4/3/2026
Energy Prices Spike
The cost of U.S. crude oil continued pushing higher to more than $111 per barrel, up nearly 12% since Wednesday, its biggest one-day price jump in six years. For the year, it's now up 94%.
NBC News April 2, 2026
Today, Friday Apri 3, 2026, May West Texas Crude is $112.06, up $11.94 since Thursday. Trump’s speech Wednesday night offered continued fighting while Iran denies the existence of any talks. Distant oil futures continue to take the short -erm volatility in stride. November 2026 WTIC is trading for $73.24, up a mere 86 cents from Thursday.
One might think the administration would want to exhibit a steady as she goes appearance in the midst of ‘the military action.’ That is not the case. Defense Secretary Hegseth has fired Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, General David Hodne, and Major General William Green Jr. green was head of the Arm’s Chaplain Corps. Apparently there is no safety for ministers either.
The DOW fell over 600 points following Trump’s talk and then recovered most of the loss. Today markets are little changed.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 178,000 jobs added in March. That is better than the 133,000 jobs reported lost in February. Most of the job gains were in health care.
The Dow remains 4,000 points below its February 10 high. The SPX and NDX are also below all-time highs.
While the Military Action and the Artemis space shot dominate the news, elsewhere there are problems GM sales fell 9.7% in the first quarter, the most in four years. Higher interest rates and gasoline prices seem to have buyers sidelined. Exxon Mobil’s touted biofuel algae program is not delivering the promised results.
The latest sure-fire idea for your portfolio is also having difficulties. Private Equity, funds invested in non-public enterprises, was touted as the next big thing. But seems investors are having trouble redeeming as much as they would like. Such funds are illiquid and cannot be returned on demand. In the last year Blue Owl has dropped from $20 to $8.57.
Mortgage rates have risen to 6.46%, impacting home sales. The Ten -Year Treasury Note yields 4.3%. Our prediction is that it will rise above the previous high of 5.03%
Elon Musk Space X plans a fall IPO on his birthday. The plan is to raise more than $75 billion. This may result is a market capitalization of $1.75 trillion. That would surely set a record for IPOs. New market highs spawn ambitious projects. This will be one to watch, a stellar valuation indeed.
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