Lars Neumann Merck ( MRK ) said that an analysis of a phase 3 trial found that treatment with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) led to a significant improvement in overall survival regardless of an ovarian cancer patient's PD-L1 status. The pharma also noted that the results were seen with or without Avastin (bevacizumab). With a median follow-up of 32.7 months. Keytruda plus paclitaxel with or without Ava...
Lars Neumann Merck ( MRK ) said that an analysis of a phase 3 trial found that treatment with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) led to a significant improvement in overall survival regardless of an ovarian cancer patient's PD-L1 status. The pharma also noted that the results were seen with or without Avastin (bevacizumab). With a median follow-up of 32.7 months. Keytruda plus paclitaxel with or without Avastin reduced the risk of death by 18% compared to paclitaxel with or without Avastin alone. For those on Keytruda, median OS was 17.7 months compared to 14 months for those taking the placebo regimen. Merck had previously released data showing that the Keytruda regimen met its primary endpoint, progression-free survival. Overall survival was the secondary endpoint in the KEYNOTE-B96 trial. The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products also adopted a positive opinion for approving the Keytruda regimen for platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal carcinoma in adults whose tumors express PD-L1 and who have received at least one or two prior treatments. The US FDA granted that indication for Keytruda earlier in February. Merck also released data on Keytruda plus Pfizer ( PFE ) and Astellas' ( ALPMF )( ALPMY ) antibody-drug conjugate Padcev (enfortumab vedotin) for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Results showed the combination reduced the risk of event-free survival events by 47% and cut the risk of death by 35% when given before and after surgery versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery. More on Merck Health Care Q4 Dividend Roundup: Merck Offers Thicker Dividend Cushion Than AbbVie Merck: Why Investors Should Remain Bullish Despite Patent Risks Merck: Keytruda Remains Resilient Despite LOE Risks - Buy Upon Correction FDA reportedly eyeing staff bonuses to accelerate drug reviews 15 states sue Trump administration over changes to U.S. vaccine schedule
Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings ( DNA ): Q4 Revenue of $33M (-24.7% Y/Y) misses by $4.57M . Fourth quarter 2025 Cell Engineering revenue of $26 million compared to $35 million in the comparable prior year period, a decrease of 26% Fourth quarter 2025 Biosecurity revenue of $7 million compared to $9 million in the comparable prior year period Fourth quarter 2025 GAAP net loss of $(81) million, compared to...
Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings ( DNA ): Q4 Revenue of $33M (-24.7% Y/Y) misses by $4.57M . Fourth quarter 2025 Cell Engineering revenue of $26 million compared to $35 million in the comparable prior year period, a decrease of 26% Fourth quarter 2025 Biosecurity revenue of $7 million compared to $9 million in the comparable prior year period Fourth quarter 2025 GAAP net loss of $(81) million, compared to $(108) million in the comparable prior year period Fourth quarter 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of $(36) million, up from $(57) million in the comparable prior year period, primarily attributable to the decrease in operating expenses in the prior year period Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balance as of December 31, 2025 of $423 million More on Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (DNA) Presents at 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference - Slideshow Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (DNA) Presents at 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Transcript Ginkgo - OpenAI collaboration cuts costs in protein synthesis Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Historical earnings data for Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings
OpenAI (Unlisted:OPAI) has announced a $110 billion funding round, pushing the company’s pre-money valuation to $730 billion, up from $500 billion in a secondary financing last October. The round includes $50 billion from Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), $30 billion from Nvidia Corp...
OpenAI (Unlisted:OPAI) has announced a $110 billion funding round, pushing the company’s pre-money valuation to $730 billion, up from $500 billion in a secondary financing last October. The round includes $50 billion from Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), $30 billion from Nvidia Corp...
Software is rapidly reducing operating expenses for businesses. In the past, the undeniable tailwinds fueling SaaS companies led to lofty valuation multiples that made it easier to raise capital. But this was a double-edged sword as the high prices exposed them to big drawdowns, and unfortunately, the industry has tumbled by 23.6% over the last six months. This drop is a noticeable divergence from...
Software is rapidly reducing operating expenses for businesses. In the past, the undeniable tailwinds fueling SaaS companies led to lofty valuation multiples that made it easier to raise capital. But this was a double-edged sword as the high prices exposed them to big drawdowns, and unfortunately, the industry has tumbled by 23.6% over the last six months. This drop is a noticeable divergence from the S&P 500’s 7.2% return.
Houston is counting on municipal bond investors to help fund a multibillion-dollar convention center expansion that is crucial to boosting downtown economic activity. The Texas city plans to sell about $1.4 billion of bonds to finance the first phase of a roughly 15-year expansion project for a district that is anchored by the George R. Brown Convention Center. The first phase has a price tag of r...
Houston is counting on municipal bond investors to help fund a multibillion-dollar convention center expansion that is crucial to boosting downtown economic activity. The Texas city plans to sell about $1.4 billion of bonds to finance the first phase of a roughly 15-year expansion project for a district that is anchored by the George R. Brown Convention Center. The first phase has a price tag of roughly $1.1 billion and involves a new 700,000-square-foot convention center building and a new 100,000-square-foot pedestrian plaza, which will provide visitors direct access to the Toyota Center, home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets. Houston is the latest US city to pour money into upgrading its convention center to stimulate growth in the area. Read More: LA Preps $1 Billion Bond for Convention Center Ahead of Olympics “You can’t have a world class city without a world class downtown,” said Michael Heckman, chief executive officer of Houston First Corporation , the region’s marketing organization which is leading the new development. “This will catalyze and spur residential development with the adjacent entertainment district that will come from this.” Heckman said the timing of the bond sale coincides with the timeline for the project. Houston First broke ground on the development last year and in order to finish the building in time for a May 2028 opening, the corporation needs to get the necessary funds. “I think that this deal should be well received,” said Jeffery Timlin , lead portfolio manager for Texas-based Sage Advisory Services ’ municipal strategies, adding that investors have had an insatiable appetite for municipal bonds. If the Houston deal comes in at attractive spreads then Timlin anticipates it is “going to get some decent interest based off of the demand component that we’re seeing out there so it might price on the richer side of fair value.” The deal, which will also refinance debt, is expected to price on March 5 and is led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and ...
Holders of notes issued by Tricolor Holdings sued JPMorgan Chase & Co. , Barclays Plc and Fifth Third Bancorp. , accusing the banks of helping to perpetuate a fraud at the now-bankrupt used-car dealer and lender. The banks were named in a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York by several investment firms including One William Street Capital Management and Janus Henderson Group Plc. The plaintiffs said...
Holders of notes issued by Tricolor Holdings sued JPMorgan Chase & Co. , Barclays Plc and Fifth Third Bancorp. , accusing the banks of helping to perpetuate a fraud at the now-bankrupt used-car dealer and lender. The banks were named in a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York by several investment firms including One William Street Capital Management and Janus Henderson Group Plc. The plaintiffs said they collectively hold more than $230 million in Tricolor notes. Tricolor filed for bankruptcy in September. Company founder and former Chief Executive Officer Daniel Chu and others were charged in December with allegedly defrauding Tricolor’s banks and investors by double-pledging or inflating the value of “near-worthless” loan collateral. Chu has pleaded not guilty. In their suit, the noteholders claim the banks ignored “clear evidence” of fraud, including “alarming” 2022 and 2024 audits of the company, because they were earning millions of dollars in fees underwriting Tricolor’s securitized notes. Spokespeople for JPMorgan and Fifth Third declined to comment. A Barclays spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In the wake of Tricolor’s collapse, the three banks disclosed they collectively faced hundreds of millions of dollars in potential losses. “It is not our finest moment,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said during an October call with reporters. According to the noteholders, red flags in the audit reports included “that nearly half the payments received on a given day were posted to the wrong bank account for the wrong lender, that defaulted loan accounts showed recoveries that were never actually obtained from car repossessions that never actually occurred, and that loan delinquencies were inaccurately reported and aged.” The banks “responded by hiding what they had learned and sticking their heads in the sand to avoid learning more,” the noteholders claim. JPMorgan, Barclays and Fifth Third also allegedly concealed or misrepresented concerning ...
