Testing conducted by Chinese scientists has found that a solid rocket engine can ignite at 200 metres (656 feet) underwater – far deeper than submarine-launched missiles – suggesting new possibilities for deep-sea weapon systems. Ballistic missiles that can be launched from subs are central to strategic deterrence for nuclear powers – for example, the M51 used by France, America’s Trident system, ...
Testing conducted by Chinese scientists has found that a solid rocket engine can ignite at 200 metres (656 feet) underwater – far deeper than submarine-launched missiles – suggesting new possibilities for deep-sea weapon systems. Ballistic missiles that can be launched from subs are central to strategic deterrence for nuclear powers – for example, the M51 used by France, America’s Trident system, and China’s Julang series. With these missiles on board, submarines, moving stealthily through deep...
(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 250 points or 6.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,880-point plateau and it's looking at a soft start on Wednesday.
(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 250 points or 6.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,880-point plateau and it's looking at a soft start on Wednesday.
Miniseries in China starring children have sparked controversy for their content becoming “adultified,” as critics say the trend will harm the psychological health of young actors. One of the controversial dramas depicts a five-year-old girl helping her father with stock investments, resulting in two billion yuan (US$290 million) in profits in a short time, the China Youth Daily reported. “This sh...
Miniseries in China starring children have sparked controversy for their content becoming “adultified,” as critics say the trend will harm the psychological health of young actors. One of the controversial dramas depicts a five-year-old girl helping her father with stock investments, resulting in two billion yuan (US$290 million) in profits in a short time, the China Youth Daily reported. “This share’s price will rise to its trading limit in an hour. I would like to invest all my money, plus...
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images General Market Environment Equities, convertible securities, and high yield (HY) bonds all advanced in the fourth quarter. Third-quarter earnings results beat expectations on strong artificial intelligence (AI) spending, though management commentary highlighted cost pressures and uneven demand trends. Economic data was mixed, and visibility was impacted by the...
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images General Market Environment Equities, convertible securities, and high yield (HY) bonds all advanced in the fourth quarter. Third-quarter earnings results beat expectations on strong artificial intelligence (AI) spending, though management commentary highlighted cost pressures and uneven demand trends. Economic data was mixed, and visibility was impacted by the government shutdown; labor market indicators softened, while consumer spending and inflation metrics were stable. The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) cut rates by 25 basis points in both October and December and signaled further accommodation with markets pricing additional cuts into 2026. Against this backdrop, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield finished modestly higher at 4.17% despite significant intra-quarter volatility. Convertible Securities Market Environment The ICE BofA U.S. Convertible Index returned 1.97% for the quarter, bringing full-year performance to 17.98%. Sector performance was mostly higher with consumer staples, industrials, and healthcare outperforming, while financials, consumer discretionary, and media underperformed. Below-investment grade issues outperformed investment grade issues. Equity sensitive issues outperformed yield-oriented (busted) and total return (balanced) issues. New issuance saw 46 issues priced, raising $36.2 billion in proceeds, bringing the full-year total to a record $118.8 billion. Portfolio Commentary Sector exposures that contributed to relative performance in the period included technology, healthcare, and consumer discretionary. Within technology, both security selection and asset weighting decisions contributed to relative performance across all subindustries, with an industry underweight in software having the largest impact. Positive selection within health services and medical products, along with overweight positioning in pharmaceuticals, were the primary drivers of outperformance in healthcare. Relative strength in consumer ...
Here's Where Rent Growth In The US Is Finally Slowing After years of rapid increases, rent growth in the U.S. is finally slowing—and in some cities, prices are even declining, according to Marketwatch . From January 2025 to January 2026, rents rose 2.8%, a smaller increase than the year before and lower than pre-pandemic norms, marking the slowest growth since 2021. This cooling trend, driven in p...
