Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) Israeli troops have entirely encircled Gaza City, effectively cutting off the northern part of the strip from the south, an Israeli army spokesman said, adding that targets both above and below ground were under attack.

(2) Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled stop in Baghdad, expanding US diplomacy in the Middle East with the goal of preventing a spread of the Israel-Hamas war. 

(3) Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is feeling the effects of the deals drought. Its cash pile scaled a fresh record in the latest quarter, hitting more than $157 billion.

(4) The UK is to mandate annual North Sea oil and gas licensing rounds under plans to be announced this week, as part of efforts by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government to give certainty to investors and reduce reliance on "hostile foreign regimes."

(5) As the European Union's biggest economy wrestles with a persistent slump and a surge in immigration, the specter of German nationalism has returned, leaving citizens more conflicted over their country's direction than at any point since World War II.