WS #12646

The US-Iran conflict has escalated sharply with the US launching new strikes on Iran on July 24, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim to have destroyed an Amazon data center in Bahrain. Iran also declared British bases in the Middle East as 'legitimate targets,' and Houthi rebels attacked Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, sending oil prices skyrocketing. Brent crude fell 2.69% to $97.98 on profit-taking, but the geopolitical risk premium remains elevated. Only one oil tanker transited the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the lowest since May 7, signaling severe disruption to global oil flows. The narrative arc is ESCALATING, with no counter-signals. Separately, BlackRock kicked off a $12.3 billion bond sale for a Meta data center, and Verizon signed a $1 billion dark fiber deal with Google. Intel's Q1 results showed strong DCAI growth but a large foundry loss, and the company may scrap leading-edge nodes if no external customer signs on for Intel 14A. The Kospi fell 5.72%, with the selloff crossing into China and the US. The S&P 500 forward P/E fell below 20x. US Bitcoin ETFs saw $225M outflow, ending a $1B inflow run. The Russian Central Bank cut rates to 14% but warned of higher inflation. Trump and Ukraine's Zelenskiy are set to meet in Washington on July 28.