posteriori/E+ via Getty Images Stocks for the week ended March 13 were 1,883 Bcf vs. 1,848 Bcf for the week ended March 6. Net change: + 35 Bcf vs. -38 Bcf for the week ended March 6. Consensus: 39 B. Natural Gas Futures ( NG1:COM) +5.8% to $3.2/MMBtu. ETFs: ( UNG ), ( BOIL ), ( KOLD ), ( FCG ), ( UNL ), ( HNU:CA ) Click here to read the full EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report. More on Natural ...
posteriori/E+ via Getty Images Stocks for the week ended March 13 were 1,883 Bcf vs. 1,848 Bcf for the week ended March 6. Net change: + 35 Bcf vs. -38 Bcf for the week ended March 6. Consensus: 39 B. Natural Gas Futures ( NG1:COM) +5.8% to $3.2/MMBtu. ETFs: ( UNG ), ( BOIL ), ( KOLD ), ( FCG ), ( UNL ), ( HNU:CA ) Click here to read the full EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report. More on Natural Gas Futures, United States Natural Gas Fund LP ETF, etc. Commodities: Middle East Escalation Sends Energy Prices Higher Despite LNG Up On The Iran Crisis, U.S. Gas Is Flat - Yet The Sector Is Attractive Natural Gas Stabilizes Near $3 As Consolidation Holds Below Key Resistance Inflation likely to stay elevated for several more years - Peter Boockvar Quant ratings spotlight winners and laggards among large-cap energy stocks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major stock indexes dropped sharply in early trading Thursday, threatening to extend losses from the prior session, as attacks on Gulf region energy infrastructure in the U.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major stock indexes dropped sharply in early trading Thursday, threatening to extend losses from the prior session, as attacks on Gulf region energy infrastructure in the U.
Micron Technology announced record results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, surpassing market expectations by double-digit figures and confirming that the AI-driven memory supercycle is entering an unprecedented profitability phase. Despite the fundamentally euphoric reception of the results, the company’s shares fell five to seven percent after the session due to concerns over higher capita...
Micron Technology announced record results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, surpassing market expectations by double-digit figures and confirming that the AI-driven memory supercycle is entering an unprecedented profitability phase. Despite the fundamentally euphoric reception of the results, the company’s shares fell five to seven percent after the session due to concerns over higher capital expenditures, representing a classic “sell the news” scenario that does not alter the long-term growth trajectory. Key Financial Results Q2 FY2026: Revenue : USD 23.86 billion (+75% q/q, +196% y/y; market consensus USD 19 billion) Net Income: USD 14.02 billion EPS: USD 12.20 Gross Margin: 74.4% Operating Cash Flow: USD 11.90 billion Such a spectacular beat of estimates is no accident. Micron is fully leveraging sold-out HBM and server DRAM inventories, where hyperscaler demand significantly exceeds supply. Margins have returned to historical cycle highs, and strong operating leverage has translated revenue growth into exponential profit gains. Segment Growth Breakdown Q2 FY2026 results demonstrate that Micron’s growth is primarily driven by cloud and AI-related segments, which have become the foundation of the memory supercycle. Cloud Memory Business Unit: Revenue reached USD 7.75 billion with an operating margin of 66%, driven by strong demand for HBM3E and HBM4 for AI accelerators. The backlog for the current fiscal year is effectively sold out, providing exceptional revenue visibility for upcoming quarters. Core Data Center Business Unit: Revenue totaled USD 5.69 billion, a 139% q/q increase, with an operating margin of 62%. This segment primarily serves server DRAM for hyperscalers and data centers investing in AI infrastructure. Mobile & Client Business Unit: Generated USD 7.71 billion in revenue with a 76% operating margin, reflecting a recovery in smartphones and PCs, as well as a growing share of high-margin products in the sales mix. Automotive & Embedded Busines...
Billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management is backing credit specialist Debdeep Maji ’s new hedge fund, the latest move in a wave of multistrategy firms tapping outside talent to help manage their billions. Elliott is investing more than $100 million in Maji’s 37Spruce Investment Partners, which is expected to start trading later this year with a focus on collateralized loan obligatio...
Billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management is backing credit specialist Debdeep Maji ’s new hedge fund, the latest move in a wave of multistrategy firms tapping outside talent to help manage their billions. Elliott is investing more than $100 million in Maji’s 37Spruce Investment Partners, which is expected to start trading later this year with a focus on collateralized loan obligations, according to people familiar with the matter. It will offer early investors a share of firm revenue, the people said, requesting not to be identified discussing confidential details. In securing the early cash, 37Spruce has won over one of the industry’s biggest players. Elliott manages about $80 billion and has made a name for itself with high-profile activist bets on distressed companies and foreign debt. Read More: Paul Singer’s Elliott Is Raising $7 Billion for a New War Chest A representative for Elliott declined to comment. Maji didn’t respond to requests for comment. Hedge funds such as Elliott, which deploy multiple portfolio managers across an array of asset classes, have grown popular in recent years as investors rely on them to churn out steady returns. With an intensifying talent war and ballooning assets, multistrats have increasingly turned to emerging outside managers to invest their money. While Izzy Englander’s Millennium Management has led the charge on seeding new firms, Elliott also made a notable wager on the debut of CLO firm Elmwood Asset Management , which now oversees about $23 billion . Maji spent about 16 years at CLO equity and debt-focused Oxford Funds , where he was a portfolio manager before leaving in 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile . The following year, Maji joined Irradiant Partners as head of structured credit before departing in 2025.
DigitalVision/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Endeavour Mining ( EDV:CA ) ( EDVMF ) is the largest gold producer in West Africa with a total output of around 1.2 million ounces and a relatively low-cost structure (but operating expenses are increasing). At the current gold price, the company’s net sustaining margin on the mine operating level should be around $3,300/oz, resulting in close to ...
DigitalVision/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Endeavour Mining ( EDV:CA ) ( EDVMF ) is the largest gold producer in West Africa with a total output of around 1.2 million ounces and a relatively low-cost structure (but operating expenses are increasing). At the current gold price, the company’s net sustaining margin on the mine operating level should be around $3,300/oz, resulting in close to $4B in net operating mine cash flow. This means Endeavour Mining has a good shot at reporting a record free cash flow result, even after deducting overhead expenses, net finance costs, and taxes. As the company is only active in West Africa , it is trading at a relatively low multiple compared to its peers that are focusing on Tier-1 jurisdictions. Data by YCharts I last covered the company almost 10 years ago , and although the total performance of +450% is quite good, the share price flatlined until the gold price really started to run, and the majority of that 450% total return was only generated in the past two years. Now that gold is trading at around $5000/oz, I wanted to have another look at this Africa-focused story. A good production result equals strong cash flows in Q4 In the final quarter of 2025, Endeavour Mining produced just over 298,000 ounces of gold, and sold just under 302,000 ounces of gold at an average realized gold price of just under $3900/oz. The all-in sustaining cost was $1650/oz , indicating a very healthy margin of in excess of $2000/oz. Looking at the full-year production, we see a total output of just over 1.2 million ounces of gold that were sold at an average price of just under $3250/oz. And with an all-in sustaining cost of $1433/oz, the net margin (pre-tax) on the mine level was approximately $1800/oz. This resulted in a total revenue of $4.23B , an increase of approximately 50% compared to the preceding year, while the total mine operating earnings more than doubled to almost $2.1B. EDV Investor Relations The total reported operating inc...
Igor Suka/E+ via Getty Images Market Review Reflecting on 2025 from early 2026, the past year marked a pivotal resurgence in global mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It was one of the most constructive environments for merger-arbitrage and event-driven strategies in recent memory, defined by historic deal size, improved financing conditions, and renewed corporate confidence. Global M&A activity reac...
