Wall St News, Markets, New York,MYSE Media Man Int

Wall St

Markets, Cryptos and Culture

May 26, 2026

Wall Street, New York - Sydney, Australia

Big Week In Store For Markets, Streaming Biz, Combat Sports; Ripple Effect! Bulls vs Bears continued

Road To WWE Clash In Italy and UFC Freedom 250; Wrestling With Numbers And Creative

Digital Bush Telegraph

Australia and Wall St Continues To Ring Bells

Markets

ASX 200 futures down 3 points: 8677

AUD 71.70US¢

Bitcoin - $75,647.14 -1.26%

Wall St:
Dow -0.2%
S&P +0.6%
Nasdaq +1.2%

VIX up 0.42 to 17.01
Gold -1.4% to $US4507.390 an ounce
Brent oil +3.5% to $US99.53 a barrel
Iron ore -1.6% to $US105.00 a ton

10-year yield: US 4.50% Australia 4.91%

News

Numbers Double Check

Australian Dollar: $0.7167 USD (down $0.0006 USD)
Iron Ore: $105.00 USD (down $1.75 USD)
Oil Price (West Texas): $93.61 USD (up $3.31 USD)
Gold Price : $4,507.47 USD (down $62.85 USD)
Copper Price: $6.4245 USD (down $0.0455 USD)
Dow Jones: 50,461.68 (down 118.02 points)

News (Australia)

May 27

Shares drop after US strikes on Iran; ASX Ltd suffers worst day ever

The Australian sharemarket fell on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 finishing down 34.20 points at 8657.8, with oil rising again on the back of US strikes on Iran that dampened optimism about a possible peace deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the rise in the price of oil, energy stocks declined, with Santos 0.9 per down cent to $7.87 and Woodside Energy retreating 0.1 per cent to $30.72. Meanwhile, ASX Ltd had its worst day ever, with the market exchange operator down 13.2 per cent to $51.03 after it advised that its cost base and capital spending outlook for FY 2026-27 would rise about 20 per cent on further technology investment. (RMS)

News

Gaming/Tech Biz

Pokies company Ainsworth writes off $13.2m investment in alleged 'pyramid scheme'

Australian poker machine manufacturer Ainsworth Game Technology has lost a $13.2 million investment in an Argentinian fintech company called Wenance, with the company having been declared bankrupt. Its CEO Alejandro Muszak was arrested in 2024 amid fraud allegations facing Wenance, while there are claims that it operated a Ponzi scheme. With Ainsworth Game Technology having recently forecast a profit before tax of just $1m for the six months ending 30 June, the news that it has lost its $13.2 million investment in Wenance is unlikely to please its shareholders. (RMS)

Cryptos

XRP $1.3247 -0.75%

DOGE $0.1020 +0.20%

Bitcoin Cash $344.16 -0.68%

News

A.I News (Aust)

WiseTech's move to replace staff with AI triggers threats made against CEO Zubin Appoo

WiseTech Global CEO Zubin Appoo has previously announced plans to lay off about 30 per cent of the logistics software's firm's staff, with it being understood that the lay-off process as far as its Australian staff are concerned began on Monday. The lay-offs appear to have led to an employee to have made threats against Appoo, with police believed to be investigating violent threats allegedly made against him, along with "offensive comments" about his family, with the threats believed to have come from an Australian employee. Appoo had said when announcing the redundancies in February that AI was "going to be the biggest unlocker of productivity for business", while WiseTech founder and executive chairman Richard White has commented that an AI agent "never goes to sleep, never complains, never asks for a pay rise, doesn't go on holidays, works 24/7". (RMS)

News

The crypto market is juggling altcoins

Market Overview

The crypto market remains stagnant, stuck at $2.57T and hovering around the 50-day moving average, awaiting further signals. The crypto market’s overall sideways movement looks like a juggling act for mid-tier altcoins: one after another takes the lead. Among the most popular coins over the last 24 hours are NEAR Protocol (+14%), The Graph (+5.6%) and Toncoin (+4.5%). The underperformers were Zcash (-5.9%), Dash (-4.1%) and Uniswap (-3.1%).

Bitcoin rose to $77.8K at the end of the day on Monday, but by the start of trading in Europe, it was trading $1,000 lower. The coin is finding support near the upward-sloping 50-day moving average. Earlier in May, the 200-day moving average briefly acted as strong resistance. If current trends continue, these lines will cross in just a couple of weeks, forming a golden cross, a strong bullish signal. But even before that, we may see a breakout of one of the key moving averages, the outcome of which will determine the trajectory of Bitcoin and the entire crypto market for the coming weeks.

News Background

Institutional investors have withdrawn $1.74 billion from Bitcoin ETFs over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, retail traders are increasing their leverage in anticipation of a reversal in the BTC price. In the past, such a combination has repeatedly resulted in severe waves of liquidations, warns CryptoOnchain.

Current Ethereum levels are suitable for building long-term positions, according to MN Trading founder Michael van de Poppe. In his view, the asset remains a crucial infrastructure element of the on-chain ecosystem, despite lagging the market in recent months due to macroeconomic factors.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the listing of options on a Bitcoin index calculated based on BTC prices across multiple exchanges. This is the first such instrument on US stock exchanges currently; only options linked to the value of spot crypto ETF shares are traded there.

Strategy skipped its weekly Bitcoin purchase last week, instead buying back $1.5 billion of its own convertible bonds. The company’s founder, Michael Saylor, publicly revealed for the first time the tactic that Strategy has been using for five years. (FxPro)

May 25

Bitcoin is shy to move up, but refuses to fall

Market Overview

The crypto market continues to fluctuate, returning for the third time this week to market capitalisation levels around $2.57T, although at the end of last week it dipped to $2.5T following an earlier surge to $2.7T in May. Over the past 24 hours, the top-performing coins have been Near Protocol (+7.3%), Internet Computer (+4.1%) and Toncoin (+3.4%). Uniswap has seen the biggest decline, falling by 1.6%, whilst Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin have each lost 1%.

Bitcoin fell to $74.3K on Saturday but was trading just above $77K by Monday. Its price movements remain very subdued, with no sharp spikes, and it continues to lag behind stock indices, which are climbing towards all-time highs. On the other hand, the trend of buying on dips is also clearly continuing. The 50-day moving average remains a support level, but buyers are wary of accelerating their purchases. They are likely somewhat put off by the lack of a ‘final capitulation’ in the leading cryptocurrency, which could have brought the bear market to an end.

News Background

Outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs have continued for a second week, following six weeks of inflows. According to SoSoValue, net weekly outflows from spot BTC ETFs rose to $1.26 billion, hitting their highest level since late January. Total inflows since the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 have fallen to $57.08 billion (-2.2% for the week).

Outflows from US spot Ethereum ETFs have also persisted for two consecutive weeks. Net weekly outflows from ETH ETFs fell by $216 million. Total net inflows since the ETF's launch in July 2024 have fallen to $11.62 billion (-1.8% week-on-week).

Weakening retail demand and outflows from crypto ETFs could be a ‘contrarian indicator’ signalling a buy signal for Bitcoin, according to Santiment.

Bitcoin miners remain cautious and are not yet showing confidence that the bear market phase is over, CryptoQuant notes. Miners continue to reduce their reserves of the leading cryptocurrency, as they do not yet see sufficient grounds for active BTC purchases.

The media corporation Trump Media and Technology Group transferred 2,650 bitcoins from the project’s crypto wallet to the http://Crypto.com exchange. The transaction suggests a desire to sell BTC, Arkham Intelligence speculated. The deal will be a loss-maker, as the average purchase price of the coins exceeded $118K.

Billionaire Mark Cuban has sold 80% of his bitcoin holdings and stated that he has lost faith in bitcoin as a safe-haven asset. According to him, he continues to hold Ethereum, placing more trust in this altcoin than in BTC. (FxPro)

News Flashback/Lead Up

Media (Australia)

Karl Stefanovic and Eddie McGuire sign with Kyle and Jackie O's old radio company and Nine

Eddie McGuire and Karl Stefanovic are to host a new program on the streaming platforms of Nine Entertainment and radio network Gold every Friday, with the program to be called 'The Long Weekend'. With Stefanovic being the host of Nine's 'Today' program and McGuire the former Collingwood Football Club president, the deal that sees them broadcast the new program is regarded as a 'coup' for Gold owner ARN, following the loss of its 'marquee' breakfast show hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson. (RMS)

News (100 + Hours Ago)

Silver And Gold

Silver caught in a price trap

After a long period of calm, volatility has returned to the silver market. Silver surged to a two-month high, rallying more than 20% from its May lows in just a week. However, concerns over tighter monetary policy and rising bond yields have since put pressure on prices.

Of course, the current fluctuations cannot be compared to what we saw in January, when a 35% drop occurred in a single day. Investors felt that the rally had gone too far. However, the situation does not yet look like a classic bubble burst, as silver prices are still 130% higher than a year ago, which is suppressing global demand. UBS estimates a 50 million-ounce decline this year, allowing the bank to lower its price forecast from $100 to $85 per ounce by the end of the second quarter.

High prices are forcing not only jewellers but also industrialists to seek alternatives for silver. There has been some success in replacing it with copper in the manufacture of solar panels. This sector accounts for a fifth of global supply. Due to the fall in global demand, the 46.3-million-ounce deficit forecast by the Silver Institute for 2026 may prove smaller, putting pressure on the price per ounce.

Silver is also facing weaker investment demand. Rising global bond yields and a stronger US dollar are putting pressure on the metal. UBS reports that speculative interest has fallen sharply, while silver ETF holdings have dropped by 70 million ounces since the start of the year, to 794 million ounces.

De-escalation in the Middle East could turn the tables. Oil, the US dollar and Treasury yields would fall, which would be positive for silver. However, as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, it remains under pressure.

The silver market is relatively small compared to gold, which makes it more vulnerable to speculative trading. This often leads to sharper price moves in both directions. (FxPro)

News

(ICYMI)

Conor McGregor Rematches Max Holloway at UFC 329

UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena headlines with this welterweight rematch during International Fight Week, airing live on Paramount+. McGregor, 22-6 and last fighting in 2021 after a tibia fracture, meets Holloway, 27-9, in his welterweight debut—the ex-featherweight champ aiming to make a statement. Trash talk flew fast: McGregor promised to 'son' Holloway again, while 'Blessed' fired back demanding respect on his name. Early odds favor Holloway at -500 amid McGregor's ring rust.

The Lead Up

TKO Neg With Talent/Wrestling With Numbers And Contracts; If The New Price Is Right Mr Wrestling and Ms Wrestling; Mr Corbin aka Mr Lucky enjoying strong buzz: Join the dots; Mr Kross Of WSW and MLW Enjoys Strong Mega Buzz In Australia and Globally: World Series Wrestling, Belt Collector! WSW YouTube Is Updated!

UFC MMA and U.S Admin Mix It Up With Fighters Visiting White House; Patriots Well Received In And Around Oval Office; Present Trump Gets Welcome Image Revamp Of Sorts; Keeping The Wars In The Octagon!

Legendary WWE Tagteam Rumored To Return To Roster; No Names/Spoilers - Join The Dots .. And You Can't Beat That ... Ok, Not . S.A.W.F.T ... Hard On The Mic + +

Red Turns To Green And Gold!

News Flashback

Netflix MMA Debut Peaks at 11.6 Million U.S. Viewers with Rousey Win

On May 16 at Los Angeles' Intuit Dome, MVP's triple-main-event card averaged 9.3 million U.S. viewers and peaked at 11.6 million during Rousey's featherweight submission over Carano, topping the prior MMA high from 2011. Other highlights included Mike Perry's corner-stoppage win over Nate Diaz and Francis Ngannou's first-round knockout of Philipe Lins, drawing star power from fighters like Rousey and Ngannou. Promoters Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian celebrated the global reach and 410 million social impressions, though podcaster Brendan Schaub questioned the figures and off-cage drama saw Claressa Shields banned after a VIP-area altercation with Alycia Baumgardner. (Media Man Peg-On): Are the numbers and biz model sustainable? Perhaps only if Netflix keeps green lighting them. Is there a return on investment if you are Netflix? Insiders and outsiders continue to debate broadcast!

