Gate News reports that on March 9, senior strategist Ed Yardeni raised the probability of a crash in the remaining months of this year from 20% to 35%, citing the escalating Iran war impacting global markets. These adjustments reflect growing market concerns: ongoing Middle East conflict combined with inflation shocks will squeeze household spending, erode corporate profit margins, and complicate the Federal Reserve’s policy path. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs data shows hedge funds are increasing their short bets against the U.S. stock market at a pace rarely seen in the past five years. In the week ending March 6, hedge funds increased their short positions in stock exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by 8.3%. Goldman Sachs notes that with tensions in the Middle East showing little sign of easing, fast money investors are doubling down on their short positions, expecting the market to face more pain ahead.