Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 1 p.m. ET CALL PARTICIPANTS President and Chief Executive Officer — Ron L. Fleming Chief Financial Officer — Michael J. Liebman Chief Operating Officer — Christopher D. Krygier Corporate Secretary — Kyle Upchurch TAKEAWAYS Rate-baseable asset growth -- Management reported rate-baseable assets increased by $70.0 million, or 59% across Santa Cruz Water Company and Palo Verde Utilities Company attributed to capital initiatives from 2024 and 2025. -- Management reported rate-baseable assets increased by $70.0 million, or 59% across Santa Cruz Water Company and Palo Verde Utilities Company attributed to capital initiatives from 2024 and 2025. Capital investments -- The company invested $67.3 million in infrastructure improvements, including the recommissioning of the Southwest plant and acquisition of the City of Tucson water systems. -- The company invested $67.3 million in infrastructure improvements, including the recommissioning of the Southwest plant and acquisition of the City of Tucson water systems. Total active service connections -- Active service connections rose 6.3% to 68,577, including acquisitions; organic connections grew 3.2% year over year, excluding the Tucson acquisition. -- Active service connections rose 6.3% to 68,577, including acquisitions; organic connections grew 3.2% year over year, excluding the Tucson acquisition. Permit activity -- Single-family building permits in the Phoenix Metro Area decreased by nearly 20% to 21,815, while Maricopa permits dropped 39% to 600 in 2025. -- Single-family building permits in the Phoenix Metro Area decreased by nearly 20% to 21,815, while Maricopa permits dropped 39% to 600 in 2025. Revenue -- Total revenue reached $55.8 million, up $3.1 million or 5.8%, primarily from the Tucson acquisition, organic connection growth, and higher rates in Farmers and Saguaro utilities. -- Total revenue reached $55.8 million, up $3.1 million or 5.8%, primarily from the...

Live cattle futures rallied on Wednesday, with contracts up $4.20 to $4.50 at the close. Open interest was up 829 contracts on Wednesday. Cash trade has yet to be reported so far this week. Wednesday morning’s Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,224 head, with bids at $238. Feeder cattle futures posted midweek gains of $6.70 to $7.65 on Wednesday. OI was down 1,365 contracts on Wednesday, mainly in the front months. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down another 66 cents to $368.93 on March 3. Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were higher in the Wednesday afternoon report, with the Chc/Sel spread narrowing to $8.22. Choice boxes were up 52 cents to $388.57, while Select was $1.77 higher to $380.35. USDA estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter for Wednesday at 111,000 head, with the week to date total at 322,000 head. That is 2,000 head below the previous week and 22,566 head shy of the same week last year. Don’t Miss a Day: Apr 26 Live Cattle closed at $238.350, up $4.225, Jun 26 Live Cattle closed at $235.175, up $4.500, Aug 26 Live Cattle closed at $233.225, up $4.325, Mar 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $363.925, up $6.725, Apr 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $360.750, up $7.450, May 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $357.000, up $7.650, More news from Barchart The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Investing.com -- Oracle Corp. is planning to cut thousands of jobs as part of its efforts to manage a cash crunch stemming from a massive AI data center expansion, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The job reductions will reportedly affect divisions across the company and may be implemented as soon as this month. Some of the cuts will target job categories that the company expects it will need less of due to AI. The planned reductions are expected to be wider-reaching than the company’s typical rolling job cuts. This week, Oracle is said to have announced internally that it would be reviewing many of the open job listings in its cloud division, effectively slowing down or freezing the hiring process. Led by Chairman Larry Ellison, Oracle is undertaking a large-scale build-out of data centers to power AI workloads for customers such as OpenAI. The company, long known for its database software, has been transitioning in recent years to expand its cloud computing unit with a focus on AI, aiming to compete with market leaders Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. The company had about 162,000 employees globally as of the end of May 2025. Planning for the workforce reductions is still active and could change. Related articles Oracle reported cutting thousands of jobs amid data center growth Nvidia's new Alpamayo project: What it means for Tesla? Wolfe Research outlines eight risks that could spark stock declines in 2026