News

Pop Culture Ref: "The Wall Street Shuffle" (10 cc)

LinkedIn b2b Business Continues To Lift For Media Man Group and Associates

News (ICYMI)

Alphabet/Google Cracks TIME 100 Cover; Positive Buzz

Beast Industries aka MrBeast TIME Top 100 Influencer;

Post Buzz Continues For TIME Media Darlings

TKO/WWE In And Out Of The Ring Continues; Up and Down Cycle; TKO's Nick Khan Offer Positive Vibes To US Admin Re Ali Act Amendment; Counter Punch by some competitors; Road To WWE Clash In Italy and Road To UFC Freedom 250

TKO Prez Mark Shapiro Admits Back To Back WrestleMania's In Sin City Las Vegas May Have Been Mistake; Will Return To City To City Strategy, No Repeat City's For WrestleMania In Future

TKO's LinkedIn Continues To Enjoy Strong News Media Buzz; Google LinkedIn Numbers Up; Search Engine Journal LinkedIn; Rio Tinto (Mining) Strong LinkedIn Media Vibes And Buzz

News

WWE's Danhausen Offers Mega Exposure To Rootless Coffee And WWE Merch; Number 3 Best Seller Of WWE Merch With Human Monies; Danhausen ESPN News! Very Nice!

Media Man LinkedIn and X Up; Road To WWE Clash In Italy and Road To UFC Freedom 250

Google/Alphabet: Bullish!

May 25, 2026 (U.S)

Markets

Coffee 274.00 +1.65

Cocoa 41.69.00 +373.00

Sillicon 8430 +20.00

Silver 76815 -0.14

Beef 347.80

Newsfeed

News Lead Up

200 + Hours Ago

BTC/Cryptos

Bitcoin hits the pause button at $80K

Market Overview

The crypto market capitalisation has stalled at around $2.70 trillion, reflecting Bitcoin’s indecision around $80,000. At the same time, risk aversion is mounting in global markets, which can be easily linked to profit-taking following the rally and the US dollar's upward momentum. Among the top coins, the leaders over the past day were Theta (+8.5%), Toncoin (+4.9%) and NEAR Protocol (+2.1%). The underperformers were Dash (-4.2%), Official Trump (-3.5%) and Zcash (-3.5%). Full coverage via FxPro. (FxPro). (Media Man Peg-On): Can we call Michael Saylor the "King Of Bulls". Awesome PR machine and LinkedIn buzz. Join the dots!

News

Media Man with Cafe News Media Watercooler

Beer killer? Rise of the vodka RTD

Gold Coast-based drinks maker Hard Fizz emerged at around the time of the pandemic, while the ready-to-drink canned beverage market boomed after the pandemic. Hard Fizz originally focused on alcoholic seltzer drinks, but it is now switching to vodka-based canned drinks, with CEO Wade Tiller saying the change is because you are more limited with flavour when you use seltzer. Hard Fizz's seltzer sales have slumped over the past year, at a time when there is a broader consumer shift to RTDs, while vodka-based light RTDs account for 75 per cent of Australian RTD sales. (RMS)

News

oOh!media rejects $770m offer, triggers bidding war

The board of listed outdoor advertising group oOh!media has advised that it is open to further takeover approaches after spurning two suitors. The company has indicated that it assessed both offers and deemed that neither reflected its intrinsic value. US-based private equity firm I Squared Capital had offered $1.45 per share, valuing its bid at $770m; it had trumped a previous offer from Pacific Equity Partners of $1.40 per share. Brian Han from Morningstar says the rejection of both offers means that oOh!media's directors have effectively put up a 'for auction' sign. (RMS)

News

AI News

The hidden expenses in banking's AI rollout

Tokens have been described as the hidden cost of using artificial intelligence, with tokens being a basic unit that measures how much data is being processed through autonomous AI models such as Anthropic's Claude. Westpac's CEO Anthony Miller told a recent investment banking conference that the bank was still in the process of working out how to disclose token use and productivity, with the cost of tokens depending on the model used. Noel Williams from PwC says the cost of tokens is definitely something that the big banks need to take into consideration, while Goldman Sachs analysts claimed recently that token consumption would increase 22-fold by 2030 and 55-fold by 2040. (RMS)

News

TKO Group Holdings Inc
$188.09
-3.41 -1.78%
Lead Up
$191.50 -0.13 -0.068%
After hours: $191.50 flat

Alphabet Inc Class A
$388.88
+5.91 +1.54%
Lead up
$382.97
-4.69 -1.21%

Meta Platforms Inc
$612.34
+2.08 +0.34%
Lead Up
$610.26
+2.88 +0.47%

Netflix Inc
$87.68
-0.92 -1.04%
Lead Up
$88.60
-0.70 -0.78%

Wynn Resorts Ltd
$97.87
+0.63 +0.65%
Lead Up
$97.24
-1.30 -1.32%

MGM Resorts International
$38.45
+0.050 +0.13%
Lead Up
$38.40
+0.74 +1.96%

NVIDIA Corp
$214.86
-0.47 -0.22%
Lead Up
$215.33
-4.18 -1.90%

News

(ICYMI)

MGM Vegas

Heyman Hustle/Paul Heyman - Live At MGM

News

Heyman’s involvement ties into his Looking4Larry Agency’s creative work and a broader MGM Studios partnershipMGM Live is the new entertainment/content brand for MGM Resorts International’s Las Vegas properties. It launched on Instagram with a debut reel featuring Paul Heyman and UFC President Dana White together at an EZ Baccarat table at the Live at Park MGM venue on the Las Vegas.

This marks a notable crossover, as UFC and WWE are both under TKO Group Holdings. Park MGM has hosted WWE events (like the 2026 Hall of Fame) and UFC PPVs.

Heyman shot disruptive/late-night content there during WrestleMania week, including:His TikTok debut from Park MGM (talking about Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania, etc.).

"Heyman on Heyman" interview with his son Jacob for HeymanHustleTV. Multiple Instagram/TikTok reels embracing his "King of New York (and everywhere else)" persona while promoting MGM.

News

Big Tech

(ICYMI)

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms Report Q1 2026 Earnings Beating Expectations

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion and EPS of $5.11, surpassing estimates, with Google Cloud revenue up 63% to $20 billion.

Microsoft reported fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $82.89 billion and EPS of $4.27, beating expectations, driven by 39-40% Azure growth.

Amazon reported Q1 2026 revenue of $181.5 billion and EPS of $2.78 exceeding forecasts, with AWS up 28%, while Meta reported Q1 2026 revenue of $56.3 billion and EPS of $10.44 above estimates.

News Lead Up

Media (Aust)

May 22

James Murdoch gets Rupert's old New York mag in $419m Vox deal

James Murdoch has purchased roughly half of Vox Media in a deal reportedly worth $US300 million ($419 million). It is the first big purchase by James Murdoch since he 'cashed out' his $US1.1 billion share of the Murdoch family business in a 2025 settlement that ended a acrimonious succession dispute, with James Murdoch being the youngest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Vox Media's assets include 'New York' magazine, which his father owned from 1976 to 1991, along with a podcast network that includes shows such as 'Where Should We Begin?' (RMS)

Media Man (Anti Peg-On): Succession?!? May be interesting lunch or dinner banter. Boar On The Floor? If you can make it in New York and/or Sydhey, you can make it anywhere?!

News

Sports Biz (Aust)

AFL star set to make more money from one game than he earns in a year

Collingwood player Scott Pendlebury will break the record for the most number of games played by an VFL/AFL player when he lines up against the West Coast Eagles this weekend. Collingwood and the AFL have approved a special commercial arrangement for Pendlebury that will enable him to 'capture' 100 per cent of a vast array of merchandise created for the occasion, rather than the usual 65 per cent player cut. It has been estimated that Pendlebury could make more than $500,000 from the event, which is more than his annual salary, while he is currently involved in a legal battle with his former manager Jason Sourasis, with Pendlebury claiming Sourasis took $2.6 million from his accounts over an extended period "without his knowledge". (RMS)

News

May 25

(Rey Mysterio is new AAA GM); JBL May Challenge!

Pop Culture/Lucha Libre

News Flashback

AAA Announces New General Manager Reveal on May 23

On the April 25 episode of AAA on Fox, President Marisela Peña announced that Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide will get a new General Manager, with the live reveal set for May 23 in Mexico City. This follows her son Dorian Roldán's recent plea for the role, which she decided to open to other candidates after careful thought. Fans are speculating on names like Zelina Vega, Rey Mysterio, or even The Undertaker, amid AAA's growth since WWE's majority stake acquisition last April and its new Fox broadcasts blending lucha action with WWE polish. (Media Man Peg-On): Ariba. Triple A has massive influence from The Undertaker, and it's paying off as far as entertainment value for fans and in other creative and business ways from what we see and hear. Can see Danhausen in Triple A also? Lucha Hausen! And Vice City Rocks!

News Lead

UFC - MMA Building Stars Again; SS King Of Division, Substance And Hype; Yan UFC Bonus; Dana White Inks McGregor for UFC 329

New York Kind Of Feeling

US Stocks - Black-ish Friday again?

Road To WWE Clash In Italy

Road To WWE Money In The Bank (for some)

Google/Alphabet vs The Others

X vs The Others

WWE Management And Wrestlers Bullish; Wrestling and Boxing; WrestleMania Not Returning To Vegas For Long Time After Repeat Let Down

Sports Biz Event Tickets And Merch Drive

Danhausen Lifts WWE Merch Hausen

News

Media Man Group Weekly Series

Pop Culture Dream Matches

Oba Femi vs Brock Lesnar - Rematch - Clash in Italy

New Blood vs New Day vs Old News

GCW Bloodspot vs The Others

MGM Wrestling vs Atlantic City

Mr UFC vs Upstart MMA's

Bam Bam vs Time

Mankind vs IWC

UFC vs Outlaw Mud Shows

MVP vs Weekend Warriors

WBD Wrestling vs Own Goal

Mr Dingo Driver vs Dingo Warrior

New School vs Old School

Paul Heyman and Son and MGM Gamification vs others!

PopWrecked vs Karen

Studio97 vs others: Catfight Rules!

FHM vs MAXIM

Danhausen and Minihuasen vs Fraxiom

x AI vs others!

T. Abbott (Aust) and P. Hanson vs Wokes

Rousey and Gina vs Critics

Ali vs self

The Man In The Arena vs self

Netflix vs Paramount Plus vs YouTube - 3 Way Dance! Special Ref: Easy E. Share The Love!

Ultra A.I vs Human Full Bloods

Extreme Swimming vs Traditional Swimming

Ex Machina vs Cave Man

Rudos vs Technicos (Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide)

Killer Kross vs All; KK The Belt Collector!

Mr News vs Mr VOX *That's with a V, not FOX)!

FOX vs The Hare: Fox And The Hound! Re-match. NYC Rules!

News

Best Quotes Of The Day

"What's your hustle" Paul Heyman

"I've never met a currency I didn't like" JBL

"Everyone you meet knows something you don't know" Anon/Mr Crypto Castle

"An investment in ones self is always the best bet" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

"The consumer and fans decide what and who is the best" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

"More often than not it pays to be Google friendly" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group (repeated at Google Search Central Live, Sydney, Australia)

Media Man

Markets, Cryptos and Culture

May 19, 2026

Sydney, Australia to Wall Street, New York

Aussie Black Tuesday!l Will Oz Get A Big Wednesday per Surf Culture?! The Ripple Effect?!

