Xiaomi has raised prices on several smartphone models, joining a broader wave of increases across China’s handset makers as surging memory chip costs ripple through the global consumer electronics supply chain. The company said on Friday that prices for three models would rise by about 200 yuan (US$29), with the adjustments taking effect next Saturday. The move follows similar increases by domesti...
Xiaomi has raised prices on several smartphone models, joining a broader wave of increases across China’s handset makers as surging memory chip costs ripple through the global consumer electronics supply chain. The company said on Friday that prices for three models would rise by about 200 yuan (US$29), with the adjustments taking effect next Saturday. The move follows similar increases by domestic peers including Oppo, Vivo and Honor in March. Xiaomi attributed the hike to “continued sharp...
China would be closely watching the US Artemis 2 lunar fly-by mission, which has already encountered challenges, including a malfunctioning toilet soon after launch, an expert said. As China gears up to bring astronauts to the moon, the first human return to lunar orbit since the Apollo era over 50 years ago could offer Beijing valuable technical insights. Quentin Parker, a professor of astrophysi...
China would be closely watching the US Artemis 2 lunar fly-by mission, which has already encountered challenges, including a malfunctioning toilet soon after launch, an expert said. As China gears up to bring astronauts to the moon, the first human return to lunar orbit since the Apollo era over 50 years ago could offer Beijing valuable technical insights. Quentin Parker, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Hong Kong, described China as watching the Artemis 2 mission “like a...
This report is from this week's The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. Once considered a taboo sector to funnel money into by venture capitalists, defense tech has seen a remarkable shift over the past few years. It raised just $869 million globally in 2020, according to deal-counting platform Dealroom — a figure that rose more than tenfold to hit $11.2 billion in...
This report is from this week's The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. Once considered a taboo sector to funnel money into by venture capitalists, defense tech has seen a remarkable shift over the past few years. It raised just $869 million globally in 2020, according to deal-counting platform Dealroom — a figure that rose more than tenfold to hit $11.2 billion in 2025. A lot can change in five years. Rising geopolitical tensions across the world have led states scrambling to modernize militaries and increasing commercial opportunities for new defense startups. Russia's war in Ukraine has given rise to a new kind of drone warfare. It also provided a test bed for new defense technology developed by startups, and now tech companies have their sights set on opportunities brought about by the conflict in the Middle East. Over the past week, defense tech startups in the U.S. and Europe have told reporters at CNBC that they're seeing increased demand and are eyeing commercial deals as a result of the conflict. Frankenburg Mark I interceptor missile live-fire test. Credit: Frankenburg. Rising demand The Iran war is the " moment defense tech and Silicon Valley have been waiting for," my colleague Samantha Subin wrote last Saturday. For years, the sector has sought to compete with primes for a chunk of the ballooning Pentagon budget, and the U.S. campaign in the Middle East has provided an opening, startups told CNBC. Several defense tech startups Subin spoke with for the story said demand had risen from Department of Defense customers since the U.S. and Israel first struck Iran at the end of February. Many of those customers have offered to buy out capacity or asked firms to increase production, the businesses said. In Europe, defense tech execs told me they've been ramping up commercial discussions with Middle East governments since the start of the war. Another defense CEO said interest from Gulf states was "skyrocketing" as they raced to...
Organic Media/E+ via Getty Images Ellington Financial ( EFC ) is a mortgage REIT that we cover. Today, I’d like to go over one of their preferred shares for readers. EFC-C ( EFC.PR.C ) Is A Very Interesting Share EFC-C is not a great investment choice. I would love to be able to put a bearish rating on it, but bearish ratings only really work on preferred shares if there is a strong case for the c...
