MF3d/iStock via Getty Images In my last Bitcoin article ( BTC-USD ) back in August, I warned investors of some bearish signals that ultimately led to a drop of around 45% before the recent bounce. This article discusses the recent freezing of Iranian cryptocurrency by the United States, which once again exposes the idea that the digital asset is a safe haven. Bitcoin's Failure As A Safe Haven Was ...
MF3d/iStock via Getty Images In my last Bitcoin article ( BTC-USD ) back in August, I warned investors of some bearish signals that ultimately led to a drop of around 45% before the recent bounce. This article discusses the recent freezing of Iranian cryptocurrency by the United States, which once again exposes the idea that the digital asset is a safe haven. Bitcoin's Failure As A Safe Haven Was Exposed Again News over the last week that the Trump administration had frozen $344 million in Iranian cryptocurrency assets has once again highlighted the token’s failure as a safe haven asset. The move came after the tense ceasefire negotiations, with CNN suggesting that the United States was looking to exert economic pressure on Iran ahead of further talks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the agency “is sanctioning multiple wallets tied to Iran.” That statement alone shows that digital assets are no safe haven. CoinDesk said in February that Iran had built a $7.8 billion “shadow economy” to bypass the U.S. dollar, and this activity will now be frozen. Another crypto outlet said that everyday Iranians had rushed to remove their assets at the outset of the conflict and move them to self-storage, with a 700% jump in withdrawals from exchanges. Gold Will Remain The Wealth Storage Asset Of Choice Countries have been buying up swathes of gold bullion for the reason that it has been a safe haven and store of wealth for thousands of years. Governments can increase their exposure to tangible assets and store them domestically or with a friendly nation. It should also be noted that even Western countries have been getting nervous about their wealth, as Germany and Italy are under pressure to repatriate $245 billion in gold from the United States. If governments are not willing to store their tangible assets with other nations, why would they invest heavily in Bitcoin when it has proven once again that it can be switched off at will? It ties into a similar argument I m...
Inspire Brands Inc. , the owner of fast-food chains Dunkin’, Arby’s and Jimmy John’s, filed confidentially for a US initial public offering. The number of shares and price range for the proposed offering haven’t been determined, according to a company statement Friday. The IPO could raise roughly $2 billion, people familiar with the matter have said. Inspire was formed by Roark Capital in 2018 as ...
Inspire Brands Inc. , the owner of fast-food chains Dunkin’, Arby’s and Jimmy John’s, filed confidentially for a US initial public offering. The number of shares and price range for the proposed offering haven’t been determined, according to a company statement Friday. The IPO could raise roughly $2 billion, people familiar with the matter have said. Inspire was formed by Roark Capital in 2018 as an owner, operator and franchisor of a portfolio of restaurant brands. The Atlanta-based company’s holdings also include Baskin-Robbins, Sonic Drive-In and Buffalo Wild Wings. In 2020, Inspire bought Dunkin’ Brands in an $11 billion take-private deal. Read More: Roark Said to Pick Banks for Dunkin’ Owner’s $2 Billion US IPO Inspire Brands has been weighing a listing since at least 2024, and held discussions with potential advisers at that time, Bloomberg News has reported . Companies in consumer-facing industries have been ramping up activity in recent months despite uncertainty over a potential slowdown in consumer spending due to the higher cost of living. Jersey Mike’s Subs , the sandwich chain backed by Blackstone Inc. , has also filed confidentially for a listing. It is seeking a valuation of at least $12 billion in an IPO that could come as soon as the third quarter, people familiar with the matter have said . Mavis Tire Express Services Corp. , an auto repair and tire service provider that counts Midas and Tuffy among its brands, has picked banks for a share sale which could raise about $2 billion, Bloomberg News reported. For the latest news on equity capital markets activity in the US, Canada and Latin America, follow the channel or visit NI BFWECMUS . To subscribe to ECM Watch , Bloomberg’s daily roundup of news from around the region, click here . Inspire brought in $33.4 billion in global sales in 2025, according to its website . It had more than 33,300 restaurants across over 2,700 franchisees in roughly 60 markets globally at the end of that year, the website ...
Corporate earnings have been remarkably strong, but according to Jeff Evans, Vice President, Director and Lead of Empirical Research and PM Support with TD Asset Management, the decoupling from economic growth could pose a longer-term risk as expectations move higher. Transcript Greg Bonnell: It has been a strong earnings season so far, with plenty of beats and revisions higher, but our featured g...
