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Wednesday, April 8, 2026
The stocks nobody's watching, that's exactly where Jeff looks.
Strained alliances
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Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up here. Donald Trump’s decision to pull back from the brink with Iran has triggered a collective sigh of relief. Oil prices plunged and markets rallied after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire and talks to resolve the war’s many outstanding issues. The critical Strait of Hormuz is to reopen to energy supplies — albeit via coordination with Iran. Amid all the uncertainty, one tangible reality stands out: For most American allies, the events of the past six weeks have severely strained their relationship with Washington. 
Pro-government demonstrators celebrate the ceasefire announcement in central Tehran today.
Photographer: Vahid Salemi/AP Photo
Shut out from whatever war planning there was, not one country — let alone NATO as a bloc — directly joined the US-Israeli military campaign. Even those with the most justification to get involved — namely the Persian Gulf countries under daily attack by Iranian missiles — resisted. Many, like Japan, instead looked to pursue a separate diplomatic track, particularly on opening Hormuz. The UK chaired a meeting of some 35 nations to discuss ways to persuade Iran to allow access for at least some ships. The US was conspicuous by its absence. The United Arab Emirates appealed to the UN to authorize measures to open the strait by any means necessary. Again, the US was not involved. French President Emmanuel Macron said the quiet part out loud by calling on medium-sized powers to stand up to Trump, citing US “unpredictability.” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is now touting his defiance of Trump as a domestic strength. NATO chief Mark Rutte is under fire from alliance members for shrugging off Trump’s insults and backing the Iran war. More than 5,000 people have died in this conflict, mostly in Iran and in Lebanon, where Israel’s parallel war against Tehran-backed Hezbollah is ongoing. For now, the US president’s apocalyptic threats to wipe out Iranian civilization appear to be on hold. The damage to America’s international standing is likely to be more lasting. — John Bowker  
The ceasefire is expected to halt the American-Israeli military campaign in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Global Must ReadsAs Trump’s deadline approached for Iran to reach a ceasefire or face “all hell,” Pakistan emerged as a key mediator to help deliver the two-week pause. The developments show the extent to which Islamabad has become a central player in helping to de-escalate the conflict, leveraging its close ties with Saudi Arabia, Iran, the US and China to provide a communication channel between the warring parties, passing messages between both sides over the past few weeks. 
Women walk past buildings destroyed by strikes in Tehran yesterday.
Photographer: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
A top US trade official promoted the creation of a US-China board of trade, a sign of what could be at the center of talks when Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet next month. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer downplayed the possibility of a similar group focused on bilateral investment and appeared to rule out an in-person visit to Beijing before the summit. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa would welcome US troops to help confront the “security crisis” in his nation, provided they follow the lead of local armed forces, he said in an interview. With American help, his government cut the homicide rate in the violent region near the Colombian border by almost 35% in the first quarter from a year earlier. A US troop deployment could happen as early as this year, he said. 
Noboa speaks in an interview on Bloomberg TV.
US Vice President JD Vance criticized the European Union for allegedly meddling in the Hungarian election and then proceeded to endorse Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a model of leadership for the continent days before the make-or-break vote. The visit fits into the pattern of an increasingly interventionist White House under Trump, while no EU leader has campaigned alongside the Hungarian opposition in Budapest. North Korea launched multiple rounds of ballistic missiles days after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over an incident involving drones that crossed into the Communist regime’s airspace. The launches came soon after a Pyongyang statement conveyed leader Kim Jong Un’s rare praise for Lee in response to his apology, an exchange of messages that Seoul had touted as a “meaningful step forward” for their peaceful coexistence. 
A US armored vehicle in river-crossing exercises with the South Korean army in the Asian nation on March 14.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
Ahead of local elections next month, Starmer criticized Reform UK founder Nigel Farage and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch over their initial support for the US and Israeli war against Iran as he travels to the Gulf today to meet with regional leaders. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea this week, marking his first trip to the neighboring country in more than six years as Beijing and Pyongyang look to strengthen their ties amid rising geopolitical uncertainty. Colombia’s leftist government is rolling out a series of subsidies and cheap loans to limit the economic damage it says will result from the central bank’s “outrageous” interest-rate hikes. Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter for news from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day
Malaysian energy giant Petroliam Nasional said a vessel chartered by one of its units is en route to the company’s refinery in Johor after passing through the Strait of Hormuz. It’s among seven Malaysian tankers cleared to transit the area, a key chokepoint that has become a focus in the Middle East conflict. The ships won’t be subject to a toll that Iran charges to vessels passing through the waterway, it said. And FinallyAt a barracks near Madagascar’s main airport, Colonel Michael Randrianirina welcomed a shipment of combat helicopters, trucks and rice from “my brother, Russian President Vladimir Putin.” It marked another foothold for Putin as he seeks to broaden the Kremlin’s influence in Africa and take advantage of geopolitical turmoil. Randrianirina’s been in charge of the island nation since a coup in October and the change in leadership has presented new opportunities for access to a country that holds valuable metal and mineral deposits and lies on an oil traffic route. 
Randrianirina, center, in front of the presidential palace in Antananarivo on Oct. 14.
Photographer: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images
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