Them's Fightin' Words By Benjamin Picton, Rabobank Senior Market Strategist Resigned Brent crude front-month futures are inching higher this morning after ending May down almost 20%. The May selloff has been courtesy of Mr Market’s Pavlovian response to fresh peace rumours, though it still remains the case that a deal has not been done and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. US equity indices clo...
Them's Fightin' Words By Benjamin Picton, Rabobank Senior Market Strategist Resigned Brent crude front-month futures are inching higher this morning after ending May down almost 20%. The May selloff has been courtesy of Mr Market’s Pavlovian response to fresh peace rumours, though it still remains the case that a deal has not been done and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. US equity indices closed higher across the board on Friday, but Asian stocks are mixed in early trade today. The S&P500 has now had nine-consecutive positive weekly closes and is sitting at a fresh all-time-high, with futures pointed at further gains when markets open later today. While crude futures are lower, spot prices for Malaysian Tapis crude are proving a little more sticky and are still trading around the levels seen through late May and early April. Singapore gasoil (diesel) spot prices are testing support at $135/bbl, but even at those short-term lows prices are way above the $90.41/bbl recorded on February 26th (the last close before the war started) or the January prices in the high $70s, before the market started to price in what two carrier groups in the Middle East might mean. Gold prices rose by 0.68% last week. This was the first positive weekly close since May 8th, and another example of markets respecting the $4,500/oz support level. Gold is now trading at levels similar to those seen in late December and early January as a number of central banks liquidated holdings in a scramble for Dollar liquidity earlier in the Hormuz crisis. Sovereign yields are moving higher this morning after falling for much of last week. US 2-year yields are up 2bps to 4.04% in early trade, Aussie 2s are up 4bps to 4.56%, but New Zealand 2s are curiously flat after a hawkish RBNZ last week and a national budget that showed fiscal tightening will be delayed beyond the 2026/27 financial year. Moves at the longer end are even more pronounced, with 10-year Treasury yields up 3bps to 4.47%. The shift hig...
AI is being pushed across many parts of corporate America and beyond, perhaps more aggressively in some places than others. Indeed, there’s a lot of hype building in the AI trade as investors await more signs of a monetization boom of sorts after a historic year for CapEx spend. While time will tell if all ... The AI Restraint Comes to Uber From an Unexpected Direction
AI is being pushed across many parts of corporate America and beyond, perhaps more aggressively in some places than others. Indeed, there’s a lot of hype building in the AI trade as investors await more signs of a monetization boom of sorts after a historic year for CapEx spend. While time will tell if all ... The AI Restraint Comes to Uber From an Unexpected Direction
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, on 6/3/26, SLB Ltd (Symbol: SLB) will trade ex-dividend, for its quarterly dividend of $0.295, payable on 7/9/26. As a percentage of SLB's recent stock price of $54.28, this dividend works out to approximately 0.54
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, on 6/3/26, SLB Ltd (Symbol: SLB) will trade ex-dividend, for its quarterly dividend of $0.295, payable on 7/9/26. As a percentage of SLB's recent stock price of $54.28, this dividend works out to approximately 0.54
Shares of Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, XETRA:INL), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, XETRA:AMD) and Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM, XETRA:QCI) fell sharply on Monday after Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD) unveiled a new personal computer chip at the Computex trade show in Taipei, marking a...
Shares of Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, XETRA:INL), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, XETRA:AMD) and Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM, XETRA:QCI) fell sharply on Monday after Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD) unveiled a new personal computer chip at the Computex trade show in Taipei, marking a...
Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (Symbol: SMH) where we have detected an approximate $778.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 1.1% decrease week over week
Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (Symbol: SMH) where we have detected an approximate $778.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 1.1% decrease week over week
Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the Capital Group Core Equity ETF (Symbol: CGUS) where we have detected an approximate $349.2 million dollar outflow -- that's a 3.1% decrease week over
Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the Capital Group Core Equity ETF (Symbol: CGUS) where we have detected an approximate $349.2 million dollar outflow -- that's a 3.1% decrease week over
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, on 6/2/26, RingCentral Inc (Symbol: RNG) will trade ex-dividend, for its quarterly dividend of $0.075, payable on 6/11/26. As a percentage of RNG's recent stock price of $44.33, this dividend works out to approxima
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, on 6/2/26, RingCentral Inc (Symbol: RNG) will trade ex-dividend, for its quarterly dividend of $0.075, payable on 6/11/26. As a percentage of RNG's recent stock price of $44.33, this dividend works out to approxima
Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the Dimensional US Marketwide Value ETF (Symbol: DFUV) where we have detected an approximate $311.2 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.0% decrease wee
Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the Dimensional US Marketwide Value ETF (Symbol: DFUV) where we have detected an approximate $311.2 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.0% decrease wee
pcess609/iStock via Getty Images Market Overview While a number of broad equity indexes established new all-time highs early in the new year, rumors of war and the war itself weighed on investor sentiment. Relatively benign first quarter declines belie the severity of the selloff experienced following the February 28 attack on Iran by US and Israeli forces. While the S&P 500 Index lost 4.3% for th...
