Peru has extended a halt on anchovy fishing due to a warming of the Pacific waters off the country’s coast, as the threat of a weather-roiling El Niño looms. The temporary ban will remain in place until June 10, according to resolution by the Ministry of Production. The measure was initially set on May 12 for a period of 15 days. Peru’s main fishing season for the species known as anchoveta typica...
Peru has extended a halt on anchovy fishing due to a warming of the Pacific waters off the country’s coast, as the threat of a weather-roiling El Niño looms. The temporary ban will remain in place until June 10, according to resolution by the Ministry of Production. The measure was initially set on May 12 for a period of 15 days. Peru’s main fishing season for the species known as anchoveta typically runs from April to July, and the catch is primarily used to make fish meal. Prices of the animal feed have rallied to a record this year, and could surge further if El Niño upends the industry, driving up costs for importers such as China. The odds are rising that El Niño will emerge in coming months and strengthen through the year, according to the US Climate Prediction Center. The naturally occurring phenomenon alters weather patterns around the world, and can worsen wildfire risks, and trigger floods and droughts. El Niño tends to warm the Pacific Ocean, prompting anchovy off Peru to seek cooler, deeper water and making them harder to catch. In 2023, the country also banned anchovy fishing due to unusually warm waters , which led to a higher volume of young individuals that were yet to reproduce. The industry contributes 1.5% to Peru’s gross domestic product and supports around 250,000 jobs, said Jessica Luna, head of the National Fisheries Society, the nation’s biggest industrial fishing association. “We’re talking about thousands of families without income, it’s a very, very hard social blow,” she said. The US Climate Prediction Center says there’s a 67% chance that the El Niño will develop into a strong or very strong event when it peaks between November to January. ENFEN, Peru’s national agency responsible for monitoring the event, predicts the Coastal El Niño could reach “moderate” in coming months.
onurdongel/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Darling Ingredients’ ( DAR ) circular-economy model is attractive, converting animal byproducts, used cooking oil and food waste into feed, food ingredients, collagen, gelatin, green energy and renewable diesel exposure. However, it’s not a defensive name, and earnings remain tied to commodity prices, feedstock spreads, renewable diesel margins and p...
onurdongel/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Darling Ingredients’ ( DAR ) circular-economy model is attractive, converting animal byproducts, used cooking oil and food waste into feed, food ingredients, collagen, gelatin, green energy and renewable diesel exposure. However, it’s not a defensive name, and earnings remain tied to commodity prices, feedstock spreads, renewable diesel margins and policy. Q1 2026 showed sharply higher EBITDA, better margins and a return to profitability. With DAR trading at roughly 12.4x FY1 non-GAAP earnings and 7.61x forward EV/EBITDA, I rate the stock a Buy, assuming the recovery holds. Q1 Showed The Recovery Is Real The strongest part of the report was that the recovery is now more visible in the numbers. Q1 combined adjusted EBITDA was $406.8 million, compared with $195.8 million in Q1 2025. This included $255.6 million from the global ingredients business and $151.2 million from Diamond Green Diesel. Total net sales increased to $1.6 billion from $1.4 billion, while gross margin improved to 26.1%, compared to 22.6% in Q1 2025 and 25.1% in Q4 2025. The uptick in net income was also remarkable. Darling reported net income of approximately $134 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $26 million, or minus $0.16 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter. The scale of this improvement is impressive, especially because it wasn’t just driven by sales. The margin improvement also indicates better pricing, mix, execution and operating conditions. However, this is unlikely to be a stable earnings recovery trajectory. Darling remains exposed to volatile end markets, and one strong quarter doesn’t make the business less cyclical. What Q1 did do is reduce the probability that 2025 represented a permanently depressed earnings base, and the numbers now support the idea that the roughest period is behind the company. Core Ingredients Are Doing More Heavy Lifting Feed Ingredients was the standout. Segment EBITDA rose to...
