A transformative deal for Unilever Plc’s food division has upended the narrative for the shares, raising investor worries about a stock that has long been viewed as a defensive bellwether. The shares suffered their biggest one-day drop on Tuesday since the global financial crisis, after Unilever agreed to combine the unit with spice maker McCormick & Co. In total, the stock has plunged 24% and era...
A transformative deal for Unilever Plc’s food division has upended the narrative for the shares, raising investor worries about a stock that has long been viewed as a defensive bellwether. The shares suffered their biggest one-day drop on Tuesday since the global financial crisis, after Unilever agreed to combine the unit with spice maker McCormick & Co. In total, the stock has plunged 24% and erased $42 billion in market value from the roughly six-year high it was trading at in February, with the selloff deepening in recent weeks as news emerged of the unit separation plans. While the transaction will help recast the company as a global leader in the beauty, personal and home care segments, it’s unclear what immediate benefits it will unlock for Unilever shareholders. Analysts note concerns about the complexity of the deal and the reluctance of some investors to own a highly leveraged US-listed food entity. “McCormick’s recipe for value creation will need time to cook,” said TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow in reference to the deal, which isn’t expected to close until next year. Meanwhile, UBS Group AG analyst Guillaume Delmas sees a “complex and uncertain 15 months ahead.” S&P Global Ratings affirmed Unilever’s A+ investment grade rating in the wake of the announcement, but cut its outlook from stable to negative, citing the “lower scale and diversity of the group’s operations if the transaction closes as expected.” The ratings agency also noted the firm was operating in a “more challenging industry environment due to macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility.” Unilever has been moving toward a more simplified model , with less reliance on food, for the past decade. The company spun off its ice cream business into the Magnum Ice Cream Co. last year, retaining a nearly 20% stake. But the deal to shed its food business has left Unilever investors — who will receive shares in the newly combined company as part of the transaction — questioning whether they want exposure...
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter about the business of tech from Bloomberg’s journalists around the world. Today, Anthony Stephens tells us about his homegrown lobster and how people across the world are feeding their crustaceans Chinese AI tokens. Tech Across the Globe SpaceX IPO nears : Elon Musk’s rocket company, which includes his AI lab and social media service, X, has filed con...
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter about the business of tech from Bloomberg’s journalists around the world. Today, Anthony Stephens tells us about his homegrown lobster and how people across the world are feeding their crustaceans Chinese AI tokens. Tech Across the Globe SpaceX IPO nears : Elon Musk’s rocket company, which includes his AI lab and social media service, X, has filed confidentially to go public, moving the company closer to the biggest listing ever. TikTok’s computing plans : ByteDance’s global TikTok unit has abandoned plans to develop a second data center in Ireland, turning to other locations to store data from European users. Advocates press YouTube : Child-safety groups are pushing Google’s YouTube to prevent videos created with AI from reaching kids. Revalued Also, an electric bike startup spun out of Rivian , reached a $1 billion valuation in a $200 million funding round. The company in October unveiled its first products, including a premium e-bike for consumers and a four-wheeled model for commercial uses. Existing investor Greenoaks Capital led the round for the Palo Alto, California-based startup. Glimpsing China’s AI future China has been feverishly busy “ raising lobsters ” with the open source AI agent platform OpenClaw. The country’s legions of computer science hobbyists are showcasing its strengths in the AI race, but I’ve noticed an intriguing extension of that phenomenon beyond its borders. OpenClaw is also helping export Chinese AI services. To understand how, let’s start with the basics. OpenClaw differs from now-familiar large language model apps by remembering user preferences and being able to track projects and goals over several conversations. Every AI agent is specific to the user that trained (or “raised”) it and acquires its own personality. A pivotal user decision is what model powers the brains of that system. Any deployment of OpenClaw needs to tap into some LLM provider at the back end — and while Anthropic’...
Lilly (LLY) was a big mover last session on higher-than-average trading volume. The latest trend in earnings estimate revisions might help the stock continue moving higher in the near term.
Lilly (LLY) was a big mover last session on higher-than-average trading volume. The latest trend in earnings estimate revisions might help the stock continue moving higher in the near term.
Bank of England survey in March shows chief financial officers foresee 3.7% increase over coming year Business live – latest updates Companies in the UK expect to raise their prices more rapidly over the coming months as the war in the Middle East drives up costs, Bank of England research shows. The Bank’s regular survey of more than 2,000 chief financial officers conducted last month, after the I...
