AP Business SummaryBrief at 12:02 a.m. EDT

Iran war underscores risks of Trump's relentless focus on oil

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he knew oil prices would go up because of the Iran war as the conflict underscores the risks of his relentless focus on fossil fuels while pursuing what he calls American energy dominance. An access point for global oil called the Strait of Hormuz is effectively blocked by Iran as crude oil prices rise above $100 a barrel and gasoline prices surge toward $4 a gallon. Experts say Trump’s strategy of blocking clean energy including wind and solar power makes the U.S. more vulnerable to supply shocks caused by the war. The Republican president has moved to release millions of barrels of oil from a strategic reserve.

Brent crude briefly tops $119 per barrel, before receding, and shakes stock markets worldwide

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices jumped to market-shaking levels but then eased back late in the day, helping Wall Street to pare its losses. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Thursday after trimming an earlier drop of 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. Stocks fell much more in Europe and Asia after the price of Brent crude briefly topped $119 per barrel but before oil prices pared their gains late in the day. They're the latest manic swings for oil prices and stocks since the war in Iran raised worries about production troubles in the Middle East.

Student loans to go to Treasury Department as Trump continues to dismantle Education Department

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Education Department is handing off a portion of its student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department. It's a first step toward shedding management of all student loans as Trump administration officials dismantle the federal education agency. Under an agreement announced Thursday, the Treasury Department will take over management of student loans whose borrowers are in default, meaning they are months behind on payments. Those loans add up to about $180 billion, or 11% of the government’s $1.7 trillion student loan portfolio. A second phase with no timeframe says Treasury will “assume operational responsibility” over non-defaulted loans, “to the extent practicable.”

Israel hits Tehran with airstrikes on Persian New Year as war jolts energy markets

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel has pounded Tehran with airstrikes as Iranians mark Nowruz, or the Persian New Year. The attacks Friday came a day after Israel pledged to refrain from more strikes on a key Iranian gas field after Iran intensified its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that, at the request of President Donald Trump, Israel will hold off on any further attacks on Iran’s South Pars gas field. In retaliation, Tehran has targeted energy production, further stressing global supplies already under pressure because of Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz. That’s a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.

Asia scrambles to conserve energy as Iran war disrupts oil and gas supplies

NEW DELHI (AP) — Asian countries are racing to save energy and shield consumers as the war on Iran disrupts oil and gas flows. Since Feb. 28, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply, and energy prices climbed. Experts at the U.N. and other groups warn the shock hit Asia hardest because it depends on imported fuel. Japan tapped stockpiles as gasoline prices rise. South Korea leaned on reserves and expanded coal and nuclear power. China has used big reserves and more renewables, but travel costs are rising. Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines added subsidies and controls. Pakistan, India, and Nepal rationed fuel.

The Strait of Hormuz has a long history of disruption

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran has thrust the Strait of Hormuz into the crosshairs of yet another geopolitical conflict. Nearly all traffic in the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe’s oceans has been ground to a halt, cutting off a critical passageway for the world’s flow of oil. Over the years, Tehran repeatedly threatened to close the strait in response to sanctions, for example, but never ended up cutting off traffic entirely. Still, ship seizures and past fighting in the region have raised alarm for commercial vessels, at times severely disrupting their ability to sail through.

Where will TSA lines be the longest tomorrow? During a shutdown, nobody knows

The wait times at airport security checkpoints have become a guessing game during the shutdown of a single U.S. government department. Absences among Transportation Security Administration officers are a major factor in determining whether or not lines move quickly. The roughly 50,000 federal workers who screen passengers and bags have been working without pay while lawmakers fail to agree on funding the Department of Homeland Security. The department said on Thursday that about 10% of TSA officers nationwide missed work each day between Monday and Wednesday, when airports in Atlanta and Houston saw absentee rates of about 38%.

DOJ investigation into Powell could backfire on Trump and keep Fed chair in office

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has for months wanted to remove Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve. But instead, an investigation by one of his own officials could end up extending Powell’s time at the top of the central bank even after his term formally ends May 15. Trump has nominated former Fed official Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell. Yet Warsh’s confirmation has been delayed by the Justice Department's investigation into brief comments Powell made before the Senate Banking Committee last June about the Fed’s building renovation. On Wednesday, Powell said he would remain as chair of the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee after his term ends if no successor has been confirmed. And he said he could stay even longer if the investigation continues.

The targeting of key Gulf energy infrastructure raises the risk of long-term disruption

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Escalating attacks on key oil and gas facilities in the Persian Gulf have increased the risk of an extended bout of higher prices for everything from gasoline and electricity to computer chips and food. Iran launched strikes on key Gulf infrastructure Thursday in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a natural gas field that supplies most of the country’s natural gas. The tit-for-tat attacks have raised fears that the initial price shocks at the start of the war may become more entrenched. Gulf countries have already cut production at oil wells after the risk of Iranian strikes blocked most of the tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving the oil no place to go.

Jurors wade through daunting evidence in high-stakes Meta trial about social media risks to children

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A daunting stream of testimony and documentation has been presented in a New Mexico case that explores what Meta knew about the effects of its platforms on children. State prosecutors allege Meta knew about the risks its platforms — Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp — pose to children but failed to warn users. Meta says it's been forthright about risks while continuously striving to improve safeguards. The trial is approaching its seventh week. Jurors aren't deliberating yet. But if they find that Meta violated state consumer protection laws, prosecutors say sanctions could be in the billions of dollars. Meta, however, says it would ask for a different calculation than prosecutors have proposed.