The cost of insuring against US default has surged to the highest level in over a decade, as investors grow increasingly concerned about the upcoming negotiations to raise the nation's debt ceiling. The US government must agree to lift the $31.4tn borrowing limit, or risk defaulting on Treasury securities. Spreads on five-year credit default swaps have widened to 50 basis points, more than double the level in January, and the cost of insuring debt against default for one year stood at over 100 basis points, well above 2011 levels, when the first credit downgrade of the US government occurred due to a similar standoff. Treasury bill yields have also hit fresh highs on fears the deadline to raise the borrowing limit may come sooner than expected. Mid-August is the Treasury’s estimate for when they will run out of funds. However, JPMorgan warned that the debt ceiling could become an issue as early as May, so the deadline may come sooner than people think.

Institutional investors hold a staggering 65% stake in the company, making them a powerful group with significant influence over Roku's stock price movements. Recently, they saw their holdings' value drop by 11%, adding to a one-year loss of 37%, which may prompt them to sell off their shares, putting individual investors at risk of losing their investment. Despite owning a considerable stake in Roku, institutions' validation does not necessarily guarantee positive returns, as they can get it wrong at times. Past earnings trajectories and other factors should be considered before relying on their supposed validation. Moreover, since hedge funds own a meager percentage of Roku shares, the board is likely to pay attention to institutional investors' preferences, with Wealth Effects LLC being among the top 11 shareholders that control 50% of the company. Still, they cut their stake in Roku by nearly three-quarters during the fourth quarter, which raises concerns about the company's future growth trajectory. On the other hand, Roku's recent impressive Q4 2020 earnings result, exceeding analyst's expectations, makes it an attractive investment for those willing to endure the uncertainties of the stock market.

Roku is set to release its first-quarter 2023 earnings report on April 26th, with analysts predicting total net revenues of $711.5 million, a small decline from the previous year. Although Roku’s revenue growth in its platform business has slowed down recently, the company has experienced steady growth of its active accounts, which reached 70 million in Q4 2022. The platform business could also face growth opportunities from the shift of ad dollars from linear TV to video formats. During Q1 2023, Roku announced partnerships with Jellysmack and Pocket.watch which adds two new linear channels, Hello Inspo and Mysteria, to its free, ad-supported TV segment. In the Q1 2023 report, investors will be looking for signs of a rebound in the average revenue per user metric, as well as any strengthening of the advertising market. Despite the company seeing operating costs surge in Q4 2022, expenses are projected to grow at a slower pace in Q1 but could return to single-digit growth by Q4 2023.

Almost a year after its last announcement, Alphabet's board of directors has authorized a buyback of $70 billion worth of stock shares by Google, its parent company. The purchase is expected to be "executed from time to time, subject to general business and market conditions, and other investment opportunities, through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, including through Rule 10b5-1 plans," according to the Q1 2023 earnings report. The goal of the buyback is to ultimately return capital to shareholders. Google's Q1 2023 earnings results beat EPS and revenue expectations and brought in $69.78 billion in revenue. Google stock ended the trading day slightly down but saw modest after-hours trading gains. This announcement comes almost a year after Google's previous $70 billion stock buyback, which was nearly triple the amount the company had purchased in 2019.

Alec Martinez scored a shorthanded goal, blocked two shots, and had a plus-3 rating in the Vegas Golden Knights' 3-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Martinez finished the NHL regular season with the most blocked shots in the league, recording 244 in 77 games, 46 more than his teammate Brayden McNabb. The 35-year-old defenseman had a quiet offensive season with only three goals, but his strong defensive presence and solid plus-minus rating of 30 make up for it. Additionally, Martinez is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and has 30 points in 103 post-season games. The Golden Knights finished the season second in the Pacific Division, with a record of 50-27-5, and will face off against the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs.