Prime Minister Keir Starmer has delivered a last-ditch effort to save his premiership this morning, with a politically charged address designed to hold back calls for a change in leadership atop Britain’s governing Labour Party. During the speech, he reiterated his message from Friday that he won’t walk away and risk “plunging the country into chaos.” The prime minister also addressed questions ab...
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has delivered a last-ditch effort to save his premiership this morning, with a politically charged address designed to hold back calls for a change in leadership atop Britain’s governing Labour Party. During the speech, he reiterated his message from Friday that he won’t walk away and risk “plunging the country into chaos.” The prime minister also addressed questions about his leadership. “I know people are frustrated with me,” he said. “I know I have doubters, and I know I need to prove them wrong.” Starmer also vowed to put Britain “at the heart of Europe” and announced the nationalisation of British Steel. (Source: Bloomberg)
Alistair Berg Stock index futures were lower Monday as there seemed to be no end in sight to the U.S.-Iran conflict after President Donald Trump called Iran’s latest proposal “totally unacceptable.” Now, here are 5 news stories that broke overnight to watch out for: Chip stocks surge continues: T he semiconductor sector ( SMH ) ( SOXX ) is experiencing an extraordinary rally, with chip stocks post...
Alistair Berg Stock index futures were lower Monday as there seemed to be no end in sight to the U.S.-Iran conflict after President Donald Trump called Iran’s latest proposal “totally unacceptable.” Now, here are 5 news stories that broke overnight to watch out for: Chip stocks surge continues: T he semiconductor sector ( SMH ) ( SOXX ) is experiencing an extraordinary rally, with chip stocks posting gains that have stunned even the most optimistic investors. The rally shows no sign of slowing down as investors bet that demand for chips will continue to grow across artificial intelligence applications, consumer electronics, and data centers, The Wall Street Journal reported. UK, France lead Hormuz naval mission talks: The UK and France will host defense ministers from over 40 countries on Monday to discuss military contributions for a naval mission to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg News reported. The countries are expected to provide demining, escorting, and air policing capabilities to safeguard ships traveling through the key waterway. “We are turning diplomatic agreement into practical military plans to restore confidence for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” said UK Defense Secretary John Healey, who will co-chair the meeting with his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin. Musk post draws backlash: Elon Musk drew attention on social media over the weekend with a late-night post reading: “Bitches / Money / No Taxes / Party.” The Tesla ( TSLA ) and SpaceX ( SPACE ) chief later appeared to acknowledge the timing misfire after the post was widely mocked and reposted on Mother’s Day. “In retrospect, I should have considered my comedic timing,” Musk wrote in a follow-up post. OpenAI employees cash in: OpenAI ( OPENAI ) is said to have allowed employees to sell up to $30M worth of shares each in a recent financing, making them some of the earliest financial winners of the artificial intelligence boom. Last October, more than 600 current and f...
The outperformance by US equities driven by a narrow group of giant tech stocks is set to persist, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists. The team led by Beata Manthey is overweight the US in their global strategy allocation, while within sectors, they are optimistic on technology, health care and material stocks. “We expect the narrowing trend within to remain in place going forward, with funda...
