Roberto Schmidt U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday cast the market reaction to the war in Iran as milder than he expected, saying he had figured oil ( CL1:COM ) ( CO1:COM ) would surge more sharply and stocks ( SP500 ) ( DJI ) ( COMP:IND ) would fall harder on the back of the Middle East conflict. “Frankly, I thought the oil prices would go up more and I thought the stock market would go down...
Roberto Schmidt U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday cast the market reaction to the war in Iran as milder than he expected, saying he had figured oil ( CL1:COM ) ( CO1:COM ) would surge more sharply and stocks ( SP500 ) ( DJI ) ( COMP:IND ) would fall harder on the back of the Middle East conflict. “Frankly, I thought the oil prices would go up more and I thought the stock market would go down more,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting. “Hasn’t been nearly as severe as I thought. I think they have confidence in the American president and maybe the people sitting around this table.” To be sure, since the war erupted at the end of February, Brent crude has surged over 40% to above $100 per barrel as fighting and shipping disruptions rattled energy markets. By contrast, the S&P 500 Index ( SP500 ) has fallen about 4% over the same stretch and remains near all-time highs. Trump touted the Dow's ( DJI ) run to 50K before the war, as well as record tax refunds and his efforts to bring down prescription drug costs. Despite recent market volatility, the president said he remains confident that energy prices will ease over time. Seeking Alpha Market-tracking funds: ( DIA ), ( DDM ), ( DOG ), ( DXD ), ( SDOW ), ( SPY ), ( VOO ), ( IVV ), ( RSP ), ( SSO ), ( UPRO ), ( SH ), ( SDS ), ( SPXU ), ( QQQ ), ( QQQM ), ( TQQQ ), ( QID ), and ( SQQQ ). Oil ETFs: ( USO ), ( UCO ), ( DBO ), ( OILK ), and ( USL ). Dear readers: We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion. More on Crude Oil Futures, Brent Futures, etc. Iran War Could Escalate Into A Highly Damaging Energy Crisis What The 'Wall Of Worry' Indicator Says About This Market Hope Wanes, USD Little Changed While Bonds And Stocks Weaken Investors should capitalize on current market dislocation – strategist Wall Street trades lower as attention remains focused on the Middle East conflict
Alexyz3d/iStock via Getty Images Thesis: SpaceX IPO to be a long-term positive With the recent news that a SpaceX IPO may just be around the corner, I think it is well worth taking a look at the implications for Rocket Lab ( RKLB ). My long-term case here is that Rocket Lab is well-capitalised, strategically positioned, and set up quite nicely for growth, with the $1 billion forward equity raise g...
Alexyz3d/iStock via Getty Images Thesis: SpaceX IPO to be a long-term positive With the recent news that a SpaceX IPO may just be around the corner, I think it is well worth taking a look at the implications for Rocket Lab ( RKLB ). My long-term case here is that Rocket Lab is well-capitalised, strategically positioned, and set up quite nicely for growth, with the $1 billion forward equity raise giving them optionality to fund future Neutron development. With long-term upside coming from finding its niche in medium-lift launch and national security contracts. If we combine this with limited competition outside SpaceX for its payload class and potential sector validation from a SpaceX IPO, I see more upside. I last covered Rock Lab after the last earnings, in which we heard about a delay in the Neutron's trajectory. However, I didn't think this changed the investment thesis all that much. I am still bullish and think the company has the ability to leverage high valuation multiples for strategic growth. So in short, whilst the stock is clearly priced for high growth, the case hinges more on Rocket Lab capturing underserved demand, as I'll explain. $1 billion in stock distribution As you know, Rocket Lab has just announced a pretty significant capital-raising initiative. They’ve entered into an equity distribution agreement that should allow them to sell up to a hefty $1 billion worth of their common stock over time. So rather than issuing all shares at once, the plan here is to gradually sell them into the market, either directly or via some kind of syndicate of major financial institutions. It’s an at-the-market style approach that essentially allows them to raise funds under favourable market conditions. And that's probably what we should expect with the major upcoming catalysts. One thing that comes to mind first here is the upcoming Neutron launch; if we do see favourable news about the launch, this could very well boost the share price, and we could expect an equ...
Sundry Photography Shares of Grocery Outlet ( GO ) are nearly 10% higher in reaction to a large share purchase by the company’s chief executive. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Jason Potter bought a little over 112K shares in two separate transactions at an average price of $6.52 per share. During the month of March, Potter has made numerous purchases of the...
