Author: Timothy St. John

Timothy St John is a seasoned financial analyst and writer, catering to the dynamic landscapes of the US and European markets. Boasting over a decade of extensive freelance writing experience, he has made significant contributions to reputable platforms such as Yahoo!Finance, business.com: Expert Business Advice, Tips, and Resources - Business.com, and numerous others. Timothy's expertise lies in in-depth research and comprehensive coverage of stock and cryptocurrency movements, coupled with a keen understanding of the economic factors influencing currency dynamics. Timothy majored in English at East Tennessee State University, and you can find him on LinkedIn.

Bitcoin Sliding on Extended Deadline in Iran Conflict, May Fall below $68K

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Timothy St. John

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed to $70,000 briefly and then fell by 1.51% on Tuesday as ETF inflows clashed with an extended deadline for the Iran conflict ceasefire.

Bitcoin and the crypto market are bearish as the Iran ceasefire deadline has been extended.

On Monday, the BTC rate hit $70,237 (BTC/USD) but then plummeted as news hit that the Strait of Hormuz had not yet been reopened and President Donald Trump’s deadline for a ceasefire had been extended. The coin fell gradually to $68,162 in the early hours of Tuesday and remains low at the time of writing.

[[BTC/USD]]

Strong ETF inflows helped Bitcoin reach one of its highest points in days, buoyed by the prospect of a ceasefire between Iran and the United States. Those hopes were quickly dashed, though, and Bitcoin is caught in a wide crypto market downtrend for now.

Volatile Market Faces Selling Pressure

The crypto market has been fragile through the last couple weeks of the Iran conflict. As any news seeps out about the war, the market shifts up or down accordingly. Bitcoin and the crypto market are held in the grip of a changing economic environment, hinging in large part on news of Middle East conflict.

Any extension in the fighting at this point means that inflation could increase, commodities like gas and oil could become more expensive, and consumers and investors will be left with less disposable income to put into assets of any kind. The stock market is faltering today because of the extension of the ceasefire deadline, and the cryptocurrency market is down as well.

Ethereum (ETH) has lost 2.75% in the last 24 hours, and BNB (BNB) is down 1.16%. XRP (XRP) has lost 2.75% and Solana (SOL) 4.22%. The market is looking bearish, and we only expect that to change as good news comes out of the Iran conflict. The new deadline has been set for this evening at 8pm Eastern Time. At that point, Iran has to have the Strait of Hormuz open for President Trump to recognize a ceasefire.

ETF inflows for Bitcoin have been high lately, with Monday marking the largest single day of inflows since February. The increase can be partially attributed to hopes that monetary policy will ease soon as the U.S. government processes a cryptocurrency bill. The Clarity Act, as the bill is called, is designed to modernize the framework of regulations surrounding the crypto market.

Economic pressure remains severe for risky assets like crypto tokens. Brent crude oil is high, with the price recently recorded at $100 a barrel. Inflation remains elevated but stable from the last reading, but it is high enough that the Federal reserve decided not to issue a new interest rate cut at the last Fed meeting for monetary policy. It is unlikely that the Fed will cut the rates anytime soon.

Investors should also be aware that Bitcoin is well below its October all-time high and that it has a lot of progress to make to set a new high. While the coin may be low enough to be a tempting investment, its movement over the last six months has been mostly bearish. There are experts who say that the long bear trend is over and the coin will be mostly bullish as it claws its way back up, but if that is the case, the upward movement has been stilted and slow.

No Ceasefire Yet and Stocks Dip; Nasdaq Loses 0.6%

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Timothy St. John

Tuesday morning, the deadline for the ceasefire between Iran and the United States came and went without a resolution, and the Nasdaq index fell 0.6%.

Stocks are fragile and volatile as Iran conflict extends further.

All three U.S. stock indices are down somewhat for the day after no ceasefire was reached in the Middle East. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% while the Dow lost 200 points, falling 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite lost the most of the three as technology stocks felt the brunt of the impact from the delayed ceasefire.

President Donald Trump extended the deadline for the ceasefire, which is to be initiated by the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He announced that he is giving the Iranian government until 8pm ET on Tuesday to make that happen. It does not appear that Iran is moving quickly to carry out its part of the ceasefire, and Wall Street analysts are doubtful that the new deadline will be effective.

