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Key Markets & Headlines — Tuesday, May 12, 2026 · Key Markets & Headlines

• Key markets and headlines for today. The most market-moving story this morning is the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping remains effectively halted as tensions between the United States and Iran intensify. This standoff is driving oil prices sharply higher, with Brent crude now trading above one hundred six dollars per barrel. President Trump has rejected Iran’s latest proposal, calling it unacceptable and warning that the ceasefire is on “life support,” though he maintains that a diplomatic resolution is still possible. Iran, for its part, is demanding an end to U.S. naval blockades and sanctions, while seeking to retain some control over traffic through the strait. Despite significant economic and military strain, Tehran has shown no clear willingness to de-escalate. The ten-week conflict continues to disrupt global energy flows, fueling inflation concerns and pushing U.S. Treasury yields up to around four point four three percent. The situation is also creating domestic political pressure for President Trump, who is now considering a gasoline tax holiday and has authorized additional releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help ease rising fuel costs. Reports that the United Arab Emirates may have carried out strikes on Iran are further complicating the regional backdrop. All of this unfolds as Trump prepares for a high-stakes meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, facing both geopolitical and economic challenges. Iran has announced the deployment of Ghadir-class mini submarines to act as an “invisible guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Republic operates at least sixteen of these midget submarines, which can carry torpedoes or anti-ship cruise missiles. However, people familiar with the matter say the vessels are relatively noisy, suffer from maintenance issues, and are operated by crews with limited experience. Tehran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz since late February through the threat of missiles, drones, and naval activity. President Trump has said the U.S. is considering reviving military escorts for ships transiting the region. Analysts suggest the submarines could primarily serve as a deterrent or minelaying threat in the shallow waters of the Gulf, where about twenty percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments typically pass. Turning to equities and corporate news, Amazon has begun the sale of its first Swiss franc bonds across a record six tranches, as Big Tech looks beyond its regular debt markets to raise funds. The company is seeking to raise at least one point nine billion Swiss francs, or about two point four billion dollars, from debt due in three, six, nine, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-five years. This move follows a string of high-profile sales in the currency from firms including Alphabet, which raised about three billion Swiss francs in February—the most on record by a corporate borrower. Amazon’s own debut euro bond in March was the biggest ever in that currency. Alphabet is also planning to sell yen bonds for the first time, highlighting how major tech companies are tapping diverse funding sources to support their massive artificial intelligence spending plans. Amazon has also launched a new “Amazon Now” service, offering thirty-minute delivery on thousands of items—including groceries, household goods, and essentials—across dozens of U.S. cities. Initial rollouts are underway in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, and Seattle, with broader expansion planned by year-end. The service builds on earlier pilot programs and uses smaller, locally positioned fulfillment centers to speed up delivery. It competes directly with platforms like DoorDash and Instacart on both speed and price. Prime members pay lower delivery fees, around three dollars and ninety-nine cents per order, making it often cheaper than rivals. Available items range from food and personal care to electronics and alcohol. The service complements Amazon’s existing same-day, one-hour, and drone delivery initiatives as the company continues pushing toward faster, on-demand logistics. Brightline’s six billion dollar Florida passenger rail business is moving toward what could become one of the largest municipal bond restructurings in recent history. Creditors are positioning for a potential bankruptcy or debt workout expected within months. The Fortress-backed railroad, which operates service between Miami and Orlando, has struggled with lower-than-expected ridership and revenue while carrying a complex capital structure that includes roughly two point two billion dollars of senior municipal debt, one point one billion dollars of corporate bonds, and additional junior-ranking municipal obligations. Brightline’s auditors recently warned there is “substantial doubt” about the company’s ability to continue operating over the next twelve months without financial relief. Unrestricted cash has fallen to about one point four million dollars at year-end, and interest reserves on key debt tranches are expected to be depleted by early twenty twenty-seven. Distressed investors, including Redwood Capital, Aristeia Capital, and Nut Tree Capital Management, are reportedly exploring ways to gain control of the railroad through a restructuring. Bond