Ft. Knox Full Of Impure Gold Unfit For International Transactions Authored by Jp Cortez via The Mises Institute, The bulk of the US gold reserves held in Fort Knox are made up of impure “non-standard” bars that don’t qualify for use in international settlements. In practice, this means that most of America’s massive gold stockpile is illiquid and wouldn’t be readily accepted on the international m...
Ft. Knox Full Of Impure Gold Unfit For International Transactions Authored by Jp Cortez via The Mises Institute, The bulk of the US gold reserves held in Fort Knox are made up of impure “non-standard” bars that don’t qualify for use in international settlements. In practice, this means that most of America’s massive gold stockpile is illiquid and wouldn’t be readily accepted on the international market should the need arise: “It’s a decrepit relic just like our monetary policy is. With respect to America’s gold stockpile, we hold ourselves to a lower standard than the rest of the world,” Money Metals CEO Stefan Gleason said. The French central bank recently sold 129 tonnes of similar non-standard gold that was stored in New York and replaced it with higher-quality bars that will remain in France. Notwithstanding the lack of any credible physical audits for decades, US gold reserves are reported to be 8,133.5 metric tons. That’s roughly 261.5 million troy ounces. About half of that (147.3 million ounces according to the US Mint ) is stored at Fort Knox. The rest is spread out between the Denver Mint, the West Point Bullion Depository, and the Federal Reserve vault in New York. America’s gold is valued at $42.22 per ounce by statute. The price does not fluctuate with market movements. According to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), gold bars must contain 350 to 430 fine troy ounces and have a minimum fineness of 995.0 parts per thousand to be acceptable for international settlements. In fact, the “good delivery” standards across the globe have been transitioning to 0.9999 purity. Based on documents released during a 2011 House Committee on Financial Services Hearing, however, we find only around 17 percent of the gold bars held by the US government in Fort Knox meet any modern-day purity standards. Here’s a breakdown of the purity of the gold bars held in Fort Knox: Fineness between 899 and 901 – 64 percent Fineness between 901.1 and 915.4 – 2 percent Finen...
算力的竞争，正在变成一场电力的竞赛。 步入2026年，真正决定AI基建成败的战场，不再是芯片实验室，而在变电站、燃气轮机和海底光缆的交汇处。 4月底，硅谷101与Power HF在硅谷联合举办了一场围绕数据中心展开的活动（Scaling AI：The Infrastructure, Energy & Capital Triangle）。来自AI基础设施、能源工程与资本市场的五位嘉宾，为现场的100...
算力的竞争，正在变成一场电力的竞赛。 步入2026年，真正决定AI基建成败的战场，不再是芯片实验室，而在变电站、燃气轮机和海底光缆的交汇处。 4月底，硅谷101与Power HF在硅谷联合举办了一场围绕数据中心展开的活动（Scaling AI：The Infrastructure, Energy & Capital Triangle）。来自AI基础设施、能源工程与资本市场的五位嘉宾，为现场的100多位观众拆解了这场跨越全球的算力之争：电力，从哪里来？数据中心，谁在建？钱，谁来出？ 我们的嘉宾包括： Alex Yeh ，GMI Cloud创始人兼CEO。GMI Cloud是全球六家英伟达参考平台云合作伙伴之一，目前管理横跨亚洲、美国东西海岸及欧洲的九个数据中心，并于近期宣布5亿美元AI工厂计划。 David Xu ，Power HF董事长兼CEO。上市公司Power HF（华丰股份，股票代码：605100）创立于1920年，总部位于上海，国际运营中心设于新加坡，在中国与印度均设有制造基地。 Harish Jere ，Power HF集团CTO兼印度CEO。有横跨石化、电信与基础设施领域近四十年从业经验，曾主导超过25000个电信站点的运营管理。 Dr. Zhibin Xiao ，ZFLOW AI创始人兼CEO，CASPA前任主席及现任顾问。曾在Oracle/Sun Microsystems主导数据中心服务器CPU研发，后专注于AI推理芯片设计，现致力于AI数据中心的异构系统自动优化。 Christina Xu ，Franchise Capital高级总监，主要关注AI基础设施相关投资，曾担任德克萨斯州某AI数据中心项目（毗邻Stargate）的投资方及代理CFO。 硅谷101的创始人泓君和特约研究员Yiwen也主持了本次活动。 以下是这场论坛的精彩观点： 01 Fireside Chat：重建AI时代的数据中心 Yiwen（硅谷101）×Alex Yeh（GMI Cloud） 我们常常认为，AI基建里最核心的一环是GPU。但在GMI Cloud的Alex Yeh看来，GPU早已不是瓶颈。真正卡脖子的，是等待周期长达八个月的InfiniBand以及电力。而电力短缺的程度，比大多数人想象的要严峻得多。 Alex Yeh GMI Founder&CEO GPU其实只是整个供...
