Analyst

• Northland analysts have initiated a buy rating on USA Rare Earth as the U.S. pursues rare earth independence from China. • The move reflects broader geopolitical efforts to establish domestic supply chains for critical materials essential to technology and defense sectors. • Rare earth elements are vital for electronics, renewable energy, and military applications, making supply chain security a strategic priority.

Iranian intelligence services apparently recruiting via intermediaries to mount attacks aimed at sowing chaosIranian intelligence services and Revolutionary Guards operatives are recruiting teenagers through criminal intermediaries to launch a wave of low-level “hybrid warfare” attacks in Europe and the UK, according to investigators, security officials, analysts and police documents.A first wave of attacks was launched in early March, 10 days after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, and targeted Jewish community sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and US banks. A second wave has focused on the UK, with a series of arson and attempted arson attacks on synagogues, a Jewish charity and the offices of an Iranian opposition TV network in London. Continue reading...

• Tesla shares rose 7.2% Thursday after the company announced successful deployment of advanced autonomous driving features in two additional states, bringing the full self-driving beta program to 15 states nationwide. • Multiple Wall Street analysts upgraded Tesla's stock, raising average price targets by 12-15%, citing accelerated path to profitability and potential for robotaxi revenue streams beginning in late 2026. • The autonomous driving announcement offset broader semiconductor sector weakness, with Tesla demonstrating differentiation from legacy automakers lacking comparable self-driving capabilities.

Estimated 2,000 ships, including oil and gas tankers and cruise liners, remain trapped in the Persian Gulf since start of warThere will be no “mass exodus” of ships through the strait of Hormuz, according to shipping analysts, despite the agreement of a two-week conditional ceasefire between the US and Iran and provisions for a temporary reopening of the crucial maritime channel.The ceasefire agreement “doesn’t change the situation in the sense that Iran is still in control,” said Richard Meade, the editor-in-chief at maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence. “It still requires ships to essentially seek permission, and that’s the key. That means that nothing has changed – no permission, no transit.” Continue reading...

• Nvidia posted first-quarter revenue of $28.3 billion, representing a 106% year-over-year increase and surpassing Wall Street consensus forecasts by 8%, driven primarily by sustained demand for AI data center GPUs. • The chipmaker's gross margin expanded to 72.1%, the highest level in five quarters, as production efficiency gains and favorable product mix offset supply chain costs. • Guidance for Q2 revenue of $32-34 billion exceeded analyst estimates, reinforcing investor confidence in the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom and supporting semiconductor sector valuations amid broader market volatility.

Telegram is increasingly blocked and mobile internet users face blackouts in effort likened to Iranian shutdownsRussia is in the midst of a vast, slow-moving effort to splinter its internet from the rest of the world, say activists and experts, with steep consequences for millions of people who are gradually being cut off.Unlike Iran’s internet shutdowns earlier this year, Russia’s shutdown is a piecemeal and opaque effort. It is defined by escalating mobile internet blackouts across cities and provinces, growing restrictions on certain kinds of traffic, and new blocks on Telegram, a messaging app essential to communication and daily life for most Russians. Continue reading...

• John Higgins, chief markets economist, concludes the AI stock bubble debated in late 2025 has already burst as of March 2026. • This marks the end of the hyped AI market surge, shifting investor focus amid ongoing tech sector volatility. • While one AI bubble deflates, a rare new growth phase in AI investments persists, per market analysis.