Diplomatic efforts continuing despite fighting in and around contested strait of Hormuz in recent days Middle East crisis – live updates The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said that Washington is expecting a response from Iran on Friday to its proposals for an interim deal to end the conflict in the Middle East, as Iran accused the US of breaching the increasingly fragile ceasefire announ...
Diplomatic efforts continuing despite fighting in and around contested strait of Hormuz in recent days Middle East crisis – live updates The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said that Washington is expecting a response from Iran on Friday to its proposals for an interim deal to end the conflict in the Middle East, as Iran accused the US of breaching the increasingly fragile ceasefire announced last month. In recent days there have been the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the contested strait of Hormuz since the informal truce began. The rise in violence followed Donald Trump’s announcement – then rapid pause – of a new naval mission aimed at opening the strategic waterway. Continue reading...
J Studios Chip and AI-related stocks were largely in the green on Friday after the U.S. said it expects a response from Iran today on a proposal to end the war despite the exchange of strikes. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) rose around 1.4%. At the same time, the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) climbed about 0.8%. The blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) was also in the green. Secretary of State Marc...
J Studios Chip and AI-related stocks were largely in the green on Friday after the U.S. said it expects a response from Iran today on a proposal to end the war despite the exchange of strikes. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) rose around 1.4%. At the same time, the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) climbed about 0.8%. The blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) was also in the green. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expects a response from Iran today on a proposal to end the war, adding that he hopes "it’s a serious offer," CNN reported . As per U.S. President Donald Trump, a ceasefire is still in effect after U.S. forces said they targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking its warships in the Strait of Hormuz. Shares of AI chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ) jumped about 3%, while Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) surged nearly 9%. AMD's quarterly results mid week had been praised by analysts and investors as the stock soared 20% on Wednesday. The company also announced a tentative agreement with Rackspace Technology ( RXT ) yesterday for enterprise AI cloud. AMD's stock saw a dip yesterday but is back among gains today. Year-to-date, AMD's stock has surged nearly 106%, while much bigger rival Nvidia is up about 15%. Broadcom ( AVGO ) climbed about 3% on Friday after having declined around 3% yesterday following a report that its chip deal with OpenAI ( OPENAI ) has run into financing issues. Meanwhile, Qualcomm ( QCOM ) soared about 11%. On Thursday, it was reported that the Trump Administration is expected to extend invitations to top executives from several companies, including Apple ( AAPL ), Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Qualcomm, for his upcoming visit to China next week. Qualcomm's stock has been surging since Tuesday. Year-to-date, Qualcomm's stock has jumped about 31%. Several other AI and networking-related stocks were mixed on Friday. Cisco ( CSCO ) soared about 4%, while Corning ( GLW ) jumped nearly 3%. Ciena ( CIEN ) rose around 2%. Meanwhile, Applied Optoel...
J Studios Chip and AI-related stocks were largely in the green on Friday after the U.S. said it expects a response from Iran today on a proposal to end the war despite the exchange of strikes. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) rose around 1.4%. At the same time, the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) climbed about 0.8%. The blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) was also in the green. Secretary of State Marc...
J Studios Chip and AI-related stocks were largely in the green on Friday after the U.S. said it expects a response from Iran today on a proposal to end the war despite the exchange of strikes. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) rose around 1.4%. At the same time, the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) climbed about 0.8%. The blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) was also in the green. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expects a response from Iran today on a proposal to end the war, adding that he hopes "it’s a serious offer," CNN reported . As per U.S. President Donald Trump, a ceasefire is still in effect after U.S. forces said they targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking its warships in the Strait of Hormuz. Shares of AI chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ) jumped about 3%, while Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) surged nearly 9%. AMD's quarterly results mid week had been praised by analysts and investors as the stock soared 20% on Wednesday. The company also announced a tentative agreement with Rackspace Technology ( RXT ) yesterday for enterprise AI cloud. AMD's stock saw a dip yesterday but is back among gains today. Year-to-date, AMD's stock has surged nearly 106%, while much bigger rival Nvidia is up about 15%. Broadcom ( AVGO ) climbed about 3% on Friday after having declined around 3% yesterday following a report that its chip deal with OpenAI ( OPENAI ) has run into financing issues. Meanwhile, Qualcomm ( QCOM ) soared about 11%. On Thursday, it was reported that the Trump Administration is expected to extend invitations to top executives from several companies, including Apple ( AAPL ), Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Qualcomm, for his upcoming visit to China next week. Qualcomm's stock has been surging since Tuesday. Year-to-date, Qualcomm's stock has jumped about 31%. Several other AI and networking-related stocks were mixed on Friday. Cisco ( CSCO ) soared about 4%, while Corning ( GLW ) jumped nearly 3%. Ciena ( CIEN ) rose around 2%. Meanwhile, Applied Optoel...
