14/04/2026 – 03:17HSBC chair says Middle East peace deal needed to restore global energy flows
HSBC Holdings Chair Brendan Nelson said on Tuesday a Middle East peace deal was essential to ensure substantive restoration of global energy flows as inflation looms as a major risk to themworld’s economy.
Nelson, speaking at the HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong, added that as uncertainty persists energy prices would stay elevated.
14/04/2026 – 02:33Australian consumer sentiment slumps on Iran war worries
Australia’s consumer sentiment slumped in April to its lowest in more than two years, a survey showed on Tuesday, as consumers seem to be unnerved by the impacts of the Iran conflict on the economy and future
inflation.
A Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey showed its main index of consumer sentiment fell 12.5% to 80.1 in April. A reading below 100 means pessimists considerably outnumber optimists.
“Australian consumers are being hit by another ‘cost of living’ shock,” said Westpac’s head of Australian
Macro-Forecasting, Matthew Hassan.
14/04/2026 – 01:20US VP says ball now in Iran’s court on peace talks
US Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Washington has made its red lines clear in talks with Iran on ending the Mideast war and it is now up to Tehran to take action.
Vance led a delegation that met with Iranian officials in Pakistan over the weekend, but the talks ended without securing a deal to end the more than five-week US-Israeli assault against the Islamic republic.
“I really think the ball is in the Iranian court, because we put a lot on the table. We actually made very clear what our red lines were,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News.
“There are two things in particular where the president of the United States really said we have no flexibility,” Vance said. He listed them as US control of Iran’s enriched uranium, and a verification mechanism to ensure it does not develop a nuclear weapon in the future.
“It’s one thing for the Iranians to say that they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. It’s another thing for us to put in place the mechanism to ensure that’s not going to happen,” Vance said.
He also said that in return for a two-week ceasefire agreed to by the two sides last week, Washington expects Iran to fully reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway, which has been effectively closed by Tehran’s forces.
14/04/2026 – 00:14Vance says US made a lot of progress in talks with Iran
The United States made a lot of progress in talks with Iran, US Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier on Monday.
Vance, asked whether more talks were coming, said the ball was in Iran’s court.
He added that the US expects Iran will make progress on opening the Strait of Hormuz, warn
14/04/2026 – 00:09Tuvalu declares state of emergency due to fuel supply risks
One of the world’s smallest nations, Tuvalu, declared a state of emergency Monday due to “credible risks” to its fuel supply stemming from the war in the Middle East.
In a statement published on Monday evening, Tuvalu’s head of state Tofiga Vaevalu Falani said the state of emergency would be restricted to the nation’s main island, Funafuti.
The decision was made in conjunction with Prime Minister Feleti Penitala Teo “in light of increasing instability in electricity generation and distribution systems, together with credible risks to fuel supply which collectively threaten the reliable delivery of essential services in Funafuti”.
14/04/2026 – 00:04Russia’s Lavrov to Iranian counterpart: Fighting must not resume, Moscow ready to help
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi on Monday that
it was important to guard against any resumption of hostilities in the Middle East and said Russia stood ready to help with a settlement.
“S. Lavrov emphasised the importance of preventing a recurrence of armed confrontation and once again confirmed Russia’s unwavering readiness to assist in resolving the crisis, which has no military solution,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in an account of the telephone conversation.
The Ministry said Araqchi related to Lavrov details of US-Iranian talks in Pakistan at the weekend, which failed to achieve a solution.
13/04/2026 – 23:42Peak oil price likely to come ‘in next few weeks,’ US Energy secretary says
Oil prices are likely to hit their peak “in the next few weeks” once ship traffic resumes through the Strait of Hormuz, US Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Monday.
Prices are expected to continue rising until “meaningful” ship traffic resumes through the strait, Wright told the Semafor World Economy Forum in Washington, despite previous comments he made that oil prices would likely come down soon.
13/04/2026 – 22:47Ships reversed course only minutes after US blockade began, MarineTraffic says
The vessel-tracker MarineTraffic said in a post on the social platform X that ships reversed course within minutes of approaching the critical waterway, shortly after the US blockade began. It said one of the tankers departed the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah anchorage on Monday, bound for China.
It was not immediately clear where the second vessel was headed.
