US and Iran Reach Preliminary Deal; Dell Soars on Outlook

<p>Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.<br />On today's podcast:<br />1) The US and Iran have reached a preliminary deal to extend a ceasefire by 60 days and discuss the future of Tehran&rsquo;s nuclear program, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Vice President JD Vance said the US and Iran are &ldquo;going back and forth on a couple of language points,&rdquo; including over issues relating to Tehran&rsquo;s nuclear capabilities, and that Iran appears to be negotiating in good faith. The US Treasury Secretary reiterated President Trump&rsquo;s three &ldquo;red lines&rdquo; &mdash; reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Iran surrendering highly enriched uranium and ending its nuclear program &mdash; remain in place.<br />2) Dell shares soared in extended trading after the company gave an outlook for annual sales that far surpassed analysts&rsquo; estimates. Revenue in the fiscal year ending in January 2027 will be about $167 billion, including $60 billion from the sale of AI servers, according to the company. Dell&rsquo;s server business has been viewed as an AI winner this year, sparking the stock more than 150% higher through Thursday&rsquo;s close.<br />3) Anthropic PBC raised $65 billion in a funding round that valued the artificial intelligence company at $965 billion including the new investment. The funding was led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital, with each of the lead investors putting in more than $2 billion. Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Amazon.com Inc. also invested in the round, with Google contributing several billion dollars and Amazon investing $5 billion.</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>