{"id":64632,"date":"2026-07-11T21:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T01:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/u-s-launches-retaliatory-airstrikes-on-iran-following-strait-of-hormuz-escalation\/64632\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T21:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T01:38:15","slug":"u-s-launches-retaliatory-airstrikes-on-iran-following-strait-of-hormuz-escalation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/u-s-launches-retaliatory-airstrikes-on-iran-following-strait-of-hormuz-escalation\/64632\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Launches Retaliatory Airstrikes on Iran Following Strait of Hormuz Escalation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong> launched a third round of precision airstrikes against <strong>80+ Iranian targets<\/strong> after the IRGC attacked the Cyprus-flagged container ship <strong>M\/V GFS Galaxy<\/strong>, leaving one crew member missing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Big Tech debt<\/strong> has doubled to <strong>$350 billion<\/strong> over five years as Alphabet (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>), Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>), Meta (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>), <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>), and Oracle (<a href=\"\/stock\/ORCL\">ORCL<\/a>) borrow heavily to fund the <strong>AI data center boom<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AI-related layoffs<\/strong> remain elevated for the third consecutive month, with <strong>101,743 job cuts<\/strong> attributed to artificial intelligence in the first half of 2026 alone.<\/li>\n<li><strong>China\u2019s commercial property sector<\/strong> is pivoting toward <strong>REITs<\/strong>, with 19 listing applications filed as developers seek to unlock liquidity from office and retail assets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Middle East Conflict Reaches New Flashpoint<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Pentagon<\/strong> confirmed today that U.S. forces initiated a massive wave of airstrikes across southern Iran, targeting air defense systems, radar sites, and drone storage facilities. The operation follows an attack by the <strong>Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)<\/strong> on the <strong>M\/V GFS Galaxy<\/strong> in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies. U.S. Defense Secretary <strong>Pete Hegseth<\/strong> issued a stern warning, stating, &quot;Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Explosions were reported in the Iranian coastal cities of <strong>Bandar Abbas<\/strong>, <strong>Sirik<\/strong>, and <strong>Chabahar<\/strong> early Sunday. Tehran has responded by declaring the <strong>Strait of Hormuz closed<\/strong> until further notice, a move that has already sent ripples through global oil markets. This latest escalation effectively collapses a fragile 60-day ceasefire brokered in June, raising fears of a broader regional war.<\/p>\n<h2>Big Tech\u2019s $350 Billion AI Debt Gamble<\/h2>\n<p>A new financial analysis reveals that the five largest U.S. tech giants have collectively added <strong>$350 billion<\/strong> in debt over the last five years to finance the infrastructure required for generative AI. <strong>Alphabet<\/strong>, <strong>Amazon<\/strong>, <strong>Meta<\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong>Oracle<\/strong> are betting that future AI revenues will justify the massive capital expenditure, which is projected to reach <strong>$725 billion<\/strong> this year.<\/p>\n<p>However, credit markets are showing signs of exhaustion. <strong>S&amp;P Global Ratings<\/strong> recently downgraded Oracle (<a href=\"\/stock\/ORCL\">ORCL<\/a>) to its lowest investment-grade rating, citing aggressive spending. Additionally, a recent <strong>$25 billion bond offering<\/strong> from Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>) received a &quot;chilly&quot; reception from investors, suggesting a potential limit to the debt-funded expansion of the &quot;hyperscalers.&quot;<\/p>\n<h2>Labor Market and Global Developments<\/h2>\n<p>The impact of AI is increasingly visible in the U.S. labor market. While overall layoffs have dropped <strong>40% year-over-year<\/strong>, the technology sector has seen an <strong>83% surge<\/strong> in job cuts. According to <strong>Challenger, Gray &amp; Christmas<\/strong>, AI-related reasons accounted for <strong>31% of all layoffs<\/strong> in June 2026. <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>) recently eliminated <strong>4,800 positions<\/strong> as part of a restructuring to prioritize AI investments.<\/p>\n<p>In other global news:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>China Property:<\/strong> Developers are rushing to list <strong>commercial-property REITs<\/strong> to raise cash from illiquid assets. The first four trusts raised <strong>20.3 billion yuan ($3 billion)<\/strong> and were heavily oversubscribed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Politics:<\/strong> President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> reported over <strong>$1.4 billion<\/strong> in income from cryptocurrency ventures in 2025, highlighting his ability to monetize political loyalty through digital assets like the <strong>$TRUMP<\/strong> meme coin.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diplomatic Incident:<\/strong> U.S. Representative <strong>Ro Khanna<\/strong> (D-CA) reported being detained by armed Israeli settlers for over an hour during a visit to the <strong>West Bank<\/strong>, an incident he described as &quot;lawless.&quot;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ukraine Conflict:<\/strong> A media investigation has identified over <strong>230,000 Russian soldiers<\/strong> killed in Ukraine, underscoring the staggering human cost of the ongoing war.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched a third round of precision airstrikes against 80+ Iranian targets after the IRGC [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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