财联社4月16日讯（编辑 牛占林） 英国央行周四在提交给议员的一封信函表示，正通过开展情景分析和模拟测试，评估人工智能(AI)可能对金融体系带来的风险。 英国央行在信中称，不同意议会财政委员会此前认为其对AI风险采取“观望态度”的评估，并指出该行正持续分析AI投资和应用如何改变金融体系结构。 该央行还表示，正与国际同行合作，研究AI智能体可能对金融市场交易方式产生的影响。负责金融稳定事务的副行长Sarah Breeden指出，测试工作将重点关注所谓的“羊群效应”，即在市场承压时期，投资者或算法趋同行动，从而放大市场抛售的风险。 上周，Anthropic公司发布Mythos产品后，金融体系中的AI风险问题进一步受到关注，因为它能够发现那些人类几乎无法察觉的严重软件漏洞。 据悉，美国商务部的人工智能标准与创新中心以及其他政府官员目前正在悄悄评估Anthropic公司的新一代模型的能力，以发现潜在风险和机遇。 专家表示，该产品强大的编程能力，可能为发现网络安全漏洞并加以利用提供新的途径。 如临大敌 英国央行行长安德鲁·贝利表示，Anthropic可能"找到了打开整个网络风险世界的方法"。 贝利指出，全球监管机构需要迅速评估由Mythos模型所带来的潜在威胁。“问题在于，这一新产品在多大程度上能够识别其他系统中的漏洞，并被用于实施网络攻击。” 与此同时，财政委员会批评英国财政部未能承诺在2026年底前，将主要AI和云服务公司纳入“关键第三方监管框架”。该框架旨在监管对金融系统至关重要的基础设施供应商。 英国财政委员会主席、执政党工党成员Meg Hillier表示：“我很高兴看到英国央行在一定程度上开始正面应对这一问题，但财政部表现出的迟缓态度仍令人困惑。” 她进一步指出：“关键第三方监管框架赋予的权力目前尚未真正使用，而我们仍处于潜在脆弱状态。我实在无法理解为何推进如此缓慢。我们将持续密切关注这一情况。” 英国财政部国务大臣Lucy Rigby告诉委员会，政府预计将在今年作出首批关键第三方认定决定，但为确保程序公正性，不会披露正在考虑的具体企业名单。 英国央行金融政策委员会在4月1日的声明中表示，目前各金融机构尚未以可能引发系统性风险的方式部署先进AI（如具备自主决策能力的AI智能体），但同时警告称，随着金融行业加速采用AI技术，相关风险可能迅速上升。

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Six weeks into the Iran war, crude oil markets are experiencing one of their worst-ever disruptions, triggered by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Hundreds of ships are bottled up in the Persian Gulf, unable to carry their cargoes out of the region. Worries that shippers won’t be able to get supplies out of the Persian Gulf have caused global oil prices to skyrocket. Contracts guaranteeing immediate delivery of oil have posted the sharpest gains, widening the gap between near- and long-dated prices to a record. The oil shock has far-reaching implications for the energy industry and for consumers, as prices rise for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as plastics, which are derived from fossil fuels. What’s unusual about trading in the oil market right now? There is a sharp divergence between prices in the physical market, where actual barrels are being bought and sold, and the paper market, which reflects the price of financial contracts including futures and options. In the physical market, oil refiners are paying about $30 a barrel more than the price of the nearest-term oil futures contract, the largest premium the market has ever seen. Normally, the price disparity is less than $2. The current pricing pattern suggests traders believe the supply crunch probably won’t drag on for months. In a volatile situation such as war, where the conflict could be resolved at any time, traders are reluctant to bet that prices will remain elevated. While the steep premium is largely explained by the Iran war, the gap between near- and long-term prices also results from a mismatch in the calendar. The paper, or futures market for Brent crude, the industry benchmark, trades almost two months ahead of the physical market, meaning that June is the earliest available futures contract. In contrast, physical benchmarks, like Dated Brent, are for more immediate delivery. Many market participants believe that US President Donald Trump will find a way to end the conflict rath...

