zerohedge @zerohedge

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US President Donald Trump said a tentative ceasefire with Iran has ended, raising the prospect of an end to peace negotiations and a potential renewal of fighting between the two countries. “For me, I think it’s over. As far as I’m concerned it’s just a waste of time.” BBG

President Trump slammed Spain for not contributing enough to NATO or spending enough on defense. “Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate. They don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain,” Trump said at a press conference in Ankara, Turkey. CNBC

South Korean stocks have entered a technical bear market as investors raise concerns about the long-term prospects of the AI chipmakers that have driven a world-beating rally. The Kospi index is down more than 20 per cent from its record high in June after slipping more than 5 per cent on Wednesday. FT

China has lifted refined fuel export restrictions for the rest of July and allowed a private refiner to resume shipments after a four-month halt, trade sources ‌said on Wednesday, as the world’s biggest refiner returns towards normal after disruptions from the Iran war. BBG

The AI rotation trade is gathering pace in Asia as investors pull money from chipmakers and hunt for cheaper ways to play the technology boom. Investors are rotating into one of Asia's most unloved markets, with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. rising after the Kospi Index was pushed to a technical bear market. BBG

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates Wednesday in what appeared to be a tentative move by policy makers to combat nagging inflation pressures. The official cash rate was raised by 25 basis points to 2.5%. WSJ

OpenAI said its new AI model GPT-5.6 will be made available to the public tomorrow. The White House lifted restrictions on the model after government-approved entities were given a preview. Axios

Nvidia’s stock is the cheapest it’s been since before the AI boom, after losing roughly $1 trillion in market value in under two months. BBG

Wildcatters are racing to secure oil deals in Venezuela, moving faster than Big Oil despite earthquake damage and political uncertainty. Whether the country’s vast reserves can overcome the current challenges remains an open question. BBG

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said they have signed an MoU with the US and Japan on cooperation to deploy small modular reactors: RTRS.

The sell off in the Goldman High Beta Momentum (GSPRHIMO) has now surpassed 20% over 5 days, exceeding short term expectations for a summer slump in the factor. This magnitude of sell off at such velocity has not been seen since 2020 when the stay-at-home vs go outside narrative shifted meaningfully towards reopening. It is notable that the current drawdown does not have the same strength of catalyst. Fingers have pointed towards SK Hynix raising and META cloud business.

Iran War

Trump stated he "thinks" the ceasefire with Iran is "over": Trump said the Iran ceasefire is over "I think"; as far as I am concerned, it is a waste of time dealing with Iran. On the MoU, "think it is over". Adds, "I do not want to deal with Iran", they are a "bunch of liars".

US President Trump said (on Iran) he will allow US negotiators to continue to talk if they want. But, "I think this is a waste of time".

US CENTOM announced that it completed a new round of offensive strikes, hitting over 80 targets with precision munitions. CENTCOM added that forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable when the agreement is not adhered to or obeyed.

Several explosions have been heard in Bushehr, Iran, according to Mehr news; Mehr's journalist on Kharg Island denies reported of an attack on Kharg, despite some reported of an incident being published.

In response, Iran's IRGC said they hit 85 important US military installations in Port Salman, Bahrain's 5th Maritime Zone and Kuwait's Ali Salem Air Base

https://x.com/zerohedge/status/2074830809022754976

Top

Iza's Overnights::

DDL: Behold Nigel Farage, King of the Britons vs Count Binface

Plus, Brent crude surges above $76 after US revokes Iran oil export license.

Izabella Kaminska

The linkfest below has been compiled using links posted in the Blind Spot’s Discord community over the past 24 hours. The links and summaries have been loosely quality-controlled in the AI-assisted compilation process. However, caveat emptor, because not everything has been rigorously fact-checked, and not all sources are necessarily credible. The best way to view this post is on the main website, so please click the title to take you there.

Summary

In the commodities sphere, oil markets registered fresh turbulence as Brent crude surged above $76 per barrel after the US revoked Iran’s general license to export in response to strikes on commercial vessels, while simultaneously a Saudi-flagged crude tanker sustained damage near the Strait of Hormuz following a separate LNG collision. Russia’s Urals crude collapsed toward $42 a barrel, evaporating its wartime windfall, even as LUKOIL pledged increased fuel deliveries to the Vologda region and Ukraine claimed strikes on eight vessels of the Russian “shadow fleet.” Saudi Arabia weighed both price cuts to defend market share and the possible expansion of an oil pipeline to the Red Sea, while Vitol prepared to open a Caracas office amid trading firms’ growing dominance over Venezuelan exports under a US-brokered arrangement. China’s central bank, meanwhile, accelerated gold purchases during a 10% price plunge, adding 480,000 ounces in June, and Japan confronted economy-wide effects from a shortage of critical minerals. These moves sit alongside quieter signals—call premium exploding on gold despite spot weakness, and one observer calculating that a modest Russian fuel increase equates to filling roughly 5,950 cars per day in a mid-sized city—illustrating how global energy flows remain hostage to both headline risk and granular logistical arithmetic.

Meanwhile, multiple reports described US precision strikes on more than 80 Iranian targets, including air defences, coastal surveillance, and IRGC speedboats, prompting Iranian claims of retaliatory missile and drone attacks on US bases in Kuwait and elsewhere. French President Macron’s historic visit to Damascus—greeted by Syria’s foreign minister—was punctuated by two bomb explosions nearby, adding to the sense of a region in dangerous flux. Parallel developments elsewhere suggest a broader rearmament cycle: Denmark purchasing P-8A Poseidon aircraft to patrol the North Atlantic, Lithuania following Finland in lifting its ban on nuclear weapons, NATO allies agreeing to acquire up to five Triton surveillance drones, and US-German talks on co-producing AMRAAM missiles. Trump revived plans to purchase Greenland, while ripping into NATO allies and dashing hopes of harmonious summits. In Asia, North Korean state media declared Japanese “overseas aggression” a present reality, China and Japan traded conflicting accounts of a confrontation near the Senkaku islands, and Indonesia moved toward purchasing BrahMos missiles. Ukraine’s shadow-fleet strikes and a curious incident in which a suspect in an alleged attempt on a Ukrainian official’s life was found dead near Kyiv complete a picture of hybrid conflict that refuses to remain geographically contained.

Financial markets registered the tension in real time, with US 30-year Treasury yields jumping to 5.05%—their highest since May—while Japan’s 10-year yield reached 2.87%, the highest in three decades. Fund managers’ cash allocations hit historic lows, South Korea’s KOSPI surged roughly 93% year-to-date to dominate global asset performance, and the VIX retreated even as implied correlation reached extremes that vol desks viewed as hedging opportunities. Japan’s Nikkei fell 2% on Samsung’s slump and chipmaker weakness, while Amazon announced a large multi-tranche debt sale. Banking regulators at the Bank of England outlined plans to ease leverage rules, and a US Treasury internal report flagged AI bubble risks reminiscent of the dot-com era.

https://mindtheblindspot.substack.com/p/ddl-behold-nigel-farage-king-of-the

Team Vati stuck in a loop agin.