“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one.” ✍️☮️

— John Lennon

✅ U.S. stocks fell on Monday after a turbulent weekend of developments reignited U.S.-Iran tensions, undermined fragile peace talks, and left investors facing renewed geopolitical uncertainty and volatility.

✅ President Trump escalates warnings against Iran as a fragile ceasefire nears its expiration, while U.S. officials prepare for renewed peace talks amid unclear Iranian participation and rising tensions.

✅ California’s attorney general alleges Amazon pressured major brands to keep prices high on competing platforms, escalating an ongoing antitrust case focused on the company’s influence over online retail pricing.

✅ The federal government launched a new portal to process tariff refunds after a Supreme Court ruling struck down major duties, though payouts may take months and eligibility will be phased in gradually.

✅ Jersey Mike’s has taken a confidential first step toward going public, filing for an IPO following rapid growth, private equity ownership, and ongoing strength in the competitive sandwich market.

✅ Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $7 billion, expanding its cancer treatment pipeline with a new in vivo CAR-T therapy designed to simplify and improve immunotherapy.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

↘ Dow                            49,442.56                       - 0.01% 
↘ Nasdaq                       24,404.39                       - 0.26% 
↘ S&P                              7,109.14                       - 0.24% 

Trump Threatens Iran Again as Ceasefire Deadline Nears, U.S. Prepares for Peace Talks

President Donald Trump issued new threats against Iran on Monday, warning of overwhelming military force if a deal is not reached before a fragile ceasefire expires Tuesday evening.

Trump warned that “lots of bombs [will] start going off” if negotiations fail before the deadline. The comments come as uncertainty grows over the status of U.S.-Iran peace talks and broader diplomatic engagement between the two countries.

The administration has provided limited details on negotiations, while Trump has alternated between aggressive rhetoric and vague references to ongoing diplomacy. He has repeatedly stated that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon and has also demanded the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route that has been heavily disrupted since the conflict began.

The closure of the Strait has contributed to a surge in global oil prices and led the U.S. to impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports during the ceasefire period. Trump has said the blockade will remain in place until a deal is reached, calling it “absolutely destroying Iran” in a social media post.

In separate comments, Trump insisted any agreement would be stronger than the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal he withdrew from during his first term. He also said he would not be pressured into accepting a quick agreement, writing that he will not allow the U.S. to be “rushed into making a Deal that is not as good as it could have been.”

Trump’s rhetoric has escalated in recent days, including statements suggesting Iranian infrastructure could be targeted if negotiations collapse. His remarks have coincided with preparations for a potential second round of U.S.-Iran talks.

A U.S. delegation is expected to travel to Islamabad for renewed discussions, according to a source familiar with the matter. The group includes Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and adviser Jared Kushner, who also participated in earlier negotiations that ended without a deal.

However, it remains unclear whether Iran will participate. Iranian officials said Monday there are currently no plans to attend further talks, casting doubt on the prospects for immediate diplomatic progress as the ceasefire deadline approaches.

Amazon Accused of Pressuring Brands to Raise Prices on Rival Platforms, California DA Says

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has released newly unredacted documents in an ongoing 2022 antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, alleging the company pressured major brands to help keep prices higher on competing online marketplaces.

The documents claim Amazon “strong-armed” brands such as Levi Strauss & Co. and Hanes into influencing pricing on rival platforms like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot. According to the filings, Amazon allegedly used its dominant position in online retail to compel vendors into agreements that helped maintain higher prices across the internet.

The complaint argues that these arrangements are part of a broader strategy that reduces competition and leads to inflated consumer prices. Bonta said the agreements effectively “keep prices artificially high” on competing sites by pressuring vendors to coordinate pricing behavior.

Amazon has denied the allegations. A company spokesperson said it would respond in court “at the appropriate time,” and criticized the attorney general’s motion as an attempt to “distract from the weakness of its case,” noting that the claims rely on evidence the state has had for years.

The newly released documents include internal communications showing Amazon flagging lower prices on rival sites and urging brands to take action. In one instance involving Hanes, Amazon reportedly shared listings from Target and Walmart showing cheaper prices, after which Hanes confirmed it contacted those retailers to raise prices.

In another example, Amazon allegedly restricted product visibility for Allergan eye drops after identifying lower prices elsewhere. The filing says Walmart later adjusted its price to $16.99, after which Amazon restored the product listing at the company’s request.

The allegations are part of a broader legal battle over Amazon’s pricing practices, which also face scrutiny in a separate 2023 Federal Trade Commission antitrust lawsuit focused on the company’s market power and business conduct.

Refund Portal Launches After Supreme Court Strikes Down Tariffs

A new federal portal opened Monday morning, allowing businesses to start applying for refunds tied to tariffs recently struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The CAPE portal (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) is now live and will handle refund claims for importers. Built on an existing Customs and Border Protection system, it is designed to process tariff-related refunds more efficiently, with officials confirming that initial development was completed last week. In a statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said CAPE is intended to consolidate refunds of IEEPA duties, including interest, rather than process them one entry at a time.

