(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks drifted lower Monday morning amid rising tensions in the Middle East amid renewed threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to block the Strait of Hormuz following the collapse of U.S.-Iran peace talks over the weekend.
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks drifted lower Monday morning amid rising tensions in the Middle East amid renewed threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to block the Strait of Hormuz following the collapse of U.S.-Iran peace talks over the weekend.
D. Lentz Prediction market platform Kalshi ( KALSHI ) shattered its record for sports event volume during the 2026 Masters Tournament by reportedly generating more than $545M. Notably, the Masters was the most-bet sporting event in the company’s history. The 2026 Masters, won by Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, eclipsed Kalshi’s previous sporting event benchmarks, including Super Bowl LIX, whic...
D. Lentz Prediction market platform Kalshi ( KALSHI ) shattered its record for sports event volume during the 2026 Masters Tournament by reportedly generating more than $545M. Notably, the Masters was the most-bet sporting event in the company’s history. The 2026 Masters, won by Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, eclipsed Kalshi’s previous sporting event benchmarks, including Super Bowl LIX, which generated between $871M and $1B in early 2026 but was spread across a broader array of prop bets and longer trading windows. March Madness, by comparison, drew roughly $500M combined across men’s and women’s tournaments. The tournament’s headline market, “Masters Champion,” alone accounted for approximately $460M in trades, making it the second most-bet single market in Kalshi's ( KALSHI ) history. Only the “Who will win the Presidential Election?” contract, which drew $535M during the 2024 cycle, has ever surpassed that figure. Industry watchers said the dominance of the outright winner market highlighted golf's unique appeal to prediction market traders, who favor multi-day events with evolving odds and deep liquidity. The surge around the Masters propelled Kalshi ( KALSHI ) to a record-breaking $3.4B of total platform volume for the week. The trading volume on Kalshi ( KALSHI ) may have held back sports betting volume for DraftKings ( DKNG ), FanDuel ( FLUT ), and BetMGM ( MGM ) ( GMVHF ) in some states and also helped to entrench the brand in states such as California and Texas, where sports betting is not legal. More on Kalshi Prediction markets surge, but Wall Street giants remain on sidelines White House warns staff against placing bets on Polymarket, Kalshi Financial information for Kalshi Inc
I'm bullish on Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) and think the company could have a bright future. But I'm also a realist, and I regularly try to assess why I might be wrong about my initial instincts. And when it comes to Rivian's success, I think one of the biggest short-term threats to the company is a prolonged economic slowdown that could trigger multiple catalysts that stunt Rivian's growth. ...
I'm bullish on Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) and think the company could have a bright future. But I'm also a realist, and I regularly try to assess why I might be wrong about my initial instincts. And when it comes to Rivian's success, I think one of the biggest short-term threats to the company is a prolonged economic slowdown that could trigger multiple catalysts that stunt Rivian's growth. Here's what's already worrying me and how it could impact Rivian. Camping out in a Rivian. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
"Muthaf***in’ Robot Dog In The Muthaf***in’ Hood" Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news , Residents in Atlanta are staring down robot dogs patrolling their own apartment parking lots — with live foreign operators apparently calling the shots through the machines. Another viral video posted to X captures the raw street-level reaction as locals confront one of the mechanical units. The operato...
"Muthaf***in’ Robot Dog In The Muthaf***in’ Hood" Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news , Residents in Atlanta are staring down robot dogs patrolling their own apartment parking lots — with live foreign operators apparently calling the shots through the machines. Another viral video posted to X captures the raw street-level reaction as locals confront one of the mechanical units. The operator responds in real time, and the accent leaves little doubt about the location of the person on the other end of the feed. Atlanta residents react to the new robot dogs patrolling their apartment parking lot They speak to the dog and there seems to be a live operator talking back The person speaking very clearly is likely in India based on the accent There are plenty of videos of these dogs… pic.twitter.com/01h9kxwyNj — Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) April 12, 2026 The post continues… “There are plenty of videos of these dogs calling the police on people, so that means someone sitting in India is patrolling our streets and calling the police on Americans. These robotic dogs are equipped with 360° cameras, thermal imaging, headlights, sirens, speakers, and sensors. Despite this they are not fully autonomous, they typically have a live human operator monitoring the feed remotely” @POTUS @VP @SecWar @SECNAV We need to arrest whichever company heads okayed this on American soil. I don’t care that it costs less dollars to have a spy from another country operating some company’s surveillance tech this way. — CYRS (@cyrsbel) April 12, 2026 Who is authorizing foreign operators of robot dogs patrolling American streets? — Coinkong (@coinkong) April 12, 2026 "What y'all got da robot dawgg in hair fo?" — SowellMate (@ThomasSowelBuff) April 12, 2026 Phillipines call center lady has better english than the natives. — Joe Ma (@JoeMa_5) April 12, 2026 Another of these droids was seen recently giving commands to Americans in Atlanta. Even when citizens complied peacefully, the bot issu...
M. Suhail/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment overview I wrote about Shake Shack Inc. ( SHAK ) previously with a hold rating, as I thought it was too early to be bullish given the issues in Northeast markets and pricing pressure. My view has changed. Traffic has now improved for two straight quarters, the quality of comparable sales growth looks better, and store execution is clearly gett...
