State television in Myanmar says detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been transferred from prison to house arrest, more than five years after the military coup that removed her from power. (Image credit: Myanmar Military True News Information Team)
State television in Myanmar says detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been transferred from prison to house arrest, more than five years after the military coup that removed her from power. (Image credit: Myanmar Military True News Information Team)
The world’s eyes have been fixed on the oil tankers clogging the Strait of Hormuz. But the US-Israel war on Iran has exposed a quieter vulnerability: the undersea cables that form the digital backbone of the Middle East. Last week, a media outlet affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps highlighted that the strait functioned not only as a crucial chokepoint for oil and gas shipment...
The world’s eyes have been fixed on the oil tankers clogging the Strait of Hormuz. But the US-Israel war on Iran has exposed a quieter vulnerability: the undersea cables that form the digital backbone of the Middle East. Last week, a media outlet affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps highlighted that the strait functioned not only as a crucial chokepoint for oil and gas shipments but also as an essential corridor for internet communications. The outlet warned that damage to...
If the “China shock” of the early 2000s was about China catching up, then “China shock 2.0” is about the country redefining the boundaries of what is economically possible across manufacturing sectors, according to Columbia University professor Adam Tooze. Amid complaints about the trade and industrial policies accelerating China’s rise in many sectors – including aviation, space, artificial intel...
If the “China shock” of the early 2000s was about China catching up, then “China shock 2.0” is about the country redefining the boundaries of what is economically possible across manufacturing sectors, according to Columbia University professor Adam Tooze. Amid complaints about the trade and industrial policies accelerating China’s rise in many sectors – including aviation, space, artificial intelligence (AI), telecoms, microprocessors, robotics, nuclear and fusion power, quantum computing,...
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is seen as the best benchmark for the U.S. stock market. Several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) track the index, but the most popular is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) . Meanwhile, gold is considered the ultimate safe-haven asset. A few exchange-traded funds track the metal, but the most popular is the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSEMKT: GLD) . Warren Buffett recomm...
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is seen as the best benchmark for the U.S. stock market. Several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) track the index, but the most popular is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) . Meanwhile, gold is considered the ultimate safe-haven asset. A few exchange-traded funds track the metal, but the most popular is the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSEMKT: GLD) . Warren Buffett recommended an S&P 500 index fund over the precious metal. "I don't see gold as a store of value," he said at Berkshire Hathaway 's annual meeting in April 2005. "Forget about whether it's worked well the last 100 years, or the last 50 years, or the last 10 years. I see no reason why it would work well in the future." Interestingly, gold has actually outperformed the S&P 500 by 120 percentage points since Buffett made that statement. So, which one is the better long-term investment today? Continue reading
SpaceX recently filed confidential paperwork with regulators to pave the way for a potential IPO. The company has reportedly retained a team of investment bankers from 21 different firms who will begin pitching IPO shares sometime in early June. In total, SpaceX is supposedly targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation -- though it's possible the real valuation comes in below that target -- that would ar...
SpaceX recently filed confidential paperwork with regulators to pave the way for a potential IPO. The company has reportedly retained a team of investment bankers from 21 different firms who will begin pitching IPO shares sometime in early June. In total, SpaceX is supposedly targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation -- though it's possible the real valuation comes in below that target -- that would arm the company with $50 billion to $75 billion in fresh capital. According to reports, SpaceX is looking to allow a record number of retail investors to participate in the SpaceX IPO . Most of the time, IPO stocks are first snapped up by large investment banks or accredited investors . But SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen reportedly said that "retail is going to be a critical part of this and a bigger part than any IPO in history." If you're looking to jump in yourself, get ready -- the SpaceX IPO could be just a handful of weeks away. Continue reading
SmileStudioAP/iStock via Getty Images Market Recap All the pain from March was quickly forgotten in April as the stock market surged higher, recovering losses from the prior month and then some. The SPDR® S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) rose by more than 10.5% last month and is once again positive year-to-date. Dividend stocks also fared quite well, but the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD ) only ...
