CMR is the leading provider
of funding and management
support for small to
medium-sized businesses and
entrepreneurs
Established 1984 C MR
is the leading venture
capital, management
support and business
services provider for
small to medium-sized
businesses - linking
excellent management
skills with the
substantial financial
resources of a global bank
of private investors.
CMR has over 450 senior
executives, operating
in the UK, USA, Europe, Asia,
Australasia and
globally,
providing both funding and
specialist help for
entrepreneurial
businesses .
For Businesses
CMR provides excellent
resources:
CMR FundEX Business Exchange - gives all companies & entrepreneurs direct access to CMR's global investor base.
CMR Catalyst Group
Programme -
transform
profitability through
merging.
CMR Company Sales Division helps owners to exit
at the best price.
CMR Corporate Recovery
Division -
experts in rescue and
turnaround.
CMR Technology Licensing
Division -
commercialising
innovation.
CMR Executive
Professionals - management support
and consultancy.
CMR Executives-on-Demandâ„¢ Fully experienced
senior executives
available quickly and
cost effectively.
We always welcome
contact with new
business clients- please get in touch
- we will do our
best to match
your needs and exceed
your expectations.
For Investors
Preferential access to new opportunities for investment and/or acquisition
P re-vets
propositions and
provides a
personalised service
to our investors
Syndication service
enabling investors to
link together as desired
Executive and
management support for
investments as needed
CMR's services to
our investors are not
only fast & efficient
but also free
W e
always appreciate new
members- you are welcome
to join as an investor
or as a CMR Executive.
When you
join us as a Senior
Executive:
CMR's strength is in the
skills and experience of
our executive members -
all senior, director level
people with years of
successfully running and
managing companies.
Because the demand for
CMR's support and services
is ever-increasing,
especially as we enter
recessionary times, we
have a growing need for
more high calibre
executives to join us from
every industry and
discipline.
You will be using your
considerable experience to
help smaller businesses
and entrepreneurs to grow
profitably.
We offer full training
and mentoring support to
help maximise potential.
We are
always keen to find more
high calibre senior
executives in all areas-
skills and location.
Make contact with us today
and maximise your
opportunities.
HEAD
OFFICE
124 City Road
London EC1 2NX
Tel: +44 (0)207-636-1744
Fax:+44 (0)207-636-5639
Email: cmr@cmruk.com
Registered Office:
124 City Road ,
London EC1 2NX
Also Glasgow,
Dublin, Switzerland, Europe, USA/Canada
Privacy Statement: CMR only
retains personal details
supplied directly by executives
joining CMR themselves either as
Full Executive Members or
Interim Management Members or
Investors. Those details are
only used within CMR and not
disclosed to any third parties
without that person’s
agreement. We will keep that
data until requested by the
person to be removed – at that
point it will be deleted.
Personal data is never sold or
used for purposes outside of
CMR’s normal operations. Any
correspondence should be
directed to the Managing
Director, CMR,
Kemp House,
152-160 City Road, London EC1V
2N
Senior Executives
CMR is a worldwide network of senior executives. Join us to expand your career and business horizons.
Business Entrepreneurs
CMR has a complete range of resources & services provided by experts to help all businesses to grow and prosper.
Investors & Venturers
CMR has a continuous stream of business and funding propositions, which are matched to investor preferences. Join us - it's FREE!
FundEX
FundEX is CMR's worldwide stock market for small to medium sized companies and entrepreneurs to raise new capital.
Interim & Permanent Management
Many of CMR's executives can be recruited on an interim, permanent or NED basis.
Login
Main CMR Intranet members only
Regional Intranets
Thu, 11 Jun 2026 03:25:00 +0000 Putin Powerfully Rebuffed The Hawks Who Want Him To Attack NATO
Putin Powerfully Rebuffed The Hawks Who Want Him To Attack NATO
Putin Powerfully Rebuffed The Hawks Who Want Him To Attack NATO
Authored by Andrew Korybko,
In his words, talk about Russia attacking NATO “is not simply nonsense; it is a provocation.”
Several top “Non-Russian Pro-Russians” (NRPR) influencers rang the alarm last month about Russia’s alleged plans to attack NATO, which were inspired by top hawk Sergey Karaganov and then Russian Ambassador to the OSCE Dmitry Polyanskiy ominously channeling his rhetoric. Readers can review examples of their warnings here , here , here , here , and here . Casual NRPRs therefore braced themselves for what would have in that scenario almost certainly been the start of World War III had it come to pass.
It obviously hasn’t and it likely won’t ever, however, judging by Putin’s response when he was recently asked about these alleged plans during a meeting with foreign journalists. In his words , “Why would Russia attack Europe or go to war with NATO? What would be the purpose? As I have said before, these claims are not merely nonsense. In my view, they are a deliberate provocation designed to create the impression of a threat that does not actually exist.”
Putin then elaborated that “The objective is to persuade their populations to increase defence spending and, as a first step, to pay for the regime that seized power in Kiev. That, I believe, is the real explanation. It is not simply nonsense; it is a provocation. What surprises me, however, is that some people in European countries appear to believe it. I find that astonishing. The whole notion is simply absurd. It would be amusing if it were not so sad.”
It’s not just “some people in European countries” who “appear to believe it”, but his own top hawk is championing this policy and it was recently amplified to the max by top NRPR influencers, many of whom can be described as “state-adjacent” due to being platformed by publicly financed media, attending government-organized conferences, and/or taking state-secured tours of Donbass.
Casual NRPRs are therefore left to wonder whether Putin is telling the truth or is “psyching out the West”.
It’s always best to defer to what Putin himself says in such cases whenever confusion arises, which is due to top NRPR influencers practicing what’s been called “Potemkinism ”, or the creation of “alternative realities” about Russian interests and policy for “strategic purposes” (whatever they might be). The most infamous example is that Putin is an anti-Zionist secretly allied with Iran against Israel despite him being a proud lifelong philo-Semite as proven by his many quotes to this end from the official Kremlin website .
Accordingly, while it would be inaccurate describe the fiercely loyal Karaganov as a “provocateur” in the spirit of how Putin condemned such folks who advocate for Russia to attack NATO, he nevertheless powerfully rebuffed hawks such as him as well as the top NRPR influencers who hyped up his rhetoric. That said, Russia’s foreign spy service did indeed warn last month that their country might carry out retaliatory strikes against Latvia if Ukraine launches drones from there, which should be taken seriously.