Igor Suka/E+ via Getty Images Market Review Reflecting on 2025 from early 2026, the past year marked a pivotal resurgence in global mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It was one of the most constructive environments for merger-arbitrage and event-driven strategies in recent memory, defined by historic deal size, improved financing conditions, and renewed corporate confidence. Global M&A activity reached $4.8 trillion in 2025, up 35% year-over-year—the second-highest total on record. While deal count increased only modestly, 2025 was defined by large-scale transformative transactions. Roughly 70 megadeals above $10 billion were announced, reflecting a bold corporate appetite for scale and strategic repositioning. North America remained the engine of global dealmaking, accounting for $3 trillion in announced transactions. Supportive regulation, better financing conditions, fiscal stability, and a renewed willingness by corporates and private equity (PE) sponsors all contributed to the surge. For merger-arbitrage investors, the environment was highly attractive. The median annualized spread held in the 8–9% range, with plain vanilla deals trading at 4–6%, and more complex or regulated situations offering low- to mid-teens annualized returns. Spin-offs and corporate reorganizations also rose roughly 30%, offering similarly compelling outcomes with manageable volatility relative to broader equity markets. What Drove Momentum In 2025 Deal activity accelerated in 2025. Corporates were particularly active, with over 85% of transactions tied to strategic objectives. PE also rebounded sharply, with deal volume that reached $1.6 trillion (up 45% year-over-year), the second-highest level on record. Take-private activity hit $400 billion, with a record 60 deals over $1 billion. This included the $55 billion take-private of Electronic Arts ( EA ), now the largest leveraged buyout in history. With exits accelerating and new deals emerging, PE significantly expanded the event-driven o...
One of Kazakhstan’s most prominent construction tycoons agreed to buy gold producer JSC AK Altynalmas and its units as he continues to expand his business interests. Shakhmurat Mutalip’s Central Asia Resources Holding Ltd. signed a purchase agreement with majority owner Gouden Reserves BV and eight other shareholders, the company said in an emailed statement, without giving a value for the transac...
One of Kazakhstan’s most prominent construction tycoons agreed to buy gold producer JSC AK Altynalmas and its units as he continues to expand his business interests. Shakhmurat Mutalip’s Central Asia Resources Holding Ltd. signed a purchase agreement with majority owner Gouden Reserves BV and eight other shareholders, the company said in an emailed statement, without giving a value for the transaction. A representative of Altynalmas confirmed the deal. “The acquisition of JSC AK Altynalmas is an important step in the implementation of the Holding’s long-term investment strategy,” Mutalip said in the statement Thursday. “This transaction reflects our confidence in the Group’s potential and its future development.” Altynalmas is one of Kazakhstan’s largest gold producers, with output totaling 15.9 metric tons of gold in 2024. Mutalip and Nurlan Artykbayev, who bought copper producer Kazakhmys in December, have emerged as prominent members of a business elite that’s become more influential since President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev consolidated power in the wake of riots in 2022. Since then, there has been a noticeable shift of wealth and authority away from circles that flourished during Nursultan Nazarbayev ’s long-term rule. Mutalip, the owner of infrastructure building group Integra Construction KZ, is in discussions with Glencore to purchase the miner’s 70% stake in zinc and gold producer Kazzinc Ltd., Bloomberg reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter. Mutalip is also in discussions to buy 40% of Eurasian Resources Group from the families of two of the Kazakh mining group’s founders, the people said.
In today's uncertain economic environment, several tech stocks once regarded as high-flyers have sold off. Amid high capital expenditure (capex) costs and uncertainty as to how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect the tech landscape, many investors have soured on the sector. Fortunately, the sell-off could be a blessing in disguise for investors who wanted to buy into tech but felt valuations ...
In today's uncertain economic environment, several tech stocks once regarded as high-flyers have sold off. Amid high capital expenditure (capex) costs and uncertainty as to how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect the tech landscape, many investors have soured on the sector. Fortunately, the sell-off could be a blessing in disguise for investors who wanted to buy into tech but felt valuations were too frothy. As many stocks trade at a significant discount, it may be time to consider these two tech stocks. Oracle Perhaps no stock over the last few months has seen a more dramatic reversal of fortune than Oracle (ORCL +1.35%). The stock was riding high after it formed a $300 billion partnership with OpenAI that sent its stock soaring in 2025. However, hope gave way to skepticism as the year ended and 2026 began, as some questioned whether OpenAI could live up to its end of the bargain. Moreover, investors are balking at Oracle's massive debt and its spending spree to keep up with the heavy demand for its lower-cost AI infrastructure. Expand NYSE : ORCL Oracle Today's Change ( 1.35 %) $ 2.06 Current Price $ 154.96 Key Data Points Market Cap $440B Day's Range $ 148.89 - $ 155.30 52wk Range $ 118.86 - $ 345.72 Volume 6.4M Avg Vol 27M Gross Margin 64.30 % Dividend Yield 1.31 % Additionally, it has already run up nearly $135 billion in debt and plans to spend an additional $50 billion on capex in 2026. Investors likely overreacted to Oracle's situation and caused a sell-off that wiped out more than half of the stock's value. Oracle recently delivered encouraging news in its earnings report for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended Feb. 28). Its backlog has grown to $553 billion, with an 84% increase in cloud infrastructure revenue suggesting those bookings are increasingly translating into revenue. Amid the negativity, Oracle's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio has fallen to 28, and looking ahead, the forward P/E ratio of 21 indicates the stock has moved into oversold ter...
