SHENZHEN, CHINA - APRIL 12: A Chinese national flag is seen in the foreground with container ships, cranes, and stacked shipping containers at the Yantian International Container Terminal under cloudy skies, on April 12, 2025 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images) Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images The U.S. Justice Department has indicted four Chinese shipping giants for c...
SHENZHEN, CHINA - APRIL 12: A Chinese national flag is seen in the foreground with container ships, cranes, and stacked shipping containers at the Yantian International Container Terminal under cloudy skies, on April 12, 2025 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images) Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images The U.S. Justice Department has indicted four Chinese shipping giants for conspiring to restrict container output to fix prices during the pandemic era, in one of the most significant antitrust actions brought against Chinese firms in years, even as both sides seek to stabilize bilateral ties. China International Marine Containers, or CIMC, Singamas Container Holdings, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and CXIC Group Containers colluded to cut container output from November 2019 to early 2024, pushing up prices, according to the U.S. Justice Department statement Tuesday on the indictment. "The multi-year conspiracy roughly doubled the prices of standard shipping containers between 2019 and 2021, increasing the container manufacturers' profits approximately one hundredfold during the Covid-19 pandemic and global supply chain crisis," the department said. The four named companies did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment. watch now VIDEO 2:20 02:20 U.S. indicts four Chinese shipping container companies for Covid-era price fixing Access Middle East The indictment, which cites corporate conversations and emails, also indicted seven company leaders, including the marketing director of Singamas Container Holdings, who was arrested in France in April and is currently awaiting extradition to the United States, according to the statement. The DOJ said several "conspirators" agreed to limit production shifts, install surveillance cameras to monitor compliance, ban the construction of new factories, and impose penalties on members that exceeded agreed output ceilings. The companies collectively make 95% of the world's standard unrefrig...
As energy cooperation tops the summit agenda, back-to-back state visits of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could pave the way for emerging “trilateral coordination” between China, Russia and the United States. That is according to Cui Hongjian, a former diplomat and the head of European studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University. But Cui said the US would remain the biggest uncertainty. Adverti...
As energy cooperation tops the summit agenda, back-to-back state visits of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could pave the way for emerging “trilateral coordination” between China, Russia and the United States. That is according to Cui Hongjian, a former diplomat and the head of European studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University. But Cui said the US would remain the biggest uncertainty. Advertisement During talks with visiting Russian leader Putin on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said both countries should step up strategic coordination to counter “jungle law” in the global order. Putin’s trip came days after American leader Trump’s visit to the Chinese capital, when Beijing and Washington agreed to pursue a “constructive relationship of strategic stability”. Russia’s Putin visits China days after historic Xi-Trump summit It has also drawn attention for what it may signal about the trajectory of relations among China, the US and Russia – seen as one of the most decisive dynamics shaping the fast-moving world order.
Earnings Call Insights: CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) Q1 2026 Management View "In the first quarter of 2026 we further solidified our position as the clear leader in the Mediterranean cuisine category" and "delivered exceptional results, including positive traffic of 6.8%." (Co-Founder, CEO, President & Director Brett Schulman) "This past January, we took an approximate 1.4% price increase while holding...
Earnings Call Insights: CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) Q1 2026 Management View "In the first quarter of 2026 we further solidified our position as the clear leader in the Mediterranean cuisine category" and "delivered exceptional results, including positive traffic of 6.8%." (Co-Founder, CEO, President & Director Brett Schulman) "This past January, we took an approximate 1.4% price increase while holding base bowl and pita pricing flat" and "we have remained unwavering on our long-term strategy" amid peer discounting. (CEO Schulman) "We've officially launched our first ever seafood offering, Pomegranate-Glazed Salmon across all restaurants nationwide" and management said it has shown "promising early results." (CEO Schulman) "Earlier this year, we reached a meaningful milestone with the launch of CavaCore" and said "CAVA Current is live today, actively processing orders across our restaurants" as the company builds toward "a real-time AI-enabled business." (CEO Schulman) "CAVA revenue in the first quarter of 2026 grew 32.2% year-over-year to $434.4 million" and "same restaurant sales increased 9.7%, driven by traffic growth of 6.8%." (Chief Financial Officer Tricia Tolivar) Outlook "Now to our outlook for full year 2026 we are raising our guidance" to "75 to 77 net new CAVA restaurant openings" and "same-restaurant sales of 4.5% to 6.5%." (CFO Tolivar) Management guided "CAVA restaurant level profit margin between 23.7% and 24.3%" and "adjusted EBITDA, including the burden of preopening costs between $181 million and $191 million." (CFO Tolivar) "Our same-restaurant sales trends in the second quarter are in line with the first quarter and tracking above our revised full year guidance," while the outlook "contemplates a more moderate mid-single-digit comp assumption for the balance of the year." (CFO Tolivar) Margin puts included "a 20 to 40 basis point headwind" tied to "a more cautious view on elevated energy cost impacts" and, beginning in Q2, salmon as "a margin rate he...
