Singapore will be directly hit by weakened principles in international sea laws as the city state depends on open and secure waterways to maintain its status as a trade hub, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has warned. He urged cooperation among like-minded countries to uphold and strengthen the framework of international legislation. “As a trading nation, Singapore depends on open and secure sea lane...
Singapore will be directly hit by weakened principles in international sea laws as the city state depends on open and secure waterways to maintain its status as a trade hub, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has warned. He urged cooperation among like-minded countries to uphold and strengthen the framework of international legislation. “As a trading nation, Singapore depends on open and secure sea lanes. International law, including the law of the sea, ensures that vital waterways remain open to all...
South Korea was reviewing a phased contribution to efforts to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said on Wednesday, signalling support steps short of military participation. Ahn told a press conference with South Korean reporters in Washington that he had conveyed Seoul’s position at a meeting with US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Monday. “We ...
South Korea was reviewing a phased contribution to efforts to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said on Wednesday, signalling support steps short of military participation. Ahn told a press conference with South Korean reporters in Washington that he had conveyed Seoul’s position at a meeting with US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Monday. “We said at about this level that, fundamentally, we will participate as a responsible member of the...
SoftBank Group Corp. reported a surprise rise in quarterly profit helped by valuation gains on its OpenAI investment. The Tokyo-based technology group earned a net income of ¥1.83 trillion ($11.6 billion) in its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of ¥295.2 billion. A rise in the ChatGPT maker’s price tag helped SoftBank while war in the Middle East roiled markets. Sh...
SoftBank Group Corp. reported a surprise rise in quarterly profit helped by valuation gains on its OpenAI investment. The Tokyo-based technology group earned a net income of ¥1.83 trillion ($11.6 billion) in its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of ¥295.2 billion. A rise in the ChatGPT maker’s price tag helped SoftBank while war in the Middle East roiled markets. Shares of SoftBank’s key public holdings, including Coupang Inc. and Grab Holdings Ltd. , slumped during the period, denting the company’s bottom-line. Founder Masayoshi Son has been unwinding positions and raising SoftBank’s debt load to pay for an expanding list of bets on artificial intelligence. The billionaire has unfurled grandiose plans spanning hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of investments in data centers while committing to raising SoftBank’s total investment in OpenAI to $64.6 billion by the end of the year. “SoftBank’s history has been good in investment records and perhaps better than people sometimes allow,” said Richard Kaye , co-head of Japan equity strategy at Comgest Asset Management. Since SoftBank’s first investment in OpenAI at a valuation of $157 billion, the US startup’s valuation has surged to $852 billion . The Japanese company’s growing reliance on OpenAI at a time of rising competition from Anthropic PBC and Google is raising concerns alongside reports that the ChatGPT maker failed to meet sales and user targets. But SoftBank’s business is supported by a range of other assets, including chip designer Arm Holdings Plc and the Japanese telecom unit SoftBank Corp. , Kaye said. “It’s very difficult for any of the global mega-tech companies to diversify their bets between competing players,” he said. “SoftBank is not really any different in that sense.”
Political instability, fears of drawn-out Labour leadership campaign, and possibility of Reform government all blamed for jump in UK borrowing costs Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. The UK bond market is bruised this morning after a day of political turbulence drove up Britain’s borrowing costs. Brits are grappling with the...
Political instability, fears of drawn-out Labour leadership campaign, and possibility of Reform government all blamed for jump in UK borrowing costs Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. The UK bond market is bruised this morning after a day of political turbulence drove up Britain’s borrowing costs. Brits are grappling with their own political shakeups after Nigel Farage scored big in the latest elections. The name Farage resonates in markets as a clearer path toward looser fiscal policy, higher spending and larger deficits, just as investors are already worried about Britain’s debt and inflation outlook. That combination is pushing investors to demand higher compensation to hold UK government debt, sending the UK 10-year gilt yield back above 5%. That’s the highest level since 1998. The higher the borrowing costs, the less the government can borrow, and the impact on growth would be negative. Who in Reform is going to run the bond market / spending plan optimisation game? What are they going to do to solve the housing crisis – which isn’t about building 1.5 mm executive homes in the next 3 years but about supplying decent social and affordable housing for young people to have housing security and start family formation? Who in Reform will be looking at the welfare budget (which now pays £39 bln (2/3 of the defence budget) on housing benefits? Who in Reform will be making the calls on the NHS, Defence and, yes, the greatest immediate challenge to England since the Armada hove into view – filling potholes? Reform has clear intent to govern. Over the next three years – how will they persuade the bond market they can? Continue reading...