For investors seeking to capitalize on the upcoming structural transformation in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, Qualcomm Incorporated NASDAQ: QCOM should now be a primary focus due to a sudden shift in market dynamics. Qualcomm Today QCOM Qualcomm $225.17 -23.65 (-9.51%) 52-Week Range $121.99 ▼ $258.00 Dividend Yield 1.58% P/E Ratio 24.42 Price Target $181.79 Add to Watchlist A signi...
For investors seeking to capitalize on the upcoming structural transformation in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, Qualcomm Incorporated NASDAQ: QCOM should now be a primary focus due to a sudden shift in market dynamics. Qualcomm Today QCOM Qualcomm $225.17 -23.65 (-9.51%) 52-Week Range $121.99 ▼ $258.00 Dividend Yield 1.58% P/E Ratio 24.42 Price Target $181.79 Add to Watchlist A significant disruption has hit the semiconductor sector: Qualcomm recently landed a multi-million unit order from ByteDance to provide custom Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) for the tech giant's AI data centers. Get Qualcomm alerts: Sign Up The market reacted decisively to the news, sending shares to a new intraday all-time high of around $258 and driving a 60% advance over the trailing 30 days. This immediate repricing reflects a fundamental realization on Wall Street: Qualcomm's days as a purely cyclical smartphone supplier are officially over. Backed by a $29.4 billion capital expenditure tailwind from ByteDance and accelerating automotive sector revenue, Qualcomm's fundamentals are demanding an immediate valuation re-rating to match its tier-one semiconductor peers. Cracking the Code, Qualcomm's Data Center ASIC Pivot For years, institutional money managers assigned Qualcomm a lower multiple due to its heavy reliance on the volatile smartphone cycle. The ByteDance contract decisively breaks that legacy narrative. ByteDance is aggressively scaling Doubao, its highly popular artificial intelligence chatbot, and recently expanded its infrastructure budget by 25% to nearly $29.4 billion. Rather than relying entirely on traditional graphics processing units that currently bottleneck global supply chains, ByteDance chose Qualcomm's custom ASICs to handle complex inference workloads. This transition validates a strategic move that Qualcomm quietly initiated months ago. Qualcomm executed a $2.4 billion acquisition of U.K.-based Alphawave Semi, which established a de...
Name: Lawnmower hum. Age: Getting steadily louder since 1830. Appearance: From roughly 1 April to late September. What is it? It’s the sound of summer, mate. You mean like the Beach Boys? No. Like birdsong, or children’s laughter, or Greensleeves blaring from an ice-cream van? More like the rip, chug and whine of lawnmowers big and small, providing the background noise to the season. I have to say...
Name: Lawnmower hum. Age: Getting steadily louder since 1830. Appearance: From roughly 1 April to late September. What is it? It’s the sound of summer, mate. You mean like the Beach Boys? No. Like birdsong, or children’s laughter, or Greensleeves blaring from an ice-cream van? More like the rip, chug and whine of lawnmowers big and small, providing the background noise to the season. I have to say, I like the sound of a bit of mowing on a sunny afternoon. You’re not alone – the columnist William Sitwell calls it “the music of May”. So evocative, isn’t it? But you’re also not in the majority. Lawnmower noise is a perennial summer complaint, pitting neighbour against neighbour. I suppose these things can boil over occasionally. They certainly can. A woman in Wiltshire is facing up to a year in jail for deliberately leaving her lawnmower running while her neighbours were having a dinner party. That’s a bit harsh. Her actions represented the culmination of a 15-year feud, and the violation of a restraining order, so there’s more to it. Honestly, it’s just a bit of noise. Lawns don’t mow themselves, you know. The most common complaint seems to be that the noise happens on weekends, when hard-working people are trying to relax in their gardens. I also work, so the weekend is my only chance to mow the lawn. And as we’ve established, some people, like me, actually enjoy the sound. Maybe it sounds better when you’re the one doing the mowing. I wouldn’t know. I have to wear these giant ear defenders so I don’t go deaf. And your neighbours never complain? Again, I would have no way of hearing them. The irritation also extends to the antisocial use of other noisy tools: hedge trimmers and edge strimmers, pressure washers and angle grinders – anything that disturbs the peace. It’s just a matter of mutual consideration and compromise, isn’t it? It’s also a matter of law. Local authorities have the power to impose fines of up to £5,000 on people who cut their grass outside of reas...
