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Hamas's political leader is killed in Iran. The next 24 to 48 hours are going to be crucial as diplomats and the Biden administration scramble to try to de-escalate now that there's been this dual attack on the so-called axis of resistance. Plus, as investors await clues on the Fed's plans to cut rates, the Bank of Japan raises them. And
And we'll look at a potential new threat to the chip industry as workers push for their share of recent windfalls. It's Wednesday, July 31st. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. We begin today in Tehran, where the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Hania, has been killed after attending the inauguration of Iran's new president.
The targeted killing marks the highest-ranking death of a Hamas political official since the start of the war in Gaza, and while Israel didn't immediately comment on Haniyeh's death, it has said that it would target Hamas leaders around the world for their role in the attacks of October 7th.
And joining us now with the very latest is Wall Street Journal Middle East correspondent Jared Malson in Beirut. Jared, flesh out for us, if you could, what we know at this hour as well as what we still don't know. What we know is that Ismail Haniyeh is dead in Tehran. Haniyeh was the head of Hamas's political bureau and one of its longest serving leaders. He was also the prime minister of the Palestinian government after Hamas won an election in 2006.
He was also subject to a pending arrest warrant from the ICC for his alleged role in planning or knowledge of the October 7th attacks. We don't know how he was killed. We know that the Iranian authorities have not yet assigned blame for the attack, although obviously suspicion will lie with Israel.
This also comes in the wake of a separate attack in Beirut overnight that killed one of the highest ranking leaders of Hezbollah in a densely packed neighborhood in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. In terms of the responses we might see to both of these incidents, Jared, Iran's
president has condemned the killing and said Tehran would defend its territorial integrity. And of course, we've also been bracing for a response to that strike in Beirut. So lots going on here, a potentially volatile moment. Right. There are a lot of variables here. Iran's interest in this conflict throughout has been to keep the war at arm's length.
They prefer to fight in their own terms through their network of proxy militias throughout the region, including both Hamas and Hezbollah.
The killing last night by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut of a senior Hezbollah leader, Fuad Chogor, does raise the risk of an escalation on that front because this is the highest ranking leader of the group to be killed in over a decade. And they will feel compelled to respond. There were also civilian victims of that attack. There were three people, a woman and two children killed.
who were killed, along with dozens of injured people. The Lebanese government has condemned the attack, and we're waiting to see how they'll respond. And throughout this conflict, the risk has been that it's been managed within certain rules of engagement, and the risk now is that one side or the other will step outside of those. And I guess there's also impacts of
on the war in Gaza, right? Hani is killing, potentially throwing a wrench in any ceasefire negotiations.
It will be a setback. Hania was one of the central players in those negotiations and one of the chief advocates for a deal. So it complicates those efforts and a lot remains to be seen. The next 24 to 48 hours are going to be crucial as diplomats throughout the region and the Biden administration scramble to try to de-escalate this. Now that there's been this dual attack on
on the so-called axis of resistance, which is the Iranian allied array of groups in the region. That was Wall Street Journal Middle East correspondent Jared Malson in Beirut this morning. Jared, thank you so much for the update. Thank you. Coming up, the rest of the day's headlines, including market-moving news out of Japan, ahead of the Fed's rate decision this afternoon, and a look at America's rail travel renaissance. We've got those stories and more after the break.
We could all use more time. Amazon Business offers smart business buying solutions so you can spend more time growing your business and less time doing the admin. I can see why they call it smart. Learn more at amazonbusiness.com.
It's shaping up to be a busy day in markets. While investors are on alert for clues later today about the Federal Reserve's plans for future rate cuts, the Bank of Japan has already made its interest rate call, raising its benchmark rate to 0.25% and marking a return to a more normal monetary policy. Here is Journal of Finance editor Alex Frangos. The thing with Japan is they're very slowly normalizing.
looking at the U.S. a little bit and saying, well, the U.S. raised rates a lot, and yet the economy still did well. And there's a school of thought that contrary to what people usually think, which is higher rates means slower growth. Well, actually, when your consumers have had zero or negative rates for so long where they weren't earning anything on their money, that if they start to earn a little bit on their savings, that actually gives them more certainty about spending, puts a little bit more money in their pockets, and actually boosts growth a little bit.
