Happy Tuesday N2K reader!

This week’s world-famous news haiku competition™ is about how JP Morgan is monitoring its junior bankers’ working hours with tech. Send me your entry — to haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon ET Thursday, for consideration by your Cheddar peers.

And now for some news you really N2K!

Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

What’s the stock market up to, eh?*

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Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

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Wall Street’s fear gage drops and stocks rise

Global markets experienced a pleasant turnaround on Monday after President Donald Trump announced a five-day postponement of planned attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure, citing "constructive" talks with Tehran.

Oil prices, which had surged to over $114 per barrel earlier in the session, tumbled sharply. Brent crude fell more than 9% to around $102, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 8% to $90 per barrel. Stock markets followed suit, with the S&P 500 $SPX ( ▲ 1.15% ) climbing 1.1% and the Stoxx Europe 600 reversing earlier losses to close 0.6% higher.

The volatility left traders reeling. Mizuho fixed-income strategist Jordan Rochester, described it to the Financial Times as "an awful day for anyone trying to manage risk," adding that "the hardest part is not predicting the war but predicting the communication from the White House and how much markets will react to it."

Despite Iran denying direct negotiations had taken place, some analysts saw reason for cautious optimism. Matthew Amis, investment director at Aberdeen Asset Management, told the FT: "Although this is merely a five-day postponement, we believe today's headlines at least show that de-escalation is possible."

However, Mark Dowding of RBC BlueBay Asset Management warned that "Trump is clearly looking for an off-ramp" but cautioned that Iran's terms for peace may prove difficult for Washington to accept.

Zuck: Building an AI agent to help him be CEO

Mark Zuckerberg is putting his company's Metaverse AI vision into practice by developing his own artificial intelligence agent to help him lead Meta Platforms, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

How long before he renames the company Böt-tle-ganger?

The “CEO agent,” still in development (just like Zuck’s personality?) helps Zuckerberg retrieve information faster — bypassing the layers of people he would typically need to consult. It should be handy when he wants to lay off 20% of the company, as has been reported.

Zuckerberg previewed these efforts during the company's January earnings call: "We're investing in AI-native tooling so individuals at Meta can get more done. We're elevating individual contributors and flattening teams," he said. "If we do this, then I think that we're going to get a lot more done and I think it'll be a lot more fun."

AI adoption has become a factor in employee performance reviews, sparking rapid experimentation across the company. Staff now use tools like "My Claw" for personal agent assistance and "Second Brain," described by its creator as "meant to be like an AI chief of staff."

Meta also recently established an AI-focused engineering organization with an ultra-flat structure. "We're designing this org to be AI native from day one," said executive Maher Saba. Which is an odd thing to say because Facebook — I’m sorry, Meta, I’m sorry, whatever it’s going to be called soon™ — is actually 8,083 days old and counting.

Quote of the Day

How young workers are AI-proofing their careers

With AI reshaping the workforce, young Americans aren't sitting idle but making bold career pivots to stay ahead. A recent Harvard survey reveals that 59% of Americans ages 18–29 view AI as a threat to their job prospects. For many, that fear is driving action.

Take Jackson Curtis, 28, who's trading his insurance desk job for a firefighter's helmet. "Even if they can come up with a way to utilize AI to fight fires, people are always going to want that empathy from an actual human who actually cares during a moment of crisis," Curtis told the Wall Street Journal.

He's not alone. Ryder Paredes, 22, abandoned his computer science degree for trade school after watching AI capabilities explode. "At first I was in denial," Paredes admitted. "But eventually I had to just face it."

Others are leaning into the technology. Vedant Vyas, 21, left college to launch an AI startup, raising over $4 million. "I get to help decide what we build, who it helps and what new kinds of work it creates," he said.

Which of these young men will be happiest in the end, do you think?

OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky dies at 43

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that there are “no second acts in American lives.” And so it is, certainly, for Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American entrepreneur who transformed OnlyFans into a site so successful that a candidate for Florida governor has suggested taxing OnlyFans creators 50% to live in the state.

He was 43. Fenix $FNX ( 0.0% ) International, the UK-based company that owns and operates OnlyFans, confirmed Monday that Radvinsky passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer.

"We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Leo Radvinsky," the company stated. "His family have requested privacy at this difficult time."

Radvinsky's vision revolutionized the adult entertainment industry by giving creators direct access to their audiences. The platform's model — taking just 20% while creators keep 80% — proved irresistible to performers seeking to monetize their work independently. Since 2016, OnlyFans has paid out more than $25 billion to creators.

The reclusive Florida-based entrepreneur acquired the platform in 2018 from British founders Guy and Tim Stokely. Under his leadership, the company flourished, generating $7.2 billion from users last year alone. Radvinsky himself received a record $701 million dividend in 2024 — one of the largest ever issued by a UK private company.

Born in Odesa, Ukraine, Radvinsky immigrated to America as a child and studied economics at Northwestern University before building his tech portfolio.

Song of the Day: Cameron Whitcomb, ‘You and Me.’