A rare opportunity is opening up in rates derivatives underlying the $31 trillion Treasury market: Division at the Federal Reserve has traders placing bets on interest-rate cuts next year while also hedging for a hike. Wagers cropped up in the wake of this week’s Fed meeting targeting two quarter-point increases in the US by September 2027 and two new positions in protection for rate hikes in the ...
A rare opportunity is opening up in rates derivatives underlying the $31 trillion Treasury market: Division at the Federal Reserve has traders placing bets on interest-rate cuts next year while also hedging for a hike. Wagers cropped up in the wake of this week’s Fed meeting targeting two quarter-point increases in the US by September 2027 and two new positions in protection for rate hikes in the coming months, as well as continuing demand for more than one reduction by March. It reveals that market participants are increasing the variety of bets in their playbooks after some US central bankers made clear this week that they see the potential for the Fed’s next move to be a hike. “People three months ago hadn’t envisioned higher rates and given 2022, don’t want to be caught flat footed so hedge upside risk,” said John Briggs , head of US rates strategist at Natixis North America, referring to the last rate-hiking cycle when investors got hammered. One trade in the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, which closely tracks pricing around policy expectations, futures market, is already starting to make money with the hawkish scenario shift. In the December 2026-March 2027 SOFR spread, volumes surged to 128,000 on Wednesday, the second biggest day’s trading. Flows included a large steepener position – targeting the March 2027 contract to underperform the December 2026 – which was placed in the lead up to the central bank policy decision. By the end of the day, the position had nearly doubled in value for an in-running profit of almost $2 million. Meanwhile, demand remains for hedges around a couple of rate cuts by March , which was also a popular play on Thursday. Ed Al-Hussainy , portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, said the labor market is a potential “blind spot” that would benefit from such trades. “If the unemployment rate goes up at any point this year meaningfully, then you’re going to have to bring those future cuts back in,” said Al-Hus...
July ICE NY cocoa (CCN26 ) today is up +10 (+0.28%), and July ICE London cocoa #7 (CAN26 ) is up +11 (+0.41%). Cocoa prices are moving higher today, with London cocoa posting a 2.5-month high on carryover support from Thursday on signs that consumer demand for chocolate is holding...
July ICE NY cocoa (CCN26 ) today is up +10 (+0.28%), and July ICE London cocoa #7 (CAN26 ) is up +11 (+0.41%). Cocoa prices are moving higher today, with London cocoa posting a 2.5-month high on carryover support from Thursday on signs that consumer demand for chocolate is holding...
July NY world sugar #11 (SBN26 ) today is up +0.35 (+2.40%), and Aug London ICE white sugar #5 (SWQ26 ) is up +7.80 (+1.78%). Sugar prices are sharply higher today, with NY sugar posting a 3.5-week high. Concerns that higher gasoline prices will prompt the world's sugar mills to...
July NY world sugar #11 (SBN26 ) today is up +0.35 (+2.40%), and Aug London ICE white sugar #5 (SWQ26 ) is up +7.80 (+1.78%). Sugar prices are sharply higher today, with NY sugar posting a 3.5-week high. Concerns that higher gasoline prices will prompt the world's sugar mills to...
In April, the S&P 500 energy sector ( XLE ) moved 1.2% in the upward direction this year, supported by a 0.8% rise in crude oil futures ( CL1:COM ). Against this backdrop, short interest trends among micro to small-cap energy stocks show a wide divergence. Green Plains ( GPRE ) was the most shorted stock in April, while Global Partners ( GLP ) was the least shorted stock. Most shorted energy stock...
In April, the S&P 500 energy sector ( XLE ) moved 1.2% in the upward direction this year, supported by a 0.8% rise in crude oil futures ( CL1:COM ). Against this backdrop, short interest trends among micro to small-cap energy stocks show a wide divergence. Green Plains ( GPRE ) was the most shorted stock in April, while Global Partners ( GLP ) was the least shorted stock. Most shorted energy stocks as of April end: Green Plains ( GPRE ) 19.22% New Fortress Energy ( NFE ) 16.38% W&T Offshore ( WTI ) 16.21% Vitesse Energy ( VTS ) 12.32% Gevo ( GEVO ) 12.24% Least shorted energy stocks as of April end: Global Partners ( GLP ) 0.76% KNOT Offshore Partners ( KNOP ) 0.81% Navigator Holings ( NVGS ) 1.31% Kimbell Royalty Partners ( KRP ) 1.31% Tsakos Energy Navigation ( TEN ) 1.49% Energy ETFs: ( XLE ), ( AMLP ), ( VDE ), ( XOP ), ( OIH ), and ( IXC ). More on State Street® Energy Select Sector SPDR® ETF UAE Leaves OPEC: Here's What It Means For Oil Prices Energy Crisis Blows Softer In U.S.: AI Infrastructure Trade Appears Intact XOP: Re-Rating Non-Conflict Oil Stocks A look back at the UAE's OPEC membership and who else left the cartel Solaris Energy is best performing energy stock in April
Amazon's built-in price tracking feature now allows you to see how much a product's price has changed over the past year. To use the feature, open the Amazon app and select the "Price history" button next to the item's price, or ask Amazon's AI assistant Rufus. The expansion comes just weeks ahead of Amazon's annual Prime Day event , which California Attorney General mentioned in his "price fixing...
