above $54 billion…

Pushing it closer and closer back towards its net asset value (value of BTC holdings).

For many, a shift for Market-Cap/NAV back above 1 is the greenlight for stability and a sustained recovery in MSTR’s stock.

As the war in Iran enters its 8th week, Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid says that recent developments can be framed in two ways: either five steps forward towards peace and three back (seems more apt than three and two), or as evidence that the two sides remain far enough apart that a lasting deal will be extremely hard to achieve and markets have become far too optimistic. Reid leans more towards the former, but the comparison with recent history is uncomfortable. Remember the 10%+ S&P 500 rally in the early weeks of the war in Ukraine, when hopes briefly grew of an early negotiated settlement, only to be disappointed. That episode is a clear warning sign.

That said, the political calculus around Iran may be different. According to Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin, President Trump’s approval rating dipped notably after the war began but appears to have stabilised since the two-week ceasefire was announced on 7 April—possibly reflecting the subsequent fall in petrol prices. A renewed deterioration in negotiations would therefore be unlikely to help approval ratings if oil and gas prices were to rise again.

The headline news over the weekend was Iran stating that the Strait of Hormuz was shut less than 24 hours after indicating on Friday that it would reopen. Shipping through the strait has now again ground to a halt after picking up on Saturday. On Friday afternoon in London, Polymarket had priced the probability of Strait traffic returning to normal by the end of May as high as 84%. That has now fallen back to around 66%, close to last Thursday’s level, but still well above the 37% probability priced this time last week.

The current ceasefire is due to expire at some point on Wednesday. President Trump struck a more hawkish tone yesterday, posting that while his negotiators will be in Islamabad for talks tonight (with possible talks reported for Tuesday), if Iran does not accept the deal on the table the US will “knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran”. Iran’s state TV reported last night that Iran has “no plans for now to participate” in another round of talk with the US. Meanwhile, we heard that the US Navy had intercepted and boarded an Iranian cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman, marking the first such seizure since the US announced its blockade of Iranian shipping.

So while all eyes will be focused on the middle east, in terms of the week ahead, in the US, the main event in a quiet week for data and for Fedspeak given the media blackout has now started, comes tomorrow morning at 10:00am ET, when Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s nominee to become the next Chair of the Federal Reserve, appears before the Senate Banking Committee for his confirmation hearing. Although Warsh has said little publicly since being nominated, his earlier remarks offer important clues. He has previously argued that the US economy faces powerful disinflationary forces stemming from deregulation and the rapid diffusion of artificial intelligence, a mix that should ultimately allow interest rates to move lower. That narrative is likely to feature prominently in his testimony. However, the economic backdrop has shifted in recent months, making the case for near term easing less straightforward. The labor market has stabilized, inflation measures such as PCE have surprised to the upside, and the conflict in Iran has introduced renewed upside risks to prices via energy channels. See our economists’ latest forecasts here from the end of last week where they have removed the one cut in 2026 that they previously had.

While Warsh has spoken in favor of rate reductions over time, he is not generally viewed as structurally dovish. If anything, his instincts have historically leaned more hawkish than many of his peers’. The delicate balancing act on Tuesday will be how he frames a longer-term desire to lower rates while acknowledging that current conditions do not necessarily justify imminent cuts. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent comment that he would “understand if the Fed needs to wait on rate cuts” may give Warsh some political cover, allowing him to argue that temporary inflation risks require near term vigilance before policy can ease later on.

Beyond rates, senators are likely to probe Warsh on several other fronts. He has long been critical of the Fed’s balance sheet policies, though expectations of rapid change have faded, with consensus now favoring a gradual approach that first requires regulatory adjustments to reduce banks’ demand for reserves — a view shared by several current Fed officials. He is also expected to revisit his criticism of forward guidance, particularly its detailed use outside of crisis periods, potentially signalling a desire to simplify how the Fed communicates policy intentions. Fed independence will loom large too, especially at a time when inflation has remained above target for an extended period, oil prices have surged again, and political pressure to cut rates has intensified. Even assuming Warsh ultimately secures confirmation, risks remain, with Senator Thom Tillis reiterating that he intends to block progress on Fed appointments until the Department of Justice investigation into Chair Powell is resolved.

