Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images News Former Goldman Sachs ( GS ) CEO Lloyd Blankfein said he believes the private markets could see a wave of markdowns on unsold private assets due to valuation concerns. “At some point there needs to be a forcing function or a reckoning that causes you to come to grips with what your balance sheet really is worth,” Blankfein told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday night. ...
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images News Former Goldman Sachs ( GS ) CEO Lloyd Blankfein said he believes the private markets could see a wave of markdowns on unsold private assets due to valuation concerns. “At some point there needs to be a forcing function or a reckoning that causes you to come to grips with what your balance sheet really is worth,” Blankfein told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday night. Blankfein also noted that the likelihood of such an event has increased as significant time has passed since the last financial crisis. “The analogy I like to give is you accumulate tinder on the floor of the forest, and eventually a spark will come,” Blankfein said. “But the longer between intervals where there’s a spark that sets it on fire, the more that accumulates.” More on Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs: Selloff Represents Good Entry Point For Investors Goldman Sachs: Capital Markets Titan At A Discounted Valuation Goldman Sachs Remains A Stock To Hold, Despite Uncertainty In Markets (Downgrade) Ex-Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein warns Iran war fallout will persist Regionals, smaller banks expected to benefit more than G-SIBs in proposed capital rules, analysts say
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) reported fourth-quarter results in February. Both companies are chasing the same consumer dollar, but their results reveal two fundamentally different businesses with two very different bets on where retail goes next. AWS Carries Amazon. Physical Stores Carry Walmart. Amazon’s headline number looked clean: $213.39 billion in revenue, up 13.6% ... Amazo...
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) reported fourth-quarter results in February. Both companies are chasing the same consumer dollar, but their results reveal two fundamentally different businesses with two very different bets on where retail goes next. AWS Carries Amazon. Physical Stores Carry Walmart. Amazon’s headline number looked clean: $213.39 billion in revenue, up 13.6% ... Amazon vs Walmart: Which is a Better Buy?
Alones Creative/iStock via Getty Images The conflict in Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz for coming up on a month now. Ever since then, energy prices have been on a rollercoaster ride, reacting to every tidbit of news, rumor and speculation. Over 20 million barrels of oil transits this global checkpoint daily or did until late February before what should be viewed as a nascent regi...
Alones Creative/iStock via Getty Images The conflict in Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz for coming up on a month now. Ever since then, energy prices have been on a rollercoaster ride, reacting to every tidbit of news, rumor and speculation. Over 20 million barrels of oil transits this global checkpoint daily or did until late February before what should be viewed as a nascent regional war erupted. Statista This is a bigger disruption to global oil supplies than either what happened during Covid (where the lockdowns also reduced oil demand significantly) or the Kuwait invasion of 1990. Now, producers like Saudi Arabia have rerouted millions of barrels of daily exports to land pipelines. This has mitigated this bottleneck marginally. However, if this conflict continues it is easy to see oil approaching or surpassing the $147/barrel level it hit just prior to the Great Financial Crisis. Oil, NGPL, and other liquids (EIA, Statbase) The good news is, thanks to the shale revolution, the U.S. is in a stronger position, as far as energy independence, than in 2008. This can be seen above. Europe is not so lucky and could face fuel shortages soon. Asia is in even worse shape as it takes 60% of the oil exports from the Middle East region, or just over 14.7 million barrels a day. 1-month WTI oil chart (Market Watch) Still, oil is a fungible commodity to a large extent. And while there is a historical divergence between the WTI and Brent oil benchmarks, the American standard is still up sharply over the last month. U.S. weekly average gasoline prices (EIA) And obviously, this has pushed gasoline much higher, just over a buck a gallon as of the week ending 03/23. As or more importantly, diesel prices have moved from $3.50 at the end of 2025 to a current $5.38 a gallon. And the railroad and trucking industries run on diesel. That means the transportation cost for any good that has to be moved to its final destination, has moved up significantly. Jet fuel prices ha...