RENK Group AG press release ( RNKGF ): FY revenue reached 1.4B Euro, up 19.8% Y/Y. More on RENK Group AG RENK Group AG 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation RENK Group AG (RKGRY) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript RENK Group AG (RKGRY) Discusses Pre-Close Operational Performance and Order Intake Ahead of FY 2025 Results Transcript Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on RENK Group AG Historical earnings data for RENK Group AG

PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images Investment Overview Since I last covered the iShares S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index ETF ( XEI:CA ), in January 2023, the ETF has seen price appreciation of 36%. Factoring in its distribution, XEI has achieved a total return of 58%, trailing the total return of the S&P TSX Composite Index of 65%. This ETF, which tracks the Dow Jones S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index, has performed well, with the index achieving an average annualized total return of 18.4% over the past three years. Despite the run-up in price, XEI’s distribution yield remains attractive with a trailing twelve-month yield of 4.0%. Thanks to dividend growth across the fund’s sector-diversified constituents, XEI has been successful in delivering capital appreciation and distribution growth. As an indication of the fund's success, its current NAV is approximately $3.4 billion, a 142% increase from the $1.4 billion NAV in January 2023. With the price gain accounted for, this increase implies net inflows of approximately $1.5 billion over the past three years. XEI's exposure to the energy sector positions it to benefit from rising commodity prices. At the same time, the fund's steady monthly distribution derived from a portfolio of dividend growth companies offers a defensive posture in the current period of economic uncertainty. Valuation At current levels, XEI trades at 18x earnings and approximately 2x book value. When I last recommended the ETF three years ago, the fund traded with a P/E of 12.5X and a P/B value of 1.64. With a 36% price return over the three-year period, this gain appears to be substantially attributable to multiple expansion rather than underlying earnings growth. XEI Portfolio Characteristics (iShares) Distribution Safety With 75 individual holdings that pay dividends, the components of XEI’s distribution are well diversified. Using the same approach I applied in 2023, I examine XEI's top twenty holdings, representing approximately ...

It understands its own limitations: US mainland territory is out of reach but American bases across the region - specifically in neighbouring Arab countries - are not. Israel also lies well within range of Iranian missiles and drones, and recent exchanges have demonstrated that its air defence systems can be penetrated. Each projectile that goes through those systems carries not just military but psychological weight.

AlexLMX/iStock via Getty Images Early Days, But Exhibiting Best Of Breed Qualities So Far Earlier this week, Korean stocks were in the news for all the bad reasons, but investors should still note that the cohort of US-listed ETFs that cover Korean equities has been one of the major talking points over the past year, given the astounding positive returns they have managed to facilitate over the medium term. In fact, if one digs around, one would be hard-pressed to find a geographic ETF subset that has fared as well as the Korean brethren over the past year. Within this lucrative terrain, one ETF that has gone under the radar and hasn’t quite received the limelight as its more popular peers has been the PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF ( KDEF ), which has managed $170 million in AUM across its lifetime. KDEF’s low profile is likely a function of its relative longevity, as it was set up only a little over a year ago (5th February 2025), whereas some of these alternatives have been around for decades. However, do take note of the magnitude of the outperformance that KDEF has delivered (since it got listed) relative to its more illustrious unleveraged Korean peers; you’re basically staring at a tripling of KDEF’s price, with total returns that have been anything between 1.5x and 1.9x more than the unleveraged Korean peer set. YCharts If KDEF’s stellar performance has managed to stimulate your attention, and you’re looking to pursue the same, here are some important things to consider. What Does KDEF Do And How Is It Built? KDEF, which is a passively managed ETF of 23 stocks, tracks an index called the Korean Defense Industry Index (KDII) and is designed to cover South Korean defense stocks that are set to benefit from higher global spending . KDII’s starting universe consists of highly traded (6-month average daily dollar volumes of over $250 thousand) Korean common stocks (micro-caps are not considered as stocks with a market cap of less than $220 million are erad...

