Starmer says ministers were in the dark, but friends of former top civil servant suggest it was a case of them looking the other way UK politics live: latest news updates Fiddling with his reading glasses, the then cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald – sitting alongside the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins – suddenly appeared a little tense. The bonhomie evident i...
Starmer says ministers were in the dark, but friends of former top civil servant suggest it was a case of them looking the other way UK politics live: latest news updates Fiddling with his reading glasses, the then cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald – sitting alongside the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins – suddenly appeared a little tense. The bonhomie evident in earlier answers had quite disappeared. Continue reading...
When people look to invest in U.S. stocks, they're usually referring to the S&P 500 . That means they're only investing in a subset of the U.S. equity market. That index gives you exposure to 500 of the largest companies in the United States, but it leaves out about 3,000 that aren't quite large enough to make the cut. For many years, investors didn't really mind leaving those extra 3,000 out. The...
When people look to invest in U.S. stocks, they're usually referring to the S&P 500 . That means they're only investing in a subset of the U.S. equity market. That index gives you exposure to 500 of the largest companies in the United States, but it leaves out about 3,000 that aren't quite large enough to make the cut. For many years, investors didn't really mind leaving those extra 3,000 out. They've been chronic underperformers that would have been a drag on performance. Mega-caps, tech, and the Magnificent Seven stocks have driven the major indexes higher. Smaller, emerging companies have largely been left behind. But that's the past. The next 10 years may look entirely different than the last 10. In fact, over the past 12 months, the Russell 2000 , the popular benchmark for small-cap stocks, has pretty steadily outperformed the S&P 500. Continue reading
Niall/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Although I usually cover large caps, in the past year, my research has brought me to deal with a few energy-tech names with a speculative profile due to their early-stage phase. This is why, from time to time, you have seen me share my view on stocks such as SES AI, Electrovaya, Oklo, and SMR. It's a cluster of stocks that I have been researching and that...
Niall/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Although I usually cover large caps, in the past year, my research has brought me to deal with a few energy-tech names with a speculative profile due to their early-stage phase. This is why, from time to time, you have seen me share my view on stocks such as SES AI, Electrovaya, Oklo, and SMR. It's a cluster of stocks that I have been researching and that requires a different valuation method compared to what we usually do. This time, we are going to deal with Solid Power ( SLDP ), another pre-commercial solid electrolyte business that presents a clear binary commercialization outcome (success/unsuccess). Solid Power At A Glance Solid Power is based in Colorado, where it operates two facilities. Its strategy in the battery industry is not to become a cell manufacturer, but to sell sulfide-based solid electrolyte material to other battery manufacturers and to OEMs. Solid electrolyte material can replace the liquid electrolyte, which is flammable. The advantage that is achieved is higher energy density and a longer battery life, with the important addition that these batteries are also safer. Currently, the company has only two pilot electrolyte lines, but it is building a continuous-manufacturing pilot line that should be capable of 75 metric tons per year by the end of 2026. As we read in the Q4 2025 transcript : In 2025, we finished ordering long lead equipment and conducted detailed design for the line. We expect to install and commission this line by the end of 2026. This line is designed to support small volume customer programs and allow us to learn and optimize the manufacturing processes ahead of full commercialization. Moreover, while the company is trying to develop and move toward the commercialization stage, its management has admitted that work still needs to be done before a product ready for the market is manufactured: During 2026, we will continue to enhance our understanding of how electrolyte performs relat...
North Sea crude oil prices plunged in a key pricing window after Iran said it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz during a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict. The major North Sea crudes and US WTI Midland fell by $5-$7 a barrel on Friday, according to traders monitoring a pricing window run by Platts, a unit of S&P Global Energy. WTI Midland, one of the six grades that define the most important o...
North Sea crude oil prices plunged in a key pricing window after Iran said it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz during a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict. The major North Sea crudes and US WTI Midland fell by $5-$7 a barrel on Friday, according to traders monitoring a pricing window run by Platts, a unit of S&P Global Energy. WTI Midland, one of the six grades that define the most important oil benchmark Dated Brent, was sold at $10.40 above Dated Brent on Friday, the lowest so far this month, and down by more than half from its record on April 14. Oil and gas prices tumbled after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the Strait of Hormuz “is declared completely open .” Still, a US naval blockade continues to constrain flows through the critical waterway, and Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency later reported that passage via the strait will be stopped if the US operation continues. Brent futures fell by as much as 13% to near $86 a barrel after Araghchi’s announcement. North Sea crude prices jumped to record levels earlier this month amid global shortages after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But the sentiment in the North Sea started shifting two days ago when offers outpaced bids for the first time in a month.
The Asset Management Association of China on Friday released the revised Guidelines for Performance Evaluation of Fund Management Companies. China’s asset management regulator has issued finalized rules that force mutual fund managers and executives to tie their compensation directly to long-term investor returns rather than the scale of assets they manage. The Asset Management Association of Chin...
The Asset Management Association of China on Friday released the revised Guidelines for Performance Evaluation of Fund Management Companies. China’s asset management regulator has issued finalized rules that force mutual fund managers and executives to tie their compensation directly to long-term investor returns rather than the scale of assets they manage. The Asset Management Association of China released the revised Guidelines for Performance Evaluation of Fund Management Companies on Friday. The official document remains largely unchanged from a draft circulated in late 2025.
Shares of leading utility water and sewer smart metering specialist Badger Meter (NYSE: BMI) dropped 19% Friday as of noon ET, following the company's painful-looking first-quarter results. Badger Meter's Q1 sales and earnings per share sank 9% and 29%, respectively, and both figures were well below Wall Street's expectations. Following today's drop, the company is down 37% over the last year. Bad...
