John D/iStock via Getty Images By Christopher Gannatti, CFA There’s a quiet assumption embedded in thematic investing that rarely gets questioned: Investors agree on what the theme actually is. Often when speaking to investors, the concept hanging over the discussion is something like this: What is the ‘benchmark’ for this concept? For example, does AI, the theme, have a benchmark? Defining a benc...
John D/iStock via Getty Images By Christopher Gannatti, CFA There’s a quiet assumption embedded in thematic investing that rarely gets questioned: Investors agree on what the theme actually is. Often when speaking to investors, the concept hanging over the discussion is something like this: What is the ‘benchmark’ for this concept? For example, does AI, the theme, have a benchmark? Defining a benchmark makes it possible to ask how a given strategy is performing against it. Now, some themes are clearer than others. Topics like ‘Semiconductors’ and ‘Defense’ do at least show up within the GICS classification hierarchy. 1 That’s not to say that showing up within this hierarchy is ‘enough’ or ‘perfect,’ but at least these topics are represented. What about something like ‘Quantum Computing’? This theme is still very early, abstract and rapidly evolving. Defining what it is—more specifically put, what companies should be represented within it—may be the most important investment decision of all. Two ETFs in the market today attempt to answer that question. WisdomTree Quantum Computing Fund ( WQTM ) : The WisdomTree Quantum Computing Fund is designed to track the total return performance of, before fees and expenses, the WisdomTree Classiq Quantum Computing Index . The index is co-developed with Classiq, a leader in quantum software, to ensure relevant and expert-driven coverage of the ecosystem. Each company is assigned a relevancy score based on the importance of its quantum activities, as well as a pure-play or diversified distinction. The index is designed to push more weight to pure-play companies with higher relevancy and to pull weight away from diversified companies with lower relevancy. The Index is rebalanced quarterly. 2 Defiance Quantum ETF ( QTUM ): The Defiance Quantum ETF is designed to track the total return performance of, before fees and expenses, the BlueStar® Machine Learning and Quantum Computing Index , which tracks liquid companies in the global qua...
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had begun striking “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Beirut after it destroyed a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent the Iran-backed group’s reinforcements from crossing. Two loud explosions were heard in the capital within half an hour early on Saturday, with smoke billowing from one of them. Local media reported two strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a lo...
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had begun striking “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Beirut after it destroyed a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent the Iran-backed group’s reinforcements from crossing. Two loud explosions were heard in the capital within half an hour early on Saturday, with smoke billowing from one of them. Local media reported two strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a locality that has been a target of Israeli strikes in recent days as the military presses on with its...
The comedian hits the stage with ponderings aplenty – and a virtuosic laser harp performance. Plus: Riz Ahmed hosts Saturday Night Live UK. Here’s what to watch this evening 10pm, Channel 4 Continue reading...
The comedian hits the stage with ponderings aplenty – and a virtuosic laser harp performance. Plus: Riz Ahmed hosts Saturday Night Live UK. Here’s what to watch this evening 10pm, Channel 4 Continue reading...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images Thesis Summary In 2026, the companies powering AI are the most important businesses. Micron ( MU ) now sits in a privileged position, as it is one of the few companies that can supply the market with memory. Back in the early 1990s, the bottleneck was compute, CPUs, and Intel ( INTC ) was the dominant hardware company. But in the last two decades, Intel has...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images Thesis Summary In 2026, the companies powering AI are the most important businesses. Micron ( MU ) now sits in a privileged position, as it is one of the few companies that can supply the market with memory. Back in the early 1990s, the bottleneck was compute, CPUs, and Intel ( INTC ) was the dominant hardware company. But in the last two decades, Intel has lost its relevance. It spread itself too thin, let competitors pass it by and overall lost its direction. The way I see it, Micron could become the next Intel, which is both good and bad. Intel peaked in 2000 as the tech bubble imploded, and has been dead money for the last two decades. Could this be Micron’s fate, too? I recently laid out a path to $1000, which I still believe in. But what happens over the next decade will depend on Micron. The New Stack: Micron And Nvidia In the 1990s, Intel and Microsoft, “Wintel,” dominated the tech market. One controlled the hardware while the other controlled the software. Today, we have two new companies sitting at the centre of all the action. Nvidia ( NVDA ) owns the compute layer, and Micron owns the memory bandwidth. The key thing to understand is that memory bandwidth is not a secondary consideration; it is central to system design, and this creates a reinforcing dynamic. As Nvidia scales, Micron scales with it. Not just in volume, but in technological importance. Each new generation of GPUs increases the demand for more advanced memory solutions. Memory Unlocks AGI Memory is becoming the true limitation. Large language models and agentic systems are fundamentally data problems. Performance is dictated not just by compute power but by how quickly systems can access and transfer massive datasets. This is what Jensen Huang has been pointing to when he talks about data movement becoming the core challenge in modern computing. And High Bandwidth Memory now sits at the center of that shift. It is not just another component but rathe...