The outperformance by US equities driven by a narrow group of giant tech stocks is set to persist, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists. The team led by Beata Manthey is overweight the US in their global strategy allocation, while within sectors, they are optimistic on technology, health care and material stocks. “We expect the narrowing trend within to remain in place going forward, with fundamentals taking center stage amid still-uncertain knock-ons from the Iran conflict,” she wrote in a note. The US stock market has powered ahead after overtaking Europe earlier this year, as the frenzy around artificial intelligence took hold once more. The S&P 500 Index is up 8.4% in 2026, while the Nasdaq 100 Index has surged nearly 16%, driven by heavy buying of semiconductor and related stocks. The technology sector accounts for 37% of the S&P 500, compared with a weighting of just 6.3% in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. A small number of megacaps account for pretty much all the gains at the index level in the US this year. “Progress towards a sustained US-Iran ceasefire could see laggards rally as positioning readjusts,” she added, noting the setup for continental Europe looks increasingly attractive. Software, retail and real estate are the sectors that screen most favorably outside of energy in the region, she said. Manthey was among the first Wall Street strategists to upgrade Europe to overweight in October 2024, a time when most investors were still shunning the region. She downgraded the region back in January, and Europe has underperformed the US since. In the most recent note, her team said that optimistic profit expectations are a key risk for global stocks. Equities still appear to be priced for earnings upgrades, but consensus forecasts for growth exceeding 20% in 2026 may need to come down, especially for more cyclically-tilted sectors and regions. “Geopolitical risks remain in place,” the team warned, adding that “a full return to Goldilocks macro and pro-cyclic...
KLH49/E+ via Getty Images Another week passed with no real movement in ending the crisis in the Middle East, and more importantly getting the global chokepoint the Strait of Hormuz reopened. Another week of vastly higher energy and commodity prices than prior to the opening of this conflict. Another week, where consumer sentiment hit its lowest level since this metric started to be tracked in 1978...
KLH49/E+ via Getty Images Another week passed with no real movement in ending the crisis in the Middle East, and more importantly getting the global chokepoint the Strait of Hormuz reopened. Another week of vastly higher energy and commodity prices than prior to the opening of this conflict. Another week, where consumer sentiment hit its lowest level since this metric started to be tracked in 1978. University of Michigan And another week, where the indexes moved substantially higher, powered almost exclusively by big Q1 earnings beats by AI related technology concerns like Datadog, Inc. ( DDOG ) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ( AMD ) . Meanwhile, consumer-based companies, especially those not serving the upper end of our K-shaped economy, disappointed with their first quarter results. This week Planet Fitness, Inc. ( PLNT ) and Shake Shack ( SHAK ) both dropped nearly 30% after posting their Q1 numbers and guidance. Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, FactSet However, the AI Revolution remains undaunted even as free cash flow at the hyperscalers is plunging due to the huge uptick in capex spending on constructing massive data centers. For the week, the NASDAQ advanced approximately four percent, while the S&P 500 was up roughly half that percentage. Longtermtrends.com - 05/06/2026 First-quarter earnings season is now largely over for the technology sector. It is hard to see what could provide the kindling for further market gains in the weeks ahead, outside a real resolution that restores global supply chains and rapidly lowers energy and commodity prices. Especially since equity valuations remain very elevated from a historical perspective. In today's column, I am circling back on the increasingly troubled private credit market. If not for the Iranian conflict and robust tech earnings, the growing woes from this part of the credit ecosystem would be garnering much greater headlines in the financial press. The private credit space has experienced rapid growt...
Vishay (VPG) witnessed a jump in share price last session on above-average trading volume. The latest trend in earnings estimate revisions for the stock doesn't suggest further strength down the road.
Vishay (VPG) witnessed a jump in share price last session on above-average trading volume. The latest trend in earnings estimate revisions for the stock doesn't suggest further strength down the road.
The French actor steps into unfamiliar – and bracingly raw – territory with In-I In Motion after four decades reigning the international arthouse. You have to go out of your comfort zone, she says, ‘otherwise you become a prude’ Starring in more than 70 movies is all well and good, but Juliette Binoche can still get the jitters. Right now, the Oscar-winning actor is biting her lip on the third flo...
