Best in the Business!! gradyreese/E+ via Getty Images Barings/ MassMutual: Private Credit's "Pros from Dover" I first wrote about Barings Corporate Investors Fund ( MCI ) about five years ago ( link here ), explaining how its sponsor/manager, MassMutual, had been among the top "private placement" investors for many years. "Private placements" was the term originally used for privately issued corpo...
Best in the Business!! gradyreese/E+ via Getty Images Barings/ MassMutual: Private Credit's "Pros from Dover" I first wrote about Barings Corporate Investors Fund ( MCI ) about five years ago ( link here ), explaining how its sponsor/manager, MassMutual, had been among the top "private placement" investors for many years. "Private placements" was the term originally used for privately issued corporate debt (i.e., loans and bonds not originated by banks), which was a staple of the institutional investment market (insurance companies, pension funds, endowments, etc.) for decades, long before it became more available to retail investors and popularly known as "private credit." The expression "Pros from Dover" was originated in the 1970 film M*A*S*H by characters Hawkeye and Trapper, two zany Korean War army surgeons who were as likely to use the phrase to talk their way into hospital emergency rooms as they were to crash exclusive golf clubs. The "Pros from Dover" term stuck and is frequently used to describe those with widely recognized, demonstrated expertise, like Barings/ MassMutual. MCI and its almost identical sibling fund, Barings Participation Investors ( MPV ), have definitely shown themselves, over many years, to be the "Pros from Dover" in the high-yield corporate credit world. While included as "high-yield bond" funds in most closed-end fund listings, both MPV and MCI emphasize in their reports and presentations their broad experience in, and focus on, the "private credit" space. Here's how they express it: MCI and MPV benefit from being part of the larger Barings North American Private Finance (“NAPF”) platform, which has over 30 years of experience and commitments of over $28 billion to private credit. The NAPF platform has provided two primary benefits: Direct deal origination and credit underwriting. NAPF has served as the Lead or Co-Lead on over 80% of its originated transactions and has had a senior loan loss rate of 0.03% since inception. The benefit...
ronniechua/iStock via Getty Images Weatherford International ( WFRD ) said Wednesday that oilfield activity in Mexico has normalized and the company is starting to get paid after Pemex raised funds to pay its suppliers after long delays, Reuters reported. Oilfield service companies had significantly reduced activities due to state-run Pemex's accumulation of billions of dollars in pending payment...
ronniechua/iStock via Getty Images Weatherford International ( WFRD ) said Wednesday that oilfield activity in Mexico has normalized and the company is starting to get paid after Pemex raised funds to pay its suppliers after long delays, Reuters reported. Oilfield service companies had significantly reduced activities due to state-run Pemex's accumulation of billions of dollars in pending payments to contractors and providers in recent years. "We are starting to get paid," and "we think that stability will continue on an activity level... So I think over the next few years, [Mexico] will be a bright spot," Weatherford ( WFRD ) CEO Girish Saligram said on the company's earnings conference call . Weatherford ( WFRD ) received a large payment in Q4 2025 and another in Q1 from its main customer in Mexico, which still owed $283M as of March 31, CFO Anuj Dhruv said on the call, without identifying the customer by name. The company also warned a hit to earnings from the Middle East will get worse this quarter, totaling $30M-$50M over this year's H1, Saligram said, based on oilfield activity in the region starting to normalize by the end of the current quarter. Weatherford ( WFRD ) has been forced to pause operations for several weeks in countries including Iraq, Qatar, and parts of Kuwait, the CEO said, adding that a jump in freight costs, jet fuel, and trucking expenses also have caused strain. Impacts from the war will show more clearly in Q2 after the company report ed better-than-expected Q1 earnings , Saligram said, while noting a resolution to the conflict would mean oilfield services companies would be among the first to reap the benefits as countries rebuild their damaged energy infrastructure. More on Weatherford International Weatherford: Out Too Early Given The 2026 Macro Weatherford: Thank You, I'm Out After Q3'25 (Rating Downgrade)
Musk doesn't see a future in human-driven cars. He sees Cybercab making up most of Tesla vehicle sales in the future. That means Cybercab, Tesla's purpose-built two-seat robo-taxi, might just be the smaller Tesla people have been waiting for.
