Energy Facility Entanglement in US-Iran Conflict Escalates International Oil Prices, "US, Brent Oil Main Force" Short Positions Loss Widens to $2.3 Million

On March 19, Block Inc.—the parent company of payment platform Square and owner of Cash App—quietly rehired some employees it laid off in late February. The initial round of cuts affected roughly 4,000 people, part of the firm’s strategy to shift toward artificial intelligence (AI). Multiple employees have shared their returns on LinkedIn. Andrew Harvard, a design engineer, posted on March 3 that he was told his layoff stemmed from a “paperwork error” and has accepted the company’s offer to come back. Richard Hesse, Block’s chief technology officer, noted he spent two days convincing leadership that his team’s work was “critical to customers” and required a sufficient workforce. The company ultimately agreed to rehire some laid-off staff. Chane Rennie, a creative strategy lead, also disclosed on March 12 that he was asked to return to work roughly a week after the layoffs.

On March 19, Citrini Research—the author of the “Doomsday Report”—issued a statement on the latest market conditions, saying it truly can’t see any chance the stock market won’t keep falling in the short term. The market has been so desperate for “good news” that people are now making it up themselves—forgetting that in real conflict, both sides have to agree to a ceasefire (or one side surrenders). They’ll learn that the hard way eventually. The Fed’s rate-cut cycle is already fully priced in by markets. Two weeks ago, SOFR Z7 (Secured Overnight Financing Rate futures) were 75 basis points below March 2026 levels. That gap has now shrunk to 25 basis points. Also, Interest on Reserves (IOR) has consistently stayed above the 2-year yield—meaning reserve managers don’t expect the rate-cut cycle to keep going, so they’re not buying as rates fall. A strong non-farm payrolls report would hammer the rates market (especially as financing gets more critical for global megacorps). A we

On March 19, per Bitget data, spot silver is down 1.00% intraday and currently trading at $74.58 per ounce.

According to Bitget data, Euro Stoxx 50 Index futures dropped 2% on March 19.

On March 19, DeFi protocol Neutrl announced via social media that its frontend is suspected of being compromised. The team is conducting an emergency investigation, and as a security precaution, users are advised not to interact with the website until further notice. Meanwhile, Neutrl reminds users to immediately visit Revoke.cash to revoke Permit2 approvals for the relevant address. It also suggests users check and revoke approvals for other suspicious addresses to mitigate the risk of asset loss.

On March 19, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) issued a new report noting that Iran has launched its fifth ballistic missile attack against Israel since midnight. No casualties or damage have been reported so far. The IDF added that the missile was equipped with a cluster bomb warhead and struck an open area.