Military Threats Keep Investors Hesitant to Trade

Trump spoke on Monday to renew his promise that he would bomb Iran back to the Stone Age if the country fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This vital shipping lane has been a point of contention for weeks, and initially Trump had not made its reopening an integral part of the peace agreement, but the newest ceasefire arrangement calls for its opening in order for hostilities to end. Trump allowed the deadline to be extended this week, saying he didn’t want to set the deadline on Good Monday, or the day after Easter.

Short term trading is the rule of the day as investors are shy to put down serious money on volatile futures. The market has shifted severely between highs and lows in recent weeks, mostly trending down. Thursday trading saw the end of a five-week loss record, but Tuesday morning has brought with it dashed hopes for a recovering market.

On Monday, the stock market looked like it was on its way to recovery, but the fragility of the market was exposed Tuesday morning with early morning decline. In premarket trading, Microsoft (MSFT) fell 0.57% and semiconductor category leader Nvidia (NVDA) lost 1.51%. Tech stocks are some of the most volatile futures at the moment due to fears of inflation and continued concern over capex spending by companies heavily using or developing AI technology.

A few outliers proved that they were somewhat immune to the effects of Middle East conflict and industry concerns. One of those is Broadcom (AVGO), which surged 2.96% in early trading Tuesday.

Cold Weather Helps Natural Gas Recover from Recent Losses

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Timothy St. John

The U.S. natural gas market can boast of moderate gains Monday morning after a cold weather snap reversed the price trend and pushed LNG to $2.85 per MMBtu.

Icy weather is making LNG rates climb more than 1% today.

Prices in the natural gas market for the U.S. rose a little over 1% on Monday after cold weather hit unexpectedly and increased demand. Much of the United States is temperate, but cold weather in some areas has helped drive the price up marginally at a time when gas prices are ticking down globally.

The United States and Iran are working on a ceasefire that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz as soon as Tuesday, and crude oil slipped about 1% from their recent highs. Investors should keep in mind that the conflict in Iran and global shortages of crude oil and natural gas are not affecting U.S. domestic markets much. However, export demand may rise if global deficiencies continue.

Expect LNG Rates to Drop Soon

The unexpected cold weather is likely to be short-lived and not affect the majority of U.S. households. Weather forecasts are calling for ice and snow across the Midwest and all the way through to New England’s northern region. Dropping temperatures are expected to remain through Saturday of this week and could cause travel disruptions, store closures, and slippery roads. All of that could impact transportation of natural gas, gas production, and heating demand.

LNG rates are still relatively low, very close to their lowest point since August of last year. Warmer weather has spread through much of the United States, and forecasts are calling for rising temperatures to continue in the weeks to come.

The most recent EIA data reported a 36 Bcf injection for the week and a withdrawal average over five years of 4 Bcf. Production is expected to ramp up through the spring and summer, especially with the addition of new production facilities in the region and new production lines to be installed in existing facilities.

That should raise the inventory levels to around average or slightly above and lead to conditions similar to what we saw last year. Through spring, summer and fall months, the inventory levels for LNG remained high and demand was low, creating very low prices for the domestic market amid stagnant conditions and above-average injections.

New Bitcoin Price Prediction after Massive Leap to $69K

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Timothy St. John

On Monday morning, Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded along with the climbing stock market, adding 3.86% to its value to hit $69,400 (BTC/USD).

Bitcoin is up from its low trends over the last two weeks.

Bitcoin is bullish this week with a sharp increase that has placed it back above $69K and at its highest point in two weeks. The jump can be attributed to the rising stock market and news that Iran and the United States are attempting to put a ceasefire in place.

[[BTC/USD]]

Bitcoin’s trade volume has jumped dramatically today, with a nearly 100% increase that brings it to $34.9 billion per 24 hours. The coin is performing in line with many other leading crypto tokens, like Ethereum (ETH), which gained 5.9% today, and Solana (SOL), which is up 5%.

Can the Bullish Market Last?

The swift uptick we are seeing in the crypto and stock markets are subject to the change at any time. President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at 1pm today and may give an update on the fighting in Iran and the possibility of a ceasefire. The crypto market has swung wildly on any news out of Iran, because the lengthy fighting has affected the cost of goods and dramatically raised crude oil prices.

With higher costs for consumers, there is less money left to spend on crypto assets, so bad news from Iran could mean another downturn for Bitcoin. The current condition of the market is very volatile, and there is the strong possibility that today’s upswing will not last long.

