Emmanuel Macron ’s pick to lead the Bank of France will be grilled on Wednesday by lawmakers who could scupper the president’s plan to install a top ally at the helm of monetary policy. The proposal for Emmanuel Moulin to take over from Francois Villeroy de Galhau has outraged far-right, far-left and Socialist politicians, who object to a longtime Macron collaborator assuming a role that will exte...
Emmanuel Macron ’s pick to lead the Bank of France will be grilled on Wednesday by lawmakers who could scupper the president’s plan to install a top ally at the helm of monetary policy. The proposal for Emmanuel Moulin to take over from Francois Villeroy de Galhau has outraged far-right, far-left and Socialist politicians, who object to a longtime Macron collaborator assuming a role that will extend for years after the president leaves office in 2027. The outcome of votes in parliament’s two chambers is tough to call as many legislators haven’t laid out their views publicly. A delay in replacing Villeroy wouldn’t just be a blow to Macron. The European Central Bank , where national governors help set interest rates, would favor a smooth transition in the region’s No. 2 economy as it crafts a response to the Iran war’s stagflationary threat. What’s the procedure? Derailing the nomination isn’t straightforward: Three-fifths of the combined vote of the finance committees of the National Assembly and Senate would need to go against Moulin. He is due at 9 a.m. in the Senate, where he’ll speak and take questions. He’ll then appear two hours later in the National Assembly. The outcome of the votes will be announced this afternoon. Approval would see Moulin succeed Villeroy in June. If he’s blocked, First Deputy Governor Denis Beau would take charge until Macron can get another nominee past parliament. Will Moulin make it? Only once has a president failed to get a candidate through the procedure for senior appointments set out in Article 13 of the constitution, and that was Macron with his pick for an environment agency chief in 2023. He also had a close call last year when his choice to lead the Constitutional Council scraped through committee vetting by just one vote. Even so, political groups that have publicly opposed Moulin’s nomination fall short of a majority in the National Assembly’s 72-strong finance committee. The far-right National Rally has 16 members, the far-l...
Since the March low, the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.67%) has been on a nearly unimpeded run. Last week, the index marked its seventh consecutive weekly gain, and it has recorded a return of around 16% over that period. Week of Weekly return March 30 +3.36% April 6 +3.56% April 13 +4.54% April 20 +0.55% April 27 +0.91% May 4 +2.33% May 11 +0.13% How rare is a seven-week winning streak for the index? Since 19...
Since the March low, the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.67%) has been on a nearly unimpeded run. Last week, the index marked its seventh consecutive weekly gain, and it has recorded a return of around 16% over that period. Week of Weekly return March 30 +3.36% April 6 +3.56% April 13 +4.54% April 20 +0.55% April 27 +0.91% May 4 +2.33% May 11 +0.13% How rare is a seven-week winning streak for the index? Since 1928, this would be the 40th occurrence. The last time the S&P 500 hit this mark was in December 2023, when it eventually produced nine straight up weeks in total before snapping. It's also the ninth time it's happened in the 2000s. Naturally, one might assume that the index is due for a pause or a reversal after such stretches. Three of the past four weeks, however, have featured only minor to modest gains for the S&P 500. This would suggest positive, but not necessarily powerful, momentum that has a greater chance of running out of steam. If we look back at the past century of S&P 500 return data, history suggests that the gains are likely to keep coming. Let's break down the numbers. S&P 500 forward returns after a seven-week streak of gains Before we get to how returns have looked historically in the 12 months following a seven-week up streak, consider this. In only about one-third of historical instances has the streak stopped at seven weeks. Another one-third made it to nine weeks or longer. The all-time record is a 13-week streak of gains that happened back in 1957. Clearly, this current bull rally has the potential to continue, and the historical data confirms it. Horizon Hit rate Median Mean Min Max StDev +1 month (4w) 74% +1.53% +1.30% −5.53% +5.97% 2.4% +3 months (13w) 82% +4.18% +3.54% −19.19% +12.88% 5.9% +6 months (26w) 77% +5.31% +4.73% −29.68% +32.37% 11.3% +12 months (52w) 82% +13.56% +10.71% −24.30% +42.76% 13.3% The "hit rate," which is the percentage of instances where returns are positive, is quite good historically. The annualized returns at all periods ...
Chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has made AI the company’s top priority, committing all resources to keeping pace with rivals like Alphabet Inc’s Google and OpenAI. (May 20): Meta Platforms Inc is alerting thousands of employees that they’re being laid off, part of a previously announced restructuring aimed at reducing costs while the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence (AI)....
Chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has made AI the company’s top priority, committing all resources to keeping pace with rivals like Alphabet Inc’s Google and OpenAI. (May 20): Meta Platforms Inc is alerting thousands of employees that they’re being laid off, part of a previously announced restructuring aimed at reducing costs while the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence (AI). The company began notifying workers around the world on Wednesday morning, starting with employees across Asia, who got the note at 4am Singapore time. US-based staff are also expected to receive word during their morning, according to an internal memo. The company is planning to cut about 20% of its Irish workforce, or as many as 350 jobs, the Irish Times reported. Dublin serves as Meta’s European headquarters. Representatives for Meta did not respond to a request for comment. Staff are being encouraged to work from home while the company cuts roughly 8,000 roles globally. This latest round of cuts is expected to hit Meta’s engineering and product teams in particular and additional layoffs could come later in the year, said people familiar with the company’s plans, who asked not to be named as the information is not public. “Automators like Meta risk no longer being an employer of choice as it’s being revealed that they will cut out the human when the opportunity presents itself,” said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, professor of economics and behavioural science at the University of Oxford. “Doing so might well lead to short-term cost savings but risks longer-term growth potential by undermining employee wellbeing and engagement.” On Monday, Meta informed staff that some 7,000 workers have also been reassigned to newly formed teams that are focused on AI initiatives, including products and agents. The company, which has committed well in excess of US$100 billion ($128.2 billion) to AI capital expenditures this year, had just under 80,000 employees at the end of March, ahead of the...
A slide in the Sri Lankan rupee, Asia’s worst performing currency this month, has intensified due to speculation of further weakening, according to Deputy Minister of Finance Anil Jayantha Fernando . Importers are buying more dollars and exporters are delaying conversion of their foreign-currency earnings, Fernando told parliament in Colombo on Tuesday. The South Asian nation has also seen outflow...
A slide in the Sri Lankan rupee, Asia’s worst performing currency this month, has intensified due to speculation of further weakening, according to Deputy Minister of Finance Anil Jayantha Fernando . Importers are buying more dollars and exporters are delaying conversion of their foreign-currency earnings, Fernando told parliament in Colombo on Tuesday. The South Asian nation has also seen outflows from government securities and the stock market, he said. The rupee has fallen 3.4% this month, the biggest loser in Asia, as the nation’s fuel import bill surged six-fold since the start of the Iran war. The central bank is intervening when necessary to contain volatility in the foreign-exchange market, the Daily FT reported Tuesday, citing Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe . “The end of the war will help restore some confidence in markets. But we do not really know when it will end,” said Dhananath Fernando , chief executive officer at Advocata Institute, a Colombo-based think tank. “In the past, this type of depreciation episodes, with or without external shocks, have not been contained without draining liquidity and tightening monetary policy.” The country has taken steps to stem the slide in rupee, including a 50% import duty surcharge on private vehicles for three months, fuel rationing and higher electricity tariffs. IMF Gives Initial Nod to Sri Lanka for $700 Million Loan Tranche Sri Lanka Keeps Policy Rate Unchanged as Oil Cost Risks Loom
In this article SCGPY SCGPY Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents assists travelers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas, US, on Thursday, March 26, 2026. The Transportation Security Administration warned that airport security is under severe strain as a weeks-long Department of Homeland Security funding shutd...