Source: Bloomberg, 0:00

claffra/iStock via Getty Images By Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy Oil futures don't fully reflect the scale of supply disruptions Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain largely cut off, which continues to tighten the oil market. However, despite this significant tightening, the futures market appears to be responding more to headlines over how the war may evolve, with hopes that we could see a resolution in the coming weeks. However, we just need to look at the physical market to get a better idea of the reality of the supply disruption. Dated Brent has traded as high as $144/bbl recently and is trading at around a $30/bbl premium to Brent futures. Clearly, the longer supply disruptions persist, the more likely we will see futures needing to catch up with the physical market. We estimate that around 13m b/d of oil flows from the Persian Gulf are being disrupted due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade. This is after taking into account pipeline diversions, Iranian tankers still moving through the Strait (although this could change with the recent US blockade), as well as some other tankers transiting this key chokepoint. While releases of government stocks and the drawing down of floating storage have helped the market, the shortfall is still significant. Therefore, there is a need for demand destruction. We are already seeing signs of this, particularly in parts of Asia, with several governments in the region announcing measures to reduce energy consumption. Clearly, the longer this persists, the more demand destruction we will need to see, and this will have to occur across other regions as well. To drive further demand destruction, we will need to see higher oil prices. For now, our base case is that energy flows will start to make a gradual recovery through the second quarter. However, flows will remain below pre-war levels until at least year-end. This would see Brent averaging $96/bbl over 2Q26 and $89/bbl over the full year 2026. A more ex...

Une dynamique commerciale encourageante malgré une croissance organique en retrait au premier trimestre

Encouraging commercial momentum despite a slight decrease in organic growth in Q1

Given the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East, one might assume Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) is arguably in a good position to benefit. The company started as an artificial intelligence (AI) stock for the military when the AI field was in its infancy, and the fact that its technology helped the government find international terrorist Osama bin Laden added to its prestige. However, Palantir has struggled since the war with Iran began on Feb. 28, and valuation is likely a factor in the share price's volatility (the stock rose as much as 17% before falling 24% and now hovers at a 3% gain). Still, investors in the SaaS stock may dismiss the added defense-related growth for this forgotten reason. Image source: The Motley Fool. Continue reading

Aja Koska/E+ via Getty Images After BRP ( DOO ) pulled its financial guidance due to a change to U.S. tariff policy, Polaris ( PII ) assured investors on Thursday that the recent changes “will not have a material impact on the company’s 2026 full-year guidance.” The disclosure subsequently launched Polaris ( PII ) shares as much as 16% higher on Thursday, erasing a majority of the loss associated with BRP’s warning the previous day. While rivals contend with overseas production and reliance on imported raw materials, Polaris ( PII ) “has a significant domestic manufacturing presence,” including facilities in Alabama, Indiana, and Minnesota, and continues to strengthen its domestic supplier relationships. On Wednesday, the jet ski, snowmobile, and all-terrain vehicle manufacturer, BRP ( DOO ), warned that due to the recent amendment of Section 232, the company will face an incremental tariff cost of $500M for the remainder of 2026. This means BRP will now pay a 25% tariff on the total value of the imported vehicle rather than 50% on just the applicable metal content. As a result of this change and the uncertainty it creates, BRP ( DOO ) pulled its guidance for 2027, sending reverberations throughout the recreational vehicle sector and causing Polaris ( PII ) to suffer its largest one-day percentage decline in a year. The move higher in Polaris ( PII ) is spilling into peers, with BRP ( DOO ), Patrick Industries ( PATK ), and Malibu Boats ( MBUU ) all recouping a portion of Wednesday’s losses. More on Polaris Polaris: Not Attractive Enough Yet Polaris Inc. (PII) Presents at 47th Annual Raymond James Institutional Investor Conference - Slideshow Polaris Q4: Strong Results And Raised Dividend, Shares Attractive BRP tariff warning weighs on recreational vehicle space Polaris completes separation of Indian Motorcycle, sells majority stake to Carolwood

(RTTNews) - Thursday, Stellantis N.V. (STLA) announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) to advance the company's digital transformation through the co-development of advanced AI, cybersecurity and engineering capabilities.

As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy -- they expect to make money. So let's look at two noteworthy recent insider buys. At Conagra Brands, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Tuesday, John J. Mulliga

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美国总统特朗普发文称，我刚刚与备受尊敬黎巴嫩总统和以色列总理内塔尼亚胡进行了非常愉快的会谈。这两位领导人已达成一致，为了实现两国之间的和平，他们将于美国东部时间下午5点正式启动为期10天的停火。周二，两国代表在华盛顿特区与我们伟大的国务卿鲁比奥共同出席了34年来的首次会晤。我已指示副总统万斯、国务卿鲁比奥以及参谋长联席会议主凯恩，与以色列和黎巴嫩共同努力，以实现持久和平。能够解决全球9场战争是我莫大的荣幸，而这将是我解决的第10场，所以，让我们一鼓作气，完成这项任务！

