News linked to both this project and an event.
According to an official announcement, the blockchain infrastructure protocol project IOTA has named Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria as the first countries to implement the ADAPT initiative. These three countries were selected through a rigorous evaluation process assessing their political commitment, regulatory readiness, maturity of digital infrastructure, and private-sector engagement. Launched in November 2025, the African Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade (ADAPT) initiative is spearheaded by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and co-developed with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the World Economic Forum, and the IOTA Foundation. ADAPT aims to build shared digital infrastructure for intra-African trade, covering digital identity, cross-border data exchange, and payment interoperability.
According to JIN10, U.S. President Trump criticized Tehran’s leadership for lacking unity, which he said is hindering agreement on ending the nine-week conflict that has triggered a global energy crisis. He stated that “Iran’s requests are ones I cannot accept,” though some traders interpreted this as a negotiating tactic rather than an abandonment of peace efforts. Investors will be watching for a new batch of U.S. corporate earnings reports and U.S. employment data. Below are the key market focus points for the coming week: Tuesday, 00:50: John Williams, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a permanent voting member of the FOMC, delivers a speech; Tuesday, 22:00: U.S. April ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI and U.S. March JOLTS Job Openings; Wednesday, 20:15: U.S. April ADP Employment Change; Wednesday, 21:30: Alberto Musalem, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and an FOMC voter in 2028, speaks on the economic outlook and monetary policy; Thursday, 01:00: Austan Goolsbee, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and an FOMC voter in 2027, participates in a panel discussion at a conference; Thursday, 19:30: U.S. April Challenger Job Cuts; Friday, 02:05: Loretta Mester, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and an FOMC voter in 2026, delivers a speech; Friday, 03:30: John Williams, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a permanent voting member of the FOMC, delivers a speech; Friday, 22:00: U.S. May one-year inflation expectation (preliminary), U.S. May University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (preliminary), and U.S. March wholesale sales (month-on-month). Forecasters expect the April nonfarm payrolls report—due next Friday—to show solid job growth.
Investors closely monitored developments in the Middle East over the past week. Frequent shifts in news flow—coupled with the cancellation of a highly anticipated meeting between U.S. and Iranian representatives and multiple statements by U.S. President Trump—led to volatility in market risk sentiment. Notably, major U.S. equity indices still managed to reach new all-time highs. However, the market outlook is not entirely rosy, as conflict remains prone to sudden escalation. Below are key events investors will focus on in the coming week: Monday, 10:30 p.m. ET: Dallas Fed Business Activity Index for April Tuesday, 8:15 p.m. ET: ADP Employment Change for the week ending April 11 Tuesday, 10:00 p.m. ET: Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for April; Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for April Wednesday, 4:30 a.m. ET: API Crude Oil Inventories for the week ending April 24 Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET: EIA Crude Oil Inventories, EIA Cushing, Oklahoma Crude Oil Inventories, and EIA Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Inventories for the week ending April 24 Thursday, 2:00 a.m. ET: FOMC Interest Rate Decision Thursday, 2:30 a.m. ET: FOMC Press Conference with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET: Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending April 26; March PCE Price Index; March Personal Spending MoM; Q1 Labor Cost Index (QoQ); Q1 Real GDP Annualized Growth Rate (Advance Estimate); Q1 Real Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Growth Rate (Advance Estimate); U.S.