The World Is On Fire. Here Is What I Am Actually Doing With My Money.

STREETWISEECONOMICS.COM   |   MARKET ANALYSIS & OPINION   |   MARCH 9, 2026

MARKET ANALYSIS  •  OPINION  •  GLOBAL INVESTING

The World Is On Fire. Here Is What I Am Actually Doing With My Money.

Oil surged above $120 overnight. The Dow lost nearly 900 points at its lows. Asia is in freefall. A brutally honest breakdown of what is happening — and why I am not selling a single share.

By Isaac Jonas  |  Economist & Founder, Streetwise Economics  |  March 9, 2026  |  10-minute read

I am going to be straight with you from the very first sentence. This is not a polished, detached market summary written at a safe distance from the chaos. This is me — an economist who manages his own real money, sits at his desk on a Monday morning with four charts open simultaneously — watching oil prices do something they have not done since 1983, watching the Dow fall 900 points before most people on the East Coast have finished their coffee, and choosing to write this instead of panic.

My goal in this article is simple: to give you the clearest, most honest picture I can of what is happening in global markets right now, what I think it means, and exactly what I am personally doing about it.

No hype. No panic. Just economics.

Live Market Snapshot — March 9, 2026

Here is where the major markets and key assets stand as of today. These numbers have moved significantly intraday, but the direction of the story is clear:

What Is Actually Happening — And Why It Is Bigger Than Most People Realise

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury — a coordinated strike on Iran’s nuclear programme and military leadership. That was ten days ago. What has happened since has been a cascade of consequences that markets are still trying to fully price.

Iran retaliated swiftly and drew Gulf neighbours into the conflict. The single most consequential market impact has been the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which 20% of global oil supply and a significant share of LNG transits every day. Over 150 ships have already rerouted away from the strait due to safety concerns. Iraq’s production from its three main oil fields has fallen 70% — from 4.3 million barrels per day to just 1.3 million — because storage is simply full with nowhere to send it.

The Gulf producer response has compounded the supply shock. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE have all announced output cuts as storage fills past capacity. QatarEnergy declared force majeure after its Ras Laffan LNG facility was attacked. Bahrain’s Bapco Energies refinery has done the same. A NATO-intercepted ballistic missile entered Turkish airspace over the weekend — adding the unsettling possibility of European entanglement to an already volatile picture.

“WTI crude surged 35% in a single week — the biggest weekly gain in futures trading history dating back to 1983. That is not a number you see often. Or ever.”

G7 finance ministers have issued a joint statement pledging ‘necessary measures’ to stabilise energy markets, and France has announced plans for naval escorts to reopen the strait. But as of this morning, oil remains well above $90 a barrel, markets are volatile, and nobody knows how long this lasts.

This is the honest context. Hold it in mind as we go through the rest.

  How Global Markets Are Actually Responding

The sell-off has been global — but crucially, it has been uneven. And in that unevenness lies the beginning of a strategic picture.

 The Sector Scorecard: Winners, Losers & Surprises

WINNERS — Where money is flowing TO:

LOSERS — Where money is running FROM:

The Word Nobody Wants to Say: Stagflation

Let me now say something that most financial media is dancing around but not saying directly: the conditions for stagflation are forming in the United States right now.

Last week, the February jobs report showed a loss of 92,000 nonfarm payrolls — a dramatic miss against expectations. The labour market, which had been the key pillar supporting the US economy, is showing serious strain. At the same time, oil above $100 a barrel is an inflationary force that the Federal Reserve cannot ignore — but also cannot fight with rate hikes without crushing an already-weakening economy.

This is the central dilemma. The Fed is trapped. It cannot cut rates to stimulate growth without risking accelerating inflation. It cannot raise rates to fight inflation without hammering an already fragile economy. Wells Fargo’s strategists have mapped out a scenario in which a prolonged Strait of Hormuz closure pushes the S&P 500 to 6,000 — a further 10% decline from today’s levels. Goldman Sachs’ Dominic Wilson noted the equity reaction will hinge on ‘the durability of any energy shock’ — and that durability remains entirely unknown.

ISAAC’S TAKE:
This is the most uncertain macro environment I have navigated in my investing life. Not because markets are falling — they have always done that. But because the Federal Reserve has less room to respond than at any point since the 1970s. If this conflict resolves quickly, we bounce hard. If it drags on through the summer, we could be looking at a genuine bear market. I am holding both possibilities in my head simultaneously, and building my strategy accordingly.