Dilok Klaisataporn/iStock via Getty Images It’s still early in the quarterly earnings reporting cycle, and while First Horizon’s ( FHN ) business appears to be in solid shape, it is unlikely to be among the performance leaders for the quarter. Credit quality remains good and First Horizon still enjoys good share in the attractive Southeastern market, but soft loan growth is a watch item going forward given that spread margin growth is going to be challenging from here. First Horizon shares are up about 12% since my last update on the bank, which is basically in line with the broader regional bank space and a little better than the average Southeastern bank of comparable size. At this point I do think First Horizon shares offer some value in a space that doesn’t have a lot of obvious bargains. That said, higher energy prices are a threat to the economy both from the perspective of business activity/investment and rates, so I do see a risk of weaker loan growth across the sector. For investors who can be patient, today’s price still offers a respectable quality/value balance. A Small Beat, But One That Brings Some Sustainability Questions First Horizon did beat expectations for the first quarter , with core earnings that were three cents better than expected ($0.53 vs. $0.50) and about a penny better at the core pre-provision earnings line. Revenue rose over 6% year over year and contracted about 2% quarter over quarter, coming in just a bit below sell-side expectations. Net interest income improved about 6% yoy and contracted 1% qoq, about 1% better than expected (driving a $0.01/share beat), with weaker than expected earning assets (up 3% yoy, almost flat qoq) offset by a stronger than expected net interest margin (up 10bp yoy / 1 bp qoq to 3.52%) that in turn was driven by lower than expected deposit/funding costs. Fee-based income growth was a little disappointing, growing 9% yoy and contracting 5% qoq and missing by about 5% (or about $0.015/share). Weaker servic...

Key PointsQuanta’s infrastructure business is booming as the cloud and AI markets expand.

JBL teams up with Sivers Semiconductors to build 1.6T optical transceivers for AI data centers, aiming for faster, more energy-efficient networking.

Vertigo3d/iStock via Getty Images Riot Platforms, Inc. ( RIOT ) quietly announced the departure of its Chief Data Center Officer on April 12, 2026, with no insights into the developments regarding the data center hosting business. With momentum building for the data center hosting business as of Q4 ’25 , investors have grown concerned regarding the future of the services. Despite the potential headwinds, a substantial proportion of the groundwork has already been laid out with the critical design in place and the first build-out already undergone, leading me to believe that this may not necessarily be negative news to the future of hosting services. Given the strong momentum going into eFY26, I am recommending RIOT shares with a Strong Buy rating with a price target of $32/share at 8.31x eFY28 price/sales. Riot Platforms Operational Update On April 14, 2026, Riot Platforms reported an updated Form 4 filing with the footnote stating “Effective as of April 12, 2026, the Reporting Person has departed from his position as the Issuer’s Chief Data Center Officer,” with no additional press releases or statements to further discuss the matter. Within the report, Jonathan Gibbs, the then CDCO of Riot Platforms, disposed of 1.15mm shares of RIOT common stock. The news came as a surprise to the market, resulting in a selloff of RIOT shares after a multi-day bull run. TradingView What’s most surprising of Gibbs’ departure is that it shortly follows Riot’s announced data center hosting deal with Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ), which entails 25MW of initial capacity that can scale to 200MW. Given that the filing didn’t have an accompanying explanation may raise concerns in the market pertaining to the future of Riot and its HPC/AI hosting ambitions. While this may be a setback in terms of project leadership, I don’t believe investors should speculate on the matter until concrete information is available. In addition to Gibbs’ exit, Riot announced a leadership change in Q4 ’25 wit...

PRAGMATA Works better on older AMD graphics cards GameGPU

Source: Bloomberg, 3:03

Europe’s auto industry has a growing cash problem, even as earnings still look steady. A report from consultancy AlixPartners said carmakers and auto sector suppliers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are struggling to turn revenues and earnings into cash as investment, electrification and day-to-day costs soak it up. Free cash flow has fallen 46% since 2019, according to the report, highlighting the mounting liquidity squeeze. The automotive sector in Europe’s industrial backbone has been reeling from shocks, including increased competition from Chinese manufacturers, the impact of US tariffs as well as the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. At the same time, these companies face huge investment needs to fund the transition to electric vehicles. On the financing side, combined cash interest paid by automotive companies has risen 220% since 2019 and more than half of every euro of free cash flow goes to paying down these financing costs, according to AlixPartners, drawing on a sample of more than 1,000 companies in the region. “Any further softening in customer demand, working capital deterioration, or unexpected cost shocks no longer just reduce returns,” said report authors including Rainer Bizenberger . “The picture that emerges from these metrics is of a sector under structural financial stress, not a cyclical downturn awaiting a natural reversal.” The consultancy noted that companies are suffering from the impact of higher inventories, tying up cash. The amount of time inventory is left outstanding has risen by 16 days above pre-pandemic levels, driven in part by demand volatility and tighter trade rules. Automotive suppliers are often under most refinancing stress, given technology changes, price pressures and lower demand. German Auto Supplier Sees Debt Relief From Slower EV Transition “The companies that will come out ahead are not simply those with the best products,” the authors wrote. “They are the ones with the financial strength to k...