A woman and her daughter died and 4,000 people had to be evacuated when a dam wall broke in Russia’s Dagestan republic in the south of the country following heavy rain, the Civil Protection Ministry reported on Monday. Another person died in a landslide, authorities said. Around 2,000 homes were flooded in the Derbent region on the Caspian Sea. The bodies of the woman and her daughter, a child, we...
A woman and her daughter died and 4,000 people had to be evacuated when a dam wall broke in Russia’s Dagestan republic in the south of the country following heavy rain, the Civil Protection Ministry reported on Monday. Another person died in a landslide, authorities said. Around 2,000 homes were flooded in the Derbent region on the Caspian Sea. The bodies of the woman and her daughter, a child, were found, but other people remain missing. Social media videos showed flooded villages and highways...
matejmo/iStock via Getty Images Markets play an expectations game, and in March 2026, we saw the process play out, with all of its upsides and downsides. The month started with a war in the Middle East, which quickly percolated into soaring oil prices and dropping stock prices, but the overwhelming factor was uncertainty about almost every dimension of the war - how long it would last, what perman...
matejmo/iStock via Getty Images Markets play an expectations game, and in March 2026, we saw the process play out, with all of its upsides and downsides. The month started with a war in the Middle East, which quickly percolated into soaring oil prices and dropping stock prices, but the overwhelming factor was uncertainty about almost every dimension of the war - how long it would last, what permanent changes to oil prices would emerge as a consequence, and how global governments and economies would respond to these changes. As we reach the end of the month, rather than getting answers, we face more questions, and not surprisingly, markets are volatile, not just on a day-to-day basis but in intraday trading, driven as much by rumors and conjecture as by facts. In keeping with my view that it is during periods of maximal uncertainty that you need perspective and to get back to basics, I will focus my attention on market behavior in March, and what we can learn from that behavior, as a precursor for the months to come. The Market Narrative in March We live in an age of commentary, as self-proclaimed experts offer prognostications, half-baked or otherwise, about what is to come, and the Iran war, with its mix of politics, economics, and religion baked in, has drawn a large and extremely diverse set of expert forecasts. Given the strong priors (about Iran and Trump) that many of these experts bring to the game, it should not be surprising that their views about how the war will play out and the effect on markets are driven by those priors. It is up to markets to reconcile these contradictory perspectives and come to a consensus, and I will try to extract from market behavior what the market narrative is leading into April 2026, with the recognition that it could be wrong and change overnight in good and bad ways. That said, over the last decade, I have learned that the market is far better at making sense of complexity and uncertainty than experts are, and it behooves us...
It can be difficult to decide whether to claim Social Security benefits or delay them to a later age, when you would likely receive higher benefits. Since retirees can claim as early as age 62 and increase their benefits by waiting up until 70, there's a lot that goes into the decision since there's a big discrepancy in the amount depending on when they claim. If you're thinking about delaying Soc...
It can be difficult to decide whether to claim Social Security benefits or delay them to a later age, when you would likely receive higher benefits. Since retirees can claim as early as age 62 and increase their benefits by waiting up until 70, there's a lot that goes into the decision since there's a big discrepancy in the amount depending on when they claim. If you're thinking about delaying Social Security , here's what the math looks like in 2026. Retirees can apply four months in advance to start receiving benefits in their first full month as a 62-year-old. Continue reading
Allbirds wasn’t just the unofficial footwear provider of Silicon Valley—its initial public offering in 2021 tapped into the tech sector’s ethos by giving the company’s founders disproportionate sway in how it would be run. Salad chain Sweetgreen eyewear seller Warby Parker language-learning app Duolingo and social network Snap all have share classes with extra votes for founders and each has incin...
Allbirds wasn’t just the unofficial footwear provider of Silicon Valley—its initial public offering in 2021 tapped into the tech sector’s ethos by giving the company’s founders disproportionate sway in how it would be run. Salad chain Sweetgreen eyewear seller Warby Parker language-learning app Duolingo and social network Snap all have share classes with extra votes for founders and each has incinerated billions in shareholder wealth recently. The structure had a revival last year with companies like Klarna, Figma and StubHub.
Acuity Inc. is well-positioned to illuminate the world of AI with its automated products, which are critical to smart buildings and cities of the future.
Acuity Inc. is well-positioned to illuminate the world of AI with its automated products, which are critical to smart buildings and cities of the future.
Pakistan’s economy, already under strain from soaring oil prices, is facing a new setback after it failed to reach agreement with the United Arab Emirates to roll over $3 billion in debt for the first time in seven years. The loan amounts to about 18% of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, putting significant pressure on the country’s external buffers and threatening the currency at a time when ...
