Trump Sets New Iran Ultimatum; Saudis Raise Asia Oil to Record Premium

0:00The thing about AI for business, it may not automatically fit the way your business works. At IBM, we've seen this firsthand. But by embedding AI across HR, IT, and procurement processes, we've reduced costs by millions, slash repetitive tasks, and freed thousands of hours for strategic work. Now we're helping 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. For many men, mental health challenges aren't recognized until they've already taken a toll. Work pressure, financial stress, changing relationships, and traditional expectations around masculinity can quietly wear men down, often without clear warning signs.

0:44In season three of The Visibility Gap, Dr. Guy Winch and his guests explore how these pressures show up, how to spot them earlier, and how men can access meaningful support. Listen to the new season of The Visibility Gap, a podcast presented by Cigna Healthcare. Everyone has been there. Your team's feedback is scattered across emails, chats, and sticky notes. It's a mess. But PDF Spaces and Adobe Acrobat gives you one collaborative workspace to streamline every file and comment. So, if you need six departments to finally agree on a proposal, do that with Acrobat. Need to turn a mountain of feedback into one plan of action?

1:24Do that with Acrobat. Want to stop searching for files and finally get everyone on the same page? Do that. Do that. Do That With Acrobat. Learn more at adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat. Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Alexis Christophorus. Here are the stories we're following today. Alexis, we begin with the latest developments in the war with Iran. President Trump has extended his deadline until tomorrow night for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This came in a profanity-laced social media post where the president threatened to blow up Iran's power plants and bridges before announcing what appears to be a Tuesday 8 p.m.

2:12deadline. And all this comes after a harrowing mission over the weekend where hundreds of U.S. special forces rescued and airmen shot down over a mountainous area of Iran. We get more from Bloomberg White House correspondent Jeff Mason. There is an ultimatum, and that's sort of the operative question here, is does he just kind of focus on the success and use that as a catalyst to continue with the two to three week deadline that he had focused on for concluding the war? Or does he follow through on the escalatory language that he also employed last week in that primetime speech on Wednesday night and reiterated in the Truth Social Post about the deadline and the power plants?

2:52Bloomberg's Jeff Mason appeared on Bloomberg this weekend, heard Saturdays and Sundays on Bloomberg Radio. This morning, Axios is reporting that mediators from Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey are pushing a 45-day ceasefire to head off President Trump's threats. The Associated Press reports Iran and the U.S. have received a draft proposal. Meantime, the latest wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran has killed more than 25 people. Israel's defense minister says one of them was the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence unit. President Trump says he will hold a news conference from the White House this afternoon at 1 p.m.

3:25Wall Street time. We'll bring it to you live on Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg Television and the Bloomberg Business app. Nathan, Japanese Prime Minister Sine Takeichi says she is looking to hold talks with Iran's leader and possibly also a separate call with President Trump as the clock ticks on the president's latest threat to bomb Iran's infrastructure. Takeichi made the comments during a parliamentary session today. Japan has a key interest in maintaining a working relationship with Iran, which controls passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point through which Japan secures over 90 % of its oil.

3:58Well, right now, Alexis, crude oil is falling. Brent is down 1.5%, trading above$107 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate is down 2 % at$109. Brent is up about 50 % since the start of the war. In another note, Saudi Arabia is raising the price of its main oil grade to Asia, to a record as the near closure of Hormuz curbs flows. OPEC Plus is warning that damage to Middle East energy assets will have a prolonged impact on oil supply even after the Iran war ends. The group approved a symbolic increase in output quotas for next month, with key producers agreeing to increase targets for May by about 206 ,000 barrels a day.

4:38And equity futures are rising this morning, Alexis. Right now, S &P futures are up four-tenths percent. Dow futures are two-tenths of a percent higher. Nasdaq futures leading the way up seven tenths of one percent. The S &P 500, though, is down 4.3 percent since the war began, and several markets in Europe and Asia are still closed for the Easter holiday. And the sudden increase in gas prices is set to be on full display in key inflation data due out this week. Let's get the latest with Bloomberg's John Tucker. And Alexis, the Iran war pushed up gasoline prices at the pump by at least a dollar a gallon.

5:12As a result, economists are forecasting a 1 % increase in the Consumer Price Index for March. That will be the sharpest one-month advance since 2022. The CPI is due on Friday. Oil prices have been rocked by five weeks of war, climbing to almost$120 a barrel last month as key Middle East energy assets came under attack and Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. Now, all this is created with the International Energy Agency called the biggest supply disruption in the history of the market. And new inflation risks stemming from war in the Middle East means the Fed may struggle to lower interest rates this year.

5:49In New York, I'm John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio. Okay, John, thanks. Let's get an update now on the other major war overseas. Satellite images from NASA show Russia's key Black Sea oil terminal caught fire following an overnight drone attack. Ukraine is aiming to reduce the Kremlin's ability to export oil and reap windfall profits from the global crude price spike driven by the war in the Middle East. Relentless drone strikes on oil ports reduced Russia's seaborne exports in March to the lowest in two months, according to Bloomberg calculations. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is concerned that a prolonged Middle East war could erode America's support for Ukraine as Washington's global priorities shift.

