Iran, IPOs and the Stockmarket

It’s a good thing SpaceX is thinking of June for its upcoming IPO. There has to be a decent chance the current Iran war has ended by then, restoring some stability to the market. Then again, these hostilities could easily spread. Not only is the IPO market not necessarily safe, but there’s a cloud of uncertainty now hanging over the economy and business generally.

It certainly felt that way on Monday as the market teetered—falling sharply in the morning and then recovering in the afternoon after President Donald Trump made some upbeat comments about the war being nearly over. He knows a long war wouldn’t be good for business (except maybe for Palantir Technologies). The conflict has already sparked higher oil prices, which, if sustained, will hurt the argument for more Fed interest rate cuts. Some companies have had to take action to protect their local employees: Meta temporarily shuttered its Tel Aviv office over the weekend.. The situation is a bit reminiscent of 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted a pullback among advertisers, affecting digital ad companies such as Meta Platforms and Snap.