On Friday, when SpaceX filed plans with the FCC for a million-satellite data center network, you might have thought Elon Musk was having a bit of fun with us. But a week later, it is clear that he is dead serious. The most obvious step, of course, is the formal merger between SpaceX and xAI that went forward on Monday, officially drawing together Musk’s space and AI ventures in a way that makes a lot more sense if there’s some kind of joint infrastructure project planned. But even beyond the merger, we’re starting to see the idea of orbital AI data clusters — essentially, networks of computers operating in space — cohere into an actual plan. On Wednesday, the FCC accepted the filing and set a schedule seeking public comment. It’s a pro forma step normally, but FCC chairman Brendan Carr took the unusual step of sharing the filing on X. Throughout his tenure as chairman, Carr has shown himself eager to help Trump’s friends and punish his enemies — so as long as Musk stays on Trump’s good side, the proposal is likely to sail through without issue. At the same time, Elon Musk has started to flesh out the argument for orbital data centers in public. On a new episode of Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison’s podcast “Cheeky Pint,” which also featured guest Dwarkesh Patel, Musk laid out the basic case for moving most of our AI computing power into space. Essentially, solar panels produce more power in space, so you can cut down on one of the main operating expenses for data centers. “It’s harder to scale on the ground than it is to scale in space,” Musk said in the podcast. “Any given solar panel is going to give you about five times more power in space than on the ground, so it’s actually much cheaper to do in space.” Close listeners will note that there is a bit of a gap in the logic here! It’s true that solar panels produce more power in space, but since power isn’t the only cost in operating a data center and solar panels aren’t the only way to power a data center, it do...

When Intel (INTC) says it plans to get back into building graphics processing units, or GPUs, it’s little wonder that investors perk up at the news. At a Cisco (CSCO) AI Summit this week, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan confirmed that Intel is putting together a new GPU initiative, led by its newly hired chief GPU architect Eric Demers, as well as its long-time executive in its data center group, Kevork Kechichian. The message was clear: Intel is trying to get back into the world of accelerated computing, a space dominated by Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD). The markets quickly responded by sending Intel shares up by as much as 4% before settling, a positive read on the news that Intel’s AI story is expanding beyond its CPUs and its ongoing talk of its role in a future world of chip manufacturing, or a foundry model. While Intel is indeed trying to get back into the world of GPUs, it’s not its first try, and investors are likely aware that there can be a long way to travel from a company announcement to relevance, especially in a space as quickly evolving as AI. About Intel Stock Intel Corporation is a semiconductor company that designs, manufactures, and sells semiconductors used in client computing, servers, networking, and emerging AI accelerators, as well as a global foundry company. The company is based in Santa Clara, California, and has a market capitalization of about $243 billion, a reflection of its position as a traditional technology leader rather than a new entrant in a space like AI. The company has had a remarkable run over the past year, going from a 52-week low of $18 a share to a recent high in the $50 range, a move that has left it just below its highs as it materially outperforms the S&P 500 ($SPX) over that same period. The picture gets tricky with valuation. The company is currently unprofitable on a GAAP basis, with a forward price-earnings ratio that screens in very high due to low near-term earnings estimates. The stock also trades at 4.6 times sales and n...

Intel Just Announced That It Will Make GPUs. Should You Buy INTC Stock Here? Yahoo Finance

Investors in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (Symbol: GS) saw new options begin trading today, for the March 27th expiration. At Stock Options Channel , our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the GS options chain for the new March 27th contracts and identified one put and one call contract of particular interest. The put contract at the $875.00 strike price has a current bid of $36.00. If an investor was to sell-to-open that put contract, they are committing to purchase the stock at $875.00, but will also collect the premium, putting the cost basis of the shares at $839.00 (before broker commissions). To an investor already interested in purchasing shares of GS, that could represent an attractive alternative to paying $880.11/share today. Because the $875.00 strike represents an approximate 1% discount to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the put contract would expire worthless. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 56%. Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change, publishing a chart of those numbers on our website under the contract detail page for this contract. Should the contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 4.11% return on the cash commitment, or 30.06% annualized — at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost. Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for Goldman Sachs Group Inc, and highlighting in green where the $875.00 strike is located relative to that history: Turning to the calls side of the option chain, the call contract at the $890.00 strike price has a current bid of $40.00. If an investor was to purchase shares of GS stock at the current price level of $880.11/share, and then sell-to-open that call contract as a "covered call," they are committing to sell the stock at $890.00. Considering the c...

