The Chinese motorcycle brand ZXMOTO and its founder Zhang Xue have become one of the most-mentioned topics online in April following their unprecedented victory in a world-class race. Zhang’s wife, who has been with him since she was a teenager, has also become famous. Chen Xingyi, 38, was Zhang’s junior secondary school classmate. She began dating him when they were both poor youngsters and was b...
The Chinese motorcycle brand ZXMOTO and its founder Zhang Xue have become one of the most-mentioned topics online in April following their unprecedented victory in a world-class race. Zhang’s wife, who has been with him since she was a teenager, has also become famous. Chen Xingyi, 38, was Zhang’s junior secondary school classmate. She began dating him when they were both poor youngsters and was by his side when he quit school, became a motorcycle repair shop apprentice, and a mechanic at a...
Trafigura Group made a record payout to its top traders and executives as the commodity trading giant reaped profits of over $4 billion in the first half of its financial year. Trafigura, the first major commodity trader to report earnings since the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz upended energy markets, said that much of its profit haul came before the start of the war. Still, the results hi...
Trafigura Group made a record payout to its top traders and executives as the commodity trading giant reaped profits of over $4 billion in the first half of its financial year. Trafigura, the first major commodity trader to report earnings since the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz upended energy markets, said that much of its profit haul came before the start of the war. Still, the results highlight how trading houses like Trafigura are some of the biggest winners from the upheavals hitting commodity markets caused by everything from war to the artificial-intelligence boom. Read: Trafigura Warns Oil at ‘Critical Juncture’ as Buffers Run Out “The foundations for this performance were laid early in the financial year,” Chief Executive Officer Richard Holtum said. “When supply chains are under strain, our teams work harder and move faster to identify solutions and manage increased risks.” Trafigura’s profits of $4.09 billion were the third-best half yearly performance in its history, surpassed only by the trading bonanza that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It paid just over $3 billion in dividends for the half year, more than the whole of the previous year and its largest half-yearly payout on record. The dividends are used by Trafigura’s holding company to buy back shares. Read: Commodity Traders Reap a Profit Bonanza from War Oil Shock The bumper profits come at an opportune time for Trafigura, one of the biggest traders of energy and metals, which is owned entirely by a group of over 1,400 employees. The departure of many of its top executives had left the company facing a hefty bill to buy back their shares, an obligation which had prompted it to defer some of the buybacks due in recent years. The total assets on Trafigura’s balance sheet rose 40% to $111 billion, as soaring commodity prices and longer journeys for oil and gas cargoes due to the Hormuz disruption increased the value of the cargoes held by the trader. Group equity rose 8% to ...
We hear so much about Victoria Beckham being funny, but it’s Wagatha Christie villain Vardy who delivers the real quips and zingers The first I knew of Rebekah Vardy was when she appeared after more dots than anybody has ever used before, in the whodunnit denouement of Wagatha Christie. “It’s .......... Rebekah Vardy’s account,” read Coleen Rooney’s bombshell statement, instantly transforming her ...
We hear so much about Victoria Beckham being funny, but it’s Wagatha Christie villain Vardy who delivers the real quips and zingers The first I knew of Rebekah Vardy was when she appeared after more dots than anybody has ever used before, in the whodunnit denouement of Wagatha Christie. “It’s .......... Rebekah Vardy’s account,” read Coleen Rooney’s bombshell statement, instantly transforming her frenemy into a household name. Turns out no PR is bad PR though, because seven years and a long-running legal feud later, villain of the piece Vardy has a primetime TV show on ITV1. I probably wouldn’t hold your breath for flowers or chocolates though, Col, even if reviewers hadn’t given The Vardys such a kicking . Continue reading...
Electric shock is one of the biggest causes of death among wildlife in the country but a court ruling is a first step to making power lines safe Peque, a small black howler monkey, scratches her head as she sits on a thick wooden branch in a wired enclosure with seven other orphaned baby howler monkeys at a rescue centre in Nosara, on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. Last year, Peque was one of more th...
Electric shock is one of the biggest causes of death among wildlife in the country but a court ruling is a first step to making power lines safe Peque, a small black howler monkey, scratches her head as she sits on a thick wooden branch in a wired enclosure with seven other orphaned baby howler monkeys at a rescue centre in Nosara, on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. Last year, Peque was one of more than 100 animals to arrive at International Animal Rescue Costa Rica (IARCR) as a result of electrocution on power lines, which primates such as monkeys frequently mistake for trees and vines. Continue reading...
A version of this article appeared in the CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman, which brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning's private equity firm Brand Velocity Group is acquiring RCX Sports, the company that manages the licenses...
