WS #14061

The Middle East conflict remains in an ESCALATING phase with the Strait of Hormuz closure persisting. The UAE has formally blamed Iran for drone attacks on two ADNOC tankers, with Saudi Arabia condemning the incident, and Iran's parliament approving a strategic action plan that bans US, Israeli, and 'hostile' vessels from the strait. Oil prices are rising, with Brent around $87.90 and WTI at $82.56, heading for a 5% weekly gain. The US has lost 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones (25% of fleet, $1.3B) in the conflict, and the Pentagon faces replenishment challenges. Treasury yields remain elevated with the 10-year at 4.66% on indefinite blockade threats. In corporate news, OpenAI's revenue run rate tops $40B ahead of IPO, but the company faces executive churn with 13 departures this year. Google Cloud revenue surged 82% to $25B with 36% operating margin, reinforcing the AI capex theme. Memory names continue to rally on Sandisk's bullish outlook, with Micron up 6% today. Bitcoin remains under pressure at $62,850, with SEC shelving crypto rule meetings and RedotPay postponing its $1B IPO.