The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a surprise rebound in employment growth on Friday, with the US economy adding 178,000 jobs in March, following a revised decline of 133,000 in the prior month. Analysts had expected job growth of 65,000.

Deutsche Bank’s Brett Ryan said the rebound from strike- and weather-related weakness in February payrolls was somewhat less impressive, citing a slowdown in average hourly earnings to 0.2% from 0.4% and a dip in average weekly hours worked to 34.2 from 34.3.

The Middle East conflict has now entered its fifth week with no clear resolution in sight. Over the Easter weekend, Donald Trump released a highly aggressive, profanity-laden post demanding Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face severe consequences. (LS – Continue Reading)

Negotiators are pessimistic Iran will bend to meet President Trump’s demand to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before his Tuesday-night deadline, paving the way for the U.S. to target Iranian bridges and power plants in a fresh escalation of the war.

Twice in his second term, Trump set a deadline for a deal with Iran, said he would bomb the country if its leaders didn’t comply, then followed through with military operations. (WSJ – Continue Reading)

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee both see inflation as a far bigger problem than employment, underscoring their support for tighter rather than looser monetary policy as the Iran war puts upward pressure on energy prices and the job market remains stuck in low gear.

The pair were asked at a joint interview by The Indicator from Planet Money podcast to provide their economic assessments using a four-color scheme, from "the house is on fire" red to "everything is looking swell" green.

"At least orange. Orange with a chance of meatballs; it hasn't been great," Goolsbee said of the inflation outlook amid rising gasoline prices. "I was optimistic that we would get back to this path to 2% inflation, ⁠but yikes, it's going from orange to red lately --- we had tariffs increasing prices, that was supposed to go away, kind of didn't go away, and now we add another stagflationary shock on top ....it's a troubling moment." (RTRS – Continue Reading)

Japan’s 30-year government bond auction drew its weakest demand since June as uncertainty about Middle East tensions damped investor appetite.

The bid-to-cover ratio at Tuesday’s sale was 3.12 compared with 3.66 at the last auction and a 12-month average of 3.36. Japan’s bonds were stable after the auction. (BBG – Continue Reading)