Digital Bush Telegraph

Australia Continues To Ring Bells

Markets

ASX 200 futures up 92 points/1.1 percent: 8615

AUD +0.3% to US71.69¢
Bitcoin - $76,734.63 - 0.20%
Dow +0.3%
S&P -0.1%
Nasdaq -0.5%
VIX -0.61 to 17.82
Gold +0.6% to $US4566.67 an oz
Brent oil +0.3% to $US109.60 a barrel
Iron ore -0.8% to $US108.25 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.59% Australia 5.11%

XRP
$1.3721 -0.64%

DOGE
$0.1040 +0.08%

News

Numbers Double Check

May 19

Australian Dollar: $0.7162 USD (up $0.0020 USD)
Iron Ore: $108.25 USD (down $1.10 USD)
Oil Price (West Texas): $106.91 USD (up $1.49 USD)
Gold Price : $4,566.26 USD (up $25.77 USD)
Copper Price): $6.3325 USD (up $0.0430 USD)
Dow Jones: 49,686.12 (up 159.95 points)

News

May 19

ASX falls 1.5pc to seven-week low; Brambles' worst day since 2002

The Australian sharemarket fell to a seven-week low on Monday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index down 1.5 per cent to 8,505 points. The slump was attributed to the ongoing global bond sell-off, with bond yields having risen on fears of rising inflation, while a 1.5 per cent increase in Brent crude oil did not help matters. Brambles fell 20.2 per cent to $17.63 in what was its biggest one-day decline since November 2002 after it downgraded its FY26 guidance, while other stocks to fall included BHP, which was down 2.8 per cent to $58.77, and Evolution Mining, which fell 4.6 per cent to $11.93. (RMS)

News

Sellers are pressing down on crypto

Market Overview

The crypto market is trading within a narrow range, having bounced off its upper boundary at $2.73T and retreated to $2.67T at the time of writing. New records on the US stock market have spurred crypto buyers into action, but this has proved insufficient to break through key resistance levels. We attribute this weak performance to the strengthening of the dollar, as evidenced by gold's dynamics. Over the past 24 hours, the top performers among the most liquid coins have been Dash (+4%), Zcash (+3.8%) and Uniswap (+3.1%), while fewer coins are losing ground, with the most significant losses seen in Internet Computer (-8%), Aptos (-1.1%) and Official Trump (-0.8%).
Riding a wave of optimism in equities, Bitcoin rose once again towards $82K, hitting the 200-day moving average once more. This is usually a signal line, but in May, it is acting as an impenetrable resistance level, capping the price from above. As a result, early on Friday, the price once again found itself just above $80K. The prevailing cautious sentiment in equities early on Friday is intensifying the outflow from cryptocurrencies, setting the stage for a decline towards the lower end of the range at $79K by the end of this week.

News Background

Institutional players are using the recent recovery to take profits, and this is not driven by fear or panic, according to Glassnode. CryptoQuant considers the risk of a further decline in Bitcoin to be real against this backdrop.

Activity among companies buying crypto assets for their reserves has also declined. According to Bitfinex, the volume of Bitcoin purchases by large companies has fallen by 80% over the week.

The volume of Ethereum in staking has exceeded 85 million coins — this is more than 70% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply, SharpLink has calculated. ETH reserves on exchanges also continue to decline, which may exacerbate the asset’s shortage.

The altcoin market has shown the first signs of recovery following a 50% drop from previous highs, notes analyst Darkfost. At the same time, liquidity remains limited, which is hindering the start of a sustained alt season.

Kevin Warsh, confirmed this week as the new Fed chair, has described Bitcoin as an “important asset” that helps authorities assess the state of the economy. He has invested in several crypto projects and holds Solana and Optimism tokens.

Following several months of discussions due to disagreements between banks and crypto companies, the US Senate Banking Committee on Thursday approved the CLARITY Act, a bill on the structure of the cryptocurrency market. The bill will now be put before the full Senate for consideration. Bankers fear that the yield on stablecoins stipulated in the bill will lead to an outflow of funds from bank deposits. (FxPro)

News

Conor McGregor Rematches Max Holloway at UFC 329

The Lead Up

Red Turns To Green And Gold!

Pop Culture Ref: "The Wall Street Shuffle" (10 cc)

LinkedIn b2b Business Continues To Lift For Media Man Group and Associates

Media And Broadcasting Legend Ted Turner Dies (May 6); 100s Of Tributes Globally; Media, Entertainment And Sports Business World Pays Tribute; Turner Company Helped 1000s Globally In Career And Business; Online Tributes Live On For Many Who Find It Hard To Let Go Of Good Times And Boom Days In Biz And Career History Says Aussie Media Man Ex Aussie Cable Guy In PPV, Pay TV And Combat Arena With World Channels Team

News

(ICYMI)

Pop Culture

News Flashback: Gamification Of Gaming News - 3 Week Pasts; Back By Demand! Same Demo as Street Fighter .. enjoy fanboys and fangirls

Mortal Kombat II Scores $63 Million Opening Weekend

The R-rated Mortal Kombat II, directed by Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, opened on May 8 with $40 million domestically and $23 million internationally, totaling $63 million despite landing second to The Devil Wears Prada 2. Returning stars like Ludi Lin as Liu Kang joined Karl Urban's cocky Johnny Cage to face Shao Kahn in a tournament drawn from Mortal Kombat 9 and 11, earning mixed critic scores of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes but a roaring 90% audience approval. Pro gamer SonicFox called it 'peak holy fucking shit 10/10,' praising Urban's performance, with strong IMAX sales and gamer buzz pointing to solid legs ahead. (Media Man: Peg-On): Much stronger buzz and reviews than the original.

News (ICYMI)

Alphabet/Google Cracks TIME 100 Cover; Positive Buzz

Beast Industries aka MrBeast TIME Top 100 Influencer;

Post Buzz Continues For TIME Media Darlings

TKO's LinkedIn Continues To Enjoy Strong News Media Buzz; Google LinkedIn Numbers Up; Search Engine Journal LinkedIn; Rio Tinto (Mining) Strong LinkedIn Media Vibes And Buzz

News Lead Up

Trump Concludes China Summit with Xi on Trade and Iran

Over two days starting May 13, 2026, Trump and Xi discussed stabilizing trade amid tariffs, keeping the Strait of Hormuz open amid the Iran war, and Taiwan tensions, with no major deals but agreements on Boeing jet purchases and no Chinese military aid to Iran. Trump highlighted the U.S. business leaders' presence to foster deals, while Xi praised America's patriotic revival and warned against mishandling Taiwan. The summit featured grand ceremonies like a state banquet and Temple of Heaven visit, though a photo of the all-male delegations drew criticism over optics. (Media Man: Win-Win?)

News

WWE's Danhausen Offers Mega Exposure To Rootless Coffee And WWE Merch; Number 3 Best Seller Of WWE Merch With Human Monies; Danhausen ESPN News! Very Nice!

Media Man LinkedIn and X Up; Road To WWE Clash In Italy and WWE SNME

Google/Alphabet Earnings Bullish

May 19, 2026

Markets

Coffee 263.80 -0.45
Cocoa 3823.81 +32.81
Sillicon 8285/00 -15.00
Silver 75.770 -1.955

Newsfeed

News

Pop Culture/WWE

Randy Orton's WrestleMania 41 Card Sells for $42,100 Record Price

The one-of-a-kind card from Topps' 2025 Royalty WWE set features a patch from Orton's WrestleMania 41 match in Las Vegas, signed with 'WM#20' and 'The Viper.' It shattered records by doubling the prior No. 2 WWE card sale, beating out a Steve Austin 1/1, after Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns bid nearly $40,000 before losing in the final seconds. Orton reacted by promising the winner his WM41 throwback gear—he still has his iconic 2004 SummerSlam trunks from becoming WWE's youngest world champion at age 24. (Media Man Peg-On): Some collectors making an RKO killing. Punt kick to a real job! Coiled up big ballers!

News Lead Up

80 + Hours Ago

BTC/Cryptos

Bitcoin hits the pause button at $80K

Market Overview

The sentiment index has settled just below the midpoint of the range, recording readings of 47, 48 and 49 over the last three days. At the same time, we continue to note how difficult it is for the crypto market to consolidate at the upper end of the spectrum, which indicates a predominance of bears.

Bitcoin points to much the same thing, having lost its upward momentum as it approached the 200-day moving average. Although this line is trending downwards, the market has failed to break through it for the past six days. On the other hand, as the decline is quite modest, it resembles nothing more than a breather following a rally, leaving a strong chance of growth resuming.

News Background

According to CoinShares, global investments in crypto funds rose by $858 million last week. Investments in Bitcoin increased by $706 million, in Ethereum by $77 million, in Solana by $48 million, and in XRP by $40 million. Outflows from Bitcoin short positions totalling $14 million marked the largest of the year.

Investments rose amid a compromise on stablecoin yields under the CLARITY Act. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to consider the bill next week, CoinShares notes.

Strategy acquired 535 BTC for $43 million last week — at an average price of $80,340 per coin. The week before, the company skipped its weekly BTC purchase ahead of its quarterly report. Strategy now holds 818,869 BTC, purchased for $61.86 billion at an average price of $75,540 per Bitcoin.

Strategy will continue to build up its reserves of the leading cryptocurrency. At the same time, the volume of purchases will significantly exceed any potential sales, stated the company’s founder, Michael Saylor. According to him, it is important to remain a ‘net buyer’ and end each year with more coins than at the start.

Jordi Visser, founder of 22V Research, has increased his investment in Ethereum. In his view, this year will see the start of mass asset tokenisation, which will form the basis for payments by AI agents. For autonomous transactions, they will need digital assets such as Ethereum or stablecoins. (FxPro). (Media Man Peg-On): Can we call Michael Saylor the "King Of Bulls". Awesome PR machine and LinkedIn buzz. Join the dots!

News

Media Man with Cafe News Media Watercooler

Beer killer? Rise of the vodka RTD

News

oOh!media rejects $770m offer, triggers bidding war

News

AI News

The hidden expenses in banking's AI rollout

News Lead Up

164 + Hours Ago

Cryptos

Altcoins are surging amid a steady rise in BTC price

Market Overview

The crypto market capitalisation has risen by 0.75% over the past 24 hours, reaching $2.69 trillion. The top three performers are Zcash (+29%), Toncoin (+23%) and Filecoin (+16%). The underperformers are Ethereum (-0.4%), Algorand (-0.5%) and Basic Attention Token (-4.6%).

Bitcoin is approaching $81.5K, continuing its movement within an upward channel and hitting new highs since February. This positive momentum can easily be linked to the continued rise in stock indices, which is boosting risk appetite and bringing a more significant technical battle into view. The leading cryptocurrency is approaching its 200-day moving average (currently at $83.3K); a firm consolidation above this level would be a further sign of bullish dominance. We saw the first such sign – consolidation above the 50-day moving average – exactly one month ago. It is quite likely that, as Bitcoin approaches $83K, a short-term profit-taking phase awaits, allowing some of the gains to be taken.

The performance of altcoins clearly shows how BTC’s steady growth is encouraging increased risk-taking. First Toncoin, and today Zcash, have gained nearly 30% over the past 24 hours. The latter has been rising every day since 3 April, gaining 80% during this period; it was one of the first major cryptocurrencies to climb out of the slump at the end of January and reach highs last seen in November of last year. The key pivot zone in 2018 and 2025, near $800, looks well within reach in the coming days.

News Background

The total USDT market capitalisation has increased by $5.9 billion over the last 60 days, whereas prior to March, the market was losing around $2 billion monthly, notes analyst Darkfost. The inflow of capital into the crypto market is boosting asset values.

Morgan Stanley suggests that US banks may be able to hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets in the future, despite current regulatory barriers. The bank recently launched a Bitcoin-based exchange-traded product (ETP). Later this year, Morgan Stanley will launch spot trading in cryptocurrency on its Wealth platform.

The international payment system Western Union has launched its own stablecoin, USDPT, on the Solana blockchain. Integration with SOL will allow the company to speed up settlements and move away from traditional interbank systems, which are prone to delays.

BitMine has increased its Ethereum reserves to $13 billion, purchasing over 100,000 ETH for the third week in a row. The company’s reserves have reached 5,180,131 ETH, or 4.29% of the Ethereum supply.

Toncoin (TON) jumped by 45% amid fee reductions and the reorganisation of TON. Pavel Durov announced that Telegram would take over management of the TON crypto project from the current operator, the TON Foundation. The entrepreneur promised to reduce fees on the TON network sixfold and turn the eponymous token into a mass-market product.

