WS #11717

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate, with new US strikes near Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant and Asaluyeh, and Iran threatening a 'hard slap'. Oil prices jumped more than 5% after Trump declared the ceasefire 'over', with Brent crude near $79/bbl. However, Iran's IRGC Navy stated the Strait of Hormuz traffic capacity has returned to 50% of pre-war levels, a partial counter-signal to the oil supply disruption thesis. The Ukraine-Russia energy war intensifies: Ukrainian drones struck two Russian oil depots (Tver and Stavropol) and the KINEF refinery, while Russia scrambled Su-57 jets to defend Omsk refinery but failed to stop a halt in crude processing. Russia has reportedly quit exporting diesel fuel due to damage to its oil infrastructure, which could further tighten global diesel supplies. On the corporate front, Apple is in talks with startup PrismML to bring massive AI models directly to iPhone, a bullish signal for on-device AI (AAPL) and a potential threat to cloud AI providers. Micron (MU) boosted US investment plans to over $250B through 2035 and began construction on the largest US semiconductor fab in New York, three months ahead of schedule. A dark pool alert showed a $157.71M institutional buy in MU. Starbucks is developing AI tools to replace some Microsoft and IBM applications, weighing on IBM (down 5% premarket). Simply Good Foods (SMPL) surged 19% premarket after beating low expectations and raising FY26 guidance. Levi's stock tumbled 4% despite a Q2 earnings beat and raised guidance. The narrative arc for US-Iran is ESCALATING, Ukraine-Russia energy war is ESCALATING, and the Apple-PrismML development is a bullish signal for on-device AI.