Apple Sales Forecast Tops Estimates Even as Mac Shortages Linger

Good morning. Apple delivers a solid sales forecast and OpenAI pushes back against concerns about missing targets. The UK raises the national terror threat level. And the US is removing Scotch tariffs after King Charles III’s visit. Listen to the day’s top stories.

Apple shares surged in late trading after the company delivered a surprisingly strong revenue forecast for the third quarter, even as it warned that memory-chip costs will increase and that shortages of Mac computers will persist. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar, rebutting concerns about missing internal targets, said the firm is meeting objectives and sees “a vertical wall of demand” for its products. US stock futures advanced in thin trading, with many markets in Europe and Asia closed for a holiday.

UK authorities raised the national terror threat level to “severe” from “substantial” after a stabbing in London’s Golders Green district that left two Jewish men in hospital earlier this week. Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to use the “full power of the state” to crack down on antisemitism.

Donald Trump said he was sticking with a naval blockade of Iranian ports amid concerns the vital Strait of Hormuz would not reopen anytime soon. “Their economy is crashing, the blockade is incredible,” he told reporters at the White House. Meanwhile, the US president indicated he was open to drawing down American military personnel from Spain and Italy, criticizing their lack of support for the Iran war.