News

Advertising expectations and experience: Australians have their say about AI

The second wave of Ad Standards' Community Sentiment Tracker, which was conducted by Roy Morgan, has found that 72% of Australians are concerned about the use of AI-generated content in advertising, particularly its potential to mislead or deceive people with unrealistic or fake content. Around half are also worried that the use of AI could reduce authenticity and creativity in advertising and promote unrealistic body or beauty standards. Australians believe AI-generated content is already widely used in advertising, with more than half saying that it is used very often (21%) or often (37%). Despite this, confidence in recognising AI-generated content remains low, with one in five Australians saying they are not at all confident they could identify when AI-generated content has been used in an ad. Some 64% of Australians believe it should always be necessary to disclose when advertising contains AI-generated content. The Ad Standards-Roy Morgan Community Sentiment Tracker Survey was conducted online with a cross-section of 1,000 Australians aged 18+ between 19 February and 2 March 2026. (Roy Morgan)

News

Sports/Media/Broadasting

Seven boss flags interest in NRL

Southern Cross Media Group's CEO Rohan Lund has indicated that the Seven Network owner could potentially bid for the NRL's broadcasting rights. Lund says media companies like Seven have an important role in helping audiences and partners to connect with their sports teams. He adds that Seven could be interested in the annual State of Origin series in particular. The Nine Network's current free-to-air rights deal for the NRL expires next year, and the NRL aims to finalise its next deal by the end of July. (RMS)

News

TKO Group Holdings Inc
$194.07
+4.00 +2.10%

Alphabet Inc Class A
$396.94
+0.16 +0.040%

Meta Platforms Inc
$611.21
-3.02 -0.49%

Netflix Inc
$89.65
+2.63 +3.02%

Wynn Resorts Ltd
$95.51
+0.090 +0.094%

MGM Resorts International
$37.09
+0.12 +0.32%

News

(ICYMI)

MGM Vegas

Heyman Hustle/Paul Heyman - Live At MGM

News

This marks a notable crossover, as UFC and WWE are both under TKO Group Holdings. Park MGM has hosted WWE events (like the 2026 Hall of Fame) and UFC PPVs.

Heyman shot disruptive/late-night content there during WrestleMania week, including:His TikTok debut from Park MGM (talking about Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania, etc.).

"Heyman on Heyman" interview with his son Jacob for HeymanHustleTV. Multiple Instagram/TikTok reels embracing his "King of New York (and everywhere else)" persona while promoting MGM.

News

Pop Culture/WWE

Danhausen Reopens Cameo for Sports Curses and Uncurses

The Metro Detroit wrestler, now with WWE, offers personalized videos for around $125 to curse or uncursed sports teams, just as NBA playoffs heat up. A Knicks fan's uncursing video preceded their 140-89 Game 6 blowout over the Hawks, sparking requests from Chiefs, Nets, Panthers, Cavs, Bears, Arsenal, Ferrari, and Jets fans. His 'very nice, very evil' persona has fans half-jokingly linking his hexes to real results, with Cameo now swamped and unavailable. (Media Man Peg-On: You are not cursed, and you are on Media Man!

News

Big Tech

(ICYMI)

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms Report Q1 2026 Earnings Beating Expectations

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion and EPS of $5.11, surpassing estimates, with Google Cloud revenue up 63% to $20 billion.

Microsoft reported fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $82.89 billion and EPS of $4.27, beating expectations, driven by 39-40% Azure growth.

Amazon reported Q1 2026 revenue of $181.5 billion and EPS of $2.78 exceeding forecasts, with AWS up 28%, while Meta reported Q1 2026 revenue of $56.3 billion and EPS of $10.44 above estimates.

News

Pop Culture/Lucha Libre

AAA Announces New General Manager Reveal on May 23

On the April 25 episode of AAA on Fox, President Marisela Peña announced that Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide will get a new General Manager, with the live reveal set for May 23 in Mexico City. This follows her son Dorian Roldán's recent plea for the role, which she decided to open to other candidates after careful thought. Fans are speculating on names like Zelina Vega, Rey Mysterio, or even The Undertaker, amid AAA's growth since WWE's majority stake acquisition last April and its new Fox broadcasts blending lucha action with WWE polish. (Media Man Peg-On): Ariba. Triple A has massive influence from The Undertaker, and it's paying off as far as entertainment value for fans and in other creative and business ways from what we see and hear. Can see see Danhausen in Triple H also? Lucha Hausen! And Vice City Rocks!

News Lead

UFC - MMA Building Stars Again; SS King Of Division, Substance And Hype; Yan UFC Bonus; Dan Inks McGregor for UFC 329

New York Kind Of Feeling

US Stocks - Black Friday aftermath

Road To WWE Clash In Italy and WWE SNME

WWE Management And Wrestlers Bullish; Wrestling and Boxing

Sports Biz Event Tickets And Merch Drive

Danhausen Lifts WWE Merch Hausen

News

Media Man Group Weekly Series

Pop Culture Dream Matches

New Blood vs New Day vs Old News

GCW Bloodspot vs The Others

MGM Wrestling vs Atlantic City

Mr UFC vs Numerous Mainstream Media

Bam Bam vs Father Time

UFC vs Outlaw Mud Shows

MVP vs Weekend Warriors

WBD Wrestling vs Own Goal

Mr Dingo Driver vs Naysayers

New School vs Old School

Paul Heyman and Son and MGM Gamification vs others!

PopWrecked vs Karen

Studio97 vs others: Catfight Rules!

FHM vs MAXIM

Danhausen and Minihuasen def Bully Ray and Easy E

Oba Femi vs Lockeroom

x AI vs others!

T. Abbott (Aust) vs Wokes

Rousey vs self

Rousey and Gina vs Critics

Ali vs self

The Man In The Arena vs self

Netflix vs Paramount Plus vs YouTube - 3 Way Dance! Special Ref: Easy E. Share The Love! Enough For The Big 3!

Ultra A.I vs Human Full Bloods

Ex Machina vs Cave Man

Rudos vs Technicos (Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide)

Killer Kross vs All; KK The Belt Collector!

News

Best Quotes Of The Day

"What's your hustle" Paul Heyman

"Everyone you meet knows something you don't know" Anon

"An investment in ones self is always the best bet" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

"The consumer and fans decide what and who is the best" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

Media Man

Markets, Cryptos and Culture

May 18, 2026

Sydney, Australia to Wall Street, New York

Digital Bush Telegraph

Australia Continues To Ring Bells

Markets

Australian Dollar: $0.7142 USD (down $0.0078 USD)
Iron Ore: $109.35 USD (down $1.55 USD)
Oil Price (West Texas): $105.42 USD (up $3.40 USD)
Gold Price : $4,540.49 USD (down $110.35 USD)
Copper Price: $6.2895 USD (down $0.2905 USD)
Dow Jones: 49,526.17 (down 537.29)

Bitcoin $76,849 -1.66%

News

May 18

ASX to dip as Nvidia earnings, rate fears loom over markets

The S&P/ASX 200 is expected to open slightly lower on Monday, after the futures index pointed to a 0.1 per cent fall. The predicted decline comes after investors took profits on semiconductor and tech companies on Wall Street on Friday, with the profit-taking coming after a weeks-long, record-setting rally. As far as the week ahead is concerned, investors will be waiting on earnings results from chip maker Nvidia, along with a speech from Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Sarah Hunter on Tuesday, with it marking the first public commentary from the RBA since it increased the cash rate for the third time this year, to 4.35 per cent, on 5 May; the RBA's minutes from that decision will also be released on Tuesday. (ABIX)

News

Conor McGregor Rematches Max Holloway at UFC 329

The Lead Up

TKO Neg With Talent/Wrestling With Numbers And Contracts; If The New Price Is Right Mr Wrestling and Ms Wrestling

Red Turns To Green And Gold!

Pop Culture Ref: "The Wall Street Shuffle" (10 cc)

LinkedIn b2b Business Continues To Lift For Media Man Group and Associates

News

(ICYMI)

Pop Culture

Mortal Kombat II Scores $63 Million Opening Weekend

News (ICYMI)

Alphabet/Google Cracks TIME 100 Cover; Positive Buzz

Beast Industries aka MrBeast TIME Top 100 Influencer;

Post Buzz Continues For TIME Media Darlings

TKO's LinkedIn Continues To Enjoy Strong News Media Buzz; Google LinkedIn Numbers Up; Search Engine Journal LinkedIn; Rio Tinto (Mining) Strong LinkedIn Media Vibes And Buzz

News

Trump Concludes China Summit with Xi on Trade and Iran

News

WWE's Danhausen Offers Mega Exposure To Rootless Coffee And WWE Merch; Number 3 Best Seller Of WWE Merch With Human Monies; Danhausen ESPN News! Very Nice!

Media Man LinkedIn and X Up; Road To WWE Clash In Italy and WWE SNME

Google/Alphabet Earnings Ultra Bullish

May 18, 2026

(Sydney, Australia To Wall Street, New York)

Markets

Coffee 266.90 -8.80

Cocoa 4002.00 -187.00

Sillicon 8330.00 -20.00

Silver 75.050 +0.245

Newsfeed

May 13

Culture/WWE NXT

Naraku Crushes Lince Dorado in Dominant WWE NXT Debut

The 39-year-old Japanese powerhouse, formerly EVIL in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and an ex-IWGP Heavyweight Champion, signed with WWE in April and debuted Tuesday on NXT airing on The CW. After vignettes and a chilling promo revealing his hellish new name, Naraku grabbed a quick win over Dorado, then snarled into the mic: "NARAKU is not a man of honor. I am pure EVIL!" His intact NJPW gimmick and House of Torture flair drew fan buzz, with eyes now on NXT Champion Tony D'Angelo as the King of Darkness eyes gold. (Media Man Peg-On): In Australia WWE NXT airs on Netflix. Highlights via the official WWE YouTube channel.

News

Pop Culture/WWE

Randy Orton's WrestleMania 41 Card Sells for $42,100 Record Price

News Lead Up

60 + Hours Ago

BTC/Cryptos

Bitcoin hits the pause button at $80K

Market Overview

News Background

Investments rose amid a compromise on stablecoin yields under the CLARITY Act. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to consider the bill next week, CoinShares notes.

News

Media Man with Cafe News Media Watercooler

Beer killer? Rise of the vodka RTD

News

oOh!media rejects $770m offer, triggers bidding war

News

AI News

The hidden expenses in banking's AI rollout

News Lead Up

144 + Hours Ago

Cryptos

Altcoins are surging amid a steady rise in BTC price

Market Overview

News Background

News

Advertising expectations and experience: Australians have their say about AI

News

Sports/Media/Broadasting

Seven boss flags interest in NRL

News

TKO Group Holdings Inc
$190.07
-1.26
The Lead Up
$192.50
+8.80 +4.79%

Alphabet Inc Class A
$396.78
+1.07
The Lead Up
$401.07
-1.55 -0.38%

Meta Platforms Inc
$614,23
-0.68
The Lead Up
$618.43
+1.80 +0.29%

Netflix Inc
+0.092
The Lead Up
$86.94
-0.62 -0.71%

Wynn Resorts Ltd
$95.42
-0.010
The Lead Up
$95.43
-0.78 -0.81%

MGM Resorts International
$36.97
+0.43
The Lead Up
$36.81
-0.60 -1.60%

News

(ICYMI)

MGM Vegas

Heyman Hustle/Paul Heyman - Live At MGM

News

This marks a notable crossover, as UFC and WWE are both under TKO Group Holdings. Park MGM has hosted WWE events (like the 2026 Hall of Fame) and UFC PPVs.

Heyman shot disruptive/late-night content there during WrestleMania week, including:His TikTok debut from Park MGM (talking about Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania, etc.).

"Heyman on Heyman" interview with his son Jacob for HeymanHustleTV. Multiple Instagram/TikTok reels embracing his "King of New York (and everywhere else)" persona while promoting MGM.
News

Pop Culture/WWE

Danhausen Reopens Cameo for Sports Curses and Uncurses

News

Big Tech

(ICYMI)

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms Report Q1 2026 Earnings Beating Expectations

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion and EPS of $5.11, surpassing estimates, with Google Cloud revenue up 63% to $20 billion.

Microsoft reported fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $82.89 billion and EPS of $4.27, beating expectations, driven by 39-40% Azure growth.

Amazon reported Q1 2026 revenue of $181.5 billion and EPS of $2.78 exceeding forecasts, with AWS up 28%, while Meta reported Q1 2026 revenue of $56.3 billion and EPS of $10.44 above estimates.

