One of the world’s largest commodity shipping companies is planning for a scenario in which the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut for the rest of the year, highlighting how the Iran conflict is upending expectations across the maritime cargo industry. Jan Rindbo , chief executive officer at Denmark’s D/S Norden A/S , said Monday the company has based its full-year guidance on the assumptio...
One of the world’s largest commodity shipping companies is planning for a scenario in which the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut for the rest of the year, highlighting how the Iran conflict is upending expectations across the maritime cargo industry. Jan Rindbo , chief executive officer at Denmark’s D/S Norden A/S , said Monday the company has based its full-year guidance on the assumption that vessels currently trapped in the Persian Gulf will not be able to leave before year-end. That’s because visibility is so limited, not because such a lengthy closure is the most likely outcome. “There’s no clear time line for when this conflict will be resolved,” Rindbo said in an interview. “From a prudence perspective, we felt it was right to assume the ships remain there for the rest of the year. Another issue is, that when the strait reopens it will likely be under certain conditions and there will be a backlog of ships waiting to leave.” According to an OECD maritime tracker announced earlier Monday, there are about 1,300 vessels engaged in trade currently in the Gulf. A vital artery for oil and gas flows, the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively shut since late February, with no clear path back to normal traffic. Tanker Earnings Rindbo’s comments underscore how the war is reshaping risk calculations across global shipping, where geopolitical disruptions have become as critical as supply and demand in determining earnings. Norden has seven chartered ships stuck in the Gulf and last week raised its full-year outlook. Tanker earnings have surged on the back of significant disruption to global oil flows following the war in Iran. Related: US, Iran Far Apart in Talks to End War and Reopen Hormuz Rindbo, who has spent more than three decades in shipping, described the situation as “extraordinary,” saying he has never experienced anything comparable. Even if transit resumes, he warned, it could take time before shipowners regain confidence in the safety of the route a...
(Bloomberg) -- Cerebras Systems Inc. increased the size of its initial public offering, now seeking to raise as much as $4.8 billion, as demand for the artificial intelligence chipmaker and data center operator’s shares continues to build.Most Read from BloombergIran Makes New Offer on Uranium in Response to US, WSJ SaysTrump Rejects New Iran Peace Offer as ‘Totally Unacceptable’Inside a Year of C...
(Bloomberg) -- Cerebras Systems Inc. increased the size of its initial public offering, now seeking to raise as much as $4.8 billion, as demand for the artificial intelligence chipmaker and data center operator’s shares continues to build.Most Read from BloombergIran Makes New Offer on Uranium in Response to US, WSJ SaysTrump Rejects New Iran Peace Offer as ‘Totally Unacceptable’Inside a Year of Chaos and Conflict at Kevin Hart’s Media CompanyModi Asks Indians to Stop Buying Gold, Hitting Jewelr
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Yum China Holdings, Inc. ( YUMC ), an American-Chinese company, is the largest restaurant operator in China. Founded in 2016 after being spun out of former parent company Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM ), but with certain roots dating back to the 1930s, Yum China is now a $17 billion (by market cap) restaurant leader employing more than 200,000 people. Yum China...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Yum China Holdings, Inc. ( YUMC ), an American-Chinese company, is the largest restaurant operator in China. Founded in 2016 after being spun out of former parent company Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM ), but with certain roots dating back to the 1930s, Yum China is now a $17 billion (by market cap) restaurant leader employing more than 200,000 people. Yum China operates approximately 18,000 restaurants across mainland China. Its primary brands are KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, of which Yum China has exclusive rights to operate and sub-license in China (paying a 3% systemwide sales royalty back to its former parent company). In addition, Yum China has outright ownership of a few smaller local brands based on Chinese dining and coffee. KFC, in particular, is central to Yum China. It’s the flagship brand. KFC is the largest QSR brand in China in terms of system sales, and KFC has grown to over 13,000 locations across 2,600 Chinese cities. Whereas KFC may have lost a lot of shine in the US, it’s extremely popular and growing rapidly in China. And this is a key part of the investment thesis, as China has a far lower-than-global-average spend on chain restaurants, but this is rapidly changing as chains proliferate, inflation makes it difficult for local operators, and the fragmented market consolidates. Changing dynamics disproportionately work to Yum China’s favor, helping to explain its industry-defying growth profile, showing steady and rapid revenue, profit, and dividend growth. Dividend Growth, Growth Rate, Payout Ratio and Yield Yum China has increased its dividend for four consecutive years. I usually limit write-ups to those businesses with at least five consecutive years of dividend increases, but I think Yum China is interesting enough at this time to feature a little bit early. A temporary dividend cut during the pandemic (something I’ve looked the other way on, considering the unusual nature of the event) is the only reaso...
Irina Taskova/iStock via Getty Images In early January 2024, I shorted Wingstop ( WING ) as a hedge against my value portfolio. In this article I review why I've now closed the position and discuss my thoughts on hedging generally. As I shared in my 2024 article , while I was still accumulating stocks in my value portfolio, I was worried that the market was beginning to get frothy and so I wanted ...
