WS #15611

Geopolitical tensions are escalating sharply, with Houthi forces striking Riyadh airport and Russian drones targeting the Omsk and Ukhta refineries. This escalation directly impacts energy and shipping, pressuring airlines and refiners while benefiting domestic energy producers. Concurrently, the US political landscape is fracturing with a White House probe into Fed official Lisa Cook, raising institutional risk premiums. In equities, the AI narrative is bifurcating: while OpenAI's $50B revenue validates the sector's scale, Broadcom's $60B funding for Anthropic signals a massive capital shift away from Nvidia-centric models, creating a mixed signal for the chip sector. Nvidia faces headwinds from record insider selling. Meanwhile, consumer weakness is evident as Apple cuts iPhone orders and US debt problems flash recession warnings. Crypto markets are under pressure with $484M in ETF outflows, though Polymarket data suggests a floor around $80k. SpaceX's spectrum acquisition is reshaping the telecom landscape, boosting satellite infrastructure (SIRI) while pressuring terrestrial carriers.