The Dow Jones topped 50,000 for the first time, with JPMorgan, Apple and Boeing in buy areas. The Nasdaq is ailing, but these AI stocks are reviving.

NicoElNino/iStock via Getty Images It is starting to be quite clear: the software segment is going through very dark times. And if you are wondering whether this sector is dead, well … I’ll leave you my opinion right away. It is not dead, but it has apparently been overfunded, overvalued, and overleveraged. And when we talk about SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF ( XSW ) I think of an equal weight solution in this segment, which therefore leaves room for companies potentially at the center of this narrative. So the question becomes obvious: “After a decline from the highs of more than 28%, has XSW hit a bottom, or are these levels just the antechamber of further downside?” In my opinion, a repricing is underway that could leave room for further compression. But first … What is XSW XSW tracks, through a passive replication mechanism, the S&P Software & Services Select Industry Index , which aims to represent the software & services segment of the S&P TMI using a modified equal-weight methodology. XSW - fund profile (Seeking Alpha) It has a rather high expense ratio in my opinion for a passive ETF, equal to 0.35%, to which a 30-day median bid/ask spread of 0.14% is added. Holdings The result is about 140 holdings , where the average weight of each security is around 0.71%. This leads to high diversification, with the top 10 accounting for less than 10%. The merit lies in the equal weight weighting method, which results in a median market cap of just $4.6 bn. In fact, the methodology leaves plenty of room for small and mid caps: suffice it to note that the largest has a market cap of $3 tn and the smallest just $220 mln (extreme dispersion). This potentially means greater exposure to companies that are more dependent on the cost of capital (not necessarily less profitable today). XSW - holding distribution (Seeking Alpha) If we look only at the est. 3–5Y EPS Growth rate, it wouldn’t seem so, at 14.14%, with FY1 valuations fairly compressed today at 17.60x. My first conc...

Advanced Micro Devices Slumps as AI Hype Meets Reality TipRanks

Key Points Dominion Energy is spending heavily to add generation capacity and take advantage of the rapid buildout of data centers in its core markets of Virginia and North Carolina. Midstream energy giant Enbridge has a smaller (but growing) footprint in the green energy space. Both stocks' dividends boast relatively high yields. 10 stocks we like better than Enbridge › Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) and Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) are both involved in green energy and working to position themselves to prosper in a lower-carbon future. Their approaches to the megatrend differ: Enbridge is a midstream infrastructure giant pivoting toward renewables, while Dominion is an electric utility engaging in a massive effort to decarbonize its power generation fleet. Dominion has a geographical edge in green energy Dominion delivers regulated electricity to more than 3.6 million homes and businesses in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It's seeing a surge in demand in northern Virginia and North Carolina because of an explosion in data center growth in those markets. The company's renewable energy projects, including solar, offshore wind, and hydroelectric, generate more than 2,500 megawatts -- enough to power 625,000 homes. It is also the largest producer of carbon-free electricity in New England, thanks to its Millstone nuclear power facility in Connecticut. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Over the past year, Dominion's stock has risen by more than 10%. As a regulated utility, it enjoys predictable cash flows, and it has distributed dividends for 392 consecutive quarters. Though it has not increased its payouts since 2022, it still has a relatively high yield of about 4.3% at the current share price. However, the company's lofty payout ratio of around 87% is a concern, even though it has i...

New York, February 7, 2026, 09:08 EST — Market closed. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) ended Friday up 8.2% at $208.44, lifting the AMD stock price heading into next week after a sharp bounce in chip shares. The stock traded between $192.66 and $209.24 and saw volume of about 54.5 million shares. The move mattered because semiconductors have been the pressure point in a widening argument over how much big tech will spend on artificial intelligence (AI) hardware this year. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index — a widely followed basket of chipmakers — rose 5.7% after three straight daily losses, as investors also absorbed Amazon’s heavy spending plans that pushed estimates for combined 2026 AI outlays by Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta to about $600 billion. “The market looks like it was getting a bit overdone to the downside,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. 1 The chip rebound fed a broad rally that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 50,000 for the first time, as investors looked beyond a narrow tech-led tape. “What’s driven it recently has been the broadening that we have seen in the market … across a number of areas, other than just the tech, AI trade,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive at Horizon Investment Services. 2 Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang added fuel on Friday, telling CNBC demand for AI chips was “going through the roof,” a line traders seized on after several sessions of heavy selling in the space. Investors have been whipsawed by the same spending plans — the bills are landing now, while the payoff debate keeps getting louder. 3 For AMD, the relief rally came after a rough patch earlier in the week, when the company forecast first-quarter revenue of about $9.8 billion, plus or minus $300 million, implying a 5% sequential decline. That outlook reignited the comparison trade with Nvidia and revived questions about how quickly AMD can close the gap in high-end AI chips. 4 The risk case hasn’t gone away. Bernstein a...

Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images Consensus expectations The US BLS is expected to release the January CPI inflation report on Friday, February 13th. The consensus expectations are: The core CPI to increase by 0.3% MoM, which would be higher than 0.2% MoM in January, and thus technically be a pickup in inflation, the annual CPI to remain at 2.6%, given the base effects, and the headline CPI also to increase by 0.3% MoM, same as in January, which would push the annual CPI inflation lower to 2.6%. Thus, the CPI inflation is expected to remain slightly elevated at 2.6% level, at least based on the official BLS data. The question is whether this data is an accurate reflection of the true inflationary situation, given the recent shutdown and general concerns about the inflation data collection and processing. Trading Economics The official inflation data narrative The Fed's assessment of inflation data is generally positive. The Fed expects an increase in goods inflation over the next few months, with the peak sometimes in Q2, and subsequent moderation. This is consistent with the view that tariffs will cause only a gradual, temporary shock, which would subsequently fade away. The Fed also expects a continuous moderation in service inflation, mostly due to moderation of shelter inflation as rents continue to fall. Thus, the Fed expects a gradual disinflation in 2026, and this view is generally supported by the market. The Federal Funds futures are pricing two more Fed cuts in 2026 as the normalization process concludes, while the 10Y yield is pricing well-anchored long-term inflation expectations. The risk of inflationary shock is very low. The inflationary risk scenario includes rising wages due to labor shortage (immigration), but given the recent labor market weakness, this scenario is unlikely. Recent inflation data January inflation data from the ISM survey shows a slight pickup in inflation relative to December. The ISM Manufacturing Prices increased slightly t...

Will this biotech's innovative platform finally pay off? Cathie Wood, the CEO of Ark Invest, is known for investing in companies with strong innovative potential. That includes biotechs that specialize in gene editing, a group of techniques that could revolutionize medicine by helping researchers develop therapies for diseases they previously couldn't treat. Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA +10.73%), a gene-editing company, is currently 25th on Ark Invest's complete list of holdings list. The biotech is off to a strong start, with its shares already up 41%. But could it keep that momentum going? Let's find out whether this Cathie Wood pick is worth investing in. Why Intellia Therapeutics' shares are soaring Intellia Therapeutics' two leading candidates, lonvo-z and nex-z, both target rare diseases. The latter was undergoing a pair of phase 3 studies last year when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed them under clinical hold following the death of a patient from liver damage. The good news is that the FDA has now lifted the clinical hold on one of those two studies. After the company's shares dropped due to this regulatory setback late last year, it's not surprising to see the stock recovering these losses as nex-z gets the all-clear from regulators. And even though Intellia Therapeutics' other phase 3 study is still under clinical hold, with the first being lifted, there is a good chance the second will be, too. That's one of the reasons the stock has performed well this year. The stock is still risky Intellia Therapeutics' recent struggles highlight the risks of investing in clinical-stage biotechs, especially those specializing in gene editing. Even after approval, because they are complex to administer and very expensive, gene editing medicines have struggled to gain significant traction. Expand NASDAQ : NTLA Intellia Therapeutics Today's Change ( 10.73 %) $ 1.19 Current Price $ 12.28 Key Data Points Market Cap $1.4B Day's Range $ 11.46 - $ 12.31 52wk R...

There’s a lot to be optimistic about in the Communication Services sector as 2 analysts just weighed in on Alphabet Class C (GOOG – Research Report) and Alphabet Class A (GOOGL – Research Report) with bullish sentiments. Alphabet Class C (GOOG) In a report released yesterday, Saiyi He from CMB International Securities maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet Class C, with a price target of $396.00. The company’s shares closed last Thursday at $331.33. According to TipRanks.com, He is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 17.4% and a 63.9% success rate. He covers the NA sector, focusing on stocks such as Tencent Music Entertainment Group, Kanzhun Ltd Sponsored, and Tencent Holdings. ;'> The word on The Street in general, suggests a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating for Alphabet Class C with a $384.18 average price target, representing a 22.7% upside. In a report issued on January 22, Raymond James also upgraded the stock to Buy with a $400.00 price target. See today’s best-performing stocks on TipRanks >> Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan reiterated a Buy rating on Alphabet Class A yesterday and set a price target of $400.00. The company’s shares closed last Thursday at $331.25. According to TipRanks.com, Sheridan is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 5.0% and a 50.2% success rate. Sheridan covers the NA sector, focusing on stocks such as StubHub Holdings Incorporation Class A, Genius Sports Limited, and Meta Platforms. ;'> Currently, the analyst consensus on Alphabet Class A is a Strong Buy with an average price target of $376.34, representing a 20.5% upside. In a report issued on January 23, Stifel Nicolaus also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $346.00 price target. Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue

There’s a lot to be optimistic about in the Consumer Cyclical sector as 2 analysts just weighed in on Ralph Lauren (RL – Research Report) and Amazon (AMZN – Research Report) with bullish sentiments. Ralph Lauren (RL) Telsey Advisory analyst Dana Telsey maintained a Buy rating on Ralph Lauren today and set a price target of $435.00. The company’s shares closed last Thursday at $338.66. According to TipRanks.com, Telsey is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 2.2% and a 42.2% success rate. Telsey covers the NA sector, focusing on stocks such as Birkenstock Holding plc, G-III Apparel Group, and Lululemon Athletica. ;'> Ralph Lauren has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $417.15, a 28.2% upside from current levels. In a report issued on January 28, UBS also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $474.00 price target. See today’s best-performing stocks on TipRanks >> Amazon (AMZN) In a report released today, Joe Feldman from Telsey Advisory maintained a Buy rating on Amazon, with a price target of $300.00. The company’s shares closed last Thursday at $222.69. According to TipRanks.com, Feldman is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 9.0% and a 54.8% success rate. Feldman covers the NA sector, focusing on stocks such as Floor & Decor Holdings, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Tractor Supply. ;'> Currently, the analyst consensus on Amazon is a Strong Buy with an average price target of $288.57, representing a 28.3% upside. In a report released yesterday, Citi also initiated coverage with a Buy rating on the stock with a $320.00 price target. Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue

WFC260213C00095000 互動股市圖表 | WFC Feb 2026 95.000 call 股市 Yahoo 財經

Key Points The Atlas humanoid robot, developed by Hyundai's Boston Dynamics subsidiary, won the best robot award at CES 2026. Toyota is developing advanced large behavior models for AI that could help humanoid robots learn and work on factory floors. CEO Elon Musk has predicted that eventually, about 80% of Tesla’s value will come from its Optimus humanoid robots. 10 stocks we like better than Toyota Motor › The idea of humanoid robots that can walk, talk, and interact with people in everyday life has captivated imaginations for decades. And today, several companies are amping up their efforts to combine robotics with the latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) to turn that science-fiction dream into reality. How will you know when "the robots are here"? Morgan Stanley research forecasts that 10% of U.S. households could own a humanoid by 2050, with the devices selling at an average price of $50,000. However, the first widely adopted humanoid robots might not be robot housekeepers for the consumer market. 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 » Instead, the latest trends suggest that these humanoid robots might arrive first in car factories. If you believe humanoid robots are almost here, you might want to buy shares of Hyundai, Toyota (NYSE: TM), and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). Hyundai: New Atlas robot could work in its factories in 2028 Korean automaker Hyundai made big headlines at CES 2026 with Atlas, a humanoid robot developed by its Boston Dynamics subsidiary. Atlas won the trade show's award for best robot, and the CES voting panel praised its naturalistic way of walking and sleek design. Hyundai says it intends to put Atlas robots to work in its car factory in Savannah, Georgia, by 2028, starting with simple processes like parts sequencing. It then plans to expand their workloads to more complex activities by 2030. According to ...

Retail investors talked up five hot stocks this week (Feb. 2 to Feb. 6) on X and Reddit's r/WallStreetBets, driven by retail hype, earnings, AI buzz, and corporate news flow. Strategy Most retail investors were mocking MSTR’s decline after the BTC sell-off and it earnings. The stock had a 52-week range of $104.16 to $457.22, trading around $105 to $107 per share, as of the publication of this article. It fell 67.13% over the year and declined by 72.10% over the last six months. MSTR had a weaker price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings. Amazon.com Some retail investors believed that AMZN was available at a bargain as it was trading near $200 per share. The stock had a 52-week range of $161.43 to $258.60, trading around $197 to $200 per share, as of the publication of this article. It declined by 6.76% over the year and rose just 0.17% in the last six months. AMZN had a weaker price trend in the short, medium, and long term, with a solid quality ranking as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings. Palantir Technologies Some retail investors were curious to know how Michael Burry‘s PLTR shorts were performing after its 22.55% year-to-date slide. The stock had a 52-week range of $66.12 to $207.52, trading around $126 to $130 per share, as of the publication of this article. It returned 16.83% over the year and declined 27.59% in the last six months. Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings showed that PLTR had a weaker price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid growth score. Alphabet Some retail investors thought owning Alphabet shares was safe because of its massive revenue. The stock had a 52-week range of $142.66 to $350.15, trading around $322 to $325 per share, as of the publication of this article. It was up by 71.40% over the year and 68.26% over the last six months. GOOG maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long term, with a solid quality score, as per Benzinga...

