China’s central bank is using its daily reference rate to temper the yuan’s rally as the currency’s outperformance during the Iran war fuels further bullish sentiment. The 10-day volatility of the yuan’s daily reference rate set by the People’s Bank of China declined sharply this week before touching the lowest level since early March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Decreased volatility ...
China’s central bank is using its daily reference rate to temper the yuan’s rally as the currency’s outperformance during the Iran war fuels further bullish sentiment. The 10-day volatility of the yuan’s daily reference rate set by the People’s Bank of China declined sharply this week before touching the lowest level since early March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Decreased volatility in the daily fixing — the midpoint that limits the yuan’s onshore moves to a 2% band — signals that China is discouraging fluctuations for the currency. The move follows the yuan’s emergence as the sole gainer in Asia during the Middle East conflict thanks to China’s resilience to energy shocks. By anchoring the so-called fixing, the PBOC is pushing back against one-way bets on the yuan that threaten to blunt China’s export edge and derail the manufacturing recovery. “The PBOC’s stance has turned neutral on the fixing management,” said Kiyong Seong , macro strategist at Societe Generale’s Hong Kong branch. “It has been successful to insulate the yuan from the global FX gyrations due to the war. But always, too fast yuan appreciation is not desired by them.” Reflecting this cautious stance, the PBOC set the yuan fixing at 6.8622 per dollar on Friday, weakening it for a second straight session. The currency traded around 6.82, near a three-year high. Global investors are increasingly viewing China as a safe haven during the Middle East conflict. Bilal Hafeez , head of market strategy at Macro Hive Ltd., said buying the yuan is “one of my favorite calls right now,” forecasting the currency to reach 6.4 versus the greenback by year-end. However, the PBOC is building up defenses against any runaway gains in the yuan. Earlier this week, it raised the cap on offshore loans for some banks, a move that’s expected to ease the appreciation pressure on the currency. Beyond policy signals, dollar purchases by Chinese state banks in recent sessions have helped blunt the yuan’s momentum. ...
格隆汇4月17日｜日本Inpex周五表示，其位于澳大利亚的Ichthys液化天然气设施的工人投票反对一项新的就业协议，这增加了罢工的风险，可能加剧全球本已紧张的能源供应。Inpex发言人说：大多数符合条件的员工已经投票，拟议的协议未获通过。由澳大利亚海事工会（Maritime Union of Australia）和澳大利亚工人工会（Australian Workers Union）组成的离岸联盟...
格隆汇4月17日｜日本Inpex周五表示，其位于澳大利亚的Ichthys液化天然气设施的工人投票反对一项新的就业协议，这增加了罢工的风险，可能加剧全球本已紧张的能源供应。Inpex发言人说：大多数符合条件的员工已经投票，拟议的协议未获通过。由澳大利亚海事工会（Maritime Union of Australia）和澳大利亚工人工会（Australian Workers Union）组成的离岸联盟（Offshore Alliance）此前曾表示，其430名成员将投票反对新合同，并称新合同在工资和条件方面不符合基准行业标准。Inpex发言人表示，该公司将 "继续本着诚意积极参与谈判进程，并合作解决员工的反馈意见"。另外，工会成员将 于下周 完成投票，决定是否采取受保护的工业行动，投票将于4月24日结束 。
日本Inpex 周五表示，其位于澳大利亚的Ichthys液化天然气设施的工人投票反对一项新的就业协议，这增加了罢工的风险，可能加剧全球本已紧张的能源供应。 Inpex发言人说：大多数符合条件的员工已经投票，拟议的协议未获通过。由澳大利亚海事工会（Maritime Union of Australia）和澳大利亚工人工会（Australian Workers Union）组成的离岸联盟（Offsho...
