The hour's central story is US Election Day colliding with the Iran war. The US carried out limited strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island late Monday, reportedly targeting surface-to-air missiles used against US assets, on the eve of the midterms and hours after Vance voiced optimism about diplomacy to end the war ¹. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the supreme leader had expanded his government's authority to pursue peace talks, and Trump signalled progress ². Oil rose as peace prospects dimmed after the Qeshm strikes ³, recovering part of its steep slide ⁴, with crude steadying around $106 ⁵. The war's economic reach showed elsewhere: Ryanair's Michael O'Leary said European fares could rise 10% to 20% next year as the war pushes up fuel prices ⁶, and PIMCO's Emmanuel Roman said the Middle East crisis is driving high interest rates ⁷. Republicans are expected to be punished over the war's effect on the cost of living , with Trump's economic approval at a record-low 26% ⁸. Ukraine is the second must-read. Zelenskyy said Russia launched 17 ballistic missiles at Ukraine's energy infrastructure on US election day ⁹, after earlier warning that a large-scale attack might be timed to US midterm attention ¹⁰. A Russian strike on a school serving as a humanitarian aid center in Zaporizhzhia Oblast killed 29, with 48 still missing ¹¹. A strike on Kharkiv injured 73 and forced about 200 patients to be evacuated from a damaged medical facility ¹². Overnight, air defences downed or jammed 309 Russian missiles and drones ¹³, while energy sites in Odesa and Rivne oblasts were hit ^14,15. Separately, markets were hit by a tech rout. Apple fell on margin pressure from surging memory prices ¹⁶, and its margin warning triggered a global tech selloff that dragged European shares lower ¹⁷. The Nasdaq-100 entered a correction , and copper slipped below $14,000 as the tech slump hurt risk appetite ¹⁸. Also worth noting: China's central bank will raise banks' foreign-exchange reserve requirement by 2 percentage points to 6% from November 15 ¹⁹. The White House counted an India trade deal among Trump's fulfilled promises even though the pact is still under negotiation ²⁰. Former Chicago FBI chief Douglas DePodesta sued Justice Department officials over his ouster tied to the failed Broadview Six prosecution ²¹. European industrial job cuts piled up at Schaeffler ²² and Virgin Media O2 ²³.