WS #6060

The dominant signal in this window is the escalation of US-Iran tensions, with peace talks canceled and oil prices spiking above $100. MarketWatch reports that US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were told not to travel to Pakistan for negotiations, while a Jetstream post indicates Brent crude rose $3 to $108 per barrel. This reverses the previous de-escalation narrative and is corroborated by multiple sources. Separately, Meta is planning to lay off 10% of its workforce (8,000 employees) to reallocate resources to AI, a significant negative for META. Apple's Siri will use Google's Gemini AI, confirmed by Google at Cloud Next 2026, which is positive for GOOGL and negative for AAPL's AI ambitions. Organon shares jumped 15% premarket on a $11.75 billion acquisition by Sun Pharma. The Fed's FOMC meeting on April 28-29 is expected to hold rates steady, but the oil spike complicates the inflation outlook. China's DeepSeek slashed AI model prices by 75%, intensifying competition with OpenAI and Google. The UK admitted underestimating AI data center emissions by over 100x, which could impact regulatory sentiment. Gold is seeing selling by central banks like Turkey and Azerbaijan due to liquidity pressures, but this is likely temporary. The DAX is slightly higher on Iran's new Hormuz proposal, but the canceled talks dominate.