Pakistan’s economy, already under strain from soaring oil prices, is facing a new setback after it failed to reach agreement with the United Arab Emirates to roll over $3 billion in debt for the first time in seven years. The loan amounts to about 18% of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, putting significant pressure on the country’s external buffers and threatening the currency at a time when high crude prices are draining its coffers. Pakistan’s reserves stood at $16.4 billion as of March 27, enough to cover three months of imports. It’s unclear what prompted the UAE to call in the loan now. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said April 4 the move was a “routine financial transaction,” seeking to downplay speculation of a possible political fallout between the two countries. Local media reports pointed to a breakdown in negotiations over the terms of a rollover. Pakistan managed to stabilize its economy in recent years with the help of loans from the International Monetary Fund and friendly donors like the UAE, China and Saudi Arabia. That helped Pakistan rebuild its reserves and steady the currency, which has traded in a range of 278–282 against the dollar before the Iran conflict began. The rupee has been little changed since the beginning of March while the nation’s benchmark KSE-100 Index is down 15% after years of global outperformance. To offset the outflow of funds, the central bank may be forced to take unpopular steps, analysts said, such as restricting imports, raising interest rates or borrowing more from commercial banks. “The UAE repayment was unexpected and lacked prior arrangement,” said Mohammed Sohail, chief executive officer at Topline Securities Ltd. “We think the central bank will opt for the old method of borrowing through commercial banks dollar swaps. The IMF doesn’t like this and there are quarterly limits but this is a window that is available.” IMF Instalment Draining reserves further, the government is due to make a $1.3 billion b...
M. Suhail/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Summary I upgraded to a hold rating for Bath & Body Works, Inc. ( BBWI ) in December last year, with my key thesis being that valuation has already gone down as I expected. It seems clear that management is now moving the Consumer First Formula into execution, which at least gives investors tangible progress to track. That said, the core demand trend is ...
M. Suhail/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Summary I upgraded to a hold rating for Bath & Body Works, Inc. ( BBWI ) in December last year, with my key thesis being that valuation has already gone down as I expected. It seems clear that management is now moving the Consumer First Formula into execution, which at least gives investors tangible progress to track. That said, the core demand trend is still soft. So, for me, this is still a neutral story. Turnaround efforts are proceeding A brief recap on my view on BBWI previously: I believed demand was weak, inventory was too high, margins looked to have downside, and the turnaround plan was still pretty much theoretical. None of those have completely gone away, but what has changed is that BBWI is finally doing things that investors can track tangibly. Perhaps the most important one is that BBWI has started making real changes across product, distribution, and the customer experience. For one, they have cut SKUs by 10%, launched on Amazon on February 20, and lowered the free shipping threshold from $100 to $50 (all part of the Consumer First Formula). To be fair, these are not major game changers, but they do show management's willingness to fix things and make it easier for customers to shop. Relative to offering straight-up discounts/promotions, I'd say this is a more sustainable approach as it targets the shopping experience itself rather than just pulling demand forward. In other words, I see that BBWI is making an effort to remove purchase friction, simplify the offer, and widen access to the brand. If this works, it should help support demand in a way that is less dependent on constantly training customers to wait for promotions. I also thought that the category detail helps in painting a more positive picture of the business. The good news here is that weakness was not broad-based across the whole business. In the recent call, they explicitly said body care declined mid-single-digits and also admitted that seas...
tadamichi Lucid Group ( LCID ) disclosed that for the quarter that ended on March 31, the electric vehicle maker produced 5,500 vehicles and delivered 3,093 vehicles. The company highlighted that deliveries of the Lucid Gravity were disrupted for 29 days during the quarter due to a supplier quality issue with the second-row seats. As a result, the company's ability to meet customer demand was impa...
tadamichi Lucid Group ( LCID ) disclosed that for the quarter that ended on March 31, the electric vehicle maker produced 5,500 vehicles and delivered 3,093 vehicles. The company highlighted that deliveries of the Lucid Gravity were disrupted for 29 days during the quarter due to a supplier quality issue with the second-row seats. As a result, the company's ability to meet customer demand was impacted. Those issues have now been addressed, and the company backed its previous production guidance of 25K to 27K vehicles for the full year. In 2025, Lucid ( LCID ) delivered 3,109 vehicles in Q1 2025, 3,309 in Q2, 4,078 in Q3, and 5,345 in Q4. Shares of Lucid ( LCID ) are down 5.8% on a year-to-date basis. Short interest stands at 13.3% of the total float. More on Lucid Lucid Group, Inc. (LCID) Presents at Bank of America Global Automotive Summit Transcript Tracking Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund's 13F Portfolio - Q4 2025 Update Lucid: Still Not Impressed Lucid Q1 deliveries largely unchanged amid supplier issue Lucid unveils 2027 Gravity lineup
It is clear among top officials in the Trump administration that the Israeli president overpromised in his pitch to the US Middle East crisis – live updates When Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on 29 December last year, he came with an ask – and a not so subtle inducement. After months of restocking air defence and other missiles after June’s ...
It is clear among top officials in the Trump administration that the Israeli president overpromised in his pitch to the US Middle East crisis – live updates When Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on 29 December last year, he came with an ask – and a not so subtle inducement. After months of restocking air defence and other missiles after June’s 12-day conflict in which the US joined in to bomb Tehran’s nuclear facilities, Israel was ready to go again, this time with more substantial objectives. Continue reading...