jetcityimage Vera Bradley ( VRA ) continues to expand beyond handbags into a broader lifestyle brand. The latest foray is a new licensing partnership with Li & Fung that extends the existing collaboration into several apparel categories, with an initial focus on tops and outerwear. The new apparel line will bring Vera Bradley's ( VRA ) signature prints and design language into apparel, according t...
jetcityimage Vera Bradley ( VRA ) continues to expand beyond handbags into a broader lifestyle brand. The latest foray is a new licensing partnership with Li & Fung that extends the existing collaboration into several apparel categories, with an initial focus on tops and outerwear. The new apparel line will bring Vera Bradley's ( VRA ) signature prints and design language into apparel, according to Women's Wear Daily. During Vera Bradley's ( VRA ) last earnings conference call, the management team highlighted how IP partnerships remain an important driver of brand heat and commercial success. "Our strategy is to focus on fewer, more impactful, and qualitatively executed IP launches going forward," updated interim CEO Ian Bickley. "The success of this strategy was evidenced by our Peanuts, Lilo and Stitch, and recent Winnie the Pooh collaborations, which achieved excellent social media engagement and strong product sell-through, some of the best results we have ever had," he added. More on Vera Bradley Vera Bradley: A Colorful Turnaround Vera Bradley, Inc. (VRA) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Vera Bradley outlines $255M–$270M sales plan for FY27 as profitability returns and transformation accelerates Vera Bradley Non-GAAP EPS of $0.09, revenue of $84.89M Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Vera Bradley
Erik Isakson Applied Optoelectronics ( AAOI ) plunged 14% by afternoon trading Tuesday, leading an array of optical networking stocks into the red following a bearish report by Semi Analysis . The report, which was sent out to institutional clients only, indicated the upcoming rollout of co-packaged optics, or CPOs, will likely be delayed. The report stemmed from conversations at Computex last wee...
Erik Isakson Applied Optoelectronics ( AAOI ) plunged 14% by afternoon trading Tuesday, leading an array of optical networking stocks into the red following a bearish report by Semi Analysis . The report, which was sent out to institutional clients only, indicated the upcoming rollout of co-packaged optics, or CPOs, will likely be delayed. The report stemmed from conversations at Computex last week in Taipei, Taiwan. Lumentum ( LITE ) tumbled 8%, Coherent ( COHR ) cratered 11% and Ciena ( CIEN ) fell 7%. In addition, Corning ( GLW ) dropped 9%, and Arista Networks ( ANET ) dipped 3%. Broadcom ( AVGO ) was down 1.5%, and Marvell ( MRVL ) dropped 9%. However, Tae Kim, who interviewed Gilad Shainer , Nvidia's ( NVDA ) senior vice president of networking, at Computex, said the executive did not indicate any delays at all regarding CPO shipments. "We're going to ramp up CPO second half of the year," Shainer said. "And you're going to see more and more CPOs. And we're starting on scale out. And we already mentioned that in the Feynman generation; now we're doing Vera Rubin; next will be Feynman." "We believe that co-packaged optics is the best technology for scale-out," Shainer added. CPOs provide improved network reliability and power efficiency over traditional network switches. It does this by streamlining and eliminating unnecessary interfaces. "The new offerings streamline the signal path for enhanced performance, efficiency, and reliability," said Ashkan Seyedi, a director of product marketing at Nvidia. "These innovations not only set new records in bandwidth and port density but also fundamentally alter the economics and physical design of AI data centers." More on Applied Optoelectronics Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) Presents at Mizuho Technology Conference 2026 Transcript Why I'm Buying The Applied Optoelectronics Dip Lumentum: Too Bright To Short, Too Fully Priced To Chase Ciena prices upsized $2.5B senior convertible debt offering Ciena plans $2B debt offering...
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) at $949.28 is a Hold, with fresh capital better deployed on a pullback toward $760. The stock has rallied on AI memory demand, but the June 24 earnings print will test whether the run has front-loaded years of upside. Micron is the only U.S.-based memory manufacturer, supplying DRAM, NAND, and high-bandwidth memory ... Up 174% Year-to-Date: 1 Major Reason to Hold Off ...
