Our resident product tester sips and puckers his way through a range of high-street balsamic vinegars • The best supermarket gherkins The old adage that you get what you pay for definitely applies to balsamic vinegar, no matter whether it’s an independent brand or a supermarket’s own-label. The best are made in Modena, Italy, and carry at least IGP (protected geographical indication) status. Thoug...
Our resident product tester sips and puckers his way through a range of high-street balsamic vinegars • The best supermarket gherkins The old adage that you get what you pay for definitely applies to balsamic vinegar, no matter whether it’s an independent brand or a supermarket’s own-label. The best are made in Modena, Italy, and carry at least IGP (protected geographical indication) status. Though that’s not the strictest certification, it’s still a mark of quality, assuring the product has been made following certain guidelines. None of the vinegars I tested had PDO (protected designation of origin) status, which is a more coveted certification with strict guidelines and a 12-year ageing process, and which explains why it can cost upwards of £1,200 a litre. Continue reading...
Anti-war, anti-ICE, anti-authoritarian Christians and Catholics are organizing around their faith in opposition to the version claimed by Trump and Hegseth The Trump administration has long tried to wrap itself in Christianity, with Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, invoking warfare “in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ”. Trump even recently posted an AI image of himself as a Christ-...
Anti-war, anti-ICE, anti-authoritarian Christians and Catholics are organizing around their faith in opposition to the version claimed by Trump and Hegseth The Trump administration has long tried to wrap itself in Christianity, with Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, invoking warfare “in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ”. Trump even recently posted an AI image of himself as a Christ-like figure (later claiming he thought it was a doctor) and streamed himself reading the Bible . But in reality, faith leaders have been some of the loudest and most consistent voices organizing against the administration’s policies. Continue reading...
Some familiar, arcane terms are returning to the fore as the Tories study the tactics Labour used against Boris Johnson The lexicon of a British parliamentary scandal is arcane. As Keir Starmer fights to remain prime minister, he has had to respond to a “humble address”, had his judgment picked over during an “emergency opposition day debate” and now faces the ignominy of a “privilege motion”. Con...
Some familiar, arcane terms are returning to the fore as the Tories study the tactics Labour used against Boris Johnson The lexicon of a British parliamentary scandal is arcane. As Keir Starmer fights to remain prime minister, he has had to respond to a “humble address”, had his judgment picked over during an “emergency opposition day debate” and now faces the ignominy of a “privilege motion”. Continue reading...
ServiceNow's ( NOW ) hybrid pricing shift has led to 50% of all new business coming from non-seat-based pricing models, according to Chief Financial Officer and President Gina Mastantuono during an interview with Seeking Alpha. This is important because a primary reason behind the recent decline of enterprise software stocks stems from concerns over seat-based pricing models. The idea is that as e...
ServiceNow's ( NOW ) hybrid pricing shift has led to 50% of all new business coming from non-seat-based pricing models, according to Chief Financial Officer and President Gina Mastantuono during an interview with Seeking Alpha. This is important because a primary reason behind the recent decline of enterprise software stocks stems from concerns over seat-based pricing models. The idea is that as enterprises increase their usage of artificial intelligence tools, efficiencies will improve and headcounts will be reduced or remain flat, thus reducing the number of available seats at an enterprise. However, despite the rise of AI agents, ServiceNow has not been losing seats. "AI is unlocking productivity, but seat count remains healthy and continued to grow year over year in Q1," Mastantuono said. "We have a hybrid model that is seat-based first, and as you consume more tokens, fees go in. Over 50% of our new business comes from non-seat-based models. It's not new. We've had this for years, based on infrastructure and services. What's new is the AI consumption model on top of that." First-quarter results featured 22.1% year-over-year revenue growth and a 2026 outlook that surpassed market expectations. The company's AI ACV is now on track to surpass $1.5B this year, which is a 50% jump from the prior target of $1B. ServiceNow shares took a beating after the release. The stock made a historic 19% plummet on Thursday, April 23. Financial analysts linked the drop to a slight decline in the gross margin outlook related to the recent acquisition of Armis. Furthermore, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East created a 75 basis point headwind due to delayed closings of several large, on-premise deals in the region. "We're looking at short-term margin headwinds here (full-year non-GAAP operating margin to 31.5% from the prior 32%, and full-year free cash flow margin to 35% from 36%)," said Seeking Alpha analyst Oliver Rodzianko . "That's the basic math behind the sell-off, but t...
