Bonjour et Bienvenue to the Paris Edition. I’m Bloomberg Opinion columnist Lionel Laurent . If you haven’t yet, subscribe now to the Paris Edition newsletter . Terror Worries This week will see the start of a few fresh ingredients in the Paris Edition, from reading recommendations to snippets that were either eye-grabbing or eye-rolling. But first… The Iran War is heading into its sixth week and s...
Bonjour et Bienvenue to the Paris Edition. I’m Bloomberg Opinion columnist Lionel Laurent . If you haven’t yet, subscribe now to the Paris Edition newsletter . Terror Worries This week will see the start of a few fresh ingredients in the Paris Edition, from reading recommendations to snippets that were either eye-grabbing or eye-rolling. But first… The Iran War is heading into its sixth week and second-round effects are starting to be felt in France. Petrol prices at the pump have risen by 15%, according to Unicredit, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz chokes off around one-fifth of global seaborne oil flows. French inflation jumped in March, a sign of things to come if the conflict escalates. Meanwhile Emmanuel Macron has understandably not leapt at Donald Trump’s offer to “take the oil” by force. Apart from the unpopularity of this war with European voters and the boost it’s given Russia, not even the US Fifth Fleet seems yet willing to test Tehran’s asymmetric muscle in a critical waterway with historical echoes of the 1956 Suez Crisis. Closer to home, fresh security risks are percolating just a stone’s throw from the Elysee Palace. Four people, including three teenagers, have been charged with terrorism-related offenses after police thwarted an attempted bombing near the Bank of America Corp. office in Paris. Security is being tightened at other US banks, which allowed work-from-home as a result. Financiers are broadly sanguine for the time being, pointing out the device used was small and nobody was harmed. But reports say the would-be bombers were recruited on Snapchat for the princely sum of somewhere between €500 and €1,000. That’s a low barrier to entry for fear and havoc that is also reminiscent of Russian hybrid warfare. The bigger significance will incite France and other European leaders to get more involved in a push for de-escalation and diplomatic restraint. Macron has expressed confidence there will be “useful” initiatives to stabilize...
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter about the business of tech from Bloomberg’s journalists around the world. Today, Julia Love reports on the situation facing Google employees concerned about their company’s work with the US military. Tech Across the Globe More China curbs : US lawmakers unveiled a proposal to crack down on the export of chipmaking tools to China, especially from overs...
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter about the business of tech from Bloomberg’s journalists around the world. Today, Julia Love reports on the situation facing Google employees concerned about their company’s work with the US military. Tech Across the Globe More China curbs : US lawmakers unveiled a proposal to crack down on the export of chipmaking tools to China, especially from overseas allies, in an effort to further restrict China from gaining the most advanced technology. More job cuts : Workforce reductions at tech companies jumped 24% in March from a year earlier, leading US industries in announcing cutbacks. More Alibaba AI : The company released its third proprietary artificial intelligence model in as many days, reinforcing efforts to ramp up profit from its flagship AI services. More Microsoft money : The Copilot operator is committing $10 billion to Japan over four years as a major pillar of its expansion in AI-hungry Asia. Revalued SpaceX has boosted its target IPO valuation to more than $2 trillion — up from $1.75 trillion — in what would be the biggest-ever public market debut. Elon Musk’s rocket company, which includes his xAI lab and X social media service, is floating that figure to prospective investors as it seeks to raise as much as $75 billion by selling its stock to the public. Changing times For some Googlers, watching Anthropic’s standoff with the Pentagon over AI weaponry is bittersweet: They’re happy to see someone taking a stand, but wish their company was the one waging the fight. Employees of Alphabet’s Google were early to sound the alarm about AI weapons. In 2018, they protested the company’s involvement in Project Maven, a Pentagon effort to develop artificial intelligence to analyze video feeds taken in America’s overseas drone wars. Google ultimately decided not to renew the contract. Much has changed since then. Last year, Google removed a passage from its artificial intelligence principles that pledged to avoid using ...
