Micron Technology (MU) is a stock that is experiencing one of those periods where investors simply cannot turn away. RBC Capital Markets increased their target price for the memory leader to $525 a share from $425 while reiterating an “Outperform” rating. This is a major call, and it comes at a time when Micron Technology stock is already trading at fresh highs. It is easy to see why this is such an optimistic call. Data centers are now the driving force behind memory demand growth, especially as high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, becomes an essential part of AI servers. This is also a call that assumes AI-related memory demand growth will be able to offset any potential weakness in PCs or smartphones. This is important because this memory super-cycle does not appear to be driven by PCs or smartphones as much as the previous memory super-cycles. Taken together, this is a much better setup for investors. About Micron Stock Micron Technology is a leading memory and storage chip manufacturer in the world. The company’s product lines include DRAM, NAND, NOR, solid-state drives, as well as high-bandwidth memory products. The company is based in Boise, Idaho. Today, the company’s market capitalization is about $497 billion. This is a number that indicates just how much sentiment for this stock has shifted. At the current price of $456.20, MU is sitting just shy of its 52-week high of $458.28 after an incredible move from its 52-week low of $61.54. However, the valuation does not scream bubble just yet based on earnings. It’s currently trading for 40.16 times earnings but just 12.35 times forward earnings. That’s a big difference. That tells me that Wall Street believes earnings are growing fast enough that they are going to compress the P/E. With a P/S of 12.83, the company is certainly not cheap based on revenue. But in a world where AI infrastructure stocks are getting rewarded as winners, this looks more reasonable than a number of software and accelerator stocks. In other...

We Are/DigitalVision via Getty Images Kingsway Financial ( KFS ) has a value angle as a search fund which is that it has considerable NOLs at over $600 million (which means a taxable income tax reduction effect of around $120 million) against an EV at KFS of around $400 million, not including NOLs' cash flow effects on a discounted basis in the equity bridge . This was the subject of our previous coverage. The current revenues at reasonable extended warranty or mid-cap multiples don't get us to the sorts of acquisition sizes that if turned over could permit the business to harvest NOLs in gains on its search fund assets to maximise the cash value of the NOLs. They will need to raise considerable capital in order to turnover enough larger businesses to make enough gains for the 2029 NOLs that arose in 2009, subject to the 20 year rule. Newly arisen NOLs don't work like this anymore. Our concern with respect to the new macro backdrop is whether there will be a lot of PE liquidity right now to provide opportunities and to unload them at attractive prices after transformation. On one hand the reinflation risk is a threat with respect to capital costs, which could preclude a full recovery in PE activity. On the other hand we are a also concerned with private credit which could also be an upward pressure on capital costs. In relation to that, a considerable part of the investable universe for PE used to be mid-market SaaS and this is subject to AI threats. It's not that simple to turnover a much larger portfolio with the sort of gains to get ahead of the NOL expiration curve for this company. That limits the appeal, though KFS isn't uninteresting either. Financial Discussion In our previous coverage we noted that most of the NOLs expire in 2029, arisen in 2009 - ostensibly after the financial crisis. That's an expiration of almost $400 million NOLs. Most of the revenue comes from an extended warranty business at around $70 million, up 2.8% from last year . Suppose an exte...

juvaida khatun/iStock via Getty Images Market Review The start of 2025 was marked by political transition and policy changes in Washington, but closed with discussions centered around Artificial Intelligence (AI), interest rate cuts, and labor market weakness. The Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates three times in 2025, and while inflation remained stubbornly above its 2% target, growing strain in the labor market may justify further cuts in 2026. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) dot plot shows expectations of one cut, but economists are projecting the possibility of multiple reductions. Despite hiring stagnation, layoffs remain fairly low and real wage growth is steady. PGIM’s proprietary recession sentiment indicator developed by the Quantitative Solutions group shows reduced recession fears. The Fed’s Q4 Survey of Professional Forecasters projects 1.8% GDP growth over the next year—slower, but not recessionary. Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7% year over year in November, coming in below the 3.1% forecast—a downside surprise that may have been distorted due to data disruptions stemming from the government shutdown. Unlike the U.S., the Eurozone is closer to its inflation target, allowing the European Central Bank greater flexibility to cut rates compared to the Fed. In contrast, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) hiked rates to 0.75% in December, as mounting inflation alongside strong GDP growth has set the stage for a hawkish shift in monetary policy. Nonetheless, the BoJ is not expected to hike again until at least the second half of 2026. As 2026 begins, tariffs remain a key issue, with the potential to drive inflation higher and weigh on consumer spending. The Supreme Court is set to review the legality of 2025 tariffs, potentially invalidating more than 70% of them and causing fresh policy uncertainty which could significantly alter trade dynamics. While a temporary U.S.-China trade truce is in place, elevated tariffs are dampening Chinese retail a...

With 15,000 creators onboard at launch, ECHO-ME is the AI operating layer that runs and grows a creator's entire business. LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- POP.STORE today announced ECHO-ME, the first agentic AI commerce platform built specifically for creators. Where other AI tools automate tasks, ECHO-ME runs the business, monitoring comments and DMs across Instagram and Facebook, detecting brand deal opportunities, ranking followers by engagement, and converting fan interactions into revenue. It accomplishes this while responding in the creator's own voice and during the hours the creator chooses, all with natural, human-like timing that never comes across as a bot. ECHO-ME is infrastructure for the creator as an operator, not just as a content producer. POP.STORE Logo The launch comes at a defining moment for the creator economy. Visual AI can now perform product and marketing scripts on par with human creators, threatening the $10 billion UGC industry. At the same time, the vast majority of the 200 million professional creators run their entire operation alone, managing content brand relationships, fan engagement, and sales without teams, tools, or infrastructure built for them. POP.STORE's answer is not another content generator. It is a new category entirely. "At POP.STORE, we built ECHO-ME around one belief: creators should be free to create," said Gautam Goswami, CEO and CTO of POP.STORE. "The business side, the DMs, the deals, the monetization, the fan engagement, that's infrastructure, which should be intelligent enough to run itself. ECHO-ME handles it all." What Makes ECHO-ME Different Traditional AI tools for creators operate in silos; a chatbot here, a caption generator there, but none of them talk to each other or know the business. ECHO-ME is an intelligence layer embedded across a creator's POP.STORE storefront and their social channels (Instagram, Facebook, etc.) with simultaneous awareness of audience behavior, messaging signals, purch...

Bloomberg's Merryn Somerset Webb, Morwenna Coniam and John Stepek join Troy Asset Management's Sebastian Lyon and John Lamb Hill Oldbridge Director Paula Steele at an event for Bloomberg.com subscribers in London. (Source: Bloomberg)

Is Micron Technology (MU) a 'buy' ahead of its upcoming earnings announcement? MSN

Shares of Intuitive Surgical ( ISRG ) slipped in the morning trading on Wednesday after the U.S. FDA said that the company has issued a safety alert linked to a defective product associated with its da Vinci robotic surgical system. The issue resulted from certain 8mm SureForm 30 Gray Reload devices that led to incomplete staple line formation in blood vessels operated using the da Vinci system, according to a statement from the FDA. “Incomplete staple line formation on blood vessels will result in tissue being surgically cut and the contents of the cut vessel becoming fully exposed, causing bleeding that may require conversion to an open surgical technique,” the regulator added. The FDA noted that Intuitive Surgical ( ISRG ) has sent a letter to affected customers on Mar. 11, informing them to stop using the product and resort to alternative options. As of Feb. 23, the company has reported four serious injuries and one death associated with the issue. Intuitive Surgical ( ISRG ) did not immediately respond to requests for comments. More on Intuitive Surgical Intuitive Surgical: The Robotic Surgery Leader Still Has Massive Growth Ahead Intuitive Surgical - Strong Moat But Valuation Remains Elevated, Hold Intuitive Surgical: Buy The January Selloff Intuitive Surgical falls after reporting cybersecurity incident Intuitive Surgical outlines 13–15% da Vinci procedure growth for 2026 as global expansion accelerates

文章提及标的 燃油主力合约 -- 上期所燃油主力合约大涨6%，报4979元/吨。

Xtrackers International Real Estate ETF (NYSEMKT:HAUZ) stands out for its lower cost, higher yield, and international diversification, while iShares Select U.S. REIT ETF (ICF 0.87%) maintains a more concentrated U.S. REIT approach with stronger long-term growth. Both ICF and HAUZ target real estate exposure, but they go about it very differently. ICF focuses exclusively on U.S. real estate investment trusts, while HAUZ casts a much wider net across global developed and emerging markets (excluding the U.S., Pakistan, and Vietnam). This comparison explores cost, performance, risk, liquidity, and portfolio makeup to help clarify which may appeal more for real estate allocation. Snapshot (cost & size) Metric ICF HAUZ Issuer iShares Xtrackers Expense ratio 0.32% 0.10% 1-yr return (as of 2026-03-18) 7.4% 19.6% Dividend yield 2.6% 4.0% Beta 1.11 0.05 AUM $2.1 billion $1.1 billion Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. HAUZ is more affordable on fees, charging less than half the expense ratio of ICF, and offers a notably higher dividend yield, which could appeal to income-focused investors as well as those seeking cost efficiency. Expand NYSEMKT : HAUZ Dbx ETF Trust - Xtrackers International Real Estate ETF Today's Change ( -0.84 %) $ -0.20 Current Price $ 23.47 Key Data Points Day's Range $ 23.46 - $ 23.55 52wk Range $ 18.76 - $ 25.73 Volume 2.9K Performance & risk comparison Metric ICF HAUZ Max drawdown (5 y) -34.75% -34.53% Growth of $1,000 over 5 years $1,117 $850 What's inside HAUZ tracks international real estate, spanning 445 holdings across developed and emerging markets (excluding the U.S., Pakistan, and Vietnam), and has been operating for 12 years. Its portfolio is 96% real estate, with smaller allocations to industrials and communication services. Top holdings include Goodman, Mitsubishi, and Mitsui Fudosan, reflecting a strong...

文章提及标的 LPG -- 大商所液化石油气(LPG)主力合约大涨8%，报6220元/吨。

AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D CPU deal drops price to its lowest this year on Amazon PC Guide

Construction work continues at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, on Dec. 30, 2025. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images A hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation reading for February had traders contemplating the possibility that the Federal Reserve won't be lowering interest rates at all this year. Following a Bureau of Labor Statistics report that the producer price index posted its biggest gain in a year, futures markets took any realistic chance of a cut off the table until at least December. Even then, odds of a reduction at the final Fed meeting of the year fell to about 60% as persistently higher inflation — brought on by tariffs, the Iraq war and elevated services costs — will keep the central bank on hold. The PPI report came just hours before the Federal Open Market Committee was to release its latest interest rate decision . The wholesale inflation reading "likely reinforces a hold decision by the Federal Reserve later today but tilts the risk toward a more hawkish tone in today's FOMC" statement, said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James. "Even if rates are left unchanged and we see multiple dissents, the messaging may lean toward 'higher for longer,' especially with energy inflation set to re-enter the picture in coming months." Prior to the war that began Feb. 28, traders had been looking for interest rate cuts in both June and September, with an outside possibility of one more in December as the Fed sought to balance its dual mandate of stable prices and low unemployment. But odds for a June cut have now slumped to just 18.4%, July is down to 31.5% and September to 43.6%, according to the CME's FedWatch tool , which calculates probabilities using 30-day fed funds futures contracts. Low conviction Chances for a December reduction were at 60.5%, indicating that traders are leaning toward a cut, though with a relatively low level of conviction. Historically, the 60% level or above has been associated with ...

Earnings Call Insights: Protalix BioTherapeutics (PLX) Q4 2025 Management View Dror Bashan, President and CEO, announced that the European Commission approved the 2 milligram per kilogram every 4-week dosing regimen for Elfabrio for adults with Fabry disease who are stable on enzyme replacement therapy. He emphasized, “This approval strengthens the treatment landscape for adult patients with Fabry disease across the European Union by introducing an additional dosing regimen that has the potential to enhance long-term management and represent a meaningful advancement.” Bashan added that the U.S. dosing remains 1 milligram per kg every 2 weeks and credited Chiesi for its execution, stating that this regulatory milestone triggers a $25 million payment from Chiesi. Bashan highlighted a projected cash balance of approximately $50 million by early April 2026, enabling the company to "execute comfortably our strategy, including our clinical trials." For 2026, management expects total revenues to range from $78 million to $83 million, including the $25 million milestone payment, with $33 million to $35 million from Chiesi (excluding milestones) and $20 million to $23 million from Elelyso. Bashan noted, “Chiesi continued to perform well across the United States and key ex-U.S. markets with consistent increasing patient numbers in all markets,” and the new dosing approval “significantly enhances Elfabrio's competitive positioning.” The pipeline update included advancement of PRX-115, with the Phase II RELEASE study now enrolling, and anticipated top line results in the second half of 2027. Bashan described PRX-115 as having "the potential to become a best-in-class therapy and ultimately our third commercial product." CFO Gilad Mamlok stated, “For the full year 2025, revenues from selling goods totaled $51.8 million, a modest decrease compared to 2024. This was driven by change of quantities we sold to Chiesi's inventory as well as the change in average net selling price of th...

当地时间3月17日，美国新墨西哥州一处空军基地发生枪击事件，造成1人死亡、1人受伤。事件发生在位于新墨西哥州南部的霍洛曼空军基地。基地第49联队在声明中表示，当地时间17日约17时30分，基地接到“活跃枪手”报告后立即实施封锁措施。声明称，“应急人员正在处理相关情况，目前已不存在持续威胁。”随后，基地封锁状态已解除。目前官方尚未公布事件的具体细节及涉事人员身份。军方表示，受伤人员已被送往医疗机构接受治疗。(央视新闻)

Sri Lanka tightens fuel rationing as supply squeeze deepens Reuters

格隆汇3月18日｜金融科技公司SoFi(SOFI.US)涨2.3%，报17.77美元。消息面上，做空机构浑水发布报告，称建立SoFi的空仓。报告指出，SoFi股东的股份持续被稀释，以便管理层可以通过类似GE Capital式的贷款评价以及类似Enron的表外结构来达到奖金目标，该等结构将借款伪装为收入。此外，浑水估算SoFi可能还存在至少3.12亿美元未记录债务的重大错报。 随后，SoFi强烈驳斥了浑水报告中的指控，称该分析“具有误导性”，并暗示可能采取法律行动。此外，SoFi首席执行官Anthony Noto在收盘后买入50万美元的公司股票，显示了他在做空机构攻击中对股票的信心投票。(格隆汇)

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) is one of the best growth stocks to invest in according to billionaires. On March 12, 2026, Palantir said it had entered a strategic partnership with Ondas Inc. and World View Enterprises to develop and deploy AI-enabled capabilities for persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions across the stratosphere, air, and land domains. According to the company’s press release, the effort will combine Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform with World View’s Stratollite high-altitude sensing platform and Ondas’ unmanned aerial, ground, and counter-drone systems to build a unified intelligence and command-and-control architecture. How Palantir’s Ondas and World View Partnership Expands Its AI Defense Push Palantir said the companies plan to develop three core programs together. The first, Palantir Warp Speed, is meant to connect supply chain, engineering, manufacturing, and mission operations data to support production scaling for World View’s Stratollite fleet. The second, AI Flight Director, is designed to support mission planning and operations by combining atmospheric data, telemetry, proprietary modeling, and historical mission data. The third, SkyWeaver, is focused on edge computing onboard Stratollite systems to allow intelligence processing closer to the mission environment and reduce latency in degraded-connectivity conditions. Palantir added that work to optimize World View’s stratospheric systems is already underway, with integration across Ondas’ broader portfolio expected to begin as early as the fourth quarter of 2026. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) builds software platforms for government and commercial customers, with products focused on data integration, operational decision-making, and artificial intelligence. While we acknowledge the potential of PLTR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for a...

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) is one of the best growth stocks to invest in according to billionaires. On March 12, 2026, Palantir said it had entered a strategic partnership with Ondas Inc. and World View Enterprises to develop and deploy AI-enabled capabilities for persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions across the stratosphere, air, and land domains. According to the company’s press release, the effort will combine Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform with World View’s Stratollite high-altitude sensing platform and Ondas’ unmanned aerial, ground, and counter-drone systems to build a unified intelligence and command-and-control architecture. How Palantir’s Ondas and World View Partnership Expands Its AI Defense Push Palantir said the companies plan to develop three core programs together. The first, Palantir Warp Speed, is meant to connect supply chain, engineering, manufacturing, and mission operations data to support production scaling for World View’s Stratollite fleet. The second, AI Flight Director, is designed to support mission planning and operations by combining atmospheric data, telemetry, proprietary modeling, and historical mission data. The third, SkyWeaver, is focused on edge computing onboard Stratollite systems to allow intelligence processing closer to the mission environment and reduce latency in degraded-connectivity conditions. Palantir added that work to optimize World View’s stratospheric systems is already underway, with integration across Ondas’ broader portfolio expected to begin as early as the fourth quarter of 2026. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) builds software platforms for government and commercial customers, with products focused on data integration, operational decision-making, and artificial intelligence. While we acknowledge the potential of PLTR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for a...

格隆汇3月18日｜中国汽车流通协会发布《2025年全国汽车经销商生存状况调查报告》并指出，2025年汽车经销商普遍未能完成全年销量目标，价格倒挂持续，新车业务亏损加剧，汽车经销商亏损面增加，盈利面收窄。针对年度销量目标完成率，《调查报告》显示，2025年全年超过一半的经销商未能完成年度销量目标，仅44.3%的经销商完成了年度目标。销量目标完成情况不及2024年。

hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I've turned 'Neutral' on Tencent Music Entertainment Group ( TME ) (1698.HK). I like its faster pace of revenue increases and higher gross margin in the fourth quarter of the previous year. But the move to streamline reported metrics implies that rivalry is intensifying in China's music sector. The margin- and competition-related reasons for investors' skepticism about TME were outlined in my prior November 13, 2025 article . I'm Encouraged By Topline Outperformance The firm's quarterly numbers were disclosed in a 6-K filing published on March 17 morning. TME's YoY turnover expansion improved from 4Q24's +8.2% to +15.9% for Oct-Dec '25. As per S&P Capital IQ, the 4Q2025 sales of CNY 8,641M was 2.6% above the sell-side's projection of CNY 8.42B. My earlier late-2025 update highlighted the group's "pivot towards non-streaming income sources" such as ads and "efforts to upsell more of its subscribers." I believe these same factors led to growth acceleration. TME shared at the analyst call that the top-line derived from "services other than music subscription were RMB 2.5 billion, up by 41% year-on-year." That's much better than the low-teens increase in streaming revenue for the recent three-month period. Also, the company's "SVIP (Super Very Important Person) subscribers exceeded 20 million by year-end 2025" according to its 6-K. This metric was 25% lower at 15M as of end-1H25 the last time it was revealed. That explains why its "Average Revenue Per Paying User" or "ARPPU" rose 7% YoY to nearly CNY 12 in 4Q25. In my view, TME has done very well to target high-end clients and broaden its business mix. Separately, its bottom-line grew 9.0% year-on-year to CNY 2,485M in the latest quarter. That beat the consensus's prediction by +0.6% (source: S&P Capital IQ). I think this is mainly attributable to "Gross Profit Margin/GPM" enhancement. TME's 4Q2025 GPM widened by +1.1ppts YoY and +120bps sequentially to 44.7%. The enterprise cr...

For decades, the path into America’s most important stock benchmarks followed a predictable rhythm: go public, prove yourself, wait your turn. Now the three firms that control those benchmarks are considering whether to rewrite the rules to absorb trillion-dollar IPOs from SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic. Critics warn the rush could distort the very markets these indexes are supposed to track — and question whether a few giant listings should be driving lasting changes to how benchmarks operate. S&P Dow Jones Indices, Nasdaq and FTSE Russell are all mulling changes that would accelerate how newly listed companies enter their flagship benchmarks, a near-simultaneous rethink rarely seen before. More than $30 trillion in assets is benchmarked to the indexes whose rules are under consideration, and the decisions these providers make will determine how a large amount of wealth is redistributed as it moves from private hands to public markets. Not everyone thinks the answer is to move fast. Patrick Healy helped push Nasdaq to revise its index methodology more than a decade ago as part of a deal to win Facebook’s listing. Now, as index providers again consider accelerating entry rules, the founder of Issuer Network says the industry risks going too far, too fast. Nasdaq’s proposed “fast entry” rule would cut the Nasdaq 100’s requirement from at least three months to just 15 trading days, a timeline Healy says would expose index-tracking funds to the outsized price swings that freshly minted stocks typically experience. “Anything shorter than 30 days is unnecessarily risky,” said Healy, whose firm advises C-suite executives on IPOs. “In order to please, they’re being too aggressive.” The risk extends beyond a bumpy first few weeks of trading. Owen Lamont , a portfolio manager at Acadian Asset Management, says the danger of shrinking the waiting period is that it pushes index funds closer to buying before the market has established a reliable price. “The index funds, in theory,...

Tigress Financial Raises Meta Platforms Price Target to $945 From $935, Maintains Strong Buy Rating marketscreener.com

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) stock is surging 12% in early trading Wednesday, with shares climbing to $729 and change. The move comes on the back of two converging catalysts: a confirmed S&P 500 inclusion effective March 23 and a $2 billion strategic partnership with NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) focused on laser components and optical technology. This isn’t a one-day ... Lumentum Soars 12% — and NVIDIA’s AI Boom Is a Big Reason Why

MasaoTaira/iStock via Getty Images Slate Grocery REIT (TSX: SGR.UN:CA )(OTC: SRRTF ) continues to improve its fundamentals, and shares have responded accordingly. Despite the nice move upwards in the last 12 months, the stock is still undervalued, and the 7.6% yield remains one of the most generous payouts in the entire sector. I maintain my buy ranking on the stock. (Slate is a TSX-listed REIT that reports in USD. All references are in USD unless noted otherwise) Introduction Slate Grocery REIT is a bit of an oddball. Despite mainly trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and being the product of a Toronto-based asset manager, Slate's assets are 100% located in the United States. The company owns 115 properties -- which span 15.2M total square feet -- of grocery-anchored retail space across 23 different states. The portfolio has a value of $2.4B, and in-place rent works out to $12.86 per square foot. Occupancy is a hair over 94%, and the weighted average lease term is 4.3 years. Q4 Investor Presentation Much of the portfolio is concentrated in the Southeast part of the country. Slate has outsized exposure to states such as Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. 46% of the portfolio resides in the Southeast, followed by the Midwest at 18% and then the Mid-Atlantic region at 14%. Atlanta and Charlotte are among the REIT's top metros; each has about 5% of the REIT's total assets. The Southeast offers a long-term record of higher population growth versus the rest of the country. It is able to attract people because it offers a combination of more jobs, better weather, lower taxes, and cheaper rents than many other parts of the country. These factors, in turn, then attract supermarkets that see the opportunity to serve these growing communities. Q4 Investor Presentation There are a few reasons why investors should like grocery-anchored retail real estate versus other types. The first is how necessary grocery is. Grocery delivery continues to grow, but chains have settled on...

winhorse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is likely to keep the policy interest rate unchanged at 0. 75% when it concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting on Thursday, 19 March 2026, as the current elevated oil prices due to a prolonged US-Iran conflict stoke stagflation risk. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is signaling a lackluster consumer confidence Fig. 1: Nikkei 225 & major global benchmark stock indices from 27 Feb 2026 to 17 Mar 2026 (Source: MacroMicro) Japan is a major net oil importer, where it gets more than 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East; hence, soaring oil prices are set to push up daily living costs in Japan, in turn dampen consumer and business confidence, and eventually slow down economic growth. This negative feedback loop is at play, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 ( NKY:IND ) is the second-worst-performing global benchmark stock index, that shed -9% since the start of the US-Iran war as of Tuesday, 17 March 2026 (see Fig. 1). Japan’s real wages rose for the first time in January 2026 Fig. 2: Key economic data that BoJ monitors as of Jan-Feb 2026 (Source: MacroMicro) In a parliamentary speech on Tuesday, BoJ Governor Ueda reiterated that underlying inflation is gradually accelerating toward the 2% target. In addition, Ueda mentioned that wages and prices are rising moderately together, as companies become more willing to pass on higher input and labour costs. Before the US-Iran war, Japan’s real wages rose for the first time in 13 months in January to hit a growth rate of 1.40% y/y (see Fig 2). Also, Japan’s large corporations are expected to offer wage increases of 5% or more for the third consecutive year after the conclusion of this year’s annual spring wage talks on Wednesday. BoJ is still expecting to hike by 25 bps in 2026 Fig. 3: Japan overnight indexed swap rates as of 17 Mar 2026 (Source: MacroMicro) The interest rate swap market in Japan is still implying BoJ is looking to hike its policy rate by at least 25 basis po...

