May 2025

After five days of confusion over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for direct talks with Ukraine, the day they were supposed to begin initially brought only more of the same: a seven-hour stakeout on the banks of the Bosphorus, an unruly scrum at the Russian consulate, and finally a decision from Ukraine’s president that may open a new chapter in this intractable conflict.

Russia’s dogged defense of its position is a key reason the Russian president unexpectedly proposed these talks five days ago. Faced with an ultimatum from Kyiv and its allies to sign on to a 30-day ceasefire or face major new sanctions, Putin chose a third path.

“We are proposing to the Kyiv authorities to renew the negotiations, that they cut off” in 2022, he told journalists in a briefing early Sunday. And so, to reinforce that point, he picked the same city that hosted some of those early peace talks – Istanbul – and, he revealed late Wednesday, the same lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister and chairman of Russia’s Military-Historical Society.

“The delegation is committed to a constructive approach,” Medinsky said in a brief appearance Thursday afternoon at the Russian consulate, in which he took no questions. The media scrum was so intense that consular officials could be overheard threatening to cancel the briefing if journalists didn’t calm down.

Medinsky claimed the direct talks were to “establish long-term peace, eliminating the root causes of the conflict.” The use of the phrase “root causes,” which for Russia run the gamut from Ukraine’s NATO ambitions all the way to its existence as a sovereign state, was a reminder of just how distant a deal could be.

And yet, to complicate things further, Russia and Ukraine are now balancing their own interests with their relationship with Donald Trump. The US president once again Thursday dangled the prospect of his own attendance at the talks, saying “if something happened” he would consider going on Friday. White House envoys Keith Kellogg and Steve Witkoff are already slated to be in Istanbul on Friday.

And Zelensky made no attempt to hide Trump was a key part of his eventual decision to engage with Russia. Emerging from his meeting with Erdogan in late afternoon, he said he would not only send a delegation to Istanbul, but it would be led by a higher-ranking official than the Russian side – Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, “out of respect for President Trump.”

Russia is also watching closely for Trump’s next move, still holding out hope for that promised reset in relations. And Trump may have raised those hopes Thursday, telling reporters as he arrived in Abu Dhabi, “nothing’s gonna happen until Putin and I get together.”

Former Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev, who left his post in Geneva in 2022, said he believes a meeting with Trump would be a major win for Putin, while he remains uninterested in meeting with Zelensky.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Editor's Pick

Trump and Abu Dhabi ink partnership to build massive AI data center complex in UAE

The United States and United Arab Emirates will partner to build a massive data center complex in Abu Dhabi to advance artificial intelligence capabilities with 5-gigawatts of capacity — enough to power a major city.

The agreement, announced Thursday during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the UAE, will mark the largest data center deployment outside of the United States, according to the Commerce Department. It will begin with a 1-gigawatt AI data center, but will eventually span 10 square miles.

The project is also expected to expand the footprint of American AI and cloud companies in the Middle East, allowing them to better serve the global south.

No companies were named in the Commerce Department’s announcement, although Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was spotted at one of Trump’s UAE meetings. Nvidia declined to comment.

Trump has been working to push AI investment, as the success of US tech companies are seen as key to retaining the US’s position as a global superpower.

“By extending the world’s leading American tech stack to an important strategic partner in the region, this agreement is a major milestone in achieving President Trump’s vision for US AI dominance,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement.

The UAE has also said it wants to become a global leader in artificial intelligence by 2031.

Ahead of Trump’s visit, UAE Minister of Education Sarah Al Amiri said the country is looking to diversify its economy, especially in the areas of AI and technology. Investments in AI infrastructure are seen as crucial to securing the region’s post-oil future.

The White House also announced on Thursday an agreement under which the UAE has committed to build or finance data centers in the United States that are “at least as large and as powerful” as those in the UAE.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Editor's Pick

Construction tycoon among 17 wanted in Thailand over deadly tower collapse

A Thai court has issued arrest warrants for 17 people including a high-profile construction tycoon, police said on Thursday, over their alleged involvement in the building of a skyscraper that collapsed and killed scores of workers during a powerful March earthquake.

