A lot of people build their portfolios without a real structure or strategy in mind. They often buy what feels right in the moment, usually because it's performing pretty well. What that usually creates is a collection of stocks and funds, not a portfolio that's built to function as a singular unit. Portfolio construction should have an order to it. Generally speaking, you start with a core positi...
A lot of people build their portfolios without a real structure or strategy in mind. They often buy what feels right in the moment, usually because it's performing pretty well. What that usually creates is a collection of stocks and funds, not a portfolio that's built to function as a singular unit. Portfolio construction should have an order to it. Generally speaking, you start with a core position or two meant to serve as the tentpole. That could be something like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) or the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSEMKT: VTI) . Ideally, you wouldn't touch this and instead let the long-term power of compounding do the work for you. From there, you can start building around the edges. Add some dividend stocks , an international fund, or maybe some bonds or gold. This is where you can tilt the portfolio in a particular direction or simply diversify beyond U.S. large-cap stocks. It's the idea that investors should build the foundation first and layer around it, not the other way around. Continue reading
A Suezmax oil tanker hauling about 1 million barrels of Iraqi crude exited the Persian Gulf via a northerly route through Iranian waters on Sunday morning, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The Ocean Thunder crossed the Strait of Hormuz after Iran exempted its “brotherly” neighbor from shipping restrictions a day earlier. Transits through the critical waterway have been pick...
A Suezmax oil tanker hauling about 1 million barrels of Iraqi crude exited the Persian Gulf via a northerly route through Iranian waters on Sunday morning, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The Ocean Thunder crossed the Strait of Hormuz after Iran exempted its “brotherly” neighbor from shipping restrictions a day earlier. Transits through the critical waterway have been picking up in the past week, with data on Saturday showing the highest seven-day rolling average since the war began. Yet traffic remains at a trickle compared with prewar numbers. It’s not yet clear whether the dispensation for Baghdad will apply to all ships calling at Iraqi ports, or how it will be enforced. At its broadest, the exemption could free up about 3 million barrels a day of oil exports from the country and allow it to restart production from shuttered fields — as long as shippers are willing to send their tankers into the Gulf. A total of 16 ships have crossed the strait since Saturday morning, with 11 exiting the Gulf and five entering from the open seas, vessel-tracking data show. In normal times, about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait every day. Iran has moved to tighten its control over the waterway, setting up a tolling system and directing most vessels to take a specific route close to its border. In the past day, all recorded transits of large ships went through that narrow northern passage, situated between the Iranian islands of Larak and Qeshm. The most significant recent crossing is that of the Ocean Thunder, a vessel managed by Turkey-based Onn Denizcilik ve Danismanlik, according to the Equasis maritime database. Tanker-tracking is hampered by electronic interference with ships’ signals, and some vessels disable their AIS transponders in high-risk waters, further reducing the timeliness and reliability of tracking data. Outbound Transits Five bulk carriers and three oil-product tankers exited the Persian G...
PSV hold 17-point lead to clinch title with five games left Second-placed Feyenoord draw 0-0 against Volendam PSV Eindhoven were crowned on Sunday as Dutch champions for the 27th time, with five matches left of the season, after second-placed Feyenoord’s 0-0 draw with Volendam. PSV hold an unassailable 17-point lead at the top of the table after bouncing back from successive defeats with a 4-3 vic...
PSV hold 17-point lead to clinch title with five games left Second-placed Feyenoord draw 0-0 against Volendam PSV Eindhoven were crowned on Sunday as Dutch champions for the 27th time, with five matches left of the season, after second-placed Feyenoord’s 0-0 draw with Volendam. PSV hold an unassailable 17-point lead at the top of the table after bouncing back from successive defeats with a 4-3 victory against Utrecht on Saturday. Continue reading...
Protesters held on Sunday after joining a Lakenheath Alliance for Peace encampment outside airbase in Suffolk Seven people have been arrested under suspicion of supporting the banned group Palestine Action after a protest in Suffolk. They were arrested on Sunday morning after joining a peace encampment to create a blockade outside the main gate of Lakenheath airbase. The protest was organised afte...
