WS #11856

The US-Iran conflict is escalating sharply after a ceasefire collapse, with Iran threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz and attack two targets for every US strike. The US demands Iran publicly guarantee safe passage. This has driven oil prices higher, with gold at $4,111/oz and fuel prices spiking despite crude easing. The IMF downgraded global growth to 3% citing the Iran war energy shock. Meanwhile, SK Hynix's record $26.5B US IPO surged 12.76% on debut, with management warning 2027 will be the worst supply year in industry history. Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for alleged trade secret theft via former employees. Meta disabled an AI image feature days after launch. Berkshire Hathaway's $8.5B Taylor Morrison acquisition faces a shareholder vote on July 22. The Magnificent Seven index is flat YTD, with software and cloud names seen as catch-up trades.