The US carried out a fifth round of strikes on Iran overnight, targeting air‑defence systems, radar sites, missile and drone capabilities and small boats in the Strait of Hormuz. Centcom said the action aimed to degrade Iran’s ability to attack international shipping after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired on a commercial vessel.

Oil jumped, with Brent rising to $79 a barrel, while Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures fell 1.2% and 0.5% respectively. The dollar edged up 0.2% as markets priced in a possible return to full‑scale war, threatening the fragile ceasefire.

Elsewhere, Wall Street banks are set to report a 27 per cent jump in Q2 investment‑banking fees, driven by the SpaceX IPO and a wave of mega‑mergers. Andy Burnham pledged Britain’s biggest council‑house building programme since the war, Europe absorbed record Russian LNG before an EU ban, and firms are turning to cheaper Chinese AI models. Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded Jamie Dimon disclose any lobbying on a UK banker‑bonus tax linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

At Citigroup, CEO Jane Fraser’s aggressive overhaul—selling assets, cutting tens of thousands of jobs and courting the Trump administration—has turned the 214‑year‑old bank into a better‑functioning institution, though analysts say she must now prove she can grow revenue, not just fix the balance sheet.