"Joe Biden's Justice Department tried to hide audio recordings that clearly demonstrate a significant decline in his cognitive abilities as far back as 2016," Justice Department Spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said in a statement. "We will fight to ensure the American people can hear these recordings and draw their own conclusions about the former President's mental acuity before he sought the pr...
"Joe Biden's Justice Department tried to hide audio recordings that clearly demonstrate a significant decline in his cognitive abilities as far back as 2016," Justice Department Spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said in a statement. "We will fight to ensure the American people can hear these recordings and draw their own conclusions about the former President's mental acuity before he sought the presidency."
chiewr/iStock via Getty Images Fed Operating Earnings Turn Positive Amidst last week’s festivities of Kevin Warsh officially becoming the 17 th Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Fed quietly released their Combined Quarterly Financial Report for the period ending March 31, 2026. The report showed that the Fed recorded on operating profit of $1.3 billion, their second consecutive quarterly gain f...
chiewr/iStock via Getty Images Fed Operating Earnings Turn Positive Amidst last week’s festivities of Kevin Warsh officially becoming the 17 th Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Fed quietly released their Combined Quarterly Financial Report for the period ending March 31, 2026. The report showed that the Fed recorded on operating profit of $1.3 billion, their second consecutive quarterly gain following operating losses for 12 straight quarters beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022. Federal Reserve As I’ve written about often, the Fed was losing money because when they began their Quantitative Easing (QE) program to battle the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, they created an asset/liability mismatch on their balance sheet, whereby they bought long term fixed rate assets, and funded them with short term variable rate liabilities. This exposed the Fed to the risk of rising interest rates, which came to fruition when they started tightening monetary policy in 2022 to fight a 40-year high in inflation. As the Fed raised the Fed Funds Rate, the cost of their liabilities began increasing, while the income they were earning on their Treasury bonds and Mortgage-Backed Securities ( MBS ) remained fixed. By September 2022, when the Fed Funds Rate hit 3.25%, the Fed’s interest expense began exceeding their interest income. Federal Reserve With further increases in the Fed Funds Rate came bigger operating losses. The Funds Rate peaked in the third quarter of 2023, as did the losses. As part of the Fed’s Policy Normalization Plan, they also began shrinking their balance sheet through maturity runoffs, which is more commonly known as Quantitative Tightening (QT). The primary goal of QT was to drain the liquidity that had been injected during QE, but a side benefit was that the Fed’s asset/liability mismatch was also reduced. That helped narrow the Fed’s operating losses. The losses were narrowed further when the Fed began cutting the Fed Funds Rate in Sept 2024. From the high ...
(RTTNews) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading session, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line. Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is up 266.79 points or 0.5 percent 50,728.47, the S&P 500 is down 2.08 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 7,517.04 and the Nasdaq is down 50.08 po...
(RTTNews) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading session, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line. Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is up 266.79 points or 0.5 percent 50,728.47, the S&P 500 is down 2.08 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 7,517.04 and the Nasdaq is down 50.08 points or 0.2 percent at 26,606.10. The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders express some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 advanced to record highs on Tuesday amid a tech sector rally, although the narrower Dow finished the day modestly lower. Traders may also be waiting for further developments with a regard to a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal, although confidence remains high that an agreement will be reached soon. A report from Reuters said Iranian state TV ?had obtained a draft of an initial, unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran and the United States Under the framework, Iran would restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to ?pre-war levels within a month, Reuters said. The report has contributed to an extended slump by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures plunging by more than 3 percent. Traders may also be somewhat reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key U.S. economic data on Thursday, including the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation. Sector News Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, airline stocks are extending the substantial upward move seen over the past several sessions, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index surging by 2.7 percent. Significant strength is also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent jump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. Telecom, pharmaceutical and retail stocks are also seeing notable strengt...