Drones are the fastest-growing, multibillion-dollar investment opportunity in the hot space of "physical" artificial intellgence, according to Oppenheimer. The global defense market has seen booming growth over the past year driven by rising geopolitical conflicts and military investment, with the House of Representatives in December authorizing the Defense Department to spend $900.6 billion fisca...
Drones are the fastest-growing, multibillion-dollar investment opportunity in the hot space of "physical" artificial intellgence, according to Oppenheimer. The global defense market has seen booming growth over the past year driven by rising geopolitical conflicts and military investment, with the House of Representatives in December authorizing the Defense Department to spend $900.6 billion fiscal 2026. The key driver of this growth in defense is drones, a technology that is rapidly advancing warfare and could have ripple effects on other commercial technologies down the line. Oppenheimer forecasts the total addressable market for drones —specifically drone hardware, services, AI, and associated software — to grow from $45 billion to $400 billion globally, with half of this spend for lower skies, sea and land and the remaining for upper skies, including satellites. Analysts at the firm believe that this market in the future will be rebuilt around unmanned drones, robots and autonomous systems that function remotely or autonomously with AI or another kind of pre-programmed technology. The adoption of drones will prompt a "paradigm shift" in how institutions function given that the technology will be the first large-scale deployment of physical AI and could be applied to self-driving transportation and other commercial uses, they wrote in a note Thursday. "AI is driving an infrastructure and soon a manufacturing boom as well as dozens of Physical AI use cases (Waymo), with drones the fastest-growing," the note said. "Whoever wins the drone swarm arms race will win the war. This requires new mobile edge compute/network/blockchain technology, a natural evolution from the internet and cloud which will be commercialized." Oppenheimer said that the global military spend on defense is around $3 trillion — a 50% increase over the last five years. They added that will likely double in the next decade. The use of low-cost drones in Ukraine is one example of the systems' surve...
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior condemns the racial abuse aimed at players - warning it is "very easy" for social media users to target them without punishment.
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior condemns the racial abuse aimed at players - warning it is "very easy" for social media users to target them without punishment.
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images The DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund ( DSL ) is a closed-end fund that aims to provide its investors with a high level of current income. The fund does reasonably well in this task, as it boasts an 11.49% yield at the current share price, which is significantly higher than most other assets in the market possess. However, as is the case with all of the clos...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images The DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund ( DSL ) is a closed-end fund that aims to provide its investors with a high level of current income. The fund does reasonably well in this task, as it boasts an 11.49% yield at the current share price, which is significantly higher than most other assets in the market possess. However, as is the case with all of the closed-end funds currently offered by DoubleLine, DSL achieves its objectives primarily by investing its assets into a portfolio comprised of bonds. Bonds only offer extremely limited upside when compared to common stocks, which is due to the simple fact that bonds are both issued and redeemed at their face values, so they offer no net capital gains when held over their lifetimes. As a result of this, investors in this fund should not expect to earn much beyond the distribution. Indeed, the DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund has delivered no share price appreciation over the past ten years, and all of the returns that it has provided to its investors have come from the distribution. With that said, though, given the fact that this fund has a substantially higher yield than any of the benchmark bond indices, the DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund should offer superior total returns to any exchange-traded index fund that tracks a bond index. The DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund Versus Bond Index Funds As mentioned in the introduction, the DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund primarily invests its assets in bonds and similar fixed-income securities. The fund’s website states: The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of investments selected for their potential to provide high current income, growth of capital, or both. The Fund may invest in debt securities and other income-producing investments anywhere in the world, including emerging markets. This quote explicitly states that one thing that the fund’s management is looking for is an asset’s abi...
