Trapped: The Private Credit Exit Door Has Been Locked And Sealed Shut Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance While headlines are fixated on the Iran war and today’s “feel good” market rally, it is worth noting that beneath the surface, hours ago credit markets just got worse. The latest example comes from Apollo, which has been forced to put the brakes on investor withdrawals from one of its largest re...
Trapped: The Private Credit Exit Door Has Been Locked And Sealed Shut Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance While headlines are fixated on the Iran war and today’s “feel good” market rally, it is worth noting that beneath the surface, hours ago credit markets just got worse. The latest example comes from Apollo, which has been forced to put the brakes on investor withdrawals from one of its largest retail focused funds, according to Bloomberg . Its $25 billion Apollo Debt Solutions vehicle is the latest private credit flaming bag of shit that has hit redemption limits after investors tried to pull more than double what the structure allows. In other words, investors want out and are being treated like the old ladies on line at the South Philly Acme trying to buy liverwurst and chicken salad at the deli counter. That is, to say, they’re being told to take a number. As I’ve been documenting, BlackRock recently hit similar limits in its own fund, and Morgan Stanley has been dealing with pro rated withdrawals at roughly the same levels. The difference now is scale and urgency. Apollo investors tried to redeem over 11% of the fund in one window. That’s a quintessential “race for the exits”. And it was an Apollo executive himself who said just days ago that “all” marks in private credit are “wrong”. Oh, the irony. The size with these funds is not trivial. These are not obscure niche strategies. These are $25 to $30 billion vehicles seeing real redemption pressure. That is large enough to matter, even if people would prefer to pretend otherwise. Combined, we’re already talking about stress on nearly $100 billion in assets. It is worth remembering what these funds actually own. They are not sitting on piles of cash waiting to hand it back. They hold loans that are illiquid, often priced off internal models, and extended to companies that depend on continued access to financing. Those loans have counterparties. Those counterparties have their own problems. That is how stress spr...
Some airports advise travelers to arrive four hours before their scheduled flights as TSA staff, who have been working without pay for over a month, are not reporting for duty Sign up for the Breaking News US email Politicians on both sides of the aisle have attempted to seize on the airport chaos, with each party pointing the finger at the other. This morning Republican senators Tom Cotton and Be...
Some airports advise travelers to arrive four hours before their scheduled flights as TSA staff, who have been working without pay for over a month, are not reporting for duty Sign up for the Breaking News US email Politicians on both sides of the aisle have attempted to seize on the airport chaos, with each party pointing the finger at the other. This morning Republican senators Tom Cotton and Bernie Moreno took to X to blame Democrats for the partial homeland security shutdown over the party’s stance on issues pertaining to ICE. Continue reading...
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Meta Platforms ( META ) plans to cut "a few hundred" jobs across the company, according to a report by The Information on Wednesday, citing two sources. The cuts will affect staffers in Reality Labs, the division that has lost over $80B since 2021, the report said. Jobs will also be impacted in its social media unit, recruiting operations, and sales teams, the rep...
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Meta Platforms ( META ) plans to cut "a few hundred" jobs across the company, according to a report by The Information on Wednesday, citing two sources. The cuts will affect staffers in Reality Labs, the division that has lost over $80B since 2021, the report said. Jobs will also be impacted in its social media unit, recruiting operations, and sales teams, the report said. "Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they’re in the best position to achieve their goals. Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted," a Meta spokesperson told the news outlet. The news comes as the company aggressively pushes to offset heavy bets made on AI infrastructure and talent while racing to keep up with technological advancements against rivals Google ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ), Amazon ( AMZN ), and Microsoft ( MSFT ). More on Meta Meta Platforms: The AI Spending Spree Is Out Of Control Meta Platforms: 16x Adjusted FY2026 P/E Is A Solid Buy Delays, Compute Deals, And Sky-High CapEx: Why I'm Still Bullish On Meta Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg among Trump's tech council Meta launches small business initiative to boost entrepreneurship, AI adoption
AI stocks haven’t entered into a tailspin as the bears would have liked, but they are slowing down. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) is one of the biggest names out there. This company is a competitor to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) due to its custom chips, and it also has a software arm called VMware, which is critical for enterprises ... Broadcom’s AI Revenue Just Doubled. The Stock Barely Moved
AI stocks haven’t entered into a tailspin as the bears would have liked, but they are slowing down. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) is one of the biggest names out there. This company is a competitor to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) due to its custom chips, and it also has a software arm called VMware, which is critical for enterprises ... Broadcom’s AI Revenue Just Doubled. The Stock Barely Moved
Latest allegation against Taylor Frankie Paul comes days after ABC pulled her upcoming season of the Bachelorette Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Authorities in Utah are reportedly investigating allegations of a third domestic violence incident involving The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reality stars Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen. A spokespe...
