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Oil erased gains in a volatile session as traders assessed the next steps for the Middle East war that has upended global energy markets.

Brent futures dipped near $102 a barrel, after surging more than 40% over the past two weeks. Oil loading at the key United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah resumed, following a second drone attack in three days. But the country’s output is now down by almost half.

Bitcoin rose to an almost six-week high with demand for riskier assets rising amid growing optimism that turmoil caused in global markets by the conflict in the Middle East may be easing.

The original cryptocurrency climbed as much as 3.7% to $74,416, the highest since Feb. 4. Bitcoin is still down around 40% from a record high reached in October 2025.

Other smaller, more volatile, digital assets saw even greater gains. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, rose as much as 8% to $2,302, roughly twice Bitcoin’s advance. Solana and XRP rose as much as 6.2% and 5%, respectively

America’s small investors have one main route for influencing corporate boards and it’s poised to get a lot narrower. Federal regulators are looking at new rules that could rein in shareholders who hold as little as $2,000 in stock to get their proposals on proxy ballots.

Business groups are pressing for higher ownership thresholds like the one adopted last year in Texas, where investors are now required to own at least $1 million in stock or a 3% stake to file a proposal with companies incorporated there.

The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reduced oil output further as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz increases pressure on major producers, with the Iran war stretching into its third week.

The UAE’s production cut has deepened to about 1.5 million barrels a day, from 500,000 to 800,000 a day as of March 10, while Kuwait’s has increased to near 1.3 million a day from half a million about a week ago, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the data isn’t public.

Wall Street banks led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. kicked off a $5.75 billion cross-border leveraged loan sale to help finance the buyout of video game maker Electronic Arts Inc., one of the largest transactions of its kind.

A $4 billion US dollar loan is being offered at a discounted price of around 98.50 cents on the dollar and a margin of 3.50 to 3.75 percentage points over a key benchmark. JPMorgan is also pitching a €1.53 billion loan, equivalent to about $1.75 billion, at similar pricing terms.

US President Trump may delay his China trip due to the Iran war, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday it’s not to pressure Beijing on the Strait of Hormuz.

Bessent said any delay to Trump’s trip to Beijing wouldn’t be because of disagreements over the Iran war or efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“If the meeting for some reason was rescheduled, it would be rescheduled because of logistics,” he said. “The president wants to remain in D.C. to coordinate the war and travelling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain is working with allies on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but “will not be drawn into the wider war.”

He spoke after US President Donald Trump said he’d demanded US allies send warships to open the key oil shipment route.

Starmer said Britain is discussing with the US and allies in Europe and the Gulf the possibility of using mine-hunting drones that the UK has in the region. But he signalled the UK is unlikely to dispatch a warship.

US President Donald Trump may delay his planned visit to China as the war with Iran continues to escalate, though US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said any postponement would not be intended to pressure Beijing over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States is allowing Iranian oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in an interview Monday.

“The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we’ve let that happen to supply the rest of the world,” Bessent told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan.

Meta shares moved higher in premarket trading on Monday after reports said the company plans to cut more than 20% of its workforce as it looks to manage rising spending on artificial intelligence this year.

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