• Major US indices declined Thursday amid caution over Trump's Iran pause and U.S.-Iran talks: Nasdaq fell 2.4% to 21,408.08, S&P 500 lost 1.7% or 114.74 points to 6,477.16, Dow dropped 1% or 469.38 points to 45,960.11.
• Eight of 11 S&P sectors ended negative, led by Communication Services (XLC) -3.5%, Tech (XLK) -2.7%, Industrials (XLI) -2.3%; Energy (XLE) gained 1.6%.
• NVIDIA (NVDA) led Dow losers down 4.2% despite Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy); trading volume at 16.50 billion shares below 20-session average of 20.54 billion.
In today’s newsletter: This new war has exposed widening fractures between Israel and its allies, and the country finds itself increasingly out of step with global opinionGood morning. Israel may be the only country in the world where there is overwhelming public support for the conflict in Iran. Despite its impact on everyday life in the country – at least 15 people have been killed and hundreds more injured by Iranian missiles since the war started in February, and school closures and missile warnings remain routine – polling puts support for the war at more than 90% among Jewish Israelis.The contrast with the rest of the world is stark. Nearly a month into the fighting, polling shows that 60% of the US public oppose the war with Iran, and just one in four backed the initial strikes. In the Gulf, Europe and Asia, the conflict is widely unpopular, as severe economic consequences already begin to bite.Middle East crisis | Iran dismissed a US ceasefire proposal on Wednesday and countered with a negotiation plan of its own as intermediaries sought to keep diplomatic channels between the warring countries open.Media | Matt Brittin, Google’s former top executive in Europe, has been named the BBC’s next director general. Brittin will replace Tim Davie at a crucial time for the corporation.UK politics | Political donations from British citizens living abroad are to be capped at £100,000 a year, in a move that is likely to limit further funding from Reform UK’s Thailand-based mega-donor, Christopher Harborne.UK news | The former justice minister Crispin Blunt has been fined £1,200 for possessing illegal drugs after he told a court he entered the world of chemsex parties to help inform government policy.Housing | People who lost their homes when a tower block in Dagenham burned down say they are being made to pay for the building’s fire safety works after the government demanded its money back. Continue reading...
• The 2026 March Madness men's tournament Sweet 16 begins Thursday, March 26, and Friday, March 27, with games at four regional sites: Houston (South), San Jose (West), Chicago (Midwest), and Washington D.C. (East).
• The Elite Eight follows Saturday, March 28, and Sunday, March 29, setting up the Final Four in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 4 and 6, with the championship game on Monday, April 6.
• The tournament features 16 teams advancing from the first and second rounds, competing for the right to advance through regionals to the national semifinals and title game.
In today’s newsletter: After a spate of infections linked to a nightclub in Kent, some parents and experts are questioning the UK’s vaccination regime It is every parent’s worst nightmare. University students enjoying themselves at a nightclub, only to fall ill a few days later with a potentially deadly illness. So far, two young people have died and more are seriously unwell in hospital after a meningitis outbreak in Kent, which appears to have started at Club Chemistry in Canterbury in early March. Health authorities have launched a major response: 30,000 people have been given antibiotics and up to 5,000 University of Kent students will receive a meningitis B vaccine, the strain that is believed to be behind the outbreak.The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has urged calm, explaining that the risk of transmission is low, urging students to keep going to school and insisting that people do not need to seek private vaccinations. But that has not stopped a rush for jabs, causing a national shortage. The high street pharmacies Boots and Superdrug say they have seen a major spike in bookings, with some locations running out of stock.Middle East | Israel struck Iran’s giant South Pars gasfield on Wednesday, marking a major escalation of the war, hours after Israeli forces killed the regime’s intelligence minister and launched some of the most intense airstrikes in Beirut for decades.Reform UK | Nigel Farage called for the release of Sean “Diddy” Combs and commended the efforts to free a former Honduran president jailed in the US for drug trafficking. The remarks were made on the personalised video platform Cameo.Assisted dying | Senior ministers believe Keir Starmer will not intervene to give the assisted dying bill further time in parliament as he is wary of opening up new divisions among Labour MPs.Media | The former Google executive Matt Brittin is expected to be named as the BBC’s next director general within days, with the corporation’s board meeting this week for a final discussion about the appointment.Green party | A government led by the Green party would not set targets for GDP growth but would instead focus on people’s mental health, social cohesion and community welfare, Zack Polanski has said in a major speech to set out his plans for the economy. Continue reading...
• NCAA March Madness first-round games begin Thursday, March 19, featuring TCU vs. Ohio State at 12:15 p.m. ET in Greenville, S.C., on CBS, marking the start of 48 games over two days.
• Additional early contests include Troy vs. Nebraska at 12:40 p.m. on truTV in Oklahoma City and South Florida vs. Louisville at 1:30 p.m. on TNT in Buffalo, N.Y., with evening games like VCU vs. North Carolina at 6:50 p.m..
• Tournament schedule spans first round on March 19-20, second round March 21-22, progressing to Final Four on April 4-6 in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium, hosted across sites like Portland, Ore., and Oklahoma City.
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