Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 14, 2026, 2:31 PM ET
Energy Markets & Geopolitics
Brent crude closed above $100 bloomberg.com for the first time since August 2022 as millions of barrels remain trapped in the Persian Gulf, marking the biggest oil market disruption in history. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil flows, has effectively shut down amid escalating conflict, with just a handful of tankers transiting in the last 24 hours. Two LPG tankers bloomberg.com finally crossed the strait to India, providing relief to acute shortages, while a second Greek oil tanker bloomberg.com made the risky passage as other owners hold back. The disruption has pushed oil to diverge from emerging-market currencies by the most on record, with their correlation turning negative for the first time in decades. Russia's oil revenues ft.com are surging as tankers carrying Russian crude head to India, while Algeria sees potential windfall bloomberg.com from sustained $100 oil prices. The crisis has triggered a selloff in global bonds bloomberg.com as elevated oil prices stoke inflation fears, with investors now questioning whether central banks can maintain dovish stances.
Financial Markets & Investment
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 bloomberg.com. Private credit funds are now bracing for a battle with their go-to lenders as "back leverage" becomes another pain point amid an unprecedented investor exodus bloomberg.com. TD Securities believes now is the time for investors to consider taking on a little more risk and buying corporate bonds bloomberg.com. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Dollar Index rose 1.23% wsj.com this week to 96.89, with the dollar strengthening on haven demand and higher yields. Gold settled down 1.2% Friday, and silver fell 4.4%, with both metals also posting a loss for the week wsj.com. The rapid surge in oil prices unleashed by Middle East conflict is jolting one of the most popular systematic strategies touted by big banks on Wall Street, with the $134 billion complex of quant trades now under pressure bloomberg.com.
Corporate & Regulatory News
Blackstone 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 nytimes.com. GE Vernova and Hitachi agreed to explore opportunities to deploy small modular nuclear reactors in Southeast Asia bloomberg.com. Tesla was granted a license to supply electricity in the UK, threatening further disruption to the retail energy sector after a decade of upheaval ft.com. Oracle allocated an extra $500 million to cover restructuring costs as increasingly powerful AI models allow the company to cut software jobs wsj.com. A startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz plans to revive an abandoned copper mine in Utah to test new technology aimed at automating operations bloomberg.com. Hong Kong regulators are proposing to "name and shame" lawyers and auditors for sloppy IPO work as they grapple with an influx of Chinese companies looking to raise funds in the city ft.com.
Global Economic Impact
The Iran war is testing Beijing's plan to build China's strategic stockpiles, with the scale of oil and other commodity reserves remaining secret despite major increases ft.com. Countries already walloped by a breakdown of the international trading order, war in Ukraine and chaotic U.S. policymaking are facing potentially lasting economic damage as the conflict upends global markets nytimes.com. Australia's Energy Minister says rural and 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 bloomberg.com. Pakistan's already fragile economy is being squeezed as families prepare for Eid al-Fitr and farmers ready for harvest face soaring oil prices nytimes.com. The crisis is also threatening global food supply as food crops become increasingly vulnerable to the energy supply crunch, with farmers across Asia and Europe facing a scarcity of fuel needed to operate essential equipment bloomberg.com.
Technology & Innovation
State Grid Corp. of China said it's accelerating investment in power grids as Beijing pushes to stabilize growth and expand infrastructure spending bloomberg.com. The hype around artificial intelligence software Open Claw has heightened interest in Tencent and Alibaba earnings and how the agent might drive growth and innovation bloomberg.com. The rapid adoption of AI is allowing companies like Oracle to restructure, with the tech giant cutting software jobs as more powerful AI models emerge wsj.com. Meanwhile, a new generation of investors doesn't want to wait for traditional markets to open, with 24/7 oil futures trading gaining popularity wsj.com.
Legal & Political Developments
A judge quashed the Justice Department's subpoenas of the Federal Reserve, crippling its pursuit of Jerome Powell and dealing a blow to Trump's efforts to target his rivals nytimes.com. The U.S. attorney's office in Washington was derided for pursuing a case that appeared motivated by the president's desire for vengeance. In another legal development, financier Paul Regan, whose investment firms promised investors returns of 10.5%, 15% and higher, has pleaded guilty to felony charges of securities fraud wsj.com. Mota-Engil said short-seller Muddy Waters has filed a civil defamation lawsuit in the U.S. against the company and its chief executive officer bloomberg.com. The European Commission is set to suspend some duty-free sugar imports for "at least a year" to help stabilize prices within the bloc bloomberg.com.
Regional Markets & Emerging Economies
S&P Global Ratings cut Botswana's credit score late Friday, maintaining its investment grade but citing risks to fiscal stability amid diamond industry woes bloomberg.com. Peru's presidential race is wide open, with none of more than 30 candidates having strong support ahead of next month's vote, according to a new poll bloomberg.com. The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. may soon allow thousands of shareholders to sell stock as part of its planned initial public offering bloomberg.com. Hedge funds are ramping up bullish bets on the Australian dollar in the options markets before next week's central bank decision bloomberg.com. One of Australia's biggest pension funds, Rest Super, is on the hunt for more private markets investments in the U.S., underscoring strong appetite from the country's fast-growing A$4.5 trillion superannuation system bloomberg.com.