Getty Images Originally published on April 02, 2026 Financial markets oscillate Geopolitical developments in the Middle East continued to drive market performance. On Monday, rumblings that negotiations were taking place between the U.S. and Iran fuelled a significant rebound in equity markets. The S&P 500 Index climbed nearly 3% on the last trading day of Q1, while the Russell 2000 Index climbed ...
Getty Images Originally published on April 02, 2026 Financial markets oscillate Geopolitical developments in the Middle East continued to drive market performance. On Monday, rumblings that negotiations were taking place between the U.S. and Iran fuelled a significant rebound in equity markets. The S&P 500 Index climbed nearly 3% on the last trading day of Q1, while the Russell 2000 Index climbed nearly 3.5%. Overall, the first quarter was a split-screen performance by global equity markets. In the first two months of the year, non-U.S. stocks outperformed U.S. stocks by roughly 10 percentage points. But in March, non-U.S. stocks underperformed by 6 percentage points as investors weighed the potential asymmetric impact of the war on various economies. Uncertainty continues to remain elevated. On Wednesday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a speech in which he indicated the war could wrap up shortly, but even so, it might persist for another 2-3 weeks. U.S. equity markets sold off overnight and into regular trading on Thursday morning, but market reaction flattened out towards the middle of the trading day amid reports that Iran and Oman might develop a joint monitoring protocol for ships in the Straits of Hormuz. With equity markets being oversold but not yet panicked, we continue to believe that investors would be well-served by sticking close to their strategic asset allocations rather than making large tactical tilts. Global manufacturing exhibits resilience Despite the uncertainty caused by the war in the Middle East, the global manufacturing sector continues to exhibit strength. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing PMI was 52.7% in March, edging higher from the February reading and coming in above consensus expectations. The New Orders subcomponent, often viewed as a leading indicator, was also in expansionary territory. Outside of the U.S., the final Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMI) data for March confirms some of the strength seen...
Relations with Britain have improved again since Brexit, but battles over Irish history remain visible in Stormont’s endless feuding Rory Carroll is the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent and author of A Rebel and a Traitor: A Fugitive, the Manhunt and Birth of the IRA More than a century after he was marched to the gallows, there is still something radioactive about Roger Casement , a name that con...
Relations with Britain have improved again since Brexit, but battles over Irish history remain visible in Stormont’s endless feuding Rory Carroll is the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent and author of A Rebel and a Traitor: A Fugitive, the Manhunt and Birth of the IRA More than a century after he was marched to the gallows, there is still something radioactive about Roger Casement , a name that continues to emit a faint crackle in British-Irish relations. He was knighted in 1911 by King George V for distinguished imperial service, but then embraced radical Irish nationalism and sought German help for the 1916 Easter Rising. Rory Carroll is the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent and author of A Rebel and a Traitor: A Fugitive, the Manhunt and the Birth of the IRA Continue reading...
The US-Israeli war will have a lifelong impact on millions of children across the Middle East Millions of children have been plunged into crisis by the war in the Middle East, with reports of child soldiers in Iran, mass forced displacements in Lebanon and the killing of hundreds of minors. According to the UN agency for children, Unicef, more than 340 children have been killed and thousands injur...
The US-Israeli war will have a lifelong impact on millions of children across the Middle East Millions of children have been plunged into crisis by the war in the Middle East, with reports of child soldiers in Iran, mass forced displacements in Lebanon and the killing of hundreds of minors. According to the UN agency for children, Unicef, more than 340 children have been killed and thousands injured since the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran, which has retaliated with bombings across the region. Continue reading...
Arsenal meet Brighton with their sights set on reaching a second semi-final while Tottenham could be facing Chelsea at just the right time Riding high after their Champions League quarter-final win over Chelsea, Arsenal are ready to push on in the FA Cup. The WSL title may be almost certainly out of sight following Manchester City’s impressive victory over Manchester United, but the chance to go f...
Arsenal meet Brighton with their sights set on reaching a second semi-final while Tottenham could be facing Chelsea at just the right time Riding high after their Champions League quarter-final win over Chelsea, Arsenal are ready to push on in the FA Cup. The WSL title may be almost certainly out of sight following Manchester City’s impressive victory over Manchester United, but the chance to go for a European and domestic cup double is very much there. Brighton stand in the way of securing a second cup semi-final within six days. Last weekend Dario Vidosic’s side earned a first WSL win since their 23 January defeat of Everton, securing a 1-0 win over bottom-placed Leicester. The Seagulls sit sixth in the WSL, eight points behind Tottenham and only ahead of London City Lionesses on goal difference. They are seven points off of last season’s total with four games remaining. However, those four games are against Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs and inconsistency has blighted their campaign. The hope will be that they face a tired Arsenal after their Champions League exploits, with the 1-0 second-leg defeat to Chelsea a frantic and exhausting match. That is perhaps an ambitious ask given the depth at Arsenal’s disposal and the form they are in, Wednesday night’s inconsequential defeat being their first loss since 21 January. Continue reading...
A distant relative found a family link to the football prodigy, as they are both related to George Male, the first player to win six English top-flight titles Dave Male could have had no idea that his decision to attend a match while he was on holiday in Spain two years ago would uncover a remarkable family link to one of English football’s brightest young prospects. The retired teacher was stayin...
A distant relative found a family link to the football prodigy, as they are both related to George Male, the first player to win six English top-flight titles Dave Male could have had no idea that his decision to attend a match while he was on holiday in Spain two years ago would uncover a remarkable family link to one of English football’s brightest young prospects. The retired teacher was staying just down the road from the Pinatar Arena in Murcia and went along to watch England Under-16s in a friendly against Italy. “I was looking at the team sheet and that’s when the name Dowman hit me straight away,” Male recalls. On the pitch that day was a 14-year-old Max Dowman, already standing out as England claimed a 2-1 victory. But for Male, it wasn’t just the performance that caught his attention. It was his name. Male, a keen genealogist, recognised it instantly from his own family history. Continue reading...
Goalkeeper on representing Israel, learning from Manuel Neuer at Bayern and targeting an FA Cup upset A few days after returning from international duty, there is only one place to start with Daniel Peretz: his pride at representing Israel during the unsettling and tense backdrop of war and geopolitical conflict. His excitement at facing Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-finals can wait. Almost all of...
Goalkeeper on representing Israel, learning from Manuel Neuer at Bayern and targeting an FA Cup upset A few days after returning from international duty, there is only one place to start with Daniel Peretz: his pride at representing Israel during the unsettling and tense backdrop of war and geopolitical conflict. His excitement at facing Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-finals can wait. Almost all of his family are in Tel Aviv, where wailing air raid sirens have become a staple of the mood music. “Unfortunately, it has become a bit of a routine,” says the Southampton goalkeeper, who is on loan from Bayern Munich. When they sound, his loved ones head to the nearest bunkers and safe rooms. “It’s not always easy to do this separation in life and you are worried a lot about what’s happening,” he says. “But they are always following the instructions and I’m always in touch with them. We speak regularly to check everything is OK. Continue reading...
The United Arab Emirates has begun retaliating against Iran’s incessant air strikes on its industrial infrastructure by squeezing the economic lifeline it has long extended to the sanctions-bound Islamic Republic. Rather than taking sweeping measures that would signal an escalation beyond its purely defensive posture, the UAE this week quietly banned most Iranians from entering the country or tran...
The United Arab Emirates has begun retaliating against Iran’s incessant air strikes on its industrial infrastructure by squeezing the economic lifeline it has long extended to the sanctions-bound Islamic Republic. Rather than taking sweeping measures that would signal an escalation beyond its purely defensive posture, the UAE this week quietly banned most Iranians from entering the country or transiting its airports. The UAE is home to more than half a million Iranians, many of whom are...
The Nebula P1 goes anywhere you can find a power source. The Soundcore Nebula P1 from Anker isn't the most portable Google TV projector I've ever reviewed, nor is it the brightest. It doesn't even have a built-in battery. Instead it's a decent video device that focuses on sound. The Nebula P1's standout feature is a pair of speakers that detach to create true left- and right-channel separation. It...
The Nebula P1 goes anywhere you can find a power source. The Soundcore Nebula P1 from Anker isn't the most portable Google TV projector I've ever reviewed, nor is it the brightest. It doesn't even have a built-in battery. Instead it's a decent video device that focuses on sound. The Nebula P1's standout feature is a pair of speakers that detach to create true left- and right-channel separation. It sounds much better than typical all-in-ones like the supremely portable TCL PlayCube , Xgimi MoGo , or Anker's popular Capsule projectors. I've been testing the $799 (currently on sale for $639) Nebula P1 as I travel around the European countryside in my van. It's not my favorite portable projector, but … Read the full story at The Verge.
KanawatTH/iStock via Getty Images Blue Owl Capital: Are we (finally) at peak redemptions? I truly feel sorry for you, if you are a private credit investor, or if you invest in one of the alternative asset managers like Blue Owl Capital Inc. ( OWL ), with a relatively large direct lending portfolio. As a reminder, direct lending fees accounted for >60% of the company's total adjusted revenue for 20...
KanawatTH/iStock via Getty Images Blue Owl Capital: Are we (finally) at peak redemptions? I truly feel sorry for you, if you are a private credit investor, or if you invest in one of the alternative asset managers like Blue Owl Capital Inc. ( OWL ), with a relatively large direct lending portfolio. As a reminder, direct lending fees accounted for >60% of the company's total adjusted revenue for 2025, definitely not an immaterial ratio by any measure. Then when you add in the software forest fire into the mix, where investors believe that the industry is now ripe for disruption, it's really a case of a double whammy. One that might just push the stock into a capitulation zone if we have another redemption event-related selloff that could test the conviction of the diamond hands still standing. OCIC April 2026 shareholder letter (Blue Owl Capital) To which, I guess I do not have to remind you that I think we just had this particular redemption event that happened on Thursday, and it was reported all over the financial media. Well, in case you missed it, you can refer to the shareholder letter that Blue Owl Credit Income Corp., or OCIC, issued to its investor class. The under-fire asset manager has been facing a deluge of headwinds since the start of the year, which I also explained in my previous OWL write-up . I rated the stock as a hold back then, as I wanted to assess whether we could get to what I thought was an optimal buy level with a massive washed-out bottom of sorts. And based on what I’ve observed, I think we might just get one right now. Back then, I indicated how Blue Owl Capital had been facing issues with OBDC II. Private credit hit by massive quarterly redemptions Private credit investor redemption requests (The Wall Street Journal) But, as we know, the widespread redemption requests aren’t just limited to OWL’s vehicles, but have also battered the whole industry. For OCIC, the situation obviously couldn’t have been worse, but not unexpected, right? Whi...