Public Markets 3 Days

Last updated: May 16, 2026, 8:32 AM ET

Energy & Commodities

Oil prices edged higher as the Trump-Xi summit yielded no clear breakthrough on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with Beijing failing to commit to pressuring Iran. The stalemate came as global bonds tumbled on inflation fears stemming from the Iran war, pushing the 30-year Treasury yield to its highest level since 2007. Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway sold roughly $8 billion of Chevron shares in the first quarter as the oil giant's stock reached record highs, while simultaneously amassing a $2.6 billion stake in Delta Airlines during Ted Abel's first quarter as CEO. In a separate development, Argentina's state-run energy company YPF unveiled a $25 billion oil project—the largest investment since President Javier Milei took office—while hedge funds boosted bullish copper bets to a five-month high before prices climbed to a fresh record on Comex. Venezuela kicked off a $170 billion debt restructuring process, hiring a financial adviser to rework one of the world's largest-ever defaulted bond portfolios, and nearly half of Trump's emergency oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was exported to foreign buyers, underscoring how severely global supplies have tightened.

Fixed Income & Rates

The global bond rout deepened as mounting inflation pressures pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to nearly 4.6%—its highest level in over a year—catching up with Wall Street's risk rally. European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said a modest rate hike could temper inflation without causing significant economic damage. UK government bonds, despite appearing to be an outlier, performed in line with peers as the selloff proved broad-based across sovereign markets.

M&A and IPOs

Next Era Energy is in discussions to combine with Dominion Energy in a mostly stock deal that would create a $400 billion US utility giant, driven by booming electricity demand from AI data centers. Toyota is considering a $2 billion investment to add an assembly line in Texas with production targeted for 2030, while Vin Fast plans to shed about $6.9 billion in debt through spinoffs of two Vietnamese factories. In the IPO pipeline, SpaceX is slated to go public on June 12 in its debut, and Erock Inc. filed for a US IPO as a modular power systems maker serving data centers. Forbright filed for an IPO highlighting growth in deposits and middle-market lending, while Lime is targeting a $2 billion valuation at 28 times last year's operating profit in a potential offering backed by Uber.

Private Markets

HSBC paused its $4 billion private credit investment plan announced last year to muscle into the alternative lending market, while US federal prosecutors are scrutinizing BlackRock's TCP Capital Corp over valuation practices. The AI boom could be ending the de-equitisation put that has suppressed equity issuance during this US bull market, and adding pre-IPO companies to portfolios remains far more tricky than buying public stocks. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush's Finback raised nearly $500 million for a new fund tapping wealth networks to capitalize on AI and infrastructure investment.

Transportation & Travel

The Long Island Rail Road, America's busiest commuter rail service, shut down on Saturday in its first strike since 1994 after unions and transit officials failed to agree on a new contract. Air New Zealand expects a substantial full-year loss as Middle East conflict-driven jet fuel costs force service cuts and cost-reduction measures.

Tech & AI

Emerging-market stocks advanced for a third straight day as Alibaba and TSMC joined South Korean peers in the AI rally, buoyed by US-China talks optimism. US stock futures gained as the AI trade continued driving technology shares higher, with hedge funds making a killing in AI hardware—chip and equipment makers delivered stock-picking funds their best month in decades. Citadel has moved some researchers out of Hong Kong, while the WSJ Dollar Index rose 0.1% to 95.19, up for three consecutive trading sessions.

Crypto & Political Betting

Kraken cut 150 workers after deploying AI and may delay its IPO to 2027 given sharp declines in digital-asset prices, while Polymarket trading volume declined for the first time since August. Dozens of Polymarket bets show signs of insider trading across topics from the Iran war to cryptocurrency markets, according to a New York Times examination.

Endowments

N.P. Narvekar told Harvard's board he plans to retire, having grown the university's endowment from $35.7 billion to nearly $57 billion during his tenure.