A cargo ship sails through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz on March 27, 2026. Photo: VCG A small but growing number of ships are making it through the Strait of Hormuz, offering a fragile sign of recovery in one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints even as the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict drags on and traffic remains far below normal. The Global Vivian, a Vietnamese-owned liqu...
A cargo ship sails through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz on March 27, 2026. Photo: VCG A small but growing number of ships are making it through the Strait of Hormuz, offering a fragile sign of recovery in one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints even as the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict drags on and traffic remains far below normal. The Global Vivian, a Vietnamese-owned liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker, exited the Persian Gulf through the “safe corridor” established by Iran on April 7, making Vietnam the second Southeast Asian country after Thailand to have a vessel successfully navigate the restricted waterway.
TennesseePhotographer/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. ( BNL ), is in focus today. I last covered the REIT in February 2025, where I communicated a bullish view on the basis of a perceived departure between the REIT's fundamentals and the market's assessment thereof. The REIT has delivered a total return of ~26% since then. However, market circumstances have changed mat...
TennesseePhotographer/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. ( BNL ), is in focus today. I last covered the REIT in February 2025, where I communicated a bullish view on the basis of a perceived departure between the REIT's fundamentals and the market's assessment thereof. The REIT has delivered a total return of ~26% since then. However, market circumstances have changed materially. In addition, BNL is set to be included in the S&P 600 small-cap index, altering its systematic risk profile. Considering the latest developments, here's what I think about Broadstone's prospects. Index Inclusion Broadstone Net Lease is set to join the S&P 600 small-cap index on April 9th, 2026, in effect replacing DigitalOcean Holdings ( DOCN ). The decision was announced on April 6th, and Broadstone has gained by ~2% ever since , presenting a clear standout as the market experienced mixed results between Monday and Tuesday's trading. Figure 1: S&P Global For those unfamiliar with the S&P 600 small-cap index. The index has an adjusted-float market-cap weighted methodology with peripheral requirements such as constituents having a market cap between $1.2 billion and $8 billion, maintaining a 10% public float, and positive earnings in their most recent quarter and the past four consecutive quarters combined. In addition, constituents must meet certain liquidity requirements, including a required 250,000 shares or more to be traded in each of the past six months. What could Broadstone's inclusion in the index mean for its market value? The argument is dynamic, but let's start by assessing the topic matter passively. A Passive Argument First, index inclusion will expose Broadstone to a higher amount of passive flow through index fund commitments. Observing State Street® SPDR® Portfolio S&P 600™ Small Cap ETF's ( SPSM ) returns in figure 2 illustrates smooth long-run returns of the index. Broadstone might benefit from the phenomenon if 1) index returns resume momentum a...
June S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESM26) are trending up +2.82% this morning as oil prices fell the most in years after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, boosting investors’ appetite for risk.
June S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESM26) are trending up +2.82% this morning as oil prices fell the most in years after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, boosting investors’ appetite for risk.
primeimages/E+ via Getty Images By John Baldi & Michael Clarfeld, CFA Diversification Rewarded Amid AI and Geopolitical Shocks Market and Performance Overview Vladimir Lenin famously said, “There are decades where nothing happens and weeks where decades happen.” With two radical developments unfolding in the last three months — the war in Iran and AI’s accelerating displacement of software enginee...
primeimages/E+ via Getty Images By John Baldi & Michael Clarfeld, CFA Diversification Rewarded Amid AI and Geopolitical Shocks Market and Performance Overview Vladimir Lenin famously said, “There are decades where nothing happens and weeks where decades happen.” With two radical developments unfolding in the last three months — the war in Iran and AI’s accelerating displacement of software engineers and the software industry — the first quarter was truly a quarter where it felt like decades happened. Despite the significant turmoil, the ClearBridge Dividend Strategy outperformed, remaining largely flat gross of fees while the S&P 500 Index declined 4.3%. Tactically, we benefited from our significant underweight to information technology (IT, which declined 9.2% in the quarter) and our significant overweight to energy (which surged 38.2%). Strategically, we benefited from our commitment to broad diversification amid a market that has become massively concentrated. Timing in markets can be a funny thing. Software developers have been using AI to accelerate coding for the last two years; yet, only in the last two months have investors realized that coders were inadvertently training their replacements. As users of Claude Code multiplied in the first quarter, the S&P 500 software sector declined 24% — a staggering amount for what appeared to be a fundamentally sound industry. Whether AI spells the end of the software business is an open question. Some think AI will replace most applications, while others think it will threaten only marginal ones. Given the unprecedented dynamism and speed of AI, we do not pretend to have the answers. Instead, we focus our attention and investments in sectors that align more closely with our sphere of competence. We currently own just one software stock — Microsoft ( MSFT ) — and one stock — ADP ( ADP ) — with a small, and we believe well-defended, software exposure. Interestingly, while AI has crushed investors sentiment toward software...