That’s altogether different than what Karaganov has been pushing for, namely a first strike against NATO that could easily spiral into World War III, and it’s important for casual NRPRs to understand this. As Putin himself phrased it, such talk “is not simply nonsense; it is a provocation.” When those on Russia’s side do it, no matter what their intentions might be, they inadvertently “persuade [Westerners] to increase defence spending and, as a first step, to pay for the regime that seized power in Kiev.”
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 23:25 Close Thu, 11 Jun 2026 03:03:20 +0000 AI Price Wars Begin: OpenAI Considers "Drastic Price Cuts" In Pursuit Of Anthropic Customers
AI Price Wars Begin: OpenAI Considers "Drastic Price Cuts" In Pursuit Of Anthropic Customers
AI Price Wars Begin: OpenAI Considers "Drastic Price Cuts" In Pursuit Of Anthropic Customers
Earlier today, in a report discussing how "AI bills are out of control ", JPMorgan tech guru and TMT salesman, Mark Schilsky wrote that "most of my high level investor discussions focus on one major topic: when will the party end? Put another way, tech investors have made so much money in Semis so quickly that they are looking for potential warning signs that the music is about to stop. Predicting such an end is incredibly difficult. As such, investors are searching for forward-looking indicators that might suggest the AI party is nearing a peak ."
Here, the JPM trader highlighted perhaps the clearest indicator that the music was about to stop: "A slowdown in the growth of the annualized run-rate revenues of the major AI labs . If there is any sort of second derivative ‘kink’ in their growth algorithms, that could portend a future problem for the AI trade."
In response to this, we pointed to just such a "slowdown in the run-rate revenues", when we showed that the Silicon Data token price index is down for 7 straight days to a level last seen in mid-January, or long before the current agentic craze started. Almost as if it knew something...
Source Turns out it did: late on Wednesday, with futures surging and Korean stocks erasing a nearly 5% drop and turning green, and euphoria generally back front and center, the WSJ may have burst the AI bubble when it reported that - contrary to conventional wisdom that token prices will magically go to infinity - OpenAI, which has been badly lagging both the revenue and IPO race with Anthropic in recent months - was considering "drastically lowering the prices it charges users" in a panic scramble to regain market share and win back customers from archrival Anthropic.
And so, at a time when there is suddenly a mass realization that token prices had been soared in recent weeks, a wake-up call which JPM lovingly described as follows: "investors have been discussing the possibility that much of the token spend that corporate America is currently incurring is ‘wasted’. Anecdotes from companies like UBER aren’t helping this narrative", OpenAI is weighing significant cuts to what it charges for tokens . Hilariously, the move would be in anticipation of similar cuts the company expects at Anthropic, which is trying to double how much it charges for its latest model, Fable, which provides at best a very modest modest improvement in performance over Opus 4.8.
In short, we now have a classical deflationary race to the bottom , precisely the opposite of what the profit-strapped industry desperately needs to grow into its gargantuan balance sheets (and massive SPVs); Instead, the AI world is about to get hit with a collapse in both revenues and profit margins, while cash burn goes into full-on incinerator mode.
Warning that "business executives have begun to balk at the high prices for AI usage", the WSJ writes that OpenAI CEO Altman said at a recent event that costs had become “a huge issue.”
“I think we’ll have a lot of ways we can help people get more value for less spend,” he said.
In other words, LLMs tried to push up token prices to and beyond their breaking point... and succeeded.
And now it's time for the brutal drop: a drastic price war will erode the profit margins of both companies, which already lose billions of dollars because of the enormous cost for computing resources needed to run AI systems.
Altman's decision to start a price war was prompted by OpenAI's attempt to catch up with its younger rival in the race to win enterprise customers that are paying large amounts of money for AI tools that can improve workplace productivity. Anthropic’s revenue recently surged"after its coding tool Claude Code went viral among software engineers, and the five-year-old startup surpassed OpenAI’s valuation for the first time."
Or at least that's the WSJ version of events. In reality what happened is that Anthropic quietly annualized the one-time bumper revenue from Feb-May during the agentic splurge when nobody had any idea what they were paying, to come up with the ludicrous $47BN ARR, which they then actively paraded ahead of their IPO. But let's see what Anthropic's ARR is next month will be after clients finally check their token bills.
Sure enough, as we have been writing repeatedly in recent weeks, "some corporations poured so much money into Anthropic’s products that their leaders are now seeking to rein in spending. Earlier this year, an Uber executive said the company had maxed out its 2026 budget for agentic, or autonomous, AI use, and another company leader said last month that it was difficult to link AI coding productivity improvements to new customer features."
In other words, yet again the age-old question of whether and when AI will have a positive ROI
Such comments from many executives have triggered a broader debate within Silicon Valley about so-called “tokenmaxxing ,” or the practice of using as many tokens as possible to boost productivity, including in ways that don’t generate returns on investment. That may have worked 6 months ago when LLMs were giving out compute for free to capture market share, but it doesn't work now that all the major AI companies are suddenly charging an arm and a kidney for an "agent" that responds to emails.
As the WSJ concludes, "a price war would be an early test of the strength of both companies’ business models ahead of hotly anticipated public listings." OpenAI and Anthropic have captured the majority of revenue from new AI products, powering their rise. But an underlying risk that investors have long identified is the interchangeability of their products, and the ease with which customers can abandon one for the other.
There is a bigger risk: as we noted one week ago, in the coming price war, neither OpenAI nor Anthropic will win. Instead it will be the country that has made reverse engineering Western technology and then selling it back to the west at 90% off, into an art form. Yes, China is about to enter the chatbot.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 23:03 Close Thu, 11 Jun 2026 02:35:00 +0000 As Spy Law Nears Expiration, Lawmakers Mull Short-Term Renewal
As Spy Law Nears Expiration, Lawmakers Mull Short-Term Renewal
As Spy Law Nears Expiration, Lawmakers Mull Short-Term Renewal
Authored by Nathan Worcester via The Epoch Times,
President Donald Trump’s pick for a key intelligence post has left Democrats and Republicans at odds over a spy law set to lapse on June 12.
As the clock ticks down, lawmakers are contemplating Trump’s latest proposal: another short-term extension of the authority while the president searches for a permanent nominee other than his chosen acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the government to spy on foreign targets outside the United States.
It has long been controversial, in part because Americans can also be caught up in its warrantless surveillance dragnet. Section 702’s defenders stress its importance to national security, the risks of allowing it to expire, and the strength of the 2024 reforms to the program.
The provision was renewed in late April for a period of 45 days as some lawmakers pushed for reforms to the law.
Also in late April, the House passed a three-year renewal of the spy law with some reforms, though without new warrant requirements.
Democrats raised concerns with re-upping it after Trump selected Pulte as acting director of national intelligence (DNI).
Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and a close Trump ally, is set to replace outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard on June 19 while retaining his other duties.
Acting appointments do not require Senate confirmation—but Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate appeared less than enthusiastic about the selection after Trump announced it on June 2.
When asked about Pulte on June 2, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who lost the GOP Senate primary to Trump-backed Ken Paxton, told reporters, “I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) speaks at a rally for his Senate primary campaign in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 17, 2026. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times
That same day, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, declined to comment on Pulte’s fitness for the position when asked about him.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), ranking member of the intelligence committee, voiced shock and disapproval of Trump’s selection at a June 2 hearing, noting that Pulte lacked experience in law enforcement, the military, and other relevant domains.
He also warned that the pick could undermine public confidence in Section 702.
On June 5, almost all Senate Democrats, joined by some Republicans, blocked a measure to renew the provision.
With the Pulte controversy brewing, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) met with Trump at the White House on June 9. Johnson’s staff confirmed the meeting to The Epoch Times but did not elaborate on what was discussed.
On June 10, Trump laid out a new path forward on Truth Social.
“I am asking Congress to send me a short-term extension of FISA to provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent head of the agency,”
Some Senate Democrats continued to express concern about Pulte and Trump’s plan.
Warner told reporters he was not sure if there were enough votes to advance a short-term extension of the authority.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) speaks at a campaign event for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate former Rep. Abigail Spanberger at H Mart in Centreville, Va. on Nov. 2, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) told reporters he would “listen to Senator Warner, adding that the choice of Pulte was “the best way to sabotage [Section] 702.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a frequent critic of Section 702, told The Epoch Times he had not seen Trump’s proposal, adding, “There’s no votes for this bill while Bill Pulte is still on the job.”
Yet, some key Democrats and aligned lawmakers signaled more optimism.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who is expected to succeed outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in leadership, told reporters he was open to a short-term extension. He said he doesn’t anticipate the provision will lapse on June 12.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters a short-term extension could pass muster with him if it came with a clear timeline.
However, he said he would have issues with Pulte staying in the role “for an indefinite period.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told The Epoch Times he had no problems with Pulte.
“If he wants him to be acting as short-term [DNI], that’s fine,“ ”If he wants to nominate him permanently, that’s fine by me.”
Hawley told reporters he would not raise opposition to a short-term extension of the authority.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 22:35 Close Thu, 11 Jun 2026 02:10:00 +0000 The SAVE America Act Hits A Milestone, Does It Have Momentum Now?
The SAVE America Act Hits A Milestone, Does It Have Momentum Now?
The SAVE America Act remains in limbo, but it achieved a critical milestone during a late-night vote-a-rama to advance the GOP’s $70 billion immigration enfor
Read more.....
The SAVE America Act Hits A Milestone, Does It Have Momentum Now?
The SAVE America Act remains in limbo, but it achieved a critical milestone during a late-night vote-a-rama to advance the GOP’s $70 billion immigration enforcement package, when Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) switched her vote . That means the only thing preventing it from becoming law is the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
The legislation, formally titled the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, would require proof of U.S. citizenship at voter registration and a valid photo ID to cast a ballot in federal elections. It cleared the House months ago and has sat in the Senate since, caught between a Republican majority that supports it and a 60-vote cloture threshold that has become its ceiling.
Despite the filibuster standing in its way, reports suggest that meeting the 50-vote threshold to pass has given the legislation new momentum.
The path to 50 came through Sen. Mike Lee's (R-Utah) amendment, which used the bill's original, unmodified form as passed by the House. An earlier attempt by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to attach a modified version that included additional provisions, such as barring men from competing in women's sports, fell short when four Republicans defected. Sens. Collins, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) all voted against the Graham version. Collins switched her vote on Lee's amendment and provided the crucial 50th yes vote.
“51 votes for the SAVE America Act during tonight’s budget reconciliation vote-a-rama,” Lee said in a post on X during the session.
“That means that but for the Zombie Filibuster, the House-passed SAVE America Act would now be on its way to the White House for President Trump’s signature.”
The Zombie Filibuster he references is the modern mutation of a once-demanding procedural tool that required senators to physically hold the floor with hours of continuous speech. Today, any senator can invoke it with a single objection; legislation dies unless it clears 60 votes, and no one has to say a word.
Lee and a bloc of conservatives have pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to force a talking filibuster, requiring Democrats to hold the floor continuously until they run out of steam and the bill advances by a simple majority. However, Thune has so far declined.
Thune’s concern is that a sustained floor fight and a flood of Democratic amendments could fracture the Republican conference or cause collateral damage to other pieces of Trump's agenda. It is a calculated bet that the bill's supporters find increasingly difficult to accept.
The filibuster has taken a huge toll on the productivity of the U.S. Senate. Congress is on pace to enact less legislation in this two-year session than at any point since Barack Obama's presidency. According to GovTrack, just 97 bills became law across the two most recent Republican-controlled Congresses, compared to 274 during the 118th Congress. The last time the number sank this low was the 112th Congress.
Yet, the battle inside the chamber bears almost no relationship to where the country stands on the SAVE America Act. A Harvard-Harris poll from earlier this year found broad public support for the SAVE America Act, with 71% of Americans supporting the legislation, including 69% of independents and even 50% of Democrats. Support for its key provisions is even stronger: 81% favor requiring voter ID, 75% support proof of citizenship to vote, and 80% want states to remove non-citizens from voter rolls. Perhaps most striking, 85% of Americans—including 84% of independents and 82% of Democrats—agree that only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in federal elections. Overall, 60% view the bill as a commonsense measure to prevent fraud and safeguard election integrity.
Trump has directed his frustration at Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth Macdonough, who ruled the SAVE America Act ineligible for inclusion in the GOP's $70 billion immigration enforcement package under the Byrd Rule , which governs what legislation qualifies for budget reconciliation at a 50-vote threshold.
Trump has called on Thune to remove her.
"Just the other night, as an example, she ruled against us on a proposal that would have easily been approved, and should have been, by anyone else," Trump posted. He followed with a sharper message on Truth Social: "We have every right to change her, and should do so, IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote , adding, "As long as she's there, we will never get our desperately needed, SAVE AMERICA ACT, approved, and put into full force and effect!"
Thune dismissed the pressure as routine.
"That's not a new request, as you all know," Thune said of Trump's demand, "and as is typically the case, the parliamentarian, the rulings break both ways. And, you know, we lose a few, we win a few, but that's been true when Democrats have been in the majority, too."