In this article BRK.B BRK.A Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT (This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.) Berkshire Hathaway's stock outperformed the benchmark S&P 500 stock index this week as investors sought safety from a sell-off for technology stocks sparked by concerns that AI spending is outpacing revenues . Those declines are making Berkshire's more than $350 billion in cash look more like a blessing than a curse. The company's A shares were up 5.6% and the B shares gained 5.7%. Despite a rebound Friday that put the Dow above 50,000 for the first time, the S&P fell 0.1% on the week. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Berkshire shares are near even with the S&P year-to-date, recovering from a deficit of almost 8 percentage points last week. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards DaVita shares rally on strong earnings after Berkshire trims stake DaVita shares soared almost 29% this week after the dialysis company's Q4 earnings and full-year profit forecast released late Monday came in above analysts' expectations. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards That's good news for Berkshire, which has a 44% stake of more than 30 million shares that are currently valued at $4.2 billion. The not so good news, though, is that it was obliged to sell almost 1.7 million DVA shares at a pre-surge price of $120.56 each last Thursday, for a total of just under $200 million. In a 2024 agreement with DaVita , Berkshire promised to keep its stake at or below 45% of the company's outstanding shares, which declined last quarter as DaVita bought back its own stock. Borsheims' golden renovation Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary Borsheims is planning what it calls a "major architectural transformation" of its flagship Omaha jewelry store to signify its entry into a "new Golden Era." In a news release , President and CEO Karen Gorack...

In this article APPN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Thomas Fuller | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Company: Appian Corp. (APPN) Business: Appian provides business process management (BPM) solutions. Its products include BPM software, case management, mobile application development and platform-as-a-service. The company was founded by Matthew Calkins, Robert Kramer, Marc Wilson and Michael Beckley in 1999 and is headquartered in McLean, Va. Stock Market Value: $1.86B ($25.21 per share) Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Appian in the past 12 months Activist: Fivespan Partners Ownership: 7.91% Average Cost: $29.73 Activist Commentary: Fivespan Partners, LP is a San Francisco-based investment firm founded in October 2023 by Dylan Haggart and Sarah Coyne. Prior to Fivespan, Haggart and Coyne were partners at ValueAct Capital and 80% of the investment team is from ValueAct. Fivespan, named after the unique five-stone arched bridge in Haggart's hometown, views itself as a bridge between the market and companies. The firm prefers "behind the scenes," collaborative and amicable activism, but it would resort to a proxy fight if there were no other choice. We expect that Fivespan will look for board seats in situations where it believes it could add real value, but we do not expect the firm to pursue board representation as often as ValueAct does (i.e, in roughly 50% of core portfolio positions). Haggart has experience as a public company director. He served as a director of Seagate (2018-present) and Fiserv (2022-2024), where he delivered stellar returns over his tenures of 205.25% and 64.68%, respectively, versus 46.12% and 4.98% for the Russell 2000. Fivespan looks for high quality, idiosyncratic businesses with good, strategic assets. The firm does not advocate for selling its portfolio companies as a primary activist strategy, but it likes companies that people want to own. Accordingly, many of its activist campaigns could end with a sale of the...

The US is converting Cold War-era helicopters into drones, a move defence experts say could play a “critical role” in any conflict with Beijing over the Taiwan Strait. The PLA has also been retrofitting outdated aircraft to act as uncrewed drones, with both militaries unveiling similar systems within a month of each other last year. The S-70UAS U-Hawk, a fully autonomous helicopter based on the UH-60 Black Hawk , was first showcased last October at an annual American military event, where it was pitched for high-risk cargo resupply and tactical missions. Advertisement It was one of the key products introduced at this week’s Singapore Airshow by Sikorsky, a US helicopter maker and subsidiary of aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. Frank Crisafulli, director of global pursuits at Sikorsky and a former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, said the driver for U-Hawk demand in the Asia-Pacific could be seen “geopolitically” – from the “perception of what the threat is in the region”. Advertisement The UH-60 Black Hawk is a medium-lift military utility helicopter, first designed by Sikorsky in the 1970s for the US Army.

