The wheat complex is trading with the three markets mixed, Chicago SRW future are trading with slight 1 to 2 cent losses so far on the day. KC HRW futures are showing penny gains on Tuesday. MPLS spring wheat is trading with slight loses to 1 ¼ cents at midday USDA released updated WASDE data this morning, with the US carryout projection for 2025/26 raised by 5 mbu to 931 mbu. That came via a 5 mb...
The wheat complex is trading with the three markets mixed, Chicago SRW future are trading with slight 1 to 2 cent losses so far on the day. KC HRW futures are showing penny gains on Tuesday. MPLS spring wheat is trading with slight loses to 1 ¼ cents at midday USDA released updated WASDE data this morning, with the US carryout projection for 2025/26 raised by 5 mbu to 931 mbu. That came via a 5 mbu reduction to the food use category. Don’t Miss a Day: World wheat stocks were tallied at 277.51 MMT, which was down 0.74 MMT from January, and below the average trade estimate. Canadian stocks were trimmed as increased exports offset lower domestic use by 0.5 MMT. Argentina exports were up 2 MMT, which helped to trim stocks by 1.7 MMT. EU exports were trimmed by 1 MMT, as well as a 0.5 MMT increase to imports raised stocks by 1.45 MMT. EU soft wheat exports from July 1 to February 8 are tallied at 13.43 MMT according to EU Commission data, which is now 0.26 MMT above the same period last year. Mar 26 CBOT Wheat is at $5.27 1/2, down 1 1/4 cents, May 26 CBOT Wheat is at $5.37 1/2, down 1 1/4 cents, Mar 26 KCBT Wheat is at $5.29 3/4, up 1 cent, May 26 KCBT Wheat is at $5.42 3/4, up 1 cent, Mar 26 MIAX Wheat is at $5.69 1/4, down 1 1/4 cents, May 26 MIAX Wheat is at $5.80 1/4, down 1 cent, On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Inflows into global gold exchange-traded funds hit a record monthly high in January. But as private investors lead the rise in investment demand, it has contributed to volatility in the precious-metals market.
Inflows into global gold exchange-traded funds hit a record monthly high in January. But as private investors lead the rise in investment demand, it has contributed to volatility in the precious-metals market.
Earnings Call Insights: PennantPark Investment Corporation (PNNT) Q1 2026 Management View Arthur Penn, CEO, opened the call by highlighting core net investment income of $0.14 per share for the quarter ended December 31 and announced an updated dividend strategy: "The total dividend will remain $0.08 per share, but will be comprised of a $0.04 per share base dividend and a $0.04 per share suppleme...
Earnings Call Insights: PennantPark Investment Corporation (PNNT) Q1 2026 Management View Arthur Penn, CEO, opened the call by highlighting core net investment income of $0.14 per share for the quarter ended December 31 and announced an updated dividend strategy: "The total dividend will remain $0.08 per share, but will be comprised of a $0.04 per share base dividend and a $0.04 per share supplemental dividend. The base dividend is expected to be fully supported by current core net investment income and the supplemental dividend will be supported by our $41 million or $0.63 per share of undistributed spillover income. We anticipate maintaining the supplemental dividend payment through December 2026." Penn emphasized the full exit of the equity investment in JF Holdings, noting total proceeds of $68 million and a realized gain of $63 million, and reiterated a continued focus on reducing overall equity exposure in the fund. The CEO described increased M&A activity in the private middle market, expanding the pipeline for new investments and repayment opportunities, and stated, "We believe the current environment favors lenders with strong private equity sponsor relationships and disciplined underwriting, areas where we have a clear competitive advantage." Penn shared that as of December 31, the portfolio totaled $1.2 billion, with $115 million invested in 3 new and 51 existing companies during the quarter. He also highlighted the PSLF joint venture portfolio, totaling $1.4 billion and yielding 16.4% NII on invested capital over the past 12 months. Richard Allorto, CFO, reported, "For the quarter ended December 31, GAAP net investment income was $0.11 per share and core net investment income was $0.14 per share. Operating expenses for the quarter were as follows. Interest and credit facility expenses were $10.5 million, base management and incentive fees were $3.9 million. General and administrative expenses were $1.3 million and provision for excise taxes were $0.7 mil...
