In this article XAU= @GC.1 XAG= XPT= Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Gold prices swung between gains and losses on Wednesday, as concerns around inflation and higher interest rates rose after fresh U.S. strikes on Iran lifted oil and the dollar ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes. Brendon Thorne | Bloomberg | Getty Images Gold prices swung between gai...
In this article XAU= @GC.1 XAG= XPT= Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Gold prices swung between gains and losses on Wednesday, as concerns around inflation and higher interest rates rose after fresh U.S. strikes on Iran lifted oil and the dollar ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes. Brendon Thorne | Bloomberg | Getty Images Gold prices swung between gains and losses on Wednesday, as concerns around inflation and higher interest rates rose after fresh U.S. strikes on Iran lifted oil and the dollar ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,125.59 per ounce by 0305 GMT, after dropping to its lowest since July 2 earlier in the day. U.S. gold futures for August delivery shed 0.5% to $4,136.30. "Over the past 24 hours, there was a little bit of a scare again on the inflation front. So bonds came in lower, the dollar popped a little, gold pulled back, and now seems to be kind of stabilizing after that correction," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive. "At this point, we've been watching gold attempt to carve out a bottom." The U.S. military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a licence allowing the country to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. oil prices jumped nearly 3% in early trade, U.S. Treasury yields advanced, while the dollar clung to its highest levels of the week against most of its peers as the strikes against Iran put pressure on an already fragile ceasefire. Markets have increased their bets for a September Federal Reserve rate hike to an over 63% chance, up from about 57% on Tuesday, the CME FedWatch tool showed. Investors also awaited minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's June 16-17 meeting, due later today, for fresh clues on the interest rate path under Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. While gold is seen as an inflation hedge, high interest rates tend to weigh on the n...
Getty Images The Thesis Entering into 2026, the key AI infrastructure solutions company, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL ), reported another strong, upbeat quarter as the company's E-Infrastructure revenue skyrocketed during Q1 . While the demand environment for the company's differentiated capabilities across key growth markets, including data center and semiconductor manufacturing, remains healthy...
Getty Images The Thesis Entering into 2026, the key AI infrastructure solutions company, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL ), reported another strong, upbeat quarter as the company's E-Infrastructure revenue skyrocketed during Q1 . While the demand environment for the company's differentiated capabilities across key growth markets, including data center and semiconductor manufacturing, remains healthy, I think additional support from the record $5.2 billion backlog should continue to support robust momentum across the top line through the rest of FY26. On the profitability side, I think a focus on shifting the mix to higher-margin projects and strong execution should remain key growth drivers over the coming quarters. Since my last bullish rating , STRL stock has significantly outperformed the broader market. However, the valuation still looks reasonable, given the company's strengthening market position, robust earnings momentum, and promising long-term growth trajectory. Due to these reasons, I view the recent pullback as a compelling buying opportunity for long-term investors. STRL’s Q1 2026 Highlights A couple of weeks back in May, STRL reported its first quarter results for FY26 with a strong double beat. In Q1, the company’s consolidated top line jumped a solid 91.6% versus the prior year, reaching a record $825.7 million . This growth was yet again driven by the company’s core E-infrastructure segment, which experienced a strong surge of approximately 174% in its revenue during the quarter. Although the segment growth was led by continued strength in data center-related construction demand, the CEC acquisition remained a key contributor, accounting for roughly 74% of E-Infrastructure business growth in Q1. While the transportation business grew 10% during the quarter, supported by favorable weather and earlier than expected project starts, the Building Solutions segment saw another soft quarter with single-digit growth in Q1, as construction activity in the resid...
winhorse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Summary I gave a buy rating to Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. ( IDEXY ) previously. My view then was that sales growth was reaccelerating and free-cash-flow visibility was improving, and that makes IDEXY an attractive long. I am reiterating my buy rating because the thesis still looks intact. IDEXY is still growing faster than a normal apparel retailer...
