Tamer Soliman/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Many interesting changes have transpired in the months that followed my previous coverage of Marten Transport, Ltd. ( MRTN ). It has been on a roller coaster ride after the price dropped from $14 on March 4 to $11 on March 12, which initially justified my hold rating. But it immediately regained its momentum to its one-year high of $17 today. Amid ma...
Tamer Soliman/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Many interesting changes have transpired in the months that followed my previous coverage of Marten Transport, Ltd. ( MRTN ). It has been on a roller coaster ride after the price dropped from $14 on March 4 to $11 on March 12, which initially justified my hold rating. But it immediately regained its momentum to its one-year high of $17 today. Amid macroeconomic volatility, MRTN capitalized on the freight market recovery and undercapacity to justify its bullish trend. However, valuation shows limited upside today as it appears fully priced. Technicals adhere as the stock becomes overbought. MRTN Q1 2026: Some Resilience Amid Extreme Turbulence The freight and logistics sector has experienced multiple challenges in recent years driven by softer consumer spending, stubborn inflation, and production caution among businesses. The truckload or TL market has not been as resilient as the less-than-truckload or LTL market amid lower and fewer shipment frequencies and sizes. But recently, we have seen TL follow the LTL recovery trend as freight rates improved. Marten Transport, Ltd. also showed this trend in its most recent performance. In Q1 2026, its operating revenue amounted to $203.53M , down by -8.7% YoY from $223.15M. This YoY decrease was slightly better than in my previous coverage at -8.8%. If we exclude the impact of the intermodal segment, the YoY decrease in Q1 will only be -3.5%. While this could not immediately indicate recovery, this was quite impressive considering the sharp inflation uptrend during the quarter, especially in March. We must also note that MRTN continued to reduce its freight capacity if we look at the fewer number of trucks and trailers and lower average miles per trip. Operating Statistics (MRTN Q1 ) Operating Statistics (MRTN Q1 ) This can prove that it benefited from the freight market undercapacity. You can see the increased average revenue per tractor. Demand was not that strong, but custom...
Indonesia’s free meals programme has long been beset with governance problems, quality issues and mass food poisoning cases. Now, allegations of corruption and the arrests of top former officials overseeing Prabowo Subianto’s flagship scheme risk turning it into a political hot potato for the president. Prabowo sacked former National Nutrition Agency chief Dadan Hindayana and his two ex-deputies, ...
Indonesia’s free meals programme has long been beset with governance problems, quality issues and mass food poisoning cases. Now, allegations of corruption and the arrests of top former officials overseeing Prabowo Subianto’s flagship scheme risk turning it into a political hot potato for the president. Prabowo sacked former National Nutrition Agency chief Dadan Hindayana and his two ex-deputies, Sonny Sonjaya and Lodewyk Pusung, on Tuesday. The trio were charged with corruption and taken into...
Asian authorities are ramping up their currency defense as high energy costs and bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates pressure them. South Korea on Thursday vowed to curb excessive volatility as the won fell to near the lowest against the dollar since 2009. Bank Indonesia also said it’s intensifying interventions to stabilize the rupiah, which had dropped to a record low. Japan ...
Asian authorities are ramping up their currency defense as high energy costs and bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates pressure them. South Korea on Thursday vowed to curb excessive volatility as the won fell to near the lowest against the dollar since 2009. Bank Indonesia also said it’s intensifying interventions to stabilize the rupiah, which had dropped to a record low. Japan said on Wednesday it was prepared to respond to forex moves as the yen weakened to levels around where authorities intervened to prop it up in late April. Bank of Japan is set to consider a 25-basis-point rate hike his month, according to people familiar with the matter. In India, the government plans to reduce taxes and remove caps on the ownership of some bonds to draw inflows as the rupee hovers near record lows. “Tough and fast-market conditions mean regional central banks and authorities are on high alert,” said Wee Khoon Chong , senior APAC market strategist at BNY. “Regional FX has been pressured by a strong US dollar and elevated oil prices as well as foreign capital outflows.” The spate of warnings and intervention highlight the challenge policymakers face as the region suffers from its oil dependency and inflationary pressure erodes the appeal of risk assets. While monetary authorities in Indonesia and the Philippines have raised interest rates to support their currencies against the dollar, there’s growing expectation that the US will also have to hike to deal with inflation, with Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan the latest to flag the possibility. A Bloomberg gauge of Asian currencies fell for a fourth straight day on Thursday, with the won and rupiah leading the losses. Authorities also are guarding against speculative activity in offshore markets. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas asked banks to ensure that non-deliverable foreign-exchange derivatives transactions are used strictly for legitimate economic purposes. The Reserve Bank of India has also been actively in...
