June 17, senior independent economist Clifford Bennett said that if the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates, the world will face the risk of a global conflict. Assuming that the United States directly participates in the offensive, Pakistan, Turkey, and Russia may participate on the other side. Russia and Iran have previously signed a defense alliance, and Russian President Putin has made it clear that Russia will respect this alliance. As this conflict unfolds, if it really escalates, it will have a catastrophic impact on the entire market.

According to the Wall Street Journal: Oracle (ORCL.N) will launch a program to help companies sell technology to the U.S. Department of Defense. The project, called Oracle Defense Ecosystem, will connect companies with Department of Defense customers.

1. The trading volume of WTI crude oil futures was 1,844,529 lots, a decrease of 1,764,147 lots from the previous trading day. The open interest was 1,933,852 lots, a decrease of 24,180 lots from the previous trading day. 2. The trading volume of Brent crude oil futures was 366,786 lots, a decrease of 420,112 lots from the previous trading day. The open interest was 184,464 lots, a decrease of 1,254 lots from the previous trading day. 3. The trading volume of natural gas futures was 462,707 lots, an increase of 70,369 lots from the previous trading day. The open interest was 1,546,291 lots, a decrease of 670 lots from the previous trading day.

Faraday Future (FFIE.O) announced that new senior executives have joined its 10b5-1 stock purchase plan.

Israeli official: Trump did not pressure Israel to stop military action against Iran.

Russian Ministry of Defense: 147 Ukrainian drones were shot down in Russia last night.

CEO of Italian oil company Eni Group: The conflict between Israel and Iran has not led to a decline in oil production, and OPEC still has idle production capacity.

On June 17, Yamato published a research report, believing that the intelligent robot company UBTECH (09880.HK) has cutting-edge technology and a strong market leadership in the field of industrial humanoid robots. It gave UBTECH a "buy" rating for the first time, with a target price of HK$114, based on a forecast of an average price-to-sales ratio of 19 times from 2025 to 2026, which is similar to its average since its listing in 2024. However, due to multiple rounds of equity financing, its valuation is at a substantial discount of 50% compared to its peers. Yamato predicts that even if UBTECH continues to record losses from 2025 to 2027, its revenue compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2027 is expected to be about 70%, which is close to the industry leader.

On June 17, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told its staff that it would revoke guidance issued last week that required law enforcement officials not to conduct immigration raids on farms, hotels and restaurants. Two people familiar with the matter said that officials from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its Homeland Security Investigations division informed DHS leaders in a conference call on the 16th that law enforcement officers must continue to conduct immigration raids on agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants.

According to the Financial Times: British Chancellor of the Exchequer Reeves is studying the decision to revoke the UK inheritance tax on the global assets of non-UK residents.

According to the Financial Times: The EU is considering imposing carbon taxes on home heating and gasoline.

British maritime security company Ambrey confirmed the incident, which occurred 22 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, was not security related.

U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem: The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will be closed effective Tuesday, June 17. All U.S. government employees and their families have been instructed to continue to shelter in place in their residences and nearby areas until further notice. The U.S. Embassy is unable to evacuate or directly assist U.S. citizens in Israel in leaving at this time.

Naoki Tamura, board member of the Bank of Japan: Long-term interest rates should be determined by the market.

Bank of Japan: Will conduct a mid-term review of the bond reduction plan for April 2026 and beyond at its June 2026 meeting.

Bank of Japan: Long-term interest rates will be determined by the market.

Bank of Japan: Will announce its bond-buying plan for April 2027 and beyond in June next year.

Bank of Japan: The impact of past import price increases and recent food price increases is expected to gradually weaken.

According to Yonhap News Agency: The South Korea-Japan summit will be held on Wednesday afternoon.