“No one should have to ration their insulin or cancer medication because of cost.” ✍️

– Joe Biden

✅ U.S. stocks slipped as hopes for de-escalation in the Iran conflict faded. 

✅ JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the Iran war poses short-term risks but could ultimately increase the likelihood of lasting Middle East peace, highlighting a shift in regional attitudes and linking stability to continued foreign investment.

✅ Arm unveiled its first in-house AGI CPU, designed for AI data centers, with Meta as its first customer, marking a major shift from licensing to manufacturing silicon and entering direct competition with its previous clients.

✅ CVS Health reached a proposed settlement with the FTC over insulin pricing, which is expected to curb rebate practices, enhance transparency, and reduce regulatory risk for its Caremark PBM unit without significantly affecting earnings.

✅ Circle’s shares tumbled 22% after the proposed Clarity Act could restrict stablecoin issuers from paying yield for holding assets, highlighting regulatory pressure on the crypto industry and the importance of USDC as a fully audited, institutional-grade stablecoin.

✅ Amazon’s Zoox plans to launch robotaxi service in Austin and Miami later this year, expanding its autonomous fleet while awaiting regulatory approval, with a long-term strategy to gradually scale public operations and compete with Waymo.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

↘ Dow                            46,124.06                   - 0.18%
↘ Nasdaq                       21,761.90                   - 0.84%
↘ S&P                              6,556.37                   - 0.37% 

Jamie Dimon Sees Long-Term Peace Potential Despite Iran War

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday that while the Iran war poses short-term risks, it could ultimately improve the chances of lasting peace in the Middle East.

Speaking at a Washington, D.C. conference with Palantir executive Mike Gallagher, Dimon said: “I think the Iran war makes it a better chance in the long run — it’s probably riskier in the short run, because we don’t know the outcome of it.”

Dimon highlighted a shift in regional attitudes: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the U.S., and Israel all now want permanent peace.

Persian Gulf states, in particular, have shown a willingness to move toward stability. “The attitude is not what the attitude was 20 years ago. They all want it,” he added.

Dimon tied his view on peace directly to economics, warning that foreign direct investment into the Gulf region will stall without stability. “They can’t have neighbors lobbing ballistic missiles into their data centers,” he said.

The conflict, which began last month with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, has driven oil prices higher due to supply disruptions. While some optimism arose after statements about possible resolution talks, Iran denied any negotiations were underway.

Arm Launches First In-House CPU and Meta Debuts as Customer

Arm Holdings has unveiled its first in-house chip, the AGI CPU, marking a major shift from licensing chip designs to manufacturing its own silicon. CNBC received an exclusive first look at the chip, purpose-built for AI inference in data centers.

Meta is the first official customer for the AGI CPU, joining seven other committed partners including OpenAI, Cloudflare, and SAP. This represents a significant endorsement for Arm as it competes with companies that were previously its customers.

“In today’s world, you really only have a couple of players. This adds yet another player to the ecosystem for us,” said Meta software engineer Paul Saab.
He added that the deal “allows a lot more flexibility in our software stack and in our supply chain.”

Arm CEO Rene Haas emphasized that this launch is a “long-anticipated move” that positions the company to compete directly with major chipmakers like Nvidia, Amazon, Google, and Apple in physical silicon.

The AGI CPU addresses rising demand for general-purpose compute power in AI. While GPUs excel at parallel processing for training AI models, CPUs are critical for running sequential tasks across multiple agents in agentic AI systems. Analysts predict the CPU market growth could outpace GPUs by 2028.

Arm invested $71 million and 18 months building new lab facilities in Austin, Texas, where its team of over 1,000 engineers tests and develops the chip. Manufacturing is currently handled by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) using a 3-nanometer process, with potential U.S. production in the future.

“It’s a $1 trillion market, and our partners are recognizing this is actually great for the industry,” said Mohamed Awad, Arm’s head of cloud AI.

Arm’s Neoverse platform, launched in 2018, laid the foundation for its data center ambitions. Companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have already built AI chips using Arm architecture. The AGI CPU represents Arm’s first step from licensing to directly competing in the AI hardware market.

CVS Reaches Proposed Insulin Pricing Settlement with FTC

CVS Health announced it has reached a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concerning insulin pricing.

The settlement involves CVS’ pharmacy benefit management (PBM) unit, Caremark, which has faced regulatory scrutiny over drug pricing practices for years. CVS emphasized that Caremark has long worked to lower prescription drug costs.

The settlement process is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, though final terms are still pending. A source indicated the agreement is modeled on a recent deal between the FTC and Express Scripts (owned by Cigna), which was finalized two weeks after its proposal. CVS’ settlement could take effect even sooner.

Key elements likely to be included, based on the Cigna precedent:

Curbing rebate pricing, which can incentivize higher list prices and steering.

Shifting to a fee-based compensation structure and improving transparency.

Violating the terms could result in regulatory penalties or further action.

Analyst Lisa Gill of J.P. Morgan said the changes will have a nominal impact on CVS’ earnings:

“We broadly view these as manageable and, importantly, not larger in scope than the changes CVS was already implementing to address regulatory concerns and de-risk its PBM business.”

Overall, the settlement removes a regulatory overhang for CVS while aligning the company’s PBM operations with evolving industry standards.

Circle Plunges Amid Clarity Act Fears

Circle (CRCL) shares fell 22%, marking the company’s worst day on record, as investors reacted to the latest version of the proposed Clarity Act.

The legislation could ban stablecoin issuers from paying yield to users simply for holding the coins, a core incentive that encourages users to keep assets like USDC. The bill may still allow activity-based rewards, such as using the stablecoin for payments, trading, or lending.

“Earning yield on stablecoins like Circle’s USDC is similar to interest earned on cash sitting in a bank account,” the report noted, highlighting its importance for adoption and retention.

The drop in Circle shares also weighed on Coinbase (COIN), the primary distribution platform for USDC, which declined 11%.

Interest payments on stablecoins have become a regulatory and industry issue, as banks argue that crypto platforms offering yield could draw deposits away from traditional banks.

Separately, Circle competitor Tether (USDT) announced it has hired a Big Four accounting firm to audit its reserves for the first time. USDT, the largest stablecoin at $184 billion market cap, has faced scrutiny for lacking formal audits, unlike USDC, which is fully audited annually by Deloitte and provides monthly attestations.

USDC, the second-largest stablecoin at $78.6 billion market cap, is widely considered more institutional-grade, contributing to Circle’s prominence following its IPO last year.

Amazon-owned Zoox is preparing to launch its robotaxi service to some members of the public in Austin and Miami later this year. The company’s toaster-shaped autonomous vehicles have no steering wheel or pedals and will initially operate in limited test areas. Trips will first be offered to Zoox employees and their families, before opening to the public via the Explorer program waitlist.

Zoox has gradually expanded its public service over the past year. The company began offering free driverless rides last year in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco, serving 350,000 riders and attracting about 500,000 on its waitlist.

“We’re ready to charge, especially in Las Vegas, where obviously we’ve been there for a long time,” said CEO Aicha Evans. Zoox is awaiting National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approval to operate up to 2,500 self-driving cars commercially.

Zoox is racing to catch up to Waymo, Alphabet’s robotaxi unit, which provides 400,000 paid rides per week across 10 U.S. cities and is expanding internationally to London and Tokyo.

As part of its expansion:

San Francisco coverage will quadruple, adding Marina, North Beach, Chinatown, Pacific Heights, and the Embarcadero.

In Las Vegas, Zoox plans to serve high-traffic events at the Sphere, T-Mobile Arena, and Harry Reid International Airport.

Testing is also underway in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Zoox will have 100 robotaxis on public roads once its Las Vegas and San Francisco operations scale, with additional vehicles coming online in Austin and Miami.

