DailyBrief: April 11
March CPI hits 3.3%, oil ceasefire doubts linger, TSMC revenue record
Markets & Economics
March CPI Surges to 3.3%, Highest in Nearly Two Years
The Consumer Price Index rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, up sharply from 2.4% in February, driven almost entirely by a 21.2% spike in gasoline prices stemming from the U.S.-Iran conflict. The monthly gain of 0.9% was the first CPI reading since fighting began on Feb. 28, illustrating how quickly the Middle East crisis is translating into costs for American consumers. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose a more contained 0.2% for the month and 2.6% annually, providing some relief for Federal Reserve policymakers. Shelter costs posted their slowest annual gain since August 2021, while food prices were flat on the month. Economists warn that if the energy shock proves persistent, upward pressure on core prices could follow in coming months. Source: CNBC, Bloomberg
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Iran Ceasefire Remains Fragile as Oil Hovers Near $97 a Barrel
Despite a two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced earlier this week, oil prices remain elevated near $97 per barrel as the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supply passes, stays effectively closed. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company CEO Sultan Al Jaber confirmed that Iran continues to restrict and condition ship traffic through the strait, undermining hopes of a swift supply recovery. Brent crude briefly surged above $120 per barrel at the height of the conflict before a sharp pullback, posting its biggest weekly decline since 2020 on ceasefire news. Goldman Sachs warned that if the Strait remains closed for just one additional month, Brent could average above $100 per barrel through 2026. Source: CNBC, NBC News
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U.S. Stocks Post Best Week Since November as Rally Extends Eight Days
U.S. equities closed out a strong week on Friday, with the S&P 500 gaining 3.6%, the Nasdaq rising 4.7%, and the Dow advancing 3%, marking the best collective weekly performance since November. The gains came despite a hotter-than-expected March CPI print, as investors took comfort from contained core inflation readings and cautious optimism around U.S.-Iran talks. The dollar tracked oil lower, Treasury yields dipped, and Bitcoin climbed back above $70,000. Wall Street strategists are nonetheless revising 2026 outlooks lower, wrestling with the compounding effects of war, elevated energy costs, and tariff-driven consumer strain. Source: Bloomberg
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Warsh Fed Chair Nomination Hearing Delayed Over Financial Disclosure Snag
Kevin Warsh's Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing, originally set for April 16, has been pushed back after the panel has yet to receive his required financial disclosures. Warsh's finances are notably complex given his marriage to Estee Lauder heir Jane Lauder, whose net worth is estimated at approximately $1.9 billion. The Trump administration is targeting mid-May for Warsh to replace Chair Jerome Powell, a timeline now under pressure. A further obstacle persists: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has vowed to block any Fed nominee until the Department of Justice drops its criminal probe into Powell, adding political uncertainty to what was already a complicated transition. Source: CNBC
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Tech & AI
TSMC Posts 35% Revenue Jump to Record $35.6 Billion on AI Chip Demand
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported first-quarter revenue of 1.13 trillion New Taiwan dollars, equivalent to $35.6 billion, a 35% year-on-year increase and a new record high. Sustained demand for advanced chips from key customers including Nvidia and Apple powered the beat, with the company reportedly hiking prices on its most advanced nodes, a move analysts cited as a major factor behind the outperformance. Gross margins are projected at approximately 64% for the quarter. TSMC will release its full Q1 earnings on April 16. The results reinforce that enterprise AI infrastructure spending remains robust, even as broader consumer electronics markets contend with memory shortages. Source: CNBC
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CoreWeave Stock Surges 11% on Multi-Year Anthropic Deal, a Day After $21B Meta Win
CoreWeave announced a multi-year agreement on April 10 to supply Anthropic with the compute required to develop and deploy its Claude family of AI models, sending the company's shares up 11% in Friday trading. The deal arrived less than 24 hours after Meta pledged $21 billion to the same provider for AI cloud services, cementing CoreWeave's standing at the center of the industry's infrastructure arms race. Nine of the ten leading AI model providers now rely on CoreWeave's platform. Anthropic gains access to specialized GPU clusters without the capital burden of building its own data centers, while CoreWeave adds a flagship AI safety company to a client roster already anchored by the industry's heaviest spenders. Source: CNBC, Bloomberg
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