Crude oil remains elevated after more than 40 emotion-filled days of the Iranian conflict. If the Islamabad talks , lead by Vice President JD Vance , allow for a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the "geopolitical risk premium," which has been keeping oil close to $100 a barrel, could disappear quickly. I want to use options in U.S. Oil Fund to capture this half-glass full perspective of cru...
Crude oil remains elevated after more than 40 emotion-filled days of the Iranian conflict. If the Islamabad talks , lead by Vice President JD Vance , allow for a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the "geopolitical risk premium," which has been keeping oil close to $100 a barrel, could disappear quickly. I want to use options in U.S. Oil Fund to capture this half-glass full perspective of crude oil going lower this month. USO YTD mountain U.S. Oil Fund year to date Oil traders have been more suspect of an Iranian resolution than equity traders. Despite the S & P 500 significantly recovering from the correction in March , and now sitting just 2% from all-time highs, the oil market is much more cautious — or arguably pessimistic — on the Iranian conflict resolving soon. This contrast in views is solely predicated on the Strait of Hormuz not seeing traffic flow anymore. In the event tanker traffic begins to flow again, West Texas Intermediate oil futures should drop back into the $80s, or possibly $70s, short term. May crude oil futures traded just under $100 per barrel Friday, versus about $67 before the war began. The trade: Buying a put spread Bought the April 22 $120 USO put for $4.75 Sold the April 22 $110 USO put for $1.50 This debit spread will cost a trader $3.25, or $325 per one spread. USO was trading just under $126 when this trade was executed. Notice the expiration of this put spread is right after the two-week ceasefire deadline with Iran. All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASS...
Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week . We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. We're back to being ignored , but the company is showing signs of life. It's been nine months since Trump Mobile announced itself, seven months since the company updated any of its social media profiles, and two months since anyone replied to my emails...
Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week . We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. We're back to being ignored , but the company is showing signs of life. It's been nine months since Trump Mobile announced itself, seven months since the company updated any of its social media profiles, and two months since anyone replied to my emails. Based on that, you might think that everyone involved had given up on the whole idea, but this week we saw curious signs of life: a new trademark application. What's strangest about the application is that it was filed not for anything new , but f … Read the full story at The Verge.
CoreWeave (NasdaqGS:CRWV) has signed an expanded, multi year $21b AI cloud infrastructure agreement with Meta Platforms running through December 2032. The deal includes deployments of NVIDIA's Vera Rubin platform and lifts Meta's total commitment with CoreWeave to $35b. CoreWeave has also entered a new multi year cloud infrastructure agreement with Anthropic for AI model workloads. These contracts...
CoreWeave (NasdaqGS:CRWV) has signed an expanded, multi year $21b AI cloud infrastructure agreement with Meta Platforms running through December 2032. The deal includes deployments of NVIDIA's Vera Rubin platform and lifts Meta's total commitment with CoreWeave to $35b. CoreWeave has also entered a new multi year cloud infrastructure agreement with Anthropic for AI model workloads. These contracts position CoreWeave as a key provider to two of the most prominent AI model and platform...
Alistair Berg Agar Capital has upgraded Amazon ( AMZN ) as AI enthusiasm returns to the market, while Dhierin Bechai sees opportunity in Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) despite oil price headwinds. On the downgrade front, Asian Value Investor has moved Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) to a more cautious stance on valuation concerns, and Vinay Utham, CFA, has tempered expectations for Netflix ( NFLX ) ahead of its Q...
