Public Markets 3d Briefing
×ENERGY & COMMODITIES
Oil futures dropped 1.3% ft.com in early Asian trade after OPEC+ signaled potential output increases, while gold held near $2,340 wsj.com as a weakening dollar offset risk-on sentiment. A surge in aluminum prices wsj.com pushed China Hongqiao's Zhang Bo past the $48 billion mark, cementing his position among Asia's wealthiest industrialists. Meanwhile, oil advanced following another volatile session bloomberg.com as the market grappled with rapidly shifting comments from the Trump administration about the Iran war and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, plunging 12% bloomberg.com in the most severe decline in four years. This volatility extended to aluminum, which extended its retreat from a four-year high bloomberg.com after President Trump signaled a possible end to the Iran war, which has disrupted supplies from the Middle East. The dollar-oil link remained paramount bloomberg.com as traders braced for another volatile open amid escalating hostilities.
FIXED INCOME
Japanese government bonds extended gains ft.com tracking overnight Treasury rallies as traders increasingly priced in a September Fed rate cut. However, U.S. airline bonds weakened bloomberg.com after jet fuel costs spiked 8% on Middle East supply fears, and Chicago's planned muni bond sale bloomberg.com tested investor appetite amid geopolitical uncertainty. Corporate bonds faced pressure too, with bond traders shifting to wager on losses in Treasuries bloomberg.com, aggressively dumping bullish futures positions after the Mideast conflict triggered a surge in oil prices and inflationary worries. The ECB will ensure the war in Iran doesn't inflict the same inflation pain as Russia's Ukraine invasion bloomberg.com, while U.S. airline bonds weakened bloomberg.com due to fuel costs. A surge in diesel prices wsj.com hit $2.50/gallon, up 25% weekly, threatening to raise costs across trucking, retail, and manufacturing.
CORPORATE DEALS & FINANCE
TD Paid its former CEO Bharat Masrani $2.2 million bloomberg.com last year to advise on its anti-money-laundering remediation efforts. Meanwhile, Blackstone arranged a $1.2 billion credit facility for Air Trunk's expansion nytimes.com into Japanese data centers, part of a broader private equity push into AI infrastructure across Asia-Pacific. Smile Doctors LLC is in talks to refinance roughly $2 billion of debt bloomberg.com to lower borrowing costs, while Diamondback Energy's largest shareholder offered to sell 11 million shares bloomberg.com in the oil and gas company. Oracle shares rallied as it reassured investors over its AI data centers bet ft.com, posting better-than-expected earnings and raising its revenue forecast. Amazon led a record $65 billion corporate borrowing rush ft.com, as companies took advantage of calmer markets.
GLOBAL MARKETS & MACRO
Emerging-market currencies and stocks rebounded after President Trump hinted at a speedy end to the Iran war bloomberg.com, pushing oil prices lower. However, global oil price surge past $110 per barrel risks upending the global economy ft.com, as the Middle East's largest producers curbed output. Iran's conflict could boost LNG trade through