Saudi Aramco To Buy Ukrainian Interceptor Drones To Defend Oil Fields Low-cost interceptor drones are poised to see massive demand across U.S.-aligned Gulf states as the conflict with Iran grinds deeper into its second week, exposing the absurdity of expending multi-million-dollar interceptor missiles to eliminate IRGC drones that cost roughly $20,000 to $30,000 each. One day after The Wall Street...
Saudi Aramco To Buy Ukrainian Interceptor Drones To Defend Oil Fields Low-cost interceptor drones are poised to see massive demand across U.S.-aligned Gulf states as the conflict with Iran grinds deeper into its second week, exposing the absurdity of expending multi-million-dollar interceptor missiles to eliminate IRGC drones that cost roughly $20,000 to $30,000 each. One day after The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia is in talks with Ukrainian counter-drone firms to acquire low-cost interceptor drones, the outlet provided additional color on Thursday on the companies involved and how the interceptors would be fielded. Apparently, oil giant Saudi Aramco is in talks with Ukrainian drone companies SkyFall and Wild Hornets to acquire interceptor drones to defend its oil fields against IRGC drone attacks. The move to acquire interceptor drones comes after IRGC drone strikes on the Berri oilfield, and amid a broader wave of IRGC attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure that has severely disrupted production. 🇮🇷🇸🇦⚡️- Visual confirmation of Iranian drone strike on Saudi Arabia’s ARAMCO, in Ras Tanura, causing a massive fire. Footage credit - @AryJeay pic.twitter.com/hg0EWnKtXe — MonitorX (@MonitorX99800) March 2, 2026 The CEO of a major Saudi oil exporter said earlier this week that the conflict in Iran could have “catastrophic consequences” for crude markets. By Thursday, the International Energy Agency warned that the conflict in the Middle East had sparked the biggest oil supply disruption in history. It said global supply will plunge by 8 million barrels per day in March. The importance of interceptor drones and other counter-drone technologies for protecting high-value assets was recognized during this conflict, as civilian infrastructure, such as data centers and skyscrapers, also became targets. We first told readers , weeks before the conflict began, about the urgent need for kinetic interceptors to guard data centers. Drone threats in the US will also b...
Robert Way Alibaba ( BABA ) launched a dedicated mobile app that it says allows users to install and deploy OpenClaw within minutes, intensifying competition among China’s tech giants to capitalize on the viral agentic AI assistant. “JVS Claw” helps iOS and Android smartphone users without coding knowledge to instruct AI agents to perform simple real-world tasks, Bloomberg reported, citing Alibaba...
Robert Way Alibaba ( BABA ) launched a dedicated mobile app that it says allows users to install and deploy OpenClaw within minutes, intensifying competition among China’s tech giants to capitalize on the viral agentic AI assistant. “JVS Claw” helps iOS and Android smartphone users without coding knowledge to instruct AI agents to perform simple real-world tasks, Bloomberg reported, citing Alibaba. Free for 14 days, it emerged after Baidu ( BIDU ) released its own Android app DuClaw this week for OpenClaw, which helps users shop online and book travel, among other things. Baidu ( BIDU ) ( BAIDF ) is now offering a limited-time promotion in March to encourage experimentation among developers and AI enthusiasts. First-time users can subscribe for just RMB 17.8 per month (approximately $2.50 per month). China’s enthusiasm for OpenClaw is fueling a rally in local technology stocks as companies quickly adopt the open-source artificial intelligence platform. Tencent Holdings ( TCEHY ) ( TCTZF ) shares rose as much as 6.2% Tuesday in Hong Kong after the internet giant launched WorkBuddy, an AI agent for workplace tasks that’s fully compatible with OpenClaw. Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC Ltd., known as Zhipu, surged as much as 16% after launching AutoClaw, a local version of the viral software. MiniMax Group Inc., which launched its agent earlier, had jumped 15%. More on Alibaba Alibaba's Q3 Earnings Could Trigger A Rebound (Preview) Alibaba: Macro Perspective On An 'Uninvestable' Stock From Deep Value To High Growth - Rethinking My Alibaba Position Alibaba named as top pick at Morgan Stanley as firm calls it 'global AI winner' Alibaba continues losses for seven straight sessions
undefined Europe is facing what increasingly looks like a second “China shock.” This time, however, the pressure point has shifted. While the first shock transformed global manufacturing through low-cost labor and consumer goods, this second wave strikes at the very heart of Europe’s industrial core. This shift is no longer about textiles or toys. It targets automobiles, machinery, electrical equi...
undefined Europe is facing what increasingly looks like a second “China shock.” This time, however, the pressure point has shifted. While the first shock transformed global manufacturing through low-cost labor and consumer goods, this second wave strikes at the very heart of Europe’s industrial core. This shift is no longer about textiles or toys. It targets automobiles, machinery, electrical equipment, and green technologies, the fundamental pillars of Europe’s manufacturing base and export strength.
