REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 01, 2026--Cognichip, the company pioneering ACI® – Artificial Chip Intelligence – for semiconductor design, today announced an oversubscribed $60 million Series A financing led by Seligman Ventures, with participation from SBI Investment and additional semiconductor-focused investors. All seed investors, including Mayfield, Lux Capital, FPV, and Candou Ventures, partici...
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 01, 2026--Cognichip, the company pioneering ACI® – Artificial Chip Intelligence – for semiconductor design, today announced an oversubscribed $60 million Series A financing led by Seligman Ventures, with participation from SBI Investment and additional semiconductor-focused investors. All seed investors, including Mayfield, Lux Capital, FPV, and Candou Ventures, participated above pro rata allocations, bringing the company’s total funding to $93 million. As part of th
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images News Facing demands from the Trump administration to lower U.S. drug prices, Bayer ( BAYRY ) is in discussions with European and other wealthier nations, such as Japan, to seek higher prices for its new medicines. Leading drugmakers are facing pricing pressures in the U.S. after President Donald Trump issued an executive order last year to implement his Most Favored Nati...
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images News Facing demands from the Trump administration to lower U.S. drug prices, Bayer ( BAYRY ) is in discussions with European and other wealthier nations, such as Japan, to seek higher prices for its new medicines. Leading drugmakers are facing pricing pressures in the U.S. after President Donald Trump issued an executive order last year to implement his Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing policy, which seeks to lower U.S. prices of brand-name drugs to the levels in other developed countries. In an interview, Stefan Oelrich, the head of the German conglomerate’s pharma division, said, “In Europe, we need to raise the price level for new product launches." “Otherwise, as an industry—and this naturally applies to us as well—we'll be faced with additional discounts in the US that wouldn’t allow us to recoup our total expenses,” Oelrich added. Bayer ( BAYZF ), which is readying a new drug pricing system, was not among the 16 leading drugmakers that signed MFN deals with the White House over the past few months. According to a new report from market research firm GlobalData last week, the number of pharmaceutical launches in Europe has dropped 35% in the first 10 months since the introduction of International Reference Pricing under the MFN policy last year. “US prices will be linked to prices in countries like Germany and others,” Oelrich noted, adding, "That's at least our current understanding, and we are preparing for that.” More on Bayer Bayer: Turnaround Is Underway - Don't Miss It Bayer Aktiengesellschaft 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Ubben’s Inclusive Capital is said to have sold Bayer stake Judge grants preliminary approval to Bayer’s $7.25B Roundup settlement plan
Thanasis Zovoilis/DigitalVision via Getty Images The TappAlpha Innovation 100 Growth & Daily Income ETF ( TDAQ ) could be a good addition to an income portfolio provided investors are willing to ride the underlying volatility of the Nasdaq, on which covered calls are deployed. I fully expect TDAQ to be a volatile total return instrument that tracks the underlying QQQ holdings closely, while adding...
Thanasis Zovoilis/DigitalVision via Getty Images The TappAlpha Innovation 100 Growth & Daily Income ETF ( TDAQ ) could be a good addition to an income portfolio provided investors are willing to ride the underlying volatility of the Nasdaq, on which covered calls are deployed. I fully expect TDAQ to be a volatile total return instrument that tracks the underlying QQQ holdings closely, while adding option premium alpha in the current regime of choppy, volatile but potentially a flat market (on an end to end basis) over the next few quarters. Even if the regime guess goes wrong, TDAQ's use case remains well supported. Methodology According to the TDAQ prospectus , the strategy prioritizes income while keeping total returns potential open. It sells 0DTE calls on the underlying, typically at 0-5% strikes. The option exposure is aggressive and overwrites the entire portfolio in notional value terms. The underlying portfolio remains open to overnight drifts. The 0DTE option writing strategy has its advantages in terms of maximizing theta decay. Premiums often stay elevated even under favorable underlying moves for options even with a day to expiry if the environment is volatile, such as now. This means 0DTE does give the strategy the maximum theta decay edge across regimes. Also, positioning made at the start of the day is closer to current strike levels - this means the strikes are continuously adjusted according to the levels unlike monthly call writing which could reap a significant part of the option premium at the start of the month and sit idle for most of the remaining days. The strategy has its own pitfalls too. Strike selection becomes extremely important as an aggressive strike selection close to ATM levels can mean upside opportunity losses on strong bull rallies intraday. Intraday option move on expiry days are also subject to increase volatility trajectories. The execution precision required here is needed consistently over several days. TDAQ's 0-5% strike se...
Interactive Brokers Group ( IBKR ) on Wednesday said its March daily average revenue trades rose 25% year-over-year to 4.329M, but fell 1% from the prior month. Ending client equity was up 38% from the prior year and down 4% month-over-month to $789.4B. Ending client margin loan balances of $86.0B were up 35% from last year and down 4% from February. Ending client credit balances reached $168.8B a...
Interactive Brokers Group ( IBKR ) on Wednesday said its March daily average revenue trades rose 25% year-over-year to 4.329M, but fell 1% from the prior month. Ending client equity was up 38% from the prior year and down 4% month-over-month to $789.4B. Ending client margin loan balances of $86.0B were up 35% from last year and down 4% from February. Ending client credit balances reached $168.8B at the end of March, 35% higher than the prior year and 4% higher than the previous month. Client accounts stood at 4.754M, up 31% year-over-year and 2% month-over-month. More on Interactive Brokers Group Interactive Brokers: The Growth Continues, But Valuation Leaves Little Room Interactive Brokers: The Quiet Compounder Riding The Global Trading Boom Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR) Presents at Bank of America Financial Services Conference 2026 Transcript Interactive Brokers enables crypto portfolio transfers from external wallets
David McNew/Getty Images News Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) plunges 5.7% in Wednesday's trading, on track for its largest percent decline since April 10, 2025, when the shares sank 5.5%, as the energy sector is the day's worst performer by a wide margin after oil prices tumbled in response to rising hopes for a near-term conclusion to the Middle East war. Oil and gas stocks comprise 11 of the 15 largest los...
David McNew/Getty Images News Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) plunges 5.7% in Wednesday's trading, on track for its largest percent decline since April 10, 2025, when the shares sank 5.5%, as the energy sector is the day's worst performer by a wide margin after oil prices tumbled in response to rising hopes for a near-term conclusion to the Middle East war. Oil and gas stocks comprise 11 of the 15 largest losers on the S&P 500: Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) down 5.7%, Texas Pacific Land ( TPL ) down 5.7%, Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) down 5.4%, Chevron ( CVX ) down 5.3%, Diamondback Energy ( FANG ) down 4.8%, Phillips 66 ( PSX ) down 4.5%, ONEOK ( OKE ) down 4.5%, APA Corp. ( APA ) down 4.4%, Marathon Petroleum ( MPC ) down 4.3%, Devon Energy ( DVN ) down 4.3%, Valero Energy ( VLO ) down 4.2%. The sector is hit by profit-taking after surging 37% in Q1, easing its YTD gain to 32% with today's selling, as President Trump signaled a wind-down of the war; f ront-month Nymex crude ( CL1:COM ) for May delivery down 2% to $99.37/bbl, and front-month Brent crude ( CO1:COM ) for June delivery down 2.8% to $101.00/bbl. ETFs: ( XLE ), ( XOP ), ( VDE ), ( IXC ), ( OIH ) More on Exxon Mobil Exxon Mobil: Boosted By Powerful Pricing And Volume Tailwinds Exxon Mobil: Iran War Creates Earnings Upside Exxon Mobil: Avoid Being The Latecomer To The Energy Party (Downgrade)
The toy company Hasbro Inc. said it discovered unauthorized access in its network on Saturday and has taken certain systems offline. As the investigation continues, the company has implemented business continuity plans that will allow it to continue taking orders, shipping products and other “key operations,” according to a Wednesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission . Those in...
The toy company Hasbro Inc. said it discovered unauthorized access in its network on Saturday and has taken certain systems offline. As the investigation continues, the company has implemented business continuity plans that will allow it to continue taking orders, shipping products and other “key operations,” according to a Wednesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission . Those interim measures may last several weeks and could result in delays, the company said. “We have taken swift action to protect our systems and data, including proactively taking select systems offline while we remediate the situation,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “While this is an unfortunate incident, Hasbro’s business operations remain open.” Hasbro is also working to identify files that were potentially impacted and “will take additional actions as appropriate based on its review and findings,” according to the filing. The company’s shares were down about 4% in midday trading.
DKosig/E+ via Getty Images We believe in the importance of investor sentiment and use option data in GLD plus investor surveys to forecast the price of GLD. These forecasts are for the intermediate-term, which are price moves that last from two to five months. After the sharp selloff in gold, neither option data nor investor surveys are giving buy signals. Except for one metric called SKEW, everyt...
DKosig/E+ via Getty Images We believe in the importance of investor sentiment and use option data in GLD plus investor surveys to forecast the price of GLD. These forecasts are for the intermediate-term, which are price moves that last from two to five months. After the sharp selloff in gold, neither option data nor investor surveys are giving buy signals. Except for one metric called SKEW, everything points to a continuation of the correction that began last month. Option Data Since people buy “calls” when they expect higher prices and “puts” when they expect lower prices, option data provides powerful insight into investor expectations. This is not only true of stocks but gold as well. The Basic “Puts To Calls” Ratio Marty Zweig developed the puts-to-calls ratio over fifty years ago. He compared the buying of “put” and “call” contracts to decide if investors were bullish or bearish on the market. He found when “too many” bought calls, prices usually went down. When “too many” bought puts, prices usually rose. Their buying activity acted as a contrary opinion indicator. While he compared contracts, we compared money, which we think is much more accurate. The Premium “Puts To Calls” Ratio Of GLD The graph below measures the puts-to-calls ratio of dollars flowing into directional puts versus calls in GLD. Again, we focus on dollars rather than contracts for greater accuracy. By applying a 20-day average, short-term fluctuations are smoothed into a more meaningful intermediate-term indicator. The Red Zone Green Zone ranking scale compares ratios against historic norms. Green Zone readings mean an excessive amount of money is buying puts while Red Zone means an excessive amount of money is buying calls. Green Zone signals of minus 9 or less are intermediate term buy signals while Red Zone signals of +9 or more are sell signals. Like with all contrary opinion indicators, buy signals are more reliable than sell signals. Our Red Zone - Green Zone Ranking Of The Premium "P...
