Next stop: Quantitative Tightening? Alina Rudya/Bell Collective/DigitalVision via Getty Images On January 27 , 2026, while speaking to reporters, Trump said the value of the dollar was "great" when asked if he thought it had declined too much. Just three days later, he announced the nomination of Kevin Warsh, a known hawk and QE skeptic , as the next Chairman of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve. The nomination of a hawkish new Chairman took place three weeks after J. Powell went public with a critical message calling a DOJ probe a "pretext" for political pressure on interest rates and emphasized Fed independence. If you are puzzled by the actions of the current US administration, you are not alone. I think the market itself is equally puzzled. I believe the correction we are currently seeing in Tech names and risk assets is mostly caused by the prospect of a hawkish Fed governor that may never return to fully accommodating monetary policy. That fear is compounded by the idea that a US recession may be looming in the future. Personally, I argue it is unlikely Warsh will be able to stop the “train” of currency debasement - a term coined by analyst Lyn Alden . Why I Think The Market Is (Mostly) Scared About Warsh I made a bold prediction at the end of last year, arguing 2026 may come as a surprise and turn into a very bullish year. Obviously, one-year forecasts must be taken with more than a pinch of salt. But my bullishness can be extended to longer time frames, and it is driven by two elements: The idea that currency debasement in all its forms (fiscal deficits, public debt, QE, low rates, and more recently “Trumpnomics”) is inevitable and accelerating. The idea that AI is a transformative technology and will have a significant impact on global productivity. I will discuss more about the second element in my next section, arguing the state of the US economy is very much tied to AI. For what concerns currency debasement, however, the nomination of Kevin W...

Earnings Call Insights: Roivant Sciences Ltd. (ROIV) Q3 2025 Management View CEO Matthew Gline opened the call highlighting "positive Phase II results for brepocitinib and cutaneous sarcoidosis and Roivant's financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2025." He noted, "the NDA for brepo was in dermatomyositis that the Phase IIb study for 1402 D2T RA has fully enrolled that the Phase II study for mostly in PH-ILD has fully enrolled," along with the Immunovant offering, which provides financing to the Graves' launch. Gline stated, "2026 is, again, a very busy year for us ahead. Obviously, some major events later in the year on the brepo NIU Phase III, the pivotal readout in the second half. We're now going to be starting this year a Phase III study in brepo and cutaneous sarcoidosis." He also confirmed, "We are still on track for the jury trial against Moderna starting on March 9, so just a few weeks away now." Ben Zimmer, President of Health, described the Phase II cutaneous sarcoidosis data as "very compelling," emphasizing, "100% of patients on brepo 45 equivalent to 14 on placebo had a 10-point improvement. Again, clinically meaningful was 5 points." CFO remarks included, "R&D expense of $165 million adjusted non-GAAP of $147 million for the quarter. G&A of $175 million, adjusted non-GAAP of $71 million, for total non-GAAP net loss of $167 million. Cash remains very strong, $4.5 billion of consolidated cash in the business." Outlook Gline laid out a catalyst-rich 2026, stating, "The Phase IIb data for mostly is expected firmly in the second half of this year. We now know that because the study is fully enrolled, obviously. Same thing with the D2t RA data where all of that, both the open-label period and the randomized withdrawal period will be done by the second half of this year. We also are getting proof-of-concept data in 1402 and CLE." He added, "We are now, as I mentioned earlier, expecting the DTRA data later this year, and that study is fully...

