FabrikaCr/iStock via Getty Images Introduction I first heard about ERO Copper ( ERO ), a small pure-play copper producer with assets in Brazil and headquartered in Canada, in late 2023. Immediately, I became interested in the stock: management had a strong background, the copper bull case was strong, and the company had a compelling growth story. Since then, the stock price has experienced wild sw...
FabrikaCr/iStock via Getty Images Introduction I first heard about ERO Copper ( ERO ), a small pure-play copper producer with assets in Brazil and headquartered in Canada, in late 2023. Immediately, I became interested in the stock: management had a strong background, the copper bull case was strong, and the company had a compelling growth story. Since then, the stock price has experienced wild swings as investors have moved from optimistic to pessimistic, over and over again. I find it hard to judge them on the abrupt mood change, as ERO objectively was a leveraged company that was counting on future production to solve its balance sheet problems. The execution risk was indeed too large to ignore. In the 2023-2024 period, ERO was reporting negative free cash flow as it was heavily investing in its second copper asset, Tucumã. Buying ERO stock at that time meant you had to trust management's ability to successfully deliver a complex mining project on time and with the promised unit economics. Thankfully for investors, management did exactly as promised. Construction was completed in two years without cost overruns, and Tucumã initiated commercial production in mid-2025. Investors in the small-cap miner space know that when this happens, it is a green flag. It shows management has the skills required to manage capital structure and execution risk in a sector notoriously volatile and unforgiving. The latest earnings report of 4Q25 provided reassurance of the improving operation. EBITDA rose 147% QoQ and 216% YoY, explained by higher volumes and prices across the board. This drove leverage to 1.2x net debt/EBITDA from 1.9x in 3Q25. The only red flag was cash costs in Tucumã coming in higher than what market participants expected (the problem related to high cash costs will be addressed in more detail later in the article). Given the recent improvements, the situation in 2026 is completely different from the volatile period of 2023-2024. ERO's two copper assets, Caraíba...
Coca-Cola HBC Finance BV is raising at least €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) of debt on Thursday to help fund an acquisition of another drinks bottling firm. The finance entity of Coca-Cola HBC AG is in the market with a three-part euro offering across maturities of 2.5 years, 4.5 years and 7.5 years, according to a person familiar with the matter. The two longer maturities will be used to fund the ac...
Coca-Cola HBC Finance BV is raising at least €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) of debt on Thursday to help fund an acquisition of another drinks bottling firm. The finance entity of Coca-Cola HBC AG is in the market with a three-part euro offering across maturities of 2.5 years, 4.5 years and 7.5 years, according to a person familiar with the matter. The two longer maturities will be used to fund the acquisition in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, as well as for general corporate purposes. Coca-Cola HBC agreed to buy a 75% controlling stake in the African bottling company from The Coca-Cola Co. and a family owner — Gutsche Family Investments — for $2.6 billion, and the deal includes an option to buy the rest within six years. Coca-Cola HBC handles the manufacturing, bottling and distribution of drinks products and is a separate entity to The Coca-Cola Co., which owns the brand and makes the syrup concentrate. The Coca-Cola Co. is moving away from the business of bottling, having also sold a stake in its Indian operations last year. The bond offering is the latest in a flurry of activity in European primary debt, despite the elevated risk levels in the market with the conflict in the Middle East. New issuance has been limited with a stop-start pace in recent weeks. The Coca-Cola HBC Finance BV bonds are expected to be rated Baa1 by Moody’s Ratings and BBB+ by S&P Global Ratings, and are set to price later today. This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation
Kreativorks Texas has clearly emerged as the leading U.S. testing ground for autonomous freight, with multiple companies now moving from pilot testing to approved, corridor-based, and even commercial driverless truck operations on public roads. The combination of favorable state regulations, long straight highway corridors, favorable weather, and a business-friendly environment has made the Lone S...
Kreativorks Texas has clearly emerged as the leading U.S. testing ground for autonomous freight, with multiple companies now moving from pilot testing to approved, corridor-based, and even commercial driverless truck operations on public roads. The combination of favorable state regulations, long straight highway corridors, favorable weather, and a business-friendly environment has made the Lone Star State a hotbed of AV truck innovation. Evercore ISI analyst Chris McNally and his team returned from a trip to Austin and Dallas to meet with leading autonomous trucking startups more than a little bit impressed. "If California is where the commercial AV first evolved, Texas is its Cambrian Explosion," wrote McNally. The firm's view is that autonomous trucking is clearly well past the demo stage and is entering primetime. Aurora Innovation ( AUR ) is a leader in the autonomous truck race, running driverless Class 8 freight with no safety driver on multiple lanes such as Dallas–Houston, Fort Worth–El Paso, and Dallas–Laredo. The company plans to expand from a 10-truck driverless fleet to roughly 200 trucks by the end of 2026. The company is beginning direct-to-customer deliveries off interstates in Texas, and current operations already include night and adverse-weather driving. Aurora ( AUR ) expects OEM supply from International and Volvo plus future PACCAR upfits to support a Texas-anchored network scaling toward thousands of trucks late in the decade. Strategic investors include Uber Technologies ( UBER ), Nvidia's ( NVDA ) NVentures, Volvo Group Venture Capital ( VLVOF ), and Porsche Automobil Holding SE ( POAHY ). Kodiak's Texas activity appears to be in a more staged rollout. In February, Kodiak’s CEO said the company had 10 driverless trucks operating in Texas with no one in the cab and no required remote monitor for customers and that it was targeting a long-haul driverless trucking service in the second half of the year. The company is using Texas both for super...
With the Federal Reserve having cut rates from 4.5% to 3.75% over the past six months, the calculus for income investors is shifting. Cash and money market yields are drifting lower, while the 10-year Treasury sits near 4.34%, a level that demands dividend equity strategies earn their keep through growth, not just yield. Dividend growth ... How 4 Dividend Growth ETFs Beat Inflation While the Fed K...
With the Federal Reserve having cut rates from 4.5% to 3.75% over the past six months, the calculus for income investors is shifting. Cash and money market yields are drifting lower, while the 10-year Treasury sits near 4.34%, a level that demands dividend equity strategies earn their keep through growth, not just yield. Dividend growth ... How 4 Dividend Growth ETFs Beat Inflation While the Fed Keeps Cutting Rates
Lloyd Blankfein, the former chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, remains wary of systemic "kindling" despite a banking sector that is currently better capitalized than in previous crises. In an interview with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua, he weighs the "balancing act" of Donald Trump’s policy outcomes against the unpredictability of the global energy supply. Blankfein warns that the long absence of a...
Lloyd Blankfein, the former chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, remains wary of systemic "kindling" despite a banking sector that is currently better capitalized than in previous crises. In an interview with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua, he weighs the "balancing act" of Donald Trump’s policy outcomes against the unpredictability of the global energy supply. Blankfein warns that the long absence of a market reckoning has allowed private equity inventory to accumulate like tinder. He speaks on March 25, 2026.
Volkswagen will withdraw its mass-market car brand Skoda from mainland China after years of lacklustre sales, as international marques continue to lose their appeal in the world’s largest automotive market. “Skoda Auto has realigned its global strategy to focus on growth markets such as India and the Asean region,” a Volkswagen spokesperson said on Thursday in a written response to the South China...
Volkswagen will withdraw its mass-market car brand Skoda from mainland China after years of lacklustre sales, as international marques continue to lose their appeal in the world’s largest automotive market. “Skoda Auto has realigned its global strategy to focus on growth markets such as India and the Asean region,” a Volkswagen spokesperson said on Thursday in a written response to the South China Morning Post, without denying earlier reports that the Czech brand would cease selling new vehicles...
Alexander Sikov/iStock via Getty Images Neither the market nor the economy is fully efficient in real time, but both trend toward efficiency over the long run. Economic inefficiency occurs when supply and demand get out of line with each other, resulting in a temporary window of excess value capture. Companies that produce the undersupplied good or service can experience higher than normal margins...
Alexander Sikov/iStock via Getty Images Neither the market nor the economy is fully efficient in real time, but both trend toward efficiency over the long run. Economic inefficiency occurs when supply and demand get out of line with each other, resulting in a temporary window of excess value capture. Companies that produce the undersupplied good or service can experience higher than normal margins, volume, or both, thereby achieving greater than normal profit. Over time, this corrects. The abnormally high profit attracts competition. If a good is undersupplied, competitors will add capacity. If a product is superior, peers will spend on R&D until they can match or exceed it. Periods of excess opportunity are unequivocally positive for the companies positioned to capture the profits, but they are usually limited in scope. Eventually, economic equilibrium is restored and profits return to normal levels. A significant inefficiency in the stock market today is that these periods of excess opportunity are being priced as if they are permanent. Multiples suggest that equilibrium will not be restored. The market is assuming capacity will not be added or that competitors will not be able to catch up in product quality. The stocks with unusually high profits presently are broadly overvalued, while those that profit in the restoration of equilibrium are broadly undervalued. This article will discuss the process of equilibrium restoration regarding current economic distortions and point out areas of excess and areas of cheapness. Micron serves as an excellent case study on how consistently and repeatably equilibrium does indeed restore Micron Technology, Inc.'s ( MU ) growth is explosive right now. It is projected to grow from $8.29 normalized earnings in 2025 to $96.92 in 2027. S&P Global Market Intelligence The nature of this growth is that there is a severe undersupply of memory in both NAND and DRAM due to the buildout of AI infrastructure. Quite simply, not enough units a...
