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BASF announced that starting March 18, prices for all home care, industrial and institutional cleaning, and industrial formulation products in Europe will increase, with increases of up to 30% or more.
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Market risks exist, and investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are applicable to their specific circumstances. Investors bear full responsibility for any investment decisions made based on this information.

After the assassination of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Iran has vowed to launch its strongest retaliation against the United States and Israel. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has fired missiles at Israel, causing casualties. Israel has intensified its airstrikes, and Trump has stated that the United States will not end its conflict with Iran. Larijani's death poses a challenge to the stability of Iran's power structure.

# Global Energy Market Experiencing Unprecedented "Dual-Track Divergence": Oil Price Fracture
The global energy market is experiencing an unprecedented "dual-track divergence": Brent/WTI crude oil futures are hovering around the $100/barrel mark under the influence of strategic reserve releases and speculative position adjustments, while Dubai/Oman crude oil prices—which directly reflect Middle East spot supply and demand—have surged above $155/barrel, with the spread widening to a historical extreme level of $55/barrel. The essence of this divergence is a decoupling of "financial pricing" from "physical supply and demand."
Coal, as the "ballast stone" of our country's energy security and the most cost-effective alternative energy source, is undergoing systematic re-evaluation of its strategic value and commodity attributes.
## I. What Happened? The Oil Price Fracture
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The global energy market is experiencing an unprecedented "dual-track divergence": Brent/WTI crude oil futures are hovering around the $100/barrel mark under the influence of strategic reserve releases and speculative position adjustments, while Dubai/Oman crude oil prices—which directly reflect Middle East spot supply and demand—have surged above $155/barrel, with the spread widening to a historical extreme level of $55/barrel.

The US-Iran conflict has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, causing severe disruptions to global oil transportation. Middle Eastern crude oil exports have plummeted to historic lows, with daily export volumes dropping 61%. Crude oil and fuel prices have surged, reshaping the global energy market landscape, while supply disruption pressures continue to mount.

Oil prices declined due to a significant increase in U.S. crude oil inventories, though supply disruption risks remain despite attacks on UAE energy infrastructure. Citi believes that if transportation through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted, oil prices could rise to $110-120 per barrel, or even reach $200 per barrel in extreme scenarios.

Samsung Electronics is accelerating development of next-generation high-bandwidth memory, with HBM4 already in mass production, and HBM5 planned to upgrade substrate technology to 2 nanometers. Hwang Sang-jun stated that HBM4 will account for over half of this year's shipments, with expanded capacity to meet AI demand. Meanwhile, Samsung is also producing Groq 3 inference chips, further solidifying its position in the AI accelerator field.

The Hunan Securities Regulatory Bureau issued a warning letter to Caixinzhuang Securities broker Xiao Yao for long-term commission transfers to former brokers, violating integrity-in-business regulations. This incident reveals industry compliance risks, emphasizes the red line of commission sharing under the table, and prompts securities firms to strengthen client handover procedures and integrity awareness.

Tencent Holdings' net profit for the fourth quarter was 58.26 billion yuan, compared to an estimated 55.05 billion yuan; revenue for the fourth quarter was 194.37 billion yuan, versus an estimated 194.07 billion yuan.
Risk Warning and Disclaimer
The market carries risks, and investment should be undertaken with caution. This document does not constitute personal investment advice and does not consider the specific investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of individual users. Users should evaluate whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions in this document are appropriate for their particular circumstances. Any investment based on this information is at your own risk.

The South Korean government has announced a principle ban on listed companies spinning off subsidiaries for separate listings, aimed at protecting minority shareholders' rights and addressing the "Korea discount" issue. The policy immediately triggered a market reaction, with the benchmark stock index rising for three consecutive days. Despite the improved market sentiment, investors remain focused on whether the policy can genuinely improve corporate fundamentals. Analysts point out that further reforms are needed to address chaebol structures and low dividend policies, among other issues.

Apple Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan visited the Chinese supply chain, including partners such as EVE Energy and Foxconn, to observe the progress of intelligent manufacturing in battery production and device assembly. EVE Energy utilizes magnetic levitation technology and digital twin systems to improve production efficiency, while Foxconn focuses on automation and digital management. Both companies are dedicated to talent development and green manufacturing, emphasizing their symbiotic relationship with Apple and their essential role in the global industrial supply chain.

