The U.S. and Iran held several hours of nuclear negotiations in Oman on Friday, and officials from both countries indicated they expect further meetings in the coming days.

- During the talks, Trump's advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met directly with Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, two sources briefed on the meeting said.

Why it matters: These were the first face-to-face talks between the U.S. and Iran since the 12-day war last June. They take place amid a massive U.S. military buildup in the Gulf, and with President Trump warning he could pivot to military action if a deal can't be reached quickly. (Axios – Continue Reading)

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is poised to lead her ruling coalition to a landslide victory in this weekend’s snap election, a Nikkei poll has shown.

The poll, conducted from Tuesday to Thursday, showed that the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, were likely to secure more than 300 of the 465 seats in the Lower House.

The findings echo an earlier poll by the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, which also projected that the ruling bloc would gain more than 300 seats. (CNBC – Continue Reading)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke above the 50,000 level for the first time, as investors bid up the blue-chip gauge amid optimism over the US economy and corporate earnings.

The 30-member index — comprised of household names like Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. — rose 2.2% to 50,014.81 at 2:24 p.m in New York. The gauge is up 4% this year, outperforming all major US equity indexes. (Bloomberg – Continue Reading)

The Justice Department is investigating whether Netflix has engaged in anticompetitive tactics as it probes the streaming giant’s proposed acquisition of Warner Discovery’s studios and HBO Max streaming service, according to a civil subpoena viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Questioning how Netflix competes with rivals suggests the department is looking at whether its planned Warner deal could entrench its market power, or lead to a monopoly in the future. U.S. law gives enforcers broad power to oppose mergers that could lead to a monopoly. (WSJ – Continue Reading)

Earnings season is more than halfway over, and a clear laggard is emerging: companies that sell non-essential items to consumers.

Consumer-discretionary earnings for the S&P 500 have slipped 0.1%, according to LSEG calculations blending actual and estimated results. That is the weakest performance among the index's 11 sectors. A high ratio of companies—38%—have also missed consensus earnings forecasts.

The sector covers a broad swathe of the economy, encompassing a range of companies from Amazon and DoorDash to Tractor Supply and Marriott. (WSJ – Continue Reading)