UK shares dropped in thin holiday trading as NatWest Group Plc fell more than 3% after reporting net interest income that came in slightly below expectations. The FTSE 100 index was down 0.4% as of 8:30 a.m. in London. Most European markets were closed for Labor Day. Elsewhere, Diageo Plc gained 1.6% after US President Donald Trump said he would be removing some Scotch tariffs following a visit fr...
UK shares dropped in thin holiday trading as NatWest Group Plc fell more than 3% after reporting net interest income that came in slightly below expectations. The FTSE 100 index was down 0.4% as of 8:30 a.m. in London. Most European markets were closed for Labor Day. Elsewhere, Diageo Plc gained 1.6% after US President Donald Trump said he would be removing some Scotch tariffs following a visit from King Charles III. European shares rose 4.8% in April, marking their best monthly performance since January 2025. Even so, the benchmark is 4% below its pre-war levels. The focus remains on geopolitics, with investors monitoring the impact of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz on energy prices and inflation. The European Central Bank will probably increase borrowing costs if the Iran war persists, according to outgoing Governing Council member Madis Muller. “At some point you reach a point of no return where re-opening of Strait is too late to avoid shifting inflation/interest rate expectations. That is now probably a matter of weeks away,” said Chris Wyllie , chief investment officer at Connor Broadley Ltd. “This realization could provide the pretext for the market to retest its lows.” For more on equity markets: Say Goodbye to Easy Gains That Powered the Market: Taking Stock M&A Watch Europe: UCB, CloserStill Media, United Utilities BlackRock Sees Consolidated Tape Enticing Europe IPOs: ECM Watch Stocks Post a Rally For History Books: S&P 500 Month in Review Whitbread Cuts Back: The London Rush You want more news on this market? Click here for a curated First Word channel of actionable news from Bloomberg and select sources. It can be customized to your preferences by clicking into Actions on the toolbar or hitting the HELP key for assistance. To subscribe to a daily list of European analyst rating changes, click here .
Earnings Call Insights: Merit Medical Systems (MMSI) Q1 2026 Management view "We reported total revenue of $381.9 million, up 7% year-over-year on a GAAP basis and up 5% year-over-year on a constant currency basis," said (President, CEO & Director Martha Aronson), adding that "our non-GAAP operating margin increased 47 basis points year-over-year to 19.7%, representing the highest first quarter op...
Earnings Call Insights: Merit Medical Systems (MMSI) Q1 2026 Management view "We reported total revenue of $381.9 million, up 7% year-over-year on a GAAP basis and up 5% year-over-year on a constant currency basis," said (President, CEO & Director Martha Aronson), adding that "our non-GAAP operating margin increased 47 basis points year-over-year to 19.7%, representing the highest first quarter operating margin in the company's history" and that the company generated "$25 million of free cash flow." "On April 1, building upon our oncology platform, we announced the acquisition of View Point Medical for an aggregate transaction consideration of $140 million, of which $90 million was paid in cash at closing," said (CEO Aronson), describing OneMark as "an expansion of the annual addressable procedure opportunity of approximately 3x for our oncology business" and adding that "the combination of SCOUT and OneMark provides physicians with localization options during the initial diagnostic biopsy." "We are now reporting our revenue in 2 product categories: foundational and therapeutic," said (CEO Aronson), stating that the company plans to report revenue results by those categories while continuing to provide "additional color on the underlying drivers of growth" in the eight internal platforms. "First quarter net income was $56.7 million or $0.94 per share compared to $52.9 million or $0.86 per share in the prior year period," said (CFO & Treasurer Raul Parra), and added that "first quarter net income and EPS exceeded the high end of our guidance range by $3.7 million and $0.07, respectively." Outlook "For the 12 months ending December 31, 2026, we now expect total GAAP net revenue growth in the range of 6.3% to 7.8% year-over-year and 5.6% to 7% year-over-year on a constant currency basis," said (CFO Parra), adding that guidance assumes "sales of foundational products increase in the mid-single digits" and "sales of therapeutic products increase in the high single digits...
Marvell Technology (NasdaqGS:MRVL) has acquired Polariton Technologies, expanding its high speed optical connectivity capabilities for AI data centers. The company is integrating Polariton with Celestial AI solutions and working on custom chips and design wins with several major hyperscalers, including Google. Marvell is also gaining exposure to quantum computing through partnerships and inclusion...
Marvell Technology (NasdaqGS:MRVL) has acquired Polariton Technologies, expanding its high speed optical connectivity capabilities for AI data centers. The company is integrating Polariton with Celestial AI solutions and working on custom chips and design wins with several major hyperscalers, including Google. Marvell is also gaining exposure to quantum computing through partnerships and inclusion in quantum focused ETFs tied to government and enterprise projects. For you as an investor,...
(Lost Highway) After two underwhelming pop-leaning records, the country star gets back to basics on this sparsely produced gem filled with wit and hard-won lessons Kacey Musgraves’ seventh album feels like a sigh of relief. Since 2018’s prismatic country-pop marvel Golden Hour , the Texan has struggled to maintain a foothold in pop: 2021’s Star-Crossed wed overly high-concept breakup songs to indi...
