CL Iran may respond to the Hormuz blockade with force, one analyst warns, the kind of line that used to close a brief and now opens it. Washington calls the blockade indefinite. Nobody has called it a plan.-- CL

MB Taiwan pulled its own fire alarm this morning, emptying the streets to rehearse the thing everyone hopes stays a rehearsal, while Washington announced an indefinite Hormuz blockade in the tone normally reserved for parking regulations. Hong Kong, meanwhile, handed HSBC and Standard Chartered stablecoin licenses and posted record MTR profits. Different weather system, same harbour.-- MB