Alistair Berg Agar Capital has upgraded Amazon ( AMZN ) as AI enthusiasm returns to the market, while Dhierin Bechai sees opportunity in Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) despite oil price headwinds. On the downgrade front, Asian Value Investor has moved Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) to a more cautious stance on valuation concerns, and Vinay Utham, CFA, has tempered expectations for Netflix ( NFLX ) ahead of its Q1 earnings report. Upgrades Amazon.com ( AMZN ): Upgrade to Buy by Agar Capital . The analyst cites improved risk/reward dynamics and clearer cash flow visibility from AWS, advertising, and retail segments, with AI infrastructure and same-day delivery expansion reinforcing Amazon’s competitive position. “The market became spooked by the enormous capital expenditure forecasts, but the company is not recklessly burning cash. Instead, the company is funding its AI expansion through the cash generated by two very high-growth areas: e-commerce and advertising.” Southwest Airlines Co. ( LUV ): Upgrade Hold to Buy by Dhierin Bechai . Despite headwinds from higher oil prices and inflation, the analyst believes strategic cost management, bag fee hikes, and potential fare increases can offset these pressures and deliver meaningful upside. “It is not the case that Southwest Airlines just increases the ticket prices and bag fees and then it is business as usual. The supply tightening should provide stability to unit revenues, and at the same time, the company has to take variable costs out of the business.” Downgrades Exxon Mobil ( XOM ): Downgrade Buy to Hold by Asian Value Investor . The analyst notes that the current valuation fully reflects both upside and downside from geopolitical risks, with technical indicators flagging overbought conditions and limited room for appreciation. “With regard to its geographical exposure, XOM faces some risks because it has assets in the Middle East. In fact, it lost 6% of its global oil and gas production during Q1 2026 amid the Iran war. This mig...
Alistair Berg Agar Capital has upgraded Amazon ( AMZN ) as AI enthusiasm returns to the market, while Dhierin Bechai sees opportunity in Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) despite oil price headwinds. On the downgrade front, Asian Value Investor has moved Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) to a more cautious stance on valuation concerns, and Vinay Utham, CFA, has tempered expectations for Netflix ( NFLX ) ahead of its Q...
Alistair Berg Agar Capital has upgraded Amazon ( AMZN ) as AI enthusiasm returns to the market, while Dhierin Bechai sees opportunity in Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) despite oil price headwinds. On the downgrade front, Asian Value Investor has moved Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) to a more cautious stance on valuation concerns, and Vinay Utham, CFA, has tempered expectations for Netflix ( NFLX ) ahead of its Q1 earnings report. Upgrades Amazon.com ( AMZN ): Upgrade to Buy by Agar Capital . The analyst cites improved risk/reward dynamics and clearer cash flow visibility from AWS, advertising, and retail segments, with AI infrastructure and same-day delivery expansion reinforcing Amazon’s competitive position. “The market became spooked by the enormous capital expenditure forecasts, but the company is not recklessly burning cash. Instead, the company is funding its AI expansion through the cash generated by two very high-growth areas: e-commerce and advertising.” Southwest Airlines Co. ( LUV ): Upgrade Hold to Buy by Dhierin Bechai . Despite headwinds from higher oil prices and inflation, the analyst believes strategic cost management, bag fee hikes, and potential fare increases can offset these pressures and deliver meaningful upside. “It is not the case that Southwest Airlines just increases the ticket prices and bag fees and then it is business as usual. The supply tightening should provide stability to unit revenues, and at the same time, the company has to take variable costs out of the business.” Downgrades Exxon Mobil ( XOM ): Downgrade Buy to Hold by Asian Value Investor . The analyst notes that the current valuation fully reflects both upside and downside from geopolitical risks, with technical indicators flagging overbought conditions and limited room for appreciation. “With regard to its geographical exposure, XOM faces some risks because it has assets in the Middle East. In fact, it lost 6% of its global oil and gas production during Q1 2026 amid the Iran war. This mig...
Cirrus Logic recently confirmed that, effective March 25, 2026, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Woolard also became Principal Accounting Officer, while former PAO Ulf Habermann moved into another senior finance role without any operational or policy dispute. At the same time, Apple’s formal acknowledgment of Cirrus Logic as a supplier and a fresh Face ID chip design win highlight the chipmaker’s deep...