A version of this article appeared in the CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman, which brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning's private equity firm Brand Velocity Group is acquiring RCX Sports, the company that manages the licenses of the official youth sports programs of the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLS, NHL and MLB. RCX has about 150 employees and makes money distributing sports products such as uniforms and equipment and servicing local parks and recreation centers. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The transaction is supported by a broad investor group including other former and current athlete partners Emmitt Smith, Larry Fitzgerald and Jameis Winston. Parents of kids who play youth sports are likely quite familiar with the programs: NFL Flag; Jr. NBA; Jr. WNBA; MLS GO; NHL Street and MLB Pitch Hit & Run. NFL Flag is the largest youth sports league globally, involving about 1 million kids, according to RCX CEO Izell Reese. The business of youth sports is well suited for private equity. It's supported by passionate customers, steady and reliable cash flows — every sports season comes with fresh fees — and it's decentralized. This lack of cohesion has led to a myriad of mobile apps and websites used to keep track of games, pay league fees, order equipment and chat with coaches. A standard private equity playbook is to roll up a variety of smaller leagues or apps, taking cost out by eliminating backend duplication and gaining scale via a series of acquisitions. This is starting to happen in youth sports. Josh Harris and David Blitzer, two of the most prominent private equity partners in the world, started Unrivaled Sports two years ago as their youth sports rollup investment vehicle. Still, there's distrust among some powerful people that the industry would put the desires of consumers ahead of...
watch now VIDEO 2:16 02:16 Eli Manning on avoiding politics and the Jaxson Dart Trump rally controversy CNBC Sport Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning said he supports athletes who take political stances, but warned they should be prepared to face potential criticism if they do. The two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback spoke to CNBC Sport about political activism in sports after the ...
watch now VIDEO 2:16 02:16 Eli Manning on avoiding politics and the Jaxson Dart Trump rally controversy CNBC Sport Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning said he supports athletes who take political stances, but warned they should be prepared to face potential criticism if they do. The two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback spoke to CNBC Sport about political activism in sports after the Giants' current signal caller, Jaxson Dart, came under scrutiny for introducing President Donald Trump at a rally outside of New York City. His decision to publicly back Trump sparked backlash, including public criticism from his teammate Abdul Carter. "Athletes should be allowed to do it if they feel strong about politics or supporting someone, that's fine," Manning told CNBC. "You just have to understand that there's going to be teammates, fans and people that are going to think different about that." The 23-year-old quarterback had so many reactions to the move he later disabled comments on his Instagram account. He later addressed his Giants teammates about his decision to appear at the rally, according to reports. "I love every single one of my teammates regardless of politics," he said in a statement Friday. Get the CNBC Sport newsletter directly to your inbox The CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media, delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe here to get access today . Manning said the political differences could be a way to bridge new conversations and understanding among teammates. "Hopefully it doesn't create friction and a divide amongst the team, hopefully it creates great conversation and brings a team together," he added. "You might not agree with everybody and their beliefs, or what their, what they believe in, but you can still work together and trust each other and compete together and try to do your craft and your job at a high level together." Manning said ...
Former School of Rock CEO Matt Ross details his journey scaling creative education franchises like School of Rock, overcoming intense personal and professional hardships, and the life lessons on mental health and purpose detailed in his book, Grow or Fold.
Former School of Rock CEO Matt Ross details his journey scaling creative education franchises like School of Rock, overcoming intense personal and professional hardships, and the life lessons on mental health and purpose detailed in his book, Grow or Fold.
Banks had offloaded credit risk tied to more than €905 billion ($1 trillion) in loans as of the end of last year, up 26% from a year earlier, via the rapidly-growing market for significant risk transfers . Lenders, mostly in Europe and North America, issued €30 billion in new SRT deals linked to €378 billion in underlying loans in 2025, according to a survey by the International Association of Cre...
Banks had offloaded credit risk tied to more than €905 billion ($1 trillion) in loans as of the end of last year, up 26% from a year earlier, via the rapidly-growing market for significant risk transfers . Lenders, mostly in Europe and North America, issued €30 billion in new SRT deals linked to €378 billion in underlying loans in 2025, according to a survey by the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers. The asset class has expanded quickly over the past few years, helped by surging appetite from buyers including large asset managers and insurance firms. SRTs allow banks to pass the credit risks of a pool of assets to investors, who effectively insure the loans against default. That lowers the amount of regulatory capital the bank is required to hold, freeing up its balance sheet, while investors get returns that are frequently in the low double-digits. “The demand for SRT investment has clearly exceeded supply in 2025,” IACPM’s Tamar Joulia-Paris and Juliane Saary-Littman wrote in the report. They expect the market to keep growing, as more banks use the instruments to increase their lending capacity, while private credit funds, multistrategy asset managers and insurers provide additional capital to invest. The market share of diversified asset managers in SRTs has grown significantly. The group invested €7.5 billion last year, up from €2 billion in 2022, according to the survey. Together with specialized SRT credit funds, they now make up more than 70% of the investor base. Insurance firms have also been a growing part of the buyer base, with €2.8 billion of investments, mostly via guarantees known as unfunded credit protection. Among transactions carried out last year involving asset managers, ABN Amro Bank NV completed an SRT with Blackstone Inc. , providing first loss protection on a €2 billion portfolio of large corporate loans. And Brookfield-owned Oaktree Capital Management is hedging the credit risk on $2 billion of commercial real estate loa...
