Nokia (NYSE:NOK), provider of global network solutions, closed Thursday at $8.82, up 6.65%. The stock moved higher as traders increased bullish options activity in the regular session.
Nokia (NYSE:NOK), provider of global network solutions, closed Thursday at $8.82, up 6.65%. The stock moved higher as traders increased bullish options activity in the regular session.
Starbucks on Thursday rolled out a bonus and tipping program for its employees, and announced a deal that hands off a big slice of its store business in China to an investment firm.
Starbucks on Thursday rolled out a bonus and tipping program for its employees, and announced a deal that hands off a big slice of its store business in China to an investment firm.
The Case Against Federal Reserve Independence Authored by Alexander William Salter via AmericanMind.org, It’s illegal in theory and ineffective in practice. The independence of the Federal Reserve System has become a major source of public controversy . As political leaders signal dissatisfaction with monetary policy, officials and commentators rush to defend the central bank’s insulation from dem...
The Case Against Federal Reserve Independence Authored by Alexander William Salter via AmericanMind.org, It’s illegal in theory and ineffective in practice. The independence of the Federal Reserve System has become a major source of public controversy . As political leaders signal dissatisfaction with monetary policy, officials and commentators rush to defend the central bank’s insulation from democratic pressure. We are told, as if it were self-evident, that central bank independence is a pillar of sound economic governance. But this confidence is misplaced . The economic case for central bank independence is far weaker than its defenders suggest. And the constitutional case is weaker still. Start with economics . The standard argument is that independent central banks deliver low and stable inflation because they are insulated from short-term political incentives. Elected officials, facing electoral pressures, might be tempted to juice the economy with artificially loose monetary policy. By contrast, independent technocrats can take the long view. Early empirical studies did show that countries with independent central banks experienced lower inflation. Yet more recent research has cast doubt on this relationship. The correlation is sensitive to different samples and methods. In many cases, the supposed benefits of independence disappear entirely. A more plausible explanation has emerged . Countries that enjoy low and stable inflation share deeper institutional characteristics: respect for the rule of law, stable political systems, and credible commitments to property rights. These are the real foundations of sound money. Central bank independence accompanies these basic governance norms, but its standalone effect is debatable. This matters for a free-enterprise economy . Monetary policy is not a neutral technocratic exercise. Interest rates are prices: the price of time, risk, and capital. When insulated officials tinker with those prices at their discretion, the...
OKrasyuk/iStock via Getty Images With the recent choppiness in the stock market, we certainly have to be more careful with which stocks we invest in, as there is no longer a rising tide to lift all boats. But that said, we also shouldn't ignore small-cap names that present unique value opportunities just because the market is taking a risk-off stance. Stitch Fix ( SFIX ), the e-commerce retailer o...
OKrasyuk/iStock via Getty Images With the recent choppiness in the stock market, we certainly have to be more careful with which stocks we invest in, as there is no longer a rising tide to lift all boats. But that said, we also shouldn't ignore small-cap names that present unique value opportunities just because the market is taking a risk-off stance. Stitch Fix ( SFIX ), the e-commerce retailer once best known for sending its customers a "Fix" of five items that they selected from, is looking like an increasingly attractive bet. Since the start of the year, Stitch Fix has lost more than a third of its value. But at the same time, the company has delivered improving revenue trends, stable margins, and can justify its valuation fully from its bottom-line performance. The question for investors now is: Will Stitch Fix continue falling as investors punish small caps, or is the selloff now overdone? Data by YCharts I last wrote a "Neutral" article on Stitch Fix in December, when the stock was trading at $5 per share. Since then, two major factors have shifted the tide in Stitch Fix's favor. The first and most obvious is the fact that Stitch Fix's valuation has crumbled, making its valuation multiples more enticing. At the same time, amid a tough macroeconomy with weak consumer spending, Stitch Fix may actually be pulling ahead and gaining market share, as evidenced by its accelerating sales in a tough holiday quarter. With all of these indicators tilting positive, I'm turning cautiously optimistic on this stock and upgrading it to a "Buy." To me, I now view more positives than negatives in this stock. The core tailwinds that drive the bull case for this company are: Clear shift toward higher-spending customers. Yes, it's true that Stitch Fix has consistently lost active clients over the past few years. At the same time, the company is converging on a more loyal, higher-spending customer base, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the company can pull back on advertisi...
The judge presiding over Luigi Mangione’s federal criminal case over the killing of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson has pushed back the trial three months to January, the second postponement in two days. US District Judge Margaret Garnett on Thursday revised the start date for the federal stalking case, which she’d said on Wednesday would be Oct. 5. The change was made after the N...
