🔥 Top Stories
• U.S.-Iran escalation widens — Fresh U.S. strikes hit Iranian military, ports, bridges and air defenses; Iran says it will retaliate, raising war-risk headlines and pushing oil higher
• Hormuz disruption risk spikes — Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz nearly halted; Gulf states issued alerts/sirens as maritime insurance costs jumped
• Oil, gold and bonds react — Brent neared $79, WTI jumped above $75, and gold held above $4,100 as inflation and supply-shock fears returned

⛽ Oil & Energy
• Hormuz/Red Sea flows under pressure — Maersk rerouted one service via the Red Sea while ship traffic in Hormuz slowed sharply
• Global energy supply jitters — Norway flagged rising output losses; Kazakhstan’s Atyrau refinery resumed early; Colombia oil output also slipped
• OPEC+ geopolitics — Iraq said it will stay in OPEC but wants a fairer quota amid broader regional tension

📊 Markets & Macro
• Risk-off then selective rebound — Asia traded mixed as tech shares helped South Korea/Japan recover while Australia lagged on oil shock worries
• Rates on the move — JGB yields hit multi-decade highs; BoJ and regional reports flagged faster cost pass-through and rising wage pressure
• China macro mixed — June CPI came in soft at 1.0% y/y while PPI held at 4.1% y/y, reinforcing deflation/weak-demand concerns
• Germany trade beats — Better-than-expected exports and a larger trade surplus signaled some external resilience

🌍 Geopolitical
• Gulf security alerts spread — Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar activated sirens/alerts; Kuwait said it intercepted missiles and drones
• Iran broadens retaliation narrative — IRGC claimed U.S. sites in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar were targeted; Iran also reported casualties from U.S. strikes
• Ukraine war still escalatory — Reports said Putin is unlikely to negotiate while attacks continue; EU readies fresh Russia sanctions

🪙 Crypto & DeFi
• AscendEX shuts down — Crypto exchange closure raises user payout concerns
• Stablecoin rails expand — Sony Bank won conditional U.S. trust-bank approval for a dollar-backed stablecoin; Hyundai Card completed an Avalanche/Tether pilot
• OpenAI/AI adjacent — OpenAI released national security principles and prepared its next-gen GPT launch; Coinbase had a trading outage on prediction markets

🏛️ Regulatory & Policy
• Fed split, Warsh hearing ahead — Minutes showed officials divided on rates; Warsh is set to testify July 15
• Trade policy watch — U.S. Treasury is weighing Spanish products for possible embargo action; China moved to curb risky LGFV short-term bond issuance
• Antitrust/audit scrutiny — Australia launched a review of Big Four audit complaints; France’s Nvidia probe neared conclusion

🏢 Corporate
• PepsiCo beats on revenue — Q2 core EPS $2.20 topped estimates and revenue beat, while FY organic growth guidance held
• AstraZeneca slumps — Wainua data failure sent shares down about 9%, the biggest one-day drop since 2020
• Lilly takes a hit — Q2 IPR&D charges came in at $2.8B pre-tax, weighing on earnings optics
• Chip/AI names stay hot — SK Hynix demand stayed strong; Samsung and Korean equities swung on AI-led volatility; Zhipu AI fundraising drew heavy demand
• Big M&A and restructuring — Paramount-Warner Bros deal faces possible state lawsuits; Volkswagen finalized 50,000 job cuts; Deutz agreed to buy FFG for €1.6B

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