A Chinese naval video has fuelled speculation that its next aircraft carrier is likely to be nuclear-powered. The film Into The Deep was released on Wednesday to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Highlighting the continuity of China’s maritime ambitions, from coastal defence to a “blue-water” navy capable of deep-sea operations, the film also included ...
A Chinese naval video has fuelled speculation that its next aircraft carrier is likely to be nuclear-powered. The film Into The Deep was released on Wednesday to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Highlighting the continuity of China’s maritime ambitions, from coastal defence to a “blue-water” navy capable of deep-sea operations, the film also included footage from real-life drills in the western Pacific and the use of advanced equipment. It also...
Ryan Mckeever | E+ | Getty Images Move over, Sephora kids. While younger generations have been buying beauty products in droves, data shows that a different generation holds more spending power: Generation X. Often dubbed the "forgotten generation," Gen X spans those born between 1965 and 1980, according to Pew Research Center. Sandwiched between baby boomers and millennials, the often-overlooked ...
Ryan Mckeever | E+ | Getty Images Move over, Sephora kids. While younger generations have been buying beauty products in droves, data shows that a different generation holds more spending power: Generation X. Often dubbed the "forgotten generation," Gen X spans those born between 1965 and 1980, according to Pew Research Center. Sandwiched between baby boomers and millennials, the often-overlooked generation hasn't held the spotlight nearly as much as its counterparts. But experts said it may be one of the most important generations for the beauty industry over the next few years. Gen X will be the consumer spending leader globally through 2033, surpassing $20 trillion in spending power, according to data from NielsenIQ. The generation makes up roughly 25% of the total spend for beauty, both on beauty products and beauty services. More importantly, the Gen X beauty market will grow to 1.3 times its current size in the next five years, NielsenIQ said. That growth, according to the company, comes from a culmination of factors: The generation is financially stable and well established, has been leaning into anti-aging and longevity trends, and is heavy on brand loyalty. According to Chicago-based market research firm Circana, households with members of Gen X accounted for 44% of total dollars spent on beauty in the past year, with skincare being their top category. "This aligns with how beauty companies are focusing on solutions tied to skin health, anti-aging and long-term results, which are all areas that resonate strongly with Gen X consumers," said Larissa Jensen, a beauty industry advisor at Circana. The cohort will also see an increase its spending across haircare and makeup, Jensen added. It's a trend that's been complemented by a broader focus on wellness and anti-aging. "We're not ignoring people as they get older in the beauty industry as much anymore," said Anna Mayo, a NielsenIQ beauty thought leader. "For the first time, we're seeing brands launched and the...
In this article TSLA VOLAF MBGAF RIVN BMW-DE Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 9:47 09:47 Trying out xAI's Grok chatbot in a Tesla while driving in New York City Tech Tesla owner Mike Nelson has been using the AI chatbot Grok in his vehicle for several months now. He finds it is useful, nearly irresistible, and dangerous. Nelson, a lawyer with a background in auto ins...
In this article TSLA VOLAF MBGAF RIVN BMW-DE Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 9:47 09:47 Trying out xAI's Grok chatbot in a Tesla while driving in New York City Tech Tesla owner Mike Nelson has been using the AI chatbot Grok in his vehicle for several months now. He finds it is useful, nearly irresistible, and dangerous. Nelson, a lawyer with a background in auto insurance, showed CNBC how he uses Grok on a drive around the New York metro area. Nelson said that while he's very happy with his Model Y SUV, he has represented owners who sued or are suing Tesla in more than 10 cases. The in-vehicle version of Grok, which is still in beta and developed by xAI, allows drivers to give voice commands to the navigation system in their car. Grok will also answer a wide range of questions on just about any topic. For Nelson, conversations with the chatbot are now his main source of entertainment on the road. Tesla is not the only automaker adding AI assistants to its vehicles. Volvo , Rivian , Mercedes , BMW and others are all integrating AI into their cars even though the tech is still in its infancy. Automakers want to give drivers a hands-free way to access useful information, for example, about where to charge their electric vehicle nearby, how to get there, and whether there's a good place to eat on the way. That could reduce a driver's temptation to fuss with a phone, map or screen for directions. But AI chatbots also represent a new source of distraction on the road, one that isn't well understood yet, says Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon emeritus professor and expert in autonomous vehicles. Tesla began rolling out xAI's chatbot to customers' cars in July 2025. (The automaker has also invested $2 billion into xAI, which is now part of SpaceX also run by Elon Musk.) Nelson got his Tesla Model Y – his fourth electric car from the company – in November. Grok wasn't a "buying point" for him, he said. "I also didn't appreciate how great it wo...