Investors in Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Symbol: PBR) saw new options become available today, for the March 27th expiration. At Stock Options Channel , our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the PBR options chain for the new March 27th contracts and identified the following call contract of particular interest. The call contract at the $15.50 strike price has a current bid of 5 cents. If an investor was to purchase shares of PBR stock at the current price level of $15.07/share, and then sell-to-open that call contract as a "covered call," they are committing to sell the stock at $15.50. Considering the call seller will also collect the premium, that would drive a total return (excluding dividends, if any) of 3.19% if the stock gets called away at the March 27th expiration (before broker commissions). Of course, a lot of upside could potentially be left on the table if PBR shares really soar, which is why looking at the trailing twelve month trading history for Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as well as studying the business fundamentals becomes important. Below is a chart showing PBR's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $15.50 strike highlighted in red: Considering the fact that the $15.50 strike represents an approximate 3% premium to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the covered call contract would expire worthless, in which case the investor would keep both their shares of stock and the premium collected. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 48%. On our website under the contract detail page for this contract, Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change and publish a chart of those numbers (the trading history of the option contract will also be charted). Should the covered call contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 0.33% boost of ...

Investors in United Parcel Service Inc (Symbol: UPS) saw new options begin trading today, for the March 27th expiration. At Stock Options Channel , our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the UPS options chain for the new March 27th contracts and identified one put and one call contract of particular interest. The put contract at the $113.00 strike price has a current bid of $2.21. If an investor was to sell-to-open that put contract, they are committing to purchase the stock at $113.00, but will also collect the premium, putting the cost basis of the shares at $110.79 (before broker commissions). To an investor already interested in purchasing shares of UPS, that could represent an attractive alternative to paying $115.81/share today. Because the $113.00 strike represents an approximate 2% discount to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the put contract would expire worthless. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 60%. Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change, publishing a chart of those numbers on our website under the contract detail page for this contract. Should the contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 1.96% return on the cash commitment, or 14.29% annualized — at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost. Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for United Parcel Service Inc, and highlighting in green where the $113.00 strike is located relative to that history: Turning to the calls side of the option chain, the call contract at the $120.00 strike price has a current bid of $2.25. If an investor was to purchase shares of UPS stock at the current price level of $115.81/share, and then sell-to-open that call contract as a "covered call," they are committing to sell the stock at $120.00. Considering...

Investors in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (Symbol: CNQ) saw new options become available today, for the March 27th expiration. At Stock Options Channel , our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the CNQ options chain for the new March 27th contracts and identified the following call contract of particular interest. The call contract at the $41.00 strike price has a current bid of 20 cents. If an investor was to purchase shares of CNQ stock at the current price level of $38.15/share, and then sell-to-open that call contract as a "covered call," they are committing to sell the stock at $41.00. Considering the call seller will also collect the premium, that would drive a total return (excluding dividends, if any) of 7.99% if the stock gets called away at the March 27th expiration (before broker commissions). Of course, a lot of upside could potentially be left on the table if CNQ shares really soar, which is why looking at the trailing twelve month trading history for Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, as well as studying the business fundamentals becomes important. Below is a chart showing CNQ's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $41.00 strike highlighted in red: Considering the fact that the $41.00 strike represents an approximate 7% premium to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the covered call contract would expire worthless, in which case the investor would keep both their shares of stock and the premium collected. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 62%. On our website under the contract detail page for this contract, Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change and publish a chart of those numbers (the trading history of the option contract will also be charted). Should the covered call contract expire worthless, the premium would represent ...

