Saudi Arabia’s attempts to revive oil flows from its reopened Ras Tanura terminal on the Persian Gulf are running into caution from customers, who are reluctant to load there because of renewed threats to shipping, according to people familiar with the matter. Ras Tanura, which handled about 90% of Saudi crude exports before the Iran war, restarted recently after a months-long closure, and this we...
Saudi Arabia’s attempts to revive oil flows from its reopened Ras Tanura terminal on the Persian Gulf are running into caution from customers, who are reluctant to load there because of renewed threats to shipping, according to people familiar with the matter. Ras Tanura, which handled about 90% of Saudi crude exports before the Iran war, restarted recently after a months-long closure, and this week Saudi Aramco was asking customers to submit requests for loadings from the port, according to the people. But buyers who had already been wary of sending in ships into the Persian Gulf to lift cargoes have become even more concerned after vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Tensions in the region ratcheted up after President Donald Trump said the US would likely follow up with further strikes on Iran, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war. A return of hostilities would be a nightmare scenario for the Gulf nations that had only just started to return some of their damaged energy industries and oil shipments back toward prewar levels. Aramco has asked customers to submit requests for how much they want to load in August from Ras Tanura, but has been told by some buyers that they’re not ready to load there, the people said. The company had also been giving customers that option through the conflict even when the Strait of Hormuz was all but closed. Clients have been picking up oil cargoes from the Red Sea port of Yanbu on the other side of Saudi Arabia since the early days of the war. Aramco is still offering that option, but wanted to prioritize Ras Tanura loadings, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Aramco declined to comment. Ships Attacked Three vessels came under attack on Tuesday — the largest number of incidents since the interim US-Iran peace deal last month. While a handful of oil tankers have passed through ...
AlexLMX/iStock via Getty Images Largo ( LGO ) up 3.7% in Wednesday's trading after saying it received a $60.1M firm-fixed-price delivery order from the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Materials under the company’s recently awarded five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract. Largo ( LGO ) said the delivery order provides for the supply of high-purity vanadium pentoxide prod...
AlexLMX/iStock via Getty Images Largo ( LGO ) up 3.7% in Wednesday's trading after saying it received a $60.1M firm-fixed-price delivery order from the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Materials under the company’s recently awarded five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract. Largo ( LGO ) said the delivery order provides for the supply of high-purity vanadium pentoxide produced at its Maracás Menchen operation in Brazil for the U.S . National Defense Stockpile; deliveries are scheduled through January 2030, providing long-term revenue visibility. "Beginning in July 2026, Largo is adjusting its production and commercial programs to support this significant DLA order," co-CEO Daniel Tellechea said . "Beyond the meaningful revenue contribution, this order is expected to improve our average realized vanadium prices, enhance our overall sales mix and further expand Largo's presence in the U.S. market without applicable import tariffs." The contract is part of a larger shared award with an aggregate value of as much as $125M. More on Largo Financial information for Largo
Scaffolding and tarp covers the building name at the the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on Monday, June 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. Al Drago | The Washington Post | Getty Images A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trump 's bid to restore his name to the Kennedy Center as he challenges a lower court's order that stripped his name from the Washington perfo...
Scaffolding and tarp covers the building name at the the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on Monday, June 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. Al Drago | The Washington Post | Getty Images A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trump 's bid to restore his name to the Kennedy Center as he challenges a lower court's order that stripped his name from the Washington performing arts landmark in June. A three-judge panel said Trump and the Kennedy Center's board, in their motion to stay the lower court's order, failed to show they would be "irreparably injured" without his name being restored. "Since that removal has already occurred ... a stay would not avert those harms (even assuming they would qualify as irreparable)," the panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in its order. The panel also said Trump and the board failed to provide any "specific facts and evidence" that the center's fundraising efforts would be harmed if Trump's name is not included. The judges also rejected the argument by Trump and the board "that a new entity named 'The Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Foundation' will no longer be able to fundraise and must return all money 'raised or committed' to it if the name 'Trump' is not returned to the Kennedy Center's façade." "Appellants never raised that factual contention in district court, and they have given no explanation for failing to do so," the panel said. "Such a post hoc argument cannot demonstrate an abuse of discretion by the district court." The decision means that Trump's name will remain off the Kennedy Center as his appeal of a federal District Court judge in Washington's order to remove it plays out. The same appeals court will hear Trump's appeal of a May 29 order to remove his name from the center. CNBC has requested comment from the Justice Department, which represents Trump and the board in their appeal. One of the judges on the appeals panel, Gregory Ka...
