In this article @CL.1 @LCO.1 Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Smoke rises after an Israeli strike in central Beirut's Bachoura neighbourhood, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. Claudia Greco | Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned that if Iran continued targeting Qatar'...
In this article @CL.1 @LCO.1 Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Smoke rises after an Israeli strike in central Beirut's Bachoura neighbourhood, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. Claudia Greco | Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned that if Iran continued targeting Qatar's energy facilities, America would "massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field." Tehran has attacked energy facilities in Qatar after Israel bombed the South Pars Gas facility in Iran, signaling a sharp escalation in the conflict and sending energy prices soaring. Qatar said Wednesday that Iranian missiles caused "extensive damage" at Ras Laffan Industrial City, home to the largest liquefied natural gas, or LNG, export facility in the world. Trump also denied any prior knowledge of Israel attacking South Pars, pushing back against reports that the strike was coordinated with and approved by his administration. In a social media post Wednesday night stateside, Trump said that "the United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen." Trump also urged Israel to end attacks on the South Pars gas field, unless Iran "unwisely" decides to attack Qatar. In that case, the U.S. will "massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before." watch now VIDEO 6:07 06:07 War in Iran still a good distance away from ending, says Brookings' Michael O'Hanlon The Exchange The attack on South Pars — the world's largest natural gas reserve, shared between Iran and Qatar — marked the first time Israel has targeted Iranian natural gas production infrastructure since the conflict began on Feb. 28. Iran has fired ballistic missiles at Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City, ...
Korea Zinc Co. is seeking a $2.35 billion loan to fund the construction of a US smelter, people familiar with the matter said, part of its efforts to help Washington boost its domestic manufacturing and metal-processing capacity. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the sole mandated lead arranger and underwriter of the five-year loan, the people said, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters....
Korea Zinc Co. is seeking a $2.35 billion loan to fund the construction of a US smelter, people familiar with the matter said, part of its efforts to help Washington boost its domestic manufacturing and metal-processing capacity. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the sole mandated lead arranger and underwriter of the five-year loan, the people said, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Talks with banks are ongoing and terms could still change, they added. A Korea Zinc spokesperson said “the fundraising is proceeding smoothly” and that the project will contribute to “strengthening economic and security cooperation between South Korea and the US, as well as diversifying the global supply chain.” A representative for JPMorgan declined to comment. The funding plans by Korea Zinc, one of the world’s largest processors of metals, highlight the scale of debt required by US allies to build up a local supply chain for industries reliant on critical minerals. These include rare earth elements, lithium and cobalt, among others — materials essential to sectors such as chip-making, aerospace and defense — as President Donald Trump pursues an America First policy. Japan and other Asia Pacific nations were also preparing to unveil at least $30 billion in agreements with American companies in sectors deemed important, such as in nuclear power and critical minerals. In December, Korea Zinc bought the Nyrstar plant in Tennessee with plans to convert it into a major critical minerals complex. The firm, the US government and other unnamed investors established a foreign joint venture called Crucible Metals LLC to oversee the $7.4 billion project. Data Center Firm DayOne Seeks to Boost Loan to Record $7 Billion SMBC Asks Banks to Confirm Saudi Energy Loan Backing Amid War New World’s Top Shareholder Seeks to Refinance $932 Million Loan For the Seoul-based firm, the move comes as it grapples with a management dispute sparked in recent years after top shareholder Young Poong C...
【有線新聞】美國已故影星韋基馬生前接拍的一齣電影，將利用AI創作他的戲份，其家人支持製作公司的決定。導演稱明白此舉會引起爭議，但強調這符合韋基馬的意願。 荷里活影星韋基馬去年因肺炎病逝，但他今年將有新作品面世。他在數年前接拍的電影《As Deep as the Grave》飾演天主教神父，雖然他因患上喉癌，未曾踏足片場拍攝，但電影編劇及導演沃里斯決定透過生成式AI，於戲中重現韋基馬，並已發布他的首...
【有線新聞】美國已故影星韋基馬生前接拍的一齣電影，將利用AI創作他的戲份，其家人支持製作公司的決定。導演稱明白此舉會引起爭議，但強調這符合韋基馬的意願。 荷里活影星韋基馬去年因肺炎病逝，但他今年將有新作品面世。他在數年前接拍的電影《As Deep as the Grave》飾演天主教神父，雖然他因患上喉癌，未曾踏足片場拍攝，但電影編劇及導演沃里斯決定透過生成式AI，於戲中重現韋基馬，並已發布他的首張劇照。受新冠疫情影響，這部獨立電影製作時間長達六年，但韋基馬仍會有重要戲份。 沃里斯稱角色是為韋基馬度身訂做，以AI代替真人的決定亦獲得韋基馬遺產執行人及其子女同意。沃里斯稱明白此舉會惹來爭議和批評，但認為這符合韋基馬一直想參演的意願。沃里斯並希望藉此展示AI如何能夠合乎倫理地使用，強調已遵從美國演員工會指引，就韋基馬的演出給予片酬。韋基馬女兒梅塞德斯表示，父親與電影中的故事有共鳴，稱他總是以樂觀態度看待新興技術，認為有助擴展說故事的可能性。 憑《壯志凌雲》及蝙蝠俠電影聞名的韋基馬，在2022年《壯志凌雲》續集客串時，亦曾透過AI重建語音。他當時感激這項技術，稱即使自己因喉癌難以發聲，仍可讓觀眾聽懂台詞。韋基馬今次以另類形式重返大銀幕，反映AI日漸應用在影視製作，但業界不少人擔心生計受到威脅及演員肖像權受侵犯。
peshkov/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the AMG Yacktman Fund Q4 2025 Commentary. Top Ten Holdings ¹ Holding % of Net Assets Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Preferred ( SSNLF ) 9.09 Bolloré SE ( BOIVF ) 7.36 Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ ) 4.91 Microsoft Corp ( MSFT ) 4.15 Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd (HYMTF) (HYMTF) 3.76 Charles Schwab Corp ( SCHW ) 3.70 Alphabet Inc, C...