insurer Assured Guaranty said it may ultimately become at least a partial owner, with CEO Dominic Frederico stating, “I don’t mind owning a railroad.” Byron Allen is paying one hundred twenty million dollars for a fifty-two percent stake in online publisher BuzzFeed and will assume the titles of chairman and chief executive officer from co-founder Jonah Peretti. Allen’s family office is acquiring forty million shares at a price of three dollars each. The transaction will be financed with twenty million dollars in cash and a one hundred million dollar promissory note due in five years, accruing interest at five percent annually. The deal is expected to close at the end of the month. Peretti will transition to the new role of president of BuzzFeed AI. BuzzFeed, whose business includes the HuffPost, Tasty, and BuzzFeed Studios, reported a nearly twenty percent decline in advertising sales for the first quarter and a net loss of fifteen point one million dollars. The company said it is planning significant changes, including cost reductions, to prepare for the transition in ownership. Cerebras Systems has increased the size of its initial public offering and is now seeking to raise as much as four point eight billion dollars by offering thirty million shares at one hundred fifty to one hundred sixty dollars each, up from a prior range of twenty-eight million shares at one hundred fifteen to one hundred twenty-five dollars. The artificial intelligence chipmaker and data center operator has reportedly attracted orders for more than twenty times the shares available, with pricing expected on May thirteenth. At the top end of the revised range, Cerebras would command a market valuation of about thirty-four point four billion dollars, positioning the deal as the largest conventional U.S. IPO of twenty twenty-six so far. Cerebras, which competes with Nvidia in AI infrastructure, counts Amazon and OpenAI among key partners. OpenAI holds warrants for thirty-three point four million Cerebras shares tied partly to compute delivery milestones and valuation thresholds above forty billion dollars. Cowboy Space Corporation, founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, is taking the unusual step of building its own rockets to deploy orbital data centers. The company is backed by a two hundred seventy-five million dollar funding round at a two billion dollar valuation. Cowboy Space pivoted from space-based solar power to in-orbit computing and concluded that owning launch capability is necessary to achieve viable economics and scale. Its approach includes integrating data centers directly into rocket stages, though this strategy puts it in direct competition with entrenched players like SpaceX and adds significant technical and execution risk in an already challenging industry. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Construct Capital, IVP, and SAIC also participated in the round. The company had previously raised eighty million dollars from investors, including Index, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and New Enterprise Associates. Bhatt launched this startup in twenty twenty-four as Aetherflux, with plans to collect abundant solar energy in space and beam it down to Earth. Delivery Hero announced that Niklas Östberg, co-founder and CEO, will hand over leadership of the company by March thirty-first, twenty twenty-seven. Östberg will remain CEO during the transition, leading the next phase of the strategic review and associated mergers and acquisitions processes, which was initiated jointly by the management and supervisory boards and announced in December twenty twenty-five. He has the full support of both boards in doing so. The supervisory board will launch the search for a new CEO shortly, with an aim to conclude this process by year-end twenty twenty-six. Docusign announced new artificial intelligence-powered contract assistant and agent capabilities for its Intelligent Agreement Management platform, expanding the product into what the company describes as a “system of action” for in-house legal teams. The new Iris-powered agents can triage, review, redline, and move agreements toward closing using context from prior negotiations, accepted terms, and company policies, while also automating workflows through conversational AI or autonomous background execution. CEO Allan Thygesen said, “What Docusign brings to legal AI is dynamic context across agreements, combined with intelligent workflows, that know how to act on that context.” The tools are designed to help legal teams work faster, reduce risk, and focus on more strategic work. Docusign also announced partnerships with legal AI platforms including Harvey, Legora, and Thomson Reuters’ CoCounsel Legal, while integrating its platform with frontier AI models and enterprise applications including Anthropic Claude, OpenAI ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Salesforce, and Slack. eBay has rejected an unsolicited, non-binding acquisition proposal from GameStop after reviewing it with financial and legal advisors. The company stated the offer was neither credible nor attractive. The board cited concerns including uncertainty around GameStop’s financing, risks tied to leverage and operations in a combined company, governance and incentive issues, and the proposal’s implications for valuation and long-term profitability. eBay emphasized confidence in its own standalone strategy, highlighting recent operational