FerreiraSilva/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images In my last article on oil, I discussed ETFs such as State Street Energy ( XLE) and Vanguard Energy Fund ( VDE) , which are very interesting ETFs for more general exposure to oil, ranging from oil majors companies to some refineries. Since that article, oil prices have risen, uncertainties have increased with the conflict in Iran, and both ETFs have ...
FerreiraSilva/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images In my last article on oil, I discussed ETFs such as State Street Energy ( XLE) and Vanguard Energy Fund ( VDE) , which are very interesting ETFs for more general exposure to oil, ranging from oil majors companies to some refineries. Since that article, oil prices have risen, uncertainties have increased with the conflict in Iran, and both ETFs have risen 21%. And year-to-date, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras ( PBR ) has already risen 43%. I really didn't get the timing right for my downgrade to Hold on PBR stock (which you can check out here ). Basically, my thesis on Petrobras was that despite being deeply undervalued vs. global peers, the stock was quite risky given the political risk. Yes, political risk is still crucial in this case, which is why my upgrade is not so optimistic, but rather cautious. However, it seems to me that PBR is still an asymmetric case, especially with the rise in oil prices and the rise of major oil companies, which has made Petrobras appear to be much cheaper in relative terms. In addition, Q4 brought positive news with record exports, which is excellent if the oil price remains at a higher level. Petrobras: The Iran Context Oil prices have already risen due to the Iran conflict, but I just wrote an article (check it out here ) about my thesis on what may happen in the coming months. And one of the scenarios I find most likely is precisely that this conflict will last for some time. I don't think it will be the same as in Venezuela, where it was a quick operation. This is mainly because Iran still has many members and even a population interested in continuing the regime, or at least a part of the population that is unfavorable to Western intervention. With that in mind, it seems plausible to me that there could be a major disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, i.e., either closed or at least hindering the operations of oil tankers there, and that would be enough to trigger a really hig...
watch now VIDEO 6:49 06:49 San Francisco Fed Pres. Daly on February jobs report: No one month of data is decisional Squawk Box San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said Friday the weak February jobs report adds to a difficult policymaking environment. In a CNBC interview, Daly did not commit to a position on interest rates, but said a softening labor market combined with inflation sti...
watch now VIDEO 6:49 06:49 San Francisco Fed Pres. Daly on February jobs report: No one month of data is decisional Squawk Box San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said Friday the weak February jobs report adds to a difficult policymaking environment. In a CNBC interview, Daly did not commit to a position on interest rates, but said a softening labor market combined with inflation still running above the central bank's 2% target complicate future decisions. "This jobs market report has got my attention," she said during a "Squawk Box" interview. "I don't think you can look through this report, but I also don't think you should make more of it than one month of data.:" The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported that nonfarm payrolls declined by 92,000 in February, against expectations for a gain of 50,000 and third jobs decrease in the past five months. With concerns rising about the labor market, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate three times in the latter part of 2025 and has taken a more cautious approach since then with inflation still above target and threatened by the Iran war. "It's a very different universe than when we have inflation below our target," said Daly, referencing the cuts in 2019 when prices were tame. "But right now we have inflation printing above target. It's been printing above target for some time, so it's really a balance of risks calculation, and I hope the 75 basis points we did last year would put a floor underneath the labor market." Following the report, futures traders raised odds for rate cuts, pulling forward the next one to July and raising the probability for two reductions by the end of the year. "I think the important thing is that it's really hard to hike right now in a world where ... we don't have any evidence that [the labor market is] quite steady. So I think we just need more time," she said. Daly does not get a vote this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee but will vote again in...
Investing.com -- A proposed U.S. rule requiring licenses for the global export of advanced artificial intelligence chips could introduce new friction into the rapidly expanding AI hardware market, analysts at Bernstein said. Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon noted that a report that Washington is drafting regulations requiring licenses for AI chip exports worldwide briefly weighed on semiconductor st...
