| Bloomberg News is closely following developments in the Middle East after the US bombed Iran over the weekend. Find links to the coverage below. Plus: Bloomberg Businessweek Editor Brad Stone and tech reporter Kurt Wagner sat down at the Cannes Lions event with the bosses of Omnicom and IPG to get their take on advertising and AI. Also, Tom Orlik runs the math on debt reduction, and Chinese lipstick and mascara find a new market. If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up. The US airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday have set much of the world on edge. After Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, vowed that the country would respond “proportionately and decisively,” Tehran launched missiles Monday toward a US air base in Qatar. Follow the live blog for the latest. The American operation, known as “Midnight Hammer,” had at its heart a tactical feint. In all, the military deployed 14 “bunker buster” bombs. Satellite images show that military planners were careful not to hit three nuclear reactors at a key research facility. Even though it’s weakened, Iran has plenty of options to respond, including with its cyberwarfare capabilities and an armed proxy network. Iran’s envoy at the International Atomic Energy Agency said the attack had caused irreparable harm to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Here’s what you need to know about the international accord, which seeks to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Stocks struggled for direction as oil whipsawed amid reports about Iran’s response. Earlier, President Donald Trump on Truth Social urged calm: “EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I’M WATCHING!” AI Is Coming for the Ad Agency | Advertising executives from around the world converged last week on France’s Côte d’Azur to sip chilled rosé, kick back on megayachts and dance beachside to the likes of Cardi B and Diplo. In between, participants in the annual circus known as Cannes Lions made more than a few deals. But beneath the glitz, glamour and glad-handing, the executives were reckoning with a stark reality: Their industry—like most—risks being upended by the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence. AI has already changed the way ads are bought and targeted, and it will soon change the way marketing campaigns are produced. Few people have more at stake than John Wren, the CEO of Omnicom Group, and Philippe Krakowsky, his counterpart at Interpublic Group. In December, the two agreed to a $13.3 billion merger that would create the world’s largest agency. The deal is still under review by the Federal Trade Commission, but Wren says he’s “very confident” the assessment will be completed by early in the fourth quarter. Will FTC approval hinge on a commitment that Omnicom-IPG clients won’t withhold online advertising from certain platforms for political reasons? Wren and Krakowsky, sitting side-by-side in Cannes, declined to comment.  Wren and Krakowsky. Source: Omnicom People across the industry are concerned that generative AI tools that can create video ads from a short text prompt or a product image might render their pricey creative services obsolete—or at least much harder to justify. Unsurprisingly, Wren and Krakowsky see things differently. The tools will only be as useful as the creative people who utilize them, they insist. If anything, AI will help those people test ideas more quickly and at much lower cost. “We’re going to have a talent pool across the world, across disciplines that nobody else will be able to match,” Krakowsky says. AI promises to provide the most value to small businesses like the local pizzeria, Wren says, which likely doesn’t have the budget for a professional video campaign. But the world’s largest brands—Omnicom and IPG’s clients—won’t entrust their image to an AI algorithm. “If you’re a big company, you’re gonna want quite a number of assurances about how this is going to impact who you are, what you are and the value of your brand,” Wren says. “You’re not going to put that in jeopardy.” The new technology has helped further differentiate major agencies like Omnicom from platforms such as Meta, which both court advertisers but in very different ways. Meta announced new AI tools last week for creating video ads almost instantly, for free, with the hope of eliminating expensive production costs. If ads are cheaper to produce, the thinking goes, those businesses will have more money to spend on promotions on Facebook and Instagram. Meta can also handle the audience-targeting for those ads using AI algorithms, essentially offering advertisers a one-stop shop. Wren scoffs at the idea. “All you have to do is give Mark [Zuckerberg] your credit card, and he will solve every problem you’ve ever had,” he quips. Of course, Wren and Krakowsky have every reason to hope AI doesn’t spell doom for their industry. They’re making a $13.3 billion bet that brands will continue to need the Omnicoms and IPGs of the world. They say that the future is bright for their combined companies, and that the rise of AI will do nothing to imperil their employees’ jobs. “There are precious few people in our companies who should be frightened by these changes,” Wren says. The technology “should make quite a number of people’s jobs and lives easier.” | 
