Pacific Perspectives
‘Brace for swings on every tweet’: Investors bamboozled by peace talks
Investors tentatively emerged from their bunkers on Tuesday to buy up everything from stocks to gold after United States President Donald Trump boosted hopes of an imminent de-escalation of the Iran war that has erased…
ASX to open higher, S&P fluctuates
Australian shares are poised to open higher. US equities ended lower amid conflicting headlines about the US-Israeli war against Iran with President Donald Trump saying Iran “badly” wants to make a deal, while the US…
Stagflation alarm bells ring in the euro zone as energy crunch hits the global economy
Private sector output in the euro zone sank to a 10-month low in March, amid mounting evidence of the impact the Iran conflict is having on the global economy. Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/24/euro-zone-pmi-staglation-risks-critical-energy-crunch-vdl-iran-war.html
Trump administration plans to bring more diesel to market as fuel prices surge, Wright says
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/chris-wright-trump-diesel-iran-war-oil-price.html
Crisis a reminder fossil fuels still key to global economic health
What a difference a war makes to confident predictions about the global energy market. The executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, reassured the World Economic Forum in January there were still several…
Why last year’s safe haven assets are now getting smashed
Gold and silver became the defining trade of 2025 after US President Donald Trump roiled financial markets with his sweeping “liberation day” tariffs that prompted investors to pile into traditional safe-haven assets. But this year,…
Recession risk ignored as traders bet on triple rate rise
Bond traders are betting on a fresh wave of interest rate rises in Australia this year as the war in the Middle East deepens and US President Donald Trump threatens to “obliterate” Iran’s energy assets.…
Volume in stock and oil futures surged minutes before Trump’s market-turning post
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/volume-in-stock-and-oil-futures-surged-minutes-before-trumps-market-turning-post.html
$166 a barrel? Middle East oil gives clue to where all prices could be headed if Iran war drags on
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/19/166-a-barrel-middle-east-oil-gives-clue-to-where-all-prices-could-be-headed-if-iran-war-drags-on.html
‘Nobody knows’ the economic hit from Iran, says an uncertain Powell
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell says it’s still too early to estimate the effect of the war in Iran on the US economy, as fighting upends global energy markets and creates a fresh supply shock…