Doha’s flagship annual Qatar Economic Forum conference will be delayed until later this year amid widespread disruptions to regional events caused by the Iran war. New dates for the sixth edition of the event will be confirmed “in due course,” according to a statement on Wednesday. “The Forum will reconvene under conditions that enable strong international participation and a high-quality experien...
Doha’s flagship annual Qatar Economic Forum conference will be delayed until later this year amid widespread disruptions to regional events caused by the Iran war. New dates for the sixth edition of the event will be confirmed “in due course,” according to a statement on Wednesday. “The Forum will reconvene under conditions that enable strong international participation and a high-quality experience for all,” the statement said. The 2026 conference in Qatar was originally scheduled to take place from May 12–14. The ongoing regional conflict has forced delays to other events, including Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Forum in Riyadh, as well as the debut edition of the region’s newest high-profile event, Dubai Future Finance Week. Read More: Riyadh, Dubai Delay Finance Events as Iran War Disrupts Region The QEF has attracted political and business leaders in prior years , with the likes of Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. speaking in 2025. The event is part of a packed regional conference circuit that also includes Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative and Abu Dhabi Finance Week. The government of the State of Qatar is the underwriter of the Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg.
Delta Air Lines press release ( DAL ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.64 beats by $0.07 . Revenue of $15.85B (+12.9% Y/Y) beats by $1.03B . Guiding to low-teens revenue growth in the June quarter on flat capacity growth, reflecting strong demand momentum, meaningful capacity reductions, and rapid actions to recapture higher fuel\ Expect June quarter pre-tax profit of around $1 billion, on a more than $2 bi...
Delta Air Lines press release ( DAL ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.64 beats by $0.07 . Revenue of $15.85B (+12.9% Y/Y) beats by $1.03B . Guiding to low-teens revenue growth in the June quarter on flat capacity growth, reflecting strong demand momentum, meaningful capacity reductions, and rapid actions to recapture higher fuel\ Expect June quarter pre-tax profit of around $1 billion, on a more than $2 billion increasein fuel expense at the forward curve Financial Guidance 2Q26 Total Revenue YoY (%) Up low-teens vs 9.39% consensus Operating Margin 6% - 8% Earnings Per Share $1.00 - $1.50 vs $1.59 consensus Click to enlarge Shares +7.7% PM. More on Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines: Why It Is A Relative Winner (Rating Upgrade) Delta Air Lines Will Potentially Lead In This Year Of Chaos Delta Air Q1 Earnings Preview: A High Bar To Fly Over, Shares Fairly Valued Airline stocks jump as U.S.-Iran ceasefire lifts oil fears DOT Sec. Duffy sees “room” for more airline M&A
(RTTNews) - French stocks moved up sharply on Wednesday on all-round buying after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that will help ensure stability in the critical energy corridor in the Middle East.
(RTTNews) - French stocks moved up sharply on Wednesday on all-round buying after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that will help ensure stability in the critical energy corridor in the Middle East.
More companies are using Hong Kong as a platform to tap yuan funds to finance their operations, thanks to the city’s active capital market and a new 200 billion yuan (US$28.68 billion) liquidity facility that provides steady, cheap yuan funding, according to a Standard Chartered report on Wednesday. Among companies that have yuan exposure, about 24 per cent said they would like to increase yuan fi...
More companies are using Hong Kong as a platform to tap yuan funds to finance their operations, thanks to the city’s active capital market and a new 200 billion yuan (US$28.68 billion) liquidity facility that provides steady, cheap yuan funding, according to a Standard Chartered report on Wednesday. Among companies that have yuan exposure, about 24 per cent said they would like to increase yuan financing over the next three years, according to Standard Chartered, citing the results of a survey...
A Hong Kong car owner has lost HK$500,000 (US$63,800) to scammers posing as petrol company staff who exploited surging fuel prices by offering bogus top-up deals for membership cards, police have said. The victim received unsolicited WhatsApp messages from fraudsters claiming to represent a fuel company, police said on their CyberDefender Facebook page on Wednesday. The scammers promised discounts...
A Hong Kong car owner has lost HK$500,000 (US$63,800) to scammers posing as petrol company staff who exploited surging fuel prices by offering bogus top-up deals for membership cards, police have said. The victim received unsolicited WhatsApp messages from fraudsters claiming to represent a fuel company, police said on their CyberDefender Facebook page on Wednesday. The scammers promised discounts through prepaid petrol cards and lured the victim into making immediate purchases. Global oil...