winhorse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Summary I gave a buy rating to Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. ( IDEXY ) previously. My view then was that sales growth was reaccelerating and free-cash-flow visibility was improving, and that makes IDEXY an attractive long. I am reiterating my buy rating because the thesis still looks intact. IDEXY is still growing faster than a normal apparel retailer, and margins are holding up well. Growth is still moving in the right direction Bloomberg I believe my bull thesis is more credible now because the reacceleration did not fade. In my previous write-up, the key positive anchor point was that IDEXY had moved past the phase where growth was stuck in the mid-single-digit range. While the reported Q1 2026 sales only grew by 5.8%, I point readers to the better metric to track: constant-currency sales growth, which came in at 8.8%. What's even better is the demand signal since the start of Q2 2026. Management noted that store and online sales in constant currency grew 11.5% from 1 May to 1 June 2026. I would not treat that as the new run rate since management also said calendar effects helped, and that comparisons get tougher as the year progresses. Still, even with that caveat, the direction is good. The next thing to watch is whether Q2 can keep showing strong underlying demand once the calendar help is less obvious. One way to track this is to look at two-year stacked growth rates, which should remain in the mid-to-high teens for the rest of this year. The reason I think IDEXY can keep growing is that it is big globally, but it is not necessarily mature in every market. Operating across 215 markets matters because it gives IDEXY many places to add shares. Remember that apparel is a fragmented industry, and many local or smaller competitors do not have the same scale in stores, logistics, inventory systems, and online fulfillment. If IDEXY can keep refreshing products quickly, keep inventory clean, and link stores with online s...
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock via Getty Images Over fifteen years ago, I wrote an article on the Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund ( ETY ). At that time, I wrote that the CEF was a solid option for income-oriented, risk-averse investors who seek tax-advantaged equity exposure. Performance Since Last Article (Seeking Alpha) The fund's total return is more than 400% over the last 15+ ...
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock via Getty Images Over fifteen years ago, I wrote an article on the Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund ( ETY ). At that time, I wrote that the CEF was a solid option for income-oriented, risk-averse investors who seek tax-advantaged equity exposure. Performance Since Last Article (Seeking Alpha) The fund's total return is more than 400% over the last 15+ years. But this still lagged the Vanguard Total Stock Market by quite a bit. But on a risk-adjusted basis, ETY has still been a good choice for many risk-averse retired investors because of its lower volatility than the S&P 500 index. Data by YCharts Looking at ETY today, the basic strategy is still very similar. But the underlying portfolio, the distribution model, and the management team have dramatically changed to keep pace with the current technology-driven stock market. Here is how ETY looks today compared to its 2011 profile. The Strategy: Consistent Tax Efficiency ETY's main strategy has not changed. It is still a covered call equity closed-end fund [CEF] that tries to deliver current income and capital appreciation on an after-tax basis. It does this by holding dividend-paying common stocks and selling short-term, out-of-the-money stock index call options (primarily on the S&P 500) against part of its portfolio. The fund still utilizes the following ways to reduce the tax burden: Qualified Dividends from the underlying portfolio: Subject to lower preferential tax rates. Long-Term Capital Gains: Realized from underlying stock appreciation. Section 1256 Contracts: Index options qualify for a 60% long-term / 40% short-term capital gains tax split, regardless of how long an option is held. Writing index options instead of single-stock options gives ETY an advantage over many other covered call funds. The S&P 500 options generally offer higher liquidity, tighter bid-ask spreads, and protect the fund from having some of the best-performing individual stocks called away p...
Tens of millions of barrels of Iranian oil already on tankers have been left in limbo after the US walked back a waiver allowing the Islamic Republic to sell the crude. There are around 63 million barrels of Iranian oil currently on the water, either in transit or idling, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Vortexa data. The crude is on vessels in the Persian Gulf and spread across Asian ...
Tens of millions of barrels of Iranian oil already on tankers have been left in limbo after the US walked back a waiver allowing the Islamic Republic to sell the crude. There are around 63 million barrels of Iranian oil currently on the water, either in transit or idling, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Vortexa data. The crude is on vessels in the Persian Gulf and spread across Asian waters. Most of these ships are not indicating a clear destination or are signaling that they’re available for orders, meaning they haven’t found a buyer. The US waiver , part of the interim peace deal between Washington and Tehran, was issued in late June and gave Iran 60 days to sell its oil without being subject to American sanctions. It was revoked in retaliation for Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The waiver, together with the US lifting its blockade of Iranian ports, had prompted a surge in loading of Iranian crude. That oil will now be very difficult to sell, depriving the Islamic Republic of a much-needed source of revenue and also removing a key incentive intended to get Tehran to abide by a deal that calls for reopening the strait. United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonprofit organization, said it has tracked at least 19 Iranian oil and petrochemical loadings since the interim deal was signed. UANI has also identified at least 46 tankers laden with Iranian oil or fuel along the the country’s coastline. Read More: Iran’s Floating Oil Hoard Swells as Major Buyers Stay Away Even before the waiver was revoked, Tehran was struggling to sell its oil. That was partly due to a deluge of non-Iranian crude coming out of the Persian Gulf, meaning the barrels were no longer trading at a discount to alternatives, and also because buyers were wary of various risks still involved in the trade. Both state-owned National Iranian Oil Co. and middlemen hawking the country’s crude had been pushing to sell the supply in recent days, said traders with direct knowledge o...