Asian equities traded in red on Wednesday as caution grew following overnight softness on Wall Street, particularly among chipmakers and AI-related shares. Also global risk sentiment weakened amid elevated crude oil prices. Gold prices traded below $4,500 an ounce after tumbling nearly 2% in the previous session. WTI crude futures held near $104 per barrel. The war has now entered its 12th week an...
Asian equities traded in red on Wednesday as caution grew following overnight softness on Wall Street, particularly among chipmakers and AI-related shares. Also global risk sentiment weakened amid elevated crude oil prices. Gold prices traded below $4,500 an ounce after tumbling nearly 2% in the previous session. WTI crude futures held near $104 per barrel. The war has now entered its 12th week and has effectively kept the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed to shipping traffic, supporting oil prices and fueling inflation concerns. The benchmark KOSPI fell nearly 2% to around 7,130, extending losses from the previous session. Japan's ( NKY:IND ) fell 1.44% to around 59,600, while the broader TOPIX declined 1.3% to 3,800. A steep sell-off in technology and AI-related heavyweights—including Kioxia, SoftBank Group, Fujikura, Tokyo Electron, and Lasertec—led the market lower. The downturn comes as the Japanese yen hovers near 159 per dollar and cautious investors brace for critical trade and inflation data later this week to gauge the underlying strength of the economy. The Reuters Tankan index for Japanese manufacturers edged up to 8.0 in May 2026 from 7.0 in April. China's ( SHCOMP ) fell 0.31% to 4,150 on Wednesday, while the Shenzhen Component slipped 0.2% to 15,534 , and the offshore yuan edged higher around 6.81 per dollar on Wednesday, trimming losses in the previous session. The People's Bank of China kept its benchmark lending rates at record lows for the 12th month in May 2026. The one-year loan prime rate remains at 3.0%, and the five-year LPR is at 3.5%. Hong Kong ( HSI ) fell 0.74% to open at 25,631 on Wednesday, retreating from the previous session’s gains. India ( SENSEX ) fell 0.37% to 74,879, extending losses from the previous session. Australia ( AS51 ) fell 1.28% to 8,563 in early deals on Wednesday, reversing strength in the prior session. In the U.S. on Tuesday, all three major indexes ended lower as a continued selloff in US Treasuries, driven by inf...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images Back in November, I covered the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF ( SOXL ) for the second time on Seeking Alpha, arguing that a case could be made for leveraged exposure to semiconductors and recommending a BUY. My belief was rooted in the evolution of the AI race and Buffett’s (then) announcement of an investment in Alphabet Inc. ( GOOGL ). SOXL has...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images Back in November, I covered the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF ( SOXL ) for the second time on Seeking Alpha, arguing that a case could be made for leveraged exposure to semiconductors and recommending a BUY. My belief was rooted in the evolution of the AI race and Buffett’s (then) announcement of an investment in Alphabet Inc. ( GOOGL ). SOXL has roughly quadrupled in value since that coverage and now sits on valuations that look admittedly stretched. Seeking Alpha Today, I revise this triple-leveraged ETF, asking myself a question: does it make sense to remain invested or even add exposure to SOXL? I think a case to HOLD can be made, but not to enter SOXL at these price levels. Know this ETF to Understand a Possible Bull Case SOXL is a 3x leveraged ETF that seeks to deliver 300% of the daily performance of the NYSE Semiconductor Index, which is in turn the same index that the popular iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) tracks. The highly leveraged nature of this ETF makes it inherently a high-risk, high-reward proposition that only makes sense in the case of a prolonged AI-driven bull run. I think leveraged ETFs are actually a good choice for AI bulls today (more of my thoughts on this later). However, selecting what index to be exposed to and when to enter is very important. In the case of SOXL, it is important to note that this is an ETF directly exposed only to semiconductor stocks. The main holdings of its underlying index are very concentrated (a result of the recent semiconductor bull run) and include Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ( AMD ), Broadcom Inc. ( AVGO ), and Micron Technology, Inc. ( MU ). Seeking Alpha This is effectively an “AI infrastructure” ETF that is not exposed to Tech companies and Hyperscalers like Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ), Alphabet, or Amazon.com, Inc. ( AMZN ). This, as I will now outline, is key to understanding whether or not a bull case for SOXL can be made today, close to all-tim...
(RTTNews) - Retail major Marks and Spencer Group Plc or M&S (MAKSY.PK, MAKSF.PK, MKS.L) reported Wednesday lower profit in fiscal 2026, despite significantly higher revenues mainly driven by the consolidation of Ocado Retail Limited. The firm also lifted dividend. Looking ahead, the company said it enters 2026/27 with a clear plan, and expects profit growth to resume versus 2024/25. In the full ye...
(RTTNews) - Retail major Marks and Spencer Group Plc or M&S (MAKSY.PK, MAKSF.PK, MKS.L) reported Wednesday lower profit in fiscal 2026, despite significantly higher revenues mainly driven by the consolidation of Ocado Retail Limited. The firm also lifted dividend. Looking ahead, the company said it enters 2026/27 with a clear plan, and expects profit growth to resume versus 2024/25. In the full year, profit before tax fell 28.8 percent to 364.6 million pounds from 511.8 million pounds last year. Basic earnings per share were 12.7 pence, down 13 percent from last year's 14.6 pence. Adjusted profit before tax was 671.4 million pounds, compared to 881.1 million pounds a year ago. Adjusted basic earnings per share were 23.8 pence, compared to 31.9 pence a year ago. Revenue, however, climbed 25 percent to 17.27 billion pounds from last year's 13.82 billion pounds,. Sales grew 24.8 percent from last year to 17.37 billion pounds. Sales excluding Ocado Retail grew 1.9 percent to 14.18 billion pounds. Further, the firm said its Board is proposing a final dividend of 3.0p per share, payable on July 10. The total full-year dividend would be 4.2p per share, an increase of 16.7 percent on last year. For more earnings news, earnings calendar, and earnings for stocks, visit rttnews.com. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Marks & Spencer Group Plc expects profit to bounce back to the growth seen before the British fashion and food chain was knocked off course by a cyberattack last year. Pretax profit will resume growth this financial year compared to the 12 months ended March 2025, which was the highest level in more than 15 years, the retailer said Wednesday. M&S reported a 24% decline in adjusted pretax profit in...
Marks & Spencer Group Plc expects profit to bounce back to the growth seen before the British fashion and food chain was knocked off course by a cyberattack last year. Pretax profit will resume growth this financial year compared to the 12 months ended March 2025, which was the highest level in more than 15 years, the retailer said Wednesday. M&S reported a 24% decline in adjusted pretax profit in its latest full-year affected by the costly cyber hack. Chief Executive Officer Stuart Machin is pushing ahead with the retailer’s turnaround plans and the business is boosting its online presence and expanding overseas. Still, M&S is contending against weaker consumer sentiment in its home market and increased costs due to the conflict in the Middle East. M&S shares have fallen about 11% over the past year to Tuesday’s close.
Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Microsoft (NasdaqGS:MSFT) is planning to open its largest data center in India in mid 2026 following a record US$17.5b investment. The company has announced additional large scale data center and AI infrastructure plans across Canada, Brazil, and Ireland. New ...
Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Microsoft (NasdaqGS:MSFT) is planning to open its largest data center in India in mid 2026 following a record US$17.5b investment. The company has announced additional large scale data center and AI infrastructure plans across Canada, Brazil, and Ireland. New partnerships, including Digitate's Agentic AI certification on Azure, are expanding the range of AI solutions available to enterprise customers. For investors tracking Microsoft (NasdaqGS:MSFT), these moves sit at the heart of its cloud and AI story, centered on Azure. Large data center projects in India, Canada, Brazil, and Ireland position the company to supply compute, storage, and AI services to governments and enterprises across several regions. The new AI focused partnerships indicate demand from businesses looking to run more complex workloads on Azure. What matters for you is how this global build out could influence Microsoft’s spending profile and capacity to support AI adoption. As these facilities come online over the next few years, investors may want to watch how management balances record capital expenditure with usage trends across Azure and related AI services. Stay updated on the most important news stories for Microsoft by adding it to your watchlist or portfolio. Alternatively, explore our Community to discover new perspectives on Microsoft. NasdaqGS:MSFT Earnings & Revenue Growth as at May 2026 We've flagged 1 risk for Microsoft. See which could impact your investment. Investor Checklist Quick Assessment ✅ Price vs Analyst Target : At US$417.42 against an average analyst target of about US$560.63, the stock trades roughly 25% below consensus. ✅ Simply Wall St Valuation : The shares are described as trading 27.1% below an estimated fair value, which is flagged as undervalued. ❌ Recent Momentum: The stock is down 1.3% over the last 30 days, so the near te...
JHVEPhoto Negotiations between Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) and its largest labor union have collapsed, increasing the likelihood of a strike that could disrupt operations at the world’s biggest memory chipmaker. A general work stoppage will go ahead on Thursday after company management rejected a mediation proposal that had been accepted by the union , labor leader Choi Seung-ho told reporters i...
JHVEPhoto Negotiations between Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) and its largest labor union have collapsed, increasing the likelihood of a strike that could disrupt operations at the world’s biggest memory chipmaker. A general work stoppage will go ahead on Thursday after company management rejected a mediation proposal that had been accepted by the union , labor leader Choi Seung-ho told reporters in the southern city of Sejong, where the talks were held, as per Bloomberg. Samsung shares tumbled as much as 4.4% after the decision was announced. The benchmark Kospi slumped as much as 3%. The collapse in negotiations puts the global technology supply chain at risk because Samsung ( SSNLF ) is the world’s biggest supplier of the chips that go into devices from data centre servers to smartphones and electric vehicles. The company also faces the prospect of production delays, as well as complications accelerating development of its next-generation semiconductors, the report added. Samsung said that negotiations failed because of the union’s “excessive” demands, even after the company accepted the majority of the union’s asks including those related to bonuses. “We will not abandon our efforts to prevent a walkout and will continue to talk with the union,” Samsung said in a statement, adding, “under any circumstances, a strike must be avoided”, the report added. Among the grievances is what the workers call a massive gap in bonus pay with rival chipmaker SK hynix ( HXSCL ). SK hynix and compatriot Samsung are among the world's largest memory chipmakers. SK hynix is a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips to Nvidia ( NVDA ). Samsung and American company Micron Technology ( MU ) also compete with SK hynix in this space. More on Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SSNLF) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Samsung: Q1 Profit Guide Well Ahead Of Consensus, Remains A Buy Sa...
Block Today XYZ Block $69.18 -1.45 (-2.06%) 52-Week Range $48.21 ▼ $82.50 P/E Ratio 54.04 Price Target $84.94 Add to Watchlist Block NYSE: XYZ, the company behind Square and Cash App, delivered a much stronger quarter than expected, raised full-year guidance, and showed that its aggressive restructuring might already be helping. For the most visible metrics, the company outperformed in the first t...
Block Today XYZ Block $69.18 -1.45 (-2.06%) 52-Week Range $48.21 ▼ $82.50 P/E Ratio 54.04 Price Target $84.94 Add to Watchlist Block NYSE: XYZ, the company behind Square and Cash App, delivered a much stronger quarter than expected, raised full-year guidance, and showed that its aggressive restructuring might already be helping. For the most visible metrics, the company outperformed in the first three months of the year, and its growth and profitability both jumped in the right direction. Get Block alerts: Sign Up In fact, it is now solidly hitting the Rule of 40, a much-watched measure for growth-stage tech companies. Investors, however, still have reason to be cautious. The stock is pricing in its near-term success. The question is how much room is left to run if the company's pivots continue to pay off. Block Delivers Strong Growth and Profitability By many measures, Block’s first quarter was outstanding. The company’s gross profit rose 27% year over year (YOY) to $2.91 billion. At the same time, it generated $728 million in adjusted operating income, representing a 25% margin on gross profit. It’s the sum of those two percentage increases that exceeds 40, putting it well beyond the industry “rule.” In other words, growth in the revenue it keeps and how efficiently it turns that into income are both climbing in tandem at admirable rates. Overall, revenue for the quarter came in at $6.06 billion, up 5% YOY. And as the numbers showed, those revenues are flowing to the bottom line. Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 52% to 85 cents, well ahead of the company’s own internal guidance. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) came in at a record $1 billion for the quarter. On the surface, these numbers were nothing but solid. Cash App Leads While Square Provides Stability Block is powered by two distinct but complementary businesses. On one side is Cash App, the consumer-facing mobile platform that lets millions of America...
Food inflation also slows Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. It’s inflation day! (and Nvidia day) There was a notable fall in annual inflation led by lower electricity and gas prices. This was due to the government’s energy bill support package reducing variable and fixed tariffs, along with lower global wholesale energy pric...
Food inflation also slows Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. It’s inflation day! (and Nvidia day) There was a notable fall in annual inflation led by lower electricity and gas prices. This was due to the government’s energy bill support package reducing variable and fixed tariffs, along with lower global wholesale energy prices before the conflict in the Middle East, which fed through to the reduction in the Ofgem cap. The war in Iran is not our war but one we will need to respond to, and the decisions I took in the budget last year have kept inflation down as we deal with global instability. We have the right economic plan, and to change course now would risk our economic stability and leave working people worse off. We have already taken £117 off energy bills, frozen rail fares, and lifted the two-child limit, and over today and tomorrow I’ll set out the next phase of how we will support UK households. For too long, vital infrastructure delivery has been delayed by judicial reviews of projects. She [Reeves] is cleaar that parliament must take back control to get Britain building the power plants, wind farms and grid connections that will bring bills down, strengthen our energy security, and deliver growth in every part of our country. 9.30am BST: UK House prices and rents 10am BST: Eurozone inflation (final) 7pm BST: US Federal Reserve minutes of last meeting Continue reading...
British police said on Tuesday they would ask prosecutors to consider charging 57 people and 20 organisations with criminal offences over the Grenfell Tower blaze, almost a decade after the deadliest fire in Britain’s modern history killed dozens. The Metropolitan Police said files of evidence would be submitted to prosecutors by the end of September, with charging decisions by June 14, 2027 – the...
British police said on Tuesday they would ask prosecutors to consider charging 57 people and 20 organisations with criminal offences over the Grenfell Tower blaze, almost a decade after the deadliest fire in Britain’s modern history killed dozens. The Metropolitan Police said files of evidence would be submitted to prosecutors by the end of September, with charging decisions by June 14, 2027 – the 10th anniversary of the London tragedy, which killed 72 people. Bereaved families and survivors said justice delayed any further would be unacceptable. A damning public inquiry has found that the deaths were avoidable, and that a combination of dishonest companies, incompetent regulators and failures by government led the building to be covered in combustible external cladding. Advertisement “We have waited almost a decade for accountability,” said Grenfell United, a group representing some bereaved families. “No family should have to wait over 10 years for justice for their loved ones, if it comes at all.” Police said the offences being considered include corporate gross negligence manslaughter, fraud and health and safety breaches. Advertisement It said officers had gathered 165 million electronic files and looked at the role of 15,000 individuals and 700 organisations relevant to the investigation, making it the largest and most complex inquiry the force has ever carried out.