WS #5800

The data window shows a significant escalation in the Strait of Hormuz crisis, with Iran's parliament speaker reportedly resigning from the negotiating team and the US Navy ordered to engage threats. Oil prices are surging, with Brent crude up over 5%. This is a high-significance geopolitical event with direct market implications for energy, airlines, and consumer sectors. Separately, Meta announced layoffs of 8,000 employees (10% of workforce) while massively increasing AI investment to $135 billion, and Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to 7% of US staff. These tech layoffs signal cost-cutting to fund AI capex, which could pressure tech stocks near-term but support AI-related names. Intel reported strong earnings beating estimates, driven by AI demand and a new Tesla customer win. Tesla also announced plans for a massive AI chip factory (Terafab) with Intel's 14A process, which is bullish for Intel and Tesla. The Paramount-Warner merger is advancing with shareholder approval, though regulatory review remains. Other items are noise or low-significance.