Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 14, 2026, 3:31 PM ET
Energy & Commodities
Oil futures surged above $100 bloomberg.com as the Iran war entered its third week, with Brent crude climbing 8% after U.S. strikes on Kharg Island disrupted Iran's main oil export terminal. The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut, with vessel traffic at historic lows bloomberg.com as Saudi Arabia raced to bypass the chokepoint through its Red Sea ports. Palm oil futures extended gains bloomberg.com for a fifth session, buoyed by crude's rally above $100 as demand for biofuel feedstocks increased. Meanwhile, iron ore jumped 4.3% bloomberg.com for its biggest weekly gain in over a year after China's state-backed buyer expanded restrictions on BHP Group products.
Financial Markets
European stocks ended the week lower bloomberg.com as oil prices moved back above $100 a barrel, with traders reducing risk ahead of the weekend. The S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% bloomberg.com as Middle East conflict continued to roil markets. Private credit funds have turned to retail investors bloomberg.com, who are unaccustomed to having their money tied up when things go wrong, raising concerns about liquidity in the $3 trillion market. Hedge funds turned most bullish on Brent bloomberg.com at the outset of one of the crude market's most volatile weeks ever, with positioning at levels not seen since 2020.
Geopolitical Developments
President Trump called on China and UK to send warships bloomberg.com to the Strait of Hormuz, though London declined to deploy an aircraft carrier to the Gulf. The U.S. approved a $5 billion ultra-deepwater drilling project nytimes.com in the Gulf of Mexico expected to produce up to 10 billion barrels of oil by decade's end, despite environmental concerns. Meanwhile, Russia's elite are establishing private foundations bloomberg.com to protect and pass on fortunes as the country drives to bring back money stashed overseas.
Corporate & Deal News
Blue Owl Capital's private credit BDC urged investors to reject bloomberg.com a share purchase offer led by Boaz Weinstein's Saba Capital Management, calling the price too low. Mota-Engil said short-seller Muddy Waters filed a defamation lawsuit bloomberg.com against the company and its CEO in U.S. court. JSW Steel won rights bloomberg.com to develop a coking coal mine in Mozambique's Tete province, securing access to key steel manufacturing raw materials.
Emerging Markets
S&P Global Ratings cut Botswana's credit score bloomberg.com, maintaining investment grade but citing risks to fiscal stability amid diamond industry woes. Nigeria's central bank prepared contingency measures bloomberg.com to stabilize the naira if it comes under pressure as investors dump riskier emerging-market assets. Malaysia's subsidy bill will increase bloomberg.com due to higher oil prices caused by the Middle East war, said Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan.
Technology & Innovation
China's BYD took on Porsche and BMW ft.com with 5-minute "flash charging" technology that allows EVs to be ready almost as quickly as filling a fuel tank. GE Vernova and Hitachi agreed to explore bloomberg.com opportunities to deploy small modular nuclear reactors in Southeast Asia. Oracle prepared for layoffs ft.com as it hailed efficiencies from AI coding tools, setting aside an additional $500 million for restructuring costs.
Asia-Pacific Markets
State Grid Corp. of China said it's accelerating investment bloomberg.com in power grids as Beijing pushes to stabilize growth and expand infrastructure spending. Chinese travelers took a record number of domestic trips bloomberg.com during the Spring Festival Travel season. Zhejiang provincial government signed a new strategic cooperation agreement bloomberg.com with automobile group Geely, deepening ties as the region seeks to strengthen its position in the global electric-vehicle market.
Defense & Security
Swedish officials boarded a second vessel bloomberg.com suspected of belonging to Russia's so-called shadow fleet, stepping up efforts against ships seen as security and environmental threats. The Pentagon barred photographers from briefings nytimes.com on the Iran war, the latest move to restrict journalist access inside the department. Defense Secretary Hegseth's boasts of "maximum" engagement authorities faced scrutiny nytimes.com after a school was hit, with critics questioning restrictive rules aimed at reducing civilian casualties.
Regulatory & Legal
A California judge questioned Elon Musk's $134 billion claim ft.com against OpenAI, calling the numbers "out of the air" while declining to exclude testimony from an April trial. The Justice Department's legal threat complicated Trump's Fed chair pick nytimes.com, with an investigation of the Federal Reserve potentially reimposing obstacles in Kevin Warsh's path. A Malaysian lawmaker said a probe into shareholdings bloomberg.com of the country's anti-graft chief Azam Baki allegedly uncovered $3.6 million in shares across nine companies.
Real Estate & Infrastructure
Investors who rushed to lend money to real estate developers in the United Arab Emirates are nursing losses bloomberg.com as the Iran war hammers their bonds and threatens to stall a borrowing binge. Deutsche Bank said its exposure to US commercial real estate bloomberg.com remains a "key risk" that could force it to raise provisions for credit losses. HS2 rail executives entered last-ditch talks ft.com to renegotiate contracts with suppliers to peg back runaway costs of the high-speed scheme.
Food & Agriculture
Food crops are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the energy supply crunch caused by war in the Middle East, with farmers across Asia and Europe facing a scarcity of fuel needed to operate essential equipment. The conflict has cut fertiliser supplies ft.com, threatening rice and other harvests as growing numbers of fertiliser plants are forced to shut. Pakistan's already fragile economy is being squeezed nytimes.com as families preparing for Eid al-Fitr and farmers ready for harvest face surging oil prices in a country that gets nearly all its oil through the Persian Gulf.
Transportation & Logistics
Orient Overseas International warned that escalating conflict bloomberg.com in the Middle East poses further uncertainty to the industry after geopolitical woes eroded last year's earnings. Two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas are heading to India bloomberg.com after crossing the Strait of Hormuz, providing some relief to acute shortages as the war in the Persian Gulf disrupts supply. Australia's Energy Minister Chris Bowen said rural and regional areas bloomberg.com are facing "real and unacceptable shortages" of fuel, a ripple effect of the US-Israel war with Iran that has caused global oil prices to spike.
Metals & Mining
A surge in aluminum prices wsj.com catapulted China Hongqiao's Zhang Bo to a $48 billion fortune, making him one of Asia's wealthiest industrialists. Raw sugar headed for a fourth weekly gain bloomberg.com, buoyed by a rally in crude oil, with traders watching to see if top grower Brazil will boost domestic gasoline prices, which could result in more sugar cane being diverted to ethanol production.
Media & Entertainment
Live Nation's Slack messages revealed employees joking nytimes.com about "stupid" fans as exhibits in the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against the concert giant. Scottie Pippen helped sell Wall Street on prediction markets bloomberg.com, as Jeff Sprecher runs a $90 billion company that owns the New York Stock Exchange and traded record volumes last year. The Academy Awards faces a tight race nytimes.com for best picture and actor, while the In Memoriam segment looks to be supersized this year.
Healthcare & Biotech
A third of Americans have cut spending or borrowed money nytimes.com for health care, with many people skipping meals or driving less to pay for the rising cost of medical care. The number doctors use to demarcate hypertension keeps going down nytimes.com, a trend applauded by many experts who point to studies linking high blood pressure and dementia. Medicare coverage issues arose when changing addresses nytimes.com, with one woman seemingly losing health insurance after using a post office box.
Retail & Consumer
The war in Iran has ended Canadian drivers' reprieve bloomberg.com from lower gasoline prices ever since Prime Minister Mark Carney eliminated the country's consumer carbon tax. 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 on state oil company Petrobras.