Muse Spark Debut Sends Meta Stock Surging — Analysts Turn Bullish

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Meta unveiled its AI model, the first since CEO Mark Zuckerberg started a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the company’s AI division to stay competitive. A new group of costly AI researchers, under the direction of Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, Meta Superintelligence Labs, developed the eagerly awaited model known as Muse Spark.

Unlike the company’s prior open-source strategy, the Meta AI chatbot will be powered by Muse Spark, a closed model that means its design and code won’t be made public. Meta stock rose by 6% in New York following the announcement.

The model is the first significant test for MSL, Zuckerberg’s new AI lab. The founder of Facebook hired Wang as part of a $14 billion investment in Scale AI last year after the company failed to keep up with rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic PBC, and Alphabet Inc. due to a string of setbacks. is Google

Meta has made an effort to maintain its AI division’s agility by granting researchers autonomy and reducing its usual management-heavy organizational structure. According to the executive, who wished to remain anonymous when discussing internal issues, Wang has about 100 direct reports. Although it was early in the company’s implementation, the executive admitted that Muse Spark lacked some capabilities of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, or Google’s Gemini.

According to a blog post from Meta, the model is “an early data point on our trajectory,” with multiple larger models under development. Executives view Muse Spark—known internally as Avocado during development—as a revitalization of Meta’s AI strategy, which was previously centered on its open-source Llama models.

The project took nine months to complete. Although Meta still intends to develop open-source models in the future, Wang is an advocate of closed models, and the company is also thinking about offering API access to Muse Spark.

China’s Silver Imports Hit 8-Year High as Demand Tightens Supply

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

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 released on Friday, 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 rise 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 late 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 that is already experiencing tight inventories.

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

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

S&P 500 Snaps Out Longest Winning Streak Since October as Equities Rally for 7th Day

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

The S&P 500 recorded its longest winning streak since October as stocks continued to rise for a seventh day in a row. This is despite a decline in software shares. In anticipation of a de-escalation in the strikes that have kept the Strait of Hormuz mostly blocked, US crude settled close to $98.

President Donald Trump stated that he was “very optimistic” about a deal with Iran despite unresolved issues like Israel’s offensive in Lebanon and the opening of Hormuz.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, consented to direct negotiations with Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, which is affiliated with Tehran. Trump has requested a reduction in the number of strikes to guarantee the success of talks with Iran.

According to Bradford Smith of Janus Henderson Investors, “not much matters for the market other than the durability of the ceasefire, shipping volume through the Strait of Hormuz, and ultimately, whether a bona fide permanent deal is struck.

All of this is taking place at a time when data indicated that the US economy grew more slowly than anticipated in the last few months of 2025. In February, consumer spending barely increased despite ongoing inflation that is expected to pick up speed as a result of the conflict. According to Jeff Roach of LPL Financial, “inflation pressures were particularly acute in health care and financial services even before the war.”

“Material progress is still a long way off. According to Bret Kenwell of eToro, “the consumer price index on Friday will capture some of that impact, but the latest figures don’t reflect the recent surge in energy prices.” The CPI is expected to rise by 0.9 percent, the biggest one-month increase since 2022, according to economists. Recurring applications for

US unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years, according to a separate report released on Thursday, adding to the evidence of labor market stabilization.

Crude Oil Prices Hold Gains After Attacks Cut Saudi Production Capacity

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Oil prices increased on the second day following Saudi Arabia’s announcement that attacks on energy infrastructure had reduced its production capacity. Futures are still on track to experience their largest weekly loss since June.

Brent is still down more than 11 percent this week after the US and Iran announced a ceasefire on Tuesday, but it rose to about $96 after gaining 1.2 percent on Thursday in turbulent trading. West Texas Intermediate was close to $98 per barrel.

Attacks on energy infrastructure have reduced Saudi Arabia’s production capacity by about 600,000 barrels per day, according to the country’s press agency. According to Bloomberg calculations, that amount represents about 10% of the kingdom’s typical crude exports.

