Ecopetrol SA ’s board will meet March 30 to decide the fate of Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Roa , as pressure from politicians and workers risks paralyzing Colombia’s biggest company. Directors are weighing conflicting demands from President Gustavo Petro, who has publicly backed Roa, and the country’s largest oil workers union, which is threatening to strike unless he is removed, according to ...
Ecopetrol SA ’s board will meet March 30 to decide the fate of Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Roa , as pressure from politicians and workers risks paralyzing Colombia’s biggest company. Directors are weighing conflicting demands from President Gustavo Petro, who has publicly backed Roa, and the country’s largest oil workers union, which is threatening to strike unless he is removed, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. In a meeting Tuesday, four of the nine board members supported ousting Roa, though no decision was reached and talks were adjourned until Monday, the person said. The split underscores the deep divisions facing the board as it confronts a high-stakes call with operational, political and market consequences. The deliberations follow probes by Colombia’s attorney general into Roa’s alleged influence peddling tied to the purchase of a luxury Bogotá apartment, as well as investigations into potential violations of spending limits in Petro’s 2022 presidential campaign, which he managed. Roa has denied wrongdoing. Ecopetrol declined to comment on the board’s division and upcoming meeting. The oil workers’ union, USO, said in a statement last week that the investigations “create risks” that could impair the company’s proper functioning and strategy. In a separate statement Tuesday, USO warned that the company could face scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite the investigations, the company’s shares have jumped 44% so far this year buoyed by a surge in oil prices and bets that a more market-friendly government will take office this year. Petro pushed back, saying on X that this “was not the time for management changes” and that the company should “stick to its plan until the very last day.” Colombia holds presidential elections in May, and while Petro is rallying his leftist base, he isn’t eligible for reelection. Roa has led Ecopetrol since April 2023, replacing Felipe Bayón after Petro moved to advance plans to...
A former nurse made history on Wednesday when she was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to lead the centuries-old mother church of the world’s 85 million-strong Anglican community. Sarah Mullally, 63, formally steps into the role after an abuse scandal led to the departure of her predecessor. The former midwife was formally installed in the historic ceremony at Canterbury Cath...
A former nurse made history on Wednesday when she was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to lead the centuries-old mother church of the world’s 85 million-strong Anglican community. Sarah Mullally, 63, formally steps into the role after an abuse scandal led to the departure of her predecessor. The former midwife was formally installed in the historic ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England in front of around 2,000 people including heir to the throne Prince...
A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 23, 2026. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Citrini Research, the firm that rattled markets earlier this year with a provocative bearish call on artificial intelligence, is out with another warning — this time arguing an oil-driven slowdown could send equities lower. Founder James van Geelen said persistently ...
A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 23, 2026. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Citrini Research, the firm that rattled markets earlier this year with a provocative bearish call on artificial intelligence, is out with another warning — this time arguing an oil-driven slowdown could send equities lower. Founder James van Geelen said persistently high energy prices risk weighing on consumers and corporate earnings, creating a backdrop where stocks struggle even as the Federal Reserve eventually pivots toward rate cuts. "If the war doesn't end, equities will go lower," van Geelen wrote in a Substack post early Wednesday, pointing to geopolitical tensions as a key driver of sustained oil strength. Stocks recouped some of the losses Wednesday following reports that the U.S. has given Iran a plan to bring the conflict to an end, sending crude prices tumbling. However, the two countries appear to be very far apart, with Tehran turning down the U.S.'s ceasefire offer and demanding sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. The latest call builds on Citrini's growing reputation for contrarian macro views. In February, the firm published a widely circulated note arguing that the AI boom itself could ultimately hurt the economy, pushing unemployment as high as 10% if white-collar jobs are replaced by machines. Slowdown ahead? The core of Citrini's current thesis is that elevated oil prices act as a tax on growth, eroding purchasing power and tightening financial conditions without the Fed needing to take further action. With policy rates already near neutral, van Geelen argued that simply holding rates steady would be restrictive enough as the energy shock filters through the economy. "We live in a different world now, rates are close to neutral," he wrote. "If oil stays high, it would be restrictive enough simply to leave them where they are while oil prices filter through the rest of the economy and cause a slowdown." That dyn...
