Friday Fast Five - 3/12/2026
by Hodges Investment Team, on March 13, 2026
Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...
#1 CRUDE AWAKENING: This week, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 32 member countries agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address supply disruptions related to military operations in Iran. This is the largest release of emergency stockpiles in the history of the IEA. However, global oil prices have seen their highest volatility since 2020. Prices are likely to remain volatile as long as combat operations in the Middle East continue due to disruptions to commercial infrastructure across the Gulf states.
#2 ELECTRIC GRID INVESTMENT: According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), 86 GW of new utility-scale electric generating capacity is expected to be added to the U.S. grid during 2026. This represents a 62% increase over the 53 GW added during 2024. Capacity additions in 2024 represented the largest increase since 2002.
#3 MATERNAL MORTALITY: Maternal mortality rate has fallen to its lowest level since 2018. Maternal mortality rates continue to decline, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published last week. The report found that maternal mortality has declined from 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 to 17.9 in 2024. Yet the news comes as a new CDC analysis indicates that fewer pregnant patients are receiving prenatal care in their first weeks of pregnancy, risking reversal of the maternal mortality trend. From 2021 to 2024, the CDC found that first-trimester prenatal care initiation dropped by 4%, second-trimester initiation rose by 12%, and third-trimester initiation—or no initiation—rose by 16%.
#4 MORAL JUDGMENT: A new Pew survey across 25 countries showed that Americans are the most critical of their fellow citizens. Fully 53% of U.S. adults say the morality and ethics of Americans are “somewhat or very bad.” That’s +25 percentage points above the cross-country median (28%). Moreover, the U.S. is the only country where a majority believes their fellow countrymen are more bad than good.
#5 MOTOR CITY IS BACK: Detroit is back on the global racing stage as Ford and General Motors rejoin Formula 1 in 2026, reigniting the classic Detroit versus Maranello tension. Through a partnership with the Red Bull team, Ford is returning to supply key hybrid era powertrain components, marking its first F1 appearance since 2004. Meanwhile, GM is entering the sport under the Cadillac banner, initially running Ferrari customer engines while developing its own long-term power unit program for 2029.
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