☕️ Oil plunges 5% as US and Iran halt strikes

Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Finpresso.

In today's newsletter:

🛢️ Oil plunges 5% as US and Iran halt strikes

💰 Nvidia may back OpenAI's data center deal

🚢 US and UK plan Hormuz security summit

💶 Europe's new crypto rules could trigger a merger wave

🇨🇳 Chinese chipmaker CXMT becomes most valuable listed firm

Plus: 🌍 7 macro news, 🏢 10 corporate news, 💰 7 deal flow, and 📑 5 research & reports.

📊 Before The Bell

• Oil prices dropped more than 5% in early Asian trading Monday after the US and Iran both paused their two-week bombing campaign, unwinding a war premium that had pushed Brent crude above $100 a barrel.
• WTI crude fell 5.39% to $84.47 while Brent slid 5.15% to $91.80, as traders cashed in profits following weeks of buying, though the article notes prices can only stay down if tanker traffic meaningfully recovers.
• The pause was helped by domestic pressure on President Trump — US midterm elections are 100 days away and gasoline averages above $4 per gallon — but shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea will take time to ease.

• Nvidia is in early talks to provide a financing guarantee of up to $250 billion to help OpenAI lease computing from a $500 billion, 10-gigawatt data center complex that SoftBank is building in Ohio for 2028.
• The arrangement highlights the circular financing behind the AI boom, in which Nvidia backs projects that ultimately buy its chips, and would help SoftBank borrow more capital for the project developed by its SB Energy subsidiary.
• The move looks supportive for AI infrastructure firms like CoreWeave and Crusoe Energy and counters recent investor worries about overbuilding, echoing Alphabet's higher capex last week, with attention now on Microsoft, Amazon and Meta earnings.

• The U.S. and U.K. plan to convene defense ministers and military commanders from Western and regional countries in London next week to discuss an international coalition to protect commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
• Reopening the strait is central to a U.S. exit from its war with Iran and to stabilizing global energy markets, after Iran began attacking ships two weeks ago and the U.S. responded with daily strikes on Iranian targets.
• Washington wants allies to send de-mining vessels, naval ships and drones to secure the lanes, though many countries insist fighting must stop first; Iranian attacks have paused for four days as Oman-led talks resume in Tehran.

• The European Commission has opened a formal review of MiCA, its EU-wide crypto rulebook, aiming to extend coverage to stablecoins issued by non-EU firms and to newer products, with amendments targeted for 2027.
• The review responds to a market that has outgrown rules drafted in 2018-2019: total crypto value rose from $3.3 trillion in May 2025 to $4.2 trillion that October, while the US GENIUS Act created a rival federal stablecoin framework.
• Two consultations run until 30 September 2026, affecting the 280 crypto firms now authorized under MiCA, with officials seeking "equivalence" rules to hold foreign stablecoin issuers to comparable audit and reserve standards or curb their EU access.

• AMD has positioned itself as a serious contender in AI chips under CEO Lisa Su, breaking Nvidia's near-total grip through a landmark supply deal with OpenAI that could reshape the market for inference computing.
• The centerpiece is an agreement worth more than $100 billion under which OpenAI committed to buying 10 gigawatts of AMD's GPUs, with AMD offering the AI firm a stake of up to 10% in the chipmaker in return.
• The deal also pushes OpenAI to adopt AMD's ROCm software, a foothold against Nvidia's ecosystem, and Meta signed a similar agreement, while AMD's chiplet design and its ZT Systems acquisition target the fast-growing inference market.

🌍 Macro News

• KB Kookmin will launch blockchain-based cross-border payments on JPMorgan's Kinexys network. LINK
• Long-term Treasury yields rose on inflation fears and rising government borrowing needs. LINK
• EU Commission urges suspending methane-law penalties on oil and gas firms for three years. LINK
• China added 14 European firms to export controls, matching EU's Russia-related sanctions. LINK
• EU added Justin Sun's HTX crypto exchange to its Russia sanctions list. LINK
• Takaichi's unfunded ¥370tn industrial investment plan draws Liz Truss comparisons, rattling markets. LINK
• European gas prices fell sharply after US paused strikes and Iran signaled de-escalation. LINK

🏢 Corporate News

• Nvidia's Huang urged unregulated open AI models while defending continued AI spending. LINK
• EU fined Google 890 million euros for antitrust violations, prompting Trump tariff threats. LINK
• Multiverse Computing raised $570 million at a $2.3 billion valuation. LINK
• Upstart won conditional OCC approval to launch its own national bank. LINK
• China fined Trip.com 5.2 billion yuan for abusing market dominance in hotel bookings. LINK
• Israel scrapped a $390 million grant to Intel after expansion delays. LINK
• Mobileye shares fell 15% after CEO Amnon Shashua announced his departure. LINK
• DeepSeek paused its second fundraising round amid US-China AI tension comments. LINK
• Crypto exchange BitMart will shut down after nine years of operation. LINK
• Triple-A hot-wallet breach losses reached $11.8 million as attack continues. LINK

📈 Stocks

📑 Research & Reports

• Global household wealth rose a record $40 trillion in 2025, McKinsey says. LINK
• S&P 500 closed below its 50-day average amid AI spending concerns. LINK
• AMD now has a real chance to narrow Nvidia's AI chip lead. LINK
• Bank of America survey shows investor sentiment strongest since February 2026. LINK
• Middle East conflict pushed Brent crude above $100, ending oversupply predictions. LINK

💰 Deal Flow

• Nvidia secured up to $500 billion in AI memory supply from SK Hynix. LINK
• HCLTech will build a $1.6 billion AI data centre in Odisha. LINK
• Verizon signed a $1 billion AI infrastructure deal with Google using dark fiber. LINK
• Nigeria's Dangote refinery raised $2.5 billion to fund a major expansion. LINK
• Sam Altman-backed World raised $52.5 million selling WLD tokens to investors. LINK
• Mobix Labs shares rose after agreeing to buy drone maker Vision Aerial. LINK
• KKR and Energy Capital Partners will buy DCC Energy for £5.7 billion. LINK

📅 Market Calendar

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