US Morning News Call | Pentagon Weighs Iran 'Final Blow', Meanwhile, Trump Team Plans for $200 Oil Scenario

🔔Before the Bell

Stocks and bonds declined, as mounting doubts about Iran’s readiness to participate in ceasefire talks in the Middle East drove oil prices higher.

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Pentagon Weighs Iran ‘Final Blow', Meanwhile, Trump Team Plans for $200 Oil Scenario

US officials say the Pentagon is considering hypothetical escalation options against Iran, including major strikes and possible ground operations that could target key islands and disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, Trump administration officials are assessing the potential economic fallout if the conflict drives oil prices as high as $200 a barrel.

Trump Indicates Intent to End Iran War Within Weeks

President Trump told associates he wants to avoid a protracted Iran war and hopes to conclude the conflict within weeks. White House planned a mid-May summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, expecting a war conclusion beforehand.

Google's New AI Memory-Compression Algorithms Raise Concerns for Memory Chip Demand

researchers unveiled techniques including TurboQuant, Quantized Johnson-Lindenstrauss, and PolarQuant to cut the memory needed for large language models and vector search. The breakthrough fueled worries that improved software efficiency could reduce demand growth for memory and storage hardware across the chip industry.

Intel and AMD Reportedly Plan 10%–15% CPU Price Increases

and have informed customers of upcoming price increases across their CPU product lines beginning in March and April, averaging around 10% to 15% with some products higher.

🪙Crypto News

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Whale Trader Suffers $30.7 Million Loss on Leveraged ETH Positions After Repeated Liquidations

A prominent whale trader accumulated over $30.7 million in losses on ETH long positions after being liquidated multiple times as ETH fell below $2,100, immediately reopening new 25x leveraged long positions.