Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on the stories moving the needle.
Oil is back under pressure this afternoon as the U.S.-Iran deal governing the Strait of Hormuz shows fresh signs of strain. Tanker traffic through the critical waterway did jump following the initial agreement, but lingering questions about what happens when that toll-free window closes are rattling energy markets, and traders are pricing in the uncertainty.
Shifting to the labor picture, Yale Budget Lab researchers are pushing back on the more alarming AI narratives, finding that artificial intelligence is not causing mass unemployment, at least not yet. The pattern looks closer to the internet's early adoption curve — jobs are changing shape rather than disappearing outright, though companies are clearly using the moment to reassess headcount and cost structures.
And in the talent wars between the big platforms, X is now openly recruiting Meta employees, with product lead Nikita Bier offering to match or beat any snack budget Meta throws at its staff. It reads like a punchline, but underneath it is a serious competition for engineering talent as both companies accelerate costly AI pivots and absorb the morale damage from repeated rounds of layoffs.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