Sarongs and Spice Girls feature in the footballer’s photo album. Plus: more from Sam Campbell’s oddball comedy. Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, BBC Two “He knows he’s going to be photographed; he knows he’s going to cause a sensation.” A clever concept to profile people in new ways, this time focusing on Becks. It starts in 1986 with a photographer who, after hearing that his teenage nephew...
Sarongs and Spice Girls feature in the footballer’s photo album. Plus: more from Sam Campbell’s oddball comedy. Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, BBC Two “He knows he’s going to be photographed; he knows he’s going to cause a sensation.” A clever concept to profile people in new ways, this time focusing on Becks. It starts in 1986 with a photographer who, after hearing that his teenage nephew’s mate has just won a national football skills competition, goes to capture his triumph. From there, the photo album includes a sarong, a Spice Girl and a gay magazine cover. Hollie Richardson Continue reading...
Nigeria plans to refinance high-cost debt and raise funds to help plug its budget deficit, leveraging strong investor confidence amid elevated oil prices fueled by the US-Iran conflict. “We think that this timing is good for us to be able to maybe even refinance some of our expensive past debts, but also to raise more funding for our development at this critical time,” Finance Minister Taiwo Oyede...
Nigeria plans to refinance high-cost debt and raise funds to help plug its budget deficit, leveraging strong investor confidence amid elevated oil prices fueled by the US-Iran conflict. “We think that this timing is good for us to be able to maybe even refinance some of our expensive past debts, but also to raise more funding for our development at this critical time,” Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Wednesday. “You don’t know what happens tomorrow. But as of today, market conditions are actually very good.” The US-Israeli war on Iran has pushed the price of Brent crude up as much as 63% this year, creating an opportunity for producers outside the Middle East like Nigeria. Increased oil revenue has bolstered the country’s terms of trade and creditworthiness, with the premium investors demand to hold Nigerian dollar bonds rather than US Treasuries falling 80 basis points since the start of the war to 262 — the lowest in more than a decade. Africa’s most-populous nation is seeking to plug a budget deficit of 30 trillion naira ($22 billion) this year, said Oyedele. The funding gap remains despite increased revenue from taxes after an overhaul of laws that he spearheaded early on in the current administration, which came to power in May 2023. “We’re keeping our options open, we know the size of the deficit,” Oyedele said, including less-costly concessionary loans. Conversations are ongoing with the World Bank and other multilateral lenders, while the country is seeing lots of interest from investors encouraged by reforms undertaken by the government, he said. While the nation has benefited from elevated oil prices, the global energy shock has also fueled inflation, forcing the central bank to halt an interest-rate cutting cycle. That adds further pressure on President Bola Tinubu to deliver capital projects like schools and hospitals, as he seeks re-election for another four-year term in January. Sign up here for the daily Next Africa...
Mitsubishi Electric ( MIELY ) Thursday said that it will begin sequentially shipping samples in late June of two types of new 5th-generation silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (SiC-MOSFETs) in bare die form. The new SiC-MOSFETs are designed for use in inverters for drive motors and eAxles of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), and other electrified v...
Mitsubishi Electric ( MIELY ) Thursday said that it will begin sequentially shipping samples in late June of two types of new 5th-generation silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (SiC-MOSFETs) in bare die form. The new SiC-MOSFETs are designed for use in inverters for drive motors and eAxles of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), and other electrified vehicles (xEVs). They feature Mitsubishi Electric’s proprietary trench structure and achieve industry-leading low on-resistance approximately 25% lower than that of existing products, the company said in a statement . Mitsubishi Electric’s 5th-generation SiC-MOSFET bare dies will contribute to the performance and miniaturization of xEV inverters and eAxles, which will extend the range and improve the power efficiency of xEVs. In addition, the company’s proprietary manufacturing process technology suppresses performance degradation and fluctuations in power loss and on-resistance, ensuring stable quality even after long-term use, and contributing to the durability and performance of xEV inverters and eAxles. More on Mitsubishi Electric Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MIELY) Analyst/Investor Day - Slideshow Mitsubishi Electric to co-develop homegrown physical AI and robotics Mitsubishi Electric to ship new NX-type IGBT module samples Historical earnings data for Mitsubishi Electric Financial information for Mitsubishi Electric