The successful initial public offering of Compass Gas e Energia SA , the first in Brazil in nearly five years, means the country’s equity capital markets have now reopened even as global volatility keeps a cap on the pace of new deals, according to Banco Bradesco BBI . With foreigners powering what has been a strong year for the local equity market, appetite for more deals is returning, George Cos...
The successful initial public offering of Compass Gas e Energia SA , the first in Brazil in nearly five years, means the country’s equity capital markets have now reopened even as global volatility keeps a cap on the pace of new deals, according to Banco Bradesco BBI . With foreigners powering what has been a strong year for the local equity market, appetite for more deals is returning, George Costa e Silva , head of equity capital markets at the bank, said in an interview. Read More: Compass Breaks Brazil IPO Drought With $650 Million Offer Costa e Silva, whose firm was one of the joint coordinators on the Compass IPO, pointed to the return of specialized infrastructure funds that had been largely dormant since the privatization of Sabesp in 2024. However, he said investors remain highly sensitive to pricing, seeking enough “upside risk” to justify entering the market during volatile periods. “The market is open,” said André Moor , head of investment banking at Bradesco BBI. This shift in sentiment is supported by a pair of US listings earlier this year from Brazilian fintechs PicPay and AGI Inc. — known as Agibank, which paved the way for domestic firms to return to the primary market. Read More: Fintech Rivals Put an End to Brazil IPO Hiatus in Bumpy Comeback Moor said that for the window to fully swing open, it needs a de-escalation of global conflicts and more clarity on how Brazil’s presidential elections later this year will pan out, both of which have weighed on sentiment longer than many analysts had anticipated. Once the political landscape is defined, he expects a surge in deals, particularly from the financials, utilities and energy sectors. Evidence of the building momentum was on display at the 14th Unlisted Conference the bank held in New York this week. The event, which was expanded this year to accommodate rising demand, hosted 12 unlisted companies and 45 investors for more than 100 one-on-one meetings — a significant jump from last year, when the ...
Yahoo Inc. raised $1.6 billion from a loan and bond deal to refinance debt tied to its acquisition by Apollo Global Management after offering investors one of the highest-yielding deals of the year. The online media company wrapped up a $700 million term loan B at an interest rate of 6.5 percentage points over the US benchmark, priced at 97 cents on the dollar, according to a person with direct kn...
Yahoo Inc. raised $1.6 billion from a loan and bond deal to refinance debt tied to its acquisition by Apollo Global Management after offering investors one of the highest-yielding deals of the year. The online media company wrapped up a $700 million term loan B at an interest rate of 6.5 percentage points over the US benchmark, priced at 97 cents on the dollar, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. It also sold $900 million of junk bonds maturing in 2031 at a yield of 11%. These are juicy returns compared to other risky corporate debt sold this year. US leveraged loans on average have priced this year at about 3 percentage points above benchmark, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the average yield on existing B rated bonds have hovered around 7.2%. The Yahoo offering will repay loans raised in 2021 to help fund Apollo’s $5 billion buyout of the business from Verizon Communications Inc. that were due next year. The deal comes at a higher cost, with the original debt priced at 5.5 percentage points over the benchmark and 98.5 cents on the dollar. Weighing on the iconic internet firm’s credit profile are the ongoing shifts in technology and consumer behavior driven by artificial intelligence, which “will lead significant changes in the digital media landscape”, Moody’s Ratings said in a May 5 note to clients. Yahoo also faces elevated dependence on desktop traffic and fierce competition from larger players in search advertising and email services, Moody’s added. Yahoo shifted the funding mix during syndication, moving $200 million to bonds from loans, as part of its efforts to wrap up the deal. The Yahoo transaction was part of a flurry of high-yield debt offerings this week as firms rushed to capitalize on investor optimism that the US and Iran will reach an agreement to end the conflict in the Middle East. Companies raising debt in the past few days included Alaska Air Group Inc. , Venetian Resort Las Vegas and oil pipeline oper...
David Attenborough has spent more than seven decades bringing the natural world into our living rooms, becoming one of the first truly recognisable faces on television. From his seminal 1950s series Zoo Quest to the groundbreaking Life on Earth documentaries of the 80s and 90s, and more recently his hard hitting explorations of the climate crisis, including Ocean , Attenborough has left an indelib...
David Attenborough has spent more than seven decades bringing the natural world into our living rooms, becoming one of the first truly recognisable faces on television. From his seminal 1950s series Zoo Quest to the groundbreaking Life on Earth documentaries of the 80s and 90s, and more recently his hard hitting explorations of the climate crisis, including Ocean , Attenborough has left an indelible mark on film and TV Happy centenary, David! Attenborough’s 100 most spectacular TV moments ‘The greatest ambassador for life on Earth’: Tributes paid to David Attenborough on his 100th birthday ‘A true pinch-me moment’: memories of David Attenborough as he turns 100 Continue reading...
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News SpaceX ( SPACE ) plans an initial investment of $55B for the ambitious Terafab project, which, if it comes to fruition, should prove beneficial for Intel ( INTC ) as well as several semiconductor manufacturing equipment vendors, such as ASML ( ASML ), KLA ( KLAC ), and Applied Materials ( AMAT ), according to Wedbush. A government filing this week included the ini...
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News SpaceX ( SPACE ) plans an initial investment of $55B for the ambitious Terafab project, which, if it comes to fruition, should prove beneficial for Intel ( INTC ) as well as several semiconductor manufacturing equipment vendors, such as ASML ( ASML ), KLA ( KLAC ), and Applied Materials ( AMAT ), according to Wedbush. A government filing this week included the initial $55B investment for the proposed Texas project. If additional phases of the semiconductor production facility are completed, the total cost could be around $119B, the documents revealed. "If this project proves out, it would seemingly be a significant win for Intel given plans to use Intel's 14A process (though the exact relationship between Intel and Tesla/SpaceX remains a bit of a mystery)," Wedbush analysts noted in a Friday investor report. "In addition, a large additional fab build would have significant positive implications for a number of semicap vendors." "Having said this, we believe building/owning a fab to support internal requirements is necessarily an expensive proposition that has become increasingly difficult to justify (as illustrated by the explosion of fabless semiconductor companies over the past 30 years), and in particular we see a proposed fab using a process that's not yet finalized to build products that in many cases don't yet exist as a risky choice," Wedbush added. More on Intel, SpaceX, and Tesla Intel: Get Out Before The Hype Ends (Rating Downgrade) Sell Tesla Because It Is An Unlikely Comeback Story Tesla: Musk's Vision Is Finally Becoming Reality Cathie Wood talks 'voracious' SpaceX appetite, Tesla's edge to drive robotaxi win Musk offered Tesla board seat to OpenAI's Altman, Shivon Zilis says
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News SpaceX ( SPACE ) plans an initial investment of $55B for the ambitious Terafab project, which, if it comes to fruition, should prove beneficial for Intel ( INTC ) as well as several semiconductor manufacturing equipment vendors, such as ASML ( ASML ), KLA ( KLAC ), and Applied Materials ( AMAT ), according to Wedbush. A government filing this week included the ini...
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News SpaceX ( SPACE ) plans an initial investment of $55B for the ambitious Terafab project, which, if it comes to fruition, should prove beneficial for Intel ( INTC ) as well as several semiconductor manufacturing equipment vendors, such as ASML ( ASML ), KLA ( KLAC ), and Applied Materials ( AMAT ), according to Wedbush. A government filing this week included the initial $55B investment for the proposed Texas project. If additional phases of the semiconductor production facility are completed, the total cost could be around $119B, the documents revealed. "If this project proves out, it would seemingly be a significant win for Intel given plans to use Intel's 14A process (though the exact relationship between Intel and Tesla/SpaceX remains a bit of a mystery)," Wedbush analysts noted in a Friday investor report. "In addition, a large additional fab build would have significant positive implications for a number of semicap vendors." "Having said this, we believe building/owning a fab to support internal requirements is necessarily an expensive proposition that has become increasingly difficult to justify (as illustrated by the explosion of fabless semiconductor companies over the past 30 years), and in particular we see a proposed fab using a process that's not yet finalized to build products that in many cases don't yet exist as a risky choice," Wedbush added. More on Intel, SpaceX, and Tesla Intel: Get Out Before The Hype Ends (Rating Downgrade) Sell Tesla Because It Is An Unlikely Comeback Story Tesla: Musk's Vision Is Finally Becoming Reality Cathie Wood talks 'voracious' SpaceX appetite, Tesla's edge to drive robotaxi win Musk offered Tesla board seat to OpenAI's Altman, Shivon Zilis says
Chester Cup provided fine finale after festival was saved by repairs after horses slipped in Thursday’s opener A Piece Of Heaven’s 7-1 success in the Chester Cup, the most popular and historic race of the year at the world’s oldest racecourse, was a fine way to round off the track’s May festival meeting on Friday, not least after a day when, for around an hour or so in early afternoon, the event h...
Chester Cup provided fine finale after festival was saved by repairs after horses slipped in Thursday’s opener A Piece Of Heaven’s 7-1 success in the Chester Cup, the most popular and historic race of the year at the world’s oldest racecourse, was a fine way to round off the track’s May festival meeting on Friday, not least after a day when, for around an hour or so in early afternoon, the event had teetered on the edge of an expensive, embarrassing disaster. The odds that the middle day of Chester’s showpiece event would be abandoned, with around 15,000 spectators at the track for Ladies’ Day, seemed to be shortening at 2.30pm on Thursday, as a delegation of jockeys and trainers inspected the turf on the home turn. Continue reading...
juvaida khatun/iStock via Getty Images Performance Review The Fund (Institutional Class) returned -1.17 percent in the first quarter, compared with the -0.50 percent return for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. High Yield Corporate Index. The Fund benefitted from solid credit selection in capital goods, as it avoided certain issuers whose fundamentals deteriorated during the quarter. This was offs...
juvaida khatun/iStock via Getty Images Performance Review The Fund (Institutional Class) returned -1.17 percent in the first quarter, compared with the -0.50 percent return for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. High Yield Corporate Index. The Fund benefitted from solid credit selection in capital goods, as it avoided certain issuers whose fundamentals deteriorated during the quarter. This was offset by the bank loan exposure as well as the underweight to energy, which was the top performing sector during the quarter. Strategy and Positioning New issuance volume increased year-over-year as issuers continued to access the market. We remained selective in participating in new issues, particularly in data center issuance. The Fund remained positioned up in quality versus the benchmark, driven by an underweight to CCCs. This quality bias was a tailwind during the quarter, as CCCs underperformed meaningfully. High yield spreads widened by 50 basis points to 317 basis points. We continue to see opportunities to invest in credits that are trading cheap relative to their fundamentals and their risk of default/loss. Economic and Market Review High yield delivered slightly negative returns in the first quarter, following 13 consecutive quarters of positive performance. Geopolitical sentiments and wider credit spreads weighed on sentiment. Negative performance was led by interest rate sensitive sectors, including mortgage originators and consumer finance companies. Technology also underperformed in the beginning of the quarter before rebounding in March, as concerns around AI-driven disruption weighed on the sector. Energy delivered positive returns, up 2.5 percent, as oil prices surged to $101 per barrel. Higher quality bonds relatively outperformed in the first quarter with BBs returning -0.2 percent, Bs returning -0.6 percent, and CCCs returning -1.3 percent. U.S. high yield new issuance volume totaled $80 billion in the first quarter, up 16 percent compared to first quarter...
And so here we are - the much anticipated fragmentation of British politics . A rowdy gawdy tent has been erected in the middle of the UK political landscape. Reform has taken its first London council alongside Tory strongholds like Essex Council (Conservative for a quarter of a century); the Greens have won their first elected mayoralty in Hackney and while it’s still early in declarations, Scotl...
And so here we are - the much anticipated fragmentation of British politics . A rowdy gawdy tent has been erected in the middle of the UK political landscape. Reform has taken its first London council alongside Tory strongholds like Essex Council (Conservative for a quarter of a century); the Greens have won their first elected mayoralty in Hackney and while it’s still early in declarations, Scotland sees the SNP trounce Labour once more. In Wales, just before we pressed send on this newsletter, Labour’s first minister lost her seat - an historic first. More humiliation is likely in a place where Labour, as our Joe Mayes writes, has “come out on top for more than a century”. Even with only seven of Holyrood’s 129 seats declared, Labour’s Scottish leader Anas Sarwar was blunt: “We made an argument for change and, ultimately, it’s an argument we lost.” Despite much criticism of the SNP’s record in government, the Scottish nationalists defied gravity and won new ground, including edging the Lib Dems out in Shetland after 27 years. The Hartlepool Labour MP called for Starmer to go after Reform’s clean sweep there. Starmer’s former Transport secretary Louise Haigh has also suggested he should bow out if he can’t deliver “significant change” while other figures on the left also predicted Labour could be heading for “annihilation”. And yet. As political assassins go, these knife wielders are not as menacing as they could be. Indeed, despite such widespread losses, the prevailing mood is that the Labour party is stuck and so Starmer is staying. First of all, to help you sift through the cacophony of analysis, here’s my Bloomberg reading list this tea time: Starmer Vows to Stay On as Farage Gains in Labour Heartlands London Offers a Snapshot of an Increasingly Ungovernable UK Keir Starmer Has A Chance to Pause Britain’s Pyschodrama So why is Starmer looking relatively safe this tea time? Well for starters, look at the response from the gilt markets once he insisted he was st...
Earnings Call Insights: Cardlytics, Inc. (CDLX) Q1 2026 Management View "As I mentioned on our last call, 2026 is a year of execution for us." (CEO & Director Amit Gupta) "After a prolonged period, we are pleased to report that our supply has stabilized and many of our existing FI partners are actively engaging with us to co-develop growth opportunities." (CEO & Director Gupta) "Building on strong...
Earnings Call Insights: Cardlytics, Inc. (CDLX) Q1 2026 Management View "As I mentioned on our last call, 2026 is a year of execution for us." (CEO & Director Amit Gupta) "After a prolonged period, we are pleased to report that our supply has stabilized and many of our existing FI partners are actively engaging with us to co-develop growth opportunities." (CEO & Director Gupta) "Building on strong program performance and positive customer response, we will onboard new cardholder portfolios with one of our larger FI partners later this year." (CEO & Director Gupta) "In the case of one of our newer neobanks, the Double Days program continues to be a lever for increased consumer engagement and drove 0.25 million new activators during the event." (CEO & Director Gupta) "We continue to see interest in the Cardlytics Rewards Platform or CRP, from partners across multiple industries." (CEO & Director Gupta) "We currently have three live CRP partners." (CEO & Director Gupta) "In Q1, we received a strong signal from our cohort of new enterprise advertisers that they valued our measurement, network reach and technology forward platform capabilities over our competitors." (CEO & Director Gupta) "Our U.K. business continues to deliver outstanding results with Q1 revenue surging over 21% year-over-year." (CEO & Director Gupta) "Due to macro events, we are seeing some budget pressure in the travel and hospitality sectors with approvals being delayed or pushed into future quarters." (CEO & Director Gupta) "Now looking forward, with the Bridg transaction successfully closed, we are now fully aligned around our core platform with improved financial flexibility and the ability to move faster." (CEO & Director Gupta) "We are pleased to announce Q1 numbers that are above the midpoint of the guide across all metrics, including for the Q1 Bridg results." (Chief Financial Officer David Evans) "We have also taken another step towards self-sustainability since acquiring and quickly selling ...
Earnings Call Insights: The Oncology Institute (TOI) Q1 2026 Management view CEO Daniel Virnich said Q1 2026 was “a strong start to 2026,” citing “continued expansion and performance of our value-based contracts across markets” and “ongoing growth of ancillary services, particularly our pharmacy business,” as the company “reaffirm our 2026 outlook for revenue and full year adjusted EBITDA profitab...
Earnings Call Insights: The Oncology Institute (TOI) Q1 2026 Management view CEO Daniel Virnich said Q1 2026 was “a strong start to 2026,” citing “continued expansion and performance of our value-based contracts across markets” and “ongoing growth of ancillary services, particularly our pharmacy business,” as the company “reaffirm our 2026 outlook for revenue and full year adjusted EBITDA profitability.” Virnich highlighted an update to cash expectations: “we are also pleased to meaningfully update our free cash flow projections for the year to a positive range of $5 million to $15 million,” and he said Florida reached a milestone: “We are now generating a profit in the Florida market.” Virnich detailed Florida delegated expansion timing and scale: “we anticipate expansion of existing plan partnerships across 11 additional counties for Medicare Advantage members in Q3,” taking delegated MA lives “to approximately 200,000 total lives across 25 total counties,” and he added, “we anticipate opening 7 new TOI clinics over the remainder of the year.” CFO Rob Carter said: “Total revenue for the first quarter was $147.4 million,” and added, “We are reiterating our full year 2026 outlook for revenue, gross profit and adjusted EBITDA and are raising our free cash flow outlook.” Outlook Carter reiterated full-year guidance: “we expect revenue of $630 million to $650 million with approximately $150 million of capitated revenue, gross profit of $97 million to $107 million, adjusted EBITDA of $0 to positive $9 million and free cash flow is now in the range of positive $5 million to $15 million compared to our previous outlook of a loss of $15 million to positive $5 million.” For Q2, Carter guided: “adjusted EBITDA in the range of a loss of $1 million to positive $1 million,” tied to “seasonal improvement as deductibles are satisfied and the continued ramp of our Florida delegated lives.” Management described potential upside not embedded in guidance from pharmacy access expansio...