The Strait of Hormuz remained largely empty, with no new commercial ship crossings recorded despite a US effort to guide vessels through the waterway. Maersk confirmed that its vessel Alliance Fairfax transited the strait on Monday under US military protection, but Tuesday saw zero traffic following a day of violence that included attacks on vessels and missile strikes targeting the United Arab Em...
The Strait of Hormuz remained largely empty, with no new commercial ship crossings recorded despite a US effort to guide vessels through the waterway. Maersk confirmed that its vessel Alliance Fairfax transited the strait on Monday under US military protection, but Tuesday saw zero traffic following a day of violence that included attacks on vessels and missile strikes targeting the United Arab Emirates. Washington maintained that a safe passage exists, with press reports noting the presence of two US destroyers to the Gulf, but the heightened tensions kept commercial shipping at bay. While the fragile ceasefire held, hundreds of vessels were seen clustering near Dubai, avoiding the strait amid Iran’s efforts to expand its zone of control. On Monday, two US vessels , one of them a vehicle carrier, moved out of the Persian Gulf under military escort while keeping their tracking signals off. Visible outbound activity during the same period was limited to an Iran-linked liquefied petroleum gas carrier, a small feeder containership, and a tiny regional cargo ship. Ships transiting Hormuz with active AIS signals over the past day were confined to the narrow northern lane approved by Tehran. Also, widespread AIS spoofing has further clouded the picture, making independent verification of ship traffic increasingly difficult. Most of the recent Iran-linked departures have stalled in the Gulf of Oman. It remains unclear whether these vessels are following regional trading patterns or are being held up by a US naval blockade positioned further east. Only one containership was seen entering the Persian Gulf on Monday before the flare-up in regional hostilities. The US presence may also be distorting the traffic picture. Iran-linked vessels entering or leaving the Gulf could be switching off AIS signals to avoid detection, making it harder to track flows in real time. As a result, transit counts may later be revised upward when ships reappear further from high-risk waters. Even...
US new-home sales rose in March from a month earlier as the median selling price slid to a more than four-year low and builders offered incentives. New single-family home sales increased 7.4% from February to an annualized 682,000 pace, according to government figures out Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a 652,000 pace. The report also included a first read ...
US new-home sales rose in March from a month earlier as the median selling price slid to a more than four-year low and builders offered incentives. New single-family home sales increased 7.4% from February to an annualized 682,000 pace, according to government figures out Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a 652,000 pace. The report also included a first read on February sales after figures were delayed by the federal government shutdown late last year. The pickup in sales suggests a gradual improvement in affordability since the middle of last year is slowly generating more demand. Homebuilders, who have been using a combination of incentives and price cuts, saw a pickup in prospective-buyer traffic in March after severe winter weather limited buyer demand early this year. At the same time, mortgage rates have climbed from a recent low at the end of February, which could hamper homebuying activity in the coming months. The government’s report showed the median sales price of a new home decreased 6.2% in March from a year earlier to $387,400 — the lowest since July 2021. The number of new homes for sale fell from a year ago to 481,000. By region, sales in the South, the nation’s biggest home-selling region, increased 11.1%, while purchases in the Northeast rebounded sharply. March contract signings fell in the Midwest and West. Housing construction, which has subtracted from economic growth in each of the last five quarters, risks staying limited in the months ahead as builders focus on reducing inventory. Housing affordability is shaping up to be a key issue in the midterm elections in November, and both parties are proposing initiatives to improve the supply of housing and lower the costs for home buyers. Read More: Homebuyers Are Sitting Out the Key Season for Real Estate Deals Separate data out last month showed pending sales of previously owned US homes climbed for a second month in March as a pickup in inventory helped mit...
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is included among the 10 Best Blue Chip Stocks to Invest in According to Billionaires. On May 1, Baird analyst William Power raised the firm’s price recommendation on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $310 from $300. It reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm updated its model after quarterly results showed […]
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is included among the 10 Best Blue Chip Stocks to Invest in According to Billionaires. On May 1, Baird analyst William Power raised the firm’s price recommendation on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $310 from $300. It reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm updated its model after quarterly results showed […]
BellPhotography423/iStock via Getty Images A proposed pipeline to move Canadian crude into the United States is close to securing enough commitments from oil producers to move forward, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the discussions. The project, led by South Bow Corp ( SOBO ) ( SOBO:CA ) and U.S. partner Bridger Pipeline, would run from Alberta through Montana to Wyoming, po...
