MattGush/iStock via Getty Images For equity investors tracking housing supply, homebuilders and California-exposed financials, a striking data point stands out: nearly one in five home transfers in the state now happens through inheritance, The Wall Street Journal reported. About 18% of California property transfers last year, roughly 60,000 homes, were inherited, according to real-estate analytic...
MattGush/iStock via Getty Images For equity investors tracking housing supply, homebuilders and California-exposed financials, a striking data point stands out: nearly one in five home transfers in the state now happens through inheritance, The Wall Street Journal reported. About 18% of California property transfers last year, roughly 60,000 homes, were inherited, according to real-estate analytics firm Cotality. That’s a record share dating back to 1995, up from 12% in 2019 and roughly double the national rate of 8.8%. The trend underscores a structural supply constraint in one of the country’s most expensive housing markets. With the median single-family home price near $900,000 last year, younger buyers are increasingly reliant on family wealth rather than wages to gain entry. For many households, ownership is effectively delayed until assets pass down. For investors, the implications are significant: fewer voluntary sales mean tighter resale inventory, stickier prices and slower transaction velocity. These dynamics can benefit existing homeowners and property-tax-backed municipal revenue, but weigh on volume-sensitive players such as brokerages and mortgage lenders. Several forces reinforce the lock-in effect. Homeowners in California stayed in place for nearly 17 years on average in 2024, versus about 12 years nationally, according to Redfin. A major reason is Proposition 13, the 1978 law that caps annual property-tax increases at 2% based on purchase price. Longtime owners often pay taxes on decades-old valuations, while new buyers are taxed at today’s much higher market levels, a gap that can be dramatic. Capital-gains treatment further discourages sales. When heirs inherit property, the tax basis resets to current market value, potentially eliminating large embedded gains. For highly appreciated homes, which aren’t uncommon in coastal California, that reset can translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars in avoided federal and state taxes. Selling during...
Welcome to CFO Briefing, a newsletter dedicated to corporate finance and what leaders need to know. This week, Cava Group Inc.’s Tricia Tolivar dishes on the consumer trends driving pricing decisions and menu additions at the fast-casual chain, and the unexpected sales pattern she’s seeing amid all the talk of a K-shaped economy. But first... Back at it February was a big month for big share buyba...
Welcome to CFO Briefing, a newsletter dedicated to corporate finance and what leaders need to know. This week, Cava Group Inc.’s Tricia Tolivar dishes on the consumer trends driving pricing decisions and menu additions at the fast-casual chain, and the unexpected sales pattern she’s seeing amid all the talk of a K-shaped economy. But first... Back at it February was a big month for big share buybacks. Walmart Inc. replaced a $20 billion authorization with a $30 billion program. Salesforce Inc. went even bigger with a $50 billion repurchase, a buyback of historic proportions no doubt meant to help counter a steep slide this year in the company’s stock. There was more where that came from, especially if you were looking in Europe. Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc unveiled its largest repurchase plan ever, authorizing as much as £9 billion ($12.1 billion) through 2028. Deutsche Bank AG , Societe Generale SA and Standard Chartered Plc stepped up, too. London Stock Exchange Group Plc said it will buy back £3 billion by next February, which prompted activist investor Paul Singer to cry out for more . All told, members of the Stoxx Europe 600 index announced €85.7 billion ($101 billion) of share repurchases in the past two months, a record for the January-February period, according to a Barclays Plc tracker. While investors normally appreciate a repurchase plan, apparently it’s possible to announce one so large that Wall Street might wonder if the cash could be put to better use. That’s what happened to Salesforce this past week, as MarketWatch noted. In Europe, at least, the investor response has been more typical. A Barclays basket of share repurchasers is outpacing both the Stoxx 600 and an index of so-called dividend aristocrats, in terms of total returns. The new buyback activity may make European stocks all the more attractive to investors diversifying away from the US market, and US tech stocks in particular. But as Bloomberg’s Michael Msika pointed out this week in an arti...