Bank of England survey in March shows chief financial officers foresee 3.7% increase over coming year Business live – latest updates Companies in the UK expect to raise their prices more rapidly over the coming months as the war in the Middle East drives up costs, Bank of England research shows. The Bank’s regular survey of more than 2,000 chief financial officers conducted last month, after the Iran conflict began, shows they now expect to raise their prices by 3.7% over the coming year. Continue reading...
Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund is preparing a debut sale of panda bonds as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the plans. Samruk-Kazyna may seek to raise as much as 3 billion yuan ($435 million) in China, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the plans aren’t public. The final size and other terms of the potential deal will depend on the market, they said. China’...
Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund is preparing a debut sale of panda bonds as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the plans. Samruk-Kazyna may seek to raise as much as 3 billion yuan ($435 million) in China, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the plans aren’t public. The final size and other terms of the potential deal will depend on the market, they said. China’s onshore bond market is emerging as an attractive funding source for developing economies, backed by ample liquidity and a stable currency, according to the BRICS-led New Development Bank. The Asian nation has overtaken Russia to become Kazakhstan’s biggest trading partner, and state-run companies such as Development Bank of Kazakhstan and KazMunayGas National Co. JSC have already issued so-called dim sum bonds, or offshore yuan debt sold in Hong Kong. By contrast, panda bonds are yuan-denominated debt sold by foreign entities in mainland China. While the war in Iran has crimped demand for emerging assets, Kazakhstan, a major oil producer, may be well placed to lure investors keen to buy energy-linked assets outside the Middle East. That’s reflected in the country’s sovereign risk premium measured by its bond yield spread over US Treasuries. The spread has barely widened since the conflict started, while a broader index of emerging dollar debt has grown by roughly 30 basis points. Samruk-Kazyna didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Read More: Kazakhstan Plans to Sell Bonds in Yuan to Expand China Ties The sovereign wealth fund has investment-grade ratings from all three major agencies, including a score two notches above junk at Fitch Ratings. It “manages a portfolio of strategically important national companies” that constitute the core of the country’s economic wealth, Fitch said on Nov. 12. Samruk-Kazyna, which has assets accounting for an average 34% of gross domestic product, benefits from well-established national regulation and receives a steady strea...
Marvell Technology Inc has reached a $2 billion deal to significantly expand its technology partnership with Nvidia Corp. The Marvell Technology Analyst: JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur maintained an Overweight rating on the stock. The Marvell Technology Thesis: While the technology collaboration disclosed in May 2025 positioned the company as a partner offering NVLink Fusion–compatible custom silicon...
Marvell Technology Inc has reached a $2 billion deal to significantly expand its technology partnership with Nvidia Corp. The Marvell Technology Analyst: JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur maintained an Overweight rating on the stock. The Marvell Technology Thesis: While the technology collaboration disclosed in May 2025 positioned the company as a partner offering NVLink Fusion–compatible custom silicon to hyperscale customers, it was limited in scope, Sur said in the note. Don't Miss: High-net-worth
Welcome to Going Private , I’m Sinead Cruise and this is Bloomberg’s twice-weekly newsletter about private markets and the forces moving capital away from the public eye. Today, we look at rising regulatory vigilance of insurers piling into private credit, the European aspirations of one US private capital giant and the vast sums of borrowed cash behind 2025’s dividend recap boom. But first we loo...
Welcome to Going Private , I’m Sinead Cruise and this is Bloomberg’s twice-weekly newsletter about private markets and the forces moving capital away from the public eye. Today, we look at rising regulatory vigilance of insurers piling into private credit, the European aspirations of one US private capital giant and the vast sums of borrowed cash behind 2025’s dividend recap boom. But first we look at how Japan’s fast food cravings are feeding US private equity. If you’re not already on our list, sign up here . Have feedback? Email us at goingprivate@bloomberg.net *Going Private returns to Wednesday and Friday publication days next week* Food for thought Buyout houses hungry for profit are cashing in on Japan’s unlikely love affair with low-cost US fast food. Tokyo is home to more Michelin -starred restaurants than any other city in the world but growth in Japan’s $227 billion restaurant sector has stalled since 2018, as more of the country’s one-person households and time-poor families opt for fried chicken and burgers. Carlyle Group paid ¥135 billion ($847 million) for the Japanese operations of KFC in 2024, and last year the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs bought Japan’s Burger King operations for ¥70 billion. And the Japanese unit of Wendy’s is now in play, with investment firm Longreach Group said to be considering offers, my colleague Lisa Du writes. “Private equity is always looking for any overlooked, undervalued asset class, and certainly the restaurant industry has been that,” says Ernie Higa , chairman of Wendy’s Japan and a former head of Domino’s in the country. McDonald’s dominates the market with more than 3,000 locations across Japan, and homegrown rival Mos Burger is No. 2, with just over 1,300. The new owners of KFC (a few outlets behind Mos) and Burger King (about 350) think there’s room to grow in a market with limited competition. “If you look at the US, there’s hundreds of burger chains. In Japan, there’s probably four major players,” says ...
