Mar. 2 at 1:44 PM
U.S. stock futures slid Monday after U.S.-Israeli strikes reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting retaliation and raising fears of a broader conflict. Oil prices jumped, gold rallied and volatility spiked as Middle East airspace closures disrupted global travel and investors weighed the risk of an energy shock.
The market selloff adds to February’s weakness, when the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite logged their worst months in nearly a year.
Berkshire Hathaway reported a nearly 30% drop in quarterly operating earnings in its final period under Warren Buffett, hurt by a sharp decline in insurance underwriting. Investors responded positively to new CEO Greg Abel’s shareholder letter, signaling continuity in capital allocation strategy.
In AI, OpenAI secured a Pentagon deal after the administration halted use of Anthropic’s tools over policy disagreements, even as Anthropic’s Claude app climbed to the top of Apple’s free app rankings.
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