Chevron, ConocoPhillips Warn About "Critical Shortages" Of Oil, Soaring Prices And Demand Destruction This morning, most of the world's energy giants including Exxon and Chevron, reported stellar earnings as surging oil prices more than offset curtailed output. They also issued several loud warnings about the ongoing Hormuz blockage which is no closer to resolution. ConocoPhillips was first, warni...
Chevron, ConocoPhillips Warn About "Critical Shortages" Of Oil, Soaring Prices And Demand Destruction This morning, most of the world's energy giants including Exxon and Chevron, reported stellar earnings as surging oil prices more than offset curtailed output. They also issued several loud warnings about the ongoing Hormuz blockage which is no closer to resolution. ConocoPhillips was first, warning of imminent “critical shortages” of oil for some nations as the Iran war that has crippled global energy flows enters its third month. The supply crunch that already pushed Brent prices up more than 50% in just nine weeks and just 2 days ago hit a multi-year high, appears likely to significantly worsen as soon as June, Chief Financial Officer Andy O’Brien told analysts during a conference call Thursday. “The biggest challenge we’re about to face is that the markets sort of had a bit of a grace period initially when the tankers that left the Persian Gulf in late February were still on the water; now all of those have reached their destination,” O’Brien said, touching on a topic we discussed at the start of April . “We are going to start to see some import-dependent countries potentially start to face critical shortages as we get into the June-July time frame” at which point the dreaded "demand destruction" kicks in. Oil refiners around the world have responded to the Iran war-driven drop Gulf oil shipments by curbing daily processing rates by roughly 8 million barrels, roughly the amount that has been blockaded by Iran, O’Brien noted. The knock-on effects of those cuts and the wider market disruption have included skyrocketing prices for everything from jet fuel and gasoline to fertilizer. The ConocoPhillips executive’s comments represented some of the starkest yet from a US oil producer with a global footprint that stretches from Alaska to Australia. As for ConocoPhillips, the conflict that began with US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic in late February prompted t...
Company had struggled to increase post-pandemic demand before war in Iran pushed up jet fuel costs Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Spirit Airlines is preparing to cease operations after the beleaguered company ran out of cash and a rescue attempt by the Trump administration appeared to stall. The company struggled to make a deal with its creditors and ...
Company had struggled to increase post-pandemic demand before war in Iran pushed up jet fuel costs Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Spirit Airlines is preparing to cease operations after the beleaguered company ran out of cash and a rescue attempt by the Trump administration appeared to stall. The company struggled to make a deal with its creditors and secure funding to maintain operations, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter. Continue reading...
Welcome to Bay Street Edition, our weekly newsletter devoted to what’s happening in Canadian finance, covering strategy, deals, people moves and economics. I’m Christine Dobby , Bloomberg’s Toronto-based banking reporter, and you’ll find me in your inbox every Friday. This week, we’re talking about looser rules for bank investments, how loan guarantees are helping Indigenous dealmaking and the Tho...
Welcome to Bay Street Edition, our weekly newsletter devoted to what’s happening in Canadian finance, covering strategy, deals, people moves and economics. I’m Christine Dobby , Bloomberg’s Toronto-based banking reporter, and you’ll find me in your inbox every Friday. This week, we’re talking about looser rules for bank investments, how loan guarantees are helping Indigenous dealmaking and the Thomson family’s latest windfall. Plus: What could we add to this sugary drink to make it even better? Please share this newsletter with your friends and colleagues, and if it was forwarded to you, sign up here to receive it every week. Loosen Up I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but Mark Carney’s government really, really wants to get investment dollars flowing in Canada. The prime minister and his team have been hammering that message through a series of announcements and trade missions. This week, they unveiled plans for a C$25 billion ($18.4 billion) sovereign wealth fund aimed at getting major projects off the ground. But pipelines and ports aren’t the only places to spend money in the pursuit of nation-building. The government also wants Canada’s big banks to open their coffers and is moving to give them more leeway to buy into, and even control, fintechs and other innovative companies. Banks and insurers are tightly regulated and face strict limits on what they can own. Historically, that’s made it difficult for them to invest in businesses that aren’t purely financial — think digital identity firms, health tech providers or artificial intelligence startups. Financial institutions can currently ask for special dispensation to do so, but that rarely happens. Buried in this week’s budget update , the government promised “more flexibility for federally regulated financial institutions to make investments that support innovative financial services and benefit the economy.” After a bit of digging, it turns out this isn’t a new idea. Ottawa wants to bring into force changes made ...
