Daily Open: Who's steering oil now?

Iran's medium-sized oil tankers continue to wait off the coast of Bandar Abbas at the Strait of Hormuz in Hormozgan Province, Iran on September 09, 2026.Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty ImagesHello, this is Anniek Bao writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC's Daily Open.The Iran war landed on Britain's doorstep this weekend.The Pentagon pulled every U.S. bomber out of RAF Fairford, an air base in southern England, after a suspected terror plot, while more tankers were struck in waters near Iran. In Yemen, the government launched an offensive to retake Houthi-held territory, and OPEC+ held its November output targets steady.Elsewhere, the Brazil elections look headed for a runoff, and U.S. President Donald Trump named a new AI czar. What you need to know todayThe Pentagon said all U.S. B-1 bombers deployed to RAF Fairford have redeployed to their home stations in the United States, after an investigations discovered a planned terror attack. Dozens of B-52 and B-1 bombers operated out of the air base since the opening day of the Strait of Hormuz conflict, mostly used to launch strikes on Iran. More vessels were hit in waters near Iran and Oman, even as Tehran restated its conditions for reopening the key waterway. The strait, which carries about a fifth of global crude and LNG, has been effectively shut since the war began in late February. Iran's demands include lifting sanctions and ending the U.S. naval blockade."The Strait of Hormuz will not open until Iran's seven conditions based on the Islamabad Memorandum are met, and Iran will not regulate its national security with tweets from American officials," Iranian state media agency Nour News quoted Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as saying Sunday.Yemen's Saudi-backed government announced on Sunday that it was launching a nationwide offensive to retake all the areas that have been controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis. The government's armed forces would press the offensive "until the country is liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia," Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi said in a televised address. At a meeting on Sunday, OPEC+ member countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed to keep their combined November target unchanged, in line with expectations that further output adjustment may not come until next year.International benchmark Brent crude futures edged up slightly to $102.33 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slid 0.3% to $90.85 a barrel. U.S. stock futures were flat Sunday night as investors weighed climbing Treasury yields against a soft labor market. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 53 points, or 0.1%, and S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%. Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.2%Heading into this week, investors will be watching for minutes from the Fed's September meeting on Wednesday and the University of Michigan's preliminary October consumer sentiment reading, due Friday.Trump names new AI czarPresident Donald Trump tapped Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as the administration's new AI czar, putting the country's top intelligence official in charge of AI policy as safety concerns grow. Clayton will lead a new White House task force, called the "Super Intelligence Force," to research and report on AI's risks and opportunities in the next 120 days. The group is tasked with offering recommendations on the federal government's responsibilities regarding the new technology.Election runoff in Brazil Senator Flavio Bolsonaro rose to a surprise lead over leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, setting the nation up for a sharp shift to the right. Bolsonaro held a narrowing lead in the first round of Brazil's presidential election on Sunday. Surveys have shown Lula and Flavio polling roughly even in an October 25 runoff.A victory for Bolsonaro would extend a wave of wins across Latin America by right-wing candidates aligned with the Trump administration, while Lula's reelection could create a headache for Washington, which has clashed with his government over trade and security. Meanwhile, over in Asia, a top McKinsey executive laid out what sets Asia's owner-CEOs apart, drawing on the firm's research that helps filter out the key factors that determine successful leadership. McKinsey's findings point to the ability to deal with contradicting thoughts: to think both long-term and short term, to go big-picture but also look at things under a microscope. — Anniek Bao And finally...