Good morning . The US and Iran wrangle over talks with no end to war in sight. Travelers hoping for a drop in long-haul summer airfares face a brutal reality check, and British Airways is proposing a bonus for pilots who burn less fuel. Listen to the day’s top stories . The White House insisted that peace talks with Iran are ongoing, even as Tehran publicly rejected US overtures and issued fresh c...
Good morning . The US and Iran wrangle over talks with no end to war in sight. Travelers hoping for a drop in long-haul summer airfares face a brutal reality check, and British Airways is proposing a bonus for pilots who burn less fuel. Listen to the day’s top stories . The White House insisted that peace talks with Iran are ongoing, even as Tehran publicly rejected US overtures and issued fresh conditions of its own to end the conflict. Donald Trump claimed Iran was desperate to make a deal . The US deployment of troops to the region is fueling fears that the president is gearing up for exactly the sort of risky ground invasion that he once campaigned against. BlackRock President Rob Kapito said investors may be underestimating the risks stemming from the war, which are likely to weigh on growth and drive inflation higher even if the conflict ends soon. Stocks and bonds both edged lower and oil climbed. Check out our Markets Today live blog for all the latest news and analysis relevant to UK assets. The Iranian parliament is working on a draft bill that would impose a fee on vessels seeking safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. Read our explainer on what it would take to reopen the waterway. Ticket prices on major routes connecting Asia and Europe have surged up to 560% this month and are likely to stay elevated through the summer on war-related disruptions, according to Alton Aviation. Meanwhile, British Airways is offering pilots a financial incentive to cut their aircraft’s fuel consumption. Italy is set to cut its economic growth forecast to as low as 0.5% for 2026 because of the war, according to people familiar. UK consumer confidence slumped this month to the weakest reading since the British Retail Consortium’s tracker began in March 2024 on concerns about a surge in inflation. Ex-Goldman CEO Blankfein Warns of ‘Fire’ Risk in Private Markets Is SpaceX Worth $1.75 Trillion? Key Questions for Musk’s Big IP...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund Q4 2025 Commentary. Largest Contributors Alphabet ( GOOGL ) Alphabet was a top contributor during the quarter, driven by accelerating growth across its core businesses and strong execution in AI-enabled products. Search queries and revenues both accelerated, challenging concerns about compe...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund Q4 2025 Commentary. Largest Contributors Alphabet ( GOOGL ) Alphabet was a top contributor during the quarter, driven by accelerating growth across its core businesses and strong execution in AI-enabled products. Search queries and revenues both accelerated, challenging concerns about competitive threats from AI chat tools and supporting the case for continued innovation-driven market expansion. YouTube and Cloud also posted robust growth, with Cloud backlog and revenues benefiting from strong enterprise demand for AI solutions. Alphabet's disciplined margin management and diversified revenue streams, alongside strategic investments in AI and cloud, position it well for continued growth. Despite ongoing regulatory and competitive pressures, Alphabet's leadership in search, video, and cloud, combined with its ability to monetize a loyal global user base, should support double-digit earnings and revenue growth in the years ahead. We raised the target to an above-average weight position. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ) TSMC was a top contributor during the quarter, driven by robust demand for advanced semiconductor manufacturing and improved gross margins as AI continues to grow strong and the non-AI segment showed signs of recovery. Management raised its revenue growth guidance to the mid-30% range, and given continued strength in demand, AI-related growth targets are expected to move above the current mid-40% level. TSMC's leadership in cutting-edge process nodes remains undisputed. The company raised its CapEx guidance to support future growth and is expected to increase its AI revenue growth target, reflecting confidence in the secular expansion of high-performance computing and AI workloads. Strategic steps to diversify manufacturing outside Taiwan, including new facilities in Japan, Germany, and the U.S., further strengthen TSMC's position. With...
WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES - MARCH 20: United States President Donald Trump (R) speaks to the press before his departs the White House en route Miami, Florida on March 20, 2026, in Washington DC. Celal Gunes | Anadolu | Getty Images Nearly a month into the Iran war, the United States is preparing to send thousands of additional soldiers to the Middle East, expanding a military footprint that alr...
WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES - MARCH 20: United States President Donald Trump (R) speaks to the press before his departs the White House en route Miami, Florida on March 20, 2026, in Washington DC. Celal Gunes | Anadolu | Getty Images Nearly a month into the Iran war, the United States is preparing to send thousands of additional soldiers to the Middle East, expanding a military footprint that already has tens of thousands of American personnel in the region. But the buildup signals something other than preparation for a ground offensive, according to analysts who suggested it is an exercise in coercive diplomacy — designed to increase leverage as President Donald Trump turns up the pressure for Iran to come to the negotiating table. "President Trump is essentially saying either you — the Iranians — can cut a deal now or face potentially more intense consequences down the road," Raphael Cohen, a senior political scientist at RAND school of public policy, told CNBC via email. The military buildup gives the president optionality, not just to strike, but to bargain from strength, Cohen noted. Washington and Tehran have struggled to find a path to start negotiations over peace terms , with each side insisting it holds the upper hand in the conflict while portraying the other as the more desperate one. The U.S. has circulated a 15-point peace plan , demanding what would amount to a complete termination of Iran's nuclear program and sharp limits on the reach and size of its missile arsenal — similar to the ones touted in February, before negotiations fell through and led to a joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran. The Iranian government, for its part, has declared it will not end the conflict unless Washington pays war reparations and recognizes Tehran's "exercise of sovereignty" over the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier on Thursday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that no negotiations were taking place between Tehran and Washington. watch now VIDEO 8:56 08:56 Seeing no ...