What I Am Personally Doing With My Money Right Now

I want to be completely transparent. I am not a licensed financial advisor. What follows reflects my own personal decisions, based on my own economic analysis and risk tolerance. Nothing here is advice. Please do your own research.

With that said — here is exactly what I am doing and why:

• I am not selling. Not one share of my core long-term positions. Panic selling in a geopolitical correction is one of the most reliable ways to permanently destroy wealth. The people who sold during COVID, during the 2008 crisis, during 9/11 — all of them missed the recovery. I am not making that mistake.
• I am slowly adding to QQQ and SPY. Not all at once — I am dollar-cost averaging, taking advantage of lower prices on world-class assets over time. WTI up 50% in a month is the most extreme single-month oil move since April 2020. That level of dislocation typically precedes a mean reversion.
• I continue building my BRK-B position. Berkshire Hathaway under Greg Abel holds $300 billion+ in cash and has maintained Warren Buffett’s core philosophy of financial conservatism. In an environment this volatile, that cash pile is extraordinary optionality. Berkshire can buy when others are selling in panic. That is exactly the position I want exposure to.
• I am watching Google (GOOGL) very carefully. Revenue up 15%, earnings up 32%, Cloud revenue up 48% year-over-year — all reported for 2025. Analyst consensus targets range from $351 to $367. The stock is trading near $298-$303. That disconnect between fundamentals and price is where long-term opportunities are born.
• I hold VT for global diversification. The Vanguard Total World Stock ETF gives me exposure to thousands of companies across the entire global market. In a world fragmenting geopolitically, not betting everything on one country’s economy is not just prudent — it is essential.

“The investors who built generational wealth were not the ones with the best timing. They were the ones with the deepest patience and the clearest conviction in fundamentals.”

My strategy has not changed because of this crisis. My discipline has not changed. What has changed is that quality assets are now available at lower prices than they were three weeks ago. To a long-term, fundamentals-driven investor, that is not a threat. That is an opportunity.

 Watch the Full Live Analysis on Streetwise Economics YouTube

I broke all of this down live — with TradingView chart walkthroughs, sector-by-sector analysis, and a detailed walk through my personal portfolio — in this week’s Streetwise Economics Market Crisis Special livestream. If you learn better by watching and listening, it is all there for you.

▶  WATCH NOW: Market Crisis Special
Oil Hits $120, Iran War & What Smart Investors Do Now

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New market analysis, investing education and economic commentary — every week.

Ready to Build a Strategy That Survives Markets Like This?

Understanding what is happening in markets is one thing. Building a personalised investment strategy that is designed to weather exactly this kind of volatility — while continuing to grow your wealth over the long term — is something else entirely.

That is the work I do with clients through Streetwise Economics coaching. Whether you are a first-time investor trying to understand where to start, a professional building your portfolio for the first time, or an experienced investor who wants a second set of analytical eyes — I work with clients across Africa, Canada, the UK, the US, and beyond.

Visit www.streetwiseeconomics.com
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 One Final Thought — Before You Close This Article

I want to leave you with the same thing I tell every client and every viewer when markets get like this:

This moment is a picture. It is not the whole movie.

Oil at $100. War in the Gulf. The Dow in a weekly decline not seen in nearly a year. It feels apocalyptic if you are watching the ticker all day. But pull up a 50-year chart of the S&P 500 right now. What you will see — through the Gulf War, through 9/11, through 2008, through COVID — is a line that goes up and to the right.

The market has never permanently lost. The investors who panicked have permanently lost — because they sold at the bottom and missed the recovery.

Stay informed. Watch the fundamentals. And when the noise is loudest — that is exactly when discipline matters most.

This is Streetwise Economics. And this is what it means to invest like an economist.

DISCLAIMER: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this article constitutes financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. The views expressed are solely those of Isaac Jonas based on his personal research and economic analysis. All investments carry risk and past performance is not indicative of future results. Isaac Jonas is not a registered investment advisor. Please consult a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.

About the Author

Isaac Jonas is a Canadian-based Zimbabwean economist, investor, and founder of Streetwise Economics. He holds two graduate degrees from the University of British Columbia — in Food & Resource Economics and Resources, Environment and Sustainability — and is a Mastercard Foundation Scholar. He publishes weekly market analysis, long-term investing insights, and personal finance guidance for everyday investors around the world.

  www.streetwiseeconomics.com      YouTube: Streetwise Economics  

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