improvements, disciplined execution, and consistent shareholder returns, and said it remains focused on driving sustainable growth independently. Fox reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of three point nine nine four billion dollars, exceeding Wall Street estimates of three point seven nine five billion dollars, while adjusted earnings per share of one dollar and thirty-two cents also topped expectations. This comes despite revenue declining eight point six percent year over year, due largely to the absence of the prior year’s Super Bowl broadcast. Distribution revenue rose three point three percent to two point one one billion dollars, driven by cable network programming growth, while advertising revenue fell twenty-three point six percent to one point five six billion dollars, partially offset by digital growth led by Tubi and an additional NFL Wild Card game. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said Fox delivered strong results driven by advertising trends, distribution growth, and early traction from Fox One, adding that Tubi continued to expand through sports and creator-led programming. The company expects the FIFA Men’s World Cup and midterm elections to further boost advertising and streaming engagement. CFO Steve Tomsic said Fox delivered record third-quarter EBITDA growth and strong free cash flow, noting that Tubi achieved break-even or better results for three consecutive quarters as the company continues investing in streaming and sports content. Fox also struck a deal with the National Football League to acquire rights to two additional games for the twenty twenty-six season, including a Saturday game in week ten and a week fifteen matchup that will give the network a Sunday triple-header featuring an overseas game from Munich. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said, “We’d like to broaden and deepen our relationship with the NFL, but we’ll only do so in a disciplined way that really creates value.” Comcast’s NBC also secured an additional regular-season game scheduled for January second that will air on NBC and Peacock ahead of a Peacock-exclusive NFL game later that evening. Murdoch added that Fox has had “no substantive discussions” with the NFL regarding speculation around broader media-rights renegotiations, while noting there is no tension between Fox and the league over the increasing shift of games to streaming platforms. Google said hackers used artificial intelligence to exploit a previously unknown software flaw in what it described as the first observed case of cybercriminals successfully using AI to develop a “zero-day” vulnerability for a “mass exploitation” event. The attackers reportedly found a way to bypass two-factor authentication in widely used software before being stopped by Google’s Threat Intelligence Group. The company said the vulnerability has since been fixed. Google warned that AI is increasingly being used to industrialize cyberattacks by accelerating vulnerability discovery, malicious code generation, and automated attack execution, though it said the attackers were not believed to be using Anthropic’s Mythos or Google Gemini. Google Threat Intelligence Group chief analyst John Hultquist said, “We believe this is the tip of the iceberg. If criminals are doing it, then state actors with significant resources probably are too,” while adding that “the race has started already.” European military drone startup Helsing is reportedly close to raising a new one point two billion dollar round at about an eighteen billion dollar valuation. The round is expected to be led by Dragoneer and co-led by existing Helsing investor Lightspeed, according to the Financial Times. Helsing last raised just under a year ago, in June twenty twenty-five, in a deal led by billionaire Spotify founder Daniel Ek. That was a six hundred million euro investment at an estimated twelve billion euro valuation, or about fourteen billion dollars. Citi has raised its price target on MongoDB to four hundred fifty dollars from four hundred and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Citi also opened an “upside ninety-day catalyst watch” on MongoDB. The firm’s channel checks suggest a “significant” Atlas usage ramp in the first quarter at several AI native customers. Citi believes MongoDB is “bucking the trend” of a weaker software budget environment. Monday.com reported first-quarter revenue of three hundred fifty-one point three million dollars, beating FactSet consensus estimates of three hundred thirty-nine point one million. The company sees second-quarter revenue of three hundred fifty-four to three hundred fifty-six million dollars, compared with consensus estimates of three hundred fifty-four point two million. Monday.com also raised its full-year revenue outlook to one billion four hundred sixty-six million to one billion four hundred seventy-four million dollars, versus FactSet consensus estimates of one billion four hundred sixty million. The company reported first-quarter adjusted operating income of forty-nine million dollars and net income of twenty-eight million. CFO Eliran Glazer said, “The first quarter was a strong quarter across every financial dimension, with revenue, margins, and cash flow all coming in ahead of expectations. Perhaps most encouragingly, the AI productivity gains we are seeing inside our own organization are demonstrating that we can grow revenue without growing headcount in lockstep, a dynamic we believe will