SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Crude oil futures rose Monday by the most in about a month after Iran said it would break off negotiations with the U.S. and move to fully close the Strait of Hormuz, purportedly as a protest against Israel's attacks in Lebanon. Oil prices dropped from their highs after President Trump said the growing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon will stop,...
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Crude oil futures rose Monday by the most in about a month after Iran said it would break off negotiations with the U.S. and move to fully close the Strait of Hormuz, purportedly as a protest against Israel's attacks in Lebanon. Oil prices dropped from their highs after President Trump said the growing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon will stop, following calls he held with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Hezbollah "through highly placed representatives." " There will be no troops going to Beirut," and the Iran-backed Hezbollah "agreed that all shooting will stop," Trump wrote on Truth Social, and then said in a follow-up post that talks were continuing "at a rapid pace" with Iranian leaders. Netanyahu said he told Trump on their call that "if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and citizens, Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut" and that the Israeli military will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon. Monday's developments came after the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend, with the U.S. hitting radar and drone sites and Iran retaliating against targets in Kuwait. " Geopolitical developments remain unfavorable, with negotiations aimed at securing a prolonged ceasefire still unresolved," Spartan Capital's Peter Cardillo said in a note. "Elevated geopolitical risk is likely to keep energy markets volatile, with upside risks to oil prices remaining firmly in place." Analysts at Goldman Sachs said weak oil demand in China and Europe poses a major downside risk to its Q4 Brent crude forecast of $90/bbl and its WTI outlook of $83/bbl, although of course supply disruptions in the Middle East could push prices higher. April oil sales data from China and Western Europe jointly imply ~2M bbl/day of downside risk to the bank's "already low" demand estimates for the month, adding ~$10/bbl of downside risk to its Brent crude forecast, Goldman said. "We see significant upside p...
Nvidia (NVDA) believes the next battle will take place somewhere altogether different. At GTC Taipei, the firm unveiledRTX Spark, a new Windows platform designed for artificial intelligence agents. Rather than just helping users work faster, Nvidia envisions computers that can also reason through ...
Nvidia (NVDA) believes the next battle will take place somewhere altogether different. At GTC Taipei, the firm unveiledRTX Spark, a new Windows platform designed for artificial intelligence agents. Rather than just helping users work faster, Nvidia envisions computers that can also reason through ...
fengdr/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis and Recommendation As with most BDCs, K ayne Anderson BDC ( KBDC ) is predominantly used as an income investment with the possibility of some capital appreciation. KBDC invests primarily in first-lien senior secured loans (93% of the portfolio at fair value). The majority of these are private equity portfolio/sponsored companies. As a result of this...
fengdr/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis and Recommendation As with most BDCs, K ayne Anderson BDC ( KBDC ) is predominantly used as an income investment with the possibility of some capital appreciation. KBDC invests primarily in first-lien senior secured loans (93% of the portfolio at fair value). The majority of these are private equity portfolio/sponsored companies. As a result of this income focus, the primary focus of analysis is the portfolio income generated and the quality of the underlying portfolio. The Bearish Case: Portfolio quality has declined meaningfully over the past six quarters. Non-accruals rose to 4.1% of amortized cost in Q1 2026, up from 1.6% at year-end 2024 — a near-tripling in 18 months. In fair value terms, non-accruals have increased from 1.3% to 2.5% during the same period. In Q1 2026 alone, two new names (Score Sports and the last-out tranche of Regiment Security Partners) were added to non-accrual status, pushing non-accrual fair value from $31M to $53.7M in a single quarter. Numbers sourced from the 10Q . The watch list — a leading indicator — expanded from $78.2M (3.6% of FV) in Q2 2025 to an estimated ~$133M (~6.0% of FV) in Q1 2026, with the number of companies on the watch list rising from 7 to 9 during Q4 2025 alone. Numbers sourced from the 10Q . NAV has declined in five of six consecutive quarters, from $16.70 to $16.23/share (a 2.8% drop, which, in this environment, could also be bullish). Portfolio yield has compressed from 10.7% in Q4 2024 to 10.2% in Q1 2026, absorbing much of the benefit from rising leverage (0.72× to 1.05× D/E). PIK has increased from 1.1% as of 12/31/24 to 7.5% as of 3/31/26. The company further clarified the increase in the earnings call : "Of this $2.2 million, or 3.9%, was related to PIK interest from Arborworks that had not been accrued since the fourth quarter of 2023." Arborworks was on non-accrual and is now on PIK, which does not mean "quality PIK," in my opinion. The Bullish Case: NII c...
(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has climbed higher in consecutive trading days, jumping almost 2,250 points or 3 percent in that span. Now at a fresh record closing high, the Nikkei 225 sits just above the 66,930-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.
(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has climbed higher in consecutive trading days, jumping almost 2,250 points or 3 percent in that span. Now at a fresh record closing high, the Nikkei 225 sits just above the 66,930-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.
Fans of the Hollywood icon set a new world record as 1,034 people descended on the California desert town to celebrate what would have been her 100th birthday. It was the largest ever gathering of people dressed as Marilyn Monroe Continue reading...
Fans of the Hollywood icon set a new world record as 1,034 people descended on the California desert town to celebrate what would have been her 100th birthday. It was the largest ever gathering of people dressed as Marilyn Monroe Continue reading...
vVardis Holding AG , a Swiss dental startup, is working with banks for a US initial public offering that could come this year, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, which was founded by sisters Haley and Goly Abivardi, has brought on JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Zug, Switzerland-...
vVardis Holding AG , a Swiss dental startup, is working with banks for a US initial public offering that could come this year, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, which was founded by sisters Haley and Goly Abivardi, has brought on JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Zug, Switzerland-based vVardis was valued at more than $1 billion in a funding round in April and will likely seek a higher valuation than that in an IPO, the people said. vVardis hasn’t made a final decision on an IPO and its plans, including the timing, could still change, the people said. Representatives for vVardis, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. The company makes a treatment that addresses early stage cavities without the need for drilling. Its flagship Curodont technology — the first commercially available therapy of its kind — is a liquid that penetrates the tooth’s enamel, enabling minerals in the patient’s saliva to repair the tooth from within. It can be particularly effective with children’s cavities and can be used instead of dentists waiting for smaller cavities to increase in size before being treated. The Abivardi sisters, who hold a roughly 70% stake in the company, are both dentists and ran dental clinics in Switzerland before selling the chain and acquiring the intellectual property that underpins the company. EQT AB had backed the Abivardi sisters last company, Swiss Smile, which was eventually sold to Jacobs Holding in 2017. Investor interest in vVardis surged after JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon praised it at the bank’s San Francisco conference in 2025. Apollo Global Management Inc. invested earlier this year . An IPO could likely to help boost the company’s expansion into markets outside of Europe, research & development and marketing spend. It’s currently in 20% of US dental offices, Haley Abivardi has previously said, but many dentists still don’t know abo...
An independent mediator has found that Amazon was responsible for the breakdown of first-contract bargaining at YVR2, its only unionized fulfillment centre in British Columbia. The mediator sided with the union and recommended the dispute be resolved through binding mediation-arbitration.
An independent mediator has found that Amazon was responsible for the breakdown of first-contract bargaining at YVR2, its only unionized fulfillment centre in British Columbia. The mediator sided with the union and recommended the dispute be resolved through binding mediation-arbitration.
tadamichi/iStock via Getty Images I began covering FSK in early March with a hold rating: FS KKR Shareholders Waiting For An Activist . I was clear that FSK equally fit the prospect of a long-term value trap (a sell) and an Activism candidate (a speculative buy). Yes, I got one quarterly for the speculation of buying early. It is time to upgrade to buy, as Activism is now far less speculative. Aro...
tadamichi/iStock via Getty Images I began covering FSK in early March with a hold rating: FS KKR Shareholders Waiting For An Activist . I was clear that FSK equally fit the prospect of a long-term value trap (a sell) and an Activism candidate (a speculative buy). Yes, I got one quarterly for the speculation of buying early. It is time to upgrade to buy, as Activism is now far less speculative. Around $11, FSK trades at a 41.6% discount to its recently reduced $18.83 Net Asset Value ("NAV") and yields 15.5% at market due to that market discount. I expect Saba Capital Management to File Activist Form 13D on FSK in 2026 Well-known Closed End Fund (“CEF”) Activist, Saba Capital Management went from no position at year-end to disclosing a $40 million starter position in April . Although Saba is not yet observed by the marketplace as an Activist in FSK (it has not filed a 13D), FSK's Board has clearly taken notice. A 13D is not required by the SEC until Saba passes 5%, and the discount is unlikely to narrow meaningfully until then. But there have been "hints" in publicly available resources that Saba will pursue their typical CEF Activism at FSK. Saba's Founder and CIO, Boaz Weinstein, first casually mentioned FSK as a reference point for permanent capital and what was then (March 19) an approaching IPO for PSUS during the 9th minute of Bloomberg’s “Money Stuff” podcast. Boaz went on to mention FSK several times, finishing with a very well-articulated exchange in which Boaz cites an external analyst's pointing to some rather obvious opportunities to serve shareholders. Boaz's concluding idiomatic phrase may give insight as to whether Saba's position is motivated by an assessment that FSK is a good product "as is" or that Saba has activist intentions in FSK. My opinion is that a 13D Activist filing from Saba is likely to occur in 2026 based on the pace of Saba’s purchases in Q1 and the ongoing nature of FSK’s large magnitude discount to NAV. FSK has oscillated above and be...
Maks_Lab/iStock via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 54.0 in May, marking the fastest expansion for the index since May 2022. The latest reading was higher than the 53.3 forecast and is the index's fifth straight month in expansion territory. Here is an excerpt from the latest report : Spence continues...
Maks_Lab/iStock via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 54.0 in May, marking the fastest expansion for the index since May 2022. The latest reading was higher than the 53.3 forecast and is the index's fifth straight month in expansion territory. Here is an excerpt from the latest report : Spence continues, “In May, U.S. manufacturing activity remained in expansion territory, growing at a faster pace compared to the month before. Of the five subindexes that make up the PMI ® , the New Orders index indicated faster growth compared to the previous month, the Supplier Deliveries index stayed the same, the Production Index grew at a faster rate, and the Employment and Inventories indexes remained in contraction, though both improved. “In May, 25 percent of the comments were positive and 69 percent negative, with a 1-to-2.7 ratio of positive to negative sentiment. Among comments, the Iran war was mentioned in 42 percent and tariffs in 18 percent; 57 percent of the panelists mentioned pricing volatility as an issue for their companies. “Three of four demand indicators (the New Orders, Backlog of Orders, and New Export Orders indexes) were in expansion. The Customers’ Inventories Index remains in ‘too low’ territory, contracting at a slower rate. A ‘too low’ status for the Customers’ Inventories Index is usually considered positive for future production. “Regarding output , the Production Index is in expansion for the seventh month in a row, and the Employment Index increased by 2.2 percentage points but remained in contraction. Among panelists, 50 percent indicated that managing head counts remains the norm at their companies, while 50 percent are hiring. “Finally, inputs (defined as supplier deliveries, inventories, prices and imports) were mostly improved month over month. With the same reading as in April, the Supplier Deliveries Index stayed at its highest level since May 2022...