WS #12484

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate with multiple corroborating reports of new airstrikes on Iran, a Saudi vessel struck in the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump's warning that Iran will 'pay many times over' for every American soldier killed. Iran has rejected a 10-day ceasefire, and the Houthis have declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. The narrative remains firmly ESCALATING, with oil supply disruption fears intensifying. Separately, a federal judge has temporarily paused the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, with multiple sources confirming the TRO. Google is developing a new AI inference chip 'Frozen v2' for Gemini, signaling continued AI infrastructure spending, bullish for custom silicon enablers like AVGO, TSM, and MRVL, but slightly bearish for NVDA's inference market share. The UK's 10-year borrowing cost rose above 5% on concerns over new PM Burnham's fiscal plans. A Philippine sailor was injured in a clash with Chinese coast guard, escalating South China Sea tensions.