alfexe/iStock via Getty Images By Kelvin Wong The RBA, Australia’s central bank, was the first developed nation central bank (other than the Bank of Japan) to kickstart a potential interest rate hike cycle, raising its cash policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.85% on February 3, 2026. The decision marked the first rate hike since November 2023, underscoring renewed cost pressures that intensified i...
alfexe/iStock via Getty Images By Kelvin Wong The RBA, Australia’s central bank, was the first developed nation central bank (other than the Bank of Japan) to kickstart a potential interest rate hike cycle, raising its cash policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.85% on February 3, 2026. The decision marked the first rate hike since November 2023, underscoring renewed cost pressures that intensified in H2 2025. Today’s hotter-than-expected core CPI data for January, which recorded a 3.4% year-on-year rise versus 3.3% y/y consensus and above December 2025’s print of 3.3%, is likely to strengthen the hawkish vibes in the RBA. The latest 3.4% y/y print in Australia’s core CPI is the highest since September 2024 and continued to stay “stubbornly” above RBA’s inflation target band of 2-3%. Short-term interest rate futures in Australia have started to price in a further rate hike by the RBA in May to increase the cash rate to 4.1%. Monthly implied future policy interest rate curves spread suggest a hawkish RBA Fig. 1: AU/US monthly implied future policy interest rate curves spread as of February 25, 2026 (Source: MacroMicro) In addition, the spread between the monthly implied future policy interest rate curves for Australia and the US (derived from short-term interest rate futures) has risen steadily and shifted upwards (see Fig. 1). The spread for May 2026 is now at 0.52%, a widening of 29 bps from 0.23% recorded three months ago. The current upward trajectory of Australia’s short-term interest rate premium over the United States’ short-term interest rates is likely to support a further strengthening of the Australian dollar against the greenback, which has a year-to-date positive return of 5.8% as of February 25, 2026 at the time of writing, the best-performing major currency against the US dollar. Let us now focus on the short-term (1-3 days) technical trend and key levels to watch on the AUD/USD. AUD/USD – Minor bullish basing has formed after a retest on the 20-day MA Fi...
Chinese Defense Labs Exploit Nearly $1 Billion In US Research Funds, Report Says Authored by Dorothy Li via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Nearly $1 billion in U.S. federal research funds have been funneled into projects involving the Chinese regime’s defense laboratories that pose “critical risks” to America’s national security , according to a new study. Chinese missile launchers are seen duri...
Chinese Defense Labs Exploit Nearly $1 Billion In US Research Funds, Report Says Authored by Dorothy Li via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Nearly $1 billion in U.S. federal research funds have been funneled into projects involving the Chinese regime’s defense laboratories that pose “critical risks” to America’s national security , according to a new study. Chinese missile launchers are seen during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2025. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images Nearly $1 billion in U.S. federal research funds have been funneled into projects involving the Chinese regime’s defense laboratories that pose “critical risks” to America’s national security, according to a new study. The report , released by the Center for Research Security and Integrity (CRSI) on Feb. 19, identifies nearly 1,800 research papers published between January 2019 and July 2025 that involve U.S. collaborations with Chinese defense laboratories. About one-third of the articles specifically credited U.S. federal funding for the research. The topics of these projects ranged from directed energy systems and energetic materials to radar and sensing, artificial intelligence, flexible electronics, and high-performance computational physics. “These are critical technology fields that can fundamentally change future military and warfighting capabilities, yet PRC defense laboratories are directly benefiting from this research ,” analysts wrote in the report, using the acronym of the Chinese communist regime’s official name, the People’s Republic of China. The report estimates the total value of these research projects at approximately $943.5 million, noting that the figure could be much higher due to ambiguities in certain research grants and facility contracts. Jeffrey Stoff, founder of the Virginia-based nonprofit CRSI and co-author of the report, said the U.S. government and academia “lack the will, resources, or pri...
Jean-Luc Ichard Bill Gates apologized to staff of the Gates Foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, admitting he made mistakes that had cast a cloud over the philanthropic group while insisting he didn’t participate in Epstein’s crimes, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a town hall on Tuesday, the Microsoft ( MSFT ) co-founder acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Ep...