And markets are also reacting to a report from Reuters, according to which the Biden administration is planning to expand U.S. powers to block the export of chip-making equipment from certain countries to China.
According to Reuters, shipments from U.S. allies, including Japan, the Netherlands, and South Korea, would be excluded. And that, Alex says, is what investors are zeroing in on. One of the big things hanging over markets is the U.S. and other Western nations don't want China to have access to the most high-tech chips because it
could undermine their technological supremacy or advantage in the global economy. And so there's been all these barriers thrown up. You then have the election coming up and the sense that if Trump wins, you could have even stricter rules and tariffs. And so markets are very nervous about it. So any inkling like we saw today from this news report that, oh, maybe things are going to be not as strict as we thought creates a lot of relief. And so we saw
especially chip stocks, jump a lot this morning in Europe and in pre-market trading. And in other markets news we're watching today, China's manufacturing activity fell for a third straight month in July, with the country's latest Purchasing Managers Index softening slightly from its prior reading. The data signals continued weakness in China's economy, a day after leaders pledged to introduce more pro-growth measures.
Meanwhile, more big tech earnings are looming with Facebook parent Meta Platform set to report results today, alongside other household names like MasterCard, T-Mobile, and troubled aircraft maker Boeing.
Samsung Electronics' profit jumped nearly six-fold last quarter, with the AI boom continuing to power demand for its advanced chips. However, those bumper earnings come as thousands of Samsung workers in South Korea have gone on indefinite strike, demanding greater pay and benefits.
Strikes are a relatively new threat for a sector that's been mostly union-free in recent decades. But with annual revenue for the semiconductor industry expected to double to a trillion dollars by the end of the decade, journal tech reporter Ji-Young Son says the question of how much of that bonanza should go to workers is beginning to affect chipmakers around the world.
In the US recently, there has been some fresh movements to create unions in the chip industry. And those moves have gained ground, especially as a lot of major chip makers got government funding to build new facilities in the States through laws like the Chips and Science Act from 2022. And that has prompted calls for the money to be used for ensuring better jobs to workers in the industry.
It's unclear whether the unionization efforts are going to be successful in the U.S., but if they are, then worker disputes could become another factor that could impact the company's chip production and profit-sharing schemes down the road. And you can hear much more about how worker unrest could unsettle the chip industry on the WSJ's Tech News Briefing podcast.
Train travel in the U.S. is making a comeback. Amtrak is reporting that between the October start of its fiscal year and the end of June, it's seen an 18% increase in ridership compared with the prior year, with more than 24 million passengers boarding its trains around the country.
And in an encouraging trend for the industry, traveler numbers are up outside of just the popular Northeast Corridor, with all but two of Amtrak's routes posting higher ridership this fiscal year, led by gains in the Pacific Northwest and Southern California.
And at the Paris Olympics, the U.S. is continuing to bask in the glow of last night's gold medal in women's team gymnastics. If you haven't had a chance to watch Simone Biles' performance, this podcast is almost over, so be sure to get that queued up. And in competition today, water pollution in the River Seine finally receded enough this morning for organizers to let the women's triathlon go ahead.
No spoilers on the winner, but it's safe to say the river wasn't the only challenge posed by the course. And before we go, it is shaping up to be another summer of extreme weather, from heat waves to flooding rains, and we want to know how you have been affected. And as these phenomena increasingly become a business risk, what questions do you have about what companies are doing to mitigate their effects?
To weigh in, send a voice memo to WNPOD at WSJ.com or leave a voicemail with your name and location at 212-416-4328. We just might use it on the show.
And that's it for What's News for Wednesday morning. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bach and Kate Bullivant with supervising producer Christina Rocca. And I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show. And until then, good luck not watching the Olympics while at work. And as always, thanks for listening.
We could all use more time. Amazon Business offers smart business buying solutions so you can spend more time growing your business and less time doing the admin. I can see why they call it smart. Learn more at amazonbusiness.com.