Progressive nationalist parties now hold power in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. That will be a challenge for the United Kingdom’s overcentralised state When the Scottish and Welsh assemblies were created on the eve of the millennium, the then Labour government in Westminster believed that it had engineered a win-win situation. Devolution, it was hoped, would see off any nationalist threat in Sco...
Progressive nationalist parties now hold power in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. That will be a challenge for the United Kingdom’s overcentralised state When the Scottish and Welsh assemblies were created on the eve of the millennium, the then Labour government in Westminster believed that it had engineered a win-win situation. Devolution, it was hoped, would see off any nationalist threat in Scotland and Wales. Meanwhile, the Labour party’s longstanding political dominance in both nations would see it take comfortable control of the two new parliaments. That was then. Last week’s devolved elections left Scottish and Welsh Labour battered, bruised and humiliated. Plaid Cymru’s historic victory in Wales, and a fifth successive triumph for the Scottish National party (SNP), mean that pro-independence governments are now set for the first time to rule in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast (where Sinn Féin won in 2022). The starting gun has been fired on a new and constitutionally contested era in the politics of the UK. Continue reading...
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is probably the most unloved big tech stock out there. It has delivered quarter after quarter of impressive results, and has the fastest revenue growth rate of any of the hypersalers by far, yet trades at a cheap valuation and is down over 20% from highs set last October. The real question is, is Meta's stock a value right now, or is there a good reason for it to trad...
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is probably the most unloved big tech stock out there. It has delivered quarter after quarter of impressive results, and has the fastest revenue growth rate of any of the hypersalers by far, yet trades at a cheap valuation and is down over 20% from highs set last October. The real question is, is Meta's stock a value right now, or is there a good reason for it to trade at a discount? Let's take a look and see if now is the perfect buying opportunity, or if you should steer clear. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
The cost of a real-world oil cargo is dropping fast as buyers back away, in a dramatic reversal from last month’s bidding frenzy despite the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The sharp retreat provides a counterintuitive backdrop to warnings that the oil market is barreling toward a crisis point — possibly in a matter of weeks. Still, traders cautioned that the calm may be shortlived, raisi...
The cost of a real-world oil cargo is dropping fast as buyers back away, in a dramatic reversal from last month’s bidding frenzy despite the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The sharp retreat provides a counterintuitive backdrop to warnings that the oil market is barreling toward a crisis point — possibly in a matter of weeks. Still, traders cautioned that the calm may be shortlived, raising the risk that physical prices soar again as the industry relies on stopgap measures that can’t fill the gap indefinitely. An easing that began in the second half of April accelerated over the last week. Premiums of major North Sea grades, which are used to set the global benchmark Dated Brent, have plunged by as much as 90% over the past month to almost prewar levels. Several cargoes for West African and Mediterranean CPC crude for prompt delivery have even traded at small discounts to the benchmark. While prices broadly are still indicative of a tight market, they’re now within a normal range seen in recent years, before the Iran war removed more than 10% of global supply. Some traders suggested last week that buyers have held back as the US and Iran seemed closer to a deal , wary of paying elevated prices ahead of a crash if the Strait of Hormuz reopens. Others said that oil refiners are increasingly adapting to a world where the bulk of the Middle East’s crude is locked inside the Gulf — operating on a just-in-time basis for crude supplies, drawing down inventories, reducing run rates, or getting supplies from more distant producers . Brent futures jumped above $105 a barrel on Monday after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest response to his proposal to end the war, while a drone strike on Sunday briefly set a cargo vessel ablaze off Qatar. The US in particular has sharply ramped up exports, while the top oil buyer China has been selling cargoes of crude into global markets in an unusual move, Bloomberg reported on April 22. Its imports have dropped sharp...
After five years of deliberation the global south has forced the question that defined the Covid crisis: who will get the vaccines? The Covid-19 pandemic did deep and lasting damage to the international political system. Countries in the global south are keenly aware that the established order let them down. They received vaccines later, in smaller numbers and often at a higher price than rich cou...
After five years of deliberation the global south has forced the question that defined the Covid crisis: who will get the vaccines? The Covid-19 pandemic did deep and lasting damage to the international political system. Countries in the global south are keenly aware that the established order let them down. They received vaccines later, in smaller numbers and often at a higher price than rich countries, resulting in avoidable death and suffering , and extended economic malaise . Last week, a coalition of those countries made their displeasure known by continuing to stonewall negotiations on the vaunted pandemic preparedness treaty of the World Health Organization (WHO), sending a clear message that when the next crisis arrives, they will not accept the same status quo. An international treaty is sorely needed. But five years into negotiations, it is clear that the western backers of this plan, especially in Europe , have consistently presented it as a fait accompli, while avoiding the most basic and obvious political impasse before them. Continue reading...
Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) is positioning itself as a key infrastructure layer for AI agents, enterprise security, and edge computing. Its Agent Cloud and Mesh products could make the company more important as businesses adopt AI, but the stock already reflects major optimism. That c
Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) is positioning itself as a key infrastructure layer for AI agents, enterprise security, and edge computing. Its Agent Cloud and Mesh products could make the company more important as businesses adopt AI, but the stock already reflects major optimism. That c
In an age of hustle culture and hyperoptimization, parenting has become a source of pressure. Author of “Overinvested: The Emotional Economy of Modern Parenting” Nina Bandelj joins David Gura and Christina Ruffini on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss the shift in modern-day parenting practices. (Source: Bloomberg)
In an age of hustle culture and hyperoptimization, parenting has become a source of pressure. Author of “Overinvested: The Emotional Economy of Modern Parenting” Nina Bandelj joins David Gura and Christina Ruffini on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss the shift in modern-day parenting practices. (Source: Bloomberg)
Rep. Johnny Olszewski joins David Gura and Christina Ruffini on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss the recent news that Iran has submitted a response to a U.S. proposal via Pakistan and expressed concern over the lack of transparency and consultation with Congress, noting that the administration has provided no real-time updates or public hearings on the conflict. (Source: Bloomberg)
Rep. Johnny Olszewski joins David Gura and Christina Ruffini on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss the recent news that Iran has submitted a response to a U.S. proposal via Pakistan and expressed concern over the lack of transparency and consultation with Congress, noting that the administration has provided no real-time updates or public hearings on the conflict. (Source: Bloomberg)
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has seen mixed performances in 2026, with the coin recording its first green month of the year after posting a modest 2% gain in April. XRP is trading around $1.42 right now, after struggling to maintain momentum above key resistance levels for most of the year. Over the last five years, XRP ... Where Will Ripple (XRP) Be in 5 Years? Realistic Targets for 2031
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has seen mixed performances in 2026, with the coin recording its first green month of the year after posting a modest 2% gain in April. XRP is trading around $1.42 right now, after struggling to maintain momentum above key resistance levels for most of the year. Over the last five years, XRP ... Where Will Ripple (XRP) Be in 5 Years? Realistic Targets for 2031
Is Adolescence unstoppable? Did Alan Carr pull off the best moment? Will A Thousand Blows be a knockout? Here are all the 2026 winners of the most coveted prizes in British TV Ashley Walters, Adolescence (Netflix) Fehinti Balogun, Down Cemetery Road (Apple TV) Joshua McGuire, The Gold (BBC One) Owen Cooper, Adolescence (Netflix) WINNER Paddy Considine, MobLand (Paramount+) Rafael Mathé, The Death ...
Is Adolescence unstoppable? Did Alan Carr pull off the best moment? Will A Thousand Blows be a knockout? Here are all the 2026 winners of the most coveted prizes in British TV Ashley Walters, Adolescence (Netflix) Fehinti Balogun, Down Cemetery Road (Apple TV) Joshua McGuire, The Gold (BBC One) Owen Cooper, Adolescence (Netflix) WINNER Paddy Considine, MobLand (Paramount+) Rafael Mathé, The Death of Bunny Munro (Sky Atlantic) Continue reading...
Housing Market's Crucial "Spring Selling Season" Is In Tatters Authored by Wolf Richter via Wolf Street , Late last year and early this year, the story was that dropping mortgage rates, powered by big rate cuts from the Fed, would unleash demand in the housing market in the spring – the key spring selling season – and that sales volume would take off and that Realtors’ commissions would rocket to ...
Housing Market's Crucial "Spring Selling Season" Is In Tatters Authored by Wolf Richter via Wolf Street , Late last year and early this year, the story was that dropping mortgage rates, powered by big rate cuts from the Fed, would unleash demand in the housing market in the spring – the key spring selling season – and that sales volume would take off and that Realtors’ commissions would rocket to the moon. And so that didn’t happen . Inflation has been reheating for months before the war and before the energy price spike. The energy price spike in March and April then added to that resurgence of inflation. The Fed is now talking about a possibility of rate hikes as next move. And longer-term Treasury yields, such as the 10-year Treasury yield, rose in March and April in response to inflation fears. Mortgage rates, which track those Treasury yields but are higher, rose back to the 6.5% range. And the housing market remained in the same-old-same-old frozen pattern that it has been in for four years after the price explosion from mid-2020 through mid-2022. And it continued in the latest week. Mortgage applications to purchase a home – a measure of demand that may become actual home sales in the future, so a forward-looking indicator of home sales – dipped in the current survey week and remained near rock-bottom levels, down by 34% from the same week in 2019 , according to data by the Mortgage Bankers Association today. That level of mortgage applications is below even the collapse of mortgage applications during the lockdown in the spring of 2020. The average weekly mortgage rate for conforming 30-year fixed mortgages rose to 6.45% in the latest reporting week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association today. For the past 7 weeks, this measure of mortgage rates has been back in the middle of the 6-7% range, the range it has been in since September 2022, except for some breakouts to the upside. These mortgage rates are not high in a historical context; they’re only ...