alexsl/iStock via Getty Images There is no denying that money is going into AI-related trades at the moment, and that in chasing momentum, that would have to be the place to be. While we would not want to chase the bubble directly and take on the risks of those valuations holding, we do think there is a play in capital markets to benefit from the greater heights that market valuations are arriving...
alexsl/iStock via Getty Images There is no denying that money is going into AI-related trades at the moment, and that in chasing momentum, that would have to be the place to be. While we would not want to chase the bubble directly and take on the risks of those valuations holding, we do think there is a play in capital markets to benefit from the greater heights that market valuations are arriving at. The State Street SPDR S&P Capital Markets ETF ( KCE ) is mainly a play on asset managers, which benefit from AUMs rising in the market in general. However, tactically we think sharper bets can be made in individual stocks that focus instead on advisory shops within financial services, which are benefiting from a baseline return to market of sponsors; decent deal conditions that are resisting Iran War pressures reportedly; and perhaps most tactically, the possible IPO of a lot of high-valued private AI companies and SpaceX ( SPACE ), which could be copped by some of the bulge bracket shops with strong tech teams. We would rather a bucket of the bulge bracket banks, like Goldman Sachs ( GS ), Morgan Stanley ( MS ), and JPMorgan ( JPM ) as well, perhaps, than take a position in the KCE, which is only modestly levered, albeit also exposure to operationally more conservative businesses. Also, with considerable exposure to AM, US AM picks in our coverage, which are also included in KCE, are a little bit above the 10x PE that we like as a baseline fair multiple for AM companies. KCE Breakdown The KCE is mostly invested in asset management and custody banks, so a lot of exposure to AUM-based businesses, earning revenues on AUM bases according to management fees and also on transactional volumes related to services rendered through wealth management activities. The overall exposure to segments like these are 47% . KCE Sectors (SPDR) There are advantages to an exposure like this. AM businesses are quite resilient. While AUM can decline on outflows in poor markets and on AUM depr...
Alphabet, ticker NasdaqGS:GOOGL, has completed a multicurrency bond offering raising over $17b. The deal includes large euro and Canadian dollar tranches and is aimed at funding AI expansion and infrastructure. The new financing is linked to expected record AI infrastructure and data center spending in 2026. For you as an investor, this funding move sits at the heart of Alphabet's core story as a ...
Alphabet, ticker NasdaqGS:GOOGL, has completed a multicurrency bond offering raising over $17b. The deal includes large euro and Canadian dollar tranches and is aimed at funding AI expansion and infrastructure. The new financing is linked to expected record AI infrastructure and data center spending in 2026. For you as an investor, this funding move sits at the heart of Alphabet's core story as a global technology platform focused on search, cloud, and AI. The decision to issue more than...
Tesla recently reported a sharp rebound in China-made Model 3 and Model Y sales in April, alongside securing its largest-ever Tesla Semi truck order and unveiling a multibillion‑dollar Terafab chip manufacturing initiative with SpaceX and xAI. Together, these developments highlight how Tesla is tying core EV demand, AI chip capacity and commercial trucking into a broader physical‑AI platform spann...
Tesla recently reported a sharp rebound in China-made Model 3 and Model Y sales in April, alongside securing its largest-ever Tesla Semi truck order and unveiling a multibillion‑dollar Terafab chip manufacturing initiative with SpaceX and xAI. Together, these developments highlight how Tesla is tying core EV demand, AI chip capacity and commercial trucking into a broader physical‑AI platform spanning vehicles, energy and robotics. We’ll now examine how the China sales recovery and Terafab...
By now, investors have likely heard that the rise of Chinese automotive manufacturing is very real. While tariffs on imported vehicles and parts are protecting domestic automakers such as Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) in America, Ford is facing a battle in Europe. Chinese autos roughly doubled their European passenger car market share to 6% last year, and they've already bolstered that to 9.4% by M...
By now, investors have likely heard that the rise of Chinese automotive manufacturing is very real. While tariffs on imported vehicles and parts are protecting domestic automakers such as Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) in America, Ford is facing a battle in Europe. Chinese autos roughly doubled their European passenger car market share to 6% last year, and they've already bolstered that to 9.4% by March 2026. But now the Chinese automakers are targeting a new segment, one that's critically important to Ford. While many investors think of Ford's traditional vehicle sales as its core business -- and it is -- Ford Pro, the company's commercial vehicle division, has been its best-kept secret in recent years. In fact, for 2026, Ford Pro guidance is to generate $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) compared to Ford Blue's $4.5 billion to $5 billion EBIT, and obviously ahead of its Model e division's $4 billion to $4.5 billion EBIT loss. Image source: Ford Motor Company. Continue reading
Wall Street has embraced the return of pro-growth economic policies, lighter regulation, and an AI spending boom, helping push U.S. stocks to record territory again under President Donald Trump. Yet as warning signs pile up, legendary investor Paul Tudor Jones says the same forces driving markets higher today may also be laying the groundwork for ... Paul Tudor Jones Warns Trump-Era Market Boom Co...
Wall Street has embraced the return of pro-growth economic policies, lighter regulation, and an AI spending boom, helping push U.S. stocks to record territory again under President Donald Trump. Yet as warning signs pile up, legendary investor Paul Tudor Jones says the same forces driving markets higher today may also be laying the groundwork for ... Paul Tudor Jones Warns Trump-Era Market Boom Could End in a 35% Crash. Here’s Why He’s Still Buying Stocks
AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) used its annual meeting to announce a planned chief executive transition, report that shareholders approved all items on the ballot and provide an update on 2025 performance and early 2026 results. President and Chief Executive Officer Stephan Tanda told sh
AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) used its annual meeting to announce a planned chief executive transition, report that shareholders approved all items on the ballot and provide an update on 2025 performance and early 2026 results. President and Chief Executive Officer Stephan Tanda told sh
Carter's (NYSE:CRI) reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter fiscal 2026 sales and earnings, with growth across its retail, wholesale and international businesses, but management said tariffs, higher spending and interest costs continued to weigh on profitability. Interim C
Carter's (NYSE:CRI) reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter fiscal 2026 sales and earnings, with growth across its retail, wholesale and international businesses, but management said tariffs, higher spending and interest costs continued to weigh on profitability. Interim C
We just covered Cathie Wood’s 11 Biggest AI and Data Center Stock Picks. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) ranks #1 (see Cathie Wood’s 5 Biggest AI and Data Center Stock Picks). Wood has a $2,600 price target for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) for 2029. In a YouTube interview earlier this year, Wood said most of Tesla’s upside potential comes […]
We just covered Cathie Wood’s 11 Biggest AI and Data Center Stock Picks. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) ranks #1 (see Cathie Wood’s 5 Biggest AI and Data Center Stock Picks). Wood has a $2,600 price target for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) for 2029. In a YouTube interview earlier this year, Wood said most of Tesla’s upside potential comes […]
Caught On Tape: California Billionaire Tax Architect Admits Wealth Confiscation Could Go Even Further One of the co-authors of California’s controversial 'one-time' tax on billionaires appeared to suggest that the levy could extend beyond a single imposition. Marxist economics professor Emmanuel Saez, who hails from France, made the comment during a Tuesday debate against economist Arthur Laffer a...
Caught On Tape: California Billionaire Tax Architect Admits Wealth Confiscation Could Go Even Further One of the co-authors of California’s controversial 'one-time' tax on billionaires appeared to suggest that the levy could extend beyond a single imposition. Marxist economics professor Emmanuel Saez, who hails from France, made the comment during a Tuesday debate against economist Arthur Laffer at the University of California, Berkeley. “ I don’t think it’s going to be a one-time tax. Because you can’t surprise billionaires more than once ,” Saez said . "Even then, maybe some of them were expecting something like this. So, it’s going to be a debate about this time, you know, a permanent wealth tax at a low rate that’s going to last for a number of years .” Watch the entire debate below: The radical tax pushed by the far-left Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West would slap California residents with a punishing one-time 5% levy on anyone with assets over $1 billion. The proposal has reverberated through Silicon Valley, where several high-profile figures have already established residency elsewhere . Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have moved to Florida, drawn by its more favorable business and tax environment, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg purchased a $150 million mansion in Miami. This week, Bloomberg reported that Palantir CEO Alex Karp scooped up a Miami-area mansion for $46 million, while the company itself has recently relocated from Denver to Florida. Even Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-founder, prominent Democrat donor, and longtime buddy of convicted schrodinger's pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, has publicly criticized the proposal, describing California’s wealth tax tax as a “horrendous idea” that would hasten the departure of tech founders and executives from the state. California is not alone among Democrat-leaning states experiencing such outflows. This week, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, a longtime backer o...
Beneath the shining white glaciers of the Andean mountains lie valuable deposits of gold, copper and molybdenum which, until recently, were off-limits to the mining companies that have set their eyes on these untapped minerals. That could be about to change, after legislators in Argentina agreed to amend the Glacier Law that has prohibited all mining and exploration activities in the country’s gla...