格隆汇2月6日｜美国总统特朗普：与其延长“新削减战略武器条约”，我们更应该让专家们着手制定一项全新、改进且现代化的条约，使其能够长久延续下去。

Investors in Blackrock Inc (Symbol: BLK) saw new options become available today, for the March 27th expiration. At Stock Options Channel , our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the BLK options chain for the new March 27th contracts and identified one put and one call contract of particular interest. The put contract at the $1050.00 strike price has a current bid of $35.00. If an investor was to sell-to-open that put contract, they are committing to purchase the stock at $1050.00, but will also collect the premium, putting the cost basis of the shares at $1015.00 (before broker commissions). To an investor already interested in purchasing shares of BLK, that could represent an attractive alternative to paying $1059.13/share today. Because the $1050.00 strike represents an approximate 1% discount to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the put contract would expire worthless. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 58%. Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change, publishing a chart of those numbers on our website under the contract detail page for this contract. Should the contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 3.33% return on the cash commitment, or 24.35% annualized — at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost. Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for Blackrock Inc, and highlighting in green where the $1050.00 strike is located relative to that history: Turning to the calls side of the option chain, the call contract at the $1070.00 strike price has a current bid of $40.80. If an investor was to purchase shares of BLK stock at the current price level of $1059.13/share, and then sell-to-open that call contract as a "covered call," they are committing to sell the stock at $1070.00. Considering the call ...

Key Points Netflix stock's current price-to-earnings ratio is at a historically cheap level. The pending deal to buy assets of Warner Bros. Discovery adds uncertainty. Investors who remain bullish will focus on Netflix's favorable attributes. 10 stocks we like better than Netflix › Investors are forcing a sell-off of Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) shares, which are 38% below their 52-week high (as of Feb. 2). The business, historically a monster winner for its shareholders, is in the process of taking over film and TV studios, HBO Max, and the content catalog of Warner Bros. Discovery at an enterprise value of $82.7 billion. This is a lot to digest, and the market clearly has its concerns. Is this top streaming stock a buy right now? 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 » The valuation reflects the market's concern It seems Netflix is never trading at a compelling valuation. That's usually the case with tech-forward, high-growth companies. With the recent dip, though, investors who have been on the sidelines watching might now be inclined to make a move. Shares sell at a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.9. That's a historically cheap level for Netflix. However, the pending transaction with Warner Bros. Discovery adds a lot of uncertainty to the situation, uncertainty that wasn't a contributing factor even three months ago. The fact that Netflix could take on $52 billion in debt to close the deal is a concern, not to mention the risks of successfully integrating two sizable companies, achieving targeted cost synergies, and maintaining each brand's competitive strengths. Netflix has succeeded in the past thanks to organic growth. It has avoided large transactions. So, it can be difficult for investors to assess how things will play out in the future. Investors have a lot to think about But there are m...

Management may sell the company, even as it forecasts improvements in 2028 and beyond. Shares of agricultural chemical company FMC Corporation (FMC 19.86%) plunged 20.7% on Thursday as of 1:00 p.m. EDT. FMC's stock had risen about that much year-to-date before yesterday, following a 71.5% decline in 2025, so the stock essentially just gave back its year-to-date gains today. FMC released fourth-quarter earnings last night, which came in below expectations. Furthermore, management disclosed that the Board of Directors had authorized exploring "strategic options," including selling the company outright. Sometimes such an announcement causes a stock to rise as investors anticipate a buyout at a higher price. However, in this case, the disclosure appeared to signal that management may be throwing in the towel on an immediate turnaround. Expand NYSE : FMC FMC Today's Change ( -19.86 %) $ -3.38 Current Price $ 13.62 Key Data Points Market Cap $2.1B Day's Range $ 12.48 - $ 15.07 52wk Range $ 12.17 - $ 44.78 Volume 825K Avg Vol 4.5M Gross Margin 37.10 % Dividend Yield 10.71 % FMC disappoints again, and guides for further declines in 2026 In the fourth quarter, FMC reported $1.08 billion in revenue, down 12% and missing expectations, as well as adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings per share of $1.20, down 33% from the prior-year quarter, which met expectations. FMC continues to operate in a difficult agricultural downcycle, with management noting an overcapacity of agricultural chemicals and low margins for growers. Additionally, FMC's chemical portfolio has largely gone off-patent, forcing the company to lower prices. That's a bad combination for generating profits, on top of FMC's $4.07 billion in debt, which is 5.8 times the company's $700 million EBITDA guidance for 2026 -- a rather high debt-to-profits ratio. Management's preliminary outlook for 2026 calls for another 5% decline in revenue to $3.7 billion at the midpoint of the range, a 17% decline in adjusted EBITDA to $700 mil...

