Investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is one of the easiest ways to build wealth, as this type of investment requires next to no effort on your part. Most ETFs are also well-diversified, holding dozens of stocks in a single fund, which can help reduce risk. ETFs perform best with years of uninterrupted growth, making them fantastic "set it and forget it" investments. And there's one powerhouse...
Investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is one of the easiest ways to build wealth, as this type of investment requires next to no effort on your part. Most ETFs are also well-diversified, holding dozens of stocks in a single fund, which can help reduce risk. ETFs perform best with years of uninterrupted growth, making them fantastic "set it and forget it" investments. And there's one powerhouse Vanguard ETF that could turn just a couple hundred dollars per month into $2 million or more over time. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Spain's Government: Spinning Out Of Control Authored by Drieu Godefridi via The Gatestone Institute, Between corruption and radicalization, Spain's government seems to be spinning out of control. In 1936, Spain plunged into civil war. A proud nation collapsed into violence, fire, and devastation. The Spanish Civil War, which set a communist-dominated Republican left against an authoritarian nation...
Spain's Government: Spinning Out Of Control Authored by Drieu Godefridi via The Gatestone Institute, Between corruption and radicalization, Spain's government seems to be spinning out of control. In 1936, Spain plunged into civil war. A proud nation collapsed into violence, fire, and devastation. The Spanish Civil War, which set a communist-dominated Republican left against an authoritarian nationalist right, claimed roughly half a million lives. Priests were dragged through the streets, beaten, and mutilated — ears, noses, even genitals cut off — before being shot or having their throats slit. Nuns were raped prior to execution, in cases documented across several regions. Churches were set ablaze with priests still inside. In many towns, militiamen forced clergy to drink motor oil or gasoline before burning them alive. Spain's right wing, not to be outdone, killed just as many. Almost a century later, when one might have hoped that these wounds had finally healed, political and cultural fault lines are reopening. Polarization has reached levels rarely seen since Spain's transition to democracy. 1. The original trauma of the Spanish left The Spanish Civil War, in Spain's collective memory, remains an open wound. For a significant portion of the Spanish "left" -- standing for workers' rights, a shorter work week, women's and transgender rights, reducing carbon emissions -- the dominant narrative remains that of a revolution betrayed , confiscated by fascism, and still pending, never repaired. This historical resentment has been transmitted from generation to generation like an act of faith. Today, under the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his coalition, which governs with the support of the extreme-left , this resentment is resurfacing in the form of historical revisionism. By constantly summoning the specters of the past — going so far as to exhume Francisco Franco's remains, in a direct evocation of civil-war-era practices, when communists gleefully ...
Major restructure by retail technology business will lead to reduction of about 5% of global workforce Business live – latest updates Ocado is to cut 1,000 jobs as the retail technology business attempts to slash costs by £150m in a major restructure. The group confirmed about 5% of its global workforce is being cut, with about two-thirds of the job losses affecting its UK operations. Continue rea...
Major restructure by retail technology business will lead to reduction of about 5% of global workforce Business live – latest updates Ocado is to cut 1,000 jobs as the retail technology business attempts to slash costs by £150m in a major restructure. The group confirmed about 5% of its global workforce is being cut, with about two-thirds of the job losses affecting its UK operations. Continue reading...
The Japanese government expects its interest payments on outstanding debt to roughly double over the next four years as the Bank of Japan’s gradual rate hikes push up borrowing costs. Interest payments are projected at ¥21.6 trillion ($139 billion) in the year starting April 2029, up from the current year’s budgeted ¥10.5 trillion, according to a Finance Ministry document released Thursday. The pr...
The Japanese government expects its interest payments on outstanding debt to roughly double over the next four years as the Bank of Japan’s gradual rate hikes push up borrowing costs. Interest payments are projected at ¥21.6 trillion ($139 billion) in the year starting April 2029, up from the current year’s budgeted ¥10.5 trillion, according to a Finance Ministry document released Thursday. The projections assume annual nominal economic growth of 3%. Overall debt-servicing costs are seen rising about 46% to ¥41.3 trillion during the same period. That would account for about 30% of total projected spending of ¥139.7 trillion in fiscal 2029, topping expected outlays for social security. The latest projections highlight growing financial strain as the BOJ stays on its tightening path and the potential for growth faces structural limitations. In an interview with the Yomiuri this week, Governor Kazuo Ueda reiterated his intention to keep raising rates in line with improvements in the economy and prices. A hawkish member of the BOJ’s board expanded on that sentiment Thursday. Markets largely expect the central bank to stand pat in March before increasing the benchmark rate as soon as April, even as two reflationists are set to join the policy board in coming months. As it drafted the budget for next fiscal year, the MOF set the accumulated interest rate, a benchmark used to calculate debt servicing costs, at 3%. The ministry expects the provisional rate to reach 3.2% in fiscal 2027, then 3.4% and 3.6% in the following years. Tax revenue is forecast to rise each year, exceeding ¥95 trillion in the final year of the projection period. Even before taking higher rates into account Japan’s finances are stretched, with spending pressures building across social security, defense and other areas. The initial budget for the year starting in April hit a record of ¥122 trillion. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ’s government is seeking to pass the budget through parliament by the end ...
