Vladimir Zakharov/iStock via Getty Images Introduction After a challenging 2025 characterized by elevated economic uncertainty, U.S. small cap stocks are off to a strong start in 2026, benefiting from materially lower valuations relative to larger peers, as well as expectations for strong U.S. GDP growth and lower funding costs. Investors looking for a cheap way to gain exposure to U.S. small caps...
Vladimir Zakharov/iStock via Getty Images Introduction After a challenging 2025 characterized by elevated economic uncertainty, U.S. small cap stocks are off to a strong start in 2026, benefiting from materially lower valuations relative to larger peers, as well as expectations for strong U.S. GDP growth and lower funding costs. Investors looking for a cheap way to gain exposure to U.S. small caps should consider the Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund ( VB ), which boasts an expense ratio of only 0.03%. I rank VB a Buy for investors comfortable with above-average earnings volatility (the result of the ETF's overweight position in cyclical sectors), with my bullish outlook underpinned by: A trailing P/E of 21.8x for VB holdings, a circa 20% discount to large cap peers constituting the S&P 500. A total return potential in the high single digits, largely driven by sizable dividend growth thanks to a low payout ratio. Above-average U.S. GDP growth expectations of 2.3% and 2% for 2026 and 2027 respectively, as well as market pricing for another Fed rate cut as soon as June 2026. As I have not covered VB before, allow me to quickly go over the ETF's key characteristics in the next section. ETF Overview For starters, all VB information is available on the Vanguard website here . Launched in 2004, the ETF invests exclusively in U.S. small capitalization companies. VB is a passive ETF, with its benchmark index being the CRSP U.S. small cap index. Rebalanced quarterly, the benchmark tracks companies falling between the 85% and 98% of investable equity market capitalization . The ETF currently boasts 1324 individual holdings with a median market capitalization of about $10 billion. VB's sector exposure shows a distinct cyclical tilt, as the combined weight of the industrials, financials, consumer discretionary, energy, and materials sectors stands at almost 58%. Sector exposure breakdown (Vanguard website (accessed February 2026)) This sector exposure means VB should deliver strong...
A sudden and catastrophic collapse at a major bridge construction site in China’s eastern Jiangsu province has left two workers dead, three others missing and a critical regional infrastructure project in disarray. At 5.46pm on Monday, a significant section of the under-construction Yuegang Bridge collapsed in Yancheng City’s Xiangshui County when the main span – measuring 95 metres (312 feet) – o...
A sudden and catastrophic collapse at a major bridge construction site in China’s eastern Jiangsu province has left two workers dead, three others missing and a critical regional infrastructure project in disarray. At 5.46pm on Monday, a significant section of the under-construction Yuegang Bridge collapsed in Yancheng City’s Xiangshui County when the main span – measuring 95 metres (312 feet) – of the unfinished bridge suddenly gave way. The unfinished Yuegang Bridge collapsed on Monday when the main span suddenly gave way. Photo: Handout Two people pulled from the wreckage with severe injuries later died in hospital, while rescue teams are continuing to search for three colleagues who remain unaccounted for, according to a public notice released by the local county government on Tuesday. Advertisement A multi-agency emergency operation involving fire, maritime and medical personnel is scouring the site on the Tongyu River, while authorities have imposed a temporary ban on waterway navigation in the immediate area to assist with the rescue and ensure public safety, state Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. The collapsed bridge was a linchpin in the ambitious Lianyungang-Shanghai Line, a provincial initiative designed to create a high-capacity north-south water transport corridor. Advertisement Undertaken by the state-owned China Railway 12th Bureau Group, the project had been progressing on a tight schedule.
The guitarist and vocalist in Australian heavy metal band the Mark of Cain has come out as a trans woman, writing that seeing younger trans people live freely had “helped shine a light on the possibility that maybe I can finally be me in my autumn years”. On Monday night, Josie Scott wrote a statement to fans on the band’s social media, announcing that her family know her as Josie or Jo and “given...
The guitarist and vocalist in Australian heavy metal band the Mark of Cain has come out as a trans woman, writing that seeing younger trans people live freely had “helped shine a light on the possibility that maybe I can finally be me in my autumn years”. On Monday night, Josie Scott wrote a statement to fans on the band’s social media, announcing that her family know her as Josie or Jo and “given where I identify on the gender spectrum, I fit within the paradigm of being a trans woman”. “As I’ve aged, and mortality is ever closer, I’ve decided to embrace, rather than endure, who I am,” the 63-year-old wrote. Josie and her brother Kim have been in the Mark Of Cain since the band formed in Adelaide in 1984. Their debut album Battlesick was released in 1989 to acclaim, and later put out in the US by Black Flag and Rollins Band frontman Henry Rollins. The band was inducted into the South Australian Music Hall Of Fame in 2022, joining the likes of the Masters Apprentices, the Angels and Cold Chisel. Scott wrote that she has struggled with gender dysphoria since she was a small child. “I always assumed I’d just live my life, complain a lot, and die leaving some clues in my songs and journals for family to read and think, ‘Oohaahh what a very strange (albeit talented) person’,” she wrote. Her gender dysmorphia has fed into the band’s music, she said, with their 1995 album Ill at Ease, which was produced by Rollins, touching on this struggle “though I was trying not to be too obvious”. “TMOC was often interpreted as a very masculine, testosterone driven band, which greatly acted as a way of being as a ‘beard’ for me in many ways. Much of what was interpreted as masculine was often being generated from my internal rage about my own dissatisfaction about myself and the paralysis I felt in being unable to live as me,” she wrote. It was while recovering from long Covid in 2022 that she began to consider “whether when the time came to leave earth, I could do so, with no regrets...
Primavera Capital is weighing a new Asia fund to invest in companies including in the technology and consumer sectors, joining a raft of private equity firms in the region seeking fresh money, according to people familiar with the matter. The Hong Kong-based firm started by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. rainmaker Fred Hu has sounded out investors to gauge sentiment on its plans for fundraising, ...
Primavera Capital is weighing a new Asia fund to invest in companies including in the technology and consumer sectors, joining a raft of private equity firms in the region seeking fresh money, according to people familiar with the matter. The Hong Kong-based firm started by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. rainmaker Fred Hu has sounded out investors to gauge sentiment on its plans for fundraising, the people said, requesting not to be named because the discussions are private. While its previous fund reached $4 billion, this round could be smaller given the tougher climate as institutional investors remain wary of US–China tensions, the people said. The plans are preliminary and could be subject to change and there’s no timeline, the people added. Primavera is among a number of Asia-focused funds returning to the market in search of fresh capital. Bain Capital is seeking about $7 billion, people familiar with the matter said in April. Hillhouse Investment Management has also been weighing plans to raise another fund, other people said. A representative for Primavera declined to comment. Hillhouse didn’t respond to a request for comment. The environment remains challenging as US endowments stay on the sidelines, while American pensions retreat from backing China-related funds. Primavera has a track record of investing in AI, climate tech and robotics, having backed companies including Yum China Holdings Inc. , Breitling AG, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. , Xpeng Inc. and ByteDance Co.
Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners have similar distribution growth rates, but one has a higher yield. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 0.27%) and Energy Transfer (ET 1.68%) are two of the largest midstream businesses in North America. They provide services to energy companies, helping to move oil and natural gas around the world for a fee. While the energy sector is generally prett...
Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners have similar distribution growth rates, but one has a higher yield. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 0.27%) and Energy Transfer (ET 1.68%) are two of the largest midstream businesses in North America. They provide services to energy companies, helping to move oil and natural gas around the world for a fee. While the energy sector is generally pretty volatile, these two master limited partnerships (MLPs) have reliable, cash-generating businesses to back their lofty yields. Which one will be a better income choice for you? A high yield and a higher yield Enterprise is offering investors a 6.3% distribution yield. Energy Transfer's yield is an even higher 7.1%. If all you care about is yield, the easy answer here is to buy Energy Transfer. That's not necessarily a bad call, given that both midstream master limited partnerships are likely to grow their distribution in the low-to-mid-single digits over time. Slow and boring is the goal today. That hasn't always been for Energy Transfer. For example, Energy Transfer cut its distribution in half in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. That was a difficult time for the energy sector as a whole. In 2016, during the last deep energy sector downturn, Energy Transfer had to scuttle a planned acquisition. The deal, which ended in a particularly ugly fashion, could have resulted in a dividend cut if it were consummated as originally planned. If you need a reliable income source to help pay your bills, Energy Transfer might not be the best choice for you. The yield is higher for a reason, and owning it could leave you with sleepless nights during the next energy industry downturn. Expand NYSE : EPD Enterprise Products Partners Today's Change ( -0.27 %) $ -0.09 Current Price $ 33.10 Key Data Points Market Cap $72B Day's Range $ 32.72 - $ 33.40 52wk Range $ 27.77 - $ 34.53 Volume 5.6M Avg Vol 3.9M Gross Margin 12.74 % Dividend Yield 8.17 % Enterprise is boring and reliable Enterpris...
A gauge of Chinese technology shares extended its drop from an October high to 20%, following a sudden selloff on Tuesday. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell as much as 3.4%, reversing an earlier gain, led by losses in Kuaishou Technology, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Tuesday’s drop came as investors grew worried about the possibility of government hiking value-added tax for int...
A gauge of Chinese technology shares extended its drop from an October high to 20%, following a sudden selloff on Tuesday. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell as much as 3.4%, reversing an earlier gain, led by losses in Kuaishou Technology, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Tuesday’s drop came as investors grew worried about the possibility of government hiking value-added tax for internet services firms after levying telecommunication companies. The decline followed latest choppiness on Wall Street as doubts resurfaced about major artificial intelligence firms’ ability to justify their lofty valuations and ambitious spending. Investor mood have also soured in recent weeks toward Chinese stocks in general given new signs of economic weakness and a lack of stronger growth stimulus.
Analog chipmaker SiTime Corp. is nearing a deal to acquire Renesas Electronics Corp. ’s timing unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Santa Clara, California-based SiTime is putting the final touches on a purchase of the Renesas division, which makes the clocks that synchronize the signals in wireless infrastructure, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the discussi...