Earnings Call Insights: F5 (FFIV) Q2 2026 Management view “Our team delivered another robust quarter with 11% revenue growth,” and “Product revenue grew 22%, marking our seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit product growth,” including “strong 26% systems revenue growth and 17% software revenue growth,” said François Locoh-Donou (President, CEO & Chairman). Locoh-Donou said F5 “captured robus...
Earnings Call Insights: F5 (FFIV) Q2 2026 Management view “Our team delivered another robust quarter with 11% revenue growth,” and “Product revenue grew 22%, marking our seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit product growth,” including “strong 26% systems revenue growth and 17% software revenue growth,” said François Locoh-Donou (President, CEO & Chairman). Locoh-Donou said F5 “captured robust international demand for digital sovereignty initiatives,” “capitalized on heightened demand for best-in-class security solutions,” and “built on AI momentum with another standout quarter for AI wins,” adding, “we are raising our fiscal year 2026 outlook to reflect revenue growth of 7% to 8%, up from 5% to 6% previously.” “We delivered a strong Q2, growing revenue 11% to $812 million,” with “51% product revenue and 49% services revenue,” and “free cash flow of $348 million, both records,” said Cooper Werner (Executive VP & Chief Financial Officer). Outlook Q3 non-GAAP EPS guidance of $3.91 to $4.03 vs. $3.87 (analystsEstimates); Q3 revenue guidance of $820 million to $840 million vs. $819,213,330 (analystsEstimates). “We now expect FY '26 revenue growth of 7% to 8%, up from our prior outlook of 5% to 6%,” and “we now expect FY '26 non-GAAP EPS in a range of $16.25 to $16.55, up from the prior range of $15.65 to $16.05,” said CFO Werner. Werner said FY 2026 margin framework was maintained: “Our gross and operating margin outlook for FY '26 is unchanged,” while flagging, “higher component costs, primarily related to memory will cause gross margin to step down sequentially from Q3 into Q4.” Financial results Q2 non-GAAP EPS of $3.90 vs. $3.46 (analystsEstimates); Q2 revenue of $812 million vs. $782,278,000 (analystsEstimates). CFO Werner reported Q2 mix and growth: product revenue “$411 million,” services revenue “$401 million,” systems revenue “$226 million,” and software revenue “$184 million,” with subscription software revenue “$165 million…representing 90% of our Q2 sof...
Earnings Call Insights: Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) Q1 2026 Management view “It was a very tough operating environment, but we made very solid progress on our path forward laid out in detail at our Investor Day,” said Founder & Executive Chairman Joel Marcus, highlighting priorities to “maintain a strong and flexible balance sheet,” “reduce capital spend and funding needs,” “substantiall...
