Wirestock/iStock via Getty Images The Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund II ( EOS ) was rated a Buy in July last year, almost reluctantly, looking at its overall total returns and positioning as a growth vehicle with income—something that can yield decent long-term returns. Looking back, I think I should have factored in the drags a little more—the combination of a lack of drawdown protection...
Wirestock/iStock via Getty Images The Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund II ( EOS ) was rated a Buy in July last year, almost reluctantly, looking at its overall total returns and positioning as a growth vehicle with income—something that can yield decent long-term returns. Looking back, I think I should have factored in the drags a little more—the combination of a lack of drawdown protection or alpha generation despite an active option layer (includes hedging or up to 10% speculative derivative exposure) or a significant growth alpha due to an active portfolio. I did discuss these detriments, but the portfolio looked positioned for growth in a tech bull run. EOS has a total return of ~-3% since, at a time when a broader market play like the S&P 500 (proxied by SPY below) is up almost 13%. That is severe underperformance for a growth portfolio, and again, drawdowns have not been any better, as seen during the Middle East crisis sell-off. Looking ahead, I think EOS is a Hold at best, with its use case looking challenged compared to some other income funds or growth alternatives. The portfolio positioning is also not likely to generate any growth alpha over the next few quarters. Data by YCharts Performance Versus Income Alternatives The performance versus even broader growth is already significantly poorer in a market tailor-made for growth (as seen from the SPY versus EOS total returns chart above). And the portfolio has significantly higher tech weights consistently compared to the S&P 500 (mid-forties versus lower thirties). That drags EOS' thesis. Given that tech has been broadly consolidating since September-October last year (barring the draw around March this year), one would have expected the option layer in EOS to add at least some option premium income to compensate for growth—but here too, you will see EOS far behind another popular covered call vehicle, QQQI (based on a passive QQQ) for context. Even in a world of so many option income vehicles, you ...
Resurgence of 90s minimalism has caused an explosion in the popularity of denim, but can a pair ever be worth £800? Denim mania is surging across the fashion spectrum. At one end is luxury brand Alaia with an Aegean blue, comfortable yet flattering £800 pair. At the other is JW Anderson’s collaboration with high street brand Uniqlo and a £34.90 pricetag. Both are proving wildly popular. Alaia’s li...
Resurgence of 90s minimalism has caused an explosion in the popularity of denim, but can a pair ever be worth £800? Denim mania is surging across the fashion spectrum. At one end is luxury brand Alaia with an Aegean blue, comfortable yet flattering £800 pair. At the other is JW Anderson’s collaboration with high street brand Uniqlo and a £34.90 pricetag. Both are proving wildly popular. Alaia’s line has only just launched, so there are no sales figures yet, but demand for their Japanese denim is such that customers are “advised” to reserve certain styles in-store, or call ahead before visiting. At Uniqlo, the straight cut are “the most popular”, on the front row of the most recent fashion weeks, and routinely sell out online. Blame the resurgence of 90s minimalism. Continue reading...
Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Technology Companies: TSMC (TSM), Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) The Globe and Mail
Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Technology Companies: TSMC (TSM), Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) The Globe and Mail
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Crude oil futures sank more than 10% Friday after Iran's foreign minister declared the Strait of Hormuz " completely open " for commercial vessels through the remaining ceasefire period, raising hopes of easing supply disruptions. Oil prices already were moving lower as possible further talks between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend and a 10-day ceasefire ...
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Crude oil futures sank more than 10% Friday after Iran's foreign minister declared the Strait of Hormuz " completely open " for commercial vessels through the remaining ceasefire period, raising hopes of easing supply disruptions. Oil prices already were moving lower as possible further talks between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend and a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel raised hopes that the Middle East war could be nearing an end. Also, President Trump said the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports will "remain in full force," casting uncertainty on whether Hormuz would be fully open to commercial shipping in the near future. Front-month Nymex crude ( CL1:COM ) for May delivery recently was down 10.7% to $84.27/bbl, and front-month Brent crude ( CO1:COM ) for June delivery was down 10.9 % to $88.53/bbl. Ten of the 15 biggest decliners on the S&P 500 are in the oil and gas sector: APA ( APA ) down 10.7%, Valero Energy ( VLO ) down 8%, Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) down 7.1%, Diamondback Energy ( FANG ) down 7%, Devon Energy ( DVN ) down 6.8%, Coterra Energy ( CTRA ) down 6.6%, ConocoPhillips ( COP ) down 6.5%, EOG Resources ( EOG ) down 6.3%, Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) down 5.7%, Marathon Petroleum ( MPC ) down 5.1%. In a social media post, Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said vessels traveling through the critical waterway must sail a "coordinated route" prescribed by Iran's maritime authorities, presumably to avoid mines. However, Iran's announcement does not give the shipping industry assurances to resume traffic through the strait, Lloyd's List Editor In Chief Richard Meade told The Wall Street Journal . "From the shipping perspective, it is certainly promising, but it doesn't immediately give anybody enough clarity to make any firm decisions," Meade said, noting the statement did not clarify whether Iran still plans to collect a toll for passing ships. ETFs: ( USO ), ( BNO ), ( UCO ), ( SCO ), ( USL ), ( DBO ), ( DRIP...
