The recent oil price moves have been more thrilling than a rollercoaster! Brent crude surged to $120/bbl before plunging back to around $90. Today’s market has two competing narratives: Trump’s “tweet-style” diplomacy (TACO) versus Wall Street’s newly exalted hard-core paradigm (HALO). 1️⃣ TACO Trades: Is Trump “Chickening Out” Again? The recently popular TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) has become a short-seller’s mantra. Just like the back-and-forth tariff battles of 2025, Trump recently threatened Iran but then quickly announced the war was “basically over.” Markets are now pricing in a cooling of the conflict. If the Strait of Hormuz isn’t blocked long-term, the midpoint of oil prices could shift lower. 2️⃣ HALO Trades: Scarce Assets in the AI Era Wall Street (Goldman Sachs / Josh Brow

Global markets faced a turbulent trading session on March 12 as geopolitical shocks, shifting monetary expectations, and investor rotations reshaped sentiment across asset classes. Oil surged toward triple-digit levels, bond yields climbed, and equity markets turned increasingly selective. But beneath the surface, another structural shift is emerging on Wall Street: the growing popularity of the HALO investment framework — “Heavy Assets, Low Obsolescence.” The concept reflects a rotation away from purely digital growth stories toward companies with hard-to-replicate physical infrastructure and long-lasting economic relevance, such as energy networks, utilities, industrial capacity, and transportation systems. Against this backdrop, five major events defined the global market narrative toda