The French actor steps into unfamiliar – and bracingly raw – territory with In-I In Motion after four decades reigning the international arthouse. You have to go out of your comfort zone, she says, ‘otherwise you become a prude’ Starring in more than 70 movies is all well and good, but Juliette Binoche can still get the jitters. Right now, the Oscar-winning actor is biting her lip on the third floor of a Manhattan high-rise. In 20 minutes, she will step into a sold-out movie theater to introduce her directorial debut at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Titled In-I In Motion, the vérité-style documentary follows Binoche’s late-2000s plunge into the world of contemporary dance for a series of daring and bewitchingly strange performances with the British dancer Akram Khan . “So,” she asks me, “how do you think I should present it?” Which is how I find myself giving advice about public speaking to arguably the most celebrated French actor working today. She did a great job last night introducing the film at the buzzy Metrograph cinema downtown, I say. But it’s tough to know how to prepare an audience for the film’s poetic (and sometimes confusing), nonlinear narrative: maybe you just have to let them have at it. She smiles slyly. “Should I say: ‘This film isn’t going to hold your hand’?” Continue reading...
I’ve had it up to here with Danny Dyer’s commercials for Paddy Power. The UK needs to take a tip from Amsterdam and rein in its advertisers Amsterdam’s new ban on public advertisements for meat and fossil fuel products makes me wonder whether we should be more ban-happy with ads in the UK. There are plenty I want rid of: “See it, say it, sorted”, obviously, which refuses to die , and those LNER ad...
I’ve had it up to here with Danny Dyer’s commercials for Paddy Power. The UK needs to take a tip from Amsterdam and rein in its advertisers Amsterdam’s new ban on public advertisements for meat and fossil fuel products makes me wonder whether we should be more ban-happy with ads in the UK. There are plenty I want rid of: “See it, say it, sorted”, obviously, which refuses to die , and those LNER ads featuring a hideously perky puppet treating train travel like an excuse for a party (pipe down, Eleanor). Also up against the wall when I’m in charge: overly matey ads for banks (don’t you dare call me “bestie” when you’re selling me an Isa); any catchy jingle that displaces the scraps of useful information still clinging on in my brain; and the whole wellness grift of snake oil powders and goo. But if I could ban only one type of advertising, I’d go after gambling. It’s hard not to sound like a Victorian tub-thumping religious zealot when you rant about gambling ads, but my God, they’re grotesquely disingenuous and cynical, making out that high street slot shops and online gaming sites are all razzle-dazzle and sparkle; that it’s a bit of fun for cheeky chappies and gorgeous gals. Continue reading...
As the president’s popularity withers, the party has no will to stage an intervention against him Donald Trump wins, Republicans lose. The Indiana primaries on 5 May, in which five of seven Trump-backed candidates ousted stalwart conservative Republican state legislators who had refused his command to redraw congressional districts, has been the only victory Trump can claim recently. Indiana, happ...
As the president’s popularity withers, the party has no will to stage an intervention against him Donald Trump wins, Republicans lose. The Indiana primaries on 5 May, in which five of seven Trump-backed candidates ousted stalwart conservative Republican state legislators who had refused his command to redraw congressional districts, has been the only victory Trump can claim recently. Indiana, happily for him, is not Iran. His appeal still prevails at least over the increasingly narrow band of Maga voters. But the persistence of Trump’s domination is a sign of mounting haplessness. His victory is an augury of repudiation. Maga devotion is hardening in response to his dwindling popularity, a telltale reaction of true believers to a failed prophesy. The cult survives, the party withers. On the same day the Indiana Republicans went down to defeat to sate Trump’s vengefulness, a Democrat won a bellwether Michigan state senate seat by 20 points in a district that Kamala Harris carried by less than a point. The bell tolls for thee. Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to Bill Clinton as well as Hillary Clinton, has published three books of a projected five-volume political life of Abraham Lincoln: A Self-Made Man , Wrestling With His Angel and All the Powers of Earth . He is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
A tiny bird with a giant ego, Crispin was a remarkable singer – especially if you told him how talented, intelligent and gracious he was I was around four years old when my parents bought me Crispin, my first pet. A handsome yellow canary, Crispin was bad-tempered and behaved like an alpha male. He would spend hours preening. I thought he was enchanting. A gentle female canary, Mariflor, arrived s...
