The spike in oil prices has reverberated across the economy as all parties pass costs down to consumers. To that end, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced a fuel surcharge on many of its deliveries. Admittedly, that type of charge is not unique to Amazon. Nonetheless, such a price increase can lead to lower sales, which could filter down to Amazon's top and bottom lines. Knowing that, should Amazon inv...
The spike in oil prices has reverberated across the economy as all parties pass costs down to consumers. To that end, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced a fuel surcharge on many of its deliveries. Admittedly, that type of charge is not unique to Amazon. Nonetheless, such a price increase can lead to lower sales, which could filter down to Amazon's top and bottom lines. Knowing that, should Amazon investors worry or stick to their investment theses? Image source: The Motley Fool. Continue reading
Electric utilities used to be known as "widows and orphans" stocks because they were considered safe and paid large dividends. Today, however, they are increasingly looking like growth stocks due to the world's push toward electrification. While the utility sector will likely never rival the growth of the technology sector, utilities aren't the boring stocks of old, either. Here's why Vanguard Uti...
Electric utilities used to be known as "widows and orphans" stocks because they were considered safe and paid large dividends. Today, however, they are increasingly looking like growth stocks due to the world's push toward electrification. While the utility sector will likely never rival the growth of the technology sector, utilities aren't the boring stocks of old, either. Here's why Vanguard Utilities ETF (NYSEMKT: VPU) could provide you with shockingly attractive returns. Regulated utilities are granted monopolies in the regions they serve. In exchange, they have to submit to material government oversight of the rates they charge and the capital investments they make. Essentially, regulators try to strike a balance between reliability, cost, and investor returns. Traditionally, that has meant slow, steady growth for utilities. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez is still unavailable for the upcoming home match against Manchester City despite a recent apology, head coach Liam Rosenior says.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez is still unavailable for the upcoming home match against Manchester City despite a recent apology, head coach Liam Rosenior says.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif speaks during the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 26, 2025 in New York City. Taylor Hill | Getty Images Delegates from the U.S. and Iran are set to enter talks in Pakistan on Saturday, as major disagreements threaten to undermine the fragile two-week ceasefire. Already, Tehran has accused Israel ...
Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif speaks during the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 26, 2025 in New York City. Taylor Hill | Getty Images Delegates from the U.S. and Iran are set to enter talks in Pakistan on Saturday, as major disagreements threaten to undermine the fragile two-week ceasefire. Already, Tehran has accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire and put negotiations at risk, as the IDF continues to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing over 300 people there on Wednesday. Though Lebanon was mentioned in the original ceasefire framework drafted by Pakistan, the U.S. and Israel maintain it was not included in the deal. This key difference of opinion threatens to torpedo negotiations. Peace in Lebanon is not clearly included in the U.S. 15-point plan, but it is explicitly referenced in Iran's 10-point plan. But Lebanon is not the only sticking point between the two sides. Differences also remain in who will control the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the future of Iran's nuclear enrichment capabilities. War in Lebanon continues Announcing the ceasefire on Wednesday, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on X that fighting would pause across the region – including Lebanon. Israel was quick to challenge his assertion, insisting that the reprieve would not include its northern neighbor, proceeding to carry out its heaviest bombardment of the country in decades on Wednesday. Iran responded by warning against further attacks, writing on X that its allies form an 'inseparable' part of the ceasefire, and that violations carry 'explicit costs and STRONG' responses. "The Israeli government is not keen to see any rapprochement between the United States and Iran, and the war in Lebanon is one of the main cards that Netanyahu has in destabilizing any peace efforts," Maziyar Ghiabi, director of Persian studies at the University of Exeter, told CNBC's Squawk Box Europe on Friday. In an a...
Summer flights and holidays may also be at risk, says the Airports Council International European airports have said jet fuel shortages could hit the summer holiday season, if oil supplies do not start to flow through the strait of Hormuz within the next three weeks. Airports Council International (ACI) Europe wrote to Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the EU transport commissioner, saying the bloc is three...
Summer flights and holidays may also be at risk, says the Airports Council International European airports have said jet fuel shortages could hit the summer holiday season, if oil supplies do not start to flow through the strait of Hormuz within the next three weeks. Airports Council International (ACI) Europe wrote to Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the EU transport commissioner, saying the bloc is three weeks away from shortages. Continue reading...
UMich Sentiment Crashes To Lowest On Record As War Sparks Inflation Panic Among Democrats While the March UMich sentiment survey was completed before and after the start of the Iran War (with only modest impacts on sentiment and inflation expectations), today's preliminary April data survey period was all in the war with expectations for a notable drop in sentiment and sizable jump in inflation ex...