The acquisition of xAI by SpaceX is a typical Elon Musk deal: big numbers backed by big ambition. As well as extending “the light of consciousness to the stars”, as Musk described it, the transaction creates a business worth $1.25tn (£920bn) by combining Musk’s rocket company with his artificial intelligence startup. It values SpaceX at $1tn and xAI at $250bn, with a stock market flotation expected in June to time with Musk’s birthday and a planetary alignment. However, there are questions over the deal, such as whether it is good for SpaceX’s non-Musk shareholders and whether the technological premise behind it can succeed. Why is Musk linking up rockets and AI? For Musk, a key part of the deal’s rationale is to move datacentres – the central nervous system of AI tools – into space. AI companies are too dependent on earth-bound datacentres that carry immense energy demands, Musk argued this week. The solution, he says, is to put as many as a million satellites into orbit to form vast, solar-powered datacentres. Prof Julie McCann and Prof Matthew Santer, the co-directors of the school of convergence science in space, security and telecoms at Imperial College London, say solar-powered datacentres could be a future option for AI companies. However, there are limits to how much compute power can be mustered by current satellites, they say, so it would need a “planet-wide distributed computer composed of many satellites” – as envisioned by Musk. But even executing the concept might be affected by the quality of connection between the orbiting devices, which will need to operate in tandem in order to replicate terrestrial datacentres as they beam their outputs down to Earth. View image in fullscreen SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in October 2025. Photograph: Joe Marino/UPI/Shutterstock There are other problems to be ironed out, they add, including solar radiation and maintenance. “Datacentres on earth are constantly maintained – compone...

The acclaimed US opera singer refuses to restrict himself or his audience. His current Barbican residency sees him range across genres. Always ask questions, always engage, he says. He talks ‘capital O opera’ and big ideas In performance, Davóne Tines is electrifying. In the first concert of the US bass-baritone’s 2025-26 residency at London’s Barbican Centre , he appeared at the back of the auditorium and then slowly descended towards the stage, spotlit and subtly miked. His unaccompanied voice fractured into stentorian booms, spat-out consonants and the violent crackle of mouth noises. This, unmistakably, was the musician whom the New Yorker announced back in 2021 was “changing what it means to be a classical singer” . Since then, Tines has been named Musical America’s vocalist of the year, he has won a 2024 Chanel next prize for “international contemporary artists who are redefining their disciplines”. And he was awarded the 2025 Harvard arts medal for distinguished alumni of the Ivy League university who have demonstrated achievement in the arts. Recent winners of the latter include architect Frank Gehry and novelist Margaret Atwood . Unlike those cultural figureheads, Tines is not yet 40. Continue reading...

Extra, extra, Trump does racist thing again Despite Donald Trump’s war on woke, he hasn’t (yet) made Black History Month illegal. In fact, on Tuesday the president issued a proclamation declaring February 2026 to be a celebration of Black history and called “upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities”. Clearly he didn’t get his own memo because, two days later, during one of his frenetic late-night Truth Social ranting sessions, the president posted a racist video that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The minute-long video, made by a third party, amplified false claims that Trump won the 2020 election and showed the first Black president and first lady superimposed on the bodies of primates in a jungle setting, bobbing their heads to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight. It would be wrong to call this a mask-off moment because there is no mask with Trump. He has called Somali immigrants “garbage”, talked about “shithole countries”, and described Covid-19 as the “kung flu”. He launched his 2016 presidential campaign by calling Mexican immigrants drug dealers, criminals and rapists. He repeatedly questioned Obama’s birth certificate. He initiated a so-called Muslim ban and used the word “Palestinian” as a slur. And Palestinians mean so little to him that a plan to build megacities in the ruins of Gaza circulated in the White House. While Trump’s latest exhibition of racism was hardly surprising, it was still shocking. Indeed, the image was so blatantly racist that even some of Trump’s allies were disgusted. Senator Tim Scott, for example, who was on Trump’s shortlist to be VP in 2024 and is the only Black Republican senator, wrote that the video was the “most racist thing” he has seen from the Trump White House. You should probably pay a little bit more attention then, Tim! There’s plenty of competition for that accolade. A few other Republican...