Sundry Photography Shares of Grocery Outlet ( GO ) are nearly 10% higher in reaction to a large share purchase by the company’s chief executive. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Jason Potter bought a little over 112K shares in two separate transactions at an average price of $6.52 per share. During the month of March, Potter has made numerous purchases of the company’s stock, putting his total holding in Grocery Outlet ( GO ) at 687,174 shares as of March 26. More on Grocery Outlet Grocery Outlet's Turnaround Might Take Awhile Grocery Outlet: No Turnaround In Sight Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (GO) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Small-cap consumer staples stocks: top and bottom quant picks post earnings Grocery Outlet slides to an all-time low as promotions whack margins
davidfillion/iStock via Getty Images Main Thesis & Background The purpose of this article is to evaluate the iShares MSCI Canada ETF ( EWC ) as an investment option at its current market price. This is a fund that is exclusively focused on Canadian equities, with a bias towards large and medium-sized companies. My followers know I have been partial to Canadian equities for non-U.S. exposure for ye...
davidfillion/iStock via Getty Images Main Thesis & Background The purpose of this article is to evaluate the iShares MSCI Canada ETF ( EWC ) as an investment option at its current market price. This is a fund that is exclusively focused on Canadian equities, with a bias towards large and medium-sized companies. My followers know I have been partial to Canadian equities for non-U.S. exposure for years and EWC is one of the ways I accomplish that objective. This fund was one I had rated a Buy in mid-2025 and, looking back, this sure has been the right call: Fund Performance (Seeking Alpha) This performance has quite frankly been even better than I expected so I'm quite content with my allocation! But it got me thinking, should I be making any adjustments in 2026, especially since volatility is on the rise? After review, I think a bull case for EWC can still be made. I like the idea of diversifying away from the U.S. and into other developed markets and I see a few reasons why Canada is a decent bet. This ETF's performance speaks for itself and I think more gains are on the way. I am therefore keeping the Buy rating in place and will use this article to justify this position. I'm Concerned About The U.S. Consumer To begin this review I will take a minute to discuss the "why" behind why I am looking outside U.S. borders right now. As an American and a primarily U.S.-centric investor, it is always important in my view to give context on why I'm not just adding to the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) with fresh cash (or other tactical U.S.-focused plays). There is always the obvious reason for buying non-U.S. assets for diversification benefits. And that is true here as well, but it doesn't adequately justify why one would really want to be focusing beyond America's borders right now . To get at that, I will confess I have concerns about the sustainability of America's economy at the moment given the pressure on the U.S. consumer. Going into 2026, American households were already seeing...
Michael Thomas Henderson, Chief Executive Officer of Apogee Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APGE) , reported the sale of 20,000 shares of common stock in multiple open-market transactions on March 11, 2026, according to a SEC Form 4 filing . Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($74.78). Apogee Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the develop...
Michael Thomas Henderson, Chief Executive Officer of Apogee Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APGE) , reported the sale of 20,000 shares of common stock in multiple open-market transactions on March 11, 2026, according to a SEC Form 4 filing . Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($74.78). Apogee Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of extended half-life monoclonal antibodies for immunological and inflammatory diseases. With a pipeline of differentiated biologics and a focus on subcutaneous delivery, the company seeks to address significant unmet medical needs in dermatology and pulmonology. Apogee's strategy leverages proprietary antibody engineering to achieve competitive advantages in dosing convenience and therapeutic efficacy. Continue reading
Even with gas prices soaring above $4.00 a gallon in some places, it's still uncertain if this will push electric vehicle (EV) adoption into its next growth phase. This isn't because drivers don't want a cheaper way to fuel their cars; it's because electric vehicles aren't a perfect solution. Top of mind for drivers is how far they can get on a charge. It's called range anxiety, i.e., the fear tha...
Even with gas prices soaring above $4.00 a gallon in some places, it's still uncertain if this will push electric vehicle (EV) adoption into its next growth phase. This isn't because drivers don't want a cheaper way to fuel their cars; it's because electric vehicles aren't a perfect solution. Top of mind for drivers is how far they can get on a charge. It's called range anxiety, i.e., the fear that the car will run out of battery power before reaching a charging station. Today, most EVs deliver a range exceeding 200 miles per charge. And while this exceeds the average daily commuting distance for U.S.drivers, the psychological barrier is very real, and won't likely be assuaged until we start seeing EVs deliver ranges that exceed those of gas-powered cars. Continue reading
Rangsarit Chaiyakun/iStock via Getty Images Brookfield Infrastructure ( BIP ) has built one of the most expansive portfolios of infrastructure assets in the U.S. market. This has driven back-to-back years of dividend hikes, with its 5-year compound annual growth rate coming in at 5.9% , around 46 basis points higher than its peer group median. I'll be referring to the C corporation ( BIPC ) for th...
