The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to shape global markets, impacting oil prices, leading to strained energy supplies and IMF warnings of slowed global growth, even as Wall Street banks report record trading profits and diplomatic efforts for peace are floated.

• Europe Works on Postwar Hormuz Shipping Plan—Sans U.S. — Wall Street Journal -
• Opinion | Trump’s Blockade Is a Crisis for Iran — Wall Street Journal -
• Energy & Utilities Roundup: Market Talk — Wall Street Journal -

• Lebanon and Israel hold first direct talks in decades as fighting continues — Financial Times -
• Oil Prices Drop and Stocks Approach Highs as Investors Eye Possible Path to Peace — The New York Times Business -
• JPMorgan Sees Resilience in U.S. Economy Despite Iran War — The New York Times Business -
• Trump’s Latest Oil Blockade Brings Bigger Economic Risks — The New York Times Business -
• Strait of Hormuz tankers stop or turn around amid US blockade — Financial Times -
• Gucci slump deals blow to Luca De Meo’s Kering turnaround — Financial Times -
• US stocks close higher after Trump floats new US-Iran talks within days — Financial Times -
• How the US can blockade the Strait of Hormuz — Financial Times -
• America’s tightening cost of living squeeze — Financial Times -
• UK chancellor Rachel Reeves hits out at Iran war ‘folly’ — Financial Times -
• Wall Street banks break records as Iran war drives trading boom — Financial Times -
• Opinion | America Benefits From Unstable Energy Markets — Wall Street Journal -
• The US is at risk of an oil shock too — Financial Times -
• Fuel price protests spread to roads across Northern Ireland — Financial Times -
• Israel poised to seize Hizbollah’s ‘capital of liberation’ — Financial Times -
• Iran war could slow global growth to weakest since pandemic, IMF warns — Financial Times -
• Two Iran-Linked Ships Passed Through Strait of Hormuz Ahead of U.S. Blockade — The New York Times Business -
• Middle East War Will Slow Global Economic Growth, I.M.F. Warns — The New York Times Business -
• Trump signals hope for Iran talks despite US blockade of Hormuz — Financial Times -
• Iran war creates an emerging economy emergency — Financial Times -
• Global oil demand plummets by most since pandemic, says IEA — Financial Times -
• What’s Driving the Wartime Stock Rebound — The New York Times Business -
• What Higher Oil Prices Mean for Nissan, EVs and Auto Demand — Wall Street Journal -
• US pushing Iran to agree 20-year moratorium on nuclear activity — Financial Times -
• Xi says world in ‘disarray’ as Spain pushes China to help end Iran war — Financial Times -
• JPMorgan and Citi post bumper profits as Iran war boosts traders — Financial Times -
• $133 vs. $99. What Is the Real Price for a Barrel of Oil? — Wall Street Journal -
• Publicis Posts Top-Line Growth Despite Hit From Middle East War — Wall Street Journal -
• Global Oil Demand Heads for Contraction As Iran War Chokes Flows, IEA Says — Wall Street Journal -
• BP Sees Exceptional Oil-Trading Result as Middle East War Fuels Volatility — Wall Street Journal -
• BP hails ‘exceptional’ quarter for oil traders as Iran war stokes volatility — Financial Times -
• China’s exports slow as Middle East turmoil weighs on trade — Financial Times -
• Life inside Iran’s internet blackout — Financial Times -
• Corporate America set to deliver bumper earnings despite Iran war — Financial Times -
• Singapore tightens monetary policy as energy shock hits Asia — Financial Times -
• Australia’s Qantas Flags Surging Fuel Costs on Iran Conflict — Wall Street Journal -

The release of OpenAI's new cybersecurity model highlights advancements in AI, while Amazon's acquisition of Globalstar signifies fierce competition in the satellite internet market, and China's burgeoning high-tech sector challenges US scientific dominance.

• OpenAI releases new cyber security model to limited group of customers — Financial Times -
• Opinion | The Wireless Space Wars Get Interesting — Wall Street Journal -
• Detroit Aims to Become Center of U.S. Drone Manufacturing — The New York Times Business -

• Amazon Buys Globalstar for $10.8 Billion, Movingto Expand Its Satellite Internet Service — The New York Times Business -
• Why Amazon Is Buying Starlink Rival Globalstar in $11 Billion Deal — Wall Street Journal -
• As Trump scares off US scientists, China is racing ahead — Financial Times -
• UPS Seeks to Replace Manual Scans With Tracking Tech — Wall Street Journal -
• Amazon agrees $11.6bn takeover of satellite group Globalstar — Financial Times -
• Utilities Plan to Spend $1.4 Trillion Over Next Five Years to Power AI Boom — Wall Street Journal -
• OpenAI investors question $852bn valuation as strategy shifts — Financial Times -
• China shock 2.0: the flood of high-tech goods that will change the world — Financial Times -
• OpenAI investors question its valuation — Financial Times -

BlackRock's significant profit jump and **J&J's strong cancer-drug sales contrast with Imperial Brands' market-share loss and a sputtering Wall Street deal machine, reflecting a mixed but generally robust earnings season amidst volatile market indicators**.

• BlackRock profits jump as it draws in $130bn — Financial Times -
• The ‘deep fried’ stocks more expensive than Nvidia — Financial Times -
• Latham partners pocket record $8.7mn average pay — Financial Times -

• BlackRock Posts 46% Gain in Quarterly Profit on Growth in Investment Fees — Wall Street Journal -
• Imperial Brands Shares Fall After Cigarette Maker Warns of Market-Share Loss — Wall Street Journal -
• J&J’s First-Quarter Sales Grow on Cancer-Drug Strength — Wall Street Journal -
• Sika Shares Rise After Sales Beat Market Views — Wall Street Journal -
• The Vix indicator of the time to buy — Financial Times -
• Small caps revisited — Financial Times -
• Wall Street’s deal machine sputters — Financial Times -
• Private credit exposure turns investors away from US life insurers — Financial Times -
• Will Tata Sons be forced to go public? — Financial Times -

Discussions around Trump's economic initiatives, including a strategic minerals stockpile and the Iran blockade, are prominent, alongside Kevin Warsh's wealth disclosure as a Fed chair nominee and Treasury Secretary Bessent's climate change remarks.

• Opinion | The Growing State Tax and Jobs Divide — Wall Street Journal -
• Kevin Warsh is very rich, or possibly very, very rich — Financial Times -
• Kevin Warsh, Trump’s Pick for Fed Chair, Discloses Vast Wealth Ahead of Confirmation Hearing — The New York Times Business -

• Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh reveals assets worth more than $130mn — Financial Times -
• Bessent Questions the Cause of Climate Change and Its Economic Toll — The New York Times Business -
• Trump says Meloni lacks courage — Financial Times -
• The ever-shrinking JD Vance — Financial Times -
• JD Vance takes on ‘poisoned chalice’ of Trump’s foreign policy missions — Financial Times -
• How Trump’s ‘Project Vault’ risks upending strategic minerals market — Financial Times -

International business saw Yancoal Australia's coal mine acquisition and Austria's Bawag taking over an Irish bank, while the automotive sector experienced varied sales performance and new funding for green steel production, with China's export controls impacting global supply chains.

• China-Backed Yancoal Australia to Buy Kestrel Coal Mine Stake For Up to $2.4 Billion — Wall Street Journal -
• Auto & Transport Roundup: Market Talk — Wall Street Journal -
• Milei’s inflation fight stalls in Argentina — Financial Times -

• Southwest Airlines Imposes Further Limits on Portable Chargers on Flights — The New York Times Business -
• New Rules Hinder Foreign Firms From Moving Supply Chains From China — The New York Times Business -
• No Doors, No Roof, No Worries: A Tiny Racecar Sets Its Sights on the U.S. — The New York Times Business -
• CarMax Shares Plunge as Used-Car Seller Cuts Prices — Wall Street Journal -
• Lucid Secures $750 Million in New Funding, Names New CEO — Wall Street Journal -
• Rivian’s Illinois Factory Will Run on Recycled EV Batteries — Wall Street Journal -
• Opinion | When Manufacturing Recycling Goes to Waste — Wall Street Journal -
• Albertsons Swings to a Loss on Charge From Opioid Settlement — Wall Street Journal -
• BMW Group Vehicle Sales Fall on Weakness in China and U.S. — Wall Street Journal -
• Dow Taps 30-Year Veteran Karen Carter to Succeed Jim Fitterling as CEO — Wall Street Journal -
• Swedish Green Steel Startup Stegra Gets $1.65 Billion Funding to Complete New Plant — Wall Street Journal -
• Austria’s Bawag to Take Over Irish Bank Permanent TSB in $1.9 Billion Deal — Wall Street Journal -
• Europe’s carbon pricing scheme under scrutiny as energy costs soar — Financial Times -
• Eurofins Shares Rise after Selling Electronics Division to U.S. Safety Group — Wall Street Journal -
• Merck transforms itself through dealmaking as clock ticks on top-selling drug — Financial Times -
• No Skirts, No Shoes: The Team-Building Exercise Where You Climb on the Boss — Wall Street Journal -
• ECB seeks to break insurance ‘deadlock’ in push for banking union — Financial Times -
• Your Rummikub Group Has a Sponsor. It Also Has a Brand Strategy. — Wall Street Journal -
• No state aid ‘free for all’ to ease energy shock, new EU antitrust chief warns — Financial Times -
• Swiss bubble-car maker cries foul over incentives limited to large EVs — Financial Times -
• Russia’s war-driven tax squeeze pushes small businesses to the brink — Financial Times -
• China flexes trade power with soaring use of export controls — Financial Times -

The resignation of NFL reporter Dianna Russini sparked media attention, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was saved from closure by a nonprofit, and Netflix made an overture to cinema owners, alongside concerns over Nielsen's metrics and an obituary for former Daily News leader Fred Drasner.

• NFL Reporter Dianna Russini Resigns From the Athletic — Wall Street Journal -
• Ricky Cobb Has Built a Mini-Empire Through ’70s Nostalgia — The New York Times Business -
• N.F.L. Reporter Resigns From The Athletic Amid an Investigation — The New York Times Business -

• NBCUniversal Says Nielsen Devalues Media Companies With Inaccurate Metrics — Wall Street Journal -
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Is Being Sold to Baltimore Banner Owner — Wall Street Journal -
• Overlooked No More: Margaret Gipsy Moth, Fearless CNN Camera Operator — The New York Times Business -
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Saved From Closure by Nonprofit — The New York Times Business -
• Axel Springer’s Telegraph deal waved through by UK government — Financial Times -
• Netflix Leader Makes Rare Overture to Cinema Owners — The New York Times Business -
• Fred Drasner, a Feisty Leader of The Daily News, Is Dead at 83 — The New York Times Business -

Concerns over the Help to Buy housing scheme primarily benefiting higher earners persist, as the UK implemented a junk food advertising ban, regulators cracked down on car finance ads, and the IMF cut the UK's growth forecast, while migrant workforce growth and spiralling defense costs also made headlines.

• UK’s Help to Buy housing scheme mainly benefited higher earners, says think tank — Financial Times -
• Pastries, but not kebabs, fall foul of UK junk food advertising ban — Financial Times -
• Starmer’s UK defence strategy set to be torpedoed by spiralling costs — Financial Times -

• UK regulator bans unauthorised Martin Lewis ads for car finance claims — Financial Times -
• South East Water boss waives bonus after outages — Financial Times -
• UK migrant workforce grew strongly last year despite weaker hiring — Financial Times -
• PCE inflation set to hit 3.4% in March — Financial Times -
• IMF cuts UK’s growth forecast by more than any other G7 nation — Financial Times -
• Rebuke by former Nato chief points to wider government inaction — Financial Times -
• Parents and schools need to better equip young Britons for work, former minister says — Financial Times -