Welcome to The Brink . I’m Miranda Davis , and I’ve been following the financial woes of Chicago’s last horse-racing track. We also have news on Nochu, Raízen, and pressures in the leveraged loan market. Follow this link to subscribe . Send us feedback and tips at debtnews@bloomberg.net . Last Legs Horse racing was never really a glamorous business at Hawthorne Race Course . Built in 1891, it’s a hardscrabble, little track tucked into an industrial zone just outside Chicago, a companion venue to the more chic Arlington Park on the city’s north side. But Arlington folded back in 2021 — a victim of the sport’s slow and steady decline — and now Hawthorne, drowning in debt and cut off from fresh financing by its bankers, is on the cusp of suffering the same fate. Its cash pile is so low that Hawthorne has been struggling to even pay out prize money to winning horse owners. Checks it sent out to owners have bounced in recent weeks, prompting state regulators to suspend its license to conduct harness races. Hawthorne’s CEO, Tim Carey , is scrambling to cobble together the financial backing he needs to re-open the track when its thoroughbred-racing season — the more high-profile part of its business — is scheduled to begin in late March. A long list of creditors, meanwhile, has lined up to demand payment on some $25 million in arrears the track has. Prominent among them: Churchill Downs ($1.6 million) and W.E. O’Neil Construction , which is waiting to be paid the $5.2 million it’s owed for demolition work it did back in 2019 to tear down most of Hawthorne’s grandstand and clear space for a casino (that never was built). The horse-racing industry has been struggling for years. Most gamblers today prefer the faster-paced betting options available on their phones from Kalshi , Polymarket and the sports-wagering sites. Casinos and lotteries lure away gamblers, too. Arlington is one of several major tracks that have closed in recent years across the US — from California to Flor...

KanawatTH/iStock via Getty Images I previously covered Palantir Technologies Inc. ( PLTR ) ( PLTR:CA ) in November 2025, discussing its robust AI monetization prospects and its highly strategic partnership with Nvidia ( NVDA ) during an ongoing AI boom. Despite the double-beat FQ3'25 performance and the raised FY2025 guidance, the notable divergence between the stock's outsized rally/overly expensive valuations and the decelerating growth profile/underwhelming consensus forward estimates had triggered risks to its investment thesis, as observed in the post-earnings correction, resulting in my reiterated Hold rating then. In this article, I shall discuss why I am reiterating my Hold rating for the PLTR stock here, despite the dip-buying opportunity arising from the recent ' Software Armageddon ' meltdown and their robust profitable growth trends as observed in the FQ4'25 outperformance/promising FY2026 guidance. My caution is attributed to the potential capital losses from the stock's still expensive valuations and the volatility from the higher beta coefficient notably negating its high growth, SaaS investment thesis. PLTR Proves Its AI Beneficiary Status PLTR 1Y Stock Price ( TradingView ) Since my last Hold rating, PLTR has indeed deeply retraced as posited in the third potential outcome discussed in my last article, with the stock already losing -37.3% of its value since the 52-week highs. Part of the pessimism may be warranted after all, with the market seemingly concerned about their SaaS growth headwinds "if artificial intelligence improves productivity but results in the elimination of jobs ." This is worsened by the AI tool seemingly making "some SaaS tools less important " as "many of these software products analyze and draw connections between data sets, help businesses manage their workflow, and generate reports. AI firms are increasingly developing and selling tools that perform similar tasks without the need for a dedicated platform." These are valid fe...

chaofann/iStock via Getty Images As REITs enter the fifth year of their bear market, some investors are losing patience and moving on to other, more popular sectors. It is hard to watch from the sidelines as things like AI stocks and precious metals surge to new all-time highs, richly rewarding other investors, even as REITs continue to stagnate behind. Even then, I continue to use this opportunity to steadily accumulate more shares of REITs, week after week, expecting significant upside over the coming years. So much so that I now have about 50% of my portfolio invested in the REIT sector ( VNQ ), and this number keeps on growing. I truly think that this is a once-in-a-decade opportunity, and I am putting my money where my mouth is. Here is why: Over the past weeks, we saw just how much Silver ( SLV ) and Gold ( GLD ) surged as the market became increasingly worried about the U.S. dollar. Silver nearly tripled over the past year alone as investors sought the safety of precious metals to protect themselves from the declining Dollar, as the Fed could soon potentially lose its independence, and rates could be artificially reduced. Data by YCharts What if I told you that something similar could happen to REITs, already in a not-so-distant future? Silver surged because these recent fears led to a renewed focus on capital preservation. I think that as it becomes clear to the market that the AI revolution is set to become the most deflationary force of the century, negatively impacting most businesses and pushing interest rates to lower levels, investors will become more concerned about capital preservation than ever before, and flock en masse to REITs and other AI-proof asset classes. REITs Are The Ultimate Anti-AI Play Today, Wall Street appears to think that AI will be a tailwind for most businesses as it allows them to reduce costs and increase margins. This may be true in the near-term. However, over the long run, AI will also break barriers to entry, leading to much...

Don Wu/E+ via Getty Images What does a $75,000 semi-retirement look like This article is going to be a follow-up to my previous retirement article that can be found here: How Much Do I Really Need To Retire With $100,000 A Year In Spending? This one is going to be aimed at a semi-retired couple that has been saving diligently throughout their career. It was tough: 80 hour weeks, long meetings, time away from the kids on trips to see people you've never met to make a sale. The corporate grind. A proper downshift Now this couple has hit a point in their life, a crossroads, if you will, where money is compounding faster and in greater amounts than they can earn it. They go through compound interest calculators and Monte Carlo simulators and find that each new incremental dollar doesn't add much to their 30-40 year nest egg. They've reached financial independence. This couple might also be in the 45-55-year-old age group. Very young, too young to fully retire, the internet will say, so they start a 'downshift' career to supplement their portfolio income. There's a myriad of small business endeavors that can now be undertaken both online and in person. From the more risky brick and mortar coffee and bagel shops to the low-investment, high-creativity online blogging and content creation realm. Of course, we also have the ever-mysterious and vague 'consulting' side hustle, where one still coaches industry newcomers on whatever their expertise is. A hypothetical 55-year-old couple Let's run through a hypothetical scenario where an individual lives in a tax-free state [to make federal taxes easier to examine]. They need $75,000 from their portfolio each year, adjusted for inflation. The remainder of what they need, $40,000, would come from a small business they run. I'll call this couple Jensen and Jane Dough. They just left their corporate tech jobs and now want to take care of the high school age kid and do more travel with him while he's still willing to tag along. Jensen...

Yuri de Mesquita Bar/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis iShares Latin America 40 ETF ( ILF ) offers exposure to the forty largest public companies operating in the region. While I am optimistic about Latin America's broad long-term prospects, I think that ILF's unbalanced exposure to the various markets that make up Latin America is a serious limitation. This is illustrated by the fact that most (~83%) of its assets are concentrated in just two countries, Brazil and Mexico. Nevertheless, a sell rating for the fund would not be warranted in view of its very strong recent performance and competitive long-term record. Balancing this against my structural concerns, I come to a hold rating overall, with a suggestion that combining single country ETFs (and perhaps owning some individual high-quality equities) may be a more effective way to get diversified economic exposure to Latin America. Recent Performance Data by YCharts The first thing to highlight is that ILF has provided very strong results over the last year, with its 61% total return representing close to four times the performance of the S&P 500 over the same period. However, as a long-term-oriented investor, I find a longer-term lens more useful, especially for single country or region-oriented ETFs (as in the case of ILF). Data by YCharts As shown above, the long-term story for ILF is also very encouraging, and we have a large window in which to compare performance with U.S. stocks, given that ILF was launched just over 24 years ago, in October 2001. While in terms of total return since inception it is slightly behind U.S. large caps, with around 96% of the total return from SPY, it has been marginally ahead of U.S. stocks as recently as late 2023, as shown above. In terms of the explosive growth shown on the graph over the last year, it's worth clarifying that this has been driven by a confluence of factors. To some degree, it can be attributed to significant weakening of the dollar, with the Brazilian...

MicroStockHub/iStock via Getty Images DTH Outlook International value stocks had stellar performance in 2025, as a combination of the low valuation and weak USD performance caused valuations to begin to mean-revert. On top of this, dividend income strategies also proved to be extraordinarily special during this time period. The S&P 500 lagged behind all of these strategies, and the main group that stood out in 2025 was international dividend stocks. Data by YCharts The WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund ( DTH ) is a solid vehicle for investors who want to diversify away from the United States and Canada and focus on other higher-yielding markets. Moreover, this fund is also superior to many peer international ETFs, as it is not bound to major indices and can instead select stocks in international markets based on equity characteristics. This unique set is appealing, as DTH trades at a discount to markets like Japan and Europe, and also offers an above-average yield. Even after its circa 50% bull run in the past twelve months, its valuation and yield are still attractive. Most importantly, DTH has a more favorable stock selection process, which allows returns to be driven by equity characteristics instead of broader trends in regional markets. DTH has many unique characteristics, which should help it continue outperforming other international ETFs in 2026. I have a hold rating on this ETF merely because of broader macro risks, and because many international ETFs will likely have lower returns following the stellar 2025 bull run. International Dividend Strategy International dividend investing is a great way to access markets at lower valuations, enjoy higher yields, and diversify away from US-dominated ETFs. Valuations in US markets have remained stretched relative to other regional markets like Europe, Japan, and Asia. JPMorgan US equities currently trade at around 28x earnings and yield 1.1%, which will likely lead many investors to continue seeking cheape...