SmileStudioAP/iStock via Getty Images Market Recap All the pain from March was quickly forgotten in April as the stock market surged higher, recovering losses from the prior month and then some. The SPDR® S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) rose by more than 10.5% last month and is once again positive year-to-date. Dividend stocks also fared quite well, but the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD ) only rose by ~4.5%. Regardless of which way the market moves, investors shouldn't dwell on what already happened but instead look to the future. As such, I ran my monthly stock screening process looking for opportune dividend stocks to consider in the current month. The main objective for this stock screening process is to separate signal from noise and to present me with potentially opportune investment ideas to consider for further review. Rather than focusing on short-term price movements or news headlines, I choose to focus on fundamental growth, deviations from fair value, and future return potential. The stock selection process remains unchanged; if you'd like to read about it, you can do so in the first article of the series here . In a nutshell, I screen the U.S. stock market for companies with a track record of fundamental growth, an economic moat, and a dividend yield of at least 2.5%. Then I use dividend yield theory to get a quick valuation snapshot, and I estimate future return potential by combining the following metrics: Forward Dividend Yield Projected Earnings Growth Valuation Expansion or Contraction May 2026 Watchlist Here are the stocks chosen by my methodology. The data shown in the image below is compiled from Charles Schwab and Finviz as of 04/30/26. Created by Author At the bottom of the table, you'll find the average metrics for the top 25 chosen stocks and the 59 stocks that passed the initial screening process and were included in the selection process. The top 25 stocks, on average, sport a 3.86% starting dividend yield, exceeding the average yield of...
Banner Corporation ( BANR ) and Pacific Financial Corporation ( PFLC ) on Friday said companies signed a merger agreement under which Banner will acquire Pacific Financial in an all-stock transaction, expanding its footprint across the Pacific Northwest. Under the terms of the agreement, Pacific Financial shareholders will receive 0.2633 shares of Banner common stock for each share held. Based on ...
Banner Corporation ( BANR ) and Pacific Financial Corporation ( PFLC ) on Friday said companies signed a merger agreement under which Banner will acquire Pacific Financial in an all-stock transaction, expanding its footprint across the Pacific Northwest. Under the terms of the agreement, Pacific Financial shareholders will receive 0.2633 shares of Banner common stock for each share held. Based on Banner’s April 29 closing price of $66.25, the implied deal value stands at $17.44 per share, or approximately $177M in aggregate. Pacific shares closed at $13.48 on Thursday, implying a premium of around 30%. The banks said the transaction was structured as a tax-free reorganization. Post-merger ownership is to be split with Pacific shareholders holding about 7% of the combined entity and Banner shareholders owning the remaining 93%. “This transaction expands our presence and density in attractive Western Washington and Western Oregon markets," said Banner CEO Mark Grescovich. The deal is projected to be immediately accretive to Banner’s 2027 earnings per share, excluding one-time costs. Pacific Financial was advised by Piper Sandler and Miller Nash, while Banner was advised by BofA Securities and Ballard Spahr. More on Banner, Pacific Financial Banner Corporation (BANR) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Banner Corporation 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Pacific Financial GAAP EPS of $0.30, revenue of $13.29M Banner signals capital actions with goal to run tangible common equity ratio about 100 bps lower Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Banner
London ( UKX ) -0.52%. The pound climbed to $1.36 in early May, reaching its highest level since mid-February. Germany ( DAX:IND ) closed for Labor Day. France ( CAC:IND ) closed for Labor Day. In other parts of Europe, r etail sales in Switzerland increased by 0.5% Y/Y in March. Retail sales in the Netherlands rose by 2.9% Y/Y in March 2026. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ( STOXX) traded 0.11% lower ...