Earnings Call Insights: Open Lending Corporation (LPRO) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Jessica Buss underscored a year of significant transformation, stating, "From day 1, my focus has been clear: stabilize the business and position it for durable growth. That meant improving profitability, reducing volatility in our profit share revenue, growing total revenue and customer retention, strengthening op...
Earnings Call Insights: Open Lending Corporation (LPRO) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Jessica Buss underscored a year of significant transformation, stating, "From day 1, my focus has been clear: stabilize the business and position it for durable growth. That meant improving profitability, reducing volatility in our profit share revenue, growing total revenue and customer retention, strengthening operational execution and building a culture of accountability." Buss highlighted the launch of the ApexOne Auto platform, which transitions Open Lending "from a single product company into a full spectrum decisioning and dynamic pricing engine." She emphasized the company's deliberate tightening of lending standards, explaining, "Our certified loan shortfall compared to guidance was driven by a temporary headwind in conversion rates as we actively managed risk and made targeted adjustments to how retail vehicle values were treated in our pricing models." Buss also announced the appointment of Anthony Capizzano as Chief Growth Officer, with priorities including increasing wallet share, penetrating larger institutions, and expanding the sales team. CFO Massimo Monaco commented, "The business delivered stable financial performance as we continue to move beyond last year's change in estimate adjustment. Second, we made good progress on expense discipline while continuing to invest in key growth initiatives. And third, we strengthened the balance sheet through debt reduction and ongoing share repurchases." Outlook Open Lending provided full-year 2026 guidance of 100,000 to 110,000 certified loans and adjusted EBITDA of $25 million to $29 million. For the first quarter of 2026, certified loans are expected to be between 21,000 and 22,000. Buss stated, "We feel strongly that our conversion rate headwind from the fourth quarter has been completely solved at this point, and we believe we are well positioned for growth in '26." Management indicated that growth will compound through th...
Walmart is investing heavily in automation and e-commerce. The key question is whether those investments will lift its return on capital, or simply defend market share.
Walmart is investing heavily in automation and e-commerce. The key question is whether those investments will lift its return on capital, or simply defend market share.
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images By Ayush Babel & Alejandro Saltiel, CFA Equity investing rewards patience, but surviving major drawdowns is often what determines long-term outcomes. Over the past 25 years, investors have experienced multiple severe equity market declines: the Dot-Com bust, the Global Financial Crisis, the COVID-19 shock, the 2018 correction and the 2022 inflation-driven s...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images By Ayush Babel & Alejandro Saltiel, CFA Equity investing rewards patience, but surviving major drawdowns is often what determines long-term outcomes. Over the past 25 years, investors have experienced multiple severe equity market declines: the Dot-Com bust, the Global Financial Crisis, the COVID-19 shock, the 2018 correction and the 2022 inflation-driven selloff. In each case, losses were swift, deep and challenging to mitigate. The Adaptive Moving Average framework was built to address that reality: participate in sustained uptrends while seeking to reduce exposure during prolonged downturns. Below, we examine how the U.S. Adaptive Moving Average and International Adaptive Moving Average Indexes are designed. Designing the WisdomTree Adaptive Moving Average Indexes A Buffered 200-Day Trend Signal The U.S. and International indexes use a moving average crossover applied to the WisdomTree 500 and WisdomTree International LargeCap Indexes, respectively. A long position is initiated when the index closes 1% above its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) for two consecutive trading days. The position is exited when the index closes below 1% below its 200-day SMA for two consecutive trading days. Signals are evaluated daily and implemented with a two-day lag. The ±1% buffer and two-day confirmation are designed to reduce whipsaw trades around the long-term trend. A Breadth Overlay for Faster Re-Entry To enhance responsiveness during market stress, a breadth overlay is incorporated. This measure tracks the percentage of index constituents trading above their own 200-day SMAs. When the strategy is out of equities and breadth rises above 15%, a long position is initiated. A 5% stop-loss is applied to this position. If triggered, the position is exited at the close of the next trading day. A Visual Representation of the SMA Indicator As seen in the figures below, the 200-day SMA indicator effectively captures the long-term uptrends an...