London Palladium The musical-theatre megastars fall in and out of love, in opposing timelines, in a stirring production of Jason Robert Brown’s musical After her electrifying Evita , Rachel Zegler is back at the Palladium – although not on its balcony – joining Ben Platt for a 25th-anniversary concert of Jason Robert Brown’s two-hander. A few nights earlier, Lily Allen was on this stage performing...
London Palladium The musical-theatre megastars fall in and out of love, in opposing timelines, in a stirring production of Jason Robert Brown’s musical After her electrifying Evita , Rachel Zegler is back at the Palladium – although not on its balcony – joining Ben Platt for a 25th-anniversary concert of Jason Robert Brown’s two-hander. A few nights earlier, Lily Allen was on this stage performing her blistering broadside West End Girl, about love turned sour. The Last Five Years has an equitable approach to its own curdled marriage as a couple give their perspectives through alternating solos. Its masterstroke is to have one of them chart the story in reverse, beginning wearily post-breakup, while the other goes chronologically from first infatuation. Halfway through they duet at their wedding. Brown directs and conducts from the piano on a set by Bretta Gerecke that separates out the band on to various levels, with central staircases, evoking the apartments and urban spaces where the story unfolds. Novelist Jamie (Platt) and actor Cathy (Zegler) enter from opposite sides and meet in the middle for an embrace, foreshadowing the show’s midway union. Platt retreats, to a plangent string accompaniment, and Zegler sings her stark opener, Still Hurting, staring at the way he went. Absences are accentuated throughout the semi-staged production and Zegler painfully captures the frustration of a partner whose unfinished business goes unheard by a departed ex. Continue reading...
franz12/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Nearly 50 years ago, Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) was founded. Ironically, making a personal computer and believing that it would be highly profitable actually seemed like an April Fool’s joke. 5 decades later, we are facing not only one of the largest companies in the world (which has often reached first place in market cap), but we are also facing probably the co...
franz12/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Nearly 50 years ago, Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) was founded. Ironically, making a personal computer and believing that it would be highly profitable actually seemed like an April Fool’s joke. 5 decades later, we are facing not only one of the largest companies in the world (which has often reached first place in market cap), but we are also facing probably the company that takes the lead if we make a ranking of companies that have most revolutionized the planet. And precisely this solidity ends up generating some very interesting debates about the Apple case. Will the next few years be a time of slow growth? Is the main thing for Apple now dividends and buybacks, or are there still revolutions to come? Is the valuation too “premium”? There are many questions that can be explored with good points to defend different points of view. Apple’s History For the 50th anniversary, it's only fitting to offer a brief retrospective highlighting some points of Apple's history. But I will do this using the famous chart by Aswath Damodaran, which shows the corporate lifecycle. Aswath Damodaran Lightbulb Moment and The Product Test The two main stages are easy to define. The “garage” moment of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, with the idea of making a personal computer. And after the development of this idea came the product test, which would be the first “Apple” computers. The first model sold a few units (~ 200 produced), and the second already sold many more. But where the personal computer really began was with the Macintosh, which took a few years to reach the mark of 1 million sales and only reached it when Jobs had already left Apple. But the product was already more than tested, and Apple was already a large company. Amazon; Macworld: The Macintosh Magazine The Bar Mitzvah During Jobs’ time away, the company fluctuated a bit; some say it had a turnaround, and looking now, the numbers really didn't look that good. For instance, as much as reve...
franz12/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Nearly 50 years ago, Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) was founded. Ironically, making a personal computer and believing that it would be highly profitable actually seemed like an April Fool’s joke. 5 decades later, we are facing not only one of the largest companies in the world (which has often reached first place in market cap), but we are also facing probably the co...
franz12/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Nearly 50 years ago, Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) was founded. Ironically, making a personal computer and believing that it would be highly profitable actually seemed like an April Fool’s joke. 5 decades later, we are facing not only one of the largest companies in the world (which has often reached first place in market cap), but we are also facing probably the company that takes the lead if we make a ranking of companies that have most revolutionized the planet. And precisely this solidity ends up generating some very interesting debates about the Apple case. Will the next few years be a time of slow growth? Is the main thing for Apple now dividends and buybacks, or are there still revolutions to come? Is the valuation too “premium”? There are many questions that can be explored with good points to defend different points of view. Apple’s History For the 50th anniversary, it's only fitting to offer a brief retrospective highlighting some points of Apple's history. But I will do this using the famous chart by Aswath Damodaran, which shows the corporate lifecycle. Aswath Damodaran Lightbulb Moment and The Product Test The two main stages are easy to define. The “garage” moment of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, with the idea of making a personal computer. And after the development of this idea came the product test, which would be the first “Apple” computers. The first model sold a few units (~ 200 produced), and the second already sold many more. But where the personal computer really began was with the Macintosh, which took a few years to reach the mark of 1 million sales and only reached it when Jobs had already left Apple. But the product was already more than tested, and Apple was already a large company. Amazon; Macworld: The Macintosh Magazine The Bar Mitzvah During Jobs’ time away, the company fluctuated a bit; some say it had a turnaround, and looking now, the numbers really didn't look that good. For instance, as much as reve...