asbe/iStock via Getty Images The S&P 500 ( SPY ) closed February 50 points lower, obeying the stats that it is typically a weaker month, but far from a decisive drop, as the close of 6878 was comfortably inside the well-established range. Will March finally break the sideways trading pattern? With the US and Israel's attack on Iran over the weekend, there may be a catalyst. This article looks at i...
asbe/iStock via Getty Images The S&P 500 ( SPY ) closed February 50 points lower, obeying the stats that it is typically a weaker month, but far from a decisive drop, as the close of 6878 was comfortably inside the well-established range. Will March finally break the sideways trading pattern? With the US and Israel's attack on Iran over the weekend, there may be a catalyst. This article looks at important technical levels and price action that could help signal whether a drop is a decisive breakdown or just another brief panic without any lasting effect. S&P 500 Monthly February is statistically the S&P 500's second-worst month, and it made a lower high, lower low, and lower close. However, none of these were by a large margin, and a neutral bar formed without any strong reversal signal. March is ranked 6th for performance, with an average gain of 1.0%. It does tend to be one of the wilder months, with 2025 and 2020 recent examples of large drops. A reversal pattern could form with a close below February's 6775 low. SPX Monthly ( TradingView ) The current pause is happening at major resistance at the channel highs and just above the major target of 6958, which is the 161% Fibonacci extension of the H1 drop . The next target after 6958 is 7490, which is a measured move similar in size to the 2020-2022 rally and the 2022-2025 rally. I doubt it gets that high, at least in this phase of the trend in 2026. The January low of 6789 is initial support, then 6720, and the October/November lows of 6521-50. A DeMARK exhaustion count was completed in February. This signal has led to a drop of at least 10% on the last 3 occasions, although the timing is not always on the signal's completion - in 2021-2022, the drop came the month after. S&P 500 Weekly The weekly bar used the 20 SMA as support again last week - the fifth time in six weeks. That is typically bearish behavior, as the bounces from there are getting smaller. It's perhaps worth looking at the relatively weak Nasdaq ( ...
Concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on individual stocks and sectors have clearly been growing in recent months. Just one recent example: On Monday, Feb. 23, AI start-up Anthropic PBC announced that its Claude Code tool could modernize COBOL coding language, which is a major asset of International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) . That sent shares of IBM down 13% on the day, it...
Concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on individual stocks and sectors have clearly been growing in recent months. Just one recent example: On Monday, Feb. 23, AI start-up Anthropic PBC announced that its Claude Code tool could modernize COBOL coding language, which is a major asset of International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) . That sent shares of IBM down 13% on the day, its worst single-day loss since 2000. But there are suddenly newer, larger concerns about AI surfacing in the market. One is that, by displacing large numbers of white-collar workers, AI could do real damage to the broader U.S. economy within just a couple of years. Continue reading
Goalkeeper made last-ditch save to deny Garnacho ‘David’s hand brought my heart back to life’ Mikel Arteta said his heart almost stopped before David Raya kept Arsenal’s title challenge on track with a stunning late save to deny 10‑man Chelsea a late equaliser at the Emirates Stadium. Raya was in exceptional form during a crucial 2-1 win, making a series of excellent stops during a tense encount...
Goalkeeper made last-ditch save to deny Garnacho ‘David’s hand brought my heart back to life’ Mikel Arteta said his heart almost stopped before David Raya kept Arsenal’s title challenge on track with a stunning late save to deny 10‑man Chelsea a late equaliser at the Emirates Stadium. Raya was in exceptional form during a crucial 2-1 win, making a series of excellent stops during a tense encounter, and the Spaniard was alert when a cross from Alejandro Garnacho threatened to drift inside his near post as full time approached. The goalkeeper pushed the ball wide, ensuring that goals from William Saliba and Jurriën Timber enabled Arsenal to restore their five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. Continue reading...
US president signals willingness to engage with Tehran’s surviving leadership as strikes and retaliatory attacks intensify across region US-Israel war on Iran – latest updates Donald Trump said on Sunday he was prepared to talk to what was left of the Iranian leadership in the wake of the killing of the country’s supreme leader by US-Israeli air strikes aimed at overthrowing the regime. Trump was ...