alexsl Evercore ISI on Wednesday upgraded Compass Pathways ( CMPS ) to Outperform from Inline and raised its price target to $21 from $8 after the U.K.-based biotech updated results from a late-stage trial supporting the long-term efficacy of its psychedelic therapy COMP360. Based on 26-week results from its 581-patient Phase 3 COMP006 trial, the company on Tuesday highlighted the rapid onset of a...
alexsl Evercore ISI on Wednesday upgraded Compass Pathways ( CMPS ) to Outperform from Inline and raised its price target to $21 from $8 after the U.K.-based biotech updated results from a late-stage trial supporting the long-term efficacy of its psychedelic therapy COMP360. Based on 26-week results from its 581-patient Phase 3 COMP006 trial, the company on Tuesday highlighted the rapid onset of action and durable clinical profile of COMP360 against treatment-resistant depression. "Yesterday's 26-week ‘006 data came in very similarly to the ‘005 data, building more confidence,” Evercore analyst Gavin Clark-Gartner wrote, referring to another late-stage trial for COMP360, which read out in June 2025. “We should’ve been quicker to upgrade right there but thought based on the catalyst path we’d have more time to make this call,” the analyst added. Clark-Gartner expects FDA approval for COMP360 in H1 2027, setting a commercial rollout that could be slow in the first couple of quarters as infrastructure necessary for the sector's long-term growth is built. More on COMPASS Pathways ADS Compass Pathways Phase 3 COMP006 Data Review COMPASS Pathways plc (CMPS) Discusses Six-Month Data from Second Phase 3 Trial Confirming Rapid and Durable Profile in Depression Transcript Compass Pathways: A Psychedelics Story Compass gains on new late-stage trial data for psychedelic therapy in depression COMPASS outlines 1 to 2-month FDA review goal as it targets launch readiness by year-end
The design process for new memorials shouldn't be fast-tracked or dictated by a select few, experts say. But a small group of people close to President Trump played an outsized role in the arch's quick approvals. (Image credit: Harrison Design)
The design process for new memorials shouldn't be fast-tracked or dictated by a select few, experts say. But a small group of people close to President Trump played an outsized role in the arch's quick approvals. (Image credit: Harrison Design)
Dzmitry Dzemidovich Cantor Equity Partners I ( CEPO ) won't proceed with its proposed business combination with BSTR Holdings inked last year, while the parties discuss a potential revised structure that better reflects current market conditions, the company said Wednesday. CEPO shares gained 1.6% in midday trading. The agreement reached last year included $1.5B in fiat private investment in publi...
Dzmitry Dzemidovich Cantor Equity Partners I ( CEPO ) won't proceed with its proposed business combination with BSTR Holdings inked last year, while the parties discuss a potential revised structure that better reflects current market conditions, the company said Wednesday. CEPO shares gained 1.6% in midday trading. The agreement reached last year included $1.5B in fiat private investment in public equity financing plus a 5,021 bitcoin in-kind PIPE. Founding shareholders would contribute 25,000 bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) under the original deal. BSTR, or Bitcoin Standard Treasury, led by cryptographer Adam Back, aims to accumulate bitcoin ( BTC-USD ), generate in-kind bitcoin yield, and advise corporates and sovereigns in bitcoin-based treasury strategies. In the past year, bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) has lost ~43% of its value , recently trading at ~$61.8K, about half of its all-time high of $128.2K. Due to the efforts to rework the deal, the pending private placements related to the merger won't be required. Furthermore, the meeting of shareholders scheduled for July 10, 2026, at 10:00 AM ET, is indefinitely postponed. More on Cantor Equity Partners I, Inc. Cantor-backed bitcoin SPAC to allow investors to reduce commitments - report Financial information for Cantor Equity Partners I, Inc.