格隆汇2月6日｜英国联合工会：2月6日和7日东伦敦约350名公交车司机发起的罢工行动已取消，此外，东伦敦公交车司机原定于2月20日和21日举行的进一步罢工也已取消。

Silver has traditionally been a safe-haven asset, but recently, it's been incredibly volatile. Investing in gold and silver has typically been a way for investors to try to reduce their exposure and risk in the stock market. But while these metals can provide stability in times of uncertainty, they can be speculative in nature, as is evident in their volatility in recent months. Is investing in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) such as the iShares Silver Trust (SLV 12.90%), which tracks the price of silver, a good idea for retirees and other risk-averse investors? Retail investors have added an element of risk to silver Many analysts have viewed the volatility and excitement around silver over the past several months as another meme-fueled rally, not unlike what can happen to stocks. While the gains can be sudden, so too can the declines. As of Feb. 3, the iShares Silver Trust was down around 30% from its 52-week high of $109.83. President Donald Trump's announcement of his pick for the new chair of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, led to investors selling silver, perhaps as a sign of greater confidence in the stock market and the Fed. For risk-averse investors, this type of volatility may be untenable. With silver acting more like a meme stock than a stable investment, the iShares Silver Trust may be a less-than-ideal option to consider. It's also trading at elevated levels. Even though silver has come down sharply in price, the iShares Silver Trust remains up over 150% in the past 12 months. There could be more room for it to fall further, given its significant run-up in value. Expand NYSEMKT : SLV iShares Silver Trust Today's Change ( -12.90 %) $ -10.21 Current Price $ 68.97 Key Data Points Day's Range $ 65.52 - $ 70.52 52wk Range $ 26.57 - $ 109.83 Volume 6.2M There are better options for retirees In any other year, investing in silver may have been a good way for retirees to diversify their portfolios. Nowadays, however, there's arguably a bit too much volatility ...

Alphabet (GOOGL) recently delivered a quarterly report that underscored why the company remains firmly positioned among the market’s most dominant businesses. While broader equities have experienced a spike in volatility this week, it shouldn’t distract you from Alphabet’s latest results highlighting durable growth, expanding competitive advantages and continued leadership across multiple high-value business segments. Alphabet reported fourth-quarter and full year results that exceeded expectations, with revenue climbing 18% and annual sales surpassing $400 billion for the first time. The strength was broad-based, spanning digital advertising, cloud computing and artificial intelligence initiatives. The report also outlined an aggressive spending plan aimed at expanding Alphabet’s AI infrastructure and capabilities. Management appears intent on investing at a scale that could widen the competitive moat, leveraging the company’s substantial cash flow to fund data centers, advanced compute and next-generation models. This financial flexibility represents a structural advantage over key competitors such as OpenAI, which must rely more heavily on external capital to support its own infrastructure buildout. The report reinforces Alphabet’s evolution from what some investors once viewed as a lagging member of the “Magnificent Seven” into a premium leader within mega-cap technology. The company continues to demonstrate exceptional scale, operational depth and the ability to monetize emerging technologies. Alphabet Stock vs Apple and Nvidia Over the past year, Alphabet has notably outperformed most of its Magnificent Seven counterparts, a cohort that has quietly seen more mixed performance than headlines might suggest. Even strong performers such as Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) have trailed Alphabet by a meaningful margin. Alphabet has transitioned from an undervalued opportunity to a premium multiple stock. Shares currently trade around 30.1xforward earnings, above the c...

针对媒体有关一款星链手机可能正在筹备中的报道，马斯克在X平台上发帖称：“我们没有在研发手机”。 早前有报道称，SpaceX计划制造一款与星链联网的移动设备，可能与智能手机展开竞争。 责任编辑：李桐

Forgent Power Solutions Inc. shares declined 3.7% after the company and some of its backers raised $1.5 billion in a US initial public offering. Shares of the electrical equipment maker opened at $26 each in New York, compared to the IPO price of $27. The company and affiliates of Neos Partners sold 56 million shares after marketing them for $25 to $29 each. The trading gave the Dayton, Minnesota-based company a market value of about $7.9 billion, based on the number of outstanding shares listed in its filings. Forgent’s debut came as a selloff in peers, including nVent Electric Plc and Vertiv Holdings Co. , stretched into a second day. A broader retreat from technology stocks has swept up companies that sell power equipment to data centers. Forgent designs, manufactures and sells equipment such as transformers, switchboards and power distribution units used in data centers, which require consistent and reliable power over long periods of uptime. Private equity firm Neos created the company in 2023 and built it up via acquisitions in 2023 and 2024. The move to take the company public comes as investors look for opportunities to tap the artificial intelligence spending boom, with OpenAI alone committing to spend more than $1 trillion on AI infrastructure. Read More: AI Data Center Boom Sparks Fears of Glut Amid Lending Frenzy Forgent lacks as broad a product offering as Vertiv, which in addition to electrical products is a major provider of cooling equipment for Nvidia Corp. chips and other AI infrastructure. Still, Forgent’s focus on customized electrical equipment for the powertrain — the hardware that moves power from the grid to the data center — and the additional tailwind it is getting from the need to upgrade the electricity grid are seen on Wall Street as pluses. Forgent has manufacturing campuses in Minnesota, Texas, Maryland, California and Mexico. It had about 2,000 full time employees as of Sept. 30. Neos was set to continue to hold the majority of shareh...

