Tesla dealership with cars in lot by Jetcityimage via iStock Tesla Inc. (TSLA) Q4 earnings, released on Jan. 28, were strong, but its near-term put options still have high yields. An investor who sells short 1-month puts at $400.00 and $395.00 can make an immediate 2.50% average investment yield. That's attractive to value investors. TSLA is at $419.213 in midday trading on Feb. 3, down over 13% f...
Tesla dealership with cars in lot by Jetcityimage via iStock Tesla Inc. (TSLA) Q4 earnings, released on Jan. 28, were strong, but its near-term put options still have high yields. An investor who sells short 1-month puts at $400.00 and $395.00 can make an immediate 2.50% average investment yield. That's attractive to value investors. TSLA is at $419.213 in midday trading on Feb. 3, down over 13% from its peak of $489.88 on Dec. 16, 2025. But that's up from a recent dip of $416.26 on Jan. 29, right after its shareholder deck release the night before. TSLA hit a three-month low of $391.09 on Nov. 21, 2025. This provides a good income opportunity for investors who sell short one-month put options. I discussed this in several recent Barchart articles, including on Jan. 23 ("Tesla Inc Put Options Still Look Attractive to Short-Sellers Before Earnings Next Week") and Jan. 4 ("Tesla Stock Has Been Flat For 2 Months - How to Make a 3.2% Yield in One-Month Puts.") In both of these articles, I suggested selling short the $410.00 put option contract expiring this Friday, Feb. 6. So far, that has worked out, as the put option price has fallen. It makes sense now to consider rolling this contract over to a lower out-of-the-money (OTM) strike price. Before describing this, let's review the Tesla results. Strong Results, Including FCF Margins Tesla reported slightly lower revenue in Q4 (-3.13%), and on a full-year basis, it was down 2.93%. However, it fell by less than 1% (-0.84%) compared to Q3 revenue on a trailing 12-month basis (TTM), according to Stock Analysis. Free cash flow (FCF) fell 30% to $1.42 billion, and its FCF margins were lower in Q4, but still stayed relatively strong on a long-term basis. For example, FCF represented 5.75% of Q4 revenue, vs. just 7.91% last year, according to Stock Analysis. However, on a full-year basis, its $6.22 billion in 2025 FCF represented 6.56% of its $94.827 billion in 2025 revenue, vs. 3.67% in 2024. In addition, this was down slightly...
Volatility in the gold and silver markets will remain elevated after the precious metals crashed from all-time highs, according to Bank of America Corp. By one measure of volatility, gold prices are more unstable than at any time since the height of the 2008 financial crisis. Silver, meanwhile, hasn’t experienced this much market turmoil since 1980. The metals soared last month, extending a bliste...
Volatility in the gold and silver markets will remain elevated after the precious metals crashed from all-time highs, according to Bank of America Corp. By one measure of volatility, gold prices are more unstable than at any time since the height of the 2008 financial crisis. Silver, meanwhile, hasn’t experienced this much market turmoil since 1980. The metals soared last month, extending a blistering rally underpinned by speculators, geopolitical fears and angst over the Federal Reserve’s independence. That all came to an abrupt halt late last week, with gold suffering its biggest drop in more than a decade and silver clocking its worst day on record. “We will maintain higher volatility environments than we had historically, but not what we’ve had over the last few days unless we run up another spec bubble,” said Niklas Westermark , head of EMEA commodities trading at BofA. “We’ve had a washout now over the last two sessions that I think has cleaned up the market to a good extent.” Bullion and its cheaper sibling rebounded Tuesday as dip-buyers rushed in . Gold has a stronger, longer-term investment thesis, Westermark said. Inflated prices and turmoil may affect position sizing but not overall investor interest, he noted.
A ruling by an education watchdog that led to the University of Sussex being hit with a record £585,000 fine should be quashed as “unlawful”, “unreasonable” and “procedurally unfair”, a court has heard. In a judicial review hearing before the high court in London on Tuesday, the university claimed it had suffered “severe” consequences as a result of the landmark decision last March by England’s hi...
A ruling by an education watchdog that led to the University of Sussex being hit with a record £585,000 fine should be quashed as “unlawful”, “unreasonable” and “procedurally unfair”, a court has heard. In a judicial review hearing before the high court in London on Tuesday, the university claimed it had suffered “severe” consequences as a result of the landmark decision last March by England’s higher education regulator, the Office for Students (OfS). “The fine and the impact of the OfS’s conclusions on the university’s reputation threaten to have a significant financial impact on the university,” said Chris Buttler KC, for the university, in written submissions for the hearing. “This case is of public importance,” he said. “It concerns the scope of the OfS’s powers, the institutional autonomy of universities to foster civility and tolerance on campus, and the reputation of one of this country’s leading universities.” The OfS ruling against Sussex followed a three-and-a-half year investigation, triggered by concerns about student protests targeting Kathleen Stock, a philosophy professor at the university, over her views on gender identification and transgender rights. The court was told the OfS did not have jurisdiction to investigate the treatment of Stock, who resigned from Sussex in 2021 over what she called a “medieval experience” of campus ostracism and protests. The regulator focused instead on the wording of a two-page document called the trans and non-binary equality policy statement, which Sussex argued was based on a template adopted by a number of universities, and was updated on a number of occasions. “It [the policy statement] sought to promote the fair treatment on campus of trans and non-binary members of staff and students,” according to written submissions to the court on behalf of the university. Stock, however, raised a grievance about the 2018 policy, the court was told in written submissions, complaining that it created a “chilling effect” and ...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Thesis In October I wrote an article about PepsiCo ( PEP ), and my recommendation was "sell." At that time it appeared that I was somewhat of a lone wolf, but I based my thesis on the company's weakened "pricing power." My thesis has been proven exactly as I stated it would. In North America, volumes have continued to decline, which confirms the price cu...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Thesis In October I wrote an article about PepsiCo ( PEP ), and my recommendation was "sell." At that time it appeared that I was somewhat of a lone wolf, but I based my thesis on the company's weakened "pricing power." My thesis has been proven exactly as I stated it would. In North America, volumes have continued to decline, which confirms the price cuts of up to 15% for untouchable brands such as Doritos and Lay's. Why have I changed my rating of PepsiCo from "Sell" to "Neutral?" As a result of PepsiCo's huge announced $10 billion stock buyback program , its 4% dividend increase, and the company's direct acknowledgement that it will lower its pricing. This puts a steel floor under the stock, in my view. Additionally, as a result of Elliott's involvement in the company, we may see a clearer path. I am not buying the stock at present; I need to see real increases in volume, not just changes or financial engineering, but the risk-return profile of the stock has changed dramatically. I believe we have entered the "show me" phase. The Good: A Reality Check (and 10 Billion Reasons to Wait) While we can focus on the " earnings beat " ($2.26 vs. the analyst estimate of $2.23), I think the perspective of the analysts who look at the numbers and consider what's really going on is far more important than a single number in specific times or historic times such as today when every public company is being scrutinized to the extreme. So the good news of the quarter is clearly in the changing of attitudes: humility . Bloomberg For too long now, we have been hearing the same excuses over and over again: weather, temporary problems, and logistical bottlenecks. And so today, with the price cuts of up to 15 percent on icons such as Doritos and Lay's, for me, PepsiCo has admitted to facing reality in my view. That was the first real step in "fixing" (if you'll pardon the analogy) the problem. It is unpleasant to admit to a flawed pricing s...
Nato said on Tuesday that military planning has started for a new mission to bolster security in the Arctic, after US President Donald Trump made protecting the region central to his demands for Greenland. “Planning is under way for a Nato enhanced vigilance activity, named Arctic Sentry,” said Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for Nato’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. “The activity will e...
Nato said on Tuesday that military planning has started for a new mission to bolster security in the Arctic, after US President Donald Trump made protecting the region central to his demands for Greenland. “Planning is under way for a Nato enhanced vigilance activity, named Arctic Sentry,” said Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for Nato’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. “The activity will even further strengthen Nato’s posture in the Arctic and High North,” he added, without providing further details. Advertisement Trump’s threats against Greenland last month plunged the transatlantic alliance into its deepest crisis in years. The unpredictable US leader backed off his desire to take control of Denmark’s autonomous Arctic territory after saying he had struck a “framework” deal with Nato chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater American influence. 04:56 What are Trump’s motivations for wanting the US to take over Greenland? What are Trump’s motivations for wanting the US to take over Greenland? Nato said it would take steps to boost its presence in the Arctic after Trump used the alleged threat of Russia and China to justify his designs on Greenland.
Hello and welcome to the newsletter, a grab bag of daily content from the Odd Lots universe. Sometimes it's us, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, bringing you our thoughts on the most recent developments in markets, finance and the economy. And sometimes it's contributions from our network of expert guests and sources. Whatever it is, we promise it will always be interesting. If you like chatting ...
Hello and welcome to the newsletter, a grab bag of daily content from the Odd Lots universe. Sometimes it's us, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, bringing you our thoughts on the most recent developments in markets, finance and the economy. And sometimes it's contributions from our network of expert guests and sources. Whatever it is, we promise it will always be interesting. If you like chatting with us, check out the Odd Lots Discord , where you can hang out and talk with us and with other listeners 24/7. Here’s what Tracy’s thinking about The crunch you hear is the sound of potato chip prices getting slashed. As part of its fourth-quarter earnings out today, PepsiCo announced that it’s lowering prices by as much as 15% for brands like Lay’s and Doritos. This is a huge turnaround for Pepsi, which spent most of the post-pandemic years raising prices to offset weak sales volume. In fact, Pepsi was basically the poster child for the strategy, which was dubbed “ price over volume ” by WisdomTree analyst (and Odd Lots guest) Samuel Rines to describe how consumer goods companies managed to post strong profits even as unit sales fell. Fast forward to today and Sam says price over volume is over: “It is now a volume driven world and Pepsi is — yet again — a first mover. And that has its advantages. Pepsi is setting the tone for being ‘affordable’ (even though that is a highly relative term). But doing so in a way where their guidance is still calling for better profit in 2026.” The important thing about today’s news is the market’s reaction to it. PepsiCo surged more than 5% this morning. After years of rewarding companies that raised their prices , investors are now cheering at least one of them for doing the exact opposite. You can bet that a few PepsiCo peers will be watching today’s stock action with great interest. And Pepsi’s move could have broader macro implications — if companies start competing on price, it could put downwards pressure on inflation (although we ...
Apple has announced a new version of Xcode, the latest version of its integrated development environment (IDE) for building software for its own platforms, like the iPhone and Mac. The key feature of 26.3 is support for full-fledged agentic coding tools, like OpenAI's Codex or Claude Agent, with a side panel interface for assigning tasks to agents with prompts and tracking their progress and chang...
Apple has announced a new version of Xcode, the latest version of its integrated development environment (IDE) for building software for its own platforms, like the iPhone and Mac. The key feature of 26.3 is support for full-fledged agentic coding tools, like OpenAI's Codex or Claude Agent, with a side panel interface for assigning tasks to agents with prompts and tracking their progress and changes. This is achieved via Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open protocol that lets AI agents work with external tools and structured resources. Xcode acts as an MCP endpoint that exposes a bunch of machine-invocable interfaces and gives AI tools like Codex or Claude Agent access to a wide range of IDE primitives like file graph, docs search, project settings, and so on. While AI chat and workflows were supported in Xcode before, this release gives them much deeper access to the features and capabilities of Xcode. This approach is notable because it means that even though OpenAI and Anthropic's model integrations are privileged with a dedicated spot in Xcode's settings, it's possible to connect other tooling that supports MCP, which also allows doing some of this with models running locally. Read full article Comments
The International Olympic Committee president, Kirsty Coventry, has given her clearest signal yet that Russia could be back for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. A day after the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, said he wanted Russia reinstated to international football, Coventry used her opening address to the 145th IOC congress in Milan to argue that all athletes should be allowed to compete in sport ...
The International Olympic Committee president, Kirsty Coventry, has given her clearest signal yet that Russia could be back for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. A day after the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, said he wanted Russia reinstated to international football, Coventry used her opening address to the 145th IOC congress in Milan to argue that all athletes should be allowed to compete in sport – regardless of their government’s behaviour. Her comments are likely to cause tension with Ukraine after the sports minister, Matvii Bidnyi, branded Infantino as “irresponsible” and “infantile” for attempting to draw a line between sport and politics before the IOC president ventured into the same territory. While not referencing Russia directly, Coventry said: “Throughout the campaign and in many of our conversations since, I have heard the same message from many of you. Focus on our core. We are a sports organisation. We understand politics and we know we don’t operate in a vacuum. But our game is sport. That means keeping sport a neutral ground. A place where every athlete can compete freely, without being held back by the politics or divisions of their governments. “In a world that is increasingly divided, this principle matters more than ever. It is what allows the Olympic Games to remain a place of inspiration where the athletes of the world can come together and showcase the best of our humanity.” The general understanding in Milan was that Coventry was referring to Russia’s exclusion since it launched its war on Ukraine in 2022. Her comments were also quickly welcomed by the Russian IOC member Shamil Tarpischev, who confirmed that relations with the IOC had improved significantly. “It was emphasised in her speech that the political component shouldn’t play a role,” he told German media. “Because sport is inspiration and the future. So far, everything is going smoothly and honourably. But we still have a lot of discussions to make.” Tarpischev also said he welcomed ...
