Stocks surge on U.S.-Iran deal

Plus: Confusion after freeze on Anthropic's AI models

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Matt Davis
June 16, 2026

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News You Need2Know

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

Stocks surge on U.S.-Iran deal

(Google)

Stocks are almost back up to their June 2 highs after plunging as much as 4.4% last week, rallying on Monday on an agreement between the U.S. and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing fears of a prolonged energy crisis. As oil prices dropped, equities saw broad gains across multiple sectors. There’s also been some positive carry-over from SpaceX’s successful IPO last week, and of course, the New York Knicks won the NBA. Given how many U.S. traders work in Manhattan, the vibes have also played their part.

"From the market perspective, a deal [between Iran and the U.S.] is a clear positive," Mohit Kumar, chief European economist at Jefferies, told the Financial Times. The bullish sentiment echoed across Wall Street, where newly floated SpaceX $SPCX ( ▲ 19.6% ) climbed another 8.5% on Monday, adding to a 19% jump on Friday. Technology giants also benefited, with Meta $META ( ▲ 4.77% ) rising 5% and Amazon $AMZN ( ▲ 3.13% ) gaining 3.2%. Chipmakers saw robust growth, as Micron Technology $MU ( ▲ 10.84% ) and AMD $AMD ( ▲ 6.98% ) surged.

Asian markets similarly thrived, driven by enthusiasm for AI-linked technology. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics $SSNLF ( ▲ 116.8% ) rose over 5%. Tokyo markets capitalized on regional momentum, heavily favoring companies critical to the semiconductor and AI industries. Consequently, Murata Manufacturing $MRAAY ( ▲ 16.36% ) soared 15% and SoftBank $SFTBY ( ▲ 5.29% ) climbed more than 3%.

Quote of the Day

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I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children, and that is why this ban must happen.

— British Prime Minister Keir Starmer explains his country’s ban on social media for under-16s

Confusion after freeze on Anthropic's AI models

(Getty)

The Trump administration has sent shockwaves through the tech world by forcing Anthropic $ANTHZZX ( ▲ 0.85% ) to suspend its highly anticipated new models, Fable and Mythos. The Department of Commerce imposed sudden export controls specifically intended to bar foreign nationals from using the technology.

Given a mere 90 minutes to comply last week, the $900 billion AI company was forced to suspend the systems for all users globally. The drastic directive was triggered after Amazon $AMZN ( ▲ 3.13% ) researchers uncovered a potential "jailbreak" in the Fable model, which would allow it to be used without any of the guardrails put in place by Anthropic to prevent its use for nefarious purposes like hacking into banks.

The government's use of export controls to target foreign use has drawn heavy criticism. Helen Toner, a former OpenAI board member, told the Financial Times that the export controls are "very poorly suited," noting that allied foreign governments actually need these models for cyber defense. The directive also controversially halts foreign national researchers from continuing to develop the most advanced models. Security experts overwhelmingly agree the administration misstepped; Katie Moussouris of Luta Security told the FT, “The administration got it wrong,” pointing out that rival models like OpenAI’s GPT 5.5 have the same capabilities.

Despite the pushback, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly praised the freeze on X, citing past clashes with Anthropic's leadership. The freeze remains in place and Anthropic is scrambling to get it corrected.

Fox buys Roku streaming platform for $22B

(Google)

Fox $FOX ( ▼ 15.22% ) , controlled by the Succession-ish Murdoch family, has decided that the ultimate future of media is spending a casual $22 billion to acquire Roku $ROKU ( ▼ 1.92% ) , just as tons of us ditch the service for rival streaming giants. Still, for just $160 a share in cash and stock, Fox now gets to shove its live news and sports into another 100 million global streaming households, and evidently they feel it’s worth it.

Lachlan “Roman” Murdoch proudly declared the acquisition a "defining moment" and a "natural extension" of a deliberate strategy they've supposedly been executing for a decade. Wall Street clearly was not convinced, sending Fox shares plummeting nearly 14% in pre-market trading on Monday after the deal was announced over the weekend, while Roku’s stock gleefully surged 24% on Friday, thanks to the takeover rumors, then flattened out on Monday at its new highs.

