Oil rises above $110 as Trump deadline looms for Iran to reopen strait – business live

IMF head warns Middle East war will lead to higher inflation and slower global growth

In other news, the American billionaire Bill Ackman’s hedge fund has offered to buy Universal Music Group (UMG) in a deal that values the world’s biggest music company at more than €50bn (£44bn).

Pershing Square, the New-York based hedge fund, has offered to buy the business, which is home to artists including Taylor Swift and Elton John, in a cash and stock deal.

US markets finished on a cautiously positive note after the long weekend, but in the immediate term investors are facing a binary event – ceasefire or further escalation of the conflict.

As such, guidance continues in the form of often unconfirmed third party reports detailing progress (or the lack of it) in negotiations. Of little doubt is that the US president’s latest deadline to Iran expires this evening where, in the absence of any agreement from his foes, he has threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges, causing irreversible damage to the country’s energy infrastructure.