Oil prices may have decreased, but with hundreds of millions of barrels having been taken off the market due to the Iran War, true relief is not quite on the horizon yet—even with a ceasefire in the region. The Schork Group's Co-Founder & Editor Stephen Schork joins Christina Ruffini and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss. Watch the show LIVE every Saturday and Sunday morning. (Sour...
Oil prices may have decreased, but with hundreds of millions of barrels having been taken off the market due to the Iran War, true relief is not quite on the horizon yet—even with a ceasefire in the region. The Schork Group's Co-Founder & Editor Stephen Schork joins Christina Ruffini and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss. Watch the show LIVE every Saturday and Sunday morning. (Source: Bloomberg)
Olena Bartienieva/iStock via Getty Images Thesis The first quarter of 2026 was a really bad time to trust first impressions. Investors got bounced from one narrative to the next: war, oil, rates, AI, and earnings, often all at once. I called it a “bipolar” stretch: we’d end the day down, then wake up and reset to hope . Seeking Alpha Not surprisingly, energy stocks were the top performers in the f...
Olena Bartienieva/iStock via Getty Images Thesis The first quarter of 2026 was a really bad time to trust first impressions. Investors got bounced from one narrative to the next: war, oil, rates, AI, and earnings, often all at once. I called it a “bipolar” stretch: we’d end the day down, then wake up and reset to hope . Seeking Alpha Not surprisingly, energy stocks were the top performers in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Technology and Communication Services stocks as a whole lost value. Basically, investor fear had a bigger influence on which sectors did well than clear economic signals. At the same time, company earnings overall didn’t fall apart. Per FactSet Earnings Insights : For Q1 2026, the estimated (year-over-year) earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 is 13.2%. If 13.2% is the actual growth rate for the quarter, it will mark the sixth-straight quarter of double-digit (year-over-year) earnings growth reported by the index. My research argues that this is now a sector-selection market, not a market for blindly owning what held up best during the panic. The situation now suggests that investors should focus more on parts of the market that dropped earlier in the first quarter because of fear, but still have solid and believable earnings to support them. In parallel, they should be more cautious with sectors that have already benefited from rising oil prices or from investors moving into safer, defensive investments, since those gains may already be priced in. The Case for Technology Despite the rocky performance of tech stocks during the first quarter, it's clear that tech remains a great investment based on what's happening behind the scenes: companies are making continued large capital outlays. Gartner projects a rise in worldwide IT expenditures from approximately $6.15 trillion this year, a rise of 10.8% from 2025. In addition to overall IT expenditures, AI expenditure specifically is projected to reach $2.52 trillion, reflecting a year-over-year increase ...
sankai/iStock via Getty Images Overview When I previously covered the ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF ( IQQQ ), I issued a hold rating due to the untested nature and underperformance against peers. Since that last coverage, we've seen market indices pull back from their all-time highs and experience continued volatility with rising geopolitical risks and macro uncertainties. Now that a few qu...
sankai/iStock via Getty Images Overview When I previously covered the ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF ( IQQQ ), I issued a hold rating due to the untested nature and underperformance against peers. Since that last coverage, we've seen market indices pull back from their all-time highs and experience continued volatility with rising geopolitical risks and macro uncertainties. Now that a few quarters have passed, I wanted to revisit IQQQ's performance and outlook for the remainder of the year. Taking a more concentrated look at the fund by itself, I do believe that IQQQ can be a solid long-term position for investors seeking income. Looking at the performance over the last twelve months, we can see that IQQQ's share price has increased by 19.3%. The fund continues to demonstrate how it is capable of participating in the upside momentum of the market. When including all distributions that were paid out to shareholders, the total return jumps up to 30.7% over the same time frame. IQQQ now offers investors an estimated annual dividend yield of 8.4%, while issuing payouts on a monthly basis. However, the payouts may vary over time based on market conditions. Data by YCharts I believe that IQQQ's implementation really comes down to an investor's objective. If you are a younger investor trying to maximize total return and growth, IQQQ may not make the most sense for you. IQQQ is likely to underperform through market rallies and the included option strategy will limit returns over time. If you are an older investor that is nearing or at the retirement phase of your life, IQQQ makes a lot more sense for you. The high yield is paid out in a tax-efficient manner and can serve as a buffer during periods of uncertainty. Fund Strategy According to the latest fund overview , IQQQ has total net assets of $354.1 million. There is a clear demand for income producing funds, as data now supports that equity-focused income ETFs have attracted a record $97 billion of inflows through ...
Michael Vi/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment thesis Last November and December, Qualys, Inc. ( QLYS ) was treating shareholders to some sizeable capital gains, with prices reaching a high of $155.47. But that good news has soured, with the share price down by more than half since then. During the week of April 5, 2026, it lost 15.63%. The problem? Anthropic’s ( ANTHRO ) new cybersecurit...
Michael Vi/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment thesis Last November and December, Qualys, Inc. ( QLYS ) was treating shareholders to some sizeable capital gains, with prices reaching a high of $155.47. But that good news has soured, with the share price down by more than half since then. During the week of April 5, 2026, it lost 15.63%. The problem? Anthropic’s ( ANTHRO ) new cybersecurity tool, Mythos Preview, could disrupt the industry. Still, there are reasons to be optimistic about its long-term future, and I rate it a Buy (down from my previous Strong Buy rating). About Qualys What was once the company’s strength may have become its vulnerability. In its 10-K for 2025 , management describes the company this way: “Our cloud platform addresses the growing IT, security, and compliance complexities and risks that are amplified by the dissolving boundaries between IT infrastructures and web environments, the rapid adoption of cloud computing, containers, and serverless IT models, and the proliferation of geographically dispersed IT assets.” Note the word ‘security’ in that statement. It is that aspect of the company’s operations that has been threatened by recent news. On April 9, Seeking Alpha News Editor Brandon Evans wrote , “Software companies nearly across the board were bleeding on Thursday, with cybersecurity names hit the hardest amid persistent fears of AI disruption and a shaky geopolitical backdrop.” What is the AI disruption? Anthropic announced on its website , on April 7, 2026, a new initiative called Project Glasswing. Its AI product Claude would work together with 11 other security and high-tech firms to introduce a new level of cybersecurity—but Qualys was not one of those companies. The new product is a frontier model called Mythos Preview (also called Claude Mythos), and according to Anthropic, internal testing revealed a “stark fact.” The fact is, “AI models have reached a level of coding capability where they can surpass all but the mos...
Metal Shock: Gulf's Largest Aluminum Producer Declares Force Majeure A little more than a week after Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), the Gulf's largest aluminum producer, halted operations at its Al Taweelah smelter following Iranian missile and drone strikes, EGA has now declared force majeure on parts of its contract book , signaling that supply chain disruptions are spreading beyond energy mark...
Metal Shock: Gulf's Largest Aluminum Producer Declares Force Majeure A little more than a week after Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), the Gulf's largest aluminum producer, halted operations at its Al Taweelah smelter following Iranian missile and drone strikes, EGA has now declared force majeure on parts of its contract book , signaling that supply chain disruptions are spreading beyond energy markets and into industrial metals. Bloomberg obtained new documents showing that EGA invoked force majeure clauses to suspend at least some deliveries after Iranian drone and missile strikes damaged the Taweelah smelter and forced it to shut down operations. EGA is jointly owned by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai, and it reported 2.83 million tons of cast metal sales in 2025, indicating on its website that it accounted for 4% of the world's aluminum production. The broader Middle East accounts for about 9% of global aluminum supply. The EGA outage adds to mounting pressure on the global aluminum market, which was already strained by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for six weeks, and still, as of this weekend, muted traffic flows through the critical waterway. Producers across the region now risk broader production cuts unless the maritime chokepoint fully reopens with no tolls. Aluminum futures on the London Metal Exchange have surged since the strikes, with LME Aluminum trading up 50% from a year ago. The force majeure from EGA, as well as continued Hormuz chokepoint disruptions, signals tighter global supplies that may send prices even higher. Earlier this month, Goldman commodity specialist James McGeoch told clients, " Hard to think of a bigger metal supply shock : High degree of expectation this was where it was heading, but the initial reaction was to fade the uncertainty yesterday, that should be replaced by fresh length if history is a guide." Tyler Durden Sat, 04/11/2026 - 08:45
Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) is a unique story in the world of business. While it still operates an enterprise data analytics platform that generated $477 million in revenue in 2025, its financial success is fully dependent on its Bitcoin treasury playbook. This has driven the share price almost 1,000% higher in the past six years (as of April 8). Here's one reason to buy and hold Strategy stock for th...
Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) is a unique story in the world of business. While it still operates an enterprise data analytics platform that generated $477 million in revenue in 2025, its financial success is fully dependent on its Bitcoin treasury playbook. This has driven the share price almost 1,000% higher in the past six years (as of April 8). Here's one reason to buy and hold Strategy stock for the next decade. Image source: The Motley Fool. Continue reading
Activist hedge fund Third Point will not seek a proxy fight at CoStar Group ( CSGP ) and has sold its entire ownership stake in the real estate services provider, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter and a letter sent to investors. Led by billionaire investor Dan Loeb, Third Point exited its position after noting that its plans to make CoStar ( CSGP ) focus on its core operati...
Activist hedge fund Third Point will not seek a proxy fight at CoStar Group ( CSGP ) and has sold its entire ownership stake in the real estate services provider, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter and a letter sent to investors. Led by billionaire investor Dan Loeb, Third Point exited its position after noting that its plans to make CoStar ( CSGP ) focus on its core operations would not rescue the company, whose shares have plunged more than 50% over the past 12 months. Shares of CoStar ( CSGP ) rose in January after Third Point confirmed its proxy fight, noting that the owner of Apartments.com and Homes.com should focus more on its core commercial business and wind down or divest its residential operations. "We no longer believe that our original thesis holds true today and have disposed of our position in its entirety," Loeb wrote in the letter to investors on Friday. "Despite our efforts, CEO Andy Florance has continued what can only be seen as a reckless drain on a majority of the company ’ s operating income into Homes.com and related acquisitions even as the share price has continued to plummet," Loeb added. CoStar ( CSGP ) counts the New York-based hedge fund among its 15 largest shareholders. More on CoStar Group CoStar: A Compounding Machine In The Trash Can CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript CoStar Group, Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation CoStar defends change in reporting structure in response to investor criticism CoStar stock tanks after investor criticizes recent change in reporting structure
The iShares National Muni Bond ETF (NYSEMKT:MUB) and iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:IEI) differ in cost, yield, and bond exposure, with MUB focusing on municipal bonds and IEI on intermediate-term Treasuries, each offering distinct risk-return profiles for fixed income investors. MUB and IEI both come from iShares and provide exposure to high-quality U.S. bonds, but there are key diffe...
The iShares National Muni Bond ETF (NYSEMKT:MUB) and iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:IEI) differ in cost, yield, and bond exposure, with MUB focusing on municipal bonds and IEI on intermediate-term Treasuries, each offering distinct risk-return profiles for fixed income investors. MUB and IEI both come from iShares and provide exposure to high-quality U.S. bonds, but there are key differences. MUB invests in a broad mix of municipal bonds, making it appealing to those seeking potential tax advantages, while IEI tracks U.S. Treasury bonds with maturities of three to seven years. This comparison breaks down cost, yield, performance, and portfolio composition to help highlight which fund may fit different portfolio needs. Continue reading
Investors with a bearish view and a willingness to accept risk may seek out these targeted, negative leveraged funds for the potential to amplify performance.
Investors with a bearish view and a willingness to accept risk may seek out these targeted, negative leveraged funds for the potential to amplify performance.
Even as a triumphant moon flyby primes agency for a 2028 landing, Trump’s proposed budget cuts cast pall on US space program The astronauts on board Artemis II were “almost poets”, Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, declared on Friday, referring to their inspiring words as they swung above the lunar surface. They were, he said, “ambassadors for humanity” as they became the first humans to trave...
Even as a triumphant moon flyby primes agency for a 2028 landing, Trump’s proposed budget cuts cast pall on US space program The astronauts on board Artemis II were “almost poets”, Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, declared on Friday, referring to their inspiring words as they swung above the lunar surface. They were, he said, “ambassadors for humanity” as they became the first humans to travel to the moon and return safely to Earth since 1972, on a mission that broke a distance record . Continue reading...
People seen being carried off by officers at first mass demo since group’s ban was ruled unlawful by high court Arrests have begun at the first mass demonstration opposing the proscription of Palestine Action since the group’s ban was ruled unlawful by the high court. Protesters in London’s Trafalgar Square unveiled signs reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Hundreds of demons...
People seen being carried off by officers at first mass demo since group’s ban was ruled unlawful by high court Arrests have begun at the first mass demonstration opposing the proscription of Palestine Action since the group’s ban was ruled unlawful by the high court. Protesters in London’s Trafalgar Square unveiled signs reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Hundreds of demonstrators sat on camping chairs and on the ground as they held up their placards on Saturday afternoon. Continue reading...