The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 15 approved a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) proposal to scrap the long-standing $25,000 minimum equity threshold and related pattern day trading restriction for smaller investors. The change replaces the old rule with new intraday margin standards that require customers to hold sufficient equity in their margin accounts to cover real-time market exposure. The revision will apply across investor classes once FINRA publishes the final framework, allowing accounts below $25,000 to make unlimited day trades subject to the updated margin requirements. Retail brokerage stocks jumped on the news, with reports showing Robinhood and Webull shares rising in early trading. Industry executives welcomed the move as a modernization that removes an “antiquated barrier” and could boost engagement and trading volumes for retail platforms. Regulators and market participants will now focus on the specifics of the intraday margin regime and implementation timeline, as well as supervisory and risk-management implications for firms and investors.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) reported a 58% jump in first-quarter net profit to NT$572.5 billion ($18.2 billion) and revenue up about 35% to NT$1.134 trillion as surging demand for AI chips drove record results. The world’s largest contract chipmaker forecast second-quarter sales of $39.0 billion to $40.2 billion and raised its 2026 revenue growth target to above 30% in U.S. dollar terms, saying capital spending will be at the high end of prior guidance to expand advanced-node capacity. Advanced 3-nanometre production now accounts for roughly a quarter of sales. Management flagged supply‑chain risks from Middle East tensions for specialty gases but said safety stocks mitigate near‑term disruption. Equipment supplier ASML, a key vendor to TSMC, raised its 2026 sales outlook after strong Q1 results and saw its shares rise as customers accelerate capacity expansion. Markets reacted with TSMC shares at record highs and gains for semiconductor-equipment stocks as analysts warn supply constraints and valuation risks amid an ongoing AI-driven investment cycle.

China’s economy accelerated to 5.0% year‑on‑year growth in Q1 2026, beating forecasts and posting a sequential expansion of 1.3% as manufacturing and exports powered an early‑year rebound. Industrial output rose 5.7% in March while retail sales lagged at 1.7%, underscoring weak domestic demand. March export growth slowed sharply to 2.5% month‑on‑month (after a combined January‑February surge), though exports for the January‑March period were still up about 14.7% year‑on‑year. Property investment remained a drag, falling double digits, and fixed‑asset investment growth softened. Policymakers have front‑loaded fiscal support, boosting bond issuance and spending, while the central bank is expected to keep policy accommodative but cautious. The outbreak of war in Iran has driven up energy and shipping costs, pushed factory‑gate prices out of deflation, and raised the risk that a protracted conflict will squeeze margins, slow global demand and hurt China’s export‑led recovery in coming quarters.

On April 15, 2026 New York Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed a pied-à-terre surcharge on second homes in New York City valued at $5 million or more, a move backed by newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The governor and city officials said the annual levy, which would apply to non–primary residences, is expected to generate about $500 million a year and help close a roughly $5.4 billion city budget shortfall. Officials estimate the measure could affect about 13,000 units; precise rates and brackets are yet to be determined and the proposal is slated for inclusion in the state budget. Supporters argue the tax targets ultrawealthy out-of-city owners who use NYC real estate for wealth storage. Critics, including the Real Estate Board of New York, warn it could depress property values, weaken construction activity and raise costs. Similar proposals have failed before amid heavy industry lobbying, and details of implementation, legal challenges and impact on migration patterns remain unresolved.

President Donald Trump on April 15 renewed threats to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if Powell does not vacate his seat when his four-year leadership term ends on May 15, escalating a confrontation that could unsettle U.S. monetary policy and financial markets. Trump told Fox Business he would “have to fire him” if Powell stays on the Fed’s Board of Governors, where Powell’s governor term runs through 2028. The White House has nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as Powell’s successor; Warsh’s Senate Banking Committee hearing is scheduled for April 21. But an ongoing Justice Department criminal probe into cost overruns on the Fed’s headquarters renovation — overseen by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and recently the subject of an unannounced visit to the construction site by prosecutors — has become a roadblock. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has said he will withhold his committee vote on Warsh until the investigation is resolved. A federal judge previously quashed grand jury subpoenas in the probe, and the Supreme Court is considering related legal questions about presidential authority to remove independent-agency officials.

Meta Platforms has expanded a multiyear partnership with Broadcom to develop several generations of custom AI processors for its Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) program, extending the tie-up through 2029. The companies said the agreement includes an initial commitment of more than one gigawatt of compute capacity — described as the first phase of a planned multi‑gigawatt rollout — and covers chip design, advanced packaging and Broadcom Ethernet networking to link clusters. Meta’s MTIA 300 already powers some ranking and recommendation workloads, with three further MTIA generations expected through 2027; the chips are slated to use a 2‑nanometer process. Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan will step down from Meta’s board and take an advisory role on the chip strategy. The announcement lifted Broadcom shares by roughly 3–4% in extended trading and prompted upbeat analyst commentary, though some market reports flagged Broadcom’s rich valuation and recent insider selling. Meta has signalled heavy AI infrastructure spending, and the deal sits alongside its other GPU and custom‑chip commitments as it scales compute across dozens of data centres.