What Happened? Shares of PCB manufacturing company TTM Technologies (NASDAQ:TTMI) jumped 7.3% in the afternoon session after reports suggested the company could be a major winner from Alphabet's expanded spending plans for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Alphabet, Google's parent company, announced it planned to spend between $175 billion and $185 billion in 2026, which almost doubled its prior spending on AI systems. TTM Technologies manufactures advanced printed circuit boards, which are essential components for AI infrastructure. The news came after the company reported strong fourth-quarter results, with sales growing 19% compared to the previous year. This growth was driven by solid demand from data center and networking customers who are building out systems for generative AI. Is now the time to buy TTM Technologies? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free. What Is The Market Telling Us TTM Technologies’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 40 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock dropped 10.4% on the news that sentiment weakened following a surprisingly weak private payrolls report from ADP. According to the ADP National Employment Report, the U.S. private sector added only 22,000 jobs in January, falling significantly short of economists' estimates of 45,000 to 48,000. The slowdown was led by the manufacturing and the professional and business services sectors. The professional and business services category was particularly hard-hit, shedding 57,000 jobs, marking its most substantial monthly decline since mid-2025. This lackluster hiring data points to a potential cooling in the labor market, raising concerns for companies whose revenues are closely tied to employment levels and business spending. T...

Key Takeaways Nvidia and other semiconductor stocks rallied Friday after Amazon followed cloud peers with a massive AI spending forecast. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC Friday that demand has been "going through the roof." America's biggest cloud giants are doubling down on their investments in AI hardware. That hasn't helped their shares lately—but chipmakers are getting a lift as their orders keep rolling in. Shares of AI chip leader Nvidia (NVDA) were up 8% in late trading Friday helping send the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 50,000 points for the first time, while Amazon (AMZN) shares slumped a day after the cloud provider followed other major Nvidia clients with a massive AI spending forecast. Other semiconductors stocks including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO) and Marvell Technology (MRVL) also surged, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (SOX) up nearly 6%. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC in a televised interview Friday that demand has been "going through the roof" as cloud heavyweights lead what he believes could become the “largest infrastructure buildout in human history.” Why This Matters to Investors As major cloud providers such as Amazon prepare to shoulder huge costs to build out their AI capacity, investor support has flagged amid worries about their returns. However, makers of chips and other hardware for data centers have seen their stocks surge on the commitments. Investments planned by Amazon, Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL)—all buyers of Nvidia chips—could collectively reach an estimated $650 billion in 2026, after the giants recently updated investors on their financials. Huang also said Friday he believe the AI industry could be reaching an "inflection point" as the technology becomes more widely used across different industries. With Friday's gains, shares of Nvidia have gotten back to break-even for 2026 after a rough start to the year, and are up more than 40% over the past 12...

Key Takeaways Nvidia and other semiconductor stocks rallied Friday after Amazon followed cloud peers with a massive AI spending forecast. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC Friday that demand has been "going through the roof." America's biggest cloud giants are doubling down on their investments in AI hardware. That hasn't helped their shares lately—but chipmakers are getting a lift as their orders keep rolling in. Shares of AI chip leader Nvidia (NVDA) were up 8% in late trading Friday helping send the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 50,000 points for the first time, while Amazon (AMZN) shares slumped a day after the cloud provider followed other major Nvidia clients with a massive AI spending forecast. Other semiconductors stocks including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO) and Marvell Technology (MRVL) also surged, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (SOX) up nearly 6%. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC in a televised interview Friday that demand has been "going through the roof" as cloud heavyweights lead what he believes could become the “largest infrastructure buildout in human history.” Why This Matters to Investors As major cloud providers such as Amazon prepare to shoulder huge costs to build out their AI capacity, investor support has flagged amid worries about their returns. However, makers of chips and other hardware for data centers have seen their stocks surge on the commitments. Investments planned by Amazon, Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL)—all buyers of Nvidia chips—could collectively reach an estimated $650 billion in 2026, after the giants recently updated investors on their financials. Huang also said Friday he believe the AI industry could be reaching an "inflection point" as the technology becomes more widely used across different industries. With Friday's gains, shares of Nvidia have gotten back to break-even for 2026 after a rough start to the year, and are up more than 40% over the past 12...