Collins, who provided the decisive 50th vote on Lee's amendment, has previously stated she will not support eliminating the filibuster, and it’s unlikely she’ll change her mind on that with her facing a tough reelection bid this year. But reaching the 50-vote threshold to pass the upper chamber is a modest victory that could change the debate going forward.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 22:10 Close Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:45:00 +0000 New Arizona Law Targets Demand Behind Prostitution, Sex Trafficking
New Arizona Law Targets Demand Behind Prostitution, Sex Trafficking
New Arizona Law Targets Demand Behind Prostitution, Sex Trafficking
Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times,
Arizona has enacted a law that increases penalties for people who buy or attempt to buy sex, and directs new funding to services for victims of sex trafficking.
Under the law, paying, agreeing to pay, or offering to pay for sexual conduct is now a felony offense and carries mandatory jail time. Offenders must also pay a $200 assessment, with all proceeds dedicated to programs that assist trafficking survivors.
A first offense can result in up to 15 days in jail, while a second offense carries up to 30 days.
“Arizona is going after the demand that fuels prostitution and sex trafficking,” said state Rep. Selina Bliss, chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, in a June 8 statement.
“This is a victory for families, neighborhoods, and victims who deserve a path out,“ Bliss, who co-sponsored the bill, added. ”The people paying for sex are funding an industry that traffickers exploit, and communities across Arizona are left to deal with the crime, abuse, and damage that follow.
“This law holds offenders accountable, puts money directly toward helping victims recover, and puts every person who pays for sex in Arizona on notice: you can face jail time, a felony record, and the consequences that come with it.”
House Bill 2720 also expands protections for trafficking victims. Courts must seal records tied to prostitution convictions that are later vacated because the individual was a victim of sex trafficking. Supporters say the change will help survivors pursue jobs, housing, and other opportunities without the burden of a criminal record.
Lawmakers said the bill was developed with input from local officials, advocacy organizations, neighborhood groups, schools, and residents seeking stronger action against prostitution and sex trafficking.
Parts of Phoenix, including a three-mile corridor known as “The Blade,” have long been associated with street prostitution. In 2025, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed 437 prostitution-related cases, fueling debate between law enforcement officials and advocates who argue that many people arrested for prostitution are trafficking victims rather than willing participants.
A 2015–2016 study by Arizona State University found evidence that sex trafficking in Arizona had grown substantially over the previous 15 years.
Researchers noted, however, that the increase could have reflected both a rise in victimization and greater public awareness and enforcement efforts.
In Arizona, prostitution is classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail, a $2,500 fine, and as much as three years of probation, according to AZDefenders.com.
Related offenses include solicitation, pandering, facilitating prostitution, and child prostitution.
Escort services remain legal under Arizona law, provided no sexual acts are offered or exchanged for compensation.
Arizona is home to two federally funded human trafficking task forces—the Southern Arizona Anti-Trafficking Unified Response Network and the Central Arizona United to Stop Exploitation Task Force—as well as the City of Phoenix Human Trafficking Task Force and the Governor’s Human Trafficking Council. Together, they work to raise awareness, identify victims, and expand support services for survivors.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 21:45 Close Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:31:10 +0000 SoftBank Attempt To Get Downsized $6 Billion OpenAi Margin Loan Stalls
SoftBank Attempt To Get Downsized $6 Billion OpenAi Margin Loan Stalls
SoftBank Attempt To Get Downsized $6 Billion OpenAi Margin Loan Stalls
One month ago, Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group, was forced to downsize plans for a $10 billion margin loan backed by its OpenAI stake after facing hesitation from some creditors. Today, it couldn't even get that done after talks with potential creditors to raise the downsized $6 billion stalled amid rising concerns about the collateral value, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
As a result, the company is now considering various different fundraising options, although it could still move forward with the margin loan at a later stage, they added.
It’s unclear why the margin loan discussions stalled. SoftBank had allegedly secured some $5 billion for the loan before the development, although it was unclear if those were verbal or written commitments. Judging by the outcome, the commitments were tenuous at bet.
According to the report, the current inaction on the margin loan comes even after some of the potential lenders who had been pitched on it - and who did not view it in an all too favorable light to start - said that they’d started to consider it in a more favorable light, after news last month that the ChatGPT creator was preparing to file for an initial public offering.
Previously some of the potential creditors pitched on the margin loan had expressed concerns about the difficulty of reaching a valuation for an unlisted company like OpenAI. As noted above, SoftBank downsized the loan’s initial target size by 40% after facing pushback from some of the potential lenders.
“The margin loan is just one piece of a much larger puzzle, and unless we see a clear deterioration in their ability to raise funds this way, we don’t view it as a standalone red flag,” said Hua Cheng, head of Asia credit research at AllianceBernstein. “The best-case scenario is an OpenAI IPO this year, with SoftBank offloading part of its stake to pay down debt. That would be consistent with what credit investors want.”
OpenAI filed confidentially for an IPO in the US, joining artificial intelligence rivals in tapping public markets to fund ambitious growth plans. The firm is working with Goldman and Morgan Stanley on a potential listing as soon as in the fall.
Loan aside, markets have witnessed a broader debate in recent months about SoftBank’s commitments of more than $60 billion to OpenAI at a time when recent breakthroughs by resurgent rival Anthropic PBC have raised doubts for some investors about the business. Within SoftBank itself, some officials had grown anxious about that commitment, according to Bloomberg .
Never one to back down, Masa Son - who nearly went broke after the dot com bubble burst - has been ramping up its broader AI plans. Late last month, it said that SoftBank plans to invest as much as €75 billion - which it does not have - to build artificial intelligence data center capacity in France, saying the country is poised to become a top European hub for AI infrastructure (narrator: it's not).
But storm clouds are gathering again for Masa: looming in the background is a $40 billion bridge financing that supported the conglomerate’s investments in OpenAI, and which SoftBank must repay in March 2027. SoftBank has said that borrowing would likely be repaid “through the utilization of existing assets and other financing measures.”
While SoftBank has a number of potential fundraising options, it’s unclear if it would opt to use any of them. Those include potential issuance of more bonds, or possibly borrowing against other listed holdings in its portfolio, although if it can't get a margin loan against its portfolio crown jewel, one wonders what terms its other assets would garner. Its stakes include ones in Arm Holdings and Intel, whose shares have jumped 197% and 192%, respectively, so far this year amid the AI boom.