Amazon's built-in price tracking feature now allows you to see how much a product's price has changed over the past year. To use the feature, open the Amazon app and select the "Price history" button next to the item's price, or ask Amazon's AI assistant Rufus. The expansion comes just weeks ahead of Amazon's annual Prime Day event , which California Attorney General mentioned in his "price fixing" lawsuit against the retail giant. In the lawsuit, Bonta accuses Amazon of pushing other companies to raise the price of their products at other retailers in the days leading up to its annual deals event. Bonta also claims Amazon "bullied vendors t … Read the full story at The Verge.
After being forced to check his Academy Award on a transatlantic flight, recent winner Pavel Talankin’s Oscar went missing before an airline tracked it down two days later. Talankin, who co-directed the best documentary winner Mr Nobody Against Putin, did not expect to have to check his statuette for a flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport bound for Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday. But a...
After being forced to check his Academy Award on a transatlantic flight, recent winner Pavel Talankin’s Oscar went missing before an airline tracked it down two days later. Talankin, who co-directed the best documentary winner Mr Nobody Against Putin, did not expect to have to check his statuette for a flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport bound for Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday. But a Transportation Security Administration agent said it could not go on board. “At the airport, a TSA...
This is just one of 29 different Aurora Lux designs. | Photo by Kelsey McClellan / The Verge Dreame, a Chinese manufacturer best known for its robot vacuums but with ambitions to do much more, says it's making smartphones now. I'm not sure I believe it. The company showed off two phones at its own Next event, which took place in California this week, though both had previously been revealed in Chi...
This is just one of 29 different Aurora Lux designs. | Photo by Kelsey McClellan / The Verge Dreame, a Chinese manufacturer best known for its robot vacuums but with ambitions to do much more, says it's making smartphones now. I'm not sure I believe it. The company showed off two phones at its own Next event, which took place in California this week, though both had previously been revealed in China in March. Neither phone has actually launched though - in China, the US, or elsewhere - and the company has revealed only a handful of specs about either. Aurora Nex LS1 is the more interesting of the two, but also the less plausible. It's a modular smartphone with a magnetic attachment point where the rear camera would normally be. Dr … Read the full story at The Verge.
Getty Images Halfway through April, I called Bloom Energy Corporation ( BE ) a next-level data center derivative play. That followed securing a major 2.8 GW fuel cell deal with Oracle ( ORCL ) to power AI and cloud infrastructure. That validation and size of the deal made investors wildly enthusiastic. The fact that data centers can be realized in places where the grid does not have capacity and t...
Getty Images Halfway through April, I called Bloom Energy Corporation ( BE ) a next-level data center derivative play. That followed securing a major 2.8 GW fuel cell deal with Oracle ( ORCL ) to power AI and cloud infrastructure. That validation and size of the deal made investors wildly enthusiastic. The fact that data centers can be realized in places where the grid does not have capacity and the speed of the building up of such alternative power solutions being short and visible is transformational. In fact, it might overturn the pace of the ramp-up and locations of new data centers, without regard for some current real-life constraints, as Bloom is rapidly taking an instrumental role in this transformative development. First Quarter Results Toward the end of the month, Bloom announced much-awaited first-quarter results. First quarter sales of $751 million were up 130% on the year before, yet down minimally from a $777 million number in the fourth quarter of last year. GAAP gross margins of 30.0% were up 280 basis points on the year before and down 80 basis points on a sequential basis. GAAP operating margins of 9.6% are down 170 basis points on a sequential basis, up more than 15 points from the year before. On a non-GAAP basis, margins rose twenty basis points consecutively to 17.3% of sales. Driven by continued momentum and order intake, the company hiked the midpoint of the 2026 sales guidance from $3.2 billion to $3.6 billion, with sales now seen between $3.4 and $3.8 billion. Note that the guidance band has been widened, on top of being hiked, likely thanks to uncertainty from the Oracle deal recently announced. Following a $400 million increase in the sales guidance, the company hiked the non-GAAP operating profits guidance by $225 million; these are now seen between $600 and $750 million, although little has been said about the direction of travel and quantification of stock-based compensation expenses. However, with more than 50% of additional revenues ...