be a meaningful driver of operating leverage over time.” Microsoft targeted a ninety-two billion dollar return from its early investments in OpenAI, according to internal planning documents disclosed in federal court during Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft. CEO Satya Nadella testified that the investments “worked out well because we took the risk,” referring to Microsoft’s roughly thirteen billion dollar investment in the ChatGPT maker through early twenty twenty-three. OpenAI’s valuation has since climbed to approximately eight hundred fifty-two billion dollars as of March, while Microsoft’s stake was valued at about one hundred thirty-five billion as of October following OpenAI’s restructuring, which granted Microsoft a twenty-seven percent ownership position. Musk’s lawsuit alleges OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission by transitioning toward a for-profit structure and claims Microsoft helped facilitate that shift, allegations both companies deny. ServiceNow is looking to raise about four billion dollars from a potential U.S. high-grade bond sale tied to the software firm’s recent acquisitions. Barclays, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo arranged calls with investors on Monday, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A bond offering may follow, though plans could change. The possible bond offering will test investor appetite for software firm debt amid widespread concerns about how the industry will be affected by artificial intelligence. The company’s stock has plunged more than forty percent this year amid a broader industry selloff. The New York Times is betting that the Wordle craze isn’t over yet. On Monday, the Times announced that it would be turning the hit mobile word game into a televised game show on NBC. “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie will host, while The Times and “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon will both serve as production partners. Guthrie and Fallon announced the news on the eight o’clock a.m. broadcast of the “Today” show on Monday, sharing that the game show had been in development for the past two and a half years. The show, which will begin airing on NBC next year, is being described as “fast-paced” and a “great family game.” This will be the first time that The Times has collaborated with a TV broadcaster for an entertainment-based program, representing yet another pivot in the media company’s attempt to build a sustainable digital subscription business as print revenue continues to decline. On Holding lifted its full-year outlook as it posted higher profit and sales in the first quarter, citing broad-based demand despite an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop and continued growth across international markets. The Swiss running-shoe maker reported net income of one hundred three point three million Swiss francs, or about one hundred thirty-two point eight million dollars, up from fifty-six point seven million Swiss francs in the same quarter last year. Stripping out one-time items, earnings came in at thirty-seven cents a share, ahead of analyst expectations of twenty-seven cents. Net sales climbed fourteen percent to eight hundred thirty-one point nine million Swiss francs, ahead of Wall Street models for eight hundred eighteen point five million. Founder and co-CEO Caspar Coppetti said On is benefiting from becoming more global, multidimensional, and deeply rooted in different communities around the world. On Holding now expects net sales of at least three point five one billion Swiss francs this year, up from a prior outlook of at least three point four four billion. Analysts are looking for net sales of three point five four billion. Gross profit margin is now projected to reach at least sixty-four point five percent, up from a previous forecast of at least sixty-three percent. The company additionally guided for its margin on adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to be in the range of nineteen point five to twenty percent, up from a prior view of eighteen point five to nineteen percent. Sam Altman’s personal investments are facing growing political scrutiny as OpenAI approaches a potential IPO, with House Republicans launching an investigation and several GOP attorneys general urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to review possible conflicts of interest. The concerns stem from reports that Altman encouraged OpenAI to partner with companies he has invested in, which critics argue could boost their value and create self-dealing risks. Lawmakers are seeking documents and briefings on OpenAI’s governance, warning that such conflicts could harm public investors once the company lists. Altman’s defenders, including OpenAI’s board chair, say he has been transparent and has recused himself from relevant decisions. The scrutiny comes alongside Elon Musk’s ongoing lawsuit and broader competition in the AI sector, as OpenAI prepares for what could be one of the largest IPOs ever. OpenAI is also launching a new entity, the OpenAI Deployment Company, to help organizations build and implement AI systems. As part of that effort, it has agreed to acquire Tomoro, an applied AI consulting and engineering firm. The deal, with terms undisclosed, will add about one hundred fifty specialized engineers and deployment experts to support enterprise AI adoption. The acquisition is expected to close in the coming months