JPMorgan’s Dimon hopes for soft landing for US economy but says stagflation is a possible scenario

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says he’s hopeful the Federal Reserve can bring down inflation without causing a recession but wouldn’t rule out more troubling possibilities, such as stagflation. In an interview with The Associated Press at a Chase branch opening in The Bronx, Dimon said he remained “cautious” about the U.S. economy and said inflation may be stickier for longer and that stagflation is on the list of possible things that could happen to the U.S. economy. Stagflation occurs when the economy is weak, or in recession, yet prices keep moving higher. Dimon also reiterated his support for an independent Federal Reserve.

Berkshire Hathaway’s real estate firm to pay $250 million to settle real estate commission lawsuits

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A real estate company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to pay $250 million to settle lawsuits nationwide. The lawsuits claimed that longstanding practices by real estate brokerages forced U.S. homeowners to pay artificially inflated broker commissions when they sold their homes. HomeServices of America said Friday that the proposed settlement would shield its 51 brands, nearly 70,000 real estate agents and over 300 franchisees from similar litigation. The real estate company had been a major holdout after several other big brokerage operators agreed to settle. Including HomeServices’ proposed payout, the real estate industry has now agreed to pay more than $943 million to make the lawsuits go away.

Rooting for Trump to fail has made his stock shorters millions

NEW YORK (AP) — Rooting for Donald Trump to fail has rarely been this profitable. Just ask a hardy band of mostly amateur investors who have collectively made tens of millions over the past month by betting that the stock price of his social media business — Truth Social — will keep dropping despite wild swings that appear to mirror the candidate’s latest polls, court trials and outbursts on Truth Social itself. Several of these investors interviewed by The Associated Press say their bearish gambles using “put” options are driven less by their personal feelings about the former president than by their enduring faith in the woeful underlying financials of the company.

Stock market today: Alphabet and Microsoft help Wall Street clinch its best week in nearly 6 months

NEW YORK (AP) — Alphabet and Microsoft led the U.S. stock market to its first winning week in the last four and its biggest weekly gain since November. The S&P 500 rose 1% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 2%. Google’s parent company jumped after breezing past analysts’ expectations for profit and announcing its first dividend. Microsoft climbed after also topping forecasts. They helped offset a slide for Intel after it gave a forecast for profit that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Treasury yields largely eased after a report on inflation for March came in close to expectations.