Billionaire Vincent Bolloré was ordered to face trial in December over allegations including bribery to win a port contract in Togo a decade and a half ago. The French court case will extend to embezzlement allegations related to another contract to operate container terminals in Guinea, according to prosecutors at the Parquet National Financier, confirming an earlier report by Le Monde. Bolloré f...
Billionaire Vincent Bolloré was ordered to face trial in December over allegations including bribery to win a port contract in Togo a decade and a half ago. The French court case will extend to embezzlement allegations related to another contract to operate container terminals in Guinea, according to prosecutors at the Parquet National Financier, confirming an earlier report by Le Monde. Bolloré faces claims that the Havas advertising company he controlled provided discounted campaigning advice that facilitated the elections as presidents of Alpha Condé in Guinea and Faure Gnassingbé in Togo. The trial order comes nearly a decade after the tycoon was first charged. Bolloré unsuccessfully tried to end the proceedings with a guilty plea in 2021 just as his eponymous firm clinched a €12 million ($13.8 million) settlement with the PNF. Read more: Billionaire Bollore Is Charged in French Bribery Investigation As part of the case, French investigators have said that a unit of the Bolloré group paid €300,000 — three quarters of the total bill — for the Gnassingbé campaign advice. Lawyers for the French billionaire disputed that the payment was a bribe and said that it was made as part of “normal commercial relations” between the Bolloré and Havas groups. The lawyers, Olivier Baratelli and Céline Astolfe, argue that that a fair trial is impossible after the botched plea bargain. They say it has “irrevocably” harmed their client’s defense rights and the presumption of innocence.
(RTTNews) - Upstream oil and gas company Afentra plc (AET.L), on Thursday, said it has launched a strategic review process and is in discussions with a limited number of counterparties regarding a potential sale of the company. The company has appointed Jefferies to explore options, which may include a sale of the entire issued share capital or alternative strategies to support future growth. Afen...
(RTTNews) - Upstream oil and gas company Afentra plc (AET.L), on Thursday, said it has launched a strategic review process and is in discussions with a limited number of counterparties regarding a potential sale of the company. The company has appointed Jefferies to explore options, which may include a sale of the entire issued share capital or alternative strategies to support future growth. Afentra said the move follows a period of strong operational progress in Angola, where it has built a portfolio of offshore and onshore assets with significant development potential. The company highlighted upcoming activity on Block 3/05, including three heavy workovers and two production wells in 2026, as well as ongoing development assessments on Block 3/24 discoveries. Afentra added that it is also evaluating broader opportunities, including financing options to support its growth strategy, and may ultimately remain an independent listed company. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
NIO Inc.’s NIO semiconductor arm, Shenji, is marketing its jointly developed M97 autonomous driving chip to automakers Leapmotor and Geely, per the Chinese media outlet 36Kr. The move reflects NIO’s effort to turn its substantial R&D investments into external revenues. Established in 2021, NIO’s chip division has developed two proprietary chips, Yangjian for LiDAR control and the Shenji NX9031 for...
