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The world holds its breath: Trump says Iran war will end ‘pretty soon’ as uranium deal is in sight

18 0
17.04.2026

The world holds its breath: Trump says Iran war will end ‘pretty soon’ as uranium deal is in sight

Good morning. On Fortune’s radar today:

Trump says Iran war will end “pretty soon” with impending deal.

Markets: Mixed reaction to possible peace deal.

Yes, United and American Airlines can be merged. Here’s how.

Netflix: Reed Hastings bows out — and no, it wasn’t the Warner deal.

Jamie Dimon sounds private-credit alarm again. Goldman shrugs.

Low unemployment claims are “hard to believe” given the circumstances.

New “Misery Index” ranks the worst countries to live in.

Peace breaks out — and traders cash in

S&P 500 futures ticked up 0.18% this morning and were rising steadily on news that the U.S. war with Iran may be approaching an end. The index closed up 0.26% yesterday for a second straight record high at 7,041.28.

Surprisingly, global markets did not react with universal joy. Indexes were mixed in Europe and down in Asia. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.18% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was flat before lunch. China’s CSI 300 declined 0.17%. South Korea’s KOSPI was down 0.55%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.75%. The only exception in the East was India’s Nifty 50, up 0.46%. 

Traders may have already taken their gains and are selling on the news. After all, “European equities [are] up just over 10% from the March 23rd low,” Bank of America’s Sebastian Raedler told clients in a note this morning.

“Markets have been unwilling to price in [Trump’s] assertion in the absence of confirmation from alternative sources,” UBS’s Paul Donovan warned.

“There has been a little bit of derisking globally over the last 24 hours, but markets remain broadly optimistic about the direction of travel,” Jim Reid and the folks at Deutsche Bank said in their morning email.

United American? The merger that just might fly

American Airlines already ranks as the world’s largest carrier by passengers flown, and United stands fourth; at their current sizes, the combo would be twice the size of both second-place Delta and number-three Ryanair on the global stage. The new behemoth would be by far the most dominant in the annals of U.S. air travel. Although that would present a seemingly straightforward antitrust challenge, industry insiders who talked to Fortune’s Shawn Tully say the tie-up is by no means impossible. The reason: The Trump Administration’s........

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