BellPhotography423/iStock via Getty Images A proposed pipeline to move Canadian crude into the United States is close to securing enough commitments from oil producers to move forward, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the discussions. The project, led by South Bow Corp ( SOBO ) ( SOBO:CA ) and U.S. partner Bridger Pipeline, would run from Alberta through Montana to Wyoming, potentially boosting Canada’s oil exports to the U.S. by more than 12%. It would also revive a portion of previously built infrastructure tied to the canceled Keystone XL project. Sources said shippers have already committed about 400,000 barrels per day, roughly 72% of the pipeline’s planned initial capacity. Developers are targeting around 450,000 bpd in long-term contracts, a level typically needed before construction can proceed. Major Canadian producers, including Cenovus Energy ( CVE ) ( CVE:CA ) and Canadian Natural Resources ( CNQ ), are among those backing the project, alongside several mid-sized firms. While companies declined to comment, industry executives signaled growing support as producers seek more capacity to move rising output. The pipeline gained momentum after U.S. President Donald Trump approved a cross-border permit last week. If built, it could eventually carry more than 1 million barrels a day, though further connections would be needed to reach major refining hubs. The push reflects a broader bottleneck in Canada’s oil sector, where limited pipeline capacity has constrained growth. Competing projects, including expansions by Enbridge and enhancements to the Trans Mountain system, are also underway to ease congestion and support increasing production through the decade. More on State Street® Energy Select Sector SPDR® ETF, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, etc. UAE Leaves OPEC: Here's What It Means For Oil Prices Energy Crisis Blows Softer In U.S.: AI Infrastructure Trade Appears Intact Canadian Natural Resources: Earnings Set To Reveal Massive Rewa...
Always wondered what everyday stuff celebrities buy, where they shop for food, and the basic they scrimp on? The actor talks well-brewed tea, never lending books, and the joy of dining at home with the Filter • Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Kim Cattrall shot to fame when she played the sexually liberated Samantha Jones in the TV series Sex and the City. Her film roles ...
Always wondered what everyday stuff celebrities buy, where they shop for food, and the basic they scrimp on? The actor talks well-brewed tea, never lending books, and the joy of dining at home with the Filter • Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Kim Cattrall shot to fame when she played the sexually liberated Samantha Jones in the TV series Sex and the City. Her film roles span comedy, drama and thrillers including Police Academy, Mannequin and The Ghost Writer. She also appeared to rave reviews in stage productions of Private Lives and David Mamet’s The Cryptogram. Born in Liverpool, she moved to Canada as a child and now divides her time between New York City, London and Vancouver. Cattrall is the face of a new Designer at Debenhams campaign, a collaboration between the retailer and the British designer Ashish. Continue reading...
In Nariño, guerrilla groups are swapping arms for legal mining as part of the country’s peace accord. But as presidential elections loom, armed rivals and delays threaten to derail progress Dressed in civilian clothing with Pasto Indigenous motifs across his sleeves, Royer Garzón, a guerrilla commander and delegate at the peace negotiation table, sits alongside about two-dozen combatants on a smal...
In Nariño, guerrilla groups are swapping arms for legal mining as part of the country’s peace accord. But as presidential elections loom, armed rivals and delays threaten to derail progress Dressed in civilian clothing with Pasto Indigenous motifs across his sleeves, Royer Garzón, a guerrilla commander and delegate at the peace negotiation table, sits alongside about two-dozen combatants on a small stand beside a concrete sports field in one of Nariño’s state-recognised Indigenous collective territories in Colombia . Most wear military fatigues and rubber boots, matching a huge red-and-white banner reading FC Sur-ELN – Frente Comuneros del Sur, or National Liberation Army, the guerrilla group they once belonged to – an identity they have not lost. Members of Comuneros del Sur. The group is estimated to have about 250 fighters in the Nariño department Continue reading...
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is preparing a new Create a Pass feature for iOS 27 that could make the iPhone's Wallet app more useful for users who still depend on QR codes from gyms, concerts, retailers and other services that do not support Apple Wallet directly. The current Wallet app is already central to Apple Pay, credit and debit cards, digital keys, retailer gift cards and passes from third-party ap...
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is preparing a new Create a Pass feature for iOS 27 that could make the iPhone's Wallet app more useful for users who still depend on QR codes from gyms, concerts, retailers and other services that do not support Apple Wallet directly. The current Wallet app is already central to Apple Pay, credit and debit cards, digital keys, retailer gift cards and passes from third-party apps, but the missing piece has been services that never built Wallet-compatible passes in the first place. According to people with knowledge of the matter, Apple's new tool is designed to address that gap by letting users take a QR code and generate their own customized pass around it.
Zimbabwe began trials of blending ethanol and diesel to offset rising costs caused by conflict in the Middle East, the nation’s energy minister said. The tests are being carried out by the government in partnership with privately owned entity Green Fuel Ltd., Energy and Power Development Minister July Moyo said in an interview on Monday. Zimbabwe already blends gasoline with ethanol. “The idea is ...