sharrocks/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Joby Aviation, Inc. ( JOBY ), is now full-speed ahead with the eIPP (eVTOL Integration Pilot Program) in the U.S. The eVTOL manufacturer now has the opportunity to prove out the air taxi thesis without waiting on the FAA certification to ramp up operations and plans for 2027. My investment thesis is ultra Bullish on the stock after this dip back to only...
sharrocks/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Joby Aviation, Inc. ( JOBY ), is now full-speed ahead with the eIPP (eVTOL Integration Pilot Program) in the U.S. The eVTOL manufacturer now has the opportunity to prove out the air taxi thesis without waiting on the FAA certification to ramp up operations and plans for 2027. My investment thesis is ultra Bullish on the stock after this dip back to only $9. Source: Finviz Program Boost A few weeks back, the White House announced an experimental program to help the eVTOL sector develop into a full-fledged business. A monumental 2026 just took a major leap forward. The eIPP program gives Joby Aviation and the sector the opportunity to end 2026 with early operations to prove out the air taxi concept, allowing the FAA and DOT to accelerate regulatory coordination to streamline approvals. In addition, the company is working towards carrying passengers in Dubai this year. The government program awarded Joby Aviation with operations in 10 states: Arizona, Florida, Idaho, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. In addition, the company has the potential to test the Superpilot autonomous flight technology platform as well: Source: Joby Aviation The program still needs agreements for operational details and won't start until 90 days after these OTA contracts are finalized. The big question going forward is how Joby Aviation will have the aircraft to handle FAA certification, Dubai operations, and 5 different eIPP programs covering options in 10 states. Joby Aviation reaffirmed plans to ramp aircraft production to four per month in 2027, but these aircraft are needed now. The company has current plans to produce a couple of aircraft each month. On the Q4'25 earnings call , CEO JoeBen Bevirt has the following to say about the aircraft production plans: After a year full of rigorous full transition flight testing and meaningful progress across every part of our business, we've begun to shift our focus ...
SweetBunFactory/iStock via Getty Images At the beginning of the year, I wrote my first article on iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX )- SOXX: Trillion Dollar Market, Rally Not Over Yet—and rated it a BUY. The thesis rested on three factors: the insatiable demand for AI compute, the tight supply of memory, and the capex supercycle within the world's largest tech companies. All three have either deliv...
SweetBunFactory/iStock via Getty Images At the beginning of the year, I wrote my first article on iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX )- SOXX: Trillion Dollar Market, Rally Not Over Yet—and rated it a BUY. The thesis rested on three factors: the insatiable demand for AI compute, the tight supply of memory, and the capex supercycle within the world's largest tech companies. All three have either delivered or, in some cases, over-delivered, relative to what was outlined in the initial article. Analysts covering global semiconductor revenue growth forecasts now expect a jump of more than 25% in 2026, reaching nearly $975 billion, with AI-oriented semiconductor demand expanding close to 50% annually. The "inference-rich era" outlined in the earlier article is very much in evidence as the latest generation of AI models moves from research to deployment. Data by YCharts Back when the first article was made, SOXX had returned 41% for the year 2025, primarily due to what was known as the "GPU Gold Rush." The fund has maintained its strong performance throughout 2026 so far. As of the time of writing, SOXX has returned about +32% YTD despite the presence of overall technology sector rotation and increased macro uncertainty in the markets. Based on a trailing 12-month period, the fund has outperformed with more than 133% in price return, outperforming the broader market by a wide margin. The AUM has risen up from $17.5 billion to well around $26.8 billion. Briefly, a recap of the fund itself: the expense ratio is 34 basis points, and it earns a Seeking Alpha B Expense Grade. Liquidity is excellent, with an average daily dollar volume on a 3-month basis around $2.55 billion and an AUM of $24.76 billion, earning it a Seeking Alpha A+ Grade. In terms of the Dividend Grade, it scores highly, ranking it with a B+ Dividend Grade, mainly because of the high dividend growth rate in the last 10 years of 15.63% and the long track record of consecutive years of payments. The dividend yield...