Jean-Luc Ichard Bill Gates apologized to staff of the Gates Foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, admitting he made mistakes that had cast a cloud over the philanthropic group while insisting he didn’t participate in Epstein’s crimes, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a town hall on Tuesday, the Microsoft ( MSFT ) co-founder acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered, but that they didn’t involve Epstein’s victims. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said, according to a recording reviewed by WSJ. According to the Journal report, Gates told staff that it was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender. "I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made," he said, according to the newspaper. More on Microsoft Microsoft's Impossible Situation Microsoft Is In A Bear Market, Which Is Creating A Major Opportunity Microsoft: Why I Set A $370 Buy Order Microsoft weighs in on OpenAI, Anthropic, and AI spending during BNP sit-down OpenAI's updated capex plans prove positive for Microsoft, Oracle: BNP Paribas
Jean-Luc Ichard Bill Gates apologized to staff of the Gates Foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, admitting he made mistakes that had cast a cloud over the philanthropic group while insisting he didn’t participate in Epstein’s crimes, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a town hall on Tuesday, the Microsoft ( MSFT ) co-founder acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Ep...
Jean-Luc Ichard Bill Gates apologized to staff of the Gates Foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, admitting he made mistakes that had cast a cloud over the philanthropic group while insisting he didn’t participate in Epstein’s crimes, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a town hall on Tuesday, the Microsoft ( MSFT ) co-founder acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered, but that they didn’t involve Epstein’s victims. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said, according to a recording reviewed by WSJ. According to the Journal report, Gates told staff that it was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender. "I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made," he said, according to the newspaper. More on Microsoft Microsoft's Impossible Situation Microsoft Is In A Bear Market, Which Is Creating A Major Opportunity Microsoft: Why I Set A $370 Buy Order Microsoft weighs in on OpenAI, Anthropic, and AI spending during BNP sit-down OpenAI's updated capex plans prove positive for Microsoft, Oracle: BNP Paribas
Chinese polysilicon giant Tongwei Co. plans to buy a smaller domestic rival, as the industry bids to shrink chronic oversupply of the solar-panel material. Tongwei said it intends to use cash and shares to acquire privately held Qinghai Lihao Qingneng Co. , according to an exchange filing on Tuesday that didn’t disclose the size of the transaction. The buyer’s shares have now been suspended for up...
Chinese polysilicon giant Tongwei Co. plans to buy a smaller domestic rival, as the industry bids to shrink chronic oversupply of the solar-panel material. Tongwei said it intends to use cash and shares to acquire privately held Qinghai Lihao Qingneng Co. , according to an exchange filing on Tuesday that didn’t disclose the size of the transaction. The buyer’s shares have now been suspended for up to 10 days. The proposed purchase is the latest step toward rationalizing an industry in the throes of a prolonged downturn. Most polysilicon producers are deeply in the red after an investment binge created far too much capacity relative to demand. Tongwei said in January its net loss in 2025 is likely to worsen to between 9 billion and 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), from just over 7 billion yuan a year earlier. At the same time, the acquisition of Lihao could feed concerns that consolidation threatens to build a monopoly in the sector, an outcome that regulators have warned against . Leading producers have responded to the slump by forming a joint venture to buy up smaller rivals. With over 30%, Tongwei is the biggest stakeholder in a takeover vehicle — Beijing Guanghe Qiancheng Technology Co. — that controls around three-quarters of China’s solar-grade polysilicon capacity. Lihao is a smaller partner in the venture with about 5%. Well over half of China’s current polysilicon capacity needs to be shuttered to rebalance supply and demand, according to BloombergNEF. “At least 65% of the capacity to be closed will be from the stakeholders of Guanghe Qiancheng, rather than through buyouts of other firms,” BNEF analysts including Yali Jiang said in a note. On the Wire China’s data for the Spring Festival holiday period offered a glimmer of hope for an economy weighed down by sluggish consumption, said Bloomberg Economics. Fortescue Ltd.’s profit jumped on record shipments and higher iron ore prices from its Australian operations, shaking off concerns about demand from China....
The average one-year price target for ERAMET (ENXTPA:ERA) has been revised to €55.28 / share. This is a decrease of 10.12% from the prior estimate of €61.51 dated February 1, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts. The latest
The average one-year price target for ERAMET (ENXTPA:ERA) has been revised to €55.28 / share. This is a decrease of 10.12% from the prior estimate of €61.51 dated February 1, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts. The latest
The average one-year price target for OceanaGold (TSX:OGC) has been revised to $60.50 / share. This is an increase of 21.40% from the prior estimate of $49.84 dated February 1, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts. The late
The average one-year price target for OceanaGold (TSX:OGC) has been revised to $60.50 / share. This is an increase of 21.40% from the prior estimate of $49.84 dated February 1, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts. The late
In this article HSBA-GB Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A view of the logo of HSBC bank on a wall outside a branch in Mexico City, Mexico, on June 14, 2024. Henry Romero | Reuters Europe's largest lender HSBC on Wednesday reported annual pre-tax profit of $29.91 billion, beating the estimates on the back of a strong performance in its wealth division and Hong Kong businesses. While...
In this article HSBA-GB Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A view of the logo of HSBC bank on a wall outside a branch in Mexico City, Mexico, on June 14, 2024. Henry Romero | Reuters Europe's largest lender HSBC on Wednesday reported annual pre-tax profit of $29.91 billion, beating the estimates on the back of a strong performance in its wealth division and Hong Kong businesses. While annual profit declines 7.4%, HSBC's revenue gained 4%, year on year. Here are HSBC's full-year results compared with the consensus estimates compiled by the bank. Pre-tax profit: $29.91 billion vs. $28.86 billion Revenue: $68.27 billion vs. $67.36 billion The results come close on the heels of HSBC completing the privatization of Hang Seng Bank on Jan. 26, with the latter's shares subsequently delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HSBC said last year that the deal would be add to its earnings and was a better use of capital than buybacks. "We do anticipate revenue and cost synergies between the two brands, but we expect that to come through gradually in the medium term," Morningstar's equity analyst Kathy Chan said. The take private offer was "an exciting opportunity to grow both Hang Seng and HSBC," HSBC Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said last October , adding that the bank would preserve Hang Seng's brand while investing to strengthen its capabilities. At the start of the month, Bloomberg reported that HSBC was set to award minimal or no bonuses to some bankers as it moves toward a tougher, more performance-driven compensation model similar to that of its Wall Street peers. The bank intends to use the upcoming bonus round to push out underperformers in areas such as investment banking and wealth management, potentially including managing directors, the report said, citing according to people familiar with the matter. While HSBC has not confirmed any final decisions regarding plans to cull underperformers, Morningstar's Chan said she would not be surprised ...
Daniel Hanscom/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Winning The Popularity Contests The stock of Herbalife ( HLF ), which is in the business of offering science-based health and wellness products through an MLM [multi-level marketing] direct selling structure (across 90 global markets), finally appears to have gotten its juices flowing. This is the third time I am reviewing HLF, and quite unlike the ...
Daniel Hanscom/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Winning The Popularity Contests The stock of Herbalife ( HLF ), which is in the business of offering science-based health and wellness products through an MLM [multi-level marketing] direct selling structure (across 90 global markets), finally appears to have gotten its juices flowing. This is the third time I am reviewing HLF, and quite unlike the previous two instances , when its performance was rather muted, the stock now is very much something of a market darling. To elaborate, over the past year, HLF has generated astronomical returns of around 138%, which is 6.5x greater than its peers from the Russell 2000, and 12.5x more than other consumer staple stocks! YCharts In addition to that, those who attach credence to Seeking Alpha's proprietary quant rating system, will be enthused to note that HLF is now the number 1 ranked stock from the Personal Care Product universe (of which there are 31 different alternatives) with a strong buy rating of 4.98, which it has received for the first time since November 2024! Seeking Alpha Nonetheless, since it's been over 9 months since I last reviewed HLF, and the company also announced its Q4 results on the 18th of February (which was instrumental in expanding the stock's market-cap by a fourth in less than a week), I thought it would be a fitting time to assess some of the important themes of this story once again. What To Make of the Recent Earnings and Outlook? To better understand HLF's post-earnings euphoria (a gap up, followed by a surge of 18% on the day after earnings), it's first important to highlight how well the company fared relative to expectations. For starters, there was the cadence of the revenue beat, which was 3% higher than what the street was budgeting for, making it the strongest beat in 11 quarters. Crucially, also consider that in 5 out of the last 7 quarters, HLF had missed topline estimates, so expectations, one could argue, were hardly sky-high headin...