Corporate earnings have been remarkably strong, but according to Jeff Evans, Vice President, Director and Lead of Empirical Research and PM Support with TD Asset Management, the decoupling from economic growth could pose a longer-term risk as expectations move higher. Transcript Greg Bonnell: It has been a strong earnings season so far, with plenty of beats and revisions higher, but our featured guest today says that strength may be highlighting a potential risk to the markets. Joining us now to discuss is Jeff Evans from TD Asset Management. Jeff, great to have you back on the show. Jeff Evans: Great to be here. Greg Bonnell: Let's start with the surprising strength that we have seen. No shortage of things to worry about, yet corporate earnings are strong. What's going on? Jeff Evans: Well, if I had to describe this quarter and the earnings season-- we're not done yet, but obviously a fair ways through-- I describe it as almost truly exceptional how strong this quarter has been. And what makes it even more impressive to me is not just the numbers that we're seeing out of companies this quarter, it's also that it is on what was already a very, very high bar coming into the quarter. If you look at what's been happening with earnings on the S&P 500, we've had two years of double-digit earnings growth in '24 and '25, growing by between 10% and 12% each year. A normal year is 5% to 7%, so this has already been pretty elevated growth. The sell side has kind of run with that, extrapolated the trend, and in fact even expanded on that further. If you look at growth from '25 to '28, consensus at the start of the year was expecting about 15% growth per year. As of this morning, that's up to about 17% to 18%. So just phenomenal numbers that are triple, almost now even quadruple the long-term averages. So, we came into earnings with very high expectations. And then companies are just blowing through those numbers. We're seeing some pretty impressive surprises. In a typical quar...
Trump Gets Diplomatic Win In Ukraine War, 3-Day Ceasefire Declared For Russia's V-Day President Trump announced Friday that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to his request for a three-day ceasefire and a major prisoner swap. He hailed in a Truth Social post that this could be the "beginning of the end" of the long war between them . He specified that the ceasefire would run Saturday t...
Trump Gets Diplomatic Win In Ukraine War, 3-Day Ceasefire Declared For Russia's V-Day President Trump announced Friday that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to his request for a three-day ceasefire and a major prisoner swap. He hailed in a Truth Social post that this could be the "beginning of the end" of the long war between them . He specified that the ceasefire would run Saturday through Monday - with Saturday being Victory Day celebrations in Russia. The Kremlin has been increasingly concerned that the major national holiday which commemorates its victory over Nazi Germany 81 years ago in World War II could be marred by drone attacks from Ukraine. There's no doubt that President Putin is welcoming of such a ceasefire declaration, and backing by Washington . "I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine," Trump wrote. "The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II." This is to include a suspension of all kinetic activity and the exchange of 1,000 prisoners by each country, the US president also said. While direct talks between the warring countries have not been happening, these kinds of prisoner exchanges have actually been somewhat of a constant throughout the over 4-year long war. The timing is interesting, given that the White House is clearly consumed with the Iran war, the Hormuz Strait crisis, and the expanding economic fallout globally and at home. Moscow has meanwhile been threatening to attack Kiev with an unprecedented bombing campaign should V-Day events be disrupted by drone fire out of Ukraine this weekend. Putin it seems is seeking the opportunity to soften Washington's stance toward Moscow's perspective of the Ukraine war. Also, at the moment Trump needs a diplomatic 'win' that he can tout to the world , given the Iran situation is sliding into a bit of a quagmire w...
Critical Metals (NASDAQ: CRML) stock didn't just have a good April. It logged its second-biggest month so far this year, rallying 60.3% according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence . The young miner's move to acquire control of one of the world's most valuable rare-earth deposits has suddenly transformed it from a junior miner to a potentially important Western rare-earth supplier ...
Critical Metals (NASDAQ: CRML) stock didn't just have a good April. It logged its second-biggest month so far this year, rallying 60.3% according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence . The young miner's move to acquire control of one of the world's most valuable rare-earth deposits has suddenly transformed it from a junior miner to a potentially important Western rare-earth supplier at a time when the world is scrambling to reduce dependence on imports from China. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Brooklyn Storehouse, New York City The viral star electrified Brooklyn with winking visuals, self-aware humor and a slew of special guests From the look of the crowd at PinkPantheress ’s show in Brooklyn last night, you’d be forgiven for thinking that King Charles had extended his recent trip to New York. The crowd that snaked its way through a never-ending circuit of cracked asphalt and grimy wat...
