LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (April 22, 2026)

Companies from consumer goods to travel and mining warned on Wednesday that the US-Israeli war with Iran is driving up costs, disrupting supply chains and hurting consumer confidence, clouding financial outlooks.

The cautious tone so far in the earnings season highlights the pressure on businesses already hit by US tariffs, higher input costs and weak demand before the conflict erupted in late February.

While some companies stuck to their full-year forecasts, executives flagged rising transport and raw material costs, particularly linked to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, and sharply reduced visibility.

Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, tightening its grip on the strategic waterway after US President Donald Trump called off attacks indefinitely with no sign of peace talks restarting.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said the Revolutionary Guards had seized two vessels for maritime violations and escorted them to Iranian shores. It was the first time Iran has seized ships since the beginning of the war.

LONDON — The US-Israeli war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have caused the biggest oil supply disruption on record by daily output lost, though at least one earlier shock had a greater cumulative impact, according to Reuters calculations based on International Energy Agency and US Department of Energy data.

The IEA said on Tuesday that the conflict is the worst energy crisis the world has faced, when combined with the tail end of the European gas crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Some jeepneys participating in the government’s service contracting program are allegedly not granting the mandated 20% fare discount to passengers, according to transport group MANIBELA on Wednesday.

MANIBELA chairperson Mar Valbuena told Super Radyo dzBB in an interview that passengers complained some units did not even display tarpaulins indicating the discounted fares.

“Ang sabi sa amin kahapon ng mga pasahero, kasama itong ruta na ito sa service contracting program pero hindi daw po nila inilagay yung mga tarpaulin kaya hindi sila nabibigyan ng discount,” Valbuena said.

(Passengers told us yesterday that this route is included in the service contracting program, but they said the tarpaulins were not displayed, so they weren't given a discount.)

US President Donald Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, hours before it was set to expire, to allow the two countries to continue peace talks.

In a statement on social media, Trump said he had agreed to a request by Pakistan, which has mediated peace talks, "to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal."

It was the latest instance of Trump backing down from his repeated threats to bomb power plants

President Trump said on Tuesday that the United States was considering helping the United Arab Emirates financially and a currency swap with the Middle East nation was under consideration.

"It is," Trump told CNBC when asked if a currency swap with the UAE was under consideration, calling them a good ally.

"They're really led by incredible people... I mean, I'm surprised, because they are really rich," Trump said.

"If I could help them, I would, I mean, we're helping them much more with what we're doing with the war," Trump said referring to U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.