Michael Cotter had a problem: "Chargebacks" at his tech support company were too high. The reason for this was not hard to find; people at his company, Tech Live Connect, were scamming Cotter's fellow Americans. The scams usually began with a pop-up message warning that a user's computer might have a virus. The pop-up then claimed to run a "scan" (which was always positive) of the computer and pro...
Michael Cotter had a problem: "Chargebacks" at his tech support company were too high. The reason for this was not hard to find; people at his company, Tech Live Connect, were scamming Cotter's fellow Americans. The scams usually began with a pop-up message warning that a user's computer might have a virus. The pop-up then claimed to run a "scan" (which was always positive) of the computer and provided a toll-free number to call for more help. Those who called were connected to Tech Live Connect's Indian call center, where they were asked for remote access to their computers, diagnosed with fake problems, and charged hundreds of dollars to "fix" them. Call center workers often pretended to be Apple or Microsoft employees. Defrauded people complained in droves. Read full article Comments
Stephen Doughty says US withdrawal of support means bill cannot complete passage through parliament A treaty over ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has become “impossible to agree at political level” and the corresponding bill will not complete its passage through parliament, a Foreign Office minister has said. Stephen Doughty told the Commons that the agreement with Mauritius ...
Stephen Doughty says US withdrawal of support means bill cannot complete passage through parliament A treaty over ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has become “impossible to agree at political level” and the corresponding bill will not complete its passage through parliament, a Foreign Office minister has said. Stephen Doughty told the Commons that the agreement with Mauritius was initially negotiated in close coordination with the US, but Donald Trump’s position “appears to have changed”. Continue reading...
The S&P 500 Index rallied to erase all of its losses since the start of the Iran war, as traders continue to bid up stocks since a temporary ceasefire agreement was announced and as US earnings season gets underway. The US stocks benchmark climbed 1% on Monday to rise above 6,878.88 points — the level it traded at just before the Iran war began at the end of February. The reversal was spurred by t...
The S&P 500 Index rallied to erase all of its losses since the start of the Iran war, as traders continue to bid up stocks since a temporary ceasefire agreement was announced and as US earnings season gets underway. The US stocks benchmark climbed 1% on Monday to rise above 6,878.88 points — the level it traded at just before the Iran war began at the end of February. The reversal was spurred by the US and Iran agreeing to a tentative truce on April 7. US President Donald Trump said on Monday Iran reached out to his administration over peace negotiations, as the US began a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. “Momentum driven traders are too loath to miss out on a rally to worry about what is driving it,” said Steve Sosnick , chief strategist at Interactive Brokers LLC, adding that many are surprised at how quickly the rebound has happened while inflation fears remain elevated. The S&P 500 had fallen as much as 7.8% from its pre-war level to its near-term low on March 30, as the Iran war spurred a sharp rise in oil prices and inflation expectations. West Texas Intermediate oil prices climbed 51% in March. Energy stocks, which had been the biggest gainers during the war, have held firmly in the red since the ceasefire deal was announced, even as oil prices remain elevated and the US has begun a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. “If I told you that in the course of six weeks we’d have $30 higher oil prices, 35-40bp higher yields, and erase more than two rate cuts from global expectations amidst a war in the Persian Gulf, would you have thought that stocks would be essentially unchanged?” Sosnick said. “But that is the case nonetheless.”
Outside of the big banks, several notable companies, including Netflix, PepsiCo, and Taiwan Semiconductor are on the reporting docket. What can investors expect?
Outside of the big banks, several notable companies, including Netflix, PepsiCo, and Taiwan Semiconductor are on the reporting docket. What can investors expect?
