Daily Briefing — July 12, 2026 | Strait of Hormuz Closure, Fed Report, and the AI Trade

A Sunday briefing covering a weekend of significant developments. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has closed the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a U.S. military response and raising fresh questions about oil supply and inflation. We break down the market implications and what traders will be watching when oil futures open.The Federal Reserve released its semiannual Monetary Policy Report, with Chair Kevin Warsh set to testify before Congress this week against a backdrop of rising inflation expectations and a market pricing in a potential rate hike. The European Central Bank held steady for the fifth consecutive meeting, while the Bank of Japan faces mounting pressure as bond yields hit levels not seen in decades.In equities, the AI trade continued to drive U.S. markets higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq extending their winning streaks. SK Hynix's strong U.S. debut and Meta's best weekly performance since early 2024 underscore the market's appetite for AI exposure. Corporate news includes Apollo's £5.7 billion bid for easyJet, Xavier Niel's £4.4 billion Vodafone stake, and Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI.All this and more in today's full briefing from Slotly News.