gesrey/iStock via Getty Images The long-standing debate over how frequently publicly traded companies should report their financial results has reached a tipping point. Following renewed interest from the SEC and successful pilot programs abroad, the U.S. is closer than ever to a fundamental shift in its reporting regime. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal on March 16, the SEC is f...
gesrey/iStock via Getty Images The long-standing debate over how frequently publicly traded companies should report their financial results has reached a tipping point. Following renewed interest from the SEC and successful pilot programs abroad, the U.S. is closer than ever to a fundamental shift in its reporting regime. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal on March 16, the SEC is finalizing a proposal that would officially give U.S. companies the option to report financial results semi-annually rather than quarterly. 1 The Canadian "SAR" Pilot Takes Flight Our neighbors to the north have already moved from theory to practice. On March 19, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) officially launched its Semi-Annual Reporting (SAR) Pilot. Under this program, eligible venture issuers listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) or the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) can opt to file financial reports only for the first and third quarters, skipping the traditional Q2 and Q4 interim hurdles. While the current framework is targeted at smaller companies with less than $10 million in annual revenue, there is significant pressure to go bigger. Our parent company, TMX Group, is the operator of the largest exchange in Canada (Toronto Stock Exchange) and has been a big proponent of the semi-annual move. CEO John McKenzie has emerged as a leading voice for expansion of the current pilot. McKenzie recently argued that the choice should not be restricted by company size, stating that the proposal should expand to include larger publicly listed companies to help revitalize the broader IPO market. He noted that reducing these administrative "entry barriers" is critical for smaller firms looking to go public and suggested that if the U.S. adopts a semi-annual standard, Canada should match it with "zero lag time" to maintain North American market competitiveness. 2 Global Context: The U.S. as the Quarterly Outlier The U.S. remains the primary global outlier in...
Cryptocurrencies have struggled this year, and it's really been a tough six months. The sector seems to have lost some of its appeal, as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing stocks have perhaps added some competition, though they haven't fared much better. Furthermore, the conflict in Iran and economic concerns have also hurt crypto. But big sell-offs are quite common in crypto and h...
Cryptocurrencies have struggled this year, and it's really been a tough six months. The sector seems to have lost some of its appeal, as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing stocks have perhaps added some competition, though they haven't fared much better. Furthermore, the conflict in Iran and economic concerns have also hurt crypto. But big sell-offs are quite common in crypto and have historically presented a buying opportunity. There are 65 cryptocurrencies available for trading in the U.S. on the popular online retail brokerage Robinhood , ranging from the largest and best known to meme tokens with very little use. These three look like the best of the bunch. Continue reading
Net Zero Activists Stumped By Shock New Evidence Showing No Link Between CO2 & Temperature Over Last Three Million Years Authored by Chris Morrison via DailySceptic.org, The climate science world (‘settled’ division) is in shock following the discovery in ancient ice cores that levels of carbon dioxide remained stable as the world plunged into an ice age around 2.7 million years ago. Levels of CO2...
Net Zero Activists Stumped By Shock New Evidence Showing No Link Between CO2 & Temperature Over Last Three Million Years Authored by Chris Morrison via DailySceptic.org, The climate science world (‘settled’ division) is in shock following the discovery in ancient ice cores that levels of carbon dioxide remained stable as the world plunged into an ice age around 2.7 million years ago. Levels of CO2 at around 250 parts per million (ppm) were said to be lower than often assumed with just a 20 ppm movement recorded for the following near three million-year period. In addition, no changes in methane levels were seen in the entire period. Massive decreases in temperature with occasional interglacial rises appear to have occurred without troubling ‘greenhouse’ gas levels, and this revelation has caused near panic in activist circles. The assumed level three million years ago of CO2 was around 400 ppm, a convenient mark that has been used to explain the subsequent ice age and a drop to 250 ppm. Due to the recently published paper, this explanation has become more problematic and natural climate variation is correctly noted to have occurred with the temperature changes. Alas, similar explanations are mostly ignored in discussing today’s climate changes in the interests of promoting the Net Zero fantasy. Some cling desperately to a dominant CO2 role, including one of the authors of the findings published in Nature . The co-author states that the results suggest even greater climate sensitivity to the warming effect of CO2. In short, there is a great deal of applying the laws of physics and chemistry to one era, but failing to extend the same courtesy to another. The title of the paper, produced by 17 America-based scientists , was enough to set alarm bells ringing in the ‘settled’ science, Net Zero-obsessed community : ‘Broadly stable atmospheric CO2 and CH4 levels over the past three million years.’ A related paper examining ocean heat content derived from the ice core recor...
