(RTTNews) - French stocks climbed higher on Tuesday, gaining significant ground in positive territory after an extended weekend, as investors indulged in some brisk buying ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
(RTTNews) - French stocks climbed higher on Tuesday, gaining significant ground in positive territory after an extended weekend, as investors indulged in some brisk buying ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
guirong hao/iStock via Getty Images By Michael Grant The first quarter of 2026 has delivered on the more turbulent half of our forecast while confounding its more orderly assumptions. Operation Epic Fury was not in our script, but it was in our framework. We argued that the equity bull market would encounter significant headwinds in Q1, that peak reflation was approaching, and that volatility woul...
guirong hao/iStock via Getty Images By Michael Grant The first quarter of 2026 has delivered on the more turbulent half of our forecast while confounding its more orderly assumptions. Operation Epic Fury was not in our script, but it was in our framework. We argued that the equity bull market would encounter significant headwinds in Q1, that peak reflation was approaching, and that volatility would rise. All of this has come to pass, though the catalyst has been more dramatic and unexpected. We had anticipated an interim peak for US equity benchmarks in the first quarter, followed by a correction of 10%+ through the summer, with the best opportunities for reinvestment emerging ahead of the midterm elections in autumn. The Iran war has precipitated and dramatized the correction that one could have reasonably judged probable. It has not transformed a correction into a bear market , but it has narrowed the margin for error considerably. Market behavior since the inception of Epic Fury is instructive: there has been no disorderly collapse. The investment community continues to treat the energy shock as temporary and the geopolitical disruption as containable. We share this view as a base case, but it will take time for investors to develop conviction here. The first fortnight of April is a critical juncture, and we see material downside support in the 6,000–6,200 area for the S&P 500 Index ( SP500 ). Why did Trump act now? Our answer is the convergence of the political calendar and strategic conviction. This was his last window to deploy military force on a significant scale before the mid-term elections erode his congressional margin. Trump has been consistent on the Iranian threat for years, never a believer in diplomacy as anything but a mechanism for delay. For a president conscious of legacy, the dismantling of a uniquely malignant regime carries obvious appeal. The minimum objective of Epic Fury - the removal of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capability - ap...
Stocks have gotten off to a difficult start here in 2026, and in March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average entered correction territory for the first time since last year's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement shook markets. Getting lost in the shuffle are recent regulatory changes that benefit bank stocks , and one bank on my radar is Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC) . The bank stock trades at a slight...
Stocks have gotten off to a difficult start here in 2026, and in March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average entered correction territory for the first time since last year's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement shook markets. Getting lost in the shuffle are recent regulatory changes that benefit bank stocks , and one bank on my radar is Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC) . The bank stock trades at a slight discount to book value and is an intriguing opportunity for investors looking to play the upside in regional banks amid changing capital requirements. Here's why. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
OpenAI ( OPENAI ), Anthropic ( ANTHRO ), and Alphabet's ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ) Google have started working together to clamp down on Chinese competitors extracting results from U.S. AI models to gain an edge in the global AI race, Bloomberg News reported. The companies are sharing information via the Frontier Model Forum, an industry nonprofit that the three founded with Microsoft ( MSFT ) in 2023 to ...
OpenAI ( OPENAI ), Anthropic ( ANTHRO ), and Alphabet's ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ) Google have started working together to clamp down on Chinese competitors extracting results from U.S. AI models to gain an edge in the global AI race, Bloomberg News reported. The companies are sharing information via the Frontier Model Forum, an industry nonprofit that the three founded with Microsoft ( MSFT ) in 2023 to detect so-called adversarial distillation attempts that breach their terms of service, the report added , citing people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha. The rare collaboration suggests the severity of a concern raised by U.S. AI companies that some users, especially in China, are developing imitation versions of their products that could undercut them on price and siphon away customers while posing a national security risk. U.S. officials have estimated that unauthorized distillation costs Silicon Valley firms billions of dollars in annual profit, the report noted. OpenAI confirmed it’s part of the information-sharing effort on adversarial distillation via the Frontier Model Forum and pointed to a February memo it sent to Congress on the practice, where it accused Chinese firm DeepSeek ( DEEPSEEK ) of trying to “free-ride on the capabilities developed by OpenAI and other US frontier labs,” according to the report. Distillation in AI is a technique in which a small, new model (a so-called student model) is trained to replicate the capabilities and performance of a large, complex model (a teacher model). The method enables smaller models to achieve high accuracy and requires less computational power and cost. Some forms of distillation are accepted but have been controversial when used by third parties — mainly in adversary countries like China or Russia — to replicate proprietary work without authorization. Leading U.S. AI firms have warned that foreign adversaries could use t...