London ( UKX ) -0.52%. The pound climbed to $1.36 in early May, reaching its highest level since mid-February. Germany ( DAX:IND ) closed for Labor Day. France ( CAC:IND ) closed for Labor Day. In other parts of Europe, r etail sales in Switzerland increased by 0.5% Y/Y in March. Retail sales in the Netherlands rose by 2.9% Y/Y in March 2026. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ( STOXX) traded 0.11% lower to 610.6, dragged down by escalating concerns over the Middle East. WTI crude futures held above $105 per barrel on Friday and were set for a second weekly gain, amid dimming prospects for a US-Iran peace deal. In the bond market, the yield on the US 10-year Treasury was almost flat at 4.39%. UK's 10-year yield was up less than 2 basis points to 5.04%. Germany's 10-year yield was up less than 1 basis point to 3.03%; markets remain shut. Currencies: ( EUR:USD ) ( GBP:USD ) ( CHF:USD ) ETFs: (NYSEARCA: EWG ), (NYSE: GF ), (NYSEARCA: EWI ), (NYSEARCA: EWQ ), (NASDAQ: FGM ), (NASDAQ: DAX ), (NYSEARCA: FLGR ), (NYSEARCA: FXB ), (NYSEARCA: EWU ), (NASDAQ: FKU ), (BATS: EWUS ), (NYSEARCA: FLGB ), (NYSEARCA: GREK ) More on Europe EUR/USD, GBP/USD Overview - FX Picks Up Again, U.S. Dollar Tumbles After The ECB And BOE EUR/USD Drifted Down To 1.1665/1635 Key Support For Potential Bullish Reversal Dollar Reasserts Itself As Global Tensions Shift Currency Markets ECB holds interest rates steady Bank of England keeps interest rates unchanged at 3.75% amid Iran war uncertainty
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images Warsh takes the Fed chair on May 15. Every previous transition crashed Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) by at least 77%. This time, he inherits $115 oil, 3.3% CPI, and a Hormuz blockade in its tenth week. The macro pressure is greater than any predecessor faced. Meanwhile, the strongest ETF inflow streak of the year just broke, Big Tech's $600B AI spending spree is splitting m...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images Warsh takes the Fed chair on May 15. Every previous transition crashed Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) by at least 77%. This time, he inherits $115 oil, 3.3% CPI, and a Hormuz blockade in its tenth week. The macro pressure is greater than any predecessor faced. Meanwhile, the strongest ETF inflow streak of the year just broke, Big Tech's $600B AI spending spree is splitting markets, and retail is migrating from crypto into prediction markets. Will BTC fall again? Fed Chair Transitions and BTC Drawdowns Every Fed chair transition in Bitcoin's history has coincided with a major drawdown: Yellen took office, February 2014. BTC had peaked near $1,100 in late 2013. Over the following 14 months, it fell 83% to roughly $180, grinding through what was then Bitcoin's longest bear market. Powell's first term, February 2018. BTC had hit $20K in December 2017. Within 12 months of Powell taking the chair, it had dropped 84% to around $3,200, as the ICO bubble burst and the Fed tightened into a rising-rate cycle. Powell's second term, May 2022. BTC had reached $69K in November 2021. By the time the cycle bottomed in November 2022 following the FTX collapse, it had fallen 77% to roughly $15,500, driven by the collapse of LUNA/UST, contagion across CeFi lenders, and aggressive Fed rate hikes. Three transitions, three crashes, zero exceptions. The pattern has held across vastly different market structures. Kevin Warsh is set to take the chair on May 15, 2026. BTC is currently trading near $77K, roughly 39% below its October 2025 ATH. The first two drawdowns were nearly identical at 83% and 84%. The most recent was the shallowest at 77%. If some degree of moderation continues, a drawdown in the range of 65–70% would imply a potential floor near $38K–$44K. Source: MerlijnTheTrader. The drawdown shown in this chart (~56.64%) is measured from a different price peak than our analysis. Our implied range of $38K–$44K assumes a 65–70% drawdown from the October 2025 ATH...
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 2.75% in after-hours trading after the iPhone maker group reported quarterly results ahead of market expectations. Revenue came in at $111.18 billion for the March quarter, up 17%, beating forecasts of $109.46 billion. Earnings per share of $2.01 also came...