Workers allege abuse, visa fraud and medical neglect during the New Jersey temple’s construction – and say two died from lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust In the center of the suburban town of Robbinsville, New Jersey, sits the largest modern Hindu mandir outside of India. What visitors from around the world see is a breathtaking display of craftsmanship – hand-carved stone from Rajastha...
Workers allege abuse, visa fraud and medical neglect during the New Jersey temple’s construction – and say two died from lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust In the center of the suburban town of Robbinsville, New Jersey, sits the largest modern Hindu mandir outside of India. What visitors from around the world see is a breathtaking display of craftsmanship – hand-carved stone from Rajasthan assembled across a sprawling 185-acre complex. The temple has gone viral on social media for its intricate designs, which took millions of hours to complete. Baps Swaminarayan Akshardham, the religious organization behind the site, has built similar temples across the globe. But some workers say these monumental structures came at a high cost. Continue reading...
De-dollarization promises to reorder the world, reducing American power globally The US-Israel war on Iran is expensive. It’s expensive in terms of human lives, first of all. It’s expensive too, in pure currency – about $12bn a week for the US. And it’s expensive in how it’s causing the tectonic structures that underpin our global economy to shift. De-dollarization , the name given to the process ...
De-dollarization promises to reorder the world, reducing American power globally The US-Israel war on Iran is expensive. It’s expensive in terms of human lives, first of all. It’s expensive too, in pure currency – about $12bn a week for the US. And it’s expensive in how it’s causing the tectonic structures that underpin our global economy to shift. De-dollarization , the name given to the process countries undertake in unwinding their reliance on the dollar, promises to reorder the world, reducing American power globally. Its impact will be felt domestically in what we pay to borrow and whether we can afford to borrow at all. Iran’s near-total blockade of the strait of Hormuz has had a dramatic impact on the prices of oil and natural gas, which puts major inflationary pressure on the economy of every country in the world. Practically, inflation makes people and businesses poorer, a process that reinforces itself if it’s not stopped (which is partly why central banks exist). Ahmed Moor is a writer and fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace Continue reading...
The most recent data shows stark levels of inactivity in one of the poorest areas in the country but the West Midlands is fighting back “Being in nature and among the trees, getting some nice air and oxygen and exercise, that’s what clears the mind,” says Kelvin Gilkes, the human dynamo behind the Pendeford Community Bike Hub. A place where he fixes old and abandoned bicycles and helps people ride...
The most recent data shows stark levels of inactivity in one of the poorest areas in the country but the West Midlands is fighting back “Being in nature and among the trees, getting some nice air and oxygen and exercise, that’s what clears the mind,” says Kelvin Gilkes, the human dynamo behind the Pendeford Community Bike Hub. A place where he fixes old and abandoned bicycles and helps people ride them, Kelvin also hopes his hub can expand horizons. “I’ve got one lady who has ADHD and she’s a big woman,” he says. “When she comes back from a ride, she’s so tired, she’s like: ‘Oh, my legs hurt.’ But she also says: ‘Oh, I slept really good.’ I know it’s difficult for people to come from a stressful world and just do something calm and peaceful. But I tell her it ain’t gonna hurt that bad if you keep going and going.” Continue reading...
In week five of Rhik Samadder’s diary, our resident AI skeptic decided to let AI take the lead on a date. If uncanny valley was a conversational style, it’s this I’m single. Is it because I am emotionally avoidant, waiting on a unicorn, or under 6ft tall? Perhaps a spicy meatball of all three? Or could it be that I haven’t used the magic of AI yet? Continue reading...