Investing.com -- A proposed U.S. rule requiring licenses for the global export of advanced artificial intelligence chips could introduce new friction into the rapidly expanding AI hardware market, analysts at Bernstein said. Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon noted that a report that Washington is drafting regulations requiring licenses for AI chip exports worldwide briefly weighed on semiconductor stocks, including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, and Broadcom. The proposed framework is not yet finalized and could still change or be abandoned, but it would give the U.S. government broad oversight of AI chip shipments. Bernstein believes the rules “are not meant to be an export ban,” but instead would allow Washington to effectively “gate-keep AI exports.” Under the draft approach, chip purchases may require approval depending on order size. Bernstein noted that shipments of up to 1,000 of Nvidia’s latest chips would undergo a “fairly simple review” process, while larger deployments would require pre-clearance and extremely large projects could involve host-government oversight. Despite the potential policy shift, Bernstein suggested the direct commercial impact on Nvidia may be limited because much of its revenue is tied to U.S.-based customers. In fiscal 2026, the firm said about 70% of Nvidia’s $216 billion in sales were to companies headquartered in the U.S., with Taiwan-domiciled customers accounting for roughly 20%. Still, the firm warned that tighter rules could slow certain international deployments. Bernstein stated that “more stringent export requirements might slow sovereign adoption,” which Nvidia has estimated at more than $30 billion. Even so, the bank expects global demand for AI computing infrastructure to remain extremely strong. Related articles Proposed U.S. AI chip export licensing could slow global adoption, Bernstein says JPMorgan outlines ten strategic themes that could shape the outlook for 2026 This sector is 'poised for a big, beautiful year': T...
The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today's research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly. Top 5 Upgrades: Piper Sandler upgraded Karman (KRMN) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $127, up from $110. The firm believes the company will benefit from a potential munitions "super cycle" where U.S. a...
The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today's research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly. Top 5 Upgrades: Piper Sandler upgraded Karman (KRMN) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $127, up from $110. The firm believes the company will benefit from a potential munitions "super cycle" where U.S. and allies seek to rebuild "magazine depth" for critical munitions by replenishing stockpiles, expanding production, and refreshing technology across missile programs. The war in Iran is "only the last data point in a series of funding-driven initiatives building" in Karman' favor, the analyst tells investors BMO Capital upgraded Okta (OKTA) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $97, up from $83. The firm has increased confidence in the company's revenue growth durability. Benchmark upgraded Marvell (MRVL) to Buy from Hold with a $130 price target. While the firm maintains its view that Marvell is currently sharing Amazon's (AMZN) next-generation Trainium 3 design work with Alchip, it now believes it "ultimately doesn't matter in the overall grand scheme of the company's multiple layering growth drivers." BofA also upgraded Marvell to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $110, up from $90. BofA upgraded Ciena (CIEN) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $355, up from $260. After doing analysis on the expected data center buildout, as well as following the recent spending outlook update by the Cloud Titans, the firm now believes its recently-published cautious note on the networking sector was "too early" with key Cloud players, including Hyperscalers, Tier-2 Clouds and Neoclouds, adding significant data center capacity in the next three years.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is strengthening its artificial intelligence push by hiring a key contributor from Alphabet Inc. Google DeepMind to join its Qwen AI team. The Chinese e-commerce juggernaut has hired a research scientist from Google DeepMind to strengthen the development of its Qwen AI models, following an internal reshuffle that included the departure of former technical lead Lin Junyan...
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is strengthening its artificial intelligence push by hiring a key contributor from Alphabet Inc. Google DeepMind to join its Qwen AI team. The Chinese e-commerce juggernaut has hired a research scientist from Google DeepMind to strengthen the development of its Qwen AI models, following an internal reshuffle that included the departure of former technical lead Lin Junyang. The company appointed Zhou Hao, previously a senior staff research scientist at Google, as head of post-training research, SCMP reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Don't Miss: Zhou replaces Yu Bowen, who also left the company this week. Alibaba has not announced a successor to Lin. Zhou, who holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, previously contributed to several Google AI products, including Gemini 3, AI Mode, and Deep Research, according to his LinkedIn profile. Qwen AI Tech Lead Steps Down Junyang Lin, the technical leader behind Alibaba’s Qwen AI model, stepped down from the project in a surprise move that sparked strong reactions from the developer community. Lin, also known as Justin, announced on X that he was leaving his role as Qwen’s tech lead without providing further details. See Also: Before the IPO: How One Company Quietly Locked Up 500+ Iconic Character Rights Alibaba Shares Slide With Chinese Tech Peers Alibaba shares were down 2.57% at $129.85 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Alibaba’s stock has declined nearly 5% over the past 12 months, significantly underperforming the Nasdaq Composite Index, which delivered gains of roughly 23% over the same period. U.S.-listed Chinese tech stocks slipped in premarket trading Thursday after Beijing set a 2026 GDP growth target of 4.5%–5%, the lowest since the early 1990s. Shares of Alibaba, NIO Inc., JD.com Inc., and Baidu Inc. moved lower as investors reacted to the weaker economic outlook. Read Next: Photo via Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 N...