In this article SCGPY SCGPY Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents assists travelers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas, US, on Thursday, March 26, 2026. The Transportation Security Administration warned that airport security is under severe strain as a weeks-long Department of Homeland Security funding shutdown drives staffing shortages, long wait times and mounting disruptions across the US. Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images A group representing major U.S. airlines opposes a White House proposal to require smaller airports to use private security screeners instead of the Transportation Security Administration, according to written testimony seen by Reuters. Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu will tell a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday that ensuring that private security "remains an option for airports and does not become a mandatory program is paramount to the U.S. aviation industry." President Donald Trump last month proposed cutting more than 9,400 workers and just over $1.5 billion from the annual budget of the 60,000-employee TSA that handles airport security operations. The proposal is a first step toward privatizing the agency created after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Some Republican lawmakers have proposed to privatize TSA completely. The White House said the mandatory change to private security at small airports would cut the TSA payroll by more than 4,500 jobs. The TSA proposes to cut another 4,800 jobs by improving efficiency, ending staffing at exit lanes and eliminating redundancies. Sununu's testimony added: "We are committed to TSA's modernization efforts and support innovative solutions that accelerate the deployment of checkpoint and checked baggage technology as well as algorithms that increase efficiency." The proposal would cut the agency's $7.8 billion budget by about 20% ...
全球 AI 芯片巨头英伟达将在新加坡新设研发中心，这也是新加坡周三集中公布的一系列人工智能相关举措之一。 这座全新实验室是英伟达在新加坡设立的首个研发据点，同时也是其在亚太地区布局的第二处同类研发机构。近年英伟达持续发力具身智能领域，陆续推出适配机器人的各类模型、系统与芯片。该新实验室将主攻具身智能技术研发，优化人工智能基础设施效能，并联合高校科研人员、行业合作伙伴及政府机构协同开展工作。 尽管国...
全球 AI 芯片巨头英伟达将在新加坡新设研发中心，这也是新加坡周三集中公布的一系列人工智能相关举措之一。 这座全新实验室是英伟达在新加坡设立的首个研发据点，同时也是其在亚太地区布局的第二处同类研发机构。近年英伟达持续发力具身智能领域，陆续推出适配机器人的各类模型、系统与芯片。该新实验室将主攻具身智能技术研发，优化人工智能基础设施效能，并联合高校科研人员、行业合作伙伴及政府机构协同开展工作。 尽管国土面积狭小，新加坡正全力打造区域人工智能中心，着力打造适配人工智能方案实景研发、测试与落地的优质环境，总部位于美国的英伟达此番布局也顺势契合这一发展趋势。 责任编辑：王永生
Tesla’s latest quarterly update delivered better-than-expected earnings per share but softer revenue, keeping the focus on margins, price cuts and the next growth chapter for the EV pioneer’s stock. Tesla stock remains in focus after the electric-vehicle maker reported first-quarter results that beat earnings expectations but fell short on revenue, underscoring ongoing tension between volume growt...
Tesla’s latest quarterly update delivered better-than-expected earnings per share but softer revenue, keeping the focus on margins, price cuts and the next growth chapter for the EV pioneer’s stock. Tesla stock remains in focus after the electric-vehicle maker reported first-quarter results that beat earnings expectations but fell short on revenue, underscoring ongoing tension between volume growth, pricing pressure and profitability, according to Tesla investor relations as of 04/20/2026 and coverage from MarketBeat as of 05/19/2026. As of: 05/20/2026 By the editorial team – specialized in equity coverage. At a glance Name: Tesla Inc. Tesla Inc. Sector/industry: Electric vehicles, energy storage, automotive technology Electric vehicles, energy storage, automotive technology Headquarters/country: Austin, United States Austin, United States Core markets: North America, Europe, China North America, Europe, China Key revenue drivers: Vehicle sales, energy products, software and services Vehicle sales, energy products, software and services Home exchange/listing venue: Nasdaq (TSLA) Nasdaq (TSLA) Trading currency: USD Tesla Inc.: latest quarterly results in focus In its most recent quarterly update, Tesla reported earnings per share of 0.41 USD for the first quarter of 2026, topping the consensus estimate cited by several market data providers, while revenue of 22.39 billion USD came in below Wall Street expectations even as sales rose 15.8% year over year, according to MarketBeat as of 05/19/2026. The revenue miss highlighted ongoing price competition in the global electric-vehicle market, where Tesla has repeatedly adjusted pricing across major regions to support demand, while investors continue to monitor how such moves affect automotive gross margins and cash generation, according to details in the company’s Q1 2026 shareholder materials published by Tesla investor relations as of 04/20/2026. Alongside the headline figures, Tesla discussed ongoing investments in man...
