Athitat Shinagowin/iStock via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 52.7 in April, unchanged from March and marking the fastest expansion for the index since August 2022. The latest reading was lower than the 53.1 forecast and is the index's fourth straight month in expansion territory. Here is an excerpt fr...
Athitat Shinagowin/iStock via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 52.7 in April, unchanged from March and marking the fastest expansion for the index since August 2022. The latest reading was lower than the 53.1 forecast and is the index's fourth straight month in expansion territory. Here is an excerpt from the latest report : Spence continues, “In April, U.S. manufacturing activity remained in expansion territory, growing at the same pace as the month before. Of the five subindexes that make up the PMI ® , the New Orders and Supplier Deliveries indexes indicated faster growth compared to the previous month, the Production Index grew at a slower rate, and the Employment and Inventories indexes remained in contraction. “In this second month of the Iran War (at the time of data collection), 31 percent of the comments were positive and 69 percent negative, with a positive to negative sentiment ratio of 1 to 2.2. Among comments, the war was mentioned in 47 percent and tariffs in 18 percent. As was the case last month, some panelists referenced both topics within a single comment or in mixed sentiment. “Two of four demand indicators (the New Orders and Backlog of Orders indexes) remain in expansion, although the Backlog of Orders Index dropped 3 percentage points compared to March. The New Export Orders Index remained in contraction with a 2-percentage point decrease, and the Customers’ Inventories Index remains in ‘too low’ territory, contracting at a slightly faster rate. A ‘too low’ status for the Customers’ Inventories Index is usually considered positive for future production. “Regarding output , the Production Index is in expansion for the sixth month in a row (although it lost ground compared to March), and the Employment Index decreased by 2.3 percentage points and remains in contraction. Among panelists, 60 percent indicated that managing head counts remains the norm at...
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images S&P Cotality released its monthly Case-Shiller home price data earlier this week, and below is a table highlighting some of the recent trends (through February) across the 20 major metros they track. Thirteen of twenty cities were up month-over-month, with San Francisco seeing the biggest jump at 1.9%. A few cities had minor m/m declines, like Minneapoli...
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images S&P Cotality released its monthly Case-Shiller home price data earlier this week, and below is a table highlighting some of the recent trends (through February) across the 20 major metros they track. Thirteen of twenty cities were up month-over-month, with San Francisco seeing the biggest jump at 1.9%. A few cities had minor m/m declines, like Minneapolis, Boston, Dallas, and Phoenix. On a year-over-year basis, just eight of twenty cities are higher, led by Chicago, New York, and Cleveland. Tampa, Denver, and Seattle are down the most y/y with declines of just over 2%. Lastly, we wanted to point out where cities stand relative to all-time highs. After a brief dip in prices from late 2022 to early 2023, most cities bounced back and made a series of higher highs throughout 2024 and early 2025. But prices peaked for most cities in the middle of last year, and they've seen a slow trickle lower since. As shown in the table, the only city that's still at all-time highs for home prices is the Big Apple, where current NYC Mayor Mamdani has just recently proposed a new pied-à-terre tax on second homes worth more than $5 million. Original Post Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.
Tebay, Cumbria: While new life begins up on our hills, down at the farmstead I say goodbye to a dear companion Lambing is still in full swing here, and each evening I start my last rounds at 8.30pm, as by 9.30pm it will be too dark to see the sheep without the headlights of the quad bike. Our main flock of sheep lamb outside, and when the time comes they take themselves off away from the others, u...
Tebay, Cumbria: While new life begins up on our hills, down at the farmstead I say goodbye to a dear companion Lambing is still in full swing here, and each evening I start my last rounds at 8.30pm, as by 9.30pm it will be too dark to see the sheep without the headlights of the quad bike. Our main flock of sheep lamb outside, and when the time comes they take themselves off away from the others, usually at dusk or dawn. I know that two sheep have gone up towards the railway line, so I drive along to check them as darkness falls. From up here I can see both north and south, with the lights of the trucks of the M6 reminding me that the motorway is there. I do not process the sound of the motorway any more, and during the daytime I forget that it is there. A train speeds past with lights on inside, and I think about the thousands of people who pass through this valley every day without stopping or thinking about our lives here. Continue reading...
NexTser/iStock via Getty Images Eight out of the 10 S&P 500 utilities companies that reported their quarterly results this week surpassed earnings expectations. On the revenue front too, eight out of the 10 companies beat Wall Street forecasts. The State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLU ) rose 9% year-to-date, compared to the S&P 500’s ( SP500 ) 5.6% gain. Below are the latest quarter...
NexTser/iStock via Getty Images Eight out of the 10 S&P 500 utilities companies that reported their quarterly results this week surpassed earnings expectations. On the revenue front too, eight out of the 10 companies beat Wall Street forecasts. The State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLU ) rose 9% year-to-date, compared to the S&P 500’s ( SP500 ) 5.6% gain. Below are the latest quarterly reports from five industry giants: FirstEnergy ( FE ) outlined $2.62-$2.82 2026 core EPS guidance while reaffirming 6%-8% CAGR through 2030. CEO Brian Tierney said the company “is off to a solid start this year with first quarter core earnings 7.5% above last year.” Entergy ( ETR ) targets a $57B 4-year capital plan as it targets 8.5% retail sales CAGR through 2029. The company expects the adjusted EPS outlook for next year to be $0.20 higher, and "the increase grows ratably from $0.50 in 2029 to $6.40". CMS Energy ( CMS ) CEO Garrick Rochow meanwhile framed the quarter around regulatory support, load growth, and reaffirmed financial targets, saying, "Our investment thesis... continues to stand the test of time" and reiterating the company’s TSR formula as "6% to 8% adjusted EPS growth with annual compounding, paired with approximately 3% dividend yield." Southern ( SO ) outlined a $1.00 adjusted EPS estimate for Q2 2026 amid $26.5B DOE loan agreements, and beat estimates in Q1. First-quarter 2026 operating revenues were $8.4 billion, compared with $7.8 billion for the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 8%. Edison ( EIX ) reported a mixed quarterly print but keeps confidence in delivering 5-7% core EPS growth from 2025-2030. Expects SCE rate base compound annual growth of approximately 7% from 2025 to 2030. Utilities ETFs: ( XLU ), ( VPU ), ( FUTY ), ( IDU ), ( FXU ), and ( JXI ) More on State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF Finding The Opportunities After The Selloff And End Of The War GUT Is Good, But XLU Is Better XLU: Why It Is A Good Time To Take Profits ...
The geopolitical conflict in the Middle East has pushed oil prices higher. High oil prices have investors worried about a global recession. If you are worried about the future, you might want to focus on reliable dividend stocks like Chevron (NYSE: CVX) , Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) , and NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) . Here's why. Elevated oil prices are an immediate headwind to economic growth. The...
The geopolitical conflict in the Middle East has pushed oil prices higher. High oil prices have investors worried about a global recession. If you are worried about the future, you might want to focus on reliable dividend stocks like Chevron (NYSE: CVX) , Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) , and NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) . Here's why. Elevated oil prices are an immediate headwind to economic growth. They will also have a lingering effect, as energy prices work their way through the global supply chain. Investors are justified in their recession fears. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Hong Kong authorities have issued four HK$3,000 (US$382) fines in the first two days of an expanded ban on alternative smoking products, while assuring the public that inspectors will not conduct arbitrary body searches to enforce the law. Manny Lam Man-chung, head of the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, said authorities stepped up enforcement and public education efforts in commercial district...
Hong Kong authorities have issued four HK$3,000 (US$382) fines in the first two days of an expanded ban on alternative smoking products, while assuring the public that inspectors will not conduct arbitrary body searches to enforce the law. Manny Lam Man-chung, head of the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, said authorities stepped up enforcement and public education efforts in commercial districts since the ban on alternative smoking products – including e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products...
The great rewiring has begun. And it isn’t good. Worried about the impact of artificial intelligence on the job market? On stock market valuations? Or on electricity demand and prices? Concerned that the vast amount of money being spent on data centers is a wildly expensive miscalculation? And that the rise of artificial general intelligence will eventually lead to human extinction? All valid fear...
The great rewiring has begun. And it isn’t good. Worried about the impact of artificial intelligence on the job market? On stock market valuations? Or on electricity demand and prices? Concerned that the vast amount of money being spent on data centers is a wildly expensive miscalculation? And that the rise of artificial general intelligence will eventually lead to human extinction? All valid fears. You should definitely keep these things in mind. However, if that is where your list of worries ends, you are failing to properly freak out about the most important thing of all. Your brain. And, as an investor, the brains of people at companies that have your money. Using AI is making your brain weaker and, by extension, making you less valuable. Really. In a new note , Tom Slater of Baillie Gifford points out that it doesn’t take much for our brains to be rewired. About 200 years ago, only 12% of the world’s adults could read. Today 87% can. But that hasn’t just made us more knowledgeable. It changed some of our connections: a region that evolved in the brain for recognizing faces was repurposed to recognize letters, for example. (This resonates with me big time by the way: I read very fast and recognize almost no one.) We tend to think that this is the kind of thing that takes generations—evolution, mutating genes and the like. That isn’t so, Slater writes: “Across millennia, cultural technologies from cooking to markets to kinship structures have systematically reshaped human physiology and psychology in ways that genetics alone cannot explain.” The problem? It’s happening again. The next great rewiring has begun with unprecedented speed, and this time it might not be a good thing. You already know technology changes your mind. (Remember how you used to be able to find your way around without satellite navigation?). There are plenty of studies suggesting we are in a lot of trouble. One from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last year showed that 83% of studen...
Construction of an advanced nuclear power plant partly funded by the U.S. government -billed as the first of its kind this century, is now underway in Wyoming. The Bill Gates-backed company says its technology is proven but there are still hurdles to nuclear. (Image credit: Kirk Siegler)
Construction of an advanced nuclear power plant partly funded by the U.S. government -billed as the first of its kind this century, is now underway in Wyoming. The Bill Gates-backed company says its technology is proven but there are still hurdles to nuclear. (Image credit: Kirk Siegler)