U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer attends an opening session on the first day of the Labour Party conference at ACC Liverpool on September 28, 2025 in Liverpool, England. Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty Images U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership is hanging by a thread as a growing number of his own party's lawmakers call on the Labour Party leader to resign. The move against S...
U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer attends an opening session on the first day of the Labour Party conference at ACC Liverpool on September 28, 2025 in Liverpool, England. Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty Images U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership is hanging by a thread as a growing number of his own party's lawmakers call on the Labour Party leader to resign. The move against Starmer comes after the ruling Labour Party performed badly in local elections last week, losing votes to parties on both the left and right of the political spectrum. CNBC has a brief guide to what's going on and what could happen next in the U.K. What is going on? Starmer's premiership is on a knife-edge this week as a significant number of Labour Party MPs have openly mutinied, calling for the PM to resign immediately, or to set out a timetable for his departure. As of Monday evening, 77 Labour MPs were calling for Starmer to quit , with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood the most prominent voice to call on the PM to stand down. The first ministerial resignation came on Tuesday with the departure of Miatta Fahnbulleh, a junior minister in the housing and communities department, who called on Starmer to "do the right thing for the country and the Party and set a timetable for an orderly transition." "The public does not believe that you can lead this change – and nor do I," she posted on X . watch now VIDEO 2:02 02:02 U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer under pressure to map out exit Europe Early Edition In a speech on Monday designed to bolster support among Labour colleagues, Starmer took responsibility for the party's disastrous performance in last week's local council elections. The result was seen as a litmus test of national public support for Labour and he acknowledged that he had "doubters." He also pledged to "face up to the big challenges" facing the country and to focus on national security, immigration and forging closer ties with Europe. The speech failed to impress ...
Israel sent Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and personnel to operate them to the United Arab Emirates to defend the country during the Iran war, the U.S. ambassador to the country said Tuesday. (Image credit: Nathan Howard/AP)
Israel sent Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and personnel to operate them to the United Arab Emirates to defend the country during the Iran war, the U.S. ambassador to the country said Tuesday. (Image credit: Nathan Howard/AP)
Not long ago, the Treasury market thought it had the Kevin Warsh trade figured out: Simply bet on the multiple interest rate cuts that the nominee had been expected to deliver if he got the job to lead the Federal Reserve. Now, with days left before Warsh steps into the central bank’s top role, a different view is emerging. Instead of rate cuts, wagers in the $31 trillion bond market are leaning t...
Not long ago, the Treasury market thought it had the Kevin Warsh trade figured out: Simply bet on the multiple interest rate cuts that the nominee had been expected to deliver if he got the job to lead the Federal Reserve. Now, with days left before Warsh steps into the central bank’s top role, a different view is emerging. Instead of rate cuts, wagers in the $31 trillion bond market are leaning toward tighter monetary policy, the upshot of robust US growth and war-driven inflation worries. Yields on 30-year Treasuries are nosing at 5%, while bets on a steeper yield curve — an outgrowth of the market’s earlier easing expectations — have largely been undone. It’s not that investors think Warsh has suddenly abandoned his belief in the need for both rate cuts and Fed balance sheet reduction. Rather, they sense that the incoming chair — who’s mocked in some circles as a “ sock puppet ” to President Donald Trump for espousing rate cuts — will find himself just as bound to the economy’s twists and turns as his predecessors. “The thing that will dictate his actions are events, rather than ideology,” said Adam Marden , co-portfolio manager of the Dynamic Global Bond Strategy at T. Rowe Price. For investors, the fading Warsh trade has meant less clarity in a market that many say is already hard to navigate. Oil prices — a key short-term driver of rates — have marched to the unpredictable drumbeat of the Iran war. Though inflation concerns are rising, the bar for lifting rates remains high, as is the threshold for cuts, a dynamic that’s deepened divisions at the Fed. Over it all hovers the AI boom, which has buoyed growth but also ramped up investors’ appetite for risk. “It has been such a difficult market to trade or even analyze,” said Priya Misra , portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management. AI is “creating capex, bond supply and optimism about the longer-term growth prospects of the US. And meanwhile we are amid the largest shock to energy.” Diverging Views Many have ...
One of the best reasons to invest in Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) stock right now is for its dividend, which yields a mouth-watering rate of 6.7%. That's considerably higher than the lowly S&P 500 average of just 1.1%. To put that in terms of dollars, a $25,000 investment in Pfizer stock could generate nearly $1,700 in annual dividend income (versus less than $300 if you went with the average S&P 500 stock)...
