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Banks led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. have kicked off an $8 billion junk-bond sale to fund the record leveraged buyout of video game maker Electronic Arts Inc., again shifting around the debt mix for the deal to navigate fluctuating risk appetite.

The group launched a $5.5 billion secured offering on Monday across US dollars and euros, and $2.5 billion of dollar-denominated unsecured bonds, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. About two weeks ago the bond portion had swelled to $9.5 billion, but the financing shifted toward loans once again, a sign of the day-by-day nature of getting risky debt deals done in the midst of a market-moving war in the Middle East.

Copper climbed after President Donald Trump said the US will postpone planned strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days following the start of talks with Tehran about ending hostilities.

Trump’s comments caused ructions across financial markets, with stocks and bonds rallying while the dollar retreated and oil plunged as much as 14%. Copper jumped the most in almost two months in London before settling 2% higher to $12,167 a metric ton, as Iranian news outlets reported that there have been no negotiations with the US.

US President Donald Trump’s energy chief downplayed the impact the US-Israeli war with Iran is having on energy markets, saying prices haven’t risen enough to trigger “meaningful demand destruction.”

“Markets do what markets do,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during remarks at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston on Monday. “Prices went up to send signals to everyone that can produce more

Meta Platforms Inc. has hired the founders and team behind the artificial intelligence startup Dreamer, which launched earlier this year to help people create their own AI agents.

The Dreamer team — including one co-founder, Hugo Barra, who previously worked at Meta — is joining the Meta Superintelligence Labs group under Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, according to an internal post Wang sent Monday morning that was reviewed by Bloomberg.

While the new hires will work on AI agents and associated projects at Meta, the deal did not include Dreamer’s technology, a person familiar with the matter said.

Mastercard Inc. was saddled with a multimillion-dollar bill after the failure of Brazil’s Banco Master SA left it on the hook to pay out retailers that processed cardholder payments from the lender’s fintech.

Mastercard became embroiled in the controversy because it was the network on the cards issued by Banco Master’s fintech, Will Financeira SA, according to people familiar with the matter. Mastercard is now seeking reimbursement of those funds from the liquidator appointed by the central bank, the people said, asking not to be identified because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly.

The US reiterated its criticism of the European Union’s rules to curb methane emissions from its oil and gas imports, saying that the supply crunch caused by Iran’s attacks on Qatari facilities means the bloc can’t afford to be too strict.

“If Europe wants to have affordable energy, it’s going to need to reduce the regulatory requirements and restrictions that it has in place,” Andrew Puzder, US ambassador to the EU, told Bloomberg TV on Monday. “It could be a very severe energy crisis if Europe doesn’t act,” especially given the recent developments in the Middle East, he added.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink urged investors to resist the temptation to time markets, arguing that staying invested through periods of turmoil has historically delivered far stronger returns.

“Over time, staying invested has mattered far more than getting the timing right,” Fink wrote in his annual chairman’s letter released Monday. “Some of the market’s strongest days came amid the most unsettling headlines.”

He pointed to the past two decades as a stark example: every dollar invested in the S&P 500 grew more than eightfold. But investors who missed just the 10 best days over that stretch would have earned less than half as much.

Stocks rallied on Monday (March 23) after President Donald Trump said the US and Iran have held talks and that he was halting strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, giving investors hope that the Middle East conflict that spiked oil prices and raised fears of a global recession was nearing an end.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 780 points, or 1.7%. The S&P 500 rose 1.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5%.Traders are increasingly betting that the Federal Reserve will remain in a holding pattern through the rest of the year, even as geopolitical developments shift market sentiment.Fed funds futures contracts around noon ET showed a 71.1% probability that policymakers will keep the benchmark interest rate within the 3.5%–3.75% range through year-end, according to data from CME Group’s FedWatch tool.Beyond a pause, markets are pricing in a 19.2% chance of a rate cut and a 9.8% likelihood of a rate hike.Trading remained volatile through the morning following comments from Donald Trump, who said he had ordered a halt to bombing Iranian oil infrastructure. Earlier signals had pointed to stronger expectations of a potential rate hike before sentiment shifted.

A broad-based rally powered the S&P 500’s rebound on Monday, with all 11 sectors trading in the green.The index rose about 2%, supported by strong market breadth, as more than 90% of its constituent stocks advanced in morning trade.

Global oil prices have not risen enough to trigger demand destruction, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Monday at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas.

His comments come at a time when markets remain volatile amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, which has disrupted a key trade route and damaged production infrastructure in the Middle East.

Despite the tensions, Brent crude futures were trading above $100 per barrel on Monday, indicating sustained supply concerns even as demand remains resilient.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said there are “major points of agreement” between the US and Iran.

“We have had very, very strong talks,” Trump told reporters in Florida before boarding Air Force One. “We’ll see where they lead.”

He added that both sides want to “make a deal” and are likely to speak over the phone later in the day.

Trump said that if the five-day postponement of strikes goes well, the conflict could be resolved. However, if it does not, he warned that the US would “keep bombing our little hearts out.”

He also said the Strait of Hormuz could reopen “very soon” if the plan works, adding that the key transit route could potentially be “jointly controlled” by the US and Iranian leadership.

US stocks on Monday (March 23) rallied after President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran had held talks and that he was halting strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 829 points, or 1.8%. S&P 500 rose 1.4%, while Nasdaq Composite gained 1.6%. The gains followed Trump’s statement on the talks and the suspension of planned strikes, which had previously raised concerns about rising oil prices and global economic risks.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said the central bank shouldn’t set policy based on short-term considerations related to the US and Israel’s war in Iran.

“We should wait for all the information to come in before really changing our outlook,” Miran said Monday in an interview on Bloomberg Surveillance. “And I think it’s just still premature to have a clear view about what this is going to look like as you look 12 months out.”

The conflict in the Middle East has sent oil prices sharply higher, threatening to both put upward pressure on inflation and weigh on economic growth and the labour market.

Bitcoin rose more than 3% after President Donald Trump said that the US and Iran held productive talks on the war in the Middle East.

The cryptocurrency, which was at one point in early trading Monday below $68,000, was last trading at $70,298.68. That’s slightly lower than where it traded right after Trump made his statement, where Bitcoin crossed $71,000.

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