Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 14, 2026, 9:35 AM ET
Energy & Commodities
Oil futures slipped 1.3% bloomberg.com in early Asian trade as OPEC+ signaled potential output increases, while gold held steady nytimes.com near $2,340/oz despite a weakening dollar. In fixed income, Japanese government bonds extended their rally bloomberg.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. Meanwhile, Madison Air bloomberg.com filed for a Nasdaq IPO targeting a $500M valuation, buoyed by three consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth in the private aviation charter market.
Private Markets & Credit
Blackstone bloomberg.com arranged a $1.2 billion credit facility for Air Trunk's expansion into Japanese data centers, part of a broader push by private equity into AI infrastructure assets across Asia-Pacific. A Blue Owl Capital Inc. private credit fund is urging investors to reject bloomberg.com a share purchase offer led by Boaz Weinstein's Saba Capital Management, saying the price is too low.
TD Securities believes now is the time for investors to consider buying corporate bonds bloomberg.com as valuations become attractive. However, Oaktree Capital Management's Danielle Poli says the moment for distressed debt shops to scoop up assets in droves bloomberg.com isn't here yet as global credit markets remain relatively resilient.
Middle East Conflict Impact
Two oil tankers were berthed at key Iranian oil-export facility Kharg Island hours after the U.S. attacked military installations there, according to Tankertrackers.com, raising fears of further supply disruptions bloomberg.com. A major U.S. attack on the island that exports the bulk of Iran's crude is raising fears of more widespread supply disruptions bloomberg.com in the region, further straining oil and gas markets already in upheaval after two weeks of military action.
The war has ended Canadian drivers' nearly yearlong sojourn with lower gasoline prices ever since Prime Minister Mark Carney eliminated the country's consumer carbon tax, with rural and regional areas facing "real and unacceptable shortages" bloomberg.com of fuel. India has asked China to allow the sale bloomberg.com of some urea cargoes as the war in the Middle East curtails the nation's gas supplies, threatening fertilizer production in the agricultural powerhouse.
Geopolitical Developments
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz were "something we are dealing with" as about 2,500 Marines headed to the Middle East to bolster the war effort. It's becoming increasingly evident that Iran is laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz bloomberg.com, according to the UK, as Iran's new supreme leader used his first comments to the media to say the critical waterway would be closed to oil tankers.
The U.S. administration started the first of several sweeping trade investigations that set the stage for new tariffs, the centerpiece of a push to replace levies struck down by the U.S. Court of International Trade. President Trump's administration shifted from opposing the largest-ever intervention in oil markets to cajoling allies into wsj.com with the maneuver in a matter of hours.
Technology & AI
Nvidia is preparing to launch AI "inference" chips ft.com to counter rising challengers as spending shifts from training to running AI models. The impact of artificial intelligence on the software industry will not be severe enough to cause a sector-wide wave of credit rating downgrades, S&P Global Ratings said.
S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is considering changes to rules governing how companies join the S&P 500 Index, a move that would potentially fast-track SpaceX's entry bloomberg.com after its IPO. Meanwhile, technology giants entered a correction bloomberg.com on Friday as the war in Iran continued to escalate and oil closed above $100 a barrel once again.
Corporate & Market Moves
The London Stock Exchange Group Plc is seeking to sell as much as $3 billion of high-grade U.S. corporate bonds bloomberg.com as soon as early next week. Salesforce sold debt at a significant premium in borrowing costs, signaling Wall Street jitters over AI disruption in the software sector.
Shares of energy companies are treading water as crude soars bloomberg.com amid the Iran war, signaling that investors anticipate oil prices will soon subside. Open interest in European natural gas futures dropped to a five-month low, with traders struggling to navigate intense price swings driven by unpredictable newsflow from the Middle East.
Financial Markets
India's foreign exchange reserves fell by the most since November 2024 as analysts said the central bank intervened to support the rupee amid volatility from the Iran war. Investors are hanging onto Additional Tier 1 bonds bloomberg.com for fear of missing out on getting hold of them again, enabling this risky bank debt to dodge the worst of the selloff seen across financial markets.
It's the leveraged loan market's liquidity paradox: the most liquid debt gets hit hardest bloomberg.com in selloffs. A sharp swing in European money markets from bets on central bank interest-rate cuts to hikes has caught traders off guard, forcing some to exit options at hefty losses.
Emerging Markets
S&P Global Ratings cut Botswana's credit bloomberg.com score late Friday, maintaining its investment grade but citing risks to fiscal stability amid diamond industry woes. The ratings company maintained a negative outlook, reflecting concerns about the southern African nation's economic outlook.
China's credit expansion surprisingly picked up from a year ago in February, helped by improved corporate lending despite slower government bond sales. State Grid Corp. of China said it's accelerating investment in power grids bloomberg.com as Beijing pushes to stabilize growth and expand infrastructure spending.
Housing & Real Estate
Blackstone is readying a £250 million Canary Wharf office sale ft.com, marking the latest sign of growing confidence in the east London financial district. The UK's water utilities may finally be worth a dip as valuations remain relatively low despite a recent price bump.
Some oil loading operations in the port of Fujairah, just outside the Strait of Hormuz, have been suspended after a drone attack and fire on Saturday morning. The UK government is being grilled over Vistry finances ft.com after the shadow housing minister raised questions over the critical partner in a housebuilding scheme.
Consumer & Retail
The war in Iran has boosted Russian oil revenues as tankers carrying Russian oil head to India, providing a windfall for Vladimir Putin's war chest. Malaysia's subsidy bill will increase because of higher oil prices bloomberg.com caused by the war in the Middle East, said Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan.
Australia's Energy Minister Chris Bowen says rural and bloomberg.com regional areas are facing "real and unacceptable shortages" of fuel, a ripple effect of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran that has caused global oil prices to spike. Families preparing for Eid al-Fitr and farmers ready for harvest are being squeezed in Pakistan, a country that gets nearly all its oil through the Persian Gulf.
Automotive & Manufacturing
Honda expects to swing to its first annual loss in decades wsj.com as a result of re-evaluating its electric vehicle strategy, with up to $15.7 billion in potential hits. China's Zhejiang provincial government signed a new strategic cooperation agreement with automobile group Geely, deepening ties as the region seeks to strengthen its position in the global electric vehicle market.
JSW Steel bloomberg.com Ltd., India's biggest steelmaker by capacity, won rights to develop a coal mine in Mozambique's Tete province, securing access to a key raw material used in steel manufacturing. Norsk Hydro's Qatar aluminum plant won't shut down fully as partner renews gas flow, with the Qatalum plant maintaining aluminum output at around 60% of total capacity.