Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian stocks edged higher as signs Iran may join talks with the US fostered cautious optimism about progress in the Middle East ahead of a looming ceasefire deadline. Oil dropped. We spoke to Patrick Kennedy, Founder & Managing Partner, AllSource Investment Management.

Plus -  Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will hand the reins to hardware boss John Ternus later this year, capping a 15-year tenure that turned the company into a $4 trillion business spanning watches, video streaming and financial services. Ternus will become CEO on Sept. 1, when Cook will transition to executive chairman, the company said in a statement Monday. Ternus, 50, has served as head of hardware engineering since 2021 and spent 25 years focused on product development at the iPhone maker. Bloomberg News previously reported that Ternus was Cook's heir apparent. Bob O' Donnell is President and Chief Analyst at TECHnalysis Research and he spoke to Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn.