Alex Wong/Getty Images News The United States has widened its maritime enforcement actions against Iran, extending restrictions to vessels of any nationality and signaling it may track and intercept ships beyond the Middle East, according to senior defense officials. At a Pentagon briefing Thursday, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said the effort is no longer limited to ships traveling direct...
Alex Wong/Getty Images News The United States has widened its maritime enforcement actions against Iran, extending restrictions to vessels of any nationality and signaling it may track and intercept ships beyond the Middle East, according to senior defense officials. At a Pentagon briefing Thursday, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said the effort is no longer limited to ships traveling directly to or from Iranian ports. Vessels identified under U.S. sanctions could face interception, inspection and potential seizure by naval forces, officials said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated the campaign will remain in place indefinitely, framing it as part of broader pressure on Tehran. At the same time, diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran remain active but unresolved. Pakistan, which has played a mediating role, said no timetable has been set for a second round of talks, though both sides have expressed willingness to continue discussions, according to officials familiar with the situation. Hegseth also said U.S. forces are positioned to respond quickly if the current cease-fire breaks down, underscoring the fragile nature of the pause in hostilities. Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead the U.S. delegation in any future high-level negotiations, according to several media reports. More on iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF, etc. Commodities: Oil Trades Lower On De-Escalation Hopes Smart Money Is Deploying Fresh Capital Gold Vs. Oil U.S. naval blockade of Iran turns away 13 ships, ramps up pressure on Tehran - reports Pentagon held talks with GM, Ford on weapons production - report
Just_Super/iStock via Getty Images Scott Chronert, head of U.S. equity strategy at Citi Research, predicted the tech sector ( VGT ), ( XLK ) is entering what he calls a “reverse perfect storm” as major technology companies prepare to report earnings. With semiconductors ( SMH ), ( SOXX ), software ( IGV ), ( XSW ), and hyperscalers facing different market pressures, Chronert expects solid quarterl...
Just_Super/iStock via Getty Images Scott Chronert, head of U.S. equity strategy at Citi Research, predicted the tech sector ( VGT ), ( XLK ) is entering what he calls a “reverse perfect storm” as major technology companies prepare to report earnings. With semiconductors ( SMH ), ( SOXX ), software ( IGV ), ( XSW ), and hyperscalers facing different market pressures, Chronert expects solid quarterly results to validate the ongoing AI trade and perpetuate the current narrow leadership among tech giants. Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Chronert explained that investors are looking for “confirmation of what’s been ongoing for the past several quarters now, which is a pretty notable beat and raise.” The comments came as the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) touched record highs and the Nasdaq ( COMP:IND ) recorded an eleven-day winning streak, fueled by a significant shift from risk-off to risk-on positioning following the de-escalation of the Iran conflict. The market recovery has produced some historic moves, with Oracle ( ORCL ) surging 29% and Microsoft ( MSFT ) climbing 14% in a single week. Chronert noted that this repositioning mirrors what occurred last year around the “liberation day tariffs” in early April, as investors gained more confidence in a potential wind-down of geopolitical tensions. While Citi remains bullish on semiconductors ( SMH ), Chronert acknowledged that “the software sector has been under duress, as have the hyperscalers.” This divergence creates the conditions for what he describes as a reverse perfect storm—when companies that have been under pressure deliver strong earnings, it could spark a significant rally in those beaten-down segments. “What you have here is sort of an interesting, I’m going to say, reverse perfect storm, whereas these companies then come through with solid earnings, it should perpetuate this narrow leadership right now,” Chronert said. He added that this dynamic “then begins to set the stage for more time to pass around oil price...
Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs has met the city’s No 2 official and finance chief in the capital to discuss alignment with the national 15th five-year plan, as the government prepares to draw up its own inaugural blueprint by the end of the year. The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) said its director, Xia Baolong, held talks with Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-k...
Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs has met the city’s No 2 official and finance chief in the capital to discuss alignment with the national 15th five-year plan, as the government prepares to draw up its own inaugural blueprint by the end of the year. The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) said its director, Xia Baolong, held talks with Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, and the newly appointed Secretary for Constitutional and...
mesh cube/iStock via Getty Images Incorporated in 2022, Pulsar Helium ( PSRHF ) is an exploration and development company focused primarily on helium. Headquartered in Portugal, and registered in White Rock, Canada, the company is currently at work on a site just outside Babbitt, Minnesota in the Iron Range (its Topaz Project). Though it also has a 100% interest in a helium reservoir in Greenland ...
mesh cube/iStock via Getty Images Incorporated in 2022, Pulsar Helium ( PSRHF ) is an exploration and development company focused primarily on helium. Headquartered in Portugal, and registered in White Rock, Canada, the company is currently at work on a site just outside Babbitt, Minnesota in the Iron Range (its Topaz Project). Though it also has a 100% interest in a helium reservoir in Greenland and more recently one in Michigan, Topaz is its true lodestone and the company’s fortunes will be tied to its success there. Pulsar has completed seven appraisal wells at the Topaz site. All seven "Jetstreams" have successfully yielded gas, and showed consistent (500-1290 psi) pressure, with “Jetstream #1” having helium levels at an astonishing 14.5%, well above normative commercial ranges (.3% - 1%) and three other wells –Jetstream 3,4,5-- reporting concentrations of 8% to 10%. These are remarkable numbers, orders of magnitude better than existing world-class helium deposits, and it suggests a very lucrative opportunity with the right operational follow-through. Sproule ERCO –a well-established independent estimator in the field —has looked at the site and assessed (based on Jetstream #1) that Topaz has at least 380 million cubic feet of helium-4. A recent 40-mile seismic survey suggests that this substantial high-pressure helium-4 reservoir is 2 miles in depth and has at least 2.8 billion cubic feet of helium. (Jetstream #1 is more than 5,000 feet deep and #2 is around 5,600 ft). These are impressive numbers, but company is still in its early, risky innings. Pulsar Helium is a pre-revenue E&P venture that has yet to make a dime. It is funneling everything into its wells and their commercialization. The firm reported a net loss of $9.65 million for FY 2025 (ending 9/30/25), with total assets of $4.2 million versus $1.5 million in liabilities reported. Short-term investments and cash were only $2.4 million, though in a mid-January presentation the company indicated it had a...
Shares of MeiraGTx Holdings ( MGTX ) slumped on Thursday after the company priced an equity offering in a bid to raise nearly $100M to market a gene therapy known as bota-vec, which it has agreed to acquire from Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ). In a statement on Thursday, the New York-based biotech disclosed an asset purchase agreement with J&J ( JNJ ) to acquire the interests in bota-vec related to X-l...
Shares of MeiraGTx Holdings ( MGTX ) slumped on Thursday after the company priced an equity offering in a bid to raise nearly $100M to market a gene therapy known as bota-vec, which it has agreed to acquire from Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ). In a statement on Thursday, the New York-based biotech disclosed an asset purchase agreement with J&J ( JNJ ) to acquire the interests in bota-vec related to X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, a rare inherited retinal disease. As part of the deal, the New Jersey-based pharma giant will receive $25M upfront from the company in addition to a one-time milestone payment linked to U.S. approval and U.S. sales performance of bota-vec for XRP. Beginning mid-2029, JNJ will also be entitled to high double-digit royalties based on worldwide net sales of bota-vec, for which MeiraGTx ( MGTX ) said it will immediately file global regulatory submissions seeking approval of the drug. The company added that net proceeds from the equity offering will be used, among other things, for potential commercial launches of bota-vec for XRP, expected in H2 2028. MeiraGTx ( MGTX ) priced the offering of nearly 11.1M shares at $9.00 apiece. More on MeiraGTx, Johnson & Johnson MeiraGTx: Turning Dry Mouth Into Liquid Gold Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Johnson & Johnson Q2 Earnings Review: Why You Should Be Buying The Stock Today SA analyst upgrades/downgrades: NVDA, JNJ, KO, ACN Johnson & Johnson raises 2026 outlook to $11.30-$11.50 EPS and $100.2B sales midpoint while targeting $100B annual revenue
babyrhino/iStock via Getty Images Introduction A month ago, many thought a bear market was about to start. Headlines were simply too negative. Today, we are talking about the S&P 500 at record highs in near-record time. I run a public portfolio that investors can copy: in March, I was down by 4.80%; in April, I am up 10.67%. I bet most of us are in a similar situation. While I am well aware that t...
babyrhino/iStock via Getty Images Introduction A month ago, many thought a bear market was about to start. Headlines were simply too negative. Today, we are talking about the S&P 500 at record highs in near-record time. I run a public portfolio that investors can copy: in March, I was down by 4.80%; in April, I am up 10.67%. I bet most of us are in a similar situation. While I am well aware that things can rapidly pivot, I agreed with Buffett that the March sell-off was "nothing" compared to what could happen in the market from time to time. I don't mean to underplay the fact that wars are breaking out all over the place. But when it comes to managing our investments, I think that it is often important to focus on the qualities of our holdings rather than paying attention to weekend conversations . So, here we are: the market is at ATHs as it seems that somewhere between the Hormuz blockade and the record earnings posted by Morgan Stanley, Mr. Market decided that the negative consequences of the war were already priced in and that it was time to move on. Once again, we are in a situation where headlines and graphs would like to make us take "the right" decision. Thus, the debate opens up about whether it is time to sell or not. Some believe that the market is better positioned now than in early 2026; some believe the rally won't end well, and so on. While no one has a crystal ball, I think that it is always extremely helpful and thought-cleansing to take a step back, breathe, and focus both on our investment philosophy and on the data. Let's then tackle a few questions. What Mr. Market Fears If we look at the historical record of what Mr. Market did during the most important conflicts, we see that, based on RBC Wealth Management's research , on average, the S&P 500 fell 6% from the outbreak to the trough, and in 19 out of 20 events, it quickly recovered to the pre-conflict levels in roughly 28 days. Interestingly, the only exception was the 1973 Yom Kippur War and o...
At Holdings Channel, we have reviewed the latest batch of the 53 most recent 13F filings for the 03/31/2026 reporting period, and noticed that Visa Inc (Symbol: V) was held by 33 of these funds. When hedge fund managers appear to be thinking alike, we find it is a good idea to t
At Holdings Channel, we have reviewed the latest batch of the 53 most recent 13F filings for the 03/31/2026 reporting period, and noticed that Visa Inc (Symbol: V) was held by 33 of these funds. When hedge fund managers appear to be thinking alike, we find it is a good idea to t
In early trading on Thursday, shares of Salesforce topped the list of the day's best performing Dow Jones Industrial Average components, trading up 2.6%. Year to date, Salesforce has lost about 31.2% of its value. And the worst performing Dow component thus far on the day is A
In early trading on Thursday, shares of Salesforce topped the list of the day's best performing Dow Jones Industrial Average components, trading up 2.6%. Year to date, Salesforce has lost about 31.2% of its value. And the worst performing Dow component thus far on the day is A
asbe/iStock via Getty Images By Roxanna Islam, CFA, CAIA Last week, I published an update on the crypto ETF landscape , but one area worth revisiting is crypto equities—particularly Bitcoin miners. For many investors, miners can seem too niche, too volatile, or simply redundant now that spot Bitcoin ETFs exist. But that view misses how much the space has evolved. Bitcoin miners were once primarily...
asbe/iStock via Getty Images By Roxanna Islam, CFA, CAIA Last week, I published an update on the crypto ETF landscape , but one area worth revisiting is crypto equities—particularly Bitcoin miners. For many investors, miners can seem too niche, too volatile, or simply redundant now that spot Bitcoin ETFs exist. But that view misses how much the space has evolved. Bitcoin miners were once primarily seen as high-beta proxies for Bitcoin, especially before spot Bitcoin ETFs made direct exposure easier. Today, they offer an equity-based way to access the digital asset ecosystem, with growing exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, data centers, and high-performance computing (HPC). That helps explain why Bitcoin miner ETFs have recently outperformed spot Bitcoin ETFs, even as flows into the category remain relatively muted. Bitcoin miner performance surprisingly resilient Bitcoin miners had a difficult 4Q25. Bitcoin itself dropped around 30% from its early October high to late December levels, but miners were hit even harder as their underlying economics deteriorated alongside the price decline. Lower Bitcoin prices in addition to higher network competition weighed on profitability, making 4Q one of the most challenging quarters for the group. 1Q26, however, became more interesting. While mining fundamentals remained under pressure, miner equities traded on more than just Bitcoin prices and near-term margins. Some stocks held up better than Bitcoin as investors increasingly rewarded companies with exposure to AI and high-performance computing, highlighting how quickly the market is starting to view certain miners as broader digital infrastructure plays. Bitcoin miners are no longer small, niche stocks Some of the largest Bitcoin miners are listed below, and this group is not as niche as it may seem. Public Bitcoin-mining stocks now represent roughly a $70 billion market cap universe, with names like IREN Ltd. ( IREN ) exceeding $15 billion on their own....
The seven-member body, whose ranks are composed of Trump appointees, was expected to approve the arch. The proposed monument strongly resembles Paris' Arc de Triomphe, but almost 100 feet taller. (Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)
The seven-member body, whose ranks are composed of Trump appointees, was expected to approve the arch. The proposed monument strongly resembles Paris' Arc de Triomphe, but almost 100 feet taller. (Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)
Manchester City will lose the services of their dependable captain next season as Bernardo Silva announced he will leave the club when his contract expires this summer.
Manchester City will lose the services of their dependable captain next season as Bernardo Silva announced he will leave the club when his contract expires this summer.
peterschreiber.media/iStock via Getty Images Tokyo Electric Power ( TKECF ) ( TKECY ) said Thursday it started commercial operations at one of its reactors in Japan’s largest nuclear power plant, 14 years after its final reactor was taken offline following the meltdown at the company's Fukushima Daiichi plant. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority conducted a final check of the No. 6 reactor at the...
peterschreiber.media/iStock via Getty Images Tokyo Electric Power ( TKECF ) ( TKECY ) said Thursday it started commercial operations at one of its reactors in Japan’s largest nuclear power plant, 14 years after its final reactor was taken offline following the meltdown at the company's Fukushima Daiichi plant. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority conducted a final check of the No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant before giving the utility approval to restart commercial operation. If the No. 6 reactor can operate at capacity, it has the potential to reduce liquefied natural gas imports from the Persian Gulf by ~30% annually, the government has said. The plant w as initially scheduled to resume commercial operation in February after it was reactivated in January, but a malfunctioning alarm system and other problems forced Tepco ( TKECF ) ( TKECY ) to postpone the restart date twice. The Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant includes seven reactors; Unit 7 also has passed safety approval from the Japanese regulator but has not yet restarted, while the other five reactors remain offline. ETFs: ( URA ), ( NLR ), ( URNM ) More on uranium and nuclear URA: A HALO (Hard Asset Low Obsolescence) ETF URA And NLR: Both Still Strong Buys, But Which One Should You Pick? URA: The Uranium Bull Market Still Has Fuel
bgwalker/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Shares of KeyCorp ( KEY ) have been a strong performer over the past year, gaining about 50%. The stock has been a bit more volatile over the past two months, given uncertainty about the war in Iran and private credit losses. Key has positioned itself well with a stake sale to Scotiabank ( BNS ), which improved its capital position to enable a balance sh...
bgwalker/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Shares of KeyCorp ( KEY ) have been a strong performer over the past year, gaining about 50%. The stock has been a bit more volatile over the past two months, given uncertainty about the war in Iran and private credit losses. Key has positioned itself well with a stake sale to Scotiabank ( BNS ), which improved its capital position to enable a balance sheet optimization program. Its relationship has proven so fruitful that BNS is considering upping its stake to 20%, a potential technical support for shares. I last covered Key in January , rating the stock a “ B uy,” and shares have gained 2% since then, in keeping with the market. With updated financials, now is a good time to revisit shares. Seeking Alpha In the company’s first quarter , KeyCorp earned $0.44 per share, which beat estimates by $0.03 as revenue jumped 10% to $1.95 billion. EPS was up a third from last year, speaking to the benefits of its balance sheet optimization, which has greatly improved its margins and allowed the company to return to a growth footing. Looking first at its balance sheet, deposit performance has been muted. As you can see below, deposits were down 2% sequentially and 1% from last year. This year-over-year decline is entirely due to lower brokered CDs, which are the highest-cost type of deposit. Key has excess liquidity on its balance sheet with just a 75% loan-to-deposit ratio (this could safely be 80%), and so it is strategically letting these high-cost balances roll off. Client deposits were up 1% from last year. This is still quite muted, and I classify Key’s deposit performance as “stable” more so than growing. Given its excess liquidity, Key has been aggressive in cutting deposit rates, cutting interest-bearing rates by 22bps sequentially, an ~80% beta to the drop in fed funds during the quarter. This aggressive rate action has likely hampered growth, but it has enhanced margins. KeyCorp On the asset side of the balance sheet, loa...