Leslie Odom Jr, who originated the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway, is to return to the hit musical – this time making his West End debut. The actor will join the London cast at the Victoria Palace theatre for nine weeks this summer. Odom won a Tony award in 2016 for his portrayal, which he developed alongside the show’s creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, at its workshop and off-Broa...
Leslie Odom Jr, who originated the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway, is to return to the hit musical – this time making his West End debut. The actor will join the London cast at the Victoria Palace theatre for nine weeks this summer. Odom won a Tony award in 2016 for his portrayal, which he developed alongside the show’s creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, at its workshop and off-Broadway productions. He appears on the Grammy award-winning cast album and also played the role in the Disney+ film of Hamilton, recorded at the Richard Rodgers theatre in New York. Burr is the chief antagonist in the musical – a lawyer and politician whose rivalry with Alexander Hamilton, the first US secretary of the treasury, results in tragedy. Burr has the first lines in the musical in an opening number where he also introduces himself with the words: “And me? I’m the damn fool that shot him.” He leads the songs Wait for It and The Room Where It Happens and shares a poignant duet, Dear Theodosia, with Hamilton. Odom played Burr in the original Broadway production for a year and reprised the role for a 12-week stint in 2025. “Returning to Hamilton and revisiting the role of Aaron Burr with the growth and perspective of time has been a profoundly healing artistic experience,” he said. “I am thankful to [producers] Cameron Mackintosh and Jeffrey Seller for the invitation to make my West End debut with this fabulous company.” Mackintosh said: “When Jeffrey Seller first invited me to see Hamilton during its New York tryout at the Public theatre over 10 years ago, I was knocked out by Leslie Odom Jr’s electric performance … I’m absolutely thrilled that London will now be able to share the experience.” Hamilton opened in London in 2017 and won seven Olivier awards, including best actor in a musical for Giles Terera as Aaron Burr.
AI ‘twins’, Mar-a-Lago lookalikes, Melania impersonator conspiracies … doubles proliferate in today’s culture – and nowhere more so than in a series of unsettling new novels that draw on a rich gothic tradition to tap into our paranoid times ‘He was after me. Always had been. Why else would he target me months ago? Infiltrate my flat, my supposed safe space? Question was, what did he want from me....
AI ‘twins’, Mar-a-Lago lookalikes, Melania impersonator conspiracies … doubles proliferate in today’s culture – and nowhere more so than in a series of unsettling new novels that draw on a rich gothic tradition to tap into our paranoid times ‘He was after me. Always had been. Why else would he target me months ago? Infiltrate my flat, my supposed safe space? Question was, what did he want from me. Who, for that matter, did I mean by me?” Isabel Waidner’s fifth novel, As If , opens with the meeting of two bedraggled strangers, Aubrey and Lindsey. Lindsey has materialised on Aubrey’s doorstep and Aubrey has asked him in, noting with pained curiosity how alike they look. “He had dark brown hair not unlike mine,” Aubrey tells us. “My unremarkable eyes they were looking back at me.” With this unsettling opener, the tone is set for a disquieting read, one that I found all the more uncanny as it overlaps so unnervingly with my own new book, Lean Cat, Savage Cat . Both books draw their protagonists from the lower rungs of showbiz, both utilise the language of fashion in deliberately off-putting ways, both bring the sybaritic myths of artistic life into direct conflict with the realities of housing insecurity and wage instability. Both novels look at how unprocessed grief can fracture the psyche, and – crucially – they both centre on a mysterious pair of doubles. They were also published on the same day. All of which prompts me to ask: does my book have its own doppelganger? Continue reading...
Getty Images Equity investors appear to be going through a gut check in recent weeks. A combination of AI-related fears, geopolitical conflicts, rising oil prices, and general economic uncertainty have all contributed to a somber mood across broader markets. Perhaps adding misery to existing pain was the release of today's job release, which showed 92K job losses, well below the gains of 50K that ...
