Japan opens door to global arms market with biggest export rule change in decades Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest overhaul of defence export rules in decades, scrapping restrictions on overseas arms sales and opening the way for exports of warships, missiles and other weapons.

Japan opens door to global arms market with biggest export rule change in decades

https://fascinating.news/r/7vK5aIho

”Traders who chased calls into all-time highs should be aware that the same mechanics that pushed markets up can also lead to sudden reversals.” www.marketwatch.com/story/why-th...

FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for article that alleged excessive drinking FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a $250 million lawsuit against The Atlantic magazine and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, contending its article posted last week that talked about his alleged excessive drinking was a “malicious hit piece.”

FBI Director Kash Patel hit The Atlantic magazine with a $250 million defamation lawsuit, claiming an article that talked about his alleged excessive drinking was a “malicious hit piece.” The Atlantic said it would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit.”

What I Learned About Billionaires at Jeff Bezos’s Private Retreat For the richest men on Earth, everything is free and nothing matters.

Rich men have always manipulated society to maximize profits—but something else entirely is happening with today’s billionaires, Noah Hawley argues. He recounts what he saw during his weekend at Jeff Bezos’s Campfire retreat:

Venezuela's Machado plans to return home by end of year, urges swift elections Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado expects to be back in her home country before the end of 2026 and is urging the United States to accelerate plans for elections.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado expects to be back in her home country before the end of 2026 and is urging the United States to accelerate plans for elections.

IRANIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE EXPRESSED WILLINGNESS TO SEND A DELEGATION FOR A SECOND ROUND OF TALKS IN ISLAMABAD THIS WEEK, TWO PAKISTANI OFFICIALS SAID MONDAY.

BofA: Tech still in the lead, but growth forecast to pick up elsewhere in 2H

The gap between EPS growth of Tech/Mag 7 vs. the rest of the index is narrower for the median stock

Kevin Warsh Pitched a Case for Fed Rate Cuts. His Future Colleagues Are Skeptical. He has argued an AI boom will ease price pressures, citing Alan Greenspan’s patience in the 1990s. His future colleagues see an economy that looks nothing like it did then.

"I don't think that Warsh walks in with that level of credibility." Janet Yellen's warning captures how Kevin Warsh's AI-productivity pitch for lower interest rates is running into an unusual public wall of skepticism from the Fed colleagues he'd soon lead. A scene-setter for Tuesday's hearing:

Trump Administration to Begin Refunding $166 Billion in Tariffs The government will debut a system to repay importers two months after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs at the heart of the president’s trade policy.

The Trump administration on Monday is set to take its first steps toward returning more than $166 billion collected from tariffs that were struck down by the Supreme Court in February. Here's what to know.

📊 PRO: This Week in Visuals TSM ASML JNJ MS GS PEP ABT SCHW BLK

📊 This Week in Visuals

⚡️ TSMC $TSM
🔬 ASML $ASML
💊 J&J $JNJ
👔 Morgan Stanley $MS
🏛️ Goldman Sachs $GS
🥤 PepsiCo $PEP
🧬 Abbott $ABT
🏦 Schwab $SCHW
📈 Blackrock $BLK

QALIBAF HAS ALSO EXPRESSED CONCERN REGARDING HIS REMOVAL FROM THE PRESIDENCY OF THE PARLIAMENT AND THE SIDELINING OF ABBAS ARAGHCHI FROM THE POSITION OF MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC.

OVERALL SHIPPING TRAFFIC THROUGH THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ REMAINS AT A STANDSTILL ON MONDAY - SHIP TRACKING DATA

US Seizes Iranian Ship in Blockade, Casting Doubt on Peace Talks

Trump said the US Navy fired upon and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, renewing doubts over the ceasefire that’s due to end Tuesday night.
www.bloomberg.com/news/live-bl...

Samuel Alito’s Disdain Helped Make Him Donald Trump’s Reliable Ally A new biography examines how the Supreme Court justice’s sense of cultural loss and distrust of elites parallels Trump-era politics.

A new biography argues Samuel Alito is still fighting the cultural battles of the 1960s — helping make him a key legal advocate for Trump.

Russia-aligned Rumen Radev set to win Bulgarian election, exit polls say Former president’s Progressive Bulgaria party is on track to win just under 40 percent of the vote.

Rumen Radev, a Russia-aligned former president, looks on course to win Bulgaria’s election today, but will need to team up with other parties to form a governing majority.