In week five of Rhik Samadder’s diary, our resident AI skeptic decided to let AI take the lead on a date. If uncanny valley was a conversational style, it’s this I’m single. Is it because I am emotionally avoidant, waiting on a unicorn, or under 6ft tall? Perhaps a spicy meatball of all three? Or could it be that I haven’t used the magic of AI yet? Continue reading...
Rival fans have raged after 11 of Mikel Arteta’s players withdrew from action with their countries before the season finale With the benefit of hindsight, Mikel Arteta’s response to a question before Arsenal’s victory over Everton last month about how the forthcoming international break might affect his squad was revealing. “We have really good communication with most of them,” Arteta replied when...
Rival fans have raged after 11 of Mikel Arteta’s players withdrew from action with their countries before the season finale With the benefit of hindsight, Mikel Arteta’s response to a question before Arsenal’s victory over Everton last month about how the forthcoming international break might affect his squad was revealing. “We have really good communication with most of them,” Arteta replied when asked whether he was planning to speak to the various international managers that were expected to call up his players. “We’ll wait and see how everybody is and have those conversations and make the right decisions.” Considering that Arsenal were still pursuing an unprecedented quadruple at the time, was this the most nervous he had ever felt going into an international break? “It’s a period that I don’t enjoy a lot,” admitted Arteta. “Especially when we have 18, 19 players playing. And especially with what happened in our recent history with very important players. But that is part of the calendar and we have to accept that.” Continue reading...
The People’s Liberation Army has upgraded its ageing tanks for a potential Taiwan operation, equipping them with a system to counter drone attacks and anti-tank missiles, according to state media. Type 96A main battle tanks with the GL-6 active protection system, or APS, installed were shown in video footage released by official newspaper China Youth Daily on Monday. The tanks belong to the 71st G...
The People’s Liberation Army has upgraded its ageing tanks for a potential Taiwan operation, equipping them with a system to counter drone attacks and anti-tank missiles, according to state media. Type 96A main battle tanks with the GL-6 active protection system, or APS, installed were shown in video footage released by official newspaper China Youth Daily on Monday. The tanks belong to the 71st Group Army unit under the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, which is mainly responsible for possible...
watch now VIDEO 3:21 03:21 How Thorne became one of Gen Z's favorite wellness brands Retail Supplement brand Thorne is on pace to reach $650 million in annual revenue this year, fueled by Gen Z and millennial shoppers who are increasingly focused on improving their health, CNBC has learned. The 42-year-old supplement brand, which L Catterton took private in 2023, has sustained a compound annual gr...
watch now VIDEO 3:21 03:21 How Thorne became one of Gen Z's favorite wellness brands Retail Supplement brand Thorne is on pace to reach $650 million in annual revenue this year, fueled by Gen Z and millennial shoppers who are increasingly focused on improving their health, CNBC has learned. The 42-year-old supplement brand, which L Catterton took private in 2023, has sustained a compound annual growth rate of over 30% since the acquisition, according to the company. Between 2022 and 2025, its revenue more than doubled from $229 million to over $500 million, according to filings and the company. Meanwhile, the number of consumers who shop with the brand directly has grown to about 7 million, up from around 4 million at the end of 2023, fueling a 63% surge in direct-to-consumer sales, the company said. "A lot of what we've done in the last few years has been streamlining and focusing and in some ways, simplifying our go-to-market, being really clear about who is our consumer that we're serving, what are they looking for from brands as you move forward, and looking back at our heritage," said CEO Colin Watts, the former CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe. "... Our expectation is this is going to be a billion-dollar brand over the next few years." Thorne's growth comes as the market for vitamins, minerals and supplements balloons in the U.S. — buoyed in part by the "Make America Healthy Again" movement and by health-conscious young shoppers who are looking to optimize their health and improve things like sleep and nutrition. The vitamins, minerals and supplements market reached $125 billion in the U.S. in 2025 and is projected to grow 11% by 2027, according to data collected by consulting firm AlixPartners. "As the science has gotten better and as, frankly, the consumer has taken more control over their health, there's been a shift in spending and a shift in focus towards 'what can I do proactively to manage my health in the future?'" Watts said. Thorne's Magnesium Glycinate and...
Microsoft on Wednesday launched three new foundational AI models it built entirely in-house — a state-of-the-art speech transcription system, a voice generation engine, and an upgraded image creator — marking the most concrete evidence yet that the $3 trillion software giant intends to compete directly with OpenAI , Google , and other frontier labs on model development, not just distribution. The ...
