It will take a regulator with grit and guts to enforce the UK’s impartiality laws. This is Labour’s chance to remedy our twisted media landscape Labour feels more sure-footed. A stronger sense of its own identity flows from standing up to Donald Trump, his war and his insults. MPs are less often looking over their shoulders at the right and its media. Here comes one test. Selecting a new chair of ...
It will take a regulator with grit and guts to enforce the UK’s impartiality laws. This is Labour’s chance to remedy our twisted media landscape Labour feels more sure-footed. A stronger sense of its own identity flows from standing up to Donald Trump, his war and his insults. MPs are less often looking over their shoulders at the right and its media. Here comes one test. Selecting a new chair of the media regulator Ofcom is in its final phase: which of two reported frontrunners is appointed will reveal the government’s frame of mind. Ofcom has been moribund, weak to the point of invisibility. One key area is the regulation of online harms, as the government seeks to toughen up on the safety of children and the sanity of the nation, against a libertarian right that defends aggressive notions of free speech, and permits fact-free dangers, such as vaccine and climate denial. Kemi Badenoch is a free-speecher who argued for the weakening of the Online Safety Act in 2022 by removing the ban on “legal but harmful” material for adults, claiming it was “legislating for hurt feelings”. Keir Starmer is strengthening the law by banning addictive algorithms. Continue reading...
The Balkan nation only became Fifa members in 2016, but win over Turkey would secure first World Cup finals place “We didn’t even know each other.” Samir Ujkani is thinking back to March 2014 when a makeshift Kosovo squad, largely thrown together from unglamorous corners of central Europe and Scandinavia, convened to face Haiti for the country’s first official game. He was a rarity: a player with ...
The Balkan nation only became Fifa members in 2016, but win over Turkey would secure first World Cup finals place “We didn’t even know each other.” Samir Ujkani is thinking back to March 2014 when a makeshift Kosovo squad, largely thrown together from unglamorous corners of central Europe and Scandinavia, convened to face Haiti for the country’s first official game. He was a rarity: a player with Serie A experience between the posts for Palermo and 20 caps for Albania, who was willing to bet on what has become one of international football’s great success stories. Continue reading...
Manager says fans booing after defeat by Japan is ‘not a big issue’ as he prepares to face Côte d’Ivoire in Liverpool Managers making critical comment towards supporters is rarely a movie that ends well, no matter the validity of the complaint. As soon as Steve Clarke admitted to being surprised and disappointed by the boos which met confirmation of Scotland’s defeat against Japan on Saturday, a s...
Manager says fans booing after defeat by Japan is ‘not a big issue’ as he prepares to face Côte d’Ivoire in Liverpool Managers making critical comment towards supporters is rarely a movie that ends well, no matter the validity of the complaint. As soon as Steve Clarke admitted to being surprised and disappointed by the boos which met confirmation of Scotland’s defeat against Japan on Saturday, a strange relationship between coach and country had been emphasised. The meeting with Côte d’Ivoire in Liverpool, on face value a box-ticking exercise, carries huge meaning for Scotland. The euphoria of qualifying for the World Cup will vanish if the Tartan Army are burdened by the fear of what may take place when it kicks off. Clarke used pre-match media duties to play down discord when the issue clearly lingers. Continue reading...
The poster child of the AI boom, valued at $850bn, needs to show strategic discipline after ‘casting its net too wide’ If OpenAI is going to float this year , it has to get serious about its business model. The wow factor around the US company – the poster child of an AI industry boom that has stoked fears of a stock market bubble – has been long established, but when will the profits come? The pa...
The poster child of the AI boom, valued at $850bn, needs to show strategic discipline after ‘casting its net too wide’ If OpenAI is going to float this year , it has to get serious about its business model. The wow factor around the US company – the poster child of an AI industry boom that has stoked fears of a stock market bubble – has been long established, but when will the profits come? The party can’t go on for ever. The developer of ChatGPT is one of the biggest startups in the world and is now valued at $850bn (£645bn). Meanwhile, it is reportedly spending $600bn on infrastructure (the amount it invests in datacentres and chips to power its AI models) by 2030. At least this is a reduction on an initial estimate of $1.4tn . Continue reading...
While Jannik Sinner’s duopoly with Carlos Alcaraz looks unbreakable, Aryna Sabalenka is dominating despite a more competitive women’s top 10 “No, I think it’s all an individual sport,” Jannik Sinner says, chuckling quietly, as he reflects on another triumphant fortnight at the Miami Open after his efficient win over Jiri Lehecka. Sinner had been asked whether he was aware that his win meant the ma...
While Jannik Sinner’s duopoly with Carlos Alcaraz looks unbreakable, Aryna Sabalenka is dominating despite a more competitive women’s top 10 “No, I think it’s all an individual sport,” Jannik Sinner says, chuckling quietly, as he reflects on another triumphant fortnight at the Miami Open after his efficient win over Jiri Lehecka. Sinner had been asked whether he was aware that his win meant the maintenance of one of the defining records of this new era of men’s tennis: since the Madrid Open in April 2024, every tournament with Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz present has been won by either player. The duopoly continues. Unsurprisingly, Sinner was far more focused on what the victory meant to him. By following his Indian Wells triumph with a title in Miami, he secured one of the greatest achievements of his career in the Sunshine Double. He has now won three consecutive Masters 1000 titles and 34 consecutive sets at this level. This was an immense feat, further underlining his enduring dominance over all challengers aside from his great rival, Carlos Alcaraz. Continue reading...
Containers are stored at a freight terminal in Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 23, 2026. Photo: VCG Two decades ago, the world experienced the first “China Shock” as cheap apparel and plastic toys flooded global markets. Today, with China posting a record $1.2 trillion trade surplus in 2025, the global economy is bracing for “China Shock 2.0.” This time, the narrative across the developed world — and ...
Containers are stored at a freight terminal in Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 23, 2026. Photo: VCG Two decades ago, the world experienced the first “China Shock” as cheap apparel and plastic toys flooded global markets. Today, with China posting a record $1.2 trillion trade surplus in 2025, the global economy is bracing for “China Shock 2.0.” This time, the narrative across the developed world — and increasingly the Global South — is steeped in existential anxiety. Europe’s high-tech dilemma
European governments breathed a sigh of relief in October when the US and China sealed a fragile trade truce that paused more sweeping Chinese rare earth restrictions and papered over a Sino-Dutch row over chipmaker Nexperia. Now, however, the European Union is being urged to come up with a battle plan should the ceasefire fail or expire. A spike in superpower tensions could expose the EU to Chine...
European governments breathed a sigh of relief in October when the US and China sealed a fragile trade truce that paused more sweeping Chinese rare earth restrictions and papered over a Sino-Dutch row over chipmaker Nexperia. Now, however, the European Union is being urged to come up with a battle plan should the ceasefire fail or expire. A spike in superpower tensions could expose the EU to Chinese export controls, potentially pulverising its military support for Ukraine, its own efforts to...
Oat_Phawat/iStock via Getty Images Knock-on effects from the conflict in Iran and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz are expected to have a delayed but meaningful impact on the primary non-ferrous markets, especially through upstream supply chains. Building on our recent scenario analysis for iron ore, we adjusted our base case for 2026 to incorporate changes in key cost metrics affecting ...
Oat_Phawat/iStock via Getty Images Knock-on effects from the conflict in Iran and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz are expected to have a delayed but meaningful impact on the primary non-ferrous markets, especially through upstream supply chains. Building on our recent scenario analysis for iron ore, we adjusted our base case for 2026 to incorporate changes in key cost metrics affecting mining operations. Factors such as rising fuel and reagent prices due to ongoing geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East are expected to significantly impact the output and profitability of copper mines. Our modeling projects a 5.1% cost increase across the global copper mining industry, with reagent prices playing a crucial role in this escalation. Sulfuric acid, sulfur costs rise on an already tightened supply Sulfuric acid is essential in the copper mining industry, serving multiple functions, including acting as a leaching agent to extract copper from oxide ores and as a pH modifier during processing. A byproduct of the oxidation process, sulfur dioxide gas, can be captured and converted back into sulfuric acid, enhancing operational efficiency. Typically, sulfuric acid concentrations hover around 95%. However, operations lacking sufficient in-house production of this reagent may face challenges due to supply chain disruptions stemming from the ongoing conflict. With a significant portion of sulfur sourced from the Middle East, prices for both sulfuric acid and solid sulfur have risen amid uncertainty regarding trade flows since the start of the disruption. The Platts-assessed Solid Sulfur FOB Middle East Spot (excl. Iran) surged to almost $700 per metric ton at close on March 12, a weekly gain of over 34%, while the Platts-assessed Sulfuric Acid CFR Indonesia shifted higher to $170/mt at close on March 11. Given the sensitivity of the sulfuric acid supply chain to geopolitical events , market participants are closely monitoring the situation. The power problem: imp...
The US and Israeli war against Iran could wipe out nearly $200 billion worth of economic growth across the Middle East, a new United Nations study found. Arab nations stand to lose between $120 billion and $194 billion from gross domestic product as a result of disruptions from the war, according to an analysis by the UN Development Program of the economic and social consequences for Arab states, ...
The US and Israeli war against Iran could wipe out nearly $200 billion worth of economic growth across the Middle East, a new United Nations study found. Arab nations stand to lose between $120 billion and $194 billion from gross domestic product as a result of disruptions from the war, according to an analysis by the UN Development Program of the economic and social consequences for Arab states, which was released early Tuesday. The agency said it had studied a number of different scenarios to determine how the conflict, which began on Feb. 28, might affect countries in the region. The report’s authors indicated that the damage could be profound, even if the war ends relatively soon. “A short-lived military escalation in the Middle East could generate profound and widespread socio-economic impacts across the Arab States region,” they said. The overall loss could result in the regional unemployment rate rising by as much as four percentage points, costing some 3.6 million jobs and pushing as many as four million people into poverty, the report says. “This crisis rings alarm bells for countries of the region,” Abdallah Al Dardari , the UN assistant secretary general leading the UNDP Arab states bureau, said in a statement. The hardest-hit regions would be concentrated in Gulf Cooperation Council countries and in the Levant, with each region set to lose more than 5.2% of their GDP. The conflict, now entering its second month, has already sent global energy prices soaring, unnerving the global economy. An earlier UN report found the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz was raising food and fertilizer prices in a way that could hit poorer countries particularly hard.
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images The TCW Flexible Income ETF ( FLXR ) is an actively managed, diversified bond ETF with investments in several bond sub-asset classes and with a clear focus on shorter-term, high-quality securities. FLXR's diversified bond portfolio, below-average risk and volatility, and above-average 5.7% dividend yield and performance track record make the fund a buy....
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images The TCW Flexible Income ETF ( FLXR ) is an actively managed, diversified bond ETF with investments in several bond sub-asset classes and with a clear focus on shorter-term, high-quality securities. FLXR's diversified bond portfolio, below-average risk and volatility, and above-average 5.7% dividend yield and performance track record make the fund a buy. FLXR - Overview and Investment Thesis Diversified Quality Bond Portfolio FLXR is an actively managed bond ETF and one with an incredibly well-diversified portfolio. FLXR has over 1,500 holdings, with exposure to most of the major bond sub-asset classes, including treasuries, MBS, and corporate bonds, with sizable investments in more niche securities, including ABS and commercial MBS. Asset allocations are as follows: FLXR FLXR seems much more diversified than the average bond ETF, most of which focus on one or a couple types of bonds. It is arguably more diversified than most of the larger bond index ETFs, including the benchmark Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF ( BND ), as these rarely invest in the more niche types of bonds or loans. From the ETFs I cover, only the iShares Flexible Income Active ETF ( BINC ) seems comparable to FLXR in this regard, with broadly similar investments greater differences in weights. Looking at broader portfolio characteristics, FLXR focuses on investment-grade bonds, with sizable investments in riskier non-investment-grade securities. Quality seems comparable to that of BINC, as well as several other of my favorite income ETFs, including the JPMorgan Income ETF ( JPIE ). JPIE FLXR focuses on shorter-term bonds, with an average duration of 2.8 years. For reference, the benchmark BND has a duration of 5.8 years. FLXR's portfolio should experience below-average volatility and drawdowns, although performance is somewhat dependent on the specific market conditions or events occurring (rate movements or credit events/recessions). FLXR's r...
Merck's $6.7 billion Terns acquisition bolsters its oncology pipeline while reinforcing its strong margins, steadily growing dividend, and long-term growth.
Merck's $6.7 billion Terns acquisition bolsters its oncology pipeline while reinforcing its strong margins, steadily growing dividend, and long-term growth.
spawns/iStock via Getty Images The inflation rate in France increased to 1.70% in March from 0.90% in February, more than the estimated 1.6%, preliminary readings showed. The CPI increased 0.90% in March of 2026 over the previous month, above the expected 0.8%. The EU-harmonized annual inflation rate in France accelerated to 1.9% in March from 1.1% in the previous month. More on France U.S. Tariff...
spawns/iStock via Getty Images The inflation rate in France increased to 1.70% in March from 0.90% in February, more than the estimated 1.6%, preliminary readings showed. The CPI increased 0.90% in March of 2026 over the previous month, above the expected 0.8%. The EU-harmonized annual inflation rate in France accelerated to 1.9% in March from 1.1% in the previous month. More on France U.S. Tariffs: A New Trade War? EWQ: Falling Real Rates Delayed The Bear Case, But 2026 May Not Europe markets start week in neutral gear as investors weigh Trump’s oil threats European stocks muted after Trump grants 10-day pause on Iran strikes Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on iShares MSCI France ETF