Analog chipmaker SiTime Corp. is nearing a deal to acquire Renesas Electronics Corp. ’s timing unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Santa Clara, California-based SiTime is putting the final touches on a purchase of the Renesas division, which makes the clocks that synchronize the signals in wireless infrastructure, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the discussions aren’t public. A transaction could value the business at about $3 billion, the people said. The companies could reach an agreement as soon as Thursday, when Renesas is scheduled to report its full-year earnings, the people said, adding that negotiations are ongoing and could still fall apart. Representatives for SiTime and Renesas didn’t immediately respond to requests seeking comment. SiTime specializes in silicon oscillators and resonators that keep complex circuits in sync inside artificial intelligence data centers. Nintendo Co. supplier MegaChips Corp. , based in Osaka, holds a stake in SiTime. A deal for the Renesas unit would represent SiTime’s largest acquisition to date, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The companies have been in talks about a potential transaction, people familiar with the matter have said . Shares of SiTime have surged 83% in the past 12 months, giving the company a market value of about $9.8 billion. Renesas has gained almost 27% in the same period, for a market capitalization of about ¥4.8 trillion ($31 billion).
The top line of the US-India deal on tariffs is simple: 50% drops to 18%. That happens in two parts at the same time:The 25% tariff issued over Russian oil buys goes away entirely.The 25% reciprocal tariff Trump put on gets cut to 18%.
The top line of the US-India deal on tariffs is simple: 50% drops to 18%. That happens in two parts at the same time:The 25% tariff issued over Russian oil buys goes away entirely.The 25% reciprocal tariff Trump put on gets cut to 18%.
In this article .BBKA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT One kilogram and a five hundred gram gold bars next to one kilogram silver bars at The Vaults Group gold dealers arranged in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, April 28, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Gold and silver prices rebounded on Tuesday after suffering a historic sell-off, with analysts suggesting that the recent c...
In this article .BBKA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT One kilogram and a five hundred gram gold bars next to one kilogram silver bars at The Vaults Group gold dealers arranged in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, April 28, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Gold and silver prices rebounded on Tuesday after suffering a historic sell-off, with analysts suggesting that the recent corrections were more a positioning reset than a sustained downturn. Gold prices clawed back ground after falling on Monday and plunging nearly 10% on Friday — steepest single-day declines in decades. Silver also recovered modestly after a roughly 30% collapse that marked its worst one-day performance since 1980. Spot gold jumped as much as 4% on Tuesday, and was last trading over 2% higher at $4,771.76 per ounce. Gold futures in New York were last up 3%, hovering at around $4,791. Spot silver advanced as much as 7.8%, and was last trading 2.6% higher at $81.3 per ounce on Tuesday. Silver futures in New York were up 7% at $82.67 per ounce. The rebound came as investors reassessed whether the rout signaled a structural turning point or an exaggerated reaction to short-term catalysts. Strategists at Deutsche Bank said history suggests it is short-term catalysts, even as the scale of the sell-off has raised fresh questions about market positioning. The bank said that while signs of elevated speculative activity have been building for months, they are insufficient on their own to explain the magnitude of last week's move. "The adjustment in precious metal prices overshot the significance of its ostensible catalysts. Moreover, investor intentions in precious (official, institutional, individual) have not likely changed for the worse." Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Gold and silver prices rebound after steep selloff The sell-off was triggered by a combination of factors, including a rebound in the U.S. dollar, shifts in expectations around Federal Reserve leadership following P...
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., during the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Elon Musk said a primary reason for merging SpaceX with his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is to more effectively build "orbital data centers." That's for a far-off future. For now, xAI has a muc...
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., during the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Elon Musk said a primary reason for merging SpaceX with his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is to more effectively build "orbital data centers." That's for a far-off future. For now, xAI has a much more pressing need: cash. In Monday's blog post announcing the combination of his two companies, Musk estimated that "within 2 to 3 years, the lowest cost way to generate AI compute will be in space." But xAI requires immense amounts of money to finance its massive infrastructure buildout as the three-year-old company tries to catch up to Google , OpenAI and Anthropic in the booming generative AI market. SpaceX, which is reportedly aiming to go public this year in what could be a record-setting IPO, may represent Musk's clearest path to landing that capital. The company is looking to raise up to $50 billion at a valuation as high as $1.5 trillion, according to Reuters. A major key to SpaceX's growth is Starlink, its satellite internet service, which has around 9,000 satellites in orbit today and roughly 9 million customers. It recently received authorization from the Federal Communications Commission to put another 7,500 satellites into orbit. Tim Farrar, president of satellite and telecom industry research firm TMF Associates, said SpaceX can't put that kind of money to work towards its existing business because there are only so many rocket launches available to get its Starlink satellites up into space each year. Folding xAI into SpaceX, Farrar said, allows Musk to capitalize on investors' insatiable appetite for AI holdings, while also securing the AI company's financial position despite its mounting losses. According to a report from The Information late Monday, xAI has told investors that it burned about $9.5 billion through the first nine months of 2025. "People ar...