Earnings Call Insights: Chime Financial, Inc. (CHYM) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Christopher Britt highlighted a year of "31% revenue growth with strong operating leverage, including a 12-point year-over-year improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin to 10% in fourth quarter." He reported that Chime added approximately 500,000 net new active members in Q4, bringing the total to 9.5 million, and comple...
Earnings Call Insights: Chime Financial, Inc. (CHYM) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Christopher Britt highlighted a year of "31% revenue growth with strong operating leverage, including a 12-point year-over-year improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin to 10% in fourth quarter." He reported that Chime added approximately 500,000 net new active members in Q4, bringing the total to 9.5 million, and completed a multiyear migration to ChimeCore, their proprietary tech stack, which "strengthens our cost advantage with a cost to serve of roughly 1/3 of large banks and 1/5 of regional banks." Britt outlined the successful launch and adoption of new products including Chime Card and MyPay, with Chime Card adoption resulting in "credit spend as a percent of overall purchase volume increasing to 21% in December, up from 16% in September." MyPay scaled to over $400 million in revenue run rate in Q4 with transaction margin of nearly 60%, and loss rates reaching the steady-state target of 1%. The company introduced Chime Workplace, entered the enterprise channel with MyPay at Work, and closed the year at over $40 billion in annualized origination volume across SpotMe, MyPay, and Instant Loans. Britt previewed 2026 priorities: launching a premium membership tier for higher-earning members, expanding the product suite to include joint, teen, and custodial accounts, and launching investing capabilities. He also emphasized accelerating enterprise channel momentum and embedding AI deeper into Chime's operations and member experience, including testing the next-generation financial AI copilot, Jade. CFO Matthew Newcomb stated, "We grew revenue by 25% year-over-year and transaction profit by 31% year-over-year in Q4, compounding growth even as we fully lapped 2024's launch of MyPay." He added, "In Q4, we increased transaction margin to 72%, up from 69% in Q3, a result of delivering on 2 critical strategic priorities that we committed to as part of our IPO last summer, completing our ChimeCor...
Japan’s reliance on China for rare earths increased last month, despite a reduction in volumes purchased from the world’s dominant producer. China supplied around 76% of the rare earths imported by Japan in January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from Japanese customs figures. This was 3.4 percentage points more than the proportion for the same month a year earlier, as imports from other ...
Japan’s reliance on China for rare earths increased last month, despite a reduction in volumes purchased from the world’s dominant producer. China supplied around 76% of the rare earths imported by Japan in January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from Japanese customs figures. This was 3.4 percentage points more than the proportion for the same month a year earlier, as imports from other nations fell. In volume terms, however, Japan purchased 1,127 tons of metal equivalent from China last month – 5.7% less than in January 2025. The discrepancy can be explained by the fact that total Japanese imports declined by nearly 10% year-on-year to around 1,478 tons. Rare earths are essential raw materials in powerful magnets that are ubiquitous across modern manufacturing, from electric vehicles to mobile phones and missile systems. Importers such as Japan and the US are working to cut their reliance on China, whose dominance of the global supply chain gave Beijing crucial leverage in last year’s trade war with Washington. More recently, China banned exports to Japan of dual-use products with possible military applications – a category that includes rare earths. Read More: Japan Seeks Support as Fears Rise Over China’s Rare Earth Grip “It’s too early to assess the actual impact of the political tensions,” said Tadanori Sasaki, a senior research director at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, adding that at least three months of data would be required to make a fair interpretation. “Japan’s rare-earth import volumes are not smooth or evenly distributed, and show noticeable month-to-month fluctuation,” he said. “This is because the metal applications are limited, and even under normal conditions, the volumes tend to vary significantly.” While Tokyo is stepping up efforts to diversify supplies, imports from other nations remain relatively small in comparison to those from China. Vietnam was the second-largest supplier in January, shipping around 221 tons of metal ...
Earnings Call Insights: IonQ (IONQ) Q4 2025 Management View Niccolo de Masi, President, CEO & Chairman, stated that 2025 was "a highly successful and transformational year for IonQ, both strategically and financially." He highlighted the company's expansion from quantum computing leadership to becoming "the world's leading quantum platform solution and merchant supplier." De Masi emphasized the co...
Earnings Call Insights: IonQ (IONQ) Q4 2025 Management View Niccolo de Masi, President, CEO & Chairman, stated that 2025 was "a highly successful and transformational year for IonQ, both strategically and financially." He highlighted the company's expansion from quantum computing leadership to becoming "the world's leading quantum platform solution and merchant supplier." De Masi emphasized the company's ability to deliver integrated quantum solutions across computing, networking, sensing, and security, powered by "an unmatched intellectual engine" and a strong IP portfolio. De Masi announced the largest acquisition in quantum history, an agreement to acquire SkyWater, positioning IonQ to "accelerate manufacturability of IonQ's entire Quantum platform roadmap." He noted that with SkyWater, IonQ will become "the largest quantum merchant supplier in the world," and the acquisition will help ensure U.S. quantum manufacturing scaling. He reported that IonQ delivered "nearly as much revenue in Q3 2025 as in all of 2024," with Q4 2025 revenue growing "more than 50% quarter-over-quarter." Full year 2025 revenue was "over 3x that of 2024." Singh, CFO & COO, stated, "IonQ ended 2025 with an exceptional fourth quarter following a record-setting third quarter. Fourth quarter revenues were $61.9 million, even exceeding our own expectations and growing 429% year-over-year." Singh added, "We are projecting revenues of between $225 million to $245 million for full year [2026] and $48 million to $51 million for the first quarter." Singh confirmed the company's focus on R&D with "R&D comprised $96.1 million in Q4. And for the year, it was $305.7 million. That's 123% annual increase." Management highlighted the appointment of Katie Arrington as CIO and General John Raymond to the Board, as well as other additions to strengthen government and commercial relations. Outlook Singh projected "revenues of between $225 million to $245 million for full year [2026] and $48 million to $51 mill...
Gaming and Leisure Properties ( GLPI ) priced a public offering of $800M senior notes due 2036 to be issued by its operating partnership, GLP Capital, L.P. and GLP Financing II, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the operating partnership. The notes are priced at 99.857% of par value, with a coupon of 5.625%, and will mature on March 1, 2036. The notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the i...
Gaming and Leisure Properties ( GLPI ) priced a public offering of $800M senior notes due 2036 to be issued by its operating partnership, GLP Capital, L.P. and GLP Financing II, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the operating partnership. The notes are priced at 99.857% of par value, with a coupon of 5.625%, and will mature on March 1, 2036. The notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the issuers, guaranteed by GLPI. The net proceeds will primarily repay borrowings under the operating partnership's term loan credit facility; remaining funds will support general corporate purposes, such as acquisitions, development/expansion projects, capital expenditures, and debt repayment. The offering is expected to close on March 4, 2026. More on Gaming and Leisure Properties Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation VICI Properties Vs. Gaming and Leisure Properties: The Vegas-Focused REIT Is The Winner GLPI outlines $2.6B capital deployment pipeline and projects AFFO up to $1.222B for 2026 while expanding development commitments Gaming and Leisure Properties FFO of $1.16 beats by $0.18, revenue of $407M beats by $0.98M
European stocks traded little changed on Thursday as Nvidia Corp. ’s uninspiring results prompted investors to sell high-flying chip machinery stocks and rotate into shares that have been battered by concerns about disruption from artificial intelligence. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was flat the end of trading after closing at a record high on Wednesday. ASML Holding N.V. was the biggest drag on th...
European stocks traded little changed on Thursday as Nvidia Corp. ’s uninspiring results prompted investors to sell high-flying chip machinery stocks and rotate into shares that have been battered by concerns about disruption from artificial intelligence. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was flat the end of trading after closing at a record high on Wednesday. ASML Holding N.V. was the biggest drag on the index, falling 4.3% as Nvidia declined in US trading following Wednesday’s earnings report. UBS’s EU AI Risk basket, meanwhile, gained 3.8% . Software stocks such as SAP AG , advertising agencies including WPP Group Plc , and professional publishers like Wolters Kluwer NV recouped a small portion of this year’s losses. Among other European individual stocks, Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc rallied as much as 8.4% to a record high after announcing a share buyback. London Stock Exchange Group Plc rose 9.1% after it announced plans to buy back £3 billion ($4.1 billion) of its own shares. Indra Sistemas SA surged 21% after the IT company’s fourth-quarter results “beat across the board,” according to Morgan Stanley. Ocado Group Plc shares fell 6.4% after the grocery software and robotics company reported preliminary results and said it will cut a “ significant ” number of jobs. Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc shares slid 17% after results . The mixed results follow a largely positive earnings season that has helped lift Europe’s benchmark by about 7% so far this year, outperforming the S&P 500 Index, which is up 0.6%. “Earnings by far have been on the positive side and that’s lending an important tailwind for European equities,” said Aneeka Gupta , macroeconomic research director at WisdomTree. “There should also be a bit of a recovery on the tech side.” European stocks are heading for an eighth straight month of gains as the region’s strength in so-called old economy sectors shields it from the worst of artificial intelligence disruption. That has fueled investor rotation out of US compan...
‘Index of repression’ includes smears, disinformation and harassment, according to advocacy group Palestinian solidarity is being “silenced, criminalised and sanctioned”, according to an advocacy group that says it has recorded more than 900 examples of repression across Britain in the last six years. People who have been targeted have suffered smears, disinformation, harassment, doxing (having pr...
‘Index of repression’ includes smears, disinformation and harassment, according to advocacy group Palestinian solidarity is being “silenced, criminalised and sanctioned”, according to an advocacy group that says it has recorded more than 900 examples of repression across Britain in the last six years. People who have been targeted have suffered smears, disinformation, harassment, doxing (having private or identifying information published online), visa cancellations, financial blacklisting, loss of employment and arrest, according to the European Legal Support Center, which along with the research group Forensic Architecture has created the “index of repression”. Continue reading...