Apple currently sells MacBooks equipped with its own M-series processors in a wide range of sizes and price points, all of which run the company’s newest operating system, macOS 26 . Purchasing a new MacBook can be complicated if you’re trying to figure out what specs you need, but finding a deal on a relatively speedy model is surprisingly easy, especially since Apple increased the starting RAM o...
Apple currently sells MacBooks equipped with its own M-series processors in a wide range of sizes and price points, all of which run the company’s newest operating system, macOS 26 . Purchasing a new MacBook can be complicated if you’re trying to figure out what specs you need, but finding a deal on a relatively speedy model is surprisingly easy, especially since Apple increased the starting RAM on several models in late 2024 and hasn’t stopped. These days, it’s not uncommon to see various MacBooks discounted by up to $800, although the quality of deals fluctuates frequently. Alternatively, purchasing refurbished options directly from Apple is another way to save money without waiting for the changing deal winds to blow your way. It’s also the only option to find certain configurations of older models as Apple continues to move forward with newer releases. Apple’s refurbished store offers a one-year warranty and generally discounts new units by up to 20 percent. But if you want to buy new and you’re looking to save whatever you can, here are the best MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini deals available. The best MacBook Air deals M4 MacBook Air In March 2025, Apple released an updated MacBook Air , which comes in both a 13- and 15-inch configuration with an M4 processor. Interestingly, the latest Air starts at a lower price than the prior model, yet it offers slightly faster performance and twice as much base RAM at 16GB. It can also connect to two external monitors with the lid open, comes in a fresh sky blue color, and features the 12-megapixel Center Stage webcam from the latest MacBook Pro. Needless to say, there’s a lot to like. The 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs have both previously received sizable discounts, though there aren’t any notable deals happening right now. That said, you can pick up the 13-inch base model with a 10-core CPU, an eight-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage on sale at Amazon for $849 ($150 off) if you want the midnight model, or...
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Quick Summary ChatGPT thinks Microsoft stock could trade lower over the next 60 days, projecting an average price around $480 by mid-April. Investors looking to trade the stock can build exposure incrementally using commission-free fractional shares on SoFi, starting with as little as $5, and new u...
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Quick Summary ChatGPT thinks Microsoft stock could trade lower over the next 60 days, projecting an average price around $480 by mid-April. Investors looking to trade the stock can build exposure incrementally using commission-free fractional shares on SoFi, starting with as little as $5, and new users can receive up to $1,000 in free stock . Rather than slowly scaling position size through a retail account, some active traders use prop firms like Apex Trader Funding to access funded futures accounts of up to $300,000 after a single evaluation. Shares of Microsoft traded slightly higher over the past month. The advance underscores investor confidence in steady cloud execution amid broader AI enthusiasm. Against that backdrop, we ran Microsoft through an AI price-prediction agent powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The goal was to see how a data-driven model handicaps the next 60 days for a stock that has become shorthand for the entire AI trade. What the AI model is actually predicting The agent was asked to generate a 60-day outlook for Microsoft, using recent price action and a focused set of technical indicators. At the time of the run, Microsoft traded at $466.87. For the period through April 20, the model’s base-case projection came out to: Average predicted price: $480.32 Implied move: roughly higher over the next 60 days Signal snapshot: MACD and RSI both skewed positive The model is saying that, given current momentum and volatility, the most likely path is a grind higher from current levels. Still, broader AI price prediction says that Microsoft could hit $800 by 2030. If you’re watching that setup and want a straightforward way to trade the stock, SoFi’s own platform lets users start with as little as $5 in fractional shares, and new users can receive up to $1,000 in free stock. Microsoft’s enterprise AI monetization strategy positions it uniquely across productiv...
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Quick Summary ChatGPT thinks Microsoft stock could trade lower over the next 60 days, projecting an average price around $480 by mid-April. Investors looking to trade the stock can build exposure incrementally using commission-free fractional shares on SoFi, starting with as little as $5, and new u...