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) at $949.28 is a Hold, with fresh capital better deployed on a pullback toward $760. The stock has rallied on AI memory demand, but the June 24 earnings print will test whether the run has front-loaded years of upside. Micron is the only U.S.-based memory manufacturer, supplying DRAM, NAND, and high-bandwidth memory ... Up 174% Year-to-Date: 1 Major Reason to Hold Off on Micron Technology Stock at $950
Brandon Moser/iStock Editorial via Getty Images SpaceX ( SPCX ) is an extraordinary business. If it achieves Reuters-reported numbers, SpaceX would be the “biggest stock market flotation of all time” when it goes public on June 12. It comprises three very different segments—space launch with its engineering mystique, Starlink, the nearest-term revenue generator, and AI/xAI, the largest target mark...
Brandon Moser/iStock Editorial via Getty Images SpaceX ( SPCX ) is an extraordinary business. If it achieves Reuters-reported numbers, SpaceX would be the “biggest stock market flotation of all time” when it goes public on June 12. It comprises three very different segments—space launch with its engineering mystique, Starlink, the nearest-term revenue generator, and AI/xAI, the largest target market and also the most concerning business. The 2025 numbers show why I put Starlink at the center of the near-term revenue story. 2025 Revenue Mix Author Contribution to 2025 revenue growth Author So despite the appeal of rockets and the market excitement around AI, the actual 2025 revenue driver was Starlink. However—and this is a key concern—SpaceX's immense valuation is being driven not by Starlink, the current revenue driver, nor by Space Launch, from where SpaceX actually gets its name, but by AI/xAI, a less proven business where Grok still trails ChatGPT, Gemini, etc., in actual use. Disconcertingly, xAI will also need billions of dollars in new investments. The other concerning aspect is the relative size of the TAM claim. In its prospectus, SpaceX claims a $28.5T total addressable market for its entire business, of which a huge $26.5 trillion belongs to AI, or roughly 93% of the total. $22.7 trillion of that AI TAM comes from enterprise applications. In other words, the valuation story is leaning heavily on the least proven and most competitive segment, not on the segment that currently drives the financials. I am not surprised that Professor Aswath Damodaran in a recent article says "...this estimate borders on fantasy." Here’s a look at the relative TAM figures: Author This is why I would avoid the IPO at this valuation. This is not to say that SpaceX is a weak company. Far from it; SpaceX is exceptional. But at that reported valuation, investors are being asked to pay upfront for several things that may or may not become successful in future: Starlink scaling up, ...
Tuesday's Nintendo Direct showcase felt like an important moment for the company. With the Switch 2 heading into its second holiday season, one in which the hardware will be even more expensive thanks to a price hike , it was a chance for Nintendo to really sell new audiences on its latest console - but that's not exactly what happened. While there were some impressive-looking titles, there wasn't...
Tuesday's Nintendo Direct showcase felt like an important moment for the company. With the Switch 2 heading into its second holiday season, one in which the hardware will be even more expensive thanks to a price hike , it was a chance for Nintendo to really sell new audiences on its latest console - but that's not exactly what happened. While there were some impressive-looking titles, there wasn't much that felt truly new. Instead, the two major Switch 2 exclusives that will round out the 2026 calendar are both remakes from the Nintendo 64 era. If you missed it, the final reveal of the Direct was a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of T … Read the full story at The Verge.
Tippapatt/iStock via Getty Images Focus of Article: The focus of Part 1 of this article is to analyze Blackstone Secured Lending’s ( BXSL ) recent results and compare a handful of the company’s metrics to 11 business development company (“BDC”) peers. This analysis will show past and current data with supporting documentation. Table 1 will compare BXSL’s recent net asset value (“NAV”) economic ret...
