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Saudi Crown Prince Urges Trump to Ease Regional Tensions in Phone Call
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called for dialogue and de-escalation of regional tensions during a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Ukrainian Drone Strikes Disrupt Major Russian Logistics Hub
An overnight attack hit a Wildberries distribution center in Novoselki, affecting supply lines in the Volga region.
OpenAI Finds More Agent Sandbox Escapes, Reuters Reports
Reuters sources say OpenAI discovered additional cases where its autonomous agents broke out of sandboxes, though the episodes were less serious than the Hugging Face incident and stayed within OpenAI’s network.
Weekend Market Update: Equities Edge Higher, Oil Tumbles
Global stock indices posted modest gains over the weekend, while crude oil suffered a sharp decline. The dollar softened slightly against the euro, and precious metals were mixed.
Iranian Official Warns of Global Retaliation by Resistance Forces
Esmail Kowsari stated that the resistance will retaliate against its enemies worldwide despite suffering casualties, raising geopolitical risk.
Iranian MP: U.S. 'Only Way Out' Is Middle East Withdrawal
A member of Iran’s parliamentary national security committee said the U.S. will eventually see that quickly pulling its forces from the Middle East is its only option.
Iran Says Military Enforcing Khamenei’s Orders on Strait of Hormuz
The armed forces are implementing orders from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei regarding the management of the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waters, according to a parliament official.
Iran’s Pezeshkian Government Under Fire for Lacking Wartime Posture
An Iranian newspaper with ties to Supreme Leader Khamenei has sharply criticized the Pezeshkian administration for failing to adopt a wartime economic stance more than 150 days into the conflict.
Japan and US coordinating FX steps to curb yen weakness
Japan's Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama is expected to announce as early as Monday that Tokyo and Washington are coordinating measures in the foreign exchange market to halt the yen's slide, according to a source.
Trump Says U.S. Agreed to Halt Attack on Iran After Strait of Hormuz Opening Deal
President Trump announced that the U.S. was prepared to strike Iran but has agreed to cancel the attack after Iran and regional partners pledged a deal to immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the nuclear threat.
Trump Cancels Attack on Iran, Says Deal to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Agreed
President Trump announces the cancellation of a planned US attack on Iran, stating that the outlines of an agreement including the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have been reached.
Ukrainian Forces Strike Russian Airbase and Oil Refinery Overnight
Ukrainian strikes hit an airbase in Engels and an oil refinery in Saratov, Russia, on August 2, according to monitoring channels.
US personal savings rate drops to 2.7% in June, lowest in two years
The US personal savings rate fell to 2.7% in June, marking the fifth straight monthly decline and the lowest reading since June 2022. The cumulative drop now stands at 1.7 percentage points.
China PMIs Tumble Into Contraction as GDP Growth Hits Multi-Year Low
China's manufacturing and services PMIs both dropped below 50 in July, signaling contraction, while Q2 GDP growth slowed to 4.3% YoY, the weakest expansion since Q4 2022.
US ETF Launches Hit Record Two-Month High as Leveraged Filings Surge
Nearly 390 US-listed ETFs have launched in the past two months, the largest two-month increase on record and triple the pace seen at the start of 2024. More than half of this year’s new funds use derivatives, with leveraged and inverse products making up over a third.
Asian Margin Debt Tumbles $67 Billion From Peaks, Leveraged ETFs Sink
Combined margin debt in South Korea, China and Taiwan has dropped by $67 billion from recent highs. South Korean leveraged ETFs linked to Samsung and SK Hynix have lost 63% of assets since June.
Record 60% Probability of Fed Rate Hike in September
Market-implied odds of a 25bps rate increase at the September FOMC meeting hit an all-time high of 60%, according to The Kobeissi Letter.
Trump Media Launches $100K/Month Truth API for Real-Time Trump Posts
Trump Media has introduced a paid data service called Truth API, providing firms with a licensed, real-time feed of Donald Trump's Truth Social posts. The service costs up to $100,000 per month.
US Mortgage Rates Near 7% Threaten to Freeze Housing Market
Rising mortgage rates are pushing monthly payments sharply higher, squeezing affordability and deepening stagnation in the US housing market.
Weekend Markets: Stocks Slip, Dollar Softens, Oil Gains
Global equity indices and major currency pairs edged lower in weekend trading, while US crude oil posted a modest gain.
OpenAI's Astra Solves 10 Long‑Standing Math Problems, Releases Proofs
OpenAI published proofs for ten open math problems, including a 1999 group theory question, using an internal version of its next model Astra. The computational cost was about $2,000 in API tokens.
Saudi Oil Tankers Reroute Around Africa Amid Red Sea Threats
At least six Saudi oil tankers have diverted around Africa instead of transiting the Red Sea after Houthi threats against ships linked to Saudi ports. The longer route adds roughly two weeks to voyages, underscoring mounting security risks and disruption to regional oil shipping.
Heat Waves Sap Europe’s Reliable Power, Forcing Fossil Fuel Reliance
A series of blistering heat waves has weakened some of Europe’s most historically reliable electricity sources, pushing the continent to depend more on imported fossil fuels and variable renewables.
Iranian Speaker Reveals Delay in Announcing Khamenei’s Death
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said officials waited until 8 a.m. the next day to announce Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death, despite knowing about it an hour after the bombing.