Microsoft on Wednesday launched three new foundational AI models it built entirely in-house — a state-of-the-art speech transcription system, a voice generation engine, and an upgraded image creator — marking the most concrete evidence yet that the $3 trillion software giant intends to compete directly with OpenAI , Google , and other frontier labs on model development, not just distribution. The trio of models — MAI-Transcribe-1 , MAI-Voice-1 , and MAI-Image-2 — are available immediately through Microsoft Foundry and a new MAI Playground . They span three of the most commercially valuable modalities in enterprise AI: converting speech to text, generating realistic human voice, and creating images. Together, they represent the opening salvo from Microsoft's superintelligence team , which Suleyman formed just six months ago to pursue what he calls " AI self-sufficiency ." "I'm very excited that we've now got the first models out, which are the very best in the world for transcription," Suleyman told VentureBeat in an exclusive interview ahead of the launch. "Not only that, we're able to deliver the model with half the GPUs of the state-of-the-art competition." The announcement lands at a precarious moment for Microsoft. The company's stock just closed its worst quarter since the 2008 financial crisis , as investors increasingly demand proof that hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure spending will translate into revenue. These models — priced aggressively and positioned to reduce Microsoft's own cost of goods sold — are Suleyman's first answer to that pressure. Microsoft's new transcription model claims best-in-class accuracy across 25 languages MAI-Transcribe-1 is the headline release. The speech-to-text model achieves the lowest average Word Error Rate on the FLEURS benchmark — the industry-standard multilingual test — across the top 25 languages by Microsoft product usage, averaging 3.8% WER. According to Microsoft's benchmarks, it beats OpenAI's Whi...
In mid-March, conspiracy theories swirled claiming Benjamin Netanyahu had been replaced by an AI clone. Though there was no actual proof that the Israeli Prime Minister had been injured or killed, on X this spurred a flurry of posts promoting prediction markets where people bet on whether he would be out of office by March 31st. One newly created Polymarket account in particular caught the attenti...
In mid-March, conspiracy theories swirled claiming Benjamin Netanyahu had been replaced by an AI clone. Though there was no actual proof that the Israeli Prime Minister had been injured or killed, on X this spurred a flurry of posts promoting prediction markets where people bet on whether he would be out of office by March 31st. One newly created Polymarket account in particular caught the attention of bettors: dududududu22 , which had purchased more than $177,000 worth of "Yes" shares at 4.7 cents. Surely, only someone with inside knowledge would take such a risky position? "This makes him possible to get paid of $3,779,000 in case of win," … Read the full story at The Verge.
Since last year, Uber has been offering drivers in a handful of locations - California, Colorado, Massachusetts and New York City - $4,000 to swap their gas guzzlers for electric vehicles . The company must have liked the results because today it announced that it would be expanding eligibility for its "Go Electric" grant to drivers nationwide for the first time. The timing, of course, is everythi...
Since last year, Uber has been offering drivers in a handful of locations - California, Colorado, Massachusetts and New York City - $4,000 to swap their gas guzzlers for electric vehicles . The company must have liked the results because today it announced that it would be expanding eligibility for its "Go Electric" grant to drivers nationwide for the first time. The timing, of course, is everything. Gas prices have been rising at a steady clip since the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran last month. Uber drivers are particularly exposed to rising gas prices, as increased fuel costs directly reduce their take-home pay. But with no … Read the full story at The Verge.
NEW YORK, April 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced Vallant Financial Inc. (OTCQX: VLNT), the holding company for Vallant Bank, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX® Best Market.
NEW YORK, April 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced Vallant Financial Inc. (OTCQX: VLNT), the holding company for Vallant Bank, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX® Best Market.
NEW YORK, April 02, 2026--The Opus Group ("Opus"), a purpose-built network of agency brands delivering experiential, event, and brand marketing for more than 70 global companies, including some of the world's most influential brands, today announced that investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital ("EagleTree") have acquired Opus from its previous partner, Growth Catalyst Partners.
NEW YORK, April 02, 2026--The Opus Group ("Opus"), a purpose-built network of agency brands delivering experiential, event, and brand marketing for more than 70 global companies, including some of the world's most influential brands, today announced that investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital ("EagleTree") have acquired Opus from its previous partner, Growth Catalyst Partners.
