WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 19: Prime Minister of Japan Sanae Takaichi looks on during a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on March 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. The two leaders discussed topics including the current conflict in Iran and the threat that is posed by China. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Hello, this is Hui Jie writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
A sensitive historical moment reared its head in the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan’s Sanae Takaichi, while Israel mulls the possibility of a “ground component” to the Iran war as the conflict approaches its fourth week.
What you need to know today
When leaders meet, there are certain bits of history best left untouched. Pearl Harbor would usually qualify.
Asked why Washington did not notify allies before striking Iran, Trump said the U.S. wanted to maintain the element of surprise.
Then, addressing the Japanese reporter who asked the question, he added: “Who knows better about that. Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor? You believe in surprise much more so than I.”
Takaichi appeared uneasy momentarily.
The reference was especially striking because the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941 killed around 2,400 Americans and drew the U.S. into World War II. Then President Franklin D. Roosevelt described it as “a date which will live in infamy.”
The awkward history lesson did little to change the present reality: the Iran war shows no sign of coming to an end. Israeli prime minster Benjamin Netanyahu said that a “ground component” may be needed to effect meaningful regime change in Tehran.
The U.S. involvement also shows no sign of abating. Defense Secetary Pete Hegseth has said the Pentagon’s $200 billion budget request for Iran war funding “could move.”
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said at a press briefing when asked to confirm the figure, underscoring how open-ended the financial commitment may become.
For markets, the message is simple and unpleasant. Energy prices are not coming down anytime soon, with Dubai crude hitting as high as $166 per barrel, giving investors a glimpse into to where U.S. and Europe prices are headed if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t opened soon.
U.S. futures were last trading at about $94 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent was at $105.4 per barrel.
— Lim Hui Jie
And finally…
Jensen Huang doesn’t need a new chip. He needs a new moat.
Nvidia dominated the first era of AI — CEO Jensen Huang is making sure it owns the next one.
He’s turning Nvidia from a chipmaker that’s helping to drive a market cycle into the operating system for the future of artificial intelligence.
At Nvidia’s annual developer conference, GTC, Huang launched NemoClaw, an open-source, chip-agnostic platform for building and deploying AI agents – autonomous software programs at the center of the latest advancements in the industry.
— Deirdre Bosa, Jasmine Wu
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