The rollout comes after the Supreme Court invalidated the tariffs but left key questions unresolved about how refunds would be distributed. Not all of the estimated $166 billion in collected tariffs, plus interest, will be included in the first phase of refunds. Officials say additional phases will follow to address more complex claims and expand eligibility.

Payments are not expected until later this summer. Early projections suggest a 45-day review period for claims, followed by another 60 to 90 days before refunds are issued after approval.

Only businesses that paid the tariffs can apply for refunds, though several lawsuits are seeking to have money returned indirectly to consumers. At least 17 lawsuits have been filed against major companies including FedEx (FDX), Costco (COST), and UPS (UPS), arguing that any recovered funds should be passed on to customers.

Some industry groups have raised concerns about the rollout. The Main Street Alliance said the launch is an important step but warned that the process may be too complicated for many small businesses without further simplification.

The refund system follows a 6–3 Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key part of President Donald Trump’s tariff program under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which had been introduced during his “Liberation Day” trade policy push last year.

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Jersey Mike’s Sandwich Chain Confidentially Files For IPO

Jersey Mike’s has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, the company confirmed Monday, marking the first formal step toward becoming a publicly traded company.

The filing comes more than a year after Blackstone acquired a majority stake in the company in a deal that valued Jersey Mike’s at approximately $8 billion. Following the acquisition, the company appointed former Wingstop CEO Charlie Morrison to lead the brand, bringing experience from his tenure overseeing major growth and an IPO for the chicken wing chain.

With more than 3,000 locations across the United States, Jersey Mike’s is the second-largest hoagie sandwich chain in the country, trailing only Subway.

The company reported $309.8 million in revenue in 2025, a 10.6% increase year over year, but net income fell to $183.6 million from $238.8 million the prior year.

Jersey Mike’s origins date back to 1971, when founder Peter Cancro began working at a small sandwich shop in New Jersey at age 14. By 1975, he had purchased Mike’s Subs and later rebranded it as Jersey Mike’s before expanding through franchising. Cancro remained the company’s sole owner until the Blackstone transaction.

The confidential IPO filing is the first step toward a potential public listing. If completed, it would mark the first restaurant IPO since Black Rock Coffee Bar went public in September.

The move comes during a relatively slow period for IPO activity. Market volatility, economic uncertainty, and weak post-IPO performance have delayed many listings, though expectations remain for a pickup later this year, with several large offerings anticipated, including a potential SpaceX IPO that could value the company at up to $1 trillion.

Eli Lilly said Monday it has agreed to acquire biotech company Kelonia Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $7 billion, marking another major expansion of its oncology pipeline.

Under the agreement, Lilly will pay $3.25 billion upfront, with additional payments of up to $7 billion total depending on clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

Kelonia is developing a novel cancer treatment approach known as in vivo CAR-T therapy, which aims to reprogram a patient’s T-cells inside the body so they can target and destroy cancer cells. This differs from current CAR-T treatments, which require immune cells to be removed, engineered in a lab, and then reinfused into the patient.

Lilly describes the therapy as a one-time intravenous treatment that activates the body’s own immune system to fight cancer without the need for preconditioning chemotherapy. Executives said the approach could simplify treatment and expand access beyond specialized academic medical centers.

Lilly oncology president Jacob Van Naarden called Kelonia’s results “nothing short of remarkable,” adding that the company sees potential applications beyond blood cancers such as multiple myeloma, including other hematologic cancers and possibly solid tumors.

CAR-T therapies have already generated significant commercial success. Johnson & Johnson’s Carvykti brought in $1.89 billion in sales last year, while Gilead Sciences recently made a multibillion-dollar acquisition tied to competing CAR-T technology.

Traditional ex vivo CAR-T therapies remain complex and time-consuming, often requiring weeks of processing and chemotherapy-based preparation before treatment can be administered.

The Kelonia acquisition is part of a broader deal-making push by Eli Lilly as it seeks to diversify beyond its blockbuster GLP-1 obesity and diabetes drugs. The company has recently expanded into multiple therapeutic areas, including sleep disorders and additional cell therapy programs.

Van Naarden said Lilly is balancing early-stage research investments with larger, later-stage acquisitions that come with more clinical validation, noting that while many early deals fail, they remain important to the company’s long-term pipeline strategy.

Despite its recent acquisition spree, he said Lilly does not feel constrained in pursuing additional deals going forward.

📉 ON THE MOVE AND NOTABLES 📈

✔️ Asian markets closed higher overnight, while European equities traded lower.

✔️ Bond markets remained steady, with the 10-year Treasury yield near 4.25% and the 2-year around 3.71%.

✔️ In commodities, oil is reacting more sharply, climbing to about $86 per barrel following the weekend developments.

✔️ Earnings season is gaining momentum, with nearly 20% of S&P 500 companies set to report this week.

