The average one-year price target for Universal Music Group N.V. (WBAG:UMG) has been revised to € 24,38 / share. This is a decrease of 15.35% from the prior estimate of € 28,80 dated February 23, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by
The average one-year price target for Universal Music Group N.V. (WBAG:UMG) has been revised to € 24,38 / share. This is a decrease of 15.35% from the prior estimate of € 28,80 dated February 23, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by
Debbie Ann Powell/iStock via Getty Images Main Thesis & Background The purpose of this article is to evaluate the BlackRock MuniHoldings California Quality Fund ( MUC ) as an investment option at its current market price. This is a fund that offers broad muni exposure but is specific to the state of California. As a result, it can be a good option for California residents, but those living outside...
Debbie Ann Powell/iStock via Getty Images Main Thesis & Background The purpose of this article is to evaluate the BlackRock MuniHoldings California Quality Fund ( MUC ) as an investment option at its current market price. This is a fund that offers broad muni exposure but is specific to the state of California. As a result, it can be a good option for California residents, but those living outside the "Golden State" will likely only save on federal taxes - not state taxes. It has been a while since I last wrote about MUC, but I did cover it last August. At that time I had a bullish take on the fund and looking back that was the right call. Now only has MUC delivered a healthy gain, it has also beaten alternative "risk on" plays like the S&P 500. This is unusual for the muni sector generally! Fund Performance (Seeking Alpha) When I see this type of return I always find it useful to go back over the investment thesis and see if anything has changed. With the market seeing an uptick in volatility, it tells me that munis still have a strong case, and MUC in particular has a number of factors going for it. These include a large discount to NAV, continued low correlation with the equity market, and a likely increase in demand for fixed-income more broadly as we head deeper into 2026 and closer to Fed interest rate cuts. I will discuss each of these attributes in detail below and use them to justify why I feel a bullish take on MUC still makes sense. Valuation Remains Compelling A central point for me for any CEF review I do is to focus on valuation. My followers know I prefer CEF investing at a discount - and this thesis extends to MUC as well. Back in 2025 when I suggested buying this fund, MUC had a 9% discount to NAV. While this number has narrowed slightly, it still remains very attractive on the surface today: MUC: Quick Stats (BlackRock) What strikes me here is how MUC is trading at almost the same level it was back in August, yet it has pumped out a gain above 8% o...
Key PointsTesla missed first-quarter delivery estimates due to intensifying competition and the removal of government incentives, and the stock is currently down 29% from its high.
Key PointsTesla missed first-quarter delivery estimates due to intensifying competition and the removal of government incentives, and the stock is currently down 29% from its high.
Can the collective wisdom or clout of the almost 200 countries that make up the membership of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) prevail against the United States and Israel, whose rash actions of declaring war on Iran have effectively declared economic war on the whole world? We may get the answers to this critical question when the two so-called Bretton Woods institutions begin...
Can the collective wisdom or clout of the almost 200 countries that make up the membership of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) prevail against the United States and Israel, whose rash actions of declaring war on Iran have effectively declared economic war on the whole world? We may get the answers to this critical question when the two so-called Bretton Woods institutions begin their annual meetings in Washington on April 13. The week-long gatherings provide an opportunity...
European gas and power markets, once a niche corner of global energy trading, are in for a major change next week: Hours will more than double to 21 from 10, ending the narrow daytime window that has been the norm for years. The permanent expansion, announced several months ago, comes at a particularly volatile time as war in the Middle East drives sharp price swings. Even after the recent ceasefi...
European gas and power markets, once a niche corner of global energy trading, are in for a major change next week: Hours will more than double to 21 from 10, ending the narrow daytime window that has been the norm for years. The permanent expansion, announced several months ago, comes at a particularly volatile time as war in the Middle East drives sharp price swings. Even after the recent ceasefire announcement, contracts for European gas remain almost 40% above pre-conflict levels. With traders glued to their screens, preparations for the new 21-hour trading day have lagged. Some firms are taking a wait-and-see approach on whether to hire more staff or reorganize their desks. Yet despite the turbulence, many energy traders say the change is a logical next step for a market transformed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Europe’s break from a single dominant energy supplier pushed it into the global liquefied national gas market, exposing prices to disruptions far beyond the region. At the same time, the growth of renewables has added further swings in power generation, feeding through to gas demand. These developments have made European gas and power more attractive to global traders. What was once a fundamentals-driven market, focused on weather, storage and pipeline flows, now features more complex strategies, including cross-market hedging between Europe’s gas benchmark and US Henry Hub. Options activity has picked up from near non-existent levels, while spread trading has grown amid persistent supply risks and hedge funds have driven volumes higher. To many, aligning trading hours with US and Asian benchmarks widens investor access and better reflects a market with expanding reach and relevance. The market will open at 5:50 a.m. Singapore time on Monday, making it the first major energy contract to begin the trading week. The new 21-hour day is “an advantage for global players,” said Marco Saalfrank , head of continental Europe merchant trading at Swiss-based Axp...
Key PointsFrom a statistical standpoint, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have excelled during Donald Trump's presidency.
Key PointsFrom a statistical standpoint, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have excelled during Donald Trump's presidency.
