Markets/Wall Street

Despite soaring oil prices and global disruptions, markets are still breaking records.

Two months into the disruption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a gap is opening between what financial markets expect oil to cost and what buyers are actually paying to get a physical barrel delivered today.

And some companies are buying their competitors’ chips.

Companies are issuing record amounts of corporate debt this year, even though the war pushed up yields. Analysts say that could continue, especially as tech companies finance AI projects.

Five of the Magnificent Seven — Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Apple — are reporting earnings this week.

Meta, Google, Microsoft and Amazon report tomorrow. Apple reports on Thursday. These companies are so large that their earning reports can swing the stock market in either direction.

The rollercoaster that car rental company Avis has been experiencing in the last month turns out to be a good example of the phenomenon.

First-quarter results show revenue up 14% year over year, with Boeing outpacing Airbus for the first time since 2019.

Hint: when they go public and start working for every investor, says Sarah Kunst, general partner at the venture capital firm Cleo Capital.

At the outset of the war in Iran, the dollar surged, likely because of the typical “flight to safety” behavior. But more recently, it’s been taking a beating.