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Golden Ten Data reported on April 21 that analysts at BofA Securities stated in a report that, given investors are adopting a wait-and-see approach, the Japanese stock market may initially consolidate and then gradually rebound before the end of the year. They mentioned that, given ongoing unrest in the Middle East, companies are likely to provide weak forecasts when releasing their fiscal year results. Even if actual results exceed expectations, the market typically consolidates following such announcements. As demonstrated by last year's tariff incident, after confirming the impact of negative factors on earnings in the first and second quarter results, the Japanese stock market rose in a "step-by-step" manner.

Over the past few months, most areas in the western United States have experienced persistent high temperatures, resulting in significantly lower snowpack levels—even though snowpack is an important water source replenishment for the region. Meanwhile, strong upper-level winds in the southern United States have blocked rain clouds in the north, causing prolonged drought across vast areas in the south, such as Texas. This drought has already spread to many grain-producing regions across the country, with peanuts in the southern U.S., wheat in the Great Plains, and various crops in the southwest almost all affected. In addition to grain, the drought is also directly impacting meat supplies, especially domestically produced beef in the United States. Data from the Department of Agriculture shows that the number of beef cattle raised in the U.S. is at its lowest since the 1950s, and this year’s drought will affect 64% of the nation’s inventory beef cattle. Feed for cattle such as hay and alfalfa will also be impacted.

Foresight News reported that BlackRock’s US Equity ETF head Jay Jacobs, in an interview with Fox’s “The Claman Countdown,” stated that Bitcoin is a non-sovereign asset that operates according to its own rules and is primarily driven by geopolitical and inflation risks. Jacobs pointed out that Bitcoin behaves differently from stocks or bonds, playing a role in portfolios similar to gold. Although this asset has significant short-term volatility, from a long-term perspective, it is a unique diversification tool. With currency depreciation, rising government debt, and growing demand for cross-border asset flows, the value of Bitcoin will become even more apparent. In addition, Jacobs suggested that in an environment where the correlation between stocks and bonds strengthens, investors should consider using Bitcoin, gold, and other liquid alternatives such as ILT under BlackRock to enhance portfolio resilience.