Zimbabwe began trials of blending ethanol and diesel to offset rising costs caused by conflict in the Middle East, the nation’s energy minister said. The tests are being carried out by the government in partnership with privately owned entity Green Fuel Ltd., Energy and Power Development Minister July Moyo said in an interview on Monday. Zimbabwe already blends gasoline with ethanol. “The idea is that we increase ethanol production, which we will blend with the diesel,” Moyo said in an interview. “It’s still early stages for us to determine the time lines when this will be completed, but results will guide us on the way forward.” The initiative highlights ways in which countries are trying to mitigate the impact of the surge in energy prices that’s resulted from the US-Israeli war on Iran, with Brent crude prices surging almost 60% and diesel futures jumping almost 80%. South Africa has introduced temporary fuel-tax cuts, while Indonesia is implementing a biofuel-blending policy and Ethiopia has introduced subsidies . Diesel consumption in Zimbabwe increased 20% to 338.7 million liters in the first three months of the year, according to official data from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority. The country imported 163.7 million liters of gasoline in the period, compared with 175 million liters a year earlier, it said. Sign up here for the daily Next Africa newsletter and subscribe to the Next Africa podcast on Apple , Spotify or anywhere you listen .
For most military powers, proving the success of one’s technology in real combat almost always requires undertaking the grave risks of war and human casualties. In the case of the People’s Liberation Army, Beijing continues to exercise great caution about joining any armed conflict, and the past few decades have brought astounding progress yet an extremely limited combat footprint for its weaponry...
For most military powers, proving the success of one’s technology in real combat almost always requires undertaking the grave risks of war and human casualties. In the case of the People’s Liberation Army, Beijing continues to exercise great caution about joining any armed conflict, and the past few decades have brought astounding progress yet an extremely limited combat footprint for its weaponry. The Iran war could change that. As tensions around Iran persist, Pakistan, whose imported weapons...
Washington, D.C., May 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Home prices rose in 71% of metro markets (167 out of 235) during the first quarter of 2026, according to the National Association of REALTORS ® ’ latest quarterly report . This is down from 73% in the fourth quarter. Seven percent of metro areas (16 out of 235) recorded double-digit price gains, up from 5% last quarter. The report provides the rea...
Washington, D.C., May 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Home prices rose in 71% of metro markets (167 out of 235) during the first quarter of 2026, according to the National Association of REALTORS ® ’ latest quarterly report . This is down from 73% in the fourth quarter. Seven percent of metro areas (16 out of 235) recorded double-digit price gains, up from 5% last quarter. The report provides the real estate ecosystem—including agents and homebuyers and sellers—with quarterly metro-area data on median home prices and housing affordability.
For the next four days only, you can buy one pass to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 and get 50% off a second of the same ticket type. That window closes May 8 at 11:59 p.m. PT. After that, prices go up, and you’ll pay more to bring a partner or colleague. Register today to get your plus-one pass at 50% off.
For the next four days only, you can buy one pass to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 and get 50% off a second of the same ticket type. That window closes May 8 at 11:59 p.m. PT. After that, prices go up, and you’ll pay more to bring a partner or colleague. Register today to get your plus-one pass at 50% off.
Runner 5, we are so back. | Image: Naomi Alderman Starting tomorrow, Zombies, Run! fans will be able to download a new eight-part story for the fitness app. That's nothing short of a miracle. In 2012, Zombies, Run! was one of the first fitness apps to find a dedicated community. A big part of that success was that it combined a couch-to-5K plan with immersive audio storytelling set in a zombie apo...
Runner 5, we are so back. | Image: Naomi Alderman Starting tomorrow, Zombies, Run! fans will be able to download a new eight-part story for the fitness app. That's nothing short of a miracle. In 2012, Zombies, Run! was one of the first fitness apps to find a dedicated community. A big part of that success was that it combined a couch-to-5K plan with immersive audio storytelling set in a zombie apocalypse. Six to Start - the company behind the game - was eventually sold to OliveX, a dubious purveyor of crypto and NFT products. It then fell into the same trap that befalls many indie apps and games after acquisition. A little over a year ago, all but two Six to Start staffers had been laid of … Read the full story at The Verge.
onurdongel/iStock via Getty Images I previously rated First Solar, Inc. ( FSLR ) as a Hold in February 2026, attributed to the cooling demand and the mixed booking trends. In this article, I shall discuss why FSLR remains a Hold here, pending further clarity to the renewables regulatory policy. FSLR Faces Numerous Headwinds & Tailwinds Entering FY2026 FSLR 1Y Stock Price (Trading View) Since my la...
