AI Summary
5 min readOil futures climbed back toward $100 a barrel on Thursday after Iran-backed Houthi militants claimed attacks on a pair of Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, adding a new dimension to a Middle East conflict that already involves active flare-ups in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. Analysts have begun warning of the risk to energy markets of simultaneous supply disruptions in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments. At the same time, the U.S. is surging special operations forces to the region, putting bombers on both sides of the Atlantic on high alert and sending over 150 medics to a military hospital in Germany. Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the preparations as part of a broader escalation: “The problem with Iran is every time they make a deal, the people that are in charge there, they either break it, or they want to change it. So it looks like they're not ready to make a deal. So they're going to continue to pay a price. And they're going to every night the price gets higher and higher and higher.”
Tech giants stumble on AI spending shock
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:33) **Oil Nears $100 on Middle East Tensions** - Houthi militants attack Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, while the U.S. surges special forces and bombers as Trump considers expanding the conflict against Iran.
- 2 (02:04) **E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Taco Bell** - Over 70 cases reported; outbreak tied to shredded Mexican iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms, which has been pulled from the market.
- 3 (02:53) **Union Pacific-CN Rail Deal Boosts Merger Prospects** - Union Pacific reaches a deal with Canadian National Railway to end CN's opposition to the $70 billion+ Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern tie-up, in exchange for Midwest train operating rights.
- 4 (03:26) **Alphabet Tumbles Despite Earnings Beat** - New disclosures show Google's capital spending will cross $200 billion for the first time, and its free cash flow turned negative due to AI infrastructure build-out.
- 5 (05:01) **Tesla Shares Drop as Investors Focus on Future Bets** - Despite a 25% revenue jump, the company offers no clear timeline for scaling its Robotaxi or Optimus projects, and Musk discusses a potential SpaceX-Tesla merger.
- 6 (06:14) **STMicroelectronics and Nokia Earnings Divergence** - STMicro shares plunge despite raising data center targets, while Nokia shares rise on AI and cloud customer growth in the Americas.
- 7 (07:18) **Chinese Auto Makers Surge in Europe, Pressuring Legacy Brands** - Chinese brands record massive June sales gains, while Volkswagen and BMW face steep declines in China deliveries, forcing executives to consider workforce adjustments.
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Show Notes
A.M. Edition for July 23. Oil futures are rising again today, after Iran-backed Houthi militants claimed attacks on a pair of Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, and as the U.S. surges special-operations forces to the Middle East. Plus, Alphabet and Tesla shares tumble as the big-spending tech giants turn cash-flow negative. WSJ reporters Meghan Brobowsky and Becky Peterson break down the numbers and what to make of Elon Musk’s most boring earnings call ever. And the FDA investigates a new outbreak of cyclospora. Luke Vargas hosts.
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