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On August 15th, local time, US President Trump, speaking at an event in Garden City, New York on the afternoon of August 14th, urged Americans to "accept higher gasoline prices" as "the price to pay to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons." Trump also stated, "After we defeat Iran... I will soon declare the Strait of Hormuz as American territory." The seriousness of his remarks remains unclear.

August 15th - According to the Wall Street Journal, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Nvidia and OpenAI are close to reaching a financing agreement to build a large data center campus in Ohio. However, the two parties have restructured the deal, with Nvidia initially only guaranteeing half of the multi-billion dollar expansion plan, instead of the full amount. The revised plan reduces Nvidia's financial guarantee from $250 billion to less than $120 billion. This adjustment is in response to investor concerns about the chipmaker's exposure as it leverages its balance sheet to boost demand for its AI chips. The agreement could be signed as early as this weekend. Under the framework currently under discussion, Nvidia will provide financial guarantees for the first phase (totaling approximately 5 gigawatts of power capacity), with subsequent phases and financing methods to be decided later. According to two people familiar with the project, OpenAI is still negotiating and plans to sign a binding lease for 10 gigawatts of capacity in the project within the next few days.

Indonesia's Geophysical Agency: The tsunami warning issued after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake has been lifted.

On August 15th, according to two people familiar with Anthropic's finances, the company projects revenue of approximately $190 billion to $200 billion by 2028. This projection significantly exceeds the $47 billion "annualized revenue" the company announced in May. Four sources stated that bankers and investors are using enterprise value multiples based on these projections. Using revenue multiples is common for high-growth software companies that haven't yet established a mature profit model. However, extending the projection period to two years in advance is unusual, reflecting the speed of Anthropic's business expansion and the difficulty of setting a valuation benchmark for a company still heavily investing in AI infrastructure.

August 15 - A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Flores Island, Indonesia, early on August 15, according to the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). No casualties have been reported so far. The BMKG stated that the epicenter was located 30 kilometers northeast of Mbai town in East Nusa Tenggara province, at a depth of 15 kilometers. A tsunami warning has been issued for the earthquake.

On August 15th, US President Trump confirmed on the 14th that the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier, whose long-term deployment to the Middle East has led to questions about living conditions and crew mental health, will be replaced. Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, Trump said the USS Lincoln was "on or about to" depart and would be "replaced by another very similar ship." On the 13th, US sources reported that the US was preparing to send the USS George Washington to the Middle East to replace the USS Lincoln. When asked about growing concerns among the families of service members about the crew's safety, Trump said, "No, they aren't." He also stated that the USS Lincoln's deployment time of nearly nine months was "far too short."

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre has revised the magnitude of the earthquake in the Flores region of Indonesia from 7.4 to 6.9.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reports a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in the Flores region of Indonesia.

August 15th - Following the exposure of the pressure on the US Patriot interceptor stockpile during the Iraq War, defense companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon are racing to develop lower-cost, faster-producible missiles. In the past, the US defense industry continuously added advanced guidance and propulsion systems to missiles, resulting in a unit price exceeding $4 million and production cycles of several years. Now, the Pentagon is demanding that companies "change or be eliminated," hoping to counter cheap threats such as drones at a lower cost. Lockheed Martin has launched a low-cost version of the ACE interceptor, costing only about $2 million per missile, less than half the cost of the enhanced PAC-3 MSE; Boeing is developing an "ultra-low-cost" guidance head, planning to reduce its cost percentage; Northrop Grumman has launched the Strike Hunter system; and Raytheon is expanding the application of its Coyote low-cost anti-drone missile. The US Army states that not all targets require the most advanced and expensive interceptor systems. However, most low-cost solutions will still require several years before mass production.

Market news: Jane Street reported poor performance in July, with trading revenue showing its first monthly loss since 2016.

Market news: JaneStreet said in a memo to employees on Friday that its 2026 revenue "is down about 25% from its peak at the end of June".

Petrobras: Signs of oil and gas have been found in an exploration well in the FZA-M-59 block of the Amazon Estuary Basin.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC): One of our vessels was attacked while sailing in the Strait of Hormuz on August 14 local time. No one was injured and the situation is under control.

Sources say Canada’s trade minister told the advisory committee that Canada and the U.S. are “quite far from reaching an agreement.”

On August 15th, Bloomberg reported that Anthropic's preliminary revenue for the second quarter exceeded $11.5 billion, at least 14 times higher than the $787 million in the same period last year, and also higher than the $4.73 billion in the first quarter of this year. The company achieved a positive adjusted operating profit for the quarter. Anthropic was once in a catch-up position in the AI race, but thanks to the increasing use of its software by professionals to simplify workflows such as programming, the company's business growth has accelerated significantly. In May of this year, Anthropic's annualized revenue exceeded $47 billion. In comparison, OpenAI previously disclosed annualized revenue exceeding $40 billion, but the calculation methods of the two may not be entirely consistent. Competition in the artificial intelligence field is heating up, with IPO financing reaching $256.4 billion so far this year, a new high since 2021 (excluding SPACs and other financial instruments).

Fitch: The UK Prime Minister's more secure position within the Labour Party and rising approval ratings will help maintain political stability for the remainder of the current parliamentary term.

Fitch: The UK government's total debt as a percentage of GDP will rise to 106% by the end of 2028.