NIO Inc.’s NIO semiconductor arm, Shenji, is marketing its jointly developed M97 autonomous driving chip to automakers Leapmotor and Geely, per the Chinese media outlet 36Kr. The move reflects NIO’s effort to turn its substantial R&D investments into external revenues. Established in 2021, NIO’s chip division has developed two proprietary chips, Yangjian for LiDAR control and the Shenji NX9031 for autonomous driving, per EV news blog. The NX9031 completed tape-out in July 2024 and was first introduced in the ET9 sedan in March 2025. By November 2025, NIO had begun supplying the chip externally, marking its first such deal. Shortly after, Shenji formed a joint venture in Chongqing with Axera and OmniVision, backed by 100 million yuan in registered capital. In January, NIO expanded its semiconductor footprint by setting up two subsidiaries in Hangzhou and partnering with Lontium Semiconductor to advance chip industrialization. Last month, Shenji raised 2.257 billion yuan in its first external funding round, valuing the unit at nearly 10 billion yuan, with NIO retaining a 62.7% controlling stake. The company also recently completed tape-out of a second high-end chip designed for a wider customer base and is now preparing it for mass production. NIO is actively engaging potential clients, including automakers, robotaxi companies and firms focused on embodied AI. Its flagship NX9031 chip has already been deployed in more than 150,000 vehicles across models, such as the ET9, ES6, EC6 and ES8. Leapmotor, along with other Chinese automakers, has been investigating the use of domestically developed high-performance ADAS chips as alternatives to products from NVIDIA Corporation NVDA and Qualcomm, per 36Kr. Per chip division head Zhang Danyu, the chip offers a memory bandwidth of 546 GB/s, about twice that of NVIDIA’s Thor-U. A Shenji-equipped NIO vehicle can reduce per-vehicle component costs by roughly 10,000 yuan compared to NVIDIA-based systems. The chip is also expected t...
JHVEPhoto Eli Lilly ( LLY ) shares traded flat on Thursday as J.P. Morgan argued that adverse events overshadowed a potentially best-in-class weight loss profile indicated for its next-gen obesity therapy, retatrutide, in a Phase 3 trial. The Indiana-based drugmaker said on Thursday that its TRANSCEND-T2D-1 trial for type 2 diabetes reached its main goals, as retatrutide led to an average 2.0% dec...
JHVEPhoto Eli Lilly ( LLY ) shares traded flat on Thursday as J.P. Morgan argued that adverse events overshadowed a potentially best-in-class weight loss profile indicated for its next-gen obesity therapy, retatrutide, in a Phase 3 trial. The Indiana-based drugmaker said on Thursday that its TRANSCEND-T2D-1 trial for type 2 diabetes reached its main goals, as retatrutide led to an average 2.0% decline in the diabetes biomarker, A1C, and caused up to ~17% weight loss over 40 weeks on average. In the past, Lilly’s ( LLY ) dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist tirzepatide, marketed as Zepbound for weight loss, has generated an average weight loss of 13.1% in separate late-stage studies that extended for 40 weeks. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) announced in December that its next-gen weight loss therapy, CagriSema, caused up to 23% weight loss over 68 weeks, missing the Danish drugmaker’s initial expectations. "Retatrutide delivers the highest levels of weight loss we've seen from an obesity drug to date," Scotiabank analyst Louise Chen wrote, adding, “This is an impressive weight loss profile in a population that tends to lose less weight than the general obesity population.” However, J.P. Morgan pointed to the drug’s tolerability profile after LLY said that about 5% of patients who were on the highest retatrutide dose dropped out due to adverse events, many of which were gastrointestinal effects such as diarrhea. The results “highlight a likely best-in-class weight loss profile, partly offset by high rates of adverse events,” analyst Chris Schott added. Lilly ( LLY ) is running additional late-stage trials for the once-weekly injectable targeting conditions such as knee osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, and back pain, in addition to obesity. More on Eli Lilly Roche Vs. Eli Lilly: Nvidia Deals, Obesity Battles Stoke Rivalry (I'd Buy Both) Eli Lilly Reaching For Peak GLP-1 Euphoria: Rotten Trading Momentum Since November Eli Lilly: The Weight-Loss Craze Isn't Ove...
Artur Didyk/iStock via Getty Images There is a niche segment that over 1Y has doubled its performance: attention, we are talking about the space economy, but not in a broad sense. Rather, a specific category, the one commonly identified as the LEO (Low Earth Orbit) economy: a category that seems to be contained within the Procure Space ETF ( UFO ). Behind the propulsion of this market segment, in ...