Earnings Call Insights: MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (MKTX) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Christopher Concannon highlighted "progress we achieved in delivering new protocols and functionality in 2025" and emphasized excitement for 2026, focusing on expanding MarketAxess's global network, strengthening proprietary data and analytics, and investing in multiprotocol solutions for both buy and sell sides. He stated, "We made significant progress in 2025, delivering and growing protocols across our 3 channels: portfolio trading protocols, block trading protocols, dealer matching protocols, automation protocols and our closing auction protocol." Concannon reported "record revenue of $846 million," citing 10% growth in product areas outside U.S. credit and record total ADV, commission revenue, and services revenue. He noted that MarketAxess generated "record annual free cash flow generation of $347 million" and returned $474 million to investors via share repurchases and dividends. The CEO announced an enhanced capital return plan of $400 million, including a $300 million accelerated share repurchase (ASR), and welcomed Doug Cifu and Ken Schiciano as new Board members, stating both "will be integral to the Board and me as we continue to execute our long-term strategy." Concannon detailed strong momentum in block trading, portfolio trading, and dealer-initiated protocols, with "a 29% increase in block trading ADV," "28% estimated market share in U.S. high-yield portfolio trading," and over $3 billion in trading volume in the new Mid-X protocol. He added, "Block trading in U.S. credit, emerging markets and eurobonds now makes up about 1/3 of our credit ADV and represents the next step in the growth of electronic trading." CFO Ilene Bieler stated, "We delivered 3.5% revenue growth to $209 million...reported diluted earnings per share of $2.51 or $1.68 per share, excluding notable items." Outlook CFO Bieler provided 2026 guidance: "Total services revenue, which includes information...

A rioter who was pardoned by Donald Trump for the felony he was convicted of in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 has pleaded guilty to a harassment charge over threats to kill congressman and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. Christopher Moynihan, 35, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge in a hearing in Clinton, New York, prosecutors said, and will be sentenced in April. His representative could not immediately be reached. “Threats against elected officials are not political speech, they are criminal acts that strike at the heart of public safety and our democratic system,” the district attorney for Dutchess county, Anthony Parisi, said in a statement. Moynihan, of Pleasant Valley, New York, was charged last October after he sent threatening text messages about an appearance Jeffries was scheduled to make in New York City, according to a complaint filed in New York state court in Clinton. Jeffries represents New York in Congress. “Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live. … I will kill him for the future,” the text messages read, according to the complaint. “These text messages placed the recipient in reasonable fear of the imminent murder and assassination of Hakeem Jeffries by the defendant,” the complaint had said. Previously, in February 2023, Moynihan was sentenced to 21 months in prison on charges including obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony. He was among more than 1,500 people charged in the insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington DC by supporters of Trump on 6 January 2021. The attack was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to prevent the official certification by congress of Joe Biden’s win over Trump in the 2020 US presidential election. Trump pardoned nearly everyone criminally charged with participating in the Capitol attack when he began his second term last January, in a show of solidarity with supporters who backed his false claim of victory in the 2020...

Earnings Call Insights: AptarGroup (ATR) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Stephan Tanda emphasized "very strong top line performance" for Q4, with reported sales growing 14% to $963 million and core sales up 5%. Tanda noted, "Adjusted EBITDA margin was approximately 20%, impacted partially by a combination of higher-than-expected production costs in our Beauty and Closures segments as well as shifts in product mix, including the decline in demand for emergency medicine products that we discussed last quarter." He highlighted core sales growth across all segments, with Pharma leading due to strong elastomeric component demand and a "return to growth in our Consumer Healthcare division." Tanda reported significant new product launches in the Pharma segment, including the FDA-approved CARDAMYST nasal spray and international regulatory milestones such as the approval of neffy in Australia. In Beauty, major launches included Unilever’s Nexxus hair care line and Chanel’s HYDRA BEAUTY Micro Serum. The Closures segment saw launches with McCormick and Coca-Cola. Tanda stated, "In 2025, we returned $486 million, so almost $0.5 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends... Capital expenditures decreased year-over-year and represented about 7% of sales, which reflected our focus on efficiency and prioritization of high-return investments." CFO Vanessa Kanu reported, "Adjusted earnings per share were $1.25 compared to the prior year's adjusted earnings per share of $1.62 at comparable exchange rates." Kanu detailed margin pressures in Beauty and Closures, noting, "Adjusted EBITDA of $191 million, a decrease of 2% from the prior year and adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.8% compared to 23% in the prior year due to a combination of less favorable product mix and higher-than-anticipated production costs." Outlook Kanu reaffirmed the prior outlook on emergency medicine, stating, "We continue to anticipate near-term headwinds extending through 2026... we expect the decline...

