Dell, HP Shares Plunge After Nvidia Calls PC Acquisition Report False

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

NVIDIA refuted a claim made by SemiAccurate that it was looking to buy a big business that would “reshape the PC landscape.” According to the website, Nvidia has been negotiating a deal for over a year.

The company invested $70 billion in partners and clients during the fiscal year that concluded in January to advance AI. In the current fiscal year, which concludes in January 2027, Dell anticipates earning roughly $50 billion from the production of AI servers that employ Nvidia chips

Dell shares dropped 3.4% during extended trading following Nvidia’s remarks. The stock earlier closed at a record high of $189.79 in New York after 6.7% surge.

HP’s stock also fell more than 3 percent in extended trading after rising 5.3 percent during the day to close at $19.23,

The media report is untrue; Nvidia is not in talks to buy any PC manufacturer. Among the leading PC suppliers worldwide are Dell and HP. Based in Palo Alto, California, HP trailed only Lenovo Group Ltd. with 19% of the global market in the first quarter. which, according to Gartner Inc., had a share of nearly 27%. a company that conducts industry research.

According to the company, Round Rock, Texas-based Dell held roughly 17% of the market. The largest manufacturer of chips for artificial intelligence applications is Nvidia.

Silver Futures on the Brink: China’s Demand Boom Can’t Halt the Slide

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Silver futures are currently trading in a critical zone after failing to sustain momentum toward the $80 mark. After rotating back below the Daily Mean at $77, the market is now testing the Daily Buy 1 level at $74, a change from bullish expansion to a reversion phase.

However, China’s insatiable appetite for silver drove overseas purchases to an eight-year high at the beginning of 2026 as importers fueled a spike in industrial and investment demand.

According to Chinese customs data, the largest buyer received over 790 tons in the first two months, including nearly 470 tons in February—the highest amount ever for that month. Due to strong demand, local prices have risen significantly above global benchmarks, reducing already low exchange reserves and acquiring metal from overseas.

A wave of speculative buying from China and other countries caused silver prices to soar by roughly 70% at the beginning of the year, but at the end of January, they abruptly gave up their gains. This was the most volatile start to a year for silver prices. The robust import numbers indicate that, despite changes in trade flows, physical consumption in China has continued.

Demand has come from solar manufacturers front-loading production and retail investors hoarding silver bars as an alternative to increasingly expensive gold.

Chinese trade policy is another source of stress for the world silver market. China has approved 44 companies to export silver in 2026 and 2027, according to a December Reuters report. This demonstrates that exports are now part of a regulated system rather than being free. This is a crucial structural factor for a market already experiencing tight inventories.

Goldman Sachs had already noted that China’s new export restrictions might make the silver market even more volatile. China has required authorization for outgoing shipments of silver since January 1, 2026.

This raises the possibility that price fluctuations will become more pronounced and liquidity will decrease. The market would then become more divided into local submarkets instead of operating as a cohesive worldwide system. Inventory and physical availability become crucial, especially in such a setting.

MSFT: Microsoft Breaks $380 after it Raises Surface Prices Sharply in Face of Memory Crunch

Posted on April 14, 2026April 14, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Microsoft became the latest tech manufacturer to pass along costs driven by a historic shortage of memory chips by sharply raising prices across its Surface-branded device lineup. The 12-inch Surface Pro, which debuted for $800 last year and is now priced at $1,050, was hailed as an inexpensive, lightweight computer-tablet hybrid. The stock was up about 4% to settle at $384 per share.

The price of older products has also increased. For example, the 13-inch Surface Pro 11th Edition now costs $1,500, which is several hundred dollars more than its $1,000 launch price in 2024. The price of the most recent 13-point, 8-inch Surface laptop has increased by up to $500.

Surface is updating pricing on Microsoft. com for its current-generation hardware portfolio due to recent increases in memory and component costs,” the company said in a statement. Microsoft stated that although it wants to keep prices stable, it will periodically review and evaluate Surface product prices based on several variables, such as “market conditions and operational costs.

Many of the Surface lineup’s products have been available long enough for interested buyers to purchase them at reduced costs. However, the new prices can also be seen as an updated starting point for the price of Microsoft’s upcoming Surface hardware.

