Here are the key global financial news stories making headlines overnight and this morning.

1. US Announces New Airstrikes on Iran, Trump Declares Interim Agreement "Ended"

The US military stated on Wednesday that it is conducting a new round of airstrikes against Iran, aimed at ensuring the crucial Strait of Hormuz remains navigable. This comes hours after US President Donald Trump declared that an interim agreement intended to end the war with Iran "has ended."

In this escalation that caused oil prices to rise by approximately 7%, Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, prompting US retaliatory strikes. The trigger for this escalation was Iran's attack on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

2. US Judge Orders Trump to Pay $5 Million in Damages to Writer E. Jean Carroll

On Wednesday, a federal judge in New York ordered US President Donald Trump to pay the $5 million in damages previously awarded by a jury to writer E. Jean Carroll. This follows the Supreme Court's refusal to hear Trump's appeal of the verdict in this defamation and sexual abuse case.

After the appeal was dismissed, Carroll's lawyers requested the district court to order the immediate disbursement of the $5 million in damages, plus nearly $800,000 in accrued interest since the verdict. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan granted Carroll's request on Wednesday. Trump's lawyers subsequently promptly notified the court that they would appeal the order.

3. OpenAI Releases GPT-Live Voice Model, Making ChatGPT More Like Real Conversation

OpenAI today officially launched its new generation of voice models, GPT-Live-1 and GPT-Live-1 mini, representing a comprehensive upgrade to ChatGPT's voice capabilities. The new models employ a "full-duplex" architecture, enabling simultaneous listening and speaking. Users can interrupt the AI's response at any time, making the interaction more akin to a real conversation.

Previously, ChatGPT's advanced voice mode used turn-based dialogue, requiring the model to wait for the user to finish speaking before responding. Brief pauses were often misinterpreted as the end of speech, leading to unnatural interruptions. GPT-Live-1 solves this issue, allowing the model to continuously process input and generate output simultaneously, making decisions multiple times per second on whether to speak, continue listening, or interrupt. During conversations, the model indicates it is listening with brief responses like "hmm," "right," or "got it." Users can also ask it to slow down or remain quiet while awaiting instructions.

4. Meta's Market Cap Overtakes Tesla, AI Spending Concerns Weigh on Both Stocks

Amid broad pressure on major technology stocks, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) recently surpassed Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) in market capitalization once again. However, this shift in ranking did not boost investor confidence, as shares of both companies declined, reflecting market concerns over high AI spending and fundamental pressures on tech firms.

Market data shows that while Meta's stock fell approximately 1.7% on the day, Tesla's decline was larger at around 2.3%, prompting Meta to overtake Tesla in market cap ranking and enter the global top ten. In July, the market caps of Meta and Tesla have been seesawing around $1.48 trillion. Tesla briefly surpassed $1.6 trillion in May before retreating. As of early July, Meta's market cap was approximately $1.479 trillion, while Tesla's was about $1.477 trillion, a difference of less than 0.2%.

5. Meta to Build C$13 Billion Data Center in Alberta, Canada

Tech giant Meta announced on Wednesday that it will build a large-scale data center in central Alberta. This will be the company's first data center in Canada, aimed at supporting the global AI boom through rapid expansion of computing capacity.

Meta stated that this 1-gigawatt data center will be located in Sturgeon County, with a total investment of C$13 billion (approximately $9.17 billion).

Meta has intensified its focus on artificial intelligence and has committed to investing hundreds of billions of dollars in building large AI data centers in the United States. This announcement in Alberta marks the establishment of the company's 33rd global data center.

6. SpaceXAI and Cursor Launch AI Model for Legal, Financial, and Other Tasks

SpaceXAI has released a new artificial intelligence model developed in collaboration with AI programming startup Cursor. The model is designed to better handle tasks in finance, law, and programming. This move is the latest step by this Elon Musk-owned company to enhance its competitiveness against rivals like Anthropic PBC and OpenAI.

The software, named Grok 4.5, is the first AI model jointly developed by the two companies. This comes just weeks after SpaceX officially agreed to acquire Cursor, a deal valuing the startup at $60 billion.