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered SpaceX to investigate why its Starship booster failed during the company’s May 22 test flight, according to a statement released to TechCrunch on Wednesday. This means SpaceX will have to pause any further Starship test launches until the investigation is completed and the results are submitted to the FAA for approval, diminishing the chance th...
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered SpaceX to investigate why its Starship booster failed during the company’s May 22 test flight, according to a statement released to TechCrunch on Wednesday. This means SpaceX will have to pause any further Starship test launches until the investigation is completed and the results are submitted to the FAA for approval, diminishing the chance that another will occur before the company’s anticipated IPO in mid-June. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “After a thorough assessment of the operation, the FAA has determined the May 22 SpaceX Starship Flight 12 launch resulted in a mishap. The mishap involved the Super Heavy booster as it flew back to the Gulf of America after stage separation. There are no reports of public injury or damage to public property,” the FAA wrote. “The FAA will oversee the SpaceX-led investigation, be involved in every step of the process, and approve SpaceX’s final report, including any corrective actions. ” The problem with the Starship booster occurred a few minutes into the flight, which was the first launch of SpaceX’s upgraded version of its super heavy rocket system. The first “V3” Starship made it through the point of maximum dynamic pressure and into space, where the booster was supposed to separate from the ship and return to the Gulf for a simulated landing in the water. The booster did separate from the ship. But it immediately experienced an apparent engine failure — or a possible series of engine failures — when it tried to perform the sustained burn that is meant to propel the booster back toward SpaceX’s launch site in South Texas. This led to the booster tumbling down towards the Gulf before most likely exploding on impact. SpaceX made a plethora of changes to how Starship works in this third version, with the intention of making the rocket far more reliable than it was in the previous 11 test flights. That included tweaks to the design of the boost...
The dividend yield on the S&P 500 is a mere 1.1%, rounded up, but that doesn't mean the entire equity market lacks attractive equity-income opportunities. It's simply a matter of knowing where to look. Interestingly, some of the smallest sectors in the S&P 500 are where some of the largest dividend yields are found. Energy, which is the fourth-smallest sector in the S&P 500, yields 2.7% as measure...
The dividend yield on the S&P 500 is a mere 1.1%, rounded up, but that doesn't mean the entire equity market lacks attractive equity-income opportunities. It's simply a matter of knowing where to look. Interestingly, some of the smallest sectors in the S&P 500 are where some of the largest dividend yields are found. Energy, which is the fourth-smallest sector in the S&P 500, yields 2.7% as measured by the S&P Energy Select Sector index. That gauge is a basket of the largest domestic energy stocks, ranked by market capitalization. All right, so 2.7% might not qualify as "jaw-dropping," but investors shouldn't be dismayed because the energy sector is home to an array of dividend payers (and growers) with higher yields with the potential to reward long-term investors. In fact, there are 69 U.S.-listed energy stocks carrying dividend yields of at least 3% and sporting gains over the past 12 months. Here's an interesting trio to consider. 1. Chevron is the stock for energy dividend dependability One of the blue chip dividend stocks in the oil patch, Chevron (CVX 1.07%), yields 3.7%, but more important than that above-average yield is the integrated oil giant's dividend reliability. The payout increase unveiled by the company earlier in 2026 marks the 39th consecutive year in which Chevron has boosted its dividend, providing income investors with the like-clockwork dependability they so desire. Above-average yields and long track records of dividend growth are nice, but investors are right to demand dividend safety, too. Chevron offers that because it has operational expertise exceeding that of some rivals and has proven to be an adept cost-cutter over the years. Obviously, cost containment is vital in the capital-intensive exploration and production sector because it lowers producers' break-even points. Said differently, adept cost managers like Chevron can continue generating and growing profits even if oil prices slide. Speaking of oil prices, thanks to its cost-cuttin...