pending approvals. The new deployment company is backed by a consortium of major investors and partners, including TPG, Advent, Bain Capital, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and SoftBank, signaling a push to scale real-world AI implementation. Pacific Biosciences announced a preprint of the first major study from the HiFi Solves Sub-fertility Consortium in Asia Pacific, investigating unexplained subfertility and identifying clinically relevant genomic findings using HiFi sequencing. The study analyzed cases of unexplained infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss across multiple countries in the Asia-Pacific region and demonstrated the ability of HiFi whole-genome sequencing to detect disease-causing variants that conventional testing methods can miss. Pacific Biosciences said the findings highlight the potential for long-read sequencing to improve diagnostic yield and clinical decision-making in reproductive health. The consortium includes leading fertility clinics and research institutions across the region focused on advancing genomic solutions for reproductive medicine. PagerDuty announced that John DiLullo has been appointed chief executive officer, effective May eleventh, twenty twenty-six. DiLullo succeeds Jennifer Tejada, who has served as CEO since twenty sixteen and has transitioned to executive chair of the board of directors. DiLullo’s appointment follows a thoughtful and deliberate succession planning process, led by Tejada and the board. Tejada will work closely with DiLullo to support a seamless leadership transition and continued execution of the company’s long-term strategy. SoFi Technologies has agreed to acquire most of the assets of UK-based fintech PrimaryBid, according to a Sky News report. PrimaryBid informed its investors that despite having a solid financial position and ample cash runway, it views the deal as the best outcome given challenging domestic market conditions. Sony has agreed to acquire the full catalog of Recognition Music Group, a collection of more than forty-five thousand pop songs from artists ranging from Rihanna to Fleetwood Mac. The deal, made through Sony’s venture with Singapore’s sovereign-wealth fund GIC, will give Sony Music Publishing ownership of works performed by Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Journey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and others. The venture is acquiring the catalog from alternative asset manager Blackstone, which began building its presence in music rights in twenty twenty-one when it committed one billion dollars to a new fund with Hipgnosis Song Management to buy large catalogs. Blackstone later backed Hipgnosis’s twenty twenty-four takeover of the London-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund, now renamed Recognition Music Group, giving the firm control of a portfolio of popular songs. The transaction follows Sony Music Publishing’s twenty twenty-five acquisition of Hipgnosis Songs Group and continues its collaboration with Recognition and Blackstone. Square unveiled Square for Drive-Thru, a fully integrated solution that brings together order capture, kitchen operations, and customer handoff into a single, streamlined workflow. Built in partnership with The Howard Company and Nanonation, Square for Drive-Thru is purpose-built to help quick-service restaurant operators with one of their most critical sales channels—enabling them to reduce bottlenecks, minimize errors, and deliver faster service during their busiest hours. Square for Drive-Thru is currently available through an Early Access Program, with broader availability coming this summer. Turning to macroeconomic and policy news, a top South Korean policymaker said the nation should pay citizens a “dividend” using taxes on artificial intelligence profits, underscoring growing pressure to redistribute gains from a boom that’s enriched chipmakers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The comments, made in a Facebook post by presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom, fueled sharp swings in Korean stocks on Tuesday as investors struggled to parse the scope of the proposals. The benchmark Kospi sank as much as five point one percent, then pared losses after the influential policy adviser clarified he wanted to tap “excess tax revenue” generated from the AI boom, rather than roll out a new windfall levy on corporate profits. An official at the president’s office told Bloomberg News that Kim’s remarks represented his personal opinion and weren’t the subject of formal discussions. In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his Cabinet he will not step down without a formal leadership contest, pushing back against growing calls for his resignation after poor local election results. He argued that efforts to oust him have been destabilizing and economically damaging, insisting the government must stay focused on governing. Pressure is mounting, however, with more than eighty-one Labour Members of Parliament now calling for him to go and Communities Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh resigning to join them—the first cabinet-level departure. Potential challengers, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, are circling, while internal divisions persist over whether to force a quick leadership race or allow a more orderly transition. The uncertainty has already rattled markets, with UK bond yields rising sharply and the pound