Russia Evacuates Hundreds Of Its Specialists From Iran's Nuclear Bushehr Complex After Missile Strike Russia has lodged formal protest with Israel following its reported strikes near Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility, angrily warning that the attacks directly endangered Russian personnel on the ground. Israeli and Russian media have confirmed that Moscow issued a sharp condemnation and warnings of a red line after Israeli forces reportedly hit the grounds of the nuclear power plant where Russian specialists are stationed. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had also earlier provided independent verification that a missile struck the Bushehr complex on Tuesday evening, although no damage to the plant or injuries to staff were reported. The Kremlin made clear to Israel that Russian nationals working in and around the facility were put at risk . Russian state media described the communication delivered to Israel via the Russian embassy "official demands" - which indicates a formal escalation in diplomatic pressure. Even more provocative is that reports indicate Israeli strikes may have directly targeted residential quarters housing a Russian nuclear expert. According to TASS : "Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev specified that the strike had hit the area near the office of the facility’s meteorological service, in close proximity to an operating power unit, at 3:11 p.m. GMT on March 17." It was the first such known strike on an Iranian nuclear plant since Trump's Operation Epic Fury began. The Rosatom chief has indicated that several rounds of personnel evaluation from the Bushehr NPP are underway . There were many hundreds of Russian scientists, personnel, and technicians at the site. He indicated about 480 Russian nationals remain at the site . "Attacks on nuclear facilities blatantly violate the key rules and principles of international security," Likhachev emphasized. Meanwhile, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has also urged "maximum restraint" d...

Khanchit Khirisutchalual Year-ahead business inflation expectations: +2.1% in March vs. +1.9% in February, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said on Wednesday. The inflation expectations came after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that February's Producer Price Index rose more than expected. Developing… Check back for updates. More on US Dollar Index Hope Lifts Risk Appetites Ahead Of The Bank Of Canada And FOMC Meetings FOMC Meeting Preview: A 'Hawkish Hold' As Geopolitical Risk And Stagflation Fears Rise, Implications For The DXY And Dow Jones Fed rate cut odds for June, July meetings dip after hot PPI data

文章提及标的 电力ETF银华 -- 国家电网公司深入贯彻落实党中央、国务院决策部署，坚持电力（562350）发展适度超前，主动对接国家重大战略部署，全面加强电网建设和升级改造，加快投资落地形成实物工作量。据统计，1～2月，公司投产110(66)千伏及以上交流线路4537公里，同比增长81.5%，有力带动上下游发展。(国家电网)

AMD releases official statement on the Chuwi Ryzen CPU mislabelling scandal AMD responds to the CHUWI CPU scandal Over recent weeks, NotebookCheck has uncovered an AMD CPU scandal involving Chuwi, a Chinese manufacturer. The company has been found selling systems with mislabeled CPUs. The company claimed its notebooks use AMD’s Ryzen 5 7430U CPU, but in reality, they used AMD’s much older Ryzen 5 5500U. This CPU uses an older AMD architecture, has less cache, and runs at lower clock speeds. NotebookCheck found that Chuwi’s CoreBook X, which they reviewed, had this issue. The site later purchased a Corebook Plus and discovered the same CPU mislabelling. This led NotebookCheck to say that “what was just an unfortunate isolated case now seems to be becoming systematic”. Chuwi knowingly advertised the wrong CPU on their marketing material and packaging. They also worked to ensure that the CPU was mislisted in Windows, the BIOS, and software tools like CPU-Z. In fact, version 2.19 of CPU-Z specifically includes a fix that prevents this kind of CPU spoofing for the Ryzen 5 5500U. AMD’s statement AMD has officially released a statement to Sina, confirming that they had no knowledge of the misrepresentation. They also confirmed that they never authorised this behaviour in any way. Furthermore, AMD has stated that they “reserve the right to pursue legal action” against Chuwi. Our company has recently noted media reports alleging that Chuwi has misrepresented its AMD Ryzen 5 5500U products as Ryzen 5 7430U. Our company has never authorized, confirmed, or acquiesced to this behavior in any way, nor have we participated in any labeling or promotional decisions regarding these products, and we are completely unaware of this matter. AMD has clear and strict regulations governing the naming, use, and labeling of product models. Any unauthorized use of model names or mislabeling will seriously disrupt the normal market order and may mislead consumers. AMD has always placed great im...

AMD releases official statement on the Chuwi Ryzen CPU mislabelling scandal OC3D