WS #13749

The dominant theme remains the US-Iran/Strait of Hormuz conflict, which is ESCALATING. Iran's Revolutionary Guards explicitly stated they will not reopen the Strait until the US accepts all their conditions, calling the strait a 'theatre of war'. This is corroborated by multiple sources (Fortune, Times of Suriname, Al Jazeera, NPR) and directly contradicts any near-term de-escalation hopes, keeping oil prices elevated and pressuring global risk assets. Additionally, Houthi attacks on Saudi Aramco's Jizan refinery and Yemen's Mocha port (NPR, The National, europesays) add a fresh supply-side shock, reinforcing bullish crude and bearish airline/shipping sentiment. A potential counter-signal is the reported Oman-Iran agreement to manage the strait, but Tehran's hardline stance suggests limited immediate impact. Separately, Berkshire Hathaway's accelerated buybacks and $10B Alphabet stake increase (NY Post, Bloomberg) signal confidence in US equities, a mild positive for the broader market. Apple's testing of CXMT memory chips (WSJ via NY Post) is a notable supply-chain development with mixed implications for Apple and memory suppliers. Other items (Don Nelson death, sports, local news) are noise.