KanawatTH/iStock via Getty Images I previously covered Palantir Technologies Inc. ( PLTR ) ( PLTR:CA ) in November 2025, discussing its robust AI monetization prospects and its highly strategic partnership with Nvidia ( NVDA ) during an ongoing AI boom. Despite the double-beat FQ3'25 performance and the raised FY2025 guidance, the notable divergence between the stock's outsized rally/overly expensive valuations and the decelerating growth profile/underwhelming consensus forward estimates had triggered risks to its investment thesis, as observed in the post-earnings correction, resulting in my reiterated Hold rating then. In this article, I shall discuss why I am reiterating my Hold rating for the PLTR stock here, despite the dip-buying opportunity arising from the recent ' Software Armageddon ' meltdown and their robust profitable growth trends as observed in the FQ4'25 outperformance/promising FY2026 guidance. My caution is attributed to the potential capital losses from the stock's still expensive valuations and the volatility from the higher beta coefficient notably negating its high growth, SaaS investment thesis. PLTR Proves Its AI Beneficiary Status PLTR 1Y Stock Price ( TradingView ) Since my last Hold rating, PLTR has indeed deeply retraced as posited in the third potential outcome discussed in my last article, with the stock already losing -37.3% of its value since the 52-week highs. Part of the pessimism may be warranted after all, with the market seemingly concerned about their SaaS growth headwinds "if artificial intelligence improves productivity but results in the elimination of jobs ." This is worsened by the AI tool seemingly making "some SaaS tools less important " as "many of these software products analyze and draw connections between data sets, help businesses manage their workflow, and generate reports. AI firms are increasingly developing and selling tools that perform similar tasks without the need for a dedicated platform." These are valid fe...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The decentralized finance landscape is moving into a new phase of technical delivery as established projects reach critical development milestones. One such project, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) , has recently confirmed the completion of several key steps in its second roadmap phase. These updates include the activation of its initial protocol on a public testnet and the finalization of formal security reviews by independent firms. As the industry shifts from conceptual designs to functional utilities, these milestones serve as a benchmark for protocol readiness. Mutuum Finance is positioning itself as an infrastructure-focused protocol designed to facilitate credit and liquidity within a non-custodial framework. Understanding the Mutuum Finance Ecosystem Mutuum Finance is an Ethereum-based protocol building a decentralized lending and borrowing hub. The project’s core objective is to provide an alternative to centralized credit systems by allowing users to manage their assets through automated smart contracts. The architecture is designed around two distinct market models to serve a variety of user needs. The protocol is designed around two lending models, Peer-to-Contract (P2C) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P). The P2C model is based on shared liquidity pools, where users supply digital assets and earn a return while borrowers can access funds instantly by providing collateral worth more than the borrowed amount. Alongside this, the P2P model is intended for more customized arrangements. It allows lenders and borrowers to agree directly on specific terms, such as interest rates and loan durations, which can be useful for assets that do not fit well into standard liquidity pools. When a user supplies assets to the protocol, they receive mtTokens as a digital receipt of their deposit. These tokens are yield-bearing assets, meaning their value is designed to increase relative to the underlying deposit as borrowers repay i...

I’m an awful rock climber. Being scared of heights probably doesn’t help. But when I’ve tried it, I’ve loved the slow, methodical work of moving from one ledge to the next. It reminds me a lot of why I love running; in both sports, you achieve goals that seem insurmountable by taking them one step at a time. Cairn, a new game from The Game Bakers, is one of the few games I’ve played that truly captures that feeling. You play as Aava, a famous climber obsessed with summiting a mountain called Kami. You climb by moving all four of Aava’s limbs, one by one, to find safe cracks, bumps, and ledges to let you inch your way higher, all while managing tools and resources carried in your backpack. Climbing games are becoming something of a trend, but Cairn is different from Jusant, where you just control the character’s hands, or Baby Steps, a sillier game where you just control the character’s feet. It’s been a decade since my short-lived membership at a rock-climbing gym, but Cairn’s mechanics brought back all sorts of memories of my time scaling the walls, especially the importance of good footwork. Based on my amateur experience, it’s a great rock-climbing simulator. By setting spikes into the walls, you can make spots where your rope will catch you if you slip off the mountain face. A robot companion picks up the spikes when you reach safety so you can use them again. By using chalk, you get a temporary boost to your grip. With food and drink, you’ll help keep yourself fed, hydrated, and warm. Progress can be grueling. I was almost always on edge as I methodically searched for the next place to put Aava’s hand or foot. Slipping comes at a cost; you’ll fall to your last spike or to the ground, and depending on how far down those are, it could mean another long climb, hitting yourself against the wall, or, in the worst case, death. Rain, wind, snow, and ice make things even more difficult. But it’s also peaceful, in a way. I was incredibly focused while playing, and more ...