One of the best reasons to invest in Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) stock right now is for its dividend, which yields a mouth-watering rate of 6.7%. That's considerably higher than the lowly S&P 500 average of just 1.1%. To put that in terms of dollars, a $25,000 investment in Pfizer stock could generate nearly $1,700 in annual dividend income (versus less than $300 if you went with the average S&P 500 stock). Thus, the incentive for income investors to buy Pfizer stock is high. But others will argue that so too is the risk. And those fears may be heightened after the company posted its most recent earnings numbers, with net income falling from the previous year. Is Pfizer's dividend in danger, or does this still look like a compelling income investment? Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) stock has a history of soundly beating the market, but it's been trading roughly flat over the past year, while the S&P 500 is up 31%. The business has been delivering fantastic results, so what's going on? Let's check out this warehouse club retail giant and see if it's time to sell Costco stock . Here's how Costco has been doing over the past year: Continue readin...
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) stock has a history of soundly beating the market, but it's been trading roughly flat over the past year, while the S&P 500 is up 31%. The business has been delivering fantastic results, so what's going on? Let's check out this warehouse club retail giant and see if it's time to sell Costco stock . Here's how Costco has been doing over the past year: Continue reading
Tencent Music Entertainment press release ( TME ): Q1 No n-GAAP EPS of $0.19 misses by $0.02 . Total cash, cash equivalents, term deposits and short-term investments as of March 31, 2026 were RMB41.00 billion (US$5.94 billion) Revenue of $1.15B (+13.9% Y/Y) misses by $10M . GAAP EPS of $0.21. Adjusted EBITDA was RMB2.83 billion (US$410 million), representing 10.5% year-over-year growth. Non-IFRS n...
Tencent Music Entertainment press release ( TME ): Q1 No n-GAAP EPS of $0.19 misses by $0.02 . Total cash, cash equivalents, term deposits and short-term investments as of March 31, 2026 were RMB41.00 billion (US$5.94 billion) Revenue of $1.15B (+13.9% Y/Y) misses by $10M . GAAP EPS of $0.21. Adjusted EBITDA was RMB2.83 billion (US$410 million), representing 10.5% year-over-year growth. Non-IFRS net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company was RMB2.27 billion (US$330 million), representing 7.0% year-over-year growth. Total cash, cash equivalents, term deposits and short-term investments as of March 31, 2026 were RMB41.00 billion (US$5.94 billion) More on Tencent Music Entertainment Tencent Music Entertainment: Aggressive MAU Slippage Paired With Even More Aggressive Sell-Off Tencent Music: Down Over 30%, But Not A Buy For Me Tencent Music: Revenue Beat Is Overshadowed By Reporting Framework Shift Tencent Music Entertainment Q1 2026 Earnings Preview Sphere Entertainment tops communications services stocks in short interest; Alphabet sees the lowest exposure
Photofex-AT/iStock via Getty Images The airline sector has always fascinated me, having written several articles on the industry since 2018 ( I , II ). Jet fuel is one of the highest costs for commercial airlines, accounting for 20-30% of total operating expenses -- in normal market conditions. There is a fairly well-established inverse relationship between airline stock prices and the price of oi...
Photofex-AT/iStock via Getty Images The airline sector has always fascinated me, having written several articles on the industry since 2018 ( I , II ). Jet fuel is one of the highest costs for commercial airlines, accounting for 20-30% of total operating expenses -- in normal market conditions. There is a fairly well-established inverse relationship between airline stock prices and the price of oil ... and we have witnessed spikes in oil often lead to swift and significant drops in the price of airline stocks . Recent history, however, has challenged this relationship. Surprisingly, despite higher oil prices, airline stocks have performed strongly, largely due to elevated travel demand. Carriers have passed costs on to consumers through higher fares (as seen in the graphic below from KMBC News ) and ancillary revenue sources: additional fees, loyalty/upgrade revenue, credit card partnerships, and other offerings. US Airline Fares 10-Year Price Percent Change (KMBC News) The JETS ETF ( JETS ), which offers exposure to the "global airline industry , including airline operators and manufacturers from all over the world," has performed positively in the past 12 months (+21.65%) despite a dramatic 80%+ rise in Crude Oil Jun 26 contracts (CL=F). Medium's Aekank Patel also challenged the theory of this inverse relationship in a December 2025 article entitled " Oil Prices vs. Airline Stocks: The Relationship Everyone Gets Wrong ". That said, the price of oil is still an important factor in airline stock performance. Fuel Headwinds According to research from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), whose 360 members account for approximately 85% of global air traffic , jet fuel prices have (understandably) been higher than the price of the crude oil component alone. Both crude and jet fuel more than doubled in price earlier this year... Jet Fuel Price vs. Crude Oil (IATA) The airline industry is projected to generate a net profit margin of 3.6% in 2025, earning ju...