Earnings Call Insights: Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) Q1 2026 Management view “It was a very tough operating environment, but we made very solid progress on our path forward laid out in detail at our Investor Day,” said Founder & Executive Chairman Joel Marcus, highlighting priorities to “maintain a strong and flexible balance sheet,” “reduce capital spend and funding needs,” “substantially complete a large-scale core, noncore and sales of partial interest disposition plan,” and “steadily improve occupancy and increase NOI focused on leasing.” Marcus underscored tenant mix and campus concentration: “80% of the top 20 tenants are investment grade and -- or large-cap companies,” “55% of our total ARR comes from that,” and “78% of our ARR comes from our mega campus platform.” He also flagged demand weakness: “This is maybe the first quarter in the history of the company that I can remember where we didn't sign a single public biotech lease.” “FFO per share diluted as adjusted was $1.73 for 1Q '26, and we reaffirm the midpoint of our guidance for FFO per share diluted as adjusted for 2026 at $6.40 while tightening the range,” said CFO Marc Binda, adding that the quarter included “development and redevelopment leasing momentum with the execution of development and redevelopment leases and letters of intent aggregating 394,000 square feet” and “cumulative leasing of vacant space of 1.1 million square feet that we will deliver in September on average.” Outlook “We updated the midpoint of our guidance range for year-end 2026 occupancy from 88.5% to 87%,” Binda said, attributing the change “primarily due to a reduction in the anticipated benefit from a range of several potential disposition properties, which have vacant space.” “We updated the midpoint of our guidance range for same-property net operating income from down 8.5% to down 9.5%,” Binda said, again pointing to “a decrease in the anticipated benefit from a range of several disposition properties, which have...
Earnings Call Insights: Porch Group, Inc. (PRCH) Q1 2026 Management View "We are pleased to report a strong start to 2026. Q1 results exceeded expectations, and we're raising our full year guidance for Porch shareholder interest revenue, gross profit and adjusted EBITDA." (Founder, Chairman & CEO Matt Ehrlichman) "Reciprocal written premium, or RWP, was $114 million, up 18% year-over-year. Revenue...
Earnings Call Insights: Porch Group, Inc. (PRCH) Q1 2026 Management View "We are pleased to report a strong start to 2026. Q1 results exceeded expectations, and we're raising our full year guidance for Porch shareholder interest revenue, gross profit and adjusted EBITDA." (Founder, Chairman & CEO Matt Ehrlichman) "Reciprocal written premium, or RWP, was $114 million, up 18% year-over-year. Revenue was $109 million, up 29% year-over-year." (Founder, Chairman & CEO Matt Ehrlichman) "Q1 gross profit was $91 million, resulting in an 83% gross margin. Q1 adjusted EBITDA was $20 million, an 18% margin." (Founder, Chairman & CEO Matt Ehrlichman) "Q1 statutory surplus of $165 million supports north of $800 million in premiums, well above our $600 million RWP target for this year." (Founder, Chairman & CEO Matt Ehrlichman) "We're happy to report that the reciprocal will benefit from an approximately 20% decline in costs for excess of loss reinsurance." (Founder, Chairman & CEO Matt Ehrlichman) "In March, we exhausted the share repurchase authorized by the Board and repurchased 334,000 shares for $2.5 million or an average of $7.48 per share." (Chief Financial Officer Shawn Tabak) "At the start of 2026, we launched Porch Insurance in Texas." (Founder, Chairman & CEO Matt Ehrlichman) Outlook "Our 2026 target of $600 million organic RWP represents 25% year-over-year growth." (Chief Financial Officer Tabak) "We are raising our revenue guidance to a range of $495 million to $507 million." (Chief Financial Officer Tabak) "We are raising our gross profit guidance to a range of $401 million to $413 million." (Chief Financial Officer Tabak) "We are raising our adjusted EBITDA guidance to a range of $103 million to $109 million." (Chief Financial Officer Tabak) "From a modeling perspective, we continue to expect trough-like U.S. housing conditions and thus, flattish year-over-year results in Software and Data and Consumer Services, with the guidance increase attributable to strength i...
Earnings Call Insights: CoStar Group (CSGP) Q1 2026 Management view "This was an exceptional quarter. We delivered our 60th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. Our adjusted EBITDA doubled, and we're on track for the highest full year adjusted EBITDA in CoStar Group's history" (President, Founder, CEO & Director Andrew Florance). "The Homes.com investment is delivering exactly what ...
