Latest News on private equity markets

Stocks and oil prices tend to perform well in the months following a Middle East crisis.

Geopolitics is back in the driving seat. The U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander has doused the nascent New Year rally and delivered a $3 boost for oil prices on fears that any violent retaliation from Tehran would disrupt energy supplies.

The U.S. manufacturing sector contracted in December by the most in more than a decade with order volumes crashing to near an 11-year low and factory employment falling for a fifth straight month, according to an industry report released on Friday.

Tesla Inc beat Wall Street estimates for annual vehicle deliveries and met the low-end of its own target, sending shares to a record high in a vindication for Chief Executive Elon Musk after a few turbulent years.

Exxon Mobil Corp expects a gain of as much as $3.6 billion from the sale of its Norwegian oil and gas production assets to significantly lift results for the fourth quarter, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.

Across snow-covered North Dakota, U.S. farmers are stuck with fields full of weather-damaged corn - a crop they planted after the U.S.-China trade war killed their soybean market. Many don't know yet what crops they'll plant next season among a host of dicey options.

China has decided to keep its inflation target unchanged this year at around 3%, sources say, suggesting policymakers will continue to roll out economic stimulus gradually and avoid more aggressive measures.

Ryanair is prepared for further delays to the delivery of its Boeing 737 MAX airliners, its chief executive Michael O'Leary told German magazine Wirtschaftswoche, adding that he would only discuss compensation after the aircraft had been delivered.

Asian shares slipped on Friday, erasing early gains, while gold shone and oil prices spiked after U.S. air strikes in Iraq killed a top Iranian commander, heightening geopolitical tensions.

The Japanese yen led other safe-haven assets higher on Friday after U.S. air strikes on Baghdad airport killed a senior Iranian military official, stoking tensions in the Middle East and lifting the price of oil.

Credit Suisse said on Friday it expects to buy back at least 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.03 billion) worth of shares until the end of 2020, subject to market and economic conditions, after completing a similar program last year.

Brent crude futures jumped nearly $3 on Friday after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian and Iraqi military commanders, sparking concerns of disruption to Middle East oil supplies.

Safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen jumped to their highest in months on Friday after U.S. air strikes on Baghdad airport killed a senior Iranian military official, stoking tensions in the Middle East.

The sale of new electric cars in Norway rose by 30.9% last year amid soaring demand for Tesla Inc's vehicles, but the pioneering U.S. firm faces rising competition from rival auto makers in 2020.

Oil prices rose over $2 a barrel and gold and other safe-haven assets jumped on Friday, as the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander in an air strike in Iraq ratcheted up tensions between the two powers.