da-kuk/E+ via Getty Images Highlights During the first quarter of 2026, the largest portfolio sector weightings were Health Care and Industrials. The largest sector overweight was Health Care and the largest sector underweight was Consumer Discretionary. The Information Technology and Financials sectors contributed to relative performance while Health Care and Communication Services were among sec...
da-kuk/E+ via Getty Images Highlights During the first quarter of 2026, the largest portfolio sector weightings were Health Care and Industrials. The largest sector overweight was Health Care and the largest sector underweight was Consumer Discretionary. The Information Technology and Financials sectors contributed to relative performance while Health Care and Communication Services were among sectors that detracted from relative performance. Market Environment U. S. equities endured a turbulent first quarter, with the S&P 500 Index declining 4.33% as two distinct forces converged to reshape the investment landscape. The period began with a sharp recalibration across the software industry, as the emergence of agentic artificial intelligence tools raised questions about the durability of traditional software business models. Investors moved swiftly to reprice companies most exposed to AI disruption, triggering a broad sell-off that weighed heavily on the technology-heavy corners of the market. The dislocation also spilled into private credit, where several firms with outsized exposure to software faced redemption pressures. Despite this turbulence, the underlying economy remained strong through the opening months of the year — consumers continued to spend, and expectations held firm for another quarter of solid earnings growth within the S&P 500 Index. The second, and more consequential, disruption arrived in late February with the outbreak of the U. S. –Iran conflict and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world's seaborne oil transits. The resulting supply shock sent crude prices surging past $100 per barrel for the first time in four years, injecting potential inflationary pressure into an economy the Federal Reserve (Fed) had been carefully guiding lower. Higher energy costs complicated the Fed's rate-cutting path; markets entered the quarter pricing in two rate cuts in 2026 but exited with expec...
(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open a tad higher on Thursday, tracking firm cues from global markets as investors await the outcome of U.S. President Donald Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The three-day state visit focusses on trade, tariffs, a
(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open a tad higher on Thursday, tracking firm cues from global markets as investors await the outcome of U.S. President Donald Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The three-day state visit focusses on trade, tariffs, a
According to a SEC filing dated May 12, 2026, Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University reported a new position in Delek US Holdings (NYSE:DK) , buying 72,679 shares during the first quarter. The estimated transaction value was $2.60 million, based on average unadjusted closing prices from January through March 2026. The stake’s quarter-end value was $3.28 million, reflecting both sha...
According to a SEC filing dated May 12, 2026, Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University reported a new position in Delek US Holdings (NYSE:DK) , buying 72,679 shares during the first quarter. The estimated transaction value was $2.60 million, based on average unadjusted closing prices from January through March 2026. The stake’s quarter-end value was $3.28 million, reflecting both share additions and market price movement. Delek US Holdings, Inc. is a diversified energy company with a significant presence in refining, logistics, and retail fuel distribution across the southern United States. The company leverages its integrated business model to optimize margins and operational efficiency, supported by strategically located refineries and a robust pipeline and terminal network. With a focus on both wholesale and retail markets, Delek US Holdings aims to capture value across the downstream energy chain, maintaining a competitive position through scale, logistics infrastructure, and a broad customer base. Continue reading
janssenkruseproductions/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis Wheaton Precious Metals ( WPM ) released a strong Q1 report last week, well ahead of market consensus forecasts. Despite a slight correction in gold and silver prices at the end of the quarter, the average price for both metals remained high, which allowed the company to almost double its revenue growth and significantly increase bu...
