Anthropic is offering Blackstone a yield above 10% for a $60 billion chip debt financing plan called Project North Star. The plan would fund the purchase of about 1.5 gigawatts of custom Google TPU chips. Blackstone is set to invest $9 billion to buy half of the subordinated loans in the deal. The transaction is seen as a key test of demand for AI-related debt, at a time when similarly rated corporate borrowers pay about 7% to raise funds in the public bond market.

Kazakhstan’s central bank said it sold foreign exchange worth 374 billion tenge, or about $809 million, in August to hedge gold purchases. It said it will continue selling the same amount in September. The sales are intended to offset exchange-rate risks stemming from its gold purchases, according to Jin10.

Blackstone’s stake sale in India’s Knowledge Realty Trust was fully subscribed, reflecting strong investor demand. The upsized offering raised about 121 billion rupees ($1.3 billion), according to Bloomberg. The deal supports Blackstone’s asset monetization in India’s commercial real estate market.

Visible tanker traffic in the strait remained in single digits. Estimates of actual oil flows diverged further. WTI total open interest contracted sharply as oil prices continued to rise, according to Jin10. These data points point to tightness on the supply side alongside position adjustments, adding to concerns about near-term supply shortages.

Two oil supertankers were hit by unknown projectiles in quick succession while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping chokepoint in the Persian Gulf. The incident raised concerns about maritime security along one of the world’s most important oil routes. The information was reported by maritime security consultant Marisks, according to Bloomberg.

A renewed U.S.-Iran military clash in the Strait of Hormuz pushed Brent crude above US$90 a barrel and sent the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield to a 19-month high. Hawkish remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh added to risk-off sentiment, weighing on Asia-Pacific equity index futures in overnight trade. Nikkei 225 night futures closed down 630 points at 65,820, while Hang Seng Index night futures slipped 107 points to 25,346.

HKEX released its list of the 10 most actively traded southbound stocks on July 31, featuring names such as Tencent, Alibaba and Meituan. In the Shanghai link, Zhipu saw net selling of HK$858.10 million and MiniMax recorded net selling of HK$524.59 million, while Meituan posted net buying of HK$334.44 million and Tencent had net buying of HK$182.54 million. China Construction Bank logged net selling of HK$1.03 billion, and in the Shenzhen link Meituan recorded net selling of HK$1.19 billion while Tencent saw net buying of HK$229.09 million, according to ETNet.

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has sent a letter to MSCI opposing a proposal to exclude “nonoperating companies” from its global investable market indexes. The company called the proposal misleading and flawed, saying it discriminates against digital asset firms and raises questions about MSCI’s impartiality. MSCI said earlier this month it is consulting on the definition and plans to exclude such companies, according to ChainCatcher. Strategy said it employs about 1,500 people and is the world’s largest corporate bitcoin holder with 845,050 bitcoins.

U.S. stocks closed broadly lower on Monday, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all finishing in the red. Amazon fell 2.50% after being sued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, weighing on sentiment. Oil prices surged on renewed U.S.-Iran clashes, lifting WTI and Brent crude futures to $85.76 and $90.49 a barrel. Inflation concerns kept U.S. Treasury yields elevated, and markets now see the odds of a September Fed rate hike at above 50%.