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Tanker Armada Races For Hormuz After Iran Says Strait Is Open
An armada of at least eight oil tankers set off toward the Strait of Hormuz immediately after Iran’s foreign minister said the vital waterway was fully open to shipping.
Five of the carriers, which had been anchored north of Dubai, were moving into the waterway on Friday afternoon, soon after Iran’s foreign minister said it was completely open, vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. Three more, which were waiting about 70 miles west, have also begun moving in the direction of the strait.
Source: BloombergThe tankers moved despite reports in Iranian media that suggested the country was still seeking to impose restrictions. Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that ships and cargoes linked to “hostile” countries would not be allowed through (in other words, no change from before). Passage via Strait of Hormuz will be closed if US naval blockade continues as it will be considered a violation of the ceasefire, the country’s Fars news agency reported. At the same time, Trump said that Iran-aligned ships would be barred passage as per the recently announced blockade until a ceasefire is finalized.
The U.S. naval blockade continues... pic.twitter.com/EBvglrf6FA
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 17, 2026Hundreds of tankers have been stuck in the Persian Gulf as a result of the Middle East conflict, and the decision to transit depends on the owners, captains and crews. Several ship owners earlier told Bloomberg they were seeking more information before they would be ready to consider transiting.
Earlier in the day, before the news that the Strait had reopened, we learned that a Greek shipowner whose vessels have repeatedly braved the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war, sent through its biggest oil supertanker since the start of the conflict. The Atokos, a VLCC with a transport capacity of about 2 million barrels, signaled its location in the Indian Ocean on Friday. That would suggest it navigated Hormuz, with its digital transponder off, over the past several days.
The closure of the strait caused a surge in oil, fuel and natural gas prices as it choked off a swath of shipments and caused the region’s top producers to cut output.
It's not just tankers: according to MarineTraffic, today also saw the first cruise ship transit the Strait since conflict began. The cruise ship Celestyal Discovery has become the first passenger vessel to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict. The Malta-flagged vessel departed Dubai on 17 April after remaining docked
First cruise ship transits Strait of Hormuz since conflict began
The cruise ship Celestyal Discovery has become the first passenger vessel to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict. The Malta-flagged vessel departed Dubai on 17 April after remaining docked… pic.twitter.com/3wR1P6Lc6G
And merchant ships are also rushing to cross the strait before Iran changes it mind.
🚢 Several Merchant Vessels that were anchored near the UAE have now decided to cross the strait of Hormuz, right after the recent announcement from Iran. https://t.co/XVDFQim98Y pic.twitter.com/dBXWs8Mgoi
— MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) April 17, 2026If all the ships ships headed for the strait are able to continue their voyages into the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea beyond, their movements would be among the clearest signs yet that Hormuz might finally be opening up to shipping that isn’t connected to Iran since the war began on Feb. 28.
More importantly, amid the constant headline ping pong, there remains lots of confusion as to the actual state of affairs, although as we reported previously, the only thing that matters in this entire conflict is whether the Strait is reopened: in a few hours we will have the answer.
Tyler Durden Fri, 04/17/2026 - 14:50Meghan Trainor’s family: Meet singer’s husband, Daryl Sabara, and their 3 kids
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Charles Schwab To Launch Spot Bitcoin Trading For Retail Clients
Authored by Micah Zimmerman via Bitcoin Magazine,
Charles Schwab announced further details and plans in their attempt to launch direct spot bitcoin trading through its new platform, Schwab Crypto™, signaling a major step by one of the country’s largest brokerage firms into the digital asset market.
The feature will roll out in phases over the coming weeks and will allow retail clients to buy and sell bitcoin and ethereum through existing Schwab platforms, the bank said.
The move gives millions of Schwab clients the ability to trade bitcoin alongside traditional holdings such as stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. Clients will access Schwab Crypto through Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, which will act as custodian for the digital assets.
Blockchain infrastructure provider Paxos will handle sub-custody and trade execution under a federally regulated trust structure.
“Clients want to conduct more of their financial lives at Schwab,” said Jonathan Craig, Head of Retail Investing.
“With Schwab Crypto, they can trade digital assets within their existing accounts while drawing on the service, research, and tools they rely on.”
At launch, Schwab Crypto will enable direct trading in bitcoin and ethereum, which together represent about three-quarters of global crypto market capitalization.