janssenkruseproductions/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis Wheaton Precious Metals ( WPM ) released a strong Q1 report last week, well ahead of market consensus forecasts. Despite a slight correction in gold and silver prices at the end of the quarter, the average price for both metals remained high, which allowed the company to almost double its revenue growth and significantly increase business margins. The concluded deal with BHP to purchase silver from the Antamina deposit will only support the high-growth rates of the business. Due to strong revenue and net profit growth, the company's multiples have decreased, although the shares continue to trade at a premium to the market. The shares have lost about 12% in value since the February highs, which creates a good opportunity for investors to purchase shares of a fast-growing company at a discount. I assign a Buy rating to the company with a target price in the baseline scenario of $159 and an upside of 10.5% to the current price ($143.8 at the time of writing). Strengthening Long-Term Cash Generation Capacity I recommend reading my first article about Wheaton, among other things. There, in addition to financial analysis of the reports, I also deeply analyzed the company's business model, described its development strategy, the strengths and weaknesses of this strategy, and the key growth drivers and risks inherent in the company. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of the business and better understand the reasons for the company's current financial situation. The key event of the first quarter was the conclusion of a deal with BHP to purchase silver from the Antamina deposit in Peru. Prior to this deal, Wheaton had already purchased some of the silver from there under an old contract. Now the company has paid BHP about $4.3 billion to obtain the right to purchase a larger share of silver at a price of $4.39, at the current price of $84.95. The deal, in my opinion, is beneficial for all parties ...
Qantas Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Vanessa Hudson is ramping up pressure on struggling Air New Zealand Ltd. , adding close to 1 million seats on trans-Tasman routes to squeeze the ailing rival. Both airlines are grappling with soaring fuel costs stemming from the Iran war, forcing flight cuts and higher fares. But Qantas, buoyed by record profits, is pouring capacity into New Zealand to g...
Qantas Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Vanessa Hudson is ramping up pressure on struggling Air New Zealand Ltd. , adding close to 1 million seats on trans-Tasman routes to squeeze the ailing rival. Both airlines are grappling with soaring fuel costs stemming from the Iran war, forcing flight cuts and higher fares. But Qantas, buoyed by record profits, is pouring capacity into New Zealand to grab market share in the struggling carrier’s backyard. Australia is New Zealand’s largest source of international visitors. Speaking in Wellington, Hudson made clear Qantas intends to capitalize on Air New Zealand’s predicament. Qantas and its low-cost carrier Jetstar have added more than 800,000 seats on flights between Australia and New Zealand in the past 12 months, she said. Qantas will also start daily Auckland-New York services next month. “What the Qantas Group is committing to New Zealand right now is the biggest investment we have ever made in this market,” Hudson said at a Wednesday evening industry event attended by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon . “We want to be the airline that realizes” Auckland’s potential, she said. Hours after Hudson’s speech, Auckland-based Air New Zealand released a bleak trading update that highlighted the financial toll of the Middle East conflict. The airline said it expects to report a loss before tax of between NZ$340 million ($202 million) and NZ$390 million in the year ending June, wider than the NZ$275 million analysts had forecast. It also flagged further capacity cuts if fuel prices remain elevated. Read More: Further Flight Cuts Mulled as Air NZ Forecasts Full-Year Loss Air New Zealand shares fell 3.5% after the filing. Jet fuel cost $85 to $90 a barrel before the war but has traded at between $160 and $230 in the past 10 weeks, Air Zealand said Thursday. At the same time, demand for domestic flights and services to and from Australia has softened, it said. Though airlines worldwide have raised fares and scaled ba...
The Hidden Cost To The American Worker From The AI Boom Authored by Steven Edginton via American Intelligence , While many warn that artificial intelligence itself will displace American workers, far less attention is paid to the fact that the very companies building AI are already replacing American employees with cheaper foreign labor. In many cases, though, the immediate threat to American work...