According to the report, attacks on a pumping station that supplies the East-West pipeline, which Saudi Arabia has been using to export crude via the Red Sea, reduced daily throughput by 700,000 barrels this week.

Japan and other nations that depend significantly on Middle Eastern goods tap into inventories. According to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the Asian country will release roughly 20 days’ worth of oil from its reserves in May. The largest private refiner in India has begun to limit fuel purchases at pumps to control stocks, while state refiners in China have been authorized to access commercial reserves.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that the ongoing attacks were not a part of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, US President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that he was “very optimistic” about a deal with Iran and that Israel was “going to low-key” it with strikes on Tehran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Later, Tehran was threatened by Trump for imposing fees in the Strait of Hormuz.

China Hoards Silver as Demand Surges, Tightening Global Supply

Posted on April 9, 2026April 10, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

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.

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.

Crude Oil Bounces Back Sharply After Worst Crash Since April 2020

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Oil recovered from its largest one-day decline since April 2020, with the Strait of Hormuz still mostly blocked and Israeli attacks on Lebanon threatening to sabotage the precarious Middle East ceasefire. After falling 13% on Wednesday, Brent increased toward $97 per barrel. Additionally, West Texas Intermediate was close to $97.

Tanker traffic through the strait was reportedly stopped following Israeli strikes, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency. US Vice President JD Vance refuted this claim, stating that “we are seeing signs that the straits are starting to reopen.”

Two fully loaded Chinese oil tankers in the Persian Gulf were headed toward the strait on Thursday, possibly making them the first of their kind to cross since the ceasefire was declared. There is no guarantee of a successful passage, and traffic hasn’t changed much in the last day.

De-escalation negotiations between the US and Iran served as the impetus for the demonstration. Citing what he called a “workable” proposal from Tehran to resume talks, Trump declared late on Tuesday that Washington would halt strikes on Iran.

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial international oil shipping route that has been closed for weeks due to the fighting, is a crucial requirement for the tentative ceasefire.

Iranian officials first indicated that they would be open to temporarily reopening the passage if hostilities stopped. However, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Israel has already violated the ceasefire by attacking Lebanon, which is why the waterway is still closed.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased by 2.5 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, following the news of the strait’s blockage. This comes after oil fell below $100 per barrel on Wednesday, resulting in drops of more than 13%.

Meta Turns Hot Buy as Muse Spark Debut Ignites 7-8% Stock Surge

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Meta unveiled its AI model, the first since CEO Mark Zuckerberg started a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the company’s AI division to stay competitive. Under the direction of Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, Meta Superintelligence Labs, a new group of costly AI researchers, developed the eagerly awaited model known as Muse Spark.

Meta has made an effort to maintain its AI division’s agility by granting researchers autonomy and reducing its usual management-heavy organizational structure. According to the executive, who wished to remain anonymous when discussing internal issues, Wang has about 100 direct reports. Although it was early in the company’s implementation, the executive admitted that Muse Spark lacked some of the capabilities of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, or Google’s Gemini.

Intel Jumps 11%+ on Terafab Deal: Bull Case Builds for $100 Stock

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Intel (INTC) stock closed at $58.95, up a strong 11.42% (or about $6) on the day, with heavy volume. It briefly hit a new 52-week high near $59.17 before pulling back slightly in after-hours trading.

The announcement by Intel that it would be joining Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI in Elon Musk’s Terafab project served as the impetus. Intel described its role as contributing expertise in designing, fabricating, and packaging ultra-high-performance chips at scale to help the project reach its ambitious goal of 1 terawatt (TW) of annual compute capacity for AI, robotics, and related applications.

Intel announced on Tuesday that it will assist the so-called Terafab project in “refactoring” the technology in a chip factory.

This phase of the development process contributes to chips being more robust or dependable. The chipmaker’s shares increased by 4.2 percent to $53 in New York trading on Tuesday.

Musk’s ambitious plan to eventually produce his own chips for robotics, artificial intelligence, and space data centers is known as the Terafab project. The project intends to generate an enormous amount of computing power annually, roughly one terawatt of capacity.

Although Musk’s businesses have never produced chips, Tesla already designs its own. He now envisions doing that on a scale to compete with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan stated, “Terafab represents a step change in how silicon logic, memory, and packaging will be built in the future.”

Intel is honored to collaborate closely with Elon on this extremely important project. “Terafab’s goal of producing 1 TW/year of compute to power future advances in AI and robotics will be accelerated by our ability to design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale,” Intel added in its post. Musk stated in March.

The CEO spent a large portion of the previous year eliminating positions and other expenses. However, he also drew significant investments from Nvidia Corp. and the US government. and SoftBank Group Corp., which gave it a stronger foundation. Intel agreed last week to repurchase half of an Irish plant it had previously sold to Apollo Global Management for $14.2 billion. The action was interpreted as an indication of trust in the chipmaker’s operations.

Bitcoin Hits $72.7K on Trump’s Iran Ceasefire Announcement, Marking 3-Week High

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Bitcoin reached $72.7K, its highest level since March 18..The action came after US President Trump announced a two-week cease-fire with Iran, contingent on the Strait of Hormuz being reopened. Latest price action showed gains are probably only temporary, though, as it hasn’t yet broken out of a two-month-long rangebound channel.

Iran accepted the proposal, and Mojtaba Khamenei, the nation’s new Supreme Leader, approved it. While oil prices have plummeted, with WTI and Brent crude falling about 15% to $96 per barrel, Asian stock markets, cryptocurrency, and precious metals have all surged, somewhat reducing inflationary pressures.

The high-stakes 48-hour deadline that US President Donald Trump imposed on Iran turned into a two-week ceasefire with the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz under military control, giving the larger cryptocurrency market an overnight boost. On Friday, more talks to complete the peace agreement will start in Islamabad, Pakistan. As previously reported by FXStreet, an Iranian official claims that the 10-point plan includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian military supervision.

However, talks with the US do not signify the end of the war, and the final details of the plan will determine its outcome. The market’s bearish wipeout is reflected in the $596 million total market liquidations over the past 24 hours, which were led by $430 million in short liquidations, according to CoinGlass.

Cryptocurrency prices may rise if inflation declines sufficiently and the Fed chooses to reduce interest rates. Crypto markets may rise even if the Fed doesn’t lower interest rates and employment and growth continue to show signs of a robust economy. According to Santiment’s social sentiment data, “the crowd is optimistic that this news is the catalyst for this conflict reaching its conclusion.

Ripple: XRP Bounces Like a Ball as Inflows Keep Pouring In

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

XRP experienced notable price movement recently, currently trading around $1.35–$1.39 with a 24-hour gain of roughly 3–5 percent and trading volume exceeding $2.7–3.8 billion in the past day.

XRP-focused digital asset investment products posted high weekly movement among digital assets with $120 million in inflows. This is the highest amount since December 2025, when it reached a year-to-date total of $159 million, or 7% of all assets under management.

The altcoin reached highs above $1.50 in mid-March 2026 (up almost 8% in a single day ) before declining. In recent weeks, it has been consolidating in the $1.30–$1.45 range; some analysts have noted that if it decisively clears $1.45, it could be a breakout setup.

Although performance has been inconsistent thus far in 2026 (down about 20–25 percent at times due to broader macro pressures), still far below its all-time high from 2025, which was around $3.60–$3.65. Correlation with the broader cryptocurrency market:

XRP frequently moves in tandem with Bitcoin and the market as a whole. BTC’s use as a “hedge” during periods of global uncertainty has coincided with spikes (geopolitical tensions or energy prices). Inflows into XRP-related investment products, such as early-launch ETFs, are indicators of institutional and adoption.