Worawith Ounpeng Alamar Biosciences ( ALMR ), a commercial-stage proteomics company, priced its upsized initial public offering of approximately 11.3M shares of its common stock at $17.00 per share on Friday. Fremont, California-based Alamar ( ALMR ), which focuses on protein detection and analysis, is set to raise about $191M in gross proceeds from the IPO. The company is scheduled to make its tr...
Worawith Ounpeng Alamar Biosciences ( ALMR ), a commercial-stage proteomics company, priced its upsized initial public offering of approximately 11.3M shares of its common stock at $17.00 per share on Friday. Fremont, California-based Alamar ( ALMR ), which focuses on protein detection and analysis, is set to raise about $191M in gross proceeds from the IPO. The company is scheduled to make its trading debut under the ticker symbol “ALMR” on the Nasdaq Global Select on Friday. Underwriters will have a 30-day option to purchase up to ~1.7M shares of common stock additionally at the IPO price minus underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on Monday. Earlier this week, the company announced plans to offer ~9.4M shares at a targeted price range of $15–$17 apiece to raise as much as $159M at the top of the range. More on Alamar Biosciences, Inc. Alamar Biosciences Burns Cash In Runup To IPO GLP-1 developer Kailera, proteomics firm Alamar file for U.S. IPOs Financial information for Alamar Biosciences, Inc.
MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images Ally Financial ( ALLY ) shares traded higher by 3% after the consumer-loan company within the Financials sector reported solid Q1 results. The Detroit-based firm tallied record consumer loan applications, helping to fuel a double-beat. I had a "B uy" rating on ALLY back in September of 2025 . Shares are up close to 10% since then, including the prema...
MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images Ally Financial ( ALLY ) shares traded higher by 3% after the consumer-loan company within the Financials sector reported solid Q1 results. The Detroit-based firm tallied record consumer loan applications, helping to fuel a double-beat. I had a "B uy" rating on ALLY back in September of 2025 . Shares are up close to 10% since then, including the premarket gain on Friday, April 17. Today, I reiterate a "B uy" rating. EPS growth trends are very impressive, while the P/E ratio valuation remains depressed. Still, the technical situation is not ideal, and concerns surround the health of lower- and middle-income consumers. Auto Loan Delinquencies Ticking Up Goldman Sachs K-Economy: Weaker Lower-Income Wage Growth BofAI ALLY Outperforming XLF YoY Stockcharts.com In April, Ally reported a solid set of quarterly results. Q1 non-GAAP EPS of $1.11 topped the Wall Street consensus forecast of $0.94, while revenue of $2.18 billion, up 5.3% from the same period a year earlier, was a small $40 million beat. Its net financing revenue hit $1.6 billion, up $111 million YoY, while the net interest margin ( NIM ) ticked up to 3.48%. Shares rose 3% in the session that followed, marking a third consecutive post-earnings rise. Implied volatility was elevated at 39% coming into the Q1 print, and I expect that to retreat to the low 30s in the coming days. As it stands, the next dividend pay date is May 1, while shares of the $13 billion market cap company sport a low but not immaterial 3.5% short interest. Looking back on the quarter that was, Ally got off to a strong start to 2026. The company reported GAAP net income of $291 million, while adjusted EPS surged 91% compared to the first quarter of 2025. The robust performance was supported by adjusted net revenue of $2.2 billion and a core pre-tax income of $470 million. Operational highlights included a record consumer auto applications of 4.4 million , which helped drive $11.5 billion in new ...