Apple filed a lawsuit on Friday accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets through former employees and io Products, the hardware firm OpenAI acquired last year. The 41-page complaint alleges the misappropriation of confidential information including unreleased products and supply-chain details, and argues OpenAI’s hardware effort is built on unstable ground. OpenAI said it has no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.

South Korea’s Sinokor Group deployed very large crude carriers for Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s shuttle runs across the Strait of Hormuz, moving cargoes with transponders off and using ship-to-ship transfers outside the waterway. By June, vessels controlled by Sinokor were carrying as much as 1.4 million barrels a day of Emirati crude. Sinokor controls nearly 40% of available VLCC capacity worldwide, helping push spot tanker rates to record levels. The operations helped limit the impact of disruptions in the strait on global supply, but reduced flexibility in the spot shipping market and added to structural tightness in crude flows.

Trump allies are intensifying efforts to remove a Biden-appointed Federal Reserve governor referred to in the report as “Cook” and are also pressuring former Chair Jerome Powell to leave the Fed’s Board of Governors. The Supreme Court allowed Cook to remain in her role for now on procedural grounds, but Fed watchers said the narrow ruling does not fully insulate the central bank from future political efforts. The administration is also focusing on the open Atlanta Fed presidency, a position that will carry a vote on interest rates in 2027.

Nike’s latest results showed North America revenue edging up 3%, while China revenue fell 12% year over year and Converse posted a sharp decline. The company has also faced operational and messaging setbacks, including a Boston Marathon ad controversy, World Cup product shortages and a pullback in financial disclosures. CEO Elliott Hill has said the turnaround is moving slower than expected, with the stock down 75% from its peak five years ago and about half since he became CEO in 2024.

In an interview with CNBC, President Donald Trump said the Federal Reserve’s board is “maybe a little bit hostile,” reiterated his pressure on Chair Kevin Warsh, and vowed to continue his push to remove Governor Lisa Cook. The remarks follow a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Trump was wrong to try to oust Cook last August because she did not receive due process. Warsh said he would respect the court’s decision and the Fed’s independence, while reaffirming the institution’s focus on price stability and its dual mandate. The episode has not triggered any immediate shift in monetary policy, but has reinforced market concerns about political interference risks.

Anthropic alleges that Alibaba distilled its Claude frontier model via API access, highlighting a gap in U.S. export controls over cloud-based access to advanced AI. The company is lobbying Congress to tighten rules, backing Rep. Michael Lawler’s Remote Access Security Act, which would target foreign entities that access sensitive AI through cloud services on a “purposeful, knowing, reckless, or negligent” basis. The bill remains stuck in committee, though Anthropic’s latest allegations could increase its chances of moving forward. The episode is not tied to any confirmed IPO timetable or financial disclosures and is not presented as directly linked to prices of any listed tradfi assets.

Markets are pricing a 77% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise rates by at least a quarter point by the end of the year, driven by higher oil prices linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and AI-related chip shortages that are lifting electronics costs. Citi Research’s Andrew Hollenhorst disputes that view, arguing the oil market has swung from shortage to surplus, core CPI could slip below 2.5% by August, and payroll growth may cool starting with the June jobs report. Brookings senior fellow Robin Brooks also downplayed the Fed’s hawkish messaging and said the June CPI release on July 14 could shift expectations back toward cuts.

Ray Dalio has compared the 2026 U.S.-Iran confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz to Britain’s 1956 Suez Crisis, describing it as a systemic turning point for U.S. imperial and financial dominance. He points to the U.S. national debt crossing $39 trillion and the dollar’s share of global foreign exchange reserves falling to 56.9%, the lowest since 1995. He also argues the conflict reflects a broader reordering of global power rather than a standalone episode.

Donald Trump said he has instructed the Justice Department to investigate major oil companies including Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell and Occidental Petroleum over alleged gasoline price gouging, arguing pump prices have not fallen in line with lower crude costs. The national average gasoline price is $3.91 a gallon, up from $3.22 a year ago. The Justice Department and the White House did not confirm details of any investigation, but said higher fuel costs are an economic challenge. Several companies and industry representatives said the pass-through from crude prices to retail gasoline can take weeks to months.