Tippapatt/iStock via Getty Images Focus of Article: The focus of Part 1 of this article is to analyze Blackstone Secured Lending’s ( BXSL ) recent results and compare a handful of the company’s metrics to 11 business development company (“BDC”) peers. This analysis will show past and current data with supporting documentation. Table 1 will compare BXSL’s recent net asset value (“NAV”) economic return (loss), adjusted net investment income (“NII”), stock price to annualized NII ratio, and percentage of total investment income attributable to capitalized payment-in-kind (“PIK”)/deferred interest income to the 11 BDC peers. Table 1 will also provide a premium (discount) to the estimated CURRENT NAV analysis using stock prices as of 6/5/2026. Table 2 will compare BXSL’s investment portfolio (including several additional metrics) as of 12/31/2025 and 3/31/2026 to the 11 BDC peers. I am writing this two-part article due to the continued requests that such an analysis be specifically performed on BXSL and some of the company’s BDC peers at periodic intervals. These BDC peers include Ares Capital Corp. ( ARCC ), Capital Southwest Corp. ( CSWC ), FS KKR Capital Corp. ( FSK ), Gladstone Investment Corp. ( GAIN ), Golub Capital BDC Inc. ( GBDC ), Main Street Capital Corp. ( MAIN ), Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. ( OCSL ), Blue Owl Capital Corp. ( OBDC ), SLR Investment Corp. ( SLRC ), TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. ( TPVG ), and Sixth Street Specialty Lending Corp. ( TSLX ). Understanding the characteristics of a company’s investment portfolio and operating performance can shed some light on which companies are overvalued or undervalued strictly per a “numbers” analysis. This is not the only data that should be examined to initiate a position within a particular stock/sector. However, I believe this analysis would be a good “starting-point” to begin a discussion on the topic. My BUY, SELL, or HOLD recommendation and current price target for BXSL will be in the “Conclusi...
Questioned in France but championed from afar, the departing head coach has forged a legacy that no one – bar, perhaps, himself – would dare dispute Follow the verdant path towards the Château de Clairefontaine and you are met by a three-metre replica of the World Cup trophy accompanied by two stars, representing France’s World Cup triumphs. Didier Deschamps had his hand in both of them, captainin...
Questioned in France but championed from afar, the departing head coach has forged a legacy that no one – bar, perhaps, himself – would dare dispute Follow the verdant path towards the Château de Clairefontaine and you are met by a three-metre replica of the World Cup trophy accompanied by two stars, representing France’s World Cup triumphs. Didier Deschamps had his hand in both of them, captaining his side to victory in 1998 before repeating the feat as manager in 2018 . The ‘98 World Cup final was France’s first ever but Les Bleus have now participated in four of the last seven end games, with Deschamps involved in three of them. In North America, he will have one final shot at reaching another. These are the expectations, moulded by past success. Deschamps has taken France to three major finals in his 14-year stint as manager. “We’re among the favourites,” he says as he sits down for the interview. “It isn’t a taboo word for me. If we have this status today, which seems logical and legitimate to me, it’s because of everything that we have done, the results we achieved.” Continue reading...
The man in charge the last time the US hosted the World Cup marvels at the transformation of football in America over the last 32 years The Super Bowl-style half-time show curated by Chris Martin for the World Cup final will not be to everybody’s tastes, but one octogenarian American will have a wry smile on his face when Madonna and Shakira walk out on to the pitch at MetLife Stadium next month. ...
The man in charge the last time the US hosted the World Cup marvels at the transformation of football in America over the last 32 years The Super Bowl-style half-time show curated by Chris Martin for the World Cup final will not be to everybody’s tastes, but one octogenarian American will have a wry smile on his face when Madonna and Shakira walk out on to the pitch at MetLife Stadium next month. In his role as chair and chief executive of the 1994 World Cup, Alan Rothenberg wanted Whitney Houston to perform on the pitch at the final at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, only to be overruled by Fifa, who insisted that the singer stay on the sidelines. Continue reading...
Everyman theatre, Liverpool Julia Cranney’s play illustrates complex processes as it explores one woman’s plans to start a family but it hops too quickly through her life Adoption and the care system are at the emotional centre of Julia Cranney’s new monologue. There are hoops to jump through, questions that require you to crack your soul open and hope bubbling beneath it all. Mat (Paislie Reid) a...
Everyman theatre, Liverpool Julia Cranney’s play illustrates complex processes as it explores one woman’s plans to start a family but it hops too quickly through her life Adoption and the care system are at the emotional centre of Julia Cranney’s new monologue. There are hoops to jump through, questions that require you to crack your soul open and hope bubbling beneath it all. Mat (Paislie Reid) and her partner, James, are drawn into early permanence, a pathway in which babies and toddlers are placed with prospective adopters who initially foster them. There is, however, always the possibility that the child could return to their birth family. The script valuably sheds light on that process but Cranney’s play hops through Mat’s life too quickly to have a potent impact. When we meet her she is isolated, not keen on kids and working in a pharmacy. Then, she falls head over heels for James. Soon their relationship is flourishing, she has bonded with his daughter and they are making plans to start a family of their own. Continue reading...
