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VioletaStoimenova/E+ via Getty Images Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify March retail sales jump , even excluding surge in gas. (0:15) UnitedHealth lifts outlook after strong quarter. (1:30) Disney raises peak Magic Kingdom ticket prices for 2027. (2:11) This is an abridged transcript of the podcast: Our top story so far, don’t count out the consumer just yet. March retail sales rose 1.7% M/M , topping the 1.4% consensus and accelerating from February’s 0.7% gain. Core retail sales, excluding motor vehicles and parts, climbed 1.9% M/M versus 1.3% expected. Retail sales excluding gas and autos increased 0.6% M/M, above the +0.2% consensus. Gas station sales were up 18% Y/Y. “It’s a blowout retail sales figure for March,” said Navy Federal Credit Union Chief Economist Heather Long. “Stripping out the big surge in spending on gas due to the Middle East conflict, it's a solid but more modest 0.6% increase.” Long noted gains across most categories, though spending at restaurants was softer, potentially signaling early signs of consumer pullback as higher fuel costs weigh on budgets. She also pointed to elevated spending on electronics and appliances, which may reflect tariff-related price pressures. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said he is not backing away from a Justice Department investigation tied to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell , maintaining pressure on the central bank as Fed chief nominee Kevin Warsh appears before Congress. Trump told CNBC officials need to “find out” why the Fed spent heavily on renovating its headquarters and said he would be disappointed if Warsh did not move quickly to cut rates. Among active stocks, UnitedHealth ( UNH ) is lifting the Dow after reporting better-than-expected Q1 results and raising its full-year earnings outlook. Seeking Alpha analyst Jonathan Weber said that while UNH remains below peak profitability levels from a few years ago, “it looks like the turnaround is progressing reasonably well.” ...

Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Builders FirstSource Inc. (Symbol: BLDR), where a total volume of 9,105 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of app

Bargain hunters are wise to pay careful attention to insider buying, because although there are many various reasons for an insider to sell a stock, presumably the only reason they would use their hard-earned dollars to make a purchase, is that they expect to make money. Today

⚽ Premier League updates from the 8pm BST kick-off ⚽ Today’s Football Daily | Follow on Bluesky | Mail Simon Hello world! Six defeats in seven games in all competitions, with the one non-defeat an FA Cup win over Port Vale who play in League One and thus doesn’t count, mean Chelsea have all but kissed goodbye to their chances of a place in the top five. Brighton meanwhile have won five of their last seven, all of them in the Premier League. On Valentine’s Day Chelsea were fifth and Brighton 13 points back in 14th; if they win tonight Brighton will go above them. “My job is to be accountable. The buck stops with me,” says the beleaguered Liam Rosenior, whose summer holiday looks increasingly likely to be indefinite in length. So, and to summarise, actually quite a lot riding on this. Here’s Jacob Steinberg on Chelsea’s sticky spot: Liam Rosenior has acknowledged his job will be under threat if he cannot turn around Chelsea’s poor form before the end of the season. Although the head coach recently received public backing from the co-owner Behdad Eghbali, he is aware that retaining long-term support is dependent on results. Chelsea are under growing pressure as four consecutive league defeats have left them seven points off fifth-placed Liverpool with five games to play, and Rosenior was realistic when asked whether his bosses had assured him his future did not hinge on securing Champions League qualification. Continue reading...

Donald Trump says US ready to renew attacks but Iran appears unwilling to bend to US president’s threats Intense efforts are under way to bring Iran and the US together in Pakistan for a new round of talks a day before the end of the two-week ceasefire that has paused the conflict in the Middle East. Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was ready to renew attacks against Iran if progress was not made at any talks, with the US military “raring to go”. Continue reading...

Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Tractor Supply Co. (Symbol: TSCO), where a total volume of 27,596 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approxima

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Deutsche Telekom AG is considering a full combination with its American arm T-Mobile US Inc. , a move that would create a multinational telecom group and rank as the largest-ever public M&A deal, people with knowledge of the matter said. Deutsche Telekom is already T-Mobile’s biggest shareholder with a roughly 53% stake. The German carrier has been discussing the idea of creating a new holding company that would make a stock bid for shares of both Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The potential deal would create a single, simplified corporate group that controls the operations of Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile and would be jointly owned by the two companies’ current investors. The combined entity may then seek a listing in the US and a major European exchange, though the details are still being worked out, some of the people said. Discussions are at a preliminary stage and any transaction would require political support to move ahead, the people said. Details of the possible deal could also change. The companies have considered a closer tie-up on-and-off for years, and there’s no certainty they will decide to proceed this time, the people said. “As per their usual practice, DT and TMUS do not comment on speculation regarding their corporate activity, nor are there specifics for us to comment on for your inquiry,” a spokesperson for Deutsche Telekom said in an emailed statement. A representative for T-Mobile declined to comment. Deutsche Telekom shares trade at well below the earnings multiple of T-Mobile, which contributes the bulk of its profits. Combining the two companies could reduce that valuation discount and give the merged group greater heft to potentially pursue acquisitions. It would also create the world’s biggest wireless operator by market capitalization, surpassing China Mobile Ltd. , which is valued at about $235 billion. Shares of T-Mobile have fallen about 22% over the last...

Investment Thesis I should be bearish about Surf Air Mobility Inc. ( SRFM ) given its declining revenue, its falling net income, and loss of confidence among investors. What’s more, the Seeking Alpha system recently added a warning that the company is “at high risk of performing badly.” But if Wall Street analysts are at least somewhat correct in their estimates, there will be opportunities for significant capital gains. I maintain the cautious Buy rating I provided last July. About Surf Air Mobility The company has several lines of business: a regional and scheduled commuter airline (the firm bills it as the “largest in the United States” in its 10-K for 2025 ). In addition, it operates an on-demand charter airline, is investing in software designed to modernize air operations, and its Air Technology business is working on aircraft electrification powertrain technology and services. The business lines are designed to complement each other in an ambitious plan. Data and experience from its scheduled and charter airline businesses provide data that should help develop and prove its software. And its efforts on electrification could help it lower its costs and give it a significant competitive advantage. As senior management wrote in an April 20 letter to shareholders , “Convergence of AI-enabled software and electric aircraft will reshape the future of aviation. We are building the platform at the center of this transformation.” More broadly, the company is partially through a multi-year Transformation Plan, one that aims to reduce operating losses and push ahead with its software and electrification initiatives (more below). Surf Air has two key partners, Palantir Technologies Inc. ( PLTR ) and Textron Inc. ( TXT ). Surf Air reported in an SEC filing on February 2, 2026, that Palantir owned nearly 6 million of its shares, representing 9.4% of shares outstanding. Surf Air has used shares to pay for licensing and professional services. The Textron partnership involves...

May NY world sugar #11 (SBK26 ) today is up +0.01 (+0.07%), and Aug London ICE white sugar #5 (SWQ26 ) is up +4.90 (+1.17%). Sugar prices are higher today, with London sugar posting a 1-week high on the outlook for smaller Brazil sugar output. The USDA today forecast Brazil's...

Joey Ingelhart/iStock via Getty Images Key Point The month of March showed an increase in oil prices and illustrated the inverse correlation that energy companies have to the rest of the market. This could make them useful as a hedge. However, the futures market is suggesting that oil prices will decline going forward, and that could weigh on the stock prices of some energy companies. Energy and the Rest of the Market Crude oil and companies can be an interesting challenge for investors. As we saw back in 2022 and just recently in March, rising oil prices tend to cause market participants to sell off their holdings in many sectors. Technology, in particular, can be a particularly hard-hit sector due to the long-duration nature of many technology common stocks. Meanwhile, as might be expected, oil and gas companies tend to do very well whenever energy prices are rising. For example, back in 2022, the Technology Select Sector Index ( XLK ), which includes all of the technology companies in the S&P 500 Index ( SP500 ), fell by 28.43%, significantly more than the rest of the market. Meanwhile, the Energy Select Sector Index ( XLE ), which includes all of the companies that are both in the oil and gas sector and the S&P 500, gained by 57.60%: Seeking Alpha We saw the same thing in March 2026, as the energy sector gained while both technology and the S&P 500 Index declined: Seeking Alpha There are a few reasons for this, including the following: Oil is an input into many different products. Whenever oil prices rise, it puts upward pressure on the price of many different products. This is generally considered to be inflationary, and as such, it puts upward pressure on interest rates. Approximately 70% of U.S. gross domestic product is consumer spending. Whenever energy prices increase, consumers have to pay more for gasoline, heating oil, and possibly natural gas. As such, they have less money available to spend. A prolonged period of high energy prices can even push the e...

