Asian stocks mostly lower after Wall Street's worst day since start of Iran war
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks have traded mostly lower after Wall Street had its worst day since the start of the Iran war over growing doubts about a de-escalation. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 has fallen 1.2%, while South Korea's Kospi has dropped 3.1%. On Friday, oil prices fell more than 1%. President Donald Trump said he was postponing a threatened attack on Iran's energy facilities shortly after U.S. stocks closed with sharp falls on Thursday. The S&P 500 slumped 1.7% for its worst day since January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.4%. after Iran rejected a U.S. offer for a ceasefire.
Iran starts to formalize its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz with a 'toll booth' regime
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Iran is cementing its hold over the Strait of Hormuz, demanding vessels give up detailed information and detour into Iranian waters before being vetted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. In some cases, vessels have paid for passage. Traffic through the strait has fallen by 90% since the start of the war, sending global oil prices skyrocketing and creating alarming shortages in the Asian nations that get their oil from producers in the Persian Gulf. Yet ships with connections to Iran and its chief energy customer, China, continue to transit the strait.
Wall Street falls to its worst drop since the Iran war as the Nasdaq sinks 10% below its record
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks had their worst day since the war with Iran started, as doubt took over again from hope on Wall Street about a possible end to the conflict. The S&P 500 fell 1.7% Thursday. The index is back on track for a fifth straight losing week, which would be the longest such losing streak in nearly four years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.4%. They’re the latest flip-flops for financial markets this week after Iran rejected a U.S. offer for a ceasefire. Oil prices rose more than 4%, and Treasury yields climbed in the bond market.
The war in Iran sparks a global fertilizer shortage and threatens food prices
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Farmers around the world are facing fertilizer shortages and rising costs after the war in Iran disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles a third of global fertilizer trade. Rising natural gas prices are also driving up costs just as planting in the Northern Hemisphere begins. The poorest farmers in developing countries are likely to feel the squeeze first, threatening harvests and incomes. Higher fuel prices can ripple through processing, transport and delivery. Even if crops grow well, the delays and unstable oil market are expected to contribute to a spike in food prices.
Trump says he'll sign order to pay TSA agents as Senate works into the night on funding deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will sign an order instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay Transportation Security Administration workers. The Senate is working late into the night to resolve the 41-day funding impasse that has jammed airports and left workers without paychecks. Trump announced his decision in a social media post saying he wanted to quickly stop the “Chaos at the Airports.” The White House and senators appear to be narrowing in on a endgame before TSA workers miss another paycheck Friday. Democrats have been refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security as they demand changes to rein in Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.
Verdicts against Meta, YouTube validate concerns long raised by parents, child safety advocates
It’s too soon to tell if this week’s jury decisions will lead to fundamental changes in how social media treats its young users. But the dual verdicts signal a changing tide of public perception against tech companies that is likely to lead to more lawsuits and regulation. For years, they have argued that the harms their platforms cause to children are the unintentional and inevitable consequences of broader societal issues or bad actors taking advantage of safeguards. These verdicts show public’s growing willingness to hold the companies responsible for harms and demand meaningful changes in how they operate.
The Latest: Trump says he will sign an order to pay TSA agents during funding impasse
President Donald Trump said Thursday he would sign an order instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay Transportation Security Administration agents as Congress struggles to reach a deal to end the budget impasse that has jammed airports and left workers without paychecks. Congress is under pressure to fund DHS ahead of its upcoming spring recess, as TSA may have to shut down operations at some airports if the budget impasse drags on. The shutdown is taking a personal toll on TSA workers. Over 480 officers have quit altogether, according to DHS. At some of the busiest and most backed-up U.S. airports, ICE officers are patrolling security lines and checkpoints, ordered by Trump to assist a short-staffed TSA.
Better Home & Finance, Coinbase to offer mortgage backed by cryptocurrencies
Prospective homebuyers who have invested in certain cryptocurrencies will be able to use their holdings as collateral to fund their down payment on a home as part of a new mortgage offering. Real estate services company Better Home & Finance Holding Co. plans to roll out the crypto-backed mortgage sometime in the next three months in a partnership with crypto trading platform Coinbase, the companies said in a press release Thursday. Use of proceeds from the sale of cryptocurrency for funding the down payment on a home has remained limited. However, the crypto-backed mortgage from Better would not require borrowers to sell their crypto investments and would be backed by mortgage giant Fannie Mae, the companies said.
US filings for jobless aid tick up last week to 210,000 but remain at historically healthy levels
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for jobless aid inched up last week as employers continue to retain workers despite a labor market that has weakened considerably in the past year. U.S. applications for jobless aid for the week ending March 21 rose by 5,000 to 210,000 from the previous week’s 205,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s right in line with the 210,000 new filings analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting. Filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs. The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending March 14 fell by 32,000 to 1.82 million.
AI is giving bad advice to flatter its users, says new study on dangers of overly agreeable chatbots
Artificial intelligence chatbots are so prone to flattering and validating their human users that they are giving bad advice that can damage relationships and reinforce harmful behaviors, according to a new study that explores the dangers of AI telling people what they want to hear. The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, tested 11 leading AI systems and found they all showed varying degrees of sycophancy — behavior that was overly agreeable and affirming. The problem is not just that they dispense inappropriate advice but that people trust and prefer AI more when the chatbots are justifying their convictions.
