Iran confirms Qatar visit, demands explanation over the Strait of Hormuz allegations.

The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) announced that it has appointed Marc Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm a16z (Andreessen Horowitz), to join a special task force to assist in researching the impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) on productivity and the labor market. Andreessen will serve on the Fed’s Productivity and Employment Task Force alongside Stanford University economics professor Charles I. Jones, who is currently on leave from his role at AI firm Anthropic, and Microsoft Executive Vice President and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. In a press release, the Fed stated that the task force will evaluate the impact of general-purpose technologies like AI on employment and productivity, providing a reference for the central bank to formulate monetary policy. This task force is one of five special working groups established by the new Fed Chair, each tasked with researching key issues in the monetary policy framework. In addition to productivity and employment, the remaining four working groups will focus on areas including policy communication, balance sheet policy, data quality, and the inflation framework.

SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won stated that SK Hynix is open to issuing additional U.S. shares if the company delivers strong returns and maintains stable stock prices. “This actually requires better returns,” he said. “Once we achieve stronger returns, demand will naturally rise. Our top priority is keeping the stock price stable, and we hope it will have upside potential in the long run.” Choi also pledged to increase the company’s investments in the U.S. He noted, “We are now in the AI era, and the advent of the AI era has greatly boosted demand for storage chips.” Currently, the three top-tier storage chip manufacturers are accelerating investment to expand production capacity, competing to meet the surging market demand.

According to the New York Post, U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with the media outlet on Friday: "If Iran successfully executes an assassination plot against me, I have left instructions—if anything happens, carry out unprecedented bombing on Iran directly." When asked this week about intelligence reports that Israel had notified of an assassination plot targeting the U.S. president, Trump stated that Iran has no new plans, but claimed Tehran has sought to kill him for years.

According to CNBC, crypto exchange Kraken is preparing to relaunch its application, with agentic trading positioned as a core feature. This move is expected to become a new focal point of competition in the next phase of crypto trading platforms. Agentic trading refers to AI intelligent agents making independent trading decisions, executing trades, and even managing investment portfolios based on user-set goals. Unlike traditional automated trading systems that rely on fixed rules, agentic trading platforms can comprehensively analyze multiple variables, continuously learn new market information, and independently fulfill user-specified objectives within preset parameters. Kraken stated that its platform will allow users to call AI intelligent agents to continuously monitor markets, identify investment opportunities, and execute trades in real time. This product launch also reflects the financial industry’s accelerating shift toward AI-native products. As large language models (LLMs) and autonomous intelligent systems continue to evolve, the way investors interact with financial markets is undergoing profound changes.

The Federal Reserve’s semi-annual report shows that U.S. economic activity is projected to maintain steady overall expansion in 2026, driven primarily by high-tech investment and government spending. Factory output has grown strongly on the back of AI-related data center investments, with production capacity continuing to improve. However, the housing market has stalled, and external economic growth is sluggish, weighed down by Middle East conflicts and tariffs. The labor market remains broadly stable, with both wages and productivity rising, though labor supply has fallen due to slowing immigration, and small businesses and households still face tight credit conditions. Inflation remains elevated and rose further in spring, while asset prices are above historical averages. The overall financial system is stable, with banks holding sufficient reserves; the private credit market is functioning normally despite some redemption pressures. Long-term inflation expectations are largely anchored near the 2% target, but uncertainties related to a potential Iran war remain a key risk.

The Federal Reserve’s semi-annual monetary policy report notes that the U.S. labor market is broadly stable, and some inflation metrics—including trimmed mean measures—have declined. Under the Reserve Management Purchase Operations, bank reserves remain in the "ample" range. Long-term inflation expectation indicators are "broadly consistent" with the 2% target. AI-related data center investment has driven strong factory output, and U.S. productive capacity is rising at a "solid pace".