Kia ora and welcome to your Tuesday recap of international business and political news.
First up, a US blockade of all ships entering and leaving Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz has started, after peace talks in Pakistan ended without agreement over the weekend, the ABC said.
"Any vessel entering or departing the blockaded area without authorisation is subject to interception, diversion, and capture. The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations," an official note said.
Trump claimed Iran had reached out to his administration over peace negotiations as the US blockade started, Bloomberg said.
Iran accused the US of "illegal action" and promised to retaliate. The UK did not support the blockade, and would not get “dragged in” to the Iran war, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
“We’re not supporting the blockade, and all of the marshalling – diplomatically, politically and [in terms of] capability. We do have mine-sweeping capability. I won’t go into operational matters, but we do have that capability. That’s all focused, from our point of view, on getting the strait fully open,” Starmer told the BBC.
French President Emmanuel Macron.
French president Emmanuel Macron also confirmed his country and the UK would co-host a conference aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, CNBC reported.
US president Donald Trump posted a photo that depicted him as a Jesus-like figure, which caused a backlash even among some of his supporters. Trump claimed the photo was meant to depict him as a doctor, CNN said.
Pope Leo XIV strongly pushed back against criticism from Trump, defending his position of seeking peace and rejecting violence. “I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do; what the church is here to do,” the pontiff told reporters.
Meanwhile, Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said a ceasefire between the US and Iran was "holding" and that efforts were underway to reach an agreement after weekend talks failed, the AFP reported.
"The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues," Sharif told a cabinet meeting. Pakistan has been acting as a mediator between the two sides.
Oil prices surged by more than 7% to back above US$100. Earlier, Brent crude rose to US$102.02 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 7.5% to US$103.78.
Broadly, markets were being pulled between competing forces, with geopolitical escalation in the Middle East and the start of earnings season.
Capital.com senior market analyst Daniela Hathorn described the upcoming earnings season as a critical inflexion point.
“Expectations remain high, with analysts still projecting double-digit earnings growth in the near-term and even stronger growth in the second quarter. This sets a high bar at a time when input costs, particularly energy, have risen sharply, and growth momentum was already slowing prior to the conflict. If companies begin to signal margin pressure or revise guidance lower, the current optimism in equities could quickly unwind.”
Over the Ditch, a new A$20 million advertising campaign will ask Australians to use less fuel to help keep essential services operating. Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King said communication throughout the fuel crisis remained important, the ABC reported.
"The rollout of this campaign and the National Fuel Security Plan ensures that we can get the public the information they need and keep them updated if and when the situation may change."
Elsewhere, Hungary’s incoming prime minister Péter Magyar pledged to restore relations with the European Union and introduce domestic reforms after he unseated Viktor Orbán in a landslide victory, Al Jazeera reported.
“We will do everything to restore the rule of law, plural democracy, and the system of checks and balances,” he said. Magyar said Hungary remained committed to both the EU and Nato, describing them as key guarantees of peace.
In business news, French cement maker Lafarge was found guilty of paying millions of dollars in protection money to jihadist groups, including Islamic State, to keep its business running in Syria.
Eight former employees were also found guilty of financing terrorism, including former CEO Bruno Lafont, who was jailed for six years on Monday local time. The court in Paris found that Lafarge paid groups US$6.5m between 2013 and 2014 to keep its plant operating in northern Syria, the BBC said.
Judge Isabelle Prevost-Desprez said such payments had allowed proscribed organisations to gain control of the country's natural resources, enabling them to finance attacks across the Middle East and Europe.
Finally, a US Federal Court dismissed Trump’s US$10 billion lawsuit against media mogul Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal, which claimed the newspaper defamed Trump with a story that he sent a “bawdy” 50th birthday letter to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, CNBC reported.
