red sea conflict

Attacks on ships in the Red Sea continue to escalate. What started with narrow strikes by Yemeni-based Houthi militants against Israel-linked vessels has now expanded to ships carrying a wide range of freight, including oil and liquified natural gas. The US military has responded with strikes against Houthi targets, but so far they don't appear to have much of a deterring effect. Meanwhile shipping delays and costs — driven in part by anxious insurers — continue to worsen. To understand the challenge to global trade and how bad it could get, we speak with maritime historian Sal Mercogliano, a professor at Campbell University and the host of the What Is Going On With Shipping? show on YouTube. He discusses how shipping companies are making operational decisions in the area, how boat crews are coping, and how various international militaries are responding. He also talks about the broad history of the US Navy and its traditional role in securing international trading routes.

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Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) Donald Trump tightened his grip on the Republican presidential nomination after Iowa voters delivered him a victory in Monday's caucuses and moved him one step closer to returning to the White House.

(2) Houthi militants hit a US-owned commercial vessel with an anti-ship ballistic missile on Monday, underscoring warnings that the world's most important trade artery remains too risky for navigation.

(3) Easing pressure from food and energy bills will help drive UK inflation down to 1.5% in May, well under the Bank of England's target, according to ING.

(4) Elon Musk said he would rather build AI products outside of Tesla if he doesn't have 25% voting control, suggesting the billionaire may prefer a bigger stake in the world's most valuable electric vehicle maker.

(5) British pension funds, which sold so many bonds two years ago the Bank of England was forced to intervene, are gearing up to flood the market with billions of pounds of private assets. 

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Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has announced a new maritime task force intended to protect commercial vessels travelling through the Red Sea from attacks by Houthi militants. The countries involved in the new task force — dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian — include the US, the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain.

(2) The Bank of Japan offered little for rate-hike bulls as it stuck with the world's last negative interest rate and kept guidance unchanged on future policy in a decision that pared some of the yen's recent gains.

(3) Apple will stop selling the latest versions of its smartwatch in the US due to a patent dispute, taking some of its best-selling devices off the market during the busy holiday season. Engineers at the company are racing to make changes to algorithms on the device that measure a user's blood oxygen level — a feature that Masimo has argued infringes its patents. 

(4) Nippon Steel has defended the whopping 142% premium it's paying for United States Steel, as the Japanese company seeks to reinforce its position as a global titan to counter a weak domestic outlook.

(5) The UK government has lost close to £300 million ($379 million) on the £1.14 billion portfolio of start-up investments it made during the pandemic to prop up struggling young businesses. 

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In response to the war in Gaza, Iran-backed Houthi militants are attacking vessels along the key shipping route. If it continues, the consequences could upend global trade. Why do so many young Americans think that the Holocaust is a myth (09:51)? And, how museums are finding some value in NFTs (14:40). 

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