hernan4429/iStock via Getty Images One of the world’s largest agricultural chemical producers is preparing to introduce a new tool aimed at combating the growing problem of herbicide-resistant weeds, an issue that has become increasingly costly for farmers worldwide, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Syngenta said it plans to begin commercial sales in South America this year of a new weed-c...
hernan4429/iStock via Getty Images One of the world’s largest agricultural chemical producers is preparing to introduce a new tool aimed at combating the growing problem of herbicide-resistant weeds, an issue that has become increasingly costly for farmers worldwide, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Syngenta said it plans to begin commercial sales in South America this year of a new weed-control product designed to eliminate grass weeds that no longer respond to widely used treatments. These resistant weeds pose a serious threat to key crops such as soybeans and cotton. The product, branded as Virestina, enters a competitive field where major agribusiness players including Bayer ( BAYZF ) ( BAYRY ) and Corteva ( CTVA ) are investing heavily in the discovery and rollout of next-generation herbicides. After a long stretch with few new products reaching the market, companies are now racing to develop alternatives as resistance spreads. Syngenta, which is owned by China National Chemical Corp. , said the product will debut in Argentina in June following regulatory clearance. The company is targeting additional approvals in Brazil and Australia, while noting that a U.S. launch will likely take longer due to a more extensive regulatory review process. The urgency stems from the widespread use of older herbicides such as glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup, which has driven the evolution of resistant weed species like waterhemp and Palmer amaranth. Research from Colorado State University estimates that herbicide-resistant weeds cost the U.S. farming sector roughly $33 billion annually. In some cases, weeds have developed resistance to multiple chemical treatments, significantly reducing yields. Industry estimates suggest crop losses can reach as high as 91% for corn and 79% for soybeans under severe infestations. “It continues to grow faster than our original models,” said Ioana Tudor, Syngenta’s head of crop protection marketing, referring to the ...
Black Iron ( BKI:CA ) on Monday said that it plans to raise up to about $1.7 million through a non-brokered private placement of units priced at C$0.10 each. The company said it intends to issue up to 23.7 million units, with each unit comprising one common share and one warrant exercisable at C$0.20 over 36 months. Black Iron said proceeds will be used for project and administrative expenses, inc...
Black Iron ( BKI:CA ) on Monday said that it plans to raise up to about $1.7 million through a non-brokered private placement of units priced at C$0.10 each. The company said it intends to issue up to 23.7 million units, with each unit comprising one common share and one warrant exercisable at C$0.20 over 36 months. Black Iron said proceeds will be used for project and administrative expenses, including permit renewal for its Shymanivske project, as well as general working capital. BKIRF closed -8.27% at $0.0676. Source: Press Release More on Black Iron Inc. Financial information for Black Iron Inc.
bpawesome/iStock via Getty Images Introduction The last time I covered LXP Industrial Trust ( LXP ), I rated the common stock a Hold and their preferred ( LXP.PR.C ) a Buy, highlighting their fair valuation following a previous rebound, with a strong portfolio of Class A industrial properties in high-growth markets, reinforced by recent refinancing at low spreads and asset sales at a premium. Foll...
bpawesome/iStock via Getty Images Introduction The last time I covered LXP Industrial Trust ( LXP ), I rated the common stock a Hold and their preferred ( LXP.PR.C ) a Buy, highlighting their fair valuation following a previous rebound, with a strong portfolio of Class A industrial properties in high-growth markets, reinforced by recent refinancing at low spreads and asset sales at a premium. Following a solid year where they focused on improving their foundation and the stock down about 8% since the previous coverage, LXP is upgraded to Buy, backed by an attractive dividend yield and potential to recover thanks to industry tailwinds and potential for broader macro improvements in the long-term. Improving Fundamentals LXP Industrial Trust IR LXP's Q4 was fine overall, with a slight beat on revenue and miss on the market's FFO estimates , with an Adjusted Company FFO of $187.32 million, or about $3.15 per diluted share in 2025 compared to $3.20 last year, which is not a terrible drop given the environment. To further adjust it, I used a 15% "penalty" last time I covered them to account for factors such as their straight-line rent, recurring CAPEX, tenant improvements, and leasing commissions that they don't include in the number above. Now that we have all the data to calculate it for the whole year, this comes to about $183.1 million in company FAD (which includes all equity holders), or about $169.23 million in a FCFE equivalent (after preferred dividends and second-generation building improvements) that can help us run a DCF to Equity valuation later, meaning about $2.88 per share that's left for the dividends. This comes to an adjustment of about 9.7%, while their 2026 guidance estimates the AFFO at $3.22 to $3.37 per diluted common share, meaning about $193.713 million in Adj. Company FFO, and using a 10% "penalty" this time to account for the costs above that aren't included, we should see an AFFO/FCFE equivalent of $174.34 million in 2026, for an increase of a...
