WS #10830

The dominant signal in this window is the escalating Iran-US military confrontation, with multiple corroborating reports of Iranian drone attacks on Bahrain and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and US retaliatory strikes. Trump confirmed Iran breached the ceasefire, targeting ships with drones. This marks a clear escalation from the previous stable narrative, with direct implications for oil prices and shipping. Separately, Anthropic's Fable 5 model is on track to be restored for US customers, per Axios, which could boost AI sentiment. The European heatwave continues to break records, with temperatures 5-12°C above average, raising climate inflation concerns. Australia is doubling penalties for social media ban breaches to $99M, targeting Meta and others. Tech slump deepens per Bloomberg, with NASDAQ down 1.49% and breadth deteriorating. Berkshire CEO Greg Abel was sworn in as a US citizen, which may have implications for succession and tax planning. QuidelOrtho plans to sell its testing unit for $1.5B per FT. Persistent Systems is bidding €81/share for Nagarro, a ~100% premium. Volkswagen plans to cut 100,000 jobs and close four plants per Manager Magazin, confirming earlier reports. The heatwave is causing record temperatures in Europe, with over 300 heat-related deaths in Spain last week.