The judge presiding over Luigi Mangione’s federal criminal case over the killing of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson has pushed back the trial three months to January, the second postponement in two days. US District Judge Margaret Garnett on Thursday revised the start date for the federal stalking case, which she’d said on Wednesday would be Oct. 5. The change was made after the New York judge presiding over Mangione’s state murder trial rescheduled it to Sept. 8 from June. Both state and federal authorities are prosecuting Mangione for the December 2024 slaying of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel. The federal case originally included a charge that carried the death penalty, but Garnett dismissed that count in January. Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both cases. Garnett had said she wanted to make sure that Mangione got a fair trial by avoiding trials occurring too close together and that potential jurors in the federal case aren’t affected by the publicity generated by the state case. In her Thursday ruling, Garnett ordered that individual questioning of potential jurors will begin on Jan. 5 and that testimony would start beginning Jan. 25 through Feb. 12, “unless and until otherwise ordered by this court, should a further adjournment of the trial become necessary.” The case is US v. Mangione, 25-cr-0176, US District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Moussa81/iStock via Getty Images Barrick Mining ( B ) said post-market Thursday it will slow the development of its Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan and extend the project review until mid-2027 due to escalating security risks in the region. The company said it will reduce capital spending on the project while maintaining active management while continuing to invest in its existing in-coun...
Moussa81/iStock via Getty Images Barrick Mining ( B ) said post-market Thursday it will slow the development of its Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan and extend the project review until mid-2027 due to escalating security risks in the region. The company said it will reduce capital spending on the project while maintaining active management while continuing to invest in its existing in-country community and social programs. Barrick ( B ) also warned of potentially significant increases to the previously disclosed total estimated capital budget and timeline for the project. The previously disclosed total estimated capital cost of $5.6B-$6B for Phase 1 and $3.3B-$3.6B for Phase 2, excluding capitalization of financing costs), with first production targeted by year-end 2028. Reko Diq could become one of the world's largest copper-gold mines, although industry experts have cautioned that development will be expensive and difficult . More on Barrick Mining Barrick Mining: Structural Tailwinds Make It A Golden Opportunity Barrick Mining: Time To Load Up On This Massive Dip Barrick Mining: Flashbacks From 2022, Setup Too Good To Ignore
The predicted demise of physical newspapers may be premature, but paper use in the stock market is definitely passé. Thankfully, the Securities and Futures Commission will phase it out and digitise the market within five years. That should be enough time for any Luddite to adjust. A launch date has been set for November 16 for rolling out a fully digital, paperless stock market. The aim is to boos...
The predicted demise of physical newspapers may be premature, but paper use in the stock market is definitely passé. Thankfully, the Securities and Futures Commission will phase it out and digitise the market within five years. That should be enough time for any Luddite to adjust. A launch date has been set for November 16 for rolling out a fully digital, paperless stock market. The aim is to boost efficiency and strengthen the city’s competitiveness. Digitalised securities and their documents...
SimonSkafar/iStock via Getty Images Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) stock is down by nearly -8% in price since my last analysis of the company. The weekly RSI is basically oversold at about 30.5, and my average price is $390 per share. I am targeting a return to about $600 per share within 12-18 months. This is over a +50% return, and at 11% of my NAV will mean a +5.5% total increase to the value o...
SimonSkafar/iStock via Getty Images Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) stock is down by nearly -8% in price since my last analysis of the company. The weekly RSI is basically oversold at about 30.5, and my average price is $390 per share. I am targeting a return to about $600 per share within 12-18 months. This is over a +50% return, and at 11% of my NAV will mean a +5.5% total increase to the value of my portfolio holdings. That gives the other 89% of my holdings a lot of room to do more great work as well. Not that consensus is anything to listen to on its own, but it is a good sentiment barometer. Wall Street's average price target of $587.31 indicates a +59.17% upside. Investment Case There are several material and fundamental updates to discuss for you, dear reader, since my last analysis. I will focus on developments in March alone, as there were many. On March 4 , CEO Nadella described how AI will be TAM-expanding for Office, signaling a pricing mix of subscriptions plus metering as agents will probably be treated as users. The key takeaway, which shuns the software bears, is that AI can raise both seat value and usage ARPU across the productivity stack. On March 4 , management also discussed the core capex debate head-on. AI is clearly lifting infrastructure intensity across the stack, but software-led orchestration makes this worth it. ROIC is not "tomorrow," it will be judged on multi-generation TCO, utilization, and diversified 1P/3P demand. Agents are driving regular compute, storage, network, and container demand, too, not GPU demand alone. On March 9 , the company also further exposed how it is building agent governance, identity, security, and Copilot into a higher ARPU enterprise suite rather than selling a narrow assistant SKU. The company added Anthropic's ( ANTHRO ) Claude to mainline Copilot chat alongside OpenAI ( OPENAI ) models. It also priced Agent 365 at $15 per user per month and launched Microsoft 365 E7 at $99 per user per month. All of these...