Enter
=-(2*3)^2
in a cell. The result is 36 —positive?? Why would the - sign sneak into the parentheses before the square is calculated?
Libreoffice operators
Prefix "-" (negation) has a higher precedence than "^" (exponentiation). For example -3^2 equals 9, which is the square of a negative number.
So, =-((2*3)^2) is what is wanted here, in case a later, less experienced user (say, school student) finds this question in a search.