A summit between Russia and Asean next week promises to ease Southeast Asia’s energy crisis and Moscow’s diplomatic isolation – but not all of the bloc’s leaders are expected to show up. Analysts are also divided on whether Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, the current Asean chair, will travel to Kazan for the meeting, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 17–18. The summit m...
A summit between Russia and Asean next week promises to ease Southeast Asia’s energy crisis and Moscow’s diplomatic isolation – but not all of the bloc’s leaders are expected to show up. Analysts are also divided on whether Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, the current Asean chair, will travel to Kazan for the meeting, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 17–18. The summit marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations...
da-kuk/E+ via Getty Images Last week, despite seeing little tangible progress toward resolving the Iran conflict, U.S. markets quickly reverted to their familiar domestic anchors: AI capex optimism and the Federal Reserve outlook. It was, on balance, a strong week for risk markets, helped by renewed enthusiasm around AI spending and IPO demand, until Friday’s post-payroll sell-off reminded investo...
da-kuk/E+ via Getty Images Last week, despite seeing little tangible progress toward resolving the Iran conflict, U.S. markets quickly reverted to their familiar domestic anchors: AI capex optimism and the Federal Reserve outlook. It was, on balance, a strong week for risk markets, helped by renewed enthusiasm around AI spending and IPO demand, until Friday’s post-payroll sell-off reminded investors that, in this market, good news can still be bad news. A stronger labor report prompted markets to reprice toward a more hawkish Fed hiking interest rates as early as this year. This capped a week in which geopolitical tension mattered less than the usual mix of domestic micro and macro forces, particularly given already rich valuations in risk assets. The macro risks have not changed much: either a growth slowdown driven by a lingering energy supply shock or an overheating economy that pushes inflation higher and puts upward pressure on both yields and risk assets. Within credit markets, one sector that’s shown ongoing strength amid macro turbulence is energy. Energy outperformance: More about credit discipline than higher oil prices Since the conflict with Iran and the resulting supply shock pushed crude oil prices higher, energy credits have unsurprisingly outperformed their broader indices, including the Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield Total Return Index (Unhedged USD) – hereafter the USD HY Index – and also the J.P. Morgan Emerging Market Bond Index (EMBI) Global Composite (excluding the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC). But Figure 1 shows this outperformance actually began well before the recent oil spike. Figure 1: Energy sector spread outperformance started before the Iran conflict Energy sector credit outperformance versus broader U.S. high yield and EM bond indexes began before the recent oil rally, suggesting other drivers beyond higher crude prices. (Source: J.P. Morgan, Bloomberg, PIMCO as of 4 June 2026. Data are drawn from the Bloomberg ...
Republican incumbents are facing tough challenges in Maine and Nevada. In South Carolina, a crowded field of MAGA-devoted Republicans are facing off to be the next governor. (Image credit: John Locher)
Republican incumbents are facing tough challenges in Maine and Nevada. In South Carolina, a crowded field of MAGA-devoted Republicans are facing off to be the next governor. (Image credit: John Locher)
The Supreme Court is heading into its crunch time, the part of the year when the justices are racing to finish decisions and dissents in the cases that remain undecided. Here's what's left. (Image credit: Tyrone Turner)
The Supreme Court is heading into its crunch time, the part of the year when the justices are racing to finish decisions and dissents in the cases that remain undecided. Here's what's left. (Image credit: Tyrone Turner)
Recent studies suggest GLP-1s, the weight loss and diabetes drugs, may both prevent cancer and slow its progression. While weight loss is known to curb cancer risks, GLP-1s may act on other brain and metabolic pathways to prevent cancer. (Image credit: Michael Siluk)
Recent studies suggest GLP-1s, the weight loss and diabetes drugs, may both prevent cancer and slow its progression. While weight loss is known to curb cancer risks, GLP-1s may act on other brain and metabolic pathways to prevent cancer. (Image credit: Michael Siluk)
Due to advancements in treatment and screening, more Americans are surviving cancer. But many are left with lingering mental health challenges like anxiety and depression. (Image credit: Natalie Krebs)
Due to advancements in treatment and screening, more Americans are surviving cancer. But many are left with lingering mental health challenges like anxiety and depression. (Image credit: Natalie Krebs)
The S&P 500 is up about 24% during the past 12 months. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is down 40% in the same period. Meanwhile, the rest of the crypto sector has been a graveyard for capital. Investors who bought a plain index fund in June 2025 made money; holders of "digital gold" did not, and holders of altcoins were quite likely to have lost almost everything. In the longer view, some original investme...