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images Thesis Summary In 2026, the companies powering AI are the most important businesses. Micron ( MU ) now sits in a privileged position, as it is one of the few companies that can supply the market with memory. Back in the early 1990s, the bottleneck was compute, CPUs, and Intel ( INTC ) was the dominant hardware company. But in the last two decades, Intel has...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images Thesis Summary In 2026, the companies powering AI are the most important businesses. Micron ( MU ) now sits in a privileged position, as it is one of the few companies that can supply the market with memory. Back in the early 1990s, the bottleneck was compute, CPUs, and Intel ( INTC ) was the dominant hardware company. But in the last two decades, Intel has lost its relevance. It spread itself too thin, let competitors pass it by and overall lost its direction. The way I see it, Micron could become the next Intel, which is both good and bad. Intel peaked in 2000 as the tech bubble imploded, and has been dead money for the last two decades. Could this be Micron’s fate, too? I recently laid out a path to $1000, which I still believe in. But what happens over the next decade will depend on Micron. The New Stack: Micron And Nvidia In the 1990s, Intel and Microsoft, “Wintel,” dominated the tech market. One controlled the hardware while the other controlled the software. Today, we have two new companies sitting at the centre of all the action. Nvidia ( NVDA ) owns the compute layer, and Micron owns the memory bandwidth. The key thing to understand is that memory bandwidth is not a secondary consideration; it is central to system design, and this creates a reinforcing dynamic. As Nvidia scales, Micron scales with it. Not just in volume, but in technological importance. Each new generation of GPUs increases the demand for more advanced memory solutions. Memory Unlocks AGI Memory is becoming the true limitation. Large language models and agentic systems are fundamentally data problems. Performance is dictated not just by compute power but by how quickly systems can access and transfer massive datasets. This is what Jensen Huang has been pointing to when he talks about data movement becoming the core challenge in modern computing. And High Bandwidth Memory now sits at the center of that shift. It is not just another component but rathe...
Investing.com -- In a significant diplomatic gesture, the United States has repatriated a Chinese drug-smuggling fugitive to Beijing, marking a rare moment of law-enforcement cooperation between the two superpowers.
Investing.com -- In a significant diplomatic gesture, the United States has repatriated a Chinese drug-smuggling fugitive to Beijing, marking a rare moment of law-enforcement cooperation between the two superpowers.
sergeyryzhov/iStock via Getty Images Originally published on April 1, 2026 A year ago at this time, consumers were just starting to get relief from a record spike in egg prices caused by a bird flu that tore through the hen population. Ground beef prices were also elevated at more than $5.50/lb. While egg prices collapsed back down to earth, beef prices have continued to tick higher, up to $6.73/l...
sergeyryzhov/iStock via Getty Images Originally published on April 1, 2026 A year ago at this time, consumers were just starting to get relief from a record spike in egg prices caused by a bird flu that tore through the hen population. Ground beef prices were also elevated at more than $5.50/lb. While egg prices collapsed back down to earth, beef prices have continued to tick higher, up to $6.73/lb. At this point, the backyard burger is becoming a delicacy. Make sure to enjoy every bite this summer! Below is a look at the percentage change in both cattle futures and ground beef prices since 2007 (as far back as we have data for both). The two have tracked each other closely over time, although we saw less of a decline in ground beef in the 2010s when cattle futures fell quite a bit. While cattle futures saw their last record high in August, that has yet to translate to any relief at the butcher counter. Up until the early 2010s, ground beef was the cheaper protein option than chicken. That relationship certainly doesn't apply any longer, with ground beef costing 60% more than chicken breast. Since spiking above $4.50/lb in 2022 as inflation raged throughout the economy, chicken breast prices have pulled back some and remained stable in the low-$4 range. Getting back to egg prices, below is an updated look at the national price for a dozen large eggs delivered to warehouses. After spiking to a record $8.50/dozen in late February last year, prices plunged to as low as $0.67/dozen this January! Prices have more than doubled off those lows back up to $1.51/dozen, but current levels still look extremely cheap compared to what consumers experienced a year ago. Original Post Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.
Ray Blanchette admits he may be a ‘little crazy’ as he outlines chain’s hopes of building 1,000 outlets globally “I am a little crazy maybe,” admits Ray Blanchette, a former TGI Fridays kitchen manager who has taken on the revival of the bar-restaurant chain’s UK business in the face of blasting industry headwinds. Blanchette’s family investment firm, Sugarloaf, rescued the Dallas-based parent bus...
Ray Blanchette admits he may be a ‘little crazy’ as he outlines chain’s hopes of building 1,000 outlets globally “I am a little crazy maybe,” admits Ray Blanchette, a former TGI Fridays kitchen manager who has taken on the revival of the bar-restaurant chain’s UK business in the face of blasting industry headwinds. Blanchette’s family investment firm, Sugarloaf, rescued the Dallas-based parent business from administration in 2025. He then went on to pick up its UK arm in January after the local franchisee got into difficulties, retaining 33 UK restaurants but closing 16, with the loss of 456 jobs. Continue reading...