Algoma Central press release ( ALC:CA ): FY GAAP EPS of C$3.53. Revenue of C$761,056 (+14.3% Y/Y). More on Algoma Central Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Algoma Central Dividend scorecard for Algoma Central Financial information for Algoma Central

Speaking to the BBC on Thursday morning, several people said they had left the building at the beginning of the week and were staying elsewhere because of safety concerns, noting that the area had been targeted in the past. They said they did not know, or would not comment on, what the target may have been.

Lea en español Colombia’s richest man Jaime Gilinski and his son Gabriel Gilinski invested $107 million in Latin America independent oil and gas producer GeoPark Ltd. , envisioning a vehicle to enter Venezuela’s recovering oil sector. While the Bogotá-based company operates in Colombia and Argentina, it’s the possibility of going into Venezuela that excites the younger Gilinski the most. GeoPark can become a “platform” into Venezuela’s oil, using the expertise of its management team including Chief Executive Officer Felipe Bayón , according to the younger Gilinski. “Geopark becomes the vehicle for oil extraction in Venezuela,” he said in a phone interview, adding that he speaks on behalf of himself and not GeoPark. “It’s a market where you can easily see oil output triple.” The new 20% stake in GeoPark — through investment vehicle Colden Investments SA — makes it the largest shareholder, the company said in a statement . The agreement allows Colden to increase the stake to 32% in the 12 months, without requiring further board approval. Gabriel and his father are already betting on the reopening of Venezuela’s economy through their ownership of Grupo Nutresa SA — Latin America’s largest producer of consumer packaged foods, where they are looking to flood the market with cookies, ice cream and coffee. Read More: Colombia’s Richest Man Eyes Venezuela to Multiply His Fortune To be sure, GeoPark would first need a license from the US Treasury Department to operate in Venezuela, which remains subject to US sanctions. GeoPark shares jumped as much as 6.5% in New York trading. Bayón, the former head of Colombian state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol SA , is leading an expansion of GeoPark. Last year, the company entered Argentina’s prized Vaca Muerta shale play. On Jan. 29, Geopark announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Canadian-based Frontera Energy Corp. ’s upstream assets in Colombia for as much as $400 million. Less than a month later, Calgary-based Pare...

"Pissed" Trump Fires Kristi Noem, Replaces With Markwayne Mullin Aaaaaand, she's gone... Moments ago Bloomberg reported that Trump has named Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to replace Noem . Trump posted the following on Truth Social: "I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) , effective March 31, 2026. The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at 'Homeland.' Serving 10 years in the United States House of Representatives, and 3 in the Senate, Markwayne has done a tremendous job representing the wonderful People of Oklahoma, where I won all 77 out of 77 Counties — in 2016, 2020, and 2024! A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda. As the only Native American in the Senate, Markwayne is a fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP" Developing... * * * President Donald Trump is preparing to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem amid growing frustration over her self-promotional leadership style and bruising congressional testimony this week , according to multiple reports. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) described Trump as "pissed," accordi...

Key Points Erste Group analyst Hans Engel downgraded Walmart from a Buy rating to Hold on valuation concerns. Walmart stock recently traded at close to 47 times earnings. 10 stocks we like better than Walmart › Shares of Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) traded roughly 4.3% lower, as of 1:18 p.m. ET. The stock received negative sentiment from Wall Street earlier today. Valuation concerns Walmart has been a superb stock to own. It's up about 28% over the past year and 185% in the past five years. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » The company has moved beyond its traditional brick-and-mortar retail business and built out other successful revenue streams, including e-commerce, using its stores as fulfillment centers, a membership model, and even an advertising business. But Wall Street analyst Hans Engel from the Austrian bank Erste Group thinks the valuation is now too high. At the time of the note, Engel noted that Walmart's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was close to 47. "The expected P/E ratio is currently much higher than the average of peer companies," Engel wrote, lowering his rating on Walmart from a buy rating to hold. Even strong companies have their limits Engel's note certainly raises a valid point. How many stocks that are considered defensive plays receive a valuation approaching 50 times earnings? Walmart has certainly executed well, building out several powerful revenue streams. Stocks often trade at premiums when investors believe they have a perceived and lasting competitive advantage, or moat, in their industry. Walmart has not only demonstrated consistent growth but is also a Dividend King, meaning it has paid and raised its annual dividend for over 50 years, which also appeals to investors who focus solely on passive income. Ultimately, I think investors can continue to buy and ...

We don’t know exactly how Anthropic’s Claude AI helped the US bomb Iran. That’s a problem, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Parmy Olson says. (Source: Bloomberg)

AI ripping, market red: AVGO surges + TTD explodes 21% MSN

Roblox is introducing a real-time, AI-powered chat rephrasing feature that automatically replaces banned words with more respectful language, the company announced on Thursday. The new feature goes beyond Roblox’s current text filter, which simply replaces banned words and phrases with the “#” symbol. But Roblox says that when users encounter strings of “####,” conversations can be disrupted and hard to follow. Now, instead of simply displaying hash marks, filtered text will be rephrased into more respectful language that is close to the user’s original intent. For example, a message that reads “Hurry TF up!” would previously have appeared as “####,” but will now be rephrased to “Hurry up!” Everyone in the chat is notified that the message has been rephrased to keep the conversation civil, Roblox says. “Chat is central to how people connect, coordinate, and play on Roblox,” said Rajiv Bhatia, Vice President of User and Discovery Product at Roblox, in a press release. “Real-time rephrasing helps keep gameplay and conversations on track while guiding language toward what’s appropriate. This approach reduces friction in chat while maintaining the standards that help keep our community civil.” Roblox notes that while rephrasing reduces some of the disruption in the chat, its safety system remains in effect for more serious behavior. The new feature is supported in all languages currently available through Roblox’s automatic translation tools. Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosystem, all in one room Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $400. Save up to $300 or 30% to TechCrunch Founder Summit 1,000+ founders and investors come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and ...

The financial and logistical troubles the Iran war is causing for the global aviation industry are compounding by the day, with the number of canceled flights to Middle East hubs surpassing 23,000 since fighting began. Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, extended its suspension of flights to Dubai through the end of Saturday, a full week since the US and Israel launched their joint attack. Qatar Airways extended its service halts into Friday. Bloomberg's Benedikt Kammel joins to discuss on Bloomberg Intelligence. (Source: Bloomberg)

格隆汇3月6日｜美国国务院：美国国务卿鲁比奥与科威特外交部长讨论了美国为应对伊朗威胁而开展的持续行动，以及该地区的其他事态发展。

Daniel Grizelj/DigitalVision via Getty Images I previously covered Shopify Inc. ( SHOP ) ( SHOP:CA ) in December 2025, discussing why I had reiterated my Hold rating then, with the aggressive investments delivering both renewed SaaS growth opportunities and notable bottom-line impacts. With FY2026 likely to face tougher YoY comparisons and not bringing forth the same benefit as the historical price hikes in FY2024/FY2023, I had believed that the SaaS company's premium valuations triggered a minimal margin of safety then, worsened by the maturing growth profile. In this article, I shall discuss why I am cautiously upgrading the SHOP stock as a Buy, thanks to the steep selloff triggering the cheaper valuations relative to its historical levels, aided by the great insights offered by the uptrend support line since late 2022. This is especially since SHOP has demonstrated their profitable growth cadence and undisputed moat in the commerce SaaS market, as observed in the FY2025 Rule of 47.3% outperformance and the promising FQ1'26 guidance. SHOP's Leading Commerce SaaS Platform Is Here To Stay SHOP 1Y Stock Price ( TradingView ) Since my last Hold rating, SHOP has experienced a steep meltdown of -25% against the wider market at -1%, with a similar development also observed in many of its SaaS peers in varying degrees. Part of the headwinds may be attributed to the prior SaaSpocalypse, as " autonomous AI agents that perform tasks without humans in the loop in particular — threaten to break that model because the technology can automate some of the work typically done by the people using SaaS products. That means a SaaS vendor may end up with fewer users to license and charge." At a time when AI is increasingly seen as a potential SaaS disruptor, it is unsurprising that the market has decided to de-risk first, as similarly observed in the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF's ( IGV ) selloff by -28.7% from the 52-week highs. SHOP 7Y Stock Price ( TradingView ) These ...

