Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said Iran's forces 'severely damaged' the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and other US-supported bases, praising a US acting Navy secretary's frank admission of the damage. Media reports earlier quoted the US official as saying Iranian forces had 'severely damaged Bahrain' in the early phase of the conflict. Open-source analysis had already indicated heavy damage to the Bahrain naval support base, home of the US Fifth Fleet; the official remarks amount to

UBS expects the ECB to deliver a 25bp hike in December 2026 and then pause.

Oracle reports after the US close Thursday. Option-implied volatility prices a move of roughly 11%, above the last three-quarter post-earnings average of 9.5%. Shares are down about 17% YTD and more than 50% off the 52-week high, though the stock rallied ~15% last week and has recovered since a July 52-week low. Call open interest materially exceeds puts ahead of the print, and call premiums are richer than puts at comparable strikes — an atypical skew suggesting investors are paying for upside exposure. Oracle surged 35% on an earnings-day move in September 2025. Strong results from Microsoft and Amazon have lifted expectations for AI investment returns and likely underpin optimism about Oracle’s AI infrastructure spending. Key question remains whether Oracle can sustain heavy AI infrastructure investment without materially worsening its financial position.