Iran mulls allowing Europe to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), US-listed optical communication concept stocks have extended their rally, with the following performances: Pure Photonics ETF FOTO rose 11.41%; Corning (GLW) rose 9.21%; Marvell Technology (MRVL) rose 13.6%; AAOI (Applied Optoelectronics) rose 21.7%; LITE (Lumentum Holdings) rose 9.72%; COHR (Coherent Corp) rose 15.52%; CIEN (Ciena Corporation) rose 6.98%.

"Fed Whisperer" Nick Timiraos wrote in a recent article that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s policy reaction function has shifted to become less dovish. His remarks this year suggest the Federal Reserve should keep interest rates steady. Earlier this year, Bessent cited models saying the gap between the Fed’s policy rate and the neutral rate could range from more than 25 basis points to over 100 basis points. On August 4, Bessent laid out two key views. First, he defended Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller’s decision last week not to elaborate on any policy reaction function: “I think every meeting should be open, and market participants should judge for themselves. I think Waller wants to keep his options open to achieve the best outcome.” Second, he did propose a policy reaction function that could be characterized as dovish, arguing that recent shocks should be overlooked: “What exactly will be the impact of short-term rate hikes? We will have to wait and see.” He raised that question, then responded by pointing out that underlying inflation is “very mild, very stable.” “Core inflation, after excluding volatile items heavily affected by energy, has remained very stable. I believe this situation will continue.”

According to Iran's state media, a spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that negotiations with Oman on transit issues in the Strait of Hormuz are still ongoing. The final outcome of the talks will be announced after compilation and sorting.

According to ABC News, the U.S. federal appeals court in New York on Tuesday upheld the conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) on fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX. In 2024, SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison for orchestrating what prosecutors called one of the largest financial fraud cases in U.S. history.

Iran's state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported on the 4th, citing a senior Iranian official, that the US is attempting to obstruct ongoing Iran-Oman negotiations on the management of the Strait of Hormuz. Despite US obstruction, the talks have entered a "new phase". US Secretary of State Rubio told reporters at the US State Department on the same day that the Strait of Hormuz issue is currently the most urgent and high-profile concern, noting that the US is participating in relevant dialogues and negotiations between Oman and Iran to discuss how to enable more vessels to safely transit the strait in the short term.

Traders no longer expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates by 25 basis points this year.