Getty Images In an otherwise quiet day, with U.S. equity markets closed for the holiday weekend, Friday’s job report provided some good news to investors juggling continuing market volatility. On the final trading day prior to the holiday, indexes reversed course on two-day momentum following President Trump’s speech on the war with Iran on Wednesday evening. Following that speech, all three index...
Getty Images In an otherwise quiet day, with U.S. equity markets closed for the holiday weekend, Friday’s job report provided some good news to investors juggling continuing market volatility. On the final trading day prior to the holiday, indexes reversed course on two-day momentum following President Trump’s speech on the war with Iran on Wednesday evening. Following that speech, all three indexes remain in the red on a YTD basis, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJI ), S&P 500 ( SPY ), and Nasdaq Composite ( NDX ), all down between 3% and 5%. Yields on long-term yields, meanwhile, continue to track within the 4.35% to 4.4% range. Seeking Alpha - YTD Returns Of DJI, SP500, & NDX With the holiday closure, investors will have to wait until Monday to express their reaction to today’s report. In my view, attention likely will have already pivoted back to developments on the war front by then. Today’s report was a positive bounce back reading from a February reading that was somewhat distorted due to the healthcare strike. Here’s everything to know about the March jobs report. What Sectors Added Jobs In March? On an overall basis, employers added 178,000 jobs in March, well above the 59,000 jobs expected. Job gains were strong throughout but most pronounced in the healthcare sector. After losing jobs in February due to strike activity, the sector bounced back in a big way. The sector added 76,000 jobs during the month, well above the twelve month average of 29,000 jobs. BLS - Employment Change By Month For March This wasn't a surprise to me, especially with the strike activity concluding. Gains, however, were better than expected elsewhere. In the construction sector, for example, employers added 26,000 jobs. This was almost half the gains that were expected for the month. These gains were supplemented by a 21,000 job gain in the transportation and warehousing sector as well. Two struggling sectors continue to be federal, which lost 18,000 jobs and financial act...
Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images In investing, there is no free lunch other than diversification which, if approached properly, can reduce risk without introducing a drag on return potential (i.e., cost-free hedge). So, what certainly costs something is climbing up the yield ladder. The higher yields we choose, the more we have to pay with income and value stability. There is a huge hi...
Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images In investing, there is no free lunch other than diversification which, if approached properly, can reduce risk without introducing a drag on return potential (i.e., cost-free hedge). So, what certainly costs something is climbing up the yield ladder. The higher yields we choose, the more we have to pay with income and value stability. There is a huge high-quality opportunity set within 3% to 5% yield zone (I'm not considering anything that is below 3% as they typically do not move the needle for most income-focused investors). Here we can find robust picks which offer both decent income and strong growth potential - e.g., the SPDR® S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SCHD ) yielding 3.4% with a 10-year dividend CAGR of 10.4%. The next zone is about income opportunities that yield from 6% to 9%. Here the available opportunity set that could be acceptable for prudent investors already is much smaller. However, it is still possible to find a good amount of defensive yield-producers (but they don't offer as pronounced income growth potential as the previous picks). Midstream MLPs ( AMLP ), infrastructure ( UTF ) and select REIT and BDCs plays like EPR Properties ( EPR ) and Main Street Capital Corporation ( MAIN ), respectively, could fit in this category. Now, when it comes to 9%+ zone, the investable universe becomes very small. Some business development companies ("BDCs"), high-quality closed-end funds ("CEFs") and covered call ETFs might still offer the necessary value and income stability, but other than that the odds of scooping up a value-destructive mine are way larger than picking a "retirement-proof" yield machine. Each incremental uptick in yield comes with exponentially higher probabilities of hitting a land mine. In the title of this article I have referred to "14%+ zone" which is very dangerous. FS KKR Capital Corp. ( FSK ), Horizon Technology Finance ( HRZN ), XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust ( XFLT ), Oxfo...
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images Looking for something a bit different in the high yield arena? The Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund ( NFJ ) combines equity investing with selling covered calls, plus convertibles. Fund Profile: "The Fund seeks current income and gains, with long-term capital appreciation as a secondary objective. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will inve...
