New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) strike is set to end after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and union leaders reached an agreement.

In a post on X, Hochul said phased LIRR service is expected to resume Tuesday at noon, easing travel disruptions for hundreds of thousands of commuters across the New York region.

“Tonight, the [MTA] reached a fair deal with the five LIRR unions that delivers raises for workers while protecting riders and taxpayers,” Hochul wrote. “I’m pleased to announce that phased LIRR service will resume beginning tomorrow at noon.”

The breakthrough came after thousands of LIRR workers went on strike at midnight Saturday, effectively shutting down the nation’s busiest commuter railroad for the first time in more than three decades and threatening major economic disruption across the New York region ahead of Memorial Day.

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The strike halted service for roughly 300,000 daily riders after last-minute contract negotiations between the MTA and a coalition of five rail unions failed to produce a wage agreement.

The MTA confirmed Saturday that all LIRR service was suspended and warned there was “no substitute” for the railroad, urging commuters to work remotely if possible as officials braced for severe congestion and delays throughout the metropolitan region.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office estimated the strike could cost the regional economy up to $61 million per day in lost economic activity, as commuters scrambled for alternatives and businesses prepared for disruptions.

The labor action marked the first LIRR strike since 1994. Union leaders said workers involved in the coalition had gone more than three years without raises while negotiating a new labor agreement.  

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“This strike would not have happened if the MTA and LIRR offered our members the reasonable terms the government recommended multiple times. But management refused,” Mark Wallace, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Teamsters Rail Conference, said in a statement.

“We hope LIRR gets serious soon to avoid further unnecessary disruptions for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. They know where to find us when they’re ready: on the streets.”

MTA officials defended their bargaining position, arguing that excessive wage increases could ultimately drive up fares and strain the transit system’s finances.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the agency “cannot responsibly make a deal that implodes MTA’s budget” and warned taxpayers and riders could ultimately bear the cost of larger wage increases.

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Hochul had previously criticized the strike as “reckless,” warning it could hurt commuters, businesses and the broader regional economy.

President Donald Trump also weighed in on the dispute, blaming Hochul for allowing the strike to occur.

“If you can’t solve it, let me know, and I’ll show you how to properly get things done,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The U.S. Department of Justice has formally asked a federal court to dismiss criminal charges against Gautam Adani, an Indian billionaire accused of misleading U.S. and global investors while raising billions of dollars to finance a major solar energy project in India.

Adani, considered one of Asia’s richest individuals, allegedly promised to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure lucrative contracts. He and his executives further raised money from investors by falsely claiming the company maintained strict anti-corruption policies — all while allegedly continuing the bribery scheme and later attempting to conceal the evidence, prosecutors alleged in 2024.

Despite the severity of the allegations, the Justice Department has requested the case be dismissed “with prejudice,” indicating that the charges would be permanently dropped and may not be brought again in the future, according to court records filed Monday. Adani Group has denied the allegations, calling them baseless.

“The Department of Justice has reviewed this case and has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

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The decision to drop the charges follows an announcement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it moved for entry of final judgments by consent, subject to court approval, in a related lawsuit involving Adani. The proposed resolution would not require Gautam Adani or Sagar Adani to admit or deny the SEC’s allegations.

Beginning in 2020, Adani Green Energy Limited, led by Gautam Adani, secured a major contract to develop solar power projects in India.

However, some Indian state governments allegedly declined to purchase the electricity from the project due to high costs. 

As a result, Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, allegedly resorted to bribery, including promises of more than $250 million in payments to Indian officials, in order to secure power purchase agreements for the expensive solar energy.

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During the same period, the company required significant capital to finance the projects and raised approximately $750 million through bond sales to U.S. and global investors. 

Federal prosecutors alleged that Adani Green and related entities raised more than $3 billion through loans and bond offerings while making false and misleading statements about the company’s anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices.

Prosecutors added that, to attract investors, the company falsely portrayed itself as an industry leader in corporate governance with a strict “zero tolerance” policy on bribery.

When U.S. authorities, including the FBI and the SEC, began investigating the alleged corruption, several executives were accused by prosecutors of attempting to obstruct the inquiry by deleting emails and electronic messages, concealing information during internal investigations, and making false statements to federal agents.

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The case dismissal is contingent upon approval by Judge Nicholas Garaufis, according to the documents. 

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Oil prices slipped on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had delayed a planned military strike on Iran following requests from key Middle Eastern leaders, easing concerns over an immediate escalation that could put global crude supplies in greater jeopardy.

Trump said on Monday that he had put on hold a “scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow” after appeals from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Earlier in the day, Trump told the New York Post that Iran knows “what’s going to be happening soon,” though he did not provide further details.

Crude oil price on May 19

International benchmark Brent crude futures for July delivery dropped more than 2% to $109.15 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures fell 1.27% to $107.28 a barrel. Axios had earlier reported that Trump was considering renewed military action after Tehran’s latest proposal in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict failed to meet expectations.

Prior to his remarks on Truth Social, there had been little public indication that Washington was preparing imminent military action against Iran, a move that would likely have ended the fragile ceasefire reached on April 8.
Speaking later at a White House event, Trump said, “we were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow.” “I put it off for a little while, hopefully maybe forever, but possibly for a little while,” he said, adding that “we’ve had very big discussions with Iran, and we’ll see what they amount to.”
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have flared up once again and, while the ceasefire technically remains intact, expectations of a quick reopening of Hormuz have weakened considerably.

What are experts saying?

Analysts at Morgan Stanley said the oil market is in “a race against time,” warning that the factors keeping crude prices from rising further may fade if the Strait of Hormuz remains shut into June.

Despite disruptions impacting nearly 1 billion barrels of oil supply, crude prices remain below the highs seen in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Analysts led by Martijn Rats said the market entered the current crisis with stronger supply buffers, while investors continue to expect that the strait will eventually reopen.

Morgan Stanley also said higher U.S. crude exports and softer Chinese imports have helped cushion the market from a deeper supply shock so far. However, the brokerage warned that a prolonged closure of Hormuz could once again tighten global supplies if disruptions continue beyond what China or the United States can absorb comfortably.
Haitong Futures said markets remain cautious and warned that the ceasefire may not hold for long. The brokerage added that stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran could trigger another round of escalation and push oil prices even higher.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said earlier this month that disruptions to shipments through Hormuz could delay stability returning to oil markets until 2027, with around 100 million barrels of oil supply per week potentially affected.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)