Goyle, Chert, Mire by Jean Sprackland; The House of Broken Things by Kim Moore; The Tree Is Missing by Shannon Kuta Kelly; Dog Star by Michael Symmons Roberts; Horses by Jake Skeets Goyle, Chert, Mire by Jean Sprackland (Jonathan Cape, £13) The 45 unrhymed sonnets in Sprackland’s sixth collection coalesce into three spellbinding interwoven sequences. Set in the Blackdown Hills, a remote stretch be...
Goyle, Chert, Mire by Jean Sprackland; The House of Broken Things by Kim Moore; The Tree Is Missing by Shannon Kuta Kelly; Dog Star by Michael Symmons Roberts; Horses by Jake Skeets Goyle, Chert, Mire by Jean Sprackland (Jonathan Cape, £13) The 45 unrhymed sonnets in Sprackland’s sixth collection coalesce into three spellbinding interwoven sequences. Set in the Blackdown Hills, a remote stretch between Somerset and Devon, the poems explore the friction between art and articulation, habitat and inhabitation. Here, the landscape is not a backdrop but a linguistic event: “a drop swells on the lip of a leaf and falls / like a word being said”. By removing the first person throughout, Sprackland makes us encounter the landscape intimately: it’s not mediated through a speaker’s interiority but in “mossy silence”, “the rumble of the combine harvester”, “the noise / of meltwater hurtling over stones”, or “the shattered pieces of yourself”. Overshadowed by an unnamed illness, the poems bear wounds but don’t broadcast suffering; this restraint fosters minute attention to “pilgrim gnats attending the water” and the mire’s “long translation from gley to peat”. Sprackland’s ability alternately to narrow and widen our focus – from a closeup on insect life to geological time – reveals how consciousness itself moves between scales. Unlike many nature poems that overanimate or sentimentalise, the book is alive to the limits of human agency: it knows “language itself is prone to collapse”. Yet in that collapse, we can find meaning; recognise the “spiky logic” of natural process, following it as “the sparrow enters / and follows” the “sprawling holly”. The unwavering sonnet form represents an act of courage, a disciplined response to illness and dissolution, creating order where language threatens to collapse. This is a profound, enduring collection. The House of Broken Things by Kim Moore (Corsair, £14.99) Moore’s new collection constructs an ambitious architecture for exploring inte...
Find out how bad your mental mush is How bad is your brain rot? Tally up your scores to see your results. None 3pts 1-3 2pts 4-6 1pts 6+ 0pts Never 3pts Sometimes 2pts Frequently 1pts Almost always 0pts Meditate 3pts Read 3pts Watch TV 1pts Doomscroll 0pts Almost never 0pts Less than once a week 1pts At least once a week 2pts 2-3 times a week 3pts Never 3pts Occasionally 2pts Frequently 1pts Basic...
Find out how bad your mental mush is How bad is your brain rot? Tally up your scores to see your results. None 3pts 1-3 2pts 4-6 1pts 6+ 0pts Never 3pts Sometimes 2pts Frequently 1pts Almost always 0pts Meditate 3pts Read 3pts Watch TV 1pts Doomscroll 0pts Almost never 0pts Less than once a week 1pts At least once a week 2pts 2-3 times a week 3pts Never 3pts Occasionally 2pts Frequently 1pts Basically always 0pts 7+ hours 3pts 6-7 hours 2pts Less than 6 hours 1pts Almost never 0pts Less than once a week 1pts At least once a week 2pts 2-3 times a week 3pts 6+ hours 3pts 3-6 hours 2pts 1-3 hours 1pts Less than an hour 0pts Next to me, obviously 0pts Somewhere else 3pts Never 3pts Occasionally, if it’s important 2pts Pretty much every time 0pts Continue reading...
As a state-controlled company explores for oil in the fragile Equatorial Margin the government struggles to balance its ecological promises with fossil fuel expansion. In Oiapoque, the stakes could not be higher Covering a densely forested area larger than Wales, the municipality and city of Oiapoque , in the state of Amapá , is an isolated yet renowned part of Brazil , thanks to a popular nationa...
