Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) Fighting between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz escalated, with Tehran accusing American forces of bombing a residential area in a wave of overnight strikes.The US military carried out its second round of attacks in three days, which US Central Command said targeted radar systems and mine-laying capabilities along Iran’s southern coast. This prompted the Islamic Republic to retaliate with drone and missile volleys on US bases across the Middle East, in line with tactics used throughout the six-month war.
2) Three Massachusetts Democrats with more than 110 years of service in Congress between them held off much younger challengers in Tuesday’s primaries.Sen. Ed Markey, an outspoken progressive, trounced Rep. Seth Moulton, a more moderate candidate, by 65%-35% in nearly complete returns. Moulton, 47, ran an anti-establishment and generational-change campaign that tried to make the case that Markey, 80, shouldn’t be given another six-year Senate term he would finish at age 86. Markey said he was as invigorated as ever to stand up to the Trump administration.
3) The selloff sweeping global bond markets looks painful, but it’s nothing compared with the rout four years ago, when soaring inflation forced central banks into a series of rapid-fire interest-rate hikes.The difference is scale. While the latest pullback has driven yields to multi-year highs in the world’s biggest markets, the move is just a fraction of the one seen in late 2022. Global government bond yields have risen 17 basis points on a rolling 20-day cumulative basis, compared with 62 basis points back then, data compiled by Bloomberg show. On a peak-to-trough basis, bonds have lost 4.2% this year — a far cry from the 23% plunge seen in 2022.