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The World Today |  - US-Iran war expansion risk
- Global chip stock selloff
- Trump’s big speech
- Banks eye M&A targets
- Kalshi’s Wall St. moves
- Chinese car firms in Spain
- New cholesterol pill
- New monkey species
- UK wage transparency
- Chipotle in Mexico
 The ‘brutal ruthlessness’ behind Rupert Murdoch’s rise. |
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Iran threatens Red Sea gateway |
 ReutersThe US launched yet another wave of strikes against Iran on Thursday, as the conflict threatened to spiral into new territory. Tehran told the Houthis in Yemen to shut down a key oil route through the Red Sea if the US targets Iranian power infrastructure, Reuters reported. Houthi leaders also threatened Saudi oil facilities. The resumption of hostilities has lent fresh urgency to oil producers’ efforts to build new routes for transporting energy. Chevron is exploring a pipeline connecting Iraq’s oil patch with the Mediterranean Sea via Syria. By the end of 2027, seven projects in the region could insulate nearly half of the Gulf’s energy exports from a future Strait of Hormuz shock, Goldman Sachs estimated. |
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Markets sink on chip selloff |
 A global selloff in chip stocks dragged markets down Thursday, as record earnings from TSMC, the world’s largest chipmaker, failed to quell doubts over the sustainability of AI spending. TSMC’s stock fell after the company announced a fresh $100 billion investment for US chip fabs, signaling strong demand, but further unnerving investors concerned about “stretched valuations and ever-high expectations,” The Wall Street Journal wrote. “That tells you the AI trade isn’t being priced on growth anymore. It’s being priced on perfection,” an investment executive noted. Chip stocks have shown “meaningful cracks” in recent weeks, an analyst told Bloomberg, and “will raise some real warning flags” without a strong rebound soon. |
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SEMAFOR EXCLUSIVE Trump speech to focus on election security |
 Stoyan Nenov/ReutersUS President Donald Trump plans to use a primetime speech on Thursday to question the security of US elections, which critics say could sow mistrust in the system ahead of November’s midterms. Trump is preparing to discuss an alleged plot to manipulate Venezuelan elections that administration officials believe exposed risks to the US voting system, Semafor’s White House correspondent reported. Venezuela’s purported connection to US voting machines has been the subject of conspiracies among Trump allies dating back to the 2020 election. Some Republicans are frustrated that Trump is using the address to rehash “grievances” about his 2020 defeat instead of focusing on the economy, Politico reported. |
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Morgan Stanley hints at M&A efforts |
 Tyrone Siu/ReutersMorgan Stanley’s CEO signaled he is looking at acquisitions, as Wall Street hunts for places to spend its record earnings. Ted Pick said this week the firm is eyeing ways to “bolt on new capabilities [and] add new client relationships” — essentially dropping breadcrumbs for future M&A efforts, Semafor’s business editor wrote, noting several targets that would fuel Morgan Stanley’s crown jewel, its $8 trillion wealth-management arm, or expand its reach into retirement services, which has become one of the hottest corners of finance. Some industry watchers told Bloomberg that smaller deals involving regional banks and wealth managers are driving the financial services M&A landscape, reflecting a shift away from mega-transactions. |
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Kalshi deepens its Wall St. bet |
 Kirby Lee/Imagn Images via ReutersKalshi is extending its reach on Wall Street. The prediction market platform has launched 13 wagers on the outcome of clinical drug trials, expanded contracts that track the cost of AI compute, and unveiled its own version of the Bloomberg terminal. Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket “can evolve past their casino roots to become key players in financial markets and useful economic hedges,” Semafor’s Liz Hoffman wrote: Ski resorts, for example, could theoretically bet on the weather to offset the risk of a low-snow season. Kalshi is also cracking down on insider trading; the latest case involved Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator, who was accused of betting on what the president would say in speeches. |
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Spain welcomes Chinese EVs |
 Spain is deepening its embrace of the Chinese car industry even as other European powers call for protectionist measures to shield local automakers. A Spanish factory built by Chinese battery giant CATL and carmaker Stellantis will rely on workers brought from China during construction, Bloomberg reported. Two other industrial ventures with Chinese auto companies are in the works. One out of every 10 new cars registered in the EU in May was made by a Chinese brand, but that momentum could slow if Brussels ramps up trade-defense measures. China has developed a “pirate model” that relies on cloning designs, extracting technology, and subsidizing local champions, a White House trade adviser argued: “This will not end well unless the West unites.” |
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FDA approves cholesterol pill |
