The Open Bell — Ep. 001 — 23 Jun 2026

Today on The Open Bell: Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow channel that carries roughly a fifth of the world's oil — was closed, on the exact same day the US quietly granted Iran permission to sell more of that oil, which tells you everything you need to know about how well these Switzerland talks are actually going. SpaceX pulled off the biggest stock market debut in years, pocketed $75 billion, and then immediately walked over to the bond market — where companies borrow by issuing debt to investors — to ask for $20 billion more, which is either visionary capital strategy or a sign that building a rocket empire costs more than even a $75 billion payday can cover. For the first time in 25 years, an AI chip company just knocked the previous king off the top of the global stock market rankings — the list of the most valuable companies on Earth — and if that feels distant from your life, consider that most pension funds are still catching up to a shift that already happened. Hosted by Alex Monroe. New episodes every weekday morning at theopenbell.co Not investment advice. For informational purposes only. --- Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:23 Iran's Hormuz Closure Statement Rattles Oil as Switzerland T 03:26 SpaceX Launches $20bn Bond Sale Days After Record $75bn IPO 05:43 AI Boom Crowns New Global Market Cap Leader for First Time S 07:40 Closing thoughts