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Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager

and I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today.

Karen, we begin with the latest from the Middle East. Israel has carried out new attacks on Lebanon as the US prepares fresh economic sanctions on Iran. The Israeli military says it killed senior Hezbollah commander Abu Hassan Alah in retaliation for a strike that injured three Israeli soldiers on Saturday. We get more from Bloomberg Middle East correspondent Air Abu Omar in Dubai.

These are the deadliest strikes against the southern part of Lebanon since thatou was reached in June, which the expiry date for that if you were to hold it into account given the latest escalations we've seen in the region mean anything. That deadline is due later today. We don't know what exactly is going to happen once it expires.

Bloomberg Zabir Abu Omar reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant is promising to roll out an economic isolation plan against Iran this week. Robert Harard is a former deputy commander for US Central Command.

The pressure will be increased on Iran. The negotiations, theus, the ceasefires have gone nowhere as anything has with Iran in the last 47 years. So in this case, they're really going to ratchet up the economic sanctions, which is a very sound strategy.

The former Sentcom deputy commander Robert Harvard was a guest on Bloomberg this weekend, heard each Saturday and Sunday on Bloomberg radio and television. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Iran has used the recent lull in fighting to prepare for an even broader confrontation. And the report says it has given the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps greater influence over the military, accelerated missile and drone production, and strengthened coordination with proxy militias.

And Nathan, as the confrontation continues with Iran, the US may be looking to scale back in the Asia-Pacific. President Trump said he's told the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea. This is a 10-day drill with some 18,000 South Korean troops is set to kick off today. We get more from Bloomberg Chief Asia correspondent Rosalyn Madison. It's a bit of a mystery as to why. Perhaps someone just mentioned this in passing to him that these drills were kicking off and they are quite large in scale and that got his attention and therefore his eye over the level of the US military commitment to these drills which is not small in scale.

Bloomber's Ros Madison reports. The president posted the announcement on social media saying the drills are too costly and sent an inappropriate signal to North Korea. He cited his quote very good relationship with leader Kim Jong-un. South Korea has declined to get involved in the US war with Iran, but it says this week's joint drills will go on as planned.

Let's turn to markets now. Karen futures are mixed with tech stocks leading the way as we kick off a new trading week. Documents seen by Bloomberg News show that Anthropic is telling its prospective investors second quarter revenue jumped at least 14fold compared to the same period a year ago.

Nathan, the dollar is dropping for a third day as traders reduced bets on Federal Reserve interest rate hikes following weaker thanex expected US economic data last week. There's a less than 30% chance that the Fed will raise its policy rate in September. That's down from about 70% odds at the end of last month. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs says market bets on rate hikes are still too aggressive given that inflation in the world's biggest economy is cooling.

And this week, Karen, earnings are going to be in focus. We hear from several big retailers this week, including Walmart, Home Depot, and Target. Let's get a preview from Bloomberg's Charlie Pellet. Consumers are still spending, albeit more prudently, in the face of higher energy costs, cooling wage growth, and a softer jobs market. Tuesday, we hear from Home Depot. Bloomberg Intelligence says same store sales should rise for a fifth straight quarter, defying a housing slowdown and anemic DIY demand.

Wednesday, it's Target. Cityroup says the retailer could raise 2026 guidance on a potential second quarter beat. And then Thursday, we hear from Walmart. City says Walmart will likely score an earnings beat for the quarter and keep its fullear profit outlook unchanged. In New York, Charlie Pellet, Bloomberg Radio.

All right, Charlie, thank you. In Asia, China's economy got off to a sluggish start in the second half. Industrial output rose 4 and a.5% from a year earlier, missing forecasts, while retail sales growth slowed to 610 of a percent. The figure raises the pressure on Beijing to revive domestic spending and keep its annual growth goal within reach.

In Europe, Karen JP Morgan Chase CEO Jaime Diamond is warning the new chancellor of the ex-checker in the UK, John Healey, not to raise bank taxes. In an introductory call last week about his firm's UK operations, Diamond emphasized the need for governments to better support economies, including through tax policy. The Financial Times first reported details of this call. It says Diamond also pointed to a decline in finance jobs in New York, which he blamed in part on that city's tax burden.

Laura Nunan is a senior finance reporter for Bloomberg News. To

be honest, I think we would very much expect that as soon as Jamie Diamond had an audience with the chancellor, he would in fact make those points. He has been very public on it. So, it's entirely consistent that he would share his public views privately with the chancellor. as to whether it will actually change anything. I mean, we all have long known that, you know, Jamie Diamond and other bank CEOs are not fans of bank tax and that's essentially what Jamie told the new chancellor during their call last week.

So, in that sense, we would not expect bankers to be fond of bank tax and we would expect them to warn that if the UK implements bank taxes, there will be a negative impact not just on banking but on the economy as a whole. And Bloomberg senior finance reporter Laura Nunan says that call comes as bumper bank profits fuel speculation that Prime Minister Andy Bernham's government could increase taxes.

Meanwhile, Nathan Bloomberg News has learned German officials are open to discussing a potential sale of Germany's stake in Commerce Bank to Uni Credit. We get the very latest at Bloomberg's UN Pots. Good morning, Euan,

Karen, and Nathan. Germany's government owns just over an eighth of Commerce Bank and until recently was opposed to a takeover by Italy's Uni Credit. Bloomberg now understands the government is open to selling its stake if Uni Credit can secure backing for its plans from Commerce Bank's current management. A spokesman for the German government says it stance remains unchanged. In London, I'm Yuan Pots, Bloomberg Radio.

Yuan, thanks. Alphabet is looking to raise about $3.6 $6 billion in its debut bond offering in Australia. The Google parent may sell securities across four maturities, including one as long as 20 years. US tech giants, including Alphabet, have raised hundreds of billions in dollars and other currencies this year to fund their artificial intelligence ambitions.

Nathan, Meta Platforms is facing a landmark trial this week. 29 states alleged Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to addict young users. They also accuse the company of improperly collecting children's data. Bloomberg News tech reporter Alexander Lavine is following the case.

At question here is really the product design. So it's notifications that are pinging young people in the middle of the night while they're supposed to be sleeping. It is the algorithm that keeps them uh you know doing an infinite scroll. It is all these design decisions that really not just in the state AG's case but in all of the all of the uh litigation that we've seen pl