TexBr Dhaval Joshi, chief strategist at BCA Research, has identified a specific market threshold that could determine the trajectory of the U.S.-Iran conflict: a 12%-15% combined drawdown in stocks and bonds. According to Joshi, this level represents U.S. President Donald Trump’s “breaking point” in both the current Iran conflict and last year’s tariff war. “The markets now stand 7% above this bre...
TexBr Dhaval Joshi, chief strategist at BCA Research, has identified a specific market threshold that could determine the trajectory of the U.S.-Iran conflict: a 12%-15% combined drawdown in stocks and bonds. According to Joshi, this level represents U.S. President Donald Trump’s “breaking point” in both the current Iran conflict and last year’s tariff war. “The markets now stand 7% above this breaking point,” the strategist noted, suggesting that a combined 7% selloff marks a good support level for the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) and the 20+ Year Treasury Bond fund ( TLT ). The strategist has framed Iran’s approach as deploying what he calls “General Stock Market” and “General Bond Market” as proxies for conventional warfare. “Iran doesn’t need to sink a single U.S. warship – it could inflict much more damage by sinking the U.S. stock and bond markets,” Joshi argued in his analysis. According to the strategist, this dynamic has created a pattern where every time an ultimatum for Iran nears, Trump has announced an “ultimatum extension” under market duress, only to later announce that insufficient progress has been made once markets recover. The BCA Research chief explained that there are diverging interests driving Trump’s sensitivity to both stock and bond markets. His supporters primarily cares about surging gasoline prices ( XB1:COM ), inflation, and mortgage rates—all reflected in bond market performance—while having limited stock exposure, he said. Meanwhile, Joshi noted that the U.S. economy has become “increasingly dependent on the spending of retired Baby Boomers,” whose wealth is tied to stock market performance. In addition, the volatile environment has left investors struggling to apply traditional frameworks. Joshi referenced research describing how markets have “fluctuate like meme-coins in a game of Trump Tweet-AP Headline pong.” Based on his analysis, if the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF ( TLT ) fell 2%, it would equate to S&P 500 ( SP500 ) support at 6,40...
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLI ) surged 4.3% in the first quarter of 2026, against the broader S&P 500 Index, which fell 4.6% over the same period. As companies prepare to report their results for the quarter gone by, Seeking Alpha provides a snapshot of how companies rank across key factors such as valuation, growth, profitability, momentum, and estimate revisions. Below...
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLI ) surged 4.3% in the first quarter of 2026, against the broader S&P 500 Index, which fell 4.6% over the same period. As companies prepare to report their results for the quarter gone by, Seeking Alpha provides a snapshot of how companies rank across key factors such as valuation, growth, profitability, momentum, and estimate revisions. Below is an overview of small-cap financial stocks with market capitalizations between $2B to $10B, highlighting those with the highest and lowest quant ratings ahead of Q1 2026 results. Top quant-rated companies, with a market capitalization between $2B to $10B: Vicor ( VICR ), Quant rating: Strong Buy 4.98 . Astronics ( ATRO ), Quant rating: Strong Buy 4.87 . Kennametal ( KMT ), Quant rating: Strong Buy 4.84 . AAR ( AIR ), Quant rating: Strong Buy 4.84 . Navios Maritime Partners L.P. Common Units ( NMM ), Quant rating: Strong Buy 4.82 . Bottom quant-rated companies, with a market capitalization between $2B to $10B Loar Holdings ( LOAR ) , Quant rating: Strong Sell 1.45 . Herc Holdings ( HRI ) , Quant rating: Strong Sell 1.45 . AeroVironment ( AVAV ) , Quant rating: Strong Sell 1.40 . NuScale Power ( SMR ) , Quant rating: Strong Sell 1.33 . Archer Aviation ( ACHR ) , Quant rating: Strong Sell 1.31 . More on State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF Finding The Opportunities After The Selloff And End Of The War Time Is Running Out The Middle East War: Let's Talk About U.S. Defense Stocks Industrial stocks hit fresh highs as ceasefire rally lifts infrastructure names Weekly ETF flows: Five of 11 sectors record outflows; energy sector leads inflows
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images Introduction At the time of writing, stocks are up as investors assume the war with Iran is coming to an end. But in my opinion, I believe we will see more volatility as both sides will likely fail to come to an agreement. At least for the near term. Recent market volatility has been led by a higher sell-off in Technology ( XLK ) stocks. Year-to-date, Technology i...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images Introduction At the time of writing, stocks are up as investors assume the war with Iran is coming to an end. But in my opinion, I believe we will see more volatility as both sides will likely fail to come to an agreement. At least for the near term. Recent market volatility has been led by a higher sell-off in Technology ( XLK ) stocks. Year-to-date, Technology is down double digits, resulting in attractive entry points for related stocks. One ETF in particular I think is attractive after the brief correction is the Fidelity High Dividend ETF ( FDVV ). After the pullback, FDVV is now yielding over 3%. This improves the long-term setup, giving investors the potential to see higher returns, as AI spending will likely continue driving market returns for the foreseeable future. In this article, I discuss FDVV's strategy and why income investors should consider this ETF as a long-term core holding. Why Has FDVV Underperformed? As previously mentioned, Technology stocks have underperformed in recent months. After carrying the S&P ( SP500 ) to close to 17% returns last year, many well-known behemoths in the sector are down through the first 3 months. As a result, FDVV is down close to 4% at the time of writing. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ( NDAQ ) is down over 13%, while Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF ( VOO ) is down a little over 6%. Seeking Alpha The Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD ), an underperformer in 2025, has bounced back due to its concentration in the Energy ( XLE ) sector from the ongoing war. The fund is up close to 12% year-to-date. Portfolio Composition Technology makes up most of FDVV's portfolio at 24.05% and is a key reason for recent underperformance. But as shown, the fund has experienced less of a drawdown because of their portfolio balance. FDVV In my opinion, this is what makes FDVV a solid consideration for a long-term core holding. Besides the solid yield above 3%, FDVV has a well-balanced portfolio focused on growth and in...
Volatility has a way of making investors forget what they're actually trying to do. The goal isn't to predict what the market does next month. It's about owning pieces of good businesses that pay you to wait, and ideally pay you more over time. Consumer goods companies with good dividends have historically been the most reliable version of that idea. But within that category, there's a spectrum. S...
Volatility has a way of making investors forget what they're actually trying to do. The goal isn't to predict what the market does next month. It's about owning pieces of good businesses that pay you to wait, and ideally pay you more over time. Consumer goods companies with good dividends have historically been the most reliable version of that idea. But within that category, there's a spectrum. Some are obvious, over-owned, and priced accordingly. Others are sitting at compelling valuations with above-average yields, and nobody is writing about them. Here are three I'm looking at these days. Continue reading
Investing.com -- A Morgan Stanley survey of chief information officers points to a marginally better outlook for technology spending in 2026, though the overall picture remains cautious and increasingly uneven across categories.
Investing.com -- A Morgan Stanley survey of chief information officers points to a marginally better outlook for technology spending in 2026, though the overall picture remains cautious and increasingly uneven across categories.
U.S. software shares tumbled on Thursday after Anthropic held back the wide release of a powerful AI model over concerns it could expose hidden cybersecurity vulnerabilities, deepening investor fears about the threat to traditional software firms. Anthropic said earlier this week it would only allow a group of around 40 companies, including Microsoft and Google, access to its "Claude Mythos" mo...
U.S. software shares tumbled on Thursday after Anthropic held back the wide release of a powerful AI model over concerns it could expose hidden cybersecurity vulnerabilities, deepening investor fears about the threat to traditional software firms. Anthropic said earlier this week it would only allow a group of around 40 companies, including Microsoft and Google, access to its "Claude Mythos" model because it has already found thousands of vulnerabilities, including some in every major operating system and web browser. "If Mythos is that strong and that powerful and it's exposing these vulnerabilities that have been around for years, it just shows one, the weakness of the current software that's out there and two, that AI is still making incredible progress versus legacy software companies," said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading.
EyeEm Mobile GmbH Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) said Thursday it made an oil discovery at the Bandit prospect in the U.S. Gulf, ~125 miles south of the Louisiana coast, where the exploration well encountered "high-quality, full-to-base oil-bearing Miocene sands." The discovery has the potential for subsea tie-backs to an adjacent Occidental-operated facility and others in the nearby area, the compa...
EyeEm Mobile GmbH Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) said Thursday it made an oil discovery at the Bandit prospect in the U.S. Gulf, ~125 miles south of the Louisiana coast, where the exploration well encountered "high-quality, full-to-base oil-bearing Miocene sands." The discovery has the potential for subsea tie-backs to an adjacent Occidental-operated facility and others in the nearby area, the company said. Bandit is operated by Occidental ( OXY ), which holds a 45.375% working interest, partnering with Chevron ( CVX ) with 37.125% and Woodside Energy ( WDS ) with 17.5%. "We believe this discovery demonstrates the continued importance of the Gulf of America as a strategic source of reliable domestic oil supply that supports long-term energy security," the company said. Occidental ( OXY ) is one of the largest deepwater producers in the U.S. Gulf, operating eight floating platforms from 14 active fields, with output totaling 132K boe/day in 2025, according to its annual report. More on Occidental Petroleum Occidental Petroleum: Why This Warren Buffett Stock Has A Lot More Upside Occidental Petroleum: Concentrate On The Acquisitions Made Occidental Petroleum: Oil Rally Overly Done - Easy Gains Behind Us
Workplace sexual harassment complaints in Hong Kong have jumped by 38 per cent year on year, according to the equality watchdog. The Equal Opportunities Commission recorded 315 such complaints in 2025, up from 228 the previous year, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said in a written response to legislative inquiries on Thursday. Employment‑related harassment complaints climbed from 1...
Workplace sexual harassment complaints in Hong Kong have jumped by 38 per cent year on year, according to the equality watchdog. The Equal Opportunities Commission recorded 315 such complaints in 2025, up from 228 the previous year, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said in a written response to legislative inquiries on Thursday. Employment‑related harassment complaints climbed from 156 in 2024 to 207 last year. Non‑employment‑related cases, which include unwanted sexual conduct...
Under anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been blocked from publishing a scientifically vetted study finding significant health benefits from this season's COVID-19 vaccines, according to reporting by The Washington Post. The move adds to longstanding concern among health experts that chaos and political interferenc...
Under anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been blocked from publishing a scientifically vetted study finding significant health benefits from this season's COVID-19 vaccines, according to reporting by The Washington Post. The move adds to longstanding concern among health experts that chaos and political interference under Kennedy—a staunch anti-vaccine activist who has long falsely maligned COVID-19 vaccines—is deeply undermining science at federal agencies and beyond. CDC scientists and insiders told the Post that the COVID-19 vaccine study went through the agency's standard scientific review process and was slated for publication on March 19 in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). But acting CDC director Jay Bhattacharya blocked the scheduled publication and is holding the study, claiming he has concerns about its methodology. Read full article Comments