Marco_Bonfanti/iStock via Getty Images Thesis Summary Sandisk ( SNDK ) has been the hottest stock on Wall Street this year. I laid out a path to $1000 not that long ago, and we have blown past this. At this rate, we could hit $2000 before month's end, but we can’t ignore the risks. While pricing remains elevated, shipment volumes are weakening, and recent guidance suggests momentum is slowing. On ...
Marco_Bonfanti/iStock via Getty Images Thesis Summary Sandisk ( SNDK ) has been the hottest stock on Wall Street this year. I laid out a path to $1000 not that long ago, and we have blown past this. At this rate, we could hit $2000 before month's end, but we can’t ignore the risks. While pricing remains elevated, shipment volumes are weakening, and recent guidance suggests momentum is slowing. On top of that, technicals are stretched, and the valuation requires Sandisk to maintain this pace of growth for years to come. While Sandisk may still be a great business long term, the easy money has been made In my last post, I downgraded to Hold and highlighted key reasons I might sell the stock. Following Q1, some of my fears have been confirmed. It’s time to Sell Sandisk Blowout Q3, as Expected Sandisk delivered a blowout Q1, much as expected. SNDK Q3 Revenue (Investor slides) Datacenter revenue increased 233% QoQ, and Edge revenue increased over 100%. However, we do notice that the Consumer segment did decrease. Financial Results (Investor slides) Overall, revenues almost doubled QoQ, and gross margins expanded to 78.4%, on the back of strong pricing trends. Lastly, let’s look at the guidance. Guidance (Investor slides) For Q4, revenue is expected to come in at close to $8 billion, up 34% QoQ, while margins should inch up another 1-2%. Overall, clearly Sandisk is still benefitting from a growing and supply-constrained market, but we are seeing signs of slowing. The Earnings Call Was Bearish While this was a strong quarter, management at the very least is downplaying what comes next. So first on next quarter and pricing, so we don't really guide pricing, but I think you saw in FQ3 rather extraordinary pricing acceleration across the business. So we're very happy about that. Source: Earnings Call This was an answer to a question that implied that pricing change is slowing down, and it seems like management confirmed that Q3 was exceptional, though they do not guide on pri...
matejmo India , the world’s second-largest gold consumer, has increased import duties on gold and silver to 15% from 6%, shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to reduce bullion purchases for a year amid pressure on the rupee from overseas buying. The government has imposed a 10% basic customs duty and a 5% tax on gold and silver imports, as per notifications issued on Wednesday...
matejmo India , the world’s second-largest gold consumer, has increased import duties on gold and silver to 15% from 6%, shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to reduce bullion purchases for a year amid pressure on the rupee from overseas buying. The government has imposed a 10% basic customs duty and a 5% tax on gold and silver imports, as per notifications issued on Wednesday. India is a net importer of goods, and it ran a merchandise trade deficit of more than $330B in the financial year ending March 2026, up from over $280B a year ago. Gold and silver were nearly 11% of India’s total imports, while crude and petroleum products accounted for 22%. “Lower gold imports can indeed help lower current account outflows for India, as gold import outlays are substantial,” Vishrut Rana, Asia-Pacific economist at S&P Global Ratings, told CNBC in an email. But added that “energy costs are still front and center, and while these are elevated, we expect pressure on the rupee will persist.” More on Gold Spot Price, iShares MSCI India ETF, etc. In-Depth Gold Technical Analysis: Gold Rises Slow And Steady Gold Demand Climbs As Top Miners Post Record Q1 Earnings Upside Chasing In Tech Stocks Surges To Covid Extremes Gold ticks lower as fading peace hopes lift oil; silver slips after five-session win streak Weekly ETFs: Seven of 11 sectors record outflows; technology sector leads inflows
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s push to curb fuel and gold consumption has added to uncertainty in India’s already weak stock markets, raising concerns that moves meant to protect the economy may end up cooling overall spending. The government on Wednesday more than doubled import taxes on gold and silver, following Modi’s weekend call to cut non-essential imports and preserve foreign-exchange res...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s push to curb fuel and gold consumption has added to uncertainty in India’s already weak stock markets, raising concerns that moves meant to protect the economy may end up cooling overall spending. The government on Wednesday more than doubled import taxes on gold and silver, following Modi’s weekend call to cut non-essential imports and preserve foreign-exchange reserves. The NSE Nifty 50 Index has slid about 3% this week to underperform regional equities, as investors grow wary of further measures, such as higher fuel prices , alongside the impact of the Middle East conflict. “The first salvo has been fired in the form of taxes on gold imports — there is probably more to come,” said Amit Goel , chief global strategist at Pace 360. He expects a hike in retail prices of gasoline if the Iran war drags on. “Markets have not taken the statements very well. Pessimism around geopolitics is back at extreme levels.” Modi’s call to limit fuel and gold use, coming amid an energy shock from the Iran war, risks hurting a nascent recovery in consumer demand. The NSE Nifty India Consumption Index is up more than 8% so far this quarter, outpacing the broader market, but further belt-tightening may hit discretionary spending and weigh on growth. JM Financial sees growth slowing to 6%-6.5% in fiscal year 2027, below the central bank’s estimate of 6.9%. Read More: India’s RBI Governor Sees Fuel Price Hike if Oil Stays High The measures have already rippled through stock markets, particularly among consumer-facing sectors. Jewelry shares have been under pressure since Modi’s call to curb gold demand, with Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd. falling 17% over three days and Titan Co. down nearly 10%. Other major losers include automobile makers including Hero MotoCorp Ltd. and country’s largest airliner InterGlobe Aviation Ltd . The government’s emphasis on conserving foreign-exchange reserves comes as the rupee trades near record lows and foreign investors have ...
