Craig Bolton has joined the North American Team for Cashbook. Craig strengthens Cashbook's presence in North America with 25+ years of experience in finance, sales and ERP businesses. Craig's unique skill set will accelerate the acquisition of new business for Cashbook. Craig has deep ERP experience in Infor's XA, BPCS, LX, Oracle's JDE World, JDE Enterprise One and NetSuite.
Craig Bolton has joined the North American Team for Cashbook. Craig strengthens Cashbook's presence in North America with 25+ years of experience in finance, sales and ERP businesses. Craig's unique skill set will accelerate the acquisition of new business for Cashbook. Craig has deep ERP experience in Infor's XA, BPCS, LX, Oracle's JDE World, JDE Enterprise One and NetSuite.
Bjoern Wylezich/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Considering the ongoing escalation in the Middle East, we report positively on Air Products and Chemicals' ( APD ) share price performance (up by more than 20% since mid-December 2025 - Fig. 1). Here at the Lab, we downgraded Linde due to a pricey valuation, while we believe APD’s equity story remains underappreciated. Our team has long covered Air...
Bjoern Wylezich/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Considering the ongoing escalation in the Middle East, we report positively on Air Products and Chemicals' ( APD ) share price performance (up by more than 20% since mid-December 2025 - Fig. 1). Here at the Lab, we downgraded Linde due to a pricey valuation, while we believe APD’s equity story remains underappreciated. Our team has long covered Air Products and Chemicals. Still, we believe 2026 guidance came in ahead of Wall Street expectations, and the latest developments in Louisiana and NEOM reinforced project economics and mitigated commercial uncertainties. In our previous analysis, we viewed the stock more favorably given its lower CAPEX. Today, there are additional upside factors to consider. Mare Ev. Lab Rating Update Fig 1 Air Products Results and Our Upside The company reported its numbers at the end of January so that we will keep the commentary brief. Q1 adjusted EPS was +10% on a yearly basis (Fig. 2) and came in 4% above consensus. ADP reported flat volumes, as favorable on-site offsets lowered helium prices, and ADP reiterated its 2026 EPS guidance with a midpoint of $13.00. Divisionally, Americas volume was down by 4%, with price up 2%. The geo EBIT segment reached $404 million, driven by lower maintenance costs. European volumes were up 5%, with a 1% price increase. Asian volumes were flat, driven by higher on-site offset by lower helium, while price was down 1%. All in all, the company delivered an adjusted operating EBIT of $757 million, with a margin 140 basis points higher than last year. APD Q1 Results in a Snap Fig 2 Why Are We Positive? Taking advantage of our Linde follow-up note, we report that "approximately 30% of the global helium supply is reportedly offline due to the Strait of Hormuz being closed. This is due to Qatar LNG assets, where the helium is extracted along with natural gas." Linde communicated that the helium supply is insufficient to meet market demand. This is key to APD bec...
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 9, 2026. Mohamed Azakir | Reuters Lebanon is seeking urgent clarity on whether it's part of the ceasefire pausing the Iran war, its economy minister told CNBC, adding it was getting "mixed signals." Israel, which has been ...
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 9, 2026. Mohamed Azakir | Reuters Lebanon is seeking urgent clarity on whether it's part of the ceasefire pausing the Iran war, its economy minister told CNBC, adding it was getting "mixed signals." Israel, which has been striking Iranian-allied Hezbollah targets within Lebanon, has said the two-week truce does not apply to the country and on Wednesday issued an evacuation order for the southern city of Tyre ahead of potential strikes. "We're getting mixed signals, or mixed reports," Amer Bisat, Lebanese economy minister, told CNBC on Wednesday. "Some are suggesting that Lebanon is part of a ceasefire, others, including from Israel, are suggesting that it's not. This is something we need to be confirming over the next few hours. Obviously, our hope, our demand, has always been to end hostilities," he told CNBC's Dan Murphy. watch now VIDEO 7:36 07:36 Lebanon's Economy Minister reacts to Iran ceasefire Access Middle East Lebanon's status in the ceasefire seems uncertain after the deal was announced late on Tuesday. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped to broker the agreement, announced on social media platform X overnight that the U.S., Iran and their regional allies "have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere." But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office contradicted that statement, with a post on X earlier Wednesday claiming "the two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon." 'Devastating' setback Lebanon and its capital Beirut have been the target of Israeli-led attacks against Iranian proxy Hezbollah over the last five weeks. Israeli ground forces have invaded the south of the country as part of a parallel campaign against Tehran. Hezbollah reportedly halted fire against northern Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon early on ...
