To get John Authers’ newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here . Today’s Points: The Iran war is three months old, and the US ( stock market ) is winning. Fund managers think multiples will rise even as inflation also goes up. British politics is approaching crisis point. May business surveys show China is slowing . AND: More precious songs. Three Months Later The conflict in Iran ...
To get John Authers’ newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here . Today’s Points: The Iran war is three months old, and the US ( stock market ) is winning. Fund managers think multiples will rise even as inflation also goes up. British politics is approaching crisis point. May business surveys show China is slowing . AND: More precious songs. Three Months Later The conflict in Iran has now lasted a quarter of a year. It’s 10 weeks since President Donald Trump, flanked by Japan’s Sanae Takaichi, told the world’s press that Iran’s entire navy and air force had been “demolished.” Despite this, an Iranian attack on a Kuwaiti military base injured several Americans this weekend. Iran’s demolished forces are still succeeding in placing a tight limit on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — although there are signs that the US is finding ways to help ships get through. It’s a strategic debacle for the US . Iran’s regime remains in place, fortified by discovering just how easily it can close one of the world’s most vital waterways. And so the market reaction has, of course, been euphoric: The extraordinary boom in the chips needed to power artificial intelligence is of course critical to this. But there’s also an underlying confidence that the Iranian situation will not cause serious damage. The latest quarterly survey of global asset allocators by Absolute Strategy Research is a useful gauge, as the previous edition came out in the week before war broke out. The most powerful money managers’ optimism appears undented: Perhaps more surprisingly, they increasingly believe that multiples will expand, even though many measures are historically high. This is the first time a majority have expected multiples to rise since the worst of the pandemic: Historic earnings multiples, looking back at profits over the last decade, appear extreme: The widely followed cyclically adjusted price/earnings ratio mapped by Robert Shiller of Yale University is at its highest sinc...
Could Africa’s long-misunderstood population boom become its greatest economic advantage? Economist and author Joe Studwell joins host Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss his book, How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World's Last Developmental Frontier. He argues that rising population density is already transforming the continent by creating deeper markets, boosting agricultural productivity...
Could Africa’s long-misunderstood population boom become its greatest economic advantage? Economist and author Joe Studwell joins host Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss his book, How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World's Last Developmental Frontier. He argues that rising population density is already transforming the continent by creating deeper markets, boosting agricultural productivity, supporting urbanization and making manufacturing more viable. While governance, debt and commodity dependence remain risks, he sees a more diverse, locally driven growth story emerging across Africa. (Source: Bloomberg)
Annette Bramley says Holly’s Law would stop perpetrators acquiring pets and raise awareness of domestic abuse link Annette Bramley fondly remembers her daughter Holly as being family-oriented and a lover of animals. “She adored anything small and furry, or even not. I mean, she thought orangutans were beautiful,” she said. When Holly ended up in a controlling and abusive relationship, her husband,...
Annette Bramley says Holly’s Law would stop perpetrators acquiring pets and raise awareness of domestic abuse link Annette Bramley fondly remembers her daughter Holly as being family-oriented and a lover of animals. “She adored anything small and furry, or even not. I mean, she thought orangutans were beautiful,” she said. When Holly ended up in a controlling and abusive relationship, her husband, Nicholas Metson, was quick to use this passion against her. He bought Holly a puppy and then tried to kill it by putting it in a washing machine at their home in Lincoln. After it was rescued by Holly, he drowned it in a bath. Continue reading...
Growing up in Dublin, I learned to navigate life in fight-or-flight mode. Yet even now, our leaders are ducking a vital conversation Seán Gallen is a Martinican-Irish writer and film-maker based in Berlin and Dublin Watching the harrowing footage of what would become Yves Sakila’s final moments of consciousness, it is hard not to be reminded of the agonising death of George Floyd. Sakila was decla...
Growing up in Dublin, I learned to navigate life in fight-or-flight mode. Yet even now, our leaders are ducking a vital conversation Seán Gallen is a Martinican-Irish writer and film-maker based in Berlin and Dublin Watching the harrowing footage of what would become Yves Sakila’s final moments of consciousness, it is hard not to be reminded of the agonising death of George Floyd. Sakila was declared dead in a Dublin hospital on 15 May, a short time after being pinned to the ground by security guards outside Arnotts, a city centre department store. Congolese-born Sakila had allegedly been suspected of shoplifting in the store and fled. If we have any knowledge of what subsequently happened in the busy pedestrianised street outside, it is because video footage was captured by passersby. In these deeply distressing images, the 35-year-old is being restrained by a group of security guards for nearly five minutes. He tries to protest but his shouts are muffled in the concrete when one of the men appears to put his knee on the back of Sakila’s neck. By the end of the video, Sakila has stopped moving. Continue reading...
The Leeds group arrived in a frenzy of post-punk energy, picking at the scabs of society – then started questioning their instant success. They talk about dodging ‘the megaband treadmill’ to make their surreal new album It’s certainly a novel way to announce your comeback. On the opening song of Yard Act’s new album, over a cacophony of doomy piano chords and crashing drums, singer James Smith ann...
The Leeds group arrived in a frenzy of post-punk energy, picking at the scabs of society – then started questioning their instant success. They talk about dodging ‘the megaband treadmill’ to make their surreal new album It’s certainly a novel way to announce your comeback. On the opening song of Yard Act’s new album, over a cacophony of doomy piano chords and crashing drums, singer James Smith announces: “I’ve got absolutely nothing – absolutely nothing new to say!” And he’s not finished there. Later in the same track, Empty Pledges, Smith whips himself up into unhinged preacher mode only to declare: “Do you feel like an impostor for every new level you ascend to too? Do you have to bluff as much as I do?” Is it refreshingly honest to begin a record by saying you haven’t got a clue what you’re doing – or an act of ludicrous self-sabotage? “Well, I don’t know if anyone has anything new to say really,” says Smith with a grin when I meet him and bassist Ryan Needham in a London bar to discuss You’re Gonna Need a Little Music, the band’s forthcoming third LP. “We’re in this age where everything has to be a manifesto and a statement, but it’s mainly just a one-way conversation. Nobody wants to explore the grey areas any more.” Continue reading...
In the Nordic country, books covering subjects such as childbirth and sex have become bestsellers among younger readers – and an export hit. Behind their success lies a unique philosophy of childhood learning ‘I wasn’t aware that I am such a brave writer and illustrator,” says Anna Fiske, a softly spoken Swedish-born author living in Norway who received death threats for a book she wrote in 2019. ...
In the Nordic country, books covering subjects such as childbirth and sex have become bestsellers among younger readers – and an export hit. Behind their success lies a unique philosophy of childhood learning ‘I wasn’t aware that I am such a brave writer and illustrator,” says Anna Fiske, a softly spoken Swedish-born author living in Norway who received death threats for a book she wrote in 2019. “I just tell things as they are.” Fiske doesn’t write political polemics but books for children: the title of the offending book is Hvordan Lager Man en Baby? , “ How Do You Make a Baby” – and, yes, there are illustrations. Distributed in English-speaking territories through Fiske’s New Zealand publisher, it triggered threats from Canada and was banned from several school libraries in the US. “They said it was pornographic.” Continue reading...
Beijing has revealed the sweeping scale of a year-long campaign targeting irregular law enforcement against businesses as the country intensified its efforts to discipline local bureaucracies and improve governance. The Information Office of the State Council, China’s cabinet, said in a press briefing on May 21 that the campaign uncovered more than 66,000 problematic administrative law enforcement...
Beijing has revealed the sweeping scale of a year-long campaign targeting irregular law enforcement against businesses as the country intensified its efforts to discipline local bureaucracies and improve governance. The Information Office of the State Council, China’s cabinet, said in a press briefing on May 21 that the campaign uncovered more than 66,000 problematic administrative law enforcement cases and helped companies to recover 30.7 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion). Authorities said more...
‘Brash, disingenuous, lethal’: that’s how the 67-year-old actor describes his younger self. He lied to his partners, disrespected his audiences, betrayed his friends. Has this indiscreet, unreliable heartbreaker finally grown up and settled down? Rupert Everett is struggling with the heatwave. It reminds him of the summer of 1976, when he was 17, basking in the sun, serene as a sloth, his future s...
‘Brash, disingenuous, lethal’: that’s how the 67-year-old actor describes his younger self. He lied to his partners, disrespected his audiences, betrayed his friends. Has this indiscreet, unreliable heartbreaker finally grown up and settled down? Rupert Everett is struggling with the heatwave. It reminds him of the summer of 1976, when he was 17, basking in the sun, serene as a sloth, his future spread out ahead of him. It’s so different now. “When you were young, hot weather was nice. But when you’re chubby like me now, it’s not so nice,” he says. “You’re not chubby,” says his publicist, with reassuring brio. Continue reading...
Study finds activity is not harmful or caused by stress of captivity – and is in fact more common in wild birds An investigation into acts of self-pleasure among parrots and other birds has reached a climax, with the results providing welcome relief for vets and researchers, not to mention the birds themselves. Bird keepers are often advised to discourage and even punish birds for masturbating, bu...
Study finds activity is not harmful or caused by stress of captivity – and is in fact more common in wild birds An investigation into acts of self-pleasure among parrots and other birds has reached a climax, with the results providing welcome relief for vets and researchers, not to mention the birds themselves. Bird keepers are often advised to discourage and even punish birds for masturbating, but the study found the activity was more common in the wild than in captivity, with researchers concluding it is part of a bird’s natural behaviour. Continue reading...
TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 01, 2026--COMPUTEX – Power Integrations (NASDAQ: POWI), the leader in high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion, today introduced two new ultra-slim, compact auxiliary power supply reference designs for 800 VDC AI data centers. The single-output, 15 W design is only 30 mm by 30 mm with a 7 mm profile, while the isolated, six-rail, 35 W design is on...
TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 01, 2026--COMPUTEX – Power Integrations (NASDAQ: POWI), the leader in high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion, today introduced two new ultra-slim, compact auxiliary power supply reference designs for 800 VDC AI data centers. The single-output, 15 W design is only 30 mm by 30 mm with a 7 mm profile, while the isolated, six-rail, 35 W design is only 80 mm by 60 mm with an 8 mm profile. Optimized specifically for the NVIDIA Kyber liquid-cooled, b
Driven by artificial intelligence (AI) euphoria, the stock market has been on fire over the last two months. Since its recent low on March 30, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is up 18%; in that same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) is up 12% and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) has climbed 28%. But the new chairman of the Federal Reserve may be about to complicate ...
Driven by artificial intelligence (AI) euphoria, the stock market has been on fire over the last two months. Since its recent low on March 30, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is up 18%; in that same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) is up 12% and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) has climbed 28%. But the new chairman of the Federal Reserve may be about to complicate that. While Kevin Warsh, confirmed to lead the Fed this month, is largely seen as a dove -- that is, someone pushing for rate cuts -- his market-friendly approach is much more nuanced than many investors assume. Continue reading
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Erman Gunes/iStock via Getty Images The Kroger Co. ( KR ) is bracing for grocery wars. Consumers' value-seeking behavior has caused increasingly competitive pricing across the sector, weakening Kroger's traffic outlook and requiring a strategic shift. Kroger plans to cut pricing to draw back consumers, but the strategic shift's impact remains to be seen. A good amount of earnings pressure has been...
Erman Gunes/iStock via Getty Images The Kroger Co. ( KR ) is bracing for grocery wars. Consumers' value-seeking behavior has caused increasingly competitive pricing across the sector, weakening Kroger's traffic outlook and requiring a strategic shift. Kroger plans to cut pricing to draw back consumers, but the strategic shift's impact remains to be seen. A good amount of earnings pressure has been priced in, and there's upside potential in Kroger stock, but I believe that investors should stay wary for now. The stock has declined in the past couple of months, but overall, Kroger's stock has still returned relatively well over the longer term. Kroger pays out a 2.3% dividend yield. Seeking Alpha Kroger Is Bracing for Grocery Wars The competitive landscape for grocery chains is becoming increasingly challenging. Walmart Inc. ( WMT ) is very competitive in its pricing through aggressive efficiency from scale, Costco Wholesale Corporation ( COST ) draws an increasing number of customers with its membership model, and chains like H-E-B , Publix , and Aldi are expanding rapidly. Albertsons Companies, Inc. ( ACI ) continues to "invest in the customer value proposition", seeming to translate to lowered pricing. At the same time, the consumer landscape has become increasingly value-seeking. Food inflation has picked up again, lately reaching 2.9%. The consumer sentiment is at a new 50-year low. Private label penetration is growing, representing a clear consumption shift towards cheaper alternatives. U.S. Grocery Inflation (U.S. BLS) Kroger has clearly experienced the shift in the sector landscape and sees it as necessary to adjust the company's strategy. The company named Greg Foran as CEO in February, and Foran's new strategy braces Kroger for grocery wars. Kroger plans to test price cuts across its store chain to gain back price-conscious consumers that have moved grocery shopping to cheaper grocery stores. Additionally, Kroger plans to open new grocery stores in communiti...