WS #12525

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate with no signs of de-escalation. A commercial tanker was reportedly attacked in the Strait of Hormuz during the 10th consecutive night of US strikes on Iran, and vessel traffic through the strait has plummeted 66%. Israeli strikes killed 4 in southern Lebanon, adding a new front. On the trade front, Trump's 50% tariff on Canadian goods under Section 338 is still in effect, with a bipartisan House vote to overturn it being largely symbolic. In tech, AMD launched 'Helios', a complete AI system that has already secured Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, and Oracle as customers, potentially challenging Nvidia's near-monopoly in data-center GPUs. China is stepping up efforts to stabilize its stock market amid a tech-driven selloff. The US-Iran conflict is ESCALATING, while the Canada tariff story is STABLE (no new developments). The AMD Helios launch is a new positive signal for AMD and a potential headwind for NVDA.