A tiny bird with a giant ego, Crispin was a remarkable singer – especially if you told him how talented, intelligent and gracious he was I was around four years old when my parents bought me Crispin, my first pet. A handsome yellow canary, Crispin was bad-tempered and behaved like an alpha male. He would spend hours preening. I thought he was enchanting. A gentle female canary, Mariflor, arrived soon after. She became Crispin’s other half and the mother of their chicks, Maribel and Quintin. Having a canary family compensated for my lack of siblings and extended family. It gave me a sense of responsibility and filled my life with joy. Continue reading...
An aggrieved caller puts the host of Sarah Cares to the test, examining the limits of her ideas by threatening to kill her husband’s lover If the initial phone call from Scream lasted an entire film, the result would be something like this halfway-decent B-movie thriller. Jessica Morris stars as the presenter of Sarah Cares, a call-in radio show/podcast in which she solves listeners’ emotional dil...
An aggrieved caller puts the host of Sarah Cares to the test, examining the limits of her ideas by threatening to kill her husband’s lover If the initial phone call from Scream lasted an entire film, the result would be something like this halfway-decent B-movie thriller. Jessica Morris stars as the presenter of Sarah Cares, a call-in radio show/podcast in which she solves listeners’ emotional dilemmas, often in tough-love, no-nonsense fashion. On the verge of signing a big-time New York contract, her week goes awry when her studio falls victim to a bomb scare. Then on the following day her phone lines are blockaded by Edward, an aggrieved and apparently abusive husband; Sarah had previously told his wife to ditch him. Edward says that all he wants is moral consistency. Sarah, the supposed font of all wisdom, is living in a sham marriage and he has the proof locked up in his shed: her husband’s new lover Alice (Carly Diamond Stone). Unless Sarah wants Alice’s death on her conscience, she has to abide by two rules: no cops, and complete honesty when Edward asks a question. After the insipid setup involving Sarah’s radio colleagues, and then the hypocrisies of her home life with husband David (Adam Huss) and daughter Maya (Aliza Kate Barlow), Killer on the Air becomes increasingly compelling the more minimalist it gets; a duel between the unravelling DJ and the malevolent green waveform on her screen. Continue reading...
Data from University of Toronto suggests Canadians are avoiding US cities during the second Trump administration A new research tool that tracks cell phone activity has found a 42% drop in visitors from Canada to big metropolitan areas in the US that is much higher than official border-crossing data, suggesting Canadians during the second Trump administration are avoiding US cities in particular. ...
Data from University of Toronto suggests Canadians are avoiding US cities during the second Trump administration A new research tool that tracks cell phone activity has found a 42% drop in visitors from Canada to big metropolitan areas in the US that is much higher than official border-crossing data, suggesting Canadians during the second Trump administration are avoiding US cities in particular. Researchers from the University of Toronto said the tool showed a “year-over-year median decline of approximately 42% in Canadian visits to US metropolitan areas – significantly higher than official border-crossing data, which showed a roughly 25% decline”. Continue reading...
Senator Chris Van Hollen and other Democratic lawmakers are embracing a policy that hardly benefits the middle class Soul-searching within the Democratic party is to be expected after its loss in the 2024 election. Donald Trump’s edge over Kamala Harris in voters’ perceptions of economic competence (perplexing though it now appears following a year of erratic policymaking) was bound to inspire a c...
Senator Chris Van Hollen and other Democratic lawmakers are embracing a policy that hardly benefits the middle class Soul-searching within the Democratic party is to be expected after its loss in the 2024 election. Donald Trump’s edge over Kamala Harris in voters’ perceptions of economic competence (perplexing though it now appears following a year of erratic policymaking) was bound to inspire a call to rethink the party platform. Yet the second-guessing is steering the Democrats down a dangerous path to embracing a tax-cutting strategy that risks defeating the project to enable a healthier, more equitable society. Continue reading...
In 2020 two economists walked into a bar in San Diego and made a bet. Erik Brynjolfsson , head of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, wagered that from 2020 to 2030, artificial intelligence would drive US labor productivity growth to more than 1.8% per year on average. Robert Gordon , an economist at Northwestern University, thought AI progress would be a little slower going. He put his money on pro...