peshkov/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the AMG Yacktman Fund Q4 2025 Commentary. Top Ten Holdings ¹ Holding % of Net Assets Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Preferred ( SSNLF ) 9.09 Bolloré SE ( BOIVF ) 7.36 Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ ) 4.91 Microsoft Corp ( MSFT ) 4.15 Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd (HYMTF) (HYMTF) 3.76 Charles Schwab Corp ( SCHW ) 3.70 Alphabet Inc, Class C ( GOOG ) 3.44 Fox Corp, Class B ( FOX ) 2.98 Procter & Gamble Co ( PG ) 2.61 PepsiCo Inc ( PEP ) 2.55 TOTAL % 44.55 1 Mention of a specific security should not be considered a recommendation to buy or a solicitation to sell that security. Holdings are subject to change. For a list of all holdings within the fund, please visit AMG Wealth Platform . Click to enlarge Contributors/Detractors ► Our largest portfolio company, Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ), outperformed in 2025 after underperforming in 2024. Samsung underwent several important corporate initiatives that began to appear in results in 2025. Samsung has three primary lines of business: memory, foundry, and phones. The company was late relative to its two primary competitors, SK Hynix and Micron Technology, Inc. ( MU ), in HBM design wins, specifically with NVIDIA ( NVDA ). Samsung was awarded HBM qualification with NVIDIA in 2025 and ramped production quickly. Samsung has long been a leader in memory—NAND, DRAM, and now HBM—and memory chips are ubiquitous these days, appearing not only in AI data centers but also in a broad array of IOT devices, from cars to refrigerators to wearables. The foundry business is experienced, with advances in cutting-edge foundry technology globally. Samsung has a focus on U.S. foundry with a massive fab just outside of Austin in Taylor, Texas. Samsung reorganized to elevate the mobile division in the organization structure to emphasize its Galaxy phones with AI feature leadership to compete with Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) Hyundai (HYMTF) (HYMTF) Mobis performed well in 2025 as well. ▶ H...
17 Veterans Kill Themselves A Day Waiting 17 Days For Help Authored by Sean O'Connor via RealClearDefense , Every day, roughly 17 veterans take their own lives. For two decades , that number hasn't budged. VA Secretary Doug Collins said that despite spending billions of dollars, we're losing the same number of veterans every year. For veterans under the age of 45, a recent report shows suicide is ...
17 Veterans Kill Themselves A Day Waiting 17 Days For Help Authored by Sean O'Connor via RealClearDefense , Every day, roughly 17 veterans take their own lives. For two decades , that number hasn't budged. VA Secretary Doug Collins said that despite spending billions of dollars, we're losing the same number of veterans every year. For veterans under the age of 45, a recent report shows suicide is the second-leading cause of death. They’re not faceless statistics, but fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters who couldn't survive the wait for help. What makes this unbearable is that while those veterans were in crisis, veterans wait an average of 17 days to see a mental health professional for the first time. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, wrote that these delays ‘pose serious risks to the health and safety of those who served.’ The problem isn't money. In November, President Trump signed a $133 billion VA funding bill that includes $698 million for suicide prevention outreach. And the problem isn’t resourcing, as more than 9 million scheduled visits go unutilized each year due to missed appointments. The problem is that the infrastructure can’t keep up. The VA operates on electronic record systems that don't communicate across facilities, community providers, or state lines, the very kind of coordination that's standard in private health systems. Consider the veteran who needs help for mental health or PTSD treatment. There might be an appointment at their local VA, an available telehealth appointment, or a nearby walk-in clinic. But the scheduling infrastructure can't surface those pathways together. Staff can’t schedule across the network, even though there's availability to address a veteran’s needs that day. The veteran can't book online, and they're told to wait, call back, or try another number. The inefficiencies are well documented. T he VA's own Access to Care website shows it: mental health, primary care...
The FBI is investigating whether Joseph Kent, who resigned his position as a top counterterrorism official this week in protest of the Iran war, improperly shared classified information, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The investigation precedes Kent’s resignation Tuesday from his role as director of the US government’s National Counterterrorism Centre, said the person, who spoke...