In this video, Motley Fool contributor Jason Hall breaks down the latest with Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH) , including its foray into power management for AI data centers. *Stock prices used were from the Morning of April 30 2026. The video was published on May 1 2026. Continue reading
In this video, Motley Fool contributor Jason Hall breaks down the latest with Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH) , including its foray into power management for AI data centers. *Stock prices used were from the Morning of April 30 2026. The video was published on May 1 2026. Continue reading
Apple is now on track for its first record closing high since Dec. 2, flipping last week's failed breakout into a fresh test of its all-time high zone.
Apple is now on track for its first record closing high since Dec. 2, flipping last week's failed breakout into a fresh test of its all-time high zone.
ZE14361/iStock via Getty Images In our previous coverage of Blue Owl Capital Inc. ( OWL ), we were bullish on the stock and the debt. We also pointed out to our subscribers that the solid debt of OWL was trading at a near 7% yield to maturity. That is an interesting option for defensive investors as well. OWL's credit rating is excellent. We have personally traded the bonds before, but this time w...
ZE14361/iStock via Getty Images In our previous coverage of Blue Owl Capital Inc. ( OWL ), we were bullish on the stock and the debt. We also pointed out to our subscribers that the solid debt of OWL was trading at a near 7% yield to maturity. That is an interesting option for defensive investors as well. OWL's credit rating is excellent. We have personally traded the bonds before, but this time we just went with covered calls as the return profile was much better. Source: Blue, Owl Be Back The stock has delivered negative 8% in total returns, though our covered calls have fared far better. Author's App, Screenshot From Previous Punlication We go over the recent results and tell you why the stock likely heads to $12.00 over the next few months. Q1-2026 OWL delivered a strong quarter on several fronts. While investors tend to focus on Fee-Related Earnings, aka FRE, or distributable earnings, the bigger focus was on the assets under management. The company did deliver on this front with $11 billion of new equity commitments this quarter. OWL Presentation The breakdown of the fundraising shows that there was definitely a slowdown, as retail capital retreated. Institutional capital flows remained strong, but we are likely to see the full impact only in Q2-2026. OWL Presentation Looking at year-over-year numbers, we saw impressive growth in all three categories that estimate owner's economic returns. OWL Presentation The company also raised its dividend and did some modest share repurchases in the quarter. OWL Presentation The company addressed some of the more common concerns in its conference call. In recent months, we spent time with clients and other stakeholders addressing the questions that have arisen around private credit. Our approach has been straightforward, answer those questions with facts. Across the business, fundamental performance remains strong and portfolios remain strong and the portfolios continue to behave in line with the discipline with which they...
In this article GOOGL Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 5:27 05:27 Options Action: Betting on Alphabet winning the AI revolution Options Action Alphabet (aka "Google") is clearly firing on all cylinders, more cylinders perhaps than the Street even realized it had. The quarter was frankly a blowout. Surging cloud revenue and raised capital expenditure (capex) guidance ...
In this article GOOGL Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 5:27 05:27 Options Action: Betting on Alphabet winning the AI revolution Options Action Alphabet (aka "Google") is clearly firing on all cylinders, more cylinders perhaps than the Street even realized it had. The quarter was frankly a blowout. Surging cloud revenue and raised capital expenditure (capex) guidance demonstrate that the company's enormous investments are potentially paying off more quickly than many—perhaps even many within the company—had anticipated. The takeaway could not have been clearer: Alphabet isn't just surviving the AI revolution — in many ways, it's leading it. Why? Because while their investments are enormous, this company is making money now in this space. Cloud and artificial intelligence were the undisputed stars of the quarter. Google Cloud continues to grow rapidly, capturing enterprise workloads as businesses accelerate their AI buildouts. Demand for Gemini-powered services and AI infrastructure is outpacing even the most optimistic forecasts. In a sign of supreme confidence, management raised full-year capex guidance to as much as $190 billion — a jaw-dropping figure that signals Alphabet is playing for generational dominance, not quarterly optics. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Alphabet, YTD So how do you make money on it now using options? THE TRADE: • Buy August 400-Strike calls • Sell June 350/420 Strangle • Level of difficulty: Advanced I favor buying the August $400 strike calls which capture the next earnings event, financed in part by selling the June 350/420 strangle. By selling the 350 puts one takes on the risk of being compelled to purchase the stock at that strike price, but that's where the stock was trading before this earnings release. There are probably many investors wishing they had done so - this creates a little pent-up demand at that level. Meanwhile, selling the June 420 calls reduces the cost still further. In fact it's li...
