WS #5841

The dominant signal in this window is the DOJ dropping its criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, which is corroborated by multiple sources (AP, NBC, Bloomberg, ABC News, and multiple social media posts). This development likely clears the path for Kevin Warsh's Senate confirmation as the next Fed chair, reducing political uncertainty around Fed leadership. The news is bullish for markets as it removes a key overhang on Fed independence. Separately, AMD shares surged 12% on no company news, driven by analyst upgrades following Intel's strong CPU demand outlook, which also lifted NVDA. The Strait of Hormuz situation remains elevated with the US authorizing targeting of Iranian fast boats, but Iran's top diplomat traveling to Pakistan for ceasefire talks suggests potential de-escalation. Amazon's chip business scored a major win with Meta planning to use tens of millions of Graviton chips, pushing AMZN toward record highs. French power prices slumped to lowest since 2013 on solar output boom, which is bearish for traditional energy but bullish for renewable ETFs. The previous window's dominant narratives (DOJ probe drop, AMD surge, Strait of Hormuz) are carried forward as they remain active and unrefuted.