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 2.75% in after-hours trading after the iPhone maker group reported quarterly results ahead of market expectations. Revenue came in at $111.18 billion for the March quarter, up 17%, beating forecasts of $109.46 billion. Earnings per share of $2.01 also came...
Amkor Technology ( AMKR ) has priced its private offering of $1B aggregate principal amount of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2031. The sale is scheduled to settle on May 5, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. Amkor also granted the initial purchasers of the notes a 13-day option to purchase up to an additional $150M of notes. The notes will not bear regular interest, and the princi...
Amkor Technology ( AMKR ) has priced its private offering of $1B aggregate principal amount of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2031. The sale is scheduled to settle on May 5, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. Amkor also granted the initial purchasers of the notes a 13-day option to purchase up to an additional $150M of notes. The notes will not bear regular interest, and the principal amount of the notes will not accrete. It will mature on July 15, 2031, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed, or converted. The initial conversion rate is 9.4013 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, which represents an initial conversion price of around $106.37 per share of common stock - a premium of ~52.5% over the last reported sale price. Amkor ( AMKR ) estimates net proceeds of around $981.7M, or ~$1,129M if the initial purchasers fully exercise their option to purchase additional notes. The firm plans to use $49M of the proceeds to fund the cost of entering into the capped call transactions and the remainder for general corporate purposes. More on Amkor Technology Amkor Technology: Q1 Beats Across The Board, Showing Massive Room For AI Packaging Acceleration Amkor Technology, Inc. (AMKR) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Amkor Technology, Inc. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Amkor to offer $1B in convertible senior notes due 2031 Amkor tumbles as Arizona ramp-up leads to short-term margin decline; analysts remain upbeat
ozgurdonmaz/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Article Thesis Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) reported its most recent earnings results on Thursday afternoon, showing nice growth and beating the consensus on both lines. But while Apple is a quality company, I don't think that it's a good investment at current prices -- compared to other Magnificent 7 companies, its growth and valuation combination isn't great...
ozgurdonmaz/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Article Thesis Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) reported its most recent earnings results on Thursday afternoon, showing nice growth and beating the consensus on both lines. But while Apple is a quality company, I don't think that it's a good investment at current prices -- compared to other Magnificent 7 companies, its growth and valuation combination isn't great. Past Coverage I have written about Apple here on Seeking Alpha in the past, most recently in January, or three months ago, when I published this article discussing AAPL's results for the previous quarter. I was neutral on Apple back then, with Apple rising a bit more compared to the broad market since that article was published. With Apple announcing its second-quarter earnings results on Thursday, I want to give an update on Apple today. What Happened? On Thursday afternoon, following the market's close, Apple announced its fiscal Q2 results , with the headline numbers looking like this: Apple Q2 earnings results (Seeking Alpha) Apple delivered a double beat, which is, of course, nice. This wasn't much of a surprise, though -- this was the 11th double beat in a row, so there is a pretty clear history of Wall Street analysts underestimating Apple. The company outperforms the consensus reliably, although usually not by a lot -- including during Q2, with revenues around 1.5% higher than expected, while earnings per share were around 3.5% higher than expected. Compared to the earnings beats that Alphabet ( GOOG )( GOOGL ) and Meta Platforms ( META ) delivered this week, Apple's double beat was a bit unspectacular. Still, a beat is a beat, and Apple continued to build its outperforming-the-consensus track record -- investors like that. Following the earnings release, Apple's shares traded up slightly, which aligns with my belief that this was good news but not too much of a surprise. Apple's Q2: Good Growth Let's delve into the numbers. Apple's growth had accelerated to 16% i...
ozgurdonmaz/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Article Thesis Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) reported its most recent earnings results on Thursday afternoon, showing nice growth and beating the consensus on both lines. But while Apple is a quality company, I don't think that it's a good investment at current prices -- compared to other Magnificent 7 companies, its growth and valuation combination isn't great...