News

News Lead Up

144 approx Hours Ago

Bitcoin has begun hunting down short sellers

Market Overview

The crypto market capitalisation has continued to hit new highs since early February, reaching $2.67 trillion. This time, the movement was not uniform, consisting of individual surges led by Toncoin (+29%), followed by Algorand (+4.5%) and Basic Attention Token (+4%). The underperformers include Dash (-5.5%), Aptos (-2.1%) and VeChain (-1.6%).

The sentiment index has reached 50, the midpoint of the indicator’s range, where it last stood on 17 January. The market is approaching a significant turning point. Since last October, there have been only brief surges in sentiment to higher levels, but these have provided excellent opportunities for bears to sell at higher prices.

Although Bitcoin faced some pressure midday on Monday, it overcame it on Tuesday, reaching $81K and gaining 1.3% for the day, though, by and large, it covered this ground in just the last 4 hours. We attribute this rally to short squeezes, as the rise occurred during the period of the most aggressive movements ahead of the start of active trading in Asia, when liquidity is at its lowest. Meanwhile, on the stock markets, there was only a slight pullback following the downward momentum. In any case, on the daily charts, Bitcoin is recording its sixth bullish candle, and the entire April uptrend now fits within a new upward channel, with the upper boundary currently at the 200-day moving average.

News Background

The Capriole investment fund has noted a sharp rise in demand for Bitcoin from major players. Institutional investors are buying up more than 500% of the daily mining output of the leading cryptocurrency every day. Historically, such a supply shortage has led to a 24% rise in BTC over the following month.

Bitcoin appears poised for an upward surge. A break above $80K opens up the possibility of reaching $86K–$88K in the coming period, notes MN Trading founder Michael van de Poppe.

Senators Tom Tillis and Angela Olsbrooks have reached a compromise regarding stablecoin yields in the CLARITY Act. This bill regulating the US crypto market may be considered by the Senate Banking Committee in the week following 11 May. (FxPro)

News

Pop Culture/Lucha Libre

AAA Announces New General Manager Reveal on May 23

On the April 25 episode of AAA on Fox, President Marisela Peña announced that Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide will get a new General Manager, with the live reveal set for May 23 in Mexico City. This follows her son Dorian Roldán's recent plea for the role, which she decided to open to other candidates after careful thought. Fans are speculating on names like Zelina Vega, Rey Mysterio, or even The Undertaker, amid AAA's growth since WWE's majority stake acquisition last April and its new Fox broadcasts blending lucha action with WWE polish. (Media Man Peg-On): Ariba. Triple A has massive influence from The Undertaker, and it's paying off as far as entertainment value for fans and in other creative and business ways from what we see and hear. Can see see Danhausen in Triple H also? Lucha Hausen! And Vice City Rocks!

News Lead

UFC - MMA Building Stars Again; SS King Of Division, Substance And Hype; Yan UFC Bonus; Dan Inks McGregor for UFC 329

New York Kind Of Feeling

US Stocks - Black Friday aftermath

Road To WWE Clash In Italy and WWE SNME

WWE Management And Wrestlers Bullish; Wrestling and Boxing

Sports Biz Event Tickets And Merch Drive

Danhausen Lifts WWE Merch Hausen

News

Media Man Group Weekly Series

Pop Culture Dream Matches

New Blood vs New Day vs Old News

GCW Bloodspot vs The Others

MGM Wrestling vs Atlantic City

Mr UFC vs Numerous Mainstream Media

Bam Bam vs Father Time

UFC vs Outlaw Mud Shows

MVP vs Weekend Warriors

WBD Wrestling vs Own Goal

Mr Dingo Driver vs Naysayers

New School vs Old School

Paul Heyman and Son and MGM Gamification vs others!

PopWrecked vs Karen

Studio97 vs others: Catfight Rules!

Danhausen and Minihuasen def Bully Ray and Easy E

Oba Femi vs Lockeroom

x AI vs others!

T. Abbott (Aust) vs Wokes

Rousey vs self

Rousey and Gina vs Critics

Ali vs self

The Man In The Arena vs self

Netflix vs Paramount Plus vs YouTube - 3 Way Dance! Special Ref: Easy E. Share The Love! Enough For The Big 3!

Ultra A.I vs Human Full Bloods

Ex Machina vs Cave Man

Rudos vs Technicos (Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide)

Killer Kross vs All; KK The Belt Collector!

News

Best Quotes Of The Day

"What's your hustle" Paul Heyman

"Everyone you meet knows something you don't know" Anon

"An investment in ones self is always the best bet" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

"The consumer and fans decide what and who is the best" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

Media Man

Markets, Cryptos and Culture

FinTech, Big Tech, Big Biz

May 7, 2026

Sydney, Australia to Wall Street, New York

Australia Continues To Ring Bells Before The NYC Bell; Who Is The Bell Of Big Balls?! : TKO Neg With Talent/Wrestling With Numbers And Contracts; If The New Price Is Right Mr Wrestling and Ms Wrestling

LinkedIn b2b Business Lifts For Media Man Group and Associates

Media And Broadcasting Legend Ted Turner Dies; Media, Entertainment And Sports Business World Pays Tribute

Alphabet/Google Cracks TIME 100 Cover; Positive Buzz

Beast Industries aka MrBeast TIME Top 100 Influencer;
Post Buzz Continues For TIME Media Darlings

TKO/WWE In And Out Of The Ring Continues; Up and Down Cycle; TKO's Nick Khan Continues To Offer Positive Vibes To US Admin Re Ali Act Amendment; Zuffa Boxing 06 This Weekend; WWE Backlash Weekend

TKO's LinkedIn Continues To Enjoy Strong News Media Buzz; Google LinkedIn Numbers Up; Rio Tinto (Mining) Strong LinkedIn Media Vibes And Buzz

WWE's Danhausen Offers Mega Exposure To Rootless Coffee And WWE Merch; Number 3 Best Seller Of WWE Merch With Human Movies; Very Nice!

Media Man LinkedIn and X Up; TKO News Flashbacks

Road To WWE Backlash: May 9 in Tampa, Florida: Bloodline Themes! Road To WWE SNME

Google/Alphabet Earnings Ultra Bullish

May 7, 2026

(Sydney, Australia To Wall Street, New York)

Markets

ASX 200 futures up 95 points/1.1%: 8892

AUD +0.8% to US72.37¢

Bitcoin $80,989.05 -0.59%

Wall St:
Dow +1.2%
S&P +1.5%
Nasdaq +2%

VIX +0.01 to 17.39
Gold +3% to $US4691.33 an ounce
Brent oil -7.1% to $US102.09 a barrel
Iron ore +1.9% to $US110.60 a ton

10-year yield:
US +4.35%
Australia +4.95%

Coffee 284.85 -5.90

Cocoa 4135 +61

Numbers Double Check

Australian Dollar: $0.7230 USD (up $0.0050 USD)
Iron Ore: $110.60 USD (up $2.10 USD)
Oil Price (West Texas): $96.21 USD (down $6.47 USD)
Gold Price : $4,691.26 USD (up $134.13 USD)
Copper Price: $6.1935 USD (up $0.2045 USD)
Dow Jones: 49,910.59 (up 612.34 points)

News (Australia)

ASX up on ceasefire talk; CBA, banks rally

The Australian sharemarket rallied on Wednesday, amid growing hopes of a permanent ceasefire in the Middle East; the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3 per cent to close at 8,793.6 points. The Commonwealth Bank was up three per cent at $177.98, DigiCo Infrastructure REIT advanced 25 per cent to $2.95 and Reece finished 1.4 per cent higher at $13.59. However, Woodside Energy was down 2.7 per cent at $31.84 and JB Hi-Fi fell 6.3 per cent to $72.98. (RMS)

News

China hit with punitive 82pc steel tariff

The federal government has imposed tariffs of between 38 per cent and 82 per cent on hot-rolled coil steel products that are imported from China. Industry Minister Tim Ayres approved the new tariffs on Monday, with temporary levies of up 117 per cent having been in place since late 2025 while the Anti-Dumping Commission completed its investigation into claims that China was exporting steel products to Australia at heavily discounted prices. A spokesman for Ayres says that all trade remedies are fully consistent with Australia's obligations under its trade agreements, and the nation's anti-dumping regime does not target any country in particular.

News

Politics/MMA/UFC

Trump Hosts UFC Stars in Oval Office for White House Fight Event

Trump welcomed lightweight champ Ilia Topuria, challenger Justin Gaethje, light heavyweight titleholder Alex Pereira, and heavyweight Ciryl Gane to preview UFC Freedom 250 on June 14. The free event on the South Lawn features a 4,500-seat arena for Topuria vs. Gaethje and Pereira vs. Gane, tying into America's 250th anniversary and Trump's 80th birthday, with overflow crowds on giant screens nearby. Banter flew in the meeting—Trump joked about Pereira's powerful hand, while Topuria teased him lightly—building hype for this historic first pro sports event on White House grounds. (Media Man Peg-On): Win-Win-Win. Even if you lose on whe White House, you also win at the game and biz of MMA! Much respect to all.

News

Cryptos

Altcoins are surging amid a steady rise in BTC price

Market Overview

News Background

News

Advertising expectations and experience: Australians have their say about AI

News

Sports/Media/Broadasting

Seven boss flags interest in NRL

News

Mining/Energy/Resources

BHP's learning curve after tough negotiations

BHP's chief financial officer Vandita Pant addressed the Macquarie Australia conference on Wednesday. She stated that the resources group was pleased to have concluded commercial negotiations with China Mineral Resources Group regarding iron ore pricing and sales. The recent deal ended a seven-month stand-off, and Pant said the negotiations with state-owned CMRG were "tough". Chinese media reports have suggested that CMRG has secured a 1.8 per cent discount on iron ore from BHP. Pant also stated that BHP's experience in dealing with supply chain disruptions during the pandemic has been invaluable in coping with similar global supply shocks due to the Iran war. (RMS)

News

Pop Culture/Wrestling/WWE/NXT

Shawn Michaels Announces Loaded NXT Card for Next Week

Next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on The CW from Orlando's WWE Performance Center, NXT Women's North American Champion Tatum Paxley teams with newcomer Lizzy Rain against Zaria and Nikkita Lyons, fresh off last week's wild brawl. A win in the Kendall Grey vs. Kelani Jordan match earns a title shot, while Japanese star Naraku debuts in the ring and indie signee Sean Legacy joins a six-man tag. Noam Dar returns from injury for a one-on-one with Jackson Drake, as Michaels spotlights rising talents in a buzzing women's reset. (Media Man Peg-On): For Australians enjoy the show on Tuesday morning (Australia) via Netflix! Highlights will appear on YouTube the same day!

News

Ted Turner, CNN Founder and Media Pioneer, Dies at 87

Turner launched CNN in 1980 as the world's first round-the-clock news network, revolutionized cable with superstation WTBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network, and owned the Atlanta Braves during their 1995 World Series win. He built a vast media empire from his family's billboard business, sold it to Time Warner for $7.3 billion in 1996, and gave $1 billion to the United Nations while conserving 2 million acres of land. Tributes highlight his innovations in news and entertainment, with survivors including five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. (Media Man Peg-On): RIP legend. Thank you for what you did for us in our 5 years of Pay TV days at Optus Vision down under.

May 7

TKO Group Holdings Inc
$190.47
+3.53 +1.89%

Alphabet Inc Class A
$398.04
+9.57 +2.46%

NVIDIA Corp
$207.83
+11.33 +5.77%

Meta Platforms Inc

$612.88
+7.92 +1.31%

Heyman Hustle/Paul Heyman - Live At MGM News

This marks a notable crossover, as UFC and WWE are both under TKO Group Holdings. Park MGM has hosted WWE events (like the 2026 Hall of Fame) and UFC PPVs.

Heyman shot disruptive/late-night content there during WrestleMania week, including:His TikTok debut from Park MGM (talking about Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania, etc.).

"Heyman on Heyman" interview with his son Jacob for HeymanHustleTV.

Multiple Instagram/TikTok reels embracing his "King of New York (and everywhere else)" persona while promoting MGM.

News

(ICYMI)

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms Report Q1 2026 Earnings Beating Expectations

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion and EPS of $5.11, surpassing estimates, with Google Cloud revenue up 63% to $20 billion.

Microsoft reported fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $82.89 billion and EPS of $4.27, beating expectations, driven by 39-40% Azure growth.

