British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday said he would not “yield” to pressure to join the Iran war after US President Donald Trump threatened to scrap a UK trade deal. “We’re not going to get dragged into this war. It is not our war,” Starmer told parliament. “I’m not going to change my mind. I’m not going to yield. It is not in our national interest to join this war,” the Labour leader a...
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday said he would not “yield” to pressure to join the Iran war after US President Donald Trump threatened to scrap a UK trade deal. “We’re not going to get dragged into this war. It is not our war,” Starmer told parliament. “I’m not going to change my mind. I’m not going to yield. It is not in our national interest to join this war,” the Labour leader added. In a phone interview with Sky News, Trump threatened to alter an agreement struck with Britain...
zhaojiankang/iStock via Getty Images In September 2025, I marked Dow Inc. ( DOW ) a buy and that buy rating has worked well with a 74% return sharply outperforming the S&P 500’s 4.2% gain. The stock price strongly recovered and even was heading towards my forward valuation target of $49.65. Dow is one of the companies together with fertilizer and oil stocks that has actually performed well due to ...
zhaojiankang/iStock via Getty Images In September 2025, I marked Dow Inc. ( DOW ) a buy and that buy rating has worked well with a 74% return sharply outperforming the S&P 500’s 4.2% gain. The stock price strongly recovered and even was heading towards my forward valuation target of $49.65. Dow is one of the companies together with fertilizer and oil stocks that has actually performed well due to the war in Iran. In this report, I discuss the dynamics in play for Dow and explain why I believe the stock remains a buy. Dow Surges On Closure Of Hormuz Closure When I initiated coverage for Dow, the main challenge was the oversupply in the market against a sluggish macro backdrop. With energy prices surging one would expect that the industrial end market exposure and higher oil and gas prices would be a net negative for Dow. However, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz there also are other elements in play: Petrochemical supply shock Access to lower-cost energy Pricing power Export leverage Cost Inflation This is obviously not a clean “war is good” story, because for end market demand the GDP erosion may have consequences. Normally around 40% of the polyethylene exports comes from the Middle East. The Middle East with access to oil and gas has an advantage and since the market in the Middle East for petrochemical products is quite small, they are major exporters with big cost advantages. With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, that global supply is cut off. So, this is known as the supply shock that can benefit other players in the market. The second important item is access to low-cost energy. Energy prices have risen and in a first assessment, rising energy prices would seem bad for companies like Dow. However, Dow has a structural advantage like other US players that it largely uses ethane which natural gas-based feedstock compared to naphtha, which is oil-based and is primarily used in Europe and Asia. In the US, energy prices obviously also went up. However, ...
bombermoon/iStock via Getty Images SunPower ( SPWR ) down 6.1% in early trading Wednesday after filing its audited 2025 Form 10-K, which highlighted that GAAP revenue totaled $300M, down from $308.75M previously reported due to the removal of double bookings, and a ~$26.9M GAAP operating loss following a one-time balance sheet cleanup. After standard adjustments, SunPower ( SPWR ) said FY 2025 non...
bombermoon/iStock via Getty Images SunPower ( SPWR ) down 6.1% in early trading Wednesday after filing its audited 2025 Form 10-K, which highlighted that GAAP revenue totaled $300M, down from $308.75M previously reported due to the removal of double bookings, and a ~$26.9M GAAP operating loss following a one-time balance sheet cleanup. After standard adjustments, SunPower ( SPWR ) said FY 2025 non-GAAP operating income totaled nearly $7.33M. SunPower ( SPWR ) said it plans to restate its Q1, Q2, and Q3 2025 quarterly reports to align with the 10-K and stated a 2026 plan targeting more than $400K in revenues. The company said material errors were related to the recognition of revenue—and related cost of revenues, sales commissions, sales and marketing, and general and administrative expenses—and interest expense. SunPower ( SPWR ) said the material errors were the result of previously reported material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting related to its control activities, information and communication, and monitoring activities. More on SunPower SunPower Presents at The 38th Annual Roth Conference - Slideshow SunPower: Upside, But Not A Buy SunPower Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Leestat/iStock via Getty Images North Korea is making what the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency described as “very serious” progress in building its nuclear arsenal, with signs pointing to a new uranium enrichment facility and heightened activity at its main nuclear complex, Reuters reported Wednesday. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said operations have accelerated across multip...
Leestat/iStock via Getty Images North Korea is making what the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency described as “very serious” progress in building its nuclear arsenal, with signs pointing to a new uranium enrichment facility and heightened activity at its main nuclear complex, Reuters reported Wednesday. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said operations have accelerated across multiple sites at Yongbyon, including a 5-megawatt reactor, a reprocessing unit and a light-water reactor. Satellite imagery and independent analysis suggest the possible completion of an additional enrichment plant, which could boost production of weapons-grade material. The acceleration of North Korea’s nuclear program adds to geopolitical risk in Northeast Asia, a region central to global supply chains in semiconductors, autos and shipping. Heightened tensions could drive defense spending while increasing market volatility, particularly for companies with exposure to South Korea and Japan. The watchdog agency estimates North Korea already possesses several dozen nuclear warheads, with uranium enrichment emerging as a key pathway alongside plutonium reprocessing. Grossi said recent developments indicate a meaningful expansion in capacity, though there is no evidence so far of Russian technology being used in the weapons program. Separately, Grossi urged South Korea to work closely with the IAEA on its planned nuclear-powered submarine program to ensure safeguards against proliferation, as such reactors can operate for long periods without inspection. More on VanEck Semiconductor ETF, iShares Semiconductor ETF, etc. XSD In The Semiconductor Boom, But Not The Choice I Prefer. Here's Why SOXX: Buy The Picks And Shovels Of The AI/HPC Wave Recent AI Funding Problems Should Worry You Crowded trades shift to oil and semiconductors as gold loses top spot BlackRock's iShares just had its best Q1 ever: Here are the 10 top-rated funds in the lineup
By Nqobile Dludla JOHANNESBURG, April 15 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD is deliberately avoiding a price war in South Africa as competition ramps up in the continent's second biggest
By Nqobile Dludla JOHANNESBURG, April 15 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD is deliberately avoiding a price war in South Africa as competition ramps up in the continent's second biggest
Robert Way Senator Elizabeth Warren said she sees “risks” to Nvidia's ( NVDA ) acquisition of open-source software company SchedMD in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “I write to express concern about NVIDIA’s recent acquisition of SchedMD and request information about the government’s dependency on NVIDIA hardware and software,” Warren wrote in a le...
Robert Way Senator Elizabeth Warren said she sees “risks” to Nvidia's ( NVDA ) acquisition of open-source software company SchedMD in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “I write to express concern about NVIDIA’s recent acquisition of SchedMD and request information about the government’s dependency on NVIDIA hardware and software,” Warren wrote in a letter to Secys. Hegseth and Wright. “This acquisition raises particular alarm due to the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Defense’s (DoD) widespread reliance on SchedMD’s workload management software, Slurm. Slurm software is used in critical DOE and DoD supercomputers and is 'the top software used worldwide in aerospace and defense.' NVIDIA’s acquisition of Slurm turns a once free software into one of NVIDIA’s proprietary offerings, which may reduce competition and harm national security. This would give NVIDIA disproportionate control over a chokepoint that rival firms rely on to operate government supercomputers.” In her letter to the Cabinet members, Sen. Warren asked for additional information on which DOE and DOD systems rely on Nvidia's software or hardware. She has requested answers by May 5. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha. Led by CEO Jensen Huang, Nvidia announced in December 2025 it was acquiring SchedMD, maker of the popular open-source Slurm (Simple Linux Utility Resource Management) software. Slurm functions as a manager and job scheduler for high-performance computing clusters, helping sets of computers function as a single system. Nvidia said it plans to continue developing and distributing Slurm as an open-source, vendor-neutral software solution. Slurm is already used by more than half of the top 10 and top 100 systems in the TOP500 list of supercomputers. Slurm is also supported by Nvidia's most powerful hardware. The two companies have collaborated for more than a decade. More on Nvidia Nvidia: Mu...
Billionaire Elon Musk has shared a distaste for social media platforms from Meta Platforms over the years. Meta-owned Instagram and rival social media platform TikTok, which is now owned by a group of American companies, may have attracted Musk to use platforms outside his X platform owned by xAI/SpaceX ahead of a highly anticipated IPO. Elon Musk on Instagram, TikTok? For years, Musk has shared h...
Billionaire Elon Musk has shared a distaste for social media platforms from Meta Platforms over the years. Meta-owned Instagram and rival social media platform TikTok, which is now owned by a group of American companies, may have attracted Musk to use platforms outside his X platform owned by xAI/SpaceX ahead of a highly anticipated IPO. Elon Musk on Instagram, TikTok? For years, Musk has shared his hatred for platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, which are all owned by Meta Platfo
Heartland Advisors, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Mid-cap stocks experienced initial gains due to improved market breadth; however, increasing geopolitical risks led investors to favor larger-cap companies perceived as safer. The firm remains committed to […]
Heartland Advisors, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Mid-cap stocks experienced initial gains due to improved market breadth; however, increasing geopolitical risks led investors to favor larger-cap companies perceived as safer. The firm remains committed to […]
Mar Vista's U.S. Quality Premier strategy returned -10.17% net-of-fees in the first quarter of 2026. During the quarter, it initiated new investments in Ecolab ( ECL ), GE Vernova ( GEV ), and QXO Inc ( QXO ). It also exited positions in Salesforce ( CRM ) and SAP ADR ( SAP ). During the quarter-end rebalance of the Quality Premier strategy, the fund also added to its holdings in Danaher ( DHR ), ...
Mar Vista's U.S. Quality Premier strategy returned -10.17% net-of-fees in the first quarter of 2026. During the quarter, it initiated new investments in Ecolab ( ECL ), GE Vernova ( GEV ), and QXO Inc ( QXO ). It also exited positions in Salesforce ( CRM ) and SAP ADR ( SAP ). During the quarter-end rebalance of the Quality Premier strategy, the fund also added to its holdings in Danaher ( DHR ), Netflix ( NFLX ), and Linde plc ( LIN ) and trimmed Intuit ( INTU ) and Meta Platforms ( META ). "We believe the market is transitioning into a more fundamentally driven environment where returns could be more closely tied to earnings durability, free cash flow generation, and capital discipline." More on Ecolab, Salesforce, etc. Wall Street Lunch: Big Banks Open Earnings Season With Mixed Results Meta Strikes Back Wall Street Lunch: Netflix Draws Bullish Backing As Ad Revenue Seen Doubling To $3B Oakmark Fund (Investor Class) adds ADBE, NFLX; exits DE, APA among Q1 moves Broadcom's deal with Meta boosts confidence in AI ramp: analysts
imaginima/E+ via Getty Images Commercial crude stocks (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) for the week ended April 10: 463.8 M barrels. Crude inventory change: -0.9 M barrels vs. +3.1M barrels for the week ended April 3. Consensus estimate: +2.100M. Gasoline inventory change: -6.3M barrels vs. -1.6M barrels for the week ended April 3. Distillates inventory change: -3.1M barrels vs...
imaginima/E+ via Getty Images Commercial crude stocks (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) for the week ended April 10: 463.8 M barrels. Crude inventory change: -0.9 M barrels vs. +3.1M barrels for the week ended April 3. Consensus estimate: +2.100M. Gasoline inventory change: -6.3M barrels vs. -1.6M barrels for the week ended April 3. Distillates inventory change: -3.1M barrels vs. -3.1M barrels for the week ended April 3. Strategic Petroleum Reserve: 409.2M barrels , down -4.1M barrels from 413.3M barrels in the prior week. Crude Oil Futures ( CL1:COM ) -0.18% to $91.9/barrel. ETFs: ( USO ), ( UCO ), ( SCO ), ( BNO ), ( DBO ), ( USL ). More on Crude Oil Futures, United States Oil Fund LP ETF, etc. December World Oil Production Slides Oil Dynamics And Intraday Analysis: WTI Drops Back Below $100 After US-Iran Talks Set To Resume Trump's Hormuz Siege: Starving Tehran To Save The West Crude oil plunges on potential for renewed U.S.-Iran talks, pressure from naval blockade U.S. crude stockpiles rose 6.1M barrels last week, API says