Here's Where Rent Growth In The US Is Finally Slowing After years of rapid increases, rent growth in the U.S. is finally slowing—and in some cities, prices are even declining, according to Marketwatch . From January 2025 to January 2026, rents rose 2.8%, a smaller increase than the year before and lower than pre-pandemic norms, marking the slowest growth since 2021. This cooling trend, driven in part by a surge in new housing supply, suggests the market is stabilizing after an intense period of price escalation. At the same time, easing inflation, steady mortgage rates around 6%, and rising wages could gradually improve overall housing affordability and give households more purchasing power. Still, housing continues to feel expensive for most Americans because prices surged dramatically during the pandemic and have remained elevated. Income growth hasn’t kept pace, leaving many households stretched and limiting how much relief people actually feel. Even though rent increases have nearly stalled—growing just over 1% annually in some segments—prices are still significantly higher than they were five years ago, with some cities seeing increases far above the national average. As a result, about half of renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, underscoring the ongoing affordability crisis. Marketwatch writes that recent rent declines also haven’t been evenly distributed. The biggest drops are concentrated in fast-growing Sun Belt cities like Austin, where rents have fallen notably from their 2022 peaks, along with places such as New Orleans and Denver. However, these declines often follow unusually steep increases in prior years. Meanwhile, higher-income renters have benefited more from the recent slowdown, as prices for more expensive units have softened the most. This has pulled down overall averages, making the market appear more affordable than it feels for many. In contrast, lower-cost rentals saw sharper increases during the boom and have experience...
President Donald Trump signaled that Iran had offered a “present” as a show of good faith in negotiations he has claimed are ongoing to end a 25-day conflict that’s upended global markets, even while he deploys more troops to the Middle East. Bloomberg's Laura Davison has the latest. (Source: Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump signaled that Iran had offered a “present” as a show of good faith in negotiations he has claimed are ongoing to end a 25-day conflict that’s upended global markets, even while he deploys more troops to the Middle East. Bloomberg's Laura Davison has the latest. (Source: Bloomberg)
Growing numbers of young voters are signing up to the Māori electoral roll as debate flares over the need for dedicated seats ahead of November’s election More young people have signed up to vote in Māori electorates, new figures from the electoral commission show, as New Zealand prepares for an election this year. The rise comes after years of tense relations between Indigenous New Zealanders and...
Growing numbers of young voters are signing up to the Māori electoral roll as debate flares over the need for dedicated seats ahead of November’s election More young people have signed up to vote in Māori electorates, new figures from the electoral commission show, as New Zealand prepares for an election this year. The rise comes after years of tense relations between Indigenous New Zealanders and the centre-right coalition government. The latest figures show 58% of eligible 18- to 24-year-olds have registered for the Māori roll, up from 50% in 2023. Continue reading...
Earnings Call Insights: Absci Corporation (ABSI) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Sean McClain reported "a strong fourth quarter," highlighting that ABS-201 is now in the clinic with the first three single ascending dose (SAD) cohorts dosed in the Phase I/IIa headline trial and "favorable emerging safety data." The company expanded into endometriosis as a second indication and published what it believe...
Earnings Call Insights: Absci Corporation (ABSI) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Sean McClain reported "a strong fourth quarter," highlighting that ABS-201 is now in the clinic with the first three single ascending dose (SAD) cohorts dosed in the Phase I/IIa headline trial and "favorable emerging safety data." The company expanded into endometriosis as a second indication and published what it believes is the "first demonstration of de novo full-length antibody designed to zero-prior epitopes." McClain introduced Dr. Ransi Somaratne, the new Chief Medical Officer, with registrational experience from Vertex. McClain noted, "Our development operations are in excellent hands because of the foundation [Andreas Busch] built." McClain emphasized that ABS-201 was engineered for an extended half-life, with preclinical studies showing "a three to fourfold longer half-life than the competitor antibody," potentially enabling a "convenient dosing regimen of just 2 to 3 administrations for durable multiyear hair regrowth." The company anticipates sharing "preliminary safety, tolerability and PK data for our ongoing headline trial in the first half of this year," with interim 13-week proof-of-concept data in the second half and full 26-week data in early 2027. ABS-201's safety, tolerability, and PK from the ongoing study will be used to support the initiation of the Phase II clinical trial in endometriosis in Q4 2026. Chief Business Officer & CFO Zachariah Jonasson stated, "Revenue in the fourth quarter was $700,000 as we continue to progress our partnered programs." He added that research and development expenses rose to $25.3 million for the quarter, and the company ended the year with $144.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. Outlook McClain stated, "In 2026, we expect to deliver on our catalysts, preliminary safety and PK data for ABS-201 in the first half, interim 13-week proof-of-concept hair regrowth data in the second half and initiation of our Phas...