Following the news, Softbank shares tumbled as much as 9.7% Wednesday. Even after declines, SoftBank’s stock was still up about 45% for the period, extending gains in recent weeks after the company reported a jump in quarterly profit due largely to valuation gains on its OpenAI investment. On June 1, SoftBank overtook Toyota Motor Corp. as Japan’s most valuable company by market capitalization.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 21:31 Close Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:20:00 +0000 JPM Says US Defense Base Faces 'Evolve Or Die' Moment As Warfare Forever Changes
JPM Says US Defense Base Faces 'Evolve Or Die' Moment As Warfare Forever Changes
For several quarters, we have described the Trump administration's massive push to reshape the military-industrial complex, from DOGE-driven efforts i
Read more.....
JPM Says US Defense Base Faces 'Evolve Or Die' Moment As Warfare Forever Changes
For several quarters, we have described the Trump administration's massive push to reshape the military-industrial complex, from DOGE-driven efforts inside the Department of War to reset the procurement process, to a broader pivot toward fast-moving "war unicorns ," like Anduril, rather than bloated legacy defense primes.
The urgency of that transition is now capturing Wall Street's attention. JPMorgan analysts frame it as a major inflection point: America's defense industrial base must shift away from slow-moving, costly production and toward one built around speed, scale, technology, low-cost, attritable systems, and rapid battlefield iteration to preserve America's status as the world's dominant military power.
Analyst Jahangir Aziz pointed out:
The U.S. defense-industrial enterprise now stands at a decisive inflection point.
Success in the era ahead will be determined by its ability to deliver on three tightly interlocking imperatives : integrating the defense and commercial industrial bases, unlocking genuine mass-scale production, and unleashing innovation across the entire ecosystem.
Together, these are the enabling conditions for a force capable of meeting the relentless operational and technological pressures revealed in Ukraine, exposed by China's fusion model, and only latently present in the U.S. system today.
Aziz wrote that the post-Cold War model, centered on highly capable systems such as the F-35 stealth fighters, aircraft carriers, and advanced missile platforms, has been rendered obsolete in a world defined by China's anti-access strategy, Russia's war in Ukraine, the Iran conflict, suicide drones, cyber warfare, electronic warfare, and other low-cost precision weapons .
He said that modern warfare is increasingly defined by the ability to "sense, make sense, and act," relying on the processing of vast amounts of data and translating it into timely decisions. Such as AI 'kill chains'
The four major vulnerabilities in the U.S. defense industrial base that he outlined include shallow supplier depth, slow acquisition timelines, prime-contractor concentration, and fragile global supply chains, including exposure to China-linked inputs.
U.S. Defense Base Supply Chain
He warned that major defense programs can take years to field, while critical electronics may be obsolete before they ever reach the modern battlefield.
U.S. Military's procurement process timeline
Capacity constraints notable among the primes
That lag has become a major problem as modern warfare quickly evolves across Eurasia and the Middle East, from Ukraine to the Gulf, where drones, robotics, electronic warfare, and AI-enabled kill chains are transforming how conflicts are fought. The battlefield of the 2030s will be defined less by slow-cycle platforms and more by high-speed, low-cost, increasingly automated weapons.
For the U.S. military to remain dominant on the global stage, the analyst laid out a clear framework for how that advantage must be secured:
Our broader take, however, is that the direction of travel is likely to be shaped by the following factors. First, as mentioned, the nature of war has changed and communication and control capabilities will be fundamental in the digital age. Second, that successful defense industrial bases elsewhere, each in their own way, have largely based their success on the integration of their defense and commercial industrial bases. Third, and related to the two above, the U.S. possesses a technological edge in the digital space that is largely in the commercial sector, and integrating it into the defense ecosystem is crucial for the U.S. to maintain its military dominance.
To maintain military dominance, the U.S. defense base must secure enduring advantages by :
Integration : Forge deeper links between defense and commercial sectors, leveraging shared platforms, open standards, and continuous feedback.
Scale : Build modular, manufacturable systems for rapid mass production, lower barriers for new entrants, and foster a networked industrial base.
Innovation : Drive software-led transformation, iterative hardware development, and commercial digital integration. Emerging tech leaders are reshaping autonomy, hypersonics, advanced manufacturing, satellite communications, and mission resilience.
Policy reforms like NDAA and Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) are promising, but must overcome entrenched acquisition processes, PPBE constraints, and persistent friction over intellectual property and data rights—barriers that can either enable competition and modularity or reinforce vendor lock-in and exclude new entrants.
America's defense industrial base stands at a crossroads . Adapting to persistent competition, rapid technological change, and mass-scale attrition warfare is not optional; it's essential. Enduring advantage will depend on integrating commercial and defense sectors, scaling production, and accelerating innovation, while dismantling deep-seated institutional and structural barriers. Failure to act risks eroding deterrence and long-term military effectiveness, with consequences for national security and global leadership.
None of this should surprise readers. We have repeatedly highlighted the rise of "war unicorns " such as Anduril and other defense-tech startups that are building affordable, scalable, and software-defined weapons systems for the modern battlefield.
Beyond Anduril in the war unicorn sphere, there's DZYNE Technologies developing autonomous defense systems...
Anduril's rapid ascent has already captured Wall Street's attention. Goldman analysts recently sat down with company executives to better understand the story , the business model, and the role Anduril could play in the next phase of rebuilding America's next-generation defense-industrial base. The takeaway is increasingly clear: the future of U.S. military power will not be defined by legacy primes alone, but by war unicorns.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 21:20 Close Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:55:00 +0000 California Gets 80% Of All Federal Cash For Illegal Immigrant Families: Report
California Gets 80% Of All Federal Cash For Illegal Immigrant Families: Report
California Gets 80% Of All Federal Cash For Illegal Immigrant Families: Report
Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,
California is home to the lion’s share of illegal immigrant families in the United States with children who received federal welfare assistance in 2024, according to a federal report published on June 10.
More than 80 percent of all nationwide cash assistance allocated to such households was spent in California. The report tracked $759 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) spent in 2024 on families headed by a parent living in the country illegally.
In those cases, the child qualified for federal welfare, even though the parent was excluded from the federal program because of immigration status.
“These cases receive relatively little public attention, yet ... data show that they are far from a negligible part of the program,” wrote authors David Swegle, director of the Office of Family Assistance at the Administration for Children and Families under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Alex J. Adams, assistant secretary at the Administration for Children and Families, in the report.
Nationally, the federal government paid 85,000 households with qualifying children receiving assistance who were living with their illegal immigrant parents in the U.S. in 2024.
“Although the benefit is formally paid on behalf of the child, it still supports a household that includes an immigration-status-ineligible parent,” the authors stated. “The significance of these cases therefore cannot be judged solely by the fact that the adult is not the formal recipient.”
