Friday's News Links

[CNBC] S&P 500 and Nasdaq drop as chipmaker sell-off intensifies; Netflix slides 11%: Live updates

[AP] Slumping AI stocks drag Wall Street lower, oil prices jump as US launches more airstrikes on Iran

[Reuters] Global stocks drop on growing semiconductor rout; oil set for weekly gain

[CNBC] Oil prices rise after Kuwait says Iran attacked water desalination and power plant

[AP] US strikes bridges and collapses a tower at a key port as its Iran campaign expands

[AP] Iranian strike damages a Kuwait desalination plant, exposing water vulnerability in dry Mideast

[Reuters] US, Iran each attack infrastructure in risky escalation

[Axios] Trump alleges vast conspiracy to commit and cover up election fraud

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Trump Stokes Doubts on US Election Security in Combative Speech

[Reuters] Trump accuses China of 2020 election interference, contradicting U.S. intel

[Axios] China's open-weight Kimi model stuns AI world with frontier-level results

[Axios] China just erased America's AI lead

[Yahoo/WSJ] AI Is Becoming a Commodity, and That’s a Problem for OpenAI and Anthropic

[Reuters] US import prices unexpectedly rise in June

[Yahoo/Reuters] US single-family housing starts, building permits fall in June

[CNBC] Homebuyer affordability slipped for fifth straight month, real estate index shows

[Yahoo/Reuters] US Corporate Insiders Are Selling Stocks at a Near Record Pace

[Axios] Summer is smoke season now

[Reuters] Bank of England says action needed on gilt repo market regulation

[Reuters] China's top airlines warn of heavy losses ahead of uncertain summer

[Reuters] Fuel crisis, attacks in Azov Sea tighten squeeze on Russian farmers

[Bloomberg] Iran Attacks Kuwait Water and Power Plants as Hostilities Worsen

[Bloomberg] China’s Powerful New AI Surprises Investors, Fueling Tech Rout

[Bloomberg] Hyperscalers Are Dragging Down Bond Gauges Across Global Markets

[Bloomberg] Japan’s ‘Decisive Action’ Threat Does Little to Scare Yen Bears

[Bloomberg] DeepSeek Champions China’s Bid to Flood the World With Cheap AI

[Bloomberg] China Warns of Severe Flood Risks, Heat Waves Through Mid-August

[NYT] Shipping in the Persian Gulf Nears a Halt and Oil Prices Rise

[NYT] A.I. Is Running on Borrowed Money

[WSJ] GOP Package to Fund Iran War Runs Into Republican Doubts

[WSJ] How Sky-high Deficits Threaten the Bond Market

[WSJ] AI’s Wider Availability Is Good for China, Not Great for OpenAI and Anthropic

[WSJ] Trump’s 25-Minute Speech Opens Can of Worms on Elections

[WSJ] China’s Moonshot AI Releases Model to Challenge Top U.S. Systems

[FT] Global tech stocks fall as AI trade goes into reverse

[FT] South Korean market’s extreme volatility alarms regulators

[FT] Why Iran is returning to war

[FT] How far will Iran go for the Strait of Hormuz?

[FT] Xi Jinping lays out China’s global AI leadership ambitions

Thursday Evening Links

[CNBC] Stock futures slip as major averages head for losing week; Netflix tumbles after earnings: Live updates

[Reuters] US launches sixth night of attacks as Iran signals it could prod Houthis to close Red Sea oil route - as it happened

[Reuters] Iran and US step up attacks, release of American in dispute

[Reuters] Canada wildfire smoke blankets US Midwest, Northeast with hazardous air

[Reuters] Fed may need to hike rates if inflation does not ease soon, Jefferson says

[Axios] Inside Bibi's mystery Trump meeting

[Bloomberg] Overlapping Disasters Challenge US Amid Trump Cuts

[NYT] Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Launches New Strikes, as Tensions Escalate Over Strait of Hormuz

[WSJ] U.S. Targets Iranian Bridges in Bid to Choke Off Regime’s Supply Routes

[WSJ] Here’s What Is Happening Behind the Market’s Swings, in Charts

[WSJ] China’s Economy Is in Worse Shape Than You Think

[FT] US chip and memory stocks slide in fresh bout of Wall Street tumult

Thursday Afternoon Links

[CNBC] S&P 500 falls as chip stocks weigh on market again: Live updates 

[Yahoo/Reuters] Oil prices dip but hold near highest in a month on Middle East tensions

[Reuters] Live: Trump and Iran trade threats over infrastructure targets, Tehran vows to defend Strait of Hormuz

[AP] US expands attacks on Iran, which calls Strait of Hormuz a ‘red line’ as it retaliates

[CNBC] Dallas Fed President Logan calls for ‘modestly’ higher interest rates

[Axios] AI buildout creates employment bottlenecks

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Oracle Risks Falling Behind in AI Race as Spending Binge Bites

[AP] Trump administration races the clock to rebuild US tariff wall knocked down by Supreme Court

[AP] Brazil calls Trump’s 25% tariff unjustifiable, vows to impose reciprocal tariffs

[Axios] Spending won't crack, despite dreadful consumer sentiment

[AP] Average 30-year US mortgage rate climbs to 6.55%, highest level in nearly a year

[Yahoo/Reuters] US home builder sentiment falls in July amid affordability challenges

[Axios] White House teleprompter operator investigated over alleged Kalshi trades on Trump speeches

[Bloomberg[ Fed’s Schmid Says Inflation Too Hot, Above Target Too Long

[Bloomberg] Dark Ships and Oman Transfers Indicate Hormuz Transits Continue

[Bloomberg] Scientists Affirm Climate Change Fuels Extreme Weather

[NYT] Americans Are Spending, and Not Just on Necessities

[WSJ] Trump Media to Sell Faster Access to President’s Social Posts

[FT] Trump administration warns leftwing extremism is ‘fatal cancer to civilisation’

[FT] Russian strikes threaten Ukraine’s Black Sea grain trade