Khanchit Khirisutchalual/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from Palm Valley Capital Fund Q2 2026 Letter. The Fund acquired three new positions during the second quarter: The Clorox Company ( CLX ), Molson Coors Beverage Company ( TAP ), and Vontier Corp. ( VNT ). The Clorox Company manufactures a wide range of household and professional cleaning, disinfecting, lifestyle, ...
Khanchit Khirisutchalual/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from Palm Valley Capital Fund Q2 2026 Letter. The Fund acquired three new positions during the second quarter: The Clorox Company ( CLX ), Molson Coors Beverage Company ( TAP ), and Vontier Corp. ( VNT ). The Clorox Company manufactures a wide range of household and professional cleaning, disinfecting, lifestyle, and wellness products. Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Clorox bleach and disinfecting wipes, Pine-Sol cleaners, Glad trash bags, Burt's Bees lip balm, Kingsford charcoal, Fresh Step cat litter, and Hidden Valley salad dressings. The company suffered a major cyberattack in 2023 that disrupted production and distribution, causing it to lose market share in several categories. The recovery has been slower than investors hoped, and Clorox has been working through a large ERP implementation that distorted shipments, reduced volumes, and created inventory disruptions with retailers. In April, Clorox cut its fiscal 2026 outlook. Consumers have become more price-sensitive, leading some shoppers to trade down to private-label alternatives in categories such as cleaning products and household consumables. We view Clorox as a slow-growth consumer staples company with historically stable cash flows. We acquired a small position near the lows, but the shares have since bounced. Molson Coors is the second largest brewer in North America and a top five global player. Its brewing heritage extends back two centuries. Coors Brewing Company was incorporated in 1913 and merged with Molson in 2005. The firm acquired full ownership of the Miller portfolio in 2016. The company’s beer brands include Coors Light , Miller Lite , Coors Banquet , Molson Canadian , Carling , Staropramen , Blue Moon Belgian White , Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy , Miller High Life , and Keystone Light . Beyond the beer aisle, the firm offers Vizzy Hard Seltzer and partner brands such as Simply Spiked , ZOA...
Mike/iStock via Getty Images In my opinion, the macroeconomic base is tilting towards energy-led stagflation and a collision between sovereign liquidity flows and tech-infrastructure limits. For investment management, I am highly positive on U.S. domestic energy (XOP and XLE) and physical gold (GLD and IAU) to capture the geopolitical risk premium in the Strait of Hormuz and sovereign de-dollariza...
Mike/iStock via Getty Images In my opinion, the macroeconomic base is tilting towards energy-led stagflation and a collision between sovereign liquidity flows and tech-infrastructure limits. For investment management, I am highly positive on U.S. domestic energy (XOP and XLE) and physical gold (GLD and IAU) to capture the geopolitical risk premium in the Strait of Hormuz and sovereign de-dollarization. At the same time, I am observing a growing need for tactical hedges against highly levered small-cap aggregates (IWM and SPSM) and AI-concentrated tech indexes (QQQ and SMH). On this, my reasoning is that it is better to isolate the fundamentally solid cash-flowing components of the U.S. economy and immunize portfolios against the impending floating-rate debt maturity wall that risks small-caps and regional banks. More so, it shields capital from the big margin compression facing hyperscalers if energy-intensive AI infrastructure triggers an operational cost crisis. The major risks to this macroeconomic thesis include a sudden Fed dovish capitulation that may be igniting a duration-led broad equity melt-up and a rapid Middle Eastern de-escalation that would collapse energy premiums, ease small-cap credit conditions, and re-accelerate the AI tech mid-cap rally. This analysis focuses on the emergence of a geopolitical supply shock (the functional impairment of the Strait of Hormuz), a historic cross-asset pricing anomaly (the 1-year inflation swap vs. Fed Funds futures divergence), a big small-cap rotation, and a de-dollarization trend among central banks. The Positive Trends/Factors In The U.S. Market I am starting with the K-shaped domestic energy supercycle and small-cap resurgence that has major implications for ETFs like the iShares Russell 2000 ETF ( IWM ), SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF ( XOP ), and Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ). The U.S. revocation of Iranian oil waivers and the escalation in the Strait of Hormuz risk (again!) the trans...