Recent activity in funding markets shows a quiet push by financial institutions to build up buffers that would help protect against any credit meltdowns or market distress, a sign they perceive rising risks even as overall conditions remain stable for now. A cluster of indicators — from increases Federal Home Loan Bank lending to shifts in money‑market fund allocations — all suggest that instituti...
Recent activity in funding markets shows a quiet push by financial institutions to build up buffers that would help protect against any credit meltdowns or market distress, a sign they perceive rising risks even as overall conditions remain stable for now. A cluster of indicators — from increases Federal Home Loan Bank lending to shifts in money‑market fund allocations — all suggest that institutions, at the margins, are positioning themselves more defensively and are in some cases paying up to do so. Apollo Global Management Inc., through its insurance arm Athene, was the second‑largest borrower in the entire FHLB system last year, a sign private‑credit platforms are part of this move. These shifts aren’t about any current strains: There’s no stress evident in headline indicators such as rates on overnight repurchase agreements, and the Federal Reserve has been regularly buying Treasury bills to make sure reserves in the banking system are ample. It’s more about individual institutions ensuring they have enough cash if conditions worsen, against a backdrop of mounting worries around private credit and broader economic unease. “It’s worth watching to see if there are signs of greater credit concerns,” said Mark Cabana , head of US interest rate strategy at Bank of America Corp. “We’re seeing things that, if sustained, will become more worrisome — but for now it seems fine.” Private credit has been flashing its own early signals. Ares Management Corp. and Apollo have both capped redemptions in their semi-liquid funds, while Moody’s has issued downgrades tied to private‑credit exposures amid deteriorating performance in some funds. Among big banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has begun repricing parts of its private‑credit book, as well as restricting some lending to private credit funds. None of these developments are necessarily alarming on their own, but together they show how strains in the asset class are starting to ripple through insurers, banks, and the funding marke...
Is the stock market going to crash in 2026? It seems like such an important question. It would be, if only we could arrive at an accurate answer. But no one really knows just what the market will do from day to day or even year to year. Still, there are some signs we can watch for that can guide our expectations a bit. Here are three. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Is the stock market going to crash in 2026? It seems like such an important question. It would be, if only we could arrive at an accurate answer. But no one really knows just what the market will do from day to day or even year to year. Still, there are some signs we can watch for that can guide our expectations a bit. Here are three. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
A flood of lawsuits filed in recent years against social media giants claim that by engineering their platforms to be hard to resist, the companies are causing serious harm to young users. In the first case to go to trial , a jury on March 25 found Meta Platforms Inc. and Google negligent in the design and operation of their platforms – a landmark verdict. The trial, which was held in Los Angeles,...
A flood of lawsuits filed in recent years against social media giants claim that by engineering their platforms to be hard to resist, the companies are causing serious harm to young users. In the first case to go to trial , a jury on March 25 found Meta Platforms Inc. and Google negligent in the design and operation of their platforms – a landmark verdict. The trial, which was held in Los Angeles, centered on a 20-year-old woman who said her nonstop use for more than a decade of sites including Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube caused her to suffer anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia. The Los Angeles trial is the first of several planned for this year. Further defeats for the companies could spur settlement negotiations — drawing comparisons to Big Tobacco’s reckoning with consumer addiction three decades ago. What are the cases? The Los Angeles trial was over a complaint brought by a woman from Chico, California, who’s identified in filings as Kaley G.M. rather than her full name because she was still a minor when she sued. Snap Inc. and TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd. weren’t involved in the Los Angeles trial because they reached confidential settlements with Kaley. More than 3,000 cases brought by children, adolescents and young adults — sometimes via their parents, siblings or other family members — based on claims of psychological distress, physical impairment and death have been filed against Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok across the US. Two more personal injury cases like Kaley’s are expected to go to trial this year in Los Angeles state court. Dozens of state attorneys general are also suing the companies, and a case against Meta is set for trial in federal court in Oakland, California in August. Additionally, public school districts have brought more than 1,200 complaints on behalf of students. The first trial among the school cases is scheduled for Oakland in June. The plaintiffs argue that Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap design their services to hook ch...
