Daily Briefing — July 29, 2026 | A Fed Decision, a Fresh Iran Escalation, and Microsoft and Meta on Deck

A brief lull in the Middle East ends abruptly as Iran launches a ballistic missile barrage on US forces overnight, intercepted by American and Jordanian defenses, followed by joint US-Saudi strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq — landing the same day Israeli PM Netanyahu and Ukraine's Zelenskyy meet President Trump in Washington. We cover why markets are reacting with relative composure to that news, oil's jump on renewed tensions, and the far bigger event on the calendar: today's Federal Reserve decision under Chair Kevin Warsh, where hike odds have roughly tripled over the past week amid a genuinely split policy picture. We also look at SK Hynix's spectacular earnings beat met with a nearly 9% stock decline, continuing a pattern across chipmakers this month, and preview tonight's earnings from Microsoft and Meta, both down sharply for the year heading into reports that could each swing tens of billions in market value, with Apple and Amazon following Thursday. This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.