Anti-ICE Applause: Jackson's Disqualifying Moment Authored by David Manney via PJ Media , One thing we should never see is judges high-fiving criminals at parties ; they enforce the law, not celebrate those who mock it. Neutrality demands distance from chaos, especially when robes hang in the closet. Attending events that trash law enforcement turns impartiality into a punchline. Blackburn's Call for Probe Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) urged Chief Justice John Roberts to investigate Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson . Blackburn pointed to Jackson's attendance at the Grammy Awards on Jan. 29 in Los Angeles. "While it is by no means unheard of or unusual for a Supreme Court justice to attend a public function, very rarely—if ever—have justices of our nation’s highest Court been present at an event at which attendees have amplified such far-left rhetoric ," Blackburn wrote in a letter to Roberts. Blackburn, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee , called for an investigation into whether Jackson’s actions violate the high court's Code of Conduct and would require her to recuse herself from certain cases. During speeches filled with anti-ICE rhetoric, Jackson clapped along with attendees who also wore "ICE Out" pins , while speakers shouted "F--- ICE" and "No one is illegal on stolen land." Jackson's Grammy Night Jackson attended the Grammys, nominated for narrating the audiobook of her memoir, Lovely One . She lost to Patti LuPone, but stayed for the show. Blackburn argued that Jackson's presence at an event that amplified far-left rhetoric violates the Supreme Court Code of Conduct , which requires justices to avoid actions that undermine public confidence in impartiality. Questions of Bias and Recusal Highlighting potential recusal issues, Blackburn said Jackson should step aside from immigration cases , such as those involving birthright citizenship or ICE operations. Applauding calls to abolish ICE suggests bias against enforcement , unlike the base...

The cloud landscape has always been dynamic, but current shifts are tightening the race. Investors were watching closely when Amazon (AMZN 5.58%) released its latest financial report after the market close on Wednesday. As one of the "Big Three" cloud providers and a force in artificial intelligence (AI), the company is among several bellwethers of what's happening in the space. Furthermore, what's happening at one company can offer additional insight into a competitor's results, providing greater context. Amazon's results sent the stock reeling but provided an unexpected tailwind for Alphabet (GOOGL 2.53%) (GOOG 2.48%). Here's why. Strong cloud and AI demand While Amazon's results were largely ahead of expectations, investors saw cause for concern. In the fourth quarter, net sales of $213.4 billion climbed 14% year over year, or 12% in constant currency. This resulted in diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.95, which rose 4%. To give those numbers context, analysts' consensus estimates were $211.6 billion in revenue and $1.96 in EPS, so the results were mixed. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's closely watched cloud segment, performed better than expected. AWS revenue of $35.6 billion jumped 24% year over year, its fastest pace of growth in more than three years, and its third successive quarter of accelerating growth. Expand NASDAQ : AMZN Amazon Today's Change ( -5.58 %) $ -12.41 Current Price $ 210.28 Key Data Points Market Cap $2.4T Day's Range $ 200.31 - $ 211.44 52wk Range $ 161.38 - $ 258.60 Volume 179M Avg Vol 42M Gross Margin 50.05 % CEO Andy Jassy said AWS remains supply constrained, as demand for AI and cloud services continues to outstrip supply. Customers are running large AI workloads on AWS, while also increasing their core cloud use. "We're monetizing capacity as fast as we can install it," he noted. To correct the imbalance, Amazon plans to spend $200 billion on capital expenditures (capex) in 2026, with the vast majority of that going towar...

