WS #6542

The US-Iran conflict in the Strait of Hormuz continues to ESCALATE, with new attacks on Monday. The US military destroyed six Iranian fast boats and neutralized missiles/drones during 'Project Freedom' to reopen the strait, while Iran attacked a UAE oil port at Fujairah, causing a fire and injuring three Indian nationals. Brent crude surged ~6% to $114.44/bbl before easing to ~$113.76. US stocks fell (Dow -1.13%, S&P 500 -0.41%) as oil supply fears persist. The fragile ceasefire is effectively broken. Second-order effects are cascading: the RBA hiked rates to 4.35% (third consecutive hike), citing Middle East conflict driving fuel inflation and warning of possible physical oil shortages in Australia. Westpac warns of recession risk. Asian shares slid, oil prices remain elevated. In corporate news, Palantir raised annual revenue forecast on robust US government demand. OpenAI shelves robotics/hardware spinout plans per WSJ. Apple urges Supreme Court to block contempt order in Epic Games battle. Bernie Sanders accuses oil companies of profiteering and calls for windfall profits tax. The dominant narrative is ESCALATING military confrontation with sustained oil supply disruption and cascading economic impacts on central banks, airlines, consumers, and inflation globally.