Musk doesn't see a future in human-driven cars. He sees Cybercab making up most of Tesla vehicle sales in the future. That means Cybercab, Tesla's purpose-built two-seat robo-taxi, might just be the smaller Tesla people have been waiting for.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) , a leading memory and storage producer, closed Wednesday at $487.48, up 8.48%. The stock moved higher amid broader confidence in artificial intelligence (AI) memory demand and news of a ceasefire in Iran. Trading volume reached 45.4 million shares, coming in 9.6% above its three-month average of 41.4 million shares. Micron Technology IPO'd in 1984 and has grown 34,41...
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) , a leading memory and storage producer, closed Wednesday at $487.48, up 8.48%. The stock moved higher amid broader confidence in artificial intelligence (AI) memory demand and news of a ceasefire in Iran. Trading volume reached 45.4 million shares, coming in 9.6% above its three-month average of 41.4 million shares. Micron Technology IPO'd in 1984 and has grown 34,411% since going public. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) added 1.05% to finish Wednesday at 7,138, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) climbed 1.64% to close at 24,658. Within semiconductors, rival Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) rose 1.38% to close at $389.10, and Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) soared 8.37% to finish at $979.07 as AI-related chipmakers continued to benefit from strong demand narratives. Continue reading
General Dynamics ( GD ) unit Bath Iron Works won a $230.5M contract modification for work on Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers. The contract covers planning, yard services, long-lead material support, and procurement of key ship components. The work will be carried out in Bath, Maine, and is scheduled to be completed by July 2027. If all contract options are fully exercised, the total ...
General Dynamics ( GD ) unit Bath Iron Works won a $230.5M contract modification for work on Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers. The contract covers planning, yard services, long-lead material support, and procurement of key ship components. The work will be carried out in Bath, Maine, and is scheduled to be completed by July 2027. If all contract options are fully exercised, the total contract value could reach $895M. At the time of award, about $10.2M (4%) in Navy FY26 funds will be obligated, which will expire at the end of FY26. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Bath, Maine, is the contracting activity. More on General Dynamics General Dynamics: Poised To Benefit From High Volume Of Government Contracts General Dynamics: Inexpensive Defense Leader General Dynamics Looks Undervalued As Submarines And Business Jets Ramp Pentagon details Trump’s $1.5T defense plan; focus on missiles, drones, ships General Dynamics subsidiary wins $183M U.S. Navy repair contract
The most revealing fact about Hong Kong’s stablecoin launch is not that licences were issued. It is who got them, and who did not. By handing the first approvals to HSBC and the Standard Chartered-led joint venture Anchorpoint Financial, regulators made clear from the start that digital money in Hong Kong will be bank-led. That choice matters because Hong Kong is not trying to become Asia’s easies...
The most revealing fact about Hong Kong’s stablecoin launch is not that licences were issued. It is who got them, and who did not. By handing the first approvals to HSBC and the Standard Chartered-led joint venture Anchorpoint Financial, regulators made clear from the start that digital money in Hong Kong will be bank-led. That choice matters because Hong Kong is not trying to become Asia’s easiest venue for cryptocurrency experimentation. Rather, it is trying to become the most credible place...
Tesla's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Wednesday the company plans to use Intel's advanced 14A manufacturing process to make chips at its Terafab project. Intel's shares rose 2.8% in extended trading. Intel joined Musk's Terafab AI chip complex earlier this month with SpaceX and Tesla to make processors to fuel the billionaire's robotics and data center ambitions.
