Missiles Target U.A.E., Ships Attacked as Fighting Threatens Iran Cease-Fire

This podcast is brought to you by ReliaQuest. Cybercriminals are constantly attacking. They want your data. They want your identity. They want your innovation. RelyQuest fortifies your business with agentic defense, AI that detects, contains, and eliminates cyber threats in minutes. It helps your security team move faster at the work that matters most to protect the business now and delivers insights to help them predict what's next. RelyaQuest. Agentic Defense for the Enterprise. Learn more at ReliQuest.com. That's R-E-L-I-A-Q-U-E-S-T.com. Iran strikes a key oil port and attacks U.S. warships and commercial ships testing a shaky Middle East ceasefire. Plus, Amazon is making its shipping and logistics network available for hire. Amazon has built the supply chain for itself as a major online retailer. And now this move will in earnest put it up against some of the largest third-party logistics companies in the world. And demand is rising for actively managed ETFs, and so are the fees for BlackRock and other asset managers. It's Monday, May 4th. I'm Sabrina Siddiqui for the Wall Street Journal filling in for Alex Osce. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

We start our show today with the Middle East. Fighting in the Iran conflict has flared up again after weeks of relative calm. And that's straining a ceasefire that was already fragile. The United Arab Emirates reported missile and drone attacks on its key oil hub, while U.S. military forces intervened to protect commercial shipping in the region. During a call with reporters today, U.S. Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper said Iran has attacked several ships. We know for certain we've been able to defeat an attack, but I don't want the Iranians knowing what they were able to do, what that looked like. Shelby Holiday, a Wall Street Journal's senior video and national security correspondent, has the latest. Shelby, how significant is this flare-up? Are we effectively watching the ceasefire unravel? It's very significant, and what happened was the U.S. launched a freedom of navigation effort that President Trump calls Project Freedom, where the U.S. is helping commercial ships exit the Persian Gulf. It is meant to be a defensive operation, and the goal is to get all of these ships that have been bottled up in this region. out and on with their journeys. President Trump said, if Iran tries to interfere with this effort, the U.S. will respond. And that's exactly what we saw. We saw Iran launch cruise missiles, drones, even fastboat attacks at not just commercial ships, but also U.S. Navy ships. And so I would expect a strong response from the U.S. The question is how big of a response that will be and whether it prompts retaliation from Iran. So is the president's new initiative to move ships out of the Gulf working? That remains to be seen. So far, we've heard that the U.S. cleared a path in recent weeks, meaning cleared mines using underwater robots, and developed this way out through the Strait of Hormuz. It launched its effort to get ships out by using U.S. flagships. That assumes the risk and demonstrates to other vessels that it is safe to transit this route. However... Iran is still attacking ships. So as of now, the time that you and I are speaking, we've only heard about two U.S. flagged ships leaving the Persian Gulf through this path. And we won't know if this is working for maybe another 24 hours. And we'll be looking to see whether ships from other countries are willing to try to get through the Strait of Hormuz. What diplomatic efforts, if any, are underway behind the scenes to contain this? So far, the U.S. seems to be going it alone. They are the ones putting up this defensive umbrella, flying the aircraft, sending in the warships, and trying to get ships moving out of the Persian Gulf. It was interesting because Iran attacked a South Korean flagged ship today, and President Trump said maybe South Korea should get involved in this effort. So it's clear that the U.S. wants other countries help. However, the concern about Iran retaliation is very real. And other countries have said they don't want to send their own forces into this very tense and scary waterway until the hostilities have completely ceased and that it's clear that everyone will be able to transit safely. That was the Wall Street Journal's Shelby Holiday. Shelby, thank you. Thank you. Rising military tensions in the Iran war sent stocks lower and oil prices higher today.

