Amy Morris

At a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth said many of Iran's troops are deserting and its leaders are frustrated.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Sources tell Bloomberg Christine Lagarde has challenged Treasury Secretary Scott Besant's optimism that the Iran war's economic fallout will be short-lived.

The president of the European Central Bank told Besant and other G7 officials that the effects of the war would be felt for a long time because so much has already been destroyed.

U.S.

Trade Representative Jameson Greer says preparations for President Trump's meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are on track after that high-profile summit was postponed to May because of the war in Iran.

Greer believes relations between the U.S.

and China are getting better.

Trade Representative Jameson Greer spoke exclusively on Bloomberg surveillance.

Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmidt cautioned that the U.S.

central bank should not look through the impact on inflation of a surge in energy prices stemming from the conflict in Iran.

He says the increase in oil and gas prices will likely feed through to core inflation through items like airfares and other transportation costs.

Schmidt says he's concerned inflation will get stuck closer to 3 percent, and he's more focused on the risks to inflation at this time.

Warren Buffett warns he's seeing signs of fragility emerging in the banking system as it's become more connected to non-bank players, telling CNBC that if panic sweeps through the markets, a lot of investors will likely head for the exits and that this should be a priority for the Fed.

The 95-year-old Buffett recently stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Job openings fell and hiring slowed notably in February, pointing to a cooler labor demand before the war in Iran triggered additional uncertainty.

The Labor Department says vacancies decreased to 6.88 million from an upwardly revised 7.24 million in January.

The pullback in openings was driven by declines in accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, and manufacturing.

U.S.

consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in March on slightly more upbeat views of business and labor market conditions.