Iran Escalates Attacks on Shipping; Oil Prices Keep Rising

0:00Pimm Fox:So there's a lot of noise about AI, but time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now, a global workforce of 300 ,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94 % of common questions. Not noise. Proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business. IBM.

0:59Pimm Fox:Do that with Acrobat.

1:29Pimm Fox:prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC. Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager.

1:42Lisa Abramowicz:And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today.

1:45Pimm Fox:Karen, it is day 13 of the war with Iran and the impact on the global energy supply is spreading. We get the very latest from Bloomberg's Jumana Bersechi in Dubai. What we're seeing is attacks taking place on the northern part of the Persian Gulf. So two tankers off the coast of Iraq. So this is way north of the Strait of Hormuz. We're set on fire this morning, reportedly ablaze. And then further south of the Strait of Hormuz, yesterday evening, the key port of Salala in Oman was also struck as a fuel depot. And earlier, out of an abundance of caution, vessels were asked to evacuate the area. Another key export terminal in the region, Oman, exports about one million barrels a day of oil through that port.

2:30Pimm Fox:And it is on the Gulf of Oman.

2:32Lisa Abramowicz:It is not on the Strait of Hormuz.

2:34Pimm Fox:Bloomberg Middle East correspondent Jumana Bersechi reports this follows attacks on other ships in the Gulf. The U.K. says a projectile struck a vessel today in the United Arab Emirates. And the Thai Navy says a cargo ship was attacked yesterday as it tried to exit the Strait of Hormuz.

2:49Lisa Abramowicz:Well, Nathan, the world is responding to these attacks with an unprecedented move to shore up the energy market. The International Energy Agency says its members will release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves. That's more than twice the previous record after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 172 million of those barrels will come from the U.S. And President Trump says that should ease price pressures.

3:14Pimm Fox:Oil prices are already coming back down and it's going to come down. But we're not leaving until that job is finished, and it's going to be very fast.

3:22Lisa Abramowicz:President Trump spoke at a rally in Kentucky last night, but Energy Secretary Chris Wright says getting all the oil out could take a while.

3:31Pimm Fox:The releases, certainly out of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, they'll go over about four months. But this conflict, I don't think, goes that long. I think we will have the Straits of Hormuz open well before then.

3:44Lisa Abramowicz:Energy Secretary Chris Wright appeared on Fox News. Sources tell Bloomberg President Trump is also preparing to use Cold War-era powers to revive oil production off the Southern California coast. Bloomberg Economics says a one-month closure of the Strait of Hormuz could send oil prices near$105 a barrel. And looking at prices again right now, NYMEX crude oil is up more than 6%. It's at$92.53 a barrel. Brent is at$97.99.

4:14Pimm Fox:And there's more fallout from the war, Karen. The International Energy Agency says the Middle East conflict will slash global oil supplies by 8 million barrels a day this month, or about 7.5%. The IEA says the Mideast War is the biggest supply disruption in the history of the oil market.

4:31Lisa Abramowicz:Well, Nathan, Republican Senator Rand Paul is warning that the ongoing war in Iran could hurt his party in the midterm elections. Speaking on Bloomberg's balance of power with Joe Matthew, the Kentucky Republican also said the war is putting the U.S. more in debt.

4:46Pimm Fox:Right now, our military, we spend more on our military than the next 10 countries combined. So for people to argue we're not spending enough, we're spending more than the next 10 countries combined. We spend plenty on our military. It needs to be spent wisely, but they've spent an extraordinary amount on two wars. We've had two wars in one month. I mean, for goodness sakes, they're talking about another war with Cuba as we speak. So, yeah, they cost money. They cost lives, most importantly, but they also cost money. And I'm just not for, I wasn't for the war in Venezuela, I'm not for the war in Iran, and I'm certainly not for a war with Cuba.

5:21Lisa Abramowicz:And catch our full interview with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul on our new video experience on the Bloomberg Business App.

5:28Pimm Fox:Karen, several top banks are telling their staff to stay away from offices in Dubai and other locations in the Middle East. Bloomberg's Tiwa Adebayo has the latest from London. Several major Wall Street banks have already been allowing their employees to work from home since the start of the Iran war. Now some big names are instructing colleagues to exit their offices in the region. Bloomberg understands that the likes of Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have told their staffers to stay away from their Dubai offices. And some lenders have also offered staff the option to temporarily leave the country.

6:03Pimm Fox:The news comes as Iran continues to strike targets in the Middle East. A representative for Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while Citigroup said in a statement that all of its employees are accounted for and safe. In London, Tiwa Adebayo, Bloomberg Radio.

6:17Lisa Abramowicz:All right, Tiwa, thank you. While we are continuing to see the market reaction to the war, global bonds have surrendered their year-to-date gains. Elevated oil prices are stoking fears that inflation will reignite, triggering a sell-off across fixed-income markets. The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index is now flat for 2026. It was up as much as 2.1 percent this year just before President Trump launched the attack on Iran.

6:41Pimm Fox:And stock futures are falling this morning, Karen. Right now, S &P and NASDAQ futures are both down a half percent. Dow futures are lower by six-tenths of one percent. Sarah Hunt, chief market strategist at Alpine Saxon Woods, says this is a difficult time for investors. Longer term, I think investing has always been, you always bounce back from problems. The question is, how long does it take you to bounce back? And right now, I think the U.S. equity markets, even though the headline indices are close to all-time highs, underneath you've seen a lot of damage already to specific sectors. So there are definitely places to look in the market for investing.

