Iran said it seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, heightening tensions in the critical waterway. The U.K. government said a second, Liberian-flagged vessel was taken as well. The incidents follow a July 11 move by the British navy to stop Iran from blocking a commercial oil tanker leaving the Persian Gulf. That followed an incident in early July when U.K. forces seized a tanker off Gibraltar that was suspected of carrying Iranian oil to Syria. Iran denied the vessel was heading to Syria and has since vowed to retaliate. —David E. Rovella Here are today’s top stories Oil climbed on news of the Iranian action. U.S. President Donald Trump said he will work with the U.K. government to formulate a response. The Trump administration can expand the sale of short-term health insurance policies that don’t meet the standards of the Affordable Care Act, a judge ruled, advancing the White House effort to undermine the landmark program established by President Barack Obama. Consolidated Edison is forecasting record power demand for New York City this weekend as a heat wave blankets the city. The utility is under scrutiny after an outage last weekend left a broad swath of Manhattan in the dark. Timothy L. O’Brien writes in Bloomberg Opinion how Trump’s recent attacks on Democratic members of Congress, all women and all persons of color, reflect how he has been “awash” in racism “for decades.” Since Jeffrey Epstein was first arrested more than a decade ago in Palm Beach, he has employed a web of companies and charities to try to mask part of his fortune, avoid taxes and stay close to the rich and powerful. Many things in life are a popularity contest, even charitable giving. The revenue that nonprofit cancer-fighting organizations receive is not proportionate with the burden those individual cancers place on society. What’s Luke Kawa thinking about? The Bloomberg cross-asset reporter said any 10-year Treasury traders who took off after jobs day and came back to work Friday could be forgiven for thinking that nothing’s happened. The 10-year Treasury yield has reversed almost all of last week’s rise, while the two-year has touched levels not seen since prior to the payrolls print. What you’ll need to know tomorrow This Fed dove would love to be chair of the central bank. Divorce is destroying the finances of Americans over 50. China built Kenya a railroad to nowhere. The U.S. fears China is building a military base in Cambodia. The world’s second richest man is helping make a China billionaire. Millennials are flocking to the Pacific Northwest. Tinder ditched Google Play over app store fees. What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Wealth Prince Friedrich zu Solms-Baruth III slept with two Luger pistols as he colluded to kill Adolf Hitler near the end of World War II. The plan failed, and Solms-Baruth was imprisoned, tortured and eventually lost control of the land his family had owned for centuries. Today, on the eve of Operation Valkyrie’s 75th anniversary, the timing of that land transfer has become the focus of a legal battle between the German government and Solms-Baruth’s descendants. Like Bloomberg’s Evening Briefing? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com. You’ll get our unmatched global news coverage and two premium daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close, and much, much more. See our limited-time introductory offer. Worried about making enough money? Getting that dream job? Take a moment to try the Bloomberg Work Wise career calculator and learn how your salary stacks up, and how much your dream job might pay. Download the Bloomberg app: It’s available for iOS and Android. |