Protesters held on Sunday after joining a Lakenheath Alliance for Peace encampment outside airbase in Suffolk Seven people have been arrested under suspicion of supporting the banned group Palestine Action after a protest in Suffolk. They were arrested on Sunday morning after joining a peace encampment to create a blockade outside the main gate of Lakenheath airbase. The protest was organised after media reports that a US fighter jet shot down in Iran on Friday had taken off from the Lakenheath base. Continue reading...
Rumble Inc. recently announced that, effective March 31, 2026, technology executive Mike Masci became its new CFO, while former CFO Brandon Alexandroff moved into a strategic advisor role to the CEO with no reported disagreements over operations or policies. Masci’s background in AI, hyperscale cloud, and edge infrastructure, including prior executive roles at Intel, introduces deep technical and ...
Rumble Inc. recently announced that, effective March 31, 2026, technology executive Mike Masci became its new CFO, while former CFO Brandon Alexandroff moved into a strategic advisor role to the CEO with no reported disagreements over operations or policies. Masci’s background in AI, hyperscale cloud, and edge infrastructure, including prior executive roles at Intel, introduces deep technical and financial expertise that could influence how Rumble develops its video and cloud...
Christoph Burgstedt/iStock via Getty Images Foreword Introducing his Kiplinger Investing newsletter article, Dan Burrows notes, “Sometimes stocks with the highest dividend yields can be fool's gold. And this could be pertinent to some of the stocks with the highest dividend yields in the S&P 500 today. Be forewarned that in some cases, the names below have entered elite-yield territory only becaus...
Christoph Burgstedt/iStock via Getty Images Foreword Introducing his Kiplinger Investing newsletter article, Dan Burrows notes, “Sometimes stocks with the highest dividend yields can be fool's gold. And this could be pertinent to some of the stocks with the highest dividend yields in the S&P 500 today. Be forewarned that in some cases, the names below have entered elite-yield territory only because their share prices have come under stress. In turn, that has some analysts concerned about the sustainability of payouts going forward.” While most of this collection of S&P500 dividend stocks over-priced or reveals only skinny dividends, seven of the thirteen highest yield 'safer' S&P500 April Dogs are ready to buy. The list was screened to remove stocks showing negative annual returns this month. April finds: VICI Properties ( VICI ); Verizon ( VZ ); Franklin Resources ( BEN ); Ford Motor ( F ); Host Hotels ( HST ); AT&T ( T ); KeyCorp ( KEY ), and Regions ( RF ) living up to the dogcatcher ideal of annual dividends from $1K invested exceeding single share prices. All seven are also 'safer' because they have free cash flow adequate to support their dividends. With renewed downside market pressure of up to 20%, all ten of the top 'safer' dividend dogs could become ideal, fair-priced buys, with annual yield (from $1K invested) meeting or exceeding their single share prices. [See a summary of the top ten fair-priced S&P500 Dogs in A ctionable Conclusion 21 near the midpoint of this article.] Actionable Conclusions (1-10): Brokers Expect 25.96% To 44.73% Net Gains From Top-Ten S&P500 Dogs By April 2027 Four of the ten top dividend-yield S&P500 divi-dogs (tinted gray in the chart below) were also top ten price gainers based on analyst 1-year target prices. So, this April, 2026 yield-based forecast for S&P500 dogs, as graded by Wall St. wizard estimates, was 40% accurate. Estimated dividend returns from $1,000.00 invested in each of the ten highest-yielding S&P500 stocks and ...
Mayor’s decision to appeal court order that the city must expand its housing voucher program has angered advocates for the homeless New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani ’s decision to appeal a court order that the city must expand its housing voucher program, despite his campaign pledge to implement it, has angered advocates for the homeless population. Mamdani, who must figure out how to close a $5...
