Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) Iran hit a fully laden Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai in a drone attack, a sign it’s willing to escalate strikes on energy sites and infrastructure as the war drags on. Despite the attack, crude prices were steady in early trading, with US benchmark prices trading at about a $102 a barrel. That was partly because of a report in the Wall Street Journal saying US President Donald Trump is willing to wind down hostilities and pressure Tehran diplomatically to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
2) US gasoline climbed above an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since August 2022, one of the most visible measures of consumer pain in the world’s largest economy resulting from the war in Iran. The nationwide average retail price for regular unleaded gas rose to $4.018 a gallon on Monday, according to the American Automobile Association. Prices have surged by more than $1 since the start of the war, up from $2.98 on the day before the US and Israel launched attacks against Tehran.
3) Unilever Plc said talks to sell most of its food business to McCormick & Co. are advanced and a final deal could be announced later on Tuesday in a historic move that will transform both companies. The Anglo-Dutch maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise will offload most of its food unit, excluding some parts like its operations in India, for $15.7 billion cash upfront and the rest in McCormick equity, according to a statement Tuesday.