The cases are also significant because they don’t have to adhere to the TANF rules requiring work expectations, such as regularly applying for jobs, and the payments aren’t limited to the federal 60-month lifetime limit, according to the report. The illegal immigrant families, therefore, can receive federal welfare until the child turns 18 years old.
Low-income American families are held to the federal welfare restrictions that require work participation and are restricted to a 60-month lifetime limit, the authors said.
The number of TANF cases involving an illegal immigrant parent reached nearly 850,000—or 10 percent of all cases—in 2024, up from nearly 6 percent in 2001.
Of those, nearly 78,000 households—or about 91 percent—also received federal food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the report revealed.
Most of the illegal immigrant parents—over 106,000—identified as Hispanic, while 5.3 percent were White, 4.3 percent were Black, and 2 percent were Asian, the report stated.
California was the primary driver of the national totals, according to the report.
In 2024, the state accounted for nearly 60,000 affected households, or about 70 percent of the national total of the illegal immigrant-headed households.
The state’s annual cash assistance paid to those homes reached about $618 million, or about 81 percent of nationwide spending on these cases, the authors reported.
The average monthly benefit in California for child-only households with illegal immigrant parents increased from an estimated $408 in 2013 to $875 in 2024—an increase of 114.5 percent, according to the report.
“No other state approached California’s combination of scale, concentration, and fiscal impact,”
The next-largest states were New York, with about 7,635 households and about $47.5 million in annual cash assistance, followed by Massachusetts at about 3,777 households and about $27.3 million, and Washington at about 1,796 households and about $12.2 million, the report found.
From 2001 to 2024, the U.S. spent about $18.3 billion in TANF cash assistance on these cases involving illegal immigrant parents with welfare-recipient children, according to the report.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 20:55 Close Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:40:00 +0000 Trump Says 'We'll Bomb The Sh*t Out Of Them' Tomorrow Too If No Deal, After Dozens Of Tomahawks Hit Iran
Trump Says 'We'll Bomb The Sh*t Out Of Them' Tomorrow Too If No Deal, After Dozens Of Tomahawks Hit Iran
Summary
Trump to FOX: 'We'll bomb the shit out of them tomorrow night.' " The president dec
Read more.....
Trump Says 'We'll Bomb The Sh*t Out Of Them' Tomorrow Too If No Deal, After Dozens Of Tomahawks Hit Iran
Summary
Trump to FOX: 'We'll bomb the shit out of them tomorrow night.' " The president declared "we'll bomb them to rubble" again tomorrow night if there is no deal by then. US says strikes completed tonight .The IRGC is claiming to have struck 18 US military targets in two waves - including attack on Bahrain's US Fifth Fleet HQ. US begins strikes on Iran for second straight night: according to Centcom, " US forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression." Explosions had been heard in the Iranian towns of Sirik, Manab, Bandar Abbas and Bushehr, Hegseth confirms imminent attacks on key Iranian facilities Trump says "Will be attacking Iran hard again today" Trump says "secret mission" has reopened the Strait Trump tells Fox he "may keep going" with strikes. Trump says Iran took too long to negotiate , and now "will have to pay the price" . Tehran claims prior night attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan as fulfilment of its previously vowed 'retaliation' - targeted the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, footage shows. Iran again signals it could cut off all indirect talks & any negotiations, says it is 'reviewing' US talks after latest exchange of missiles .
US x Iran permanent peace deal by June 30, 2026? View full market & trade on Polymarket * * *
Trump Warns: "We'll Bomb the Shit Out of Them" if No Deal
Fox News' Trey Yingst has issued a new reporting update, quickly on the heels of a fresh Trump-ordered bombing of Iran. He says: "I asked the president what will happen if the Iranians don't sign an agreement that was put forward by American negotiators. President Trump said, 'We'll bomb the shit out of them tomorrow night.' " The president declared "we'll bomb them to rubble" again tomorrow night if there is no deal by then.
US MILITARY SAYS IT HAS COMPLETED LATEST STRIKES IN IRAN
Tonight's aggression has prompted Tehran to once again declare the Strait of Hormuz closed to “all types of vessels” . Bombs have not yet fallen directly on the capital, but reportedly outside of it. This could quickly change. Importantly concerning Trump's latest claims, Iranian leadership is denying that it engaged Trump directly tonight . The highlights from Fox's Yingst:
The President told me he spoke directly with Iranian officials tonight who asked him to stop bombing .
49 Tomahawk missiles had been fired by the United States at the time we spoke, along with bombing from fighter jets.Closest target to Tehran was approximately 40 miles outside of the city.
Trump added that the bombing will stop shortly, but that if they don't sign the agreement, "we'll bomb the shit out of them."
President Trump called this "the most violated ceasefire in the history of the world." V
Vice President JD Vance told me the United States is dealing with both moderate and more extreme voices in Iran as part of the negotiation process.
Tasnim is now reporging fresh Iranian counter-attacks on US bases across the Gulf, with multiple explosions being reported at American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. The IRGC is now claiming to have struck 18 US military targets in two waves .
Bahrain is where a key naval command headquarters is located, and the Iranians are newly claiming a direct targeted strike on the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters . We are once again witnessing the 'escalation ladder' ramp up , and negotiations seem in reality nowhere on the horizon. This could be the start of several more days of strikes and counter-attacks to come, as Tehran is not so easily going to come back to the negotiating table, hat in hand. But it seems the White House is still betting on this, though risk and unpredictability are skyrocketing at this stage.
Newly emerged widely circulating video shows an Iranian Cold War-era relic still active:
US Begins strikes on Iran
After multiple previews of the main event, US Central Command said that its forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. "The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression."
Local Iran media reported that explosions had been heard in the Iranian towns of Sirik, Manab, Bandar Abbas and Bushehr, while Al Hadath reported than an explosion was heard in the Al-Saban military camp in Aden, Yemen.
Additionally, there are unconfirmed reports that retaliatory Iranian ballistic missile launches are already underway, amidst what appears to be the resumption of a new round of U.S. strikes on Iran.
* * *
Hegseth Signals Imminent Attacks On Key Iranian Facilities, Iran Says "Fully Prepared"
Echoing President trump's earlier comments, Sectary of War Pet Hegseth just announced that: "CENTCOM will be busy tonight, we will be hitting Iran hard, we will bomb key facilities in Iran."
As @MarioNawfal writes, Announcing the strikes before they happen is itself the strategy.
You don't telegraph a bombing campaign hours in advance unless the message matters more than the surprise.
This is the final-pressure play in its purest form : the bombs are loaded, the targets are picked, and the paper is still on the table waiting for a signature.
An Iranian military source told Tasnim news that:
"The Iranian armed forces are fully prepared tonight. If the Americans take any aggressive action, they will once again face heavy responses.