As a state-controlled company explores for oil in the fragile Equatorial Margin the government struggles to balance its ecological promises with fossil fuel expansion. In Oiapoque, the stakes could not be higher Covering a densely forested area larger than Wales, the municipality and city of Oiapoque , in the state of Amapá , is an isolated yet renowned part of Brazil , thanks to a popular national saying. “From Oiapoque to Chuí” highlights the country’s northernmost and southernmost points, respectively, illustrating its vastness. Although well known, it is a remote area with about 30,000 inhabitants where less than 2% of the houses have access to proper sewage treatment. One-third of its residents are Indigenous people from four ethnic groups living in 68 hamlets across three Indigenous lands, 66 of which have electricity for less than 12 hours a day. Continue reading...
St Michael’s Mount and the people who live near it are still healing from the scars left by storm’s 100mph winds Three months after Storm Goretti battered St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall , the signs of the storm’s power are still evident in the scars left by uprooted trees, piles of logs and the shaking of heads from islanders who have lived there for decades and never seen the like. “It really was...
St Michael’s Mount and the people who live near it are still healing from the scars left by storm’s 100mph winds Three months after Storm Goretti battered St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall , the signs of the storm’s power are still evident in the scars left by uprooted trees, piles of logs and the shaking of heads from islanders who have lived there for decades and never seen the like. “It really was something,” said Jack Beesley, a senior gardener. “We were shocked the morning after when we saw what had happened . We had been caring for these trees for years and to see so many of them down was very sad. We’ve worked hard to get the place ready for the Easter visitors but it will still be a month or more until we’re back straight.” Continue reading...
Bondi and Kristi Noem the only two cabinet members to be removed despite string of scandals involving male officials Donald Trump has been accused of running a “misogynistic administration” after making Pam Bondi the second woman to be fired from a cabinet already dominated by men. The US president dismissed the attorney general on Thursday amid mounting frustration with her performance, especiall...
Bondi and Kristi Noem the only two cabinet members to be removed despite string of scandals involving male officials Donald Trump has been accused of running a “misogynistic administration” after making Pam Bondi the second woman to be fired from a cabinet already dominated by men. The US president dismissed the attorney general on Thursday amid mounting frustration with her performance, especially over the release of files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...
The Chicago band’s frantic, urgent guitar melodies celebrate hope, friendship and family in these uncertain times From Chicago, Illinois Recommended if you like Modest Mouse, Wilco, Car Seat Headrest Up next Second album Something Worth Waiting For out 24 April, touring the US from April and Europe in summer In Friko’s hands, a swirl of influences and experiments curve the many colours of indie ro...
The Chicago band’s frantic, urgent guitar melodies celebrate hope, friendship and family in these uncertain times From Chicago, Illinois Recommended if you like Modest Mouse, Wilco, Car Seat Headrest Up next Second album Something Worth Waiting For out 24 April, touring the US from April and Europe in summer In Friko’s hands, a swirl of influences and experiments curve the many colours of indie rock into an endlessly inventive, radiant ramble. The Chicago band’s upcoming, cheekily titled second album, Something Worth Waiting For, explores the energy of yearning: for growth, for change, for stability. Across nine tracks, Friko take inspiration from their recent spate of touring to orbit the idea of finding things worth moving for and the value of the journey itself. Continue reading...
patty_c The restaurant sector has seen large declines since the spike in gas prices stoked concerns that consumers will cut back on discretionary spending in certain categories. Decliners over the last month since the Iran conflict began include Wingstop ( WING ) -33%, Jack in the Box ( JACK ) -32%, Venu Holding ( VENU ) -32%, Dine Brands ( DIN ) -18%, Bloomin' Brands ( BLMN ) -16%, Cheesecake Fac...
