By Heard Editors

Oil prices slipped and stocks advanced on hopes that the U.S. and Iran can avoid resuming their full-scale war. The United Arab Emirates said it was intercepting new attacks from Iran hours after the U.S. said Iran's latest military actions didn't rise to the level of violating the ceasefire. U.S. officials sought to play down the events of the past 24 hours, including Iran's targeting of American warships and attacks on other vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. oil futures lost 4% to about $102. The Nasdaq gained 1% and the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to a new record close.

Berkshire Hathaway has selected Gen Re chairman Charlie Shamieh as the successor to longtime insurance mastermind Ajit Jain. The Wall Street Journal reported the move Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shamieh will step in to run Berkshire's sprawling insurance arm when Jain decides to retire, the people said. Jain, a 74-year-old executive who Berkshire chairman Warren Buffett has said is irreplaceable, hasn't signaled when he will step down.

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed allowing public companies the option of filing semi-annual reports instead of quarterly reports. The proposal, which was in the works for months, will be open for a 60-day public comment period.

PayPal shares fell 8% Tuesday after the company's CEO said he thinks it is falling behind other financial-services companies. Enrique Lores, who joined the company in March, said he wants to cut down on what he sees as unnecessary layers of the business to spend more on AI and becoming a technology leader. The company is planning layoffs.

Semiconductor stocks continued to soar. Intel gained 13% to a fresh record after a Bloomberg report that Apple might use the chip maker as well as Samsung to build device chips in the U.S.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2026 17:42 ET (21:42 GMT)

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