ozgurdonmaz/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Article Thesis Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) reported its most recent earnings results on Thursday afternoon, showing nice growth and beating the consensus on both lines. But while Apple is a quality company, I don't think that it's a good investment at current prices -- compared to other Magnificent 7 companies, its growth and valuation combination isn't great. Past Coverage I have written about Apple here on Seeking Alpha in the past, most recently in January, or three months ago, when I published this article discussing AAPL's results for the previous quarter. I was neutral on Apple back then, with Apple rising a bit more compared to the broad market since that article was published. With Apple announcing its second-quarter earnings results on Thursday, I want to give an update on Apple today. What Happened? On Thursday afternoon, following the market's close, Apple announced its fiscal Q2 results , with the headline numbers looking like this: Apple Q2 earnings results (Seeking Alpha) Apple delivered a double beat, which is, of course, nice. This wasn't much of a surprise, though -- this was the 11th double beat in a row, so there is a pretty clear history of Wall Street analysts underestimating Apple. The company outperforms the consensus reliably, although usually not by a lot -- including during Q2, with revenues around 1.5% higher than expected, while earnings per share were around 3.5% higher than expected. Compared to the earnings beats that Alphabet ( GOOG )( GOOGL ) and Meta Platforms ( META ) delivered this week, Apple's double beat was a bit unspectacular. Still, a beat is a beat, and Apple continued to build its outperforming-the-consensus track record -- investors like that. Following the earnings release, Apple's shares traded up slightly, which aligns with my belief that this was good news but not too much of a surprise. Apple's Q2: Good Growth Let's delve into the numbers. Apple's growth had accelerated to 16% i...
Earnings Call Insights: Cerus (CERS) Q1 2026 Management View “2026 is off to a great start with strong first quarter results and increasing confidence in our sales outlook for the full-year,” said (Chief Operating Officer Vivek Jayaraman), and added that Q1 product revenue was “$53.7 million, up 24% compared to the first quarter of 2025,” driven by “continued strength in our global platelet franch...
Earnings Call Insights: Cerus (CERS) Q1 2026 Management View “2026 is off to a great start with strong first quarter results and increasing confidence in our sales outlook for the full-year,” said (Chief Operating Officer Vivek Jayaraman), and added that Q1 product revenue was “$53.7 million, up 24% compared to the first quarter of 2025,” driven by “continued strength in our global platelet franchise” and “accelerating demand in our U.S. IFC business.” (Chief Operating Officer Jayaraman) said Cerus is “raising our full-year 2026 product revenue guidance to $227 million to $231 million,” and “raising full-year IFC revenue guidance to $22 million to $24 million,” adding that the update reflects “total year-over-year product revenue growth of 10% to 12% compared to 2025 and approximately 30% to 40% for IFC.” (Chief Operating Officer Jayaraman) highlighted early execution under the Blood Centers of America agreement, stating, “We are already seeing early signs of traction, including increased activity at existing Cerus customers and new agreements to adopt PR platelets at BCA members who have yet to utilize INTERCEPT.” “Total revenue, which includes government contract revenue, increased 23% compared to the prior year results,” said (VP of Finance & CFO Kevin Green), and added, “first quarter revenue was $5.7 million compared to $3 million during the first quarter of 2025” for IFC. (President, CEO & Chairman William Greenman) said, “I want to thank all of you for joining us today for what will be my final earnings call as Cerus’ President and CEO,” and added, “I am very pleased to pass the baton to Vivek.” Outlook (Chief Operating Officer Jayaraman) said the guidance increase was supported by demand, stating, “Based on our better-than-expected start to the year as well as our growing conviction in the underlying demand for INTERCEPT, we are raising our full-year 2026 product revenue guidance to $227 million to $231 million.” On regional and product drivers for the balan...
Earnings Call Insights: Trupanion (TRUP) Q1 2026 Management View “In the first quarter, we generated over $40 million of adjusted operating income, up 29% year-over-year and remain on track to deliver $180 million for the full year,” said (President, CEO & Director Margaret Tooth), adding, “to fully capture what's ahead, we intend to embolden our messaging, broaden our existing products, introduce...
