Top Overnight News
US President Donald Trump wants to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ease a growing global energy crisis, but won't achieve that easily without a ceasefire in the war on Iran. European and Asian partners are reluctant to send warships to help reopen the strait, questioning whether a handful of ships would make any difference against Iran's ability to threaten vessels. BBG
Battered by Iranian strikes and the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates and some fellow Persian Gulf states have come to view Iran’s theocracy as an existential enemy. They now want the regime they once courted to be neutered, if not dismantled, when the conflict ends—so the ordeal is never repeated. WSJ
The Middle East war has turned container shipping into a “wild west”, with carriers adding thousands of dollars in charges and dumping containers at far-flung ports, according to removal companies and customers. FT
South Korean stocks jumped after authorities moved to restrict publicly traded companies from listing certain subsidiaries, curbing a practice long blamed for diluting shareholder value. BBG
Major Japanese companies, including Toyota, offered big pay hikes in annual wage talks on Wednesday, reflecting strong pay momentum for a fourth consecutive year, although uncertainty from the Middle East conflict clouds the outlook. RTRS
The European Commission is set to delay the impact of a global banking reform as it seeks to stop EU lenders from being put at a disadvantage by US moves to cut capital requirements for big banks. According to two officials familiar with the plans, Brussels will after Easter adopt legislation to neutralize the short-term impact of the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) — a key component of the Basel III framework governing market risk. FT
The EU is planning to overhaul its merger rules to curb national powers to block corporate takeovers in a bid to help European companies build the scale to compete with US and Chinese rivals. The proposed reforms reflect growing frustration in Brussels that capitals intervened in a series of significant corporate deals, often to protect national champions at the expense of the single market. FT
Microsoft is weighing legal action against Amazon and OpenAI over a $50bn deal that could breach its exclusive cloud partnership with the ChatGPT maker, setting up a clash between the Big Tech rivals. FT
Bond traders are unwinding bets that drove markets to price out Fed rate cuts this year. The central bank is expected to hold rates steady for a second straight meeting today and Jerome Powell’s comments on the risks to the economy from the Iran conflict will be in the spotlight. BBG
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