Brent crude, a global price gauge, rose 5.8% to more than $114 a barrel. That's the highest close for the most traded contract since 2022. The S&P and NASDAQ both closed out last week at record highs, and they slipped from those levels today. The Dow led the losses in the major indexes, falling 1.1%. If you invest in ETFs, odds are it's something like an index fund that tracks the S&P 500, a low-cost strategy that's been hugely popular. But investors have recently been pouring money into ETFs that are actively managed by fund managers. Those cost investors more, and big firms like BlackRock and J.P. Morgan are leaning into the trend of offering such ETFs. Jack Pitcher, a Wall Street Journal reporter covering financial markets and the asset management industry, says new types of ETFs have particular appeal for a certain demographic. A rule change a few years ago made it easier to launch funds that don't just track indexes, so things like stock picking or bond picking funds. As we've seen the baby boomers look for income solutions in retirement, some of these actively managed strategies have become really popular with their financial advisors and a lot of money has been going into them. That's been very good for Wall Street asset managers. They've had a hard time making money on passive funds whose fees went very close to zero. We have seen managers able to increase their fee rates, which is helping them out as they report earnings. For end investors, it's all about what they're looking for specifically. Some people prefer active strategies or trying to accomplish something specific, and that higher fund fee could be worth it. But we've also seen numerous studies showing the benefits of being in the cheapest possible passive funds over long periods of time. That was the Wall Street Journal's Jack Pitcher. In news from the Supreme Court, Samuel Alito Samuel Alito today restored full access to the abortion pill Miffipristone. He paused a ruling from an appeals court that said doctors couldn't send the drug through the mail if they didn't see a patient in person first. Many Republican-led states believe that the common practice of mailing the drug is undermining state abortion bans. The Supreme Court's move is temporary. The hold is only for a week. That gives the court time to weigh emergency appeals from the drug companies that make Miffipristone. Coming up, how did Jeff Bezos become the sponsor of one of the biggest fashion nights of the year? That's after the break.

This podcast is brought to you by ReliQuest. Cybercriminals are constantly attacking. They want your data. They want your identity. They want your innovation. RelyQuest fortifies your business with agentic defense, AI that detects, contains, and eliminate cyber threats in minutes. It helps your security team move faster at the work that matters most to protect the business now and delivers insights to help them predict what's next. RelyaQuest. Agentic Defense for the Enterprise. Learn more at ReliQuest.com. That's R-E-L-I-A-Q-U-E-S-T.com. On our morning show, you heard about a new joint venture on the way with Anthropic and Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs. It will sell AI tools to companies backed by private equity. Well, this afternoon, we're exclusively reporting that Anthropic is also working on a partnership with a financial software company, Fidelity National Information Services, or FIS. They'll develop new AI tools for banks. The first one is an AI agent that would be a financial crimes bot. It will investigate drug traffickers and other criminals in the financial system. Amazon is already a giant in e-commerce and cloud computing. Now, it's betting that its huge warehouse and logistics network could become its next major growth engine. The company today launched a supply chain services platform that lets any business tap Amazon for shipping and transportation. Liz Young, who covers logistics and the supply chain for the Wall Street Journal's Logistics Report, has the story. Amazon for years has offered these supply chain services, but it's largely been a piecemeal effort. Those services included allowing e-commerce brands to put their inventory in Amazon warehouses, have Amazon handle the fulfillment of those orders directly to consumers. Over the years, Amazon has built out its own ocean and air trade transportation capabilities. Its warehouse network has expanded. It's even entered the parcel carrier space. Amazon by some metrics is already. the largest third-party logistics provider in the world. And now this move will in earnest put it up against companies like DSV, DHL, Kuhn-Noggle, and then domestically in the UPS, UPS, VATX, US. That was the Wall Street Journal's Liz Young. And speaking of Amazon, its founder, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, Lauren Jeff Bezos, are the sponsors of tonight's MetGala. The Met Gala is a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute and one of the biggest fashion nights of the year. Javi Lieber covers fashion for the journal and says it's been a slow climb for Jeff Bezos to Fashions Inner Circle. He was building Amazon fashion starting in 2012 and then has been recruiting more and more brands to the platform. And a lot of designers were very wary about Amazon. In 2016, LVMH said that they... would not work with Amazon and that they felt that luxury brands does not fit with Amazon. So there are still some holdouts. But in general, more and more brands are working with Amazon and then with Jeff Bezos specifically and his wife, Lauren Jeff Bezos.

They invite them to their fashion shows. He sits from Roe. They are now essentially within the inner circle of fashion, not just in terms of being shoppers, but also patrons. Amazon and Jeff Bezos's. Personal Foundation, the Jeff Bezos Earth Fund, have also given money to the CFDA, which is the Council of Fashion Designers of America. And if you are close with the CFDA, then you are close with fashion. That was journal reporter, Javi Lieber. And that's what's news for this Monday afternoon. Today's show was produced by Danny Lewis and Anthony Bansy with supervising producer Tali Arbell. I'm Sabrina Siddiqui for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with the new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

This podcast is brought to you by ReliaQuest. Cybercriminals are constantly attacking. They want your data. They want your identity. They want your innovation. RelyQuest fortifies your business with agentic defense, AI that detects, contains, and eliminates cyber threats in minutes. It helps your security team move faster at the work that matters most to protect the business now and delivers insights to help them predict what's next. RelyaQuest. Agentic Defense for the Enterprise. Learn more at ReliQuest.com. That's R-E-L-I-A-Q-U-E-S-T.com.