Douglas Rissing Federal Open Market Committee's voting members, Beth Hammack and Lorie Logan, do not think the forward guidance should have implied a bias towards a rate cut at this time. Cleveland Fed President Hammack and Dallas Fed President Logan supported maintaining the target range for the federal funds rate at the April FOMC meeting. However, they opposed the inclusion of an easing bias in...
Douglas Rissing Federal Open Market Committee's voting members, Beth Hammack and Lorie Logan, do not think the forward guidance should have implied a bias towards a rate cut at this time. Cleveland Fed President Hammack and Dallas Fed President Logan supported maintaining the target range for the federal funds rate at the April FOMC meeting. However, they opposed the inclusion of an easing bias in the post-meeting statement. The statement said , "In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks." While the statement doesn't explicitly say the next rate move would lean toward a cut, the use of the term " additional adjustments" could imply a reduction since the last adjustment was a cut. "I disagree with that assessment of the policy outlook," said Lorie Logan . "I am increasingly concerned about how long it will take inflation to return all the way to the FOMC's 2% target." "Even before recent increases in the prices of energy and other commodities, those measures had been running meaningfully above 2%, leaving doubts about how long it will take inflation to return to target," said the FOMC voting committee member. "The conflict in the Middle East raises the prospect of prolonged or repeated supply disruptions that could create further inflationary pressures. At the same time, the labor market has been stable, with low unemployment and payroll job gains keeping pace with labor force growth," said Logan. According to Logan, it could plausibly be appropriate for the FOMC's next rate change to be either an increase or a cut. Meanwhile, Hammack sees this "clear easing bias" in the statement as no longer appropriate given the outlook. "Uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased in 2026 and makes the future path for monetary policy more uncertain as well," said Hammack, adding there are upside risks to i...
Earnings Call Insights: Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (SHEN) Q1 2026 Management view Edward McKay (President & CEO) reported fiber expansion execution and customer growth, saying, “During the quarter, we released 22,000 passings to sales, bringing our total Glo Fiber expansion markets passings to 449,000,” and “We added approximately 6,000 Glo Fiber net customers in the first quarter... an...
Earnings Call Insights: Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (SHEN) Q1 2026 Management view Edward McKay (President & CEO) reported fiber expansion execution and customer growth, saying, “During the quarter, we released 22,000 passings to sales, bringing our total Glo Fiber expansion markets passings to 449,000,” and “We added approximately 6,000 Glo Fiber net customers in the first quarter... and we now serve a total of 94,000 customers.” Edward McKay (President & CEO) highlighted Commercial Fiber demand and construction timing, saying, “Our Commercial Fiber business also delivered a strong quarter with 196,000 in sales bookings and revenue growth of 4.7% year-over-year,” and “We remain on track to complete our Glo Fiber expansion in 2026, reaching 510,000 passings.” Edward McKay (President & CEO) emphasized penetration, churn, and mix, including “penetration rose to 20.9%,” “our average monthly churn was 0.92%,” and that “nearly 82% of our new residential customers in the first quarter, [selected] speeds of 1 gig or higher.” James Volk (Senior VP of Finance & CFO) said, “Revenues grew 4.8% to $92.2 million,” and “Adjusted EBITDA grew $4.1 million or 15% to $31.7 million.” Outlook James Volk (Senior VP of Finance & CFO) said, “We reiterate our annual guidance for 2026,” and “We expect revenues of $370 million to $377 million, adjusted EBITDA of $131 million to $136 million and CapEx net of grant reimbursements to be $220 million to $250 million.” Management framed 2027 free cash flow as tied to construction completion and capital intensity: James Volk (Senior VP of Finance & CFO) said the company has “3 catalysts converging that we expect will lead us to generating and growing positive free cash flow in 2027 and beyond,” listing “declining capital intensity as we exit the construction phase of our business plan” and “declining cost of capital after refinancing our debt in 2025.” Compared with the prior quarter, guidance figures and the 2027 free cash flow timeline...