Vera Tikhonova The U.S. government has so far rebuffed a request from Ford Motor ( F ) and other automakers seeking relief from aluminum import tariffs after fires at a Novelis plant created supply bottlenecks, WSJ reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The Novelis Oswego, New York, supplies aluminum for Ford's F-150 trucks and affects other automakers like Stellantis ( STLA ) and ...
Vera Tikhonova The U.S. government has so far rebuffed a request from Ford Motor ( F ) and other automakers seeking relief from aluminum import tariffs after fires at a Novelis plant created supply bottlenecks, WSJ reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The Novelis Oswego, New York, supplies aluminum for Ford's F-150 trucks and affects other automakers like Stellantis ( STLA ) and General Motors ( GM ). Ford ( F ) petitioned the Trump administration last week for temporary tariff exemptions until the Novelis plant resumes full operations. The discussions are part of ongoing conversations between automakers and the administration about the impact of Trump’s tariffs, the report added. Imported aluminum from Novelis' other facilities in South Korea and Europe now faces 50% duties under the tariff regime, raising costs amid ongoing supply bottlenecks. The cost pressure has already weighed on profitability, with Ford’s ( F ) earnings hit as raw material expenses climbed and production faced disruptions. The Novelis plant is expected to resume operations by late Q2 2026, which could help stabilize supply conditions. More on Ford Ford Is A Compelling Deep Value Play - Initiating With A Buy Ford's Meltdown Is A Gift: Diversified Growth, Resilient Dividends More Compelling Now Ford Motor Switches To Chinese Battery Tech For Its New $30,000 Electric Pickup Ford Q1 U.S. sales down nearly 9% Auto demand remains solid amid geopolitical headwinds, buoyed by higher-income buyers
Anna Edwards, Guy Johnson and Paul Dobson break down today's key themes for analysts and investors on "Bloomberg: The Opening Trade." (Source: Bloomberg)
Anna Edwards, Guy Johnson and Paul Dobson break down today's key themes for analysts and investors on "Bloomberg: The Opening Trade." (Source: Bloomberg)
Ildo Frazao Moody’s Ratings cut its outlook on a flagship fund of Blue Owl Capital ( OWL ) to negative, highlighting growing stress in the private credit sector. The agency revised the outlook on Blue Owl Credit Income Corp., a non-traded business development company, from stable after it saw “significantly higher-than-peer redemption requests” in the first quarter. The move is part of a broader s...
Ildo Frazao Moody’s Ratings cut its outlook on a flagship fund of Blue Owl Capital ( OWL ) to negative, highlighting growing stress in the private credit sector. The agency revised the outlook on Blue Owl Credit Income Corp., a non-traded business development company, from stable after it saw “significantly higher-than-peer redemption requests” in the first quarter. The move is part of a broader shift by Moody’s Ratings to a negative outlook across private credit investment vehicles. The $36B private credit fund faced redemption requests equal to 21.9% of outstanding shares, though withdrawals were capped at 5% during the quarter, according to an investor letter . Meanwhile, the smaller Blue Owl Technology Income Corp. saw shareholders ask for 40.7% back, compared with 15.4% three months earlier, according to a separate letter. Shares of Blue Owl Capital, which have increasingly been viewed as a proxy for downside risk tied to its heavy exposure to software companies vulnerable to AI disruption, hit a record low earlier this week. While the redemption limits kept net outflows contained, “we now expect elevated redemptions to persist in coming quarters and inflows could slow further from already reduced levels,” Moody’s said. As a result, the fund’s “currently strong capital and liquidity positions, which are relative credit strengths, could begin to dissipate as the company contends with net outflows over the outlook period,” it said. Blue Owl ( OWL ) pushed back, noting that as one of only three non-traded BDCs with a Baa2 rating from Moody’s Ratings, the fund remains “well positioned to capitalize in the current market environment.” The fund “has one of the most conservative financial profiles in the industry with leverage of just 0.8X and strong underlying credit performance,” it said. The broader $1.8T private credit market is facing rising redemption pressure amid concerns over underwriting standards and opaque liquidity terms. Major players including Apollo Gl...