"I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation," Lutnick testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. "My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies … We had lunch on the island. That is true. For an hour."
"I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation," Lutnick testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. "My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies … We had lunch on the island. That is true. For an hour."
Nvidia has lost $400 billion of market value so far in 2026. After soaring 39% last year, Nvidia (NVDA 0.43%) stock has gotten punished by investors so far in 2026. While a 6% decline might not seem dramatic, consider the ongoing sell-off has wiped out roughly $400 billion of Nvidia's market value so far this year. Let's explore the root causes of Nvidia's sell-off over the last month and assess i...
Nvidia has lost $400 billion of market value so far in 2026. After soaring 39% last year, Nvidia (NVDA 0.43%) stock has gotten punished by investors so far in 2026. While a 6% decline might not seem dramatic, consider the ongoing sell-off has wiped out roughly $400 billion of Nvidia's market value so far this year. Let's explore the root causes of Nvidia's sell-off over the last month and assess if now is an opportunity for smart investors to buy the dip or run for the hills. Why is Nvidia stock going down? While earnings season is in full swing, Nvidia has yet to report fourth-quarter results. Given investors don't have anything specific to point to regarding Nvidia's underlying business trends, the stock's sell-off looks all the more peculiar. Below, I've detailed a few headwinds plaguing Nvidia investors right now: Perception of GPU dominance: Nvidia had a first-mover advantage in the GPU space, enabling it to swiftly build a structural moat in the early days of the AI revolution. While it's taken a few years for it to find its footing, Advanced Micro Devices is beginning to make up some ground in the GPU market. Big tech is increasingly complementing its existing Nvidia infrastructure with chips from AMD -- leading some investors to believe the chip king's growth could be headed for meaningful deceleration. The rise of custom silicon: Hyperscalers such as Meta Platforms and Alphabet have been collaborating with Broadcom to design custom application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). ASICs focus on specific workloads as opposed to Nvidia's general-purpose GPUs, and rising budget allocation toward custom chips could fuel broader mixes in chip stacks. In turn, Nvidia's core data center segment could become challenged. Uncertainties around China: China is a strategically important market for Nvidia. While the company once had a large presence in the region, ongoing trade tensions related to President Donald Trump's tariffs and national security efforts have stall...
California Power Bills Soar 39% As Wildfires and Policies Drive Costs California residents have experienced the steepest rise in electricity costs in the nation, with average bills climbing 39% over the past six years, according to UC Berkeley’s Haas Energy Institute. Researchers link the surge to wildfire-related expenses and long-standing policy decisions that shifted more costs onto consumers, ...
California Power Bills Soar 39% As Wildfires and Policies Drive Costs California residents have experienced the steepest rise in electricity costs in the nation, with average bills climbing 39% over the past six years, according to UC Berkeley’s Haas Energy Institute. Researchers link the surge to wildfire-related expenses and long-standing policy decisions that shifted more costs onto consumers, according to the NY Post . “I represent a working-class district in Orange County, and constant utility rate increases mean incessant pressure for constituents to make ends meet,” Assemblymember Tri Ta told The Center Square. He added, “I am very concerned about the cost of utilities in California. The main driver of our high costs are public policy decisions that were made long before I joined the Legislature but am tackling now.” The Post writes that the increases come on top of California’s already high living costs, with families spending about $30,000 more than the national average on basic needs, according to the Transparency Foundation. Analysts say utilities have been allowed to pass wildfire prevention and recovery expenses, infrastructure upgrades, and renewable energy investments directly to customers. Subsidies for rooftop solar have also shifted costs onto households without panels, according to UC Berkeley professor Severin Borenstein. Elsewhere in the country, electricity prices generally tracked inflation from 2019 to 2025 or even declined. States such as Arizona, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, and North Carolina saw increases of just 1%, while rates fell in Nevada, Iowa, Alaska, Kansas, and South Carolina, the study found. Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 15:05
Century-long bond issues by companies are a rarity, and especially for Alphabet which has ample online ad revenue available to pay for investments rather than resorting to debt. (JUSTIN SULLIVAN) · JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP Google-parent Alphabet will issue bonds maturing in 100 years as it continues to invest massively in infrastructure for artificial intelli...