6:31He says Ukraine urgently needs more patriot air defense systems from the U.S. as Kiev tries to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks. Speaking over the weekend, Zelensky says he is ready for peace talks. We are ready to come. I always said that we are ready for the meeting on the level of leaders in any kind of format. Zelensky also claims Russia benefits economically from the Middle East war and is sharing intelligence with Iran. High above Earth, Alexis, the Artemis astronauts are expected to complete a record-breaking lunar flyby today. Reid Wiseman is commander of Artemis 2. he live-streamed from the shuttle.

7:09Yesterday, we were looking out the docking hatch, which is off the camera to the top side, and we were just starting to see the moon, and it just looked different. And we were catching glimpses of the far side, the side that you can never see from Earth, of Grimaldi, of Oriental. We were just starting to see around Grimaldi into that far. And as four humans who have looked at the moon our entire lives, it just looked different out the window, and that is wild. It just really put our place in the universe in perspective. Artemis II, Commander Reed Wiseman speaking aboard the Orion crew capsule.

7:43As the vehicle circles the far side of the moon, communication back to Earth is expected to be blocked for about 40 minutes. This evening, the crew is expected to have reached the mission's maximum distance from Earth, 252 ,760 miles. that will surpass the farthest distance traveled from Earth by humans, which was set by the Apollo 13 mission.

8:105.08 on Wall Street. Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. For that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Good morning, Michael. Good morning, Alexis. Pope Leo celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff, urging peace through dialogue and calling for an end to conflicts worldwide. Speaking before a crowd of about 50 ,000 from St. Peter's Basilica, Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, emphasized Easter's message of hope and transformation. Happy Easter! May you bring the joy of Jesus, who is risen and present in our midst, to all you meet.

8:49Pope Leo is set to begin a 10-day trip through parts of Africa where he's expected to visit four countries. A challenge of faith in her darkest moments. That's how Savannah Guthrie described the last few weeks as the search for her 84-year-old missing mother Nancy continues. The Today Show host spoke before the congregant of Good Shepherd New York during their digital Easter gathering Sunday. These moments of deep disappointment with God, the feeling of utter abandonment. For most of us, there will come a time in our life when these feelings hold sway. Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her Arizona home on February 1st.

9:32California is among those challenging the federal government on President Trump's executive order to limit mail-in voting. Daniel Farber, a professor at UC Berkeley Law School. Famers of the Constitution clearly saw elections as a state function. and they've really only allowed these very limited exceptions. Professor Farber says the president's executive order tasks the DHS with creating a list of citizens who are eligible to vote and then it passes the list over to state election officials to enforce it. President Trump endorsed Steve Hilton, a Republican and former Fox News host, to be the next governor of California from a wide field of candidates competing to replace Democrat Gavin Newsom.

10:17Global news 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg. Alexis. Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer. A blowout in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Championship game in Phoenix. UCLA all over South Carolina, 79-51. The Bruins finished the season going 37-1. The men have their championship game tonight in Indianapolis. UConn has won six title games since 1999. Michigan, in their history, has only won one. With only four games left in the NHL regular season, the slumpy New York Islanders fired their coach, Patrick Waugh.

10:56That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this.

11:06The news doesn't stop on the weekends. Context changes constantly. And now Bloomberg is the place to stay on top of it all. Hi, I'm David Gurra. Join us every Saturday and Sunday for the new Bloomberg This Weekend. I'm Christina Ruffini. We'll bring you the latest headlines, in-depth analysis, and big interviews. All the stories that hit home on your days off. And I'm Lisa Mateo. Watch and listen to Bloomberg This Weekend for thoughtful, enlightening conversations about business, lifestyle, people, and culture. On Saturday mornings, we put the past week's events into context, examining what happened in the markets and the world.

11:40Then on Sundays, we speak with journalists, columnists, and key political figures to prepare you for the week ahead. Join us as soon as you wake up and bring us with you wherever your weekend plans take you. Watch us on Bloomberg Television, listen on Bloomberg Radio, stream the show live on the Bloomberg Business app, or listen to the podcast. That's Bloomberg this weekend, Saturdays and Sundays starting at 7 a.m. Eastern. Make us part of your weekend routine on Bloomberg Television, radio, and wherever you get your podcasts.

12:15coast to coast on bloomberg radio nationwide on sirius xm and around the world on bloomberg.com and the bloomberg business app this is bloomberg daybreak good morning i'm nathan hager tuesday 8 p.m appears to be the latest deadline from president donald trump for iran to reopen the strait of hormuz even as mediators push for a ceasefire to head off the president's threats Republican Mike Turner sits on the House Armed Services Committee. The straits are going to be open, and it certainly is important to occur. But you can't say, well, as long as the straits are open, we don't. We can let them continue to be a power that marches toward being a nuclear power.