Earnings Call Insights: CNO Financial Group (CNO) Q1 2026 Management View Operating earnings momentum and sales/distribution growth were the core themes in prepared remarks, with CEO Gary Bhojwani emphasizing, "CNO is off to a strong start to the year, building on our excellent 2025 performance," and adding that the company delivered "our 15th consecutive quarter of sales growth" and "our 13th con...
Earnings Call Insights: CNO Financial Group (CNO) Q1 2026 Management View Operating earnings momentum and sales/distribution growth were the core themes in prepared remarks, with CEO Gary Bhojwani emphasizing, "CNO is off to a strong start to the year, building on our excellent 2025 performance," and adding that the company delivered "our 15th consecutive quarter of sales growth" and "our 13th consecutive quarter of producing agent count growth." Bhojwani tied growth to product demand and distribution positioning, stating, "Sales results in the quarter were strong across both divisions with total new annualized premiums up 11%," and arguing, "Our exclusive middle market focus and our last mile captive agent distribution model create our durable competitive moat." Consumer and Worksite product performance was positioned as broad-based, including Medicare-related strength, with Bhojwani stating, "Total Medicare policies sold were up 24% with Medicare Supplement NAP up 53%," and describing a market mix shift: "Our results continue to reflect the shift in consumer preferences away from Medicare Advantage and toward Medicare Supplement." CFO Paul McDonough highlighted earnings, expenses, and capital deployment, saying, "Operating earnings per share were $1.05 for the quarter," and that the expense ratio was "18.9%, reflecting lower-than-planned spending in the quarter, which we expect to normalize over the balance of the year," while noting, "we deployed $60 million of excess capital on share repurchases." On investments and capital strength, McDonough said, "Net investment income increased 6% year-over-year," and added, "Holding company liquidity ended the quarter at $280 million, well above our $150 million minimum target," while maintaining the RBC framework: "we manage between 360% and 390%." Outlook Management did not change its annual framework in the prepared remarks, with McDonough stating, "we are affirming our original guidance at this time," citing "the volati...
Earnings Call Insights: Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) Q1 2026 Management view "Cboe delivered another quarter of record net revenue and adjusted earnings powered by continued strength across all of our core businesses," said CEO Craig Donohue. "During the first quarter, Cboe grew net revenue 29% year-over-year to a record $729 million, and adjusted diluted EPS increased an exceptional 48% to a record...
Earnings Call Insights: Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) Q1 2026 Management view "Cboe delivered another quarter of record net revenue and adjusted earnings powered by continued strength across all of our core businesses," said CEO Craig Donohue. "During the first quarter, Cboe grew net revenue 29% year-over-year to a record $729 million, and adjusted diluted EPS increased an exceptional 48% to a record $3.70." On derivatives, Donohue said, "Index options net transaction and clearing fees revenue drove the upside, increasing a robust 35% as our proprietary SPX options set another quarterly record with average daily volume increasing 34% year-over-year to 4.9 million contracts." He added that March dynamics shifted, with "0DTE options still grew, but at a more steady 6% rate month-over-month in March, while non-0DTE options jumped over 26%, helping to drive a new monthly ADV record of 5.4 million SPX options contracts." On new products, Donohue said, "Subject to regulatory approval, we plan to bring our securities-based event contracts to market," describing a structure "designed to mirror the risk/reward profile of a widely used options strategy, the vertical call spread." He also framed expansion plans: "we intend to expand beyond index-based outcomes by leveraging our capabilities across both securities and futures" and "introduce additional contracts around economic and financial indicators." COO Scott Johnston said the company’s strategic realignment and portfolio actions "are expected to reduce our workforce by approximately 20%." He added, "we will also be transitioning back to in-person work to support faster decision-making, stronger collaboration and better integration across teams." "Adjusted operating expenses of $201 million were up 4% on a year-over-year basis," said CFO Jill Griebenow. "Adjusted operating EBITDA of $541 million grew 41% and adjusted operating EBITDA margin expanded by 6.1 percentage points to 74.2%." Outlook "On a full year basis, we anticip...