Cirrus Logic recently confirmed that, effective March 25, 2026, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Woolard also became Principal Accounting Officer, while former PAO Ulf Habermann moved into another senior finance role without any operational or policy dispute. At the same time, Apple’s formal acknowledgment of Cirrus Logic as a supplier and a fresh Face ID chip design win highlight the chipmaker’s deepening role in a key customer’s ecosystem and may influence how investors assess its customer...
Abstract Aerial Art/DigitalVision via Getty Images It’s easy to admire Corning ( GLW ). The company’s prowess in glass, ceramics, and other fields has spurred innovation and provided great value for companies and end users. Growth has and likely will remain strong going forward. Profitability is solid too, especially for a mature industrial company. Alas, GLW is still not a hot-growth, high-margin...
Abstract Aerial Art/DigitalVision via Getty Images It’s easy to admire Corning ( GLW ). The company’s prowess in glass, ceramics, and other fields has spurred innovation and provided great value for companies and end users. Growth has and likely will remain strong going forward. Profitability is solid too, especially for a mature industrial company. Alas, GLW is still not a hot-growth, high-margin tech stock, but as I’ll dig into later, it’s still not a high-margin, hot-growth tech stock, yet its valuation metrics treat it that way. Corning’s share prices have soared over the last year, and growth accelerated in late January 2026 after an AI data center deal with Meta ( META ) emerged. Ultimately, I believe that GLW currently faces many of the same downsides and risks stemming from a potential AI bubble while also offering lower upside. Even if you believe the Artificial Intelligence boom is the real deal (technologically speaking, I believe in it), there are better AI opportunities elsewhere, in my humble opinion. Corning’s AI Tailwinds Are Tempting But Not Substantial Enough Corning is one of the more recent of a long line of companies to enjoy strong AI tailwinds. If AI truly is a bubble, it’s one of the largest and most widespread in history. At this point, I think it could eclipse the dot-com bubble because it has spread so far and wide outside of the tech sector. Construction, various commodities, electricity generation, and government spending are all being driven rather directly by the AI boom. Many, if not most, industries have attracted considerable AI investments, although exposure varies widely. In some cases, AI companies themselves are shouldering risks, such as Anthropic moving into healthcare. In other cases, AI is creating opportunities outside of the tech industry, such as aiding with drug discovery or creating digital twins to then drive industrial development . The broad, horizontal impact of AI development will create lots of opportunities for e...
Celebrities including Annie Lennox and Miriam Margolyes sign letter to force after pro-Palestine march route rejected Annie Lennox and Miriam Margolyes are among artists who have accused the Metropolitan police of giving preferential treatment to a far-right demonstration led by Tommy Robinson over a pro-Palestine protest in London on the same day. The pro-Palestine movement has had its preferred ...
Celebrities including Annie Lennox and Miriam Margolyes sign letter to force after pro-Palestine march route rejected Annie Lennox and Miriam Margolyes are among artists who have accused the Metropolitan police of giving preferential treatment to a far-right demonstration led by Tommy Robinson over a pro-Palestine protest in London on the same day. The pro-Palestine movement has had its preferred route through central London for its annual commemoration of Nakba – the mass expulsion of Palestinians – rejected by the Met, while the “Unite the Kingdom” demonstration will take place on the same date in Kingsway, the Strand, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Parliament Square. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, posted on X: “London is ours on May 16th.” Continue reading...
eBay has joined the new Shared AI License Foundation as a board observer, alongside companies such as Anthropic, Genentech, IBM, Meta, and Microsoft. SAIL is designed to support open collaboration and non exclusive patent licensing for AI foundation models. The initiative aims to encourage shared development of core AI technologies that could influence how eBay and other firms use AI in their prod...
eBay has joined the new Shared AI License Foundation as a board observer, alongside companies such as Anthropic, Genentech, IBM, Meta, and Microsoft. SAIL is designed to support open collaboration and non exclusive patent licensing for AI foundation models. The initiative aims to encourage shared development of core AI technologies that could influence how eBay and other firms use AI in their products and services. For investors watching NasdaqGS:EBAY, this move comes as the stock trades at...