Pulse Biosciences pivots to its nPulse AFib system after strong clinical results, ramping investment to accelerate development and future commercialization.
Pulse Biosciences pivots to its nPulse AFib system after strong clinical results, ramping investment to accelerate development and future commercialization.
BNP Paribas SA is set to deploy an artificial intelligence companion for all staff as Chief Executive Officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe bets the technology can lower costs across the bank. The French lender will progressively roll out the tool across the company, giving broader access to generative AI, while maintaining existing specialized assistants developed within certain business units, according ...
BNP Paribas SA is set to deploy an artificial intelligence companion for all staff as Chief Executive Officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe bets the technology can lower costs across the bank. The French lender will progressively roll out the tool across the company, giving broader access to generative AI, while maintaining existing specialized assistants developed within certain business units, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The new assistant relies on BNP’s preexisting internal AI infrastructure but also uses different large language models depending on cases and requirements, they added, asking not to be identified discussing private matter. This includes models developed with Mistral AI. Bonnafe told reporters last month that AI would generate savings by streamlining procedures and reducing operating costs. The Paris-based bank is “investing wisely,” Bonnafe said. “It’s very expensive,” he added, comparing AI to “a diamond tip” that would be used in a targeted manner. BNP Paribas declined to comment on the plan to set up the group-wide AI tool. Read More: SocGen Turns to Microsoft’s Copilot After Scrapping Own AI Tool The lender recently extended its partnership with Mistral AI through a three-year deal, Bloomberg reported last month. The bank struck its first group-wide contract with the Paris-based firm in 2024. Lenders across Europe have been stepping up investments in AI including hiring as they expect the technology to boost productivity and profitability. The dominance of US firms like OpenAI or Anthropic, coupled with increased transatlantic tensions over trade, has some European executives looking for homegrown alternatives.
Alexander Shapovalov When Carnival ( CCL ) is set to announce first-quarter results on Friday, Wall Street expects the company to post EPS of $0.18, implying a 48.6% decline, while revenue is expected to slip 3% to $6.14B for the quarter. The cruise operator expects 2026 net income of over $3.45 billion, a 12% or $0.23 per share year-over-year increase. Investors will be looking for the impact of ...
Alexander Shapovalov When Carnival ( CCL ) is set to announce first-quarter results on Friday, Wall Street expects the company to post EPS of $0.18, implying a 48.6% decline, while revenue is expected to slip 3% to $6.14B for the quarter. The cruise operator expects 2026 net income of over $3.45 billion, a 12% or $0.23 per share year-over-year increase. Investors will be looking for the impact of the war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran on the company’s revenue yield due to higher fuel and energy costs. CCL shares have slipped 15.7% since the start of the year, compared to a 3.7% decline in the broader S&P 500 index ( SP500 ), due to higher fuel costs amid rising Middle East tensions. However, Morgan Stanley analyst Jamie Rollo noted that CCL’s decline is in line with declines during the Iraq War, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Arab Spring, and all those down periods were followed by material rebounds. The brokerage firm upgraded Carnival to Overweight due to an attractive risk-reward balance, saying that CCL, with internal levers and strong FCF, and the industry, with a lower order book, are in better shape than in prior downturns. Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating and analysts, along with Wall Street analysts, are bullish, rating CCL a Buy. Susquehanna maintained its Positive rating for CCL while decreasing its price target from $40 to $30. The brokerage firm stated CCL is unique among its cruise peers in that it does not hedge fuel. However, it believes that elevated fuel prices are likely to result in upside pressure on cruise fares via higher ticket prices, selective onboard price increases, and, in certain instances, changes in itineraries. Additionally, the value gap between cruises and land-based vacations remains intact, which should help support demand amid an uncertain macro and geopolitical backdrop, the brokerage firm added. Over the last two years, CCL has beaten EPS estimates 100% of the time and has beaten revenue estimates 88% of the time. Over the la...
