Crypto News: Oil jitters return

Good morning. Oil fears spur fresh selling in stocks and bonds. The Ellisons reshape Tinseltown. And brain-boosting peptides are on the rise, but at what risk? Listen to the day’s top stories.

— Angela Cullen

Market Snapshot
WTI Crude Oil Futures	$92.66	+5.0%
S&P 500 Futures	7,809.50	-0.6%
Nasdaq 100 Futures	31,144.00	-0.8%
Market data as of 07:11 AM ET. Data is subject to provider delays.	Your watchlist

Oil is on an upward trajectory again after the White House reportedly asked the military to draw up strike options against Iran that could be executed before November’s midterm elections. Soaring freight rates, a tanker hit off Qatar, and Hurricane Isaias taking aim at the US Gulf are adding to investors’ concerns, which sparked fresh selling in bonds and stocks. Separately, Saudi Arabia is in talks to formalize oil shuttles outside the Strait of Hormuz as it pushes for more market share.

Record-setting results from Samsung and TSMC failed to excite a market that’s getting used to torrid AI growth. But there’s no letup in blockbuster deals to build out the sector. Broadcom is said to be in talks to arrange $30 billion in debt financing to help OpenAI buy custom AI chips it’s developing. And China’s Tencent is said to be mulling a $5 billion offshore bond sale. Meanwhile, the Pentagon agreed to issue a conditional loan to Wolfspeed, the chipmaker that filed for bankruptcy last year. On Wall Street, junior recruits are starting their careers managing AI agents, but where does that leave middle managers? Meanwhile, Goldman’s top brass are doing just fine, with about 20 executives in line for more than $500 million in equity awards.

Donald Trump defended his immigration policies during a visit to Texas on Wednesday as he sought to boost struggling GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton. He also wants to turn his West Palm Beach golf course into a new Camp David. The focus turns to Michigan on Thursday as Democrat Abdul El Sayed debates Republican Mike Rogers. A “wave election” could bring one-party GOP government to an abrupt halt and spell all sorts of trouble for Trump. Here’s how.

Is Trump About to Lose Farm Country for the Republicans?

Russia denied reports that a second person had fallen ill after being in contact with the employee of an anti-plague laboratory whose death has sparked international scrutiny. It previously said no traces of plague were detected in samples from the deceased worker. One of history’s most feared diseases, plague is responsible for pandemics that killed tens of millions of people. Today, human cases are rare and can usually be treated with antibiotics. Here’s what to know.

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Deep Dive: The Ellisons Reshape Tinseltown

Done deal. David Ellison and his family pumped in another $17 billion to get Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. over the line this week. If the deal itself was anything but smooth, the even tougher task of running a media and entertainment empire now begins as fortunes change for the industry.

It may be a dream come true for the 43-year-old son of Larry Ellison (of Oracle fame). He’ll also hold the blame if there’s no happy ending.
Bond investors are making a bold bet on the $110 billion transaction, which isn’t your typical leveraged buyout.
Larry is also stirring investor angst. He backstopped the deal, but with much of the family’s wealth tied to Oracle shares at a time when it’s undertaking some very capital-intensive moves of its own, it’s a risk factor.
Warner Bros.’ final film before the acquisition may be an omen. Digger, an Alejandro Iñárritu satire starring Tom Cruise as an actor playing an oil tycoon responsible for an environmental catastrophe, has flopped at the box office.

The Big Take

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No set of AI policies will produce perfect safety and models will surely cause further havoc, Bloomberg’s editors write. But advancing any new technology requires ambition, experimentation and risk-taking — including leaps into the unknown. Such is the price of progress.

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Before You Go

Peptides are having a moment. People are flocking to the amino acids in pursuit of sharper thinking, a competitive edge or to slow cognitive aging, often without medical supervision.

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