Century-long bond issues by companies are a rarity, and especially for Alphabet which has ample online ad revenue available to pay for investments rather than resorting to debt. (JUSTIN SULLIVAN) · JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP Google-parent Alphabet will issue bonds maturing in 100 years as it continues to invest massively in infrastructure for artificial intelligence, according to data published Tuesday by Bloomberg. The Silicon Valley internet giant reportedly aims to raise about $20 billion overall, a chunk of it by issuing bonds that mature in February of 2126, with lenders so keen for a piece of the AI action that some $100 billion orders were placed for the debt. Alphabet did not respond to a request for comment. Alphabet and AI race rivals including Amazon, Meta, Microsoft are investing staggering amounts in infrastructure to power the technology, banking on it paying off. Market reaction, though, has been mixed with some investors worried spending has gone overboard. Century-long bond issues by companies are a rarity, and especially for Alphabet which has ample online ad revenue available to pay for investments rather than resorting to debt. But, the rush to lead in AI has changed the game, calling for unprecedented spending on data centers, energy generation and more. Alphabet allocated $91 billion to spending on computing infrastructure last year and has told financial analysts it expects to spend from $175 billion to $185 billion on it this year. Alphabet has ramped up longterm debt to handle the spending surge, issuing 50-year bonds late last year. While 100-year bonds are not new, it has been decades since US companies have resorted to them. Companies such as Disney, Coca-Cola, FedEx, Ford, and Motorola turned to such century-long debt during the 1990s. tu-gc/arp
Before Harrow International School New York opened its doors in September, principal Matthew Sipple hoped to enroll 80 students by the end of its inaugural year. So far, there are just 20. The kids are outnumbered by a staff of 26. That’s why he’s dropping the cost of admission by 42% next year, a move meant to attract more local pupils to the Long Island campus. Harrow New York — an offshoot of a...
Before Harrow International School New York opened its doors in September, principal Matthew Sipple hoped to enroll 80 students by the end of its inaugural year. So far, there are just 20. The kids are outnumbered by a staff of 26. That’s why he’s dropping the cost of admission by 42% next year, a move meant to attract more local pupils to the Long Island campus. Harrow New York — an offshoot of a famed British boarding school — will lower tuition to $50,544 for day students from $61,700 and give a $15,000 discount for each of the their first two years. Read More: Harrow Pitches $75,000 Boarding School to NYC, Global Families So while annual costs at New York City private schools are climbing past $70,000 , Harrow — a quicker drive to beach towns in the Hamptons than the heart of Manhattan — will charge about half that sum for local students. Tuition for boarders, who make up 12 of the school’s students, will increase 2.5% next year, but they’ll also receive the $15,000 reduction for the next two years. “This is the first time I’m hearing of a straight discount,” said Allen Koh, the founder of Cardinal Education, which advises parents in the US and abroad on how to get their kids into top American private schools and universities. The tuition cut “indicates they probably have not been as successful as they would like.” The original Harrow is about as elite as it gets in the UK — Winston Churchill is one of seven prime ministers who attended. But that esteemed reputation hasn’t carried over to the New York location, which is owned by Amity Education Group, an Indian family foundation that licensed the Harrow branding. Such discounting seems inconceivable at New York City’s top private schools. Institutions like Trinity , Spence and Dalton are steeped in prestige and well-known by the city’s richest families. Many parents walked those halls themselves and are highly motivated to have their children do the same. While these schools may offer financial aid — even to tho...
A 'now hiring' sign is displayed in a business's window in Manhattan on Jan. 9, 2026, in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images The jobs report Wednesday could resemble a big nothing, in more ways than one. Economists expect that January's nonfarm payrolls report will show growth that was nil or not much better during the month. On top of that, annual revisions also could reveal that the U.S....