In this article AURC COIN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Fannie Mae offices in Reston, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. The Trump administration is considering selling shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an offering that could start as early as this year, according to senior administration officials. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images Fannie Mae will now accept crypto...
In this article AURC COIN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Fannie Mae offices in Reston, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. The Trump administration is considering selling shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an offering that could start as early as this year, according to senior administration officials. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images Fannie Mae will now accept crypto-backed mortgages via a new product by mortgage company Better Home and Finance and Coinbase . It's not the first crypto backed mortgage, but it is the first accepted by Fannie Mae, which is under government conservatorship. The offering allows homebuyers to use their crypto assets as collateral. Fannie Mae will purchase those loans just like any other conforming mortgage. "We have now finally created the infrastructure rails to enable any tokenized asset in America to be able to be pledged to help someone afford to buy a home," Vishal Garg, CEO of Better, told CNBC in an interview. "It starts with bitcoin, starts with [USD Coin], but going forward, it can be Apple stock or Amazon stock, or any publicly traded mutual fund, bond fund, something that you might hold in your IRA, you're going to be able to pledge that to buy a home." The idea is to serve Americans who have enough crypto assets to fund a mortgage down payment but do not want to sell those assets, which would both incur taxes and forfeit any future appreciation. The new mortgage product allows them to keep the cryptocurrency and still secure home financing. "Token-backed mortgages are a major first step to unlocking homeownership for the younger generations that have struggled with barriers to saving for a traditional down payment," said Max Branzburg, head of consumer and business products at Coinbase, in a release. To use the product, a borrower must have a Coinbase account and would take out a regular mortgage with Better as well as a second loan, backed by either bitcoin or USD Coin. The second loan would fun...
Study into how fertilisation could work in space finds sperm may get disorientated when trying to find an egg Sperm in space are likely to get disoriented and lost while struggling to find their way to an egg, a new study has found. When exposed to microgravity in experiments, sperm tumble around like an untethered astronaut, according to Adelaide University researchers. Continue reading...
Study into how fertilisation could work in space finds sperm may get disorientated when trying to find an egg Sperm in space are likely to get disoriented and lost while struggling to find their way to an egg, a new study has found. When exposed to microgravity in experiments, sperm tumble around like an untethered astronaut, according to Adelaide University researchers. Continue reading...
Cadaver fat from organ and tissue donors is being used for cosmetic procedures – and yup, it’s legal in the US, writes advice columnist Jessica DeFino Hi Ugly, I recently became aware of new cosmetic injectables derived from cadaver fat – as in, made of dead people. Apparently the fat is harvested from organ and tissue donors and used for procedures like Brazilian butt lifts and boob jobs. Why is ...
Cadaver fat from organ and tissue donors is being used for cosmetic procedures – and yup, it’s legal in the US, writes advice columnist Jessica DeFino Hi Ugly, I recently became aware of new cosmetic injectables derived from cadaver fat – as in, made of dead people. Apparently the fat is harvested from organ and tissue donors and used for procedures like Brazilian butt lifts and boob jobs. Why is this column called ‘Ask Ugly’? How should I be styling my pubic hair? How do I deal with imperfection? My father had plastic surgery. Now he wants me and my mother to get work done Continue reading...
A young shepherd besotted with his neigbour rigs up his tractor to play music from so she can practise dance routines in a story that remains sunny without hiding hardship ‘You’re the first celebrity from the village!” This is Ahmet, a teenager from an isolated farming community in North Macedonia who is all over TikTok after being filmed chasing his sheep through an illegal rave in a field. His f...