13/04/2026 – 22:06US bonds inch higher as Iran risks linger, but fail to spook markets
US Treasuries edged higher on Monday in choppy trading, rebounding from earlier declines, as investors showed little reaction to renewed escalation in the Middle East following a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Roughly 20% of global oil supplies – about 20 million barrels per day – passes through the waterway.
13/04/2026 – 21:50EU plans more fuel subsidies to tackle Iran war price hikes
The European Commission wants to let countries unleash more public money to help businesses with fuel and fertiliser bills, it said on Monday, as governments race to offset the economic shock from soaring prices triggered by the Iran war.
Oil prices jumped about 6% to more than $100 a barrel on Monday after the US military said it will blockade ships leaving Iran’s ports, raising fears of prolonged disruptions to oil and gas shipments.
As part of a broader package of measures Brussels is preparing to respond to the energy price spike, the Commission on Monday proposed changing EU state aid rules to allow more public spending for industries hit acutely by fuel price increases, including agriculture, road transport and shipping within Europe.
13/04/2026 – 21:41Merz expresses ‘grave concern’ over West Bank in call with Netanyahu, spokesman says
13/04/2026 – 21:20Germany’s Merz urges Netanyahu to end Lebanon fighting, start peace talks
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to end fighting in southern Lebanon and engage in direct peace talks with the Lebanese government, according to a spokesman.
Merz also expressed his “grave concern” about developments in the Palestinian territories in a telephone conversation with Netanyahu and demanded that there “must be no de facto partial annexation of the West Bank”, the German government spokesman said.
13/04/2026 – 20:28Ukraine inflation rate projected to increase by 1.5% due to war in Iran
Higher oil prices caused by the war in the Middle East have already boosted prices across Ukraine and could raise inflation rates by 1.5 percentage points to 2.8 percentage points, Ukraine’s top central banker said on Monday.
National Bank of Ukraine Governor Andriy Pyshnyi also welcomed the election results in Hungary, which saw President Viktor Orban swept from office, and said he hoped it would resolve delays in the European Union’s 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine. He said the central bank would stick to its target of driving inflation to 5% in three years, using all available tools to ensure that target was met.
13/04/2026 – 19:57Hezbollah calls on govt to cancel Lebanon-Israel talks in Washington
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from the direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday.
Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s political council, spoke on the eve of the talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, meet face-to-face in direct talks.
“As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all,” Safa told The Associated Press.
“We are not bound by what they agree to,” he added in a rare interview with international media.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has said the goal is Hezbollah’s disarmament and a potential peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
13/04/2026 – 19:06IEA ready to tap global oil reserves, chief Birol says
The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said on Monday he hopes another oil stockpile release is not needed but “we stand ready to act” if the energy shock resulting from the war with Iran requires it.
Birol reiterated at an Atlantic Council event that the war has resulted in the worst global energy disruption ever and said
that more than 80 oil, gas facilities including production, terminals and refineries have been damaged by war with Iran.
13/04/2026 – 18:58Focus can turn to Cuba after Iran war is over, Trump says
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US may “stop by” Cuba after its current focus on tensions with Iran conclude.
13/04/2026 – 18:49Trump says Iran called, wants to make deal ‘very badly’
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran wants to make a deal and that he will not come to any agreement that allows Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
13/04/2026 – 18:4834 ships transited Strait of Hormuz Sunday, Trump says
13/04/2026 – 18:37Fashion giant LVMH suffers losses as Dubai mall sales drop by 50%
French luxury giant LVMH suffered a heavy impact from the Middle Eastern conflict, it said on Monday, as sales fell in the Gulf and many rich tourists from the region also stopped spending in Europe.
Reuters reported that mall sales in Dubai fell by as much as 50% since the start of the war. LVMH said mall traffic was down sharply, adding that while the region represents 6% of LVMH’s turnover, the impact on profit margins will likely be higher due to the region’s exceptional profitability.
The conflict also weighed on sales in Europe, which were down 3%, mainly due to the war and the strong euro, LVMH said.
A man walks past a clothing shop in a mall in Dubai on March 16, 2026 (AFP/photo)
13/04/2026 – 18:10US blockade could trigger global agrifood catastrophe, UN food agency warns
A prolonged crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a global agrifood catastrophe by disrupting fertiliser and energy exports, driving up food prices and squeezing crop yields, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said on Monday.
FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said poorer countries were most exposed because planting calendars meant delays in access to key inputs could quickly translate into lower output, higher inflation and slower global growth.