China’s leadership has passed new rules on the work carried out by local committees of the ruling Communist Party and called for upholding a “correct view” of political performance. The party’s 24-member Politburo met in Beijing on Friday to review the latest regulations for local party committees, part of its push to align regional governance with the central leadership’s strategic priorities. Ch...
China’s leadership has passed new rules on the work carried out by local committees of the ruling Communist Party and called for upholding a “correct view” of political performance. The party’s 24-member Politburo met in Beijing on Friday to review the latest regulations for local party committees, part of its push to align regional governance with the central leadership’s strategic priorities. Chaired by President Xi Jinping, the meeting laid bare a dual mandate for local officials: absolute...
After eight decades of relative peace following the end of World War II, we now find ourselves in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine entering its fourth year and escalating violence between Israel, the US and Iran. After 12 days of fighting last June, the latter conflagration has erupted again in a widening war that has killed Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and closed the S...
After eight decades of relative peace following the end of World War II, we now find ourselves in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine entering its fourth year and escalating violence between Israel, the US and Iran. After 12 days of fighting last June, the latter conflagration has erupted again in a widening war that has killed Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and closed the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices to near record highs. In 1984, American historian Barbara...
Ilija Erceg/iStock via Getty Images Co-authored with Hidden Opportunities Since its humble beginnings in the late 19th century, the visual art of movies has evolved significantly. This form of visual entertainment is designed to pull you into the story that is unfolding on the screen. When the visual effects and cinematography are done well, the experience can feel incredibly real. Take, for examp...
Ilija Erceg/iStock via Getty Images Co-authored with Hidden Opportunities Since its humble beginnings in the late 19th century, the visual art of movies has evolved significantly. This form of visual entertainment is designed to pull you into the story that is unfolding on the screen. When the visual effects and cinematography are done well, the experience can feel incredibly real. Take, for example, the 1984 sci-fi cult classic “The Terminator,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The climax has one of the film’s most memorable scenes, where the severely damaged cyborg continues crawling toward Sarah Connor. Despite only having its upper body remaining, the relentless machine drags itself forward, inch by inch. The effects are so well done that the audience is part of the tension of the scene. It appears as though the cyborg could grab you at any moment. Scenes like that put the audience on the edge of their seats. The fiction feels real, and that’s the brilliance of great filmmaking. Financial markets operate similarly. Audience (investors) experience is often governed by alarming headlines, volatile price swings, and endless predictions, almost making it feel like you must constantly react to the next threat. Market narratives arrive daily, and if you try to respond to every development, investing can quickly become exhausting. When you get paid for simply staying invested in the markets, market volatility becomes an opportunity. At High Dividend Opportunities , we bank on resilience and reliable passive income from our portfolio. In that spirit, we will look at two diversified funds that provide generous monthly income while helping keep market drama away from your financial future. Pick #1: JPC – Yield 9.5% Nuveen Preferred & Income Opportunities Fund ( JPC ) is a fixed-income-focused CEF that operates with floating-rate leverage. The fund maintains 90% exposure to institutional preferreds, a difficult-to-access asset class, making it a highly desired diversifier f...
No hedge fund employee works harder than Eve. Eve oversees dozens of brainiac office hands; monitors countless earning calls; keeps tabs on CEOs; parses corporate filings; conducts due diligence; brainstorms stock picks. Eve never stops. Never dillydallies. Never moans about a bonus. Eve, as you’ve probably guessed, is an AI bot — and the linchpin player at Epicenter Capital, a fledgling three-per...