Amazon reported Q1 2026 revenue of $181.5 billion and EPS of $2.78 exceeding forecasts, with AWS up 28%, while Meta reported Q1 2026 revenue of $56.3 billion and EPS of $10.44 above estimates.

News

Geopolitics has caused the dollar to retreat

The end of Operation Epic Fury is boosting risk appetite.

Japan is likely to continue punishing speculators. The US dollar has lost ground following statements from the White House regarding the conclusion of the two-month ‘Operation Epic Fury’ and progress in negotiations with Iran. Investors are interpreting this as a de-escalation in the Middle East and are selling Brent. At the same time, the dollar index is once again testing the lows of the past two months amid risk-on sentiment in key markets. Optimism could push EURUSD higher. Although its further trajectory will depend on the pace of the fall in oil prices. It will take time to repair the damaged energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. Therefore, it is believed that Brent and WTI will not return to the $65–70 levels seen before the conflict in the Middle East this year. This is a pro-inflationary factor. US services PMI indices are signalling the highest price pressure since 2022, while the futures market is ramping up expectations of Fed rate hikes. It will not be easy for Kevin Warsh to fulfil Donald Trump’s wishes for a significant easing of policy. For now, traders’ attention is entirely focused on the Middle East. The end of the conflict is driving the EURUSD up to 1.1760, and this rise will gain momentum with further signs of de-escalation. Conversely, another breakdown in negotiations and a deadlock in US-Iran relations will force the major currency pair to take a step back. And this is not merely a matter of caution, as alongside their conciliatory rhetoric, the US is building up its military presence in the Persian Gulf. The sharp collapse in USDJPY on Wednesday suggests that the government has once again intervened in the forex market. Japan needs to properly deter speculators from using dips in the US dollar to buy it. Rumours of a de-escalation in geopolitical tensions have catalysed a rally of more than 3% in gold, pushing it above $4,700. The fall in oil prices reduces the risk of high inflation becoming entrenched and removes the need for central banks to tighten policy. As a result, the precious metal may see a return to the debasement trade. (FxPro)

News Lead Up

48 Hours Ago

Bitcoin has begun hunting down short sellers

Market Overview

News Background

Bitcoin appears poised for an upward surge. A break above $80K opens up the possibility of reaching $86K–$88K in the coming period, notes MN Trading founder Michael van de Poppe.

Following the latest adjustment, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty has fallen by 2.3% to 132.47 T. According to Glassnode, the network’s average hash rate, smoothed by a 7-day moving average, stands at around 955 EH/s.
Senators Tom Tillis and Angela Olsbrooks have reached a compromise regarding stablecoin yields in the CLARITY Act. This bill regulating the US crypto market may be considered by the Senate Banking Committee in the week following 11 May. (FxPro)

News

BHP's price deal puts minnows, rivals on alert

Rio Tinto's former CEO Sam Walsh believes that the iron ore pricing deal between BHP and China Mineral Resources Group will fail. Few details of the deal to end the long-running dispute between BHP and CMRG have emerged, although reports suggest that BHP has ceded more influence to China in setting iron ore prices; this could potentially lead to more ore being priced in Chinese currency. Geoff Raby, Australian ambassador to China, believes that the key outcome of the deal is BHP's acceptance that the benchmark price of iron ore should be set by China, rather than a price reporting agency based in the US or the UK. (ABIX)

Media Man Peg-On: BHP per ad "We've been called many things". Gonzo journalism in mining and rare earth news lives!
News

UFC/MMA

Chimaev Shares Sparring Clip Ragdolling Strickland Before UFC 328 Title Fight

The undefeated UFC middleweight champion Chimaev (15-0) shared the American Top Team gym session showing him slamming takedowns on a shirtless Strickland (30-7), days ahead of UFC 328 at Newark's Prudential Center where he defends his belt for the first time. Bad blood stems from a group chat spat over Chechen wrestling jokes, escalating to media day barbs like Strickland calling Chimaev 'soft' and daring a parking lot fight, while Chimaev shrugged it off and said security protects Strickland. Odds favor Chimaev at -510, but Joe Rogan spots a real shot for Strickland's boxing and cardio, with Dricus du Plessis warning the first round decides it all. (Media Man: Nothing quite like a good old fashioned blood feud, be it MMA or wrestling. Red turns to green! Sell out on the cards!

News

WWE Backlash
May 9, 2026
Benchmark International Arena
Tampa, Florida
Main Event: Roman Reigns vs Jacob Fatu
Rollins vs Breakker
Williams vs Zayn
SKY vs Asuka
Danhausen and Mystery Partner vs Miz and Kit Wilson

News Flashback

WWE NXT/Wrestling

NXT Debuts EVIL, Lizzy Rain, and Will Kroos in Roster Shake-Up

WWE NXT's April 28 episode on The CW featured six debuts, including former NJPW star EVIL's chilling arrival targeting NXT Champion Tony D'Angelo, rocker Lizzy Rain's dominant win over Nikkita Lyons with her Thunderstruck finisher, and indie powerhouse Will Kroos joining a beatdown on D'Angelo. John Cena hyped EVIL with his classic promo quote, while fans praised the secrecy around Kroos and Rain's heavy-metal entrance. Other newcomers like Tristan Angels, Kam Hendrix, and Tate Wilder added to the stacked night, setting up fresh storylines for titles and rivalries. (Media Man Peg-On): NXT needed some fresh faces and new blood to replace some of the WWE main roster call-ups; Shawn Michaels and Robert Stone one again deliver. It's almost a new era kinda feeling and vibe with the shake-ups. Fans pumped for the upcoming main roster debuts of Blake Monroe and Ricky Saints.

News

Google, Meta shift $11b offshore, pay just $140m in tax

Technology firms Meta and Google have come under ongoing criticism over the fact that they seem to pay very little tax on the huge amount of revenue they generate in Australia. The criticism comes in particular from companies that must compete with them, including banks and media companies, while the federal government is set to force them to enter into commercial agreements with Australian news publishers. The criticism regarding the low amount of tax that Google and Meta is not likely to go away, given the revelation that they transferred almost $11 billion to offshore entities in service fees and reseller payments over the past year, but only paid just over $140 million in tax. (RMS)

News

News Lead Up

WWE/Pop Culture

Paul Heyman Praises Lil Yachty Amid WWE Celebrity Backlash

On SmackDown, Yachty celebrated new U.S. Champion Trick Williams' WrestleMania 42 victory over Sami Zayn, but Zayn ambushed them unmasked as a Gingerbread Man with a Helluva Kick. Paul Heyman endorsed Yachty as a respectful crossover star who honors WWE's history and fans, countering backlash from viewers upset over recent talent cuts like Aleister Black and Karrion Kross. While some fans call it unwanted filler, others praise the fun energy as WWE balances celebrities with homegrown stories ahead of Backlash. (Media Man Peg-On): We're going with Heyman on this. Yachty is great and over with the audience for the most part.

News

Pop Culture/Lucha Libre

AAA Announces New General Manager Reveal on May 23

News Lead Up

April 23

(Wall St, New York) : April 24 (Sydney, Australia)

UFC - MMA Building Stars Again

New York Kind Of Feeling

US Stocks - Black Friday - Black-ish Thursday into Friday

Post WrestleMania; Road To WWE Backlash 2026

WWE Management And Wrestlers Bullish; Wrestling and Boxing

Sports Biz Event Tickets And Merch Drive

Danhausen Lifts WWE Merch Hausen

Traditional Big Tech Sector Takes Big Hit April 23

News

Media Man Group Weekly Series

Pop Culture Dream Matches

New Blood vs New Day vs Old News

GCW Bloodspot vs The Others

MGM Wrestling vs Atlantic City

Bam Bam vs Father Time

UFC vs Outlaw Mud Shows

WBD Wrestling vs Own Goal

Mr Dingo Driver vs Naysayers

New School vs Old School

Paul Heyman and Son and MGM Gamification vs others!

PopWrecked vs Karen

Studio97 vs others: Catfight Rules!

Danhausen def Easy E

x AI vs others!

T. Abbott (Aust) vs Wokes

Netflix vs Paramount Plus vs YouTube - 3 Way Dance! Special Ref: Easy E. Share The Love! Enough For The Big 3!

Ultra A.I vs Human Full Bloods

Ex Machine vs Cave Man

Rudos vs Technicos (Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide)

News

Best Quotes Of The Day

"An investment in ones self is always the best bet" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

Media Man

Markets, Cryptos and Culture

FinTech, Big Tech, Big Biz

LinkedIn b2b Business Lifts For Media Man Group and Associates

Alphabet/Google Cracks TIME 100 Cover

TKO/WWE In And Out Of The Ring Continues; Up and Down Cycle; TKO's Nick Khan Offers Positive Vibes To US Admin Re Ali Act Amendment

TKO's LinkedIn Continues To Enjoy Strong News Media Buzz; Google LinkedIn Numbers Up; Rinto Tinto (Mining) Strong LinkedIn Media Vibes And Buzz

Media Man LinkedIn and X Up; TKO News Flashbacks

Google/Alphabet Earnings

May 1, 2026

(Sydney, Australia To Wall Street, New York)

ASX 200 futures are pointing up 127 points/1.5% to 8795.

AUD +1.2% to US72.00¢

Bitcoin $77,105.63 +2.16%

Wall St:
Dow +1.6%
S&P +1%
Nasdaq +0.9%

VIX -1.92 to 16.89
Gold -0.04% to $US4616.09 an oz
Brent oil -3.4% to $US114.01 a barrel
Iron ore +0.7% to $US107.80 a ton
10-year yield: US 4.37% Australia 5.06%

Coffee 285.55 -5.15

Cocoa 3569.00 +159

Numbers Double Check

May 1

Australian Dollar: $0.7195 USD (up $0.0085 USD)
Iron Ore: $107.80 USD (up $0.75 USD)
Iron Ore: $105.53 USD (up 0.74 USD)
Oil Price (West Texas): $105.63 USD (down $2.86 USD)
Gold Price : $4,622.32 USD (up $78.35 USD)
Copper Price: $6.0245 USD (up $0.0980 USD)
Dow Jones: 49,652.14 (up 790.33 points)

TKO Group Holdings Inc
$186.09
+2.38 +1.30%
Lead Up
$183.71
-0.87 -0.47%

Alphabet Inc Class A
$384.80
+34.86 +9.96%
Lead Up
$349.94
+0.13 +0.037%

NVIDIA Corp
$199.57
-9.68 -4.63%
Lead Up
$209.25
-3.82 -1.79%

Meta Platforms Inc
$611.91
-57.21 -8.55%

News

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms Report Q1 2026 Earnings Beating Expectations

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion and EPS of $5.11, surpassing estimates, with Google Cloud revenue up 63% to $20 billion.

Microsoft reported fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $82.89 billion and EPS of $4.27, beating expectations, driven by 39-40% Azure growth.

Amazon reported Q1 2026 revenue of $181.5 billion and EPS of $2.78 exceeding forecasts, with AWS up 28%, while Meta reported Q1 2026 revenue of $56.3 billion and EPS of $10.44 above estimates.

News

Biz (Aust)

May 1

ASX extends fall as oil tops $US126 a barrel

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on Thursday, after a spike in the crude oil price in response to growing fears that the Iran war will escalate; the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2 per cent to close at 8,665.8 points. South32 fell 5.4 per cent to $4.03, Evolution Mining was down 5.3 per cent at 11.90 and Woolworths finished 7.8 per cent lower at $34.39. However, WiseTech Global was up 3.4 per cent at $42.72 and ASX Limited added 5.1 per cent. (RMS)

News

Golf/Heath/Politics/Property

Mental health 'at risk' if Defence golf courses sold

The federal government announced in February that it would sell 67 military sites in the wake of an independent audit that found they had little strategic value, with five defence-owned golf courses among the sites under scrutiny. They include the Fairbairn Golf Club in Canberra, with club president Brian Depree urging the government not to sell it to property developers. He says it helps to provide mental support for current Defence members and veterans, and selling it and other defence courses would be at odds with the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide's finding of systemic failures in support services for defence members and veterans, with the commission emphasising the need to help military personnel transition to civilian life. (RMS)

News

The crypto takes a breather after growth

Market Overview

The crypto market capitalisation has changed little over the past 24 hours, hovering around $2.57 trillion, with assets moving in different directions. Markets are likely to prefer a wait-and-see approach ahead of decisions by the Bank of Canada, the Fed, the ECB and the Bank of England over the next couple of days. Officially, markets are expecting a hawkish tone, so a focus on the economy could spur active buying.