pcess609/iStock via Getty Images Market Overview While a number of broad equity indexes established new all-time highs early in the new year, rumors of war and the war itself weighed on investor sentiment. Relatively benign first quarter declines belie the severity of the selloff experienced following the February 28 attack on Iran by US and Israeli forces. While the S&P 500 Index lost 4.3% for the period as a whole, it was down more than 9% from its peak. Similarly, the MSCI EAFE Index's decline of 1.2% during the quarter obscures a peak-to-trough loss of more than 11%. 1 Impulsive Behaviors Our commentaries in recent quarters have repeatedly called attention to the very low risk perception evident in financial markets broadly, as corroborated by high equity market valuations, tight credit spreads and low implied volatility. As we entered the year, these Goldilocks conditions were not entirely without support. Corporate earnings expectations were strong, economic activity was picking up, and hyperscalers continued to direct massive levels of capex toward supporting their ambitions in artificial intelligence. At the same time, expectations of lower interest rates had investors looking forward to easier financial conditions. The war in Iran has altered the Goldilocks narrative. The primary economic disruption of the attack on Iran was the shock to the global energy supply chain. In addition to assaulting major Middle East energy hubs, Iran quickly moved to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow seaway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which approximately 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply passes along with a large range of petrochemical inputs and end products. Commodity prices responded violently, with oil and LNG prices climbing more than 50% and 85%, respectively. Fertilizer prices, too, have soared just in time for spring planting season in the northern hemisphere; the Strait handles a large share of the global s...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images I had a great, hour-long conversation with one of my hedge fund trainees yesterday, and it helped me to further crystallize an idea that has been floating around in my mind for a while. When asked about the investment edge that one theoretically must have to be a successful money manager, my take is that, in nearly all cases, simplicity trumps complexity, a...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images I had a great, hour-long conversation with one of my hedge fund trainees yesterday, and it helped me to further crystallize an idea that has been floating around in my mind for a while. When asked about the investment edge that one theoretically must have to be a successful money manager, my take is that, in nearly all cases, simplicity trumps complexity, and by a whole lot more than most people think. Sure, Bridgewater Associates hires 1,300 brilliant employees to gain an alpha advantage over market participants, and Renaissance Technologies seems to have a grasp on highly profitable quant analysis that no one else does. But in my view, the other 99.9% of investors out there can still produce generational wealth over long periods with very simple, but well-executed, ideas that do not require the backing of a multi-million-dollar infrastructure apparatus. Buying A Bubble And Getting Rich Today, I propose a trading strategy that fits on the back of a cocktail napkin and uses the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x ETF ( SOXL ). If successful, I believe that one could turn $10,000 today into $10 million in a tax-deferred account by 2055. Interestingly and counterintuitively, the feat would likely only be achievable if AI stocks are, indeed, in bubble territory today. You've read it right: this is a two-bullet-point strategy on how to get rich buying a bubble. Let's start, anti-climatically, by describing SOXL and addressing the risks of leverage—skip ahead as needed. On the first point, this is a tech ETF that bets on an underlying basket of what we often refer to nowadays as "AI stocks". As of the writing of my most recent article about this fund, the holdings are relatively well distributed across many relevant names, including Micron ( MU ) at 8.5% and NVIDIA ( NVDA ) at 7.2%. The top 10 holdings add up to nearly 60% capital allocation (see below). DM Martins Research, data from BlackRock The twist is that SOXL does not mer...
Robert Way/iStock Editorial via Getty Images NVIDIA ( NVDA ) has turned into a laggard in recent weeks. Its fiscal Q1 earnings report, issued on May 20, was more than solid, with top- and bottom-line beats and impressive data center/AI net sales. The outlook was also robust, with CEO Jensen Huang calling out increasing demand for its newest Vera Rubin platform. I have been bullish on NVDA this yea...
Robert Way/iStock Editorial via Getty Images NVIDIA ( NVDA ) has turned into a laggard in recent weeks. Its fiscal Q1 earnings report, issued on May 20, was more than solid, with top- and bottom-line beats and impressive data center/AI net sales. The outlook was also robust, with CEO Jensen Huang calling out increasing demand for its newest Vera Rubin platform. I have been bullish on NVDA this year, but I’m taking a different tack today. The YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF ( NVDY ) is one of the so-called “boomer candy” funds, promising high yields and upside exposure to NVDA. I reiterate a hold rating on the ETF. I was neutral on NVDY last summer , and shares have performed about in line with NVDA and the S&P 500. Given its high expense ratio and selling away some upside, I reiterate a hold rating. I’ll provide refreshed looks at the fundamentals and why technicals augur for a more aggressive long-NVDA play. NVDY Tracking NVDA, But Lags YTD StockCharts.com According to the issuer , NVDY is an actively managed ETF designed to generate weekly income by selling call spreads on NVDA. "By writing call spreads, NVDY seeks to systematically harvest option premiums from NVDA’s volatility, striving to turn it into a weekly income stream while still maintaining participation in NVDA’s share price appreciation. NVDY offers a compelling way to potentially collect income and stay long NVDA." NVDY is a medium-sized ETF, now with $1.5 billion in assets under management as of May 29, 2026. That’s down from $1.9 billion at the time of my previous analysis. Its annual expense ratio is very high at 1.09%, while the trailing 12-month dividend yield is 62.4%. To be clear, just about all of the yield comes from selling options, not from fundamental company cash flows. YieldMax ETFs notes that the distribution rate is currently 47.21%. NVDY has changed from a year ago. It’s now a weekly income product and no longer distributes once per month. That may seem like a benefit, but it...