📅 Saturday, April 4, 2026 | 3-Day Catch-Up Brief (Apr 3 + Apr 4) | 10:00 AM ET
Missed Thursday & Friday? This edition covers Apr 3 (Good Friday), Apr 4 (today), with all key developments from the past 72 hours rolled in.
💹 Finance & Market News
The Week in Review
Jobs Blowout — 178K Added in March, Crushing the 60K Estimate — The March Nonfarm Payrolls report (released Good Friday, markets closed) came in at +178,000 jobs — the best gain since December 2024 and nearly 3x the 60K consensus. Healthcare drove the rebound (+76K), largely due to nurses returning from strikes. Construction added 26K. Federal government shed 18K, continuing its long decline (down 355K since Oct 2024 peak). (BLS / CNBC)
- The catch: Market reaction on Friday was muted — the number is backward-looking, weather and strike-reversal effects inflated it, and the real labor force shrank by ~400K. February was also revised down to -133K (from -92K). Goldman forecasts the oil shock alone will drag ~10K jobs/month off payrolls going forward.
- Unemployment: Edged down to 4.3%, but mostly from labor force shrinkage, not genuine hiring strength.
- Wages: +0.2% MoM, +3.5% YoY — lowest annual wage growth since May 2021. Not inflationary on its own.
- Fed: Markets now price 77.5% chance the Fed stays on hold through year-end. Rate hike risk has faded; no cuts either.
Markets — Volatile Week, Oil Surging Again — After Trump's April 1 speech crushed the de-escalation rally, markets ended the week lower. Stocks fell Thursday on the speech selloff, then bounced modestly Friday on the jobs beat but muted by war anxiety. (The Street)
- S&P 500 closed the week ~6,500-range, Dow recovering from -600-pt Thursday low
- Brent crude at ~$108–110/barrel — still near war highs; IEA calls this "the worst energy crisis in history"
- Gas: $4.10/gallon national average as of April 4 (AAA)
- Goldman Sachs: Iran oil shock will knock ~0.4% off US GDP, 0.7% off Asian ex-China economies
- CFR analysis: Only 2% of Hormuz oil goes to the US — the bulk (80–85%) goes to Asia. Europe and Asia feel this far more acutely than the US. (CFR)
DHS Shutdown — Deal Reached — After 48+ days, Congress passed and Trump signed a short-term DHS funding bill this week, ending the longest partial government shutdown in US history. TSA has been operating normally since paychecks resumed. Full details on the deal scope still being processed.
🌍 Geopolitical News
⚠️ BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT: US F-15 Shot Down Over Iran — One Crew Member Still Missing