 Brendan McDermid/ReutersUS drug regulators signed off on a new pill designed to lower cholesterol levels far beyond what traditional statins can achieve. Merck’s Lipfendra achieved similar results to injectable treatments, potentially heralding a new era of easier prevention for people wanting to bring down artery-clogging cholesterol. “This is a game changer,” one cardiologist said, adding that many patients were hesitant to go on the injection treatment. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US, so a more powerful and accessible option could help more people manage the risk. Merck could soon have competition in the field: AstraZeneca is also working on a cholesterol pill. |
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|  Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet walked away from $1 billion in annual revenue as he pulled back from retail outlets where “frankly, we weren’t proud of being.” The decision reflected the challenge that has defined his leadership: how to bring greater business logic to a brand built on dreams and creative instinct without squeezing out its magic. After nearly three decades at Procter & Gamble, Louvet had to unlearn some of the data-driven instincts that had shaped his career. In the latest episode of The CEO Signal, presented by PwC, he tells Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson why balancing “magic and logic” became a useful way to think about the business — and how a company with no shortage of opportunities decides what not to do. |
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New monkey species in DR Congo |
 Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society/Handout via ReutersScientists identified a new monkey species in the DR Congo. Colobus congoensis weighs about 15 lb, has startling orange lips, and “a thatch of fine white hair on its butt,” per Scientific American. Discoveries of new primate species are not uncommon — more than 60 new ones have been named this century, mainly in Madagascar and Amazonia. Some researchers argue much of this is “taxonomic inflation”: One group of 1,000 individuals might not seem endangered, but two groups of 500 both might be, incentivizing conservationists to split existing species up. C. congoensis is unusual in that it is a clearly distinct, previously undescribed species, rather than a revision of a known population as a full species. |
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UK explores wage transparency in job ads |
 Maja Smiejkowska/ReutersThe UK is exploring measures that would require employers to publish salary information for all job adverts, part of a global trend toward wage transparency. Proponents argue that explicitly revealing pay ranges will improve fairness and help people navigate the jobs market. Most OECD countries and 18 US states now have some salary transparency requirement. The EU’s version came into force last month, but only four countries met the deadline. There are potential downsides: New hires being visibly paid more than existing staff could create resentment, and some studies suggest transparency can lead to lower average wages by transferring bargaining power to the employer. Companies sometimes skirt the issue by publishing wide salary ranges, which could deter women from applying. |
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Chipotle opens first Mexico outlet |
 Kent J. Edwards/ReutersUS fast-food chain Chipotle opened its first outlet in Mexico on Thursday, selling the country’s food back to itself. There have been other coals-to-Newcastle moves before, mostly with a disappointing record: Domino’s Pizza entered the Italian market in 2015, but closed its last store in 2022; Taco Bell made similar attempts in Mexico but pulled out. It was briefly believed the US chain Panda Express had opened a franchise in China, but it turned out to be an unauthorized copy. Starbucks was better at selling espresso to the Italians — it has about 50 locations there — while there are seven Australian branches of the Florida-based Outback Steakhouse, although none of its founders or, really, its offerings have much connection to Australia. |
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|  An antidote to doomscrolling. When was the last time the news made you feel hopeful? Nice News can do that for you — every single day. The free newsletter covers interesting, uplifting stories that prove there’s more good out there than we think. Start reading for free. |
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|  July 17: - Andy Burnham becomes leader of the UK’s Labour Party.
- Travelers, Sandvik, and Fifth Third Bancorp report quarterly earnings.
- The World Artificial Intelligence Conference kicks off in Shanghai.
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|  Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family –– and the World by Gabriel Sherman. Rupert Murdoch entered the media business in the 1950s when, as a bookish Oxford matriculate, he inherited a handful of Australian newspapers from his father, eventually building an empire spanning five continents. Sherman’s book, which tracks Murdoch’s journey as he “borrowed his way to dominance in a consolidating media landscape,” illustrates the “brutal ruthlessness that shaped his legacy as a businessman, husband and father,” NPR wrote. Buy Bonfire of the Murdochs from your local book store. |
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Welcome to my geopolitics blog site. This is a Hawaii Island news site focusing on geopolitical news, analysis, information, and commentary. I will cite a variety of sources, ranging from all sides of the political spectrum.