AAP councillors protest against the leak of undergraduate examination papers during the House meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on May 25, 2026 in New Delhi, India. Sonu Mehta | Hindustan Times | Getty Images A youth political movement in India that has gone viral on social media — and that has a cockroach as its mascot — will face its first offline popularity test on Saturday as it pl...
AAP councillors protest against the leak of undergraduate examination papers during the House meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on May 25, 2026 in New Delhi, India. Sonu Mehta | Hindustan Times | Getty Images A youth political movement in India that has gone viral on social media — and that has a cockroach as its mascot — will face its first offline popularity test on Saturday as it plans a protest in New Delhi. Within weeks of its launch in mid-May, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) amassed over 22 million followers on Instagram . The pseudo-political CJP was launched on May 16 by political communications strategist and Boston university student Abhijeet Dipke in response to comments by India's Chief Justice Surya Kant calling some unemployed youngsters' "parasites" and "cockroaches" during a courtroom hearing. The CJP claims to have more than a million members and describes itself on its website as the "voice of the lazy and unemployed." But experts said there is little evidence of on-ground support for the mock party, adding that the scale of protest at the weekend would determine if the movement would be seen as a warning sign or a market-moving event. Similar movements led by disgruntled youth on social media in Nepal , Bangladesh , and, more recently, Indonesia have disrupted economic activity and threatened political stability. In some cases, it has also led to the ouster of the ruling party. For investors, it is important that governments "maintain confidence that the next generation will enjoy better economic prospects than the last," Reema Bhattacharya, head of Asia research at Verisk Maplecroft, told CNBC. Across Asia, this proposition "is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain," she added. At its core, the movement reflects "growing frustration over why the much-discussed demographic dividend has delivered uneven outcomes after more than a decade of political promises and expectations," Bhattacharya said. India's economy has been under stra...
Zscaler, Inc. ( ZS ) saw its stock price crater by 32% on Wednesday after the company released its third-quarter fiscal 2026 results. Despite beating consensus estimates for both revenue and earnings per share, the cybersecurity leader disappointed investors with its fiscal 2027 outlook, projecting a revenue growth rate of 16% to 17%. This guidance fell significantly short of the 19% to 20% growth...
Zscaler, Inc. ( ZS ) saw its stock price crater by 32% on Wednesday after the company released its third-quarter fiscal 2026 results. Despite beating consensus estimates for both revenue and earnings per share, the cybersecurity leader disappointed investors with its fiscal 2027 outlook, projecting a revenue growth rate of 16% to 17%. This guidance fell significantly short of the 19% to 20% growth analysts had anticipated, sparking a massive selloff in the cloud-native security pioneer. Still, the extreme market reaction has led to a sharp divide in analyst sentiment regarding the company’s long-term upside potential. What Do Seeking Alpha Analysts Say About Zscaler’s Future? While the stock price plummeted, several analysts remained bullish, arguing that the market overreacted to conservative guidance. Optimistic investors pointed to Zscaler’s “Rule of 62” performance and free cash flow margin of 36% as indicators of a high-quality software business. They argued that the company remains well positioned to benefit from the ongoing adoption of Zero Trust security architectures, particularly as regulatory and compliance requirements become more stringent across major markets. Optimistic investors also viewed acquisitions such as Red Canary and Symmetry Systems as opportunities to broaden the platform’s capabilities in managed detection, response, and AI-driven security. Skeptics, however, focused on decelerating revenue growth and softer Net New Annual Recurring Revenue, or ARR, trends. They questioned whether Zscaler can sustain customer acquisition momentum amid intense competition from larger, integrated cybersecurity vendors. Skeptics also cited sales leadership changes and continued GAAP losses driven by substantial stock-based compensation as factors that could weigh on investor sentiment. Here’s a breakdown of what some analysts had to say: Riviera Investor, Rating: Strong Buy: “No serious investor should expect fewer AI agents or lighter IT workloads in the co...
Celcuity ( CELC ) priced an upsized $500M offering of 0.250% convertible senior notes due 2032, up from the previously announced $400M. The initial purchasers were granted a 30-day option to buy up to an additional $75M notes. The notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the company and will mature on June 15, 2032. The net proceeds are expected to be used to fund the continued development an...
Celcuity ( CELC ) priced an upsized $500M offering of 0.250% convertible senior notes due 2032, up from the previously announced $400M. The initial purchasers were granted a 30-day option to buy up to an additional $75M notes. The notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the company and will mature on June 15, 2032. The net proceeds are expected to be used to fund the continued development and potential commercialization of its lead drug candidate, gedatolisib, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes. The offering is expected to close on June 8, 2026. The stock price traded 1.9% lower on Wednesday during after-market hours of trading. More on Celcuity Celcuity: Selloff On Yesterday's Data Unwarranted; Buy Rating Upheld Celcuity Inc. (CELC) Discusses VIKTORIA-1 Trial Results for PIK3CA Mutant Advanced Breast Cancer and Gedatolisib Efficacy Transcript Celcuity: Approaching An Inflection Point With Gedatolisib Celcuity announces $400M convertible notes offering These 10 mid-cap U.S. healthcare companies carry the market's most expensive valuations