Key Points Nvidia’s stock has soared over the past year. It still looks cheap relative to its long-term growth potential. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) will post its earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 (which ended on April 26) on May 20 after the market closes. Many investors will be closely watching this report, since Nvidia is a bellwether and lin...
Key Points Nvidia’s stock has soared over the past year. It still looks cheap relative to its long-term growth potential. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) will post its earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 (which ended on April 26) on May 20 after the market closes. Many investors will be closely watching this report, since Nvidia is a bellwether and linchpin of the booming AI market. Should you invest in Nvidia, which has rallied more than 60% over the past 12 months and is hovering near its record high, before that report? Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » What are investors expecting from Nvidia? Nvidia is the world's leading producer of discrete GPUs. Most of the world's largest AI companies are using its data center GPUs to train their large language models (LLMs) and algorithms. It also locks in those clients with its proprietary software and services. Nvidia has easily beaten analysts' top- and bottom-line estimates over the past year, but its stock has declined in three of the four quarters in the day after the earnings release. That profit-taking pattern isn't surprising, but investors who exited Nvidia after those earnings reports left a lot of money on the table over the past year. Analysts expect Nvidia's revenue and EPS to grow 73% and 67%, respectively, in fiscal 2027 -- and its stock still looks cheap at 27 times this year's earnings. Therefore, if you expect all of that AI capex from the top hyperscalers to keep boosting Nvidia's revenue and profits -- and you plan to hold its stock for a few years instead of a few quarters -- it won't matter if you buy it before or after its next earnings report. Should you buy stock in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst te...
Cathie Wood of Ark Investment Management says "the largest revenue generating opportunity from AI, in terms of embodied AI, is going to be in transportation." She tells Bloomberg's David Ingles that Tesla and robotaxis "are about to take off." (Source: Other)
Cathie Wood of Ark Investment Management says "the largest revenue generating opportunity from AI, in terms of embodied AI, is going to be in transportation." She tells Bloomberg's David Ingles that Tesla and robotaxis "are about to take off." (Source: Other)
Based on the judgment of the upward trend in memory prices, Citi simultaneously raised its earnings forecasts for Micron Technology, lifting the fiscal 2026 core earnings per share (EPS) by about 10% to $58.46 and further to $104.56 for fiscal 2027. The new $840 price target corresponds to a price-to-earnings multiple of approximately 8 times the projected 2027 EPS. Citigroup ( C ) analyst Atif Ma...
Based on the judgment of the upward trend in memory prices, Citi simultaneously raised its earnings forecasts for Micron Technology, lifting the fiscal 2026 core earnings per share (EPS) by about 10% to $58.46 and further to $104.56 for fiscal 2027. The new $840 price target corresponds to a price-to-earnings multiple of approximately 8 times the projected 2027 EPS. Citigroup ( C ) analyst Atif Malik's latest research report significantly raised Micron's price target from $425 to $840, nearly doubling it, and reiterated a "Buy" rating. Although the semiconductor sector has recently undergone a sharp correction, Micron Technology ( MU ) shares have fallen nearly 14% cumulatively over the past five trading days, but Wall Street analysts remain optimistic about its outlook. TradingKey - Driven by both the explosive growth in AI computing demand and persistent supply-side constraints, the memory industry is entering an unprecedented super-cycle, and the profitability of related firms is reaching a revaluation point. The current wave of price hikes in the DRAM market is spreading rapidly. Samsung took the lead by raising product prices by 100% in the first quarter of 2026, and Micron plans to follow suit in the second quarter of the same year with an increase of approximately 40%. The core driver of this price rally is the supply-demand imbalance in standard commercial DRAM (non-HBM). According to the silicon systems sales outlook from equipment manufacturer Applied Materials (AMAT), DRAM bit supply growth is expected to reach only about 30% by the end of 2026. Such an increment is clearly insufficient to match the explosive demand growth from AI data centers in 2027; consequently, the industry will need to invest in new wafer capacity to fill the gap. Forecasts from Citi corroborate this trend, indicating that average DRAM prices will surge by approximately 200% year-over-year in 2026, while NAND prices are expected to rise by about 186%. This suggests the memory indust...