Israeli airstrikes lead to the death of Iran's key figure Larijani, dealing a major blow to the Iranian regime. Larijani's coordination abilities made him irreplaceable; his death has intensified Iran's power vacuum, potentially leading to factional infighting and reduced response capabilities. With weakened retaliation capacity and increased internal and external pressures, Iran's future situation becomes increasingly complex and uncertain.

On March 16th, JD.com released an announcement about building the world's largest-scale and most comprehensive embodied AI data collection center, dropping a heavy beat on the robotics track that had been overshadowed by lobsters and silent for some time.
In a sense, this is a large-scale data production movement with strong industrial internet characteristics.
This mobilization spans more than 100,000 internal employees and up to 500,000 external personnel from various industries, and even mobilized over 100,000 citizens in Suqian alone—this unprecedented human wave tactic attempts to use the violent aesthetics of scale to forcefully break through the most fatal weakness of embodied AI today: data scarcity.
At a time when model architectures are gradually converging and computing power thresholds are relatively transparent, high-quality physical interaction data has become the sole deciding factor determining whether robots can truly enter thousands of industries and hundreds of sectors.
Behind this mobilization defined as "the largest-scale data collection action in human history," a consensus in the industry is revealed: when embodied AI is responsible for movement

Samsung Electronics plans to extend memory chip supply contracts to 3-5 years to address chip shortages and strengthen market stability, which is expected to have profound impacts on the supply chain. Meanwhile, SK Hynix is actively considering measures to stabilize chip prices. This move will help downstream customers lock in stable supply volumes and prices, alleviating market concerns.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated at a routine press conference that China and the United States will continue to communicate on President Trump's visit to China, emphasizing the importance of summit diplomacy for China-U.S. relations.

Iran war enters a war of attrition, and the market's worst fear is not one or two days of firepower, but rather "dragging into Q2 or even longer," after which supply, logistics, inventory, and financial pricing all become distorted together. In a research report, Bank of America first breaks down the political pathway into several scenarios of different durations, then runs each of oil, gas, refined products, coal, chemical raw materials, fertilizers, agricultural products, and metals through the same "war duration—supply-demand gap—price/volatility" logic to calculate the impact.
According to Chasing the Wind Trading Desk, Francisco Blanch, Bank of America's global research strategist for commodities and derivatives strategy, believes that the probabilities of "regime hardening" and "quick resolution" scenarios are now roughly equivalent, while "regime transition" (Venezuelan-style peaceful transition, Libya/Syria-style chaotic transition) previously viewed as a possible pathway has essentially been ruled out.
On the energy front, Bank of America views the Strait of Hormuz as the "master switch": once the strait is restored, many prices can

The real estate market in 2026 showed a notable spring recovery that significantly outperformed last year. Data from Shenzhen Shell Research Institute shows that secondary home transaction volumes increased by 19% following the Spring Festival. Demand for small units has risen, with both two-bedroom and one-bedroom units showing expanded transaction shares. High-quality school district properties are gradually becoming the market mainstream.

Iran conflict escalation drives oil price surge and global market selloff, causing major losses for hedge funds. JPMorgan notes that the industry overall declined, particularly with equity strategies underperforming. Rising oil prices disrupted capital flows and impacted market stability. Industry performance remained divergent, with multi-strategy platforms relatively stable, but future trajectory depends on conflict duration and economic impact.

U.S. Military Claims to Strike Iranian Missile Positions Along Strait of Hormuz With Bunker Busters
The U.S. Central Command posted on social media on the 17th stating that the U.S. military used multiple 5,000-pound bunker buster bombs on that day to strike Iranian missile positions along the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the message, Iran's anti-ship cruise missiles deployed at these locations "pose a threat to international shipping in the strait."
Recently, U.S. President Trump has repeatedly urged European countries and other allies to participate in escort operations in the Strait of Hormuz, and complained that some allies are "not enthusiastic" about assisting the United States. Earlier on the 17th, Trump posted on social media stating that most NATO allies have notified the United States that they are unwilling to participate in U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, and the United States no longer needs help from NATO countries and other nations.
International Observation | Euro-American Relations Encounter "Strait of Hormuz"
Facing U.S. threats and pressure, multiple European countries stated on the 16th that they would not participate in the escort operations in the Strait of Hormuz proposed by the U.S.

During Powell's tenure at the Federal Reserve, three governors jointly supported rate cuts in a rare dissent, signaling that political influence will become increasingly prominent in future policy decisions. Analysts warned that this trend could damage public confidence in the Fed, leading policies to lean toward politics rather than economics.