Trump Orders Hormuz Blockade; Hungary Rejects Orban in Seismic Vote

So there's a lot of noise about AI, but time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now, a global workforce of 300,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94% of common questions. Not noise. Proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business.

Let's create smarter business. IBM. It's 10.01 AM on a Monday all at once. Your sales leader needs to know which deals are at risk. Your PM wants feature adoption by cohort, and your CFO needs one last graph for the board. Now your data team has to say no to somebody. Hex changes that.

Ask any data question in plain English and get an analyst-grade response, all backed by your actual business context as defined by your data team. Start saying yes to more data. questions at hex.a.ai. When you're running a business, the best days are the ones where priorities stay on track. For mid-size and large companies, risk can affect multiple parts of the organization at once, from property and liability to cyber and regulatory challenges. At that level, managing risk becomes an ongoing discipline. At the Hartford, the focus is on helping businesses manage risk before it turns into something more disruptive. And when losses do happen, that work is paired

with insurance coverage shaped by years of underwriting, risk engineering, and claims experience. Learn more at thehartford.com slash risk mitigation. Policies provided by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its property and casualty affiliates, Hartford, Connecticut. Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today.

All right, Karen, the U.S. war with Iran may be headed into a new phase after the breakdown of peace talks in Pakistan over the weekend. President Trump says the U.S. will begin a full naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and retaliate against any Iranian resistance. The president announced it on his way back to Washington last night from Miami. 10 o'clock tomorrow, we have a blockade going into effect. That'll be 10 o'clock tomorrow. Other nations are working so that Iran will not be able to sell oil. and that would be very effective. The President Trump did not elaborate on which countries would help with the blockade.

We get more from Bloomberg's Jumana Bersetschi in Dubai. The U.S. will be sending more warships, submarines, perhaps surveillance aircraft, to monitor all of the vessels movements throughout the course of the straits. President Trump has also said that they will start interdicting any ships that agree to pay a fee or transit fee to get through. And then they will begin with the mind-sweeping exercises as well, by deploying a specialist or even submarines in that space too. Bloomberg's Gemana Bersetschi reports Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that any military

vessel attempting to approach the strait would be considered a violation of the ceasefire. This morning, three tankers are trying to cross the strait ahead of the blockade by sailing close to Iran's coast. Well, Nathan, this latest move in the Iran War is drawing a sharp reaction in Washington. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine says it never should have gone this far. We had a diplomatic control over Iran not seeking a nuclear weapon that Donald Trump decided to tear up. And we had an open strait of Hormuzan reasonable gas prices up until February 27th when Donald Trump launched this war without the support of allies, the American public or Congress. And Democrat Tim Kaine appeared on ABCs this week.

Well, Karen, President Trump isn't just going after Iran. He's also attacking Pope Leo the 16th after a series of rebukes from the American-born pontiff over the war and the idea that God is on the U.S. side. We don't like a Pope that's going to say that it's okay to have a nuclear weapon. We don't want a Pope that says crime is okay. in our cities. I don't like it. I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. The President Trump again speaking with reporters on the tarmac in Miami. He also attacked Pope Leo the 14th in a social media post that included an image of himself dressed in robes and healing a sick patient surrounded by a medical worker and military members. Well, Nathan, the UK will not take part in the proposed U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormoos. Let's go to London and get the very latest. It's Bloomberg's UN Pots and you. And it looks like

another point of contention between President Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Karen and Nathan, the British government continues to call for freedom of navigation and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. But Bloomberg has learned the UK will not take part in President Trump's plan to blockade the waterway. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to lead another round of talks with other nations on reopening the strait, but on the US blockade, Keir Starmer' position is again at odds with the US president. In London, I'm Eumptu. bug radio. Okay, Ewan, thank you. We are seeing some very big moves in energy markets this morning following the latest war developments. Right now, Brent Crude is higher by 7.6% trading above

$102 a barrel. West Texas Intermediates up $7.8% at $104.15. Energy Aspects founder on Rita Sen tells Bloomberg this weekend markets have been in denial. You know, what surprised me in this market is this consistent belief. I would say a lot of the macro trade. have that somehow there will be a resolution because the alternative is just too difficult to fathom, too difficult to kind of really think through and say, okay, what does this do to the global economy? I don't disagree with that, except that that's not the reason why the straightest shock to begin with. And energy aspects founder, Amrida Sen says much of the supply shock damage has already been done. She calls it the biggest energy shortfall in history and stocks are falling this morning as well.