Mr-Tigga/iStock via Getty Images By Diederik Stadig Past: From generics producer to biologics specialist South Korea’s pharma sector started from a relatively modest base, historically focused on generics, biosimilars and manufacturing excellence rather than global originator innovation. The pivot came through deliberate industrial policy: government-backed bio-clusters, rising public-private R&D,...
Mr-Tigga/iStock via Getty Images By Diederik Stadig Past: From generics producer to biologics specialist South Korea’s pharma sector started from a relatively modest base, historically focused on generics, biosimilars and manufacturing excellence rather than global originator innovation. The pivot came through deliberate industrial policy: government-backed bio-clusters, rising public-private R&D, and the emergence of globally relevant biologics players such as Celltrion, Samsung Bioepis and Samsung Biologics. Between 2020 and 2022, investment in the biopharmaceutical industry rose by an average 21.6% per year, reaching around $2.9bn (IMAPAC), helping Korea build a reputation as a high-quality biologics and biosimilars hub. In doing so, the country built a strong track record in several therapeutic areas, such as neurologic, metabolic and immunological conditions. Recently, improvements in RNA platforms and cell/gene therapies have been impressive. Yet, oncology remains the main driver of innovation and is far and away the country’s most important research area. Oncology remains Korea’s key research area Research projects funded by the Korean Drug Development Fund (KDDF) by stage and research area Source: KDDF, ING Present: Asia's second innovation star after China, but with bottlenecks South Korea is now one of Asia's most credible biopharma innovators. Its biopharma market is roughly $22bn (IMAPAC), ranking 13th globally, and Seoul was the world’s top city for company-led clinical trials in 2022, while South Korea ranked fifth globally as a country. Moreover, South Korean companies discovered more than 1,300 new drug candidates over the past three years, equal to around 10% of the global total, putting Korea ahead of established R&D hubs such as the UK, Switzerland and Japan (Citeline). In short, Korea is a serious hub for clinical development. In addition, we estimate that Korea’s domestic demand rose by a little over 8% last year and will continue to grow at a s...
Key Points Chevron is one of the most dependable dividend names in the energy patch. Delek Logistics Partners is an under the radar high-yield play. Kinetik Holdings is a midstream operator with dividend growth potential. 10 stocks we like better than Chevron › The dividend yield on the S&P 500 is a mere 1.1%, rounded up, but that doesn't mean the entire equity market lacks attractive equity-incom...
Key Points Chevron is one of the most dependable dividend names in the energy patch. Delek Logistics Partners is an under the radar high-yield play. Kinetik Holdings is a midstream operator with dividend growth potential. 10 stocks we like better than Chevron › The dividend yield on the S&P 500 is a mere 1.1%, rounded up, but that doesn't mean the entire equity market lacks attractive equity-income opportunities. It's simply a matter of knowing where to look. Interestingly, some of the smallest sectors in the S&P 500 are where some of the largest dividend yields are found. Energy, which is the fourth-smallest sector in the S&P 500, yields 2.7% as measured by the S&P Energy Select Sector index. That gauge is a basket of the largest domestic energy stocks, ranked by market capitalization. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » All right, so 2.7% might not qualify as "jaw-dropping," but investors shouldn't be dismayed because the energy sector is home to an array of dividend payers (and growers) with higher yields with the potential to reward long-term investors. In fact, there are 69 U.S.-listed energy stocks carrying dividend yields of at least 3% and sporting gains over the past 12 months. Here's an interesting trio to consider. 1. Chevron is the stock for energy dividend dependability One of the blue chip dividend stocks in the oil patch, Chevron (NYSE: CVX), yields 3.7%, but more important than that above-average yield is the integrated oil giant's dividend reliability. The payout increase unveiled by the company earlier in 2026 marks the 39th consecutive year in which Chevron has boosted its dividend, providing income investors with the like-clockwork dependability they so desire. Above-average yields and long track records of dividend growth are nice, but investors are right to demand...