The average one-year price target for Marathon Petroleum (XTRA:MPN) has been revised to 196,19 € / share. This is an increase of 17.21% from the prior estimate of 167,38 € dated February 3, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analy
The average one-year price target for Marathon Petroleum (XTRA:MPN) has been revised to 196,19 € / share. This is an increase of 17.21% from the prior estimate of 167,38 € dated February 3, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analy
Hong Kong authorities have proposed a legal amendment requiring property owners to attend a mandatory briefing on major renovation projects before voting on procurement resolutions, in a move aimed at curbing bid-rigging following the deadly blaze in Tai Po. Speaking on a radio programme on Saturday, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said the proposed amendment to the Buildin...
Hong Kong authorities have proposed a legal amendment requiring property owners to attend a mandatory briefing on major renovation projects before voting on procurement resolutions, in a move aimed at curbing bid-rigging following the deadly blaze in Tai Po. Speaking on a radio programme on Saturday, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said the proposed amendment to the Building Management Ordinance, which covers five areas, sought to enhance homeowners’ participation and...
Officials accept that time has run out to pass law after US dropped its support for plan The UK government has been forced to shelve its legislation to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, after the US dropped its support for the agreement. On Friday, UK government officials acknowledged that they had run out of time to pass legislation within the current parliamentary session, which ends in...
Officials accept that time has run out to pass law after US dropped its support for plan The UK government has been forced to shelve its legislation to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, after the US dropped its support for the agreement. On Friday, UK government officials acknowledged that they had run out of time to pass legislation within the current parliamentary session, which ends in the coming weeks. Continue reading...
Samuel Boivin | Nurphoto | Getty Images OpenAI said on Friday it had identified a security issue involving a third-party developer tool called Axios and is taking steps to protect the process that certifies its macOS applications are legitimate OpenAI apps. The ChatGPT maker said it found no evidence that its user data was accessed, that its systems or intellectual property was compromised, or tha...
Samuel Boivin | Nurphoto | Getty Images OpenAI said on Friday it had identified a security issue involving a third-party developer tool called Axios and is taking steps to protect the process that certifies its macOS applications are legitimate OpenAI apps. The ChatGPT maker said it found no evidence that its user data was accessed, that its systems or intellectual property was compromised, or that its software was altered. * The company said it is updating its security certifications, requiring all macOS users to update their OpenAI apps to the latest versions to help prevent any risk of someone attempting to distribute a fake app. * According to OpenAI, Axios, a widely used third-party developer library, was compromised on March 31, as part of a broader software supply chain attack by actors believed to be linked to North Korea. * This attack led a GitHub Actions workflow used by OpenAI to download and execute a 'malicious' version of Axios. This workflow had access to a certificate and notarization material used for signing macOS applications, including ChatGPT Desktop, Codex, Codex-cli, and Atlas. * OpenAI said its analysis of the incident concluded that the signing certificate present in this workflow was likely not successfully exfiltrated by the 'malicious' payload. * Effective May 8, older versions of OpenAI's macOS desktop apps will no longer receive updates or support, and may not be functional, the ChatGPT maker said. * Passwords and OpenAI API keys were not affected by the third-party security issue, the company said, adding that the root cause of the security incident was a misconfiguration in the GitHub Actions workflow, which has been addressed. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Kenishirotie/iStock via Getty Images Since I last wrote on Seeking Alpha last year, the S&P 500 ( SPY ) is still super concentrated, and shaky economic indicators have yet to lead to the tipping point where this wild bull market that started late in 2023 eventually comes to an end. While my individual stock picks have done great, I largely missed a great opportunity to buy the market high and sell...
Kenishirotie/iStock via Getty Images Since I last wrote on Seeking Alpha last year, the S&P 500 ( SPY ) is still super concentrated, and shaky economic indicators have yet to lead to the tipping point where this wild bull market that started late in 2023 eventually comes to an end. While my individual stock picks have done great, I largely missed a great opportunity to buy the market high and sell even higher. This said, there are opportunities out there that don't depend on the S&P continuing to skyrocket year after year. Passive Investors Are Leaving Money On The Table In Bonds Equity markets are driven in large part by changes in sentiment, which change prices. Bonds, on the other hand, are driven mainly by math. And since their cash flows are predictable, misplaced investor sentiment means a source of profit for you, not a source of aggravation and FOMO in the way it is for stocks. The cleanest way to demonstrate this is in the market for US Treasuries. Think of it this way—the supply of Treasuries is driven largely by fixed government financing needs and schedules, and the demand is driven largely by investor preferences and fund flows. Neither of these groups as a whole is laser-focused on transacting and getting the best price. The way this is mapped by traders is with something called the yield curve , which is a graph of Treasury yields by maturity that is updated daily and published online. Before the internet, this was published for centuries in major newspapers worldwide. To this point, one of the most well-known trades in the bond market is putting money to work in individual bonds/notes on whatever parts of the yield curve are compensating you the best. US Treasury Yield Curve If you are just throwing money into a bond fund, you may or may not be on a favorable part of the yield curve. Usually, you aren't. The Two Sources Of Bond Returns 1. The first and most obvious is with interest payments. 2. The second, less obvious source is called rolldown retur...