Latest allegation against Taylor Frankie Paul comes days after ABC pulled her upcoming season of the Bachelorette Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Authorities in Utah are reportedly investigating allegations of a third domestic violence incident involving The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reality stars Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen. A spokesperson for the West Jordan police department told NBC News that Mortensen contacted the department last month with allegations of domestic violence against Paul stemming from a 2024 incident. Mortensen told them that he was directed to their department by Draper police due to the jurisdiction of the 2024 incident. Continue reading...
primeimages/iStock via Getty Images Commentary as of 12/31/25 The fund posted returns of 6.57% (Institutional shares)( MABAX ) and 6.51% (Investor A shares, without sales charge)( MDBAX ) for the fourth quarter of 2025. The largest contributor to relative performance was stock selection in the financials, information technology (IT), and consumer staples sectors. The largest detractors were invest...
primeimages/iStock via Getty Images Commentary as of 12/31/25 The fund posted returns of 6.57% (Institutional shares)( MABAX ) and 6.51% (Investor A shares, without sales charge)( MDBAX ) for the fourth quarter of 2025. The largest contributor to relative performance was stock selection in the financials, information technology (IT), and consumer staples sectors. The largest detractors were investment decisions in the health care, communication services, and utilities sectors. The largest exposures were in the financials, industrials, and health care sectors. During the quarter, the fund increased its allocations to the industrials and real estate sectors, and reduced its exposures to the consumer discretionary and communication services sectors. Contributors Stock selection in the financials sector was the largest contributor to relative performance, specifically in the banks industry. Stock selection in the IT sector, especially security selection in the technology hardware, storage & peripherals industry, was additive. Security selection in the consumer staples sector, notably in the consumer staples distribution & retail industry, also had a positive impact. Detractors The largest detractor was stock selection in the health care sector, particularly in the health care equipment & supplies industry. Allocation decisions in the communication services sector, especially in the interactive media & services industry, weighed on relative performance, as did stock selection in the utilities sector, notably in the multi-utilities industry. Further insight After a standout year for U.S. equities in 2025, we enter 2026 constructive but more cautious. Exuberance driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and narrow leadership raises questions about durability, and we think investor enthusiasm may be overlooking attractive opportunities beyond AI. At the same time, we see upside risks to inflation from sticky services, tight labor markets, potential energy and commodity volatil...
bernie_photo/iStock via Getty Images Retail investors are increasingly gun-shy on the current market, according to data from Citi. Retail trading activity as a percentage of total stock volume has dropped to 8.1%, nearly half the recent peak of 15% in November and the lowest level since Q3 2024. The Kobeissi Letter noted that the 2021 meme-stock mania peak was 11.5%. “Retail market participation i...
bernie_photo/iStock via Getty Images Retail investors are increasingly gun-shy on the current market, according to data from Citi. Retail trading activity as a percentage of total stock volume has dropped to 8.1%, nearly half the recent peak of 15% in November and the lowest level since Q3 2024. The Kobeissi Letter noted that the 2021 meme-stock mania peak was 11.5%. “Retail market participation is now in line with levels seen during the 2020 pandemic and the 2022 bear market,” the Kobeissi Letter added. “Retail is rushing to the sidelines.” Citi Tax refund boost? Scott Rubner, strategist at Citadel Securities, said the market is “in the heart of tax refund season,” with 53% of annual refunds issued by April 1 and roughly 75% by the end of the month. Historically, that has coincided with a pickup in retail activity. Even with volumes declining, retail investors have been steady net buyers of U.S. equities since late November, Rubner noted. (See below chart of Tax Refund Seasonality – Distribution of Individual Income Tax Refunds Daily Since 1995) Citadel Securities More on the markets There Is No De-Escalation A Real-Time Indicator On The Warning Track The Current Market Rotation - One Of The Biggest Disruptions In Generations AI boom and an economic bust: Citrini Scenario gains momentum in prediction markets AI now dominates equities, bonds, and venture capital flows, Apollo warns
The fear gauge pulled back on Wednesday. The CBOE Volatility Index, better known as the VIX, is trading near 25.6 this morning, a drop of roughly 5% from Tuesday’s close of 26.95, as geopolitical optimism and a sharp pullback in oil prices sent investors back into equities. The major indices are all pushing higher, with ... The VIX Crashes Out, For Now, on Hope For Peace and Cheaper Oil
The fear gauge pulled back on Wednesday. The CBOE Volatility Index, better known as the VIX, is trading near 25.6 this morning, a drop of roughly 5% from Tuesday’s close of 26.95, as geopolitical optimism and a sharp pullback in oil prices sent investors back into equities. The major indices are all pushing higher, with ... The VIX Crashes Out, For Now, on Hope For Peace and Cheaper Oil
Howdy Earthlings, it’s Loren Grush in Austin. NASA sure had one heck of a news day on Tuesday, revealing plans to build a base on the moon. Buried in all of the updates, the agency also had some sobering analysis about the future of space stations. But first … Three things you need to know today: Swiss startup Pave raises $40 million amid European space push. Prominent researcher exits NASA, citin...
