Morning Edition · Monday, August 10, 2026
Markets
Brent Closes at $87.69 After Houthi Drone Strike on Saudi Refinery Compounds the Hormuz Closure
Crude posted its fourth straight gain as an attack on Aramco's Jazan plant added a second supply threat outside the strait. Iran's conditions for reopening the waterway remain far more restrictive than traders had assumed.
Macro
Asian Shares Advance With Tokyo Leading as Traders Wait on United States Inflation Data
The July consumer price index is due Wednesday, with the June reading at 3.5 percent leaving investors split between rate cuts and renewed tightening.
Crypto
Bitcoin Holds Above $65,000 While XRP Falls, and Gold Recovers Toward $4,360
Bitcoin, ether and BNB each gained close to 3 percent over the week as XRP lost 5 percent, showing that digital assets are not all moving together.
Geopolitics
Washington Shifts From Strikes to Sanctions and Blockade in Its Campaign Against Iran
The change comes as Iranian household budgets contract and the national gas company asks industry to accept restraint to protect residential supply.
World
China Opens a Regular Arctic Container Route to Europe as Chokepoint Risk Rises
The service promises voyages of about 20 days between the Far East and northern Europe, against 30 to 40 days through the Suez Canal.
World
Investigation Says Uranium Left Congo Inside Cobalt Shipments Bound for China
Reporters estimate 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes may have been exported over two decades, and Kinshasa has asked the International Atomic Energy Agency for a technical mission.
Macro
German Economy Minister Says the Rise of the AfD Could Deter Investors
Katherina Reiche is trying to attract 3.75 trillion euros of private capital by 2040 at a time when more German households say they cannot afford a week-long holiday.
World
Copernicus Records Western Europe's Hottest June and July as Rivers Run Low
The Po in northern Italy has fallen far enough that farmers are considering abandoning water-intensive crops, and July's average sea surface temperature across the ice-free oceans was unusually high.
World
Typhoon Dolphin Grounds Nearly 40 Percent of Shanghai Flights as Fires Spread in Indonesia
Two Malaysian states recorded unhealthy air on Monday as smoke drifted north, while a fire in Indonesia's Mount Bromo park burned 550 hectares before crews contained it.
Geopolitics
Russia Intensifies Recruitment at Home as Drones Reach the Volga Region
An overnight barrage of 456 Ukrainian drones hit roughly fifteen Russian regions, killing at least twelve people and wounding thirty-nine in Tatarstan's Nizhnekamsk, one of the deadliest single strikes of the war, as Moscow separately claimed damage to a fuel station in southeastern Ukraine.
Geopolitics
Europe Faces a Rocket Launcher Shortage by 2030 as Japan Hardens Weapons Against Cyberattack
Demand for launches is growing faster than Europe can build capacity, while Tokyo plans to install security software in radars and fighter aircraft from 2027.
Tech
China's C919 Airliner Starts Its First Scheduled International Route This Month
A high-altitude variant has completed its maiden flight and European test pilots have assessed the aircraft, as a Chinese electric aircraft maker seeks customers in Kazakhstan.