英国央行首席经济学家Huw Pill警告称，尽管总体通胀率正在向目标水平靠拢，但不要因此产生“虚假的安全感”。 通胀率已从12月的3.4%降至3%，并有望在4月降至2%。但Pill警告说，不应就此认为政策制定者已经控制住了消费者价格上涨，并表示潜在的压力仍然构成威胁。 Pill在Elgin Advisory和Society for Professional Economists联合举办的关于美英经...
英国央行首席经济学家Huw Pill警告称，尽管总体通胀率正在向目标水平靠拢，但不要因此产生“虚假的安全感”。 通胀率已从12月的3.4%降至3%，并有望在4月降至2%。但Pill警告说，不应就此认为政策制定者已经控制住了消费者价格上涨，并表示潜在的压力仍然构成威胁。 Pill在Elgin Advisory和Society for Professional Economists联合举办的关于美英经济的活动上发表了上述言论。他是货币政策委员会中较为鹰派的成员之一，在12月时反对将利率下调25个基点至3.75%。 Pill表示，“我认为这里有个好消息，正如行长所说， 通胀下降正在稳步推进，朝着目标迈进。但我认为同样重要的是要认识到，这个过程尚未完成。我们不应被总体通胀率的走势所迷惑，从而产生一种虚假的安全感，因为总体通胀率的波动部分是由财政事件或其他事件驱动的”。 他表示，他正在关注通胀动态指标，包括工资增 长和 服务业通胀，“如今对2026年的预期比六个月前略高。所以，这提醒我们不应掉以轻心。事情的发展速度和程度都不如我们当初制定利率决策时的预期，因此我持谨慎态度”。 责任编辑：李桐
Jean-Luc Ichard/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft-Sometimes it is those sub-headline comments that really matter A little less than 4 months ago, a book about the Great Depression by Andrew Ross Sorkin was published. It may seem eerily prescient at this point-although if one reads the book, considers the state of the economy and the various speculative vehicles and different equities of ...
Jean-Luc Ichard/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft-Sometimes it is those sub-headline comments that really matter A little less than 4 months ago, a book about the Great Depression by Andrew Ross Sorkin was published. It may seem eerily prescient at this point-although if one reads the book, considers the state of the economy and the various speculative vehicles and different equities of that time and compares the strange speculative devices of that era to 2026 the differences are striking. But if you’re a software analyst or an investor in software stocks it might seem that we are living through a reprise of 1929. Certainly, there are more than enough articles about irresponsible and unwise capex that might make one believe that some simulacrum of 1929 is in the offing and it will carry Microsoft shares and Microsoft's business along with it. This is not an article about the market overall, or comparisons with that grim year and its aftermath-but an article about Microsoft ( MSFT ) and why readers should buy the shares at this time and this price. The point is, this is not 1929, and the economy is not on the cusp of collapse and the software space is not getting eviscerated-well other than the stock prices of the sector. One issue to point out up-front is that to invest in Microsoft these days, is somewhat of a significant bet on the future success of OpenAI. Anyone providing analysis on Microsoft these days more or less has to provide some analysis of the prospects for OpenAI. Some analysts trying to develop detailed models of Microsoft, haircut the contractual commitment that OpenAI has to pay Microsoft for infrastructure. It is more than a bit difficult to talk about a so-called SaaSpocalypse, and in the same analysis, try to suggest that OpenAI will not be successful and will not be able to pay Microsoft its contractual commitment. But despite the cognitive dissonance of the two themes, some have made the effort to square that circle. I have owned Micr...
