US President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, March 7, 2026<\/p>\n
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Hello, this is Hui Jie writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump is apparently finding it difficult to get out of the Iran conflict, as indicated by his sharpening rhetoric and multiple threats against Tehran. <\/p>\n
In fact, the possibility of the U.S. getting involved in another quagmire is becoming only too real, as U.S. Marines arrive in the region amid reports that Washington is mulling a ground operation.<\/p>\n
What you need to know today<\/p>\n Chinese strategist and general Sun Tzu said in his magnum opus\u00a0“The Art of War”\u00a0<\/a>that “There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.”<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump, who has more experience with “The Art of the Deal,” appears to be struggling to implement the Chinese strategist’s advice.<\/p>\n On Monday night stateside,\u00a0Trump threatened\u00a0<\/a>to destroy Iran’s oil wells, its export hub of Kharg Island, and power plants\u00a0if a peace deal is not reached “shortly.”<\/p>\n That sent oil prices climbing further, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures settling above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022, causing U.S. markets to drop and the S&P 500 inching closer to correction territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n Markets fell even as Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said that\u00a0he sees inflation expectations as grounded<\/a>\u00a0despite rising energy prices, and the central bank doesn’t need to respond with higher interest rates.<\/p>\n The war’s impact, however, is spreading beyond oil.\u00a0Aluminum prices<\/a>\u00a0hit a four\u2011year high as Iranian strikes on Middle Eastern producers stoke fears of supply shortages.\u00a0<\/p>\n Raising ethical concerns,\u00a0the Financial Times reported<\/a>\u00a0that a broker for U.S. Defense Secetary Pete Hegseth attempted to make a large investment in major defense companies in the lead up to the Iran war. The Pentagon\u00a0has called<\/a>\u00a0the report “false and fabricated.”<\/p>\n And finally…<\/p>\n Quantum technology firms race to market as the industry sees ‘inflection point’<\/a><\/p>\n Quantum technology firms are defying turbulent markets to go public this year, as the industry seeks to raise capital off recent scientific breakthroughs and push the experimental tech towards commercialization.<\/p>\n One such firm,\u00a0Xanadu Quantum<\/a>, which builds quantum computing hardware and software, began trading on the Nasdaq and Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday, rallying 15% in the U.S. after a rocky start in public markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n Xanadu’s listing came a week after Singapore-based quantum software company\u00a0Horizon Quantum<\/a>\u00a0began trading following its merger with blank-check company dMY Squared Technology Group.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 Dylan Butts, Matthew Chin<\/p>\n