Escalation fears

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Good morning. The US faces a prolonged Iran war as Houthis enter the fighting. A pharma giant lands an AI drug deal. And brace for "mallmaxing" (we'll explain). Listen to the day's top stories. — Tiago Ramos Alfaro Market Snapshot Brent Crude Futures $115.49 +2.6% Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index 1,220.33 +0.1% S&P 500 Futures 6,441.00 +0.4% Market data as of 07:07 AM ET. Data is subject to provider delays. Your watchlist Iran-backed Houthi militants joined the Middle East war, with missile strikes across the region over the weekend. Oil surged, pushing Brent briefly above $116 a barrel as their entry and an expanded US military presence in the region, stoked fears of a prolonged confrontation. Here's our explainer on what it'd take to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthis' involvement. US troop buildup in is spurting escalation concern, Bloomberg's Joumanna Bercetche reports. Donald Trump signaled he wants to take Iran's oil, telling the Financial Times that he may seize the country's Kharg Island export hub. He said Tehran has met most of America's 15 demands to end the war, though it's unclear whether negotiations are underway. Pakistan is positioning itself as a mediator, saying it's ready to facilitate US-Iran talks in the coming days. French authorities detained three suspects over an attempted bombing near Bank of America's office in Paris, which officials say was probably linked to the conflict. Three suspects are in custody, with one telling authorities he was contacted over Snapchat and paid €600 for the task, according to Le Parisien. The foiled bombing is just the latest in a series of plots and attacks in European cities over the last month. Alex Zhavoronkov, chief executive officer of Insilico Medicine, on Dec. 30, 2025. Photographer: Lam Yik/Bloomberg Pharma giant Eli Lilly landed a deal worth up to $2.75 billion with Hong Kong-based biotech firm Insilico Medicine to develop drugs using artificial intelligence. Insilico's CEO Alex Zhavoronkov has predicted the first drugs conceived entirely by AI will probably be commercially available by the end of the decade. More Headlines Two Chinese Container Ships From Cosco Attempt Hormuz Exit Again DeepSeek Goes Down for Seven Hours in Biggest Outage Since Debut Deep Dive: Invitation Cheng Li-wun. Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images Xi Jinping is courting Taiwan's opposition ahead of his summit with Donald Trump, inviting its leader to Beijing. Kuomintang Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun will travel to China from April 7 to 12, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency—coinciding with a visit to Taiwan by US senators. The visit is the first by a KMT leader in nearly a decade and signals Beijing's preference for engagement with Taiwan's opposition, which favors closer ties with China and has sought to slash a bigger defense budget demanded the US. The timing, weeks before Trump's own meeting in Beijing, risks undercutting US arms cooperation with Taiwan as Beijing pushes back against military support for the island. Here's our simple guide on how the America fits into China-Taiwan relations. The Big Take Private equity's brutal side deals are leaving lenders grasping in the dark, with many creditors settling for scraps. The Big Take Podcast Admiral James Stavridis Discusses Iran War Scenarios Opinion Photographer: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP The world is short of oil, and while stopgap measures have cushioned the shock, they cannot last if the conflict continues, Javier Blas writes. As a result, demand destruction will become unavoidable—either through policy or high prices—with the burden falling first on poorer countries. More Opinions John Authers Will the Ayatollahs Chicken Out Is the New TACO Bloomberg Editors Landing a First Job Is Hard. Labour Is Making It Worse Play Alphadots! Our daily word puzzle with a plot twist. Today's clue is: Lack of balance? Play now! Before You Go Edikted, a clothing store, is favorite among today's mall-going teens. Photographer: Michelle Gustafson Welcome to "mallmaxing": American teens are returning to malls, drawn by a desire for screen-free experiences and the chance to engage with viral TikTok trends in real life. But forget the crown jewels of the American mall that you knew: today's kids are stepping into new arrivals like Edikted, Princess Polly and Rowan. One More Behind the Wheel of Aston Martin's $1 Million Supercar for Normies Bloomberg House arrives in Miami at the Formula One Grand Prix. Set against one of the world's most electrifying sporting events, we bring together business, investment, real-time data and Bloomberg journalism to fuel forward-looking discussions, as well as networking with global leaders. Register here. More From Bloomberg Enjoying Morning Briefing Americas? Get more news and analysis with our regional editions for Asia and Europe. Check out these newsletters, too: Markets Daily for what's moving in stocks, bonds, FX and commodities Breaking News Alerts for the biggest stories from around the world, delivered to your inbox as they happen Supply Lines for daily insights into supply chains and global trade FOIA Files for Jason Leopold's weekly newsletter uncovering government documents never seen before Explore all newsletters at Bloomberg.com. We're improving your newsletter experience and we'd love your feedback. If something looks off, help us fine-tune your experience by reporting it here. 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