If a ceasefire is reached, however, then Bitcoin could start to make some progress upward. The coin is currently down 45% from its all-time high in October of last year. However, the BTC price is up 2.11% from last week.

We anticipate very fragile market sentiment to continue until the situation in Iran stabilizes. Until then, Bitcoin could quickly go either way, and investors need to be careful about making big moves. Day trading is the smarter choice for the moment, and a close watch on the market’s movements, particularly in relation to the Iran conflict, would be advisable.

5-Week Slide Ends for Stock Market

Posted on April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 by Timothy St. John

On Monday, U.S. stock futures climbed marginally higher after ending a 5-week losing streak on Thursday thanks to reports that a ceasefire may be in the works between Iran and the United States.

Stock indices look somewhat bullish after weeks of losses finally end.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the only one of the three leading U.S. stock indices to fall on Monday, losing 0.1%. The Nasdaq added 0.3%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.1%. These mild changes are coming off of a strong performance at the end of last week when all three indices snapped a losing streak that had extended for five weeks.

Iran and the United States are discussing a ceasefire, and the deadline has been set for Tuesday this week. The terms of the ceasefire would ensure a 45-day break from fighting so that plans can be made to end the conflict permanently. The terms also allow for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz- an event much anticipated by the stock market, which has been drastically impacted by destroyed and restricted shipments through there.

Stocks Jump but Could Reverse on Trump Speech

President Donald Trump is scheduled to give a speech today at 1pm on the military situation in Iran, and if he reveals news that the ceasefire is not going as planned, then the stock market is likely to reverse course. The indices are still high from last week’s wins, where the Dow added 3% and the Nasdaq gained 4.4%. Those gains came after days of volatile movements in both directions.

Investors should note that the stock market is still incredibly volatile and prone to quick decreases at any bad news coming out about the Iran conflict. Protracted conflict can hurt the U.S. economy, especially in relation to the global foothold the country has on the price of goods when compared to China. The Asian superpower stands to benefit from the United States’ involvement in Iran as economic pressure is placed on the price of foodstuffs and other items.

Trump has already warned that if Iran does not meet the requirements for opening the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday, then the United States will attack bridges and power plants. That could drastically extend the fighting and increase oil prices further. The price of crude oil fell about 1% Monday but is still elevated.

The other big news Monday besides the Iran conflict is the March jobs report. That released Friday, but with the shortened holiday week, the market will only now be able to react to the news. That report showed that unemployment stood at 4.3% and payrolls increased by nearly 180,000 for the month.

Tesla Falls Short of Deliveries Target in Q1 Report

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Timothy St. John

Tesla (TSLA) reported first quarter revenue and sales numbers on Thursday, slipping well below expectations for vehicle deliveries, shipping just 358,023.

Tesla produced far more vehicles than they delivered fro Q1.

For the most recent quarter, Tesla produced 408,386 vehicles but shipped 50,000 less than that. The company expected to ship around 370,000, but they were off from that target by about 12,000. Tesla’s stock reflected that miss Thursday morning, falling by 5.64% and well outside the market average

The stock market had a bearish session Thursday, with all three U.S. indices down from the previous day. The indices fell sharply early in the morning and then started to slowly recover as investors processed developments about the Iran war. However, Tesla stock is not faring as well, still suffering tremendous losses late in the day for the last day of trading for the week.

Tesla Down from Record Quarter

Last quarter broke records for Tesla, but that was due in large part to the EV cashback program closing out and consumers rushing to buy Tesla cars before the government’s incentive ended. Wall Street expectations were relatively high for Tesla this quarter but the company fell short and disappointed shareholders.

The wide gap between sales and production will likely be a major talking point for Tesla investors and analysts for a while, and the gap indicates that Tesla is overconfident in the market demand for their vehicles. Last quarter, the company delivered 418,000 vehicles, and while they knew they would not compete with that level of sales this time around, their estimates were still much higher than the actual sales numbers.

This quarter, Tesla sold primarily Model Y and Model 3 vehicles. Those accounted for 341,893 of their deliveries for the quarter, or 92%. Tesla reported a delivery increase of 6% from the previous year, but 2025 was an exceptionally poor year for the company. They faced a massive shift in customer sentiment over their CEO’s politics and affiliation with Donald Trump. They also dealt with declining global EV sales and eco-friendly cars fell out of favor with the general public.

Tesla earns most of its revenue from its electric vehicle division, but they also reported energy storage deployment for Q1. Last quarter, they reported 14.2 Gigawatt hours, and for the most recent quarter, they reported 8.8 GWh. That is a steep decline for them and could indicate more of a consumer shift away from the company. They may have serious work to do in order to win back their customer base and bring sales numbers up.

How Have US Natural Gas Futures Reacted to Trump’s Iran War Message?

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Timothy St. John

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday night that he would be hitting Iran hard, and oil prices soared in response, but U.S. LNG futures have ticked upward.

Rising gas and oil prices are the result on renewed plans to attack Iran.

Increasing Middle East tensions have caused gas and oil prices to skyrocket, and U.S. natural gas futures are now up to $2.86 per British thermal unit. At the same time, Texas Intermediates crude oil is up 11% for the day and Brent crude oil is up 6.24%. Oil prices are reaching highs not seen during the entire Iran conflict.

Trump warned that severe military activity would take place for the next few weeks, extending the expected end to the conflict by much longer than previously thought. It looked like both sides were prepared to reach a resolution quickly earlier in the week, but now the situation has escalated substantially.

Natural Gas May Wind Down Despite Iran War

Coming off a six-month low, natural gas futures are not as high as they were earlier in the Iran conflict. The local U.S. natural gas market is simply not being affected the way the global market is and certainly not the same way oil is. We anticipate that the Iran conflict will continue to impact LNG futures in the United States marginally in the coming weeks, unless a severe global shortage happens and U.S. supplies are needed elsewhere.

The domestic market is more concerned about rising temperatures and high levels of reserve supplies. Production of natural gas is rising as well, and the numbers there are anticipated to increase throughout the year. Investors expect a mild demand for LNG throughout the spring and summer.

One area where the domestic LNG market is performing very well is in global exports. Those export numbers have hit their highest point since the statistics have been recorded- an all-time high. Shipments to Asia in particular are incredibly high, as that part of the world is served by gas that would typically pass through the now highly contested Strait of Hormuz.

This is where we may see the most growth for the U.S. natural gas industry. Even though the United States has plenty of gas to meet its own needs, other countries are not so fortunate and are dealing with limited supplies that have been destroyed or cut off by fighting in and around Iran.

3.7% Drop for Bitcoin on Iran Conflict Escalation

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Timothy St. John

The price of Bitcoin plunged to $65,834 (BTC/USD) on Thursday following an announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would be attacking Tehran.

Bitcoin hit a 2026 low after Trump announcement.

Trump promised to hit Iran hard Wednesday night, and cryptocurrency prices fell deeply as a result, with Bitcoin (BTC) losing 3.7% in a few hours. Gains from earlier in the week have been erased by the news, and unless there is a change in the Middle East conflict, we expect Bitcoin to fall further.

[[BTC/USD]]

Sharp drops plagued the crypto market Thursday morning, with Ethereum (ETH) losing 5% and BNB (BNB) falling 6.8%. Most crypto tokens are now in the red for the week and are still falling in Thursday’s early hours.

Bitcoin Unlikely to Recover Quickly

The current downtrend is swift and strong, eliminating much of Bitcoin’s recent progress. In fact, the BTC rate is now down to its lowest point for the year so far and trade volume has fallen 11%.

On the news of escalating war in Iran, oil prices are climbing quickly. Just a few weeks ago, $100 a barrel was seen as high, but now prices are between $106 and $114 a barrel. While oil prices rise, crypto values sink, because consumers have less money to spend on assets like Bitcoin when they are paying more out of pocket for gas.

Traders should consider the risk of escalation now, and Trump’s announcement is likely to spur increased military action from both sides. That could put even more gas and oil supplies at risk and extend fighting further. Bitcoin’s precarious position near $70K this week simply could not hold up to that intense global pressure. The coin has been volatile and fragile for months, facing a severe souring of consumer sentiment.

The downtrend is a strong test of Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of economic pressure. The coin is at a make-or-break point now as the war intensifies to a white hot heat. If Bitcoin can keep from falling too far and perform better than other leading crypto tokens, it may turn market sentiment around and climb back up quickly after the fighting dies down.

