Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Energy & Commodities
Oil futures slipped 1.3% bloomberg.com in early Asian trade as OPEC+ signaled potential output increases, while gold held steady bloomberg.com near $2,340/oz despite a weakening dollar. In fixed income, Japanese government bonds extended their rally nytimes.com tracking overnight gains in U.S. Treasurys as traders priced in a September Fed rate cut. A surge in aluminum prices bloomberg.com catapulted China Hongqiao's Zhang Bo to a $48 billion fortune, making him one of Asia's wealthiest industrialists.
Corporate & Credit Markets
Blackstone secured a $1.2 billion loan bloomberg.com for Air Trunk's expansion into Japanese data centers, part of a broader push by private equity into AI infrastructure assets across Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, AMC Entertainment refinanced debt bloomberg.com with an existing creditor after public market turbulence derailed a planned bond and loan sale, though the deal includes incentives to bring the company back to the public markets within a year. In the IPO market, beaten-down offerings face "negative feedback loops" bloomberg.com as selling restrictions for long-term investors and management teams are lifted, with a handful of the worst-performing companies in the 2025 IPO class at risk.
Geopolitical & Market Volatility
The Iran conflict sent oil prices surging bloomberg.com to nearly $100 a barrel before plunging nearly 20% bloomberg.com on conflicting information over U.S. Navy tanker escort operations through the Strait of Hormuz. The dollar-oil link bloomberg.com dominated currency markets as war spiraled in the Middle East, with the U.S. dollar at the mercy of oil price movements. Multi-manager hedge funds suffered losses ft.com amid huge volatility in oil and bond prices, while Citadel and Exodus Point were among the firms stung by the turmoil.
Technology & Innovation
Microsoft added Anthropic AI models ft.com to its Copilot workplace tools, integrating technology from OpenAI's rival as it diversifies away from Chat GPT maker. Meanwhile, Mira Murati's Thinking Machines ft.com struck a multibillion-dollar chip deal with Nvidia, including a further "significant" investment from the chipmaker into the one-year-old AI startup. In the crypto space, Bitcoin rebounded to $71,000 bloomberg.com as Wall Street deepened its push into digital assets, with the messy price action obscuring a quieter story of continued institutional adoption.
Regional Markets & Policy
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for a fuel price cap bloomberg.com as the government moved to contain a spike in energy costs triggered by escalating conflict in the Middle East. Nigeria halted gasoline import permits bloomberg.com in a major win for billionaire Aliko Dangote, who controls Africa's largest refinery and has long advocated for the move. In Colombia, primaries upended election bets bloomberg.com and fueled a bond rebound, throwing the May presidential election wide open and reviving hopes for a new market-friendly administration.
Industrial & Manufacturing
Boeing announced wiring issues nytimes.com that will delay some 737 Max deliveries, though the aerospace company said the delay would not prevent it from meeting its 2026 sales goal of about 500 Max jets. Honeywell Aerospace kicked off a potential $16 billion bond sale bloomberg.com as it prepares for a planned spinoff, marking one of the largest investment-grade offerings in recent years. In the auto sector, First Brands agreed to sell its Harley parts unit bloomberg.com for $50 million to an affiliate of Active Dynamics Group, which manufactures pollution control systems.
Real Estate & Infrastructure
Blackstone and Blue Owl took a minority stake bloomberg.com in Atlas Holdings, a U.S. private equity firm managing more than $16 billion in assets. In the UK, gas reserves increased bloomberg.com after the war price spike lured imports, with the country adding some natural gas to its storage sites in recent days as prices surged due to the Middle East conflict. Meanwhile, SumUp Payments sought bankers bloomberg.com for a potential European IPO, considering London as one of the possible venues after previously exploring other options.
Healthcare & Biotech
BioNTech shares fell 14% premarket wsj.com after cofounders announced plans to exit and the company issued revenue guidance that fell short of Wall Street's forecasts. The German biotech firm is navigating a transition period as it seeks to diversify beyond its COVID-19 vaccine business. In the U.S., HHS Secretary Kennedy underwent rotator cuff surgery nytimes.com and is expected to return to work on Monday, continuing his Make America Healthy Again campaign.
Financial Services & Regulation
The D.C. Bar began disciplinary proceedings nytimes.com against Ed Martin, a senior Justice Department official, accusing him of an unethical pressure campaign against Georgetown University. In the UK, creditors of collapsed MFS claimed ft.com a £1.3 billion shortfall, with some £238 million unaccounted for by entities tied to the UK bridge-loan provider, according to court filings. The Bank of England's OBR warned that energy price surges ft.com could derail the UK's inflation retreat, with the budget watchdog's top economist saying high oil and gas prices could deliver a "completely unwelcome" hit to the economy.
Transportation & Logistics
Saudi Arabia started oil cuts bloomberg.com as the near-blockage of the critical Strait of Hormuz began filling storage tanks, even as it rushed to restore 70% of normal shipments. The UAE dealt with a fire bloomberg.com in an area where its biggest oil refinery is located following a drone strike. In the shipping sector, AirAsia X became the worst-performing airline stock bloomberg.com after management's decision not to hedge when oil was cheap backfired following the Iran war, with the low-cost carrier now paying a steep price for its wrong-way bet on jet fuel.
Consumer & Retail
Lindt shares sank 7.8% wsj.com after the chocolatier cut its guidance and said the war in the Middle East would likely hit tourism sales, deepening consumer gloom. In contrast, mall traffic rebounded wsj.com as a new generation of Gen Z shoppers began hanging out at malls and documenting everything on social media, helping boost a budding recovery in stores. The UK saw petrol prices jump bloomberg.com by the most since 2022 after oil costs surged, with government data revealing early warning signs of a cost-of-living squeeze caused by the Iran war.
Emerging Markets
Argentina's bond rally stalled bloomberg.com as President Javier Milei met investors in New York to attract interest in the country's comeback story, with momentum behind the country's bonds largely limited by its junk rating and war fallout. Colombia's primaries threw the May presidential election bloomberg.com wide open, reviving hopes for a new market-friendly administration and triggering a rebound in sovereign bonds. Meanwhile, emerging currencies rebounded bloomberg.com as the dollar and oil prices sank after U.S. President Trump signaled the Iran war could be ending soon.
Private Markets & Alternative Assets
Carlyle planned a complex credit vehicle bloomberg.com to kick-start its flagship fund as private equity firms take longer to sell off companies they've bought, pay back investors in their funds, and raise money for new vehicles. Boaz Weinstein offered to buy out frustrated investors bloomberg.com in Blue Owl and Starwood funds, saying he's just getting started with his strategy of "buying pessimism" through discount bids on private assets. In the renewable energy sector, Shell's clean energy bet ft.com in Brazil fell into crisis, with a joint venture between the UK oil major and a Brazilian biofuels producer saddled with $11 billion in debt.
Election & Political Impact
The Trump administration said the war in Iran is near an end wsj.com but not quite there yet, with Treasury yields little changed as markets parsed the conflicting signals. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said tankers could start moving soon nytimes.com through the Strait of Hormuz, telling CNN that "we're not too long, I think, before you will see more regular resumption of ship traffic." Meanwhile, Democrats sued to find out nytimes.com whether Trump plans to send armed officers to election sites, seeking to compel the government to disclose its plans for federal deployments in this year's elections.