A 'now hiring' sign is displayed in a business's window in Manhattan on Jan. 9, 2026, in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images The jobs report Wednesday could resemble a big nothing, in more ways than one. Economists expect that January's nonfarm payrolls report will show growth that was nil or not much better during the month. On top of that, annual revisions also could reveal that the U.S. economy going back to early 2024 had generated few if any net jobs, casting further doubt on the health of the labor market. "I think zero would be the forecast," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "The consensus is probably around 50,000. Anything around zero just shows you how fragile things are, just very weak. This is all happening with no layoffs, but layoffs are going to pick up. I think we could get job losses here pretty soon." The payrolls report will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. It was delayed five days due to the brief government shutdown. watch now VIDEO 3:27 03:27 Evercore’s Krishna Guha on his expectations for the first jobs report of 2026 Money Movers Officially, the Dow Jones consensus forecast is calling for payroll gains of 55,000, a number that has been trending lower and would come after a December increase of 50,000 . That is expected to be good enough to keep the unemployment rate at a still-low 4.4%, with annual wage gains of 3.7%. However, a number of Wall Street economists are predicting a below-forecast number. Goldman Sachs, for instance, expects an increase of just 45,000. On the other side, Citigroup is projecting a gain of 135,000, but one that it attributes to seasonal distortions, with "appropriately adjusted payroll growth ... closer to zero." Wiping out previous gains Then there are the revisions, a nettlesome problem for the Bureau of Labor Statistics as it struggles to get timely and relevant data. Last September, the BLS estimated in its preliminary adjustment that benchmark revisions for the year prior to March 2025...
Daniel Grizelj/DigitalVision via Getty Images Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Retail sales stall as high-income spends, but mid and lower struggle. (0:15) Datadog rallies on upbeat guidance . (1:27) Paramount Skydance sweetens Warner Bros Discovery bid with ticking fee . (1:56) This is an abridged transcript of the podcast: Our top story so far, retail sales were flat in De...
Daniel Grizelj/DigitalVision via Getty Images Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Retail sales stall as high-income spends, but mid and lower struggle. (0:15) Datadog rallies on upbeat guidance . (1:27) Paramount Skydance sweetens Warner Bros Discovery bid with ticking fee . (1:56) This is an abridged transcript of the podcast: Our top story so far, retail sales were flat in December , missing expectations for a 0.4% increase and slowing from 0.6% growth in November. Sales were up 2.4% from a year ago. Core retail sales, excluding motor vehicles and parts, were also flat, versus forecasts for a 0.4% gain. Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said: “This is a K-shaped economy, with strong spending from the top and much more cautious spending from middle- and lower-income consumers.” She added the holiday season was “solid, but not spectacular,” with shoppers hunting for bargains — and buying earlier to grab discounts. “Overall, the consumer is still spending,” Long said, “but this is the Costco economy for the middle class.” Among weak categories: furniture and home furnishings, down 5.6% from a year ago. Department stores were down 0.3% year over year — not great news for Macy’s ( M ), Kohl’s ( KSS ) and Dillard’s ( DDS ). And nonstore retailers rose just 0.1% month over month, though they were still up 5.3% year over year — a slower pace for the category that includes Amazon ( AMZN ), Etsy ( ETSY ), Wayfair ( W ) and eBay ( EBAY ). Among active stocks, Coca-Cola ( KO ) is lower after missing Q4 revenue expectations. The company sees full-year organic sales growth of about 4% to 5%, below the 5% consensus, with EPS growth of 7% to 8%. DataDog ( DDOG ) is rallying after beating Q4 expectations and issuing bullish Q1 guidance. The cloud security and monitoring platform sees first-quarter 2026 revenue of about $956M, above the $934M consensus. And Spotify ( SPOT ) is also higher after guiding above expectations for subscriber ...
China may surpass the US as the world’s biggest economy in a decade, and it could attempt to take Taiwan by force even though the US is likely to remain the strongest military power, a Washington-based think tank found in a survey with hundreds of geopolitical forecasters. 58 per cent of surveyed experts believed that China will be the world’s top economic power by 2036, while 33 per cent expected...
