Listen to The Month That It Was in April 2026 from The Macro Butler.

https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/the-month-that-it-was-april-2026

Having dined with the King of the previously defunct Empire and survived another Taco Tuesday in the service of his nation, the Warmonger-in-Chief has emerged from the shadow of the White House with the steely resolve of a man who has decided that niceness is officially over. No More Mr Nice Guy — a declaration that lands with particular gravity from a leader who has spent six weeks threatening civilisations with hellfire, blockading a blockade, and calling sovereign nations "crazy bastards" on Truth Social.

The Blockade of the Blockade — Don Tzu's finest strategic contribution — continues making physical barrel shortages measurably worse by the day, with Season 2 still in pre-production. The villain, as always in the Bond franchise, believes he controls the situation right up until the moment it becomes apparent that he does not. The Strait remains closed. The barrels remain scarce. And the Beast, one notes, runs on gasoline.

🤵 The Macro Butler Special Service 🤵

🌐 When energy shocks hit, the Fed doesn’t lead—it follows, and believers in its illusion foot the bill. 🌐

Read more here: https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/the-feds-great-illusion

Listen to a summary of The Macro Butler Special Service newsletter via podcast on Substack; YouTube; Rumble; Spotify & TikTok.

https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/the-feds-great-illusion-podcast

As the Empire lectures the Middle Kingdom on trade etiquette, China’s factories quietly remember Confucius: “When the wind blows, the wise build resilience.” Despite war-driven cost pressures, the China Manufacturing PMI remains just above expansion, while export-focused firms show stronger momentum. Energy shocks are biting and domestic demand is softening, yet strategic reserves, AI-driven exports, and steady trade flows suggest that while others debate, China simply keeps producing.

In a nutshell, as others argue over shocks, China’s factories quietly keep expanding—proving resilience is the ultimate competitive advantage.

🤵 The Macro Butler’s Monthly Meditation 🤵

🌐 As global harmony fractures, antimony emerges from obscurity as the scarce metal quietly shaping power, supply chains, and the next resource war. 🌐

Read more here: https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/the-macro-butlers-monthly-meditation-eff

Sixty days into his grand geopolitical remix, Donald Copperfield—apparently moonlighting as a cartographer—has moved on from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” and is now eyeing the Strait of Hormuz as the freshly branded “Strait of Trump.” The only minor detail: the world’s most famous oil chokepoint is still, inconveniently, closed for business—branding, it turns out, does not move tankers.

As predictably as night follows day, the European Central Bank—under the lead of its forever political correct Chairwoman—kept rates unchanged, delivering a masterclass in saying everything and nothing at once: inflation risks are up, growth risks are down, and policy will remain “data-dependent” and decided “meeting by meeting.” In other words, the ECB stands ready to act decisively at some undefined point in the future, while markets are left pricing hikes anyway—because when uncertainty rises, nothing reassures quite like carefully avoiding any actual commitment.

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.mp260430~81b7179e6f.en.html

In a nutshell, the European Central Bank delivers peak “decisive inaction”: risks rising, clarity falling, and policy firmly stuck on wait-and-see.

Dear Investors,

Please find below the performance of The Macro Butler Long/Short Portfolio as of end of April 2026.

https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/the-macro-butler-longshort-portfolio-b16

Dear Investors,

Please find below the performance of The Macro Butler Strategic Portfolio as of end of April 2026.

https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/the-macro-butler-strategic-portfolio-837

Dear Investors,

Please find below the performance of The Macro Butler IG Portfolio as of end of April 2026.

https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/the-macro-butler-ig-portfolio-april-a9d

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The Week That It Was as of May 1, 2026.

https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/the-week-that-it-was-as-of-may-1st

In a dazzling display of candor, Donald Copperfield all but hoisted the Jolly Roger, admitting the Empire’s grand fleet now sails the seas less like guardians of order and more like profit-seeking buccaneers—because nothing refills imperial coffers quite like a little “high-seas revenue strategy” to fund the ever-hungry costs of its endless wars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuACo3V4fjI

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After openly embracing “institutional piracy” in the Persian Gulf, Donald Copperfield seamlessly upgraded himself to “Peacemaker-in-Chief,” unveiling Project Freedom—a benevolent mission where the same armada now escorts “neutral” ships out of the Strait of Hormuz it helped make impassable. Framed as humanitarian aid for stranded crews, the operation comes with a helpful disclaimer: any interference will be met with overwhelming force—because in this version of reality, control is compassion and blockade is liberation.

In yet another Oscar-worthy production from the Empire’s media studios, the CNN and friends dusted off the greatest hits of wartime fiction—because why stop at “mushroom clouds” when you can upgrade to… suicide dolphins? Even as The Vice In Chief floated nuclear vest scenarios, the expert class boldly pushed the plot forward, and anchors nodded along as if this were marine biology rather than late-night comedy. Reality check: yes, the United States once trained dolphins—to find mines, not audition for action movies—while Iran’s supposed aquatic kamikaze fleet remains exactly where it belongs: somewhere between fiction and very creative storytelling.

https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/2050387447637279233

As “Epic Fury: Season 2” edges toward its inevitable release, the Department of the Treasury of the Empire quietly revised its borrowing needs higher, now expecting $189 billion in net issuance for the quarter—up roughly $80 billion from its February estimate—courtesy of softer cash flows. Naturally, this comes with the comforting assumption that the quarter-end cash balance will remain a perfectly controlled $900 billion.