UAE-based AI company Presight has reported 1Q revenue up 22% y/y. The company says national infrastructure and mission-critical platforms remained fully operational during the regional instability. Thomas Pramotedham, CEO of Presight spoke to Bloomberg’s Horizons Middle East and Africa anchor Joumanna Bercetche on their performance. (Source: Bloomberg)
UAE-based AI company Presight has reported 1Q revenue up 22% y/y. The company says national infrastructure and mission-critical platforms remained fully operational during the regional instability. Thomas Pramotedham, CEO of Presight spoke to Bloomberg’s Horizons Middle East and Africa anchor Joumanna Bercetche on their performance. (Source: Bloomberg)
ICL Group press release ( ICL ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.11 beats by $0.01 . Revenue of $2.02B (+14.1% Y/Y). Adjusted EBITDA of $412 million was up 15% versus $359 million. The company increased its guidance for full year 2026 consolidated adjusted EBITDA to $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion from $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion. The company continues to expect Potash sales volumes of between 4.5 million and...
ICL Group press release ( ICL ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.11 beats by $0.01 . Revenue of $2.02B (+14.1% Y/Y). Adjusted EBITDA of $412 million was up 15% versus $359 million. The company increased its guidance for full year 2026 consolidated adjusted EBITDA to $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion from $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion. The company continues to expect Potash sales volumes of between 4.5 million and 4.7 million metric tons. More on ICL Group ICL Group Ltd (ICL) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript ICL Group Q1 2026 Earnings Preview Quant ratings roundup as fertilizer stocks rally on Middle East supply fears Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on ICL Group Historical earnings data for ICL Group
winhorse Japan’s three megabanks— Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( MUFG ) , Mizuho Financial Group ( MFG ), and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ( SMFG )—are expected to gain access to Anthropic ’s ( ANTHRO ) AI model “Mythos” within about two weeks, according to a Reuters report that cites a source familiar with the matter. Mythos has raised concerns among regulators and cybersecurity experts beca...
winhorse Japan’s three megabanks— Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( MUFG ) , Mizuho Financial Group ( MFG ), and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ( SMFG )—are expected to gain access to Anthropic ’s ( ANTHRO ) AI model “Mythos” within about two weeks, according to a Reuters report that cites a source familiar with the matter. Mythos has raised concerns among regulators and cybersecurity experts because of its ability to rapidly identify and combine lower-level vulnerabilities in legacy banking systems into major security threats. The move expands Anthropic’s ( ANTHRO ) rollout of the cybersecurity-focused AI system beyond major U.S. lenders and comes as the company seeks broader adoption across Europe and the UK. Anthropic ( ANTHRO ) describes Mythos as its most powerful model yet for coding and agentic tasks; however, it has uncovered vulnerabilities across major operating systems, browsers, and enterprise software during testing. Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said this week that Japan will establish a public-private working group to address cybersecurity risks tied to Mythos, with the first meeting scheduled for Thursday, the report added. More on iShares MSCI Japan ETF, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, etc. EWJ: The Land Of The Rising Sun Is Set For Continued Growth Anthropic Is Taking Over Enterprise Sumitomo Mitsui Financial: Staying Bullish On New ROE Targets Asian stocks stabilize in tight range as market focus shifts to U.S.-China summit Anthropic said to be in talks to raise $30B at $900B valuation