Sumala Chidchoi SpaceX ( SPACE ) is said to have picked Goldman Sachs ( GS ) to lead what’s likely to be a record offering, according to multiple media reports. Morgan Stanley ( MS ) is also listed as a lead bank, the reports said. Bank of America ( BAC ), Citigroup ( C ), and JPMorgan Chase & Co. ( JPM ) appear in alphabetical order on the preliminary prospectus. SpaceX could go public with its p...
Sumala Chidchoi SpaceX ( SPACE ) is said to have picked Goldman Sachs ( GS ) to lead what’s likely to be a record offering, according to multiple media reports. Morgan Stanley ( MS ) is also listed as a lead bank, the reports said. Bank of America ( BAC ), Citigroup ( C ), and JPMorgan Chase & Co. ( JPM ) appear in alphabetical order on the preliminary prospectus. SpaceX could go public with its prospectus as early as Wednesday after quietly filing with the SEC last month. Expecting a record-shattering debut, the rocket company was valued at $1.25T in February after Elon Musk merged the aerospace giant with his AI startup, xAI. SpaceX is looking to get to the public market ahead of AI model leaders OpenAI ( OPENAI ) and Anthropic ( ANTHRO ), which are each valued at close to $1T by private investors. Those companies are eyeing going public as soon as this year. The debut represents Musk’s first IPO since Tesla ( TSLA ) went public on the Nasdaq in 2010. Goldman Sachs led that offering as well, backed by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank. More on SpaceX, Goldman Sachs SpaceX IPO: Accelerated S&P 500 Inclusion Could Create A Liquidity Vacuum The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) Shareholder/Analyst Call Prepared Remarks Transcript To A Trillion(s) Dollars And Beyond: A SpaceX IPO Odyssey Regulators delay cyber tests for banks to give time to strengthen systems against AI threat - report SpaceX Starship test puts IPO narrative on the launch pad
To get John Authers’ newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here . Today’s Points: 30-year Treasury yields have burst through to a 19-year high. And yet fund managers upped equity allocations by the most on record in April. Investors have also decided they like companies to do capex now. Nvidia ’s big results are due after the market Wednesday. AND: Financial journalist survives an i...
To get John Authers’ newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here . Today’s Points: 30-year Treasury yields have burst through to a 19-year high. And yet fund managers upped equity allocations by the most on record in April. Investors have also decided they like companies to do capex now. Nvidia ’s big results are due after the market Wednesday. AND: Financial journalist survives an interview with Jon Stewart ! A Fright in the Bond Markets It’s a while since we’ve been here, and it’s not a good place to be. The yield on 30-year Treasury bonds rose Tuesday to 5.19% for the first time since June 2007: A similar headline appeared on a piece I wrote with my colleague Michael Mackenzie about that 2007 landmark for the Financial Times, our employer at the time, and it makes uncomfortably relevant reading today. The concern was that rates at these levels might burst higher, bringing down the then-booming stock market and putting unbearable pressure on credit markets . As I argued : Money just seems too cheap. Bond yields are not high by historical standards, but the suddenness of their move might dislodge the financing that underpins stocks. If that scenario turns out to be true — and it is still too early to say that it will — the bond selloff might presage the end of an era for stocks. I hedged by saying that it was too early to tell, but that bond selloff did indeed signal the end of an era for equities. Within weeks, subprime credit was selling, two Bear Stearns hedge funds collapsed, and the long spiral into what we now call the Global Financial Crisis had begun. Frankly, the question today is exactly the same. The earnings now produced by US companies are impressive (just like banks’ earnings in 2007), but will financial conditions let this continue? Now as then, equities are roaring despite the warnings from bonds. The latest Bank of America survey of global fund managers shows that they had increased their equity allocations last month by the most in h...