Artur Didyk/iStock via Getty Images There is a niche segment that over 1Y has doubled its performance: attention, we are talking about the space economy, but not in a broad sense. Rather, a specific category, the one commonly identified as the LEO (Low Earth Orbit) economy: a category that seems to be contained within the Procure Space ETF ( UFO ). Behind the propulsion of this market segment, in fact, there are concrete, tangible catalysts. And the market has not been slow to price them into UFO. Today, however, in my opinion an investor should “run the numbers” a bit more carefully. To be concrete, I ask myself: are these companies, for the most part overvalued or with nonexistent earnings, and small caps, worth these prices? Before answering … What is UFO? The Procure Space ETF is a listed ETF with the objective of providing exposure to companies linked to the space economy, tracking the performance of the S-Network Space Index (SPACE) . This is an index built to include companies involved in the space economy (at least 80% in space-related companies), constructed using a modified market cap method, adjusted for free float and percentage of space-related revenues. Today it represents a niche that is not heavily targeted by other asset managers; in fact, the ETF has a limited AUM, between ~$100M and ~$362M. UFO: Profile (Seeking Alpha) It has an expense ratio of 0.94%, which, in my opinion, is a high cost for a passive thematic ETF. Holding distribution The fund has approximately 43-52 holdings, where, however, the top 10 account for almost 50%. UFO: Top 10 Holdings (Seeking Alpha) A geographic distribution highly dependent on the U.S. component, which weighs about 75% within the ETF, although it maintains a global approach to the market: there is a presence of almost 15% in Europe, alongside an exposure of 6% in Japan and 5% in Canada. UFO: Geographic Distribution (Author) At least 80% of the weight is allocated to companies that generate the majority of their re...
The entire software sector is going through a tough time, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the worst victims at the moment. MSFT’s downturn is not due to a single reason and is more multifaceted. The biggest trigger was Microsoft’s earnings on January 28, where the stock fell despite it posting an earnings beat. It’s ... Microsoft’s Worst Start Since 2008. Should You Buy the Dip?
The entire software sector is going through a tough time, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the worst victims at the moment. MSFT’s downturn is not due to a single reason and is more multifaceted. The biggest trigger was Microsoft’s earnings on January 28, where the stock fell despite it posting an earnings beat. It’s ... Microsoft’s Worst Start Since 2008. Should You Buy the Dip?
pcess609/iStock via Getty Images The U.S. Leading Economic Index edged down 0.1% in January 2026 to 97.5 from the prior month, in line with the consensus estimate, according to data released by The Conference Board on Thursday. Overall, the LEI fell 1.3% in the past six-month period, half the 2.6% contraction rate in the previous six-month period. "The U.S. LEI fell further in January, as consumer...
pcess609/iStock via Getty Images The U.S. Leading Economic Index edged down 0.1% in January 2026 to 97.5 from the prior month, in line with the consensus estimate, according to data released by The Conference Board on Thursday. Overall, the LEI fell 1.3% in the past six-month period, half the 2.6% contraction rate in the previous six-month period. "The U.S. LEI fell further in January, as consumer expectations retreated again and building permits softened," said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager, Business Cycle Indicators, at The Conference Board. The topline LEI continued to signal headwinds, but seven out of 10 components strengthened during the six-month period, she added. The Coincident Economic Index rose 0.3% to 115.3 in January, following a 0.2% increase in December. The Lagging Economic Index increased 0.3% to 120.0, reversing from a 0.2% decline in December. More on the US Economy Powell's Pause: A Gamble Wrapped In Uncertainty Limited Follow-Through Dollar Today After Yesterday's Surge Wholesale inventories fall 0.5% M/M in January New home sales slump in January, the lowest level in more than three years
A key Senate committee on Thursday advanced Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on a near party line vote, a day after the Republican senator faced questions at his confirmation hearing about his approach to Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda and accusations of encouraging violence. Nearly all eight Republicans on the Senate committee on homel...