Google-spinoff Waymo is in the midst of expanding its self-driving car fleet into new regions. Waymo touts more than 200 million miles of driving that informs how the vehicles navigate roads, but the company's AI has also driven billions of miles virtually, and there's a lot more to come with the new Waymo World Model. Based on Google DeepMind's Genie 3, Waymo says the model can create "hyper-realistic" simulated environments that train the AI on situations that are rarely (or never) encountered in real life—like snow on the Golden Gate Bridge. Until recently, the autonomous driving industry relied entirely on training data collected from real cars and real situations. That means rare, potentially dangerous events are not well represented in training data. The Waymo World Model aims to address that by allowing engineers to create simulations with simple prompts and driving inputs. Google revealed Genie 3 last year, positioning it as a significant upgrade over other world models by virtue of its long-horizon memory. In Google's world model, you can wander away from a given object, and when you look back, the model will still "remember" how that object is supposed to look. In earlier attempts at world models, the simulation would lose that context almost immediately. With Genie 3, the model can remember details for several minutes. Read full article Comments

Evidence is piling up of a weakening labor market that could dampen an otherwise sanguine U.S. economic outlook this year while also paving the way for more interest rate cuts. This week saw a raft of jobs-related data — none of it good: Private hiring was nearly flat in January, according to ADP , which reported net growth of just 22,000 jobs. Job openings plunged to a level not seen since September 2020 and were down by nearly one million in just a two-month span. Planned layoffs and hires at big companies in January hit their lowest point for the month since 2009, while the U.S. economy was still mired in the financial crisis. Employment indexes in both the services and manufacturing sectors showed hiring at a standstill. Together, the data points buttress worries from some Federal Reserve policymakers that the coast is far from clear for the labor market and may require more policy support — in the form of interest rate reductions — if the current state of play persists. "This does not remotely look like a healthy labor market," Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in a statement explaining his support for a cut at the central bank's January meeting. "I have heard in multiple outreach meetings of planned layoffs in 2026. This indicates to me that there is considerable doubt about future employment growth and suggests that a substantial deterioration in the labor market is a significant risk." Markets largely expect the Fed to be on hold until June, though a number of Wall Street economists think indications from policymakers in December that they see only one rate cut this year aren't realistic. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, is part of a sizeable group that expects as many as three moves this year as the Fed is forced to get more aggressive in defending the full employment side of its dual mandate. "The soft labor market is the key threat to the economy this year," he said. "It's very fragile. We're not creating any jobs." To be sure, none of...

kodda/iStock via Getty Images Williams ( WMB ) is looking to buy natural gas production in the U.S. - rare for an energy infrastructure operator - as it strives to secure natural gas supplies to support its one-stop-shop offering to hyperscalers and data center clients, Reuters reported Friday. The company has been working to position itself as a leader in providing energy to companies building out AI infrastructure, supplementing its traditional pipeline business, and is now searching for upstream assets that would allow it to pitch itself as a single energy partner to hyperscalers needing power to support data centers, according to the report . An integrated model, in which an oil and gas company would own a combination of production, storage, transportation, and refining assets, once was common in the U.S., but the industry moved to favor specialization in the early part of the century, and most companies outside of giants such as Exxon and Chevron sold off their non-preferred components; Williams ( WMB ) spun off most of its upstream business into WPX Energy in 2012. Williams' ( WMB ) current target is to grow EBITDA by 5%-7% annually, and analysts at UBS said in a note that they will watch next week's analyst day to see whether the company will increase this target to more than 7% compounded annual growth through 2030. More on Williams Companies Williams Companies: How Pipeline Compressors Become A Growth Driver Williams Companies: A Great Business That's Not Trading At A Great Price Williams Companies: Overlooked Midstream Champion

