The End of the War & The Collapse of Oil Prices; LiveNation Settles Rather Than Break Up; & Novo's Surprise Partnership With Hims

Markets swung sharply as geopolitics, trade momentum, and corporate deals reshaped the global outlook. Oil prices tumbled after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the Israel-Iran conflict could end soon, reversing a spike that had pushed crude above $100 a barrel. Meanwhile, China’s export machine roared into 2026 with growth far exceeding forecasts, powered by booming electronics and semiconductor shipments. In the U.S., Live Nation Entertainment reached a settlement with the Justice Department over monopoly accusations tied to its Ticketmaster business. And in healthcare, Novo Nordisk is moving to expand access to its blockbuster weight-loss drug through a new partnership with Hims & Hers Health. All this and more in today’s Read It and Eat!

Markets Around The World

Markets as of 9th March 2026. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.

MAJOR HEADLINES

• Oil Tumbles On the News of The End of The War

Oil prices have tumbled back from the four-year highs they hit on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the US-Israel war on Iran could end “very soon.” In an interview with CBS News, Trump said the war was “very complete, pretty much.” The comments came during what has been an extraordinary 24 hours in global markets, as traders closely watched developments in the Middle East conflict.

Just a day earlier, Brent crude, the international benchmark had surged beyond $100 per barrel for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, triggering stark sell-offs across leading Asian and European stock indices while Wall Street opened under pressure in New York. But after Trump’s remarks, markets reversed course. Brent crude, which had climbed as high as $119.50 per barrel on Monday, fell sharply at one point sliding toward the $80 range before settling at $98.96. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 clawed out of the red to finish the day higher.

President Trump’s comments initially injected optimism into markets even as Iranian hardliners rallied behind new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and insisted their blockade of oil would continue. Within hours, Iran’s military dashed hopes of a quick end to the conflict, with the Revolutionary Guards declaring, “We are the ones who will determine the end of the war.” The exchange quickly escalated again, with Trump threatening to hit Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.” As traders parsed the volley of threats, Brent crude futures fell as much as 11% to lows of $88.05 per barrel before paring the decline to about 4.8%. The Guardian

• All China Seems To Do Is Win; Exports Surge in 2026 after a Stellar 2025

China roared into 2026 with exports far outstripping forecasts, fuelled by ​red-hot electronics demand, putting the economy on track to top last year's record $1.2 trillion trade surplus - barring a wider energy and shipping shock from the war in Iran. Outbound shipments from ‌ the world's second-largest economy grew 21.8% in U.S. dollar terms in the January-February period, sharply up from the 6.6% increase recorded in December and blowing past the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 7.1% growth. "The strength in integrated circuits and technology exports is well expected, in line with the artificial intelligence investment boom," said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit."Growth in clothing, textiles and bags exports was surprising, given their poor performance in 2025 amid challenges ​from Southeast Asia and South Asia," he added. 

Economists say it's still too soon to know whether U.S. ⁠and Israeli strikes on Iran - and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one‑fifth of global oil - will derail manufacturers in the months ahead. China stockpiled key commodities needed by its manufacturers, ​including iron ore and crude oil, in the first two months of the year. Vessels laden with iron ore cargoes destined for the Middle East are changing course for new destinations such as China, data from ship-tracking ​agency Kpler shows. China's trade surplus for the first two months came in at $213.6 billion, the data showed, far exceeding the $169.21 billion recorded in the same period last year. Economists had forecast a ​trade gap of $179.6 billion in the poll.

Semiconductor exports rose an annual 66.5%, the fastest growth in well over a decade, buoyed by a global memory chip shortage. China and Hong Kong shares rose on Tuesday, rebounding from the lowest levels ‌since December ⁠and August, respectively, supported by comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that the Middle East war could come to a quick conclusion and the better-than-expected trade data. Reuters

• TicketMaster Gets To Keep LiveNation as They Settle The Suit

Live Nation and Ticketmaster have reached a settlement with federal authorities over accusations the ticket giant’s business practices created a monopoly of the live events music industry. A senior justice official said in a briefing Monday that the agreement will give consumers more options and bring down prices. However, the settlement avoided a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which was a demand from some of the more than 30 states suing the company.

In a major change, Ticketmaster will let facilities use competitors like SeatGeek and StubHub to sell tickets, no longer requiring them to work exclusively with Ticketmaster. In addition, Live Nation is being forced to divest 13 amphitheaters. That amount could increase if more states sign on to the settlement. The DOJ didn’t immediately release the states that have. Terms of the agreement must be approved by a federal judge. A trial began last week in New York.

In a statement, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said this marks a “major step in improving the concert experience for artists and fans throughout the United States.” “By giving artists greater flexibility in choosing their promotional partners and ticketing strategy while also keeping the cost of a concert more affordable for fans, we are putting more power where it should be – with artists and fans,” he said. Live Nation is also offering to disperse a $280 million settlement fund to each state that signs on. However, states like New York and California are not happy with the government’s agreement and still plan to pursue their own lawsuits. “The settlement recently announced with the U.S. Department of Justice fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case, and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement. “We cannot agree to it.” CNN

• Novo Nordisk Makes A Surprise Deal With Hims; Shares of Both Companies Surge

Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk plans to sell its ​weight-loss drugs on Hims & Hers Health  ‌platform, bringing an end to a dispute between the two companies that escalated into a legal battle ​last month, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

Hims ​shares surged 39% in after-hours trading after ⁠the report, shares of Novo Nordisk also moved higher as investors welcomed the potential expansion in distribution for its obesity drugs. The report comes nearly a month ​after Novo sued Hims over patent infringement following ​the U.S. telehealth firm's launch, and then cancellation, of a $49 copy of Novo's obesity pill. The U.S. Food and ​Drug Administration had also threatened action against Hims.

Novo ​and Hims plan to announce a new partnership as soon ‌as ⁠Monday, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter. Last year, Novo ended a short-lived agreement to sell its Wegovy weight-loss drug ​through Hims ​over the ⁠company's marketing tactics and continued sales of Wegovy copies. A Novo spokesperson said ​in an e-mailed statement the company ​is "always ⁠in conversation with companies that can help improve patient access to FDA-approved medicines".  Reuters

Minor Headlines

• Bank of Canada issues country’s first tokenized bond CoinTelegragph

• Binance terrorism lawsuit dismissed as judge signals plaintiffs could refile TheBlock

• Brazil's Pix instant payments system expands to Argentina CoinTelegraph

• Oracle and OpenAI ended plans to expand Stargate data center Bloomberg

• US unemployment rose to 4.4% in weak jobs report CNBC

• Google raised CEO Sundar Pichai's pay package to $692M  Financial Times

• Nvidia-backed Nscale valued at $14.6 billion in fresh funding round Reuters

• GE Aerospace to invest $1 billion to boost US engine production Reuters