A report saying an advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tried to buy a fund investing in defense companies highlights just how poorly the sector has traded since the Iran conflict began.
A report saying an advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tried to buy a fund investing in defense companies highlights just how poorly the sector has traded since the Iran conflict began.
United Therapeutics (UTHR) witnessed a jump in share price last session on above-average trading volume. The latest trend in earnings estimate revisions for the stock doesn't suggest further strength down the road.
United Therapeutics (UTHR) witnessed a jump in share price last session on above-average trading volume. The latest trend in earnings estimate revisions for the stock doesn't suggest further strength down the road.
BING-JHEN HONG/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I am reiterating my Buy recommendation on ASE Technology ( ASX ). I first initiated a Buy recommendation on ASE Tech here back in June 2025 , anchored on the key investment thesis that the back-end semiconductor processing industry is poised for a valuation uplift following the AI revolution and need for advanced packaging and testing (OSAT) service...
BING-JHEN HONG/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I am reiterating my Buy recommendation on ASE Technology ( ASX ). I first initiated a Buy recommendation on ASE Tech here back in June 2025 , anchored on the key investment thesis that the back-end semiconductor processing industry is poised for a valuation uplift following the AI revolution and need for advanced packaging and testing (OSAT) services. Given ASE's domestic ties and close partnership with TSMC, the company was well-positioned to benefit greatly. Fast forward to March 2026, the thesis has played out well, and the stock has appreciated +128.2% at the time of writing. Where do we go from here? Let's find out. A Brief Primer on Advanced Packaging Techniques After enduring a long cycle of low growth and business stagnation, the backend semiconductor processing industry is transitioning from a mature, low-margin business into a strategic, high-growth driver for the industry. This huge shift is mainly driven by the incremental demand for more data processing power for ML/AI processes, giving rise to High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). Think of this as a super-fast, super-packaged memory that helps computers move lots of data really quickly. The construction and development of HBM, in simple terms, basically stacks layers of memory chips on top of each other. Because the layers are stacked very close together, data doesn't have to travel far, effectively allowing more data transmission per second while using less electricity than regular memory. Advanced packaging techniques, particularly Thermo Compression Bonding (TCB), have gained mass adoption and recognition as the de facto packaging process for HBM integration, chiplets, and 3D stacking. Major industry players across the semiconductor chain are betting heavily on TCB, as evidenced by the huge orders by SK Hynix ( article here ), Samsung Electronics ( article here ), and Micron ( article here ). As per Semiconductor Digest , TCB revenues are forecasted to reach $...
The euro area saw its steepest jump in inflation since 2022 as the Iran war pushed energy costs sharply higher, backing expectations that the European Central Bank will have to raise interest rates. Consumer prices rose 2.5% from a year ago in March – up from 1.9% the previous month and the highest since January 2025. The reading is just below the 2.6% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey . Core ...
The euro area saw its steepest jump in inflation since 2022 as the Iran war pushed energy costs sharply higher, backing expectations that the European Central Bank will have to raise interest rates. Consumer prices rose 2.5% from a year ago in March – up from 1.9% the previous month and the highest since January 2025. The reading is just below the 2.6% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey . Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like food and energy, unexpectedly slowed to 2.3%, while the closely watched services gauge also eased, Eurostat said Tuesday. With the conflict in the Middle East now extending beyond a month, its effects are increasingly being felt in Europe, where not only inflation but expectations on where prices are headed are picking up markedly. Governments and central banks in the region are also slashing their projections for economic growth , while firms are bracing for a hit to demand among their customers. The ECB says it won’t to allow a repeat of the inflation spike that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, vowing to act quickly and decisively as needed. But with no clarity on when the fighting will end, officials are still assessing the toll. Elevated oil and natural gas prices are already casting doubt on the ECB’s baseline outlook for inflation to average 2.6% this year. Under a more extreme outcome , price gains could peak at as high as 6.3% in 2027. “Today we can say that the base-case scenario — for which assumptions were locked in on March 11 — can probably be considered to be the optimistic scenario,” Estonian central-bank chief Madis Muller said earlier Tuesday in Tallinn. “It’s probable that in the coming quarters interest rates will rise.” That’s certainly what investors think. Markets are pricing as many as three quarter-point hikes in the deposit rate this year, from its current level of 2%. Powerless to prevent the gyrations in energy markets, the ECB is instead focused on avoiding second-round effects including...