US president signals willingness to engage with Tehran’s surviving leadership as strikes and retaliatory attacks intensify across region US-Israel war on Iran – latest updates Donald Trump said on Sunday he was prepared to talk to what was left of the Iranian leadership in the wake of the killing of the country’s supreme leader by US-Israeli air strikes aimed at overthrowing the regime. Trump was speaking as a second day of intense bombing of Iranian cities and Tehran’s missile counter-attacks sent tremors across the region and through the global economy. Continue reading...
Wachiwit/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Shares of N etflix ( NFLX ) jumped 14% to $96 in response to the news that the company declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros. ( WBD ) in a move that seems to have ended the bidding war between Netflix and Paramount Skydance ( PSKY ) f or Warner Bros. This makes it so that Netflix will continue on its own, with the business guiding for continued (mar...
Wachiwit/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Shares of N etflix ( NFLX ) jumped 14% to $96 in response to the news that the company declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros. ( WBD ) in a move that seems to have ended the bidding war between Netflix and Paramount Skydance ( PSKY ) f or Warner Bros. This makes it so that Netflix will continue on its own, with the business guiding for continued (margin) growth, while Netflix will pocket a multibillion termination fee and see potentially a weakened competitor, setting the business up for an interesting 2026. The War Ended - Who Emerges As The Winner? Netfl ix announced its unwillingness to raise its existing offer for Warner Bros. This followed the news that Warner's board determined Paramount Skydance's offer to be superior. Netflix's co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters stress the financial discipline pursued in relation to this deal, as the financial situation does not "allow" Netflix to match the offer made by Paramount. Continuing the future on its own, Netflix said it would invest another $20 billion in quality films and series, while the company resumes the share buyback program as well. Note that this buyback program was only briefly halted, with the 2025 share count down nearly 2% year-over-year. Some Implications Terms of the original deal for Warner Bros. involved an $82 billion deal at $27.75 per share (which was largely a cash deal, complemented by a $4.50 per share stock component). The deal was set to boost Netflix's sales by about 30%, yet only seen as having about a 10% EBITDA contribution due to the lower margin profile of the to-be acquired activities, leaving room for $2.5 billion in cost savings. On Jan. 20, Netflix changed the $27.75 per share deal to an all-cash consideration, but this was as far as the company was willing to go, as it appears right now. That was a direct improvement from the prevailing offer, after shares of Netflix traded below the lower end of the price collar. At the time, sh...
Here's a look at Iran, Israel and reactions from around the world after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran. (Image credit: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
Here's a look at Iran, Israel and reactions from around the world after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran. (Image credit: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
It's difficult to imagine a stock surging after a failed acquisition. But that is exactly what happened with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) last Friday. Shares of the streaming specialist jumped nearly 14% after the company officially walked away from its $83 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery 's (NASDAQ: WBD) studio and streaming assets. For months, investors were spooked by the prospect of Netflix t...
It's difficult to imagine a stock surging after a failed acquisition. But that is exactly what happened with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) last Friday. Shares of the streaming specialist jumped nearly 14% after the company officially walked away from its $83 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery 's (NASDAQ: WBD) studio and streaming assets. For months, investors were spooked by the prospect of Netflix taking on significant debt and the operational complexities of a legacy Hollywood studio. But with management opting for price discipline over ego, the market breathed a sigh of relief. With the stock rebounding sharply to about $96 per share, many investors are likely on the hunt, trying to decide whether this is a buying opportunity. After all, the underlying business has great momentum, so it's a good time to look at the stock. Continue reading
On Feb. 26, 2026, Kieth A. Emery, Senior Vice President of Fuels at Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) , a major U.S. fuel retailer, reported an open-market sale of 899 shares of common stock for a transaction value of approximately $344,000, according to a SEC Form 4 filing . Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 reported share price ($382.53). Continue reading
On Feb. 26, 2026, Kieth A. Emery, Senior Vice President of Fuels at Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) , a major U.S. fuel retailer, reported an open-market sale of 899 shares of common stock for a transaction value of approximately $344,000, according to a SEC Form 4 filing . Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 reported share price ($382.53). Continue reading
Traders braced for a volatile and risk-off open to the week for global stock markets after the US and Israel attacked Iran, with the focus turning to energy and defense companies as potential havens amid expected losses in airlines and other consumer sectors. The price action in Middle East markets over the weekend hinted at what to expect. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index fell 2.2%, with lo...