The S&P 500 is up about 24% during the past 12 months. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is down 40% in the same period. Meanwhile, the rest of the crypto sector has been a graveyard for capital. Investors who bought a plain index fund in June 2025 made money; holders of "digital gold" did not, and holders of altcoins were quite likely to have lost almost everything. In the longer view, some original investment theses for buying crypto still hold, while many (most?) others have been bludgeoned into irrelevance by hard evidence, courtesy of the market. So, is there any reason left to buy cryptocurrency in 2026, or is this show over for good? Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
5 Future Scenarios For Post-Conflict Iran Authored by Christian Milord via The Epoch Times , There likely are more than five scenarios that Iranians could opt for as hostilities unwind, but the following five visions represent the paths Iran could take this year. Will 2026 onward become the Third Islamic Republic, following the first (1979-1989) and the second (1989-2026)? We can only speculate on...
5 Future Scenarios For Post-Conflict Iran Authored by Christian Milord via The Epoch Times , There likely are more than five scenarios that Iranians could opt for as hostilities unwind, but the following five visions represent the paths Iran could take this year. Will 2026 onward become the Third Islamic Republic, following the first (1979-1989) and the second (1989-2026)? We can only speculate on the outcome of this third evolution, which might or might not be powered by clerics. First , in the fluid situation on the ground in Iran, T here are many forces at work . When the dust clears, Iran might fall right back into the same rut it has traversed since 1979. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei might be at the top of the pyramid, while President Masoud Pezeshkian and members of the Assembly of Experts, Cabinet, Courts, Guardian Council, and Parliament will appear to remain loyal to the ideology of militant Shia Islam. Over 80 percent of Iranians are Shia, while the remainder are adherents of Sunni Islam, the Baha'i faith, Christianity, and inter-religious practitioners. In this scenario, the dreaded Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would continue to hold sway as a parallel military force to the national armed forces (Artesh) of Iran - which is by now also fully under the control of the Islamic Republic. While similar to the oppressive prior Mukhabarat (internal intelligence/security) in Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the Assad dynasty in Syria, the IRGC has both an external and internal arm that metes out its own version of justice abroad and at home. Once again, Iranians would be forced to look over their shoulder and censor their own behavior. The regime would rebuild its military weapons arsenal, fund foreign terror proxies, and manipulate the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint with inspections and tolls. Next, when the conflict concludes and a ceasefire holds, balkanization of the nation might unfold. In Iran, there are large numbers of Balochs, Kurds, Turkmen, etc., w...
President Donald Trump attended the highly anticipated New York Knicks playoff in Madison Square Garden, drawing a heightened security presence and boos from the crowd. Annmarie Hordern has more. (Source: Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump attended the highly anticipated New York Knicks playoff in Madison Square Garden, drawing a heightened security presence and boos from the crowd. Annmarie Hordern has more. (Source: Bloomberg)
PonyWang/E+ via Getty Images On Monday, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators requested President Donald Trump's administration to tighten regulations on chip contract makers, like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ), to prevent them from making advanced AI chips for overseas units of Chinese companies, Reuters reported. This comes on the heels of the Trump administration last week moving to...
PonyWang/E+ via Getty Images On Monday, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators requested President Donald Trump's administration to tighten regulations on chip contract makers, like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ), to prevent them from making advanced AI chips for overseas units of Chinese companies, Reuters reported. This comes on the heels of the Trump administration last week moving to halt a potential loophole that may have led companies to export advanced chips like those made by Nvidia ( NVDA ) to units of Chinese companies situated outside China. That potential loophole came up last year when the Trump administration noted that it would not enforce rules put in place by the previous Biden administration governing global access to U.S. chips, the report added . The Bureau of Industry and Security, or BIS, under the U.S. Commerce Department, clarified that sales to Chinese company subsidiaries in countries like Malaysia require a license, according to the report. However, experts like former State Department official Chris McGuire said last week that the guidance still did not address another potential loophole, under which front companies for Chinese firms could order custom chips to be made by chip contract makers like TSM, the report noted. On Monday, Senator Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, and Senator Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, sent a letter to BIS chief Jeffrey Kessler urging the BIS to directly address the issue of units of Chinese companies ordering custom chips, the report added. "Should this gap remain unaddressed, it would substantially undermine every other restriction the United States has imposed on the (China's) access to advanced computing capability," wrote the senators. "Export controls that can be circumvented through fabrication orders placed at the world's most advanced foundry offer no meaningful protection to American national security or to the competitiveness of United States industry." TSM, the Commerce...