M. Suhail/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment overview I wrote about Shake Shack Inc. ( SHAK ) previously with a hold rating, as I thought it was too early to be bullish given the issues in Northeast markets and pricing pressure. My view has changed. Traffic has now improved for two straight quarters, the quality of comparable sales growth looks better, and store execution is clearly getting stronger. With build costs coming down and SHAK adding more tools to drive frequency, I now think the bull case is more attractive. The traffic recovery now looks real The weakness in traffic was one of the biggest reasons why I gave a hold rating on SHAK, but this aspect of the story has gotten better. SHAK has managed to print two consecutive quarters of positive traffic growth (the latest, Q4 , saw 50 bps traffic growth), and this matters more than the headline comparable sales growth figure because it implies that SHAK is no longer just relying on price to grow. The trend behind this improvement is also very encouraging, as comparable sales actually improved sequentially each month, and this was despite the last six weeks getting hit by bad weather in the Northeast. Even in January, comparable sales came in at 4.3% despite a ~400 bps weather headwind (this is in line with Bloomberg's alternative tracking data). Bloomberg The recovery trend is also becoming visible across all regions. SHAK delivered positive comparable sales in nearly all regions: the West was strongest at 5%, the South and Midwest were both 2%, and the Northeast was 1%. NYC, including Manhattan, was still negative 2%, but I think the setup has still improved. SHAK is no longer just relying on this important market (within the Northeast region) to grow; other regions are also helping to drive growth in the business. I don't think this traffic recovery and regional performance were due to luck. I believe it was due to SHAK doing a solid job executing better in stores. Recall previously that SHAK showe...
Microsoft has started testing its own virtual mouse cursor inside its Xbox mode for Windows-based handhelds. The new Gamepad Cursor option provides a quick way to turn the left stick of a handheld like the Xbox Ally X into a virtual mouse. While Asus has its own cursor as part of Armory Crate, Microsoft's Gamepad Cursor lives inside its own Xbox mode in Windows 11, and it's easy to activate from t...
Microsoft has started testing its own virtual mouse cursor inside its Xbox mode for Windows-based handhelds. The new Gamepad Cursor option provides a quick way to turn the left stick of a handheld like the Xbox Ally X into a virtual mouse. While Asus has its own cursor as part of Armory Crate, Microsoft's Gamepad Cursor lives inside its own Xbox mode in Windows 11, and it's easy to activate from the Game Bar without having to use Armory Crate. Once activated, the Gamepad Cursor will turn your left stick into a mouse for precise control, or for apps that aren't designed for controllers. The left stick will scroll around a screen like a mous … Read the full story at The Verge.
European Central Bank Governing Council member Boris Vujcic said energy costs remain near the base-case scenario, despite rising since the recent cease-fire. “While prices have increased somewhat since last week for oil and gas, we are still very close to the baseline scenario,” the Croatian official said Monday in Zagreb. The remarks appear somewhat out of line with other policymakers, who’ve sai...
European Central Bank Governing Council member Boris Vujcic said energy costs remain near the base-case scenario, despite rising since the recent cease-fire. “While prices have increased somewhat since last week for oil and gas, we are still very close to the baseline scenario,” the Croatian official said Monday in Zagreb. The remarks appear somewhat out of line with other policymakers, who’ve said lately that the situation in the Middle East is veering toward the ECB’s adverse scenario . Officials in Frankfurt are still determining their response to the jump in energy costs, with markets pricing a 50-50 chance of an interest-rate hike this month. Read More: Sleijpen Says ECB Will Act If Needed to Keep Inflation at Target
Khanchit Khirisutchalual/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis Fidelity MSCI Communications Services Index ETF (NYSEARCA: FCOM ) deserves a buy rating due to the fund’s hybrid growth and income opportunities that are not yet fully appreciated by the market. While many of FCOM’s top holdings are tech companies that have generated significant capital appreciation, another overlooked quality is i...
Khanchit Khirisutchalual/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis Fidelity MSCI Communications Services Index ETF (NYSEARCA: FCOM ) deserves a buy rating due to the fund’s hybrid growth and income opportunities that are not yet fully appreciated by the market. While many of FCOM’s top holdings are tech companies that have generated significant capital appreciation, another overlooked quality is its dividend growth potential. History has shown that top dividend growers have delivered strong risk-adjusted returns particularly compared to companies that offer no dividends, making FCOM relatively undervalued. Fidelity MSCI Communications Services Index ETF – Overview and Compared ETFs FCOM is a passive ETF that tracks an index consisting of U.S. communications companies including media, interactive gaming, and advertising. With its inception in 2013, the fund has 92 holdings and $1.69B in AUM. The fund is cap-weighted and uses a representative sampling strategy. I wrote previously on the fund last year and still rate the ETF a buy for the reasons discussed in this article. For comparison purposes, other funds examined are State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLC ), Vanguard Communication Services ETF ( VOX ), and iShares Global Comm Services ETF ( IXP ). XLC aims to capture comm sector holdings within the S&P 500 Index. VOX is a passive fund that also captures the comm sector and is the heaviest on interactive media, entertainment, and integrated telecommunications. IXP is included for comparison because it captures a global view of communication services and captures large, mid, and small cap companies. FCOM: Performance, Expense Ratio, and Dividend Yield FCOM has seen a 10-year average annual return of 10.64%. The Fidelity fund has outperformed both VOX and IXP, which had 10-year average returns of 8.54% and 8.82%, respectively. XLC has seen an average annual return of 11.84% since its 2018 inception. All funds underperformed the S&P 500 Index...