Traders braced for a volatile and risk-off open to the week for global stock markets after the US and Israel attacked Iran, with the focus turning to energy and defense companies as potential havens amid expected losses in airlines and other consumer sectors. The price action in Middle East markets over the weekend hinted at what to expect. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index fell 2.2%, with losses limited by a rally in oil-producing giant Aramco , while Egypt’s main index dropped 2.5%. “Equity markets are likely to fully shift to oil prices as a primary driver of price action,” said Michael Kantrowitz , chief investment strategist at Piper Sandler & Co. “Equities will be under pressure until oil prices stop rising.” The conflict is the latest catalyst for another surge in oil and gas prices, with some estimating that when trading reopens on Sunday night, oil prices are likely to jump 10%-15% . Strategists expect the drastic military escalation to drive a broad rotation into the classic defensive corners of the market that can be steady amid economic upheavals, such as utilities and health care. Meanwhile, riskier growth stocks and economically sensitive groups like industrial and financial stocks could face selling pressure. Monday should see “volatility and selling in tech and cyclicals, and the reason for that is that, because of the actions that we’ve seen, there will be a significant risk that rising energy prices penalizes growth,” said Matt Gertken , chief geopolitical and US political strategist at BCA Research. “We should globally see defensives and energy outperform.” Read More: US Suffers First War Fatalities as Iran Widens Retaliation As global equity investors assess the fallout of the conflict, here’s a guide to the sectors to watch as trading begins in markets across Asia, Europe and the US. Energy Brent crude climbed Friday to its highest level since July as traders braced for a conflict, sending US energy stocks to a record. Major energy names ar...
Joe Biden Makes Insane Claim That He Reduced Illegal Immigration It's time for a fact check. Former President Joe Biden is back after a year largely absent from the public eye, and he's just as incoherent as ever. Biden left the White House in disgrace after a dismal first term when his own party supplanted him as the primary candidate for the 2024 elections against Donald Trump. His cognitive dec...
Joe Biden Makes Insane Claim That He Reduced Illegal Immigration It's time for a fact check. Former President Joe Biden is back after a year largely absent from the public eye, and he's just as incoherent as ever. Biden left the White House in disgrace after a dismal first term when his own party supplanted him as the primary candidate for the 2024 elections against Donald Trump. His cognitive decline became obvious after his debate performance and questions remain if he was actually aware of the majority of his own executive orders and pardons, or if these were signed illegally by one of his staff with an autopen. Furthermore, he left the nation is a state of complete chaos, but in a recent speech at a South Carolina Democratic Party event in Columbia, he claims he actually did a bang-up job. Biden took to the podium, slurring and stuttering, but did manage to rewrite history when he argued that: "Despite the fact that Covid drove migration to record levels all around the world, the day I left office, border crossings in the United States were lower than the day that I entered the office I inherited from Trump. That’s just a fact.” Biden also asserted that he left Trump with the "strongest economy in the world" when he exited office. Truly, a mind boggling version of events. It should be noted that it's highly unlikely that Joe wrote these statements himself or that he is fully aware of what he is saying (like most of his presidency). However, if this is the DNC's fantastical historical revision then it needs to be addressed. As soon as Joe Biden was "elected" in November of 2020, illegal immigration began to surge. With Trump on the way out the signal had been sent to begin flooding the southern border. Efforts among globalist NGOs and the UN to fund and equip migrant caravans started well in advance of the election. Once in office, the Biden Administration oversaw the worst immigrant invasion in US history. Apprehensions, catch and release, amnesty claims and unc...