Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Energy Markets & Geopolitics
Oil futures fell 1.3% ft.com in early Asian trade as 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 ft.com pushed China Hongqiao's Zhang Bo past the $48 billion mark, cementing his position among Asia's wealthiest industrialists. Saudi Arabia ramped up crude production bloomberg.com by roughly 8% last month ahead of Middle East conflict, according to OPEC data, as Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed to release oil reserves ft.com first to soften supply shocks. The IEA is considering emergency oil reserves bloomberg.com that would be the largest-ever in its history, with Germany and Japan both planning strategic reserve releases nytimes.com to address Middle East disruptions.
Fixed Income & Credit Markets
Japanese government bonds extended gains bloomberg.com tracking overnight Treasury rallies as traders increasingly price in a September Fed rate cut. Meanwhile, 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 is testing investor appetite amid geopolitical uncertainty. Oracle Corp.'s credit risk improved bloomberg.com the most since February after its quarterly report eased AI-related capital spending fears, while Salesforce Inc. kicked off an eight-part bond offering bloomberg.com to fund a share buyback, testing software-sector debt appetite.
Technology & AI
Nvidia struck a $2 billion deal ft.com with AI cloud provider Nebius, continuing its dealmaking spree that deploys huge cash reserves into funding its own customers. Amazon.com Inc. started a record eight-part euro bond sale bloomberg.com aiming to raise around €10 billion ($11.6 to pay for investments in artificial intelligence. Oracle Corp.'s credit risk improved bloomberg.com the most since February after its quarterly report eased AI-related capital spending fears, while Salesforce Inc. kicked off an eight-part bond offering bloomberg.com to fund a share buyback, testing software-sector debt appetite.
Private Equity & M&A
CVC Capital Partners shares slipped wsj.com as performance-related earnings guidance disappointed, overshadowing better-than-expected results with a 67% increase in realizations. The firm's CEO Rob Lucas said the next buyout fund bloomberg.com could be bigger than its predecessor—still the largest pool of capital ever raised for buyouts. Meanwhile, private equity investors would have been better off bloomberg.com in public markets over the last five years, even when Magnificent 7 gains are stripped out, according to new analysis.
Consumer & Retail
Campbell's cut its fiscal outlook wsj.com as it reported a second-quarter sales decline, dragged down by weak demand for its snacks. The company's snack sales fell wsj.com significantly, forcing management to reduce full-year guidance. In contrast, Porsche expects further earnings hit wsj.com as its turnaround continues, booking more than $4 billion in one-off costs in 2025 from tariffs and battery activities.
Financial Services
The Bank of England fined Direct Line £10 million ft.com for overstating capital after the motor insurer took almost a year to detect an accounting error. Legal & General shares sold off wsj.com after mixed results, with the stock one of the FTSE 100's worst performers as key metrics came short of market views. Toronto-Dominion Bank paid former CEO $2.2 million bloomberg.com last year to advise on anti-money-laundering remediation efforts.
Real Estate & Infrastructure
Big warehouses are back in demand wsj.com as logistics providers, manufacturers and data-center suppliers sign up for sprawling facilities after years of weak demand. BlackRock donated $100 million wsj.com to trade-worker training as part of its infrastructure-investing push, telling lawmakers that trillions are needed to build out infrastructure. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan earned 6.7% last year bloomberg.com as rising stock, gold and SpaceX values helped offset an unusually large loss in private equity.
Emerging Markets & International
China's export growth accelerated 22% bloomberg.com in the first two months of the year, putting shipments on a record path before US and Israeli strikes on Iran disrupted global trade. South African government bonds extended their worst selloff bloomberg.com since the Covid pandemic as concern mounted that soaring oil prices and a weaker rand will fuel inflation, forcing the central bank to resume rate hikes. Malaysia's cabinet received a report bloomberg.com on the probe into anti-graft chief Azam Baki's shareholdings and referred the matter to the chief secretary to follow up.
Corporate Governance & Regulation
A company closely aligned with Paresh Raja's now-defunct mortgage lender allegedly siphoned funds bloomberg.com from entities backed by Barclays Plc and a firm majority owned by Castlelake. The Justice Department probes Iran's use of Binance wsj.com to evade sanctions, focusing on money flowing through the crypto platform to a network backing terror groups including Yemen's Houthi militants. The UK police declined to investigate nytimes.com claims about Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew despite interviewing Virginia Giuffre three times over her allegations.
Economic Outlook & Policy
The UK's Office for Budget Responsibility warned energy price surge ft.com could derail inflation retreat, with its top economist saying high oil and gas prices could deliver a "completely unwelcome" hit to the economy. The Czech central bank can wait out oil price surge bloomberg.com without raising interest rates because inflation will likely stay under control even with higher fuel costs, according to board member Aleš Michl. The German Institute for Economic Research expects minor setback bloomberg.com for Germany's economy from the Iran war if the conflict doesn't escalate further.
Market Sentiment & Trading
Wall Street traders hunt for bottom bloomberg.com as war turmoil continues, poring over charts to determine how much further the S&P 500 might fall with technical analysts noting early signs of bearish momentum. Hedge funds of Asia-based managers including Dymon Asia Capital, Modular Asset Management and Alpine Investment Management held onto 2026 gains bloomberg.com even after the war against Iran, according to recent performance data. The dollar-oil link is all that matters bloomberg.com right now in the currency market as the US dollar has been at the mercy of a single factor: the price of oil.
Climate & Sustainability
The UK's Climate Change Committee reported net zero will cost less ft.com than fossil fuel price rise, coming after days of turbulence in global energy markets. Europe explores capping natural gas prices ft.com as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen mulls measures to ease impact of Iran war shocks. EQT took a 42% stake ft.com in Yorkshire Water, with the Swedish private equity group injecting funds into the utility in a sign of enduring investor confidence in the industry.
Labor & Employment
Samancor Chrome Ltd. plans job cuts bloomberg.com despite reduced power prices, pressing ahead with plans to cut jobs even after South Africa's government and state power utility agreed to lower electricity prices for its smelters. The National Union of Mineworkers confirmed the job cuts bloomberg.com will proceed despite the favorable electricity pricing agreement.