Pakistan helped avert a major escalation in the Iran conflict. Dan Strumpf explains how PM Shehbaz Sharif used global ties to broker a ceasefire and buy time for talks. (Source: Bloomberg)
Pakistan helped avert a major escalation in the Iran conflict. Dan Strumpf explains how PM Shehbaz Sharif used global ties to broker a ceasefire and buy time for talks. (Source: Bloomberg)
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday welcomed two French nationals who returned to Paris after spending almost four years detained in Iran on espionage charges, with the French leader hailing “the end of a terrible ordeal”. Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, arrived on a commercial flight, landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris shortly before 9am. They were met on the tarmac by for...
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday welcomed two French nationals who returned to Paris after spending almost four years detained in Iran on espionage charges, with the French leader hailing “the end of a terrible ordeal”. Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, arrived on a commercial flight, landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris shortly before 9am. They were met on the tarmac by foreign ministry officials. Macron greeted the pair in the gardens of the Elysee Palace. They appeared...
Expert stresses importance of keeping routers updated and checking for unusual activity, as hackers could ‘take you to fake sites’ Russian hackers are exploiting commonly sold internet routers to harvest information for espionage purposes, the UK’s cybersecurity agency has said. The hack could allow attackers to obtain users’ credentials, redirect them to fake sites, and potentially access other d...
Expert stresses importance of keeping routers updated and checking for unusual activity, as hackers could ‘take you to fake sites’ Russian hackers are exploiting commonly sold internet routers to harvest information for espionage purposes, the UK’s cybersecurity agency has said. The hack could allow attackers to obtain users’ credentials, redirect them to fake sites, and potentially access other devices on their home network such as phones and PCs, said Alan Woodward, a professor at the University of Surrey. Continue reading...
JHVEPhoto Telecom equipment company Lumentum ( LITE ) said in a securities filing on Wednesday that it has entered into exchange agreements with some holders of its outstanding convertible senior notes for shares. The notes include its outstanding 0.50% convertible senior notes due in 2026 and its 1.5% convertible senior notes due in 2029, totaling approximately $474.6M ($264.8M for the 2026 notes...
JHVEPhoto Telecom equipment company Lumentum ( LITE ) said in a securities filing on Wednesday that it has entered into exchange agreements with some holders of its outstanding convertible senior notes for shares. The notes include its outstanding 0.50% convertible senior notes due in 2026 and its 1.5% convertible senior notes due in 2029, totaling approximately $474.6M ($264.8M for the 2026 notes and $209.8M for the 2029 notes). In exchange, Lumentum will provide the holders with roughly 5.7M shares of common stock. Lumentum will not receive any proceeds from the exchange, but upon receipt, the notes will be canceled. Lumentum shares rose more than 5% in premarket trading. More on Lumentum Micron, Credo, Lumentum: 3 AI Strong Buys Lumentum: The Nvidia Moment Lumentum: The AI Optics Catalyst Is Just Getting Started Sandisk gains most among S&P500 tech stocks in Q1; AppLovin biggest loser Memory, storage and optical stock declines drag down chip sector
Tomas Ragina The U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire just hours before Donald Trump’s deadline for escalation, with Tehran agreeing to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Israel also agreed to the ceasefire, the White House said. Meanwhile, Tehran presented a 10-point proposal now emerging as the central framework for negotiations. Trump described the plan as a “workable basis,” but ...
Tomas Ragina The U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire just hours before Donald Trump’s deadline for escalation, with Tehran agreeing to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Israel also agreed to the ceasefire, the White House said. Meanwhile, Tehran presented a 10-point proposal now emerging as the central framework for negotiations. Trump described the plan as a “workable basis,” but the substance of the proposal underscores just how far apart the two sides remain. What’s in Iran’s 10-point plan While the full document has not been officially released, Al Jazeera reporting indicates it includes: Fundamental commitment to non-aggression from the US. Controlled passage through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the Iranian armed forces, which in effect would mean that Iran retains its leverage over the waterway. An acceptance of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. The lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions and resolutions against Iran. End of all resolutions against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency. End of all resolutions against Iran the United Nations Security Council. The withdrawal of US combat forces from all bases in the region. Full compensation for damages suffered by Iran during the war — to be secured through payments to Iran by ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The release of all Iranian assets and properties frozen abroad. The ratification of all these matters in a binding UNSC resolution. However, in comments to the AFP news agency, Trump insisted that Iran’s nuclear stockpile would be “ taken care of ” in any peace deal. “That will be perfectly taken care of, or I wouldn ’ t have settled, ” Trump told AFP. Iran insists it is not seeking to build nuclear weapons, but says it is willing to negotiate limits on its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. Later, in an interview with Sky News , Trump seemed to suggest that the 10-point plan that Iranian officials have formally leaked are di...
Bet_Noire/iStock via Getty Images Introduction It’s been over two years since the first time I covered Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. ( AIT ), so I thought I’d go through its performance over the last year because the company recently released its full-year 2025 numbers, too. The company has been chugging along as expected, but unfortunately, the growth and margin expansion are not good eno...
Bet_Noire/iStock via Getty Images Introduction It’s been over two years since the first time I covered Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. ( AIT ), so I thought I’d go through its performance over the last year because the company recently released its full-year 2025 numbers, too. The company has been chugging along as expected, but unfortunately, the growth and margin expansion are not good enough to warrant a buy right now. Performance Starting from the top, AIT’s revenues showed a decent uptrend over the last year. It may not have been particularly rapid growth, but it is better than a downtrend. Looking at the segments in more detail, AIT’s Service Center-Based distribution segment was slightly pressured due to softer industrial activity, with organic growth coming in around 3% in the latest quarter. It is a growth, but it is quite weak indeed. Regarding its other revenue segment, the Engineered Solutions, this segment saw growth of around 19%, but most of that was due to the acquisition impact. Orders were up around 10% in the segment, which tells me there is demand. So, most of the total growth did come from the acquisitions, which kept AIT’s top-line performance intact, but I would prefer to see some decent organic growth. Seeking Alpha On to the company’s profitability and efficiency, we can see a mixed bag of results over 2025. Gross margins remained steady, but the EBIT and the bottom line are down slightly in the second half of 2025. The company saw higher LIFO expenses during the period, which brought down its profitability slightly, as well as softer December sales. Q2 ’26 GAAP EPS came in at $2.51, which was a beat of 2 cents. Seeking Alpha Looking at other important metrics in efficiency and profitability, the management is doing a good job of utilizing the company’s assets and shareholder equity quite efficiently, thus creating value. Additionally, it appears that the company also has a decent moat and pricing power since its return on total cost i...