Getty Images Equity investors appear to be going through a gut check in recent weeks. A combination of AI-related fears, geopolitical conflicts, rising oil prices, and general economic uncertainty have all contributed to a somber mood across broader markets. Perhaps adding misery to existing pain was the release of today's job release, which showed 92K job losses, well below the gains of 50K that were expected. Heading in, broader indexes were nursing steep sell offs across multiple days, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJI ) closing nearly 800 points lower on the Thursday prior to Friday’s job release. These losses were echoed by both the broader S&P 500 ( SPY ) and the tech-heavy, Nasdaq Composite ( NDX ). This came in conjunction with the rise in the global energy benchmark, Brent Crude ( CL1:COM ), to above $85/barrel . While I believe today's job release serves as a negative catalyst, I don't believe one month of negative data settles the score for the labor market, especially considering the distortions caused by strike activity in a key employment sector. Here’s everything you need to know about the February jobs release. What Sectors Lost Jobs In February? Unlike the prior month, February’s employment report didn’t really provide investors with a clear pocket of strength across the labor market. In fact, most of the major sectors showed losses during the month. BLS - Employment Change By Industry During February Perhaps the most newsworthy development was within the health care sector, which has been one of the most reliable sources of job growth over the past several years. In February, however, employment in the sector declined by 28K jobs, reversing part of the sizable gain recorded in January. The drop was largely attributed to strike activity, particularly within physicians’ offices, which shed roughly 37K during the month. Hospitals did add about 12K jobs, but that wasn’t nearly enough to offset the broader pullback. Over the past year, health ...
RobLopshire/iStock via Getty Images The U.S. economy shed 92,000 jobs in February, sharply below the +55,000 consensus forecast. The decline came after a solid +126,000 revised January payrolls climb, while the unemployment rate ticked back up to 4.441% from 4.322% to begin the year. While weather may have played a minor role, and labor strikes at Kaiser shaved employment, there was a particular w...
RobLopshire/iStock via Getty Images The U.S. economy shed 92,000 jobs in February, sharply below the +55,000 consensus forecast. The decline came after a solid +126,000 revised January payrolls climb, while the unemployment rate ticked back up to 4.441% from 4.322% to begin the year. While weather may have played a minor role, and labor strikes at Kaiser shaved employment, there was a particular weakness in private payrolls. At –86,000, it was the worst since December 2020. Still, the average workweek was unchanged at 34.3 hours, and average hourly earnings were solid at +0.4% month-on-month. The two-month change in headline payrolls was taken down by 69,000, underscoring ongoing labor market weakness. Of course, this report included key changes to the business birth-death calculation. Digging into the report, Financial Activities jobs rose 10,000, but Manufacturing employment flipped back into the red after a surprise January gain. What’s more, while the headline jobless rate rose, the U-6 underemployment rate fell to 7.95%. The household survey—used to determine the unemployment rate—improved from –895k in January to –185k in February. Elsewhere, the January Retail Sales report was not far from estimates, showing a decent 0.3% increase in the core control group figure (which feeds into Q1 GDP). Weak February Jobs Report, In-Line January Retail Sales Bloomberg February Jobs Report BLS -92k February payrolls, worst since last October's -140k print... Trading Economics 4.4% unemployment rate tick up Trading Economics But the U-6 underemployment rate keeps falling.. best since last summer Trading Economics Private payrolls -86k... worst since Dec 2020 Trading Economics Manufacturing payrolls flip back negative Trading Economics S&P 500 Futures Dropped Sharply Bloomberg Treasury Yields Rise Amid Geopolitical Tensions Bloomberg Brent Crude Cracks $90 Bloomberg More broadly, U.S. Q1 real GDP is still seen positive at 2.6%, though that’s a sharp deceleration from the rate...
What's better than getting to buy 6.6%-11% yields at discounted prices? How about snapping those sweet dividend payers while momentum is on your side? Late in 2025, I wrote about a "small-cap reawakening"--a bullish tailwind from retreating Federal Reserve rates that had begun to propel smaller companies forward and could continue well into 2026. So far, so true. Small- and mid-cap stocks (or "SMI...
