Trump threatens to hit Iranian power plants if deadline is disrupted 

Trump demanded Iran unblock the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours

The value of the largest publicly traded airlines has fallen by more than $50 billion since the war began, the FT has calculated

Airlines are facing their biggest crisis since the pandemic. What will happen to ticket prices?

Nebius Group N.V.

Meta Platforms, Inc.

Micron Technology, Inc.

Escalation in the Middle East has triggered a spike in oil and gas prices and heightened the risks of a prolonged energy shock. Regulators and governments are looking for ways to contain prices, from easing sanctions on Iranian oil to temporarily repealing the Jones Act in the US. Meanwhile, hotels in Dubai are cutting prices - occupancy in the emirate has fallen from 90% to 16% due to the shelling. Against this backdrop, central banks are keeping rates on hold, but signaling rising inflation risks and high uncertainty. The main events from March 16 to 20 - in our review.

Highlights of the week: energy prices spike, Fed pause, Dubai hotels cut prices

Tesla, Inc.

Billionaire Elon Musk misled Twitter investors in 2022 in an attempt to crash the quotes of the social network he was acquiring, a jury in San Francisco has ruled. The deal took nearly six months to materialize, during which time the billionaire repeatedly changed his position and Twitter tried to force him to honor the agreements. During the uncertainty, the shares of the social network, which was then a publicly traded company, fell about 40% below the value of the deal.

Elon Musk has lost a lawsuit against Twitter investors. He will pay them compensation

The US is considering "winding down" its war with Iran, US President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116263563453969628">said</a> on Truth Social media. The price of Brent crude then plummeted, dropping from nearly $113 a barrel to less than $108 for a while.

US considering 'winding down' war with Iran - Trump. Brent fell below $108

The war in the Middle East, which caused a sharp rise in oil prices, is forcing investors to radically revise their forecasts on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. Traders now estimate almost 50% probability of a rate hike this year, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/63d642a9-2499-4969-af15-8bc282e4ce43?syn-25a6b1a6=1">writes the</a> Financial Times.

Radical reversal: traders have started to put a Fed rate hike in their forecasts 

NVIDIA Corporation

Trump rejected the likelihood of a cease-fire, and was vague about a plan to seize Iran's most important oil hub

Dow and Nasdaq close to correction, S&amp;P 500 at six-month low: results of 21 days of war

Iran refuses to discuss resumption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz

Brent exceeded $113: US stocks accelerated decline, Nasdaq down more than 2%

Data

Aureus Greenway Holdings Inc.

Unusual Machines

The elder sons of U.S. President Donald Trump – Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. – are investing in drone maker Powerus. The company is seeking a fast-track path to the public markets to help meet Pentagon demand through a merger with Aureus Greenway Holdings, which is already listed on the Nasdaq and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-brothers-backed-aureus-merge-with-drone-maker-powerus-2026-03-09/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">backed</a>&nbsp;by the Trump sons. Below <i>Oninvest </i>looks at what makes the deal important and what investors should be paying attention to.

Trump's sons are betting on drones. Should investors follow their lead?

Firefly Aerospace Inc.

Shares of Firefly Aerospace, a mid-cap competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX that&nbsp;<a href="https://investors.fireflyspace.com/">develops</a>&nbsp;launch vehicles and orbital spacecraft, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/FLY/">jumped</a>&nbsp;nearly 9% in premarket trading on Friday as the company’s fourth-quarter revenue <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/firefly-aerospace-earnings-stock-price-30c98a4d?siteid=yhoof2">beat</a>&nbsp;Wall Street expectations. A week earlier, after <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/09/after-another-fiery-setback-it-seems-fireflys-alpha-rocket-is-still-in-beta/">several setbacks</a>, Firefly successfully <a href="https://investors.fireflyspace.com/news-releases/news-release-details/firefly-aerospace-successfully-launches-alpha-flight-7">launched</a>&nbsp;its Alpha rocket and delivered it into orbit. It has been public for less than a year.

Mid-cap SpaceX competitor Firefly beats revenue estimates; shares jumping

Perfect Corp.

Shares of Perfect Corp., a small-cap developer of AI-powered beauty solutions and a partner to global brands including L’Oréal, surged nearly 30% on Wednesday after the company <a href="https://ir.perfectcorp.com/news-and-events/news-releases/news-details/2026/Perfect-Announces-Receipt-of-Preliminary-Non-Binding-Going-Private-Proposal/default.aspx">said</a>&nbsp;it had received a preliminary <a href="https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001899830/a78d3f1c-b1a9-470f-b4c6-7f9fc0aec3c0.pdf">buyout offer</a>&nbsp;from Taiwan-based software developer CyberLink and founder Alice Chang.

Shares of virtual beauty company Perfect Corp. soar on going-private proposal

ADTRAN Holdings, Inc.

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation

Bowman Consulting Group Ltd.

Portfolio managers of three funds at Royce Investments, Jim Stoeffel and Andrew Palen, <a href="https://www.royceinvest.com/insights/2026/1Q26/how-micro-caps-can-stay-on-top">named</a>&nbsp;three small-cap stocks “in which we have long-term conviction.” Two of them, in their view, will benefit from investments in AI, while one will gain from rising U.S. infrastructure spending.

Three 'long-term conviction' holdings from Royce

BankUnited, Inc.

Champion Homes, Inc.

ESAB Corporation

FirstService Corporation

AZZ Inc.

Patrick Industries, Inc.

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.

Primoris Services Corporation

The S&amp;P SmallCap 600 index has <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5ESP600/">risen</a>&nbsp;1.5% year to date, while the broader-market S&amp;P 500 has <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EGSPC/">fallen</a> more than 3.0%. On the one hand, investors are seeking more attractive alternatives to tech stocks and diversifying their portfolios, Barron's <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/small-cap-stocks-funds-21f99423?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqfo1dD7hiMDWoiAMoUesBM2U_8b7jNmNWUguoHoGBVCLwkL3scN4izy&amp;gaa_ts=69b7c082&amp;gaa_sig=z-A7l6M0qp-rQ1Zzcerb0ado3JXtJhXJMAXeCQnPcOkZCjhr9CqVAUeiO1Og_NZnMSI40M3x8Uiu4sgZCnx8vA%3D%3D">writes</a>&nbsp;in a feature. On the other, earnings among small-cap companies are recovering after nearly three years of decline. That “represents a meaningful shift” for smaller companies, T. Rowe Price notes. Trailing 12-month earnings for the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 have increased nearly 30% since last October, following almost three years of contraction.

Four 'top-notch' funds, eight 'under-the-radar' stocks for small-cap investors

Small Caps

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