No hedge fund employee works harder than Eve. Eve oversees dozens of brainiac office hands; monitors countless earning calls; keeps tabs on CEOs; parses corporate filings; conducts due diligence; brainstorms stock picks. Eve never stops. Never dillydallies. Never moans about a bonus. Eve, as you’ve probably guessed, is an AI bot — and the linchpin player at Epicenter Capital, a fledgling three-person fund that’s backed by the Laffont brothers, the billionaire co-founders of Coatue Management , according to people familiar with the matter. Epicenter and Eve are part of an experiment by Rahul Kishore , who struck out on his own after a successful eight-year run at Coatue, a technology-focused hedge fund with AI ambitions of its own. Just about everyone on Wall Street is trying to leverage artificial intelligence. But San Francisco-based Epicenter is an attempt to replicate — and eventually surpass — industry legends of old with a new, human-lite fund powered by AI, where the technology isn’t a tool, but a teammate. With Eve at their side, Kishore and his two colleagues hope to outdo other funds that employ hundreds of people. Their fiendishly elusive goal: to invest in 10 companies that generate a 10-times return in 10 years, the people said. In addition to Philippe Laffont — who rarely ever backs spin-outs — and Thomas Laffont , Kishore’s backers include Jaimin Rangwalla , Coatue’s chief investment officer for public investments, and former Coatue trader Daniel Senft . Kishore, Rangwalla and the Laffont brothers declined to comment. Senft didn’t reply to messages seeking comment. New AI World If Kishore is right, Epicenter offers a glimpse at a future in which AI might replace big teams of analysts. Other funds already use in-house AI chatbots to help portfolio managers parse data and brainstorm. But Eve is plugged into every part of the business, from each email to every trade. It’s always working and doesn’t need a prompt from people to take action. Eve is certainl...
Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) has encountered several headwinds over the past two years, including the loss of patent exclusivity for one of its growth drivers, Eylea, a medicine for wet age-related macular degeneration. Even as its long-term returns remain solid, the stock has not performed particularly well over the last 24 months. There are several reasons why Regeneron could bounce back -- in fact,...
Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) has encountered several headwinds over the past two years, including the loss of patent exclusivity for one of its growth drivers, Eylea, a medicine for wet age-related macular degeneration. Even as its long-term returns remain solid, the stock has not performed particularly well over the last 24 months. There are several reasons why Regeneron could bounce back -- in fact, it has already begun to do so, with its shares up 35% over the past six months. But does the biotech have what it takes to crush the market over the long run and turn average investors into multimillionaires? Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Trump Fails To Jawbone Market As Futures, Bitcoin Tumble; Oil And Yields Soar Futures are sharply lower, erasing modest overnight gains and trading near session lows as Brent crude futures are back above $110 a barrel after erasing an earlier fall and knocking broader risk sentiment off course in the process. There didn’t appear to be a single catalyst for the oil turnaround, although a steady str...
Trump Fails To Jawbone Market As Futures, Bitcoin Tumble; Oil And Yields Soar Futures are sharply lower, erasing modest overnight gains and trading near session lows as Brent crude futures are back above $110 a barrel after erasing an earlier fall and knocking broader risk sentiment off course in the process. There didn’t appear to be a single catalyst for the oil turnaround, although a steady stream of drone and missile attacks in the Middle East will have played a role and erased what little optimism Trump's 10 day delay to an Iranian energy plant strike may have prompted, a move which is now widely seen as a smokescreen to get more US troops - and potentially Gulf allies - behind a ground invasion of one or more Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf. As of 8:00am ET S&P futures down 0.3% despite the initial spike in equities after Trump announced another delay in the ceasefire deal; with March coming to a close, the Iran war has driven WTI oil toward its best month since 2020 and stocks to their worst since 2022. Nasdaq futures slide 0.6% as equities, rates and commodities all reverse the immediately reactions. Pre-market, Mag 7 are all red Bond yields added another 3-5bp led by the long-end: 10y yields +4.8bp rising to 4.47%. Oil went up again with WTI now over $96 (+2.2% since yesterday’s close). Base metals are mostly lower (Copper -1.4%), while precious metals also reverse earlier gains. In premarket trading, Mag 7 stocks are all red following a sharp drop in the Nasdaq 100 Thursday, as concerns over a prolonged Middle East conflict weigh on sentiment (Apple -0.1%, Nvidia -0.1%, Amazon -0.5%, Meta -0.8%, Tesla -0.5%, Microsoft -0.4%, Alphabet -1%) Argan Inc. (AGX) rises 10% after the power plant-builder reported earnings per share and revenue for the fourth quarter that beat the average analyst estimate. JPMorgan raises its rating on the stock to overweight, saying the results were strong with EPS “well ahead” of expectations. Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT) rise...
