A U.S. Marine with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit Sea Assault Force rappels from an MH-60S Seahawk assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC) Squadron 25 during helicopter and rope sustainment training aboard the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7) in the U.S. Central Command area of jurisdiction, May 8, 2026.
Provided by: U.S. Marine Corps
Hello, my name is Leonie Kidd and I’m from London. Welcome to today’s Daily Open Newsletter.
The Iran war is dominating markets again today, with heavy trading in stocks and oil prices in Asia.
Officials insist the ceasefire is still in effect, but how long will it last as attacks from both sides increase in frequency?
What you need to know today
A significant rise in tensions between the US and Iran triggered a risk-on reaction in early trading in Asian and European futures markets.
Oil prices are rising after the US military launched a new offensive against Iranian military positions believed to threaten US troops and commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, US officials told MS NOW. It also reportedly intercepted and shot down several Iranian drones.
In response, the Islamic Republic’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had targeted a US air base on Thursday at around 4:50 a.m. local time.
Meanwhile, Kuwait activated its own air defense system in response to “hostile missile and drone threats.”
In a series of exclusive interviews, CNBC spoke with Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari and Governor Austin Goolsby about the impact of the Middle East conflict on inflation. Kashkari said fighting price pressures was a priority as the labor market was in “decent shape”, while Goolsby said war-related energy inflation was causing a “stagflation shock” in Asia.
The EU is reportedly preparing a new plan to reduce dependence on US technology by supporting European alternatives in several key areas. This is what the Financial Times reported, citing the draft document. The coalition says it is considering increasing incentives to support data center construction while favoring domestic cloud and AI technology companies.
CNBC spoke with European AI giant Mistral AI, and CEO Arthur Mensch said, “Europe is starting to look at AI as a strategic asset, and policymakers are recognizing that they need to do something about it.”
In other company news, the CEO of supercar group Lamborghini told CNBC that the company was right to discontinue its electric vehicles. His comments came amid backlash. ferrari‘s new EV Luce wiped billions off the Italian car group’s market capitalization.
Chinese group Nio, which remains in the EV space, saw its stock price soar more than 10% after announcing its first new EV model in more than two years. The company sets competitive prices despite the Chinese government’s efforts to curb excessive competition.
— Leonie Kidd
And finally…
Google employee charged with $1 million Polymarket insider trading bet on search terms
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday indicted a Google employee on fraud charges for allegedly making $1.2 million in bets using Polymarket insider information.
Prosecutors allege that Michele Spagnuolo, an information security engineer at Google, used confidential information to trade and correctly bet that singer d4vd would be the most searched person on Google in 2025.
Mr. Spagnuolo is charged with money laundering, merchandise fraud and wire fraud. The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, was unsealed Wednesday.
ABC News first reported the complaint. Spagnuolo was arrested in New York on Wednesday morning, ABC reported.
— Davis Giangiulio