Earnings Call Insights: Trupanion (TRUP) Q1 2026 Management View “In the first quarter, we generated over $40 million of adjusted operating income, up 29% year-over-year and remain on track to deliver $180 million for the full year,” said (President, CEO & Director Margaret Tooth), adding, “to fully capture what's ahead, we intend to embolden our messaging, broaden our existing products, introduce a brand-new product and continue to invest to grow the business.” “We added approximately 64,700 pets into our ecosystem in Q1,” (President, CEO & Director Tooth) said, and highlighted early rollout of new options: “adding flexibility to our core Trupanion product for pet parents wanting Trupanion at a lower entry point,” with “early results… encouraging with improved web conversion rates relative to prior periods.” “Total revenue for the quarter was $384 million, up 12% year-over-year,” said (Chief Financial Officer Fawwad Qureshi), adding that subscription revenue “was $269.5 million, up 16% year-over-year and exceeding the high end of our expectations.” Outlook “For the full year of 2026, we now expect total revenue in the range of $1.556 billion to $1.581 billion,” said (Chief Financial Officer Qureshi), and “we also continue to expect total adjusted operating income to be in the range of $173 million to $187 million.” “For the second quarter of 2026, total revenue is expected to be in the range of $386 million to $392 million… [and] total adjusted operating income is expected to be in the range of $40 million to $43 million,” (Chief Financial Officer Qureshi) said. Relative to the prior quarter’s guidance ranges, (Chief Financial Officer Qureshi) narrowed full-year ranges slightly (total revenue; subscription revenue) while reiterating the full-year adjusted operating income range. Financial Results (Chief Financial Officer Qureshi) said “adjusted operating income was $40.2 million in Q1,” and that subscription results drove the mix: “Our subscription business deliver...
Earnings Call Insights: Amgen (AMGN) Q1 2026 Management View "We had a strong first quarter and are well positioned to achieve our objectives for the year," said (Chairman & CEO Robert Bradway), reiterating that 2026 is "a springboard year" where the company expects "our rapidly growing products to offset the financial impact of patent expirations and increased competition." Bradway highlighted th...
Earnings Call Insights: Amgen (AMGN) Q1 2026 Management View "We had a strong first quarter and are well positioned to achieve our objectives for the year," said (Chairman & CEO Robert Bradway), reiterating that 2026 is "a springboard year" where the company expects "our rapidly growing products to offset the financial impact of patent expirations and increased competition." Bradway highlighted that "our 6 key growth drivers...generated 70% of our sales in the quarter and grew in aggregate by 24%." On MariTide, Bradway said Amgen is "disclosing additional Phase III studies...one of which will evaluate switching from the weekly injectables to MariTide on an every 8- or 12-week schedule" and will also evaluate "weight maintenance...on a schedule of 4 or 6 injections a year as well." Bradway described an AI leadership transition: "we took steps early on to have Dave Reese lead these efforts" and "we're encouraged that Jay Bradner will build on Dave's accomplishments, leading our artificial intelligence and data activities across the company." (Executive VP & CFO Peter Griffith) said, "We are pleased with our strong first quarter performance," reporting "non-GAAP operating margin was 45%" and "free cash flow" of "$1.5 billion." Outlook Griffith said, "we're raising our 2026 guidance ranges for both revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share," guiding to "total revenues in the range of $37.1 billion to $38.5 billion" and "non-GAAP earnings per share to be between $21.70 and $23.10," while noting, "our guidance does not include any potential business development transactions." Compared with Q4 2025, Amgen’s ranges increased from "$37.0 billion to $38.4 billion" and "$21.60 to $23." Griffith updated below-the-line assumptions to "non-GAAP OI&E...$2.2 billion to $2.3 billion of expense" and a "non-GAAP tax rate...15.0% to 16.5%." Financial Results Griffith reported "non-GAAP R&D spending increasing 16% year-over-year" and "non-GAAP cost of sales as a percentage of product sale...