✔️ Marvell Technology (MRVL) jumped after a report from The Information revealed the company is in discussions with Google to develop two new AI chips—fueling fresh excitement around its role in the AI supply chain.

✔️ Broadcom (AVGO), which recently secured a deal to produce future versions of Google’s AI chips, slipped as investors weighed potential competitive dynamics.

✔️ Airline stocks came under pressure early Monday as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher.

✔️ Cruise lines also moved lower in sympathy, while energy stocks broadly traded higher.

✔️ In the crypto space, Strategy (MSTR) declined alongside other crypto-linked names as Bitcoin slid nearly 3%, reflecting a broader risk-off tone tied to geopolitical uncertainty.

✔️ Meta Platforms (META) dipped after reports it plans to cut roughly 8,000 jobs in an initial round of layoffs, part of a broader restructuring effort that could eventually impact around 20% of its workforce.

✔️ Mining stocks, including Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Newmont (NEM), also moved lower ahead of earnings later this week, as gold prices slipped and the U.S. dollar strengthened amid global tensions.

✔️ Silver and copper followed suit, adding to the pressure on the sector. Coming off four weeks of gains, the red metal fell 0.5% to settle at $13,275 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, as most industrial metals dropped.

✔️ TopBuild (BLD) surged after news it will be acquired by QXO (QXO) in a $17 billion deal, highlighting ongoing consolidation in the construction materials space.

✔️ Tesla (TSLA) edged lower ahead of its closely watched earnings report this week, as the stock attempts to stabilize following an extended losing streak.

✔️ Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) fell after reports that the Justice Department is preparing an antitrust case against major egg producers over alleged price coordination.

✔️ Earnings season is off to a solid start, with about 80% of S&P 500 companies reporting positive earnings surprises and 69% beating on revenue so far, according to Bloomberg.

✔️ JetBlue chief Executive ‌Officer Joanna ‌Geraghty has told employees that the carrier is not considering filing for ‌a ⁠bankruptcy this year, Bloomberg News ⁠reported on Monday.

✔️ Looking ahead, March retail sales data is expected to show a 1.3% monthly increase, though much of that gain may be driven by higher gasoline prices and does not account for inflation.

✔️ Cleveland-Cliffs slid as the company is “no longer in a hurry” to close a long-planned deal with South Korea’s POSCO Holdings, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said on an earnings call Monday.

✔️ Space-based Internet provider AST SpaceMobile’s (ASTS) stock plummeted after the

✔️ Texas-based company’s BlueBird 7 satellite, launched by Blue Origin’s flagship New Glenn rocket over the weekend, failed to align in proper orbit. AST said in a statement that during the mission that BlueBird 7 was placed into a “lower than planned” orbit at an altitude that was too low to sustain operations.

✔️ Sandisk (SNDK) stock has joined the Nasdaq 100 after shares surged 287% year to date.

✔️ Shares of psychedelic drug developers including AtaiBeckley (ATAI) and Compass Pathways (CMPS) rose after President Trump signed an executive ‌order directing health regulators to speed up reviews of psychedelic ‌drugs to treat serious mental illness.

💲What Else to Watch This Week💲

Looking ahead for the week, investors will have another busy stretch of earnings to digest, with major names including Tesla (TSLA), Intel (INTC), and United Airlines (UAL) set to report.

🟢 Tuesday (April 21): Business Inventories, Pending Home Sales, Retail Sales. Earnings from Capital One Financial Corp. (COF), Chubb Ltd. (CB), Danaher Corp. (DHR), D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI), EQT Corp. (EQT), Halliburton Co. (HAL), Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (IBKR), Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG), 3M Co. (MMM), MSCI Inc. (MSCI), Northrup Grumman Corp. (NOC), RTX Corp. (RTX).

🟢 Wednesday (April 22): EIA Crude Oil Inventories, MBA Mortgage Applications Index. Earnings from AT&T Inc. (T), Boeing Co. (BA), Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX), CME Group Inc. (CME), CSX Corp. (CSX), GE Vernova Inc. (GEV), International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Lam Research Corp. (LRCX), Phillip Morris International Inc. (PM), ServiceNow Inc. (NOW), Tesla Inc. (TSLA), Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT).

🟢 Thursday (April 23): Continuing Claims, EIA Natural Gas Inventories, Initial Claims, S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI, S&P Global U.S. Services PMI. Earnings from American Express Co. (AXP), Blackstone Inc. (BX), Digital Realty Trust Inc. (DLR), Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX), Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD), Honeywell International Inc. (HON), Intel Corp. (INTC), Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), Newmont Corp. (NEM), Nextera Energy Inc. (NEE), SAP SE (SAP), Union Pacific Corp. (UNP).

🟢 Friday (April 24): University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment – Final. Earnings from Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR), HCA Healthcare Inc. (HCA), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC), Procter & Gamble Co. (PG), SLB NV (SLB).

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