The Israeli military on Tuesday said two soldiers would receive 30 days of military detention and be removed from combat duty over the destruction of a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon. The decision comes after widespread condemnation of a photo shared online showing an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross. The sculpture was located in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with...

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Amazon.com Inc shares are trading higher in Monday’s after-hours session after the company announced an expanded strategic collaboration with Anthropic. Amazon Expands Collaboration With Anthropic Amazon announced Anthropic is committed to spending more than $100 billion on Amazon Web Services technology over the next 10 years to secure five gigawatts (GW) of capacity to train and power the company’s advanced AI models. The deal includes Trainium3 capacity, which is expected to come online this

CATL today hosted its Super Technology Day in Beijing, unveiling third-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery, third-generation Qilin Battery, Qilin Condensed Battery, second-generation Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery, Naxtra Sodium-ion Battery and a fully integrated supercharging and battery-swapping solution. These innovations are designed to address diverse mobility needs across different usage scenarios.

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乌克兰总统泽连斯基表示，“友谊”（Druzhba）输油管道的修复工作已完成，这将使俄罗斯对欧洲的石油输送恢复，并为一笔急需的900亿欧元（约合1060亿美元）贷款铺平道路。 “根据与欧盟沟通达成的共识，乌克兰已完成友谊输油管道遭俄军袭击受损部分的修复工作，”泽连斯基周二在X平台发文称，“该管道可以恢复运行。” 他表示，这一决定应促成“欧盟对乌援助方案的放行”。泽连斯基还在另一条X发文中称，他已与欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩讨论了此事。“乌克兰方面已采取所有必要措施，”他表示。 “友谊”管道的修复标志着布鲁塞尔在推动向基辅发放欧盟贷款方面取得突破。匈牙利即将卸任的总理欧尔班此前将对乌援助与恢复俄罗斯石油供应挂钩。 这笔资金对乌克兰维持战事至关重要。彭博上月报道称，基辅的资金仅足以支撑至6月。 匈牙利候任总理毛焦尔上周表示，一旦“友谊”管道恢复输油，他预计欧尔班将解除否决。 欧盟外交负责人Kaja Kallas表示，她预计“未来24小时内”会对这笔贷款做出积极决定。 预计欧盟各国大使将于周三讨论该问题。 责任编辑：丁文武

Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images Industrial REITs are among the more stable segments in the REIT sector, but they are not immune to interest rate risk and market corrections. Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. ( REXR ) stands out with an investment-grade credit rating and a low leverage ratio. Still, its preferred stocks оffer a yiеld of over 6.7% - more attrаctive at first glаnce thаn the еxpеcted AFFO yield of common stock. Here you can see our latest article, and below you can see the company's latest updates. At the end of 2025, REXR had close to $12.612 billion in total assets and around $3.26 billion in total debt. The total equity is around $8.83 billion, and the preferred equity is ~ $155.7 million. The EBITDA is around $671.14 million. REXR's current market cаpitalization is аpproximately $8.83 billion. The company owns 419 properties and 51 million squаre feet. REXR's overview (rexfordindustrial.com) We calculate REXR's asset yield ((Total Revenue - Operating Expenses + Depreciation and Amortization)/Total Assets) of about 5.52% and an asset coverage ratio (Total Assets/Debt) of about 387%. Operating expenses as a percentage of total revenue, excluding D&А, are abоut 30.65%. Interest expenses as a percentage of debt are about 3.2%. We use the price/book ratio, which at the timе of writing is 1.03, to cаlculаte the market-adjustеd ratios. The market values ​​REXR's assets at a slight prеmium, reflеcting confidence in the quаlity of the portfoliо. The mаrket-adjusted asset yield is about 5.4%, and the market-adjusted asset coverage ratiо is about 394%. The expected AFFO yield is close to 5.43% (the forward P/AFFO is around 18.4): basic valuations (seekingalpha.com) Preferred Stocks Both REXR preferred stocks ( REXR.PR.B ) and ( REXR.PR.C ) are currently trading below par and have investment-grade credit ratings: "BBB-" from S&P and "BBB-" from Fitch. Both are callable - their call dates have pаssed. REXR's preferred stocks (author's database) REXR....