Key headlines from global financial media overnight and this morning include:

1. U.S. Claims Deal is Near, Reiterates Military Threat; Iran Says Final Text is Not Complete 2. Trump: U.S. Holds All the Cards in Negotiations with Iran 3. Anthropic's Valuation Reaches $965 Billion After New Funding Round, Surpassing OpenAI 4. Dell's Q1 AI Server Revenue Soars 757% Year-over-Year, Stock Surges Over 25% After-Hours 5. Goldman Sachs Trader Sees Potential for Short Squeeze in Unloved Sectors, Fueling Next U.S. Stock Rally 6. Citadel Securities Sees High Probability of U.S.-Iran Deal, Says Investors Underestimate Potential for Broad Market Rebound

U.S. Claims Deal is Near, Reiterates Military Threat; Iran Says Final Text is Not Complete U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Thursday local time that the United States and Iran are close to reaching an agreement to end hostilities, but President Trump has not yet approved the deal. The White House hopes the final terms will meet several core conditions. Speaking at the White House, Bessent stated, "We currently have the basis for an agreement." He also revealed that both sides have been exchanging proposals. "Everything depends on the President's decision. President Trump will never accept a deal that harms our interests." Bessent outlined that Iran must agree to dispose of its highly enriched uranium, pledge never to develop nuclear weapons, and fully reopen navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials previously indicated that these elements would be included in the memorandum of intent.

Trump: U.S. Holds All the Cards in Negotiations with Iran In an interview clip from the Fox News Channel program "My View with Lara Trump," U.S. President Donald Trump, discussing negotiations with Iran, stated, "Ultimately, we hold all the cards because we have already defeated them militarily." Trump responded to questions about what red line Iran might cross to trigger U.S. offensive military action. Trump said, "Ultimately, the red line is a deal that is bad for us, because I am watching the situation develop, and we will see."

Anthropic's Valuation Reaches $965 Billion After New Funding Round, Surpassing OpenAI Artificial intelligence company Anthropic PBC raised $65 billion in a new funding round, achieving a post-money valuation of $965 billion, surpassing its rival OpenAI for the first time. The funding round was announced on Thursday and was led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital. Other investors included D.E. Shaw & Co., Blackstone Group, and DST Global. This massive round was finalized within just a few weeks, indicating strong investor demand for the developer of Claude. Previous reports suggested that in late April, after receiving multiple funding proposals, Anthropic was considering seeking new funding at a valuation exceeding $900 billion. Subsequently, the AI startup began in-depth negotiations earlier this month.

Dell's Q1 AI Server Revenue Soars 757% Year-over-Year, Stock Surges Over 25% After-Hours Dell Technologies Inc. reported that its revenue growth rate hit the highest single-quarter record since its relisting over seven years ago, with both sales and profits exceeding analyst expectations. In after-hours trading on Thursday, the stock surged as much as 26%. The financial report shows that for the quarter ending May 1, Dell's revenue surged nearly 88% year-over-year. Since its IPO in 2018 (five years after the server manufacturer went private), its year-over-year growth rate had never exceeded 39%—a record set in the quarter ending this January. The growth was driven by the artificial intelligence business, as Dell assembles servers equipped with graphics processing units (GPUs) from companies like NVIDIA. Dell stated that AI server revenue for the quarter increased 757% year-over-year to $16.1 billion. The company now expects full-year AI revenue to reach $60 billion, up from the $50 billion forecast in February, representing a 144% increase.

Goldman Sachs Trader Sees Potential for Short Squeeze in Unloved Sectors, Fueling Next U.S. Stock Rally The U.S. stock market bull run may find support from an unexpected ally—short sellers—and advance towards the next leg up. According to data tracked by S3 Partners LLC dating back to 2010, the total size of bearish positions in U.S. and Canadian stocks has surged nearly $1 trillion since late April to a record high of $2.13 trillion. Additionally, data from Goldman Sachs Group's prime brokerage division shows that the median short interest as a percentage of market capitalization for S&P 500 constituents has risen to 3%, the highest level since late 2011. Goldman's trading desk believes the current setup is an inflection point. The next rally in U.S. stocks is more likely to be driven by a short squeeze, forcing investors to buy stocks in areas of the market beyond the mega-cap tech stocks that have led the two-month surge.

Citadel Securities Sees High Probability of U.S.-Iran Deal, Says Investors Underestimate Potential for Broad Market Rebound Citadel Securities stated that investors may be underestimating the potential for a broad market rebound triggered by the "timely" reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The firm's strategist, Frank Flight, noted that two signs indicate a reasonably high probability of a U.S.-Iran deal to restore shipping through the strait. In a client report, Flight cited NetBlocks data showing that after months of internet disruption, Iran's internet connectivity has recovered to about 86% of pre-conflict levels, suggesting Tehran expects the conflict to de-escalate soon. Furthermore, recent public appearances by senior Iranian military officials indicate that top leadership in Tehran believes the risk of near-term escalation or targeted strikes has diminished, increasing the likelihood of a peace agreement.