Earnings Call Insights: CoStar Group (CSGP) Q1 2026 Management view "This was an exceptional quarter. We delivered our 60th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. Our adjusted EBITDA doubled, and we're on track for the highest full year adjusted EBITDA in CoStar Group's history" (President, Founder, CEO & Director Andrew Florance). "The Homes.com investment is delivering exactly what we said it would" (President, Founder, CEO & Director Florance), including a pricing action: "we will raise subscription fees for new customers on May 1 and evaluate a measured potential renewal increases" (President, Founder, CEO & Director Florance). "The activist distraction is behind us" (President, Founder, CEO & Director Florance), with a stated priority: "With the noise gone, we have more focused energy than ever to spend on what matters, growing EBITDA" (President, Founder, CEO & Director Florance). "In the first quarter of 2026, we delivered $132 million of adjusted EBITDA...and $17 million above the high end of our guidance range" (Chief Financial Officer Christian Lown), adding that "The outperformance...was primarily due to lower personnel costs from cost-saving efforts as we continue to find efficiencies from AI, personnel and other expense initiatives" (Chief Financial Officer Lown). Outlook "For the second quarter of 2026, we expect revenue to range from $922 million to $932 million" (Chief Financial Officer Lown) and "Adjusted EBITDA is expected to range between $160 million and $180 million" (Chief Financial Officer Lown). "Residential adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be positive in Q2 2026, ranging between breakeven and $10 million" (Chief Financial Officer Lown), alongside "Our adjusted EPS guidance for Q2 2026 calls for a range of $0.27 to $0.30 per share" (Chief Financial Officer Lown). Full-year guidance language shifted upward on profitability while keeping revenue unchanged: "For full year 2026, we are reaffirming our previous revenue guidance range...
Earnings Call Insights: Edison International (EIX) Q1 2026 Management View “Edison International's first quarter 2026 core earnings per share was $1.42.” (President, CEO & Director Pedro Pizarro) “We are reaffirming our 2026 core EPS guidance and other financial targets, including our 5% to 7% core EPS growth over the long term.” (President, CEO & Director Pizarro) “The planned physical hardening ...
Earnings Call Insights: Edison International (EIX) Q1 2026 Management View “Edison International's first quarter 2026 core earnings per share was $1.42.” (President, CEO & Director Pedro Pizarro) “We are reaffirming our 2026 core EPS guidance and other financial targets, including our 5% to 7% core EPS growth over the long term.” (President, CEO & Director Pizarro) “The planned physical hardening work on the distribution system in high fire risk areas is now about 93% complete.” (President, CEO & Director Pizarro) “SCE has now extended over 1,500 offers totaling over $500 million to community members impacted by the Eaton fire.” (President, CEO & Director Pizarro) “Once implemented, we anticipate this approach could yield roughly $25 million in potential unbilled revenue savings over a 3- to 6-month period.” (President, CEO & Director Pizarro) “We announced that she will retire on September 1 after transitioning the Edison International CFO role on July 3 to Aaron Moss.” (President, CEO & Director Pizarro) “EIX reported first quarter core EPS of $1.42.” (Executive VP & CFO Maria Rigatti) Outlook “We are affirming our 2026 core EPS range of $5.90 to $6.20.” (Executive VP & CFO Rigatti) “We are also affirming our previously provided core EPS targets for 2027, 2028 and 2030 as well as our long-term EPS growth rate.” (Executive VP & CFO Rigatti) “Our capital plan of $38 billion to $41 billion from 2026 through 2030 is driven by essential investments in the grid.” (Executive VP & CFO Rigatti) “We expect SCE rate base compound annual growth of approximately 7% from 2025 to 2030.” (Executive VP & CFO Rigatti) “We plan to deliver this growth without issuing new common equity for at least the next 5 years through 2030.” (Executive VP & CFO Rigatti) Financial Results “Core earnings increased by $0.05, primarily due to the adoption of the GRC decision last year, partially offset by the absence of about $0.30 recorded in Q1 2025 related to the TKM cost recovery approval.” (Exec...