Irina Taskova/iStock via Getty Images In early January 2024, I shorted Wingstop ( WING ) as a hedge against my value portfolio. In this article I review why I've now closed the position and discuss my thoughts on hedging generally. As I shared in my 2024 article , while I was still accumulating stocks in my value portfolio, I was worried that the market was beginning to get frothy and so I wanted to offset a (small) portion of my exposure by short selling stocks with very poor valuation metrics. WING was the first of these, and though ultimately it was a great short sale, it's debatable how well the pick worked vis-a-vis what I was trying to accomplish. More on this in a minute. Value Portfolio Since about September 2025, my value screen has failed to turn up new candidates, such that I haven't been adding new exposure. At the same time, a number of stocks have performed well and are no longer undervalued. I've either substantially trimmed these positions or sold them completely (some of which I have written about here at Seeking Alpha). Thus market performance has left me with much less value stock exposure to hedge than when I wrote my article in January of 2024. To be clear, I still think the market is very expensive, and my go to chart from Advisor Perspectives still shows valuation at more than three standard deviations from the mean. Indeed, this is likely why my valuation screen has been coming up blank for months now. Market Valuation (Advisor Perspectives) WING Performance and Current Valuation As can be seen from the summary of my previous article, the short pick had substantial alpha (large drop vs a big gain in the S&P 500): Seeking Alpha However, it's not as simple as that, as in the first 6 to 9 months, the stock was up substantially vs the S&P (and versus my value portfolio). Data by YCharts Before discussing that, let me mention that WING is still trading at high valuations, but nowhere as elevated as when I shorted the stock. For example, in my orig...
Orla Mining ( ORLA ) declares $0.015/share quarterly dividend , in line with previous. Forward yield 0.4% Payable June 9; for shareholders of record May 26; ex-div May 26. See ORLA Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on Orla Mining Ltd. Orla Mining: Down Substantially And I'm Buying This Growth Story Orla Mining: Rally Priced In, Risks Emerging Orla Mining Ltd. 2025 Q4 - Resul...
Orla Mining ( ORLA ) declares $0.015/share quarterly dividend , in line with previous. Forward yield 0.4% Payable June 9; for shareholders of record May 26; ex-div May 26. See ORLA Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on Orla Mining Ltd. Orla Mining: Down Substantially And I'm Buying This Growth Story Orla Mining: Rally Priced In, Risks Emerging Orla Mining Ltd. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Orla Mining Q1 2026 Earnings Preview Orla Mining Q4 2025 Earnings Preview
Brandon Bell/Getty Images News McDonald’s ( MCD ) was little changed in recent trading, down 0.10% near $276, as the stock attempted to stabilize after breaching a key prior support zone on Friday. The shares remained under pressure following a sharp pullback from their February-March highs in the $330-$340 range, with the broader trend continuing to show lower highs and weakening momentum. On the...
Brandon Bell/Getty Images News McDonald’s ( MCD ) was little changed in recent trading, down 0.10% near $276, as the stock attempted to stabilize after breaching a key prior support zone on Friday. The shares remained under pressure following a sharp pullback from their February-March highs in the $330-$340 range, with the broader trend continuing to show lower highs and weakening momentum. On the upside, immediate resistance now stood near $280, the former support level that was broken during the latest decline. A move above that area could help ease near-term pressure, while stronger resistance was seen near $290. Beyond that, the next major upside barrier stood around $315, with $340 remaining the key ceiling from prior highs. On the downside, support was seen near the $270 area. A decisive break below that level could open the door for further weakness, especially as the chart showed limited nearby support zones beneath current prices. Volume also increased during the recent selloff, suggesting heightened trading activity as bearish momentum accelerated. Here is the chart: Seeking Alpha More on McDonald's The More McDonald's Drops, The More I Want To Buy This Dividend Growth Machine McDonald's Q1 Review: Strong Fundamentals Shine In A Troubled Sector McDonald's Corporation (MCD) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Did value meals kill the smashburger star? Earnings Scoreboard: 82% of firms post Y/Y earnings growth, 88% of S&P 500 reporting firms top EPS estimates
Rockwell Automation ( NYSE: ROK ) on Monday said it partnered with Actemium to deploy an AI-based application designed to improve energy efficiency in industrial refrigeration systems used in frozen food production. The application, known as Real-Time Coefficient of Performance (RtCOP), runs on Rockwell’s PlantPAx distributed control system and continuously analyzes refrigeration operations to sel...
Rockwell Automation ( NYSE: ROK ) on Monday said it partnered with Actemium to deploy an AI-based application designed to improve energy efficiency in industrial refrigeration systems used in frozen food production. The application, known as Real-Time Coefficient of Performance (RtCOP), runs on Rockwell’s PlantPAx distributed control system and continuously analyzes refrigeration operations to select energy-efficient equipment configurations in real time. The companies said the system has helped a frozen french fry producer improve refrigeration energy efficiency by 17%, generating estimated annual savings of about $130,000 per site. Rockwell said industrial refrigeration can account for up to 70% of electricity consumption at food manufacturing plants. Actemium is working to expand deployment of the system across the customer’s refrigeration facilities, the companies said. Source: Press Release More on Rockwell Automation Rockwell Automation: Global Market Teed Up For Industry 4.0 Rockwell Automation: Benefiting From The AI Data Center Surge Rockwell forecasts 5%-9% FY2026 sales growth with $12.80 adjusted EPS midpoint as enterprise operating margin outlook rises to 21.5% Rockwell Automation beats estimates, raises outlook as stock jumps