Business

The International Energy Agency warned that the loss of oil supplies from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has depleted global oil inventories at a record pace. Oil stocks held on land plunged by 170m barrels in April alone. Analysts at JPMorgan also warned that commercial stocks in rich countries could “approach operational stress levels” by June. And Saudi Aramco’s chief executive said inventories would soon reach “critically low levels”. The Saudi oil company reported a 26% rise in quarterly net profit, year on year, in part because it increased exports in the run-up to the war. It is also pumping more oil through its pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

The disruption to global trade routes caused by the Iran war has benefited the Panama Canal. The head of the authority that runs the Central American waterway said that revenue is expected to have risen by as much as 15% since the start of the conflict. More oil and fuel from America bound for China, Japan and South Korea is passing though the canal’s locks and the prices paid at auction by vessels to traverse it have soared.

America’s annual inflation rate surged to 3.8% in April, the highest in three years. Fuel-oil prices were up by 5.8% compared with March. At the beginning of 2026 annual inflation stood at 2.4%.

The inflation problem will land on the desk of Kevin Warsh, the incoming chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Senate confirmed him for the job this week, two days before the end of Jerome Powell’s term.

The German government’s opposition to the takeover of Commerzbank by UniCredit, an Italian lender, was criticised by the vice-president of the European Central Bank. Luis de Guindos, who is stepping down from the ECB, said that government interventions in business decisions “go against the spirit of a single market”. UniCredit has amassed a nearly 30% stake in Germany’s second-biggest listed bank. Commerzbank has announced 3,000 job cuts to make it more profitable in its fight against UniCredit’s hostile bid.

The yields on Britain’s government bonds soared amid speculation about whether Sir Keir Starmer would be forced out as prime minister. The yield on the 30-year bond hit 5.81%, the highest level since 1998. The benchmark ten-year gilt yield reached 5.13%, the highest since 2008. Higher yields mean the government pays more to service its debt.

Anduril, a defence startup that is seeking to challenge the industry’s dominant companies, saw its valuation soar to $61bn after its latest round of fundraising. Founded by Palmer Luckey, a 33-year-old entrepreneur with a taste for shorts and Hawaiian shirts, Anduril was valued at $30bn last June. The firm has won several Pentagon contracts and is ramping up production at its factory in Ohio that makes drones and other weapons.

Marty Makary resigned as head of America’s Food and Drug Administration. He reportedly left over the FDA’s decision to approve fruit-flavoured e-cigarettes, which he opposed. But his year-long tenure included clashes with food and drugs companies, leading to speculation that Donald Trump was about to sack him.

General Motors had a clear-out of its IT department, according to reports, laying off about 600 workers, or 10% of its IT staff. The carmaker is hiring new employees to work in roles such as AI adoption, data engineering and analytics and agent and model development.

Best known for its bright-green rental e-bikes strewn across city streets around the world, Lime filed for an IPO on the Nasdaq exchange. The startup, which is based in San Francisco, is backed by Uber. It reportedly hopes to attract a valuation of $2bn upon its stockmarket debut.

An influential adviser to Lee Jae-myung, the president of South Korea, suggested that all the country’s citizens should receive a payout from the soaring market valuation of domestic chipmakers. Samsung recently reported a quarterly operating profit larger than its annual profit for all of 2025. SK Hynix’s quarterly profit was up by 405%, year on year. Mr Lee quickly pointed out that any payments to citizens would come from the government’s extra revenue generated by the profits, and not a tax on actual profit.

Amazon rolled out its 30-minute delivery service in Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia and Seattle. Residents of those cities can get groceries, household goods and other items in about the time it takes to prepare and eat breakfast. Amazon Now is expanding in other cities, such as Houston and Phoenix, soon, and elsewhere by the end of the year.