Spacex Is Targeting A Valuation Exceeding $2 Trillion In Its Initial Public Offering.
Money and Business Economy News – Follow-up Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Elon Musk’s SpaceX has raised its target valuation for its initial public offering to more than $2 trillion, setting the stage for what could become the largest IPO ever.
The report stated that SpaceX and its advisors are presenting this figure to potential investors in its initial public offering.
Starbase, Texas-based SpaceX recently filed confidential filings for its initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and aims to launch its shares on the market later this year. SpaceX has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
This request comes after SpaceX merged with Musk’s AI startup XAI in a deal that valued the space rocket manufacturer at $1 trillion and the developer of the AI chatbot, GROOC, at $250 billion.
Musk, the world’s richest person, runs a huge business empire that includes electric cars at Tesla, space launch vehicles, satellite broadband internet, artificial intelligence, and social media.https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=67444
FAO: Global Food Prices Rise In March To Highest Level Since Last December
Money and Business Economy News – Follow-up The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday that global food prices rose in March to their highest level since December, marking a second consecutive monthly increase.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks changes in a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4% from its revised level in February.
In a separate report, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) slightly raised its forecast for global cereal production in 2025 to a record high of 3.036 billion tons. This would be 5.8% higher year-on-year.https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=67451
Gold Prices Fall By More Than 3.5% After Trump’s Speech
Money and Business Economy News – Follow-up Gold prices reversed course to fall more than 3.5% on Thursday, ending a four-day winning streak, after US President Donald Trump said the United States would continue its war with Iran in the coming weeks.
Spot gold fell 3.51% to $4,591.47 an ounce by 06:29 GMT, while U.S. gold futures dropped 3.97% to $4,622.10.
Prices rose by more than 1% to their highest level since March 19, before Trump’s remarks, according to Reuters.
In a televised address to the nation, Trump said the United States would strike Iran “very hard” within the next two to three weeks and return it to the “Stone Age,” adding that the United States’ strategic objectives in the conflict were nearing completion.
Brent crude prices rose by more than 4%, while US 10-year Treasury yields and the dollar index rose, negatively impacting the dollar-denominated metal.
The precious metal fell 11% in March, its worst monthly loss since 2008, after the outbreak of the Iran war on February 28, which led to higher oil prices and increased inflationary pressures, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s (the US central bank) monetary policy path.
As for other precious metals, silver fell 2.9% to $72.95 in spot trading, platinum dropped 1.8% to $1,928.26, and palladium declined 1.4% to $1,451.85. https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=67419
The Minister of Finance has directed that the accounting and banking departments continue operating to complete the payment of employee salaries.
Money and Business Economy News – Baghdad Finance Minister Taif Sami directed on Wednesday that work continue in the accounting and banking departments to complete the payment of employee salaries for the month of March.
Sami told the Iraqi News Agency, as reported by “Economy News,” “We have directed the continued operation of the accounting and banking departments to complete the payment of employee salaries for the month of March in the remaining spending units.” https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=67395
Oil Jumps 11% As Trump Escalates War With Iran
2026-04-03 Shafaq News U.S. oil prices settled more than 11% higher and Brent soared nearly 8% on Thursday in volatile trading, as traders worried about prolonged disruptions to oil supply the day after President Donald Trump said the United States would continue attacks on Iran.
Brent crude futures closed $7.87, or 7.78%, higher at $109.03 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $11.42, or 11.41%, at $111.54 per barrel, settling at their biggest absolute price rise since 2020.
Both benchmarks remained below highs near $120 a barrel touched earlier in the conflict.
Trump said military operations would be intensified, but did not specify a timeline for ending hostilities. He gave no details on any steps that could lead to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
“We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” Trump said. “We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”
Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor traffic in the strait, an Iranian foreign ministry official said, after a Bloomberg report.
Iran has effectively shut down the narrow waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas is shipped, in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes that began on February 28. Reopening it has become a priority for governments around the world as energy prices soar.
“The real question on traders’ minds is that if Iran’s oil infrastructure is possibly now at risk, and with more damage in the area now very likely, even if left intact the restart of oil flows in the region (is) now looking to be delayed further,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.
WTI, which typically trades below Brent, was pricing nearly $3 over Brent as the U.S. contract was trading for May deliveries, while the Brent contract was trading for June deliveries. WTI’s premium over the global benchmark was the highest in a year.
“Market’s expectation is that if (the) Strait of Hormuz opens up in (a) couple of weeks this risk premium will immediately go down,” said John Kilduff, Partner at Again Capital.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan said on Thursday that a swift war resolution may mean economic impact could be pretty moderate, adding that the economic outlook was uncertain due to the crisis. The United States has some buffers to impacts from the war, Logan said.
Brent crude prices could average $95 a barrel in the base case and $130 a barrel in the bull case in the second half of the year, Citi said, while oil prices could climb to between $120 and $130 a barrel in the near-term, JP Morgan said. Prices could rise above $150 if the Strait remains closed into the middle of May, JP Morgan added.
U.S. oil rigs, an indicator of future output, rose by two to 411 this week, energy services firm Baker Hughes said. An increase in prices for oil to be delivered in future months has producers considering adding more rigs, but they have cautioned that they would like to see the higher prices hold for longer to do so.
Front-month WTI traded at its largest-ever premium over the second-month and seventh-month contract on Thursday.
TALKS ON REOPENING HORMUZ
Britain is hosting a virtual meeting of around 40 countries to discuss options for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The United States is not due to attend.
OPEC+, meanwhile, is likely to weigh a further oil output increase on Sunday, sources said. This would position members to add more barrels should the Strait of Hormuz reopen but is not likely to meaningfully increase supply before then.
In Russia, Ukraine’s strikes on port infrastructure, pipelines and refineries have reduced export capability by 1 million barrels per day, or a fifth of total capacity, sources say, enough to set the stage for imminent production cuts.
The head of the International Energy Agency also said that supply disruptions would start to affect Europe’s economy in April, after the region had previously been shielded by cargoes contracted before the start of the war.(Reuters)
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Oil-jumps-11-as-Trump-escalates-war-with-Iran