With Fed officials in their pre meeting communications blackout, economic data will do what it can to fill the void. Tomorrow also brings the most important release of the week in the form of March retail sales. Headline sales are expected to rebound by 1.2% month on month (DB forecast), up from 0.6% previously, helped by a recovery in auto sales. Excluding autos, sales are forecast to rise by a still solid 0.8%, compared with 0.5% last month, though much of that strength is likely to reflect higher petrol prices rather than a broad resurgence in discretionary spending. The retail control group, which feeds directly into GDP calculations, is expected to grow by a more modest 0.2%, down from 0.5% previously, suggesting that underlying goods demand remains steady but unspectacular.

Later in the week, Thursday brings a handful of releases that will help round out the picture. Initial jobless claims are expected to edge up to 210,000 from 207,000, a move that will be watched closely as the data coincide with the survey window for April’s employment report. While monthly payroll numbers have been volatile, most broader measures point to a labor market that has largely stabilized over the past year and looks in better shape now than it did to many prior to the Iran War. The same day also delivers preliminary S&P Global PMIs, with manufacturing expected to ease slightly to 52.1 from 52.3, while services are forecast to recover to 51.4 from 49.8. Any commentary on supply chains or pricing pressures linked to Middle Eastern developments will be scrutinized, even if the surveys only partially capture the latest geopolitical shifts.
Across the globe, Thursday also sees the global flash April PMIs which will give a sense on how companies are viewing the current conflict, even if newsflow, net net, has improved of late. The prices paid components will be worth a watch.

There are plenty of indicators due in the UK, including labour market data tomorrow and March inflation on Wednesday. Our UK economist forecasts headline CPI to jump to 3.3% YoY, with core staying roughly steady at 3.2% (see full preview here). There will also be the March retail sales report and the April GfK consumer confidence indicator due Friday.

Sentiment data is also a theme for next week in the rest of Europe, with releases featuring the ZEW survey (tomorrow) and the Ifo survey (Friday) in Germany, as well as consumer confidence in the Eurozone (Wednesday) and France (Friday). Briefly turning to European political events, the list includes the EU leaders’ informal summit on Thursday and EU foreign affairs council meeting tomorrow. Elsewhere, March inflation will be in the spotlight in Japan on Friday when the national CPI is due. There will also be the March CPI report in Canada (today) and the Q1 CPI (tomorrow) in New Zealand.

Rounding out with corporate earnings, there will be a number of companies across defence (RTX and Lockheed Martin), energy (SLB, Baker Hughes and Halliburton) and the materials (Newmont, Freeport-McMoRan) sectors reporting, whose results and outlook will be of interest amidst the Iran conflict. A number of airlines also post results. Tech names for this week will include Tesla, SK Hynix, Intel and SAP. Other highlights are Procter & Gamble, General Electric, American Express and Blackstone. See the full day-by-day week ahead at the end for more.

Soruce: Earnings Whispers

Day-by-day calendar of events courtesy of DB

Monday April 20

Data: Japan February Tertiary industry index, Germany March PPI, Eurozone February construction output, Canada March CPI
Central banks: China 1-yr and 5-yr loan prime rates, BoC business survey

Tuesday April 21

Data: US April Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing activity, March retail sales, pending home sales, February business inventories, UK February average weekly earnings, unemployment rate, March jobless claims change, Germany April Zew survey, France March retail sales, Eurozone April Zew survey, New Zealand Q1 CPI
Central banks: ECB’s Nagel, Guindos and Kocher speak
Earnings: General Electric, UnitedHealth, RTX, Intuitive Surgical, Danaher, Interactive Brokers, Capital One Financial, ASM, DR Horton, MSCI,EQT, Halliburton, United Airlines
Other: US-Iran ceasefire to expire, the Senate Banking Committee’s confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, EU  foreign affairs council meeting