Maksim Safaniuk/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Permian Resources Corporation ( PR ) has been a great winner since I last rated it a Strong Buy back in December. In all, shares have appreciated over 30% since, and I believe that it can go higher, especially after the most recent earnings. Current Dynamics Permian just posted a mixed set of earnings as the company posted a top-line miss of $12...
Maksim Safaniuk/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Permian Resources Corporation ( PR ) has been a great winner since I last rated it a Strong Buy back in December. In all, shares have appreciated over 30% since, and I believe that it can go higher, especially after the most recent earnings. Current Dynamics Permian just posted a mixed set of earnings as the company posted a top-line miss of $120MM on a total quarterly revenue of $1.17B, which is a 9.3% Y/Y decrease. On the bottom line, Q4 GAAP EPS came in at $0.45, a major beat of 18 cents. This performance is indicative of a fundamental shift in the company’s cost structure, where reductions in D&C expenses and lease operating expenses have more than compensated for fluctuations in top-line revenue. And though this was a miss, the discrepancy was largely a function of realized commodity price timing rather than a shortfall in physical production. Looking at the full year, the company generated an adj. free cash flow of $1.64B , which represents a 20% Y/Y increase. This is a remarkable achievement considering the broad industry headwinds associated with softening natural gas and NGL realizations. This all tells us that the company has a high degree of operating leverage, where incremental production additions are achieved with decreasing marginal costs. Diving deeper operationally, PR has positioned itself as the low-cost leader in the Delaware Basin as it prioritizes a relentless focus on drilling and completion efficiencies. In Q4, the company achieved the lowest D&C costs in its history, falling to around $700 per lateral foot . This reflects a 14% reduction relative to 2024 levels and is the result of systematic process improvements across the company’s multi-rig program. These efficiencies are especially highlighted when considering the integration of acquired assets, such as the ones from Earthstone Energy , in which management has noted that they successfully reduced well costs on acquired properties by ar...
Joe Raedle/Getty Images News Block: 40% Headcount Cut! Are You Serious? Wow! Before I begin to discuss the thesis for investors in Block, Inc. ( XYZ ), I would like to express my heartfelt sympathies to the Block employees who are affected by this sweeping 40% single-day headcount reduction that CEO Jack Dorsey has decided to initiate. There were already reported rumors of some kind of reorganizat...
Joe Raedle/Getty Images News Block: 40% Headcount Cut! Are You Serious? Wow! Before I begin to discuss the thesis for investors in Block, Inc. ( XYZ ), I would like to express my heartfelt sympathies to the Block employees who are affected by this sweeping 40% single-day headcount reduction that CEO Jack Dorsey has decided to initiate. There were already reported rumors of some kind of reorganization back in early February . But that reported figure was supposed to be 10%, not the 40% that we have come to know as of yesterday (February 26). So it must have baffled Block employees and investors, even though the market has reacted with palpable optimism. I'm not going to go into whether the market is right or wrong to lift XYZ stock by almost 20% in the pre-market as I pen this update. It is my understanding that markets are amoral and that they react to KPIs (most of the time). And because of the potential of a markedly lower cost base due to the significant reduction in headcount, not only has guidance for XYZ improved in the near term, but the upgrade is also pretty significant. With that, I think you can make sense of why the market reacted like what we saw after the earnings report and conference. CFO Amrita Ahuja has the insights for us: For Q1, we expect year-over-year gross profit growth of 22% to $2.8 billion. In addition to the growth momentum we're seeing, our guidance also reflects a smaller cost structure going forward. We believe the actions we're taking today will enable us to deliver faster product innovation for customers in the future while also enabling us to invest meaningfully in our business. With this change in cost structure, combined with the investments we plan to make, we are increasing our guidance for adjusted operating income in 2026 to $3.2 billion, reflecting year-over-year growth of 54% and 6 points of margin expansion relative to 2025. We are increasing our expectation for adjusted diluted EPS in 2026 to $3.66, also reflecting year-ov...