UMich Sentiment Crashes To Lowest On Record As War Sparks Inflation Panic Among Democrats While the March UMich sentiment survey was completed before and after the start of the Iran War (with only modest impacts on sentiment and inflation expectations), today's preliminary April data survey period was all in the war with expectations for a notable drop in sentiment and sizable jump in inflation expectations. It turns out the expectations were right in direction but underestimated the scale as headline sentiment plunged from 53.3 to 47.6 (far worse than the 51.5 exp) with Current Conditions (50.1 vs 53.4 exp vs 55.8 prior) and Expectations (46.1 vs 50.2 exp vs 51.7 prior)... Source: Bloomberg That is a record low for the headline sentiment and Current Conditions and lowest print for Expectations since 1980 . Demographic groups across age, income, and political party all posted setbacks in sentiment, as did every component of the index, reflecting the widespread nature of this month’s fall. One-year expected business conditions plunged about 20% and is now 6% below last April. Assessments of personal finances declined about 11%, with consumers expressing a substantial increase in concerns over high prices and weaker asset values. Year-ahead inflation expectations surged from 3.8% in March to 4.8% this month, the largest one-month increase since April 2025, but longer-term expectations rose only modestly... Of course, it's Democrats that are 'panicans' once again at inflation (Dems +4.8%, Reps +1.0%)... One thing of note in that chart - how is the overall inflation expectation screaming higher (to equal Democrats' view) with the actual breakdown by political cohort showing no huge rise? Finally, on the potential bright side, UMich Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu notes that " 98% of interviews were completed prior to the April 7th announcement of a temporary cease-fire. Economic expectations will likely improve after consumers gain confidence that the supply di...
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) today is up +0.07%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI ) (DIA ) is down -0.41%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) is up +0.37%. June E-mini S&P futures (ESM26 ) are up +0.08%, and June E-mini Nasdaq futures...
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) today is up +0.07%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI ) (DIA ) is down -0.41%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) is up +0.37%. June E-mini S&P futures (ESM26 ) are up +0.08%, and June E-mini Nasdaq futures...
Clarence Curtis Jordan was convicted in 1978 but hadn’t had a lawyer for over 30 years The Texas court of criminal appeals has overturned the death sentence of Clarence Curtis Jordan, a 70-year-old man with intellectual disabilities, who spent nearly 50 years on death row – much of that time without a lawyer. Jordan was convicted in 1978 for the murder of Joe L Williams, a 40-year-old grocer in Ho...
Clarence Curtis Jordan was convicted in 1978 but hadn’t had a lawyer for over 30 years The Texas court of criminal appeals has overturned the death sentence of Clarence Curtis Jordan, a 70-year-old man with intellectual disabilities, who spent nearly 50 years on death row – much of that time without a lawyer. Jordan was convicted in 1978 for the murder of Joe L Williams, a 40-year-old grocer in Houston, and was sentenced to death. In the years that followed, courts determined that Jordan, who has intellectual disabilities, was “incompetent”, making him ineligible for execution under constitutional standards. Continue reading...
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has a pretty interesting strategy for investors who aren’t yet comfortable braving the dip in some of the hardest-hit stocks, specifically in tech. Undoubtedly, Anthropic applied pressure once again to the software stocks, going to show that the SaaS-pocalypse is still on despite the relief gains that have now been given back ... Goldman’s HALO Trade Could Be the 2026 Edge ...
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has a pretty interesting strategy for investors who aren’t yet comfortable braving the dip in some of the hardest-hit stocks, specifically in tech. Undoubtedly, Anthropic applied pressure once again to the software stocks, going to show that the SaaS-pocalypse is still on despite the relief gains that have now been given back ... Goldman’s HALO Trade Could Be the 2026 Edge Investors Are Missing
Nuria Gonzalez Sanchez/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Citi began coverage of IBM ( IBM ) with a Buy rating and a $285 price target, citing defensive positioning, AI tailwinds, acquisition synergies, and valuation, among other things. "IBM is defensive in a tape increasingly hostile to enterprise software, where AI-natives’ ambitions of disruption remain relentless. Surviving numerous technology...
Nuria Gonzalez Sanchez/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Citi began coverage of IBM ( IBM ) with a Buy rating and a $285 price target, citing defensive positioning, AI tailwinds, acquisition synergies, and valuation, among other things. "IBM is defensive in a tape increasingly hostile to enterprise software, where AI-natives’ ambitions of disruption remain relentless. Surviving numerous technology cycles, IBM’s deeply-layered hardware/software entrenchment across the most critical points of the world’s largest, most complex IT infrastructures is not only an insulation, but we think offers underappreciated scaffolding to reliably build/scale the next leg of production enterprise AI systems/AI tech stacks," said analysts led by Fatima Boolani. With minimum-capital intensity exposure to multiple AI demand tailwinds, recent HashiCorp and Confluent deals bringing cross-portfolio product/consulting synergy using IBM’s distribution heft, lucrative mainframe cycle/Transaction Processing System, or TPS, follow-through, and long-game quantum commercialization potential, the analysts like the prospects of steady total revenue acceleration to high single digits. "Concurrent with healthy positive EPS/FCF revisions scope (recent M&A/total IBM poised for better expense efficiency) and valuation at stark discount to large/megacap peers (also to market), the NTM [next 12 months] risk/reward is compelling, prompting us to launch with a Buy rating," said Boolani and her team. Shares of IBM dipped about 1% on Friday. More on IBM IBM: AI Sting IBM: Strong Execution, But Questions Around AI Value Capture IBM: The Market Is Overreacting And This Retracement Is Creating An Opportunity IBM in spotlight as Needham cuts price target ahead of Q1 results IBM, Arm partner on enterprise computing
Lean hog futures saw front month April up 47 cents ahead of next week’s expiration, as other contracts were down 25 to 77 cents. Open interest was down 1,865 contracts. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $89.92 on Thursday afternoon. The CME Lean Hog Index was back up...
Lean hog futures saw front month April up 47 cents ahead of next week’s expiration, as other contracts were down 25 to 77 cents. Open interest was down 1,865 contracts. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $89.92 on Thursday afternoon. The CME Lean Hog Index was back up...