(Lost Highway) After two underwhelming pop-leaning records, the country star gets back to basics on this sparsely produced gem filled with wit and hard-won lessons Kacey Musgraves’ seventh album feels like a sigh of relief. Since 2018’s prismatic country-pop marvel Golden Hour , the Texan has struggled to maintain a foothold in pop: 2021’s Star-Crossed wed overly high-concept breakup songs to indistinct music; 2024’s Deeper Well was a weak latte of coffee-shop folksiness and impersonal therapy speak. Middle of Nowhere sacks off all the pageantry. Subtly arranged, tinged with western swing and traditional Mexican music, the low-key sound gets back to Musgraves’ rural roots and makes a smart backdrop to these beautifully weary songs about reckoning with delusion: on the title track, Musgraves sounds gorgeously like Aimee Mann, master of the subject. But her hooks still hit. The warm, sparky I Believe in Ghosts feels made for tired stoics to kick it together on a dusty dancefloor; femcel anthem Dry Spell pairs an unwavering rhythmic canter with a thousand-yard stare as Musgraves rues “I’m so lonely with a capital H” – she means horny, a line that doesn’t work until you figure: maybe it’s been so long she can’t even remember the word. And the spartan arrangements let more of Musgraves’ conversational wit and side-eye shine through. The hopeful romance of Back on the Wagon, where a woman swears her busted man has changed, and the sweet pedal steel breeze of Loneliest Girl, where another insists she’s happy alone, are two sides of the same tenderly flipped coin : how many ways do we have to kid ourselves to get by? Horses and Divorces is country’s Girl, So Confusing: a reconciliatory – but raucous – duet with old foe Miranda Lambert that resounds with the lightness of letting go. Continue reading...
China Reopens Fuel Export Spigot, Offering Relief To Asian Buyers Beijing is reversing its curbs on refined fuel exports after halting shipments in the opening days of the U.S.-Iran conflict. This move suggests that Chinese domestic inventories are now at comfortable levels, allowing state refiners to reopen the export spigot, even as much of Asia remains gripped by a fuel shock caused by disrupte...
China Reopens Fuel Export Spigot, Offering Relief To Asian Buyers Beijing is reversing its curbs on refined fuel exports after halting shipments in the opening days of the U.S.-Iran conflict. This move suggests that Chinese domestic inventories are now at comfortable levels, allowing state refiners to reopen the export spigot, even as much of Asia remains gripped by a fuel shock caused by disrupted Gulf energy flows through the Hormuz chokepoint. There was chatter earlier this week that China's state-owned refiners were applying for government permits to resume fuel exports in May. These include China Petrochemical (Sinopec Group) and China National Petroleum Corporation. By late in the week, Bloomberg reported that state-owned refiners had received government approval to export 500,000 tons of fuel next month. People familiar with the upcoming shipments said the one-off quota would allow gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel to be sent to neighboring Asian countries, providing relief amid a worsening fuel crunch. They said these shipments will be loaded onto tankers and are likely destined for Vietnam, Laos, and other nearby nations. China's U-turn on export curbs comes weeks after the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and International Energy Agency urged countries to avoid panic hoarding of energy supplies, as JPMorgan analysts warned that Asia would face the most immediate impact from the Gulf energy shock. Tyler Durden Fri, 05/01/2026 - 03:30
Anna Moneymaker Meta ( META ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company's planned job cuts were due to increased capital spending for artificial intelligence and did not rule out further layoffs, Reuters reported. "We basically have two major cost centers in the company: compute infrastructure and people-oriented things," he said during a town hall on Thursday. "If we're investing more in one area to...
Anna Moneymaker Meta ( META ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company's planned job cuts were due to increased capital spending for artificial intelligence and did not rule out further layoffs, Reuters reported. "We basically have two major cost centers in the company: compute infrastructure and people-oriented things," he said during a town hall on Thursday. "If we're investing more in one area to serve our community, then that means we have less capital to allocate to the other. So that means we do need to take down the size of the company somewhat." But Zuckerberg clarified that the layoffs were not related to Meta's ( META ) reorganization of teams around a new AI-native structure and efforts to develop AI agents that can perform tasks autonomously. Meta's ( META ) AI-oriented reorganization and a new initiative to track employees' mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes to train AI agents have faced criticism from staff. "Getting everyone internally to use AI tools and getting to do the work more efficiently is not the thing that's driving layoffs," Zuckerberg told employees. But "we'll see how all this stuff trends," he said, adding that the company would "be able to share more soon." The town hall was the first time Zuckerberg addressed staff directly about the job cuts. Meta ( META ) is set to lay off about 10% of its workforce next month, with additional cuts planned for the second half of the year. "I wish that I can tell you that I have a crystal ball plan for the next, like, three years of how all this stuff is going to play out. I don't. I don't think anyone does," the CEO told employees at the town hall . More on Meta Meta Q1 Review: Investors Hate Capex When They Should Love It Meta: I'm Waiting For $500 Per Share To Buy More Meta: I'm Pounding The Table On This Misunderstood Opportunity Tim Cook, Zuckerberg among rumored bidders for Seattle Seahawks Meta ramps up AI spending, but questions over ROI weigh - analysts
Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) reported what executives described as strong fiscal third-quarter 2026 results and raised full-year guidance for recurring revenue and adjusted earnings per share, citing favorable market conditions, continued investor participation growth, and contributions
Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) reported what executives described as strong fiscal third-quarter 2026 results and raised full-year guidance for recurring revenue and adjusted earnings per share, citing favorable market conditions, continued investor participation growth, and contributions
Republican lawmakers say they will continue to defer to President Donald Trump, for now, during the fragile ceasefire with Iran. (Image credit: Cliff Owen)
Republican lawmakers say they will continue to defer to President Donald Trump, for now, during the fragile ceasefire with Iran. (Image credit: Cliff Owen)