Global financial media outlets focused on several key stories overnight and this morning.
1. US Launches New Strikes on Iran as Shipping Through Strait of Hormuz Plummets
2. Dallas Fed President Logan Advocates for 'Moderate' Interest Rate Hikes
3. Apple Plans Largest Upgrade for iPad Mini in Five Years, New Model to Launch This Fall
4. Alphabet Shares Drop 4.7% on Report of Gemini 3.5 Pro AI Model Delay
5. Kansas City Fed President Says US Inflation is Too Hot and Has Been Above Target For Too Long
6. US to Cap J and F Visas at Four-Year Terms
The United States conducted a new round of strikes on Iran on Thursday, following several consecutive days of aerial attacks, as hostilities in the Middle East continue to escalate and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has sharply declined.
US Central Command stated that the latest military action began at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, aimed at "further degrading Iran's military capabilities." Earlier, US forces also struck an oil tanker near a major Iranian export terminal.
Despite warnings from US President Donald Trump that strikes would escalate until Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting Iranian power plants and bridges could be targeted, Tehran appears unwilling to back down. The Strait of Hormuz has now become a focal point of the conflict.
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Lorie Logan said on Thursday that this week's favorable inflation data was not good enough, and she called for moderately raising interest rates to win a battle against inflation that the Fed has been losing for five years.
Logan, a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this year, maintained that inflation remains a significant problem for American households, requiring action from policymakers. While other Fed officials have also indicated a leaning toward raising rates if inflation metrics do not improve, Logan's call is the most specific to date.
"At this time, I believe a moderate increase in rates would better balance the prospects and risks associated with the FOMC's dual mandate," Logan said in prepared remarks for a speech in Houston. "Every month that inflation remains above target adds to the budget pressures on American families."
According to people familiar with the matter, a new iPad mini, codenamed J510, will for the first time feature an OLED display. OLED technology offers higher quality display performance, a feature already adopted in iPhones since 2017 and the iPad Pro in 2024.
Sources indicated that Apple could launch the new iPad mini as soon as this fall, with plans for it to be available by October. The people requested anonymity as the products have not been officially announced. They also said Apple is preparing to launch updated versions of its entry-level iPad and iPad Air product lines next year.
Shares of Alphabet fell following a report that the company delayed the release of its flagship artificial intelligence model, Gemini 3.5 Pro. The stock was down 4.7%. The decline in Alphabet shares weighed on major stock indices, pushing them to session lows on Thursday afternoon.
According to people with knowledge of the matter, Gemini 3.5 Pro has been delayed by several months from its original schedule as Alphabet works to improve its performance. The company unveiled the Gemini 3.5 Pro AI model at its Google I/O developer conference in May of this year.
Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Schmid stated that, given the potential for prices to accelerate in the coming months, his primary concern at the moment is inflation.
Despite better-than-expected June inflation data, Schmid warned that it is still too early to believe inflation is on a sustained downward path.
"My focus is on inflation," Schmid said during a speech at an economic forum on Thursday. "Inflation remains too high, and it has been above target for too long. Therefore, my focus remains on inflation when determining the right direction for monetary policy."
The Trump administration is moving to end a decades-old policy that allowed foreign students and visiting scholars to stay in the US until their studies were complete, replacing it with a four-year visa limit.
Under new rules set to be released on Friday, students and scholars on F and J visas will now need to reapply for continued stay after the time limit, regardless of whether they have completed their degree, plan to pursue graduate studies, or wish to gain work experience related to their field of study.
This change could cause disruption during the busiest period of the year for visa processing, threaten fall enrollment numbers at US colleges and universities, and potentially deter future international students from applying to study in the United States.
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