Nikkei reports Japan is seeking to increase H3 rocket launches to catch up with SpaceX (SPCX.O).

NVIDIA (NVDA.O) will report Q2 after the US close on Wednesday. FactSet’s survey of analysts projects revenue $92.27 bln vs $46.74 bln a year earlier; net income $51.55 bln ($2.11 per share) vs $26.42 bln ($1.08) last year. Analysts expect adjusted EPS $2.09 vs $1.05 a year earlier. NVIDIA is increasingly positioning itself beyond a chip supplier toward financing broader AI infrastructure; that financing expansion and other long-term themes are likely to drive investor focus. Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan analysts say the key watchpoints are NVIDIA’s financing footprint, China exposure, semiconductor competition risk, future gross margins, and the ramp schedule for the Vera Rubin chip. Rubin is unlikely to produce a material contribution before the quarter beginning in October. Benchmark analyst Cody Acree said, given already-elevated expectations, investors will need to see incremental evidence beyond another routine beat and guidance raise.

A former U.S. diplomat said both U.S. and Iranian statements on the Strait of Hormuz are inaccurate: U.S. claims the strait is open are not entirely correct, and Iran’s assertions that it has closed the waterway are also false. Iran lacks the physical capability to fully seal the strait and instead relies on coercion—threats and missile strikes against unarmed merchant vessels—to try to compel compliance. Not all shipping is obeying Iran’s threats; some ships switch off AIS, run at night and hug the Omani coast. The U.S. military is deploying assets to protect vessels where possible.