Palantir posts mini-manifesto denouncing inclusivity and ‘regressive’ cultures | TechCrunch Palantir's ideological bent has come under more scrutiny as it's worked with ICE and positioned itself as a defender of "the West."

Palantir's ideological bent has come under more scrutiny as it's worked with ICE and positioned itself as a defender of "the West."

Trump Says Iran Committed ‘Serious Violation’ of Ceasefire: ABC US President Donald Trump said Iran has committed a “serious violation” of the ceasefire but a peace deal is still possible, ABC News reported.

President Donald Trump said Iran has committed a “serious violation” of the ceasefire but a peace deal is still possible, ABC News reported on Sunday.

Mike Nellis @MikeNellis "I'M NO LONGER CATHOLIC!" Hannity ABANDONS HIS FAITH for Trump NELLIS X.com • +*+

Amazing that in the national divorce the libs are getting the NFL, butter and cooking oil, being attracted to adult women, standup comedy, Bud Light, and now also Catholicism

Ex-model, arrested by Aventura police and deported, causes White House stir A Brazilian brought to the U.S. on an Epstein plane at age 16 lashes out at the Trumps, saying she was betrayed by her friend Melania.

The story behind the ex-Brazilian model, arrested in South Florida, who claims she has compromising material on the President and First Lady.

via @jkbjournalist.bsky.social
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...

Trump, IRS In Talks To Settle U.S. President's $10 Billion Lawsuit Trump's adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization are also plaintiffs.

Trump is reported close to a "deal" with himself under which US taxpayers would pay him $10 billion.

I served in multiple communist and authoritarian dictatorships, but I never witnessed corruption on this scale or this blatant.

Screenshotted excerpt from linked article reading as follows: "In public, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has cultivated a reputation for care and caution. The papers reveal a different side of him. At a critical moment for the country and the court, the papers show, he acted as a bulldozer in pushing to stop Mr. Obama’s plan to address the global climate crisis. When colleagues warned the chief justice that he was proposing an unprecedented move, he was dismissive. “I recognize that the posture of this stay request is not typical,” he wrote. But he argued that the Obama plan, which aimed to regulate coal-fired plants, was “the most expensive regulation ever imposed on the power sector,” and too big, costly and consequential for the court not to act immediately."

OOP

New York Times got receipts on John Roberts being like, 'I know this isn't how anything works, but a Democratic president is about to implement a policy!!'

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job The FBI director has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

NEW: Kash Patel’s colleagues are alarmed by what they describe as erratic behavior and excessive drinking, Sarah Fitzpatrick reports. She spoke with more than two dozen people with knowledge of his conduct, some of whom described it as a national-security vulnerability.

Man who hacked US Supreme Court filing system sentenced to probation | TechCrunch Nicholas Moore hacked into three U.S. government networks using stolen credentials, and then bragged about it and posted victims' personal data on Instagram under the handle @ihackedthegovernment.

Nicholas Moore hacked into three U.S. government networks using stolen credentials, and then bragged about it and posted victims' personal data on Instagram under the handle @ihackedthegovernment.

Resource stocks $XLE $XLB were down this week

While only $XLK and $XLY beat the S&P 500 $SPY

S&P 500 +12% last 3 weeks.. best rally since April 2020

Trump shocked Netanyahu with Truth post stating Lebanon strikes "prohibited". Israel asked the White House for clarifications - Axios cites sources

a man in a suit and tie with the word and on the bottom ALT: a man in a suit and tie with the word and on the bottom

Argus: QatarEnergy-chartered 216,000m³ Al Ghashamiya LNG carrier has left anchorage offshore Qatar heading towards the strait of Hormuz, declared for arrival at India's 22.5mn t/yr Dahej import terminal on 21 April.

Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out, According to an Independent Audit “This is the Strait of Hormuz in the data economy. If you want to make a change, this is where you cut it off. Anything short of that is theatrical political posture.”

“In many ways fines have come to replace taxes,” he said. “What I’m trying to show here is, ‘How is enforcement failing?’"

The tech entrepreneur discusses Claude Mythos, the repercussions from the Pentagon dispute and AI regulation. 'I think we should be thinking about regulating AI the way you regulate cars and aeroplanes,' says Dario Amodei. ft.trib.al/zT8zueA

Johnson pursues a 'modified' FISA extension Leaders are racing to get a deal before a scheduled Thursday afternoon vote.

Johnson pursues a 'modified' FISA extension