WS #6585
The Strait of Hormuz crisis continues to escalate with Iran establishing a 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' requiring ships to register, pay tolls, and obtain permission before transiting, while Iran denies launching missile/drone attacks on UAE despite reports of air defenses engaging incoming fire. The IMF's Georgieva warns of 3-4 months of consequences even if the war ends today. Oil prices are sliding (WTI -4%, Brent -4%) as a ceasefire holds by a thread, but US gasoline stocks are sliding toward record lows as imports dry up per Morgan Stanley. On the corporate front, Micron surged 12% past $700B market cap on SSD shipping news, while Honda scraps its $11B Canadian EV plant citing weak demand. OpenAI plans to spend $50B on computing in 2026. The semiconductor rally is at dot-com bubble-era extremes per MarketWatch. Narrative arc: ESCALATING on Hormuz, but with a counter-signal of oil sliding on ceasefire hopes.
Key developments
- Iran establishes Persian Gulf Strait Authority, requiring vessel registration and tolls for Hormuz transit
- IMF's Georgieva warns of 3-4 months of consequences from Iran war even if it ends today
- Micron surges 12% past $700B market cap on SSD shipping; semiconductor rally at dot-com bubble-era extremes
- Honda scraps $11B Canadian EV plant citing weak demand
- OpenAI to spend $50B on computing in 2026
- US gasoline stocks slide toward record lows as imports dry up: Morgan Stanley
- Bitcoin extends gains to $81,500 on ETF inflows; tokenization theme gains traction
- UK 30-year gilt yields reach highest level since 1998