TexBr/iStock via Getty Images Oil prices have been all over the headlines for most investors around the world because oil prices impact everything else. If we think about it, oil is largely foundational for much in our modern society. From plastics, gasoline, and lubrication to everything in between. Oil plays a pivotal role, whether it's supplying the energy and power, the heat, or the base feeds...
TexBr/iStock via Getty Images Oil prices have been all over the headlines for most investors around the world because oil prices impact everything else. If we think about it, oil is largely foundational for much in our modern society. From plastics, gasoline, and lubrication to everything in between. Oil plays a pivotal role, whether it's supplying the energy and power, the heat, or the base feedstock for many different items. So when oil prices see massive levels of volatility, the question many investors ask themselves is, how do we benefit from this environment? Especially if your wallet is going to get hurt in so many other avenues of life, how can we benefit from the oil volatility in your portfolio? Today and tomorrow, I plan on covering two outstanding commodity-focused investments that benefit from this increased oil pricing volatility. When it all settles down, the dust is settled, the Iran war is over, and oil prices come back down to where they were previously, these companies are set to reward their shareholders massively, unlike many of their peers. Let's dive in! Northern Oil Producer That's Safe With A Low Breakeven Price Canadian Natural Resources ( CNQ ) is primarily a Canadian-based and Canadian-focused oil and natural gas producer. CNQ April Presentation CNQ does have assets in Africa and Europe, but the lion's share of their revenue is generated by their Canadian assets. Being a Canadian O&G producer has not been easy for most of 2026. Originally, oil prices were expected to be trending downward this year. When we covered CNQ in December, we wrote. The other primary risk to CNQ is geopolitical. As with any oil and gas producer, the price of oil can heavily impact their earnings. Oil prices are expected to be lower in 2026 than they were in 2025. Even though demand is rising, there is a greater supply in the market, and that supply has to be absorbed before prices are expected to recover. CNQ uses West Texas Intermediate, WTI, crude oil prices to ...
DNY59/E+ via Getty Images Purpose I look at the high frequency weekly indicators because while they can be very noisy, they provide a good nowcast of the economy, and will telegraph the maintenance or change in the economy well before monthly or quarterly data is available. They are also an excellent way to "mark your beliefs to market." In general, I go in order of long leading indicators, then s...
DNY59/E+ via Getty Images Purpose I look at the high frequency weekly indicators because while they can be very noisy, they provide a good nowcast of the economy, and will telegraph the maintenance or change in the economy well before monthly or quarterly data is available. They are also an excellent way to "mark your beliefs to market." In general, I go in order of long leading indicators, then short leading indicators, then coincident indicators. A Note on Methodology Data is presented in a "just the facts, ma'am" format with a minimum of commentary so that bias is minimized. Where relevant, I include 12-month highs and lows in the data in parentheses to the right. All data taken from St. Louis FRED unless otherwise linked. A few items (e.g., Financial Conditions indexes, regional Fed indexes, stock prices, and the yield curve) have their own metrics based on long-term studies of their behavior. Where data is seasonally adjusted, generally it is scored positively if it is within the top 1/3 of that range, negative in the bottom 1/3, and neutral in between. Where it is not seasonally adjusted, and there are seasonal issues, waiting for the YoY change to change sign will lag the turning point. Thus I make use of a convention: data is scored neutral if it is less than 1/2 as positive/negative as at its 12-month extreme. With long leading indicators, which by definition turn at least 12 months before a turning point in the economy as a whole, there is an additional rule: data is automatically negative if, during an expansion, it has not made a new peak in the past year, with the sole exception that it is scored neutral if it is moving in the right direction and is close to making a new high. For all series where a graph is available, I have provided a link to where the relevant graph can be found. Recap of Monthly Reports March data was limited to retail spending, which grew sharply on the back of gas purchases but also nominally grew excluding them. In real inflation...
Monty Rakusen/DigitalVision via Getty Images Community Health Systems, Inc. ( CYH ) is a US healthcare company. They operate as a hospital owner, operator, and builder of local-market healthcare networks in regional and rural markets. Essentially, CYH’s subsidiaries and affiliates own or lease hospitals, with about 64 affiliated hospitals and over 9,000 beds across 900 sites and 14 states. More re...
Monty Rakusen/DigitalVision via Getty Images Community Health Systems, Inc. ( CYH ) is a US healthcare company. They operate as a hospital owner, operator, and builder of local-market healthcare networks in regional and rural markets. Essentially, CYH’s subsidiaries and affiliates own or lease hospitals, with about 64 affiliated hospitals and over 9,000 beds across 900 sites and 14 states. More recently, the company has been reshaping its portfolio by selling some hospitals while expanding ambulatory surgery centers. As such, I think their ongoing turnaround is promising, and the valuation seems heavily discounted. So, I rate the shares a viable deleveraging “Buy” story for long-term investors. Healthcare Logistics And Infrastructure Community Health Systems, Inc. is a hospital operator focused on non-urban and mid-sized local markets. CYH’s subsidiaries and affiliates own or lease general acute hospitals and run local healthcare networks. CYH was founded back in 1985, and its headquarters are located in Franklin, Tennessee. Interestingly, they’ve been making some M&A moves, which I think makes this name worth looking into at its current valuation. Source: Corporate Presentation. February 2026. As a quick overview, CYH is a large structure with many operating entities, including a subsidiary with the same name called CHS/Community Health Systems. Other subsidiaries are CHSPSC, LLC, and hospital operating subsidiaries and affiliated facilities. CHSPSC is its management company, which provides services to the subsidiary hospital operator companies and affiliates of CYH. However, the hospitals themselves are owned or leased and operated by a separate legal entity. CYH owns about 64 affiliated hospitals with more than 9,000 beds, which is how it operates more than 900 sites across 14 states. Portfolio Divestitures and Acquisitions Having said that, CYH’s affiliates are non-hospital businesses in the local healthcare system. These include physician practices, ambulatory ...
Welcome to the Wall Street Week newsletter, bringing you stories of capitalism about things you need to know, but even more things you need to think about. I’m David Westin , and this week Kathryn Judge of Columbia Law School took us through the risks of Anthropic’s Mythos for the banking system, and Gita Gopinath of Harvard explained how the IMF responds to shocks like the Iran War. If you’re not...
Welcome to the Wall Street Week newsletter, bringing you stories of capitalism about things you need to know, but even more things you need to think about. I’m David Westin , and this week Kathryn Judge of Columbia Law School took us through the risks of Anthropic’s Mythos for the banking system, and Gita Gopinath of Harvard explained how the IMF responds to shocks like the Iran War. If you’re not yet a subscriber, sign up here for this newsletter. “Whole Different Level” of AI Risk Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Fed Chair Jay Powell got the attention of the banking system by summoning the heads of the big banks to Washington to warn them about the risks posed by Anthropic’s new Mythos system. Margaret Mitchell, the chief ethics scientist of AI startup Hugging Face , says Mythos “is really on the cutting edge of cybersecurity right now.” The fundamental technology may not be entirely new, but it’s “now at hyper speed,” she added. “And so that’s very alarming to people because we don’t really have the infrastructure to support that level of speed.” Kathryn Judge teaches banking law at Columbia, and she said financial regulators are seeing unprecedented challenges stemming from AI. IMF as World’s “Firefighter” As the International Monetary Fund met in Washington last week, it was dealing with the global economic repercussions of the US war in Iran. Harvard’s Gita Gopinath handled such problems when she served as the IMF’s first deputy managing director. The IMF is more important than ever in times of crisis, she said. More from Wall Street Week Bloomberg Wall Street Week is live Fridays at 6 p.m. New York time. Watch on Bloomberg Television , on the Terminal at TV and on YouTube ; or listen to the show on Bloomberg Radio and RADI . Catch the show Saturdays at 10 a.m. New York time and Sundays at 9 a.m., and find other re-airings through your local listings. Daily editions of Wall Street Week are live weekdays at 10:40 a.m. New York time. You can watch full episo...
Two runners in this week's Boston Marathon stopped to help a racer who had collapsed just short of the finish line. NPR's Scott Simon says their generosity is its own kind of "personal best." (Image credit: Cj Gunther)
Two runners in this week's Boston Marathon stopped to help a racer who had collapsed just short of the finish line. NPR's Scott Simon says their generosity is its own kind of "personal best." (Image credit: Cj Gunther)
Acclaimed Japanese director Sho Miyake has arrived in the States. He's brought with him two feature films: Small, Slow But Steady and Two Seasons, Two Strangers , a pair of naturalistic portraits that deal with the uneasy human desire to relate to other people. Seclusion and unease are bedrocks to Miyake's growing filmography. "I like these characters that have a sense of discomfort that slowly st...
Acclaimed Japanese director Sho Miyake has arrived in the States. He's brought with him two feature films: Small, Slow But Steady and Two Seasons, Two Strangers , a pair of naturalistic portraits that deal with the uneasy human desire to relate to other people. Seclusion and unease are bedrocks to Miyake's growing filmography. "I like these characters that have a sense of discomfort that slowly starts to distance them from society," he tells The Verge . I first saw Small, Slow But Steady at New Directors/New Films (lowkey one of the better film festivals New York has to offer). It's an affectionate story of a deaf boxer, Keiko (Yukino Kishii), … Read the full story at The Verge.
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 125, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, send me cereal recommendations, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about NASA seamstresses and friction and Muskism and scooters , highlighting the heck out of Jeff VanderMeer's terrific new short story...
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 125, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, send me cereal recommendations, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about NASA seamstresses and friction and Muskism and scooters , highlighting the heck out of Jeff VanderMeer's terrific new short story , listening to the Dissect podcast's new season about Daft Punk, giving Firefox another run as my go-to browser, having my mind blown by amazing music video directors , and nodding along to John Oliver on prediction markets . I've also been dealing wit … Read the full story at The Verge.
The Strait of Hormuz remains largely empty of merchant ships, with only a few Tehran-linked vessels moving through the waterway, following a tense week that saw Iranian gunboat attacks and tanker interceptions by the US Navy. As of Saturday morning, observable traffic was down to only two very small fuel carriers and one tiny coastal cargo ship, all with ties to Tehran, leaving the Persian Gulf th...
The Strait of Hormuz remains largely empty of merchant ships, with only a few Tehran-linked vessels moving through the waterway, following a tense week that saw Iranian gunboat attacks and tanker interceptions by the US Navy. As of Saturday morning, observable traffic was down to only two very small fuel carriers and one tiny coastal cargo ship, all with ties to Tehran, leaving the Persian Gulf through the crucial waterway, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. No ships were observed on their way in. While Iran continues to fill supertankers with millions of barrels, the US Navy has stalled several of them near the maritime border with Pakistan before they can leave the Gulf of Oman into the Arabian Sea, creating a bottleneck that underscores the growing difficulties for the Islamic Republic’s exports. Tensions escalated this week as Iran demonstrated its tight grip over Hormuz and the US maintained its naval blockade, while diplomatic efforts to get both sides to negotiate a peace deal have proven elusive. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Pakistan ahead of the arrival of US envoys, but prospects remain slim for direct talks to end the conflict that has upended global energy markets. The US has added to its pressure by sanctioning Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., one of China’s largest private oil refiners, citing its purchases from Iran. The move reflects a broader push to isolate buyers of Iranian oil. China has been the top importer. Vessels transiting Hormuz with active Automatic Identification System signals during the past day were confined to a narrow northern lane near the Iranian islands of Larak and Qeshm, the route approved by Tehran. The US blockade may encourage Iran-linked ships entering or leaving the Persian Gulf to switch off their tracking signals to avoid detection, making it harder to get an accurate picture of traffic through the waterway. This means transit figures may sometimes be revised higher when ves...