Mōrena and welcome to today's wrap of the international business and political headlines you need to know this Friday.
First up, US president Donald Trump has cancelled strikes on Iran he had threatened earlier in the day. Earlier, Trump had warned the US would strike Iran "very hard tonight" in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. In the same post he also repeated his threat to seize Kharg Island, which is a small island off the coast of Iran home to a major oil terminal.
Later, Trump told Fox News he was not sure the US "has the stomach" to engage in such a military operation.
Iran parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had earlier responded to the threats, warning the US against being sucked into an "endless quagmire". In a post on X, he said that "wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will reset the entire board for the worse", and US moves could "explode energy infrastructure and markets", creating an "endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years".
Oil prices were little changed despite the threat, with Brent futures down slightly to US$93.08 a barrel, and US crude up slightly to US$90.38.
But Trump has since followed with another post to Truth: "Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening.
"Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.
"The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly."
US President Donald Trump.
Markets responded positively to the cancellation, with the S&P500 gaining 1.1%, while the Nasdaq and Dow Jones were both up 1.5%. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell about 3% to US$87 a barrel following the announcement, while Brent crude also fell about 3%, to US$89 a barrel.
Sticking to markets, and Bloomberg reports that the upcoming SpaceX initial public offering, which will be the largest ever at a roughly US$1.8 trillion valuation, has attracted more than US$100 billion in orders from retail investors. The Financial Times reports that Elon Musk's business has been offering shares at a set price of US$135 each.
“Elon just came in and said what the price was . . . there was no price discovery,” an executive at a large US hedge fund told the FT.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank raised rates for the first time since 2023, in what is the first hike by any of the world's major central banks in response to the energy shock caused by the war in Iran. The US Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, and Bank of England all make decisions next week.
The ECB hiked its key interest rate to 2.25%, as was widely expected, while also increasing its inflation forecast to anticipate headline inflation in the euro zone to average 3% this year.
“The war in the Middle East is generating inflation pressures, and the decision to raise rates is robust across a range of scenarios mapping out how the shock might evolve and affect the medium-term outlook for the euro area,” the ECB said in a statement.
CNBC reported ECB president Christine Lagarde telling reporters after the decision that the war was generating inflation pressures.
“The outlook remains uncertain, with upside risks for inflation, and downside risks for economic growth. We are not pre-committing to a particular rate path,” she said. “The full implications of the war for medium-term inflation and growth will depend on the intensity and duration of the energy price shock, as well as the scale of its indirect and second-round effects.”
ECB president Christine Lagarde.
Finally, the 2026 men's Football World Cup is kicking off today, with the opening ceremony underway ahead of one of the host nations, Mexico, taking on South Africa. Shakira and Burna Boy are among the performers at the opening ceremony at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
Before kick-off, Fifa president Gianni Infantino told everyone to "chill, relax", in response to questions over visa issues which have marred the build up to the tournament. Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was barred from entering one of the other host nations, the US, despite having a valid visa.
"It is unfortunate what happened to the referee from Somalia," Infantino told a press conference, his first in three years, according to Reuters.
"We try, we'll discuss, we'll see. Maybe sometimes it's good as well to chill, relax. We work on everything, we try to resolve everything.
"We are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces. We are a sports organisation."