Howdy Earthlings, it’s Loren Grush in Austin. NASA sure had one heck of a news day on Tuesday, revealing plans to build a base on the moon. Buried in all of the updates, the agency also had some sobering analysis about the future of space stations. But first … Three things you need to know today: Swiss startup Pave raises $40 million amid European space push. Prominent researcher exits NASA, citing US attacks on science. Iran’s space program faces damage from US and Israeli airstrikes. Outlook is grim for space stations NASA has said the quiet part out loud. At a conference in Washington, where space officials gathered to lay out plans to build a new moon base and create nuclear-powered spacecraft to send to Mars, NASA officials admitted a harsh truth they’ve learned from operating the International Space Station: There really isn’t a commercial marketplace for space stations in low-Earth orbit. “After more than 25 years of crewed operations, we have seen some amazing discoveries on the station, but we haven’t yet seen breakthrough products, capabilities or services that generate significant demand,” Dana Weigel , the program manager of the International Space Station at NASA, said during the meeting. Space tourism hasn’t grown as a market either, Weigel also said, and other governments haven’t stepped up to pay for long-term use of the space station with their own astronauts. It was a harsh truth that NASA revealed ahead of dropping the unfortunate news that the agency does not have much money to fund a commercial replacement to the ISS, which is set to retire at the end of the decade. For years now, NASA has been working with various commercial companies in order to build private space stations that could replace the ISS. The plan had been to partially fund the development of up to two commercial stations, so that NASA could have options and multiple destinations for astronauts to visit in Earth orbit. But agency officials say they only have about $250 million a y...
AlexLMX/iStock via Getty Images Welcome to the March 2026 cobalt miners news. Key market news is the U.S. is now taking significant stakes/interest in DRC cobalt and copper mines. The past month saw cobalt prices flat. Cobalt price news As of March 19, the cobalt spot price was at US$25.53/lb , flat from US$25.53/lb last month. The LME cobalt price is US$55,345/tonne . LME Cobalt inventory is 121 ...
AlexLMX/iStock via Getty Images Welcome to the March 2026 cobalt miners news. Key market news is the U.S. is now taking significant stakes/interest in DRC cobalt and copper mines. The past month saw cobalt prices flat. Cobalt price news As of March 19, the cobalt spot price was at US$25.53/lb , flat from US$25.53/lb last month. The LME cobalt price is US$55,345/tonne . LME Cobalt inventory is 121 tonnes, same as 121 from last month. More details on cobalt pricing (in particular the more relevant cobalt sulphate), can be found here at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence or Fast Markets MB . Cobalt spot prices long term price chart - USD 25.53/lb ( source ) Daily Metal Price Cobalt demand vs. supply forecasts The new DRC export quota system has likely flipped the ex-DRC market balance from a cobalt surplus to a deficit in 2026 (RHS chart) ( source ) Cobalt Institute courtesy BMI Trend Investing vs. IEA 2021 demand forecast for EV metals (Trend Investing) ( IEA ) Trend Investing & the IEA Cobalt market news In March, Fastmarkets reported : Cobalt: Supply tightness pushes prices higher...Cobalt prices climb in February amid supply delays from DRC...Once the DRC’s export quota system is fully up to speed, and the backlog of un-exported material has also been shipped, the availability of material should improve. However, this should still leave the market facing deficits this year and next...We expect market tightness to be particularly severe in Q1 2026 since material from the DRC is unlikely to reach China during this period. The risk of a further supply squeeze from Indonesia could tighten the market even further...The longer prices remain elevated, the greater the incentive for EV battery consumers to minimize the cobalt content in their batteries. On March 16, Reuters reported : Glencore turns to China exchange stocks to meet cobalt commitments, sources say. Congo's cobalt export restrictions create shortages. Glencore plans to export 22,800 tons of cobalt this year from ...