What's better than getting to buy 6.6%-11% yields at discounted prices? How about snapping those sweet dividend payers while momentum is on your side? Late in 2025, I wrote about a "small-cap reawakening"--a bullish tailwind from retreating Federal Reserve rates that had begun to propel smaller companies forward and could continue well into 2026. So far, so true. Small- and mid-cap stocks (or "SMIDs") alike have been cruising full sail ahead while their larger cousins have been dead in the water. 2026 Has Been a Reversal of Longstanding Large-Cap Dominance Better still for you if you haven't yet taken the plunge into Wall Street's more diminutive stocks: Small caps' hot start has done little to drive up valuations. They still look like a screaming bargain compared to the market's bigger names: Broad-Market Forward P/Es: S&P 500: 21.2 21.2 S&P MidCap 400: 17.0 17.0 S&P SmallCap 600: 15.6 Fair warning: Economic turbulence is almost always tougher on smaller-cap equities, so we could always be a market scare away from a flight back into large caps. The fuel driving smaller companies could run out in a few months, too. The Fed declined to move its target interest rate lower in late January, and the market is betting we don't see another step lower until summer at the soonest. But we're all aware that a step into small caps means swallowing at least a spoonful of risk. Our best bet? Find the most advantageously positioned small caps... and get paid a truckload while we hold on for the ride. Which is exactly what I see in these five small caps paying us between 6.6% and 11.0% right now. Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH) Dividend Yield: 6.6% Financial firms as a group don't deliver much more income than the broader market, but you can find some downright respectable yields in the sector's smaller names: specifically, regional banks and credit unions. Washington Trust Bancorp. (WASH), for instance, currently pays more than 6%. This 225-year-old regional bank is neither in Was...
lerbank/iStock via Getty Images BND Performance Since my last article on the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF ( BND ), BND has slightly outperformed the index on a total return basis. BND Performance Since Rating (Seeking Alpha) And from a risk-adjusted basis, an analysis since the beginning of October to February 2026, the total us bond market asset class delivered this outperformance wi...
lerbank/iStock via Getty Images BND Performance Since my last article on the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF ( BND ), BND has slightly outperformed the index on a total return basis. BND Performance Since Rating (Seeking Alpha) And from a risk-adjusted basis, an analysis since the beginning of October to February 2026, the total us bond market asset class delivered this outperformance with a 2.31% volatility versus a US large cap asset class of 4.24%. This amounted to a sharpe ratio of 1.18 versus 0.97. Bond Market vs US Large Cap (Portfolio Visualizer) While the timeframe has been short, the results have favored and solidified the rating thus far and I believe it will continue to do so. The BND fund yield still remains higher than the market yield and expected returns remain favorable. While BND is not exactly exciting, it should deliver its purpose in de-risking portfolios. I remain long BND in my personal portfolio with a 10% position size as a hedge against lofty valuations in the market. Correlation Between Equity and Bonds A correlation analysis between the mutual fund counterpart of BND, ( VBMFX ) versus a S&P 500 ( VFINX ), reveals why one may want to include bonds in their portfolio. Bond vs Market Correlation (Portfolio Visualizer) Typically, bonds are extremely uncorrelated to equities by a factor of ~20%. This means they really only move in lockstep around 20% of the time, the other 80% bonds tend to zig when equities Zag. The purpose of this is to smooth out the return profile and improve the overall risk-adjusted return of the portfolio. Bonds also typically have about a 1/3rd of the volatility of equities. In a highly efficient market, you would expect these asset classes to have similar risk-adjusted returns, measured by sharpe, and they do at typically 0.5. If equities and bond expected returns are similar, this means you are taking on about 3x more risk, measured by standard deviation or volatility, to achieve very similar returns. When t...
lcodacci/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Eli Lilly: Are The Best Days Over? It seems like the market is ready to look past the previous winners in the healthcare sector, and that includes Eli Lilly ( LLY ), unfortunately. It shouldn't have escaped the lens of investors that LLY gained just under 7% in the past one year. While it is undoubtedly way ahead of its archrival Novo Nordisk’s ( NVO ) c...
lcodacci/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Eli Lilly: Are The Best Days Over? It seems like the market is ready to look past the previous winners in the healthcare sector, and that includes Eli Lilly ( LLY ), unfortunately. It shouldn't have escaped the lens of investors that LLY gained just under 7% in the past one year. While it is undoubtedly way ahead of its archrival Novo Nordisk’s ( NVO ) catastrophic 56% decline in the past 1 year, LLY appears to be trailing some of its healthcare peers right now. LLY and peers performance (Seeking Alpha) And what's remarkable is that Lilly’s biopharma competitors don't own the size of a franchise in obesity drugs as compared to Lilly or Novo. Companies like Pfizer ( PFE ) have made headlines recently as it snagged an M&A deal after a bitter bidding duel against Novo, but still has little to show for it yet, as investors worry about the loss of exclusivity challenges they could inflict on its narrative through the rest of the decade. For Amgen ( AMGN ), its relative undervaluation as compared to the healthcare median has propelled an incredible recovery, helping it notch a 20% gain over the same period, while also demonstrating the robustness of its diversified portfolio. Talking about diversification, the Achilles heel of Novo, has it finally felt the market's disapproval from its inability to make a bullish case beyond just relying on its diabetes and obesity drug businesses? Given the challenges seen in Novo’s case, some of you may ask, why isn't the market pressing for an even stronger recovery for LLY in recent times? For one thing, I believe valuation is definitely in the minds of most investors. On the second thing, you might want to consider how much more market share NVO is willing to lose in its most prized businesses, while it works on next-generation opportunities/pipelines that may not pan out in the near term. In my previous write-up on LLY, while I kept my buy rating on the firm, the market hasn't quite agreed...