The Hidden Cost To The American Worker From The AI Boom Authored by Steven Edginton via American Intelligence , While many warn that artificial intelligence itself will displace American workers, far less attention is paid to the fact that the very companies building AI are already replacing American employees with cheaper foreign labor. In many cases, though, the immediate threat to American workers is not the technology itself, but the hiring practices of the firms developing it. In 2025, 406,348 H-1B visas were given to foreign workers in the United States , according to the latest U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. For hundreds of thousands of Americans, that figure is a nightmare. The H-1B visa program, created in the 1990s as a temporary work visa supposedly for highly-skilled migrants, has flooded America with millions of cheap foreign workers. For the last few months, I have been investigating the issue of the H-1B program and its impact on Americans for a new documentary for GB News. During that process, I received a flood of messages from workers across the country describing how they were forced to train their foreign replacements, saw their jobs were sent overseas, or witnessed ethnic tribalism in hiring that shut Americans out of jobs altogether. The largest users of the H-1B program are Big Tech companies, many of which lobby Congress aggressively against reforms that could disrupt their pipeline of foreign labor. Tech workers in Silicon Valley, one of America’s great civilizational achievements, are now overwhelmingly foreign born . According to the 2025 Silicon Valley Inde, roughly two-thirds of Silicon Valley tech workers were born outside the United States. There are more Indian-born tech workers there than those born in California. Highly-educated tech workers from India and China outnumber those from the United States, making up 41 per cent of the workforce compared with 30 per cent. Lawmakers should evaluate the national security im...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Back in February, I upgraded Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) from a buy rating to a strong buy rating. I cited strong Azure momentum, resilience in their software performance, and a contraction in the valuation as the reasons for my increasing bullishness on the stock. After the recent rebound, Microsoft is basically unchanged from levels when my previous upd...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Back in February, I upgraded Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) from a buy rating to a strong buy rating. I cited strong Azure momentum, resilience in their software performance, and a contraction in the valuation as the reasons for my increasing bullishness on the stock. After the recent rebound, Microsoft is basically unchanged from levels when my previous update came out. Late last month, the company reported their FY2026 Q3 results , and today I'll be conducting another analysis to see if I was overly optimistic or whether current levels continue to be attractive for entry. Seeking Alpha Below, it is shown that Microsoft's business is performing in a fine manner. Growth for the company as a whole is accelerating, and profitability is in a solid position as well. Resilient results in their Productivity and Business Processes segment dispel SaaSpocalypse fears, while Azure is seeing robust numbers. Guidance for Q4 wasn't perfect, but the outlook remains strong for Azure, and given that key metrics are indicative of unrelenting demand, the growth story seems to be highly intact. Meanwhile, the valuation still remains very near multiyear lows after a recent rebound, and so at this point, I would say that the market is focussing on the wrong things. As a result, I'm reiterating my strong buy rating on Microsoft. Financial Performance Microsoft Q3 Slides We'll get into their segments a little later, but let's start with an overview of their financial performance in FY2026 Q3. As shown above , for the company as a whole, they generated revenues totaling $82.9 billion, up 18% YoY or 15% in constant currency. For the reported growth rate, there was acceleration from Q2's 17% while the constant currency growth rate was unchanged. Nonetheless, it seems that business activity has overall remained solid, and the fact that they beat analysts' top line expectations by $1.46 billion is a signal that Q3 was a robust quarter, all things conside...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Back in February, I upgraded Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) from a buy rating to a strong buy rating. I cited strong Azure momentum, resilience in their software performance, and a contraction in the valuation as the reasons for my increasing bullishness on the stock. After the recent rebound, Microsoft is basically unchanged from levels when my previous upd...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Back in February, I upgraded Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) from a buy rating to a strong buy rating. I cited strong Azure momentum, resilience in their software performance, and a contraction in the valuation as the reasons for my increasing bullishness on the stock. After the recent rebound, Microsoft is basically unchanged from levels when my previous update came out. Late last month, the company reported their FY2026 Q3 results , and today I'll be conducting another analysis to see if I was overly optimistic or whether current levels continue to be attractive for entry. Seeking Alpha Below, it is shown that Microsoft's business is performing in a fine manner. Growth for the company as a whole is accelerating, and profitability is in a solid position as well. Resilient results in their Productivity and Business Processes segment dispel SaaSpocalypse fears, while Azure is seeing robust numbers. Guidance for Q4 wasn't perfect, but the outlook remains strong for Azure, and given that key metrics are indicative of unrelenting demand, the growth story seems to be highly intact. Meanwhile, the valuation still remains very near multiyear lows after a recent rebound, and so at this point, I would say that the market is focussing on the wrong things. As a result, I'm reiterating my strong buy rating on Microsoft. Financial Performance Microsoft Q3 Slides We'll get into their segments a little later, but let's start with an overview of their financial performance in FY2026 Q3. As shown above , for the company as a whole, they generated revenues totaling $82.9 billion, up 18% YoY or 15% in constant currency. For the reported growth rate, there was acceleration from Q2's 17% while the constant currency growth rate was unchanged. Nonetheless, it seems that business activity has overall remained solid, and the fact that they beat analysts' top line expectations by $1.46 billion is a signal that Q3 was a robust quarter, all things conside...