Eva Blanco/iStock via Getty Images Overview 2026 has been off to a rough start as market indices trend downward and experience heightened levels of volatility. When I previously covered the BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust ( ECAT ), I downgraded my rating to a hold rating because of the questionable performance and valuation at the time. Since that last coverage, the share price has dec...
Eva Blanco/iStock via Getty Images Overview 2026 has been off to a rough start as market indices trend downward and experience heightened levels of volatility. When I previously covered the BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust ( ECAT ), I downgraded my rating to a hold rating because of the questionable performance and valuation at the time. Since that last coverage, the share price has declined by double digits and has underperformed the S&P 500 Index ( SPX ). ECAT has released an updated annual report, and the challenging macro environment continues to reduce the appeal of entry. Therefore, I wanted to revisit the fund's performance and outlook through 2026. Looking at the performance over the last twelve months, we can see that the share price is down by about 1.2%. Despite the slight recovery in the market, the share price has not been able to cross back into the positive territory yet. When including all distributions that were paid out to shareholders, the total return jumps up to 22.9% over the same time frame. ECAT now offers investors a massive starting dividend yield of 22.1%, while issuing those payouts on a monthly basis. Data by YCharts The fund's latest annual report indicates that the fund is paying out more than it actually earns in income. As a result, the underlying NAV continues to erode and cause investor capital to deteriorate. If the market momentum doesn't recover, ECAT has demonstrated that it is also unlikely to provide a meaningful buffer against the uncertainty. Even if we experience a strong market rally, ECAT's option writing strategy will also limit the fund's ability to participate in capital appreciation. So while the dividend yield may be enticing for income investors, the fund is structurally flawed and may not be suitable for long-term investors. Fund Strategy As implied by the fund's name, ECAT is a term fund with a planned liquidation after a 12-year period. The fund now has total managed assets of $1.51B that are spread a...
Gianluigi Aponte , the secretive Italian billionaire who founded and grew MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. into the world’s biggest container line, passed ownership to his two children. Aponte, 85, made the transfer of the closely held company to son Diego and daughter Alexa in the last quarter of 2025, according to a statement Monday. They are respectively president and chief financial officer, whi...
Gianluigi Aponte , the secretive Italian billionaire who founded and grew MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. into the world’s biggest container line, passed ownership to his two children. Aponte, 85, made the transfer of the closely held company to son Diego and daughter Alexa in the last quarter of 2025, according to a statement Monday. They are respectively president and chief financial officer, while their father will retain his role as executive chairman. “The move ensures the continued stability and growth of the MSC Group of companies under the stewardship of the next generation,” it said. A spokesman declined to elaborate on the transaction beyond the statement. The announcement opens a small window into the workings of the Geneva-based firm that has increasingly dominated worldwide shipping in recent years. MSC overtook rival Maersk A/S as the world’s No. 1 container line after the pandemic, and has recently been expanding into the oil tanker market. The group controls about a fifth of global shipping capacity and has a sizeable share of the cruise line market. Aponte has a net worth of at least $37 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index . Both heirs are Italian nationals who were brought up in Switzerland, where they are residents. Panama Canal Within the past year, Gianluigi Aponte emerged as a powerful broker in a port deal with Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, a purchase whose outcome is now uncertain. MSC teamed up with Blackrock Inc. for the $19 billion acquisition of the two ports on either side of the Panama Canal — a deal driven in part by Donald Trump ’s pressure to see the ports, previously owned by Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Whampoa , returned to ‘friendly’ hands. Diego Aponte has also made inroads into Trump’s circle. He helped broker the November White House meeting of Swiss business leaders that paved the way for a preliminary accord to cut the 39% tariffs imposed on Switzerland over the summer. The world’s container lines have been t...
Malaysia ended last week with seven oil tankers en route via the Strait of Hormuz and a government promise that supplies would last through May. Then US President Donald Trump announced a blockade. Analysts say the escalation in the US-Israel war on Iran puts Malaysia on a collision course with an energy crisis sooner than expected. “Putrajaya has already flagged June as a critical pressure point,...
Malaysia ended last week with seven oil tankers en route via the Strait of Hormuz and a government promise that supplies would last through May. Then US President Donald Trump announced a blockade. Analysts say the escalation in the US-Israel war on Iran puts Malaysia on a collision course with an energy crisis sooner than expected. “Putrajaya has already flagged June as a critical pressure point,” said geopolitical risk consultant Asrul Sani, associate vice-president of The Asia Group. “This...
Alex Cristi /iStock via Getty Images “This too shall pass.” April 10, 2026 To all clients, Cedar Grove Capital Management’s Multi-Strategy Composite returned -23.0% (net of fees) vs -5.6% for the Russell 2000, -5.9% for the Russell Microcap, and -5.5% for the S&P 500, since its inception. CGCM Multi-Strategy Composite 1,2,3 (All Managed Portfolios with Balances >$20,000) Net Return Russell 2000 Ru...