patty_c The restaurant sector has seen large declines since the spike in gas prices stoked concerns that consumers will cut back on discretionary spending in certain categories. Decliners over the last month since the Iran conflict began include Wingstop ( WING ) -33%, Jack in the Box ( JACK ) -32%, Venu Holding ( VENU ) -32%, Dine Brands ( DIN ) -18%, Bloomin' Brands ( BLMN ) -16%, Cheesecake Factory ( CAKE ) -13%, ( FWRG ) -10%, Chipotle ( CMG ) -9%, Texas Roadhouse ( TXRH ) -9%, McDonald's ( MCD ) -7%, and Starbucks ( SBUX ) -7%. However, Mizuho Securities analyst Nick Setyan said that any clear evidence of a slowdown in restaurant trends from higher gas prices is lacking so far. Setyan and his team see the most appealing dislocation within coffee, with Dutch Bros ( BROS ) still the firm's top pick. Mizuho also continues to view casual dining names as relatively well positioned, with top picks Cheesecake Factory ( CAKE ) and Brinker International ( QSR ). Meanwhile, Chipotle ( CMG ) is the top fast-casual pick. If there is continued pressure on consumers due to elevated gas prices, fast-food chains Wendy's ( WEN ) and Jack in the Box ( JACK ) are seen by Mizuho as being the most at risk. Baird issued a similar assessment, noting that the lower-income demographic spends a disproportionately high percentage of their income on fuel, meaning that the recent surge in gas prices acts as a direct tax on discretionary food-away-from-home spending, although the double-digit share price declines may be overstating the effect. The restaurant stocks with the highest Seeking Alpha quant scores are Noodles (NLDS), Brinker International ( EAT ), Darden Restaurants ( DRI ), Restaurant Brands International ( EAT ), and Arcos Dorados ( ARCO ). More on the restaurant sector McDonald's tries to reclaim its value crown with under-$3 menu items, $4 breakfast deal Chipotle has a plan to win 'burrito season' Dividend scorecard for AdvisorShares Restaurant ETF
The US government has unveiled an AI export initiative designed to cement American technological leadership while countering China’s growing influence in the sector. Washington is inviting US companies to form “preset” consortiums to offer full-stack artificial intelligence solutions around the world. Applications will be accepted until the end of June, the International Trade Administration (ITA)...
The US government has unveiled an AI export initiative designed to cement American technological leadership while countering China’s growing influence in the sector. Washington is inviting US companies to form “preset” consortiums to offer full-stack artificial intelligence solutions around the world. Applications will be accepted until the end of June, the International Trade Administration (ITA), an agency under the US Department of Commerce, said in a news release issued on Wednesday. The...
Xiaomi has raised prices on several smartphone models, joining a broader wave of increases across China’s handset makers as surging memory chip costs ripple through the global consumer electronics supply chain. The company said on Friday that prices for three models would rise by about 200 yuan (US$29), with the adjustments taking effect next Saturday. The move follows similar increases by domesti...
Xiaomi has raised prices on several smartphone models, joining a broader wave of increases across China’s handset makers as surging memory chip costs ripple through the global consumer electronics supply chain. The company said on Friday that prices for three models would rise by about 200 yuan (US$29), with the adjustments taking effect next Saturday. The move follows similar increases by domestic peers including Oppo, Vivo and Honor in March. Xiaomi attributed the hike to “continued sharp...
China would be closely watching the US Artemis 2 lunar fly-by mission, which has already encountered challenges, including a malfunctioning toilet soon after launch, an expert said. As China gears up to bring astronauts to the moon, the first human return to lunar orbit since the Apollo era over 50 years ago could offer Beijing valuable technical insights. Quentin Parker, a professor of astrophysi...
China would be closely watching the US Artemis 2 lunar fly-by mission, which has already encountered challenges, including a malfunctioning toilet soon after launch, an expert said. As China gears up to bring astronauts to the moon, the first human return to lunar orbit since the Apollo era over 50 years ago could offer Beijing valuable technical insights. Quentin Parker, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Hong Kong, described China as watching the Artemis 2 mission “like a...
This report is from this week's The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. Once considered a taboo sector to funnel money into by venture capitalists, defense tech has seen a remarkable shift over the past few years. It raised just $869 million globally in 2020, according to deal-counting platform Dealroom — a figure that rose more than tenfold to hit $11.2 billion in...