Piven faced more than a few hurdles on his path to finding a buyer, with the 6,200-square-foot home bouncing on and off the market over the year, each time with a reduced asking price.
Piven faced more than a few hurdles on his path to finding a buyer, with the 6,200-square-foot home bouncing on and off the market over the year, each time with a reduced asking price.
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA Chief Executive Officer Carlo Messina signaled he’s prepared to address any counterbids for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA , after unveiling an offer that valued the world’s oldest bank at more than €30 billion ($35 billion). “The transaction will ultimately be decided by the price that is paid,” Messina said in an interview on Bloomberg TV Tuesday. “If someone is prepared...
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA Chief Executive Officer Carlo Messina signaled he’s prepared to address any counterbids for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA , after unveiling an offer that valued the world’s oldest bank at more than €30 billion ($35 billion). “The transaction will ultimately be decided by the price that is paid,” Messina said in an interview on Bloomberg TV Tuesday. “If someone is prepared to offer more than we are offering, then there could be competition.” Messina on Monday surprised markets by offering to buy Monte Paschi, a deal that would cement Intesa’s dominant role at home, expand its wealth and investment banking operations through the addition of Mediobanca SpA , and leave it with a big minority stake in the country’s largest insurer, Assicurazioni Generali SpA . It would also position the bank to play a role in European consolidation, he said. Read More: Intesa Makes €30.6 Billion Paschi Bid in New Italy Deal Wave Intesa deliberately included a roughly €3 billion cash component in its bid to make it harder for competitors to respond, Messina said, arguing it creates a hurdle that few rivals would be able or willing to match. “A transaction in which you have €3 billion cash is, in my view, a clear point of attention for all the other banks that can consider to make counterbid,” Messina said. “Putting the cash on the transaction means that you are strong enough in terms of capital.” Still, the bid is likely to trigger responses from other players in Italian finance. UniCredit SpA , Intesa’s main rival, has been looking to defend its position at home under CEO Andrea Orcel and recently increased its stake in Generali. A day before Intesa’s offer, Banco BPM SpA already pitched a merger of equals with Monte Paschi, without giving a price. The proposal by Banco BPM was merely a “love letter” asking for talks, not a full fledged offer, Messina said. As for UniCredit, he suggested a “friendly approach” may be possible with regard to Generali. There’s a “h...
In this article INR= Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the gathering at AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, India February 19, 2026. Press Information Bureau | Via Reuters In his 12th year as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi continues to be popular in India — but the world's fastest-growing major economy is no longer so popular among global inv...
In this article INR= Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the gathering at AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, India February 19, 2026. Press Information Bureau | Via Reuters In his 12th year as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi continues to be popular in India — but the world's fastest-growing major economy is no longer so popular among global investors. India's growing reputation as an anti-artificial intelligence trade, combined with the economic strain of the prolonged conflict in the Middle East on the Indian economy, is leading to a record exodus of foreign investors from the country, experts said. "India is no longer the obvious, one-way growth story investors assumed it was a few years ago," said Alexandra Hermann Prasad, lead economist at Oxford Economics. While it "remains strong by global standards," the economy is facing headwinds from weaker consumption, fragile investment sentiment, higher energy costs and more selective global capital, she added. Foreign portfolio investors have sold Indian equities worth $29.5 billion so far this year, after selling $18.9 billion last year. On the foreign direct investment front, India has attracted gross capital of over $90 billion on a 12-month trailing basis ending January 2026, up 13% year on year. But this was eclipsed by higher repatriation of capital by foreign firms and a rise in overseas investment by Indian companies, taking net FDI to a "near all-time low." This has significantly weakened the Indian rupee against the dollar at a time when global oil prices are rising, creating a treacherous situation for India, which imports more 85% of its crude requirements. As the shocks from the Middle East crisis get passed on to consumers, inflation is set to rise while growth is expected to slow, further narrowing India's appeal among global investors. Last Friday, the Reserve Bank raised its inflation forecast to 5.1% for the financial year ending March 2027 and war...