"The Pulse With Francine Lacqua" is all about conversations with high profile guests in the beating heart of global business, economics, finance and politics. Based in London, we go wherever the story is, bringing you exclusive interviews and market-moving scoops. Today's guests: Patrick Armstrong, Plurimi, CIO; Beata Javorcik, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Chief Economist; Jul...
"The Pulse With Francine Lacqua" is all about conversations with high profile guests in the beating heart of global business, economics, finance and politics. Based in London, we go wherever the story is, bringing you exclusive interviews and market-moving scoops. Today's guests: Patrick Armstrong, Plurimi, CIO; Beata Javorcik, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Chief Economist; Julien Barnes-Dacey, European Council on Foreign Relations, Middle East and North Africa Programme Director. (Source: Bloomberg)
The PS5 era has been in some ways disappointing for Sony – on Tuesday, the company revealed a slate of games they hope will change that • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here PlayStation’s future has looked a little uncertain these past few years. Although the PS5 has sold well and been very profitable, the brand is far from the runaway market leader it was in the PS2 da...
The PS5 era has been in some ways disappointing for Sony – on Tuesday, the company revealed a slate of games they hope will change that • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here PlayStation’s future has looked a little uncertain these past few years. Although the PS5 has sold well and been very profitable, the brand is far from the runaway market leader it was in the PS2 days. Earlier this week, Game File dug into Sony’s most recent earnings reports to illustrate how PlayStation has been selling fewer and fewer of its own flagship games since a peak during the pandemic. About 54.1m copies of games either developed or published by Sony were sold in the 2018 financial year; in 2025, it sold 32.1m. Sony has put out some great homegrown games since the PS5 was released in 2020, from Astro Bot to Ghost of Yōtei , but it has also had some expensive and very public failures and cancellations; PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, who retired in 2024, placed big bets on live-service games and only a few panned out (hello, Helldivers). Sony also seems to have rolled back on releasing its single-player PS5 games on PC after a polite interval of time, suggesting it wants to preserve what advantage and exclusivity it has. Continue reading...
imaginima/E+ via Getty Images Investment thesis With oil ( CL1:COM ), the world's most important commodity, experiencing significant geopolitical volatility, it is easy to forget the market fundamentals that will prevail beyond the current Iran crisis. The 2008-2025 period was dominated by the realities created by the US shale boom. The likes of the EIA are predicting a price-induced revival of US...
imaginima/E+ via Getty Images Investment thesis With oil ( CL1:COM ), the world's most important commodity, experiencing significant geopolitical volatility, it is easy to forget the market fundamentals that will prevail beyond the current Iran crisis. The 2008-2025 period was dominated by the realities created by the US shale boom. The likes of the EIA are predicting a price-induced revival of US output growth next year, but early signs of a revival taking place are less than convincing. Looking at all relevant data points available, it does look like the saviour of the global economy in the post-2008 global financial crisis period, namely US shale, which contributed almost all of the global crude oil supply growth since then, is about to disappoint those who expect this maturing industry to come through for us again. I am positioning my portfolio for this long-term fundamental reality accordingly. The EIA is forecasting the largest YoY increase in US crude oil output in five years The 600,000 b/d jump in US crude oil output that the EIA is forecasting for 2027 stands out prominently relative to what we have seen so far this decade. Data source: EIA Output is expected to be flat this year compared with the prior year. Furthermore, the average increase in yearly US crude oil output since 2019 has been 200,000 b/d. There can be an argument made that the oil price effect is about to have its say in terms of drilling decisions. Baker Hughes US oil rig count (Trading Economics) Early signs point toward higher oil prices having a positive effect on drilling activities, as the chart above shows. It should be noted that based on the Baker Hughes rig count, we are still below last year's drilling activity levels. Basic logic dictates that we must soon see rig counts above prior-year levels just to prevent a decline in output next year. To see the dramatic rise in output that the EIA is forecasting to begin in Q4 of this year and then continue into next year, we would need t...
LaraBelova Texas Capital started off coverage on Boyd Gaming Corporation ( BYD ) with a Buy rating on its view that the casino operator has a number of catalysts in play. Analyst David Bain highlighted that despite its Midwest and South divisions contributing more to the EBITDA total, the firm believes that results from the Las Vegas Locals segment dictate stock sentiment. Bain and his team foreca...
LaraBelova Texas Capital started off coverage on Boyd Gaming Corporation ( BYD ) with a Buy rating on its view that the casino operator has a number of catalysts in play. Analyst David Bain highlighted that despite its Midwest and South divisions contributing more to the EBITDA total, the firm believes that results from the Las Vegas Locals segment dictate stock sentiment. Bain and his team forecast a Las Vegas Locals growth inflection by late 2026. "Further, each of BYD's five portfolio divisions should grow by year-end, the first time in years, and when BYD’s 1-year forward EV/EBITDA valuation averaged nearly ~3 turns higher. Each turn of multiple is worth ~$13 per share," he highlighted. Boyd Gaming ( BYD ) is also seen benefiting from a disciplined, ROI-focused management team that could execute on possible opportunistic Caesars ( CZR ) M&A-related asset sales. Boyd Gaming's ( BYD ) underappreciated growth pipeline, consistent same-store performance, and favorable capital return policies were also called out. In terms of valuation, Bain noted that BYD trades for 7.2X/6.7X traditional EV/EBITDA, well below its peers and its ~10X pre-COVID average. Texas Capital assigned a price target of $106 to Boyd Gaming ( BYD ). Shares of BYD have traded effectively flat for 2026. Wall Street analysts and Seeking Alpha analysts both have a consensus Buy rating on the casino stock. More on Boyd Gaming Boyd Gaming: Talking With The Bears Boyd Gaming Will Remain A Value Trap Until Las Vegas Bounces Back Boyd Gaming Q1 Results: A Rare But Non-Threatening Double Miss Boyd Gaming is downgraded by CBRE due to a lack of near-term catalysts Biggest stock movers Friday: MXL, INTC, COUR, CHTR, MXL, and more
When investors think of the current media landscape, the business that probably comes to mind first is Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) . The video entertainment powerhouse has been a true innovator. Today, it has a global reach, with a presence in more than 190 countries. If you'd invested $10,000 in this streaming stock 10 years ago, here's how much you'd have today. Image source: The Motley Fool. Continu...
When investors think of the current media landscape, the business that probably comes to mind first is Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) . The video entertainment powerhouse has been a true innovator. Today, it has a global reach, with a presence in more than 190 countries. If you'd invested $10,000 in this streaming stock 10 years ago, here's how much you'd have today. Image source: The Motley Fool. Continue reading
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter about the business of tech from Bloomberg’s journalists around the world. Today, Benoit Berthelot reports from the World News Media Congress meeting in France where AI was the topic on everyone’s mind. Tech Across the Globe Uber limits AI: The rideshare company has set usage caps on some artificial intelligence tools for its staff. It’s a cost-savings...
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter about the business of tech from Bloomberg’s journalists around the world. Today, Benoit Berthelot reports from the World News Media Congress meeting in France where AI was the topic on everyone’s mind. Tech Across the Globe Uber limits AI: The rideshare company has set usage caps on some artificial intelligence tools for its staff. It’s a cost-savings move . Microsoft’s quantum ambitions: The software maker unveiled an update to its quantum-computing chip, aiming for a commercially useful machine by 2029. Researchers are curious . US policy: An executive order from President Donald Trump calls for giving the federal government access to AI models. It mostly takes a hands-off approach to regulating the technology . Revalued German industrial robotics startup Agile Robots is in discussions to raise about $800 million in new funding from backers including SoftBank, another indication of investor enthusiasm for companies that can deploy artificial intelligence in real-world settings. Existential crisis The breezy seaside capital of southern France, Marseille, was a harbor this week for 1,300 media executives from all over the world. Honchos from Politico, USA Today and El Pais have been sipping rosé, gossiping and networking heavily. In their polite conversations, one heated topic was hard to ignore: The threat of AI destroying their business — at a fast pace. Consumers are increasingly learning about the state of the world through AI chatbots rather than news websites, let alone print papers. Those AI models are trained by articles written by human reporters and the publishers seemed unsure about the best way to get big tech to pay for that work. Attendees of the World News Media Congress were shaken by a scathing opening keynote from A.G. Sulzberger, publisher and chairman of the New York Times, who sent a wake-up call. “Our profession has been too quiet, too passive, and too fragmented in the face of abuses by the compan...