Rangsarit Chaiyakun/iStock via Getty Images Brookfield Infrastructure ( BIP ) has built one of the most expansive portfolios of infrastructure assets in the U.S. market. This has driven back-to-back years of dividend hikes, with its 5-year compound annual growth rate coming in at 5.9% , around 46 basis points higher than its peer group median. I'll be referring to the C corporation ( BIPC ) for the calculation of the dividend yield and other per-share metrics rather than the partnership units. BIPC has a higher trading volume and wider retail investor ownership, last declaring a quarterly cash dividend of $0.455 per share. This was a 6% increase from the prior payment and $1.82 per share annualized for a 4.75% dividend yield. BIP trades on a lower stock price, so the dividend provides a 5.11% yield. The spread between both securities could be defined in terms of the convenience of not having to deal with a Schedule K-1 tax form. Critically, both of these securities have realized a selloff since the end of February as rising inflation expectations dramatically push up U.S. Treasury yields, pulling up the risk-free rate and the respective yield and spread income investors demand to hold these bond proxies. Data by YCharts Data by YCharts BIPC's dip needs to be viewed through a macroeconomic lens as the performance of the security closely tracks the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield. This is up at least 35 basis points from its February low following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting spike in crude oil and gasoline prices. Critically, the Strait remains closed, which is keeping inflation expectations higher and this dynamic of rising Treasury rates firmly in place. The worst-case scenario would be a narrative shift from Fed rate cuts to possible rate hikes, as BIPC saw a sustained period of underperformance from early 2022 when the Fed's ongoing fight with inflation started. The CME FedWatch Tool is currently pricing in a roughly 60% chance that the Fed f...
Today on Decoder , we’re talking about the major antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, and what it might mean for antitrust and competition law in general now that the Justice Department under Trump has decided to settle its part of the case. That’s even as many states — including New York, California, and Texas — carry on the fight. To break it all down, I’m joined by Verge senior policy reporte...
Today on Decoder , we’re talking about the major antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, and what it might mean for antitrust and competition law in general now that the Justice Department under Trump has decided to settle its part of the case. That’s even as many states — including New York, California, and Texas — carry on the fight. To break it all down, I’m joined by Verge senior policy reporter Lauren Feiner. Lauren is our resident court expert, by which I mean she’s been in the courtroom herself and chronicling this trial from the beginning. You might be unfamiliar with the name Live Nation, but you’ve almost certainly encountered one of its many, many subsidiaries — the most infamous of these is called Ticketmaster. Longtime Decoder listeners might recall an episode we did on Ticketmaster back in 2023 , in the wake of the Taylor Swift Eras Tour fiasco. That was when Ticketmaster’s website crashed during the first major rush for Eras Tour tickets. It was such a scandal, and Swifties are so politically powerful, that Live Nation was then dragged in front of Congress after widespread backlash spilled over into the mainstream. Verge subscribers, don’t forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Decoder wherever you get your podcasts. Head here . Not a subscriber? You can sign up here . In 2024, the Department of Justice launched an antitrust lawsuit against the company, seeking to break it up — to split Ticketmaster off from Live Nation to try and combat predatory practices and increasing ticket fees. This seemed like a real slam dunk case against Live Nation, regardless of political affiliation — nobody likes Ticketmaster, and breaking up the company would score political points for whoever finally pulled the trigger. It was also supposed to be a sign of strong bipartisan antitrust support. The lawsuit was filed under the Biden administration. So even though Trump has since replaced Biden’s antitrust leaders, there was good reason to believe the new people in char...
(RTTNews) - After a sharp early setback, the Canadian market recovered and briefly moved into positive territory Thursday morning, thanks to some strong buying in a few top stocks in consumer, energy and utilities sectors.
(RTTNews) - After a sharp early setback, the Canadian market recovered and briefly moved into positive territory Thursday morning, thanks to some strong buying in a few top stocks in consumer, energy and utilities sectors.
The iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEMKT:IYK) charges a slightly lower expense ratio than the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEMKT:RSPS) , sports a bigger asset base, and has outperformed in recent returns, but RSPS provides a narrowly higher yield and a pure consumer staples tilt. Both IYK and RSPS target the U.S. consumer staples sector, but they take different approa...
The iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEMKT:IYK) charges a slightly lower expense ratio than the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEMKT:RSPS) , sports a bigger asset base, and has outperformed in recent returns, but RSPS provides a narrowly higher yield and a pure consumer staples tilt. Both IYK and RSPS target the U.S. consumer staples sector, but they take different approaches: IYK tracks a broader slice of the market and mixes in some healthcare and basic materials stocks, while RSPS equally weights only S&P 500 consumer staples names. This comparison explores their differences in cost, returns, risk, and portfolio makeup. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The one-year return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Continue reading
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Software companies that derive the bulk of their revenue from underlying assets or activities are better protected from AI-related disruption than those relying on seat-based models, according to KeyBanc. This includes names such as JFrog ( FROG ), AppFolio ( APPF ), ServiceTitan ( TTAN ), Samsara ( IOT ), Procore ( PCOR ), Cadence Design Systems ( CDNS )...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Software companies that derive the bulk of their revenue from underlying assets or activities are better protected from AI-related disruption than those relying on seat-based models, according to KeyBanc. This includes names such as JFrog ( FROG ), AppFolio ( APPF ), ServiceTitan ( TTAN ), Samsara ( IOT ), Procore ( PCOR ), Cadence Design Systems ( CDNS ), and Synopsys ( SNPS ). "Today, our view (and possibly consensus) is that the consumption and infrastructure names are best positioned to benefit from AI," said KeyBanc analysts, led by Jason Celino, in an investor report. "However, when thinking about the next most defensible areas of software, we would look to APPF (priced based on # of units), IOT (operating assets), PCOR (construction volume), TTAN (technicians), and CDNS/SNPS (chip design activity). Each of these companies should continue to benefit from the underlying growth of their end-market industries and be in a better position to maintain pricing premiums and offer token/consumption-based AI offerings without cannibalizing their core user." In contrast, software companies that rely on seat growth or seat-related add-ons for revenue growth could see seat expansion slow due to AI efficiencies. "User-based models will need to adapt to the changing environment by coming out with agents that are fast enough and good enough that they can recapture the growth opportunity that was lost from headcount efficiencies and degraded pricing power," Celino added. More on JFrog, Procore, and ServiceTitan Procore Navigates CEO Transition And Challenged Construction Industry ServiceTitan: Near-Term Deceleration, But Solid Long-Term Foundation ServiceTitan: A Lot To Like, Although Valuations Are A Bugbear Synopsys partners with Arm to build CPUs for data centers JFrog rises as UBS upgrades on 'overdone' AI disruption worries
Khanchit Khirisutchalual/iStock via Getty Images Bayer’s ( BAYZF ) stock was actually a great investment in 2025 and outperformed many other German (and U.S.) stocks and in the 2025 Annual Report , the company was able to print a chart we did not see often in recent years. Bayer 2025 Annual Report In my last article , which was published in December 2025, I rated the stock as a “Buy” and in the co...
Khanchit Khirisutchalual/iStock via Getty Images Bayer’s ( BAYZF ) stock was actually a great investment in 2025 and outperformed many other German (and U.S.) stocks and in the 2025 Annual Report , the company was able to print a chart we did not see often in recent years. Bayer 2025 Annual Report In my last article , which was published in December 2025, I rated the stock as a “Buy” and in the conclusion of my last article I wrote: I still remain confident that Bayer will manage to turn the business around. And Bayer doesn’t need to grow with a high pace to be fairly valued right now. Additionally, if Bayer should be able to resolve its glyphosate litigations and just normalizing its free cash flow levels to previous amounts would be enough to make the stock a bargain. However, on the one hand, we should not rule out the possibility of another huge disappointment. The Supreme Court might rule against Bayer, which would most likely tank the stock again. On the other hand, the balance sheet with high debt levels and huge amounts of goodwill remains a big problem. All in all, I stay bullish about Bayer at this point as the picture seems to be improving and the stock is still trading for such low valuation that all the negativity is already priced in. When my last article was published, Bayer was trading for $36.30 and now – at the time of writing – the stock is trading for $38.50 resulting in about 6% growth. In the meantime, the stock increased even to almost $50 but declined again in the following weeks. About three weeks ago, on March 4, 2026, Bayer reported full-year results for fiscal 2025 and it is easy to see the results as a major disappointment again. Despite disappointing results, I will explain in the following article, why we should remain bullish about Bayer. Not only does the stock remain undervalued, developments in the last few weeks will most likely reduce uncertainty about the litigation process and the fundamental business of Bayer is also performin...
The World Federation of Advertisers, Nestle SA , Shell PLC and a handful of other companies won dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk ’s X over claims that they orchestrated an advertising boycott of the social media platform after the billionaire purchased it. A federal judge in Texas issued the ruling Thursday, granting a request by the companies to dismiss the lawsuit. The case is X v. Worl...
The World Federation of Advertisers, Nestle SA , Shell PLC and a handful of other companies won dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk ’s X over claims that they orchestrated an advertising boycott of the social media platform after the billionaire purchased it. A federal judge in Texas issued the ruling Thursday, granting a request by the companies to dismiss the lawsuit. The case is X v. World Federation of Advertisers, 7:24-cv-00114, US District Court, Northern District of Texas (Wichita Falls).