A_Carina/E+ via Getty Images By Elior Manier Today is an unusual session for the markets following a chaotic day yesterday. Participants cannot be blamed for the current uncertainty; we are now in the aftermath of a series of decisions made by major central banks. Fundamentals are inconsistent, leading to a widespread sense of confusion across all asset classes, resulting in a slow consolidation. ...
A_Carina/E+ via Getty Images By Elior Manier Today is an unusual session for the markets following a chaotic day yesterday. Participants cannot be blamed for the current uncertainty; we are now in the aftermath of a series of decisions made by major central banks. Fundamentals are inconsistent, leading to a widespread sense of confusion across all asset classes, resulting in a slow consolidation. Given that many of the world's most educated economists, like the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and other central bankers, seemingly struggle to understand the ongoing situation, it will be challenging to predict the market's direction once the uncertainty lifts. Metals are not immune to this confusion, especially after experiencing volatile 10% swings up and down yesterday. They are today, however, experiencing a relatively calmer session: silver is up a shy 1%, gold retreats from $4,400 and other metals like platinum are hanging close to unchanged. In general, after periods of significant volatility and a lull in news, the markets tend to trade within a range. This is precisely what we are witnessing today. The best approach now is to take a step back and prepare for what lies ahead. These types of sessions offer key breakout levels, as algos and traders await news to catalyze the next movement in the markets. Let's explore the recent shifts in an intraday timeframe analysis of gold (XAU/USD) and silver (XAG/USD) to identify where the key levels to watch for breakouts are. Gold (XAU/USD) 4H Chart and levels Gold (XAU/USD) 4H Chart, March 24, 2026 – Source: TradingView Gold is now stuck in a triangle formation right at its quintessential $4,400 level – decisive for upcoming action. Remaining with +/- $75 of the psychological zone gives a further sense of uncertainty; hence, this provides key breakout levels to play as the week continues: Above $4,475, bulls will hold the advantage until $4,700 Below $4,325, however, expect $4,100 to retest swiftly Intraday timefra...
Philip Steury/iStock via Getty Images Quarterly review The fund underperformed the ICE BofA U.S. High Yield Constrained Index benchmark for the quarter. Sector and quality allocation were additive throughout the period, while issue selection detracted and duration and curve positioning had a neutral overall impact on fourth quarter performance. Market review Despite a government shutdown that crea...
Philip Steury/iStock via Getty Images Quarterly review The fund underperformed the ICE BofA U.S. High Yield Constrained Index benchmark for the quarter. Sector and quality allocation were additive throughout the period, while issue selection detracted and duration and curve positioning had a neutral overall impact on fourth quarter performance. Market review Despite a government shutdown that created short-term uncertainty and volatility in economic data reporting, available indicators suggest the U.S. economy remained resilient in the fourth quarter of 2025 and grew at roughly its historical trend pace. Growth was driven by solid consumer spending, supported by real income gains, healthy household balance sheets, and limited layoffs. Business investment also remained an important tailwind, with continued strength in artificial intelligence and data center-related capital expenditure helping offset softness in more rate-sensitive areas of the economy. At the same time, the expansion remained uneven, with a K-shaped dynamic evident across both households and industries. Higher-income consumers and technology-intensive sectors continued to benefit from asset-price gains, productivity-enhancing investment, and relatively loose financial conditions, while interest- and trade-sensitive industries, along with lower-income households, faced various headwinds, including still-elevated interest rates, tariffs, and the elevated price level. Inflation continued to moderate in the fourth quarter, led by ongoing services disinflation and easing shelter costs, while core goods inflation rose at a gradual pace. Most inflation measures ended the year lower, even as labor market and growth conditions remained healthy. Hiring slowed modestly to just under breakeven levels, and the unemployment rate edged higher but remained low by historical standards. Against this backdrop of improving inflation and a gradually cooling labor market, the Federal Reserve (Fed) continued easing policy ...