SmileStudioAP/iStock via Getty Images The technology sector had a turbulent start to the year, with a broad selloff compounded by pressures from the U.S.–Iran conflict and broader global market weakness. The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLK ) fell 7.90% in the first quarter, underperforming the wider market, which declined 4.81% over the same period. As companies prepare to rep...
SmileStudioAP/iStock via Getty Images The technology sector had a turbulent start to the year, with a broad selloff compounded by pressures from the U.S.–Iran conflict and broader global market weakness. The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLK ) fell 7.90% in the first quarter, underperforming the wider market, which declined 4.81% over the same period. As companies prepare to report their results for the quarter gone by, FactSet analyst John Butters noted that 59 out of 110 companies have issued positive EPS guidance, the highest in five years. The majority of these positive earnings projections were concentrated in the information technology and energy sectors. The tech sector stood out with the highest number of companies issuing positive EPS guidance. Overall, 33 tech firms projected a positive EPS for the quarter. “This quarter ties the mark with the previous quarter for the second-highest number of companies in the information technology sector issuing positive EPS guidance for a quarter since FactSet began tracking this metric in 2006. The current record is 36, which occurred in Q3 2025,” Butters said. Within the information technology sector, the semiconductors and semiconductor equipment industry leads in positive EPS guidance, with 10 companies issuing upbeat forecasts. Mirroring EPS guidance trends, the information technology sector leads all 11 sectors with 47 companies issuing positive revenue guidance. This also marks a record high for the sector since FactSet began tracking the metric in 2006, surpassing the previous peak of 45 in Q2 2021. According to Seeking Alpha’s Quant rating system, the sector has an average health score of 3.12. The system awards grades based on quantitative measures, like valuation, earnings growth, and recent stock performance. The highest possible score for any individual company is a 5. Among individual companies in the tech sector, 47 stocks were rated as Buy or higher based on their Quant ratings, 200 sto...
Waning output at North America’s top gold producers is helping mining rivals in other regions catch up in the latest global rankings for annual bullion production. Newmont Corp. , Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Barrick Mining Corp. had lower gold production in 2025 from the prior year — and all three North American companies expect output to decline further this year. Meanwhile, global peers includin...
Waning output at North America’s top gold producers is helping mining rivals in other regions catch up in the latest global rankings for annual bullion production. Newmont Corp. , Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Barrick Mining Corp. had lower gold production in 2025 from the prior year — and all three North American companies expect output to decline further this year. Meanwhile, global peers including China’s Zijin Mining Group Co. , Africa-focused AngloGold Ashanti Plc and Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Co. saw production climb, according to the latest financial disclosures. For North America’s established producers, which have remained largely focused on enhancing their existing top mines, the path to increasing output may lie in ramping up exploration as opportunities to acquire high-quality assets are dwindling. In contrast, global peers such as Zijin and Gold Fields are showing a greater appetite for developing smaller projects and a willingness to acquire assets shed by their North American peers, helping boost their production growth profile. In the former Soviet Union space, miners are expanding by developing both existing and new resources. NMMC plans to raise output to about 4 million ounces by 2030 through domestic projects. And Russia’s Polyus is preparing to start Sukhoi Log, one of the world’s largest gold deposits, which could help to more than double the company’s output once the mine ramps up by the end of the decade.
Internal secrecy appears to stretch to Augusta chairman ‘It’s not a trivial question … they won’t tell me the answer’ The Masters gnome drama has taken another twist after the chair of Augusta National admitted he is in the dark as to the must-have item’s future. Fred Ridley has repeatedly asked whether 2026 will be the final year for gnomes being on sale – as has been widely speculated – but reve...
Internal secrecy appears to stretch to Augusta chairman ‘It’s not a trivial question … they won’t tell me the answer’ The Masters gnome drama has taken another twist after the chair of Augusta National admitted he is in the dark as to the must-have item’s future. Fred Ridley has repeatedly asked whether 2026 will be the final year for gnomes being on sale – as has been widely speculated – but revealed there is internal secrecy even towards him. Continue reading...
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) closed out 2025 with results that tell two distinct stories. JPMorgan made a headline bet on the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Card while posting record wealth and payments revenue while Bank of America delivered its fifth consecutive quarter of rising net interest income, with a CEO who called ... JPMorgan vs. Bank of America: Wall Street Has a Clea...
