wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund Outlook Emerging market sovereign debt trounced both global and USD-based sovereign debt in 2025 and has been a very strong performer in the past three years. However, it is definitely time for a health check in 2026, as inflation appears poised to make a comeback in emerging markets this year, and global growth projection...
wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund Outlook Emerging market sovereign debt trounced both global and USD-based sovereign debt in 2025 and has been a very strong performer in the past three years. However, it is definitely time for a health check in 2026, as inflation appears poised to make a comeback in emerging markets this year, and global growth projections are currently less optimistic. One of the leading vehicles for emerging market sovereign and corporate debt is the Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund ( MSD ), which has rallied strongly in recent years, following its bottoming out phase in 2022. Data by YCharts However, MSD had very poor performance in 2022 when there was a previous inflationary shock in emerging markets. As emerging market headwinds approach, this vehicle will likely continue to sell off along with emerging market equities. Until there is more clarity about geopolitical risks, it is best to avoid this high-risk sovereign and corporate debt vehicle, which targets riskier emerging markets. Historic cycles, including in 2022 and the 1970s, have shown that other defense themes have proven to be superior to debt during cycles like these. I think it is best to park some cash on the sidelines and/or maintain exposure to higher-yielding emerging market equities or other defensive themes. MSD has sold off in tandem with broader EM indices during previous sell-offs, and the risk-reward setup doesn't look favorable for the first half of 2026. There will likely be better entry points in the upcoming quarters. Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund Overview The Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund is a smaller closed-end fund that targets sovereign and corporate debt in a variety of emerging markets. MSD invests around 63% of its assets in sovereign debt, 23% in corporate bonds, and the remaining amount in quasi-sovereign bonds. It is spread out across multiple emerging markets, with its largest target...
Manuel Milan/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Galp Energia's ( GLPEF ) stock price has performed well since the start of the year, up about 40%, in euro terms, on the Lisbon stock exchange. This is in part due to the rise in oil prices recently and the announcement the company made that it is looking at merging its downstream operations with a Spanish competitor to produce a larger refining and m...
Manuel Milan/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Galp Energia's ( GLPEF ) stock price has performed well since the start of the year, up about 40%, in euro terms, on the Lisbon stock exchange. This is in part due to the rise in oil prices recently and the announcement the company made that it is looking at merging its downstream operations with a Spanish competitor to produce a larger refining and marketing business. I believe it's a good time to sell the stock, in part because I think there are better alternatives, such as Repsol, and it is unclear to me that Galp has any real competitive advantage. I had previously had a Hold recommendation on the stock, but after reading through the company's recently published 2025 annual report, the company's portfolio of businesses doesn't align with my macro view of energy, and the stock is not cheap enough to compensate for that. I'll go through each segment to explain my thinking. Upstream Galp's upstream portfolio consists of minority positions across Brazil, Namibia, and Sao Tome and Principe. Galp is the operator of only one upstream asset. Galp's working interests in producing assets are only in Brazil and Namibia, and Sao Tome and Principe are exploration and development projects. The Brazilian assets are largely operated by Petrobras ( PBR ). Galp Energia Namibia presentation Over the last two years, Upstream has been the largest component of Galp's earnings before interest and tax. In 2024 it accounted for 71% of EBIT, and in 2025 it accounted for 57% of Galp's EBIT. What's more, of the 298 million barrels of proved reserves, 93% is oil and 7% is natural gas. Also worth noting that Galp's proven reserves are down year on year, as production was faster than reserve replacement. Galp has significant contingent resources, which grew year on year, but these are uncertain and far away from production. Galp Energia 2025 annual report As I noted previously, in Galp Energia's Transformation Journey and Galp Energia's Transform...
UiPath ( PATH ) said on Wednesday that Chief Technology Officer Raghu Malpani will be taking on an expanded role as chief product and technology officer, effective March 25, 2026. Malpani will lead the company’s product and engineering teams and will continue to report to UiPath CEO and Executive Chairman Daniel Dines . Malpani joined UiPath in May 2024 as Chief Technology Officer. Before joining ...
UiPath ( PATH ) said on Wednesday that Chief Technology Officer Raghu Malpani will be taking on an expanded role as chief product and technology officer, effective March 25, 2026. Malpani will lead the company’s product and engineering teams and will continue to report to UiPath CEO and Executive Chairman Daniel Dines . Malpani joined UiPath in May 2024 as Chief Technology Officer. Before joining UiPath, he held various leadership roles at Microsoft across several product families, including the Microsoft 365 Application and Data Platform, Microsoft Exchange Core, Copilot semantic index platform, Microsoft Graph, and several Microsoft Azure cloud offerings. Raghu also led the global Decisions Platform team at Meta, the company said. PATH +0.90% premarket to $11.17. Source: Press Release More on UiPath UiPath: Fine Q4 Earnings, But The Bull Case Remains Uninspiring UiPath plunges after Q4 results, but Needham upgrades to Buy on new ARR UiPath targets $2B ARR milestone in FY27 as AI adoption accelerates, updates long-term margin goal
Investing.com -- Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) rose 4% Wednesday, while Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) gained 2.5% after Nikkei reported both chipmakers informed clients of CPU price increases.
Investing.com -- Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) rose 4% Wednesday, while Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) gained 2.5% after Nikkei reported both chipmakers informed clients of CPU price increases.
