Oil Prices Keep Climbing & ‘Moana’ Flops at the Box Office

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
Are you sucking wind from trying to keep up with AI and its impact? Take a breather and tune in to The Intelligence Shift, Morning Brew's new podcast with PWC. It bridges the gap between big picture AI concepts and what it actually means in practice. Host Dan Priest is joined by expert guests to discuss AI's role in sports, music, HR and more. Listen to The Intelligence Shift wherever you get your podcasts.

**Raymond Liu** (0:26)
Good Morning Brew Daily Show. I'm Raymond Liu.

**Kaila Lopez** (0:29)
And I'm Kaila Lopez.

**Raymond Liu** (0:30)
Today, Disney's live action Moana crashes at the box office.

**Kaila Lopez** (0:34)
And why the Paramount Warner Bros merger isn't a done deal just yet. It's Tuesday, July 14th. Let's ride.

**Raymond Liu** (0:51)
Good morning, today we've got Kaila back on the pod. Welcome back, Kaila.

**Kaila Lopez** (0:54)
Thanks so much for having me.

**Raymond Liu** (0:55)
Chipotle fans all over the world, you might love this. The popular fast casual restaurant chain is opening up its first ever restaurant in Mexico. Yes, that means it's hoping it'll be successful as an American brand that makes Mexican inspired food and selling it back to Mexicans. The inaugural store will open up in the Monterey metro area and hopefully expand into Mexico City by 2027
Kaila, this is a pretty bold move here. You think it'll work?

**Kaila Lopez** (1:20)
Honestly, I think it might.
Maybe this is just my opinion, but I feel like Chipotle is so far removed from actual Mexican food, that maybe it'll feel like it's just a healthy salad bar moving into town. But this isn't the first time that an American company has tried to sell food back to the country that inspired its menu. For example, Taco Bell tried and left Mexico in 2010, and Domino's Pizza actually left Italy in 2022

**Raymond Liu** (1:46)
Well, I don't know, maybe it could work today. It's, you have social media and everyone asking for a double chicken. Maybe the Chipotle sees something that we've done, but we shall see.
And now a word from our sponsor, Ultra Running. Hey, Kaila, do you like to stay out there?

**Kaila Lopez** (2:00)
No, that's Macy's thing, and I'm scared of her.

**Raymond Liu** (2:03)
To be honest, I kind of am too. But I meant running on the trail or road, or just living a long, healthy life. You know, Ultra's thing?

**Kaila Lopez** (2:11)
Oh, yes. Ultra Running shoes are designed to give you room for your toes for comfort, balance, and strength.
Most other shoes are narrow at the toe, but Ultra has more room for your toes, so they can spread out and your feet can stay in a natural position.

**Raymond Liu** (2:25)
They actually make shoes shape like feet. What a concept.

**Kaila Lopez** (2:28)
Use promo code MorningBrew10 for 10% off your first pair of Ultra Running shoes at ultrarunning.com/morningbrew. That's altrarunning.com/morningbrew.

**Raymond Liu** (2:40)
The US resumed strikes against Iran on Monday, hours after President Trump said he would reinstate a blockade on Iran to take control of the Strait of Hormuz. He also announced the US would charge 20% on every cargo shipment as compensation for its costs. Now, he hasn't detailed exactly how this would work, but said plans would be made immediately. In a post on his social media, the president said the USA will be, from this point forward, known as the, quote, guardian of the Hormuz Strait, and give a deadline of 4 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday. Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Arachi, responded with a post on X, saying, Iran has always been the guardian of the Strait and will remain so forever. The dueling comments means it'll likely be another continued standoff over the control of the Strait. And to go over briefly of the timeline, the Trump administration stated that an interim peace deal had been made back in mid-June, including pulling back the US. Naval blockade. Reports indicated progress was moving forward up until July 7th when Iran was accused of striking three ships in the Strait. The US responded by striking dozens of targets in Iran and reinstating sanctions on Iran's oil sales. Then, on July 8th, Trump declares that the ceasefire was over but says negotiations can continue while fears of the war perk back up again. Kaila, any new fee means a potential threat to raise fuel costs and a 20% charge would work out to be about $32 million for a fully loaded crude carrier at current oil prices, according to Bloomberg.
How are the markets reacting?

**Kaila Lopez** (4:10)
Well, as you've discussed on the pod in the past, up to 20% of the world's petroleum passes through this strait. Obviously, any changes on the strait will have material impacts on oil prices. They did. The markets reacted. Oil prices jumped on the news and the price of crude rose above $80 a barrel yesterday for the first time since June when the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire. The S&P 500 was also down a little bit about 0.8% yesterday. But does this really impact anyone besides oil traders and maybe people that are filling up today? Yes, oil prices increasing will of course impact the price of gas at the pump, but sustained increases can impact everything from airline tickets to food costs to general inflation pressure.