Hello and welcome to the newsletter, a grab bag of daily content from the Odd Lots universe. Sometimes it’s us, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, bringing you our thoughts on the most recent developments in markets, finance and the economy. And sometimes it’s contributions from our network of expert guests and sources. Whatever it is, we promise it will always be interesting. If you like chatting ...
Hello and welcome to the newsletter, a grab bag of daily content from the Odd Lots universe. Sometimes it’s us, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, bringing you our thoughts on the most recent developments in markets, finance and the economy. And sometimes it’s contributions from our network of expert guests and sources. Whatever it is, we promise it will always be interesting. If you like chatting with us, check out the Odd Lots Discord , where you can hang out and talk with us and with other listeners 24/7. Here’s what Joe’s thinking about... By popular request, we have an episode coming out tomorrow about the helium shortage that’s brewing as a result of the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. I won’t spoil all the details with everything I learned about helium, but one thing our guest said that stuck out to me is that right now the helium market feels like that moment before the tidal wave, where the water has come off the beach, but the crash hasn’t hit yet. In fact, I would say that this general feeling is shared by almost all energy and commodity specialists we’ve been speaking to over the last few weeks, that the big impact from the Strait being closed hasn’t really been felt yet for various reasons. Maybe there’s still enough of the stuff floating around. Maybe prices are calm because everyone expects a TACO. Maybe the market will find ways to adjust (via rerouting plus a demand response) such that the impact won’t be as big as feared. Of course the moment he said this, I started having flashbacks to late April/early May last year, when experts were warning about empty shelves as a result of tariffs, and then of course that didn’t really materialize (although inflation has re-accelerated, and goods prices in particular have been firm). Obviously though part of the reason that we didn’t get the total tariff disaster scenario is that, well, the tariff schedule revealed on Liberation Day never actually stuck. This is where the whole TACO meme came from. So...
Keir Starmer was all smiles this morning as he posed for cameras alongside Alexander Stubb. The Finnish president, a keen ice hockey fan, raised an awkward clash: their dinner tonight is at the same time as the puck drops in his favourite team’s playoff decider. Perhaps they could adjust their plans? “Last week, as I recall, we had the Arsenal [on TV] in the corner of the room while we were having...
Keir Starmer was all smiles this morning as he posed for cameras alongside Alexander Stubb. The Finnish president, a keen ice hockey fan, raised an awkward clash: their dinner tonight is at the same time as the puck drops in his favourite team’s playoff decider. Perhaps they could adjust their plans? “Last week, as I recall, we had the Arsenal [on TV] in the corner of the room while we were having dinner,” Starmer duly replied, enjoying the admittedly-stilted bonhomie. “So, same arrangement?” Starmer is in Helsinki as part of a Joint Expeditionary Force summit about Russian aggression, and in particular Vladimir Putin’s drones and shadow fleet of oil tankers . Alongside other allies, the two leaders were again discussing the Ukraine war, carrying on from last Tuesday when they dined in Downing Street with Volodymyr Zelenskiy (the same night that Arsenal beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0, to explain the above.) Nearly 1,500 days have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine and if the ongoing conflict wasn’t so horrific, one might say that it provides a welcome distraction for Starmer and his Labour government. The Prime Minister was able to focus on serious international talks in Finland while Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper did likewise in France, where the Group-of-Seven were debating the war in Iran and Donald Trump’s latest flamboyant fluctuations . However, while the gravity of global events sometimes helps to eclipse Labour’s domestic problems back in Blighty, it is more often than not their cause, too. An escalating story about the stolen mobile phone of a former Downing Street chief of staff ultimately stems from Trump’s 2024 re-election — if Kamala Harris had won, there would have been no need to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US in the first place. Moreover, the Labour government’s economic troubles are about to get a lot worse. Any British families whose cheap, pre-2022 mortgages expire in the coming weeks will see their repayments rise by nearly £10,000...
Meta (META) and YouTube (GOOG, GOOGL) were just found liable for damages in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit.Yahoo Finance Tech Editor Dan Howley outlines what made this case so unique, what's next, and the major implications the ruling could have down the road.
Meta (META) and YouTube (GOOG, GOOGL) were just found liable for damages in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit.Yahoo Finance Tech Editor Dan Howley outlines what made this case so unique, what's next, and the major implications the ruling could have down the road.
Many of the vessels willing to make the crossing are taking an alternative route through Iranian waters Threats to shipping have effectively closed the strait of Hormuz since the US-Israel war on Iran began four weeks ago – upending global oil and gas supplies and sending energy prices soaring. In normal times, tankers carry about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies through the narrow chan...
Many of the vessels willing to make the crossing are taking an alternative route through Iranian waters Threats to shipping have effectively closed the strait of Hormuz since the US-Israel war on Iran began four weeks ago – upending global oil and gas supplies and sending energy prices soaring. In normal times, tankers carry about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies through the narrow channel and on to the rest of the world, while about a third of the global fertilisers necessary for half of the world’s food production pass through in dry bulk vessels. Continue reading...
alexsl BMO Capital Markets on Thursday upgraded ICON Public Limited ( ICLR ) to Outperform from Market Perform and raised its price target to $130 from $100, citing an attractive valuation in a stock that has lost nearly 44% over the past 12 months. Analyst Sean Dodge noted that the contract research organization has a compelling valuation despite several concerns, including uncertainty over its u...
alexsl BMO Capital Markets on Thursday upgraded ICON Public Limited ( ICLR ) to Outperform from Market Perform and raised its price target to $130 from $100, citing an attractive valuation in a stock that has lost nearly 44% over the past 12 months. Analyst Sean Dodge noted that the contract research organization has a compelling valuation despite several concerns, including uncertainty over its upcoming Q4 2025 financials, primarily related to an ongoing probe into its accounting practices. Shares of Ireland-based Icon ( ICLR ) dropped in February after the company withdrew its 2025 financial guidance, noting that the investigation launched by the audit committee of the board in October was still pending. According to Dodge, ICLR, trading at “a multi-decade low” with an 8.3x multiple in terms of BMO’s “heavily cushioned” 2026 EBITDA, represents an attractive entry point for investors as its valuation “overly discounts” the above risks and longer-term AI fears weighing on the CRO space. More on Icon ICON rises as Cowen upgrades after recent selloff ICON rebounds as Kerrisdale Capital invests after selloff Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Icon Historical earnings data for Icon Financial information for Icon
May WTI crude oil (CLK26 ) today is up +3.90 (+4.32%), and May RBOB gasoline (RBK26 ) is up +0.1080 (+3.65%). Crude oil and gasoline prices are sharply higher today on skepticism about a ceasefire in Iran. Also, a report today from Axios that said the US is close to...
May WTI crude oil (CLK26 ) today is up +3.90 (+4.32%), and May RBOB gasoline (RBK26 ) is up +0.1080 (+3.65%). Crude oil and gasoline prices are sharply higher today on skepticism about a ceasefire in Iran. Also, a report today from Axios that said the US is close to...