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Quick Summary ChatGPT thinks Microsoft stock could trade lower over the next 60 days, projecting an average price around $480 by mid-April. Investors looking to trade the stock can build exposure incrementally using commission-free fractional shares on SoFi, starting with as little as $5, and new users can receive up to $1,000 in free stock . Rather than slowly scaling position size through a retail account, some active traders use prop firms like Apex Trader Funding to access funded futures accounts of up to $300,000 after a single evaluation. Shares of Microsoft traded slightly higher over the past month. The advance underscores investor confidence in steady cloud execution amid broader AI enthusiasm. Against that backdrop, we ran Microsoft through an AI price-prediction agent powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The goal was to see how a data-driven model handicaps the next 60 days for a stock that has become shorthand for the entire AI trade. What the AI model is actually predicting The agent was asked to generate a 60-day outlook for Microsoft, using recent price action and a focused set of technical indicators. At the time of the run, Microsoft traded at $466.87. For the period through April 20, the model’s base-case projection came out to: Average predicted price: $480.32 Implied move: roughly higher over the next 60 days Signal snapshot: MACD and RSI both skewed positive The model is saying that, given current momentum and volatility, the most likely path is a grind higher from current levels. Still, broader AI price prediction says that Microsoft could hit $800 by 2030. If you’re watching that setup and want a straightforward way to trade the stock, SoFi’s own platform lets users start with as little as $5 in fractional shares, and new users can receive up to $1,000 in free stock. Microsoft’s enterprise AI monetization strategy positions it uniquely across productiv...
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) today is down -0.35%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI) (DIA) is up +0.13%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) is down -0.94%. March E-mini S&P futures (ESH26) are down -0.38%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQH26) are down -0.95%. Stock indexes are mixed today, with the Dow Jones Industrials posting a new record high and the Nasdaq 100 falling to a 1.5-w...
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) today is down -0.35%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI) (DIA) is up +0.13%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) is down -0.94%. March E-mini S&P futures (ESH26) are down -0.38%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQH26) are down -0.95%. Stock indexes are mixed today, with the Dow Jones Industrials posting a new record high and the Nasdaq 100 falling to a 1.5-week low. Data service and software stocks are retreating today, dragging the broader market lower, following the release of an automation tool for lawyers by artificial-intelligence firm Anthropic. Also, chip makers and AI-infrastructure stocks gave up an early rally and turned lower as investors rotated out of tech stocks into more economically sensitive industries. Join 200K+ Subscribers: Stocks initially moved higher today after robust earnings from Palantir Technologies and Teradyne sparked a rally in technology stocks. Palantir Technologies is up more than +5% after forecasting 2026 revenue that significantly exceeded expectations. Also, Teradyne is up by more than +13% after forecasting Q1 revenue well above consensus. Mining stocks are also climbing today, with the price of gold up more than +6% and silver prices soaring more than +13%. Precious metals are rebounding after the sharp selloff seen over the past two sessions. Higher bond yields today are also undercutting stocks after strong US manufacturing data on Monday, and hawkish Fed comments have curbed expectations for additional rate cuts. The 10-year T-note yield climbed to a 1.5-week high today at 4.30%. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said today that the US economic outlook is improving as uncertainty fades, but risks remain, with hiring concentrated in a few sectors and inflation still running above the Fed's goal. The partial US government shutdown, now in its fourth day on Tuesday, has dampened investor sentiment as markets await the House's approval of a funding deal President Trump worked out with Dem...
Apple is bringing agentic coding to Xcode. On Tuesday, the company announced the release of Xcode 26.3, which will allow developers to use agentic tools, including Anthropic’s Claude Agent and OpenAI’s Codex, directly in Apple’s official app development suite. The Xcode 26.3 Release Candidate is available to all Apple Developers today from the developer website and will hit the App Store a bit lat...
Apple is bringing agentic coding to Xcode. On Tuesday, the company announced the release of Xcode 26.3, which will allow developers to use agentic tools, including Anthropic’s Claude Agent and OpenAI’s Codex, directly in Apple’s official app development suite. The Xcode 26.3 Release Candidate is available to all Apple Developers today from the developer website and will hit the App Store a bit later. This latest update comes on the heels of the Xcode 26 release last year, which first introduced support for ChatGPT and Claude within Apple’s integrated development environment (IDE) used by those building apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple’s other hardware platforms. The integration of agentic coding tools allows AI models to tap into more of Xcode’s features to perform their tasks and perform more complex automation. The models will also have access to Apple’s current developer documentation to ensure they use the latest APIs and follow the best practices as they build. At launch, the agents can help developers explore their project, understand its structure and metadata, then build the project and run tests to see if there are any errors and fix them, if so. To prepare for this launch, Apple said it worked closely with both Anthropic and OpenAI to design the new experience. Specifically, the company said it did a lot of work to optimize token usage and tool calling, so the agents would run efficiently in Xcode. Xcode leverages MCP (Model Context Protocol) to expose its capabilities to the agents and connect them with its tools. That means that Xcode can now work with any outside MCP-compatible agent for things like project discovery, changes, file management, previews and snippets, and accessing the latest documentation. Developers who want to try the agentic coding feature should first download the agents they want to use from Xcode’s settings. They can also connect their accounts with the AI providers by signing in or adding their API key. A drop-do...
EU Pushes Rare Earth Mineral Partnership With US To Cut China Reliance The European Union plans to propose a new critical-minerals partnership with the United States, aimed at limiting China’s influence and strengthening shared supply chains, according to Bloomberg . According to people familiar with the talks, the EU is ready to sign a memorandum of understanding that would create a “Strategic Pa...
EU Pushes Rare Earth Mineral Partnership With US To Cut China Reliance The European Union plans to propose a new critical-minerals partnership with the United States, aimed at limiting China’s influence and strengthening shared supply chains, according to Bloomberg . According to people familiar with the talks, the EU is ready to sign a memorandum of understanding that would create a “Strategic Partnership Roadmap” within three months. The goal is to coordinate efforts to secure key minerals needed for modern technologies and reduce reliance on China’s low-cost supplies, which currently give Beijing significant leverage. Under the proposal, the EU and US would explore joint mining and processing projects, consider price-support systems, and develop safeguards against market manipulation and oversupply. The plan also calls for building more resilient supply networks between both sides. Bloomberg reports that the draft agreement stresses respect for territorial integrity, an issue that gained importance after recent tensions linked to President Donald Trump’s comments about Greenland. The proposal arrives as Washington prepares to meet with allied countries to advance agreements that cut dependence on Chinese minerals. While similar efforts by previous US administrations have had limited results, officials say this push reflects growing urgency after China imposed export controls on rare earths last year. Although some restrictions were eased following talks between Trump and Xi Jinping, US officials are now seeking faster progress. Washington is also urging partners to adopt pricing mechanisms to protect Western producers from cheaper Chinese exports. When the US encouraged individual EU countries to sign bilateral deals, the European Commission pushed for a unified approach, receiving backing from member states to negotiate on their behalf. Despite doubts about whether a comprehensive agreement can be reached quickly, the EU’s offer suggests negotiations are moving ...
When considering whether to file for Social Security benefits, there's more to consider than maximizing benefits. An interesting thing happened between January and May of 2025. The number of people who applied for Social Security retirement benefits jumped by nearly 18% year over year. For some financial experts, the surge in claims was worrying. After all, claiming Social Security at 62 results i...
When considering whether to file for Social Security benefits, there's more to consider than maximizing benefits. An interesting thing happened between January and May of 2025. The number of people who applied for Social Security retirement benefits jumped by nearly 18% year over year. For some financial experts, the surge in claims was worrying. After all, claiming Social Security at 62 results in receiving monthly benefits 30% lower than they would have been at age 67. Still, the decision of when to claim benefits is a personal one, and there are plenty of reasons a person may choose to do so. Here are four advantages of taking Social Security as early as possible. 1. There's no waiting for money you need now If you've been laid off and haven't been able to find another job, it makes sense to consider early filing. Or, if the only jobs that interest you are part-time and won't cover the bills, receiving Social Security benefits could help you fill the gaps. 2. It could maximize your lifetime benefits Waiting to claim benefits until age 70 is a great way to maximize benefits, but it's not the right choice for everyone. If you have serious health concerns or a family history of shorter-than-average lifespans, claiming benefits early may help ensure you receive benefits you might otherwise miss. If you claim benefits at age 62 rather than 67, it will take just shy of 12 years (11 years, eight months) to reach the break-even point. The break-even point is when the cumulative benefits you receive by claiming at 67 exceed those you receive by claiming at 62. When there's little chance of living past age 74, claiming benefits early makes sense. 3. It can help you focus on yourself According to a report from the Economic Policy Institute, roughly 50% of workers ages 50 to 70 hold physically demanding (50.3%) or high-pressure jobs (46.1%). If you're suffering physically or mentally, claiming benefits at 62 could provide the opportunity you need to focus on your physical an...
Apple is bringing agentic coding to Xcode. On Tuesday, the company announced the release of Xcode 26.3, which will allow developers to use agentic tools, including Anthropic’s Claude Agent and OpenAI’s Codex, directly in Apple’s official app development suite. The Xcode 26.3 Release Candidate is available to all Apple Developers today from the developer website and will hit the App Store a bit lat...
