Brent crude oil’s 8% gain on Wednesday has futures moving through levels of large open interest that could potentially add fuel to the rally. September Brent is trading around $80 a barrel, where more than 50,000 lots of calls and puts are sitting — equivalent to 50 million barrels. There are also 75,000 lots at $85. And there’s almost as big a position at the $80 strike in October, which is tradi...
Brent crude oil’s 8% gain on Wednesday has futures moving through levels of large open interest that could potentially add fuel to the rally. September Brent is trading around $80 a barrel, where more than 50,000 lots of calls and puts are sitting — equivalent to 50 million barrels. There are also 75,000 lots at $85. And there’s almost as big a position at the $80 strike in October, which is trading about 75 cents cheaper. September Brent traded 8.3% higher at $80.30 a barrel as of 11:48 a.m. in New York after US President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire with Iran was over. Read more: Oil Prices Surge, Brent Rises above $80 as Trump Ends Ceasefire The outstanding positions can exacerbate moves if dealers who sold options need to buy futures when prices rally above key levels and sell on the way down, in order to keep their books balanced, a market situation referred to as “negative gamma.” To be sure, it’s not clear how much dealers are net long or short the options at a particular strike. If customers had mostly sold a particular contract, dealer hedging would mute the moves. On Tuesday, more than 25,000 lots of October $110/$150 call spreads traded, a sign that traders were looking to protect against a resumption of hostilities. Read more: Large Brent Call Spreads as Skew Picks Up: Commodity Options
Constituents to vote in contest being boycotted by major parties over financial scandal surrounding Reform leader Reform UK will request that the Clacton byelection be held on 6 August, the party has said, after Nigel Farage’s decision to resign from the seat. The Reform UK leader, who has represented the Essex constituency since the 2024 general election, said on Tuesday he was standing down and ...
Constituents to vote in contest being boycotted by major parties over financial scandal surrounding Reform leader Reform UK will request that the Clacton byelection be held on 6 August, the party has said, after Nigel Farage’s decision to resign from the seat. The Reform UK leader, who has represented the Essex constituency since the 2024 general election, said on Tuesday he was standing down and would put himself forward again in what he has sought to portray as a “people versus the establishment” contest. Continue reading...
Alistair Berg Visa ( V ) and Adobe ( ADBE ) have received upgrades, with analysts citing compressed valuations and stabilized risk profiles. On the downgrade side, Netflix ( NFLX ) faces structural concerns from emerging competition, while Micron Technology ( MU ) sees a shift to Sell following a significant rally as headwinds emerge. U pgrades Visa ( V ): Upgrade Hold to Buy by The J Thesis . The...
Alistair Berg Visa ( V ) and Adobe ( ADBE ) have received upgrades, with analysts citing compressed valuations and stabilized risk profiles. On the downgrade side, Netflix ( NFLX ) faces structural concerns from emerging competition, while Micron Technology ( MU ) sees a shift to Sell following a significant rally as headwinds emerge. U pgrades Visa ( V ): Upgrade Hold to Buy by The J Thesis . The analyst upgraded Visa citing compressed valuation and robust fundamentals, noting the company's pivot toward stablecoins as a potential growth catalyst. "I have been neutral for quite some time now. But I was also in that camp because I thought Visa's valuation needed to cool off. But more than 6 months later, I think the outlook has changed dramatically here." Adobe ( ADBE ): Upgrade Sell to Hold by Bears of Wall Street . Following a 20% decline that brought shares near their estimated intrinsic value of $230.15, the analyst sees a now-balanced risk/reward profile. "The stock found a bottom, insiders started buying, and the macro environment began to stabilize, while the valuation is no longer stretched...But since the shares now trade close to their fair value, we believe that upgrading Adobe's stock from Sell to Hold makes the most sense at this stage." D owngrades Netflix ( NFLX ): Hold by Astrada Advisors . The analyst rates Netflix Hold due to intensifying competition from Chinese microdrama platforms and underwhelming recent content performance, despite historically low valuation multiples. "While consensus is largely focused on the obvious drivers of the underperformance, such as the diminishing return on the low-hanging fruit of password-sharing crackdowns, lower ARPU from international markets, and content amortization that are expected to have an impact on both revenue, we believe that another key factor, such as competition from Chinese microdramas, may be overlooked and deserves serious investor attention." Micron Technology ( MU ): Downgrade to Sell by Uttam ...
SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) has achieved sustained GAAP profitability, and CEO Anthony Noto is pushing for aggressive growth. He told investors on the Q1 call, “Over the past 8 years, we’ve grown members by more than 20x from 650,000 to 14.7 million members.” Yet shares are down 28.92% year to date, trading at $18.61. Can this ... Can SoFi Turn Today’s Investors Into Millionaires?
SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) has achieved sustained GAAP profitability, and CEO Anthony Noto is pushing for aggressive growth. He told investors on the Q1 call, “Over the past 8 years, we’ve grown members by more than 20x from 650,000 to 14.7 million members.” Yet shares are down 28.92% year to date, trading at $18.61. Can this ... Can SoFi Turn Today’s Investors Into Millionaires?
Hanizam/iStock via Getty Images Shares of Midera Food Processing ( MFP ) have been trading flattish in the mid-$30s immediately after the company was spun off from its parent company Middleby ( MIDD ). The company does not appear to have its investor presentation website yet, but fortunately its parent company hosts the presentation on the business in relation to the spin-off. The food equipment b...
Hanizam/iStock via Getty Images Shares of Midera Food Processing ( MFP ) have been trading flattish in the mid-$30s immediately after the company was spun off from its parent company Middleby ( MIDD ). The company does not appear to have its investor presentation website yet, but fortunately its parent company hosts the presentation on the business in relation to the spin-off. The food equipment business has seen strong growth, in part driven by M&A efforts, yet it has quite ambitious organic growth targets as well, which looks quite interesting. I like this setup, and while shares trade at a market multiple based on pro forma earnings, considering corporate cost overhead, I am looking for a few more clues about organic growth and profitability before pulling the trigger. About Midera Midera claims to be a pure play leader in food processing technology. This customer-focused platform is built on the foundation of both innovation and acquisitions, led by CEO Mark Salman since the mid-2010s. The company provides so-called total line solutions in diverse end markets catering to protein and bakery & snack categories. Some specific products include sausages, poultry, Philly steak, buns, muffins, and bread, among others. The company generates some $853 million in sales from 33 leading brands, which yields an estimate of $140 million in standalone EBITDA that translates into estimated margins at 16% and change. Some 60% of these sales are derived from equipment & installation, complemented by aftermarket parts and service revenue streams. Half of sales are tied to protein, a big chunk of bakery, with snacks having a minor revenue representation, with the business relay having a global presence, albeit overrepresented in North America. The company employs nearly 3,000 workers across nearly 30 manufacturing locations, as well as multiple other innovation centers and office locations, located across the globe. Real growth is driven by M&A moves, with the company currently cat...
It’s my job to unpack beauty culture – but I’m still not immune to it. Plus, it’s a particularly strange time to be a bride, beauty-wise My 91-year-old grandmother had her 1954 wedding album out on her lap when I visited the other day. “I wanted to remember how beautiful I used to be,” she sighed. Every time my mom comes across a photo of her own 1984 nuptials, she says the same thing: “Look at ho...
It’s my job to unpack beauty culture – but I’m still not immune to it. Plus, it’s a particularly strange time to be a bride, beauty-wise My 91-year-old grandmother had her 1954 wedding album out on her lap when I visited the other day. “I wanted to remember how beautiful I used to be,” she sighed. Every time my mom comes across a photo of her own 1984 nuptials, she says the same thing: “Look at how skinny I was!” (Or, sometimes, “Can you believe Daddy wore a white tuxedo with tails ?” Which I cannot.) Why is this column called ‘Ask Ugly’? How do I respond to my friends when they criticize their own weight and looks? How should I be styling my pubic hair? How do I deal with imperfection? Continue reading...