Getty Images By Padhraic Garvey, CFA , Regional Head of Research, Americas The Fed, the balance sheet and prognosis for Treasuries Since the T-bills buying programme (re)commenced in mid-December, holdings of bills have risen to over US$425bn (from US$195bn). That has expanded the Fed's overall “securities” holdings (including bills) by some US$185bn. The Fed did this to help boost bank reserves, ...
Getty Images By Padhraic Garvey, CFA , Regional Head of Research, Americas The Fed, the balance sheet and prognosis for Treasuries Since the T-bills buying programme (re)commenced in mid-December, holdings of bills have risen to over US$425bn (from US$195bn). That has expanded the Fed's overall “securities” holdings (including bills) by some US$185bn. The Fed did this to help boost bank reserves, which had fallen to below US$3tn, coinciding with repo tightness, and in consequence saw the effective funds rate rise right up to just 1bp short of the rate paid on reserves. Since then, repo pressure has eased, and this week, the New York Fed announced a reduction in monthly T-bills buying from US$40bn to US$25bn. This is purely an operational move, completely within its authority and as agreed at a prior FOMC meeting. Still, Chair Powell could get some questions on this, or indeed he could comment on it up front. It certainly suggests a degree of comfort on the part of the Fed over liquidity conditions. There is also a link here with the incoming chair, Kevin Warsh . He has an ambition to reduce the Fed's holdings of bonds, and in particular, mortgage-backed securities. Currently, the Fed holds just under US$2tn of these, and continues to roll them off as they mature. It’s a slow process, though, running at some US$10-15bn per month. Chair Powell could get quizzed on this, too. Any acceleration in roll-off, e.g., outright selling, would place upward pressure on longer-term Treasury yields, as any selling would likely occur in longer tenors. There is no stated plan here. It’s all supposition at this stage. But it’s very market relevant. The odds are that Chair Powell swats away questions on this, as his FOMC has a steady-as-she-goes policy, and he won’t comment on what Kevin Warsh might do. But still, it's worth asking the question(s). Beyond that, the bulk of the Treasury-relevant issues will centre on inflation expectations as seen through the Powell prism. The ECB is u...
Politicians, children and Māori groups gathered in the Wellington banquet hall to see in the flesh the success of efforts to protect country’s national bird When five kiwi were presented to a crowd of 300 people gathered inside the banquet hall of New Zealand’s parliament, there was an awe-struck intake of breath. As handlers moved through the group, cradling the whiskery birds, people looked on, ...
Politicians, children and Māori groups gathered in the Wellington banquet hall to see in the flesh the success of efforts to protect country’s national bird When five kiwi were presented to a crowd of 300 people gathered inside the banquet hall of New Zealand’s parliament, there was an awe-struck intake of breath. As handlers moved through the group, cradling the whiskery birds, people looked on, spellbound. Some grew teary, and one boy, who noticed a soft brown feather drift to the floor, scooped it up, as his mother urged him to keep it safe. Continue reading...
The average one-year price target for Eli Lilly and (SWX:LLY) has been revised to CHF 997,26 / share. This is an increase of 24.41% from the prior estimate of CHF 801,57 dated November 16, 2025. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analys
The average one-year price target for Eli Lilly and (SWX:LLY) has been revised to CHF 997,26 / share. This is an increase of 24.41% from the prior estimate of CHF 801,57 dated November 16, 2025. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analys
The average one-year price target for Interactive Brokers Group (NasdaqGS:IBKR) has been revised to $89.87 / share. This is an increase of 11.85% from the prior estimate of $80.35 dated April 12, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by
The average one-year price target for Interactive Brokers Group (NasdaqGS:IBKR) has been revised to $89.87 / share. This is an increase of 11.85% from the prior estimate of $80.35 dated April 12, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by
The average one-year price target for Maison Solutions (NasdaqCM:MSS) has been revised to $33.15 / share. This is an increase of 622.22% from the prior estimate of $4.59 dated April 12, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts.
The average one-year price target for Maison Solutions (NasdaqCM:MSS) has been revised to $33.15 / share. This is an increase of 622.22% from the prior estimate of $4.59 dated April 12, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts.