Uber launches fully driverless robotaxis in Dubai with WeRide, marking a major AV milestone as it scales partnerships and real-world deployments globally.
Uber launches fully driverless robotaxis in Dubai with WeRide, marking a major AV milestone as it scales partnerships and real-world deployments globally.
Valero Energy is capitalizing on a new era of tight refining capacity through superior operational efficiency, positioning it for sustainable long-term growth.
Valero Energy is capitalizing on a new era of tight refining capacity through superior operational efficiency, positioning it for sustainable long-term growth.
Foreigners offloaded the most Japanese shares since September 2024 last week in another sign of growing fears about the impact of the Iran war on the Asian economy. Overseas investors dumped around ¥1.51 trillion ($9.5 billion) of Japanese cash equities on a net basis in the week ended March 27, according to data from Japan Exchange Group Inc. That marks the third straight week of selling after a ...
Foreigners offloaded the most Japanese shares since September 2024 last week in another sign of growing fears about the impact of the Iran war on the Asian economy. Overseas investors dumped around ¥1.51 trillion ($9.5 billion) of Japanese cash equities on a net basis in the week ended March 27, according to data from Japan Exchange Group Inc. That marks the third straight week of selling after a streak of net buying. The selloff came amid Japanese stocks’ worst monthly performance since 2008, with the Topix and Nikkei 225 benchmarks both dropping more than 11% in March. The rout is in sharp contrast to the record-beating rally Tokyo shares had enjoyed in the first two months of the year, powered by optimism for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s fiscal spending plans. The Nikkei has lagged the US benchmark by around six percentage points since the Iran conflict began, after outperforming the S&P 500 and other global indexes in January and February. “From a Japanese stock market viewpoint, the Iran war could not have come at a worse time,” said equity analyst Pelham Smithers in a report. Japan was already facing a “cost-of-living crisis” before oil prices started climbing, and “the combination of rising stock market and plateauing economy” left equities vulnerable to a downturn, he said. Japan relies on the Middle East for more than 90% of its oil, leaving its economy exposed to price spikes. The Nikkei fell 2.4% on Thursday after Brent crude rose following Donald Trump’s threat to hit Iran “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks.
It’s premature to say what the European Central Bank should do at next month’s interest-rate meeting as the situation around the Iran war is moving by the day, according to Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus . For now, “caution is needed,” the Lithuanian central-bank chief said Thursday, echoing many of his colleagues who say they’re ready to act but will wait for clear signs in the data th...
It’s premature to say what the European Central Bank should do at next month’s interest-rate meeting as the situation around the Iran war is moving by the day, according to Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus . For now, “caution is needed,” the Lithuanian central-bank chief said Thursday, echoing many of his colleagues who say they’re ready to act but will wait for clear signs in the data that they must do so. “Whether action is already required in April, it’s definitely too early to make such generalizations at this point,” Simkus told reporters in Vilnius. “We can only do guesswork on how the situation in Iran will evolve, what the final consequences will be. Therefore, whatever I say now may look very different from the information we get at the end of April.” He also said: “We see rising consumer inflation expectations, but I wouldn’t overplay that because similar processes happened a few years ago” “What’s very important is trust in institutions, credibility. I think the ECB has shown very well that it’s an institution that can deal with an inflation shock with decisive action. We have a much smaller shock than we had in 2022. And there is no reason to doubt that the necessary measures will be taken to bring inflation back to an equilibrium level, to 2% in the medium term” ECB’s Makhlouf Says Prolonged War Brings Adverse Scenario Closer Panetta Says ECB Must Avoid Wage-Price Spiral Spurred by War Euro-Zone Inflation Jumps Most Since 2022 on Energy Costs
Europe’s diesel futures benchmark hit the highest level since 2022, as the Iran war hits supply of the fuel that powers the global economy. Futures traded as high as $1,493.25 a ton, more than $200 a barrel, rising as much as 9.4% in London. With traffic through the Strait of Hormuz largely halted, flows of refined products like diesel through the waterway are blocked, while the hit to crude is fo...
Europe’s diesel futures benchmark hit the highest level since 2022, as the Iran war hits supply of the fuel that powers the global economy. Futures traded as high as $1,493.25 a ton, more than $200 a barrel, rising as much as 9.4% in London. With traffic through the Strait of Hormuz largely halted, flows of refined products like diesel through the waterway are blocked, while the hit to crude is forcing some refiners to also throttle back output. Traders around the world are scrambling for supplies, with shipments of the fuel being diverted and sent on epic journeys . Europe generally produces less diesel than it consumes. Several traders and analysts have said that the region faces supply shortages within the coming weeks if the strait is not reopened, with similar pressures also expected in Latin America.
alexsl/iStock via Getty Images Overview We are in one of the most unique market environments of the last decade. Technology stocks have sold off because of the rising threat of AI and when the indices experience a period of volatility, income-focused funds tend to serve as a hedge. However, the higher interest rate environment has also put pressure on the debt market and caused securities to decli...
alexsl/iStock via Getty Images Overview We are in one of the most unique market environments of the last decade. Technology stocks have sold off because of the rising threat of AI and when the indices experience a period of volatility, income-focused funds tend to serve as a hedge. However, the higher interest rate environment has also put pressure on the debt market and caused securities to decline in value. Since the BlackRock Floating Rate Income Strategies Fund ( FRA ) provides exposure to a diverse range of debt securities, FRA has struggled to regain any positive momentum over the last few quarters. When I previously covered FRA, I issued a hold rating due to the threat of defaults and limited growth potential at the time. Since my last coverage, the fund has fallen by more than 16.4% and despite its high yield of 13.5%, the fund has severely underperformed the S&P 500. Due to the pullback in share price, FRA now trades at a discount to NAV of 5%. For reference, FRA has traded at an average discount to NAV of 3.3% over the last five year period. Referring to the red line on the graph below, we can see that FRA continues to fall to the more attractive end of its historical price to NAV range. Despite this, I do not believe that it is a good time to accumulate shares as additional downside risks remain. CEF Data Since my last coverage, the fund has released an updated annual report for the 2025 period. The report indicates that the fund is still actively paying out more than twice of what it earns. As a result, I expect the NAV will continue to deteriorate over the next twelve months unless management decides to cut the distributions. However, the decision to keep payouts unchanged may be to help artificially deflate the fund's discount to NAV valuation. Once the discount tightens, management may then reduce payouts. Fund Strategy According to the latest fund overview , FRA has total managed assets of $510M that are spread across 464 different positions. Unlike ...