The Times also features the counter-terrorism police's investigation into the stabbing at Kingsbury High School, highlighting the head teacher's description of the event as "deeply traumatic". It also says the investigation into Lord Mandelson's relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will "go back to Blair era". The peer's appointment to the position of British ambassador to the US has com...
The Times also features the counter-terrorism police's investigation into the stabbing at Kingsbury High School, highlighting the head teacher's description of the event as "deeply traumatic". It also says the investigation into Lord Mandelson's relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will "go back to Blair era". The peer's appointment to the position of British ambassador to the US has come under fresh scrutiny after the latest release of Epstein files by the US Department of Justice. It was publicly known at the time of the appointment that Lord Mandelson had maintained a relationship with Epstein after his conviction for a child sex offence. The BBC understands Lord Mandelson's view is that he answered questions about his relationship with Epstein in the vetting process accurately. Lord Mandelson has not responded to requests for comment, but the BBC understands his position is that he has not acted in any way criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain.
Key Points Sales growth remains soft. But it could accelerate in 2026 and beyond. The company's dividend yield of 1.9% reduces some of the risk for shareholders. The stock is a nice bet to contrast the market's seemingly insatiable appetite for AI. 10 stocks we like better than Pool › It's been an interesting start to 2026, featuring significant volatility in some of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks...
Key Points Sales growth remains soft. But it could accelerate in 2026 and beyond. The company's dividend yield of 1.9% reduces some of the risk for shareholders. The stock is a nice bet to contrast the market's seemingly insatiable appetite for AI. 10 stocks we like better than Pool › It's been an interesting start to 2026, featuring significant volatility in some of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks and huge drawdowns in many software stocks. Investors are doing their best to assess the impact the continued AI (artificial intelligence) boom will have on companies. But investors don't always need a company tied closely to the market's latest buzz words to do well. One stock that has significantly outperformed the market is Pool Corporation (NASDAQ: POOL), a pool supplies distributor. The stock is up more than 14% year-to-date as of this writing, and I believe there's more upside ahead over the long haul. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Below is why this month I'm rerecommending Pool Corp -- the same stock I recommended in January -- as my absolute top dividend stock idea to buy now. It's an anti-AI bet The first reason I think Pool Corp is a good dividend stock to buy now has less to do with its dividend and more to do with its specific business model and how it counters much of the speculation we are seeing in the market right now about AI. Many tech companies have been unveiling huge investment plans for AI. Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Amazon, for instance, have all disclosed plans to spend well over $100 billion on capital expenditures this year, with a large portion of this spending going toward AI-capable cloud computing infrastructure. In fact, Amazon's budget is for "about $200 billion" in capital expenditures in 2026, making it the most aggressive of the three. These big-spe...
Despite already crushing the market this year, there's likely more meaningful upside to come for this stock. It's been an interesting start to 2026, featuring significant volatility in some of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks and huge drawdowns in many software stocks. Investors are doing their best to assess the impact the continued AI (artificial intelligence) boom will have on companies. But inve...
Despite already crushing the market this year, there's likely more meaningful upside to come for this stock. It's been an interesting start to 2026, featuring significant volatility in some of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks and huge drawdowns in many software stocks. Investors are doing their best to assess the impact the continued AI (artificial intelligence) boom will have on companies. But investors don't always need a company tied closely to the market's latest buzz words to do well. One stock that has significantly outperformed the market is Pool Corporation (POOL +1.81%), a pool supplies distributor. The stock is up more than 14% year-to-date as of this writing, and I believe there's more upside ahead over the long haul. Below is why this month I'm rerecommending Pool Corp -- the same stock I recommended in January -- as my absolute top dividend stock idea to buy now. It's an anti-AI bet The first reason I think Pool Corp is a good dividend stock to buy now has less to do with its dividend and more to do with its specific business model and how it counters much of the speculation we are seeing in the market right now about AI. Many tech companies have been unveiling huge investment plans for AI. Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Amazon, for instance, have all disclosed plans to spend well over $100 billion on capital expenditures this year, with a large portion of this spending going toward AI-capable cloud computing infrastructure. In fact, Amazon's budget is for "about $200 billion" in capital expenditures in 2026, making it the most aggressive of the three. These big-spending plans mean investors just have to trust that these massive bets will work out profitably over time, since there's no way to know if they will. Pool contrasts this with a straightforward business model in which it has already demonstrated substantial profitability. On sales of about $1.5 billion in Q3, the company generated $127 million in net income. Further, the company's earnings-per-sha...