The latest new chapter in Sam Raimi’s classic franchise goes harder than ever before but there’s something missing With the release of Evil Dead Burn, there are now just as many Evil Dead movies not directed by Sam Raimi or starring Bruce Campbell as there are entries with that original team in place. The next film, Evil Dead Wrath, is already set for a 2028 release, when it will officially tip th...
The latest new chapter in Sam Raimi’s classic franchise goes harder than ever before but there’s something missing With the release of Evil Dead Burn, there are now just as many Evil Dead movies not directed by Sam Raimi or starring Bruce Campbell as there are entries with that original team in place. The next film, Evil Dead Wrath, is already set for a 2028 release, when it will officially tip the balance toward non-Raimi film-makers. And unlike the non-James Cameron Terminators or the Spielberg-free Jaws sequels, these post-Raimi Evil Dead movies (which retain the director’s services as a seemingly enthusiastic producer) have so far enjoyed box office success, decent critical notices, and appreciation from their horror fanbase. Yet all three of the post-Raimi Evil Deads still feel as if they take place in the shadows of what came before – specifically, the original 1983 indie horror classic about a bunch of young people who stumble upon the Book of the Dead in a cabin and accidentally unleash demonic hell upon themselves. The reasoning must be that with so many dopey horror comedies failing to competently imitate the splattery slapstick of Evil Dead 2 or Army of Darkness, and with Ash’s story continued in a three-season TV series, a new version’s only hope is to recapture the nasty (and, yes, sometimes darkly comic) transgressions of the first film. Evil Dead Burn comes closer than the others so far – though maybe not close enough to obliterate the comparisons entirely. Continue reading...
China’s newest and most advanced AI models, such as GLM-5.2 from Zhipu, are closing the performance gap with US competitors and attracting customers with relatively inexpensive prices, according to Yasir Atalan, deputy director and data fellow in the Futures Lab at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It’s a shift that’s starting to reshape the global market for frontier AI. Europea...
China’s newest and most advanced AI models, such as GLM-5.2 from Zhipu, are closing the performance gap with US competitors and attracting customers with relatively inexpensive prices, according to Yasir Atalan, deputy director and data fellow in the Futures Lab at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It’s a shift that’s starting to reshape the global market for frontier AI. European companies are taking advantage of China’s cheaper models. Inceptron, a European AI tech provider, hosts GLM-5.2 for clients, and Amsterdam-based Nebius partnered with Eigen AI earlier this year to develop optimized versions of leading open-source models like DeepSeek and GLM. US companies have warned that the emerging use of Chinese models could have cybersecurity implications, including the circulation of models developed without safety guardrails intended to stop people from using the platforms for illegal hacking. Security researchers warn that the models’ architecture makes them difficult to audit for backdoors or deliberately planted vulnerabilities. Researchers found more than 352,000 suspicious files across 51,700 models on Hugging Face, the largest AI model hosting platform. The Commerce Department added Z.ai to its trade blacklist last year amid suspected ties to the Chinese government. GLM-5.2 can reportedly find software vulnerabilities for about 17 cents each , and hackers have already begun sharing methods to bypass its guardrails. Chinese AI companies claim a lower training cost than American models and don’t need to build as much infrastructure for their open-weight models. Open-weight models can be self-hosted, meaning they run on someone’s personal hardware without relying on third-party infrastructure, according to Atalan. Although there are costs involved with obtaining the necessary hardware, it’s typically worth the cost for multibillion-dollar companies, according to Casey Ellis, co-founder of disclose.io. DeepSeek and Zhipu didn’t respond to request...
