Markets Editor
James Park
James is a CFA who spent a decade on a long/short equities desk before joining Obsidian to run the markets editorial. He writes our morning Pulse, edits the equities and macro coverage, and refuses to let any chart appear without a caveat. His preferred unit of analysis is the trade you would actually put on, not the headline you would actually post.
Joined Obsidian 2022
More posts by James Park
Shipping giant boss warns Iran war will have bigger impact in coming months as customers face price hikes
Maersk said the Iran war had introduced an "additional layer of uncertainty" as it reported first-quarter earnings on Thursday.
Market rebound: Why some stocks are looking past the Iran war
The US stock market isn’t the only market that’s rebounded to record highs.
Bitcoin lenders say institutions want crypto credit to look more like TradFi
At Consensus 2026 in Miami, executives from Two Prime, Ledn and Lygos Finance said institutional borrowers increasingly prioritize custody, transparency and standardized lending structures over complex DeFi products after the crypto credit collapses of 2022.
Trump family-backed American Bitcoin's costs dropped 23% in Q1 as mining industry pivots to AI
The Trump family-linked miner cut its cost per Bitcoin to roughly $36,200 from $46,900 in Q4 2025, putting it among the lowest-cost public mining operations at a moment when most of its peers are toning down business.
Three signals pointing to a possible bitcoin move to $85,000
Bitcoin is showing a rare alignment across on-chain data, futures positioning, and options flows that points to further upside.
BNY, world's largest custody bank, expands crypto services in Abu Dhabi
The Wall Street giant, which oversees $59 trillion in client assets, teamed up with Finstreet and ADI Foundation for digital asset infrastructure.
It’s not just Big Oil. Wind giants welcome profit beats as Iran war spurs energy pivot
Norway's Equinor told CNBC that the company expects the Iran war to deliver a boost to its transition industries.
Dogecoin slides 4%, bitcoin rally pauses as Iran ceasefire optimism lifts equities
Crypto majors took a breather Thursday after a strong run, with bitcoin holding around $81,000 and ether slipping below $2,330 as global equities pushed to fresh records on hopes of a US-Iran deal.
2 Top AI Stocks To Put On Your Shortlist
The AI rally that’s driven the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time highs has felt like it was hitting a crescedo for three years straight. But as hyperscalers push their own capital expenditure commitments higher and higher (Meta just raised their 2026 capex estimates to $145), and new entrants like Elon Musks’s SpaceX are
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Defy Gravity And Hit Record Highs
Markets abhor uncertainty, and today both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rallied to record highs on the hope that the anxiety and overhang from the US / Iran conflict may be coming to a close. Now, we’ve been here before. In the past few weeks seemingly imminent ceasefires, agreements, or some other abatement in tension... Th
AI agents becoming more relevant than humans by 2035 has Big Tech 'terrified', says Hoskinson
The founder and CEO of Cardano’s Input Output said Google, Amazon and Facebook are terrified because AI agents will not behave like humans when confronted with ads.
Grant Cardone says bitcoin-real estate strategy could outperform REITs, adds more BTC to treasury
The real-estate mogul said the hybrid model brings new users into crypto and challenges traditional real estate structures.
Anthropic CEO says 80-fold growth in first quarter explains 'difficulties with compute'
At Anthropic's developer conference in San Francisco, CEO Dario Amodei said the company is 'working as quickly as possible' to provide additional compute.
Snap issues cautious guidance as Perplexity deal ends, Middle East 'geopolitical situation' causes uncertainty
Snap reported first-quarter earnings and provided cautious sales guidance while revealing it no longer has a deal with the generative AI startup Perplexity.
Samsara Inc. (IOT) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade
In the closing of the recent trading day, Samsara Inc. (IOT) stood at $28.92, denoting a -5.02% move from the preceding trading day.
Bitcoin’s post-quantum migration will be harder than Taproot and needs to start now, Project Eleven CEO says
Alex Pruden said the asymmetry between acting on a post-quantum signature scheme today and waiting for certainty about quantum-computing hardware timelines means Bitcoin developers should move from research into production.
Reid Hoffman says NFTs may make a comeback as AI agents strain online identity
The Greylock partner and LinkedIn co-founder said autonomous agents will need crypto-based trust systems to transact across the open internet.
Iran war threatens jet fuel shortage that could disrupt summer travel in Asia and Europe
Oil executives have warned that the supply disruption in the Middle East will soon cause actual fuel shortages in some parts of the world.