Beneath the shining white glaciers of the Andean mountains lie valuable deposits of gold, copper and molybdenum which, until recently, were off-limits to the mining companies that have set their eyes on these untapped minerals. That could be about to change, after legislators in Argentina agreed to amend the Glacier Law that has prohibited all mining and exploration activities in the country’s glacier regions since 2010. The legislation defined the country’s 16,000 glaciers – covering an area of...
As the focus moves away from the Iran war, investors and strategists alike are looking for the next leg up in equities. Many are turning to Asia. Shares in South Korea and Taiwan have rallied the most in the world this month, with the surge in the Kospi index taking it up 78% for the year. The two markets have been key beneficiaries of the euphoria surrounding artificial intelligence, thanks to th...
As the focus moves away from the Iran war, investors and strategists alike are looking for the next leg up in equities. Many are turning to Asia. Shares in South Korea and Taiwan have rallied the most in the world this month, with the surge in the Kospi index taking it up 78% for the year. The two markets have been key beneficiaries of the euphoria surrounding artificial intelligence, thanks to the growing dominance of giants Samsung Electronics Co., SK Hynix Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Equity-derivatives strategists are increasingly recommending trades to bet on more gains, just as traders chasing the rally push up the cost of options. The result: Implied volatility for stocks in Taiwan and Korea is rising along with those markets. It’s now hovering around peak levels versus the S&P 500 Index for both the Taiex and the Kospi 200 Index, with the Cboe Volatility Index sinking back below its one-year average. “The strength of the move is producing extreme reversals from prior trends,” said Jun Gyun , a derivatives analyst at Samsung Securities Co., referring to the Korean market. That’s creating the “vol up, spot up” pattern, which could last for “some time, until a period of consolidation emerges,” he added. Tech and AI are back with a vengeance, leaving behind markets such as India, which is heavily dependent on oil, has low exposure to AI and a currency near a record low. Its S&P BSE Sensex Index, down 9.3% this year, is the world’s second-worst performer. Korean shares have been so in demand that Interactive Brokers Group Inc. started giving US retail investors direct access to the market. Meanwhile, the assets under management for leveraged exchange-traded funds have surged to a peak, and they’re likely to grow further as authorities have approved the local listing of those for single stocks, according to a recent JPMorgan Chase & Co. report that said the products keep the risk of “flow-driven overshoots alive.” Samsung Hits $1 Trillion Valuat...
Warren Buffett is one of the greatest investors in history. He spent over 70 years publicly managing money, including 60 years at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) . But the last three years before he retired were marked by behavior that many investors couldn't help but notice. In each of Buffett's last 13 quarters in charge of Berkshire's massive equity portfolio, he sold m...
Warren Buffett is one of the greatest investors in history. He spent over 70 years publicly managing money, including 60 years at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) . But the last three years before he retired were marked by behavior that many investors couldn't help but notice. In each of Buffett's last 13 quarters in charge of Berkshire's massive equity portfolio, he sold more stock than he bought. The result was a massive increase in cash, which climbed from $129 billion at the end of 2022 to $373 billion by the time Buffett left. The selling behavior had a clear implication: Most stocks that held Buffett's interest were expensive. Newly installed CEO Greg Abel continued selling stock during the first quarter of 2026, but a few big purchases may have ended the streak. Buffett is still advising Abel on investments, and investors may be wondering whether the shift toward buying more is a sign that he finally sees opportunities in this market. Continue reading
(Bloomberg) -- As the focus moves away from the Iran war, investors and strategists alike are looking for the next leg up in equities. Many are turning to Asia. Most Read from BloombergTrump Wants to Make H-1B Workers More Expensive for US EmployersBillionaire Duke of Westminster to Sell £700 Million of US Real Estate AssetsOnline Mob Fuels 6,000% Stock Rally in Obscure SpaceX RivalTrump Punts Tho...
(Bloomberg) -- As the focus moves away from the Iran war, investors and strategists alike are looking for the next leg up in equities. Many are turning to Asia. Most Read from BloombergTrump Wants to Make H-1B Workers More Expensive for US EmployersBillionaire Duke of Westminster to Sell £700 Million of US Real Estate AssetsOnline Mob Fuels 6,000% Stock Rally in Obscure SpaceX RivalTrump Punts Thorniest Iran Challenges in Push to Open HormuzIran War Is Draining World’s Oil Buffer at an Unprecede