7:15Pimm Fox:But I think you have to have a pretty strong hand at this particular time because it is difficult to see that you're going to get away from the volatility that we're seeing right now. And investors don't love volatility. Alpine Saxon Woods, Chief Market Strategist Sarah Hunt. And speaking of volatility, the VIX, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge is trading back near 25 this morning.

7:36Lisa Abramowicz:Well, Nathan, the Trump administration is opening a new trade investigation into manufacturing in foreign countries. It's an effort that comes after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump's previous use of tariffs. Trade Representative Jameson Greer has announced his office will begin a probe into more than a dozen major economies, including China, the EU, India, and South Korea under Section 301 of the Trade Act. Bloomberg's Jill Deces has more on how the administration is attempting to rebuild its trade policies. Those executive order tariffs that Trump announced last year, obviously,

8:09Pimm Fox:that was a pretty high-risk strategy for the Trump administration to pursue. Something like this might go a long way toward actually laying something down that can hold up going into the future. Of course, these types of probes, I will just caution, do take in many cases months to ultimately complete before you do see those tariffs. So it might be a long ways out before we actually see something take effect.

8:29Lisa Abramowicz:And Bloomberg still desist adds that the move is likely to damage relations with the targeted countries and comes ahead of a planned trip by the president to Beijing.

8:38Pimm Fox:And there's more apparent fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Karen. New York Giants co-owners Steve Tisch and his two siblings are transferring their stakes in the team to trusts for their children. The move comes after Tisch recently appeared in documents tied to the investigation into the convicted sex offender. Steve Tisch has not been accused of any crimes, but he was mentioned hundreds of times in Epstein documents released earlier this year. The transfer of this stake has to be approved by the NFL. It would shift ownership of a franchise valued last year at$10.3 billion.

9:11Lisa Abramowicz:Nathan, we also have a programming note here. Markets may close on Friday, but the world does not. and that's why we're bringing you a new live radio and TV show. Bloomberg This Weekend is looking beyond the daily headlines to the bigger themes driving politics, business, and culture. Join David Gura, Christina Ruffini, and Lisa Matteo for smart conversations and in-depth interviews that help make sense of the week that's been and what comes next. Get Bloomberg This Weekend live Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. Eastern on Bloomberg Radio, TV, and the Bloomberg Business app. Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world.

9:52Lisa Abramowicz:And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning.

9:55Pimm Fox:Good morning, Karen. The struggle is getting heavy and harder to manage for the hundreds of TSA workers who remain on the job working without a paycheck as the partial government shutdown drags on. A non-profit group, Veep, held a food drive for the nearly 500 workers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. Union leader Neil Gosman was grateful as he and his colleagues tried to soldier through their third shutdown in just six months. He says they're being used as pawns as Washington does nothing. Instead of a paycheck, I'm getting poor in place. That's great. I really appreciate Veep doing this. This is not a way to treat a federal employee.

10:36Pimm Fox:We're trying to keep people safe. Union leader Neil Gosman says many TSA agents need help with gas. Two congressional Democrats are seeking an investigation into U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's brother. California Senator Adam Schiff and Congressman Dave Minn allege a, quote, troubling pattern of favorable outcomes in cases involving the Justice Department and clients who hired defense attorney Brad Bondi. It's not even officially spring yet, but health experts say seasonal allergies are already starting to impact many Americans. The CDC estimates 25 % of adults and nearly 21 % of children across the U.S.

11:18Pimm Fox:have an allergy. Doctors say start preparing now by taking allergy medication. Dr. Darian Sutton spoke to ABC. Experts recommend, number one, know your allergies. So write your symptoms down. Check the pollen counts when you do have symptoms because it can help you understand. For example, right now in the late winter, we're going to start to see more tree pollen. In the summer, we see grass pollen. And towards the end of the summer, we see weed pollen. Researchers at Climate Central also found changes in climate can lead to a worse reaction for those suffering. Global News 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now.

11:52Pimm Fox:I'm Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg. Karen.

11:55Lisa Abramowicz:Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer.

12:01Pimm Fox:Thanks, Karen. The Big 12 tournament, Iowa State beat Arizona State 91-42. And Arizona State fired their coach, Bobby Hurley. Had the job for 11 years. Syracuse fired Adrian Autry. He had that job for three years. World baseball classic, Italy, 9-1 over Mexico. That keeps the USA alive despite their loss to Italy. The Americans will play Canada in a quarterfinal game tomorrow night. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update.

12:30Lisa Abramowicz:Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this.

12:35Pimm Fox:So there's a lot of noise about AI. But time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now, a global workforce of 300 ,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94 % of common questions. Not noise. Proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business. IBM. Support for the show comes from Public. Public is an investing platform that offers access to stocks, options, bonds, and crypto.

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13:48Pimm Fox:Then you can invest in a few clicks. Go to public.com slash market and earn an uncapped 1 % bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com slash market. Add paid for by Public Holdings. Brokered services by Public Investing, member FINRA SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, SEC Registered Advisor. Crypto services by ZeroHash. Sample prompts are for illustrative purposes only, not investment advice. All investing involves risk of loss. See complete disclosures at public.com slash disclosures.

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