Venture Global 借力全球天然气供应趋紧持续获益 路易斯安那州的 Venture Global 液化天然气出口设施。 要点速览 霍尔木兹海峡封锁、卡塔尔液化天然气设施遭袭引发新一轮能源危机，Venture Global 迎来获利良机。 全球正遭遇四年内第二次重大能源震荡。美国天然气出口商 Venture Global 已准备好收割巨额利润。 凭借一套能在全球供应动荡中获利的非传统商业模...
Venture Global 借力全球天然气供应趋紧持续获益 路易斯安那州的 Venture Global 液化天然气出口设施。 要点速览 霍尔木兹海峡封锁、卡塔尔液化天然气设施遭袭引发新一轮能源危机，Venture Global 迎来获利良机。 全球正遭遇四年内第二次重大能源震荡。美国天然气出口商 Venture Global 已准备好收割巨额利润。 凭借一套能在全球供应动荡中获利的非传统商业模式，该公司在 2022 年俄罗斯切断对欧天然气供应、买家四处寻找新气源时狂揽数十亿美元。这笔意外之财使其一跃成为美国第二大液化天然气（LNG）出口商，仅次于切尼尔能源（Cheniere Energy）。 如今，相似的剧情再度上演，Venture Global 有望借此实现更大野心：不仅要超越切尼尔，还要赶超中东小国卡塔尔 —— 该国坐拥全球最大天然气储量之一，已是 LNG 出口巨头。 霍尔木兹海峡对多数油轮仍处于关闭状态，导致 LNG 运输受阻；伊朗发射的导弹又重创了卡塔尔的天然气液化与出口设施。 这让 Venture Global 可出货的 LNG 货源成了抢手货。与切尼尔多数货源以长期合约出售不同，Venture Global 保留了大量份额用于现货市场，价格可大幅浮动。 霍尔木兹海峡仍对多数油轮关闭，全球 LNG 运输受阻。 “美国是非常安全、可靠的供应方，国内天然气储量充足，审批环境友好，有利于持续扩产。”Venture Global 首席执行官迈克尔・萨贝尔上月在休斯敦标普全球 CERAWeek 能源大会间隙表示。 Venture Global 于去年上市，估值约 390 亿美元。公司将墨西哥湾沿岸终端定位为满足亚欧买家新增需求的解决方案。 该股周一收于 15.94 美元，自 2 月底美以开始打击伊朗以来涨幅约 65%，较去年 12 月中旬股价翻倍有余。 Venture Global 表示，今年超 30% 的货源将投放现货市场。若现货价格大幅飙升，足以弥补其低价长期合约带来的微薄利润。 这是一项高风险策略，但眼下似乎又将迎来丰厚回报。 战争爆发以来，亚洲 LNG 基准价格近乎翻倍。欧洲基准价格上周升至每百万英热单位近 17 美元，此前约为 10 美元。 “他们总被战争‘救场’。” 投资机构 Energy Income Partners 研究主管路易斯・拉扎拉表示，...
The technology sector is looking increasingly attractive for investors as valuations fall below those of the wider stock market, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists. Tech’s recent underperformance is starting to generate attractive opportunities as “its valuation, relative to expected consensus growth, has fallen below that of the global aggregate market,” the team led by Peter Oppen...
The technology sector is looking increasingly attractive for investors as valuations fall below those of the wider stock market, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists. Tech’s recent underperformance is starting to generate attractive opportunities as “its valuation, relative to expected consensus growth, has fallen below that of the global aggregate market,” the team led by Peter Oppenheimer wrote in a research note Tuesday. Any lasting shock to the global economy from the war in Iran is also likely to benefit the sector as tech cash flows are less sensitive to economic growth, the strategists said. Shares of tech companies hit record highs last October thanks to rapid revenue growth, booming profits and dominant market positions. Since then, they’ve fallen back on concerns about ballooning spending on artificial intelligence — the largest cloud computing companies have committed to spend over $700 billion on data centers — and a rotation into sectors with less stretched valuations. Investors are worried about the scale of returns on such large commitments, but also the potential disruptive impact of artificial intelligence on existing business models, Oppenheimer said. A reliance on expanding computing power also means future growth is increasingly dependent on the physical world, he said. Read More: Yardeni Sees Tech Offering Attractive Entry Point After Pullback “Old-economy” stocks were re-rated as investors anticipated the increased infrastructure expenditure needed to boost energy supplies and support the data center build-outs. A Goldman Sachs basket of capital intensive “HALO” stocks , including utilities and manufacturing, has gained 11% year-to-date. “These factors have opened up an opportunity in the technology sector where growth rates remain strong, but valuations are now low,” Oppenheimer said. Tech stocks have seen strong earnings and positive earnings revisions, and return on equity has remained high, Oppenheimer added.