A young shepherd besotted with his neigbour rigs up his tractor to play music from so she can practise dance routines in a story that remains sunny without hiding hardship ‘You’re the first celebrity from the village!” This is Ahmet, a teenager from an isolated farming community in North Macedonia who is all over TikTok after being filmed chasing his sheep through an illegal rave in a field. His flock of bassline junkies escaped their pen and charged straight over to the rave, to the hilarity of the clubbers. It’s a funny moment in Georgi M Unkovski’s totally charming coming-of-ager, a film with serious points but choosing to make them with kindness and a mostly sunny worldview. Arif Jakup plays Ahmet, a 15-year-old whose face is already weatherbeaten to the shade of a conker; he lives with his dad (Aksel Mehmet) and younger brother Naim (Agush Agushev). Life is tough on their tiny farm in the mountains: Ahmet had to quit school to look after the sheep; his little brother hasn’t spoken since their mum died. Ahmet worships his neighbour Aya (Dora Akan Zlatanova) like a goddess; she has lived in Germany but is back to be married off to an older man in the village. Jakup and Zlatanova, two nonprofessional actors, give lovely natural performances: he’s bashful and adorable; she’s worldly-wise. So Aya can practise dance routines with her friends, Ahmet turns DJ, pimping his tractor with speakers. Continue reading...
National Energy Services Reunited (NESR) might move higher on growing optimism about its earnings prospects, which is reflected by its upgrade to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
National Energy Services Reunited (NESR) might move higher on growing optimism about its earnings prospects, which is reflected by its upgrade to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
FTAI Aviation (FTAI) has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reflecting growing optimism about the company's earnings prospects. This might drive the stock higher in the near term.
FTAI Aviation (FTAI) has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reflecting growing optimism about the company's earnings prospects. This might drive the stock higher in the near term.
US mortgage rates jumped for a fourth straight week, reaching the highest point in six months and dampening prospects for the crucial spring season as the Iran war roils markets. The average rate for 30-year, fixed loans climbed to 6.38%, the highest since September 2025 and up from 6.22% last week , according to data from Freddie Mac Thursday. At the current 30-year average, borrowers with a $1 m...
US mortgage rates jumped for a fourth straight week, reaching the highest point in six months and dampening prospects for the crucial spring season as the Iran war roils markets. The average rate for 30-year, fixed loans climbed to 6.38%, the highest since September 2025 and up from 6.22% last week , according to data from Freddie Mac Thursday. At the current 30-year average, borrowers with a $1 million loan would pay about $6,242 a month, not including insurance and taxes. That is up from $5,983 in late February when rates briefly dipped below 6% right before the US-Israeli bombing campaign began. With the key spring selling season about to get underway, the spike in rates adds another reason for buyers to hesitate, compounding worries about everything from the high cost of gas and groceries to the prospect of AI taking their jobs. It’s too soon to know how the season will unfold, but the early read from homebuilders isn’t promising. During a March 24 earnings call with analysts, KB Home lowered its full-year guidance for closings, citing the war as a contributing factor. “We saw pretty good sales results the first week of March,” Chief Executive Officer Robert McGibney said. “But the last couple of weeks have been a little softer than we would like to see or what we normally get this time of year.” He added that the length of the conflict will determine consumer confidence, “but we feel that right now — it’s weighing on the consumer.” To be sure, borrowing costs are still below the 6.65% average a year ago, but that gap is shrinking. Signs of a weak housing market were visible even before the conflict erupted almost a month ago. Home prices in February were little changed from January, the slowest monthly growth in seven months, according to seasonally adjusted data from brokerage Redfin . The weak market could give some buyers negotiating power, as long as they have the income and fortitude to plow ahead, according to Redfin Principal Economist Sheharyar Bokhari....
Babylist, the leading platform for expecting and new families, today announced select financial and operating results for 2025, including record revenue, increasing 45% year-over-year to surpass $750 million annually. 2025 also marked the company's eighth consecutive year of profitability, reflecting strong momentum across Babylist's expanding ecosystem of products and services for parents. Additi...
Babylist, the leading platform for expecting and new families, today announced select financial and operating results for 2025, including record revenue, increasing 45% year-over-year to surpass $750 million annually. 2025 also marked the company's eighth consecutive year of profitability, reflecting strong momentum across Babylist's expanding ecosystem of products and services for parents. Additionally, the company announced two new appointments to its board of directors, Jennifer Hyman, co-fou