CATL expects battery storage to become half of its business by 2030, up from 25% today, as growing renewable energy deployment drives demand for grid-scale storage.
CATL expects battery storage to become half of its business by 2030, up from 25% today, as growing renewable energy deployment drives demand for grid-scale storage.
From Classes On Bad Bunny To 'Queering God' Higher-Ed Has Lost Its Way Via The College Fix, Higher education is not what it used to be. Gone are the days when students were required to study the classics. Nowadays it seems like any gibberish can pass for scholarly study. The examples are myriad, write Daniel Buck, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Garion Frankel, incoming...
From Classes On Bad Bunny To 'Queering God' Higher-Ed Has Lost Its Way Via The College Fix, Higher education is not what it used to be. Gone are the days when students were required to study the classics. Nowadays it seems like any gibberish can pass for scholarly study. The examples are myriad, write Daniel Buck, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Garion Frankel, incoming editor at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. “ Oregon State University offers ‘Disney: Gender, Race, and Empire.’ Students at Indiana University can attend the course, ‘Having it All: Postfeminist Media After Sex and the City,'” the two wrote in The Hill on June 2. “How about ‘Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics’ at Yale University? The Bad Bunny Syllabus that inspires this course — which lists topics such as ‘LGBTQ Activism,’ ‘Gender and Sexuality in Reggaeton’ and ‘Political Protests of Summer 2019’ for study - is also in use at Wellesley College and Loyola Marymount University. Both Swarthmore College and the University of Chicago offer courses on ‘Queering God.' ” The scholars go on to note these classes are no outliers: Harvard offers an English course, “Taylor Swift and Her World.” At UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, students can take “Artistry, Policy, and Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version” through the Department of Economics. Penn State Berks offers a course titled, “Taylor Swift, Gender, and Communication.” Another unofficial sub-genre of courses focuses on Korean pop music — “Lights, Camera, Action: The Visual Culture of K-Pop” at Columbia University, “K-Pop and Human Rights” at Binghamton University, “Kangnam Style: K-Pop and the Globalization of Korean Soft Power” at Stanford University, or “K-Pop and J-Pop Culture” at Florida International University. The scholars point out that at a time when the return on investment for a four-year degree is plummeting and trust in higher education is at an all-time low, colleges and universities ...
primeimages/E+ via Getty Images Market Review International equities struggled in the first quarter of 2026, shaped by a notable inflection in U.S. monetary policy and diverging central-bank paths elsewhere amid persistent geopolitical risk. The Fed delivered three target rate cuts late last year, citing cooling inflation, a softening labor market, and tighter financial conditions. The Fed in Dece...
primeimages/E+ via Getty Images Market Review International equities struggled in the first quarter of 2026, shaped by a notable inflection in U.S. monetary policy and diverging central-bank paths elsewhere amid persistent geopolitical risk. The Fed delivered three target rate cuts late last year, citing cooling inflation, a softening labor market, and tighter financial conditions. The Fed in December also ended “quantitative tightening,” or the shrinking of its balance sheet. Investors viewed its subsequent balance-sheet guidance—renewed liquidity injections and reinvestment flexibility—as a shift back to quasi-“quantitative easing.” Outside the U.S., monetary policy was less synchronized. The ECB signaled a cautious bias toward further easing as growth softened in the Eurozone and inflation drifted toward target. The BOJ kept its gradual normalization, allowing yields to stay more market-driven while emphasizing patience. In China, policy combined targeted fiscal stimulus with incremental monetary support to stabilize its property market and bolster domestic consumption, boosting investor sentiment toward Chinese and broader EM equities. But geopolitical risks also weighed on sentiment. Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia/Ukraine reinforced energy security and defense spending globally, while strategic competition around advanced technology and supply chains remained a focal point of trade and industrial policy. These dynamics supported select industrial, technology and infrastructure-related firms, even as headline risk spurred market volatility, which we welcomed. Equity leadership broadened during the quarter. Cyclical sectors tied to financials and industrials benefited from improving liquidity, while growth stocks with strong balance sheets and visible earnings trajectories regained momentum—particularly in IT and select consumer and health care segments. Currency markets were relatively stable. The U.S. dollar’s 7.3% decline on a trade-weighted b...
In trading on Tuesday, shares of Bank of America Corp's Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series 5 (Symbol: BML.PRL) were yielding above the 6% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.0941), with shares changing hands as low as $18.17 on the day. Th
In trading on Tuesday, shares of Bank of America Corp's Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series 5 (Symbol: BML.PRL) were yielding above the 6% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.0941), with shares changing hands as low as $18.17 on the day. Th
In trading on Tuesday, shares of GLOP's 8.625% SERIES A CUMULATIVE REDEEMABLE PERPETUAL (Symbol: GLOP.PRA) were yielding above the 8.5% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $2.1562), with shares changing hands as low as $25.32 on the day. This compares to an av
In trading on Tuesday, shares of GLOP's 8.625% SERIES A CUMULATIVE REDEEMABLE PERPETUAL (Symbol: GLOP.PRA) were yielding above the 8.5% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $2.1562), with shares changing hands as low as $25.32 on the day. This compares to an av
Google has been chasing real-time translation for years, which it says has been one of its "pioneering machine learning experiments." We've seen numerous demos on stage at Google events in the past, but you needed Google phones, earbuds, or some other specific setup. Last year, Google brought real-time translation to more users in the Translate app, and now it's expanding availability more. With t...
Google has been chasing real-time translation for years, which it says has been one of its "pioneering machine learning experiments." We've seen numerous demos on stage at Google events in the past, but you needed Google phones, earbuds, or some other specific setup. Last year, Google brought real-time translation to more users in the Translate app, and now it's expanding availability more. With the release of Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, you'll have access to instant translation in more places and with lower latency than ever before. The new AI model is part of the version 3.5 family that launched at I/O . Before today, Google had only rolled out the Flash version, but we're expecting a Pro model to drop in the coming weeks. Gemini 3.5 Live Translate is a speech-to-speech model tuned to automatically detect and translate in more than 70 languages. Google says Gemini 3.5 Live Translate is fast enough to keep up with a normal conversation, following just a few seconds behind the speaker while also matching intonation, pacing, and pitch. In short, the voice sounds more like you than a generic robot. The demos, which are all being recorded under controlled conditions, do sound impressive. You won't have to wait long to verify the model's abilities for yourself, though. Read full article Comments
The rapid spread of footage shows how social media is pivotal in enabling far-right agitators to mobilise internationally Filmed at about 10.30pm on Monday night on a Belfast street, bystanders captured the moment when a man, believed to be a Sudanese asylum seeker, wielded a knife over another man he had pinned to the ground. By Tuesday, the clip had become the latest transnational “trigger event...
The rapid spread of footage shows how social media is pivotal in enabling far-right agitators to mobilise internationally Filmed at about 10.30pm on Monday night on a Belfast street, bystanders captured the moment when a man, believed to be a Sudanese asylum seeker, wielded a knife over another man he had pinned to the ground. By Tuesday, the clip had become the latest transnational “trigger event” – in the mould of the Southport killings and the case of the murdered 18-year-old student Henry Nowak – as far-right activists from Britain and beyond seized on it. Continue reading...
On June 9, the Asset Management Association of China released detailed rules on information disclosure for private investment funds, which will take effect on September 1. Photo: VCG China’s asset management regulator has issued finalized information disclosure rules for private investment funds, mandating greater transparency for complex structures like nested products and cross-border investment...
On June 9, the Asset Management Association of China released detailed rules on information disclosure for private investment funds, which will take effect on September 1. Photo: VCG China’s asset management regulator has issued finalized information disclosure rules for private investment funds, mandating greater transparency for complex structures like nested products and cross-border investments. The new framework, taking effect Sept. 1, marks the latest effort by authorities to mitigate risks in the country’s sprawling private fund sector by forcing managers to look through opaque investment layers while streamlining routine reporting obligations.