Good morning. The dominant story this week is the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which began at 10am ET yesterday. After 21 hours of failed negotiations, Trump ordered the US Navy to interdict all vessels entering or departing Iranian ports — including ships of all nationalities — effectively seizing control of one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. Markets are already reacting: stocks fell on Friday as the blockade was confirmed, and the FT flags serious risks to global energy markets. Ars Technica notes that record US domestic production hasn’t insulated American consumers from price spikes, which complicates Trump’s energy dominance pitch domestically.

The Fed chair situation is worth watching alongside this. The Economist flags that inflation was already heating up before the Iran conflict, and whoever succeeds Powell now inherits a stagflationary scenario with a president who has shown no interest in backing down.

Hungary is a genuine geopolitical shift. Péter Magyar’s Tisza party won a two-thirds majority, ending Orbán’s 16-year grip on power. EU leaders are jubilant — this likely means Hungary re-engages with Brussels on rule-of-law issues and distances itself from Moscow. It will also rattle the White House, which had a working relationship with Orbán as a fellow populist. Magyar is a former Fidesz insider, which gives him the institutional knowledge to actually dismantle what Orbán built.

On the UK: the BBC reports Starmer is planning legislation that would allow the UK to adopt EU single market rules without a parliamentary vote. That’s a significant constitutional move — aligning UK regulation with Brussels via executive action rather than democratic scrutiny. Expect pushback from both the right and civil liberties-minded MPs.

Also domestically: Starmer is scrapping the veto that allowed spy chiefs to block intelligence officers from giving evidence to public inquiries. Low-profile but meaningful for accountability — particularly relevant given ongoing questions about pre-Iraq and post-Afghanistan intelligence conduct.

On AI: the FT reports Meta is building an AI version of Zuckerberg to interact with staff as part of a broader push toward what it’s calling “personal superintelligence.” Separately, TechCrunch reports Trump officials may be encouraging banks to test Anthropic’s Mythos model — notable given the DoD recently flagged Anthropic as a supply-chain risk.

Watch today: Whether any third-party nations — particularly China or India, both significant buyers of Iranian oil — comply with or challenge the Hormuz blockade. Non-compliance would force a direct confrontation and escalate fast.

Sources

FT, BBC News, Al Jazeera, Guardian, TechCrunch, The Economist, Politico, Ars Technica — 2026-04-13