S&P futures are down more than a half percent. Dow futures are lower by nearly a half percent and NASDAQ futures on the decline by six-tenths of one percent. Well, Nathan, another major political story that we're following comes out of Hungary. After 16 years in power, Viktor Orban's rule is coming to an end. Peter Péter Magyar's opposition Teza Party is on track to win with almost all votes counted. Bloomberg Chief Europe correspondent Oliver Cook has more from Budapest. It changes a lot of things very fundamentally, and also the margin by which Péter Magyar was able to crush Viktor Orban, who was going for his fourth consecutive term after 16 years in power. He now has a two-thirds majority, Petter Magyar.

That means that he can legislate very freely with a free hand over Hungary. It also means he can make changes to the Constitution, which is something that Viktor Orban enjoyed during his last term. So it's really a significant victory, but also the margin is very relevant. In terms of what he'll actually have to do to turn the economy around, that gets a little bit more complicated. I mean, he's inheriting some of the same problems that brought Viktor Orban down a stagnant economy. But he's vowed to change things, to turn things around in the economy to sort of cut out the corruption. And that's Bloomberg, Chief Europe correspondent Oliver Crook, reporting from Budapest and stocks in Hungary are up 2.5% on the election results. Well, turning to politics at home now, Karen, Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell is suspending his campaign to be the next governor of California.

The decision follows a series of sexual assault allegations that threw that campaign into turmoil and prompted his backers to flee in a post on social media. Stalwell wrote, quote, I will fight the serious false allegations that have been made, but that's my fight, not a campaign. End quote. The seven-term congressman from the San Francisco Bay Area had been polling among top Democrats to succeed Gavin Newsom, who's barred from seeking re-election because of term limits. Well, in other news this morning, history was made in Augusta, Nathan Rory McElroy, as the Masters champion. Once again, we want to get the details at Bloomberg's John Stashauer. John, good morning. Good morning, Karen.

It was the 90th Masters, and yes, it ended as the 89th did a year ago. And here we go. His year again. Rory is a rare repeat winner at Augusta. Number three, Jack Nicholas, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods. Masters Radio the call. Macarroy led most of the way, did lose that lead in the final round, but he regained it, held off a slew of challengers, including Scotty Sheffler, who came from 12 shots behind to finish in second place.

One shot back of McElroy. We'll hear from the winner of the Green Jacket. Coming up in sports. John Stash, Howard, Bloomberg Radio.

Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's John Tucker Carlson. John, good morning. Yeah, good morning, Karen. And hello, springtime. Temperatures will significantly rise this week. Bloomberg meteorologist Craig Allen has the very latest. It could be as much as 15 to 30 degrees above average in the major cities along I-95.

So for D.C. and suburbs, it may get close to 90 tomorrow and into the 90s for Wednesday and Thursday. For the New York City tri-state region, 80s will be common Tuesday through Thursday. A few inland spots may touch 90, but it will definitely be cooler along the shore and at the beaches. And as for Boston, it won't get that kind of heat, but 70s and 80s are likely for many parts of New England. Bloomberg Meteoramages Craig Allen. The search continues for the gunman that targeted an employee at a New Jersey fast food restaurant over the weekend. Gunfire erupted inside a Chick-fil-A, killing one person injuring six others. It happened in Union Township.

The injured victim is believed to be innocent bystanders. According to authorities, the shooting was a targeted incident stemming from a drug or gang dispute. A milestone for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in Queens Sunday, Zohran Mamdani celebrated 100 days in office, touting his accomplishments. Since we took office, murders have hit record lows. There has not been a murder on Staten Island in more than 180 days. Crime in our city is down. Zohran Mamdani also announced the first location of a city-owned grocery store.

