Public Markets 3h Briefing
×Last updated: March 13, 2026, 2:31 AM ET
Energy & Commodities
Oil futures slipped 1.3% ft.com in early Asian trade after OPEC+ signaled potential output increases, while gold held near $2,340/oz bloomberg.com as a weakening dollar offset risk-on sentiment. A surge in aluminum prices bloomberg.com pushed China Hongqiao's Zhang Bo past the $48 billion mark, cementing his position among Asia's wealthiest industrialists. Meanwhile, U.S. airline bonds weakened ft.com after jet fuel costs spiked 8% on Middle East supply fears, and Chicago's planned muni bond sale ft.com is testing investor appetite amid geopolitical uncertainty. The Iran war tests Xi’s plan ft.com to build China’s stockpiles, though the scale remains unclear, while Gulf states lose $15bn ft.com in energy revenues since the war's start due to the Strait of Hormuz shutdown. This volatility underscores the oil price shocks ft.com creating both losers and winners, with energy companies grappling with disruption despite higher prices.
Fixed Income & Currency
Japanese government bonds extended gains ft.com tracking overnight Treasury rallies as traders increasingly price in a September Fed rate cut. The yen slid to its weakest level since July 2024 bloomberg.com as a deepening Middle East war pushed oil prices higher, testing central bank policies. Conversely, U.S. airline bonds weakened ft.com further, reflecting sector-specific pressures. The Iran war boosts Russian oil revenues ft.com, providing a vital income source for Putin despite sanctions, while European businesses warn Brussels ft.com that the ‘tech sovereignty’ drive could hit profits and undermine competitiveness.
Market Movements & Corporate Finance
Madison Air ft.com filed for a Nasdaq IPO targeting a $500M valuation, buoyed by three consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth in private aviation. Blackstone ft.com arranged a $1.2 billion credit facility for Air Trunk's expansion into Japanese data centers, part of a broader private equity push into AI infrastructure. Hong Kong moves to lower thresholds bloomberg.com for dual-class share listings to revive its status as a global IPO hub, following SoftBank’s PayPay’s solid US IPO bloomberg.com that kept dual-listing options open. Honda scraps EV plans nytimes.com, mirroring traditional carmakers' retreat as the industry divides between EV haves and have-nots. Carlyle overhauls its European private equity team ft.com after poor performance, signaling a restart of fundraising in its flagship European buyout fund.