Schwab will charge a transaction fee of 75 basis points on the dollar value of each trade, placing its pricing at the low end of the brokerage industry. Over time, the firm plans to add more cryptocurrencies and enable transfer capabilities for deposits and withdrawals.
Schwab said its platform will integrate digital assets across Schwab.com, the Schwab Mobile App, and the thinkorswim® trading suite. Clients will retain access to Schwab’s 24/7 customer service network, digital asset education through Schwab Coaching®, and research from the Schwab Center for Financial Research.
Charles Schwab is jumping into bitcoinJoe Vietri, Head of Digital Assets at Schwab, described the launch as an extension of the firm’s broader digital strategy.
“Our goal is to be the destination of choice for retail investors who want to integrate digital assets into their portfolios with confidence,” Vietri said.
Paxos, a New York–based blockchain provider overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, will supply the infrastructure that underpins the new trading offering. Its custody platform is already used by several global financial institutions seeking regulated access to digital assets.
Schwab already holds a strong presence in the digital asset ecosystem, with clients owning roughly 20 percent of spot crypto exchange-traded products.
The new feature expands Schwab’s reach beyond indirect crypto exposure through ETFs, mutual funds, and futures tied to cryptocurrency benchmarks.
The company’s entry into spot trading will position it alongside firms such as Coinbase, Robinhood, and Webull, which have long provided retail access to major digital currencies.
Tyler Durden Fri, 04/17/2026 - 14:40Logan Paul bemoans 5 a.m. ESPN call time: ‘Neurons haven’t quite started firing’
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Record Share Of Home Sellers Cut Listing Prices In February: Report
A record share of home sellers cut their listing prices in February as competition for homebuyers necessitated steep price reductions, an April 9 report by real estate platform Redfin said.
About 34.2 percent of sellers reduced their listing prices in February, up from 31.5 percent in the same month a year earlier, according to Redfin’s analysis of MLS data.
That was the highest February share since the firm began tracking MLS records in 2012.
The sellers who cut their listing prices reduced them by an average of $40,915, said Redfin.
That amounts to a 7.3 percent cut, the highest for any February since 2023.
Final sales prices could include further reductions due to negotiations on such items as closing costs, contingency fees, and other contractual stipulations.
“Price cuts are on the rise because it’s a buyer’s market,” said Redfin data journalist Lily Katz and senior economist Yingqi Xu.
“There are hundreds of thousands more home sellers in the market than buyers because buyers have been spooked by high mortgage rates, high prices and economic uncertainty. When sellers outnumber buyers, buyers can often negotiate on price because they have a lot of options to choose from.”
As The Epoch Times' Bill Pan reports, in markets flush with new housing inventory, the number of sellers who slashed their listing prices was far more pronounced.
Nearly 60 percent of sellers in San Antonio, Texas, lowered their listing prices in February, Redfin reported, while slightly more than 55 percent of sellers in Austin, Texas, initiated price cuts, followed by Dallas (47.3 percent), Tampa, Florida (45.9 percent), and Fort Lauderdale, Florida (44.9 percent).
Homebuilding in Texas and Florida has begun to cool after years of growth and cyclical overbuilding, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported earlier this year. In Florida, home prices are being affected by rising insurance costs related to natural disasters, while condominium homeowner’s association fees have skyrocketed due to new safety regulations on older buildings more than three stories tall.
Conversely, sellers were far less likely to reduce prices in markets where housing inventory is limited. Just over 7 percent of sellers in San Francisco reduced their listing prices in February, with 11.1 percent of sellers in San Jose following suit. In Newark, New Jersey, about 13 percent of sellers dropped their listing prices.
Sellers who have been in their homes longer and have higher amounts of equity were less inclined to drop their sales prices, Redfin’s analysts noted.
“Many people bought during the peak of the pandemic market when home prices were soaring,” Katz and Xu wrote.
“In a lot of areas, prices have come down, meaning sellers are at risk of being underwater. Many of these sellers price high initially in an attempt to recoup their investment, only to find they must lower their expectations because the market has adjusted.”
Sales of existing homes rose by 1.7 percent in February from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, sales were down by 1.4 percent year over year.
Tyler Durden Fri, 04/17/2026 - 14:20