The FBI is investigating whether Joseph Kent, who resigned his position as a top counterterrorism official this week in protest of the Iran war, improperly shared classified information, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The investigation precedes Kent’s resignation Tuesday from his role as director of the US government’s National Counterterrorism Centre, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing FBI inquiry. But it comes as the Justice Department has undertaken multiple investigations over the last year into political foes of President Donald Trump, including former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Prosecutors have repeatedly struggled to make charges stick amid rejections from judges or to secure indictments in the first place. Advertisement Additional details about what the investigation, which was first reported by Semafor, is examining were not immediately available. 03:29 US-Israel war on Iran is as reckless and catastrophic as it is stupid and illegal US-Israel war on Iran is as reckless and catastrophic as it is stupid and illegal Kent disclosed his departure from the administration in a statement on X in which he cited his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and said he “cannot in good conscience” back the war against Iran.
(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as a fresh spike in oil prices, triggered by attacks on Middle Eastern energy facilities, revived inflation concerns. Report showing stronger-than-expected increase in US producer prices and the US Fed's higher inflation projections dampened bets for near-term interest rate...
(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as a fresh spike in oil prices, triggered by attacks on Middle Eastern energy facilities, revived inflation concerns. Report showing stronger-than-expected increase in US producer prices and the US Fed's higher inflation projections dampened bets for near-term interest rate cuts. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday. The Middle East war continued to escalate as attacks on the UAE's energy infrastructure heightened fears of prolonged supply disruptions. Iran also launched missile strikes on a Qatari site housing the world's largest LNG facility after an Israeli attack on Iran's South Pars gas field. Iran has reportedly refused to discuss any peace plans with the U.S., diminishing the expectations of an end to the war or even a ceasefire. Iran has taken this hardline stance to avenge Iran's martyrs. While Israel targeted Iran and Lebanon, Iran attacked its neighbors who host US military bases. The Australian market is trading sharply lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,500 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Energy stocks were the only bright spot amid spiking crude oil prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 131.90 points or 1.53 percent to 8,508.70, after hitting a low of 8,495.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 145.40 points or 1.64 percent to 8,702.30. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday. Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are declining almost 3 percent each, while Fortescue is down more than 2 percent and BHP Group is losing more than 3 percent. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is adding more than 3 percent, Beach energy is gaining more than 3 percent, Woodside Energy is surgin...
Q : The 81% gross margin guide is very impressive. How should we think about the sustainability of gross margins, especially with more HBM4 in the mix? A : Mark Murphy, CFO, explained that the 81% gross margin reflects the benefits of AI driving a multi-year investment cycle, requiring more high-performance memory. While they expect market conditions to remain tight beyond 2026, they are not provi...
Q : The 81% gross margin guide is very impressive. How should we think about the sustainability of gross margins, especially with more HBM4 in the mix? A : Mark Murphy, CFO, explained that the 81% gross margin reflects the benefits of AI driving a multi-year investment cycle, requiring more high-performance memory. While they expect market conditions to remain tight beyond 2026, they are not providing specific guidance for the fourth quarter. The growth in HBM4 is factored into the margin, but incremental price increases will have less effect at these levels. There are concerns about the sustainability of high gross margins, especially as the company increases HBM4 production. Micron's fiscal 2026 CapEx is projected to be above $25 billion, driven by cleanroom facility-related expenses, which could pressure cash flow. Supply constraints in DRAM and NAND are impacting the ability to meet customer demand, with some customers receiving only 50% to two-thirds of their requested supply. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript . Story Continues Q: How different is the new five-year Strategic Customer Agreement (SCA) from the Long-Term Agreement (LTA)? A: Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO, noted that SCAs are multi-year agreements, unlike the typical one-year LTAs. These agreements provide stability and visibility into the business model, with specific commitments from customers. While details are confidential, SCAs are designed to help both Micron and its customers plan better in a tight supply environment. Q: How are you managing allocation across different markets, especially with AI demand? A: Sanjay Mehrotra stated that supply is tight across all markets, but demand remains strong. While consumer markets like PCs and smartphones may see some demand impact due to higher prices, overall demand is robust. Micron aims to maintain a diversified supply across end markets, with data centers becoming a larger part of the industry...
Standing up in parliament last week, Charlotte Nichols MP waived her right to anonymity as a complainant of sexual offences. “I care profoundly about rape victims facing intolerable delays for their day in court,” she said, in a debate about jury trials. “I waited 1,088 days to go to court,” she added. Nichols speaks to Helen Pidd about the painful experience of waiting for the case to go to trial...
Standing up in parliament last week, Charlotte Nichols MP waived her right to anonymity as a complainant of sexual offences. “I care profoundly about rape victims facing intolerable delays for their day in court,” she said, in a debate about jury trials. “I waited 1,088 days to go to court,” she added. Nichols speaks to Helen Pidd about the painful experience of waiting for the case to go to trial and what it was like to give evidence. “It’s like having a bruise punched,” she tells Helen. “All the worst things that you think about yourself, they’re going for.” The defendant was acquitted on all of the charges against him. He declined to comment when approached by the Guardian. Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/todayinfocuspod