WS #12005

The US-Iran conflict has escalated dramatically in the last 30 minutes. President Trump announced the US will reinstate a naval blockade on Iran and impose a 20% fee on all commercial cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz, claiming it is a matter of fairness. This was followed by confirmation that US Central Command has launched a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran, with Trump stating the US will hit Iran 'very hard tonight and tomorrow.' Iran's military has reportedly targeted US facilities in Kuwait with drone strikes, and explosions have been heard on Iran's Kish Island and in Bandar Abbas. The situation is escalating rapidly, with no de-escalation signals. This geopolitical crisis is likely to push oil prices sharply higher, benefiting energy stocks while hurting airlines, consumer stocks, and broad market indices. Separately, a federal judge voided a Trump IRS settlement, and California's attorney general sued to block the Warner Bros/Paramount merger. The Fed is projected to hike rates by September, according to Fed's Waller. Google is positioning its TPUs as a lower-cost alternative to Nvidia GPUs, with Nvidia offering financial guarantees to counter this.