MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: U.S. stocks fell after a plunge for South Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix spurred a selloff in AI bets.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields rose as oil futures spiked and Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller said incoming consumer-price data could be critical for his stance on rates.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar rose against rivals as oil prices surged.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures rose by more than 9% in New York after President Trump said the U.S. would blockade Iranian ports, escalating the standoff over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
HEADLINES
Trump Says He Is Reimposing the U.S. Blockade of Iran
President Trump said Monday he is reimposing the U.S. blockade on Iranian shipping, escalating a standoff over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
His comments came after the U.S. launched additional strikes against Iran, which defied American demands that it publicly declare the strait open and instead closed the waterway. Oil prices jumped, with Brent crude trading more than 8% higher.
Trump asserted that the strait remains open under American protection and said the U.S. would charge 20% of every cargo shipment as compensation for its costs. He didn't detail how that would work but said procedures would be formulated immediately. In a statement posted later on social media, U.S. Central Command said American forces would resume the blockade of Iranian ports at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
California, Other State AGs Sue to Block Paramount-Warner Megadeal
A coalition of 12 states led by California is suing to block Paramount's $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, presenting the biggest obstacle for a deal that will combine two of Hollywood's biggest producers and distributors of entertainment and news content.
"The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
The suit was filed Monday in Northern California federal court.
CEO of Jack Daniel's Maker Brown-Forman to Step Down
Brown-Forman Chief Executive Lawson Whiting is planning to step down, as the Jack Daniel's maker seeks to move past a slowdown in alcohol sales and unfruitful deal talks.
Whiting, who has led the Louisville-based company since 2019, plans to retire when a successor is appointed, according to people familiar with the situation. Brown-Forman's board will start a search that will consider both internal and external candidates, they said.
Brown-Forman and other spirits makers are contending with years of declining alcohol consumption that has cut into sales of spirits, wine and beer. Aside from Jack Daniel's, Brown-Forman produces spirits including Herradura tequila, Woodford Reserve and its historic bourbon brand Old Forester.
Meta Lifts Cost of Louisiana Data Center to $50 Billion
Meta Platforms has scaled up the size of its massive data-center project in Northeast Louisiana to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity and said it would now cost more than $50 billion.
The project in the rural Richland Parish region, originally pegged at a cost of $27 billion, will be the company's largest data center. The latest expansion also makes it one of the largest investments in artificial-intelligence infrastructure in the world, Meta said Monday.
Private-credit manager Blue Owl Capital owns a major stake in the project, which has attracted investors including BlackRock, according to The Wall Street Journal.
SpaceX Plans Starship Test Flight After Delay
SpaceX plans to launch the newest version of its Starship rocket later this week, after a mishap postponed an earlier planned mission and prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to require an investigation into the issue.
The company said Monday it is preparing to launch the flight test as soon as Thursday, with a launch window set to open in the evening. The mission would be the first flight for Starship "V3," a redesigned version of the vehicle that is aimed at deploying bigger satellites.
SpaceX had postponed a May test mission for the rocket after the booster didn't perform as expected, prompting the FAA to require the company to investigate the mishap.
Appeals Court Revives Lawsuits Alleging Tylenol Causes Autism and ADHD
A federal appeals court revived more than 500 lawsuits that allege Tylenol and generic acetaminophen can cause attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism if taken during pregnancy.
The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that a trial judge had erred by excluding expert medical witnesses, offered by the plaintiffs, who were expected to testify that there was a link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD. The 3-0 decision sends the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.
The trial judge had previously ruled that reports by experts including Dr. Andrea Baccarelli, the dean of Harvard University's public health school, cherry-picked results and were unreliable. That decision essentially gutted the plaintiffs' case before trial.
A hot inflation reading this week could mean a rate hike soon, Fed's Waller says
There is a chance the Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates soon if inflation readings this week disappoint, Fed governor Christopher Waller said Monday.
