Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Finpresso.
In today's newsletter:
🛢️ Oil jumps 4% as US-Iran strikes threaten Hormuz
🍎 Apple sues OpenAI over stolen hardware secrets
🏭 TSMC posts record quarterly revenue on AI demand
🇦🇪 US eases chip export curbs on UAE
🏦 Circle wins US trust bank charter and stock jumps 13%
Plus: 🌍 8 macro news, 🏢 7 corporate news, 💰 7 deal flow, and 📑 5 research & reports.
📰 Top News
| 🛢️ Oil jumps 4% as US-Iran strikes threaten Hormuz LINK |
- Oil climbed roughly 4% after US airstrikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliation revived fears over the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude up 3.9% to $78.96 a barrel and US benchmark crude rising 4% to $74.26.
- Prices had recently sunk back to pre-war levels after an interim truce reopened Hormuz shipping, but fresh US strikes over an Iranian attack that set a container ship ablaze reversed that calm and reignited energy-cost concerns.
- The renewed conflict pressured stocks and clouded the inflation outlook, as pricier oil could push the Fed and other central banks toward higher rates; S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% and Seoul's Kospi dropped 5.6%.
| 🍎 Apple sues OpenAI over stolen hardware secrets LINK |
- Apple has sued OpenAI and its hardware chief for trade-secret theft, alleging a coordinated effort to obtain confidential details on unreleased products as the AI firm builds its own hardware line ahead of a planned IPO in coming months.
- The suit says more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, including hardware chief Tang Tan and engineer Chang Liu, who allegedly downloaded dozens of confidential files on unreleased products before leaving; Apple wants OpenAI to destroy the materials and redesign products.
- The two firms were recent partners on Siri and Apple Intelligence, but tension grew after OpenAI hired designer Jony Ive and bought his device startup io Products for $6.5 billion, positioning both to compete for a post-smartphone AI hardware market.
| 🏭 TSMC posts record quarterly revenue on AI demand LINK |
- TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, said June sales jumped 67.9% from a year earlier, driven by demand for artificial intelligence chips, ahead of its second-quarter earnings due Thursday, July 16.
- First-half 2026 revenue reached NT$2.4 trillion ($74.99 billion), up 35.6% from the same period in 2025, while June alone brought in NT$442.68 billion, a 6.2% rise from May.
- The company, which held a 73% share of the global chip-manufacturing-for-clients market in early 2026, counts Nvidia, Apple and AMD as key customers and plans two additional advanced chip-packaging plants in southern Taiwan.
| 🇦🇪 US eases chip export curbs on UAE LINK |
- The U.S. Commerce Department will loosen chip export controls on the UAE, pledging to "favorably review" license applications from state-backed investment firm MGX for semiconductors and servers, in a rule set to publish July 14.
- The change grants the UAE government, AI group G42 and its Core42 cloud unit license-free access to some advanced computing gear, and streamlines equipment used by Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI in UAE data centers.
- Senator Elizabeth Warren called the rule "corrupt," noting MGX used USD1, a stablecoin from Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial, for its $2 billion Binance investment, and citing a $263 million windfall to Trump; the rule shows no evidence those dealings influenced Commerce.
| 🏦 Circle wins US trust bank charter and stock jumps 13% LINK |
- Circle Internet Group shares jumped 13.17% in pre-market trading to $71.25, rebounding from the prior close of $63.01, after US regulator the OCC granted final approval for it to run a national trust bank.
- The charter lets Circle launch a federally supervised entity, branded Circle National Trust, focused solely on safekeeping digital assets for institutions rather than taking consumer deposits or lending, initially serving Circle and its affiliates.
- Circle plans to eventually bring oversight of its USDC stablecoin reserves under the trust bank, a move that could give regulators clearer visibility as lawmakers worldwide develop stablecoin rules; rivals including Ripple, Coinbase and Paxos are seeking similar charters.
🌍 Macro News
- UK regulators will oversee four major cloud providers to banks starting Monday. LINK
- IMF cuts 2026 global growth forecast again, now projecting just 3 percent. LINK
- Japan's pension fund plans to raise private-market asset allocation toward 5 percent cap. LINK
- US Treasury borrows $155 billion monthly, paying $23.8 billion weekly debt interest. LINK
- Analysts warn a forming super El Niño could trigger severe food inflation. LINK
- US senators strike deal with Trump administration to advance new Russia sanctions. LINK
- China temporarily bans helium exports to protect chipmakers amid Iran war disruption. LINK
- European intelligence report calls Russia's economy an illusion propped up by debt. LINK
🏢 Corporate News
- EU warns Meta to remove engagement-boosting features or face major fine. LINK
- SK Hynix shares fell 13.2% in Seoul after its Nasdaq debut. LINK
- Volkswagen plans to cut model range and shrink production capacity to nine million. LINK
- Empery Digital sold 1,400 bitcoins worth $87.1 million to fund AI expansion. LINK
- Anthropic and Airbnb expand in New York despite billionaires' warnings on politics. LINK
- Alphabet shares dipped as Google expands its Kronstorf, Austria data center investment. LINK
- Wall Street shifts AI trade focus from spending hype to actual returns. LINK
📈 Stocks
💰 Deal Flow
- German defense startup Helsing raised $1.8 billion at an $18 billion valuation. LINK
- Quantum startup Oratomic raised $300 million targeting a smaller, practical qubit design. LINK
- Ollama raised $65 million to expand local AI model tool for developers. LINK
- Israeli fintech deals this week highlighted AI payments and cross-border transfer investments. LINK
- Bitdeer breaks ground on $36 million Nevada factory to build mining rigs. LINK
- NextEra Energy proposes $67 billion merger with Dominion Energy to form top utility. LINK
- Vinod Khosla agrees to buy the Seattle Seahawks for $9.612 billion. LINK
📑 Research & Reports
- HORAN Capital's letter recaps a volatile year from oil shock to market rebound. LINK
- Guggenheim survey finds most firms deploy AI agents with minimal job cuts. LINK
- Goldman Sachs says AI will push up US inflation more than elsewhere. LINK
- Jefferies' Christopher Wood turns bullish on India and China amid AI fatigue. LINK
- Most banks rate instant B2B payments' ROI as high, survey finds. LINK