Victoria Craig hosts this Financial Times news briefing featuring Jamie Smith, U.S. energy editor, and Josh Franklin, U.S. banking editor. The episode covers escalating energy supply disruptions as the Iran conflict enters its seventh day.

The discussion examines Trump administration plans for naval escorts through the Strait of Hormuz, recent drone attacks on cloud infrastructure in the Gulf, and JPMorgan's complex real estate expansion plans in Manhattan involving the historic Roosevelt Hotel.

Strait of Hormuz Crisis Threatens Global Energy Supply

Gulf oil producers expect to shut down fields within days due to storage capacity limits as Strait of Hormuz shipments have 'essentially ground to a halt'

Trump's Development Finance Corporation insurance backstop faces massive liability gap: potential $350 billion exposure versus $205 billion legal limit

Asia bears the heaviest impact with South Korea importing 70% of crude oil and Japan heavily dependent on Middle East supplies

Energy substitution and demand destruction loom if crisis persists, with industries potentially slowing or shutting down - Jamie

Drone Strikes Disrupt Gulf Cloud Infrastructure

Amazon Web Services facilities in UAE and Bahrain suffered drone strikes, taking cloud services down across the region

Attacks complicate billions in planned AI infrastructure investments by UAE and Saudi Arabia for economic diversification

Corporate customers face complex and expensive workload migration challenges, especially for sensitive cross-border data transfers

JPMorgan's Manhattan Real Estate Ambitions Hit Political Snag

America's biggest bank considers converting Manhattan office space into employee hotel while pursuing Roosevelt Hotel acquisition

Pakistani government owns Roosevelt Hotel through state company but refuses to sell entire property, seeking joint venture partner instead

Hotel became political issue during 2024 election as migrant processing center, now closed for one year with visible deterioration

Pakistan views hotel as diplomatic tool, discussing restoration with U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff as 'joint initiative'

Resources Mentioned

The Girl from My Last Class

me now to dig into the complexities of this promise. Hi, Jamie. Hi. So you've gotten a hold of new research from J.P. Morgan on this. Why is it such a challenge to backstop these ships that are trans

Systematic Theology Workbook 5-in-1 Guided Exercises, Reflections, and Study Questions on God, Humanity, Salvation, the Spirit, and the Future (Christian Faith)

ncial issue at the heart of this scheme. So we should note that the White House contends that this research from JPMorgan is based on what it calls faulty assumptions. And it says that more announcem