OKX joins crypto’s pre-IPO frenzy with OpenAI, SpaceX perpetual futures
Crypto exchanges are increasingly competing to offer retail traders exposure to Silicon Valley’s most valuable private firms, despite the products conferring neither equity ownership nor shareholder rights.
Bitcoin's price rally has a hidden rhythm. Here are the hours and days driving gains.
Bitcoin’s three-month rally shows a clear internal structure than most traders might expect, with performance clustering around specific trading windows across global sessions.
Crypto custodian Taurus moves straight into EU capital markets with MiFID license in Cyprus
The license allows the firm to offer tokenized financial instruments to EU banks as well as secondary trading for tokenized bonds, fund shares, equities, and structured products.
Wegovy pill sales smash forecasts after launch as Novo Nordisk hikes guidance
Novo Nordisk raised its outlook for 2026 after a strong performance from its newly launched Wegovy pill.
XRP above $1.42 as traders watch 2025 breakout pattern that led to 66% rally
Price compression near $1.42 comes as analysts point to a repeating bull flag structure and thinning liquidity conditions.
Bitcoin tops $81,000 as Strategy mulls selling its BTC to fund dividend obligations
Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor signalling a potential bitcoin sale to cover $1.5 billion in annual dividend obligations sent MSTR down 4% after hours and BTC briefly below $81,000.
China hosts Iran's top diplomat just days ahead of Trump's high-stakes visit
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi trip to Beijing on Wednesday marks the first time he has visited China since the beginning of the Iran war.
In the global AI race, a sanctioned Chinese firm says cheaper models can still win
As China’s AI competition intensifies, SenseTime is shifting toward multimodal AI, lower-cost models and overseas expansion to remain competitive, co-founder Lin Dahua said.
Trump pauses U.S. bid to guide ships out of Strait of Hormuz, cites Iran deal progress
President Donald Trump said he is pausing "Project Freedom," the U.S. military's bid to guide commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Michael Saylor's Strategy signals potential bitcoin sale to fund dividends obligations
Michael Saylor proposes using bitcoin sales to support dividends, as Strategy reported a $12.54 billion Q1 loss.
Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow futures rise as tech earnings continue to impress
Major gauge futures soared following a series of record closes from US indexes.
AMD's stock soars 15% as data center growth pushes revenue and guidance past estimates
AMD's earnings report lands as investors rush into the stock on optimism that the AI boom is just getting started.
Super Micro stock jumps 18% on guidance beat as revenue more than doubles
Super Micro pointed to progress in U.S. manufacturing in issuing a stronger-than-expected quarterly forecast.
Trust in crypto remains biggest barrier to adoption, say Consensus Miami 2026 panelists
Speakers point to complexity, poor user experience and lack of transparency as key obstacles for mainstream users.
OpenAI trial: Brockman rebuts Musk's take on startup's history, recounts secret work for Tesla
OpenAI President Greg Brockman concluded his testimony on Tuesday as the blockbuster trial between the AI startup and Elon Musk rolled into its second week.
3 Reasons HON is Risky and 1 Stock to Buy Instead
Honeywell trades at $212.68 per share and has stayed right on track with the overall market, gaining 8.3% over the last six months. At the same time, the S&P 500 has returned 6.4%.
Dell (DELL): Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q4 Earnings?
Over the past six months, Dell has been a great trade, beating the S&P 500 by 30%. Its stock price has climbed to $211.05, representing a healthy 36.5% increase. This was partly thanks to its solid quarterly results, and the run-up might have investors contemplating their next move.
STERIS (STE): Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q4 Earnings?
Over the past six months, STERIS’s stock price fell to $214.47. Shareholders have lost 11.3% of their capital, which is disappointing considering the S&P 500 has climbed by 6.4%. This may have investors wondering how to approach the situation.
Bitcoin crosses $81,000, ETH, SOL, DOGE steady as options desks bid on further price jump
Bitcoin is back above $80,000 after Monday's brief reversal on the disputed Iran missile claim, with options markets quietly setting up for a breakout even as skew still favors downside protection.
Australia central bank raises rates to highest since 2024 as inflation stays elevated
Inflation had picked up materially in the second half of 2025, and the conflict in the Middle East had resulted in sharply higher fuel and commodity prices.
BYD's passenger EV sales drop for an eighth month as competition heats up
BYD's deliveries fell for an eighth straight month in April, while Stellantis-backed Leapmotor logged a record number of deliveries
Oil slides as traders assess Middle East developments with Iran attacks keeping markets jittery
Oil prices declined on Tuesday, retreating from sharp gains in the previous session.
