Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 12, 2026, 5:30 PM ET
Energy & Commodities
Oil futures dropped 1.3% wsj.com in early Asian trade after OPEC+ signaled potential output increases, while gold held near $2,340 nytimes.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. Brent crude settled above $100 bloomberg.com for the first time since August 2022 as millions of barrels remain trapped in the Persian Gulf, leading to the biggest oil market disruption in history. The Middle East conflict disrupted events and travel companies ft.com, with Informa delaying conferences and On The Beach warning of a "significant slowdown" in bookings for some destinations. Meanwhile, Orient Overseas warned of Middle East risk bloomberg.com after an array of geopolitical woes eroded last year's earnings.
Fixed Income & Banking
Japanese government bonds extended gains bloomberg.com tracking overnight Treasury rallies as traders increasingly price in a September Fed rate cut. The Federal Reserve and other financial regulators nytimes.com will soon release proposals to loosen some planned rules on how much capital banks must hold in reserve to mitigate risks. Wall Street cheered plans ft.com that would water down protections designed to avoid a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. Morgan Stanley led losses among major US banks bloomberg.com on Thursday, falling in tandem with stocks of top asset managers after the lender limited withdrawals from one of its private credit funds. Meanwhile, Tikehau's Mayer-Lévi said private credit has become 'too noisy' bloomberg.com, comparing the current turmoil to getting stuck at an event you want to leave but can't.
Tech & Innovation
Adobe posted higher sales wsj.com with CEO Shantanu Narayen, credited with leading the software company's transformation over the past 18 years, stepping down after it finds a new leader for the AI era. Tesla was granted a license to supply electricity in the UK ft.com, threatening further disruption to the retail energy sector after a decade of upheaval. Mind Robotics, an AI-powered robotics startup founded by Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe, raised $500 million wsj.com, joining up with the electric-vehicle maker on training and testing. Meanwhile, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is considering changes bloomberg.com to rules governing how companies join the S&P 500 Index, a move that would potentially fast-track SpaceX's entry after its IPO.
Geopolitics & Trade
The Trump administration is expected to begin a trade investigation nytimes.com into whether dozens of countries have policies to combat forced labor. President Trump is tempering the political ambitions nytimes.com of María Corina Machado, a Nobel laureate, as he deepens ties with her foes in Venezuela. Colombia's presidential candidate Paloma Valencia appointed Juan Daniel Oviedo bloomberg.com, a former head of the national statistics agency, as her running mate. The G-7 asked their main energy agency bloomberg.com to prepare scenarios for the release of emergency oil stockpiles as the Middle East crisis roils markets. Brazil's government is moving to shield consumers bloomberg.com from surging oil prices worldwide by cutting federal taxes on the import and sale of fuels, while introducing a levy on crude oil exports to offset the impact.
Transportation & Logistics
Oil drillers in central California have resorted to trucking crude barrels bloomberg.com 50 miles after the shutdown of a refinery and idling of a key pipeline cut off outlets. Oman evacuated all vessels from its key oil export terminal bloomberg.com at Mina Al Fahal as a precautionary measure. The Port of Los Angeles saw imports rise 3% bloomberg.com in February as importers brought in goods ahead of the Lunar New Year, when many Asian factories pause production. Wizz Air CEO sees Middle East travel demand shifting to Europe bloomberg.com as passengers remain wary about getting stuck by Gulf airlines hamstrung by airspace restrictions in their region.
Manufacturing & Materials
CF Industries shares hit record highs bloomberg.com on risks from the Iran war as fertilizer markets tighten, threatening global supplies of nitrogen-based crop nutrients. Slovakia's largest fertilizer producer said it's curbing ammonia output bloomberg.com after natural gas prices surged, in another sign that the Middle East conflict is starting to hit the industry in Europe. Algoma Steel's fourth-quarter loss widened with tariff costs wsj.com, reporting a quarterly loss of C$364.7 million compared with a loss of C$66.5 million a year earlier. Stellantis is exploring deals with Chinese carmakers bloomberg.com through which they would invest in the Fiat owner's struggling European operations.
