Crypto News: Calmer waters

Good morning. Oil falls and Donald Trump demands a DOJ probe into gasoline prices. New hedge funds use AI to challenge industry giants. And South Korea’s SK Hynix seeks $29 billion in a landmark US listing. Listen to the day’s top stories.

— Tiago Ramos Alfaro

Market Snapshot
WTI crude oil futures	$71.77	-2.0%
Nasdaq 100 Futures	29,821.50	+0.5%
Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index	1,227.19	+0.3%
Market data as of 06:57 AM ET. Data is subject to provider delays.	Your watchlist

Oil prices extended their decline on Wednesday as more tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz and US-Iran peace talks advanced. Both countries have signaled progress toward ending the war, although negotiations are likely to be lengthy and claims from the two sides have diverged. Separately, President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice to look into gasoline prices, which he says aren’t falling fast enough. The average US diesel price has already dropped below $5 a gallon for the first time since March.

Conditions on the ground—or rather, at sea—also appear to be improving. Iran and Oman said they’ll begin work on finding an agreement over the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil exports from the United Arab Emirates recovered to nearly 85% of pre-war levels in early June, according the International Energy Agency. Qatar, meanwhile, expects to restore liquefied natural gas output to normal levels within weeks from the undamaged parts of its facility, the Financial Times reported.

Canada’s Lobster Capital Is Trying to Become an Oil and Gas Giant Too

Nova Scotia’s efforts to reduce its dependence on US energy have drawn sharp pushback from environmentalists and fishermen.

US equity futures recovered from yesterday’s tech-led selloff ahead of Micron earnings as AI valuation concerns intensified and some analysts drew parallels to the dot-com boom. The fallout extended beyond the US. Leveraged exchange-traded funds tracking South Korea’s Samsung or SK Hynix probably sold a combined $6 billion worth of shares in the two chipmakers on Tuesday to maintain their leverage ratios, underscoring such products are amplifying market moves, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

AI is helping small hedge funds—such as Alpha Curve and MQT Asset—compete more effectively with industry giants, automating research and analysis that once required large teams. Elsewhere in hedge funds, an investor who turned a $20 million position into $200 million, a 900% gain, with timely bets against US subprime mortgages during the global financial crisis has a new big short: private credit.

In other corporate news: Memory‑chip giant SK Hynix is planning to raise about $29.4 billion in a landmark US listing, a deal that would rank among the top five share sales of all time. FedEx shares slumped in premarket trading despite an earnings beat as shifting trade policies and higher costs weighed on its margins. GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen scrapped a bonus plan that could have paid him up to $35 billion. And SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son, 68, said he plans to remain at the helm of the investment firm for another 10 to 15 years as he seeks to capitalize on the AI boom.

Deep Dive: Diversity Waning

White men board directors — White men make up about 60% of new board directors at S&P 500 companies.

Corporate America’s pullback from diversity initiatives is becoming increasingly visible in the boardroom, with new seats at the biggest US companies going overwhelmingly to White men.

White men account for about 60% of new S&P 500 board appointments this year, the highest share in a decade, while women secured fewer seats and non-White directors made up 23% of new appointments.
Companies are prioritizing experienced former CEOs amid economic uncertainty, narrowing the candidate pool to a group still dominated by White men.
The shift comes as DEI efforts face political and legal pressure, with several major companies dropping diversity requirements for board searches and disclosing less demographic data.

The Big Take

The Central financial district in Hong Kong.

China’s curbs to stem capital outflows from the mainland are casting a pall over a luxury market boom in the world’s top offshore hub—and unnerving the ultra-rich.

Big Take Podcast

China’s Xiaohongshu Preps for IPO

Opinion

A Neura Robotics 4NE1 Mini humanoid robot displayed at Computex 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 1, 2026.

Corporate adoption of AI to help write computer code is powering much of the industry’s rise, Parmy Olson writes. But a looming price war, combined with the need to reduce tech budgets, may spell trouble.

More Opinions

The Editors

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Before You Go

Amazon’s Prime Day got off to a slow start, with average household spending down 16% from last year’s event. Shoppers stocked up on essentials including trash bags, cat treats and makeup remover, a survey showed.

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Bloomberg Power Players: Set against the backdrop of the US Open Tennis Championships, Bloomberg Power Players returns to New York on Sept. 10, bringing together the leaders shaping this global industry. This event will gather the most influential voices for market-moving conversations on the multitrillion-dollar sports economy. Learn more here.