The company is anticipated to release additional Surface devices. Windows Central was the first to report the price adjustments, and in recent days, potential customers have also brought attention to them on social media sites like Reddit. The newest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro from Apple are also more expensive than earlier models

. For Apple’s Mac mini and Mac Studio desktops, the situation is worse: high-memory configurations of both machines are backordered through the summer and beyond. Artificial intelligence enthusiasts who wish to run large language models locally will find these devices appealing.

Strategy Sells All “Stretch” Preferred Shares to Fund $1B Bitcoin Blitz

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Michael Saylor’s Strategy sold all of its “Stretch” perpetual preferred shares to finance its most recent $1 billion weekly Bitcoin purchase, marking the first time since it introduced its high-yield securities in July.

Bitcoin is climbing today after days of bearish movement.

The largest corporate Bitcoin holder stated in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that the tokens were purchased during the week that ended on April 12.

Saylor, who initiated the Bitcoin treasury strategy in 2020, launched a variable-rate preferred issue in a $2.5 billion offering last year to diversify the company’s funding sources. Over the past few years, Strategy has raised tens of billions of dollars by selling common shares to purchase the virtual currency.

Common shareholders became more concerned about dilution during the recent decline in the value of cryptocurrency assets, which led to the pivot. The company was able to raise money from equity sales without much dilution by taking advantage of the difference between its share prices and Bitcoin.

Since Bitcoin reached a record high in October, it has sharply declined, and that premium has vanished. Preferred shares have large dividend payments (11.5 percent for STRC securities), which raise the company’s debt load even though they are not dilutive like common shares.

Strategy raised $2.25 billion as a cash reserve during Bitcoin’s severe decline last year to reduce the risk of a liquidity crunch. Strategy has been one of the few major purchasers. During the downturn, many high-net-worth individuals and corporate holders reduced their stashes. Strategy is the biggest corporate owner of Bitcoin, with roughly $55 billion in holdings.

Gold Rises Modestly as Optimism Builds for Fresh US-Iran Dialogue

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

The precious metal increased as worries about inflation subsided amid fresh hope for a diplomatic resolution to the US-Iranian conflict.

Bullion recovered losses from the previous two sessions, rising as much as 0.8 percent to almost $4,770 per ounce. President Donald Trump claimed that Iranian officials had contacted his administration with the intention “to work a deal,” even as the US initiated a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Separately, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that Tehran was ready to carry on peace negotiations in accordance with international law.

Oil fell and was below $100 per barrel, supporting gold valued in US dollars. A headwind for non-yielding commodities, the decline in energy prices eased some of the inflationary pressure that has plagued bullion since the war started more than six weeks ago.

This has prompted traders to wager that central banks will keep interest rates unchanged or even raise them. However, worries about more shocks to the energy supply and economic suffering persist, particularly as the US blockade of Hormuz increases pressure on Iran.

The US Navy is taking action to prevent ships in the vital waterway from passing through Iranian ports and coastal regions.

US money markets are still pricing in a less than one-fifth chance that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by December due to the ongoing high levels of tension. Instead of acting as a geopolitical hedge, gold is still trading based on interest rate expectations.

Copper Climbs to One-Month High as Iran Talks Boost Metals Sentiment

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Copper reached its highest level in over a month, and other industrial metals mostly rose on hopes that peace negotiations between the US and Iran would resume.

President Donald Trump claimed that Tehran had contacted his administration about possible peace negotiations while the US launched a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has opened the door to more talks, but given the risk of escalation, investors remain cautious amid renewed volatility.

Since the Middle East conflict broke out at the end of February, industrial metals have been whipsawed. Fears of skyrocketing energy prices and the effect on economic expansion initially plagued them, but they eventually recovered somewhat due to indications that the conflict might be coming to an end.

Aluminum surged to a four-year high this week due to additional supply disruptions brought on by the US blockade. Approximately 9% of the metal produced worldwide comes from the Middle East.

In the meantime, Chile’s top mining official stated in an interview that the country’s new government wants to increase copper production more quickly than previously anticipated by expediting permits and changing regulations.

According to the dual Economy and Mining Minister Daniel Mas, the administration of President José Antonio Kast anticipates that the metal’s yearly production will reach 6 million metric tons in the next four or five years. From 5.6 million tons this year, the country’s copper commission, Cochilco, had predicted that it would take until 2033 to reach that level. From his downtown Santiago office, Mas stated, “We are trying to increase investment to assure the expansion of some mines.”

The government wants more production from a combination of large and medium-sized mines, he continued.

