Surging gas prices due to the Iran war sent consumer sentiment to a new low in the early part of May, according to a University of Michigan survey on Friday. The school's closely watched survey posted a 48.2 preliminary reading, down 3.2% from April's prior record swoon and off 7.7% from a year ago. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 49.7.

Month-over-month sales increased in the Midwest and South, were unchanged in the Northeast, and declined in the West. On a year-over-year basis, sales rose in the South, were flat in the West, and fell in both the Northeast and Midwest. First-time buyers' share of sales falls to 33%, below the robust market threshold. High-end homes outperform, reflecting a K-shaped economy and stock market gains

thanks to sky-high $10 a gallon gasoline prices. Demand for affordable electric vehicles is soaring in Europe as the fuel price increases caused by the Middle East conflict spur lower-income households to go green. Inquiries about EVs costing less than €30,000 ($35,000) on Mobile.de, Germany’s largest car marketplace, have jumped 87% since the start of March, led by models like Renault's Zoe. That’s outstripping a 77% rise in inquiries about all EVs, regardless of price. In the UK, inquiries about EVs between five and seven years old tripled in April from a year earlier, well ahead of newer, more expensive electric cars, according to data from Auto Trader, the country’s largest marketplace. 

that would create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency on Thursday, potentially ​ending a deadlock over the bill that pitted crypto companies against U.S. banks. The bill, dubbed the Clarity Act, ‌would, if signed into law, clarify financial regulators' jurisdiction over the burgeoning sector, potentially boosting digital asset adoption. Buy (MSTR) on dips.

The U.S. cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest level in 75 years, and beef prices continue to climb. Expectations for increased beef ​imports from Brazil weighed on U.S. cattle futures after Trump met Brazilian President Inacio Lula da Silva last week. On Monday, Chicago Mercantile Exchange June ​live cattle futures shook off early losses to end slightly higher, while August feeder cattle dropped 0.5%.