Insta_photos | Istock | Getty Images The financial capability of artificial intelligence platforms is improving to the extent that it will likely be able to replace human financial advisors in the future, according to finance experts. However, AI has a major drawback relative to human advisors: a lack of fiduciary duty , they said. And a resolution to that legal gray area doesn't seem near at hand...
Insta_photos | Istock | Getty Images The financial capability of artificial intelligence platforms is improving to the extent that it will likely be able to replace human financial advisors in the future, according to finance experts. However, AI has a major drawback relative to human advisors: a lack of fiduciary duty , they said. And a resolution to that legal gray area doesn't seem near at hand, they said. A fiduciary duty is a legal obligation that many financial advisors — and professionals in other fields, such as lawyers and doctors — owe their clients. It essentially means they will put their clients' best interest ahead of their own. "The problem that we have to solve is not whether AI has enough expertise," said Andrew Lo, a finance professor and director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at the MIT Sloan School of Management. "The answer right now is, clearly, AI has the [financial] expertise." "What they don't have is that fiduciary duty," Lo said. "They don't have the ability to suffer consequences if they make a mistake to the same degree that a human advisor does." An advisor who violates their fiduciary responsibility can be subject to fairly serious consequences, including regulatory penalties, civil liabilities and criminal charges, Lo said. The notion of putting a client's interest ahead of yours "has no teeth" without responsibility or legal liability, he said. An 'unresolved' legal question watch now VIDEO 3:30 03:30 I used an AI tool to do my taxes—where experts say I went wrong Earn Many people seem to be turning to large language models — examples of which include OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini — for financial advice. Two-thirds of Americans, or 66%, who have used generative AI say they have used it for financial advice, according to an Intuit Credit Karma poll published in September. The share swells to 82% for millennials and Generation Z. Read more CNBC personal finance coverage Market volatility poses a...
LagartoFilm/iStock via Getty Images Investment thesis update Since my previous analysis of DigitalOcean ( DOCN ) in October, with a thesis anchored on the Gradient AI Platform's ability to capture the digital native enterprise market, the stock is almost doubled. Such move over a short period of time invites questions on whether the company is overpriced. In my opinion, it is not - but on the basi...
LagartoFilm/iStock via Getty Images Investment thesis update Since my previous analysis of DigitalOcean ( DOCN ) in October, with a thesis anchored on the Gradient AI Platform's ability to capture the digital native enterprise market, the stock is almost doubled. Such move over a short period of time invites questions on whether the company is overpriced. In my opinion, it is not - but on the basis that the thesis of the company has evolved. Q4 2025 earnings not only confirmed my previous arguments, but also indicated a new direction that the Company is heading. 70% of DOCN's $120M AI customer ARR now comes from inference services and core cloud products. This is significant because inference revenue is usage-based and recurring, which compounds as customers' AI applications scale in production. Despite the fact that DOCN is quietly building an inference cloud, the market is still pricing it as a GPU rental story. This is reinforced by the latest equity raise , which is usually seen negative. However, to me it represents a pivotal investment into the future strategy. Therefore, I am maintaining my Buy rating and setting an updated price target of $105 . Earnings is confirming the thesis The earnings results is more than a backward-looking view that justify my argument in the last analysis. It also provided insight into the quality of the Company's revenue stream and the underlying factor driving growth. The full year 2025 results confirmed DOCN's positioning in inference workloads that is expected to overtake training by 2026, as the AI economy shifts from building models to deploying them. Unlike hyperscaler-scale training that requires enormous computing power and GPU clusters, inference workloads are well-suited to DOCN's developer-first and cost efficient infrastructure. Markets and Markets Numbers from the latest earnings confirmed this story. AI customer ARR has reached $120 million, a 150% YoY growth. Impressively, more than 70% of that is already coming from...
Idiosyncratic risk is, basically, the risk associated with picking just one stock. There's no way to know exactly what could go wrong with one business. Which is why exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (NYSEMKT: REMX) exist. Diversified ETFs let you buy a portfolio of stocks so you don't have to worry about the risk of owning just one company. But highly fo...
Idiosyncratic risk is, basically, the risk associated with picking just one stock. There's no way to know exactly what could go wrong with one business. Which is why exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (NYSEMKT: REMX) exist. Diversified ETFs let you buy a portfolio of stocks so you don't have to worry about the risk of owning just one company. But highly focused ETFs like VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF don't avoid all of the problems you may face. Here's why this rare-earth focused ETF is good and why many investors may still be better off avoiding it. Without getting too deep into the details, VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF owns a collection of companies that produce rare-earth metals, just like its name implies. The portfolio lists 34 holdings, but some of those holdings are essentially cash. It owns a little under 30 stocks, including many foreign ones. The foreign holdings help explain the rather high expense ratio of 0.58%. Continue reading
CGNX, FSLY, G, CRUS and PEGA are 5 mid-cap picks after a sector pullback, as demand for AI-driven solutions and improving earnings outlooks signal future growth.