Roku founder Anthony Wood gets a cozy seat on the Fox board out of the deal. Fox claims owning the platform provides a much-needed "bulwark" against Big Tech. However, analysts helpfully pointed out that Roku is facing fierce, rising competition from absolute giants like Google TV $GOOGL ( ▲ 2.69% ) , Amazon Fire TV $AMZN ( ▲ 3.13% ) , and Walmart's Vizio $WMT ( ▼ 0.18% ) . Not to mention Tubi, where I’ve been catching up on the original series of Miami Vice. (Seriously, the whole first season is streaming free. I mean what the heck else are you gonna do on June 16?) Oh, wait. Fox bought Tubi for $440 million in 2020. It’s almost like they’re just buying up all the minnows…

To fund this masterpiece of a merger, Fox had to secure a massive $12 billion in bridge financing from Morgan Stanley $MS ( ▲ 1.84% ) . Welcome to the dramatic reshaping of U.S. media, where traditional networks borrow billions to buy a glorified menu screen in the hopes of staying relevant. The U.S. also approved Paramount’s $PSKY ( ▲ 0.67% ) $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. $WBD ( ▼ 0.56% ) on Friday, coincidentally.

Song of the Day: Anna Graves, ‘America’s Greatest Burnout’

Minnesota-born alt-folk singer-songwriter Anna Graves brings a raw, cinematic blend of pop, country, and folk intimacy on her debut album, from which this is the first single.

Disclosure Day did quite well at the box office

(Universal Pictures)

Steven Spielberg, our favorite 79-year-old Dinosaur Daddy, just proved he can still impact the summer box office with…moderate efficacy. His new sci-fi flick, Disclosure Day, raked in $44 million in North America over the weekend, finally breaking his 24-year summer box office drought.

Who do we have to thank for this triumph? The elderly. Yes, in a shocking twist, Hollywood’s definition of "oldsters" — meaning anyone over the ancient age of 34 —made up 59% of the audience, shuffling in to save the day. Seriously dude, you’re making a film about aliens and you give it a name so dry I could use it as kindling? What the heck?!

Film consultant David A. Gross called the debut “a very good opening,” noting that original stories are inherently tougher to market than established franchises. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie just broke a billion dollars, for example. And The Devil Wears Prada 2 is so far up to $675 million.

Emily Blunt earned $15 million for her role in Disclosure Day and $12.5 million for her reprisal in DWP2. She gave a laudatory interview to the New York Times yesterday saying what a thrill it’s been to work with Spielberg, although I’d say the same thing about Joseph Stalin if he were willing to pay me 15 million bucks to star in one of his movies, I think.

Britain will ban social media for children

(Getty)

The UK government has officially decided that it’s time to pull the plug on endless scrolling for kids. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a sweeping plan to ban social media for children under 16, a measure expected to be introduced in Parliament before Christmas and take effect by early 2027. The ban will hit major platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and X, though messaging apps like WhatsApp will be spared. It’s even remotely possible that Starmer might even still be the Prime Minister by then, although don’t hold your breath.

For many parents, the legislation is a massive victory. Justine Roberts, founder of Mumsnet, called the announcement “a huge moment for children’s online safety, and for every parent who has felt powerless in the face of addictive technology." Joe Ryrie of Smartphone Free Childhood echoed the relief: “Today feels like a turning point” after years of fighting a "losing battle" against powerful tech giants, she told the New York Times.

Not everyone is cheering, however. Tech industry representatives are naturally pushing back. Matthew Sinclair of the Computer and Communications Industry Association — a tech industry lobby group — warned that “blanket restrictions will stifle access to age-appropriate experiences... encouraging children to seek out riskier unregulated alternatives.”

Such as what? Pirate TikTok? Underground Instagram? Joining the punk scene and living in a squat? Shut up, Matthew Sinclair. You’re so full of it!

Despite concerns about whether tech-savvy teens will simply bypass the rules, Starmer is standing firm. “I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children, and that is why this ban must happen,” he said.

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Should you check your 401(k) today?

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It’s almost back to its highs of June 2, but not quite, so why bother? We’ll let you know!

Poll of the day: Disclose your intentions!

Do you want to see the movie 'Disclosure Day?'

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Poll of the day: That’s a ‘no’ on SpaceX’s IPO, then

Did you benefit from the SpaceX IPO?

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes, I ambitiously requested 10 shares, was generously gifted exactly one, and I'm 'pretty happy' to hold onto it until it buys me a ticket to Mars. (18)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I work at Goldman Sachs, so absolutely — my team and I really needed that $100 million in IPO fees to get us through the week. (5)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I tried to, but my Robinhood app crashed right after the opening bell, so I guess I'll just stay poor here on Earth. (16)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes, I am Elon Musk, and I'm thrilled to finally be a trillionaire who can casually afford to buy every single car manufacturer in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. (6)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 No financial benefit, but I did learn that a trillion one-dollar bills weighs 2.2 billion pounds and would take 10,000 Starship flights to launch into space, so I feel intellectually enriched. (280)
325 Votes

via @beehiiv polls

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