Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 14, 2026, 1:31 PM ET
ENERGY & COMMODITIES
Oil futures dropped 1.3% wsj.com in early Asian trade as 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 catapulted China Hongqiao's Zhang Bo past the $48 billion mark, cementing his position among Asia's wealthiest industrialists. The Iran war supercharges bloomberg.com a secretive Korean tycoon's tanker earnings, as global energy chaos fuels profits for those betting on maritime transport. Meanwhile, two LPG ships sailed through Hormuz bloomberg.com to India, providing relief to acute shortages exacerbated by the conflict, while Gulf of Mexico drilling nytimes.com proceeds amid geopolitical tensions. A Greek oil tanker was damaged bloomberg.com in a drone attack in the Black Sea en route to Russia, reflecting the conflict's global reach, and Fujairah operations suspended bloomberg.com after a drone strike, though Kharg Island attacks bloomberg.com remain a critical chokepoint. Oil prices closely tracked the war's impact wsj.com, with Brent crude closing above $100 bloomberg.com for the second straight session, though U.S. oil dependence bloomberg.com remains lower than historically.
FIXED INCOME
Japanese government bonds extended gains wsj.com tracking overnight Treasury rallies as traders increasingly price in a September Fed rate cut. However, U.S. airline bonds weakened nytimes.com after jet fuel costs spiked 8% on Middle East supply fears, and Chicago's planned muni bond sale nytimes.com is testing investor appetite amid geopolitical uncertainty. Private credit funds turned to retail investors, who are not used to having their money tied up when things go wrong, as private credit fears bloomberg.com darken the outlook for U.S. financial stocks, which are off to their worst start to a year since the Covid pandemic. U.S. Treasury yields rose on inflation optimism ft.com, while California's billionaire tax battle nytimes.com sees wealthy residents pouring millions into fighting a proposed 5% asset tax.
FINANCIALS
Financial stocks are off to their worst start to a year since the Covid pandemic, with investors expecting more pain ahead as worries over everything from private credit to the Iran war roil the troubled sector. U.S. financial stocks faced volatility wsj.com as traders grappled with the "fog of war," while private credit fears bloomberg.com and the Middle East conflict darkened the outlook. Private equity firm Carlyle overhauled its European team after poor performance, signaling a strategic pivot amid market headwinds. Stockpickers like Legal & General, Balfour Beatty, and Domino’s Pizza faced mixed signals ft.com, and U.S. airline bonds weakened nytimes.com on fuel cost fears.
POLITICS & POLICY
The Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson joined discussions nytimes.com on Trump’s falling approval rating and its November implications. Trump’s war alliance with Israel reshapes the Middle East nytimes.com, though it carries risks, while the Justice Department’s legal threat complicates Trump’s Fed pick nytimes.com. U