WS #14175

The dominant theme remains the escalating US-Iran/Hormuz crisis, with multiple corroborating reports confirming Iran's continued attacks on ADNOC vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, including a third incident in less than a week. The UAE has formally accused Iran of attacking an ADNOC vessel and urged the waterway's reopening, while Iran continues talks with Oman but conditions reopening on US compliance with the June memorandum. This sustained escalation keeps oil prices elevated, benefiting energy names (XOM, CVX) and pressuring airlines (DAL, UAL). Separately, the Ukraine conflict shows a new high-impact development: a massive Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's largest Wildberries warehouse near Moscow, causing an estimated $5.7 billion in damage, with 187 drones intercepted and flights suspended at three Moscow airports. This marks an escalation in Ukraine's campaign against Russian logistics infrastructure. In the AI sector, Nvidia's $500 billion financing plan for data centers, with residual-value guarantees up to 25%, has raised concerns about 'phantom liabilities' (~$70 billion) across AI firms, potentially pressuring NVDA and related names. Additionally, the US government has told Apple to avoid sourcing memory chips from China, adding pressure on AAPL amid a global memory shortage.