France debates under-15s social media ban endorsed by Macron Under the proposal, a list of social media networks deemed harmful would be banned for under 15-year-olds France is on course to follow Australia in banning social media to younger teenagers, as debate on a new law opens in the National Assembly. The law would block access for under 15-year-olds to networks such as Snapchat, Instagram an...
France debates under-15s social media ban endorsed by Macron Under the proposal, a list of social media networks deemed harmful would be banned for under 15-year-olds France is on course to follow Australia in banning social media to younger teenagers, as debate on a new law opens in the National Assembly. The law would block access for under 15-year-olds to networks such as Snapchat, Instagram and Tiktok. President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants the ban in place by the start of the school year in September. The French move is part of a worldwide trend towards restricting social networks for children, triggered by growing evidence of the damage they can cause to mental health. "We cannot leave the mental and emotional health of our children in the hands of people whose sole purpose is to make money out of them," Macron said last month. Under the new text, the state media regulator would draw up a list of social media networks that are deemed harmful. These would be simply banned for under 15-year-olds. A separate list of supposedly less harmful sites would be accessible, but only with explicit parental approval. The bill is believed to have a good chance of passing, with pro-Macron parties likely to be joined by the centre-right Republicans (LR) as well as the populist right-wing National Rally (RN). Another clause would ban the use of mobile telephones in senior schools (lycées). The ban is already in effect in junior and middle schools. If the law is passed, France will need to agree on the mechanism for for age-verification. A system is already in place that requires over 18 year-olds to prove their age when accessing online pornography. In Europe, Denmark, Greece, Spain and Ireland are also considering following the Australian example. Earlier this month, the UK government launched a consultation on banning social media for under 16s. The basis of the proposed French law is a text drawn up late last year by deputy Laure Miller, who chaired a parliamentary com...
HBT Financial press release ( HBT ): Q4 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.64 in-line. Revenue of $60.44M (+2.4% Y/Y) misses by $0.56M . return on average assets (“ROAA”) of 1.47%; return on average stockholders' equity (“ROAE”) of 12.34%; and return on average tangible common equity (“ROATCE”) of 14.08% Net interest margin decreased 1 basis point to 4.12% and net interest margin (tax-equivalent basis) decreased ...
HBT Financial press release ( HBT ): Q4 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.64 in-line. Revenue of $60.44M (+2.4% Y/Y) misses by $0.56M . return on average assets (“ROAA”) of 1.47%; return on average stockholders' equity (“ROAE”) of 12.34%; and return on average tangible common equity (“ROATCE”) of 14.08% Net interest margin decreased 1 basis point to 4.12% and net interest margin (tax-equivalent basis) decreased 2 basis points to 4.16% More on HBT Financial HBT Financial authorizes new $30M share repurchase program Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on HBT Financial Historical earnings data for HBT Financial Dividend scorecard for HBT Financial Financial information for HBT Financial
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is all set to report its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings report, due Wednesday after the market close, as investors looked for clarity on margins, demand and progress in artificial intelligence initiatives. Wall Street expects Tesla to report earnings of about $0.45 per share, down from a year earlier, on revenue of roughly $24.8 billion, ...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is all set to report its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings report, due Wednesday after the market close, as investors looked for clarity on margins, demand and progress in artificial intelligence initiatives. Wall Street expects Tesla to report earnings of about $0.45 per share, down from a year earlier, on revenue of roughly $24.8 billion, according to analyst estimates. The company has faced pressure from repeated vehicle price cuts over the past year, which weighed on profitability. In the third quarter, automotive sales accounted for roughly three-quarters of total revenue, keeping vehicle margins a key focus. Investors are expected to scrutinize automotive gross margin excluding regulatory credits for signs that pricing has stabilized and cost efficiencies are taking hold. Market attention is also likely to center on updates around Full Self-Driving software, AI compute capacity and longer-term projects such as robotaxis and the Optimus humanoid robot. Management commentary on timelines and adoption could influence near-term sentiment. Demand trends remain another area of concern. Tesla has seen intensifying competition in China, while sales in Europe fell sharply year over year in 2025, raising questions about global EV momentum. Options traders are pricing in a sizable move of about 6.3% in either direction for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) around its upcoming Q4 2025 earnings, reflecting elevated expected volatility and uncertainty heading into the report.
Cristian Lourenço/iStock via Getty Images Penske Automotive Group ( PAG ) announced on Monday that it has inked an agreement to acquire Lexus of Orlando and Lexus of Winter Park. Both the locations are in the Orlando metropolitan area of Central Florida. While the deal price was not disclosed, the acquisition is expected to add $450 million in annualized revenue. "The acquisition of these premier ...