A key Senate committee on Thursday advanced Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on a near party line vote, a day after the Republican senator faced questions at his confirmation hearing about his approach to Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda and accusations of encouraging violence. Nearly all eight Republicans on the Senate committee on homeland security and governmental affairs voted to advance Mullin’s nomination, with the sole exception of the panel’s chair, Rand Paul of Kentucky, who the day prior had harshly criticized his colleague for comments he made about a neighbor who assaulted Paul in 2017, and an incident six years later in which Mullin readied himself to fight a witness at a committee hearing. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the sole Democrat to support Mullin’s nomination, with his other six colleagues opposing him. Mullin’s nomination will now be considered by the full Senate, where Republicans appear to have the numbers to confirm him. A vote on his confirmation is expected in the coming days. “The Department of Homeland Security needs a leader who can restore the trust DHS has broken with the American people, and with this committee. At his confirmation hearing yesterday, we saw that, unfortunately, Senator Mullin is not up to that challenge,” the committee’s top Democrat, Gary Peters, said in brief comments before the vote. He accused Mullin of failing to be “forthright and transparent” during the confirmation process, and added that he was “very troubled by Senator Mullin’s willingness to condone political violence, and the message that that sends across DHS”. The Michigan senator noted that beyond Mullin’s 2023 confrontation with Teamsters president Sean O’Brien during a committee hearing in which he appeared to be ready to brawl with the witness, a Senate ethics committee report had found that he “advocated physical violence as a means to resolve political disagreement”. Democrats peppe...
NetBrands ( OTCID: NBND ) signed a non-binding MOU with Baselayer Energy to explore energy-backed digital infrastructure projects. Under this MOU, both parties will focus on deploying a hybrid, multi-algorithm digital mining strategy to optimize Bitcoin output and efficiency, with plans to later explore AI and HPC workloads. They also plan to develop up to 100 MW of data center capacity initially,...
NetBrands ( OTCID: NBND ) signed a non-binding MOU with Baselayer Energy to explore energy-backed digital infrastructure projects. Under this MOU, both parties will focus on deploying a hybrid, multi-algorithm digital mining strategy to optimize Bitcoin output and efficiency, with plans to later explore AI and HPC workloads. They also plan to develop up to 100 MW of data center capacity initially, with expansion in low-cost power regions (≤$0.035/kWh) across various global markets. Currently evaluating a joint venture via an SPV, with ownership split: NetBrands 65% and Baselayer 35%; final terms still pending. More on Global Diversified Marketing Group NetBrands rolls out hybrid mining strategy to diversify revenue streams Financial information for Global Diversified Marketing Group
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images OneMain Holdings ( OMF ) offers a rare combination of high yield and strong growth at its current stock price of around $50. It offers a dividend yield of nearly 9% while trading below its historical average price-to-earnings multiple and priced at a free cash flow multiple, all while being projected to significantly increase its earnings per share thro...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images OneMain Holdings ( OMF ) offers a rare combination of high yield and strong growth at its current stock price of around $50. It offers a dividend yield of nearly 9% while trading below its historical average price-to-earnings multiple and priced at a free cash flow multiple, all while being projected to significantly increase its earnings per share through 2028 based on analysts' consensus estimates. Thus, after the recent pullback, OMF is starting to look like a compelling opportunity. In this article, I will detail why. A Dominant Force in Non-Prime Lending OMF is a leading non-prime personal lender in the United States, as it commands about 20% market share in a $100 billion total addressable market. It operates across three product lines, with its core business being personal loans, while it has also diversified into auto finance, which is a $2.8 billion book and growing, as well as credit cards, which it has 1.1 million accounts and $936 million in receivables. The Power of the Branch Network The company highlights its roughly 1,300 branches as one of its competitive advantages, as it is positioned as the seventh largest branch network in the US, including banks. Investor Presentation Meanwhile, its branch managers are experienced, with about a 14-year average tenure, and staff that handles both originations and collections, which helps it to achieve stronger credit performance than it might otherwise. Additionally, the business employs an omni-channel model, with about 90% of new customer applications beginning online, while the branch relationships tend to drive stronger credit outcomes and repeat customer business, which is about 45% of its total book. These customers tend to outperform new customers meaningfully in terms of having lower losses. Meanwhile, the company is disciplined in its underwriting as it seeks to clear a 20% return on equity hurdle on each of its loans while applying an additional 30% stress o...