Oilfield services company SLB said on Wednesday it would expand its partnership with Nvidia to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure and models for the energy industry, as companies look to scale up use of the technology. The deal builds on the two companies' partnership, which began in 2008 when SLB used Nvidia's accelerated computing and then expanded in 2024 to development of genera...
Oilfield services company SLB said on Wednesday it would expand its partnership with Nvidia to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure and models for the energy industry, as companies look to scale up use of the technology. The deal builds on the two companies' partnership, which began in 2008 when SLB used Nvidia's accelerated computing and then expanded in 2024 to development of generative AI solutions for the energy sector. It also reflects the energy industry's need to process growing volumes of geological, production and infrastructure data more quickly, at a time when producers are seeking to cut costs, improve reliability and lower emissions.
The cost of imports into the US jumped in February by the most in nearly four years, reflecting a broad pickup in prices even before war in the Middle East. Import prices increased 1.3% from the prior month, Labor Department data showed Wednesday, boosted in part by higher prices for petroleum and natural gas. Excluding petroleum, import costs advanced 1.2%, the most since January 2022 and driven ...
The cost of imports into the US jumped in February by the most in nearly four years, reflecting a broad pickup in prices even before war in the Middle East. Import prices increased 1.3% from the prior month, Labor Department data showed Wednesday, boosted in part by higher prices for petroleum and natural gas. Excluding petroleum, import costs advanced 1.2%, the most since January 2022 and driven by higher prices for capital goods and consumer merchandise excluding automobiles. Export prices also surged, rising 1.5% in February, the most since May 2022.
tunart/E+ via Getty Images Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX ) up 2.3% pre-market Wednesday as futures prices for copper and most other industrial metals gained from optimism over the Trump administration's diplomatic push to end the Middle East war. Nickel prices jumped on the London Metal Exchange after Indonesia, which accounts for more than half the world's nickel production, approved tariffs on outbound...
tunart/E+ via Getty Images Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX ) up 2.3% pre-market Wednesday as futures prices for copper and most other industrial metals gained from optimism over the Trump administration's diplomatic push to end the Middle East war. Nickel prices jumped on the London Metal Exchange after Indonesia, which accounts for more than half the world's nickel production, approved tariffs on outbound shipments of the battery metal. Aluminum ( LMAHDS03:COM ) was the only metal that fell on the LME, trimming its gains since the war started to ~3.5%; the Middle East accounts for ~9% of production capacity for the metal, and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has constrained shipments. T he global aluminum market is expected to face a Q2 deficit of ~900K metric tons, the largest since 2019, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note, raising its LME aluminum forecast for Q2 to $3,200/ton, up from an earlier estimate of $3,100, citing Middle East disruptions and a smelter shutdown in Mozambique. However, new aluminum supply from Chinese overseas investments is set to ramp up in this year's H2, contributing to a global surplus of 1.8M tons by 2028. Potentially relevant stocks include Alcoa ( AA ), Century Aluminum ( CENX ), Constellium ( CSTM ), BHP ( BHP ), Rio Tinto ( RIO ), Vale ( VALE ), Southern Copper ( SCCO ), Glencore ( GLCNF ) ( GLNCY ) and Anglo American ( AAUKF ) ( NGLOY ). More on Freeport-McMoRan and Alcoa Freeport-McMoRan: The Drawdown Is A Gift Freeport-McMoRan: The Profit Surge Has Barely Started (Rating Upgrade) Alcoa: Valuation Concern Overshadows Aluminum Strength
The assassination this week of a labor lawyer working for Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. in downtown Johannesburg has prompted a protest from South Africa’s business fraternity. “Legal professionals, investigators, prosecutors and witnesses are increasingly exposed to intimidation and violence,” Business Against Crime South Africa, a grouping that works with the government, said in a statement on Wednesd...
The assassination this week of a labor lawyer working for Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. in downtown Johannesburg has prompted a protest from South Africa’s business fraternity. “Legal professionals, investigators, prosecutors and witnesses are increasingly exposed to intimidation and violence,” Business Against Crime South Africa, a grouping that works with the government, said in a statement on Wednesday. It is a tactic used “to shield criminal networks from accountability,” it said. Chinette Gallichan , an employee of South Africa’s biggest mining company by revenue, was shot dead on the street on Monday morning close to a state office that mediates labor matters. A spokesman for Sibanye told News24, a local news website, that she was in the city center to represent the company in a dispute with some of its employees. Her death follows the September killing of bankruptcy lawyer Bouwer van Niekerk in the boardroom of his firm in the city. That was the latest in a string of murders of insolvency practitioners, tax consultants and other professionals. Read more: Murder by Appointment: South African Lawyers Face Assassination “This is ultimately a matter that requires continued leadership from the state,” the group said. “Protecting those who uphold the law is fundamental to maintaining the rule of law and the stability of South Africa’s democratic and economic environment.” Sibanye was not immediately available for comment. Neal Froneman , who retired as Sibanye’s chief executive officer last year, is Bacsa’s chairman. The Next Africa newsletter runs every weekday. Sign up here and subscribe to the Next Africa podcast on Apple , Spotify or anywhere you listen .
Innovative Solutions and Support (ISSC) could be a solid choice for shorter-term investors looking to capitalize on the recent price trend in fundamentally sound stocks. It is one of the many stocks that passed through our shorter-term trading strategy-based screen.
Innovative Solutions and Support (ISSC) could be a solid choice for shorter-term investors looking to capitalize on the recent price trend in fundamentally sound stocks. It is one of the many stocks that passed through our shorter-term trading strategy-based screen.