- Iran War Showcases Strength of South Korean Defense Sector
- Macron Says Trump Weakens NATO by Casting Doubt on US Commitment
- Trump Stirs Market, Political Angst With Vague Timeline for Iran
- Defeat Has Never Sounded as Victorious as in Trump’s Address
- U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Venezuela’s Leader, Opening Door to Deals
- Tracking Trump’s Tariffs Across the Global Economy
- How to Get a Tariff Refund
- Tariff-Struck Companies Exploring Loans Backed by Refund Claims
- How Swap Markets Are Struggling to Gauge Rates as Iran War Fuels Volatility
- Hedge Funds Walloped by a Month of Turmoil Sparked by Iran War
- Mark Meador and the FTC Scarily Revive Teddy Roosevelt Economics
- There’s a Competition Crisis, Not An Affordability Crisis
- Institutional Investors Are Asking To Do Your Worrying For You
- KKR Secures $23 Billion for Americas PE in Its Largest-Ever Haul
- Antisemitic Violence Sparks $765 Million in Security Spending
- Nursing Is the Surefire New Path to American Prosperity
- 140 Million Americans Are Locked Out of Low-Cost Access to Healthcare
- How A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8 Billion Company
- SpaceX Files to Go Public, Setting Stage for Huge I.P.O.
- A $45,000 Porsche Taycan Is a Decent Oil Price Hedge
- G.M. Reports Sharp Decline in Car Sales Amid War and High Prices
- Foreign CEOs Face More Scrutiny. Air Canada’s Earned It
- US Job-Cut Announcements in Tech Keep Rising With AI Adoption
- Microsoft CFO’s AI Spending Runs Up Against Tech Bubble Fears
- Europe Pushes for a Gentler Internet for Children
- Goodbye ‘Geeky Hunk’? Gmail Users Can Now Change Their Usernames
- Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada … Meta?
- TotalEnergies, Masdar Form $2.2 Billion Asia Renewables Joint Venture
- State Farm Is in Trump’s Crosshairs Over L.A. Fires
- How a Sapling and a Viral Candy Made California the World’s Pistachio King
- The IRS Chief, His Old Pal and the Case of Muhammad Ali’s Missing Pair of Shorts
- The Women Who Love the Manosphere
- Six Flags Was a Summer Destination. Can It Win Families Back?
Tariff watch: The White House is preparing to overhaul steel and aluminum tariffs, and eyes new levies on certain drugmakers.
Code leak: Anthropic (ANTHRO) is working to contain the leak of some internal source code for its AI agent Claude Code.
Renewed optimism: Recession odds on prediction market Kalshi (KALSHI) plummet after better-than-expected economic data.
Way forward
President Donald Trump has quashed market hopes for a quick end to the Middle East war, saying the U.S. will strike Iran "extremely hard" over the next two to three weeks. That likely means the Strait of Hormuz will continue to remain effectively closed, sending stock markets lower and oil prices higher once again.
Long road ahead: Trump said the U.S. will consider a ceasefire when the Strait of Hormuz is open and clear. "Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!" he declared. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the future of the waterway would be decided jointly by Iran and Oman after the war ends, and not by external powers. "From our point of view, the strait is currently open and is closed only to those who are at war with Iran," Araghchi clarified. Iran has been imposing significant fees, reportedly up to $2M per tanker in some cases, for safe passage, with payments often coordinated in non-U.S. dollar currencies such as Chinese yuan.
Global response: The UK will host a summit of 35 countries to "assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation [in the Strait of Hormuz], guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers, and to resume the movement of vital commodities," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. Meanwhile, Gulf Arab states are considering new export pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz despite high costs and complexities that stalled similar plans in the past. Viable near-term options include the expansion of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and Abu Dhabi's existing route to Fujairah. Another option could be reviving plans for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, with Israel's Haifa Port serving as a major gateway.
SA commentary: Investing Group Leader Bret Jensen warned that even if the Strait of Hormuz was reopened fully, the damaged assets in the region could take months – even years – to bring back online. Moreover, the oil reserves that have been released by countries will need to be replenished over time. "I expect disruption to global energy supply to last even after a ceasefire or a peace deal," said SA analyst Geneva Investor. "This disruption cannot be understated, as it can be quantified as almost twice as large as that of the 1973 oil crisis overall." Hormuz Situation Creates 'Strait-Line' Case For BNO Over USO
Here's the latest Seeking Alpha analysis
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What else is happening...
Trump floats NATO exit again as rift with European allies deepens.
Lucas drones, inspired by Iran's tech, signal U.S. strategy shift.
Lilly (LLY) CEO opposes codification of Trump drug pricing deals.
Globalstar rallies on report of Amazon (AMZN) eyeing acquisition.
SpaceX (SPACE) files for IPO, plans to host analyst day in April.
Intel (INTC) to buy back 49% stake in Ireland fab JV for $14.2B.
Perplexity accused of sharing user search data with Google, META.
Apple (AAPL) maintains shine at 50 as it cautiously enters AI era.
Artemis II lifts off, sending astronauts on journey toward the moon.
Is Beijing constructing a new military base in the South China Sea?
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -2.4%. Hong Kong -0.7%. China -0.7%. India +0.3%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.3%. Paris -1.2%. Frankfurt -2.1%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow -1.1%. S&P -1.3%. Nasdaq -1.7%. Crude +7.8% to $107.91. Gold -3.5% to $4,642.90. Bitcoin -3% to $66,427.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +4 bps to 4.37%.
On The Calendar
Companies reporting today include American Resources (AREC) and Acuity (AYI).