Debt intelligence provider 9fin Ltd. is in talks to raise fresh capital at a valuation of as much as $1 billion as it seeks to gain a stronger foothold in the highly competitive market for credit research. London-headquartered 9fin, which was founded and is led by two former investment banking analysts, is seeking as much as $150 million in new funding, people with knowledge of the matter said. At a pre-money valuation of $1 billion, 9fin would be valued at roughly 20 times its current annual recurring revenue of approximately $50 million, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. 9fin has been in talks with a group of venture capital and growth equity funds about participating in the round, according to the people. A representative for 9fin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Founded in 2016, 9fin offers what it calls an “AI-native platform” oriented toward credit traders, investors and advisers, helping market practitioners to benchmark transactions and originate new business opportunities more efficiently. Its customers include 80% of credit trading desks, according to its website . 9fin raised $50 million in financing as part of a Series B round in 2024, led by growth investor Highland Europe. Other investors participating in the round included Spark Capital , Redalpine Venture Partners , Seedcamp , 500 Startups and Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital . The company was valued at $478.8 million after that round, according to data provider PitchBook. Firms like 9fin have become a hot commodity in recent years as bankers and traders use the intelligence and data to try to gain a competitive edge against their peers. 9fin rival Octus, formerly known as Reorg Research Inc. , was acquired by Permira from Warburg Pincus for about $1.3 billion in 2022. 9fin competes with Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, in credit data and intelligence.

ArtMarie/E+ via Getty Images We cover many of the mortgage REITs. Some of them have a history of doing relatively well. Today, I’ll be going over an agency mortgage REIT that hasn’t historically been one of the best. Orchid Island Capital ( ORC ) Orchid Island Capital, or ORC, is an agency mortgage REIT. That means they primarily invest in agency mortgage-backed securities. The track record, going back to inception, leaves a great deal to be desired, unless you really enjoy burning capital. This has been an opportunity for investors to: Receive a declining stream of dividends that are sometimes considered income. Have their principal erode substantially. Benefit from eventually taking a tax loss at some point. It's not an investment that I would recommend in many situations. Orchid Island Opportunities There are occasionally opportunities to trade in the shares because the valuation may collapse below historical levels. That's not today. The REIT Forum It's important to understand that the valuation is typically anchored by book value. However, we will also see factors like earnings and the dividend level have a material impact on investor sentiment, and investor sentiment can drive a swing in the price-to-book ratio. Understanding Book Value I like to think of it as a person walking a dog, where the person represents book value and the dog represents the share price. If you keep an eye on the person, you have a pretty good idea of where they're going, and you won't be thrown off as easily by the dog darting to the left or right. Let's just assume that they have a very long leash on the dog, because sometimes we do see meaningful deviations in the price-to-book ratio. However, it's pretty rare to see the price-to-book ratio landing materially above 1. The trend in BV (and price) is pretty clear here: The REIT Forum You can see that the book value erodes over time and the share price declines along with it. To be fair, there was a reverse split . Without that, it wou...