Search teams recovered 89 bodies in a six-week operation in the rubble of the partially constructed 30-story State Audit Office tower in the capital Bangkok, which was the only skyscraper to collapse during tremors caused by a massive 7.7 magnitude quake in neighboring Myanmar.

The charges included building code violations that caused deaths, carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, said deputy Bangkok police chief, Police Major General Somkuan Puengsap.

Thai authorities are investigating the cause of the building collapse and have yet to release findings. It was one of the deadliest accidents of its kind in Thailand and seven people are still missing.

An anti-corruption watchdog has said it had flagged to authorities irregularities in the construction of the skyscraper before it collapsed, while industry officials said initial tests of materials at the site indicated the presence of substandard steel.

Those charged include executives and engineers from seven companies involved in the design, construction and building supervision of the collapsed tower, police said, without providing more details.

Police named only one of the 17 wanted individuals, Premchai Karnasuta, a former president of Thailand’s largest construction company Italian Thai Development Pcl ITD.BK.

Italian Thai Development has held meetings with investors and has said it was cooperating with the probe.

Premchai could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

He was convicted and sentenced to more than three years in jail in 2021 for poaching protected species after he was caught by rangers at a jungle campsite in a wildlife sanctuary with carcasses of protected animals, including a black Indochinese leopard.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Editor's Pick

American basketball player arrested in Indonesia for alleged drug smuggling, could face death penalty

An American basketball player for the Indonesian league was arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle illegal drugs to the country, police said Thursday.

The Southeast Asian country has extremely strict drug laws, and convicted smugglers are sometimes executed by firing squad.

Jarred Dwayne Shaw, 34, from Dallas, Texas, was arrested May 7, after police raided his apartment in Tangerang regency, just outside the capital, Jakarta, and seized 132 pieces of cannabis candies, said Ronald Sipayung, the Soekarno-Hatta Airport police chief.

The arrest followed a tip from the airport’s customs that reported Shaw had received a suspicious airway package from Thailand, Sipayung said. Cannabis has been decriminalized in Thailand since November 2024. Under Indonesia’s anti-drug laws, Shaw faces up to life sentence or death penalty if found guilty, Sipayung said.

A video circulating on social media purportedly showed Shaw, wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, resisting as he’s being pushed away by police and shouting “Help … help!” when he was about to be arrested.

Shaw has played for several clubs in the Indonesian Basketball League since 2022, and signed a contract with Tangerang Hawk last year. He told police during interrogation that he wanted to share the cannabis candy with fellow basketball players, according to Sipayung.

He said the candy contained a total gross weight of 869 grams (30.6 ounces) of illegal cannabinoid inside a package.

“We are still running the investigation to uncover the international drugs network behind this case and to stop its distribution,” Sipayung said.

Shaw did not make any statement when he was presented by the authorities at a news conference Wednesday wearing a detainee orange T-shirt and a mask with his hands tied.

Tangerang Hawks’ manager, Tikky Suwantikno, told reporters on Thursday that they regretted what had been done by Shaw and the club had immediately fired him as he has breached the contract.

The Indonesian Basketball League banned Shaw from playing for life, said its chair, Budisatrio Djiwandono.

“We don’t tolerate players, administrators or anyone in the field involved in drugs. There is no room for drug users in the basketball world,” Djiwandono said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is a major drug-smuggling hub despite having some of the strictest drug laws in the world, in part because international drug syndicates target its young population.

About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections’ data showed. Indonesia’s last executions, of an Indonesian and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Editor's Pick

Thai man arrested for alleged smuggling of two baby orangutans

Police in Thailand have arrested a man on suspicion of wildlife trafficking after he was found with two baby orangutans in a basket at a gas station in the Thai capital.

The 47-year-old suspect was apprehended Wednesday as he was about to deliver the two primates to a customer, Thai police said in a statement on Thursday.

Officers discovered the orangutans – one about 1-year-old and the other 1 month-old – in plastic baskets, police said.

Images released by authorities showed one of the orangutans in a plastic basket, wearing a diaper and hugging a soft toy alongside feeding bottles.

The man was arrested on charges of “illegally possessing protected wildlife” under Thai law and could face up to four years in prison, police said.

One of the rescued baby orangutans feeds from a milk bottle.

Crime Suppression Bureau of the Royal Thai Police

The man had admitted he was delivering the animals, “but he didn’t say where he got the babies from,” Kasidach said.

Police said they had uncovered an illegal wildlife trade network and were working to find out whether the orangutans had been bred in Thailand or abroad, he added.

The operation was carried out in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wildlife Justice Commission in the Netherlands, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the police statement said.

The department said that Stefan, the 1-month-old, is in an incubator because of weak health and Christopher, the 1-year-old, has been relocated to a sanctuary run by the agency.

Authorities said the orangutans are believed to have been sold for around 300,000 Thai baht ($9,050).

Orangutans are native to Sumatra and Borneo, two Southeast Asian islands that are home to some of the world’s most diverse rainforests, and have come under threat as a result of deforestation, habitat destruction and poaching.

They are listed as “critically endangered” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses extinction risks.

The gentle apes, once found in greater numbers across Southeast Asia, have experienced sharp population declines, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Thailand has long been a hub for the illegal wildlife trade.

Its border area with Myanmar, Laos, and China – known as the Golden Triangle – is a hotspot of cross-border trafficking, illegal wildlife trade and consumption, according to WWF.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Stock

How to Use Relative Strength in a Volatile Market

Want to know how to find strong stocks in a volatile market? In this video, Joe uses Relative Strength (RS), Fibonacci retracements, and technical analysis to spot top sectors and manage downside risk.

Follow along as Joe breaks down how to use the Relative Strength indicator to separate outperforming stocks from those failing at resistance. He highlights sectors showing strong or improving RS, discusses the Fibonacci retracement on QQQ, and explains what it means for downside risk.

Joe wraps up with detailed chart analysis on viewer-submitted symbol requests, including QTUM, HOOD, and more, to help you sharpen your trading decisions with expert insights.

The video premiered on May 14, 2025. Click this link to watch on Joe’s dedicated page.

Archived videos from Joe are available at this link. Send symbol requests to stocktalk@stockcharts.com; you can also submit a request in the comments section below the video on YouTube. Symbol Requests can be sent in throughout the week prior to the next show.

Stock

The S&P 500 Snapped Back Hard: Now What?

The S&P 500 ($SPX) just staged one of the sharpest rebounds we’ve seen in years. After tumbling into deeply oversold territory earlier this year, the index has completely flipped the script—short-term, medium-term, and even long-term indicators are now pointing in a new direction.

One longer-term indicator that hit an extreme low in early April was the 14-week relative strength index (RSI), which dropped to 27. That’s among the lowest levels since the 2008 financial crisis.

The obvious takeaway: it was a great time to buy, even in cases where the low RSI didn’t mark the low. Everyone who pounded the table a few weeks ago has been proven right, even if the rebound was faster and stronger than most could’ve predicted. So, what happens next?

Don’t Expect a Straight Line Up

The long-term picture looks promising, but markets rarely move in a straight line. Even though the market was higher months and years after these deeply oversold readings, the path wasn’t a straight shot to new highs (even if long-term log charts sometimes make it look that way).

The chart below shows the lowest weekly RSI readings in the S&P 500 since 2008.

FIGURE 1. THE LOWEST WEEKLY RSI READING SIN THE S&P 500 SINCE 2008.

Almost every time, there was a pause, often more than one. Some were sharp, others more prolonged. The first real test typically came when RSI bounced back to the 50-zone (the mid-point of its range). Each of these moments is highlighted in yellow in the chart below.

FIGURE 2. AFTER DEEPLY OVERSOLD RSI READINGS, THERE WAS OFTEN A PAUSE IN THE INDEX.

As shown, this often marked the initial digestion phase after the face-ripping rally off the lows. Eventually, the SPX climbed back to a weekly overbought condition, but not right away. This pattern was clearest in 2011, 2015–16, and 2022. The depressed weekly RSI showed that things were getting washed out, but volatility persisted before a lasting uptrend took hold.

Indeed, the current snapback is one of the quickest and most powerful turnarounds in decades, but this pace is also unsustainable. A slowdown is inevitable.

So how does the market handle the next round of profit-taking? By continuing to make higher lows – and converting those into additional bullish patterns.

XLK Makes A Comeback

The market comeback has been led by large-cap growth; that much is clear. The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) has roared back nearly 30% in just six weeks. That’s a massive move in a short period, and far larger than any failed bear market rally seen in 2022. The best six-week rally back then came in the summer and topped out at 17%.

The last time we saw a six-week gain of 20%+ was the period following the COVID-19 low in spring 2020. As we know, that snapback continued, with XLK overtaking its pre-crash highs and ultimately rallying 160% into the early 2022 peak.

This isn’t a prediction, but we shouldn’t ignore it either. Why? Because before 2020, the last such move happened in April 2009, right after the ultimate low of the 2008 financial crisis.

FIGURE 3. WEEKLY CHART OF XLK.

Industrials are Building Strength Too

The Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) and XLK are the first sector ETFs to register overbought 14-day RSI readings. While that suggests a short-term pause could be near, it wouldn’t be a negative. As the weekly chart shows, a pullback could help complete a large bullish formation.

Once again, bouts of intense volatility eventually can lead to the biggest bullish chart formations. Let’s keep XLI on our radar screens.

FIGURE 4. WEEKLY CHART OF XLI.

Even Solar Stocks Are Waking Up

The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN), which has been stuck in a brutal downtrend for years, just rocketed higher by 40%, using intra-day highs and lows. That rally has produced the first overbought reading since late May 2024, which, notably, lasted only a day before momentum faded.

Yesterday, TAN tagged its 200-day moving average, prompting a round of profit-taking. This sets up a critical test for TAN, which has consistently failed at resistance or after short-term pops. Selling strength in TAN has been a highly effective strategy for quite some time.

FIGURE 5: DAILY CHART OF TAN.

The weekly chart clearly shows this pattern playing out since TAN topped in early 2021. Like anything else, TAN could eventually turn the corner—but to do so, it would need to form a legitimate higher low from here.

For now, the downtrend deserves respect. Chasing this move is not advised. Selling strength remains the recommended approach—until proven otherwise.

FIGURE 6. WEEKLY CHART OF TAN.

The Bottom Line

Yes, the market’s comeback has been fast and fierce. But fast moves don’t necessarily mean a straight path higher. Expect slowdowns and pullbacks, watch for bullish setups, and don’t chase runaway rallies. There’s opportunity out there, but it’s all about timing and discipline.

Stock

SMCI Stock Rebounds: Why Its SCTR Score is Screaming for Attention

Let’s be real. How many of you kicked yourselves for not jumping into some long positions last Friday?

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and unless you’ve got a crystal ball, there’s no sure way to know what the market will do next. What you can do, though, is be ready for the next opportunity, and one stock that’s flashing signals is Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI).

Super Micro Computer has had a rocky ride. The company was delisted from the Nasdaq in 2018, after there was a report of possible accounting issues by Hindenburg Research, and it risked being delisted from the Nasdaq again in February 2025. SMCI managed to get its act together, filed its 10-K, and clawed its way back into compliance. Now it’s back on the SCTR radar, and with a current reading of 99 — an impressive move. As such, the stock has made its way into the Top 10 StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) report in the Large Cap category. Will it muscle its way back into the top three like it did in early 2024?

SMCI Stock’s Journey

The three-year arithmetic scale weekly chart of SMCI below shows the stock price rising higher and making a steep vertical upward move in 2024. SMCI’s stock price hit a high of $122.90 on the week of March 4. From there, things weren’t great. The stock price faced headwinds, bringing the stock price to a low of $17.25 by mid-November 2024. SMCI’s stock price has been grinding higher, carving out a series of higher lows.

FIGURE 1. WEEKLY CHART OF SMCI STOCK. After hitting a high of $129.90 in early March 2024, the stock tanked to $17.25 by mid-November. It is starting to show signs of recovery, but how far will it go this time?Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

From a weekly perspective, SMCI looks like it’s regrouping, and this week’s spike might just be the shot of adrenaline it needs.

The Daily View: A More Granular Perspective

A partnership with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a Saudi Arabian data center deal, and a couple of analyst nods may have had something to do with SMCI’s stock price gap up on Wednesday. But let’s shift away from the headlines and talk technicals (see daily chart of SMCI below).

