Key Takeaways
- Citigroup (C) significantly raised its price target for General Motors (GM) to $131 from $108, highlighting the automaker's aggressive share buybacks and expanding margins.
- Iran has reasserted sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, requiring all vessels to obtain permission from the IRGC Navy; 15 ships, including four oil tankers, complied with the new protocols in the last 24 hours.
- UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves summoned oil industry bosses for urgent talks regarding a proposed crackdown on foreign branch tax loopholes intended to fund a national cost-of-living support package.
- India’s Trade Minister set a $1 trillion total export target for FY27, while expressing optimism that an interim trade deal with the United States will be signed shortly.
- Eurozone unemployment reached 6.3% in April, coming in slightly higher than the 6.2% estimated by analysts, as the region grapples with persistent inflationary pressures.
Citigroup (C) has issued a major bullish update for General Motors (GM), raising its price target to $131 from a previous $108. Analysts at the bank cited GM’s "self-help" narrative, noting that the company is successfully expanding margins even as global volumes face pressure. The upgrade follows a strong first-quarter performance where GM delivered an adjusted EPS of $3.70, far exceeding the $2.62 consensus estimate.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have escalated as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy announced it is now "directing" all ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC Navy reported that 15 vessels, including four oil tankers, obtained permission to pass through the strategic chokepoint in the last 24 hours. Iranian officials warned that any vessel violating these new laws and warnings would be stopped, a move that has drawn sharp condemnation from Saudi Arabia and raised concerns over global energy security.
In the United Kingdom, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has summoned executives from major oil firms, including BP (BP) and Shell (SHEL), to discuss a clampdown on the use of foreign branches to reduce UK tax bills. The Treasury expects the measure to raise hundreds of millions of pounds annually to fund a £1.8 billion cost-of-living support package. The move comes as the government faces increasing pressure to ensure that energy giants, benefiting from price volatility, pay their "fair share" of taxes.
India is aggressively pursuing a new era of trade, with Trade Minister Piyush Goyal targeting $1 trillion in total exports by FY27. Goyal noted that India and the U.S. have resolved most outstanding issues on a trade pact and hopes to sign an interim deal soon. This ambition follows a record $863 billion in exports for the previous fiscal year, driven largely by a surge in services and information technology shipments.
In the technology and digital asset sectors, Anthropic announced it will grant the EU’s Cybersecurity Agency access to its "Mythos" AI model to help identify systemic vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, Binance unveiled a new service allowing non-U.S. users to trade over 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs commission-free. The crypto exchange is positioning itself as a "multi-asset financial super app," enabling users to purchase fractional shares starting at $5 using stablecoins like USDC and USDT.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.