Good morning. Gas breaches $6 a gallon in California. The real reason behind ABC’s accelerated license review. And New Jersey malls offer a lesson in the cruel economics of consumerism. Listen to the day’s top stories.

— Angela Cullen

Gasoline in California has topped $6 a gallon as the global energy crunch from the Iran war reverberates. Brent crude surged through $126, with no end in sight to the conflict or choked-off energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command has asked for hypersonic missiles to be sent to the Middle East, which would mark the first time the US army has deployed those weapons. Pentagon officials put the price tag of the war at $25 billion so far, but analysts say that’s a big understatement.

Vanishing premium. Days before his first annual meeting as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Greg Abel faces a problem that seldom confronted his legendary predecessor: a floundering stock price. Once synonymous with consistent outperformance, the $1 trillion conglomerate’s shares have been trounced since Warren Buffett announced he was retiring and handing Abel the reins a year ago.

Chance encounters. A run-in 17 years ago between Lazard CEO Peter Orszag and Hungary’s then-Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai is spinning into the US investment bank’s first major acquisition: a $575 million purchase of Campbell Lutyens, the largest independent private capital adviser. Elsewhere, dealmaking is being driven less by serendipity than by necessity. A potential tie-up between AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential looks more like a marriage of convenience, as landlords grapple with sluggish rent growth and a supply glut.

Less than two years into a presidency shaken by Donald Trump, Mexican leader Claudia Sheinbaum faces her toughest test yet in managing relations with the US. She’s won praise for her even-tempered approach toward a domineering northern neighbor. But indictments in New York against current and former Mexican officials over alleged drug-related crimes have put her under unprecedented strain. And pressure is mounting at home as well.

At last. The record 74-day shutdown of the DHS is nearing an end after House Speaker Mike Johnson united fractious Republicans behind a two-part plan aimed at fully funding the agency. Homeland Security has been operating without base funding since February after Republicans and Democrats deadlocked on overhauling immigration enforcement policy.

Coming soon: Get the AI Today newsletter—chronicling the disruptions and threats of AI on businesses, workers, governments and economies with analysis from Bloomberg’s global newsroom.

Deep Dive: The ABC of TV Licenses

Photographer: Michael Le Brecht/Disney/Getty Images via Disney General Entertainment Con

The FCC’s decision this week to accelerate a license review of ABC TV stations caught many in the agency by surprise. Although it cites potential workplace discrimination as the reason, people familiar said it was precipitated by Trump’s demand for ABC to fire late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel.

• The comedian became a focus of Trump again after he made jokes at the president and first lady’s expense on his April 23 show. Trump called the quips a “despicable call to violence,” while his wife took to social media to surge ABC to “take a stand.”
• Kimmel defended his remarks, citing the First Amendment, and said a joke he made was a reference to the age gap between the couple and not to a potential assassination.
• It’s not the first time Kimmel has found himself in hot water over controversial comments. Last year, Carr urged TV stations to drop his show or potentially lose their licenses after Kimmel’s ponderings on the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
• Trump has repeatedly suggested that networks including ABC should lose their permission to broadcast due to coverage he claims is unfair to him. But actually taking a TV station off the air isn’t so easy. Here’s how broadcast licenses work in the US.

The Big Take

Illustration: 731

In just 12 years, high-speed trading startup Graviton has catapulted from $1 million into India’s first billion-dollar quant venture, competing with giants like Jane Street and Citadel. With its domestic edge fading and scrutiny rising, it’s going global to sustain growth and remain competitive.

Big Take Podcast

The Gig Economy’s Last Assignment

Opinion

Photographer: Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg

Interest rates aren’t coming down any time soon, and Trump’s theatrics will only make the stretch of monetary policy harder and more volatile, writes Jonathan Levin. It’s time to give Jerome Powell the absolute clarity he wants so he can sail off into retirement and the Warsh Fed era can begin in earnest.

More Opinions

Lara Williams

Fossil Fuels No Longer Offer Security. Clean Energy Can

JP Spinetto

Thiel Is the Latest Rabbit Milei Has Pulled From a Hat

Mary Ellen Klas

Epstein’s Victims Don’t Want a Maxwell Pardon

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Before You Go

Just four miles separate the Livingston Mall and The Mall at Short Hills in northern New Jersey. While one is thriving, the other is all but dead. It’s a lesson in the cruel economics of consumerism.

A Few More

The Messy Reality of AI’s Much Discussed Gender Gap

The Best Restaurants in Tokyo, From Value Sushi to Cult Favorite Ramen

Billionaire Joe Lewis Targets $200 Million Sotheby’s Art Auction

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