Alex Cristi /iStock via Getty Images “This too shall pass.” April 10, 2026 To all clients, Cedar Grove Capital Management’s Multi-Strategy Composite returned -23.0% (net of fees) vs -5.6% for the Russell 2000, -5.9% for the Russell Microcap, and -5.5% for the S&P 500, since its inception. CGCM Multi-Strategy Composite 1,2,3 (All Managed Portfolios with Balances >$20,000) Net Return Russell 2000 Russell Microcap S&P 500 YTD through March 31, 2026 4 (23.0%) (5.6%) (5.9%) (5.5%) Click to enlarge 1) Time-weighted returns (TWR) are unaudited and represent an account opened during the reported quarter. Investor's actual returns may differ from the returns presented due to when onboarding was completed and position weightings with each respective portfolio. 2) Portfolios consist of client accounts that are strictly involved with our multi-strategy offering (L/S + Special Situations). 3) Standard fees consist of a 1.0% management fee, applied monthly on the end balance, as well as a 20% performance fee above our Russell 2000 benchmark, calculated at the end of the year. A high-water mark is standard across all accounts and is measured over the entire life of the clients' investment. 4) YTD represents the composite inception date of January 14th, 2026 through the end of the quarter March 31, 2026. - Past performance is not indicative of future results. This is our first quarterly letter since launching our multi-strategy approach to investing via separately managed accounts (SMA) in the middle of January. We’ve thought long and hard about how to start this letter, and we think providing some background is helpful. Leading up to our formal launch, we had the pleasure of speaking to and hearing from other portfolio managers who started at various points of the last few cycles. While we all know that timing plays an important role in the early success of funds, the fact is that we cannot forecast exogenous shocks that begin during turbulent macroeconomic times. Rather than opin...
Cost-cutting on Japan’s already depleted railway network has hit a new low, with one of the nation’s largest network operators no longer providing toilet paper in a growing number of unmanned stations. JR East’s decision has been met with a mix of annoyance and resignation online, while underscoring the financial pressures bearing down on rural rail services. A social media post from February 2 hi...
Cost-cutting on Japan’s already depleted railway network has hit a new low, with one of the nation’s largest network operators no longer providing toilet paper in a growing number of unmanned stations. JR East’s decision has been met with a mix of annoyance and resignation online, while underscoring the financial pressures bearing down on rural rail services. A social media post from February 2 highlighted the growing frustration with JR East’s failure to provide toilet paper, condemning a...
U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hold a press conference following their meeting at Chequers, near Aylesbury, Britain, Sept. 18, 2025. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters The U.K. is "not supporting" the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, insisting that the country would not get "dragged in" to the Iran war. It came as President Emma...
U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hold a press conference following their meeting at Chequers, near Aylesbury, Britain, Sept. 18, 2025. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters The U.K. is "not supporting" the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, insisting that the country would not get "dragged in" to the Iran war. It came as President Emmanuel Macron confirmed France and the U.K. would, in the coming days, co-host a conference aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Macron has not explicitly ruled-out France's involvement in the U.S. blockade but said the planned conference would create a "peaceful multinational" and "strictly defensive" mission, "separate from the belligerents." Britain's Starmer told BBC's Radio 5 Live on Monday: "We're not supporting the blockade, and all of the marshalling – diplomatically, politically and [in terms of] capability – we do have mine-sweeping capability, I won't go into operational matters, but we do have that capability – that's all focused, from our point of view, on getting the Strait fully open." "What we've been doing over the last few weeks – and this was part of what I was discussing with the Gulf states last week – is bringing countries together to keep the strait open, not shut." Starmer's comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that other countries would help the U.S. implement its blockade, due to start 10 a.m. ET on Monday, on vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports. The move was announced after talks between Washington and Tehran at the weekend failed to produce an agreement to end the Middle East conflict. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said: "At 10 tomorrow, we have a blockade going into effect," adding that "other nations are working so that Iran will not be able to sell oil." He did not say which other countries would be helping, however, and CNBC has requested further comment and clarification from gove...
The stablecoin market is projected to grow tenfold in size over the next few years, as per Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. By 2030, he's expecting the stablecoin market to be $3 trillion in size, up from its current size of roughly $300 billion. But how, exactly, can you make money from stablecoins , given that they always trade for $1? Here are two possible answers to that question. One answer ...
The stablecoin market is projected to grow tenfold in size over the next few years, as per Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. By 2030, he's expecting the stablecoin market to be $3 trillion in size, up from its current size of roughly $300 billion. But how, exactly, can you make money from stablecoins , given that they always trade for $1? Here are two possible answers to that question. One answer is to invest in the issuers of these stablecoins, such as Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) , which went public via a highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) last summer. Circle is the issuer of the USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) stablecoin, which currently has a market cap of $77 billion, making it the second largest in the world. By investing in Circle, you are getting direct exposure to the future potential upside of USDC . Continue reading
Resolution Foundation says households face rising costs from higher bills for energy and filling up Higher energy prices as a result of the Iran war are likely to deal a blow to Britons’ living standards, leaving them nearly £500 worse off this year, a thinktank has warned. The Resolution Foundation said households faced rising costs from both higher gas and electricity bills and at the petrol pum...
Resolution Foundation says households face rising costs from higher bills for energy and filling up Higher energy prices as a result of the Iran war are likely to deal a blow to Britons’ living standards, leaving them nearly £500 worse off this year, a thinktank has warned. The Resolution Foundation said households faced rising costs from both higher gas and electricity bills and at the petrol pump. Continue reading...
NiSource stock is climbing as Midwest data center demand boosts natural gas and power needs, but valuation suggests investors may want to wait for a pullback
NiSource stock is climbing as Midwest data center demand boosts natural gas and power needs, but valuation suggests investors may want to wait for a pullback