Houthi blockade, Dimon flees stocks, oil at $120

Houthi militants declared an immediate maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia, targeting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key route for oil exports that bypass the Saudi pipeline. The move could amplify supply disruptions already caused by Iran’s attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, pressuring global oil prices.

Goldman Sachs says a prolonged shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz could push Brent crude above $120 a barrel by year‑end, with average $100 next year. The bank’s worst‑case scenario underscores heightened geopolitical risk for oil‑dependent economies and could spike fuel costs worldwide.

He said investors underestimate risks from wars, US‑China tensions, and deficits; he wouldn't buy equities or long‑dated Treasurys at current levels, expecting higher rates and a risk premium. The warning signals heightened caution for market valuations.

Nvidia disclosed a 9.3% holding in Dutch AI cloud provider Nebius, sending its shares up 7% in pre‑market trading. The stake follows Nvidia’s $2 billion commitment and aligns both firms on AI infrastructure projects, highlighting the accelerating race for European AI cloud dominance.

The London Stock Exchange announced LSE 24, a new 24‑hours‑5‑days trading venue that will run from Monday to Friday. Client testing begins by end‑2026, with exchange‑traded products slated for launch in the first half of 2027, giving investors around‑the‑clock access to liquidity and supporting digital, algorithmic trading.

Boeing has asked the U.S. Trade Representative to press the EU for a full accounting of a €3 billion loan to Airbus. The move revives a long‑standing subsidy dispute just days after a tariff truce was extended, raising the specter of renewed trade tensions.

E*TRADE now lets eligible clients buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana via a Zero Hash partnership, charging a 0.5% fee. The rollout signals Morgan Stanley’s deeper commitment to digital assets, giving wealth‑management clients a regulated gateway to crypto alongside stocks and ETFs.

President Trump invoked Section 338 of the 1930 Trade Act to levy 50% tariffs on the bulk of Canadian imports, excluding energy, potash, fish and critical minerals. The move threatens to stoke inflation, disrupt supply chains and ignite a trade war as Canada vows retaliation. Markets eye the fallout ahead of the midterms.

Jersey Mike's plans to price 43.5 million shares at $21‑$25, raising roughly $1 billion and valuing the sandwich chain at $7.3‑$7.9 billion, about eight times Sweetgreen’s market cap. The IPO tests investor fervor for fast‑growing, asset‑light franchise models and could set a new benchmark for restaurant listings.

Marilee and David Kiliti sold their 89‑acre Pennsylvania farm for more than $22 million to QTS, joining 96 families that collectively off‑loaded about 1,700 acres for $586 million. The deal turns a struggling hog‑farm operation into a multimillion‑dollar windfall, reshaping the local economy while prompting some residents to push back against the data‑center expansion.

Industry reports say TSMC will add a further 5‑10% price increase in 2027 after a 15% hike on its 3nm node in late 2026. The move reflects soaring AI server demand and rising material costs, tightening margins for chip designers such as NVIDIA, AMD and Google.

Chinese authorities have met with Alibaba, ByteDance and startup Z.ai to discuss restricting overseas access to the country's most advanced AI models, including unreleased versions. The move mirrors U.S. export curbs and could drive up AI costs worldwide, reshaping the global tech supply chain.

A new arXiv study finds Google’s AI Overview feature cuts daily English‑Wikipedia visits by about 15%. The drop is largest for cultural articles, indicating that AI‑generated answers can replace traditional links and threaten publisher traffic and ad revenue.