An F-35B Lighting II assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 takes off from the flight deck of the American-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) on May 13, 2026.
Provided by: U.S. Navy
Hello, my name is Hui Jie from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
In the past few weeks, the U.S. government has signaled that it could go to war with Iran through other means. Then it went back to its original type.
On Sunday, the United States struck an Iranian rocket launcher on Larak Island, the first officially recognized attack on Iran since late July, raising fears of a renewed armed conflict.
Markets have more to contend with than the recent tensions in the Middle East, with Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh hinting that interest rates may need to rise.
What you need to know today
US President Donald Trump has vowed “economic war and isolation on an unprecedented scale” against Iran, signaling a shift from armed conflict to economic pressure. That change didn’t last long.
The U.S. military struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Raraku Island on Sunday, as the Iran war enters its seventh month and renewed military action raises concerns that the conflict will be prolonged.
Oil futures rose more than 1% in early Asian trading on Monday, while U.S. stock futures and Asian markets fell.
The prospect of higher interest rates has also soured investor sentiment, after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh warned that inflation remains above target and hinted at the possibility of raising interest rates.
This stance has put him at odds with Trump, who has long pushed for rate cuts and criticized Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, for not cutting rates fast enough.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday (US time) that he would encourage G20 members to reconsider their trade terms with China and encourage China to rebalance its economy away from exports and toward domestic consumption. “The world cannot have a China with a $1.2 trillion trade surplus,” Bessent said.
On the corporate front, OpenAI announced plans to terminate a deal that gave developers access to its models in code editor Cursor, which was acquired by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
OpenAI said it was not confident that SpaceX would use its technology within its terms of service “based on Elon Musk’s company’s experience with contract violations.”
From breakup to deal: Insurance and consulting giant Aon is reportedly close to a deal to buy insurance brokerage firm USI from private equity firm KKR for about $17 billion.
If completed, the USI deal would follow a series of exits for KKR, including the sale of data center cooling company CoolIT and Circor’s commercial and defense aerospace businesses earlier this year.