Aluminum buyers in the US are rushing to secure alternative supplies from Asia as the war on Iran disrupts a major foreign source — a development that threatens to hike the cost of the metal used in auto parts, appliances and beverage cans. An effective halt on shipments through the Strait of Hormuz has already prompted two top producers in the region, Qatar and Bahrain, to suspend deliveries to c...
Aluminum buyers in the US are rushing to secure alternative supplies from Asia as the war on Iran disrupts a major foreign source — a development that threatens to hike the cost of the metal used in auto parts, appliances and beverage cans. An effective halt on shipments through the Strait of Hormuz has already prompted two top producers in the region, Qatar and Bahrain, to suspend deliveries to customers. The US relies heavily on imports, with the Middle East supplying nearly a fifth of its aluminum last year, according to government data. Andy Massey of Bonnell Aluminum said the company, which molds aluminum into shapes that can be used in products including cars and construction materials, is looking to source the metal from markets such as India and Australia. The Georgia-based manufacturer may even tap the domestic market for near-term deliveries if there’s metal that isn’t tied up in annual contracts. “We’re all scrambling to figure out what’s happening on the ground” in the Middle East, said Massey, Bonnell’s vice president of metals, procurement and transportation. “I need to find alternative supplies over the next two days — fast — and make sure we don’t overpay.” Read more: Aluminum Traders Brace for Turmoil as Iran Crisis Chokes Supply The Middle East supply turmoil comes at a particularly fragile moment for American aluminum consumers. They’ve already been squeezed by President Donald Trump ’s import tariffs on the metal, which have driven up domestic prices and constrained flows from Canada, the largest foreign supplier to the US. Even brief interruptions to the supply of aluminum, prized by manufacturers for its abundance and low cost, can cause chaos for factories that tend to buy it on a just-in-time basis. RM-Metals, a New Jersey-based supplier of specialty metal products, is facing a quandary similar to Bonnell’s. It’s seeking alternative sources as some of its shipments remain stuck in Dubai, according to vice president Sam Desai. “Korea is a grea...
Key Points These companies have demonstrated their strengths in AI in recent years. They each should continue to benefit as the AI boom marches on. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › Investors rushed to get in on technology stocks over the past three years, particularly those involved in the high-potential area of artificial intelligence (AI) -- and this powered the S&P 500 bull market. The ne...
Key Points These companies have demonstrated their strengths in AI in recent years. They each should continue to benefit as the AI boom marches on. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › Investors rushed to get in on technology stocks over the past three years, particularly those involved in the high-potential area of artificial intelligence (AI) -- and this powered the S&P 500 bull market. The next new thing in tech, from the internet to smartphones, has always led to enormous revenue growth for the leaders in those arenas, and investors have benefited. And today, this next new thing may be AI. But many concerns have been popping up over the past few months, and that's weighed on these generally hot stocks. Late last year, investors worried about the high valuations of some and the possibility of an AI bubble taking shape. In more recent weeks, investors have questioned the pace of AI spending -- and whether the revenue opportunity will fall short of expectations. And as AI has proven its strengths, another worry has popped up: Could AI replace certain tools of today, such as software? 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 » However, tech prospects continue to look bright, and evidence doesn't support the concerns that have circulated. For example, AI demand remains strong, and experts have suggested that AI will be complementary to other technologies. Meanwhile, recent declines have lowered valuations of many top players, offering us buying opportunities. Here are my top three mega-cap AI stocks to buy after February's tech pullback. 1. Nvidia Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has been almost a surefire route to gains in recent years. Shares of the AI chip leader have soared more than 600% over the past three. And this isn't surprising, considering the company's earnings growth. Profit and revenue h...