Earnings Call Insights: MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSM) Q2 fiscal 2026 Management view “ADS growth of 2.9% fell short of 4.5% growth at the midpoint of our outlook,” driven by “modest headwinds from weather and the partial government shutdown,” plus disruption from “the last structural phase of our sales optimization work,” Martina McIsaac (President, CEO & Director) said. McIsaac said MSC s...
Earnings Call Insights: MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSM) Q2 fiscal 2026 Management view “ADS growth of 2.9% fell short of 4.5% growth at the midpoint of our outlook,” driven by “modest headwinds from weather and the partial government shutdown,” plus disruption from “the last structural phase of our sales optimization work,” Martina McIsaac (President, CEO & Director) said. McIsaac said MSC simplified overlapping coverage where “it was possible that an MSC customer was serviced by 2, 3, 4 or even 5 MSC representatives,” consolidating into “a geographically aligned service organization” with “approximately 130 associates” impacted; she added, “month to date in March, we are seeing the year-over-year trend in the sales to impacted customers continue to improve compared to levels in January and February.” McIsaac highlighted the supplier growth forum: “over 3,000 prescheduled meetings” produced “nearly 10,000 opportunities totaling close to $500 million in combined near-term and long-term potential.” “Gross margin of 41.1% performed better than expected and improved 10 basis points year-over-year,” McIsaac said, adding “price contributing approximately 6.5% to our daily sales performance in the quarter,” while “adjusted operating margin of 7.5%” was “a 40 basis point year-over-year improvement.” “Fiscal second quarter sales of $918 million improved 2.9% year-over-year,” Gregory Clark (VP & Interim CFO) said, with “benefits from price of 6.6%” and “volumes… declined 4% year-over-year,” including “a combined headwind of approximately 100 basis points related to the weather and the partial government shutdown.” Outlook Management guided fiscal Q3 average daily sales growth of 5% to 7% year-over-year, with Clark stating, “We expect average daily sales to grow 5% to 7% compared to the prior year.” Clark guided fiscal Q3 adjusted operating margin of 9.7% to 10.3%, saying the framework assumes “gross margin of approximately 41%” and a “sequential step-up in the adjusted ...
Earnings Call Insights: NOVAGOLD (NG) Q1 2026 Management View CEO Greg Lang said Donlin’s scale and economics remain the core equity driver, citing “about 40 million ounces of reserves and resources at 2.25 grams” and adding that Donlin’s “net present value of almost $24 billion at a 5% discount rate” at current gold prices “underscores the leverage and significant economic potential.” Lang emphas...
Earnings Call Insights: NOVAGOLD (NG) Q1 2026 Management View CEO Greg Lang said Donlin’s scale and economics remain the core equity driver, citing “about 40 million ounces of reserves and resources at 2.25 grams” and adding that Donlin’s “net present value of almost $24 billion at a 5% discount rate” at current gold prices “underscores the leverage and significant economic potential.” Lang emphasized operating profile and cost positioning: “It will average over 1 million ounces a year during its 30-year mine life and about 1.3 million ounces the first 10 years,” and “very low operating costs at less than $1,000 an ounce.” On permitting, Lang said: “We’ve completed the federal permitting process and we’re wrapping up the state permitting,” adding, “The only remaining permit in Alaska is for the dam safety certificates and the design packages have been submitted to the state.” On project execution readiness, Lang said, “We are starting to fill out the Donlin Gold feasibility team,” and confirmed “We’ve hired Fluor... to lead the bankable feasibility study,” with specialty firms including Worley, Hatch, and WSP. CFO Peter Adamek reported higher spending tied to the feasibility push: “NOVAGOLD reported a fiscal 2026 first quarter net loss of $15.4 million,” driven “primarily due to higher expenditures at Donlin Gold following the commencement of the bankable feasibility study related activities.” Adamek highlighted liquidity after financing: “Our treasury increased by $277.4 million to $392.5 million at the end of the first quarter,” and said the company intends to use proceeds for “expenditures associated with Donlin Gold activities, exercise of the company’s prepayment option on the Barrick promissory note and general corporate purposes.” Outlook Management reiterated the bankable feasibility study schedule and near-term communications cadence; Lang told an analyst, “from where we’re sitting today, I’d say, give or take a year, we will have it wrapped up,” and previo...
Tom Miles, Morgan Stanley global co-head of M&A, comments on the current state of M&A activity amid elevated energy prices and the ongoing global uncertainty during an interview with Dani Burger on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)
Tom Miles, Morgan Stanley global co-head of M&A, comments on the current state of M&A activity amid elevated energy prices and the ongoing global uncertainty during an interview with Dani Burger on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)