Shares of leading utility water and sewer smart metering specialist Badger Meter (NYSE: BMI) dropped 19% Friday as of noon ET, following the company's painful-looking first-quarter results. Badger Meter's Q1 sales and earnings per share sank 9% and 29%, respectively, and both figures were well below Wall Street's expectations. Following today's drop, the company is down 37% over the last year. Badger Meter is one of my largest core holdings, so these figures were a bit jarring at first glance. However, today's results are far from a death knell for the company, and I believe management laid out a reasonable explanation for what happened during the quarter. From 2023 to 2025, Badger Meter's sales benefited from four major projects in Jacksonville, Orlando, Pinellas County, and Galveston, which added over 800,000 new water connections. While the boom from these projects was great, they all ended roughly at the same time, which is the primary culprit behind Q1's sudden sales dip. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Bockhorst explained, "The year-over-year decline in revenue and associated operating leverage are related to variability in project timing and short-cycle customer order patterns and do not reflect a change in underlying demand, our competitive position, or the long-term market drivers for our business." Continue reading
Kevin Warsh will get his first major public platform as Federal Reserve Chair nominee next week to address his longstanding concerns over the central bank’s outsized market footprint. Warsh, who has urged for a sharp rollback of the Fed’s $6.6 trillion crisis-era balance sheet, arrives as policymakers are starting to pivot toward regulatory changes to curb the central bank’s market role. While his...
Kevin Warsh will get his first major public platform as Federal Reserve Chair nominee next week to address his longstanding concerns over the central bank’s outsized market footprint. Warsh, who has urged for a sharp rollback of the Fed’s $6.6 trillion crisis-era balance sheet, arrives as policymakers are starting to pivot toward regulatory changes to curb the central bank’s market role. While his Senate confirmation hearing is more likely to focus on interest-rate policy, there are signs his balance-sheet views are gathering momentum within the central bank even as resistance to wide-ranging reforms persists. The Fed stopped reducing its portfolio last year after reserves commercial banks hold with the central bank dropped to levels it judged too thin to absorb market shocks. That sparked a wider question across the Fed and Wall Street: how much cash banks should hold. Too little can send short-term lending rates higher and spread stress through the system; too much leaves the Fed’s balance sheet larger than necessary and ties up capital. The discussion has shifted toward “a debate that’s more focused on financial industry regulation and about whether regulations that require financial institutions to hold large amounts of liquidity are optimal, or whether they can be refined,” said James Egelhof , chief US economist at BNP Paribas. It’s a remarkable shift given how sensitive money markets have been to even small liquidity changes. That was evident in the 2019 blowup in the market for repurchase agreements when a gradual drop in bank reserves sent short-term lending rates skyrocketing, forcing the Fed to step in to ease funding strains. Against this backdrop, Warsh’s hearing carries extra weight. A former Fed governor, he has sharply criticized the bank’s asset growth over the years and he may find some allies among current colleagues. Governor Stephen Miran last month introduced a blueprint for easing liquidity requirements, while Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Mi...
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) is set to report fiscal third-quarter 2026 earnings on April 29, with investors closely watching whether accelerating artificial intelligence adoption can offset concerns around moderating cloud growth and heavy AI-related spending, according to Bank of...
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) is set to report fiscal third-quarter 2026 earnings on April 29, with investors closely watching whether accelerating artificial intelligence adoption can offset concerns around moderating cloud growth and heavy AI-related spending, according to Bank of...
Gri-spb/iStock via Getty Images Brent oil prices ( CO1:COM ) are expected to settle around $80 per barrel over the next two years, according to Warren Pies, co-founder of 3Fourteen Research. The forecast comes as markets react to the announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is reopening following a period of heightened uncertainty. In an interview with CNBC, Pies explained that the reopening allows ...
Gri-spb/iStock via Getty Images Brent oil prices ( CO1:COM ) are expected to settle around $80 per barrel over the next two years, according to Warren Pies, co-founder of 3Fourteen Research. The forecast comes as markets react to the announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is reopening following a period of heightened uncertainty. In an interview with CNBC, Pies explained that the reopening allows the market to avoid what could have been a far more severe supply disruption. He noted that the longer the strait remained closed, the higher the risk of elevated long-term oil prices, making the resolution a significant relief for energy markets. While current prices remain slightly above the $80 level, Pies said the market tends to reach equilibrium quickly. “I think long term, Brent’s going to settle in around $80 a barrel,” he said, adding that this average would likely hold for the next two years. Beyond oil, Pies argued that the declining crude prices ( CO1:COM ), ( CL1:COM ) strengthen the case for equities ( SP500 ), ( COMP:IND ), ( DJI ). He described the development as something that “amplifies the equity bull case,” pointing to recent positive momentum in the broader stock market as evidence that a new rally may be underway. Supporting his bullish outlook, Pies highlighted that earnings have grown 9% year-to-date even as the market experienced a correction. He noted that the price-to-earnings ratio corrected by 18%, a rare occurrence outside of Fed tightening or a recession, which he views as a reset that positions the market for further gains. Despite the recent volatility, 3Fourteen Research is maintaining its year-end index target of 7,850 for the S&P 500 ( SP500 ). Pies concluded that current conditions, including reset positioning and improving fundamentals, have “the looks of the next leg of the bull market.” More on Crude Oil Futures, Brent Futures Intraday Analysis: WTI And Brent Oil Bounce With U.S.-Iran News Still Awaited - What's Next? New Highs, Old F...