China may surpass the US as the world’s biggest economy in a decade, and it could attempt to take Taiwan by force even though the US is likely to remain the strongest military power, a Washington-based think tank found in a survey with hundreds of geopolitical forecasters. 58 per cent of surveyed experts believed that China will be the world’s top economic power by 2036, while 33 per cent expected the US to maintain its economic dominance, according to a report published on Tuesday by the Atlantic Council. Experts are split on whether the US or China will lead in technological innovation and diplomatic influence, indicating that they could be “peer competitors” in these areas, according to the report. Advertisement The US held a narrow lead in both domains with 47 per cent believing it will be the largest technological power in 2036, with China trailing at 44 per cent. 38 per cent and 33 per cent of experts respectively expected the US and China to have a lead in diplomatic influence. “I think we underestimate China’s strengths and ambitions at our peril,” Melanie Hart, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, said at an event in Washington on Tuesday. “I would say that across the board we are still ahead, but we have almost zero margin for error.” Did Jimmy Lai get a fair trial? Hong Kong legal experts rebut criticism from the West Did Jimmy Lai get a fair trial? Hong Kong legal experts rebut criticism from the West Surveyed analysts, however, overwhelmingly expected the US to remain as the dominant military power, with nearly 73 per cent of them perceiving so and only 24 per cent expecting the same for China.
The People’s Bank of China. Photo: VCG China’s central bank has laid out a detailed framework for coordinating with fiscal authorities to channel liquidity into the real economy, signaling a unified push in Beijing’s effort to stabilize growth through synchronized bond support, subsidized lending and shared risk. The People’s Bank of China detailed the mechanisms in its fourth-quarter monetary pol...
The People’s Bank of China. Photo: VCG China’s central bank has laid out a detailed framework for coordinating with fiscal authorities to channel liquidity into the real economy, signaling a unified push in Beijing’s effort to stabilize growth through synchronized bond support, subsidized lending and shared risk. The People’s Bank of China detailed the mechanisms in its fourth-quarter monetary policy report released Tuesday, following a January directive from Premier Li Qiang to align fiscal and financial tools to lift domestic demand. The central bank outlined three main channels of cooperation: managing liquidity to support government bond issuance; pairing central-bank relending with fiscal interest subsidies ; and sharing risk to encourage lending to private companies.
A newly slimmed-down DuPont reported strong quarterly results on Tuesday, sending its stock to a new all-time high. Our long-running thesis is paying off as predicted. Revenue in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 was about flat versus 2025 at $1.693 billion; however, it outpaced the $1.688 billion expected by LSEG. Earnings per share (EPS) jumped 18% year over year to 46 cents, outpacing estimates ...
A newly slimmed-down DuPont reported strong quarterly results on Tuesday, sending its stock to a new all-time high. Our long-running thesis is paying off as predicted. Revenue in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 was about flat versus 2025 at $1.693 billion; however, it outpaced the $1.688 billion expected by LSEG. Earnings per share (EPS) jumped 18% year over year to 46 cents, outpacing estimates of 43 cents, according to LSEG. DD 1Y mountain DuPont 1-year return Bottom line A solid first outing for the new DuPont, which on Nov. 1 spun off its electronics business into a new, independent public company called Qnity Electronics . The remaining DuPont is two units: health care and water, and diversified industrials. Our primary reason for starting a position in DuPont was that its breakup, announced in March 2024, would unlock value by allowing each company to operate more efficiently to meet demand in its respective end markets. Our bull thesis was based on the stock's price-to-earnings multiple re-rating higher from a depressed valuation after the spin. This has played out perfectly: Since the close on Nov. 3, the day of the split, shares of the new DuPont have rallied 40%, far exceeding the S & P 500 ′s return of less than 1%. Qnity, meanwhile, increased 13% over the same stretch and also hit a record high Tuesday. Investors have been rewarded for their patience on DuPont — for those of us who held onto Qnity shares, the future looks bright there, too. Qnity is scheduled to report earnings Feb. 26. Some of the price action in DuPont is the recent market rotation out of technology and high-growth stocks and into more value-oriented stocks. However, DuPont's results have not disappointed. Sales came in ahead of expectations, thanks to strength in its healthcare and water business, which more than offset a small miss in the diversified industrials unit. On the other hand, strong earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin expansion ...