WindRose Health Investors, LLC ("WindRose"), the New York-based healthcare private equity firm, announced that it has established WindRose Gradient ("Gradient"), an in-house technology services team dedicated to helping portfolio companies identify, prioritize, and implement actionable technology and AI projects.
WindRose Health Investors, LLC ("WindRose"), the New York-based healthcare private equity firm, announced that it has established WindRose Gradient ("Gradient"), an in-house technology services team dedicated to helping portfolio companies identify, prioritize, and implement actionable technology and AI projects.
Berk Ucak/iStock via Getty Images Chimera Investment's CIM-C ( CIM.PR.C ) is currently one of my favorite preferred shares. I've been building my position in it rapidly over the last few weeks. As the market sold off in response to the situation in Iran, we've seen several bargain opportunities develop. Equity REITs got hammered because of Treasury yields moving higher. Many mortgage REITs got ham...
Berk Ucak/iStock via Getty Images Chimera Investment's CIM-C ( CIM.PR.C ) is currently one of my favorite preferred shares. I've been building my position in it rapidly over the last few weeks. As the market sold off in response to the situation in Iran, we've seen several bargain opportunities develop. Equity REITs got hammered because of Treasury yields moving higher. Many mortgage REITs got hammered for the same reason. We've also seen that impact extend into the preferred shares. When we look at the preferred shares, we have an option for investors who are looking for a very high dividend yield combined with less price volatility. There will still be some volatility, but in general, the preferred shares are far less volatile than the common shares. In many cases, the preferred shares have also performed better over very long time periods. We invested in the common shares and preferred shares at The REIT Forum . I really like the preferred shares, especially right now. We’ve been waiting a long time for opportunities like this to show up. Opportunity Today As I'm preparing this article, shares of CIM-C are trading at $20.15. The REIT Forum That gives them a stripped yield of 11.05%. However, I should also highlight that these shares have been more volatile over the last few days. In a normal environment, we would often expect the preferred share prices to fluctuate by less than 0.5% on an average day. Further, the fluctuation in the prices is partially driven by liquidity, so if you were to look at volatility from one week to another, that volatility is much lower than you would expect if you were simply looking at the daily volatility. I'll include a chart so you can see how stable the prices usually tend to be. Seeking Alpha I included NLY-I ( NLY.PR.I ) because NLY-I is doing a better job of demonstrating how low the volatility would typically be for a preferred share. I also built a position in NLY-I . For comparison, CIM-C ( CIM.PR.C ) does have a higher ris...
American fertilizer traders have seized on a lucrative opportunity overseas because of the war in Iran, showing how US farmers have been caught again on the wrong side of moves in global markets. Domestic prices for phosphate fertilizers have lagged that of the international market, as American farmers struggling with high production costs pare back their use of the key crop nutrient applied widel...
American fertilizer traders have seized on a lucrative opportunity overseas because of the war in Iran, showing how US farmers have been caught again on the wrong side of moves in global markets. Domestic prices for phosphate fertilizers have lagged that of the international market, as American farmers struggling with high production costs pare back their use of the key crop nutrient applied widely to both corn and soy fields. That has prompted some traders to move the product abroad to nations willing to pay up as the conflict in the Middle East ensnares global supply chains. “US phosphate prices have not kept pace with the strength seen in other global markets,” creating an arbitrage opportunity out of New Orleans, said Taylor Eastman , a fertilizer trader at The Andersons Inc. Since late February, traders have bought more than 100,000 short tons of phosphate fertilizer to be re-exported, he said. Read More: Fertilizer Shock Escalates as New Supply Risks Emerge The country had managed to import over half a million metric tons of diammonium phosphate — the most common type of phosphate fertilizer — from January through March, making up for months of depressed shipments and elevated prices due to the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs. Now part of that quantity is set to flow abroad, adding stress to an already-tight domestic market. The US, while it makes most of its phosphate, does require some imports to meet demand. The reversed trade flow comes as the price for re-exports of diammonium phosphate on March 13 climbed to the highest premium over New Orleans prices since June 2023, according to data from Bloomberg Green Markets. While the US spot market, at around $700 a short ton as of March 27, has since reclaimed its premium, offers at those levels have still struggled to attract bids in the domestic market, said Chris Vlachopoulos , who covers phosphate markets for commodity pricing platform ICIS. That suggests buyers are either done for the spring plant...