In 2020 two economists walked into a bar in San Diego and made a bet. Erik Brynjolfsson , head of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, wagered that from 2020 to 2030, artificial intelligence would drive US labor productivity growth to more than 1.8% per year on average. Robert Gordon , an economist at Northwestern University, thought AI progress would be a little slower going. He put his money on productivity growth coming in below 1.8%. At stake: $400, to be donated to charity. As wonky and low stakes as the bet might sound, its outcome will have a much greater impact on our welfare than almost anything Polymarket could dream up . At the heart of the wager is a crucial question: How much is AI going to affect the economy? How fast? And will it be a good thing for workers, or are we all about to be AI’ed right out of a job ? The best way to see how much the AI hype is actually manifesting on Main Street is to look at labor productivity, which has accelerated noticeably in the US in recent years. Productivity—basically, the amount of goods and services an economy churns out divided by the hours worked to generate that output—is one of the most important indicators of economic health . It’s also profoundly personal, says Diane Coyle , an economist at the University of Cambridge and author of The Measure of Progress . “It is the measure that most closely relates to how people’s living standards go up over time.” Technological breakthroughs like the steam engine, electricity, the internet and now AI help workers produce more. “Think about a construction site,” Coyle says. “A worker who gets a digger is going to be more productive than a worker who’s just got a shovel.” Innovation isn’t always welcome. In the 1900s pockets of farmers in the US and Britain vigorously resisted various forms of mechanization , from threshing machines to tractors. But at his farm in Surprise, Arizona, David Vose is embracing AI-enabled automation. Vose has run Blue Sky Organic Farms for more th...
Chinese youth are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for fortune-telling, discovering that AI models are cheaper, faster, and equally effective compared to traditional human soothsayers. On a popular Chinese social media platform, the hashtag #deepseeksuanming, or DeepSeek fortune-telling, has amassed over 55 million views. DeepSeek is a family of Chinese AI models launched in 20...
Chinese youth are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for fortune-telling, discovering that AI models are cheaper, faster, and equally effective compared to traditional human soothsayers. On a popular Chinese social media platform, the hashtag #deepseeksuanming, or DeepSeek fortune-telling, has amassed over 55 million views. DeepSeek is a family of Chinese AI models launched in 2023. Many users report that AI fortune-telling has seamlessly integrated into their daily routines....
A leading Chinese aviation engineer has set out a detailed blueprint for building a fully self-sufficient supply chain for large passenger jets. The paper, written by Zhang Yanzhong, a senior academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the former chief scientist of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, acknowledged there was a very real risk that the country could be cut off entire...
A leading Chinese aviation engineer has set out a detailed blueprint for building a fully self-sufficient supply chain for large passenger jets. The paper, written by Zhang Yanzhong, a senior academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the former chief scientist of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, acknowledged there was a very real risk that the country could be cut off entirely from components made in the West. Known as the “father of China’s large aircraft” for his decades...
Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSEMKT:VNQ) offers a concentrated portfolio of domestic REITs, while Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate ETF (NASDAQ:VNQI) provides broader international diversification and a higher trailing yield. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) provide income and growth potential, but geographic concentration can shift a portfolio’s risk profile significantly. While both funds o...
Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSEMKT:VNQ) offers a concentrated portfolio of domestic REITs, while Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate ETF (NASDAQ:VNQI) provides broader international diversification and a higher trailing yield. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) provide income and growth potential, but geographic concentration can shift a portfolio’s risk profile significantly. While both funds originate from Vanguard, they serve different strategic roles. One focuses exclusively on the domestic property market, while the other looks across more than 30 international markets to capture global real estate trends. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield. Continue reading
NEW YORK, May 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” “CGBD” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: CGBD) today announced its financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026.
NEW YORK, May 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” “CGBD” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: CGBD) today announced its financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026.