It'll be open in Harlem before the end of his first term. Global news 24 hours a day. And whenever you want it with Bloomberg News now. I'm John Tucker Carlson, and this is Bloomberg, Karen. All right, John Tucker Carlson, thank you.

Time now for the Bloomberg Sports Update. Here's John Stash Hour. John, good morning again. Good morning, Cam. Roy McRoy admitted he won this Masters with what he did in the first two rounds. He was 12 under par through 36. Oh, shot the next 36 at even par. Like Saturday, he yesterday lost the lead.

At one point, Cam Young was. on top and later it was Justin Rose who was trying to win the Masters at age 45. But from the 7th hole to the 18th, Rory was bogey-free and with A-man Corner birdies on 12 and 13, he retook the lead. One of Masters that he always expected

to be close. It's hard. It's hard to win golf tournaments. Especially around here. You've had maybe a couple of runaway winners over the years, but it always seems to be a very tight finish at golf course. So I think it's the nature of the golf course. It's the nature of what's at stake.

His sixth career major championship, second green jacket, Eroska. Adi Sheffler was going for the third of his career. He played the last 36 holes bogey free, but ended up one shot behind. The losing streets reached five for both the Mets and Yankees. The A's have had a lot to do with that. They beat the Yanks twice in the Bronx and then went to City Field and swept the Mets. Three of their five straight wins in New York were shutouts. It was one-to-nothing Sunday, and Nick Kurt's home runoff, Freddie Peralta, third inning, the only run of the day. The Mets have four of their starters with a batting average under 200, and the Yankees have five, including Ryan Linda McMahon at 114.

He made the final out at Tampa Bay, and the Yanks had the tied-and-go-ahead runners on base. The Rays with their first three-game sweep of the Yanks in five years. They won five to four. Red Sox won in St. Louis. Nationals won in Milwaukee. The NBA regular season is over. The playoffs begin soon, the Stanley Cup playoffs, just after that. The only New York hockey or hoop team in the United States.

the playoffs. The next, they'll face Atlanta in the first round with game one Saturday night at the garden. No playoffs for the islanders due to a late season slot. John Stash Howard, Bloomberg Sports, Kenny, thank you. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. Support for the show comes from public.com. If you're actively involved in your portfolio, you probably catch yourself repeating the same actions, buying the dip, manually sweeping idle cash, putting on a hedge. you can now create AI agents that handle all these tasks on your behalf. Just describe what you want to do in plain English.

Like if the VIX hits 25, buy a put option on the S&P 500. Or if my cash balance goes above $20,000, move the excess into my direct index. You approve the workflow and your agent handles the rest. Monitoring the market, watching for your conditions, and executing your strategies exactly as defined. An investing platform driven by your intent, not just your clicks. You can also get full read and write access to your account via the public API. Go to public.com slash market and fund your account in five minutes or less. That's public.com

slash market. Paid for by public investing. Brokred services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC registered advisor. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures. Let's talk about health care for a second. It doesn't always work the way people expect it to. If you've ever waited on a prescription refill or had a hard time getting the care you needed, you know the feeling.

The system should just work better for everyone. That's exactly what the people at Optum are trying to do every day. They're a health care company linking patient care and pharmacy services and using data and technology to drive the whole system, so care is connected, not complicated, for patients and providers. Things like making it easier to get care that looks at the whole person, from primary care doctors to mental health support and even in-home care, and then using technology to make sure they all work together.