Apple is bringing agentic coding to Xcode. On Tuesday, the company announced the release of Xcode 26.3, which will allow developers to use agentic tools, including Anthropic’s Claude Agent and OpenAI’s Codex, directly in Apple’s official app development suite. The Xcode 26.3 Release Candidate is available to all Apple Developers today from the developer website and will hit the App Store a bit later. This latest update comes on the heels of the Xcode 26 release last year, which introduced support for ChatGPT and Claude within Apple’s integrated development environment (IDE) used by those building apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple’s other hardware platforms. The integration of agentic coding tools allows AI models to tap into more of Xcode’s features to perform their tasks and perform more complex automation. The models will also have access to Apple’s current developer documentation to ensure they use the latest APIs and follow the best practices as they build. At launch, the agents can help developers explore their project, understand its structure and metadata, then build the project and run tests to see if there are any errors and fix them, if so. Image Credits:Apple To prepare for this launch, Apple said it worked closely with both Anthropic and OpenAI to design the new experience. Specifically, the company said it did a lot of work to optimize token usage and tool calling, so the agents would run efficiently in Xcode. Xcode leverages MCP (Model Context Protocol) to expose its capabilities to the agents and connect them with its tools. That means that Xcode can now work with any outside MCP-compatible agent for things like project discovery, changes, file management, previews and snippets, and accessing the latest documentation. Developers who want to try the agentic coding feature should first download the agents they want to use from Xcode’s settings. They can also connect their accounts with the AI providers by signing in or adding their API ...
Key Points Coca-Cola has raised its dividend for 63 years, and is widely expected to announce a 64th increase later this month. In recent years, the company's dividend increases have barely kept up with inflation. Improved earnings, operating margins, and share buybacks could pave the way for the biggest increase since 2007. 10 stocks we like better than Coca-Cola › Soft drink giant Coca-Cola (NYS...
Key Points Coca-Cola has raised its dividend for 63 years, and is widely expected to announce a 64th increase later this month. In recent years, the company's dividend increases have barely kept up with inflation. Improved earnings, operating margins, and share buybacks could pave the way for the biggest increase since 2007. 10 stocks we like better than Coca-Cola › Soft drink giant Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is among a rare group of companies that have raised their dividends for at least 50 consecutive years. A half-century of consistent dividend growth is a feat that only the best-run, most resilient companies can manage. Among the over 50,000 publicly traded companies globally, just 56 had earned the Dividend King crown as of December 2025. In Coca-Cola's case, the streak has continued for 63 years. While management doesn't offer guidance on dividend growth, I see signs that the company could announce a substantial hike, perhaps in the double digits. For context, the last time Coca-Cola raised its dividend by over 10% was in 2007. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Why Coca-Cola's dividend growth could roar back For the last decade, Coca-Cola's average dividend growth was 3.94% a year. While that generally kept ahead of inflation, it still wasn't much to write home about. Year Coca-Cola Dividend Hike Inflation Rate 2021 2.4% 4.7% 2022 4.8% 8% 2023 4.5% 4.1% 2024 5.4% 2.9% 2025 6.2% 2.7% But Coca-Cola's dividend growth wasn't always so tepid. Take a look at how fast its dividend grew from 1994, the year Warren Buffett finished adding to Berkshire Hathaway's 400-million-share position, through the next four years. Year Coca-Cola Dividend Hike Inflation Rate 1994 14.7% 2.6% 1995 12.8% 2.8% 1996 13.6% 2.9% 1997 12% 2.3% 1998 7.1% 1.6% In those five years, Coca-Cola's payouts rose 76%, leaving the cumulative inflation rate of 12.8% in the dust. Compare that with the cumulativ...
The Metropolitan police are to formally launch a criminal investigation into allegations that Peter Mandelson leaked Downing Street emails and market sensitive information to the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Guardian understands. Documents from the Epstein files released in recent days appeared to show the then business secretary sent confidential information in a string of emails to th...
