WS #8525

The dominant narrative remains the US-Iran situation, which is STABLE with no escalation. Treasury Secretary Bessent spoke at the Reagan National Economic Forum, stating the US has seized $1B in Iranian crypto assets, that nothing has changed regarding the dollar's reserve currency status, and that any blockade relief will be slow. He also said Trump made the decision on Warsh as Fed chair and that the Fed will see more focus and credibility. However, a White House official anonymously stated that after Trump's two-hour Situation Room meeting, no deal was reached and the administration still hasn't figured out how to end the Iran conflict. This conflicting messaging highlights uncertainty. Separately, a federal judge permanently blocked Trump from adding his name to the Kennedy Center and enjoined its closure. In corporate news, Devon Energy received an ~$8B offer from Stone Ridge for its Marcellus position, funded by the largest ABS financing in US oil and gas. Dell soared most in two years on a strong outlook. Coinbase became the first US exchange allowed to offer global crypto perpetual futures trading. A large dark pool order of 883,600 AAPL shares at $311.11 was detected. The dominant theme is STABLE with no escalation in US-Iran tensions, but the conflicting signals from Bessent and the anonymous official add uncertainty.