Latest exchange of attacks threatens to drag Middle East into regional war and comes after US president said ‘I call all the shots’, not Israel’s PM Middle East crisis – live updates Israel launched airstrikes on central and western Iran on Monday in apparent defiance of Donald Trump after he urged restraint over a reprisal attack by Tehran in an escalation that threatens to drag the Middle East b...
Latest exchange of attacks threatens to drag Middle East into regional war and comes after US president said ‘I call all the shots’, not Israel’s PM Middle East crisis – live updates Israel launched airstrikes on central and western Iran on Monday in apparent defiance of Donald Trump after he urged restraint over a reprisal attack by Tehran in an escalation that threatens to drag the Middle East back into a regional war. It was the first exchange of direct strikes between the two enemies since a ceasefire paused the US-Israel war with Iran in April. Iran’s attack came in response to earlier strikes on Beirut by Israel. Continue reading...
Vladimir Vladimirov/iStock via Getty Images Introduction The last time I covered LTC Properties ( LTC ), I downgraded this REIT focused on seniors housing and health care properties to Hold, highlighting how the valuation was now fair following a quick rally while risks were growing given their aggressive transition. Following a solid quarter and a fall in stock price that made the valuation more ...
Vladimir Vladimirov/iStock via Getty Images Introduction The last time I covered LTC Properties ( LTC ), I downgraded this REIT focused on seniors housing and health care properties to Hold, highlighting how the valuation was now fair following a quick rally while risks were growing given their aggressive transition. Following a solid quarter and a fall in stock price that made the valuation more attractive, I 'm upgrading LTC back to Buy, backed by the significant potential of their transition that can allow them to capitalize on a major long-term tailwind, all while offering an attractive and sustainable monthly dividend. Major Pivot Advances LTC Properties IR LTC reported an overall solid Q1, beating the market 's revenue and FFO estimates and reaffirming its 2026 guidance, expecting the Diluted Core FAD (Funds Available for Distribution) to reach $2.82 to $2.86 per share, advancing on their portfolio recycling as they continue their aggressive expansion into SHOP, reporting solid acquisition/conversion activity into Q2 already and planning over $250 million SHOP acquisitions in Q2, with the management highlighting this transition and pivotal year during their Q1 Earnings Call : We can further increase our intrinsic growth rate should we choose to take advantage of opportunities to recycle more capital into SHOP given the strong pricing for skilled nursing assets. Our 2026 guidance includes platform investments, adding the people and data capabilities needed to scale and support double-digit SHOP growth. We expect the core infrastructure to be largely in place by year-end, enabling us to continue to scale rapidly and best support our operators. LTC Properties IR Since several people asked for it, I 'll also include a quick definition for the SHOP approach (or RIDEA in some cases) that we see virtually all players in the senior housing market take. Although you may see these companies call it slightly different things, SHOP generally stands for Seniors Housing Ope...
Kagenmi Japan’s GDP grew by 0.5% in Q1 2026, matching early data and up from 0.2% in Q4. This surpassed the market estimate of 0.3% and marks the strongest quarterly growth since Q1 2025. Annualized growth in Q1 2026 was 1.8%, revised down from 2.1% but still above the expected 1.3%. Separately data showed Japan’s current account surplus increased to JPY 3,907.8 billion in April 2026 from JPY 2,37...
Kagenmi Japan’s GDP grew by 0.5% in Q1 2026, matching early data and up from 0.2% in Q4. This surpassed the market estimate of 0.3% and marks the strongest quarterly growth since Q1 2025. Annualized growth in Q1 2026 was 1.8%, revised down from 2.1% but still above the expected 1.3%. Separately data showed Japan’s current account surplus increased to JPY 3,907.8 billion in April 2026 from JPY 2,370.0 billion in the same month a year earlier, exceeding market expectations of JPY 3,137 billion. Japan’s bank lending rose 5.7% year-on-year in May 2026, exceeding market forecasts for a 5.6% increase and accelerating from a 5.4% gain in the previous month. The Nikkei 225 Index fell more than 3% to below 64,500, while the broader Topix Index declined 2.2% to 3,862 . The Japanese yen weakened beyond the 160-per-dollar mark, crossing a level widely seen by markets as a potential trigger for another round of currency intervention by Japanese authorities. More on Japan economy DXJ: Japanese Equities Remain Attractive; Positive Carry Enhances The Appeal EWJ: The Land Of The Rising Sun Is Set For Continued Growth JPY Intervention - Unilateral Or Joint Will Be Key Asian equities largely decline on tech rotation; yen remains pinned near critical 160 mark Yen hits key 160 level for third session amid Gulf turmoil; PM Takaichi vows economic lift
China's Tencent Holdings is aiming to raise $4 billion via an imminent sale of both a U.S. dollar bond and an offshore yuan bond, two sources with direct knowledge of the plans said on Monday. The internet and gaming giant returned to global debt markets last year, raising 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) with an offshore yuan bond in September, its first bond deal in four years. Its last dollar b...
China's Tencent Holdings is aiming to raise $4 billion via an imminent sale of both a U.S. dollar bond and an offshore yuan bond, two sources with direct knowledge of the plans said on Monday. The internet and gaming giant returned to global debt markets last year, raising 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) with an offshore yuan bond in September, its first bond deal in four years. Its last dollar bond was a $4.15 billion issue in April 2021.
Micron Technology (NasdaqGS:MU) shares saw a sharp multi day decline during a global semiconductor selloff tied to weaker AI chip revenue guidance from Broadcom. The drop came after a period of very strong gains for Micron's stock, which last closed at $864.01. Investors are also watching recent insider selling and debating Micron's valuation after a parabolic run in AI related memory names. For c...
Micron Technology (NasdaqGS:MU) shares saw a sharp multi day decline during a global semiconductor selloff tied to weaker AI chip revenue guidance from Broadcom. The drop came after a period of very strong gains for Micron's stock, which last closed at $864.01. Investors are also watching recent insider selling and debating Micron's valuation after a parabolic run in AI related memory names. For current and potential shareholders, the pullback marks a clear shift in tone after months of...
Sasun Bughdaryan/iStock via Getty Images Dear Baron Discovery FundShareholder, Performance This was a challenging quarter for Baron Discovery Fund ® (the Fund), both on an absolute and relative basis. In the first quarter of 2026, the Fund declined 10.65% (Institutional Shares), trailing the Russell 2000 Growth Index (the Index) by 7.84%. We don't take this lightly, and we have doubled our efforts...
Sasun Bughdaryan/iStock via Getty Images Dear Baron Discovery FundShareholder, Performance This was a challenging quarter for Baron Discovery Fund ® (the Fund), both on an absolute and relative basis. In the first quarter of 2026, the Fund declined 10.65% (Institutional Shares), trailing the Russell 2000 Growth Index (the Index) by 7.84%. We don't take this lightly, and we have doubled our efforts to understand what is going on in the market both in the short term, and (far more importantly) as it affects the overall long-term embedded valuations of our holdings in the Fund. Of the underperformance, five buckets accounted for 7.88% (essentially all of it): • 2.63% came from Information Technology ( IT ) (software exposure was entirely responsible for the relative shortfall in the sector, but was partly offset by solid relative performance in areas benefiting from the AI secular growth narrative, such as semiconductor, semiconductor materials & equipment, and electronic equipment & instruments related companies) • 1.76% came from Consumer Discretionary (higher energy prices, inflation and AI induced unemployment fears, plus noise around “prediction markets” competitors to DraftKings Inc. ( DKNG ) ) • 1.22% came from Health Care (there were no real standout mistakes here, but the market was negative on life sciences tools and health care technology) • 1.17% came from our lack of exposure to Energy (higher oil prices related to the Iran action moved the sector up 26%) and Materials (aluminum and chemicals prices are up, also related to Iran); • 1.09% came from Industrials (some of which related to concerns about commercial aerospace suppliers like Loar Holdings Inc. ( LOAR ) due to the military action in Iran) Annualized performance (%) for periods ended March 31, 2026 † Fund Retail Shares ¹,² Fund Institutional Shares ¹,² Russell 2000 Growth Index ¹ Russell 3000 Index ¹ QTD ³ (10.74) (10.65) (2.81) (3.96) 1 Year 5.36 5.66 23.58 18.09 3 Years 8.01 8.31 12.27 17.86 5 Ye...