Oil, Financials & Slop

Equity investors, optimistic that the end of the Iran war is near, drove the S&P 500 to a record closing high yesterday. If only such optimism were reflected in oil prices. Jackie discusses the developments and expectations moving the two markets. … Also: The S&P Financials sector posted excellent Q1 results, but its ytd performance lags all other sectors’. Investors might be overlooking some tailwinds and overreacting to some headwinds. … And: Video disruptor YouTube is being disrupted by “AI slop” on its channels. So are its social media video platform peers. But prohibiting AI-generated content comes with a cost.