Igor Barilo/iStock via Getty Images Leverage involves using a small amount of force, resource, or capital to achieve an oversized outcome. Financial leverage involves using borrowed capital to increase the potential return on an investment. Long options and swap contracts can provide leverage, allowing investors, speculators, and market participants to control a larger long or short risk position with minimal capital. However, since there is no free lunch in markets, leverage is a double-edged sword: the pursuit of magnified profits can lead to outsized losses when an underlying asset fails to perform as expected. The Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Idx Bull 2X Shs ETF ( JNUG ) became a case study in leverage on January 29, 2026, when gold prices ( XAUUSD:CUR ) ran out of upside steam. A parabolic gold rally ended in tears Gold’s rally began in 1999 at around $252.50 per ounce, with the upward trajectory picking up steam in 2025, when the precious metal rose over 64%, closing the year at $4,341.10 per ounce. The rally continued in early 2026, with gold blowing through $5,000 as a hot knife goes through butter. Daily Chart of April COMEX Gold Futures (Barchart) The daily chart shows that COMEX gold for April delivery rose 28.6% from $4,373.90 on December 31, 2025, to $5,626.80 per ounce on January 29, 2026. The rally's trajectory proved too aggressive, leading gold to decline 21.4% over three sessions to a low of $4,423.20 on February 2, 2026. Despite the over 20% correction, gold’s price remained nearly $50 per ounce above the December 31, 2025, closing price. Gold mining stocks: Outperformed gold on the upside and kept pace on the downside Gold rallied 28.6% from the end of 2025 through the January 29, 2026, high before dropping 21.4% at the February 2 low. Gold mining stocks tend to outperform the metal on a percentage basis on the upside and underperform when gold prices correct. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF ( GDX ) and the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF ( GDXJ ) ...

Source: Bloomberg, 0:00

The Saturday Spread: Reducing Uncertainty in an Uncertain World (AMZN, CHWY, EXPE) Barchart.com

Nvidia Reportedly Faces Gaming GPU Delays: Does That Weaken the Bull Case for NVDA Stock Here? Barchart.com

The post Advanced Crypto Trading Made Simple. Kraken Pro’s Trading Platform Offers Unmatched Transparency and Efficiency With Low Fees. by Benzinga Contributors appeared first on Benzinga . Visit Benzinga to get more great content like this. Benzinga Money is a reader-supported publication. We may earn a commission from the advertisers associated with this article. Read our Advertiser Discloser . Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. A cryptocurrency platform promises easy access to different trading products, so you sign up and pay a large fee with the hope of expanding your digital asset portfolio. And then you find out the platform is clunky, unintuitive, and rife with transparency issues so you give up. You’re not alone. Poorly designed user interfaces have caused tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency value to be permanently lost, and even the most experienced crypto traders — including Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin — have said hard-to-navigate platforms is one of the industry’s biggest challenges. Kraken is looking to change that. Kraken Pro is an advanced trading interface offered by Kraken, one of the worldʼs leading cryptocurrency exchanges. It caters to traders seeking more sophisticated tools than those available on a standard crypto exchange interface. Their streamlined interface allows users to easily manage spot, margin, and futures balances from a single account and make quick fund transfers between different trading products. What’s more, Kraken Pro provides access to a futures trading platform for users in Europe and North America focused on compliance, security, and transparency in its operations. Get started with Kraken Pro today. Kraken Pro Features Kraken Pro gives users access to more than 25 templates that can be customized with data and trading widgets to easily monitor spot, margin, derivatives trading, and staking performance on one clear, consolidated portfolio. Users also get live market data fed into a fast and responsive in...