SSR Mining ( SSRM ) has received acceptance from the Toronto Stock Exchange to make a normal course issuer bid, permitting the company to purchase for cancellation up to 21.5M common shares. That would represent approximately 10.0% of the public float of SSR Mining’s total issued and outstanding common shares. Under the bid, SSR Mining may purchase shares over the next twelve-month period beginnin...
SSR Mining ( SSRM ) has received acceptance from the Toronto Stock Exchange to make a normal course issuer bid, permitting the company to purchase for cancellation up to 21.5M common shares. That would represent approximately 10.0% of the public float of SSR Mining’s total issued and outstanding common shares. Under the bid, SSR Mining may purchase shares over the next twelve-month period beginning March 31, 2026, and ending March 30, 2027. The announcement follows SSR Mining’s February 17, 2026, approval of a share buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to $300M in common shares over 12 months. More on SSR Mining Inc. SSR Mining: One Of The Most Undervalued Gold And Silver Miners Now (Rating Upgrade) SSR Mining: $1.5B ÇöPler Exit To Fuel A Re-Rating SSR Mining Inc. (SSRM:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Flat gold prices YTD mask big moves in mining stocks SSR Mining to redeem $230M of convertible notes due 2039
alexeys Brown-Forman ( BF.A ) ( BF.B ) confirmed the company is engaged in discussions with Pernod Ricard ( PDRDF ) ( PRNDY ). The American-owned global spirits and wine company said that if a deal is worked out and lands the customary approvals, the partnership would be akin to a merger of equals, drawing from the talent and expertise of both companies and creating value for shareholders. "Synerg...
alexeys Brown-Forman ( BF.A ) ( BF.B ) confirmed the company is engaged in discussions with Pernod Ricard ( PDRDF ) ( PRNDY ). The American-owned global spirits and wine company said that if a deal is worked out and lands the customary approvals, the partnership would be akin to a merger of equals, drawing from the talent and expertise of both companies and creating value for shareholders. "Synergies from the contemplated combination are expected to be significant, creating a global spirits leader with enhanced scale, a powerful brand portfolio, and a balanced geographic footprint, all anchored by two iconic families," highlighted Brown-Forman ( BF.A ) ( BF.B ). Weighing in on the development, RBC Capital analyst Nik Mondi said from a strategic standpoint, a potential deal does make sense. Pernod Ricard was noted to be a large-scale global spirits player with brands across whiskey, vodka, gin, liqueurs, rum, agave spirits, and champagne, while Brown-Forman's portfolio is more concentrated in American whiskey, tequila, and RTD offerings. Mondi thinks operational synergies between the two companies would be a material source of value. However, he noted execution risk is very high because both companies have been struggling. "We think a combination of regional/cultural differences, mismatch in capabilities, and deep family ties on both sides will make this combination very complicated," he wrote. "Big M&A typically does not work and we think this potential combo would be more the normal than the exception," he added. TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow and his team believe the Brown family's ~67% voting control and prior resistance to takeovers make them an unlikely seller, although they are seen as being more receptive in the current backdrop due to weak industry growth and the uncertain timeline for recovery. Jefferies was more positive on the deal. Analyst Edward Mundy said the firm sees significant merit in a merger between the Kentucky Gentlemen and the French. "The in...
travelview/iStock Editorial via Getty Images By Carsten Brzeski , Global Head of Macro There is renewed excitement in financial markets about how the ECB might react to the war in the Middle East, with markets now pricing in more than three rate hikes. Needless to say, in such uncertain times, almost anything is possible, and nothing can be entirely ruled out. The real question, however, is whethe...
travelview/iStock Editorial via Getty Images By Carsten Brzeski , Global Head of Macro There is renewed excitement in financial markets about how the ECB might react to the war in the Middle East, with markets now pricing in more than three rate hikes. Needless to say, in such uncertain times, almost anything is possible, and nothing can be entirely ruled out. The real question, however, is whether markets have looked beyond the headlines and taken on board the messages from Wednesday’s ECB Watchers Conference, including remarks by Philip Lane and Christine Lagarde. At least in my own humble opinion, those remarks point to a somewhat different reaction function than what markets are now pricing. After last week’s ECB meeting and press conference, it was already obvious that the central bank had made a hawkish pivot and would remain vigilant, arguably more vigilant than in 2022. Back then, however, the ECB was emerging from an extremely accommodative stance and normalising policy from negative interest rates and quantitative easing. With hindsight, the biggest policy mistake was probably the delayed response to an energy price shock that ultimately morphed into a broader inflation surge. Learning from that episode though does not mean a rate hike is imminent. Lagarde’s speech showed that the ECB, like the rest of us, is currently thinking about a range of different scenarios. As long as the energy price shock remains broadly contained, including first‑round knock‑on effects, it's far from certain that the ECB will react at all. For rate hikes to come back onto the table, the Bank would need to see a rise in inflation expectations and a broadening of inflationary pressures across the economy. So far, the war in the Middle East has instead weighed on business and consumer confidence. Meanwhile, the labour market is entering this energy shock in a weaker position than in 2022, and governments’ fiscal pockets are more constrained, making large‑scale stimulus to offset hi...