Organic Media/E+ via Getty Images Ellington Financial ( EFC ) is a mortgage REIT that we cover. Today, I’d like to go over one of their preferred shares for readers. EFC-C ( EFC.PR.C ) Is A Very Interesting Share EFC-C is not a great investment choice. I would love to be able to put a bearish rating on it, but bearish ratings only really work on preferred shares if there is a strong case for the company to collapse. I do not see any reasonable argument for Ellington Financial to collapse. Therefore, I am stuck using a "Neutral" rating, even though I believe the share price is too high. Preferred shares rarely have a negative return because the price rarely fluctuates enough to lose more value than the dividends. It’s important for investors to look at relative values of investments. The stripped yield on price is 8.66%. The REIT Forum When we compare EFC-C to similar preferred shares and baby bonds, investors can find better options elsewhere. The stripped yield on this preferred share isn’t attractive relative to peers. For us to view this as a buy, the price would need to drop about $1.23. That’s more than 6 months of dividends. Let’s consider a possible scenario. Over the next six months, the price could decline by about $1.08, which is equal to two dividend payments. The dividends they collected would be offset by the drop in price. In this scenario, investors would be seeing a total return of 0%. That still doesn’t work for us to create a bearish rating. It would be a lame performance, but not the kind of decline that works for “bearish” ratings. That does not look at all impressive for the analyst. It looks fine for an analyst who is awful and needs something to reduce the impact of all their terrible ratings. However, for an analyst with a solid track record, having a bearish rating that delivers zero percent over six months is simply not impressive. The REIT Forum Now, let's get into why EFC-C is such a poor choice. The first issue is that the share price is...
ugurhan/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Welcome to the SA’s The Macro Brief! This official SA Profile will highlight our analysts' latest economic and market analysis to help investors gauge the ever-volatile financial landscape through various recurring series. The economy is the foundation of financial markets, influencing everything from corporate earnings and consumer spending to central ...
ugurhan/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Welcome to the SA’s The Macro Brief! This official SA Profile will highlight our analysts' latest economic and market analysis to help investors gauge the ever-volatile financial landscape through various recurring series. The economy is the foundation of financial markets, influencing everything from corporate earnings and consumer spending to central bank policy and inflation. Understanding economic trends, policy decisions, and sector activity can be critical when assessing market opportunities and making informed investment decisions. Check out these must-reads from March’s second half… Trending Themes The Iran War Markets Are Souring On Trump's Iran Strategy | James Foord | 3/20/26 “The ongoing Iran war has escalated beyond expectations, undermining market confidence and contributing to a downtrend in the S&P 500. Recent U.S. actions, including potential sanction relief on Iranian oil, are considered short-term fixes rather than bullish catalysts. Historical parallels suggest that political missteps and energy crises can trigger prolonged market turmoil and recessions.” Why Hormuz Worst-Case Scenario Says 'Hold Off' | Wolf Report | 3/23/26 “Historical precedent suggests a severe oil shock could trigger stagflation, prolonged market underperformance, and a decade of flat or negative real returns. Algorithmic trading could amplify volatility and accelerate a broad equity sell-off, especially in sectors with high-energy exposure.” Since 1971, This Is How The S&P 500 Has Performed After Oil Shocks | Multiplo Invest | 3/24/26 “The last few days have been complex for stock investors. The risk aversion scenario has not improved, oil prices continue to rise, shares continue to fall and fear begins to take over. My objective here was to clarify the scenario for the investor.” There Is No De-Escalation | Eugenio Catone | 3/25/26 “Current market optimism over U.S./Iran de-escalation is likely misplaced, as both sides' demands r...
Maks_Lab/iStock via Getty Images Global manufacturing continued to grow in March, according to PMI survey data, the rate of expansion slowing but displaying encouraging resilience in the face of surging energy prices and supply delays. However, the forward-looking indicators hint at these pressures playing a greater role in dampening growth in the months ahead. Manufacturing PMI dips on war impact...
Maks_Lab/iStock via Getty Images Global manufacturing continued to grow in March, according to PMI survey data, the rate of expansion slowing but displaying encouraging resilience in the face of surging energy prices and supply delays. However, the forward-looking indicators hint at these pressures playing a greater role in dampening growth in the months ahead. Manufacturing PMI dips on war impact The global manufacturing recovery has been knocked off course by the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Having risen to a 44-month high of 51.8 in February, the headline manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), sponsored by J.P. Morgan and compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, fell to 51.3 in March. While still above 50, the PMI remains in growth territory for an eighth successive month, and March’s reading was, in fact, the second-highest seen over the past 45 months. But the relative resilience of this headline indicator masks a more worrying picture of deteriorating demand growth, surging prices and supply chain delays, all of which threaten to push growth lower in the coming months. In the first instance, it should be borne in mind that the headline PMI is a composite of five survey variables. Of these five PMI components, the output index fell in March to signal a slowing of production growth to a three-month low, driven by a cooling of new orders growth globally. Order book growth in turn weakened due to a near-stalling of global trade flows, which represents a disappointing pullback in global goods export flows after February had seen the strongest rise for over four years. This change in the demand environment contributed to an ongoing reluctance to add to headcounts, with employment unchanged after two months of marginal gains as firms sought to reduce staffing overheads. Stocks of purchased inputs were also unchanged after having risen in February, likewise reflecting cost-cutting. However, the biggest change in the five variables which comprise the...
U.S. consumer confidence just hit one of its lowest levels in years; it's now sitting below where it was at the start of every recession since the University of Michigan began tracking it. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index has dropped more than 8% from its all-time high set in late January, posting its worst stretch in over a year. But consumer confidence is just one of four warning s...
U.S. consumer confidence just hit one of its lowest levels in years; it's now sitting below where it was at the start of every recession since the University of Michigan began tracking it. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index has dropped more than 8% from its all-time high set in late January, posting its worst stretch in over a year. But consumer confidence is just one of four warning signs flashing at the same time right now, a combination that preceded the bear market of 2023 -- when the S&P 500 lost more than $7 trillion in value. The same mix happened in 2008 as well, before one of the worst market crashes of the modern era, when stock prices fell by more than 50%. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Biggest rises were in vegetable oil and sugar prices, which increased by 5% and 7% respectively Visual guide to the Gulf fertiliser blockade Food prices rose sharply in March as war in the Middle East drove up energy prices and freight costs around the world, a UN report says. An index of food commodity prices by the UN’s food and agriculture organisation increased by 2.4% in March, its second con...
Biggest rises were in vegetable oil and sugar prices, which increased by 5% and 7% respectively Visual guide to the Gulf fertiliser blockade Food prices rose sharply in March as war in the Middle East drove up energy prices and freight costs around the world, a UN report says. An index of food commodity prices by the UN’s food and agriculture organisation increased by 2.4% in March, its second consecutive monthly rise. Continue reading...
Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Slide After Trump Says US Will Hit Iran ‘Extremely Hard’ For Weeks: Why DJT, USO, TSLA, NVDA, MSTR Are In Focus stocktwits.com
Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Slide After Trump Says US Will Hit Iran ‘Extremely Hard’ For Weeks: Why DJT, USO, TSLA, NVDA, MSTR Are In Focus stocktwits.com
格隆汇4月3日｜在伊朗战争导致停产33天后，以色列最大的天然气田恢复生产，这可能会为供应紧张的市场带来一些缓解。据利益相关方Newmed Energy LP的一位发言人表示，Leviathan项目现在可以恢复对国内市场和出口的供应。此前一天，以色列能源部宣布该项目重启在即。Leviathan气田是雪佛龙公司在东地中海运营的一个大型天然气田，不仅对满足以色列当地的天然气需求至关重要，对埃及也同样重要...
格隆汇4月3日｜在伊朗战争导致停产33天后，以色列最大的天然气田恢复生产，这可能会为供应紧张的市场带来一些缓解。据利益相关方Newmed Energy LP的一位发言人表示，Leviathan项目现在可以恢复对国内市场和出口的供应。此前一天，以色列能源部宣布该项目重启在即。Leviathan气田是雪佛龙公司在东地中海运营的一个大型天然气田，不仅对满足以色列当地的天然气需求至关重要，对埃及也同样重要。
Penguin Technologies is a tech stock trading at deep-value levels. Institutions are accumulating and analysts point to higher prices, how high can it get?
Penguin Technologies is a tech stock trading at deep-value levels. Institutions are accumulating and analysts point to higher prices, how high can it get?