The sentiment index plummeted to 26, falling below last week’s lows, reflecting a return of fear to the markets. The inability to hold above 50 since September remains a key sign of bearish sentiment.

Over the past two days, Bitcoin has lost approximately $4K from peak to trough at $75.6K, but on Wednesday, it turned higher, attempting to consolidate above $77K. Thus, Bitcoin has broken out of its upward trend but has not yet confirmed a reversal; therefore, we can only note a slowdown in growth at the 50% mark of the January-February decline.

News Background

The $80K level remains an important psychological barrier, around which a large volume of options is concentrated, GSR notes. QCP Capital considers $82K to be a key resistance level.

Bernstein regards Bitcoin’s February low of $60K as a “clear bottom” and expects a “higher and structurally longer bull cycle” going forward. The main driver of optimism remains a steady inflow of capital from institutional investors.

Bitcoin is no longer merely an “interesting asset” for companies seeking to remain competitive, Tim Draper, founder of venture capital firm Draper Associates, stated. According to him, firms must hold a portion of their reserves (5–15%) in BTC to avoid being financially irresponsible towards their shareholders.

Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the US Presidential Council on Digital Assets, announced an “important statement” regarding the US strategic Bitcoin reserve, which will be made in the coming weeks.

Bitmine, the largest publicly traded corporate holder of Ethereum, announced the acquisition of over 5 million ETH over 10 months, at an average cost of $2,369 per ETH. The company’s reserves have reached nearly 5.08 million ETH, representing 4.21% of the Ethereum supply.

News

Pop Culture/WWE

Roman Reigns Sweats Through Epic Promo Amid Arena Heat in Laredo

A power outage killed air conditioning at Sames Auto Arena, turning Monday Night Raw into a sauna with fans drenched and wrestlers glistening under pyro-lit lights. Reigns cut a fiery main event promo on Fatu's World Heavyweight Title shot at Backlash on May 9 in Tampa, listening to The Usos' warnings before greenlighting the match—only for Fatu to ambush him with a brutal Tongan Death Grip post-promo. Fans flooded social media with memes of Reigns' sweat-drenched look, declarations of stanning the champ, and hype for the Bloodline clash, proving his unbreakable draw even as some Cody Rhodes fans pushed back. (Media Man Peg-On): So pumped for the main event of WWE Backlash. We smell a Bloodline screw-job finish, but we shall see.

News

WWE NXT/Wrestling

NXT Debuts EVIL, Lizzy Rain, and Will Kroos in Roster Shake-Up

News

April 30

Elon Musk Testifies Against OpenAI in Breach of Mission Trial

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and invested $38 million, accused Sam Altman and the company of abandoning its open-source, safety-focused mission after partnering with Microsoft for billions. He warned that advanced AI could arrive next year, either boosting prosperity or posing existential dangers, and urged instilling human values early. OpenAI's lawyers countered that Musk supported the for-profit move and sought control himself, while the trial could force a nonprofit return or massive damages. (Media Man Peg-On: Musk vs The Rest)!

News

The crypto market is falling, but Doge is on the rise

Market Overview

The crypto market cap has fallen by 1.09% over the past 24 hours to $2.53 trillion. This marks the third consecutive day of a gradual market decline, which appears to be a technical shake-out rather than a trend reversal. Dogecoin (+3.3%) is once again leading the gains, along with Tron (+0.6%) and Aptos (+0.1%).

Among the underperformers are Aave (-5.7%), Trumpcoin (-5.3%) and The Graph (-5.3%).

Bitcoin is leading the decline in cryptocurrencies, having switched to a sell-on-rally mode over the last three days. This is clearly visible in the intraday pattern of recent days, where a gradual rise has given way to a decline at roughly the same pace. If we view the latest move as a technical correction, its potential target appears to be the area around $74K, where the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement line lies. The March peak levels also lie here, reinforcing the significance of this level.

Dogecoin stands out modestly from the crowd of altcoins, leading the growth of top coins for the third day in a row and marking the fifth week of an uptrend. The $0.087 area has become a pivot point, where the coin also saw steady demand in 2024 and where there were strong buy orders on the slippage in October 2025. At the same time, current prices near $0.105 are more than 20% above that level, indicating the start of a bull market, according to traditional financial metrics. It is still too early to speculate on expectations of multiple-fold growth, as was the case two years ago, since this would require a radical shift of all cryptocurrencies into a bull market. But who knows, perhaps we are seeing the first signs of recovery after the crypto winter?

News Background

The crypto market entered a neutral phase in the second quarter: there is no clear trend, and economic and political factors are having a key influence on market dynamics, according to Coinbase. Events in the Middle East and fluctuations in oil prices remain among the main drivers.

Net inflows of Bitcoin to trading platforms have risen to 30-day highs, notes analyst Woominkyu. In his view, whales are transferring assets to exchanges for subsequent sale.

Spot trading volumes for Bitcoin on leading exchanges have fallen to their lowest levels since September–October 2023, notes analyst Darkfost. Alphractal also highlights the cooling of investor interest. The number of Google searches for cryptocurrencies has reached a three-year low.

73% of respondents believe Bitcoin's current price is undervalued, according to a survey of 100 institutional and private investors conducted by Coinbase and Glassnode. They remain cautiously optimistic and expect most digital assets to recover within the quarter.

The Governor of the Czech National Bank has proposed adding Bitcoin to the central bank’s reserves to help control inflation. Despite its volatility, BTC could generate long-term returns, so it makes sense to allocate 1% of the state reserves to it. (FxPro)

News

April 28

Pop Culture/Pro Wrestling/WWE/NXT

EVIL From Japan Makes NXT Debut; Faced Off With Tony D!

Blake Monroe Buried in Dramatic NXT Graveyard Farewell; The Glamour Heading To Main Roster

NXT's Ricky Saints Heading To WWE SmackDown

News

Google, Meta shift $11b offshore, pay just $140m in tax

News

Elon Musk's OpenAI Trial Jury Selected in Oakland

Jury selection finished Monday in federal court in Oakland, California, for Musk's civil suit against OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman. Musk, who helped launch the nonprofit in 2015 with $45 million and no equity, claims its for-profit pivot—now valued at $852 billion—betrays the original mission of open AGI for humanity's benefit. He's seeking to unwind the structure and potential $134 billion in damages, while OpenAI calls the case baseless jealousy; opening statements start Tuesday with testimony from Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expected. The jury's findings will guide Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in a trial set to last two to four weeks. (Media Man Peg-On): Musk vs Altman. Pick'em Title, Who you got?!

News

News Lead Up

WWE/Pop Culture

Paul Heyman Praises Lil Yachty Amid WWE Celebrity Backlash

News

UFC/MMA

(Australia)

UFC Fight Night in Perth Features Main Event Between Jack Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates

UFC Fight Night is set for Perth, Western Australia, headlined by a welterweight bout between top-ranked fighters Jack Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates. The event, promoted as UFC Perth, airs live on Paramount Plus. (Media Man Peg-On): On paper this Fight Night down under should be stronger/better than some of their previous fight nights are far as match quality.

News

Pop Culture/Lucha Libre

AAA Announces New General Manager Reveal on May 23

News Lead Up

April 23

(Wall St, New York) : April 24 (Sydney, Australia)

UFC - MMA Building Stars Again

New York Kind Of Feeling

US Stocks - Black Friday - Black-ish Thursday into Friday

Post WrestleMania; Road To WWE Backlash 2026

WWE Management And Wrestlers Bullish; Wrestling and Boxing

Sports Biz Event Tickets And Merch Drive

Danhausen Lifts WWE Merch Hausen

Traditional Big Tech Sector Takes Big Hit April 23

Media Man Group Weekly Series

News Lead Up

ASX 200 futures down 4 points: 0.1% to 8828

AUD -0.4% to US71.30¢

Bitcoin $78,168.22 +0.52%

Dogecoin $0.09776 +2.24%

Ripple aka XRP $1.4374 +1.48%

News

News Flashback

November 2025

Polymarket Partnership Could Be a Game Changer for TKO Group Holdings (TKO)

Nov 17

(In Case You Missed It)

Polymarket/UFC/TKO

Polymarket recently announced a multi-year partnership making it the Official and Exclusive Prediction Market Partner for UFC and Zuffa Boxing, introducing real-time fan prediction metrics directly into UFC broadcasts and social media experiences.

This collaboration marks the first time major sports organizations have integrated prediction market technology into the live fan experience, creating new ways for audiences to interact and for TKO's sports brands to differentiate themselves.

We'll explore how this innovative fan engagement initiative could strengthen TKO Group Holdings' investment narrative by deepening audience connection and content value.

What Is TKO Group Holdings' Investment Narrative?

To see the value in TKO Group Holdings as a shareholder, you really have to believe in its ability to keep building out top sports entertainment brands like UFC and WWE into global, multi-platform franchises. A lot of the story is about continuing to grow earnings and revenue faster than the overall market, attract loyal audiences, and evolve with changes in media rights, streaming, and digital fan engagement. Recent announcements, such as the multi-year partnership with Polymarket, reflect TKO’s push to unlock new monetization avenues and deepen fan involvement.

However, it’s unlikely this news will materially change the core short-term catalysts, which are still dominated by performance in key international deals, broadcast partnerships, and the rollout of new events. The biggest risks remain legal challenges, compression of media rights value, and questions about board experience. The new fan engagement efforts add differentiation, but don’t directly reduce these core risks for now. On the flip side, investors should pay close attention to ongoing legal proceedings against TKO and UFC.

TKO Group Holdings' shares have been on the rise but are still potentially undervalued by 15%.

Ten retail investors in the Simply Wall St Community produced fair value estimates for TKO ranging from US$63.92 to a very large US$37,618.47. While community views can be widely split, ongoing legal challenges remain a topic several market participants keep circling back to as a concern for TKO’s future performance. Explore these diverse perspectives and see how the risks and opportunities stack up.

Historical Data and Intel

TKO Group: News

News Flashback

Insider Buying and Selling at TKO Group

In related news, Director Nick Khan sold 45,168 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.82, for a total value of $7,715,597.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 156,494 shares in the company, valued at $26,732,305.08. This represents a 22.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 73,725 shares of company stock valued at $12,767,807. Corporate insiders own 61.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TKO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W raised TKO Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded TKO Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on TKO Group from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on TKO Group in a report on Friday, September 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Roth Capital raised their target price on TKO Group from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.21.

TKO Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:TKO traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $202.33. 897,072 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,611. TKO Group Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.01 and a 52-week high of $204.10. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $178.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $40.12 billion, a PE ratio of 83.61 and a beta of 0.79.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.06). TKO Group had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 53.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that TKO Group Holdings, Inc. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TKO Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from TKO Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. TKO Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.81%.

TKO Group Profile

TKO Group Holdings, Inc operates as a sports and entertainment company. The company produces and licenses live events, television programs, and long-form and short-form content, reality series, and other filmed entertainment on digital and linear channels and via pay-per-view. It is involved in the merchandising of video games, apparel, equipment, trading cards, memorabilia, digital goods, and toys, as well as sale of travel packages and tickets.

News Flashback

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. is an American sports and sports entertainment company. Established on September 12, 2023, the public company was formed by a merger between Endeavor subsidiary Zuffa—the parent company of mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship —and the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment. TKO is led by CEO Ari Emanuel and president Mark Shapiro, both of Endeavor; Dana White and Nick Khan retained their roles as CEOs of UFC and WWE respectively upon the merger, while WWE co-founder Vince McMahon served as executive chairman until resigning from the company in January 2024 amid a sex trafficking scandal. The merger marked the first time that WWE has not been solely and primarily majority-controlled by the McMahon family, which founded the company and owned it for over 70 years. As of 2024, the UFC and WWE were the two most valuable combat sports organizations in the world according to Forbes. UFC was listed as the most valued mixed martial arts company with a revenue of $1.406 billion and WWE being the most valued professional wrestling promotion with a revenue of $1.398 billion in 2023. (Wikipedia)

TKO owns iconic properties including UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization; WWE, the global leader in sports entertainment; and PBR, the world’s premier bull riding organization. Together, these properties reach 210 countries and territories and organize more than 500 live events year-round, attracting more than three million fans.

