Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Market Moves
US stocks bloomberg.com steadied after a sharp selloff driven by AI disruption fears and tariff concerns. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% marking its first two-week loss since June. Software companies bloomberg.com faced renewed selling pressure as investors reassessed valuations amid AI-driven disruption.
Tech & AI Disruption
AI disruption fears prompted scrutiny in private markets as software valuations came under pressure. Citigroup bloomberg.com assembled a banking team focused on AI infrastructure to capitalize on the boom. Tefal pan-maker Groupe SEB wsj.com announced plans to cut 7% of jobs citing AI gains. AMD ft.com is testing the Kim Kardashian theory of data centers by leveraging Meta's endorsement to attract other hyperscalers.
Private Markets & Deals
Data center deals bloomberg.com are forecast to top $100 billion as AI infrastructure demand surges. Coller Capital bloomberg.com agreed to buy $477 million of assets from New Mountain BDC. Oaktree Capital bloomberg.com is exploring options for Utmost Group including a sale and London IPO. Private credit firm Tikehau bloomberg.com weighed in on mounting private credit fears as warnings of rising defaults rattled investors.
Energy & Commodities
Saudi Arabia and Iran bloomberg.com accelerated oil exports amid rising Mideast tensions. The North Sea crude market bloomberg.com signaled weakness as heavy buying from Vitol Group and Total Energies subsided. Emirates Global Aluminium bloomberg.com boosted shipments to the US despite stiff tariffs as shortages drove American prices higher. US natural gas futures wsj.com settled lower despite a blizzard as the market looked ahead to warmer forecasts.
Currency & Fixed Income
Traders bloomberg.com piled into bearish yuan bets to hedge downside risks after a strong rally. Hungary's central bank bloomberg.com cut its key interest rate for the first time in almost a year and a half while pledging to stay cautious. Mexico's mid-month inflation data bloomberg.com may keep a March rate cut in play as core readings eased marginally. Government bonds' shrinking appeal bloomberg.com has cost investors as a key interest rate rises globally.
Corporate News
Brookfield Business Partners-backed CDK Global bloomberg.com reported a double-digit earnings decline in Q4 as software fears grew. Planet Fitness bloomberg.com CEO discussed the company's business health and outlook for growth. Lucid wsj.com announced plans to cut its US workforce by 12% to reduce costs by $500 million over three years. Allianz SE bloomberg.com announced plans to buy back as much as €2.5 billion in shares as CEO Oliver Baete returns excess cash to investors.
Regional Markets
Singapore's three biggest banks bloomberg.com pulled in a combined S$77 billion ($61 in net new wealth last year as geopolitical tensions pushed Asia's rich to move more assets. Indonesia bloomberg.com raised $4.5 billion in its second offshore bond sale in months amid fiscal pressures. Colombia bloomberg.com is preparing to shift billions in private pension savings to its public retirement system to ease a funding shortfall.
Policy & Regulation
Eleven US states finance.yahoo.com urged the DOJ to thoroughly probe the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal. The UK government ft.com moved to prevent investors from putting crypto products in ISAs starting April. The Supreme Court yahoo.com ruled against a private prison firm facing a forced-work suit from immigration detainees. Trump yahoo.com announced plans for 401(k)s for all, offering to match contributions with up to $1,000 annually.
Market Structure
The CME ft.com halted trading on its flagship metals market for more than an hour due to technical issues. Polymarket and Kalshi bloomberg.com are gamifying truth with bets on politics and news events. Sell-side research ft.com faces disruption in the Substack era as market-moving distribution occurs with zero disclosure. Pw C ft.com clashed with a boutique consultancy founded by a former executive as their relationship soured.
Valuation & Strategy
High valuations bloomberg.com are concerning according to top M&A dealmaker Robert Kindler. Cheap stocks bloomberg.com are becoming harder to find as investors rotate out of US markets. Goldman Sachs' Ben Snider bloomberg.com said economic acceleration offsets AI jitters as the clearest tailwind for markets. UBS Wealth CIO bloomberg.com advised investors to shift bets from coders to builders as AI threatens software businesses.
Infrastructure & Real Estate
US data center construction bloomberg.com fell for the first time since 2020 despite soaring AI demand as developers faced permitting and power delays. Harvard's massive bet on land bloomberg.com in Boston's Allston neighborhood hit harsh reality as a biotech downturn and pulled federal funds stymied the university's property investment. John Lewis ft.com ditched plans to build 10,000 homes due to changes in UK economic conditions and property market slowdown.
Emerging Markets
Venezuela bonds bloomberg.com with large piles of unpaid interest are attracting JPMorgan and Bank of America strategists who bet they could outperform ahead of a potential debt restructuring. Russia's crude shipments bloomberg.com scraped a gain to offset pipeline losses as seaborne flows increased. Centrus Energy ft.com warned that a fuel shortage threatens the US nuclear resurgence as rising demand and a ban on Russian imports risk a uranium enrichment supply gap.
Technology Adoption
AI-powered Capex growth investing.com is expected to peak later this year according to Goldman estimates. AI tools investing.com are expanding customer spend and strengthening competitive moats according to Blackbaud CEO. ByteDance's AI chatbot Doubao finance.yahoo.com won the China holiday battle with 100 million users. Samsung finance.yahoo.com launched its new Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup with a big focus on AI as Apple works to catch up.
Market Sentiment
Bitcoin bloomberg.com has been cut almost in half since its October high, marking the worst selloff since the FTX collapse. Citadel Securities investing.com rebutted Citrini's dystopian AI narrative about market structure. The AI boom finance.yahoo.com is helping Samsung while coming for Apple according to market observers. Memory chip boom ft.com leaves PC and smartphone makers in the cold as manufacturers increasingly sell chips for AI rather than household gadgets."