Earnings Call Insights: Nutex Health (NUTX) Q1 2026 Management view "Total revenue reached $216.5 million" and "net income increased to $46.8 million," while "adjusted EBITDA dropped to $57.6 million, down 21%" (Chairman of the Board & CEO Thomas Vo). Vo tied the adjusted EBITDA change to "the timing of recognition for IDR expenses" versus last year. "In the first quarter of 2026, we completed our...
Earnings Call Insights: Nutex Health (NUTX) Q1 2026 Management view "Total revenue reached $216.5 million" and "net income increased to $46.8 million," while "adjusted EBITDA dropped to $57.6 million, down 21%" (Chairman of the Board & CEO Thomas Vo). Vo tied the adjusted EBITDA change to "the timing of recognition for IDR expenses" versus last year. "In the first quarter of 2026, we completed our inaugural $25 million share repurchase program" and "initiated a second $25 million share repurchase program during the quarter" (CEO Vo). "A significant development this quarter was the Board's approval for Nutex to begin directly investing in the development and construction of new hospital facilities" (CEO Vo). Vo added, "Nutex does not intend to hold these real estate assets on a longer-term basis" and expects to "monetize the asset through a sale-leaseback transaction" once a facility is "completed or has reached operational stabilization." "We continue to submit between 50% to 60% of our claims through the IDR process" and "we currently prevail in over 85% of those determinations" with "an average collection rate of over 80%" (Chief Financial Officer Jon Bates). "Our Population Health Management division now oversees a diverse group of almost 40,000 patients" and the strategy focuses on "provider network expansion," "value-based contract growth," and "technology scaling" (President & Director Warren Hosseinion). Outlook "In 2026, we remain on track to open 3 additional hospitals in the third and fourth quarter, located in San Antonio, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; and West Little Rock, Arkansas" (CEO Vo). "Typically, these project takes roughly 18 to 24 months to develop and open" for the newly internalized development approach (CEO Vo). "Each of these projects cost roughly $20 million to $30 million to build" and Nutex expects to "invest the down payments" and use "a financing vehicle of some type" before "flip" to a REIT or other vehicle (CEO Vo). "Somewhere in tha...
Former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila , denounced US sanctions against him for his alleged ties to a rebel group occupying a large part of the country’s mineral-rich east. Kabila said the sanctions, which the US announced Thursday, were “unjustified, politically motivated, and based on unsubstantiated accusations.” Read: US Sanctions Congo Ex-President Joseph Kabila f...
Former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila , denounced US sanctions against him for his alleged ties to a rebel group occupying a large part of the country’s mineral-rich east. Kabila said the sanctions, which the US announced Thursday, were “unjustified, politically motivated, and based on unsubstantiated accusations.” Read: US Sanctions Congo Ex-President Joseph Kabila for Rebel Ties In a statement sent to Bloomberg by his office Friday, Kabila said he “reserves the right to instruct his legal counsel to activate the appropriate legal avenues in order to challenge the decision taken against him, to demand the evidence on which this designation was based, and to defend his honor, his record, and his historic contribution to the stability of the DRC.” The US says Kabila has been backing the M23 rebel group—which also has support from neighboring Rwanda — and which has called for the overthrow of Congo’s current president, Felix Tshisekedi . Congo’s government welcomed the sanctions in a statement Thursday. A military court condemned Kabila to death in absentia last year for working with the rebels, who have occupied eastern Congo’s two biggest cities for more than a year. Kabila served as Congo’s president from 2001 to 2019. He stepped down under international pressure, brokering a power-sharing deal with Tshisekedi after a disputed election that the current president almost certainly lost. Kabila began traveling to M23 territory last year, saying he wanted to unify the country. The ex-president was born in the region. In the statement, Kabila said the sanctions risk being seen “as a show of support for dictatorship and tyranny” by backing Tshisekedi’s government.
Comparing Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NASDAQ:VONG) and Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:VUG) reveals two low-cost strategies with subtle differences in stock concentration, dividend distributions, and historical price volatility. Both funds target large-cap U.S. growth stocks, serving as core building blocks for aggressive portfolios. While they share several top holdings, the underlying indexes...
Comparing Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NASDAQ:VONG) and Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:VUG) reveals two low-cost strategies with subtle differences in stock concentration, dividend distributions, and historical price volatility. Both funds target large-cap U.S. growth stocks, serving as core building blocks for aggressive portfolios. While they share several top holdings, the underlying indexes differ in how they define the growth universe, leading to variations in the number of positions and total annual cost. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield. Continue reading