TKO also services and partners with major sports rights holders through IMG, an industry-leading global sports marketing agency; and On Location, a global leader in premium experiential hospitality. (Credit: TKO Group)

News

Best Quotes Of The Day

"An investment in ones self is always the best bet" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

Media Man

Markets, Cryptos and Culture

FinTech, Big Tech, Big Biz

LinkedIn b2b Business Lifts For Media Man Group and Associates

TKO/WWE In And Out Of The Ring Continues; Up and Down Cycle; TKO's Nick Khan Offers Positive Vibes To US Admin Re Ali Act Amendment; TKO's LinkedIn Enjoys Strong News Media Buzz; Google LinkedIn Numbers Up; Media Man LinkedIn and X Up; TKO News Flashbacks

Google/Alphabet Earnings

April 30, 2026

(Sydney, Australia To Wall Street, New York)

ASX 200 futures down 69 points/0.8%: 8627

AUD -0.9% to US71.17¢

Bitcoin - $75,808.20 -0.71%

Wall St:

Dow -0.6%
S&P -0.04%
Nasdaq +0.04%

VIX +0.98 to 18.81
Gold +0.03% to $US4549.45 an ounce
Brent oil +8.9% to $US120.19 a barrel
Iron ore +0.6% to $US107.05 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.43% Australia 4.99%

Coffee 290.70 flat!

Cocoa 3403.83 +23.83

Numbers Double Check

April 30

Australian Dollar: $0.7110 USD (down $0.0070 USD)
Iron Ore: $107.05 USD (up $0.65 USD)
Oil Price (WTI): $108.49 USD (up $8.87 USD)
Gold Price : $4,543.97 USD (down $52.22 USD)
Copper Price: $5.9265 USD (up $0.0070 USD)
Dow Jones: 48,861.81 (down 280.12 points)

TKO Group Holdings Inc
$183.71
-0.87 -0.47%

Alphabet Inc Class A
$349.94
+0.13 +0.037%

NVIDIA Corp
$209.25
-3.82 -1.79%

News

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms Report Q1 2026 Earnings Beating Expectations

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion and EPS of $5.11, surpassing estimates, with Google Cloud revenue up 63% to $20 billion.

Microsoft reported fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $82.89 billion and EPS of $4.27, beating expectations, driven by 39-40% Azure growth.

Amazon reported Q1 2026 revenue of $181.5 billion and EPS of $2.78 exceeding forecasts, with AWS up 28%, while Meta reported Q1 2026 revenue of $56.3 billion and EPS of $10.44 above estimates.

News

Biz (Aust)

April 30

ASX falls for seventh straight day; G8 tanks

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on Wednesday, amid growing expectations of an official interest rate rise next week in response to the latest inflation data; the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 per cent to close at 8,687 points. Newmont Corporation was down 3.2 per cent at $153.58, Cochlear shed 3.2 per cent to end the session at $90 and G8 Education shed 31.3 per cent to finish at $0.165. However, oOh!media rose 32.9 per cent to $1.13 in response to a takeover bid and Codan was up 15.5 per cent at $42. (RMS)

News

The crypto takes a breather after growth

Market Overview

News Background

The $80K level remains an important psychological barrier, around which a large volume of options is concentrated, GSR notes. QCP Capital considers $82K to be a key resistance level.

News

Pop Culture/WWE

Roman Reigns Sweats Through Epic Promo Amid Arena Heat in Laredo

News

WWE NXT/Wrestling

NXT Debuts EVIL, Lizzy Rain, and Will Kroos in Roster Shake-Up

News

Pop Culture

Danhausen Reunites with Jade Cargill in WWE Photoshoot Throwback

The surprise images dropped Tuesday, showing Danhausen in full vampire gear posing dynamically with Cargill, who rocked a white fur bodysuit and championship belt. It's a nod to their fun AEW days, where Danhausen debuted his 'very nice, very evil' persona before crossing to WWE this year with stunts like emerging from a crate at Elimination Chamber and teaming with John Cena at WrestleMania 42. Jadehausen!?

News

April 28

Pop Culture/Pro Wrestling/WWE/NXT

EVIL From Japan Makes NXT Debut; Faced Off With Tony D!

Blake Monroe Buried in Dramatic NXT Graveyard Farewell; The Glamour Heading To Main Roster

NXT's Ricky Saints Heading To WWE SmackDown

News

Google, Meta shift $11b offshore, pay just $140m in tax

News

Elon Musk's OpenAI Trial Jury Selected in Oakland

News

WWE

WWE Raw Hits Laredo with Rollins-Reigns Tension and Backlash Build

Monday Night Raw airs live at 8 p.m. ET from Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas, exclusively on Netflix, featuring Seth Rollins opening with words for Roman Reigns and Reigns responding to Jacob Fatu's title challenge at Backlash. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria face Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez in tag action, while Becky Lynch returns after reclaiming her Women's Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania to address challengers. Joe Hendry performs a live concert, and fan cards highlight matches like Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Rusev, all building hype toward Backlash.

News Lead Up

April 27

The crypto market has yet to satisfy sellers

Market Overview

The crypto market capitalisation rose to $2.64T in the early hours of Monday but quickly retreated to the $2.60T level that has held steady over the past five days. Bears are aggressively defending the level from which the active sell-off began in February and where local highs were also seen earlier in April. Over the past seven days, the cryptocurrency market has gained 2.8%, with Zcash (+15%), Algorand (+12%) and Cosmos (+9%) leading the way, while Trump (-10%), Theta Network (-2.5%) and Polkadot (-2.3%) lagged.

The sentiment index has risen to 47, entering neutral territory and reaching its highest level since the second half of January. Since last August, the indicator has spent no more than a few consecutive days above 50, the first sign of a bear market. In the short term, approaching this level increases the risk of a fresh wave of selling. But don’t rush to side with the sellers until the situation becomes clearer, as a bear market does not last forever.

Bitcoin has approached the $80K mark for the second time in the last few days, but has since experienced significant downward momentum. As it approaches this round figure, a build-up of sell orders is preventing the coin from moving further upwards. For now, we consider this situation to be temporary, as the corrective pullbacks fit within the uptrend formed at the end of March.

News Background

Bitcoin has entered a new phase amid the return of US retail investors to the market, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said. In his view, the combination of retail demand, institutional capital and limited supply creates the foundation for further growth.

Over a short period, sentiment among Bitcoin investors has shifted sharply — from pronounced pessimism to fear of missing out (FOMO), according to Santiment. Crypto whales have increased their holdings by more than 40,000 BTC over the past two weeks.

CryptoQuant, on the other hand, believes that Bitcoin’s recent rise above $79K was driven primarily by a short squeeze in the derivatives market, rather than sustained demand in the spot market. Large-scale short covering is making the market vulnerable.

Japanese company Metaplanet, one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin, has announced the issuance of $50 million in bonds to finance new purchases of the leading cryptocurrency.

The infrastructure of traditional finance and blockchains began to form a unified system in 2026, according to CoinShares. Stablecoins remain the largest segment of hybrid finance.

A quantum computer has, for the first time, cracked a 15-bit elliptic curve cryptographic key — the mathematical basis of digital signature schemes that ensure the security of Bitcoin networks and most blockchains. (FxPro)

News

WWE/Pop Culture

Paul Heyman Praises Lil Yachty Amid WWE Celebrity Backlash

News

UFC/MMA

(Australia)

UFC Fight Night in Perth Features Main Event Between Jack Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates

News

Pop Culture/Lucha Libre

AAA Announces New General Manager Reveal on May 23

News Lead Up

April 23

(Wall St, New York) : April 24 (Sydney, Australia)

UFC - MMA Building Stars Again

New York Kind Of Feeling

US Stocks - Black Friday - Black-ish Thursday into Friday

Post WrestleMania; Road To WWE Backlash 2026

WWE Management And Wrestlers Bullish; Wrestling and Boxing

Sports Biz Event Tickets And Merch Drive

Danhausen Lifts WWE Merch Hausen

Traditional Big Tech Sector Takes Big Hit April 23

Media Man Group Weekly Series

News Lead Up

ASX 200 futures down 4 points: 0.1% to 8828

AUD -0.4% to US71.30¢

Bitcoin $78,168.22 +0.52%

Dogecoin $0.09776 +2.24%

Ripple aka XRP $1.4374 +1.48%

Wall St:

Dow -0.4%

S&P -0.4%

Nasdaq -0.9%

VIX +0.39 to 19.31

Gold -1% to $US4694.14 an ounce

Brent oil +4.5% to $US106.44 a barrel

Iron ore -0.6% to $US106.65 a tonne

10-year yield: US 4.32% Australia 5.00%

News

News Flashback

November 2025

Polymarket Partnership Could Be a Game Changer for TKO Group Holdings (TKO)

Nov 17

(In Case You Missed It)

Polymarket/UFC/TKO

We'll explore how this innovative fan engagement initiative could strengthen TKO Group Holdings' investment narrative by deepening audience connection and content value.

What Is TKO Group Holdings' Investment Narrative?

TKO Group Holdings' shares have been on the rise but are still potentially undervalued by 15%.

Historical Data and Intel

TKO Group: News

News Flashback

Insider Buying and Selling at TKO Group

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TKO Group Stock Up 0.0%

TKO Group Increases Dividend

TKO Group Profile

News Flashback

News

Best Quotes Of The Day

"An investment in ones self is always the best bet" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

drops after a bad week in retail - 14th May 2016

US stocks have fallen as a decline in oil prices added to pressure from consumer companies after gloomy quarterly reports from Nordstrom and J.C. Penney overshadowed upbeat April retail sales data.

The decline in the department stores' shares marked the end of a week that highlighted the expanding clout of Amazon.com and the plight of brick-and mortar retailers struggling to keep up with the online seller.

Crude prices slipped on Friday as a stronger dollar weighed and investors cashed in on gains from a three-day rally.

That pushed the SP energy index down 1.25 per cent.

US retail sales jumped 1.3 per cent last month, the largest gain since March 2015 and a bigger rise than economists expected.

But consumer stocks, which have already been under pressure this week after a string of feeble earnings reports, fell again after Nordstrom and J.C. Penney reported lower-than-expected sales.

Nordstrom slumped 13.42 per cent and J.C. Penney Co Inc lost 2.82 per cent. Dillard's Inc, which gave a quarterly report that also disappointed Wall Street, fell 1.29 per cent.

Amazon lost 1.12 per cent but was 5 per cent higher for the week following steady gains since last Friday.

On Wednesday, Macy's poor quarterly report triggered a sell-off in US retailers. It lost 17 per cent for the week after gaining 1 cent on Friday to $31.22.

First-quarter earnings reports are nearly all in and, on average, have not been quite as bad as expected across the SP 500. But for June-quarter earnings, for every company that has given an upbeat preannouncement, 2.3 others have sounded warnings, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

That has left the SP 500 trading at about 16.5 times expected earnings, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

'It's hard to make a case that you're going to have stellar equity market performance. In the context of low interest rates, equity valuations look about right,' said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management in Horsham, Pennsylvania.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 1.05 per cent to end at 17,535.32 and the SP 500 lost 0.85 per cent to 2,046.61.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.41 per cent to 4,717.68.

All of the 10 major SP sectors fell, led by a 1.29 per cent decline in financials. Consumer staples lost 1.23 per cent.

For the week, the Dow fell 1.2 per cent, the SP dipped 0.5 per cent and the Nasdaq lost 0.4 per cent. It was the third week in a row of losses for the Dow and SP 500.

The SP 500 is about flat for 2016.

In a bright spot, Nvidia surged 15.21 per cent after the graphics chipmaker forecast better-than-expected revenue for the current quarter.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,000 to 980. On the Nasdaq, 1,627 issues fell and 1,145 advanced.

The SP 500 index showed 15 new 52-week highs and eight new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and 76 new lows.

About 6.6 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, light compared to the daily average of about 7.2 billion shares for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.

(Reuters)