以色列国防军当地时间5日发布消息称，以军当天对黎巴嫩境内多个真主党目标实施了打击，重点摧毁了被用于储存武器的地下隧道竖井。以军称，过去几个月来，以军在上述地点侦测到了黎巴嫩真主党的活动，这些活动违反了以色列与黎巴嫩之间的停火协议。对此，黎巴嫩真主党暂无回应。（央视新闻）

Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Chris Rokos, Michael Burry, Stanley Druckenmiller, Scott Bessent, Jain Global, D E Shaw, Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI), Micron Technology Inc (MU), and More Insider Monkey

Silver Place/iStock via Getty Images The BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust ( ECAT ) is a closed-end fund designed to provide investors with diversified equity and fixed-income exposure in companies that meet the fund’s environmental, social, and governance [ESG] standard. The strategy is broadly diversified across 659 individual holdings and utilizes options writing to enhance the Trust’s total returns. Contrary to the image that the ESG name may provide, ECAT invests across a number of sectors, including technology, retail, energy, and financials, among others, that provide broad growth opportunities for the portfolio. With a balanced approach to asset allocation while presenting diversification across asset classes and regions, I believe ECAT can be an appealing investment strategy for investors seeking strategic diversification while generating income. I am recommending ECAT with a "Buy" rating with a 2%-6% target allocation as part of a diversified portfolio strategy. About BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust ECAT invests across both equities and fixed-income securities with the goal of providing investors with current income and capital appreciation. The fund was launched on Sept. 28, 2021, by BlackRock on the NYSE Exchange, at the height of the ESG craze . Sustainable funds have lost traction in recent years, with an estimated net outflow of $27 billion in Q4'25 following a $55 billion outflow in Q3'25. Morningstar Despite the generally negative connotation towards ESG strategies in today’s market environment, ECAT may be one of the more appealing funds given its asset allocation strategy paired with its relatively modest gross expense ratio of 145 bps. ECAT currently has roughly $1.65 billion in net assets. Looking through the fund’s most recent quarterly report , the strategy is allocated to common stocks at 66.8%, corporate bonds at 12.8%, and to a lesser degree, asset-backed securities [ABSs], floating-rate loan interests, and preferred s...

Accused of terrible misjudgment in appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, Sir Keir Starmer says that questions were raised but answered with lies. Mandelson “portrayed Jeffrey Epstein as someone he barely knew” and was sacked as soon as it became clear the relationship had been much closer. Addressing the scale of the deception on Thursday, the prime minister sounded authentically outraged. Mandelson had failed a “basic test of honesty” and “such deceit is incompatible with public service”. Credulity is not a great defence. Focusing on the lies obscures the extent of what was already known to be true when the fateful appointment was made. It was not a secret that Mandelson had some kind of friendship with Epstein. Evidence of it was in the public domain. The necessary question that followed was what level of intimacy with a man who had trafficked underage girls for sex might be tolerable in a potential ambassador. The only good answer was zero. Downing Street failed to apply that test. One explanation is that Mandelson was deemed to possess unique qualities that made him suitable as an emissary to the court of Donald Trump. The cupidity that brought him into Epstein’s orbit in the first place, his social facility in that sleaziest of milieux, may even have been a perverse recommendation, given the character of the US president. The risk of some scandal erupting – high in any event, given Mandelson’s record of ignominious resignations dating back decades – was deemed worth taking for the perceived benefit of influence in the White House. If that was indeed the reasoning, it speaks to more than just a malfunction of political antennae. To weigh the downside of association with a convicted sex offender against an upside in diplomatic access is a calculation that would not even have occurred to people who kept care and respect for Epstein’s victims uppermost in their minds. Sir Keir has apologised to those victims, but his regret is expressed in self-ex...

peshkov The U.S. equity market ( SP500 ), ( COMP:IND ), ( DJI ) has been overvalued for an extended period, and the recent selloff in technology stocks is not entirely unexpected, according to Gregory Davis, president and CIO at Vanguard. In an interview with CNBC, Davis said the market repricing follows a “robust move” in stocks over the past year and reflects stretched valuations that have concerned the firm for some time. Davis characterized the tech rout as part of a natural market cycle, noting that certain sectors will always experience periods of boom and bust. His primary advice to investors is to maintain broad diversification across U.S. equities, international equities, bonds, and money markets rather than concentrating holdings in any single sector. When examining domestic equity valuations, Davis pointed to elevated multiples and tight implied equity risk premiums as reasons for caution. “We’ve felt that the U.S. equity market has been overvalued for some time,” he said, adding that Vanguard does not see “tremendous value” in domestic stocks at current levels. The Vanguard CIO struck a notably bullish tone on fixed income, declaring that “bonds are back.” He cited the 10-year Treasury yield ( US10Y ) at 4.20% as offering investors a meaningful premium over inflation. “This is the first time in almost a decade where you’re actually earning a real yield when it comes to investing in bonds,” Davis explained, contrasting the current environment with the near-zero rates that persisted following the global financial crisis. Given comparable return expectations for U.S. equities and bonds over the next decade, Davis suggested investors consider shifting away from the traditional 60/40 stock-bond allocation toward a 40/60 split. The rationale, he noted, is that bonds offer similar expected returns with significantly lower volatility. Addressing concerns about index concentration driven by artificial intelligence investments and the Magnificent Seven stocks—( TS...

New York Pension Funds Scrutinize Palantir Over ICE Contract Mint

The growing rift between two Gulf powers will be felt across the Middle East and the Horn of Africa In 2017, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates spearheaded a blockade of Qatar , disrupting trade, stability and lives in the region. Their de facto leaders – the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and Abu Dhabi’s then crown prince, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, now president of the UAE – had forged a close alliance . The older man had eagerly promoted the younger Saudi royal in Washington and elsewhere, and was seen as his mentor. Riyadh borrowed aspects of the UAE’s model, and the countries together intervened – at huge cost – against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Together they sought to contain the Arab spring and backed authoritarian rule in Egypt, Bahrain and elsewhere. Yet by 2023 the relationship had soured : the Saudi crown prince reportedly accused the UAE of “stabb[ing] us in the back” . Late last year the disputes became spectacularly public. In Yemen, Southern secessionists backed by the UAE made dramatic advances in oil-rich areas – before being forced out by Saudi-backed forces. Riyadh effectively described the UAE as threatening its national security . Saudi commentators voiced increasing contempt for the kingdom’s former partner. In turn, a senior Emirati official complained of “wickedness” in the media campaign against it. Continue reading...

格隆汇2月6日｜据知情人士透露，嘉能可集团在与力拓集团的谈判中，曾寻求通过股份交换使自身股东获得合并后公司约40%的股权。知情人士称，由于无法满足嘉能可提出的溢价要求，力拓退出谈判，且嘉能可拒绝调整立场。据悉，力拓此前已完成对嘉能可的尽职调查。两家公司于周四宣布终止合并谈判，该交易本将缔造全球最大矿业巨头。

Alphabet Inc_ and Google logos by IgorGolovinov via Shutterstock Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) stock is sliding this morning after a slight YouTube miss and aggressive capex guidance overshadowed the company’s overall better-than-expected financials for its fiscal Q4. The post-earnings dip made GOOGL slip below its 50-day moving average (MA) today, signaling that downward momentum may sustain in the near term. Despite the recent decline, however, Google shares remain up more than 100% versus their 52-week low. Why Capex Guidance Doesn’t Warrant Selling Google Stock In its earnings release, Alphabet said its capital expenditures could soar to nearly $185 billion this year — more than double what it spent in 2025. At first glance, this headline number sure looks concerning, but a closer look reveals the company is actually spending into strength, which warrants sticking with GOOGL stock. Google Cloud brought in $17.7 billion in the fourth quarter, up a remarkable 48%, reinforcing that Alphabet isn’t just building data centers blindly, it’s responding to a massive $240 billion backlog. As Sundar Pichai, the company’s chief executive, has noted previously, “The risk of under-investing is far greater than the risk of over-investing in AI infrastructure.” Citi Reiterates GOOGL Shares as Top Pick for 2026 In a post-earnings interview with CNBC, Ron Josey, a senior Citi analyst, urged long-term investors to look past the knee-jerk reaction, reiterating Google shares as one of his top picks for 2026. According to him, Alphabet is the only tech titan with a vertically integrated artificial intelligence (AI) stack — from in-house TPU chips to the world’s most dominant consumer platforms. While the market fears the cost of artificial intelligence, Google is already seeing a 78% reduction in Gemini serving costs, Josey revealed. A 0.26% dividend yield and billions authorized for share repurchase make the AI stock even more attractive as a long-term holding. How Wall Street Recommends ...