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images Looking for something a bit different in the high yield arena? The Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund ( NFJ ) combines equity investing with selling covered calls, plus convertibles. Fund Profile: "The Fund seeks current income and gains, with long-term capital appreciation as a secondary objective. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in securities and other instruments that provide dividends, interest or option premiums. The Fund will employ an option strategy of writing (selling) covered call options on equity securities held in the Fund. The equity portion of the Fund generally invests in U.S. equities and American depositary receipts (ADRs) with attractive quality characteristics, shareholder yield, and consistent financial output. The convertible portion of the Fund generally invests in income-producing convertible securities, including synthetic convertible securities, and may include convertible securities that are of below-investment grade quality." ( NFJ site .) Founded in 2005, NFJ is among the top 30 biggest market cap equity closed-end funds, "CEF's," and is in the top 35 for average daily volume, at 220K. As of 12/31/25, it had 171 holdings, and a 0.96% expense ratio. Hidden Dividend Stocks Plus Holdings: Common Equities formed 76.39% of NFJ's portfolio, as of 12/31/25, followed by Convertible Securities, at 21.92%, and 1.72% in Cash: nfj The Equity portion of the portfolio favors the Financials sector, at 32.17%, followed by Tech, at 14.13%, Health Care, at 10.61%, and Consumer Discretionary, at 10.48%. There was exposure to 7 other sectors, running from 2% for Consumer Staples, up to 7% for Communication Services, as of 12/31/25: nfj The Fixed Income part of the portfolio had Tech as its biggest exposure, at 30.58%, followed by Financials, at 16%, Health Care, at 15.67%, Consumer Discretionary, at 12.09%, Indus...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF ( SYLD ) has a distinct investment approach in the small- and mid-cap space. The fund targets companies that offer a combination of solid dividends, buybacks, and debt paydown, leading to very low valuations and a sector mix that does not resemble other value and dividend-oriented ETFs. This is a setup that has some appeal ...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF ( SYLD ) has a distinct investment approach in the small- and mid-cap space. The fund targets companies that offer a combination of solid dividends, buybacks, and debt paydown, leading to very low valuations and a sector mix that does not resemble other value and dividend-oriented ETFs. This is a setup that has some appeal now, with overweight exposure to sectors like energy. The flip side is its modest growth and profitability profile, and potential vulnerability to an economic downturn. With that in mind, the following sections will break down the fund’s portfolio and compare its sector mix, valuation, and performance with the broader market and its peer group. ETF Description & Highlights SYLD provides targeted exposure to companies that consistently return cash to shareholders. Through an active management philosophy, the fund follows an investment process that first identifies the top 20% of stocks in the U.S. market with the highest dividend payments and net share buybacks. From this pool, Cambria, the fund manager, selects the top 100 stocks based on dividends, buybacks, and additional metrics, including a debt paydown score and valuation ratios such as price to sales and price to earnings. The fund targets an equal-weighted structure, though stocks’ price fluctuations result in distinct weights across the portfolio. As of March 26, 2026, SYLD had $902.3 million in assets under management, invested in a portfolio of 100 companies, with an average market capitalization of $9.65 billion. The fund’s allocation is spread across the lower end of the market-cap spectrum, with its largest exposures in small caps (38.8%) and mid caps (33.8%), followed by a still meaningful allocation to micro caps (21.1%). On the other hand, the exposure to large caps (5.0%) and mega caps (1.0%) is quite limited, which gives the fund a clear small- to mid-cap profile. For comparison purposes, we are going to u...
Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock reacted poorly to its first-quarter sales count. It fell short of expectations for some. The big EV company produced 408,383 and delivered 358,023. People wondered what the difference was. Tesla has a big and perhaps troubling backlog. Deliveries improved 6% from a year ago, when Tesla reported 336,681. That is a ... Tesla’s Little Miracle
Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock reacted poorly to its first-quarter sales count. It fell short of expectations for some. The big EV company produced 408,383 and delivered 358,023. People wondered what the difference was. Tesla has a big and perhaps troubling backlog. Deliveries improved 6% from a year ago, when Tesla reported 336,681. That is a ... Tesla’s Little Miracle
e-crow/iStock via Getty Images I Believe Barrick Is A Great "Buy" Barrick Mining Corporation ( B ) rebranded from Barrick Gold Corporation in May 2025 to reflect its growing dual-commodity focus - the "gold" in the company's name isn't enough to truly capture Barrick's operating activities now. Anyway, like many other gold stocks, Barrick has gone through a massive rally throughout 2025 amid the r...