12:58Republican Congressman Mike Turner appeared on ABC's This Week, heard Sundays on Bloomberg Radio. Joining us this morning from Jerusalem is Bloomberg News reporter Dan Williams. Dan, what do we know about mediation efforts and what to make of the president's latest threats? Good morning. Good morning. Not much, except that there are reports that there is a final push, a 48-hour push, to get some sort of ceasefire in place. No confirmation of that, certainly not from the Iranian side. from the US side. We've had bluster. We've had off-delayed deadlines, which suggests either that President Trump is confident that he's close to achieving some sort of deal, it just needs a bit more time, or that he's buying time, playing for time.

13:41And one shouldn't rule out the possibility, we've seen this in previous weekends, arguably, that this is yet another effort to calm energy markets ahead of their reopening after the Easter holiday weekend. So it's very hard to know. In In terms of where I am, Israel, which is the full partner in least militarily in this war, there is no confidence that a ceasefire is in the offing. Perhaps that's wishful thinking. It appears the Israelis would like to have more time to press this campaign. They say every day brings achievements militarily against their arch for Iran, including overnight the killing of the intelligence chief of the IRGC.

14:19They are aware, however, that Trump calls the shots. In fact, the Israeli prime minister said as much a couple weeks ago. He described Trump as the leader in this war and Israel as the U.S. ally in this war, i.e. the junior partner. So for now, I think everyone is waiting to see what becomes of this deadline, if it'll be met, if it won't be met, and what follows, or if it'll be extended yet again. Now, the president has gone back and forth, hasn't he, about whether reopening the Strait of Hormuz is even a priority for the U.S. in terms of overall goals in the war. What could these latest threats mean when it comes to potential duration, Dan?

14:57Well, if we take the president at his word, he's basically talking about laying waste to Iran. That would open up an entire new set of targets. It would open up an entire new set of questions over the legality of this war, given that many of those targets would, by definition, be civilian targets. It would also open up questions about the downstream effects of this war, given that both Trump and Netanyahu said at the outset, aspirationally, that while the immediate objectives of this war were military, degrading Iran's ability to project strength, to project threats in the nuclear realm, the ballistic missile realm, their downstream aspirational goal was to see the Iranian opposition, the Iranian people, take the reins in Iran and topple this regime.

15:40Hard to see how unleashing massive force against assets that the wider population needs, energy, desalination, water and the like, electricity, won't risk alienating the very population that the allies say they're trying to help. Just 30 seconds left. We've heard Israel say Iran still has a thousand missiles threatening it. What does that say about claims that the US has nearly achieved its objectives? Again, that raises a big question about the duration here. A simple back of the envelope calculation given that the Iranians have now been firing, in fact, already four times this morning by my count, missiles at a rate of about 10 to 15 a day.

16:21They could potentially last for months with that arsenal. So basically, but again, no one was offering here absolute success. What both the allies were offering was a dramatic degradation of Iran's capabilities in the hope that it would bring back an organic internal toppling of the regime rather than just a functional attack on the arms of the regime, the military arms of the regime. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed by 6 a.m. Eastern each morning on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen.

16:55You can also listen live each morning starting at 5 a.m. Wall Street time on Bloomberg 1130 in New York, Bloomberg 99.1 in Washington, Bloomberg 92.9 in Boston and nationwide on Sirius XM channel 121. Plus, listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg Business app now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces. And don't forget to subscribe to Bloomberg News Now. It's the latest news whenever you want it in five minutes or less. Search Bloomberg News Now on your favorite podcast platform to stay informed all day long. I'm Alexis Christophorus. And I'm Nathan Hager. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak.

17:40When you're running a business, the best days are the ones where priorities stay on track. For midsize and large companies, risk can affect multiple parts of the organization at once, from property and liability to cyber and regulatory challenges. At that level, managing risk becomes an ongoing discipline. At the Hartford, the focus is on helping businesses manage risk before it turns into something more disruptive. And when losses do happen, that work is paired with insurance coverage shaped by years of underwriting, risk engineering and claims experience. Learn more at the Hartford dot com slash risk mitigation.

18:15Policies provided by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its property and casualty affiliates, Hartford, Connecticut. You can get the news whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Amy Morris. And I'm Karen Moscow here to tell you about our new on demand news report delivered right to your podcast feed. Bloomberg News Now is a short five-minute audio report on the day's top stories. Episodes are published throughout the day with the latest information and data to keep you informed. Yes, there are other products like this from a variety of news organizations. But they usually rerun their radio newscasts throughout the day.

18:51That's not what we do. We create customized episodes that can only be heard on Bloomberg News Now. And we don't wait an hour to publish breaking news. When news breaks, we'll have an episode up in your podcast feed within minutes, so you're always getting the latest stories and developments. Get the reporting and the context from Bloomberg's 3 ,000 journalists and analysts. We're all over the world. Listen to the latest from Bloomberg News Now on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen.