News

According to Interfax: Russian forces damaged an oil tanker intended for Ukrainian forces in the Ukrainian port of Odessa and hit a marine tugboat in the port of Nikolaev.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center reports that Tropical Storm Genevieve is gradually weakening.

Skepticism about AI was evident in the market reaction to earnings reports from big tech stocks this quarter. Tech giants saw mixed trends after the results. After Meta gave disappointing quarterly revenue guidance and recorded the lowest free cash flow in years, it fell 8% after the market closed. This was a signal that AI bets led to a surge in expenses. On the other hand, Microsoft's stock price closed up nearly 16% after the results, and its market value surged by US$450 billion in a single day, the largest single-day increase for a stock. The catalysts: the fastest cloud growth in four years and a signal from the company that it will rein in new capital spending this year. Amazon shares closed up 15% after the results. The company reported upbeat cloud business revenue, with growth hitting a four-year high, easing market concerns about returns on huge AI spending. Bob Long, founder and chief options analyst at Explosive Options, said sooner or later investors will grow tired of the relentless spending of hyperscalers, so it's not surprising to see a company get a boost from restrained spending. Stocks related to the global AI supply chain, as well as companies that provide support for AI or adopt AI technology, also appear to be back in favor.

U.S. Geological Survey: A magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred 3 kilometers west of Matsuse Town, Japan; the focal depth was 10.0 kilometers.

According to Saudi media Hadas: The US Embassy in Israel issued a warning to its citizens that there may be an escalation in the Middle East.

Ukrainian President Zelensky: The Ukrainian military attacked a sanctioned Russian container ship named YANINA with a carrying capacity of more than 100,000 tons.

Ukrainian President Zelensky: Ukraine’s National Security Service of Ukraine attacked the infrastructure of three Russian oil refineries in the Bashkortostan region.

According to Interfax: Russian troops also took control of the village of Ljubitsk in the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine.

According to Interfax: Russian troops have taken control of the village of Olgivka in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.

Security policy and defense analyst Wolfgang Pustai said the United States will never be able to end threats to ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the North Arabian Sea. All they can do is limit the number of attacks by hitting the assets that Iran uses to attack these ships. What we see now is that the United States adopts a strategy of tightening sometimes and loosening sometimes. Whenever Iran attacks ships in the region, the Americans respond with forceful strikes.

Rosatom: A Ukrainian drone sank a civilian ship owned by the company in the Black Sea at night, and all crew members survived. Such attacks can only be described as piracy and maritime robbery.

Hungarian Prime Minister Maudjour: The new government decree will seek voluntary reductions in electricity demand from large users, and sanctions will be imposed if this is not achieved.

Hungarian Prime Minister Maudjour: If the Parkes nuclear power plant shuts down, the power demand voluntarily reduced by companies may not be enough.

Hungarian Prime Minister Majol: The Parkes nuclear power plant may be completely shut down this weekend due to low Danube River water levels.

An executive at Indian Oil Corporation said that due to the Middle East crisis, the company now sources about 85% of its oil from the spot market, compared to 50% previously.

Indian Oil executive: The company has set the August aviation fuel price for domestic airlines at 115 rupees per liter, an increase of 5 rupees from July.

Ukrainian General Staff: We carried out strikes against Russian maritime drone warehouses on the Crimean Peninsula.

Indian Oil Corporation executives: The expansion of the company's refining capacity will increase crude oil processing capacity to 85 million tons in 2027/28.

Kia Motors America sold a record 75,857 vehicles in July, up 7% year-over-year.

Indian Oil Corporation executives: The company's LPG retail business is expected to lose about 250 rupees for every 14.2-kilogram cylinder sold from July to September.