Zoox recently partnered with Uber to offer rides through its app in Las Vegas this summer, though its own app will remain the primary way to hail vehicles. Evans emphasized that robotaxi deployment is a long-term effort:

“This is a long journey. We’ve been at this for 12 years, super consistent and super stubborn… it’s not like you wake up tomorrow and there’s going to be a million robotaxis everywhere.”

📉 ON THE MOVE AND NOTABLES 📈

✔️ Markets soared Monday after President Trump said the US had engaged in “very good and productive” discussions with Iran. The positive sentiment faded yesterday after Iranian state media pushed back on the claim, saying that no direct negotiations had taken place.

✔️ Oil prices traded higher on Tuesday, with international benchmark Brent crude climbing back above $100 per barrel.

✔️ Bond yields are rising to multi-month highs, with the 10-year Treasury reaching 4.40%—its highest level since July—as investors weigh how central banks might respond to energy-driven inflation.

✔️ Gold gave up its early gains following reports that Turkey may use its reserves to support the lira. The metal has fallen for the 10th consecutive day.

✔️ Recent survey data provided an early glimpse into the economic effects of the conflict. Preliminary global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures for March indicate both business activity and eurozone consumer confidence have weakened.

✔️ Apollo Global Management (APO) fell after Bloomberg reported its business development arm is limiting redemptions from a major non-traded private credit fund for retail investors—part of a broader trend of rising withdrawal requests.

✔️ Ares Management (ARES) dropped following a Financial Times report that it has capped withdrawals from a $10.7 billion private credit fund.

✔️ Broadcom (AVGO) edged lower. According to Reuters, the company is facing supply chain bottlenecks, including limited capacity at manufacturing partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), as demand for AI chips surges.

✔️ Estée Lauder (EL) dropped after reports it is nearing a $40 billion merger with Puig. Shares were little changed in early trading today.

✔️ The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) remained elevated above 26 on Tuesday. Its limited pullback from recent highs above 30 signals continued investor caution and active hedging. Typically, readings above 20 point to ongoing market turbulence.

✔️ Bitcoin hovered near $70,000 as Bernstein calls a bottom. "We believe Bitcoin has found its trough and is now heading higher," Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani wrote on Monday. The firm reaffirmed its $150,000 price target for the end of 2026.

✔️ Tesla (TSLA) sales rebounded in Europe after massive slump. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), Tesla electric vehicle registrations (a proxy for sales) in Europe rose to 17,664 units in February, an 11.8% gain compared to a year ago. 

✔️ Smithfield Foods' (SFD) stock rose following the board's raising of the pork producer's quarterly dividend by 25%, to 31.25 cents from 25 cents.

✔️ Jefferies Financial Group's (JEF) stock went higher following news that Japan's second-largest lender, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, (SMFG) is working on plans for a possible takeover of Jefferies.

✔️ Fertilizer names such as Nutrien (NTR) and CF Industries (CF) declined amid expectations that prices could ease. Fertilizer costs—closely tied to natural gas—have surged 24% since the conflict began, raising concerns as U.S. farmers head into planting season. Upcoming government data on crop plantings for corn, soybeans, and wheat will be closely watched.

✔️ Market expectations for Federal Reserve policy have shifted sharply. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a rate cut this year has dropped from 95% a month ago to about 9%. Futures now imply roughly a 17% chance of at least one rate hike in 2026, with even an 8% probability of a hike as soon as next month.

💲What Else to Watch This Week💲

🟢 March 25: February durable goods orders and expected earnings from Cintas (CTAS), Paychex (PAYX), and Chewy (CHWY).

🟢 March 26: No major earnings or data expected.

🟢 March 27: Fourth quarter GDP—third estimate and University of Michigan final March Consumer Sentiment.

🟢 March 30: No major earnings or data expected.

🟢 March 31: March Consumer Confidence and expected earnings from McCormick (MKC) and Nike (NKE).
 

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