Donald Trump said he thinks a short-term truce with Iran may be over , and that he’d probably order more strikes on the country tonight. Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey , the US president also threatened to reimpose a naval blockade on Iranian ports and take Kharg Island, the hub of Iran’s oil industry. Stocks dropped and oil rallied after the comments. While tensions have simmered o...
Donald Trump said he thinks a short-term truce with Iran may be over , and that he’d probably order more strikes on the country tonight. Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey , the US president also threatened to reimpose a naval blockade on Iranian ports and take Kharg Island, the hub of Iran’s oil industry. Stocks dropped and oil rallied after the comments. While tensions have simmered over shipping access through the Strait of Hormuz, with occasional tit-for-tat strikes, they haven’t been this bad for weeks. Each side accuses the other of violating the terms of the ceasefire. If Washington does launch more strikes, Iran said it will likely retaliate. But that doesn’t mean negotiations on a broader deal to end the war — which began at the end of February — are over. Trump had better news for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: At the NATO summit, he announced that he’ll allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors , a priority for Zelenskyy that’s become more urgent as Kyiv has struggled to shoot down Russian missiles. — Caroline Alexander What You Need to Know Today NATO May Scrap 2027 Summit to Avoid Tensions With Trump The US president’s ongoing NATO broadsides have raised the prospect that next year’s summit, set to be held in Albania, could be postponed to avoid creating yet another platform for Trump to disparage allies. Read more UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel moved closer to control of Commerzbank after investors tendered enough shares at the end of the Italican lender’s takeover offer to raise the stake it can potentially oversee to 47.6%. The result leaves Orcel on course to effectively control Commerzbank, after a two-year pursuit that has ruffled feathers from Frankfurt to Berlin. A full takeover would mark Europe’s biggest bank deal in about 20 years and turn the Italian lender into a dominant force in Germany, while boosting its presence in Poland. After losing roughly $1 trillion in market value in less than two months, Nvidia’...
happyphoton/iStock via Getty Images Q3 has so far been the complete opposite of the trend in place in the first half of 2026. Investors and traders have used the first handful of trading days this quarter as an opportunity to sell the year's big winners and rotate into the year's losers. The Nasdaq 100 ETF ( QQQ ) has been volatile over the last month, with nothing to show for it. Of the 20 tradin...
happyphoton/iStock via Getty Images Q3 has so far been the complete opposite of the trend in place in the first half of 2026. Investors and traders have used the first handful of trading days this quarter as an opportunity to sell the year's big winners and rotate into the year's losers. The Nasdaq 100 ETF ( QQQ ) has been volatile over the last month, with nothing to show for it. Of the 20 trading days since 6/8, 16 have seen QQQ move up or down 1%+, yet its price is exactly flat over this period. As shown below, QQQ is now at the bottom end of a flag pattern that forms from a series of lower highs and higher lows. Technicians usually look for big moves whenever these flag patterns break. The Philly SOX semis ETF ( SOXX ) rallied 111% from April lows through June 22nd. It has since fallen 16% and is now just barely hanging onto its 50-DMA, a level it hasn't closed below since early April. Micron ( MU ) was one of the biggest winners in the semis space in Q2, rallying 277% from the end of March through June 25th. MU has lost nearly a quarter of its value in a little over a week since that 6/25 peak: Below is a snapshot of the biggest semis in the US run through our Trend Analyzer tool. After trading in overbought or extreme overbought territory for much of Q2, they're all back in neutral (or oversold) territory now. Companies related to the data center buildout have also been crushed over the last week as investors rotate away from AI infrastructure. In addition to the semis and data center stocks getting crushed, space-related stocks have also been experiencing gravity. These names skyrocketed in May and June, but they've given up nearly all of those gains in a matter of weeks since SpaceX ( SPCX ) became available to equity-market investors. As AI infrastructure and other first-half high fliers get sold, we've seen rotation into areas of the market that had been struggling. Below are software and digital travel stocks that got slammed at various points in Q1 and Q...