Cristian Lourenço/iStock via Getty Images Penske Automotive Group ( PAG ) announced on Monday that it has inked an agreement to acquire Lexus of Orlando and Lexus of Winter Park. Both the locations are in the Orlando metropolitan area of Central Florida. While the deal price was not disclosed, the acquisition is expected to add $450 million in annualized revenue. "The acquisition of these premier Lexus dealerships represents another strategic addition to the Penske Automotive Group portfolio. The acquired dealerships will expand the company's scale in one of the fastest-growing states in the country while leveraging the company's existing infrastructure in Central Florida," highlighted Penske Automotive Group ( PAG ) North American Operations Officer Rich Shearing. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2026 and is subject to customary conditions. The auto retailer expects to fund the purchase price using cash flow from operations and availability under its U.S. credit agreement. Notably, Penske Automotive ( PAG ) has been consistently active on the M&A front over the last two years, using acquisitions to deepen its U.S. luxury/import footprint, including Toyota/Lexus, Ferrari, Porsche, and Ford dealerships. The company has also expanded in the U.K. and Australia while pruning lower-return assets via divestitures. Shares of Penske Automotive Group ( PAG ) are down 1.8% over the last 52 weeks. More on Penske Automotive Penske Automotive Group: A Mixed Bag That I'm Not Ready To Touch Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (PAG) Presents at 49th Annual Automotive Symposium Transcript Penske Automotive Group: Getting Through The Bumps (Rating Upgrade) Wholesale used car prices rise in the U.S. for the second straight month Penske grows its presence in California and Texas through new dealer acquisitions
After a 36% correction, the leading premium streaming service provider is looking pretty attractive. There has been a lot of binge selling when it comes to Netflix (NFLX +3.17%) in recent months. Shares of the premium leader among streaming service stocks have plummeted 36% since hitting an all-time high seven months ago. The market has risen 11% in that time. Netflix executed a 10-for-1 stock spl...
After a 36% correction, the leading premium streaming service provider is looking pretty attractive. There has been a lot of binge selling when it comes to Netflix (NFLX +3.17%) in recent months. Shares of the premium leader among streaming service stocks have plummeted 36% since hitting an all-time high seven months ago. The market has risen 11% in that time. Netflix executed a 10-for-1 stock split in November -- a move that typically accompanies a rallying share price -- but that obviously isn't the case here. It doesn't take long to break down what's been holding Netflix stock back since its late June peak. The entertainment giant has cranked out three poorly received quarterly reports in that time. It has moved lower after each of those financial updates, but that isn't the biggest contributor to the slide. You're getting warmer, Warner The real reason Netflix is falling -- as stocks in general and consumer-facing businesses in general move higher -- is its winning bid for the juiciest assets of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD +0.85%). The market isn't happy to see Netflix paying $72 billion in cash for its streaming and studio assets after its less valuable businesses are spun off to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders. It will be the largest Netflix acquisition, by far. Bears will argue that it's a sign that Netflix is willing to pay top dollar for a stock that was worth roughly a third of its current price a year ago because it's desperate. It needs new ammo to keep putting out double-digit revenue growth. However, with the stock already giving up more than $72 billion in market cap since first raising its bidding card for Warner Bros. Discovery -- more than $100 billion, actually -- is that fair? Right now, it's like buying Netflix and getting Warner Bros. Discovery for free. Expand NASDAQ : NFLX Netflix Today's Change ( 3.17 %) $ 2.65 Current Price $ 86.19 Key Data Points Market Cap $394B Day's Range $ 83.28 - $ 86.29 52wk Range $ 81.93 - $ 134.12 Volume 5.9K A...
Homes and businesses are likely to be flooded in south-west England, the Met Office has warned, as Storm Chandra brings torrential rain and high winds to parts of the UK on Monday night and Tuesday. Forecasters said travel disruption was likely in some areas and there could be significant falls of snow across higher ground in parts of northern England and Scotland. Several weather warnings have be...
Homes and businesses are likely to be flooded in south-west England, the Met Office has warned, as Storm Chandra brings torrential rain and high winds to parts of the UK on Monday night and Tuesday. Forecasters said travel disruption was likely in some areas and there could be significant falls of snow across higher ground in parts of northern England and Scotland. Several weather warnings have been issued, including amber ones for south-west England and the eastern coast of Northern Ireland for rain and wind respectively. A search was continuing on Monday for a kayaker missing after getting into difficulty in the River Exe at Tivertonin Devon on Saturday. Police said the kayak had been found. A body recovered from the sea off Exmouth in Devon on Sunday is thought to be that of Matthew Upham, one of two swimmers who went missing on Christmas Day. Formal identification is yet to be carried out, but officers said the family of a 64-year-old man from Budleigh Salterton had been informed. Parts of south-west England are still coping with the fallout from Storm Goretti earlier this month. Winds of 99mph (160km/h) hit the Isles of Scilly and thousands of people in Cornwall were left without power, water and internet. The storm also brought down thousands of trees. The Met Office said Storm Chandra would bring wet and windy conditions on Monday and into Tuesday. Gusty winds would impact the Isles of Scilly, western Cornwall and south-west Wales before moving north up the Irish Sea where eastern parts of Northern Ireland would experience gusts of up to 75mph. Heavy rain could be a hazard as it was expected to fall on areas that had already had persistent wet weather in recent days, the Met Office said. It predicted 30-50mm (12-20in) of rain could fall widely, with up to 60-80mm over the higher ground of south Dartmoor in Devon. Yellow warnings for snow have been issued for Scotland and northern England where 2-5cm could fall widely within the warning areas and as much as 10...
Shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) are up 0.5% this week, but retail investor sentiment tells a darker story. The company’s social sentiment score dropped to negative 0.15 on Reddit and X over the past week, a sharp reversal from its neutral-bullish 0.12 average over the prior quarter. Among select tech peers, Amazon stands alone in sustained ... Amazon Shares Stall as Job Cuts Loom Against $35B AI Sp...
Shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) are up 0.5% this week, but retail investor sentiment tells a darker story. The company’s social sentiment score dropped to negative 0.15 on Reddit and X over the past week, a sharp reversal from its neutral-bullish 0.12 average over the prior quarter. Among select tech peers, Amazon stands alone in sustained ... Amazon Shares Stall as Job Cuts Loom Against $35B AI Spending | AMZN Stock
Quick Read Amazon (AMZN) social sentiment dropped to negative 0.15 from a 0.12 quarterly average. Amazon plans to cut 14,000-15,000 jobs starting January 28. Amazon capex surged 55% to $35.1B in Q3. Operating income growth was just 0.06% despite 13.4% revenue growth. Amazon’s YTD return of 4.1% lags NVDA’s 27.5% and GOOGL’s 67% despite 95% analyst Buy ratings. A recent study identified one single ...
Quick Read Amazon (AMZN) social sentiment dropped to negative 0.15 from a 0.12 quarterly average. Amazon plans to cut 14,000-15,000 jobs starting January 28. Amazon capex surged 55% to $35.1B in Q3. Operating income growth was just 0.06% despite 13.4% revenue growth. Amazon’s YTD return of 4.1% lags NVDA’s 27.5% and GOOGL’s 67% despite 95% analyst Buy ratings. A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans’ retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here. Shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) are up 0.5% this week, but retail investor sentiment tells a darker story. The company's social sentiment score dropped to negative 0.15 on Reddit and X over the past week, a sharp reversal from its neutral-bullish 0.12 average over the prior quarter. Among select tech peers, Amazon stands alone in sustained bearish sentiment while companies like NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) enjoy bullish or neutral enthusiasm from the retail crowd. Layoffs and AI Anxiety Drive the Negativity A viral post on r/wallstreetbets captured the mood, racking up 2,744 upvotes and 406 comments in 24 hours. The post's title bluntly stated: "Amazon Just announces a new round of Lay-offs. Combined with AI driven lay-offs." The announcement hit AWS, retail, Prime Video, and HR divisions hardest, with CEO Andy Jassy framing the cuts as cultural changes driven by AI adoption rather than purely financial pressures. Amazon Just announces a new round of Lay-offs. Combined with AI driven lay-offs. $AMZN by u/iMakeGOODinvestmemts in wallstreetbets The Reddit discussion revealed deep concerns among retail investors. One highly-upvoted comment captured the anxiety: "AI is literally replacing entire departments now, not just individual roles. This is different from past layoff cycles." Another trader noted, "They're cutting 30K jobs while spending $35B on AI infrastructure - the math doesn't add up for w...
Mario Tama/Getty Images News Oracle's ( ORCL ) part ownership of the TikTok ( TIKTOK ) U.S. joint venture would help the company diversify and give it its very first "foray into a consumer business," according to Seeking Alpha analyst Gary Alexander. TikTok ( TIKTOK ) has formed a majority American-owned joint venture that will enable the video-sharing app to continue operating in the U.S. Oracle,...
Mario Tama/Getty Images News Oracle's ( ORCL ) part ownership of the TikTok ( TIKTOK ) U.S. joint venture would help the company diversify and give it its very first "foray into a consumer business," according to Seeking Alpha analyst Gary Alexander. TikTok ( TIKTOK ) has formed a majority American-owned joint venture that will enable the video-sharing app to continue operating in the U.S. Oracle, private equity firm Silverlake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will each own a 15% stake in TikTok USA ( TIKTOK ). Other investors include Susquehanna, Dragoneer, and Michael Dell’s family office. The agreement provides for American and global investors to hold 80.1% of the venture while Chinese parent ByteDance ( BDNCE ) will own 19.9%, according to a report by Reuters. The joint venture will retrain, test, and update the content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data. The algorithm and user data will be secured in Oracle's ( ORCL ) U.S. cloud. "Oracle’s part ownership of TikTok gives the company its very first foray into a consumer business, diversifying away from its pure enterprise products. There is an inherent data advantage in TikTok: Oracle can leverage its direct access to TikTok’s user trends to drive unique advantages for its sales and marketing software suite. TikTok and its massive non-relational data generation will also benefit from economies of scale in folding into Oracle infrastructure," said analyst Gary Alexander . More on Oracle Oracle: 'Buy' The Dip As Backlog Diversification Continues Oracle: Sell Before The AI Bubble Bursts Oracle: Meta Compute Reaffirms Bullish Thesis Morgan Stanley finds Oracle's AI infrastructure buildout creates risk for EPS targets China informs Alibaba, others to prep for Nvidia H200 orders: report