Trade Desk stock jumped on Thursday amid a report OpenAI has held early talks to partner with the company to help ChatGPT sell ads.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) Faces Bearish Sentiment Among Optio GuruFocus

Oracle (ORCL) Job Cuts Linked to AI Data Center Expansion Costs GuruFocus

Oracle (ORCL) Plans Significant Job Cuts Amid AI Expansion GuruFocus

The border separating Iran and Turkey is one of the few ways journalists have been able to speak to people coming out of Iran, with those leaving telling the BBC they feel unsafe and scared. Hundreds escaping the war are passing through that border, but a few are going back into the country. The BBC's James Waterhouse reports.

President Donald Trump is facing a major legal challenge from a group of states that are planning to file a lawsuit over his order placing a 10% tax on goods entering the US after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier sweeping duties last month. Greg Stohr reports on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)

格隆汇3月6日｜地中海航运：自3月16日起至另行通知，从波罗的海斯堪的纳维亚地区到东非的货物紧急燃油附加费（EFS）为干货每20英尺标准集装箱（TEU）75美元，冷藏箱每20英尺标准集装箱120美元。

Get a jump start on the US trading day with Matt Miller and Dani Burger on "Bloomberg Open Interest." The Iran war enters its sixth day with officials warning attacks will intensify as oil spikes. Broadcom takes aim at Nvidia, issuing an ambitious AI sales forecast that could reshape the chip race. Morgan Stanley cuts 3% of its global workforce across all business lines. Plus. are hidden AI portfolio risks lurking in your investments? Partners Capital CEO Arjun Raghavan joins us to discuss. And Ring founder and Chief Inventor Jamie Siminoff is in the C-Suite on Bloomberg Open Interest talking about the growing concerns over home surveillance. (Source: Bloomberg)

Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Gains With Plan to Verify AI-Generated Content TipRanks

格隆汇3月6日｜受中东冲突影响，美国原油期货大涨8%，创2024年7月以来新高。

ImagineGolf/E+ via Getty Images Canadian Natural Resources ( CNQ ) +0.9% in Thursday's trading after reporting Q4 adjusted earnings that topped expectations and approving a 6.4% increase to the quarterly dividend, marking the 26th consecutive year the company raised its payout to shareholders. Q4 net earnings soared to C$5.3B (US$3.89B), or C$2.54/share, from C$1.14B, or C$0.54/share, in the year-earlier quarter; stripping out various one-time items, Q4 adjusted earnings from operations came in at C$0.82/share, down from an adjusted profit of C$0.93/share a year ago but ahead of the C$0.67/share FactSet analyst consensus. Q4 product sales fell 3% Y/Y to C$10.71B, as lower prices weighed on the value of crude and natural gas liquids sales despite increased volumes from oil sands mining. Q4 overall production before royalties rose 13% Y/Y to 1.66M boe, as crude oil and natural gas liquids output before royalties increased 12% to a record 1.22M bbl/day and gas production before royalties jumped 17% to 2.66B cf/day. Following the recent purchase of Peace River assets, Canadian Natural ( CNQ ) guided for FY 2026 production of 1.615M-1.665M boe/day, slightly higher than the 1.56M-1.58M boe/day the company forecast in December. The company said it reduced net debt by ~C$1.2B in the quarter and C$2.7B over 2025, with long-term debt at the end of December totaling C$15.94B. Canadian Natural's ( CNQ ) operational performance was "right down the fairway," and the company continues to deliver as expected, said Raymond James analyst Michael Barth, who rates the stock at Outperform. However, Canadian Natural ( CNQ ) said it is deferring an expansion project for its Jackpine oil sands mine in Alberta as it waits for Canada's government to finalize environmental policies. The company reduces its FY 2026 forecast for operating and capital expenditures by ~C$310M, which includes the removal of early engineering and design work at Jackpine from spending plans for the year. The company...

The company was pressured into this concession by the EU Commission and is allowing competitors access in an effort to prevent regulatory proceedings.