onurdongel/iStock via Getty Images I previously rated First Solar, Inc. ( FSLR ) as a Hold in February 2026, attributed to the cooling demand and the mixed booking trends. In this article, I shall discuss why FSLR remains a Hold here, pending further clarity to the renewables regulatory policy. FSLR Faces Numerous Headwinds & Tailwinds Entering FY2026 FSLR 1Y Stock Price (Trading View) Since my last article, FSLR has notably bottomed at the $180s over the past few months, while delivering a more than decent stock price recovery by +7.3% compared to the wider market at +5.1%. 1. Higher Renewables Demand Part of the tailwinds may be attributed to the ongoing Iran conflict and the consequently, elevated oil/gas spot prices , with EV sales already on the boom as a result of the higher pump prices while building upon the growing used EV sales in March 2026. With it remaining to be seen when the conflict may be successfully resolved and when the gas/utility prices may normalize, I am of the opinion that demand for renewables/electrified offerings are likely to be robust in the mean time. FSLR has already fed the exuberance through the 1.6 GW of net bookings in FQ1'26 as well, compared to: -0.9 GW of net debookings in FY2025 (with 7.4 GW of gross bookings /8.3 GW of debookings) and 0.5 GW of net bookings in FQ1'25, with it lending credence to the robust utility demand for their cadmium telluride based solar panels. The same has been observed in the higher gross bookings of 1.9 GW between the FQ4'25 earnings call on February 24, 2026 and the FQ1'26 earnings call on April 30, 2026. If anything, readers may want to note that another US-based solar panel producer, Canadian Solar ( CSIQ ), has guided the US shipment growth to 6.75 GW at the midpoint in FY2026 (+11.2% YoY, based on 25% of its FY2025 global shipments at 24.3 GW). These lend credibility to FSLR's recent stock price recovery by +14.6% from the March 2026 bottom, as the market seemingly looks past the prior renewabl...
izusek/E+ via Getty Images The housing bubble and unaffordable pricing have thwarted the launch plans of new households over the past decade. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported the typical age of first-time buyers climbed to an all-time high of 40 years in 2025, down from around 28 years old in 1991. The share of first-time buyers dropped to a record low of 21%. Aging baby boomers...
izusek/E+ via Getty Images The housing bubble and unaffordable pricing have thwarted the launch plans of new households over the past decade. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported the typical age of first-time buyers climbed to an all-time high of 40 years in 2025, down from around 28 years old in 1991. The share of first-time buyers dropped to a record low of 21%. Aging baby boomers (now ages 62 to 80) own the majority of the higher-end homes, and all boomers will be 65+ in 3.7 years. By 2030, nearly 25% of Canada’s population will be over 65, up from close to 20% in a 2024 Statistics Canada report. During the 2019-2022 FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) frenzy, some elders mortgaged their homes to give down payments to children and grandchildren and co-signed on loans with family members. Borrowers who secured mortgages in 2020–21 at rates under 2% are now seeing renewal offers in the 4–5% range. Equifax Canada has noted that non-mortgage delinquencies have reached levels not seen since 2009. As of the first quarter of 2026, non-performing mortgage loans in Canada reached approximately $7.2 billion — an increase of about 150% since 2022. These are “Stage 3” loans, meaning they are more than 90 days overdue and considered in default. (source: JDL Realty). The Office of the Superintendent of Canadian Financial Institutions (OFSI) predicts that rising residential mortgage arrears and defaults are the number one threat to Canada’s financial system (OFSI 2026-27 annual risk outlook report, April 2026). Far from ‘free money,’ the housing bubble and now bust have consequential impacts for all of us. Bubbles give, and then the busts take back. Three-quarters of those age 55+ surveyed in an online Angus Reid Forum indicated that supporting family is cutting into their retirement savings, according to research from Bloom collected last September. At the same time, falling home prices and weak sales are thwarting downsize plans. See, ‘ Not the right time’: Retirees del...
In 2026, infrastructure as a service is delivering measurable ROI through specialization, performance optimization, and pricing transparency. Enterprise buyers are aligning infrastructure choices to workload requirements such as AI training, AI inference, regulated environments, and general enterprise compute. This approach is improving cost efficiency, latency, and throughput by matching infrastr...
In 2026, infrastructure as a service is delivering measurable ROI through specialization, performance optimization, and pricing transparency. Enterprise buyers are aligning infrastructure choices to workload requirements such as AI training, AI inference, regulated environments, and general enterprise compute. This approach is improving cost efficiency, latency, and throughput by matching infrastructure to specific use cases.
New Action Board Scheduler helps AP teams automate recurring payment work while maintaining control and supporting a seamless end-to-end AP process Action Board Scheduler Mekorma Action Board Scheduler in Business Central enables AP teams to automate and schedule payment batch processing with full control over timing and approvals. BOULDER, Colo., May 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Accounts payable ...
New Action Board Scheduler helps AP teams automate recurring payment work while maintaining control and supporting a seamless end-to-end AP process Action Board Scheduler Mekorma Action Board Scheduler in Business Central enables AP teams to automate and schedule payment batch processing with full control over timing and approvals. BOULDER, Colo., May 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Accounts payable (AP) teams are under increasing pressure to reduce manual work while maintaining strong financial co