WS #11387

The dominant signal in this window is the escalation of the Strait of Hormuz crisis, with Iran warning against UK/French military deployments and offering special transit conditions to China. This is corroborated by multiple sources (Xinhua, Bloomberg, GDELT, Al Jazeera). The situation remains highly volatile, with Iran asserting control and vessels being turned back. Separately, the Ukraine-Russia conflict continues with drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, including St. Petersburg oil terminal, and NATO pledging €140B in military aid to Ukraine. On the corporate side, Alarum Technologies announced a temporary operational pause of certain network services following a security incident, which will significantly reduce service availability. The AI sector sees mixed signals: Microsoft launched a $2.5B enterprise AI venture, while Uber, Walmart, Amazon, and Meta are throttling AI coding budgets after burning through 2026 allocations by April. Bitcoin ETF outflows suggest rotation to stocks, with BTC around $62,880. The dominant narrative is ESCALATING on both the Hormuz crisis and Ukraine-Russia energy war.