Technology designed to help doctors spend less time on busy work and more time with their patients. And those prescriptions? Optum is working to bring costs down, save patients' money, and make it easier to get refills. Little by little, Optum is helping make health care work as one for everyone. Head to business.optim.com to see how. The thing about AI for business, it may not automatically fit the way your business works. At IBM, we've seen this firsthand,

but by embedding AI across HR, IT, and procurement processes, we've reduced costs by millions, slash repetitive tasks, and freed thousands of hours for strategic work. Now we're helping companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business. IBM. Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio, nationwide on SiriusXM,

and around the world on Bloomberg.com and the Bloomberg business app. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. More than six weeks of war with Iran may be entering a new phase. President Trump says a full naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will begin later this morning after the breakdown of peace talks in Pakistan. but the president says he doesn't care if the show of force brings Tehran back to the negotiating table. If they don't come back, I'm fine.

Their military is gone. Their missiles are largely depleted. That was President Trump on the tarmac in Miami last night. Joining us this morning from Dubai is Bloomberg News Middle East managing editor, owner-aunt. Owner, good morning. What is the risk that this blockade prolongs the war even further? Well, this blockade will certainly. escalate the tensions in the region, although in a limited way, the alternative was obviously a

resumption, a full resumption of the war. And instead, US President Donald Trump decided that if the ships carrying oil from Arab states in the Persian Gulf cannot carry oil to the rest of the world, then neither should the ships from Iran. The risk here is that the naval blockade, the full naval blockade, might result in a resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran in the form of attacks. We have seen Iranian officials overnight have been rejecting the plant naval blockade. And not only that, they also issued a somewhat odd statement responding to a threat that was not this explicitly issued by the US. And they said, if there is any attack on Iranian ports either inside the Persian Gulf to the east of, to the east of the Strait of Hormuz or outside in the Sea of Amman, then they would be they would be countering those attacks with similar strikes on ports of other nations inside the Persian Gulf.

And that surely would bring the war into a new different phase. Does that imply the participation of Iranian proxy groups like the Houthis? That is another threat that was issued out of Iran. Now, to be clear, there was no official announcement or statement attached to it, as is usually the case with some of these threats coming out of Iran. But we have seen overnight that press TV suggested that if the US goes ahead with this planned naval blockade outside the Strait of Hormuz, a similar situation might arise in Babel-Mandab. for those who may not be familiar with those names, that is the strait that is just outside the Red Sea.

That's where most of the oil that couldn't reach global markets through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began is finding its way through Saudi Arabia's Red Coast. So yes, Iran, at least not explicitly, but still did threaten to use its proxies, such as Houthis, to bring the war to widen the war and bring it to the Red Sea coast, which is where most of the remaining Gulf oil exports are taking off from. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed by 6 a.m. Eastern each morning on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen. You can also listen live each morning, starting at 5 a.m. Wall Street time on Bloomberg 1130 in New York.

Bloomberg 991 in Washington. Bloomberg 92-9 in Boston, and nationwide on Sirius XM Channel 121. Plus listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg business app now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces. And don't forget to subscribe to Bloomberg News Now. It's the latest news whenever you want it in five minutes or less. Search Bloomberg News Now on your favorite podcast platform to stay informed all day long. I'm Karen Moscow. And I'm Nathan Hager.

Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here, on Bloomberg Daybreak. Healthcare doesn't always work great. If you've ever waited on a refill or couldn't schedule an appointment, you get it. That's the kind of stuff Optum is changing. They're using data and technology to integrate patient care, pharmacy, and everything else. So health care is connected, not complicated. What's that look like?

prescriptions that are easier to get and care that looks at the whole person, how you need it. Optum is helping make healthcare work as one for everyone. Learn more at business.optim.com. It's 10.1am on a Monday all at once. Your sales leader needs to know which deals are at risk. Your PM wants feature adoption by cohort, and your CFO needs one last graph for the board. Now your data team has to say no to somebody. Hex changes that.

Ask any data question in plain English and get an analyst-grade response, all backed by your actual business context as defined by your data team. Start saying yes to more data questions at hex.a.I. Never bet against American grit or American energy. Through innovation, venture global is not only building some of the largest energy facilities in the world right here in the United States, but delivering American energy at a fraction of the cost, and a fraction of the time. So while others are busy talking,

we're busy building. That's venture global. That's unstoppable energy.