Wednesday April 22

Data: UK March CPI, RPI, PPI, February house price index, Japan March trade balance, Eurozone April consumer confidence
Central banks: ECB’s Lagarde, Lane, Nagel and Sleijpen speak
Earnings: Tesla, Lam Research, GE Vernova, Philip Morris, IBM, Texas Instruments, AT&T, Boeing, CME, ServiceNow, Boston Scientific, Moody’s, CSX, Kinder Morgan, Sandvik, Southwest Airlines, Evolution
Auctions: US 20-yr Bond (reopening, $13bn)

Thursday April 23

Data: US, UK, Japan, Germany, France and the Eurozone April flash PMIs, US March Chicago Fed national activity index, April Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity, initial jobless claims, UK March public finances, France April business confidence, EU27 March new car registrations, Canada March industrial product, raw materials price index
Central banks: ECB’s Nagel speaks
Earnings: SK hynix, Intel, American Express, SAP, Thermo Fisher Scientific, NextEra Energy, Blackstone, Union Pacific, Honeywell International, Lockheed Martin, Newmont, Sanofi, Comcast, Freeport-McMoRan, Digital Realty Trust, Baker Hughes, Nokia, Orange, Nasdaq, DNB Bank, PG&E, Saab, Keurig Dr Pepper, Dassault Systemes, Dow, American Airlines
Auctions: US 5-yr TIPS ($26bn)
Other: EU leaders’ informal summit in Cyprus (through April 24)

Friday April 24

Data: US April Kansas City Fed services activity, UK April GfK consumer confidence, March retail sales, Japan March national CPI, PPI services, Germany April Ifo survey, France April consumer confidence, Canada February retail sales
Earnings: Procter & Gamble, HCA Healthcare, Keyence, Eni, SLB, Volvo, Yara

* * * 

Finally, looking at just the US, Goldman writes that the key economic data release this week is the retail sales report on Tuesday. Fed officials are not expected to comment on monetary policy this week, reflecting the blackout period ahead of the May FOMC meeting. Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh will have his nomination hearing on Tuesday. 

Monday, April 20 

There are no major economic data releases scheduled. 

Tuesday, April 21 

08:30 AM Retail sales, March (GS +1.0%, consensus +1.2%, last +0.6%); Retail sales ex-auto, March (GS +1.1%, consensus +1.3%, last +0.5%); Retail sales ex-auto & gas, March (GS +0.1%, consensus +0.2%, last +0.4%); Core retail sales, March (GS +0.1%, consensus +0.2%, last +0.5%): We estimate core retail sales increased 0.1% in March (ex-autos, gasoline, and building materials; month-over-month SA), reflecting mixed alternative data and a headwind from potential residual seasonality. We estimate headline retail sales increased 1.0%, reflecting sharply higher gasoline prices and an increase in auto sales. On an inflation-adjusted basis, we forecast a 1.0% decline in headline retail sales and a 0.1% decline in the control group.
10:00 AM Business inventories, February (consensus +0.3%, last -0.1%)
10:00 AM Pending home sales, March (GS +0.5%, consensus -0.2%, last +1.8%)
10:00 AM Federal Reserve Chair nominee Warsh nomination hearing: Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh will give prepared testimony and answer questions from members of the Senate Banking Committee in a nomination hearing. A livestream of the hearing is expected. 

Wednesday, April 22 

There are no major economic data releases scheduled. 

Thursday, April 23 

08:30 AM Initial jobless claims, week ended April 18 (GS 220k, consensus 210k, last 207k); Continuing jobless claims, week ended April 11 (consensus 1,820k, last 1,818k)
09:45 AM S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, April preliminary (consensus 52.5, last 52.3); S&P Global US services PMI, April preliminary (consensus 50.1, last 49.8)

Friday, April 24 

10:00 AM University of Michigan consumer sentiment, April final (GS 47.5, consensus 48.4, last 47.6); University of Michigan 5-10-year inflation expectations, April final (GS 3.4%, last 3.4%): We estimate that the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index ticked down to 47.5 and that the survey’s measure of long-term inflation expectations remained at 3.4% in the final April reading, reflecting roughly unchanged gasoline prices and the timing of the announcements of the US-Iran ceasefire and the subsequent US blockage of the Strait of Hormuz within the interview period for the final survey.

