U.S. would only break Iranian ceasefire if there was 'absolutely no alternative,' says Deutsche Bank

The U.S. military carried out targeted action near the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as self-defense rather than an end to a ceasefire. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vowed to respond decisively to any violation of the ceasefire, raising concerns about negotiations. Despite the risk of disruption, economists and market commentary suggested continued pricing of de-escalation in the Middle East, even with occasional surgical U.S. strikes. Optimism remained elevated that an agreement could be reached to end the war, though the ceasefire was viewed as fragile. Separately, a labor market perspective claimed students struggle to find jobs while employers struggle to find talent, and that work ethic is a key differentiator for getting responses.

"On Monday, the U.S. military carried out action near the Strait of Hormuz, claiming self-defense rather than signaling an end to the ceasefire. In response, NBC News reported Iran's Revolutionary Guard vowed today to respond decisively to any violation of the ceasefire. Despite the potential knock to negotiations, economists remained relatively sanguine this morning. The market looks minded to continue pricing de-escalation in the Middle East notwithstanding some occasional surgical strikes from the U.S."

"Net net, optimism is still elevated that an agreement can be made to end the war, chimed Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid to clients this morning. We have been here before, of course, but it has felt for some time that the move towards peace has been three steps forward and one or two back my view for a while has been that such a prolonged truce and ceasefire would not have held if the U.S. genuinely wanted to continue strikes, unless there was absolutely no alternative. Last night's targeted action is clearly a warning shot that the ceasefire is fragile though, so we will have to see what the next few days of negotiations bring."

"There's a disconnect in the labor market right now, according to Arvind Jain, ex-Google engineer and Rubrik co-founder: students say they can't find a job, but employers can't find the talent they need. In fact, Jain said his $7.2 billion AI startup, Glean, is receiving thousands of job applications every day. And the No.1 thing that separates the handful who hear back is not a degree, a skill set, or even an impressive resumebut a strong work ethic."

"I have a firm belief that hard work solves all the problems, Jain tells Fortune's Orianna Rosa Royle. The yardstick for me is that when I work in a group, I want to be kno"

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