The Americans' idea of 'controlled escalation' is foolish, and Iran will not hesitate to dictate new calculations to the Americans."
Oil prices are up at the highs of the day on the news...
Trump says "Secret Mission" has Allowed 200 Ships, 100 Million Barrels of Oil Through Strait
Confirming our reported from both a week ago (see "As Gulf States Plan Bypass Pipelines, US Military Is Quietly Helping Ships Cross Hormuz ") and this afternoon ("Growing Number Of Oil Tankers Successfully Sneak Through Hormuz, Shrinking Iran's Leverage ") moments ago Trump posted on Truth Social that he had "directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz." Of course, the mission wasn't that secret if we discussed how the US military was helping ship cross the Strait one week ago.
In any case, Trump added that "this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Strait, and into the Open Market. More than 200 Commercial Ships have safely traveled through the Strait, " which would explain why oil prices have remained low and confirms what Goldman's Delta One head, Rich Privorotsky, wrote this morning, namely that "a lot has been thrown at the oil market and it’s simply not going up, which is remarkable given the level of escalation. The only conclusion that really fits the price action is that barrels are still getting through the Strait of Hormuz, visibly or otherwise. There doesn’t seem to be a more rational explanation."
"This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran" Trump concluded.
Now the question is whether Iran, whose leverage in the conflict would be viewed as dramatically reduced as a result of this development, will allow stealthy tankers and other ships, with transponders shut, to continue crossing the strait affirming Trump's implicit claim that the country no longer has control over the strait, or if Tehran will make a public demonstration of how much control it still has.
Trump says "will be attacking Iran hard again today"
Oil surged, jumping by more than a dollar with WTI rising above $91 with Brent touching $94 after President Trump vowed to strike Iran again and slammed the country for delaying talks on an interim peace deal, after renewed attacks overnight put further strain on a fragile two-month truce.
“We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday. “We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them hard again today.”
Trump declined to say what targets US forces would hit in Iran. The president renewed earlier criticism that Tehran has taken too long to negotiate an end to the conflict.
“I’ve been working with Iran for a number of months, and they should sign their deal,” he said. “It was just tap, tap, tap, I don’t know what they’re doing.”
Trump said he retaliated against the Islamic Republic for shooting down a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has not confirmed shooting down the aircraft and said it was reconsidering whether to persist with negotiations in light of the US attacks.
“The diplomatic process doesn’t happen in a vacuum and to advance any diplomatic process you need a minimum space to be able to move forward,” Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, was cited by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency as saying. “Wherever necessary, our armed forces will respond to the enemy with authority.”
Trump’s comments came after the two sides once again exchanged strikes, underscoring how high tensions are running and the risk that intermittent indirect talks between Iran and the US may be derailed. The overnight clashes followed a direct confrontation between Iran and Israel earlier this week, but halted after Trump called on both sides to stop.
The S&P extended its decline to more than 1% and WTI climbed above $91 a barrel to session highs, after Trump’s comments.
Since almost the start of the conflict, Trump has swung from threats of intensified attacks to touting that a deal is within reach. Even with tensions escalating since last week, he had signaled he wants to contain hostilities and avoid a return to all-out war before the new post.
A White House official said talks are still ongoing and that the US will exert maximum pressure until a deal is reached. Fox News first reported the status of the talks. The semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported that a Qatari delegation arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss the diplomatic process to end the war.
The US military said it had completed an operation that saw fighter jets strike Iranian air defenses, ground control stations and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missiles on four American targets, including shelters housing F-35 fighter jets and a command center for the US military at Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan, state-run IRIB News said on Wednesday.
Iran also said it fired drones at the main US naval base in the Middle East, located in Bahrain, and struck Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait. Kuwait’s defense ministry said it had intercepted projectiles early Wednesday, while Jordan said it had intercepted five Iranian missiles.
Tehran said it had exercised its “inherent right to legitimate self defense” and warned regional states not to allow the US and Israel to use their territory as a staging post for strikes on the Islamic Republic.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in any of the attacks.
* * *
Could 'Keep Going' With Strikes: Trump to Fox
More strikes coming? Trump is certainly strongly hinting at this, and yet an overall strategic vision still remains murky and ill-defined. Once again he in a short 12-hour period went from hyping a deal being a few days away, to now threatening yet more attack waves on Iran, in wake of last night's :
President Trump said Wednesday that he's close to ordering more strikes on Iran after the country's attacks targeting American bases in Persian Gulf nations, according to Fox News' Trey Yingst.
Mr. Trump said he "may keep going" with strikes, which he said would target power plants and bridges , because Iranian negotiators are "tapping the United States along," according to Yingst.
He wrote on Truth Social just before these comments that Iran will have to "pay the price" after taking too long to proceed with negotiations.
Trump: Iran Took Too Long To Negotiation, Now Will 'Pay'
As part of what the United States is calling its latest 'defensive strikes' after Iran shot down an Apache helicopter in the Hormuz region, American forces overnight into the early Wednesday hours targeted "air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites" - the Pentagon said. Iran confirmed that there were indeed fresh attacks around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on the damage, or info on other strikes potentially conducted elsewhere across the Islamic Republic.
"The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said. Trump is meanwhile again lashing out at Tehran, claiming its military is now a "complete and total mess" - and yet it keeps responding:
Oil reacts, sensing no peaceful off-ramp or de-escalation on the horizon...
Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan Hit Hard by Iranian Overnight Attack
Tehran later claimed attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan as fulfilment of its previously vowed 'retaliation' - and given these countries host American forces. This marks merely the second time this week the ceasefire was ignored (or rather, shattered - though the White House is maintaining it's still on) with major tit-for-tat strikes, as each side asserts that it is acting 'defensively'.
Iran has been saying it's going to keep up the pressure on Washington and its Gulf allies through both the 'battlefield and diplomacy' - with Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei freshly charging that the US is "undermining" the diplomatic process through "contradictory messages, frequent shifts in its positions and demands, as well as repeated violations of the ceasefire."
He indicated that at this point there's not even the "minimum level of conducive conditions" that is "required in order to carry out diplomacy effectively."
Bahrain and Kuwait got hit hardest in these newest strikes, with reports saying the US Fifth Fleet base came under fire :
Iran Touting Both 'Diplomacy & the Battlefield'
"The Zionist regime is also damaging this process through its repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon," Baghaei said, adding "any diplomatic process is harmed by the use of force and unlawful actions."
"Diplomacy and the battlefield are not separate matters . Together they serve as instruments for safeguarding Iran’s national interests and security," he stressed in a familiar refrain of late.