This report is from this week's The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. Once considered a taboo sector to funnel money into by venture capitalists, defense tech has seen a remarkable shift over the past few years. It raised just $869 million globally in 2020, according to deal-counting platform Dealroom — a figure that rose more than tenfold to hit $11.2 billion in 2025. A lot can change in five years. Rising geopolitical tensions across the world have led states scrambling to modernize militaries and increasing commercial opportunities for new defense startups. Russia's war in Ukraine has given rise to a new kind of drone warfare. It also provided a test bed for new defense technology developed by startups, and now tech companies have their sights set on opportunities brought about by the conflict in the Middle East. Over the past week, defense tech startups in the U.S. and Europe have told reporters at CNBC that they're seeing increased demand and are eyeing commercial deals as a result of the conflict. Frankenburg Mark I interceptor missile live-fire test. Credit: Frankenburg. Rising demand The Iran war is the " moment defense tech and Silicon Valley have been waiting for," my colleague Samantha Subin wrote last Saturday. For years, the sector has sought to compete with primes for a chunk of the ballooning Pentagon budget, and the U.S. campaign in the Middle East has provided an opening, startups told CNBC. Several defense tech startups Subin spoke with for the story said demand had risen from Department of Defense customers since the U.S. and Israel first struck Iran at the end of February. Many of those customers have offered to buy out capacity or asked firms to increase production, the businesses said. In Europe, defense tech execs told me they've been ramping up commercial discussions with Middle East governments since the start of the war. Another defense CEO said interest from Gulf states was "skyrocketing" as they raced to...
Organic Media/E+ via Getty Images Ellington Financial ( EFC ) is a mortgage REIT that we cover. Today, I’d like to go over one of their preferred shares for readers. EFC-C ( EFC.PR.C ) Is A Very Interesting Share EFC-C is not a great investment choice. I would love to be able to put a bearish rating on it, but bearish ratings only really work on preferred shares if there is a strong case for the c...
Organic Media/E+ via Getty Images Ellington Financial ( EFC ) is a mortgage REIT that we cover. Today, I’d like to go over one of their preferred shares for readers. EFC-C ( EFC.PR.C ) Is A Very Interesting Share EFC-C is not a great investment choice. I would love to be able to put a bearish rating on it, but bearish ratings only really work on preferred shares if there is a strong case for the company to collapse. I do not see any reasonable argument for Ellington Financial to collapse. Therefore, I am stuck using a "Neutral" rating, even though I believe the share price is too high. Preferred shares rarely have a negative return because the price rarely fluctuates enough to lose more value than the dividends. It’s important for investors to look at relative values of investments. The stripped yield on price is 8.66%. The REIT Forum When we compare EFC-C to similar preferred shares and baby bonds, investors can find better options elsewhere. The stripped yield on this preferred share isn’t attractive relative to peers. For us to view this as a buy, the price would need to drop about $1.23. That’s more than 6 months of dividends. Let’s consider a possible scenario. Over the next six months, the price could decline by about $1.08, which is equal to two dividend payments. The dividends they collected would be offset by the drop in price. In this scenario, investors would be seeing a total return of 0%. That still doesn’t work for us to create a bearish rating. It would be a lame performance, but not the kind of decline that works for “bearish” ratings. That does not look at all impressive for the analyst. It looks fine for an analyst who is awful and needs something to reduce the impact of all their terrible ratings. However, for an analyst with a solid track record, having a bearish rating that delivers zero percent over six months is simply not impressive. The REIT Forum Now, let's get into why EFC-C is such a poor choice. The first issue is that the share price is...
ugurhan/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Welcome to the SA’s The Macro Brief! This official SA Profile will highlight our analysts' latest economic and market analysis to help investors gauge the ever-volatile financial landscape through various recurring series. The economy is the foundation of financial markets, influencing everything from corporate earnings and consumer spending to central ...