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) closed out 2025 with results that tell two distinct stories. JPMorgan made a headline bet on the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Card while posting record wealth and payments revenue while Bank of America delivered its fifth consecutive quarter of rising net interest income, with a CEO who called ... JPMorgan vs. Bank of America: Wall Street Has a Clear Favorite Stock Right Now
Analysts say doubts over stability of the ceasefire and damage to production sites mean the energy crisis is far from over Middle East crisis – live updates If the US-Israeli ceasefire with Iran holds, it could offer the clearest hope of an end to the energy crisis since Iran’s Revolutionary Guards assumed control of the strait of Hormuz after the conflict began 40 days ago. But analysts fear that...
Analysts say doubts over stability of the ceasefire and damage to production sites mean the energy crisis is far from over Middle East crisis – live updates If the US-Israeli ceasefire with Iran holds, it could offer the clearest hope of an end to the energy crisis since Iran’s Revolutionary Guards assumed control of the strait of Hormuz after the conflict began 40 days ago. But analysts fear that for hundreds of tankers stranded in the Gulf, any detente between the White House and Tehran will not be enough to return the flow of oil, gas, chemicals and other vital items to pre-crisis levels. Continue reading...
This morning’s relief rally over a US-Iran ceasefire is already running into some roadblocks. Saudi Arabia’s key east-west oil pipeline was hit by a drone . Everyone is waiting to see how any talks emerge, and how many ships make it through the Strait of Hormuz - Bloomberg Economics’ take is that the two-week ceasefire offers only “temporary relief”. The international world order has changed irrev...
This morning’s relief rally over a US-Iran ceasefire is already running into some roadblocks. Saudi Arabia’s key east-west oil pipeline was hit by a drone . Everyone is waiting to see how any talks emerge, and how many ships make it through the Strait of Hormuz - Bloomberg Economics’ take is that the two-week ceasefire offers only “temporary relief”. The international world order has changed irrevocably, as this tour de force by our political editor Alex Wickham shows . It’s a pretty depressing read. President Donald Trump’s campaign has suffered a “strategic setback,” he says, “bolstering China and Russia while squandering American strengths.” There will be implications for the war in Ukraine, for the resilience of NATO, for Gulf states’ willingness to trust the US and so on. Short term, Keir Starmer’s prospects are extended - but with oil still higher than before the war; and Iran wanting to charge for access to the Strait of Hormuz, the prime minister will know that the aftershocks will be severe when they come. You can see below in this graph from our political team that Starmer could be safe in the immediate aftermath of May’s election results. Before the war, it was as close to certain as anything in politics ever is that the election would see him challenged. The conflict has also changed Starmer’s political offering. Long gone is his strategic pose as a Trump Whisperer and now we have more of a Trump Baiter, trying to emulate other European leaders like Spain’s Pedro Sanchez . In a party political broadcast last night, Labour leaned into this identity explicitly , contrasting the PM’s decision to keep his distance with the choice by Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage to support US actions: “If they’d been in government, we would be in a war without a plan,” Starmer told voters. These bar charts show you - a growing number of Britons oppose the actions in the Middle East. As we wondered in the Readout a few weeks back, and as Alex reported last week, Starmer find...
In this episode of Rule Breaker Investing, David Garner shares his insights on: To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center . When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy . A full transcript is below. Continue reading
In this episode of Rule Breaker Investing, David Garner shares his insights on: To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center . When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy . A full transcript is below. Continue reading
The broad stock market was soaring today in response to news of a two-week ceasefire with Iran that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was among the winners, benefiting from a risk-on appetite in response to the detente. Though Alphabet doesn't have direct exposure to Iran or even high oil prices, it is one of the companies most exposed to the health o...
The broad stock market was soaring today in response to news of a two-week ceasefire with Iran that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was among the winners, benefiting from a risk-on appetite in response to the detente. Though Alphabet doesn't have direct exposure to Iran or even high oil prices, it is one of the companies most exposed to the health of the global economy because of its size and focus on digital advertising. As of 11:31 a.m. ET, the stock was up 3.7%, outpacing the Nasdaq Composite's gain of 2.6%. Continue reading