pamspix/E+ via Getty Images By Kelvin Wong The price actions of the AUD/USD ( AUD:USD ) have staged the initial expected push up on March 17, 2025, ex-post RBA monetary policy meeting, where the Australian central bank offered a hawkish guidance of more interest rate hikes down the road in 2026 after it enacted a back-to-back rate hike of 25 basis points to increase the official cash rate to 4.1%....
pamspix/E+ via Getty Images By Kelvin Wong The price actions of the AUD/USD ( AUD:USD ) have staged the initial expected push up on March 17, 2025, ex-post RBA monetary policy meeting, where the Australian central bank offered a hawkish guidance of more interest rate hikes down the road in 2026 after it enacted a back-to-back rate hike of 25 basis points to increase the official cash rate to 4.1%. The AUD/USD staged a rally of around 1% to print an intraday high of 0.7123 on 18 March 2026, which is within our predefined intermediate resistance zone of 0.7120/0.7140 highlighted in our previous analysis before it reversed by -4% to hit a three-month low of 0.6833 on Monday, March 30, 2026. AUD/USD is now behaving like a “risk asset” Fig. 1: Movement of iShares MSCI All Country World Index ETF with AUD/USD as of March 31, 2026 (Source: TradingView) In the past two weeks, the stagflation risk narrative has gained traction due to higher oil prices, as global energy flow disruptions persist due to the US-Iran war, which shows no clear signs of de-escalation, damaging several Gulf states’ oil production and refinery assets. Hence, the Australian dollar is now more sensitive to a significant deterioration in risk appetite triggered by heightened stagflation fear that overshadowed the “commodity currency” element. Since mid-March 2026, the movement of the AUD/USD has been closely aligned with global equities. The 20-day rolling correlation coefficient of the iShares MSCI All Country World Index ( ACWI ) ETF and AUD/USD has increased to 0.62 at this time of writing from 0.12 printed on March 16, 2026 (see Fig. 1). Given that the ACWI ETF has just broken below its key 200-day moving average last week, which suggests more potential downside in the near to medium term for global equities, in turn, it may trigger a further negative loop into the AUD/USD. In today’s early Asian session, The Wall Street Journal has reported that US President Trump is willing to wind down the milita...
Higher oil prices are escalating inflationary pressures on already strained consumers. So you would think that most companies would ease up on price hikes and focus mainly on sales volumes to grow earnings. Not Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) . The streaming giant just announced price increases across all plans, boosting premium to $26.99 per month, standard to $19.99 per month, and its ad-supported tier t...
Higher oil prices are escalating inflationary pressures on already strained consumers. So you would think that most companies would ease up on price hikes and focus mainly on sales volumes to grow earnings. Not Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) . The streaming giant just announced price increases across all plans, boosting premium to $26.99 per month, standard to $19.99 per month, and its ad-supported tier to $8.99 per month. The company also raised prices in January 2025 and October 2023. For context, it was charging just $19.99 for premium before the October 2023 hike. Here's why the price hikes provide a litmus test of the U.S. economy, with ripple effects on the stock market. Continue reading
Schroptschop The inflation rate in the Euro Area increased to 2.5% in March from 1.9% in February of 2026, lower than estimates of 2.6%. The CPI increased 1.20% in March of 2026 over the previous month. Core consumer prices were 2.3% higher in March compared to last year. More on Euro Area EUR/USD Found Support Above 1.1495, Potential Push Up Towards 'Expanding Wedge' Range Resistance Logical Skep...
Schroptschop The inflation rate in the Euro Area increased to 2.5% in March from 1.9% in February of 2026, lower than estimates of 2.6%. The CPI increased 1.20% in March of 2026 over the previous month. Core consumer prices were 2.3% higher in March compared to last year. More on Euro Area EUR/USD Found Support Above 1.1495, Potential Push Up Towards 'Expanding Wedge' Range Resistance Logical Skepticism For Peace Pulls The Petrodollar Higher - EUR/USD, AUD/USD And Dollar Index Overview USD Strength Vs. Euro Vulnerability: What's Next For The EUR/USD Pair? France inflation expected to surge to 1.7% Y/Y in March Europe markets start week in neutral gear as investors weigh Trump’s oil threats