Industrial metals jumped to a record high on the London Metal Exchange, driven gains in aluminum after the Middle East war disrupted supplies, as well as a recent revival in copper. An LME Index , which tracks six major metals, has rallied by almost 12% over the past four weeks and was at an all-time peak on the close on Thursday. Aluminum has risen about 15% since the start of the Iran war, with ...
Industrial metals jumped to a record high on the London Metal Exchange, driven gains in aluminum after the Middle East war disrupted supplies, as well as a recent revival in copper. An LME Index , which tracks six major metals, has rallied by almost 12% over the past four weeks and was at an all-time peak on the close on Thursday. Aluminum has risen about 15% since the start of the Iran war, with around 9% of global output coming from the Middle East. Aluminum has the biggest weighting on the LME gauge and, together with copper, the two metals make up almost three-quarters of the index. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has warned the aluminum industry was heading toward a “black hole” as a serious, prolonged supply deficit is hitting the market after supply losses escalated dramatically in the wake of Iranian strikes directly targeting two key smelters in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain at the end of last month. A double blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — by the US and Iran - is also keeping shipments stranded. But while the waterway remains closed, hopes that a ceasefire between the US and Iran will be extended and signs the two sides may be moving closer to a peace deal have aided other metals. They were hit by soaring energy costs and fears of slowing global growth due to the war, but have recovered in recent weeks on signs the conflict might be winding down. President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday, without evidence, that Iran had agreed to terms it has long resisted, including giving up ambitions for a nuclear weapon. Tehran hasn’t confirmed it’s made concessions. Mercuria Energy Group and BMO Capital Markets forecast this week that copper would surpass a record high hit in January. They cited Chinese buyers coming back to the market and a looming decision on tariffs from the White House that’s encouraging more shipments to the US. Copper has rallied 11% in the last four weeks, and is around 3% off its all-time closing price peak. The LMEX Metals Index was up 3.6% this week throug...
The fundraise is the first major capital raise under Sequoia's new leadership, with Alfred Lin and Pat Grady now serving as co-stewards of the 54-year-old firm.
The fundraise is the first major capital raise under Sequoia's new leadership, with Alfred Lin and Pat Grady now serving as co-stewards of the 54-year-old firm.
Earnings Call Insights: Home BancShares (HOMB) Q1 2026 Management View “We’re happy to have completed the merger with our acquisition of Mountain Commerce… we will not be able to start converting Mountain Commerce until November. As a result, the maximum anticipated savings will not be realized until probably the end of ’26.” (Chairman & CEO John Allison) “We had a… $110 million Texas credit that ...
Earnings Call Insights: Home BancShares (HOMB) Q1 2026 Management View “We’re happy to have completed the merger with our acquisition of Mountain Commerce… we will not be able to start converting Mountain Commerce until November. As a result, the maximum anticipated savings will not be realized until probably the end of ’26.” (Chairman & CEO John Allison) “We had a… $110 million Texas credit that we decided to non-perform this quarter… We do not anticipate any additional loss… and do not expect this loan to have any major impact on earnings, if any, at all.” (Chairman & CEO Allison) “We continue to repurchase stock… If the volatility continues, we will be very active on the repurchase side… I want to buy that back… It’s about 5.5 million shares.” (Chairman & CEO Allison) “During Q1, we grew the portfolio to approximately $2.1 billion… Private Credit balances peaked at just under $500 million at the end of 2022. And today, outstanding are $87 million… a reduction of over 80% in the past 3 years.” (President of Centennial Commercial Finance Group Christopher Poulton) “The first quarter of 2026 was a good start to the year with $118.2 million in net income… The reported Net Interest Margin was 4.51%… Deposit balances increased $258 million… we repurchased 507,000 shares of stock during the quarter for a total of $13.9 million.” (Chief Operating Officer John Tipton) “I’m pleased with the quarter. there’s not really any noise to it, so it’s just kind of solid Core Earnings.” (CFO Brian Davis) Outlook “We do expect slightly higher payoffs in Q2… our pipeline should allow us to replace those balances either this quarter or the next.” (President Poulton) “I see this downward trend continuing in the Legacy Bank into the second quarter because Q2 and Q3 projected payoffs are very high. The MCB acquisition will, however, add over $1.49 billion in loans to the balance sheet.” (President & Chief Lending Officer Kevin Hester) “Deposit balances increased $258 million… I would expe...
Hangzhou-based Manycore Tech, one of the so-called "Six Little Dragons" of Chinese AI startups, surged as much as 187% during its trading debut in Hong Kong. Its co-founder and chairman Victor Huang, who previously worked at Nvidia, says Manycore plans to integrate new technologies and expand into new markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
Hangzhou-based Manycore Tech, one of the so-called "Six Little Dragons" of Chinese AI startups, surged as much as 187% during its trading debut in Hong Kong. Its co-founder and chairman Victor Huang, who previously worked at Nvidia, says Manycore plans to integrate new technologies and expand into new markets. (Source: Bloomberg)