Source: DB, Goldman

USA Rare Earth Inc. is acquiring Brazil’s Serra Verde Group in a roughly $2.8 billion cash-and-stock deal, part of a broader push by the U.S. and its allies to secure independent supplies of critical minerals, according to CNBC and Bloomberg. 

The agreement includes $300 million in cash and a large share issuance, with the transaction expected to close in the third quarter.

The deal comes amid rising concern over China’s dominance in rare earths—a group of 17 elements essential for modern technologies ranging from smartphones to electric vehicles and military systems. As CEO Barbara Humpton put it, “The world has become too dependent on a single source and it’s high time to break that dependency.” She added that the acquisition provides “access to a producing mine that produces the four magnetic rare earths that are going to be serving our industry.”

Serra Verde’s asset is especially valuable because it can supply key magnet materials—neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium—which are critical for high-performance permanent magnets. The mine is also backed by a long-term offtake agreement tied to U.S. government-related entities, covering 100% of production for those four elements.

Strategically, the acquisition accelerates USA Rare Earth’s goal of building a fully integrated supply chain spanning “mining, separation, metalization and magnet manufacturing.” It also reflects a wider industry shift following China’s export restrictions, which exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains.

Serra Verde CEO Thras Moraitis emphasized the broader stakes, describing rare earths as “a strategic nexus where national and energy security, and technological supremacy, converge.”

He noted that Western governments are increasingly stepping in to support the sector, as it reaches a “critical inflection point” in the effort to develop reliable, non-China sources—especially for scarce heavy rare earth elements.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile plunged the most since February after Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket failed to place the company’s BlueBird 7 satellite into its intended orbit during Sunday morning’s launch.

Shortly after the successful launch of New Glenn from the launchpad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Sunday, Blue Origin said the rocket’s payload, the BlueBird 7 satellite, was placed into an “off-nominal orbit.”

pic.twitter.com/BMAUIwF5jk

— Dave Limp (@davill) April 19, 2026

In other words, “off-nominal orbit” means that the BlueBird 7 satellite is not at the correct altitude, speed, or trajectory it was supposed to be in.

We have official confirmation that $ASTS BlueBird 7 is powered on, but sitting in an off-nominal orbit. The teams are working the problem.

Before th overreacts, look at the underlying mechanics:
▪️​Payload survived and is
communicating.
​▪️New Glenn GS1 booster reuse was… https://t.co/exY3JtJF43 pic.twitter.com/sYWsnP4nUB

— Karol Kozicki (@k2__investment) April 19, 2026

AST SpaceMobile published a statement saying the satellite’s incorrect placement is “too low to sustain operations” and that it would be deorbited in the near term.

However, New Glenn’s first stage successfully returned to Earth and landed on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, marking a major accomplishment for Blue Origin’s new era of reusable rockets.

pic.twitter.com/0WzaWjjjL9

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 19, 2026

William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma told clients, “AST gained experience integrating its satellite with New Glenn and working with the Blue Origin team,” adding, “The silver lining is that there was only one satellite on board, whereas future New Glenn launches may have as many as eight of AST’s BlueBirds.”

AST SpaceMobile shares cratered in premarket trading in New York, down as much as 14%. If premarket declines hold into the cash session, this would mark the worst session since February 12’s 15% drop. The decline would wipe out much of this year’s year-to-date gains of about 18% as of Friday’s close.

The good news is that two U.S. private companies, SpaceX and Blue Origin, have achieved reusable rockets, something China’s entire aerospace industry cannot.