Tesla's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Wednesday the company plans to use Intel's advanced 14A manufacturing process to make chips at its Terafab project. Intel's shares rose 2.8% in extended trading. Intel joined Musk's Terafab AI chip complex earlier this month with SpaceX and Tesla to make processors to fuel the billionaire's robotics and data center ambitions.
Tesla's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Wednesday the company plans to use Intel's advanced 14A manufacturing process to make chips at its Terafab project. The move marks a breakthrough for Intel, which has been trying to revamp its business to attract outside customers to use its chip manufacturing technology. Intel's forthcoming "14A" chipmaking technology aims to compete with top r...
Tesla's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Wednesday the company plans to use Intel's advanced 14A manufacturing process to make chips at its Terafab project. The move marks a breakthrough for Intel, which has been trying to revamp its business to attract outside customers to use its chip manufacturing technology. Intel's forthcoming "14A" chipmaking technology aims to compete with top rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, but Intel had not yet disclosed a major external customer.
photosvit/iStock Editorial via Getty Images While the S&P 500 has quickly shed its wartime jitters and rallied back to all-time highs, there are still plenty of pockets in the stock market where caution abounds. Investors have backed away meaningfully from earlier-stage tech companies, limited not just to software names impacted by the "SaaSpocalypse" but the electric vehicle space as well. Shares...
photosvit/iStock Editorial via Getty Images While the S&P 500 has quickly shed its wartime jitters and rallied back to all-time highs, there are still plenty of pockets in the stock market where caution abounds. Investors have backed away meaningfully from earlier-stage tech companies, limited not just to software names impacted by the "SaaSpocalypse" but the electric vehicle space as well. Shares of Rivian Automotive, Inc. ( RIVN ), the second-largest EV maker behind Tesla, have seen their share price fall ~10% this year, and the stock is also down ~20% below December peaks around $22. Meanwhile, the growth backdrop for this stock remains unassailable as we prepare for the launch of the R2 in a few months. Data by YCharts I last wrote a "Buy" article on Rivian (RIVN) in November, when the stock was trading at just $13 per share. In retrospect, I wish I had loaded up on more Rivian stock. At the same time, I'm comfortable holding this stock through the R2 launch and am confident in further tailwinds ahead. I'm reiterating my "Buy" rating for the company. There are two major catalysts ahead for Rivian. The first is the company's upcoming Q1 earnings release, due on April 30. The second is the start of R2 pre-orders , which are expected to open in June. Stay long ahead of then. Q1 Look-Ahead: Pay Attention To ASP Growth And Software Sales As a reminder, the earnings releases for most EV companies are a less volatile event because companies pre-release delivery figures about a month before releasing financials. For Q1, Rivian delivered 10,365 vehicles and affirmed its earlier guidance calling for 62k-67k in deliveries in 2026 (inclusive of new R2 figures and representing a rapid 42%-59% y/y growth rate against FY25 deliveries of 42.2k). For reference, delivery trends in the past year are shown in the chart below: Rivian delivery trends through FY25 (Rivian Q4 shareholder letter) For Q1 specifically, deliveries of 10.4k well exceeded expectations for just 9.9k deliverie...
When looking for investments in the healthcare space, smaller companies tend to be more alluring. They can be working on drugs or releasing drugs with breakthrough potential. Those companies also carry a lot of risk, however, because there's no guarantee those drugs will be approved or be commercial successes. That's why some investors seek out more-established players in the healthcare market . T...
When looking for investments in the healthcare space, smaller companies tend to be more alluring. They can be working on drugs or releasing drugs with breakthrough potential. Those companies also carry a lot of risk, however, because there's no guarantee those drugs will be approved or be commercial successes. That's why some investors seek out more-established players in the healthcare market . Those companies can generate reliable revenue, but the potential upside may not be as great as owning shares of a smaller company. Let's look at a smaller and a larger company today, highlighting the benefits and risks of each. The small-cap stock is CytomX Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTMX) , and the megacap is Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) . Which one is right for you? Continue reading