The Metropolitan police are to formally launch a criminal investigation into allegations that Peter Mandelson leaked Downing Street emails and market sensitive information to the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Guardian understands. Documents from the Epstein files released in recent days appeared to show the then business secretary sent confidential information in a string of emails to the late financier in the aftermath of the financial crash. They prompted a furious response from across the political spectrum, including Gordon Brown, who was the prime minister at the time of the alleged breaches. MPs reported Mandelson to Scotland Yard for misconduct in public office. Mandelson resigned from the House of Lords on Tuesday afternoon. Keir Starmer, who has handed a dossier to the police, told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning he was appalled by the reported leaks. He has asked officials to draft legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage “as quickly as possible”. The prime minister’s spokesperson said the Cabinet Office was looking at all information it had about the documents, but an initial review of the Epstein files released on Friday by the US Department of Justice found they contained information that was likely to be market sensitive about the 2008 financial crash and attempts to stabilise the economy afterwards. Brown has written to the Metropolitan Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, “with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson’s disclosure of market sensitive and confidential government information” to Epstein. Emails forwarded to Epstein from the top of the UK government showed Mandelson claiming he was “trying hard” to change government policy on bankers’ bonuses, sharing details of an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010, and suggesting that the JP Morgan boss “mildly threaten” the chancellor. During coalition talks in 2010, with Mandelson at his side offering counsel, Brown finally ...
Key Points The company has an opportunity to catch up with its peers and generate significant value for investors. The restructuring plan is the most comprehensive effort yet undertaken to turn the company around. 10 stocks we like better than Advance Auto Parts › Auto parts retailer Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) stock spiked 5.2% by 11 a.m. today as the market continues to warm to the deep value...
Key Points The company has an opportunity to catch up with its peers and generate significant value for investors. The restructuring plan is the most comprehensive effort yet undertaken to turn the company around. 10 stocks we like better than Advance Auto Parts › Auto parts retailer Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) stock spiked 5.2% by 11 a.m. today as the market continues to warm to the deep value opportunity in the stock. In fact, as I write, the stock is up more than 28% on the year. Advance Auto Parts is finding favor The case for buying the stock has remained the same and rests on the hope that its management can deliver operational performance, at least close to that of peers like AutoZone and O'Reilly Automotive. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » As you can see below, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin is nowhere near its peers', which is why it trades on such a low price-to-sales ratio compared to them. While the end-market outlook isn't great -- 3M described a weak auto aftermarket entering 2026 -- the reality is this is largely a self-help story, and if CEO Shane O'Kelly's aggressive strategic restructuring improves profit margins, then the stock has considerable upside potential. Strategic restructuring O'Kelly's plans are significant, with over 700 locations already closed and stores opened in areas where Advance Auto has a leadership position. Moreover, the ongoing opening of much larger market hub stores offers a solution to the perennial challenge and opportunity for auto parts retailers: how to manage inventory to get the right parts available to customers, ideally on a same-day basis. Doing that is the holy grail of keeping customers loyal, as is the kind of initiative that the company launched yesterday. Namely, a loyalty program rewarding its DIY customers. There'...
New York City and others like it are filled with old buildings that are for the most part fine, except they’re not all that comfortable to live in. Built in an era when massive boilers were cutting edge technology, the buildings are usually too hot or too cold, but seldom just right. A string of companies are trying to rectify that using clever horseshoe-shaped heat pumps. Superficially, they’re s...
New York City and others like it are filled with old buildings that are for the most part fine, except they’re not all that comfortable to live in. Built in an era when massive boilers were cutting edge technology, the buildings are usually too hot or too cold, but seldom just right. A string of companies are trying to rectify that using clever horseshoe-shaped heat pumps. Superficially, they’re similar to window air conditioners, except they don’t block the view and they can heat as well as cool. Gradient makes one of those heat pumps, but now it’s adding a twist: in multifamily buildings, it can link every one of its window units together. The startup shared exclusive details about the new Nexus software and service with TechCrunch. “Multifamily buildings are an ignored sector,” Vince Romanin, chief technology officer at Gradient, told TechCrunch. “It’s a place where we can do better for the user.” The startup is mostly targeting old buildings that need HVAC upgrades. Gradient has worked with the New York City Housing Authority to install its heat pumps in public housing, and it ran a pilot in Tracy, California, in a newer two-story affordable housing complex. It’s also talking with colleges and universities, many of which have dorms that weren’t built with hot autumn weather in mind. Old buildings often have one electric meter, which can tempt residents into overusing their heating or air conditioning. Nexus gives some control back to building managers. They can set guardrails to prevent people from overusing the heat or AC — either intentionally or otherwise — while still allowing them to be comfortable. In one instance, a building manager set the heating limit at 78˚ F, and the next day energy consumption dropped by a quarter. Romanin said Gradient’s heat pumps are the “lowest cost option” for old buildings with boilers that are reaching end of life, a common occurrence in New York City. As a bonus, units that previously only had a steam radiator now get air co...