e-crow/iStock via Getty Images I Believe Barrick Is A Great "Buy" Barrick Mining Corporation ( B ) rebranded from Barrick Gold Corporation in May 2025 to reflect its growing dual-commodity focus - the "gold" in the company's name isn't enough to truly capture Barrick's operating activities now. Anyway, like many other gold stocks, Barrick has gone through a massive rally throughout 2025 amid the rise in commodity prices, but then it started to fall sharply when the underlying commodity began to weaken (since March 2026). Seeking Alpha Data by YCharts In my opinion, it's all just market noise because even if the gold and copper prices continue to correct (to some extent), the fundamentals should remain strong. Barrick has one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry, which is essential for a miner, and with the upcoming corporate events that I'm anticipating, the stock should reprice higher over the next few months. Why Do I Think So? Thanks to the 25% QoQ production ramp at the Carlin complex within the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture, the firm's gold production went up by 5% QoQ to 871,000 ounces. Copper production rose 13% QoQ and reached 62,000 metric tons. The selling prices were quite high for both gold ($4,177 per ounce) and copper ($5.42 per pound) in Q4, so, as a result, Barrick has managed to generate $6 billion in quarterly revenues, which was 45% above last year's figure, and it beat the consensus estimate by over 16% (that looks like the biggest beat since at least 2022, according to Seeking Alpha ). The bottom line came in at $1.04 per share (in U.S. dollars), which is a 126% YoY growth, and it's above the consensus by almost 19%. Seeking Alpha, B's earnigns beats/misses Operating cash flows for the quarters amounted to $2.73 billion, which brought in a massive $1.62 billion in FCF in Q4 alone. The new shareholders' return framework that the management announced is targeting 50% for FCFs to investors on an annualized basis, so the base quarterly ...
Welcome to Bloomberg’s Retail Monitor . Every Friday we’ll deliver you clear insights on industry trends, headwinds and emerging opportunities. Sign up now if you’re not already on the list. Nike’s efforts to find a path back to growth are exhausting its CEO. Oh snap! Red Lobster’s “Endless Shrimp” promotion is making a comeback — but only for a limited time. Calvin Klein’s riding a “Love Story” w...
Welcome to Bloomberg’s Retail Monitor . Every Friday we’ll deliver you clear insights on industry trends, headwinds and emerging opportunities. Sign up now if you’re not already on the list. Nike’s efforts to find a path back to growth are exhausting its CEO. Oh snap! Red Lobster’s “Endless Shrimp” promotion is making a comeback — but only for a limited time. Calvin Klein’s riding a “Love Story” wave , the kids are heading back to the mall with their parents in tow and Allbirds is coming to an end . Put on your fancy soft pants and check it all out here. — Tonya Garcia Market Snapshot NIKE Inc $44.19 -1.0% Amazon.com Inc $209.77 -0.4% Walmart Inc $125.79 +0.8% Allbirds Inc $2.66 +1.5% LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE $434.69 +1.6% Market data as of 09:10 AM ET. Data is subject to provider delays. Nike looks back to go forward Nike’s CEO Elliott Hill is “tired” of talking about fixing the business and it seems investors are tired of hearing about it. Shares of the athletic company took a tumble to the lowest point in a decade after it gave a disappointing revenue outlook , with the Converse brand, global disruptions and business in China among the areas of concern. With highly anticipated sports events like the FIFA World Cup tournament and Olympic Games in Los Angeles, it should be primetime for Nike. And when are the iconic Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers ever out of style? Never. Still, the company is struggling to get back on track, with a re-focus on sports at the heart of the turnaround strategy. There have been some signs of improvement, though, with wholesale revenue in North America. But another big challenge that Nike faces going forward is getting its cool back . Fashion labels from Gap to Ralph Lauren have recently used past marketing as inspiration to attract shoppers . Recreating good vibes can be effective. Nike is fortunate that both everyday folks and top-tier athletes really like the brand . Now Hill and his team have to execute. And it looks like...
Weekly income checks from a basket of the world’s most powerful tech companies sound appealing, but the mechanics behind YieldMax Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs (NYSEARCA:YMAG) are more complicated than the distribution schedule suggests. Understanding what drives those payouts, and what they cost, is the real starting point for any portfolio decision. A ... YMAG ETF Pays Weekly but the ...
Weekly income checks from a basket of the world’s most powerful tech companies sound appealing, but the mechanics behind YieldMax Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs (NYSEARCA:YMAG) are more complicated than the distribution schedule suggests. Understanding what drives those payouts, and what they cost, is the real starting point for any portfolio decision. A ... YMAG ETF Pays Weekly but the Share Price Tells a Harder Story