"If we get another hot reading on core inflation this week, then the [Federal Open Market Committee] will need to consider tightening monetary policy in the near term," Waller said, in a speech prepared for delivery to the New York Association for Business Economics.
Core inflation excludes volatile food and energy prices. The core personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index was running at a 3.4% annual rate in May, up from below 3% last October.
Intel to Invest EUR5 Billion for Expanded Manufacturing in Ireland
Intel said it plans to invest EUR5 billion to expand its manufacturing site in Ireland, part of the company's latest effort to meet growing demand for AI and high-performance chips.
The chip maker said the capital investment in its Leixlip campus, located west of Dublin, will boost production and advance research and development activities while utilizing capacity across the site's existing cleanroom space.
The EUR5 billion ($5.71 billion) expenditure program, started earlier this year, will see Intel strengthening Europe's semiconductor supply chain and serve industry demand, the company said.
First Hawaiian to Merge With TriCo Bancshares in $2 Billion All-Stock Deal
The parent company of First Hawaiian Bank has agreed to acquire TriCo Bancshares in an all-stock transaction valued at $2.01 billion.
First Hawaiian said Monday that the deal would see TriCo stockholders receive just under 2.1 shares of First Hawaiian for each share of TriCo they own. Based on the price First Hawaiian shares closed at last week, that equates to about $63.12 per TriCo share.
That per-share price puts the deal's valuation at more than $2 billion, based on TriCo's estimated 31.9 million shares outstanding, according to FactSet.
TALKING POINT Active ETFs Are Hot. Don't Get Burned.
Investors are pouring trillions of dollars into actively managed exchange-traded funds, but the increasingly popular products may come at a steep price. Active ETFs often charge higher fees than low-cost index funds, and high fees have long been associated with costly underperformance.
Active ETF assets hit a record $2.5 trillion in May, according to research firm ETFGI. More than 80% of ETF launches were active last year, according to Morningstar. And growth is accelerating: Active ETFs recorded $412 billion of net inflows through May-almost twice the level over the same period a year earlier.
Investors are flocking to ETFs for their daily liquidity, tax efficiency, and access to asset classes like cryptocurrencies, options strategies, and other alternatives.
Fund companies are launching so many ETFs partly to help stem declines in mutual fund assets, down nearly $2.7 trillion over the past four years, including $640 billion in 2025.
Regulatory and legal changes are also paving the way. The Securities and Exchange Commission streamlined the ETF approval process in 2019. Fund companies also got a boost in 2023 from a Vanguard patent expiration, allowing companies like Dimensional Fund Advisors to launch ETF share-class versions of their active mutual funds.
--Elijah Nicholson-Messmer, Barron's
Expected Major Events for Tuesday
04:30/JPN: May Revised Industrial Production
06:00/GER: Jun WPI
10:00/US: Jun NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism
12:30/US: Jun CPI
12:30/US: Jun Real Earnings
12:55/US: 07/11 Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index
20:00/US: May Treasury International Capital Data
20:30/US: API Weekly Statistical Bulletin
23:01/UK: Jun UK Nations and Regions Growth Tracker
23:50/JPN: May Orders Received for Machinery
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Tuesday
Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) is expected to report for 4Q.
America's Car-Mart Inc $(CRMT)$ is expected to report $-0.66 for 4Q.
AngioDynamics Inc $(ANGO)$ is expected to report $-0.18 for 4Q.
$Bank of America Corp(BAC-N)$ (BAC) is expected to report $1.13 for 2Q.
Citigroup Inc $(CUL3)$ is expected to report $2.74 for 2Q.
Equity Bancshares Inc (EQBK) is expected to report $1.22 for 2Q.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc $(GS)$ is expected to report $14.51 for 2Q.
JPMorgan Chase & Co $(JPM)$ is expected to report $5.59 for 2Q.
Kestra Medical Technologies Ltd $(KMTS)$ is expected to report for 4Q.
Park Aerospace Corp (PKE) is expected to report $0.14 for 1Q.
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July 13, 2026 16:36 ET (20:36 GMT)
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