The 24-year-old beat German Max Kanter into second Norway’s Torstein Træen keeps leader’s yellow jersey Olav Kooij, teammate to Paul Seixas at Decathlon CMA CGM, emerged out of the heat haze in Pau to win stage five in the Place de Verdun. The first sprint finish in the 2026 Tour de France saw Kooij, who won three stages in last year’s Tour of Britain, win with ease from Max Kanter of XDA Astana. ...
The 24-year-old beat German Max Kanter into second Norway’s Torstein Træen keeps leader’s yellow jersey Olav Kooij, teammate to Paul Seixas at Decathlon CMA CGM, emerged out of the heat haze in Pau to win stage five in the Place de Verdun. The first sprint finish in the 2026 Tour de France saw Kooij, who won three stages in last year’s Tour of Britain, win with ease from Max Kanter of XDA Astana. “After a couple [of] hard days already, we had to wait to today to get this first chance to sprint in the Tour, and to immediately win is unbelievable,” the Dutch rider said. “It means quite a lot. I had a pretty tough spring, and I think just to get back to this level and to keep believing in yourself – and just a few people who believe in you as well – is all you need.” Continue reading...
Over the quarter of a century I’ve spent observing British politics, Nigel Farage has been a constant presence. I’ve made umpteen trips to his constituency of Clacton both before he became MP and later when he campaigned there. I even spent three days making a documentary about him, observing Farage up close in the Strasbourg parliament (including, true to form, him downing a G&T before lunch). Yo...
Over the quarter of a century I’ve spent observing British politics, Nigel Farage has been a constant presence. I’ve made umpteen trips to his constituency of Clacton both before he became MP and later when he campaigned there. I even spent three days making a documentary about him, observing Farage up close in the Strasbourg parliament (including, true to form, him downing a G&T before lunch). You could not fully explain what’s happened to the UK in the last 25 years without mentioning the Reform UK leader. Throughout that time, his superpower has been an uncanny ability to bend British politics to his will. But perhaps not this time. Farage and his team thought they were setting the terms of debate (just as they always have) with yesterday’s by-election gambit. The idea appeared to be that they would pre-empt an investigation into what Farage should have declared about his finances by going straight to the people of Clacton. But 24 hours later, it is clear that British politics has refused to play ball. The result: the 62-year-old politician looks exposed and vulnerable. Rosa Prince thinks it may be the beginning of the end for him . First, Farage doesn’t appear to have considered that this by-election would just pause the parliamentary probe, not end it—meaning there could be a second by-election if he’s found to have breached the rules. Second, he didn’t seem to anticipate the other parties sitting out the vote. This leaves Farage facing Count Binface . Even Farage will not be able to claim this as a mandate-supplying triumph over the establishment. The third danger for Farage is the by-election simply provides more publicity for the allegations against him: the undeclared £5 million gift from a Thai-based crypto-billionaire and the accommodation, again undeclared, from a man convicted of fraud in the US. These stories are hardly modest “man of the people” stuff — and they have cut-through the noise. Both Kemi Badenoch and Andy Burnham will be mightily relieved ...