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF SMCI STOCK. The stock gapped up on Wednesday. Will it continue higher, or will the gap get filled? Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

SMCI has broken above its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) (even if it’s still sloping downward … a small detail not to be overlooked).
The relative strength index (RSI) is getting close to its 70 line, indicating momentum is heating up.
The percentage price oscillator (PPO) is crossing above its zero line.
And again: SMCI’s SCTR score is at 99.1, a position of technical strength.

Is It Time to Get In Front of SMCI?

You know the drill. Timing a trade is about strategy. There’s always the temptation to hit the buy button, but rushing in can lead to expensive regrets. Ever place a limit order and end up canceling it because your nerves got the better of you? We’ve all been there.

Gaps like the one we saw in SMCI on Wednesday are tricky. They often get filled, but not always. So, in the case of SMCI, it may be worth waiting for the dust to settle. This is where patience becomes your superpower.

An ideal scenario would be a pullback in price to perhaps the 200-day SMA, followed by a reversal. If the RSI breaks above 70 and the PPO rises above the zero line, it would confirm the necessary follow-through to push the price higher. Wait for the ideal setup before you make your move.

In other words: Don’t chase. Let the trade come to you.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

Investing

Accent Trial Data Demonstrates that Narmafotinib + Chemotherapy Combination Superior to Chemotherapy Alone

Amplia Therapeutics Limited (ASX: ATX), (“Amplia” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce important new data from our ongoing ACCENT clinical trial in pancreatic cancer. The trial is investigating the Company’s best-in-class FAK inhibitor narmafotinib in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapies gemcitabine and Abraxane. Fifteen (15) confirmed partial responses (PRs) have now been recorded in the trial, a level of response sufficient to demonstrate that the combination of narmafotinib and chemotherapy is superior to chemotherapy alone.

HIGHLIGHTS

Key milestone achieved, with 15 confirmed responses recorded in the ongoing Phase 1b/2a ACCENT trial
Sufficient confirmed responses have now been recorded to demonstrate that narmafotinib combined with chemotherapy is superior to chemotherapy alone.
The ACCENT trial is evaluating narmafotinib in combination with the chemotherapies gemcitabine and Abraxane® in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer
Narmafotinib is a highly potent and selective FAK inhibitor discovered at the Melbourne-based Cooperative Research Centre for Cancer Therapeutics.
Phase 2a ACCENT trial is fully recruited with top-line data expected in mid Q3 2025

A confirmed partial response is a formal designation of response where tumour shrinkage >30% is recorded and sustained for two (2) or more months and where no new cancerous lesions have been detected. As pancreatic cancer is highly aggressive it is extremely rare for patients to achieve a complete response (CR).

The ACCENT trial is an open-label study meaning that all patients on the study receive narmafotinib in combination with the standard-of-care therapy. The data obtained in this trial is compared to historical data for the combination of gemcitabine and Abraxane in pancreatic cancer, and specifically data from the MPACT study, upon which we have closely modelled our trial¹.

At the outset of the study a statistical analysis was performed which identified that a patient cohort of 50 patients would be sufficient to allow the efficacy of our combination to be ascertained with reasonable confidence if 15 or more responders (confirmed PR or CR) were recorded. A total of 55 advanced pancreatic patients have enrolled in the study since January 2024, with 21 patients still on study at this time.

As noted in our recent press release², the drug continues to be well tolerated by patients with the rate and type of adverse events for the narmafotinib combination being similar to that reported for chemotherapy alone.

Amplia CEO and MD Dr Chris Burns commented: “We are extremely excited to have now recorded 15 confirmed partial responses in the ACCENT trial, demonstrating the benefit of adding narmafotinib to standard-of-care chemotherapy. With over 20 patients still on study we are hopeful that further PR’s will be observed”

Click here for the full ASX Release

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Investing

Eric Nuttall: Oil vs. Natural Gas Stocks, Plus 2025 Prices, Supply and Demand

Eric Nuttall, partner and senior portfolio manager at Ninepoint Partners, shares his outlook for oil and natural gas, honing in on supply, demand and prices.

Global uncertainty has placed pressure on the oil market, and Nuttall said for that reason he sees natural gas stocks outperforming oil stocks in the near term.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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