Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 13, 2026, 11:30 PM ET
Energy Markets & Geopolitics
Oil futures surged past $100 bloomberg.com for the second straight session as Brent crude closed at its highest level in over three years, driven by escalating conflict in the Middle East. The Trump administration released 172 million barrels bloomberg.com from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a coordinated IEA effort to ease surging crude and fuel prices, but escalating rhetoric from both sides bloomberg.com kept prices elevated. Hedge funds turned most bullish on Brent bloomberg.com at the outset of one of the crude market's most volatile weeks ever, while retail traders flooded crypto oil futures wsj.com, creating a 24/7 trading frenzy that institutional investors are struggling to match.
Corporate Finance & Capital Markets
London Stock Exchange Group sought to sell $3 billion bloomberg.com in high-grade U.S. corporate bonds as early as next week, testing investor appetite amid geopolitical uncertainty. Meanwhile, Blue Owl Capital's fund urged rejecting bloomberg.com a share purchase offer from Boaz Weinstein's Saba Capital, calling the price too low. TD Securities said corporate bonds are now cheap enough bloomberg.com to consider buying, with the firm recommending investors take on slightly more risk in the current environment. S&P Dow Jones Indices is considering rule changes bloomberg.com that would potentially fast-track SpaceX's entry into the S&P 500 after its IPO, while Ares Management convened a town hall bloomberg.com to reassure employees about market volatility and emphasize investment opportunities.
Technology & AI
Nvidia prepared to launch AI inference chips ft.com at its upcoming GTC event as the industry shifts from training to running AI models. Meanwhile, Musk pushed out more xAI founders ft.com as the AI coding effort faltered, with Tesla and SpaceX managers sent in to review work. SoftBank's $33 billion U.S. power plant investment is under scrutiny ft.com as analysts question whether the price tag justifies the strategic value. The Anthropic-Microsoft alliance on AI agents marks an uneasy truce ft.com in the platform wars, though competition over the technology's future is intensifying.
Private Markets & Alternative Assets
Private credit firms are facing turmoil wsj.com as adviser fees, fund returns, and client redemptions create pressure on Wall Street. Vivid Seats' debt sank deeper into distress bloomberg.com after the ticket reseller reported earnings that missed estimates and guided for weaker results. Meanwhile, Palantir's stock jumped 12% wsj.com after the company beat earnings estimates, with AI-driven analytics demand surging across government and commercial sectors.
Global Trade & Supply Chains
The war in Iran is disrupting global trade flows wsj.com, with Total Energies shutting production in Qatar, Iraq, and UAE wsj.com, representing about 15% of the company's total output. Iron ore shipments are being disrupted by worsening conflict bloomberg.com, with some cargoes diverted mid-voyage to East Asia as war chokes critical shipping lanes. The Philippines is seeking to review its 30-year-old oil law bloomberg.com as the government aims to better control fuel prices that have spiked due to the Iran war. India has asked China to allow urea sales bloomberg.com as the Middle East conflict curtails the nation's gas supplies, threatening fertilizer production in the agricultural powerhouse.
European Markets
European stocks fell on Iran war concerns bloomberg.com, with Brent crude prices hitting multi-month highs wsj.com as uncertainty over Middle East developments suggested investors should avoid buying Bunds. The EU is considering suspending duty-free sugar imports bloomberg.com for at least a year to help stabilize prices within the bloc. Six major European economies, including Germany and France, are pushing for a single markets watchdog ft.com to reinvigorate plans to unify the bloc's capital markets. Nearly 500 mortgage deals were withdrawn by UK lenders ft.com in two days as the average rate on a two-year fix climbed back above 5%.
Emerging Markets
A sharp energy shock from the Iran war is extending a slide in Indian equities bloomberg.com, pushing the rupee to record lows as foreign investors stay defensive. Romanian inflation slowed as expected bloomberg.com, but surging global energy prices threaten to reverse the trend and prevent the central bank from easing monetary policy. Latin American leftist leaders issued a joint statement calling for ceasefire bloomberg.com in Iran, marking a coordinated appeal for peace from Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil.
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. Philippines' Prime Infrastructure Capital agreed to buy Colombia's biggest independent oil producer bloomberg.com from Carlyle Group ahead of presidential elections that could reshape the country's energy policy. The EU is close to overcoming a unique obstacle bloomberg.com to Montenegro's membership bid—the country's de-facto use of the euro.
Healthcare & Biotech
Campbell's cut its fiscal-year outlook wsj.com as it reported a decline in second-quarter sales, dragged down by weak demand for its snacks. Eleven medical organizations advised changes to preventive cardiac care nytimes.com that they say could markedly reduce heart attacks and strokes, including earlier cholesterol testing. The EPA moved to weaken limits on ethylene oxide nytimes.com, a gas crucial for sterilizing medical devices but linked to several types of cancer with long-term exposure.
Regulatory & Legal
A judge temporarily blocked Trump's demand nytimes.com for seven years of student application data, with Democratic attorneys general suing to overturn the new policy. The Pentagon barred photographers from briefings nytimes.com on the Iran war, the latest move to restrict journalist access inside the department. Companies House suspended online filing ft.com after a glitch put personal data at risk, allowing potential fraudsters to change details and upload accounts.
Financial Services
Wall Street is pitching bond alternatives bloomberg.com as traditional hedges disappoint, with buffer ETFs gaining traction among investors frustrated with conventional fixed-income strategies. Oaktree's Danielle Poli said bigger price moves in credit are coming bloomberg.com, though the moment for distressed debt shops to scoop up assets in droves isn't here yet as global credit markets remain relatively resilient. Pimco's commodity hedge fund plunged about 17% bloomberg.com this month as the war in Iran rattled oil prices and global markets.
Consumer & Retail
Starbucks Workers United proposed new contract terms wsj.com, requesting a contract with a minimum starting wage of $17 an hour plus 4% annual raises. The Michigan synagogue attacker was identified as a quiet restaurant worker nytimes.com, with new details emerging about his background days before the antisemitic violence. Parents have never spent more on youth sports wsj.com, with Dick's Sporting Goods emerging as the clear winner in the $40 billion game.
Market Sentiment & Volatility
Market stress is building at the fastest pace since last year's tariff shock bloomberg.com, as the Iran war pushes oil prices higher, drives up borrowing costs, and strengthens the dollar—a combination that's creating unprecedented volatility. The rapid surge in oil prices unleashed by Middle East conflict bloomberg.com is jolting one of the most popular systematic strategies touted by big banks on Wall Street. Wall Street bankers were offered lucrative access to join the Pentagon nytimes.com, with a headhunting firm's presentation promising "unmatched access" to government officials and fundraising opportunities among foreign sovereigns.
Energy Policy & Infrastructure
Trump's EPA can drive down electricity costs wsj.com while reducing environmental harm, according to one opinion piece, while another warned against government controls wsj.com that were responsible for 1970s energy crises. A new pipeline will make it possible to ship natural gas wsj.com to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan for decades, enhancing energy security for U.S. allies. The Trump administration authorized Venezuela to sell fertilizers bloomberg.com to U.S. companies, further loosening sanctions just as the Iran war tightens global supplies of critical crop nutrients.