Business news today is shaped by mounting geopolitical and political risk. Goldman Sachs is warning that Brent crude could spike above $120 a barrel if disruption in the Strait of Hormuz persists, underscoring how vulnerable energy markets remain to renewed Middle East conflict even as its base case still assumes prices ease back later this year. In Britain, Thames Water’s lenders are scrambling to sweeten a rescue plan with a possible government “golden share,” a sign of how fraught the balance has become between private capital and public control over essential infrastructure. In the US, Nintendo is fighting a class action from Switch buyers seeking a share of tariff-related refunds, while the Gates Foundation says an external review found no evidence of payments to Jeffrey Epstein or related criminal conduct. Meanwhile, diplomats are working to stop a potentially damaging US rupture with the UN refugee agency, with funding and governance both in play.