JARAMA/iStock via Getty Images Retail sales in Germany increased 0.70% in February of 2026 over the same month in the previous year, lower than estimates of 1%. The figure decreased 0.60% M/M, missing estimates of 0.2% growth. More on Germany EUR/USD Found Support Above 1.1495, Potential Push Up Towards 'Expanding Wedge' Range Resistance Logical Skepticism For Peace Pulls The Petrodollar Higher - ...
JARAMA/iStock via Getty Images Retail sales in Germany increased 0.70% in February of 2026 over the same month in the previous year, lower than estimates of 1%. The figure decreased 0.60% M/M, missing estimates of 0.2% growth. More on Germany EUR/USD Found Support Above 1.1495, Potential Push Up Towards 'Expanding Wedge' Range Resistance Logical Skepticism For Peace Pulls The Petrodollar Higher - EUR/USD, AUD/USD And Dollar Index Overview USD Strength Vs. Euro Vulnerability: What's Next For The EUR/USD Pair? Europe markets start week in neutral gear as investors weigh Trump’s oil threats European stocks muted after Trump grants 10-day pause on Iran strikes
winhorse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Domino’s Pizza ( DPZ ) on Tuesday named Nicola Frampton, currently interim CEO, as permanent CEO of Domino’s. Nicola’s appointment comes after a comprehensive external and internal search process, through which the board determined that "she is the outstanding candidate to lead the company on a permanent basis," the company said. Before being appointed i...
winhorse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Domino’s Pizza ( DPZ ) on Tuesday named Nicola Frampton, currently interim CEO, as permanent CEO of Domino’s. Nicola’s appointment comes after a comprehensive external and internal search process, through which the board determined that "she is the outstanding candidate to lead the company on a permanent basis," the company said. Before being appointed interim CEO in November 2025, Nicola served as chief operating officer for more than four years. She joined Domino's from William Hill plc, where she held the role of Managing Director of UK Retail. More on Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza: Dividend Increase, One Of The Few Restaurant Stocks To Grow Domino's Deals Are Putting Competitors Out Of Business Domino's Pizza, Inc. (DPZ) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Pizza powerhouse: Domino's is called undervalued by BTIG after impressive market share gains Domino's Pizza lands a bull rating from JPMorgan as a value play
Kuwait says fire broke out after Iranian attack on giant tanker; Dubai authorities later say no oil leaked after concerns for surrounding waters Kuwaiti tanker hit by Iranian attack in Dubai port, raising oil spill fears Trump threatens to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s energy grid if ceasefire not reached ‘shortly’ For those just joining our live coverage of the Middle East war, here’s a snapshot of the lat...
Kuwait says fire broke out after Iranian attack on giant tanker; Dubai authorities later say no oil leaked after concerns for surrounding waters Kuwaiti tanker hit by Iranian attack in Dubai port, raising oil spill fears Trump threatens to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s energy grid if ceasefire not reached ‘shortly’ For those just joining our live coverage of the Middle East war, here’s a snapshot of the latest: Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai. Local authorities later said response teams contained the incident with no oil leakage and that no injuries had been reported Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it did not open the strait of Hormuz. The Israeli military said four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with Iran-backed Hezbollah. Two giant Chinese container ships have sailed through the strait of Hormuz on their second attempt to leave the Gulf after turning back on Friday , ship-tracking data shows. The transit signals a diplomatic breakthrough between Beijing and Tehran as Iran widens its list of approved nations for transiting the vital route, Lloyd’s List reported. Indonesia’s foreign minister called for an emergency UN security council meeting and a thorough investigation” into a “heinous attack” after three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in southern Lebanon. Blasts were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some areas of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Israel earlier carried out missile strikes on what it called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Hezbollah in Beirut. Japan and Indonesia agreed to step up coordination on energy security , Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday. Two Iranian missile launches targeted central Israel, Israeli media reported, with the emergency service saying it had not received reports of any injuries. Turkey reported a ballistic missile launched ...
Australia’s online safety regulator is weighing legal action against major social media platforms, including Meta ( META ), Snapchat ( SNAP ), TikTok ( BDNCE ), and YouTube ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ), over concerns they are failing to prevent children under 16 from using their services. The watchdog, led by eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, is assessing compliance with laws that took effect on Decem...
Australia’s online safety regulator is weighing legal action against major social media platforms, including Meta ( META ), Snapchat ( SNAP ), TikTok ( BDNCE ), and YouTube ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ), over concerns they are failing to prevent children under 16 from using their services. The watchdog, led by eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, is assessing compliance with laws that took effect on December 10 banning under-16s from holding accounts. In her first compliance report since the ban, Inman Grant demanded ten platforms remove all Australian account-holders younger than 16. While about 5M accounts have been deactivated, many children are still able to keep or create accounts and bypass age checks. The agency flagged “significant concerns” with roughly half the platforms and is gathering evidence on whether they failed to take “reasonable steps” to comply. eSafety had identified “poor practices” such as platforms allowing unlimited attempts for a user to pass their age assurance methods and prompting the user to try to pass the age assurance method even after they declared themselves underage. Courts could impose fines of up to A$49.5M ($33M) for systemic breaches, with a decision on potential legal action expected by midyear. Age-restricted platforms that aren’t under investigation are Reddit ( RDDT ), X, Kick, Threads, and Twitch ( AMZN ). Communications Minister Anika Wells said the five criticized platforms were deliberately not complying with Australian law. “Social media platforms are choosing to do the absolute bare minimum because they want these laws to fail,” Wells told reporters. Meta ( META ), which owns Facebook and Instagram, told The Associated Press it was committed to complying with Australia’s social media ban. “We’ve also been clear that accurately determining age online is a challenge for the whole industry,” the statement said. Snap ( SNAP ), which claims to have locked 450,000 accounts in compliance with the law, said it “remains fully commit...
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. retained its bullish view on gold despite the recent selloff, forecasting renewed gains by the end of 2026. Gold’s medium term outlook remains intact and the precious metal may reach $5,400 an ounce, analysts Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven said in a note, citing continued central bank purchases and two more US rate cuts this year. Bullion still faces “tactical downside risk...
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. retained its bullish view on gold despite the recent selloff, forecasting renewed gains by the end of 2026. Gold’s medium term outlook remains intact and the precious metal may reach $5,400 an ounce, analysts Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven said in a note, citing continued central bank purchases and two more US rate cuts this year. Bullion still faces “tactical downside risks” in the short term, and could drop as low as $3,800 an ounce should the energy supply shock worsen, they said. Still, the upside remains significant if the Iran war were to contribute to accelerated diversification from “traditional Western assets.” Gold has fallen 13% since the war began a month ago, after a downturn in equities forced investors to liquidate positions and the market started factoring in tighter monetary policies. But that repricing has “overshot, reflecting an over-emphasis on the inflation channel relative to the growth drag,” the analysts said, adding that history shows that growth concerns eventually dominate. Concerns that some central banks may sell gold to support their currencies are unlikely to materialize, they said. Gulf countries are more likely to intervene by liquidating US Treasuries as they “typically operate dollar pegs,” they said. Assuming no additional private sector investment, the analysts said they expect price volatility to moderate in the medium term, allowing official sector purchases to accelerate again and average around 60 tons a month.
chaofann/iStock via Getty Images JNJ Stock: Pipeline Updates I last covered Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) stock on Feb 19, 2026. That article was triggered by the FQ4 earnings report (ER) and also its then-new dividend declaration. The article rated the stock as a buy. Since that writing, a few notable changes have emerged and call for a reexamination. The rest of this article will focus on the change...
chaofann/iStock via Getty Images JNJ Stock: Pipeline Updates I last covered Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) stock on Feb 19, 2026. That article was triggered by the FQ4 earnings report (ER) and also its then-new dividend declaration. The article rated the stock as a buy. Since that writing, a few notable changes have emerged and call for a reexamination. The rest of this article will focus on the changes of its new/pipeline drugs and also the valuation changes amid the market volatility since my last writing. After examining these changes, my conclusion is twofold: A) I see an enhanced growth outlook ahead, and B) the growth outlook is also discounted with the recent valuation correction. As such, I keep seeing a skewed return/risk ratio and reiterate my buy rating. Let me start with the updates the company has announced to its new drugs and also pipelines since my last writing. The most notable development on my radar was the approval of its Icotyde (aka Ico or oral IL23) for psoriasis in mid-March. The Icotyde is expected to generate up to $8 bn in annual sales (see more details per the Guggenheim report quoted below): Guggenheim reiterates Johnson & Johnson stock rating on FDA approval. The FDA approved Icotyde, an oral IL-23 treatment also known as icotrokinra, for plaque psoriasis. The approval came approximately four months earlier than broader market expectations for a standard review timeline. Guggenheim estimates Icotyde could generate more than $8 billion in annual peak sales for Johnson & Johnson, with the majority coming from psoriasis treatment. JNJ’s annual sales have been slightly below $100 billion in 2025. As such, the Icotyde franchise alone could add about 8% annual growth to the company, as detailed below. JNJ Stock: Growth Outlook To better contextualize things, the chart below shows the stock’s dividend growth in the past. Given JNJ’s status as a dividend king (with 63 years of consecutive dividend increases), I feel its dividend growth rates are the...
It’s a quintessentially Welsh experience of castles, cockles and cawl when you explore the south-west of the country by train, bus and a new footpath opening this week Sit on the left when you catch the train from Swansea to Carmarthen, and you can watch huge sandy estuaries unspool outside the window. There’s a curlew standing by the water, an egret-haunted pool in the wetlands, and a boardwalk a...
It’s a quintessentially Welsh experience of castles, cockles and cawl when you explore the south-west of the country by train, bus and a new footpath opening this week Sit on the left when you catch the train from Swansea to Carmarthen, and you can watch huge sandy estuaries unspool outside the window. There’s a curlew standing by the water, an egret-haunted pool in the wetlands, and a boardwalk along the foreshore, part of the 870-mile Wales Coast Path . It has been a six-hour, four-train journey to get here from Essex, but I’ll soon be on foot. Carmarthenshire has picturesque railways, a network of buses, and some epic long-distance paths, so it makes for an ideal car-free break. The 13-mile Tywi Valley Path (officially opening in time for Easter) will link Abergwili near Carmarthen and Ffairfach near Llandeilo, helping walkers and cyclists access some lovely scenery. I’m visiting just before Saint David’s Day, and there are daffodils everywhere. Carmarthenshire offers a quintessentially Welsh experience, packed with castles, cockles and cawl (stew). Continue reading...