N. Korea missile launch rattles markets

A no-risk mood settled over global markets on Tuesday, with haven assets including gold and the Japanese yen climbing and stocks slipping in the wake of an apparent milestone in North Korea’s weapons program.

Early market optimism in Asia — sparked by bullish American economic data Monday — gave way after North Korea said it successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, moving the state closer to its goal of building a device capable of hitting the U.S. Gold headed for its first advance in four days. European stocks edged lower as miners rallied, but telecom and utility shares dropped. Oil fluctuated between gains and losses.

U.S. markets were shuttered for Independence Day.

New look ahead for Westheimer Flea Market

Freshly released renderings show plans to redevelop the Westheimer Flea Market, an antique furniture outlet along Westheimer’s secondhand shopping corridor, into a glass-faced retail and restaurant center.

Built as a laundromat in 1929, the building west of Dunlavy Street has housed the flea market since 1970 and is known for its eclectic selection of used home fixtures.

In a project billed as a “historic Montrose redevelopment,” the 5,000-square-foot building will keep the 1930s stone structure and the large bay doors of the current sidewalk-facing storefront, according to renderings.

The large back section will be demolished to make room for parking and an outdoor patio space.

Davis Commercial is marketing the property.

Russia likely to oppose more oil output cuts

Russia wants to stick to the current OPEC deal and would oppose any proposal for deeper production cuts at the group’s ministerial meeting later this month, four Russian government officials told Bloomberg News.

Any further supply reductions so soon after the existing agreement was extended would send the wrong message to the oil market, one of the people said. All four spoke on condition of anonymity.

Russia plans to host a meeting of some ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and several non-members in St. Petersburg on July 24.

World’s oldest bank will receive aid from Italy

MILAN — Italy’s finance minister said Tuesday the plan to restructure the struggling bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena will provide “a credible future” for the institution while ensuring stability to the Italian banking sector.

Minister Pier Carlo Padoan made the comments after the European Union’s executive commission OK’d Italy’s plans to inject $6 billion into the world’s oldest bank.

NASA to help maternal health research firm

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center has partnered with Square Roots, a New York-based maternal health company, to launch a research project looking at how induced stress can affect a person’s metabolism.

The Space Center’s Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory will look at changes in biological samples taken from astronauts before and during spaceflight to evaluate the effects of the physical and emotional stress of spaceflight on the human metabolism and how the body’s metabolism adapts to that stress.

The results will be published in scientific journals and distributed to policymakers and government officials through Square Roots.

“Motherhood is extraordinary in many ways. This includes high levels of prolonged stress,” Morad Fareed, founder and CEO of Square Roots, said in a statement. “NASA is informing us how astronauts cope and rebound from the extreme physical and emotional stress of spaceflight and how these metabolic responses are applicable to an expectant mother’s metabolic responses during pregnancy.”

From staff and wire reports