There is a strong chance that Bitcoin will crumble under the pressure, though and will slip close to $50K, which we mentioned recently was a possible bottom for the coin in the short-term. Throughout the fighting, however, Bitcoin has proven more resilient than some assets. For March, Bitcoin finished the month close to 2% higher than it started, but gold dropped by 11%. The Nasdaq Composite fell about 5%, and the Dow lost about 3%.

Trump Speech Pushes Stock Market into Selloff

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Timothy St. John

President Donald Trump vowed to send Iran “to the Stone Age” with his next attack, and U.S. stocks reacted with a swift nosedive on fears of rising inflation and economic tightening.

The escalation of conflict in Iran has shot down stock prices.

Fears over war in the Middle East escalated Thursday after Trump addressed the nation with a promise to hit Iran hard. This news came on the heels of previous rumors during the week that predicted a peaceful, quick end to the fighting. Now, the stock market is reeling as a result, and the Dow is down 600 points.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% and the S&P 500 fell 1.5%. Dow futures dropped 1.4% in a slide comparable to Monday’s decline. Unless news on Iran changes soon, the stock market is headed for a bearish trend that will extend weeks of decline.

Rising Oil Prices Sink Stock Futures

After Trump spoke on Wednesday night about ending the war quickly with strikes on Tehran, oil prices shot up. The price of Brent crude oil rose to $109 per barrel, an increase of 7%. West Texas Intermediate, which is a benchmark for crude oil futures, shot up 10% and hit $110 per barrel. Oil was already expensive when it passed $100 a barrel near the start of the Iran conflict, and the current prices reflect weeks of market upheaval as well as worry about the global supply of oil.

Higher oil and gas prices lead to higher inflation and less spending money for consumers. Investors who would usually be trading on the stock market have to pull back and think about where their money is going and if they can afford to put it into risky equities. The average consumer who does not trade on the stock market will be spending less with many of the companies that make up the stock exchange, leading to smaller profits and lost revenue.

Oil prices are not likely to drop until there is some kind of resolution in Iran. Until then, we expect stocks to tumble further, with extra pressure placed on tech stocks with their recent wild swings between highs and lows.

Thursday is the last day of stock trading for the week, with Good Friday marking the start of the Easter holiday. However, traders should watch for the Friday morning release of the March jobs report, which ADP reported on as a month of increasing jobs. The Iran conflict should not impact those numbers much, but it could definitely affect next month’s jobs report, as the fighting extends to its sixth week.

Gas Futures Drop to $2.85 in the U.S. at Start of April

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Timothy St. John

April signals a psychological start for spring and the first day of the month has left the U.S. natural gas market down 2.85% to hit a four-week low.

Natural gas is down today as the forecasts call for warm weather and April begins.

Natural gas futures fell to $2.85 per British thermal unit on Wednesday as April began, pushed down by warming weather, forecasts of rising temperatures, and increasing production levels. The start of April usually leads to lower LNG rates since investors expect the temperature to heat up during the first full month of spring.

The price of natural gas did increase for the month of March by 0.9%, due mostly to conflict in the Middle East. But that factor affects the U.S. market only marginally due to vast local resources, and there was plenty of pushback against rising prices by warm weather forecasts and increasing reserve levels.

Pricing Factors Keep LNG in Tight Range for Now

Even though global factors are not affecting the price of natural gas in the United States much, the market is not entirely divorced from Middle East unrest and the lack of LNG supplies around the world. The ongoing conflict in Iran has definitely kept the price of natural gas higher than it would be otherwise during a time of rising production levels, higher reserve supplies, and warming weather.

However, those factors are catching up with the price now, especially as the Iran conflict appears to be drawing to a close. With both President Donald Trump and Iran’s government looking for a swift conclusion to the fight, the price of gas is settling down across the globe.

Heating demand is going down domestically, and that lower demand is also affecting U.S. LNG exports, but there are other pricing factors to consider as well. A colder winter is expected at the end of the year than what the States received last year. That information has weighed into the current investment movements and informed them to ensure higher than normal trade volume.

The global market’s LNG crisis may also start to catch up with the United States, and other countries may demand exports from the U.S. if they cannot get it from their normal sources. The news out of the Middle East indicates that the Strait of Hormuz could be locked down for a while longer, and Iran may hold that shipping lane tightly for now.

These factors could push LNG prices higher soon, and investors may want to jump on that low rate quickly before the opportunity disappears. As volatile as the price has been lately, there is little concern that it will stay down to $285 for long.