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Wall Street piles into 'NACHO' bet on looming oil shortages in June
Quick note: Subscribe to the forthcoming Fortune Gulf Brief. Every Tuesday, this new newsletter will deliver clear-eyed, authoritative intelligence on the deals, decisions, policies, and power shifts shaping one of the world’s most consequential regions, written for the people who need to act on it. Sign up here. THE MARKETSGulf flares up, stocks cool down S&P 500 futures were up 0.5% this morning. The index fell 0.38% yesterday. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was down 0.67% in early trading and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.24% before lunch. Asia: South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.11%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.19%. India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.39%. China’s CSI 300 was down 0.58%. Brent crude was $100 this morning, up from a low of $96 the day before. Bitcoin slipped to $80K. Why the stock market has done so well despite the international chaos As this chart from Deutsche Bank shows, corporate America just reported one heck of an earnings season. Something like 85% of companies beat expectations, way above the historic average. (Not all companies have reported yet.) “This represents arguably the strongest earnings growth in two decades,” Jim Reid and his colleagues Binky Chadha and Parag Thatte say. ONE BIG THINGOne in six AI signups is a thief Criminals are defrauding AI firms by signing up for new accounts in order to steal tokens used to buy computing power, according to Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. Token thieves now account for one in every six new customer signups, he says. Thieves steal the tokens to resell them or use them for criminal ventures. “Token pilfering” is so widespread it’s becoming too expensive for some AI startups to offer free trials to prospective customers. “I think token theft is the most under-discussed topic in AI,” Emily Sands, Stripe’s Head of Data and AI, told Fortune’s Jeff John Roberts. “One of the things that’s really scary about that is that these attackers can burn inference costs, can rack up massive usage bills that they never intend to pay, and they can do that very, very quickly because they are consuming tokens at machine speed.” The crooks’ AI agents burn through the tokens in minutes. Unlike at traditional software companies, where an anti-fraud manager would investigate suspicious transactions, the crime takes place too fast for the company to intervene. They sign up for multiple accounts at multiple companies to use the tokens for purposes unrelated to what the firms are offering, or to resell them. In every case, the...
Oil shortages are even hitting colored snack bags
A Japanese snackmaker is simplifying packaging as a naphtha supply squeeze hits printing ink. Bloomberg/Getty Images 2026-05-12T05:27:50.994Z A popular potato chip maker in Japan is turning its snack bags black and white due to naphtha shortages. Prices of naphtha, a raw material for printing ink, have soared as the war in Iran is squeezing supply. The supply squeeze is hitting companies across Japan, including toiletmaker Toto. First, fuel prices surged. Now, even potato chips aren't safe from the global petrochemical squeeze. In Japan, snack giant Calbee — known for its popular potato chips — is switching some colored snack packaging to black and white after oil shortages linked to the Iran war squeezed global ink supplies, local media reported.The culprit is naphtha, an oil-derived chemical used to make solvents and resins for printing ink. Naphtha is also a key ingredient in plastics, packaging material, and adhesives. Prices for the material have surged amid the conflict in Iran.Calbee did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.Japan relies heavily on imported naphtha, making it especially vulnerable to supply disruptions.In recent weeks, companies including toilet maker Toto and Panasonic have warned of delivery disruptions and price hikes tied to naphtha-based materials.In the food industry, Calbee is not the only company facing naphtha-related pressure.Earlier this month, Itoham Yonekyu — a Japanese maker of processed meat and precooked food — said it is planning to reduce the number of colors used in product packaging to cut costs.Japanese officials have tried to calm fears of a broader shortage.On Tuesday, Kei Sato, the country's deputy chief cabinet secretary, said there are no immediate problems with Japan's naphtha supply. He added that while 40% of the country's naphtha supply comes from the Middle East, an equal amount is produced domestically.
Shell warns oil shortfall nears 1 billion barrels as prices surge - MSN
Historic oil disruption: Shell warns of a near-billion-barrel crude shortage as the Iran war blocks the Strait of Hormuz, removing 12% of global supply.
Shell CEO says oil market is short 1 billion barrels due to Iran war - CNBC
The oil market faces a shortage of nearly 1 billion barrels that will only get worse every day the conflict in the Middle East drags on, Shell CEO Wael Sawan told investors Thursday.