A satellite view of Qeshm Island in Hormozgan Province, Iran, within the Strait of Hormuz region on January 17, 2026. Gallo Images | Gallo Images | Getty Images The U.S. is preparing to send thousands more troops to the Middle East, prompting speculation about a ground attack on Iran amid conflicting accounts of peace talks. The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to send about 3,000 troops from the ...
A satellite view of Qeshm Island in Hormozgan Province, Iran, within the Strait of Hormuz region on January 17, 2026. Gallo Images | Gallo Images | Getty Images The U.S. is preparing to send thousands more troops to the Middle East, prompting speculation about a ground attack on Iran amid conflicting accounts of peace talks. The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to send about 3,000 troops from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, alongside two Marine Expeditionary Units, to assist military operations in Iran. CNBC has contacted the White House and is awaiting a response. Military experts said that the number of additional troops being deployed to the region appears to be consistent with plans for discrete and time-limited operations — rather than a sustained ground campaign. It puts two strategic Iranian islands in the spotlight and raises questions about a potential move to seize the Islamic Republic's nuclear materials. Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis estimated that there were likely only around 4,000 to 5,000 "trigger pullers" or ground troops. watch now VIDEO 8:56 08:56 Seeing no evidence that a larger force is being prepared on Iran: Ret. Lt Col. Squawk Box Asia "That is enough to seize a small target for a period of time. You've got to understand, even the 82nd Airborne Division, it's an immediate reaction force to provide very quick reaction on the ground but only in advance of something bigger coming in behind that," Davis, a senior fellow and military expert at Defense Priorities, told CNBC's " Squawk Box Asia " on Thursday. "I have seen no evidence that any kind of a force of size has been even considered, much less alerted, prepared, equipped, trained up that you would need to go … That takes months of time to do." Qeshm Island, Kharg Island and nuclear materials Davis said that, from the limited number of ground troops being deployed, there were three possibilities that the U.S. could theoretically execute. The first pos...
European Union lawmakers finally approved a trade deal with the US, clearing a key obstacle for the long-delayed agreement despite lingering uncertainty about Washington’s tariffs. The European Parliament voted in favor of the deal on Thursday. The pact would erase tariffs on US industrial goods, while setting a 15% tariff ceiling for most EU products. The move signals potential relief for a growi...
European Union lawmakers finally approved a trade deal with the US, clearing a key obstacle for the long-delayed agreement despite lingering uncertainty about Washington’s tariffs. The European Parliament voted in favor of the deal on Thursday. The pact would erase tariffs on US industrial goods, while setting a 15% tariff ceiling for most EU products. The move signals potential relief for a growing irritant in the transatlantic relationship. The US has been upping its pressure on the EU to finally implement the deal, which was originally struck last summer. But EU lawmakers have held out, repeatedly delaying ratification after President Donald Trump ’s threatened to seize Greenland and the Supreme Court invalidated Washington’s global tariffs. The vote is “a very important milestone in our efforts to provide stability and predictability to European business, workers and citizens in our trade relationship with the United States,” said EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis , speaking to lawmakers on Thursday morning. Before approving the deal on Thursday, EU lawmakers added amendments to address some of the doubts. One clause would ensure the agreement isn’t implemented until the US honors its commitments. Another would have the pact expire in March 2028 unless both sides agree to extend it. Lawmakers will now negotiate with member states over these edits to settle on a final text. The EU is also still waiting to see how the US can replace the 15% rate it agreed to when the deal was initially reached last summer between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen , the bloc’s top executive. The US recently launched fresh probes into major trading partners, including the EU and China, aiming to replace the so-called reciprocal tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down. The investigations, which typically take months to complete, could result in new levies against the EU, although Washington told Brussels it would stick to its part of the deal. E...