A drop in CDC health alerts leaves doctors 'flying blind' toggle caption Sean Rayford/Getty Images The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been alerting the nation about health threats much less frequently since President Trump returned to office, raising concerns among doctors and public health authorities. The CDC issued just six alerts from the agency's Health Alert Network in 2025. The number of these HANs, as the alerts are known, varies from year to year. But the agency typically issues many more – sometimes dozens. "We're absolutely flying blind," says Dr. Georges Benjamin , executive director of the American Public Health Association. "We're blind to a whole range of health risks that are entering our community or re-emerging in our community." Sponsor Message The drop in alerts leaves doctors, hospitals and health departments less prepared and more vulnerable to getting blindsided, Benjamin and others say. "HANs are a really important tool," says Lauren Sauer , associate director of the Global Center for Health Security at the University of Nebraska. "They tell clinicians: Here's what you need to think about as you're screening patients, or diseases that you might not be expecting to see, walking through your emergency department. Clinicians need tools like that to say, 'Pay attention to this specific thing right now.' " Past alerts have sounded the alarm about a wide variety of threats, including Ebola, bird flu and the coronavirus pandemic. "It's our early-warning system," Benjamin says. "It's the weatherman of public health. It gives us enormous situational awareness." Beyond alerting doctors, nurses and other medical providers, the advisories also spur hospitals to stock up on the right medications and supplies and make sure they're adequately staffed. The alerts also prime health departments to be on the lookout for unusual disease clusters. "It's another pillar of preparedness and response," says Dr. Nahid Bhadelia , who runs Boston Univers...

pegasophoto/iStock via Getty Images National Grid plc ( NGG ) was a successful 2025 investment for me, in particular towards the latter end of the fiscal and calendar year. My last article on the company came out towards the end of November, and a just-above 14% RoR in about 2 months annualizes to well above 40%, which, compared to the SPY return of negative 0.2%, is extremely solid. You can find this article here and my rating history for this business below. Seeking Alpha NGG RoR Finding good valuation or upside is as much an art as it is a science. It's about your individual rates of return (preferred) and where you draw your lines. Some investors are okay with 9% annualized, even if it's all yield; some investors want no yield but 20-30% annualized RoR when they invest, more akin (in my view) to "betting." I take a bit of the "golden middle" approach to my investing. What I do is look for companies that ideally offer 2-5% yield, as well as 10-13% capital appreciation, subject to yield, sector, and upside. Ideally, I'd want both a valuation upside and a capital appreciation upside , meaning both growth from earnings expansion, as well as reversal because the market believes the company to be undervalued. If I have the ability to combine this with a company fundamental that's characterized by significant safety as well as history, then so much the better. That's a fairly short description of what I do during the week. I look for and I update myself on companies that I cover and that are undervalued. I follow news, update analyses, and estimate based on assumptions - both my own assumptions and those of other people that I trust - to reach targets for the companies I invest in. Based on a 170%+ return in about 6.5 years (total portfolio), I consider my approach suited for me, and I consider it better (again, for me) than investing in a broad-based index fund. First of all, I don't need to pay management fees. Secondly, I get dividends from companies. Often I also g...

Lean hog futures are trading with contracts steady to 20 cents higher on Friday. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $87.05 on Friday morning. The CME Lean Hog Index was 2 cents higher on Feb 3 at $86.38. USDA’s pork carcass cutout value from Friday afternoon report was 76 cents lower to $94.51 per cwt. The butt led the way lower, down $9.23, with the loin and picnic also lower. USDA estimated federally inspected hog slaughter on Thursday was 450,000 head, taking the weekly total to 1.903 million head. That was 38,000 head above last week but 26,824 head below the same week last year. Don’t Miss a Day: Feb 26 Hogs are at $87.450, up $0.150, Apr 26 Hogs are at $98.375, unch, May 26 Hogs are at $101.675, up $0.175, On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

GSK ( GSK ) shares clocked seven straight sessions of gains, as the stock rose 1.9% at $60.29 on Friday. The multinational healthcare giant gained 16.8% in the preceding six sessions. The stock has surged 22% so far this year, compared to a 0.7% drop in the broader S&P 500 Index. GSK is up 19% over the past one month. Most recently, GSK announced that the European Commission has approved its Nucala asthma therapy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, expanding its label into five disease areas in the region. GSK shares also got a boost after reporting Q4 results that beat on both lines and reaffirming its earnings growth projection for 2026. Looking at Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating, GSK has a Buy rating with a score of 3.2 out of 5. The company received A+ in the prospect of profitability, while it received D- in growth factor. Turning to the Wall Street community , one analyst gave GSK a Buy and above rating. Six analysts have given the stock a Hold recommendation, while one recommended Strong Sell. Seeking Alpha analysts are positive and see the stock as a Buy. More on GSK GSK plc 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation GSK plc (GSK) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript GSK plc (GSK) RAPT Therapeutics, Inc. - M&A Call - Slideshow GSK wins EU nod to expand Nucala for COPD GSK reaffirms profit growth projections for 2026

