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...
American Ocean Minerals Corp., a deep-sea exploration company led by former Rio Tinto Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese , is combining with Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. in a reverse merger, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The all-stock deal values the combined company at about $1 billion on a pro forma equity basis, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing...
American Ocean Minerals Corp., a deep-sea exploration company led by former Rio Tinto Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese , is combining with Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. in a reverse merger, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The all-stock deal values the combined company at about $1 billion on a pro forma equity basis, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. As part of the transaction, a group of institutional investors have committed to a $150 million private placement and a $75 million pre-public financing, the people said. Citigroup Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. arranged the placement, while Moelis & Co. was financial adviser to Odyssey, they added. Following the transaction, which is subject to approval from Odyssey shareholders, the company will be operated as American Ocean Minerals Corp. and trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol AOMC, the people said. Representatives for American Ocean Minerals and Odyssey declined to comment. The deal comes as the US and its allies seek new sources of critical minerals used in batteries, industrial manufacturing and defense supply chains, amid growing concern over reliance on a small number of producer countries. American Ocean Minerals is building its portfolio across the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone and U.S.-regulated international waters, including the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and the Penrhyn Basin in the Pacific Ocean, the people said. The company plans to focus on polymetallic nodules — potato-size ocean-floor deposits rich in nickel, iron, copper, cobalt, manganese and rare earths, all essential for electrification, batteries and steelmaking. Rising demand for these critical minerals, combined with their concentrated supply, is increasing the urgency to develop alternative sources. The Cook Islands spent years building a formal regulatory framework for seabed mining, putting the South Pacific nation ahead of many other jurisdictions in setting out h...
Evidence Points To Ukraine Being Behind TurkStream Attempted Sabotage (To No One's Surprise) Via Remix News, Secret service documents allegedly prove that the Ukrainians planned to blow up the Turkish and Blue Stream pipelines years ago, permanently cutting Europe off from cheap Russian gas, reports Magyar Nemzet , citing a report out of Ellenpont. However, Serbia’s intelligence chief is denying t...
Evidence Points To Ukraine Being Behind TurkStream Attempted Sabotage (To No One's Surprise) Via Remix News, Secret service documents allegedly prove that the Ukrainians planned to blow up the Turkish and Blue Stream pipelines years ago, permanently cutting Europe off from cheap Russian gas, reports Magyar Nemzet , citing a report out of Ellenpont. However, Serbia’s intelligence chief is denying that Ukrainians were the perpetrators, instead claiming that they had reports of a possible attack planned by a certain migrant gang group of radical muslims but had not considered it legitimate intel . However, this same chief also does not rule out that Ukraine was the contractor behind the scheme. The Serbian section of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline was set on fire in a sabotage operation on Sunday. Since this pipeline supplies Hungary with gas, blowing up the pipeline would have put the country’s gas supply at risk. The portal also reported that, in response to the explosives found near the TurkStream pipeline in Serbia last weekend, a presenter on one of Zelensky’s propaganda TV stations stated: “If the Ukrainians want to blow up the Turkish Stream, they will blow it up.” President Zelensky has been accused by Budapest of openly interfering in the Hungarian elections by creating an energy crisis to help opposition leader Péter Magyar. Kyiv wants to cut Hungary off from all Russian oil, and they are counting on Magyar’s Tisza Party to do this. Since January, Kyiv has refused to reopen the Druzhba after a Russian attack, with Hungary and Slovakia claiming Zelensky is keeping the pipeline closed on purpose. Back in August last year, after a Ukrainian attack on part of the pipeline in Russia , the section was repaired quickly, and Hungary’s foreign minister made it clear that they expected no further attacks on such vital energy infrastructure. In September 2022, when the Ukrainians destroyed Nord Stream, they were allegedly planning a double attack, writes Magyar Nemet, ...
Lucy Baldwin, global head of research at Citi, sees the US-Iran ceasefire deal letting markets return to the themes that were in focus before the start of the war. (Source: Bloomberg)
Lucy Baldwin, global head of research at Citi, sees the US-Iran ceasefire deal letting markets return to the themes that were in focus before the start of the war. (Source: Bloomberg)