Brooklyn Storehouse, New York City The viral star electrified Brooklyn with winking visuals, self-aware humor and a slew of special guests From the look of the crowd at PinkPantheress ’s show in Brooklyn last night, you’d be forgiven for thinking that King Charles had extended his recent trip to New York. The crowd that snaked its way through a never-ending circuit of cracked asphalt and grimy water on their way to Brooklyn Storehouse wore union jacks and tartan miniskirts, which you could imagine would be in line with royal protocol for how to dress when a sovereign visits a warehouse rave. PinkPantheress is certainly royalty among a vast swath of young, terminally online people; a pop princess who is mainstream enough to clinch top billing at Coachella and perform on primetime TV, but whose taste has always leaned more niche and left-field than anything that would ever go platinum. Or would it? Pop music is always in a state of flux but we’re living through an interesting period of realignment. Chalk it up to AI backlash, a floundering music industry or fatigue with chart-gaming reindeer games, but lately a raft of musicians who’d played nice for years have seen big rewards going for broke with wildly adventurous work. Performers like Slayyyter , Zara Larsson and Jade , who’d once been siloed off as “ pop’s middle class ” or incarcerated in the “ Khia asylum ” have swung big and struck gold, and been rewarded twice over for their boldness with both critical acclaim and charting hits. PinkPantheress is something of a figurehead among these artists and one of its brightest hopes. Her show last night at Brooklyn Storehouse doubled as a flex of her star power and a mini-music festival highlighting a wave of like-minded musicians who are just as poised to break-out. Continue reading...
Daniel Dubois will not to be drawn into a war of words after weighing in at a career-heavy 18st for Saturday's all-British heavyweight world-title fight against Fabio Wardley.
Daniel Dubois will not to be drawn into a war of words after weighing in at a career-heavy 18st for Saturday's all-British heavyweight world-title fight against Fabio Wardley.
A Colorado private school has tapped the debt markets for $27 million to fund campus upgrades while offering discounts on tuition as part of a turnaround plan. Situated at the base of the Rocky Mountains, the Fountain Valley School was founded as an all-boys academy on a Colorado Springs ranch nearly a century ago. High-profile alumni include Hollywood scion Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the grandson of Fre...
A Colorado private school has tapped the debt markets for $27 million to fund campus upgrades while offering discounts on tuition as part of a turnaround plan. Situated at the base of the Rocky Mountains, the Fountain Valley School was founded as an all-boys academy on a Colorado Springs ranch nearly a century ago. High-profile alumni include Hollywood scion Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the grandson of French artist Henri Matisse and the late Grateful Dead founder Bob Weir. But the now co-ed high school, which charges $75,900 a year for boarding and $40,700 for day students, has seen enrollment plummet after the pandemic and suffered from high staff turnover in recent years. Only 199 students are enrolled this year, far below the 260 needed for the school to break even financially. To make ends meet, Fountain Valley has offered international boarding students a $4,000 discount while declining to raise fees for other pupils, according to documents from Tuesday’s bond sale. The school has also drawn about $2 million from its nearly $52 million endowment in recent years, according to S&P Global Ratings. “We didn’t feel our price was matching our facilities,” said head of school Megan Harlan in an interview. “You can only keep increasing tuition so much.” Top private institutions aren’t immune to some of the challenges facing public school systems — chief among them, a pool of school-aged kids that has dwindled due to declining birth rates, leading to lower enrollment. That has fueled an arms race among elite prep schools to build top-of-the-line campuses and amenities in order to attract students and justify lofty fees. As a result, discounts are a rarity. Instead, families are accustomed to routine annual tuition hikes, and any hint of a bargain is typically seen as an admission of financial weakness. The average annual tuition at US private schools is nearing $50,000 , while fees in ultra-competitive markets like New York City can be more than $70,000 . The school’s bonds mat...
The day after the Supreme Court struck down a set of Donald Trump's emergency tariffs , the president quickly imposed another, using a never-before-invoked provision of a decades-old trade law to order a global 10 percent tariff on most imports. Now, that second set of tariffs has been deemed illegal, and there are no more emergency levers that Trump can pull to try to replace them any time soon. ...
The day after the Supreme Court struck down a set of Donald Trump's emergency tariffs , the president quickly imposed another, using a never-before-invoked provision of a decades-old trade law to order a global 10 percent tariff on most imports. Now, that second set of tariffs has been deemed illegal, and there are no more emergency levers that Trump can pull to try to replace them any time soon. That leaves Trump without much negotiation leverage a week before he's set to meet with China's President Xi Jinping , who already appeared to have the upper hand heading into talks. For Trump, when the US Court of International Trade invalidated his global tariffs, his key trade policy—which relies on imposing tariffs to supposedly drive more manufacturing into the US—was put at risk of being gutted. Read full article Comments