Get a jump start on the US trading day with Dani Burger on "Bloomberg Open Interest." AI euphoria returns as blockbuster results from Intel fuel a rally in tech shares. Meanwhile, Pakistan says a second round of US-Iran talks is expected, but no date has been set. Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson shares his outlook for US earnings. Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli stands firm as Middle East tensi...
Get a jump start on the US trading day with Dani Burger on "Bloomberg Open Interest." AI euphoria returns as blockbuster results from Intel fuel a rally in tech shares. Meanwhile, Pakistan says a second round of US-Iran talks is expected, but no date has been set. Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson shares his outlook for US earnings. Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli stands firm as Middle East tensions disrupt energy. Plus, ChargePoint CEO Rick Wilme on the race to expand charging networks as demand surges. (Source: Bloomberg)
Some 80 million years ago, the late Cretaceous oceans were patrolled by 17-meter mosasaurs, long-necked plesiosaurs, and massive, predatory sharks. For decades, the paleontological consensus was that this was the age of vertebrates; anything without a backbone was lunch. However, a new Science paper argues there was another apex predator lurking in the depths, and it didn’t have a single bone in i...
Some 80 million years ago, the late Cretaceous oceans were patrolled by 17-meter mosasaurs, long-necked plesiosaurs, and massive, predatory sharks. For decades, the paleontological consensus was that this was the age of vertebrates; anything without a backbone was lunch. However, a new Science paper argues there was another apex predator lurking in the depths, and it didn’t have a single bone in its body. Researchers have uncovered the fossilized remains of ancient, finned octopuses that likely reached lengths of up to 19 meters. They were armed with powerful, hardened beaks and likely had high intelligence. Reverse 3D printing "Before this study, Cretaceous marine ecosystems were generally understood as worlds in which large vertebrate predators occupied the top of the food web," said Yasuhiro Iba, a paleontologist at Hokkaido University and co-author of the study. Invertebrates, on the other hand, were seen as prey that evolved protective structures such as hard shells in response to predation. Octopuses were especially difficult to evaluate because they rarely fossilize. “Our study changes that picture,” Iba said. Read full article Comments
Earnings Call Insights: Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Q1 2026 Management View Dennis Zember framed Q1 profitability around operating results, saying, "in the first quarter, we earned $7.3 million or $0.30 per share" and adding, "on an operating basis, we earned $0.33 per share in the first quarter," while noting Q1 2025 included "a substantial gain on the deconsolidation of Panacea." Zember highli...
Earnings Call Insights: Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Q1 2026 Management View Dennis Zember framed Q1 profitability around operating results, saying, "in the first quarter, we earned $7.3 million or $0.30 per share" and adding, "on an operating basis, we earned $0.33 per share in the first quarter," while noting Q1 2025 included "a substantial gain on the deconsolidation of Panacea." Zember highlighted balance sheet mix and funding, stating, "Our net interest margin... climbed to 3.43% in the first quarter" and adding, "Deposit growth... came in at just better than 8% with very little of that from the digital platform," alongside, "noninterest-bearing checking accounts growing to $541 million," which he said was "almost 19% higher" year-over-year. Zember emphasized mortgage-led strategy shifts, saying, "Mortgage Warehouse has fully replaced Life Premium Finance at this point" and reporting, "We finished the quarter with about $460 million outstanding," adding that the business delivered "efficiency ratios in the 20s" and that "we could probably double this business in the next 12 to 18 months." On retail mortgage, Zember said, "Retail mortgage had an absolute blowout quarter" and reported, "pretax income in the mortgage group grew to $2.1 million" and "our earnings crept up to 57 basis points on closed volume," adding, "Right now, we believe Primis Mortgage is on track to be a top 50 mortgage company nationwide in 2026." Zember positioned AI as a catalyst, saying, "AI for us is the same kind of opportunity and catalyst that you would expect me to report if we were doing an M&A transaction," and added, "we believe that in a year, we are going to be the undisputed leader amongst banks under $10 billion, using AI to drive operating results... and importantly, fraud prevention." Matthew Switzer tied margin improvement to funding and balance sheet actions, stating, "Net interest income was approximately $32 million" and "Our net interest margin in the first quarter was 3...
Earnings Call Insights: Principal Financial Group (PFG) Q1 2026 Management View “We delivered 13% adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share growth in the first quarter, above the high end of our target range,” driven “primarily” by “favorable underwriting results and improved mortality within our Benefits and Protection business as well as positive market conditions for our fee-based businesses,” Deann...
Earnings Call Insights: Principal Financial Group (PFG) Q1 2026 Management View “We delivered 13% adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share growth in the first quarter, above the high end of our target range,” driven “primarily” by “favorable underwriting results and improved mortality within our Benefits and Protection business as well as positive market conditions for our fee-based businesses,” Deanna Strable (President, CEO & Chair of the Board) said. “Strong performance and capital generation enabled us to return approximately $375 million of capital to shareholders in the quarter, including $200 million of share repurchases,” and “we also raised our common stock dividend for the 12th consecutive quarter,” Strable said. On retirement momentum, Strable said “total retirement transfer deposits of $12 billion in the quarter grew 35% year-over-year,” while “recurring deposits grew 7%,” and added “$1.7 billion of roll-ins” and “DCIO sales of $2 billion in the quarter.” On asset management, Strable said Investment Management delivered “record gross sales” of “$37 billion,” private markets generated “net inflows of $400 million,” active ETFs had “net inflows of $400 million,” and the firm generated “strong net cash flow of $1.5 billion in the quarter from clients outside the U.S.” “We reported non-GAAP operating earnings of $456 million” and “non-GAAP operating ROE was 16.1%,” while “margin expanded by 190 basis points to 30%,” Joel Pitz (Executive VP & CFO) said. Outlook “The first quarter was a strong start to the year, and we are well positioned to deliver on our 2026 financial targets,” Pitz said. Variable investment income expectations were reiterated: “We still expect full year 2026 variable investment income to improve relative to 2025 with or without this change,” Pitz said, referring to a reporting reclassification where “we reclassified this noncash expense through realized gains and losses.” On Specialty Benefits profitability, Amy Friedrich (President of Benefit...
Anthropic has been one of the hottest names in the AI and tech world over the past few years. Its AI model, Claude, has become a true competitor to tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, and it seems to be picking up more steam by the day. One company that has seen Anthropic's vision is Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) , which made an initial $1.25 billion investment in it in 2023. By November 2024, Amazon had a tot...
Anthropic has been one of the hottest names in the AI and tech world over the past few years. Its AI model, Claude, has become a true competitor to tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, and it seems to be picking up more steam by the day. One company that has seen Anthropic's vision is Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) , which made an initial $1.25 billion investment in it in 2023. By November 2024, Amazon had a total of $8 billion invested in Anthropic, and now it's back at it. Amazon recently announced it was making another $5 billion investment, with the possibility of buying an additional $20 billion stake down the road. Both companies will benefit from the partnership, no doubt, but one company clearly has more to gain. Continue reading
Procter & Gamble shares rose 3% on Friday after the consumer products giant reported top and bottom line beats, while reiterating guidance. P & G was able to do this despite increased commodity prices due to the Iran war. Sales in the company's fiscal 2026 third quarter, ended March 31, increased 7% year over year to $21.2 billion, outpacing the $20.5 billion expected by analysts, according to dat...
Procter & Gamble shares rose 3% on Friday after the consumer products giant reported top and bottom line beats, while reiterating guidance. P & G was able to do this despite increased commodity prices due to the Iran war. Sales in the company's fiscal 2026 third quarter, ended March 31, increased 7% year over year to $21.2 billion, outpacing the $20.5 billion expected by analysts, according to data provider LSEG. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) , which excludes a 4-cent per share benefit from the dissolution of the Glad joint venture business, came in at $1.59, representing a 3% year-over-year increase. That was ahead of the $1.56 estimate compiled by LSEG. Bottom line A solid quarter from Procter & Gamble, with better-than-expected sales in all product categories and organic growth realized in all geographic operating regions, including a 3% organic increase in Greater China, despite what remains a challenging consumer environment. The results again demonstrated that as long as P & G can innovate and provide a best-in-class product , it can use pricing power, when and where needed, to protect profits, no matter the economic environment. P & G products may not always be the cheapest, but they are almost always a leader when it comes to value, something consumers clearly understand. Importantly, the company's overall 3% organic growth for the quarter was the result of a 1% increase in price and 2% increase in volume. That means demand didn't wane in the face of higher prices, and that growth was not entirely the result of price actions taken by the company. While raising prices is one way to drive sales growth, it's not the most sustainable way. The increase in volume indicates that consumers acknowledge that even with the higher prices, P & G products still represent a solid value. PG YTD mountain Procter & Gamble YTD While the detrimental effects of higher energy prices will hit everyone, Procter & Gamble is once again proving that innovation, operational excelle...
Young coach showed tactical nous in his first caretaker stint but was also part of Liam Rosenior’s backroom team Given Chelsea supporters are pining for the old days, perhaps they can cheer themselves up by remembering glorious runs from some of the club’s previous interim managers, although whether Calum McFarlane is capable of emulating the likes of Guus Hiddink, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Ben...
Young coach showed tactical nous in his first caretaker stint but was also part of Liam Rosenior’s backroom team Given Chelsea supporters are pining for the old days, perhaps they can cheer themselves up by remembering glorious runs from some of the club’s previous interim managers, although whether Calum McFarlane is capable of emulating the likes of Guus Hiddink, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benítez looks like a long shot as another damaging week for the BlueCo project draws to a close. Is this inexperienced young coach the man for a salvage operation? Fans will take some convincing after watching Chelsea’s players not so much throw in the towel as not even bother to pick it up at all during Tuesday’s defeat to Brighton, which saw off Liam Rosenior. Those heading to Wembley for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds will hope for a response but do not be surprised if they turn mutinous again. Continue reading...
It’s quite obvious now that military stocks are not going to tumble significantly anytime soon. The forever wars will pause, only to be followed up with another conflict down the line, and the First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEARCA:MISL) benefits greatly from that. This one gives you exposure to everything that is in hot ... 1 ETF to Buy Before a $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget Hits
It’s quite obvious now that military stocks are not going to tumble significantly anytime soon. The forever wars will pause, only to be followed up with another conflict down the line, and the First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEARCA:MISL) benefits greatly from that. This one gives you exposure to everything that is in hot ... 1 ETF to Buy Before a $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget Hits
In this episode of Motley Fool Money, Motley Fool Personal Finance Expert Robert Brokamp continues the conversation with Ben Carlson, who is the director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management, the writer behind the “A Wealth of Common Sense” blog, the co-host of the Animal Spirits podcast, and the author of “Risk and Reward: How to Handle Market Volatility and Build Long-...
In this episode of Motley Fool Money, Motley Fool Personal Finance Expert Robert Brokamp continues the conversation with Ben Carlson, who is the director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management, the writer behind the “A Wealth of Common Sense” blog, the co-host of the Animal Spirits podcast, and the author of “Risk and Reward: How to Handle Market Volatility and Build Long-Term Wealth.” Listen to Part 1 of this conversation. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center . When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy . A full transcript is below. Continue reading
Six One Commodities LLC has more than tripled its physical US natural gas trading activity, catapulting the firm above heavyweight commodity houses Trafigura Trading , Freepoint Commodities and Hartree Partners . The rapid increase by a merchant business founded in 2018 comes as increasing market volatility provides an edge to traders that can ship and store the fuel, pulling newer entrants into a...
Six One Commodities LLC has more than tripled its physical US natural gas trading activity, catapulting the firm above heavyweight commodity houses Trafigura Trading , Freepoint Commodities and Hartree Partners . The rapid increase by a merchant business founded in 2018 comes as increasing market volatility provides an edge to traders that can ship and store the fuel, pulling newer entrants into a race for a bigger piece of the real-world gas market. Six One bought and sold 4.6 billion cubic feet of US gas per day in 2025, an almost 250% increase from a year earlier and its largest-ever annual volume, according to regulatory filings. That ranked the energy merchant ahead of Trafigura’s 3.5 billion cubic feet in daily volume last year. Six One also traded more than Freepoint and Hartree, which dealt in 3.2 billion and 2.5 billion, respectively. Physical gas trading involves buying, selling, shipping and storing actual molecules of the fuel, unlike purely financial investing that focuses on futures contracts and other derivative instruments. US gas trading is back in vogue after a more than a decade in the doldrums when rampant output from North American shale fields glutted markets with excess supplies of the power-plant and furnace fuel. That all changed with the surge in demand sparked by liquefied gas exports, data centers and electric cars, all of which spiked volatility even before the Iran war threw global energy markets into disarray. Read More: Natural Gas Traders Fume After NYMEX Glitch Spurs Market Chaos Six One “has significantly grown its US natural gas business as part of a broader strategic expansion of our commodities platform,” President Harrison DeStefano wrote in an emailed response to inquiries. The firm with offices across the US, Canada, Europe and Singapore, plans to continue pursuing “meaningful opportunities across physical gas markets,” he added. A Trafigura spokesperson said in an email that the company’s “US gas business has experienced sub...
Key PointsWith almost $88 billion in assets, this popular dividend ETF is offered by one of the most reputable firms in the financial services industry.
Key PointsWith almost $88 billion in assets, this popular dividend ETF is offered by one of the most reputable firms in the financial services industry.