weakening, as doubts grow over Starmer’s ability to remain in power. In Washington, a proposed federal gasoline tax holiday from President Trump would cost the U.S. government billions in lost revenue each month while offering relatively modest savings to consumers. The plan would suspend the eighteen point four cents-per-gallon gas tax but requires congressional approval and comes as Republicans seek to ease voter concerns over rising fuel prices amid the Iran-related energy crisis. Analysts estimate the policy would reduce federal revenue by roughly two point five to three point five billion dollars per month, with only partial offsets from broader economic activity and added costs from higher deficits. Critics argue the benefit to drivers would be limited—around two dollars per fill-up—compared to much larger recent price increases, while also undermining funding for infrastructure, as the gas tax is a key source of financing for the Highway Trust Fund. The U.S. Navy plans to significantly expand its new “Trump-class” battleship program, aiming to acquire at least fifteen vessels over the next thirty years—far more than the previously disclosed three—according to its latest long-range shipbuilding plan. Each ship could cost at least fourteen point five billion dollars, potentially making them the most expensive warships ever built, though the program remains uncertain given its high cost, lack of detailed long-term funding, and expected political resistance in Congress. The first ship is targeted for delivery in twenty thirty-six, but the broader program is vulnerable to shifting political dynamics, especially future election outcomes. The plan underscores a push to rebuild U.S. naval capacity, even as the Navy acknowledges ongoing structural challenges that have left its projected fleet size below stated targets. Looking at event-driven news, Dream Finders Homes has made a public seven hundred four million dollar bid to acquire Beazer Homes, offering twenty-five dollars and seventy-five cents per share—about a forty percent premium to Beazer’s recent stock price—after prior private offers were rejected. The latest bid is lower than earlier proposals due to a decline in Beazer’s share price and a recent quarterly loss. Dream Finders said it went public to appeal directly to shareholders after unsuccessful attempts to engage management, arguing the combination would create the seventh-largest U.S. homebuilder. Beazer’s board said it is reviewing the offer but noted it previously rejected higher bids as undervaluing the company. Dream Finders indicated it has strong financing support from lenders and partners, including backing for land banking to help fund the deal and support future growth. EQT has made a fourth and final bid to acquire Intertek Group as the British product-testing company comes under increasing pressure from its investors to pursue a deal. The Swedish private equity firm on Tuesday offered sixty pounds a share in cash for Intertek, which values the London-listed company at around nine point two billion pounds, or about twelve point five billion dollars. Under EQT’s offer, shareholders would also receive a dividend of up to one point zero seven seven pounds, as announced by Intertek in March. Shares in Intertek were trading five point three percent higher at fifty-two pounds and forty-five pence at ten twenty-seven a.m. in London, giving the company a market value of roughly eight billion pounds. Intertek said that its board is reviewing EQT’s final proposal with its advisers. A takeover of Intertek would remove another big name from London’s stock markets at a time when the UK is battling to revive its capital’s standing as a hub for international businesses. Private equity firms have for years taken advantage of discounted valuations on offer in London, which has also seen fewer companies come to list shares. The latest EQT bid comes less than a week after Intertek rejected a proposal of fifty-eight pounds a share that the company said significantly undervalued its future prospects and came with execution risk. Top Intertek investors have since been pushing the company to engage with its private equity suitor. Among them is activist investor Palliser Capital, which Bloomberg News reported on Monday has built a stake in Intertek. Wendy’s shares rose as much as twelve percent in premarket trading after reports that Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management is exploring a potential take-private deal. Trian has been in discussions with outside investors, including parties in the Middle East, to line up financing, though no formal offer has been made and a deal is not guaranteed. Wendy’s has not commented on the report. Turning to some notable trends and charts, there’s a good visual on the leverage profiles of AI-related equities from JP Morgan, highlighting the risk and reward dynamics facing investors in the sector. Financials and banks, despite stellar results across capital markets and mergers and acquisitions, are seeing no bid, according to Strategas. In the United Kingdom, bond yields have surged to the highest levels since nineteen ninety-eight as Prime Minister Starmer faces calls to quit, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, retail call buying is seeing a sharp increase, nearing twenty twenty-one meme stock levels, based on data from the Chicago Board Options Exchange. That’s a wrap on today’s key markets and headlines. Thanks for listening.