Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and making news.
Eli Lilly is moving aggressively to cement its dominance in the obesity drug space, announcing plans to file for approval of retatrutide in two thousand twenty seven after clearing two more late-stage trials. That's now five positive phase-three readouts on the drug, giving Lilly a formidable pipeline behind tirzepatide and reinforcing its position as the long-term leader in GLP-one class therapeutics.
Shifting to geopolitics with direct supply chain implications, Houthi forces are intensifying attacks near the Bab al-Mandab strait, forcing tankers to abandon the route entirely. Asian refiners are now facing delays of up to a month on crude deliveries, adding a meaningful logistical premium to oil markets and raising fresh questions about Red Sea corridor stability heading into the second half of the year.
And in a story that sits at the intersection of politics and markets, President Trump publicly urged Americans to buy Dell computers for the third time since May, following a six-point-two-five-billion-dollar contribution from Michael Dell and his wife to Trump's account. The optics are drawing scrutiny, with observers questioning the line between presidential endorsement and donor reward.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