Earnings Call Insights: NPK International Inc. (NPKI) Q1 2026 Management view Matthew Lanigan (President, CEO & Director) said the company had a “strong start to 2026” and reported “total rental and service revenues setting another quarterly record at $52 million,” alongside “$23 million” of product sales revenue and “$22 million adjusted EBITDA.” Lanigan highlighted cash and capital actions in th...
Earnings Call Insights: NPK International Inc. (NPKI) Q1 2026 Management view Matthew Lanigan (President, CEO & Director) said the company had a “strong start to 2026” and reported “total rental and service revenues setting another quarterly record at $52 million,” alongside “$23 million” of product sales revenue and “$22 million adjusted EBITDA.” Lanigan highlighted cash and capital actions in the quarter: “$21 million of cash flow from operations and $5 million of free cash flow while also expanding our rental fleet by 4%, repaying our revolving credit facility and using $3 million to fund share repurchases.” Lanigan said the board approved a manufacturing capacity expansion: “increase our production capacity by approximately 50% from current levels,” with planned investment “$40 million to $45 million over the next 5 quarters” and “the goal of bringing the additional capacity online by mid-2027.” Gregg Piontek (Senior VP, CFO & Principal Accounting Officer) summarized the quarter’s mix and the Grassform impact: “Rental revenues grew 27% year-over-year, reflecting 12% organic growth, combined with a $4 million contribution from the Grassform acquisition.” Outlook Piontek raised full-year guidance: “we have raised the range of our full year 2026 outlook, now anticipating total revenues of $310 million to $325 million and adjusted EBITDA of $92 million to $102 million,” adding, “product sales remained relatively in line with 2025 levels.” On Q2, Piontek said, “we expect to deliver 20% year-over-year growth in rental and service revenues in Q2,” while “Q2 revenues will be fairly in line with prior Q2 levels” for product sales and “Q2 gross margin is also expected to be roughly in line with the prior Q2 results.” Versus the prior quarter’s call, management added specific manufacturing expansion spending to 2026 CapEx expectations, with Piontek now guiding “total net CapEx of $75 million to $90 million for the year, including $30 million to $35 million of current year ...
Last month, Anthropic made a big deal about the supposedly outsize cybersecurity threat represented by its Mythos Preview model, leading the company to restrict the initial release to “critical industry partners.” But new research from the UK's AI Security Institute (AISI) suggests that OpenAI's GPT-5.5, which launched publicly last week , reached "a similar level of performance on our cyber evalu...
Last month, Anthropic made a big deal about the supposedly outsize cybersecurity threat represented by its Mythos Preview model, leading the company to restrict the initial release to “critical industry partners.” But new research from the UK's AI Security Institute (AISI) suggests that OpenAI's GPT-5.5, which launched publicly last week , reached "a similar level of performance on our cyber evaluations" as Mythos Preview, which the group evaluated last month . Since 2023, the AISI has run a variety of frontier AI models through 95 different Capture the Flag challenges designed to test capabilities on cybersecurity tasks, such as reverse engineering, web exploitation, and cryptography. On the highest-level "Expert" tasks, GPT-5.5 passed an average of 71.4 percent, slightly higher than the 68.6 percent achieved by Mythos Preview (though within the margin of error). In one particularly difficult task that involved building a disassembler to decode a Rust binary, AISI notes that "GPT-5.5 solved the challenge in 10 minutes and 22 seconds with no human assistance at a cost of $1.73" in API calls. GPT-5.5 also matched Mythos Preview in its progress on "The Last Ones" (TLO), an AISI test range set up to simulate a 32-step data extraction attack on a corporate network. GPT-5.5 succeeded in 3 of 10 attempts on TLO, compared to 2 of 10 for Mythos Preview—no previous model had ever succeeded at the test even once. But GPT-5.5 still fails at AISI's more difficult "Cooling Tower" simulation of an attempted disruption of the control software for a power plant, as every previously tested AI model also has. Read full article Comments