Oil has stayed near $100 a barrel following the Iran conflict, according to Al Jazeera, with the worst-case scenario — a full closure of the Strait of Hormuz — having been avoided, but the price floor remains elevated as inflation and slower growth weigh on the global economy. Separately, an oil tanker was attacked off Oman with Indian crew rescued, adding to the sense that Gulf shipping lanes remain unsettled. For anyone positioned in energy or watching the Bank of England’s inflation path, neither development is background noise.

On that point: Trump and Netanyahu are openly at odds over war goals, with the FT reporting that US frustration over continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon and Iran has now erupted publicly. The Economist frames it similarly — Netanyahu has defied Washington twice in recent days, complicating whatever diplomatic endgame the White House is pursuing on Iran. The practical consequence is that a negotiated de-escalation looks further away than it did a week ago, which keeps the oil risk premium in place.

SpaceX’s IPO is the most significant market event in the technology space. The FT reports the listing is pricing in advances across AI, Starlink and space-based computing at a $1.78 trillion valuation — asking public investors to take a long view on assets that are years from generating commensurate returns. The BBC frames it as Musk’s biggest gamble, given the concentration of his personal wealth and influence across the entity. Worth watching how institutional appetite shapes the book.

Apollo and Blackstone have raised $35 billion in a chip financing deal for Anthropic, one of the largest private credit fundraisings on record. That figure matters beyond the AI narrative — it signals that private credit markets remain wide open for mega-deals even at this stage of the cycle, and that the picks-and-shovels logic the FT identifies in data centre infrastructure stocks has now migrated firmly into AI model companies themselves.

On UK domestic politics, Badenoch used a speech to the Institute of Government to argue that the public sector equality duty should be scrapped, calling it a legal minefield that exposes every significant public decision to challenge. She also took direct aim at the Macpherson principle — that a racist incident is what the victim perceives it to be — calling it “wrong.” Neither position is likely to shift policy this week, but both will sharpen the dividing lines ahead of whatever comes out of the Makerfield by-election, which is being watched closely as a potential trigger for Labour’s internal dynamics.

Russia’s GPS jamming capability is broader than previously understood. Ars Technica reports tests suggesting Russian satellites can interfere with GPS on a continental scale across Europe. The implications for aviation, logistics and financial infrastructure timing systems are material enough that this warrants attention beyond the defence community.

Armenia’s election has delivered a setback to Russian influence, with The Economist reporting that Moscow’s attempts to reverse Yerevan’s pivot westward have failed. A small but concrete shift in the post-Soviet map.

The Makerfield by-election result is due to be declared in the next 48 hours.

Sources

Guardian, BBC News, Al Jazeera, TechCrunch, FT, Ars Technica, The Economist — 2026-06-09