Oscar-nominated actor Austin Butler is scheduled to take on the role of disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong in a buzzy new biopic. According to Deadline, the package has caused a “frenzied” bidding war in Hollywood with Conclave director Edward Berger at the helm and King Richard’s Zach Baylin set to write the script. Producer Scott Stuber, who recently worked on Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, has been working to secure Armstrong’s life rights for a while and a deal has now finally been agreed. Armstrong will be involved in the film but will not have a producing credit. The hope is for the film to be a cross between F1 and The Wolf of Wall Street. Brad Pitt’s smash hit racing drama recently scored four Oscar nominations, including a surprise best picture nod. Armstrong became an international star after winning the Tour de France on seven consecutive occasions between 1998 and 2005. But an investigation in 2012 took away his titles when he was found to have used performance-enhancing drugs. He received a lifetime ban from the sport. His story was previously told in Stephen Frears’ 2015 drama The Program, where he was played by Ben Foster. The film was a box office disappointment and received mixed reviews. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called it “workmanlike” in a three star review. Since receiving a best actor nomination for his role in Elvis, Butler has starred in The Bikeriders, Eddington, Dune: Part Two, and Caught Stealing. He has been attached to play Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino’s take on American Psycho and will next be seen in crime thriller Enemies with Jeremy Allen White. Berger followed up the critical and commercial success of papal thriller Conclave with Netflix drama Ballad of a Small Player starring Colin Farrell. This week, he started filming an adaptation of Tim Winton’s acclaimed novel The Riders starring Brad Pitt. As well as writing the Oscar-nominated script for King Richard, Baylin’s credits include Creed III, Gran Turismo, Bob Marl...

文章提及标的 COMEX白银 -- 截至2月3日当周，CFTC-COMEX白银投机者净多头头寸减少2,803手，降至4,491手。(财联社)

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Apple plans to allow external voice-controlled AI chatbots in CarPlay, Bloomberg News reports Reuters

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Key Points Applovin fell this week after Google released a virtual world-building AI tool, and a digital ad tech startup released its a powerful agentic product. Trading at a high valuation coming onto the week, and Applovin was hit hard, despite a recovery today. It remains highly uncertain whether these two new innovations will pose competitive threats or not in mobile gaming ad delivery. 10 stocks we like better than AppLovin › Shares of mobile game advertising engine Applovin (NASDAQ: APP) plunged this week, falling 14.9% this week through Friday as of 3:15 p.m. EDT, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Applovin's stock fell on generalized fear over two new innovations in the mobile game world. Late last week, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) unveiled Project Genie, an AI-powered tool that allows users to create virtual worlds. Second, a new AI-based digital advertising start-up, CloudX, became generally available, posing a potential competitive threat to Applovin's mobile game advertising engine. 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 » Is the AI genie out of the bottle? The weakness in gaming-related stocks began last Friday, the day after Google rolled out Project Genie to Google AI Ultra subscribers. Virtually all video gaming-related stocks fell in unison after the unveiling, and Applovin got caught up in the sell-off. The actual effect on video game developers is uncertain. Still, of course, Applovin doesn't make mobile games anymore, having sold its video game development business in June 2025 to focus on its digital advertising engine. Still, there could be some effect, given that Alphabet is also a digital advertising giant. If developers create playable gaming worlds entirely with Project Genie and roll them out on a Google gaming platform, Alphabet may insist any Genie-produced games use Alphabet's d...