Emerging Markets
Brazil's soybean shipments failed inspections bloomberg.com, raising concerns about potential disruptions at a crucial time for trade with China. Angola's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at 17.5% bloomberg.com, pausing for the first time since August after oil prices surged because of the US-Israel war on Iran. India invoked emergency powers to redirect LPG supplies bloomberg.com away from industrial users to households, seeking to shield ordinary people from the impact of the Middle East war. Indian assets cracked as energy shock brought growth fears to fore bloomberg.com, extending a slide in equities and pushing the rupee to record lows as foreign investors stay on the defensive.
Real Estate & Infrastructure
Hilton Head, a historic island off South Carolina known for its golfing and 12-mile beachfront, is tapping the municipal bond market bloomberg.com to fund a new headquarters for firefighters. Blackstone arranged a $1.2 billion credit facility 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. Blackstone readied a £250 million Canary Wharf office sale ft.com, marking the latest sign of growing confidence in the east London financial district. Charlesbank Capital Partners agreed to buy a stake in Overbay Capital Partners bloomberg.com in a deal valuing the Canadian secondaries firm at C$200 million ($147 .
Consumer & Retail
Once Upon a Farm PBC shares fell 9.8% bloomberg.com after the organic kids snacks maker forecast slowing sales growth in 2026 in its first earnings report as a public company. The jewelry industry is taking a wild ride nytimes.com as gold and silver prices soar, with some jewelers turning to wood, steel, and even platinum. The UK government came under fire ft.com over its "bungled" crypto Isa policy, with digital investments restricted to niche Innovative Finance Isas from next month. A potential class-action lawsuit seeks to force Costco to pass along tariff refunds wsj.com to customers.
Healthcare & Biotech
Smile Doctors LLC is in talks with investors bloomberg.com to refinance roughly $2 billion of debt to lower its borrowing costs. The Australian plastics recycling company Samsara Eco plans to tailor microscopic organisms wsj.com to retrieve materials from electronic waste. The secretary of health and human services is expected to be back at work Monday nytimes.com after rotator cuff surgery. Meanwhile, Tether's chief investment officer Richard Heathcote is stepping down bloomberg.com after overseeing the vast reserves backing its main stablecoin and a deals spree involving everything from soccer clubs to humanoid robots.
Media & Entertainment
Amazon seized a brief window for a $54 billion global bond sale bloomberg.com as the war in Iran intensified, with banks settling on a clear sales pitch: the company is a safe bet in a world that's becoming less predictable. The heads of Chicago's largest exchanges called for a review bloomberg.com of the process that has allowed prediction market platforms to grow quickly by listing financial contracts without explicit regulatory oversight. Live Nation Slack messages revealed employees joking about 'stupid' fans nytimes.com as exhibits in the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against the concert giant. Bloomberg is backing a protégé in a crowded NYC House race nytimes.com with a super PAC, willing to spend up to $5 million to help Assemblyman Micah Lasher.
Regional Markets
The Czech central bank can wait out a global surge in oil prices bloomberg.com without raising interest rates because inflation will likely stay under control even with higher fuel costs. The European Central Bank confronts the threat of another bout of war-induced inflation bloomberg.com, knowing this time is probably different and it's better positioned to respond. The ECB's Villeroy sounded a warning on private credit liquidity risks bloomberg.com, noting that the rise of semi-liquid vehicles meant to attract retail investors could pose a risk to fund managers. European bonds rebounded as energy prices dropped bloomberg.com, with traders seizing on the decline to dial back extreme moves seen at the start of the week.
Market Sentiment & Strategy
Leon Cooperman warned markets are overpriced with geopolitical risks bloomberg.com, saying financial markets have become too costly relative to company profits. The dollar is on course for a fresh 2026 high bloomberg.com, with options markets showing the currency benefiting as the Iran war keeps energy prices elevated. Institutional investors are buying US dollars at the strongest level in nearly two years bloomberg.com, as conflict in the Middle East drives demand for safe-haven assets. Bond traders have ceased to fully price in even one quarter-point Fed rate cut bloomberg.com this year as rising oil prices stoke inflation expectations.