FOMC Minutes Preview: Scrutiny For Hawkish Bias Today's FOMC minutes will be scrutinized for further insight into policymakers' appetite for additional rate hikes and the thinking behind the Committee's hawkish shift at last month's meeting . The minutes are an account of the June 17th meeting and therefore will not reflect subsequent developments, including the softer-than-expected June nonfarm p...
FOMC Minutes Preview: Scrutiny For Hawkish Bias Today's FOMC minutes will be scrutinized for further insight into policymakers' appetite for additional rate hikes and the thinking behind the Committee's hawkish shift at last month's meeting . The minutes are an account of the June 17th meeting and therefore will not reflect subsequent developments, including the softer-than-expected June nonfarm payrolls report or Chair Warsh's appearance at the ECB's Sintra Forum. Nonetheless, as Newsquawk writes in its FOMC Minutes preview, the June meeting, Warsh's first as Fed Chair, marked a significant shift under his leadership. The Committee unanimously overhauled the policy statement, removing all forward guidance and placing greater emphasis on its commitment to price stability . While the statement changes were unanimous among voting members, it will be interesting to see whether non voting participants also supported the removal of forward guidance and the stronger inflation-focused language. On forward guidance, Waller spoke about the tool on July 6th - after the FOMC. He noted that it can speed the impact of monetary policy, calling it a valuable tool . However, it can be a hindrance if it is too strong or rigid, and also problematic when policy makers expect different economic outcomes all with a significant probability of occurring, adding in some cases, it is best not to use it at all. We will be looking to see the views among the whole FOMC around the use of forward guidance. Anecdotally, Rabobank wrote that " Fed's Waller has joined new Chair Warsh in wanting to shake up Fed communications to do so less: ahead of the FOMC minutes today, one wonders if they could just be a truncated, "We talked about stuff," leaving analysts to... well, analyze, rather than being spoon-fed." Traders will also be watching for any discussion surrounding the broader policy reviews announced by Warsh . During the FOMC press conference, he revealed plans to establish five task forces co...
TennesseePhotographer/iStock Editorial via Getty Images A few months ago, in April, I briefly entertained the possibility of upgrading J&J Snack Foods ( JJSF ) from a ‘hold’ to a ‘buy.’ I remained optimistic about cost-cutting initiatives that the company was working on. The goal that management had set forth was to cut annual expenses by $20 million. Add on top of this investments being made in g...
TennesseePhotographer/iStock Editorial via Getty Images A few months ago, in April, I briefly entertained the possibility of upgrading J&J Snack Foods ( JJSF ) from a ‘hold’ to a ‘buy.’ I remained optimistic about cost-cutting initiatives that the company was working on. The goal that management had set forth was to cut annual expenses by $20 million. Add on top of this investments being made in growth areas such as Dippin’ Dots, and there were reasons to be bullish. Unfortunately, there were other issues as well. The company was continuing to see sales softness. And that, combined with weakness on the bottom line, justified maintaining it as a ‘hold’ candidate. Since then, we have unfortunately seen the share price drop 6.3%. That's far worse than the 8.4% increase that the S&P 500 experienced over the same window of time. Looking at the data today, I definitely understand why some investors might be outright bearish. But I'm not ready to take that stance just yet. Management has succeeded recently in improving certain bottom-line results. On top of this, the stock is incredibly cheap. This might not be the case relative to other similar firms. In that case, I would argue that it's closer to being fairly valued or might be a bit pricey. But on an absolute basis, it definitely does not look expensive to me. This combination of good things and bad things justifies maintaining it as a ‘hold’ in my book. I wish shares were tastier As a self-declared foodie, I always love being able to be bullish about food-oriented businesses, especially ones that have goods as tasty as what J&J Snack Foods provides. For context, the company produces and sells snack foods. It also distributes frozen beverages. Examples of its offerings include soft pretzels, frozen novelties, bakery products, and churros. Management even says that they believe they are the largest producer of soft pretzels in the U.S. On top of this, it makes available to customers donuts, cookies, funnel cakes, and mo...