US Warns Ally Oman That It Better Pick The 'Right' Side In Hormuz Standoff The saga of rare Washington pressure on its longtime regional ally Oman continues, with on Tuesday The Wall Street Journal reporting that US officials are growing "increasingly frustrated" with Muscat's neutral stance, which they now view as hostile to US interests. Oman has stood accused of cooperating with Iran on a propo...
US Warns Ally Oman That It Better Pick The 'Right' Side In Hormuz Standoff The saga of rare Washington pressure on its longtime regional ally Oman continues, with on Tuesday The Wall Street Journal reporting that US officials are growing "increasingly frustrated" with Muscat's neutral stance, which they now view as hostile to US interests. Oman has stood accused of cooperating with Iran on a proposed toll collection scheme which would benefit Tehran and circumvent America's aims for the region . Via container-news "In recent days, the Trump administration has threatened to sanction and even bomb Oman , after a new intelligence assessment concluded that Muscat was planning to join Iran in tolling vessels in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to another U.S. official," WSJ writes. "Oman has repeatedly denied that it plans to do so." Interestingly, Oman actually provided some level of military assistance to the US even as it launched an unprovoked attack on the Islamic Republic alongside Israel. "Omani territory was used to provide some logistical supplies to the U.S. military at the start of the war, say Arab and U.S. officials," notes the report. "But the U.S. official said the military assistance was small." During a cabinet meeting last week, President Trump made clear that Muscat must align with US-backed 'international norms' or face consequences, warning, "Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up ." Omani Information Minister Abdulla al-Harrasi has recently emphasized that the Sultanate remains "ready to work with the United States and all responsible partners to promote stability" and protect mutual interests. The small strategically located Arabian peninsula country has sought to walk a fine line, but Washington is angered as it has yet to explicitly condemn Iran, even after weeks of attacks on Gulf states (at the height of Operation Epic Fury): Since the war started, Oman has assisted ships, including from the U.S., by p...
Good morning . The US proposes new tariffs. SpaceX sets its sights on financing a record-breaking listing. And British banknotes could get a controversial new look. Listen to the day’s top stories . Market Snapshot S&P 500 futures 7,617.75 -0.1% Nasdaq 100 futures 30,686.25 -0.1% WTI crude oil futures $95.37 +1.7% Euro $1.16 -0.1% Market data as of 07:30 AM GMT. Data is subject to provider delays....
Good morning . The US proposes new tariffs. SpaceX sets its sights on financing a record-breaking listing. And British banknotes could get a controversial new look. Listen to the day’s top stories . Market Snapshot S&P 500 futures 7,617.75 -0.1% Nasdaq 100 futures 30,686.25 -0.1% WTI crude oil futures $95.37 +1.7% Euro $1.16 -0.1% Market data as of 07:30 AM GMT. Data is subject to provider delays. The US is proposing levies of at least 10% on imports from major trading partners — including the European Union, UK, Canada and Mexico — following an investigation into goods allegedly produced by forced labor. Products from China, Switzerland and Japan would face a higher 12.5% levy. The move is a major step for President Donald Trump in rebuilding his tariff wall previously struck down by the US Supreme Court. SpaceX plans to raise $75 billion in its initial public offering by selling 555.6 million shares at a target price of $135 each, Reuters reported. The space and artificial-intelligence infrastructure company is expected to disclose the deal’s terms as soon as today. Stocks extended a record rally on intensifying demand for AI shares. In equity markets, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said “there’s more greed than there is fear” about economic disruption and inflation risks, as appetite for profit is driving rapid gains. Check out our Markets Today live blog for all the latest news and analysis relevant to UK assets. American and Iranian forces exchanged strikes across the Middle East in the latest flare-up to test a fragile ceasefire. The US military is meanwhile trying less public ways of protecting vessels in the vital Strait of Hormuz. In corporate news, Partners Group is capping withdrawals at one of its evergreen private equity funds after redemption requests surged. UBS raised $1.5 billion of US-dollar Additional Tier 1 capital, its first foray into the market since Switzerland paused plans to tighten rules on the riskiest type of bank debt. And Microsoft la...
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Google has nine months to implement all the required changes to its search services, the competition regulator has said. However, the CMA has said it expects “important parts of the controls to become available to publishers well before that deadline”. Continue reading...
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Google has nine months to implement all the required changes to its search services, the competition regulator has said. However, the CMA has said it expects “important parts of the controls to become available to publishers well before that deadline”. Continue reading...
Justin Paget/DigitalVision via Getty Images This is my first coverage of Sterling Infrastructure ( STRL ). In this article, I will analyze their business transformation and how secular tailwinds are creating a supply-demand imbalance acting as a moat. I will also discuss the latest Q1 2026 financial results, and lastly, the current valuation. Based on the margin expansion, strong backlog growth, a...
Justin Paget/DigitalVision via Getty Images This is my first coverage of Sterling Infrastructure ( STRL ). In this article, I will analyze their business transformation and how secular tailwinds are creating a supply-demand imbalance acting as a moat. I will also discuss the latest Q1 2026 financial results, and lastly, the current valuation. Based on the margin expansion, strong backlog growth, and the tailwinds from the underlying secular macrotrends, I am issuing a "Buy " rating. Introduction and Business Model For those unfamiliar with the company, Sterling operates through a variety of subsidiaries specializing in different segments, including E-infrastructure Solutions, Transportation Solutions, and Building Solutions. E-infrastructure solutions is currently the main engine for the company's growth, as you can see from Picture 1 below—marked in green. Picture 1 (Company's Presentation) To determine the company's future growth, we must explore the segment further and the underlying data center buildout expansion. E-Infrastructure Pricing Moat Unlike traditional civil contractors, which rely heavily on low-margin, highly competitive public construction projects, Sterling pivoted away from such a business model and seized the opportunity of AI and data center buildout. This allowed them to grow their revenues rapidly. But as investors, we should mostly care how these trends will change in the future and how long this secular strength will last. I believe the current momentum in the HPC space will continue for the foreseeable future, keeping the scarcity variable high, which provides a moat and pricing power to construction companies. Data center construction is on the rise, with data center vacancies reaching a record low of 1.4% at year-end, according to CBRE . This, in my opinion, completely negates the bearish theory that we are at the peak of the AI boom. As long as vacancy rates are low, Sterling will have a pricing moat when signing new deals, and margins s...