The F1 world championship leader on how he learned to channel youthful frustration at the back of the grid and the mental strength he gains from those closest to him George Russell endured a baptism of fire, battling a recalcitrant Williams car at the back end of the grid in his debut Formula One season. Yet the then 21-year-old was perceptive from the off, observing at that season’s British Grand...
The F1 world championship leader on how he learned to channel youthful frustration at the back of the grid and the mental strength he gains from those closest to him George Russell endured a baptism of fire, battling a recalcitrant Williams car at the back end of the grid in his debut Formula One season. Yet the then 21-year-old was perceptive from the off, observing at that season’s British Grand Prix: “In F1 it’s not just about driving, it’s about the whole package.” Seven years later, he believes the package is all but complete, leading the world championship and a strong favourite to go on to win his first title. He heads into this weekend’s Japanese GP with a win and second place from the first two races and – thanks also to a sprint victory in China – has a four-point advantage over his teenage Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli. With their car thus far the class of the field, Russell has demonstrated the calm, assured control and execution long-promised by his talent. The attitude he takes into his title tilt was fashioned from that time at Williams and later Mercedes. Continue reading...
Boeing ( BA ) secured a firm-fixed-price contract worth $326.05 million to supply six CH-47F Block II remanufactured cargo helicopters. The project is expected to be completed by August 31, 2031, and the Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity. More on Boeing Boeing: The Triple Blow Boeing: Ignore Fuel Price Spikes For This Decade Play The Boeing Company (BA) Presents at Bank of Ameri...
Boeing ( BA ) secured a firm-fixed-price contract worth $326.05 million to supply six CH-47F Block II remanufactured cargo helicopters. The project is expected to be completed by August 31, 2031, and the Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity. More on Boeing Boeing: The Triple Blow Boeing: Ignore Fuel Price Spikes For This Decade Play The Boeing Company (BA) Presents at Bank of America Global Industrials Conference 2026 Transcript Korean Air eyes massive $36B Boeing purchase through 2039 AerCap leases two Boeing 777-300ERSF converted freighters to Ethiopian Airlines
Erik Isakson/DigitalVision via Getty Images Investment Thesis CleanSpark ( CLSK ) is one of the largest Bitcoin miners in the US, with more than 30 sites across the country. The stock is down 50% from 52-week highs, following the steep decline in Bitcoin. However, the decline provides an opportunity. The company controls up to 1.8 GW of power capacity, most of which isn't currently used for mining...
Erik Isakson/DigitalVision via Getty Images Investment Thesis CleanSpark ( CLSK ) is one of the largest Bitcoin miners in the US, with more than 30 sites across the country. The stock is down 50% from 52-week highs, following the steep decline in Bitcoin. However, the decline provides an opportunity. The company controls up to 1.8 GW of power capacity, most of which isn't currently used for mining. Overall, the market still values CleanSpark largely as a miner, even though its power portfolio could become the more valuable business over time. At a market cap of around $2.5 billion, you're getting mining operations, a treasury worth roughly $950 million (assuming a Bitcoin price of $71,000), and nearly a gigawatt in power potential. Management has also repurchased around 20% of shares outstanding over the last 18 months, something unique in an industry where dilution is constant. The company's most recent results were disappointing to some. The AI and HPC thesis is early since no tenants have been announced, but that is also why the transition may still be undervalued. This provides a good entry opportunity, as the current valuation continues to price in some skepticism. That's why I'm rating this stock a Strong Buy with a price target of $17.77. Mining Operations The core business is currently Bitcoin mining. Due to their full ownership of the sites they operate, they run one of the most efficient mining operations at 43.2 EH/s. This ranks third among public companies and shows how vertical integration helps margins in the industry. It becomes even more important when Bitcoin prices are weak. Rank of public mining companies by efficiency ( Bitcoin Mining Stocks ) FY2025 was a breakout year for that business, with revenue at $766 million and net income at $364.5 million. This proved the company's model works when Bitcoin conditions are favorable. Q1 of this year was a negative surprise, with revenue missing estimates by $13 million and EPS of -$1.35 missing estimates...