A proposal by New York lawmakers to raise taxes on startup investment gains is setting off a fight with the tech industry, which says the move would drive venture capital out of the state. Under federal tax law, the Qualified Small Business Stock exclusion permits eligible investors to exclude up to 100% of capital gains from the sale of certain company stock up to $15 million. The level was incre...
A proposal by New York lawmakers to raise taxes on startup investment gains is setting off a fight with the tech industry, which says the move would drive venture capital out of the state. Under federal tax law, the Qualified Small Business Stock exclusion permits eligible investors to exclude up to 100% of capital gains from the sale of certain company stock up to $15 million. The level was increased from $10 million as part of President Donald Trump ’s tax and spending legislation last year. The New York plan would “decouple” the state from that change and maintain the capital-gains exemption at $10 million for the purpose of state income taxes, according to legislative language posted on the New York State Senate website. The change would be retroactive to January 2025. The senate advanced the measure earlier this month as part of its budget proposal, which would need to be adopted by the state assembly and Governor Kathy Hochul . More than 1,000 startup founders and investors signed a letter organized by industry advocacy group Tech:NYC warning Hochul and lawmakers that adopting the tax change would make New York less competitive for early-stage companies relative to states like Florida, Texas, and New Jersey. “My biggest concern is that this really sends a message to the startup community, which is one of the rare bright lights for New York’s economy, that New York is not a place that wants them here,” Julie Samuels , chief executive officer of Tech:NYC, said in an interview. One law firm, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, advised startup founders to “consider accelerating relocation plans out of New York, if feasible.” New York lawmakers have floated a number of revenue-raising proposals this year, floating plans ranging from higher taxes for millionaires to levies on gold-bar sales. Hochul has largely resisted such efforts, warning they could drive capital to lower-tax states. Neil Parikh , co-founder of Slingshot AI, a startup developing a chatbot for therapy,...
UK participation levels more than doubled in 2025 860,000 Britons played padel at least once last year It was once seen as a quirky upstart or continental fad. But padel now has nearly a million players across the UK after participation levels more than doubled in 2025. According to LTA figures seen by the Guardian, 860,000 Britons played padel at least once last year – up from 400,000 in 2024 and...
UK participation levels more than doubled in 2025 860,000 Britons played padel at least once last year It was once seen as a quirky upstart or continental fad. But padel now has nearly a million players across the UK after participation levels more than doubled in 2025. According to LTA figures seen by the Guardian, 860,000 Britons played padel at least once last year – up from 400,000 in 2024 and 129,000 in 2023 – as the racket sport’s dizzying rise continued. Continue reading...
When we can’t control what’s happening in the world, there is some solace in the predictability of a comforting routine and the safe landing of a warm bed An early bedtime is my number one prescription when things go awry. It’s a reliable comfort through all life seasons, especially when uncertainty is rife and sleep is disturbed. I’m not ashamed to admit that I spend a considerable amount of time...
When we can’t control what’s happening in the world, there is some solace in the predictability of a comforting routine and the safe landing of a warm bed An early bedtime is my number one prescription when things go awry. It’s a reliable comfort through all life seasons, especially when uncertainty is rife and sleep is disturbed. I’m not ashamed to admit that I spend a considerable amount of time each day thinking about how nice it would be to get into bed. We’ve just passed the autumn equinox which means we’ll light the first fire soon and “hottie season” will officially commence. Yes, my partner of 20 years is handsome but it’s the hot-water bottle that gets preference when the temperature drops, the world threatens to implode and extra cosiness is required. Continue reading...
China is still on course to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy in the next decade, as the global balance of power pivots towards Asia and America pursues a string of “self-defeating” policies, a prominent academic has said. While the Chinese economy is undergoing a structural transition, the current challenges facing the US are more severe, according to Li Cheng, the foundin...
China is still on course to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy in the next decade, as the global balance of power pivots towards Asia and America pursues a string of “self-defeating” policies, a prominent academic has said. While the Chinese economy is undergoing a structural transition, the current challenges facing the US are more severe, according to Li Cheng, the founding director of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre on Contemporary China and the World. The US is...