Children are being “bombarded” with harmful products online, including weight-loss drugs, steroids and skin-whitening chemicals, a study has found. Research conducted for the children’s commissioner for England found that teenagers were routinely exposed to harmful products on social media, video games and apps. Among 13 to 17-year-olds, 41% said they had seen prescription-only weight-loss drugs, ...
Children are being “bombarded” with harmful products online, including weight-loss drugs, steroids and skin-whitening chemicals, a study has found. Research conducted for the children’s commissioner for England found that teenagers were routinely exposed to harmful products on social media, video games and apps. Among 13 to 17-year-olds, 41% said they had seen prescription-only weight-loss drugs, 27% had seen potentially toxic skin-whitening creams and 24% had seen steroids and other drugs claiming to build muscle mass. Young people reported seeing these harmful products in lifestyle influencer content on social media, in advertising from small-scale content creators and in gaming, despite many of these being banned for under-18s. The report comes as the government consults on a potential social media ban for under-16s. But the children’s commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, said such a ban would not provide an “immediate guarantee” that children would be safer online. She said: “Extreme and potentially dangerous appearance-changing products are being normalised to children through advertising, influencer culture and online posts, despite many of these products being unsafe, illegal or strictly age-restricted. “For their developing and fragile sense of self-esteem, this is immensely damaging. “Any ban must respond to what children think and how they behave online, with a clear plan of how it will be enforced so that it does not drive children to other, darker parts of the internet. “Urgent action is needed to create an online world that is truly safer by design. We cannot continue to accept an online world that profits from children’s insecurities and constantly tells them they need to change or must be better.” More than half of children said they had seen ads for food and drinks claiming to aid weight loss, and similar numbers had seen exercise and diet plans. One in five had bought or tried weight-loss foodstuffs, while 8% had bought or tried non-prescription weig...
Blackstone Inc. is increasing its investment in artificial intelligence firm Anthropic PBC , elevating its stake to roughly $1 billion at the startup’s current valuation, according to people familiar with the matter. The world’s largest alternative asset manager is investing $200 million at a $350 billion valuation as part of the Anthropic’s ongoing funding round, according to the people, who aske...
Blackstone Inc. is increasing its investment in artificial intelligence firm Anthropic PBC , elevating its stake to roughly $1 billion at the startup’s current valuation, according to people familiar with the matter. The world’s largest alternative asset manager is investing $200 million at a $350 billion valuation as part of the Anthropic’s ongoing funding round, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI models, has already more than doubled its initial $10 billion fundraising target amid excess investor demand. Representatives for Blackstone and Anthropic declined to comment. The funding round hasn’t officially closed and timing or specific terms may change. Blackstone’s investment comes less than a year since the asset manager participated in Anthropic’s last round, when the OpenAI rival raised $13 billion at a $183 billion valuation. In the current fundraising effort, Anthropic has lined up at least $1 billion each from Coatue Management , Singapore’s GIC Pte and Iconiq Capital , in addition to as much as $15 billion from strategic investors Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp. , Bloomberg News has previously reported. Abu Dhabi’s MGX is nearing a deal to join the funding round, Bloomberg reported earlier Tuesday. Read More: Anthropic to Close Over $20 Billion Funding as Soon as Next Week Blackstone’s fresh commitment is again being primarily earmarked from the firm’s retail-focused Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Fund (BXPE), said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Also a backer of OpenAI, Blackstone’s investment puts it among Anthropic’s biggest non-venture or sovereign investors. OpenAI has concurrently been in talks to raise as much as $100 billion in another record-breaking AI funding round, with both companies also taking steps toward an initial public offering.
Bloomberg Blackstone Inc. is increasing its investment in artificial intelligence firm Anthropic PBC, elevating its stake to roughly $1 billion at the startup’s current valuation, according to people familiar with the matter. The world’s largest alternative asset manager is investing $200 million at a $350 billion valuation as part of the Anthropic’s ongoing funding round, according to the people,...
PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images By Bob Iaccino Copper entered 2026 as one of the best-performing industrial assets. After a 41% rally in 2025 that saw CME Group Copper futures settle at $5.6820 a pound, the red metal has pushed above $6.00 in January as a "triple threat" of AI data centers, electric vehicle scaling, and grid modernization collides with a decade of mining underinvestment. Wh...
PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images By Bob Iaccino Copper entered 2026 as one of the best-performing industrial assets. After a 41% rally in 2025 that saw CME Group Copper futures settle at $5.6820 a pound, the red metal has pushed above $6.00 in January as a "triple threat" of AI data centers, electric vehicle scaling, and grid modernization collides with a decade of mining underinvestment. While the long-term bull case is firming, traders are navigating a volatile short-term landscape defined by U.S. tariff policy and thinning global inventories. The question for 2026 isn't whether copper faces headwinds, but whether structural demand can override policy volatility and mine constraints. Electrification Drives Structural Deficit The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) as a primary copper consumer has fundamentally altered the market's demand profile. S&P Global forecasts copper demand swelling to 42 million metric tons by 2040 - a 50% jump from current levels - driven by a near-50% rise in electricity needs. The key drivers include AI data centers, which consume 40,000-50,000 tons per major facility, electric vehicles (EVs) that use three to four times more copper than conventional cars and renewable energy grids. China, which absorbs about 60% of global refined copper, remains the epicenter, with power infrastructure accounting for over 60% of demand growth through 2030. Defense spending and urbanization in emerging markets add further upside to the equation. This structural shift matters because it creates inelastic demand across multiple sectors simultaneously – data centers, EVs and renewable grids – leaving little room for substitution. Chinese manufacturing data and U.S. hyperscaler buildouts now function as leading indicators for price direction. Supply Crunch Deepens Compounding those demand pressures, supply-side bottlenecks represent a critical factor to monitor, with forecasts pointing to a deepening deficit. J.P. Morgan projects a 330,000-ton r...
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), NVIDIA Corporation NVDA has delivered impressive returns, soaring more than 1,000% over the past five years. Yet, in the past year, Micron Technology, Inc.’s MU shares outpaced NVIDIA’s (+307% vs +43.1%). Let’s see why Micron is emerging as the new go-to AI investment, even amid NVIDIA’s strong bullish momentum. NVIDIA’s Strong Demand and Growth Outlo...
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), NVIDIA Corporation NVDA has delivered impressive returns, soaring more than 1,000% over the past five years. Yet, in the past year, Micron Technology, Inc.’s MU shares outpaced NVIDIA’s (+307% vs +43.1%). Let’s see why Micron is emerging as the new go-to AI investment, even amid NVIDIA’s strong bullish momentum. NVIDIA’s Strong Demand and Growth Outlook Keep Investors Bullish NVIDIA remains the center of attraction among investors, and for good reasons. Consistently, NVIDIA delivered encouraging quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street expectations even in the face of several geopolitical hurdles. This is because demand for its next-generation Blackwell chips and cloud graphics processing units (GPUs) remains strong. Somewhat easing of the U.S.-China trade tensions and incessant increase in data center spending, in all likelihood, could boost NVIDIA’s sales. NVIDIA remains optimistic about its future growth and expects revenues for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026 to hit nearly $65 billion, plus or minus 2%, according to investor.nvidia.com. This would be more than the company’s fiscal third-quarter 2026 revenues of $57 billion, and if achieved, it will surely raise the stock further (read more: NVIDIA vs. Palantir: One AI Stock is a Clear Buy Right Now). Micron Emerges as a Key AI Beneficiary on Strong HBM Demand While NVIDIA continues to command the spotlight, another chipmaker, Micron, has steadily gained investors’ attention, driven by strong demand for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips amid the rapid expansion of AI. The demand for Micron’s HBM chips has surged as data center operators and hyperscalers ramp up AI infrastructure investments. At the same time, constrained HBM supply amid high demand is likely to enhance Micron’s profit margin and support its growth trajectory. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra also added that tight HBM supply is expected to persist as demand remains strong, creating a demand-supply ...