ugurhan/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Welcome to the SA’s The Macro Brief! This official SA Profile will highlight our analysts' latest economic and market analysis to help investors gauge the ever-volatile financial landscape through various recurring series. The economy is the foundation of financial markets, influencing everything from corporate earnings and consumer spending to central bank policy and inflation. Understanding economic trends, policy decisions, and sector activity can be critical when assessing market opportunities and making informed investment decisions. Check out these must-reads from March’s second half… Trending Themes The Iran War Markets Are Souring On Trump's Iran Strategy | James Foord | 3/20/26 “The ongoing Iran war has escalated beyond expectations, undermining market confidence and contributing to a downtrend in the S&P 500. Recent U.S. actions, including potential sanction relief on Iranian oil, are considered short-term fixes rather than bullish catalysts. Historical parallels suggest that political missteps and energy crises can trigger prolonged market turmoil and recessions.” Why Hormuz Worst-Case Scenario Says 'Hold Off' | Wolf Report | 3/23/26 “Historical precedent suggests a severe oil shock could trigger stagflation, prolonged market underperformance, and a decade of flat or negative real returns. Algorithmic trading could amplify volatility and accelerate a broad equity sell-off, especially in sectors with high-energy exposure.” Since 1971, This Is How The S&P 500 Has Performed After Oil Shocks | Multiplo Invest | 3/24/26 “The last few days have been complex for stock investors. The risk aversion scenario has not improved, oil prices continue to rise, shares continue to fall and fear begins to take over. My objective here was to clarify the scenario for the investor.” There Is No De-Escalation | Eugenio Catone | 3/25/26 “Current market optimism over U.S./Iran de-escalation is likely misplaced, as both sides' demands r...
Maks_Lab/iStock via Getty Images Global manufacturing continued to grow in March, according to PMI survey data, the rate of expansion slowing but displaying encouraging resilience in the face of surging energy prices and supply delays. However, the forward-looking indicators hint at these pressures playing a greater role in dampening growth in the months ahead. Manufacturing PMI dips on war impact...
Maks_Lab/iStock via Getty Images Global manufacturing continued to grow in March, according to PMI survey data, the rate of expansion slowing but displaying encouraging resilience in the face of surging energy prices and supply delays. However, the forward-looking indicators hint at these pressures playing a greater role in dampening growth in the months ahead. Manufacturing PMI dips on war impact The global manufacturing recovery has been knocked off course by the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Having risen to a 44-month high of 51.8 in February, the headline manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), sponsored by J.P. Morgan and compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, fell to 51.3 in March. While still above 50, the PMI remains in growth territory for an eighth successive month, and March’s reading was, in fact, the second-highest seen over the past 45 months. But the relative resilience of this headline indicator masks a more worrying picture of deteriorating demand growth, surging prices and supply chain delays, all of which threaten to push growth lower in the coming months. In the first instance, it should be borne in mind that the headline PMI is a composite of five survey variables. Of these five PMI components, the output index fell in March to signal a slowing of production growth to a three-month low, driven by a cooling of new orders growth globally. Order book growth in turn weakened due to a near-stalling of global trade flows, which represents a disappointing pullback in global goods export flows after February had seen the strongest rise for over four years. This change in the demand environment contributed to an ongoing reluctance to add to headcounts, with employment unchanged after two months of marginal gains as firms sought to reduce staffing overheads. Stocks of purchased inputs were also unchanged after having risen in February, likewise reflecting cost-cutting. However, the biggest change in the five variables which comprise the...
U.S. consumer confidence just hit one of its lowest levels in years; it's now sitting below where it was at the start of every recession since the University of Michigan began tracking it. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index has dropped more than 8% from its all-time high set in late January, posting its worst stretch in over a year. But consumer confidence is just one of four warning s...
U.S. consumer confidence just hit one of its lowest levels in years; it's now sitting below where it was at the start of every recession since the University of Michigan began tracking it. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index has dropped more than 8% from its all-time high set in late January, posting its worst stretch in over a year. But consumer confidence is just one of four warning signs flashing at the same time right now, a combination that preceded the bear market of 2023 -- when the S&P 500 lost more than $7 trillion in value. The same mix happened in 2008 as well, before one of the worst market crashes of the modern era, when stock prices fell by more than 50%. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading