Key Points Medicare has some new rules going into effect in 2026. One of those rules will affect over 6 million seniors. A Democratic lawmaker has warned that the change could have a big negative impact on access to care. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Many seniors rely on Medicare to provide them with essential healthcare coverage. Unfortunately, over 6 mill...
Key Points Medicare has some new rules going into effect in 2026. One of those rules will affect over 6 million seniors. A Democratic lawmaker has warned that the change could have a big negative impact on access to care. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Many seniors rely on Medicare to provide them with essential healthcare coverage. Unfortunately, over 6 million of those seniors now will be impacted by a new rule that has advocates very concerned about its impact on care. Here's the rule change that's affecting Medicare beneficiaries, along with some details on why seniors may be adversely impacted by the shift. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » This change in Medicare rules has advocates worried The Medicare change taking effect in January will impact 6.4 million seniors who live in New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Washington state and have traditional Medicare coverage. It will not impact seniors who have a Medicare Advantage plan. Beginning this month, Medicare beneficiaries in these states will need to get prior approval for 17 different Medicare procedures. Prior approval, or preauthorization, means that the doctor requests coverage for the procedure before performing it in order for insurance to cover it. Medicare has traditionally required prior approval in very limited circumstances. In fact, in 2023, around one prior authorization review was submitted for every 100 traditional beneficiaries. However, this is changing as a result of a new pilot program that requires preauthorization for medical procedures that are often found to be wasteful. Advocates warn about the impact on patient care While the goal of requiring preauthorizations is supposedly to cut down on wasteful care, the reality is that many advocates are concerned that it's simply going to make getting essential care more difficult, even when pe...
Key Points The release of Microsoft's Maia 200 chip is a long-awaited milestone for the company in the AI chip race. Microsoft's Azure and cloud services revenues are growing rapidly. The stock is down over 2% to start 2026. 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft › Here's an AI stock that'll crush the market in 2026, and no, it's not Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is going to hav...
Key Points The release of Microsoft's Maia 200 chip is a long-awaited milestone for the company in the AI chip race. Microsoft's Azure and cloud services revenues are growing rapidly. The stock is down over 2% to start 2026. 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft › Here's an AI stock that'll crush the market in 2026, and no, it's not Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is going to have the best year among the AI leaders. Why is that? Because on Jan. 26, the software company revealed its long-awaited Maia 200 chip. This is Microsoft's second-generation in-house chip that's used for artificial intelligence (AI) inference. Inference is the "doing" stage of AI, where trained AI models move into solving real problems. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » Microsoft's Maia 200 is ready to compete Microsoft lagged behind its competitors in designing its own AI chips. This release marks an important milestone in the AI race between the tech industry's giants. The Maia 200 chip is built on Taiwan Semiconductor's 3-nanometer process. Maia 200 will directly compete with Nvidia's inference GPUs as well as Amazon's Trainium and Alphabet's Google TPU. Microsoft says Maia 200 has 30% better performance than its competitors for the same price. This bang-for-the-buck advantage is significant as price sensitivity grows in the sector. Microsoft's AI team will be the first to use Maia 200, but wider availability is expected to roll out in the near future. Microsoft's deployment of Maia 200 reduces its reliance on third parties. As the company rolls out the chip to a wider audience, it will also generate new revenue, including its availability for rent for Azure cloud customers. Maia 200's predecessor was not available to rent. Microsoft's stock is down a little over 2% to start 2026. The software company's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio...
dndavis/iStock via Getty Images Overview The abrdn Life Sciences Investors Fund ( HQL ) is structured as a closed-end fund that aims to provide attractive total returns through a portfolio of healthcare securities. What differentiates HQL from standard ETFs is the specific focus on income generation. When I previously covered HQL, I issued a buy rating due to the attractive valuation at the time. ...
dndavis/iStock via Getty Images Overview The abrdn Life Sciences Investors Fund ( HQL ) is structured as a closed-end fund that aims to provide attractive total returns through a portfolio of healthcare securities. What differentiates HQL from standard ETFs is the specific focus on income generation. When I previously covered HQL, I issued a buy rating due to the attractive valuation at the time. Since then, the fund has produced total returns that exceed the S&P 500. Since my last coverage, the fund has released an updated annual report for 2025, which prompted me to revisit the fund's overall value proposition for 2026. Looking at the performance over the last twelve months, we can see that HQL's share price has run up nearly 22.6%. The fund continues to maintain its positive momentum. When including all distributions that were paid out to shareholders, the total return jumps up to 39.2% over the same time frame. HQL now offers investors a starting dividend yield of about 11.6%. After reviewing the latest annual report, I believe the fund will be able to sustain its high rate of payouts over the next twelve months. The fund has consistently demonstrated its ability to generate earnings that outpace distributions. Data by YCharts Although I believe that HQL is positioned to continue providing attractive returns, there are some weaknesses that can be improved. For instance, the latest annual report indicates that the fund is entirely reliant on net realized gains to support NAV growth and distributions. While this is great during bull markets, it can also be a detriment to the fund's success during market declines. The fund needs to significantly improve the fund's net investment income to help reduce price volatility through different market cycles. Fund Strategy According to the latest fund overview , HQL has total assets under management of $572M that are spread across a diverse range of healthcare securities. The fund has a listed expense ratio of 1.36%, but thi...
(RTTNews) - Molten Ventures Plc (GRWXF, GROW.L), a venture capital firm, on Wednesday announced that, following the completion of its 10 million pounds share repurchase programme announced on October 23, 2025, it will launch an additional share buyback programme of up to 10 million pounds. This brings the total amount committed to share repurchases since the start of the current programme in July ...
(RTTNews) - Molten Ventures Plc (GRWXF, GROW.L), a venture capital firm, on Wednesday announced that, following the completion of its 10 million pounds share repurchase programme announced on October 23, 2025, it will launch an additional share buyback programme of up to 10 million pounds. This brings the total amount committed to share repurchases since the start of the current programme in July 2024 to 60 million pounds. The company said the programme will be carried out in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulation and within the scope of the authority granted by shareholders. As of January 28, 2026, Molten Ventures' issued share capital comprised 189,046,450 ordinary shares, with 13,937,034 shares held in treasury and total voting rights amounting to 175,109,416. Molten Ventures closed trading 1.49% higher at GBp 512 on the London Stock Exchange. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
syahrir maulana/iStock via Getty Images For much of the past few years, small-cap stocks have remained stuck in the shadows. Mega-cap technology names dominated investor attention and capital flows, while smaller companies quietly lagged. That pattern may now be nearing an inflection point. Historically, small caps have tended to perform best around economic turning points, particularly when finan...
syahrir maulana/iStock via Getty Images For much of the past few years, small-cap stocks have remained stuck in the shadows. Mega-cap technology names dominated investor attention and capital flows, while smaller companies quietly lagged. That pattern may now be nearing an inflection point. Historically, small caps have tended to perform best around economic turning points, particularly when financial conditions ease and growth stabilizes. Several macro forces suggest that the setup is beginning to change.¹² Monetary and Policy Tailwinds The most immediate catalyst is monetary policy. Recent Federal Reserve communications have shifted away from signaling further rate hikes and toward greater flexibility. That matters disproportionately for smaller firms, which typically rely more on bank lending and short-term financing than cash-rich large corporations. Lower borrowing costs can quickly improve cash flow, supporting hiring, capital investment, or balance sheet repair. Market history shows that small-cap performance often improves early in easing cycles, well before rate cuts are fully realized.³⁴ Fiscal policy reinforces that backdrop. Government spending tied to infrastructure, manufacturing incentives, and supply-chain reshoring tends to benefit local suppliers and contractors first. At the same time, regulatory scrutiny of dominant platforms and large mergers may gradually ease competitive pressures on smaller firms. Incentives linked to clean energy, industrial modernization, and domestic semiconductor production are also more likely to reach a broad base of companies rather than just index heavyweights.⁵⁶ Domestic Exposure and Valuation Support Revenue exposure further strengthens the case. A significant share of small-cap sales is generated within the United States, making these companies more sensitive to domestic demand than to global trade conditions. When U.S. economic data surprise to the upside, earnings expectations for small caps often adjust more qui...
ASML Holding ( ASML ) declares EUR 1.60/share quarterly dividend , in line with previous. Payable Feb. 18; to shareholders of record Feb. 10; ex-div Feb. 10. Recognizing this interim dividend and the two interim dividends of €1.60 per ordinary share paid in 2025, this leads to a final dividend proposal to the Annual General Meeting of €2.70 per ordinary share. ASML announces a new share buyback pr...
ASML Holding ( ASML ) declares EUR 1.60/share quarterly dividend , in line with previous. Payable Feb. 18; to shareholders of record Feb. 10; ex-div Feb. 10. Recognizing this interim dividend and the two interim dividends of €1.60 per ordinary share paid in 2025, this leads to a final dividend proposal to the Annual General Meeting of €2.70 per ordinary share. ASML announces a new share buyback program, effective immediately and to be executed by December 31, 2028. "We intend to repurchase shares of an amount up to €12 billion, of which we expect a total of up to 2 million shares will be used to cover employee share plans. We intend to cancel the remainder of the shares repurchased." See ASML Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on ASML Holding ASML Q4 Preview: AI Momentum Beats Rich Valuation (Rating Downgrade) ASML: Why The Next Growth Leg Depends On Post-2027 Demand ASML: An Indirect But Very Real Beneficiary Of The AI Memory Supercycle ASML Holding reports mixed Q4 results; initiates Q1 and FY26 outlook ASML Q4 Preview: Here's what to expect