WS #11597

The Strait of Hormuz crisis is escalating sharply, with a fresh tanker attack reported by UKMTO (projectile strike, structural damage) and AP confirming at least two vessels struck. This is corroborated by multiple sources (MaritimeAttack, AP, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Folha de S.Paulo). Oil futures extended gains: Brent up $2/barrel. The UK/France de-mining plan suffered a setback. Separately, Ukrainian drones struck Russia's largest oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia, confirmed by satellite imagery (four impact sites), the deepest strike yet against Russian energy infrastructure. On the macro front, Fed's Williams expects falling energy prices to drive inflation down, a counter-signal to the oil spike narrative. The AI trade is losing steam: Samsung record profit but shares fell 7%, SK Hynix down 25% from ATH ahead of US listing. Chip stocks (MU, SNDK) under pressure. Apollo's Slok warned S&P 493's stalled margins are a big-tech risk. Amazon is raising $25B in bonds for AI investments. Trump signaled openness to selling F-35s to Turkey and lifting sanctions. NATO allies signed $50B in defense deals. Germany plans a $1.7B strategic natural gas reserve. The overall narrative is ESCALATING on oil/geopolitical risk, with a counter-signal from Fed's Williams on energy prices. The AI trade is DE-ESCALATING as infrastructure boom faces reality check.