Wall Street Warning on Oil and Private Credit

The US-Israel war with Iran has triggered a major spike in oil prices. Violent rhetoric from Washington and threats of broader retaliation by Tehran have left no visible off-ramp in site. A diving stock market and worried consumers are facing down grim implications for unemployment and inflation across America— and indeed around the world.

For investors, it’s bad news all over. Throw in a budding private credit crisis, and you might just have an economic disaster on the horizon. Bank of America’s Michael Hartnett on Friday zeroed in on two of its potential components—oil and private credit—when he warned that this current state of affairs reminds him of, you guessed it, 2008.