Energy prices are soaring as the war in Iran continues. The Strait of Hormuz, for all intents and purposes, is closed, denying passage to approximately 20% of the global petroleum supply. Higher prices are driving energy stocks up to highs. Among them is Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) , up 16% in 2026. Dramatic price swings aren't the norm for the renowned midstream company, which has a beta of 0.63 a...
Energy prices are soaring as the war in Iran continues. The Strait of Hormuz, for all intents and purposes, is closed, denying passage to approximately 20% of the global petroleum supply. Higher prices are driving energy stocks up to highs. Among them is Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) , up 16% in 2026. Dramatic price swings aren't the norm for the renowned midstream company, which has a beta of 0.63 and typically trades less volatilely than the broader market. Is there still time to buy Energy Transfer? Continue reading
Hong Kong is committed to helping mainland China’s medical and health standards “go global”, with the local health minister hailing the city’s first time hosting a national medical conference as an event of “great significance”. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau also said Hong Kong was striving to meet the mainland’s certification requirements for a local stroke centre, following the accreditation...
Hong Kong is committed to helping mainland China’s medical and health standards “go global”, with the local health minister hailing the city’s first time hosting a national medical conference as an event of “great significance”. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau also said Hong Kong was striving to meet the mainland’s certification requirements for a local stroke centre, following the accreditation of a heart disease treatment facility under national standards last year. Lo officiated at the...
The Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman on March 2, 2026. Photo: VCG A fleet of oil and gas tankers has traversed a previously unused route through the Strait of Hormuz, signaling the possible emergence of a second shipping corridor that could ease congestion and reduce reliance on waters closely monitored by Iran. A convoy comprising two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and one liquefie...
The Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman on March 2, 2026. Photo: VCG A fleet of oil and gas tankers has traversed a previously unused route through the Strait of Hormuz, signaling the possible emergence of a second shipping corridor that could ease congestion and reduce reliance on waters closely monitored by Iran. A convoy comprising two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and one liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel sailed eastward from the Persian Gulf through the strait on Friday, emerging near Oman’s Muscat port. The vessels, all operated by Oman’s state-owned Asyad Shipping Co., included one tanker owned by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
The Israeli military said Friday it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon in the month since fighting with the Hezbollah militant group began. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with massive strikes acro...
The Israeli military said Friday it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon in the month since fighting with the Hezbollah militant group began. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with massive strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive. The Israeli military said on Friday it had killed about 1,000...
Love Employee/iStock via Getty Images The war with Iran started over a month ago and could run for several more weeks , according to President Trump’s address to the nation last night. The short-term effects for markets have already been substantial, and more turbulence is potentially brewing for the near-term outlook. But even a month of war has yet to meaningfully change long-term expected retur...
Love Employee/iStock via Getty Images The war with Iran started over a month ago and could run for several more weeks , according to President Trump’s address to the nation last night. The short-term effects for markets have already been substantial, and more turbulence is potentially brewing for the near-term outlook. But even a month of war has yet to meaningfully change long-term expected returns for the major asset classes overall. If financial markets continue to fall, at some point, the decline will lift long-run performance expectations by more than a trivial degree. But in the context of our modeling for the long-term horizon (outlined below), last month’s slide in asset prices has been a marginal factor. Today’s updated long‑term forecast for the Global Market Index (GMI) is relatively steady at a 7%-plus annualized total return. GMI’s projected long‑run outlook continues to run well substantially below its trailing ten‑year performance. It all adds up to a case for managing expectations down for performance relative to recent history – a shift that predates the war and, for now, doesn’t appear likely to change in the immediate future. GMI is a market‑value‑weighted mix of the major asset classes (excluding cash) via ETF proxies. The forecast is calculated as the average of three models (defined below). The current 7.2% annualized estimate for GMI is slightly below the previous estimate and remains well below GMI’s trailing 9.0% annualized return for the past decade. Roughly a third of GMI’s components are projected to generate weaker returns relative to their respective results over the past ten years (indicated by the red boxes in far-right column below). The same subpar performance applies to GMI, which is currently projected to earn a materially softer return compared with its realized performance for the trailing ten‑year window through March. GMI represents a theoretical benchmark for the “optimal” portfolio that’s suited for the average investor with...