PCAST, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, is generally not a high-profile group. It tends to be noticed when things go wrong, such as when the PCAST head named by Biden had to resign due to abusive behavior. Biden, who was generally supportive of science, didn't even name the members of PCAST until eight months after his inauguration. So it's no surprise that an adminis...
PCAST, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, is generally not a high-profile group. It tends to be noticed when things go wrong, such as when the PCAST head named by Biden had to resign due to abusive behavior. Biden, who was generally supportive of science, didn't even name the members of PCAST until eight months after his inauguration. So it's no surprise that an administration that's been hostile to science took even longer to staff its version of the group. The list of appointees was finally released on Wednesday , and it's notable for its almost complete absence of scientists. There are still nine unfilled vacancies on the council, so it's possible more scientists will be named later. But for now, PCAST is heavily tilted toward extremely wealthy technology figures. These include investor Marc Andreessen, Google's Sergey Brin, Michael Dell of Dell, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, Lisa Su of AMD, and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta. But many of the lesser known names have similar backgrounds. Previously named chairs of PCAST are investor David Sacks and a former investment company CFO and current head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, John Kratsios. Of the new appointees, Safra Catz also comes from Oracle, Fred Ehrsam co-founded Coinbase, and David Friedberg is another investor. Read full article Comments
guvendemir/iStock via Getty Images Palantir Technologies Inc. ( PLTR ) is retaining its strong adoption momentum with the Maven Smart System (MSS), an AI-powered defense platform developed by Palantir that integrates data from diverse sources, such as satellites and drones, to enhance military situational awareness, target identification, and logistics. Further, it accelerates sensor-to-shooter lo...
guvendemir/iStock via Getty Images Palantir Technologies Inc. ( PLTR ) is retaining its strong adoption momentum with the Maven Smart System (MSS), an AI-powered defense platform developed by Palantir that integrates data from diverse sources, such as satellites and drones, to enhance military situational awareness, target identification, and logistics. Further, it accelerates sensor-to-shooter loops for the U.S. military and NATO. Recently, Maven was designated as a Pentagon Program of Record, solidifying its position for long-term growth as it is more deeply utilized across military branches. In addition to increased government utilization, Palantir has consistently grown its commercial customer base along with its average revenue per customer, nearly $900k per customer. Given the strong momentum and government & commercial tailwinds, I am upgrading PLTR shares to a Strong Buy rating with a price target of $255/share at 59.98x eFY27 price/sales. You can review my previous coverage of Palantir here . Optimism is driven by continued top-line acceleration and stronger-than-expected margins. Palantir Technologies Operational Update Corporate Filings Palantir is currently facing a deep technical dilemma with the Trump administration “blacklisting” Anthropic ( ANTHRO ), suggesting that the AI development company is a supply chain risk and that defense tech companies should no longer use Claude. Setting the stage, I don’t believe Claude is in the wrong here; the firm stood its ground against its application to be used for fully autonomous weapons and for mass surveillance on American citizens. Nonetheless, President Trump provided agencies a 6-month phase-out period to decouple from Claude and begin using peer models like OpenAI ( OPENAI ). The transition away from Claude may impact defense contractors like Palantir, which has established an embedded partnership over the last year and a half. The partnership was established to be layered into Palantir’s AI Platform (AIP)...
Morgan Stanley just published survey data that makes a strong case for owning Apple (AAPL) stock. The firm's AlphaWise Global Smartphone Survey was released March 22. It shows iPhone upgrade intentions hitting an all-time survey high. The data support the bank's above-consensus iPhone forecast. ...