Silver Futures Teeter in Critical Zone Despite China’s Ravenous Demand Surge

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

However, China’s insatiable appetite for silver drove overseas purchases to an eight-year high at the beginning of 2026 as importers fueled a spike in industrial and investment demand.

Demand has come from solar manufacturers front-loading production and retail investors hoarding silver bars as an alternative to increasingly expensive gold.

TRUMP GOES NUCLEAR ON OIL: Naval Blockade Seals Strait of Hormuz After Talks Collapse

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the collapse of peace talks over the weekend, escalating tensions with Iran and driving up oil prices while stocks and bonds fell.

Concerns that a blockade would interfere with energy flows through the vital waterway caused Brent crude to rise 7.4 percent to slightly over $102 per barrel.

Asian shares fell 1%, and the S&P 500 Index futures fell 0.8% as rising oil prices threatened to impede economic growth. Tech firms like MediaTek Inc. in Taiwan demonstrated tenacity, bolstered by strong sales. European stocks were expected to fall 1.5% At the opening.

The dollar has been the preferred haven since the start of the Middle East conflict, and it has strengthened against all of its Group of 10 counterparts. Concerns about rising energy prices driving up inflation caused Treasury bonds to decline and Japan’s 10-year yield to rise to 2.49 percent, the highest since 1997.

Trump’s threats of escalation damaged sentiment following global stocks’ largest weekly gain in over two years and Brent’s steepest week.

The US Central Command announced that it will start enforcing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and departing Iranian ports on Monday at 10 am New York time in response to Trump’s declaration.

Vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports won’t have their freedom of navigation restricted by US forces. Iran declared that it “won’t allow” the blockade to continue. According to Trump, the US will clear mines in the strait and impose an interdiction on any ship that has paid a toll to Iran for safe passage through Hormuz.

A blockade would stop Iranian oil from flowing through the waterway at a rate of almost two million barrels per day, further restricting global supply and severing a crucial lifeline for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Ether Machine Calls Off $1.5 Billion SPAC Deal with Dynamix

Posted on April 12, 2026April 12, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Ether Machine and Dynamix Corporation (NASDAQ: ETHM) have mutually decided to end their business combination agreement. The business stated that the deal had fallen through due to bad market conditions in a post on X

The Ether Machine first declared that it would go public in July 2025, with a target of more than $1.5 billion in fully committed capital and more than 400,000 ETH in initial cash.

Prominent industry participants, such as Pantera Capital, Kraken, and Blockchain. com had endorsed the project.

The post states, “The Ether Machine, a company that was scheduled to go public after merging with Dynamix Corporation and The Ether Reserve LLC, together with other stakeholders, today announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate the previously announced business combination agreement, effective immediately, due to adverse market conditions.”

This break coincides with the ongoing challenges facing the cryptocurrency market. The Ether Machine is not the only one affected. With its stock down 31.7 percent since the start of the year, BitMine, the biggest corporate owner of ETH, is reporting unrealized losses of almost $6.5 billion.

Bessent, Powell Convene Top Bankers Over Anthropic Breakthrough

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Wall Street executives were called to an urgent meeting by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell due to concerns that Anthropic PBC’s latest artificial intelligence model could usher in a period of heightened cyber risk.

Bessent and Powell gathered the group at Treasury’s Washington headquarters on Tuesday to ensure banks are aware of potential future risks posed by Anthropic’s Mythos and similar models, and are taking precautions to defend their systems.

A meeting of the Financial Services Forum, an advocacy group composed of the largest lenders, had already brought many of the executives to the city.

Another indication that regulators view the potential for a new type of cyberattack as one of the greatest threats to the financial sector is the previously unreported meeting, which was called at short notice. Top regulators have designated all of the banks called to the meeting as systemically important, indicating that the global financial system prioritizes their stability

Powell’s attendance at the meeting indicated that the issue was one of systemic risk rather than the Trump administration’s prior conflicts with Anthropic. The Fed has extensive knowledge of banking operations thanks to its network of examiners. In response to a question regarding the Fed on Fox News on Friday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett stated, “We’re taking every step we can to make sure that everybody is safe from these potential risks, including Anthropic agreeing to hold back the public release of the model until our officials have figured everything out.”

Anthropic’s Mythos is a more potent system that, when instructed by a user, can find and exploit vulnerabilities in all major operating systems and web browsers. Anthropic’s own caution is echoed by regulators’ concern about the model’s potential in the hands of hackers. Anthropic only released it to a small number of significant technology and financial companies.