CGNX, FSLY, G, CRUS and PEGA are 5 mid-cap picks after a sector pullback, as demand for AI-driven solutions and improving earnings outlooks signal future growth.
Four astronauts are set to become Earth’s farthest travelled and exceed a 1970 record on the sixth day of the mission Artemis II astronauts are on course to set a new distance record Monday when they fly by the moon without stopping there – and then swing around for planet Earth. The four astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of the US space agency Nasa; and Canadian Space Ag...
Four astronauts are set to become Earth’s farthest travelled and exceed a 1970 record on the sixth day of the mission Artemis II astronauts are on course to set a new distance record Monday when they fly by the moon without stopping there – and then swing around for planet Earth. The four astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of the US space agency Nasa; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen – will become Earth’s farthest travelled, going 5,000 miles (8,047km) beyond the moon, exceeding the distance record set by 1970’s ill-fated Apollo 13. Continue reading...
The Google data center complex in Douglas County, Lithia Springs, Georgia, on March 6, 2026. Photo: VCG The booming global expansion of artificial-intelligence data centers is threatening to overwhelm power grids with unprecedented electricity demands, prompting industry leaders to rethink how the digital infrastructure of the future will be powered. Speaking Tuesday at the 14th Energy Storage Int...
The Google data center complex in Douglas County, Lithia Springs, Georgia, on March 6, 2026. Photo: VCG The booming global expansion of artificial-intelligence data centers is threatening to overwhelm power grids with unprecedented electricity demands, prompting industry leaders to rethink how the digital infrastructure of the future will be powered. Speaking Tuesday at the 14th Energy Storage International Conference and Expo, Guo Yunzheng, an executive at China Mobile Energy Technology Co., warned that the colossal energy needs of AI data centers will present three critical challenges to power-supply systems starting in 2025: high power, high volatility, and high capacity.
primeimages/iStock via Getty Images The US deadline on Tehran for re-opening the Strait of Hormuz has subtly shifted until tomorrow. The holiday-thinned market initially bought dollars and oil, and took risk off in response to the continued attacks and the escalation of US rhetoric. However, negotiations, apparently led by Pakistan, Egypt, and Türkiye for a 45-day ceasefire, have captured the imag...
primeimages/iStock via Getty Images The US deadline on Tehran for re-opening the Strait of Hormuz has subtly shifted until tomorrow. The holiday-thinned market initially bought dollars and oil, and took risk off in response to the continued attacks and the escalation of US rhetoric. However, negotiations, apparently led by Pakistan, Egypt, and Türkiye for a 45-day ceasefire, have captured the imagination of market participants, even though the negotiators themselves do not appear optimistic. In quiet turnover, the dollar ( DXY ) has given up its early gains, and as the North American session is about to begin, the greenback is lower against all the G10 currencies and emerging market currencies. US index futures are trading firmer, and May WTI is off around 1% but is still near $110. It still seems binary. If the hopes are dashed, risk will come off, as the conflict could dramatically escalate. Prices G10 • The euro finished the holiday-thinned session before the weekend on a soft note near session lows (~$1.1515). It slipped to $1.1505 before recovering on the back of hope of a ceasefire that will be negotiated. It has taken out the pre-weekend high (~$1.1550) to rise to almost $1.1570. The next important technical area is $1.1600 and then $1.1630-40. • The conditions for material intervention to support the yen by Japanese officials do not appear present, and the market does not appear to have given up on fishing for the official pain threshold. The dollar edged up to almost JPY159.85, a five-day high, before falling to almost JPY159.30. Last Friday’s low was around JPY159.45. A break of JPY159.00, where options for about $672 mln expire late today, could spur a move to last week’s low near JPY158.30. • Sterling traded heavily ahead of the weekend and slipped back below $1.32 in North American dealings. Earlier today, it held above the low set near $1.3160 last week, which it had not seen since last November. It recovered though last Friday’s high (~$1.3245) to rea...
(RTTNews) - Iran has reportedly rejected a temperory ceasefire on Monday, while the U.S. has suggested a new Tuesday deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz. Israel is continuing attack on Tehran's infrastructure, including petrochemical sites.
(RTTNews) - Iran has reportedly rejected a temperory ceasefire on Monday, while the U.S. has suggested a new Tuesday deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz. Israel is continuing attack on Tehran's infrastructure, including petrochemical sites.