Electric Ballroom, London The era-defining duo’s ultras are suitably spoiled in the first of this intimate five-day run, showered with rarities that put a different spin on their well-known history ‘Tonight …” says Neil Tennant, with a suave pause, “no hits!” The crowd roars. “B-sides?” he teases. “Album tracks! And what we’re calling – although really it’s both of those – fan favourites .” It is ...
Electric Ballroom, London The era-defining duo’s ultras are suitably spoiled in the first of this intimate five-day run, showered with rarities that put a different spin on their well-known history ‘Tonight …” says Neil Tennant, with a suave pause, “no hits!” The crowd roars. “B-sides?” he teases. “Album tracks! And what we’re calling – although really it’s both of those – fan favourites .” It is a rare gig when the singer of a history-defining pop band can promise that no one will be hearing some of the best songs of all time tonight – West End Girls, Always on My Mind, Rent, to name some of several dozen – and get a hero’s welcome. But Pet Shop Boys have been on their Dreamworld greatest hits tour since 2022, one that’s barely even made room for their excellent and underrated 2024 album Nonetheless on the set list, let alone many wildcards. The Pet Shop Boys casual has been lavishly fatted in recent years. The Pet Shop Boys ultra, however, has been a little parched. It’s something this five-day run of intimate shows at Camden’s Electric Ballroom seeks to remedy, drawing from the band’s margins to promote a new tome on their highly intentional visual history: in typical one-word fashion, the tour is called Obscure. Tennant and synths foil Chris Lowe announced beforehand that they had rehearsed 35 possible songs from their 42-year run, but their enduring commitment to the single format, with its considered B-sides and remixes, makes the possibilities endless: one fan compiled a pre-game playlist of 226 “B-sides and non-singles” , and doubted even then that it was comprehensive. Tennant has a tray containing the lyrics – fair play, given that two songs tonight have never been played before, while others are getting their first trip out of the cupboard in decades. Continue reading...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images The VanEck CLO ETF ( CLOI ) is an actively managed ETF that is sub-advised by PineBridge Investments. The goal of the company is to invest primarily in IG-rated tranches of CLOs. Launched in June 2022, the fund has scaled to approximately $1.37 billion in net assets , establishing itself as one of the fastest-growing funds in the securitized credit space. T...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images The VanEck CLO ETF ( CLOI ) is an actively managed ETF that is sub-advised by PineBridge Investments. The goal of the company is to invest primarily in IG-rated tranches of CLOs. Launched in June 2022, the fund has scaled to approximately $1.37 billion in net assets , establishing itself as one of the fastest-growing funds in the securitized credit space. The fund pays monthly distributions and benchmarks against the J.P. Morgan CLO IG Index , effective May of 2025. CLOI's strategy allows investment across the IG CLO capital structure, from AAA through BBB, with up to 20% in BB-rated tranches . This flexibility is the fund's defining characteristic. Unlike JAAA, which is locked into the AAA tranche, PineBridge can dynamically allocate across the capital stack, moving up in quality during stress and reaching down when mezzanine spreads compensate for incremental risk. I am initiating CLOI as a buy on Seeking Alpha, as a persistent 50-150 bps complexity premium over comparable rated corporate credit, within a floating rate structure, effectively mitigates duration risk, with the active rotation providing a layer of alpha that static CLO allocations cannot replicate. While slightly higher risk, the returns justify a buy rating. Top Holdings and Credit Quality CLOI's portfolio is well-diversified across CLO managers and vintages. The most recent fact sheet has the following as their top holdings: Holding Coupon Maturity % of Net Assets U.S. Treasury Bill - 03/2026 7.65% Anchorage Capital CLO 2026-22 Ltd 5.000% 01/2039 4.65% Signal Peak CLO 4 Ltd 5.318% 10/2034 2.71% Regatta VI Funding Ltd 5.206% 10/2038 2.67% Ocean Trails CLO XV Ltd 4.932% 01/2039 2.57% Click to enlarge The 7.65% allocation to T-bills serves as a buffer to liquidity, which has become a standard practice for CLO ETFs that are actively managed, which partake in daily creation and redemption flows where the underlying securities often trade OTC. The quality of credi...