Mayor’s decision to appeal court order that the city must expand its housing voucher program has angered advocates for the homeless New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani ’s decision to appeal a court order that the city must expand its housing voucher program, despite his campaign pledge to implement it, has angered advocates for the homeless population. Mamdani, who must figure out how to close a $5.4bn budget deficit, explained his decision by citing the cost of the City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) program, which helps people staying in shelters or at risk of homelessness find permanent housing. Continue reading...
AI music platform Suno's policy is that it does not permit the use of copyrighted material . You can upload your own tracks to remix or set your original lyrics to AI-generated music. But, it's supposed to recognize and stop you from using other people's songs and lyrics. Now, no system is perfect, but it turns out that Suno's copyright filters are incredibly easy to fool. With minimal effort and ...
AI music platform Suno's policy is that it does not permit the use of copyrighted material . You can upload your own tracks to remix or set your original lyrics to AI-generated music. But, it's supposed to recognize and stop you from using other people's songs and lyrics. Now, no system is perfect, but it turns out that Suno's copyright filters are incredibly easy to fool. With minimal effort and some free software, Suno will spit out AI-generated imitations of popular songs like Beyoncé's "Freedom," Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," and Aqua's "Barbie Girl" that are alarmingly close to the original. Most people will likely be able to tell the dif … Read the full story at The Verge.
The Federal Reserve, the central bank in the U.S. tasked with keeping prices stable and maximizing employment, had its last meeting on March 18. It decided to keep the Fed Funds rate unchanged. And the quasi-governmental organization indicated that it could cut rates one time this year and once in 2027. Investors who were hoping for upbeat commentary surrounding looser monetary policy were probabl...
The Federal Reserve, the central bank in the U.S. tasked with keeping prices stable and maximizing employment, had its last meeting on March 18. It decided to keep the Fed Funds rate unchanged. And the quasi-governmental organization indicated that it could cut rates one time this year and once in 2027. Investors who were hoping for upbeat commentary surrounding looser monetary policy were probably disappointed. Given the rising threat of inflationary pressures from the Middle East conflict, there's likely a higher possibility that the Fed isn't going to cut interest rates anytime soon. In fact, the upward trend of the 10-year Treasury yield throughout March shows the market's expectation of higher interest rates. Continue reading
"Unprecedented" Withdrawal Requests Now Hitting Private Credit Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance Late last week it was reported that one private credit company has effectively frozen up under a wave of redemption requests, an abrupt liquidity crunch that will likely do lasting damage to what little credibility it still had with investors. This is exactly the kind of stress event I’ve been expectin...
"Unprecedented" Withdrawal Requests Now Hitting Private Credit Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance Late last week it was reported that one private credit company has effectively frozen up under a wave of redemption requests, an abrupt liquidity crunch that will likely do lasting damage to what little credibility it still had with investors. This is exactly the kind of stress event I’ve been expecting ever since I flagged that psychology in the private credit space was starting to break—and I still believe conditions in private credit will get worse before they get better. I’ve been flagging the sector as one of ten that I see as an avoid at all costs , and just days ago I wrote that conditions were worse than they appeared on the surface. This latest development only reinforces that view. According to reporting from Bloomberg , Blue Owl Capital Inc. is now limiting redemptions from two of its flagship private credit funds after facing an unprecedented surge in withdrawal requests in the $1.8 trillion market. Blue Owl shares are down about -40% so far this year. Investors in the $36 billion Blue Owl Credit Income Corp. asked to redeem 21.9% of shares in the latest quarter (up from 5.2%), while the smaller Blue Owl Technology Income Corp. saw redemption requests spike to a staggering 40.7% (up from 15.4%). This trend is...alarming... Despite previously meeting withdrawals above their standard limits, the firm is now capping redemptions at 5%, effectively gating investor exits. In practical terms, that means billions in requested withdrawals are not being honored—roughly $3.2 billion remains locked in the larger fund alone. Recall just days ago I highlighted how things were likely far worse in private credit than they appeared. As I’ve written, investors have already started pulling money , with withdrawals hitting records just as concerns about software exposure and valuation pressure have picked up. What happens next from here shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been payin...