Tatiana rico/iStock via Getty Images Background President Donald Trump has warned Iran that if a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reached within mere hours, a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” (You can see the rest of the Truth Social post below.) Markets suffered a selloff shortly after the message, but while I don’t believe that the President is bluffi...
Tatiana rico/iStock via Getty Images Background President Donald Trump has warned Iran that if a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reached within mere hours, a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” (You can see the rest of the Truth Social post below.) Markets suffered a selloff shortly after the message, but while I don’t believe that the President is bluffing in his threats, I also doubt that he intends to attack the Iranian people directly, as I will explain later. Truth Social For now, the Trump Administration and the government of Iran are locked in a staring contest, and it’s hard to predict who will blink first. President Trump will not blink, in my opinion, but could prove quite willing to hold off on attacks so long as Iran makes at least some concessions and overtures. This would likely boost markets, substantially at first, but if progress in further negotiations stalls again or the war intensifies elsewhere, the rally could be smothered quickly. The timeline feels increasingly constrained, and while the Trump Administration has signaled they see an end to the conflict , I believe the chances are equally high that the war will escalate. I’d be surprised if the Trump Administration and the Iranian government can reach an agreement before the deadline expires. Indeed, the Iranian government has apparently cut off communication with the Trump Administration as the deadline fast approaches. Investing is sometimes a game of hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. The same has proven true in global geopolitical negotiations, and not just with Iran, but also Russia, the Venezuelan government, etc. Right now, that approach strikes me as prudent. Thesis Any aggressive moves by the United States are likely to sink markets. It’s not simply that investors are war-weary. Indeed, escalating the war will likely stoke government demand, thus potentially stimulating the economy. At the very least, this demand would blunt the...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images AVES at a Glance The Avantis Emerging Markets Value ETF ( AVES ) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that invests in companies in emerging markets, focused on stocks that trade at lower valuations relative to their book values and with higher profitability ratios. Avantis, a subsidiary of American Century Investments and the fund manager, pitche...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images AVES at a Glance The Avantis Emerging Markets Value ETF ( AVES ) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that invests in companies in emerging markets, focused on stocks that trade at lower valuations relative to their book values and with higher profitability ratios. Avantis, a subsidiary of American Century Investments and the fund manager, pitches AVES as a way to get value in emerging markets, and on paper, this sounds interesting. However, applying a value tilt to developing markets that are structurally unclear, stocks with less liquidity, and often dominated by state-linked companies is a much trickier game to win long-term. AVES was launched on September 28, 2021 , and as of December 31, 2025, the fund has a total AUM of $1.3Bn, with a 0.36% expense ratio . The expense ratio is modest relative to other actively managed emerging markets funds, and the portfolio holds over 1,800 names, making it genuinely diversified at first glance. The fund's benchmark is the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Value Index, and its passive peer for this article is the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Value Factor ETF ( EVLU ), which tracks a similar universe without the active mandate. My take is that AVES is not a disaster, but when I review underperformance against a passive peer since inception, a poor sectoral positioning heading into an AI world that is looking for cheap compute, and the inherent challenges of value investing in developing economies, I'm not feeling too hot on this fund. For now, I'll monitor, but I rate it a hold. Fund Breakdown AVES is pretty straightforward and looks to find companies in emerging markets that have cheap price-to-book and carry above-average profitability ratios, hold them broadly, and rebalance with low turnover. The fund reports a 12% portfolio turnover rate, which is pretty low for an active fund and signals a patient approach. While the fund's weighted average book-to-market and price-to-book ra...
Short-term pressure has pushed the stock lower, but the fundamentals haven't broken. In fact, the setup now looks more like an opportunity than a warning sign.
Short-term pressure has pushed the stock lower, but the fundamentals haven't broken. In fact, the setup now looks more like an opportunity than a warning sign.
Amazon’s aggressive AI investments are spooking investors — but one analyst believes they’re necessary for the company to fulfill accelerating cloud demand.
Amazon’s aggressive AI investments are spooking investors — but one analyst believes they’re necessary for the company to fulfill accelerating cloud demand.
patty_c Wayfair Inc. ( W ) plans to continue to grow its retail store footprint with a large-format store in Florida at Galleria Fort Lauderdale. The 94,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open in late 2027. Like its stores in the Chicago area and Atlanta, Wayfair's ( W ) Fort Lauderdale location is being designed to reflect the local community, with assortments tailored to the South Florida cus...
patty_c Wayfair Inc. ( W ) plans to continue to grow its retail store footprint with a large-format store in Florida at Galleria Fort Lauderdale. The 94,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open in late 2027. Like its stores in the Chicago area and Atlanta, Wayfair's ( W ) Fort Lauderdale location is being designed to reflect the local community, with assortments tailored to the South Florida customer and lifestyle. The store, which will be the company's first in Florida, will feature products and design inspiration that align with the region's coastal aesthetic, indoor-outdoor living, and year-round entertaining. "As we continue to grow our retail footprint, entering Florida with a namesake store is an exciting next step for Wayfair," highlighted Wayfair ( W ) Vice President of Merchandising and Stores Liza Lefkowski. "Galleria Fort Lauderdale's transformation creates an ideal setting for us to introduce our in-store experience to a new community of customers," she added. Many items at the Fort Lauderdale store will be available for immediate take-home, while larger pieces such as sofas, dining sets, and outdoor furniture can be delivered fast and free through Wayfair's best-in-class logistics network. Fort Lauderdale is seen by Wayfair ( W ) as representing an ideal market for the brand's continued expansion into high-impact regions across the U.S. The Fort Lauderdale store announcement marks Wayfair's ( W ) sixth store announcement. The locations in Wilmette, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia, are open, while the locations in Columbus, Ohio, and Denver, Colorado, are opening later this year, and the Westchester, New York, location will open in early 2027. More on Wayfair Wayfair Inc. (W) Presents at UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference Transcript Wayfair: Valuation Is Still Cheap, As We Can Print Strong Earnings Growth Wayfair: The Headwinds Persist - I Am Not A Buyer After The Q4 Results After the Supreme Court's tariff ruling, here's what could be next for s...