Odds and Ends — 10 April 2026

@preparedwombat 78

7 days ago

oddsandends

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:

CPI inflation soars by most since 2022 as gas prices bite

https://twitter.com/HedgieMarkets/status/2042430442448548273

GDP Growth Revised Downward Again

The final GDP report for the last quarter of 2025 was downgraded to 0.5% from the previous 0.7% estimate which had already been revised downward from 1.4%.

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Alarm as acting CDC director delays report showing Covid vaccine benefits

Iran:

https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/2042185048867119255

https://twitter.com/MirabelTweets1/status/2042139240100733122

https://twitter.com/Bill43111/status/2042263054650614157

The Art of Pretending You Have a Deal

Trump’s last-minute cease-fire acceptance is an example of the Madman Theory only insofar as the madman gambit has a lousy track record of securing greater concessions — and this cease-fire also failed to gain anything for the United States. Meanwhile, the strategic losses caused by this war will continue to mount.
Of course, calling this a ‘deal’ or an ‘arrangement’ is an overly generous description — What actually happened sounds more like a series of coordinated social media posts…
I’m serious: what tactical gain did the Trump administration secure by agreeing to the two-week cease-fire beyond the cease-fire itself? Sure, President Trump saved himself from committing war crimes, but that’s not exactly a tactical win.

https://twitter.com/MarkSeddon1962/status/2042233867499663602

Why the Iran Ceasefire Changes Everything

The two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is being described as a pause in hostilities. That description is misleading. What has occurred is not simply a halt in bombing. It is the clearest indication yet of a shift in power.
By the core standard of international politics—who can shape the behavior of others—the outcome is unmistakable. Iran has demonstrated the ability to impose costs on the global system and force adjustment across multiple actors. The United States, despite overwhelming military superiority, has accepted a halt under conditions it cannot fully dictate.
This is not equilibrium. It is a reversal.

Trump’s Staggering Humiliation in Iran

Desperate for an off-ramp, the president is setting up the U.S. to lose another war in the Middle East—even if the ceasefire doesn’t hold.

Strait of Hormuz Remains Closed

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked Thursday, limited to a handful of Iran-linked ships, another sign that a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran has yet to improve flows through the world’s key energy chokepoint.
Just seven vessels, all of which have either called at Iranian ports or were carrying Iranian cargo, were observed making the voyage out of the Persian Gulf on Wednesday and into Thursday morning. Normal transits in both directions are more like 135 a day.