Morgan Stanley just published survey data that makes a strong case for owning Apple (AAPL) stock. The firm's AlphaWise Global Smartphone Survey was released March 22. It shows iPhone upgrade intentions hitting an all-time survey high. The data support the bank's above-consensus iPhone forecast. ...
chinaface/E+ via Getty Images NOV Inc. ( NOV ) unveiled plans Wednesday to roughly double the capacity of its subsea flexible pipe manufacturing facility in Açu, Brazil , through a $200M investment over the next three years to support expected additional long-term demand. NOV ( NOV ) said the expansion positions it to capture expected growth in offshore development activity and advance solutions f...
chinaface/E+ via Getty Images NOV Inc. ( NOV ) unveiled plans Wednesday to roughly double the capacity of its subsea flexible pipe manufacturing facility in Açu, Brazil , through a $200M investment over the next three years to support expected additional long-term demand. NOV ( NOV ) said the expansion positions it to capture expected growth in offshore development activity and advance solutions for high-CO2 applications. The oilfield equipment provider said its current manufacturing capacity has been operating at or near full utilization and has a backlog that stretches well into 2028. "With the anticipated increase in the development of offshore resources, we believe that the industry’s current capacity will be insufficient to meet demand at the end of this decade and into the 2030s without the additional capacity we plan to bring online in late 2029," NOV ( NOV ) President and CEO Jose Bayardo said. " As the world's largest consumer of subsea flexible pipe, we support NOV’s investment in Brazil , which expands local manufacturing capacity," according to an executive at Brazilian customer Petrobras ( PBR ). More on NOV Inc. NOV Inc. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Presentation NOV: Strategic Hold Amid Transition Toward 2026 Cycle Convergence Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on NOV Inc.
British Airways is offering pilots a financial incentive to cut their aircraft’s fuel consumption, highlighting how carriers are trying to reduce one of their biggest expenses at a time of soaring oil prices and stricter climate regulations. Pilots would collectively need to reduce their jets’ carbon dioxide emissions by 60,000 tons above 2025 levels to unlock a bonus that could equal 1% of their ...
British Airways is offering pilots a financial incentive to cut their aircraft’s fuel consumption, highlighting how carriers are trying to reduce one of their biggest expenses at a time of soaring oil prices and stricter climate regulations. Pilots would collectively need to reduce their jets’ carbon dioxide emissions by 60,000 tons above 2025 levels to unlock a bonus that could equal 1% of their basic salary, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News. The incentive would start next year. The plan says pilots can find efficiencies in areas such as taxiing procedures and extra fuel loads. The proposal, in the works for months, will be voted on by members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association at the end of April, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. “Flight crew decisions have a direct and measurable impact on fuel burn and emissions,” according to the document sent to BA pilots in the union. “The incentive exists only to recognise and reward fuel efficient behaviours when, and only when, they are compatible with uncompromised safety and sound airmanship.” A BA spokesperson said the airline is pleased to be working with BALPA on the initiative. The union, which represents 85% of pilots in the UK, said it was discussing potential changes affecting BA pilots. The plan comes as oil prices race past $100 a barrel because of the war in Iran. Some carriers implemented surcharges and canceled flights as a result, and European airlines have warned they’ll pass on additional costs to consumers. Like many airlines, British Airways aims to be carbon neutral by investing in sustainable aviation fuel, buying credits and flying more-efficient planes. The UK government says SAF must make up 3.6% of airlines’ total jet fuel demand this year as part of its blueprint to reach net zero by 2050.
22nd Century Technologies, Inc. (TSCTI), a leading provider of digital transformation and enterprise technology solutions for public and private sectors, today announced the launch of Payment Gateway, a first-of-its-kind Policy-Driven Treasury Optimization Platform that transforms payments operations and turns account balances into a revenue-generating engine overnight.
22nd Century Technologies, Inc. (TSCTI), a leading provider of digital transformation and enterprise technology solutions for public and private sectors, today announced the launch of Payment Gateway, a first-of-its-kind Policy-Driven Treasury Optimization Platform that transforms payments operations and turns account balances into a revenue-generating engine overnight.