He also indicated the question of negotiations will be "reviewed" in light of last night's developments, and further emphasized, "Wherever necessary, our armed forces will respond to the enemy with authority ."
"Every Side Believes They Can Control the Escalation"
But it's also clear Tehran feels it must assert strong red lines immediately and without hesitation if it is to survive this now several months-long military confrontation with Washington. On this, longtime regional war correspondent and analyst Elijah Magnier has some insight as to each side's calculus :
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Magnier said it’s a volatile situation with no “stable political exit” as peace is far from being achieved while Lebanon and Gaza remain outside of any final settlement.
“The most dangerous thing is that every side believes they can control the escalation . However, a repeated incident can erode restraint, and if talks collapse completely, this controlled escalation could widen into a much larger conflict,” he said.
History has shown if “one strike crosses the red line” the attacks can spiral out of control , said Magnier.
Indeed in many ways that's how we got here in the first place.
Vital water infrastructure reportedly struck in Iran during this new round of intense but brief escalation:
The White House believed it could control the outcome from day one of Operation Epic Fury, and then perhaps a bit of panic set among US officials in when it was realized the government in Tehran would not so easily fall, and that the military apparatus would become hardened, and its power expanded.
Reports of another US MQ-9 Reaper drone shot down over Iran:
From there it took many weeks to get the naval armada in place, enough to where a blockade could be enacted against Iran's ports and its crucial oil exports. The White House continues to face several 'bad' and 'worse' options for dealing with the crisis, as energy prices are set to soar this summer.
More Latest Developments
via Newsquawk...
US President Trump told ABC that the US was responding to Iran and that it is important to respond to Iran downing the helicopter, as well as noted that the response is very strong and powerful.
US VP JD Vance said the US is very close to reaching a deal that would address Iran's nuclear programme for the long term, which could come next week or months from now, but absolutely before the midterms, according to CBS.
White House senior official said nothing has changed in their position regarding an agreement with Iran and it is still close despite the strikes.
A US official said the US military carried out strikes on almost 20 targets inside of Iran, but noted preliminary assessments indicate most Iranian missiles and drones were successfully intercepted.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei said they need to reassess, following the overnight clashes, when questioned on talks with the US, SNN reported.
Iranian Foreign Ministry statement strongly condemns America's crime in its military aggression against Iran.
An Iranian military source tells IRIB that no offensive military operations have been conducted in the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours. Warned that if the enemy carries out another hostile action under the pretext of the military helicopter crash, it will face a decisive response.
A massive fire in the centre of Erbil and an explosion has been heard near the US base in the vicinity, Mehr news reported citing sources.
Local sources reported that an explosion was heard in the area of Qeshm city, Mehr News reports. However, this was later denied by the Qeshm governor.
UN Security Council debated reviving the Iran sanctions panel, although Russia and China opposed the revival of the Iran sanctions committee, according to Tasnim.
Israeli air raids hit the Lebanese towns of Touline, Srifa and Kafra. It was separately reported that missiles were spotted from Lebanon that were headed towards Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings, while rockets launched from Lebanon towards Upper Galilee were also detected.
UKMTO has received a report of an incident 20nm Northeast of Oman’s Sohar.
UKMTO reported an incident involving a cargo vessel 88 nautical miles southwest of Balhaf, Yemen.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 20:40 Close Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:30:00 +0000 MSFT Restricts Internal Use Of Claude Fable Over Data-Retention Concerns; BMO Calls Anthropic A Leading Pure-Play AI Lab
MSFT Restricts Internal Use Of Claude Fable Over Data-Retention Concerns; BMO Calls Anthropic A Leading Pure-Play AI Lab
Anthropic released Claude Fable 5, a next-generation "Mythos-class" AI model, on Tuesday. The model is designed
Read more.....
MSFT Restricts Internal Use Of Claude Fable Over Data-Retention Concerns; BMO Calls Anthropic A Leading Pure-Play AI Lab
Anthropic released Claude Fable 5, a next-generation "Mythos-class" AI model, on Tuesday. The model is designed to restrict dangerous capabilities in areas such as cybersecurity and biological research after CEO Dario Amodei warned about risks last month.
The model gives users access to Anthropic's more powerful Mythos model, which the company had previously deemed too risky for public release last month . However, when users ask about sensitive topics, such as bioweapons or software exploitation, Fable 5 redirects them to the older Claude Opus 4.8 model.
"We maintain that Anthropic is the leading pure-play AI lab, combining best-in-class model intelligence with its cutting-edge, benchmark-leading Claude Fable 5 frontier model released June 9, 2026; with clear commercial traction and momentum in its enterprise offerings ," BMO analyst Brian Pitz wrote in a note earlier today.
Pitz noted, "Anthropic's strengths are particularly evident in coding, agents, and enterprise, where Claude has emerged as a leading model powering tools such as Claude Code and Cowork, both of which have scaled rapidly. This reinforces the company's advantage in translating model intelligence beyond benchmark performance into viable, real-world applications—what we view as the next key battleground in AI. "
The release of Claude Fable 5 prompted Pitz's team to declare, "While it is too early to crown a winner among foundation models, we see Anthropic and OpenAI as the leading pure-play AI labs today ."
The Verge's Tom Warren reported that Claude Fable 5 has already raised security concerns within Microsoft , prompting the tech giant to limit internal employee access to the model due to Anthropic's data-retention requirements.
Warren said that Claude Fable 5 has been rolled out to GitHub Copilot and Foundry customers but is not available in the internal GitHub Copilot model picker used by Microsoft employees. Other Claude models remain available internally because they operate under zero data retention rules.
He said the issue centers around Anthropic's safety architecture. Claude Fable 5 requires Anthropic to retain prompts and outputs for 30 days to operate new safety classifiers, while some flagged content can be stored for up to two years if it violates usage policies. These rules could potentially create risks for confidential information.
Pitz published the current AI leaderboard overview with Anthropic's models on top (but at the time of the note, Claude Fable 5 was not included):
Western AI Models Comparison
BMO analysts see the release of new advanced models driving AI revenue to $1.8 trillion by 2032. That would mean the market has expanded at an average annual growth rate of 48% since ChatGPT launched in 2022.
Token prices have declined over the last six days.
"Adoption is becoming less about what frontier models can do and more about the price... the recent drop in the token index may reflect some of this shift toward cheaper models," Citadel analysts noted (read ).
Prices per million tokens for Western models vs. Chinese models
Tokenmaxxing.
Average cost per task.
What X users have been creating with Claude Fable 5:
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/10/2026 - 20:30 Close
Dotsquares