peshkov/iStock via Getty Images Market Review Global economic conditions remained subdued in the fourth quarter, with inflation continuing to ease and labor markets showing signs of softening. Growth indicators pointed to widespread sub-trend expansion, while forward-looking measures suggested little near-term improvement. Central banks maintained a broadly accommodative stance: the US Federal Res...
peshkov/iStock via Getty Images Market Review Global economic conditions remained subdued in the fourth quarter, with inflation continuing to ease and labor markets showing signs of softening. Growth indicators pointed to widespread sub-trend expansion, while forward-looking measures suggested little near-term improvement. Central banks maintained a broadly accommodative stance: the US Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) cut rates twice, while the Bank of Canada and Bank of England also trimmed rates. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand surprised markets with a 50 basis point ( BP ) cut, whereas the Bank of Japan raised rates to its highest level in more than 30 years. Inflation remained well-behaved globally, with no major upside surprises. Politically, talks between the US and China produced agreements to ease tariffs, resume agricultural purchases, and pause rare-earth materials export restrictions, alongside pledges to cooperate on resolving the war in Ukraine. Efforts to broker peace in Ukraine gained momentum, though little obvious progress has been achieved. Geopolitical tensions escalated as the US seized a Venezuelan oil tanker, foreshadowing the removal of President Nicolás Maduro in early January. We believe global economic growth is stabilizing overall, as suggested by forward-looking indicators, on average. Developed market government bonds enjoyed varying fortunes during the fourth quarter. UK gilts fared well, seeing yields decline, while the increase in longer-term Japanese government bond yields accelerated, reaching highs not seen in more than 25 years. US Treasury yields were modestly lower at shorter maturities, with the two-year yield ending the period just below 3.5%. However, the 10-year Treasury yield moved sideways in a relatively narrow range down, ending 2bp higher at 4.17%. In Germany, 10-year government bond yields initially declined but then increased through November and December, ending 14bp higher at 2.85%. Meanwhile, 10-year UK gilt yields ende...
Colombia's Left-Wing President Says He Survived Assassination Attempt As Elections Near Colombia's democratic socialist president claimed Tuesday afternoon that he escaped an assassination attempt on Monday night, after years of warning about assassination plots against him. AFP News reports that Colombian President Gustavo Petro narrowly escaped an assassination attempt after his helicopter repor...
Colombia's Left-Wing President Says He Survived Assassination Attempt As Elections Near Colombia's democratic socialist president claimed Tuesday afternoon that he escaped an assassination attempt on Monday night, after years of warning about assassination plots against him. AFP News reports that Colombian President Gustavo Petro narrowly escaped an assassination attempt after his helicopter reportedly could not land at a location on the South American country's Caribbean coast because gunmen were allegedly ready to open fire upon landing. " We headed out to open sea for four hours, and I arrived somewhere we weren't supposed to go, escaping from being killed ," Petro stated in a cabinet meeting on live television. He warned that the incident is part of a longer-running assassination plot by drug traffickers that he says has targeted him since he took office in August 2022. Petro suggested in 2024 that the commander of the Estado Mayor Central rebel group had planned to assassinate him with snipers. For some context, EMC is a dissident group of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that rejected a 2016 peace deal with the government. Petro's latest assassination plot claim comes ahead of presidential elections, with Petro barred by the constitution from seeking a second term. According to Bloomberg, Colombia's two top presidential candidates - conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist senator Iván Cepeda - are neck and neck in the latest poll data ahead of the election on May 31. De la Espriella has about 32.1% support, compared to Cepeda's 31.4%, in the AtlasIntel poll for Semana newspaper. Former Antioquia governor Sergio Fajardo trails with about 7.6%. Meanwhile, South American politics has shifted sharply in President Trump's second term, with right-wing movements gaining traction across the continent, from Argentina to Chile, after years of failed socialist and communist governments. The Maduro regime's fall last month...