3 Consumer Stocks That Concern Us
Consumer discretionary businesses are levered to the highs and lows of economic cycles. Thankfully for the industry, demand trends seem to be healthy as discretionary stocks have gained 7.5% over the past six months. This performance has nearly mirrored the S&P 500.
Palantir tops estimates on 85% revenue growth, fastest expansion since market debut in 2020
Palantir reported better-than-expected revenue and profit, driven by growth in sales to U.S. government agencies.
Andy Jassy says Amazon investors will be rewarded by all its AI spending
CEO Andy Jassy said Amazon’s massive AI spending reflects a once-in-a-generation opportunity and will ultimately reward investors.
1 Industrials Stock with Exciting Potential and 2 We Brush Off
Even if they go mostly unnoticed, industrial businesses are the backbone of our country. They are also bound to benefit from a friendlier regulatory environment with the Trump administration, and this excitement has led to a six-month gain of 16.3% for the sector - higher than the S&P 500’s 6.4% return.
Iran attacks UAE; U.S. says it sank boats in Strait of Hormuz
Stock market indices fell, and oil prices rose after the reported attack on the United Arab Emirates by Iran, which came nearly a month into a ceasefire.
Spirit Airlines CEO on carrier's collapse: 'We just kind of ran out of runway'
Spirit Airlines shut down before dawn on Saturday ending its run as the most famous U.S. discount airline.
Hut 8 swaps Coinbase loan for cheaper FalconX deal, slashing borrowing costs as it bets big on AI
A new $200 million, 364-day bitcoin-backed facility replaces the Coinbase Credit arrangement, cutting debt costs by 200 basis points.
The government should promote innovation, not punish it
District Attorney of Sacramento County, Ho argues that ambiguous rules and enforcement practices, such as those for crypto, lead to confusion, rather than seeking clarity in the law to further growth.
Shopify and National Bank of Canada are among backers of a new digital currency built to settle trades 24/7
Tetra Trust's new stablecoin, CADD, is aimed at institutional use for 24/7 cross-border settlement, real-time corporate treasury, and direct fintech transfers, replacing legacy batch systems.
Tom Lee says 'crypto spring' started as largest Ethereum treasury buys $238 million in ether
Bitmine's latest ETH purchase comes as Lee cited progress on digital asset regulation CLARITY Act as a key catalyst for crypto markets.
Dogecoin jumps 4% to lead gains among majors as bitcoin zooms higher
Sharp volume spike drives breakout through resistance, with price now testing whether the level flips to support.
Meme stock GameStop makes $56 billion bid for eBay in bid to rival Amazon
GameStop made a takeover bid for eBay, offering $125 per share in a cash-and-stock deal that values the e-commerce platform at roughly $55.5 billion.
Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor and Trump lawyer, hospitalized in critical condition
President Donald Trump called Rudy Giuliani a "True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR," in a Truth Social post.
3 Industrials Stocks with Warning Signs
Industrials businesses quietly power the physical things we depend on, from cars and homes to e-commerce infrastructure. They are also bound to benefit from a friendlier regulatory environment with the Trump administration, and this excitement has led to a six-month gain of 14.6% for the sector - higher than the S&P 50
Oil prices fall in choppy trade as Trump plans to 'free' ships stranded due to Mideast conflict
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said Monday that a tanker was hit by projectiles north of the city of of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
This High-Yield Bond ETF Offers Steady Cash Flow and Low Volatility
Income investors face a familiar bind in 2026: investment-grade bonds yield around the 10-year Treasury’s roughly 4.4%, while equities like the S&P 500 have returned roughly 28% over the past year with stomach-churning volatility along the way. The SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:JNK) sits in the middle of
Asia markets set to open mixed after Trump unveils plan to free ships in Hormuz
Asia markets were set to open mixed Monday as investors assess news of President Donald Trump's plan to "free" ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
Pirro reveals new Trump attack evidence; Cole Allen removed from 'suicide precautions'
Until U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's comments, prosecutors had not disclosed whose bullet hit the agent.
Jim Cramer Says 'Data Center' Trade Is Going Mainstream
The stock market's biggest winners share a common thread—exposure to the rapidly expanding data center ecosystem—'s "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer. On Thursday, Cramer said the current market can be divided into two sectors – the data center stocks and everything else. He said the surge in artificial inte
Strategy takes Bitcoin buying breather ahead of Q1 earnings report
Michael Saylor signaled a “pause” on BTC buying ahead of Tuesday’s earnings report, with Wall Street expecting a loss for Q1.