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images April 13 was a really rough day for shares of Fastenal Company ( FAST ). The stock dropped around 7.3% during the day after management announced financial results for the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. This is peculiar because revenue came in above what analysts were anticipating, and earnings per share matched expectations. The company contin...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images April 13 was a really rough day for shares of Fastenal Company ( FAST ). The stock dropped around 7.3% during the day after management announced financial results for the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. This is peculiar because revenue came in above what analysts were anticipating, and earnings per share matched expectations. The company continues to grow nicely, though it did acknowledge some challenges facing it. To be honest with you, I am not terribly surprised that the stock declined like it did. Don't get me wrong. It is a fantastic business with a great track record of expansion. Long term, I am bullish about it from an operational standpoint. However, as I detailed in my last article about it, published in December of last year, shares looked drastically overpriced. Despite the growth that the company is exhibiting, it is trading at levels that are difficult to justify. And that is why I called it a "Sell" back then. Admittedly, the stock has risen 9.8% since then, while the S&P 500 is down 0.8%. However, the data is clear that shares are quite pricey right now. From a valuation standpoint, it looks almost as pricey as it did back then, with the disparity driven by changes in operational performance. So I really don't see a reason to upgrade it at this time. A solid quarter Objectively speaking, the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year was a good time for shareholders of Fastenal Company. The company reported revenue of $2.20 billion. That translated to a 12.4% increase over the $1.96 billion that the business reported a year earlier. It also happened to be $5.2 million greater than what analysts were hoping to see . This overall rise in revenue was thanks to strong customer contract signings that the company has seen since the first quarter of 2024, not to mention additional industrial production that the company benefited from in the first quarter of this year. There was a bit of a benefit caused by fo...
Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images Transcript This week, I want to talk about starting to dial up risk. The signposts that we have been monitoring include tangible evidence of actions that could restart the flow through the Strait of Hormuz and also visibility on lingering macro impact being contained. The fact that they accept to start talks is concrete evidence of the economic incentives to...
Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images Transcript This week, I want to talk about starting to dial up risk. The signposts that we have been monitoring include tangible evidence of actions that could restart the flow through the Strait of Hormuz and also visibility on lingering macro impact being contained. The fact that they accept to start talks is concrete evidence of the economic incentives to stop the war, but for this to be ultimately positive for markets, we do need to see flow through the Strait to pick up, which we are monitoring daily. AI helping drive earnings revisions Meanwhile, equity valuations have become cheaper as earnings expectations are revised higher. U.S. and emerging markets are driving these earnings upgrades - and there is a common theme, which is AI and tech. In emerging markets, Asian companies that produce semiconductors and chips are driving the earnings upgrades. And it’s the same story in the U.S. Tech is driving earnings upgrades in the U.S., and within tech, semiconductors are driving earnings upgrades. So, the view changes: we’re bringing up U.S. equities and emerging markets equities from neutral to modest overweight, funding that from front-end European rates. And we continue to emphasize themes that are accelerated by events in the Middle East, such as defense, power and infrastructure. _________ We flagged two signposts to dial up risk-taking after the Middle East conflict led us to reduce risk and turn neutral on U.S. equities a few weeks ago. First: evidence of actions that could re-open shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Second: signs that any lingering macro impact is contained. We eye developments on both fronts. Plus, corporate earnings expectations are up even through the conflict, partly on the AI theme. We go back to modest risk-taking and turn overweight U.S. stocks. Earnings unscathed Earnings growth expectations for 2026, year-on-year growth (Source: BlackRock Investment Institute, with data from IBES consens...
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You probably don’t need me to tell you that neither of these images is genuine. | Images by Kalya_off / Grannyspills, compiled by The Verge Coachella kicked off on Friday, and as usual, it's the place to be for online influencers looking to show off their memorable experiences at the festival. A quick scroll through my social media feeds has already shown me many uncannily attractive figures in gl...
You probably don’t need me to tell you that neither of these images is genuine. | Images by Kalya_off / Grannyspills, compiled by The Verge Coachella kicked off on Friday, and as usual, it's the place to be for online influencers looking to show off their memorable experiences at the festival. A quick scroll through my social media feeds has already shown me many uncannily attractive figures in glitzy outfits, posing for perfectly staged photographs with celebrities. Only some of these content creators aren't really there. They don't even exist at all outside of our screens. They're generated using AI tools. Faking Coachella attendance is nothing new - even real influencers have been doing so in recent years - but generative AI has now progressed to the point where it's become … Read the full story at The Verge.
watch now VIDEO 3:51 03:51 How the global oil shock is hurting California drivers Energy Global energy prices are rising as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains more than 90% below where it was before the Iran war broke out Feb. 28. While the U.S. remains insulated to a certain extent, domestic prices are also moving higher — especially in California. The national average for a gallon of r...
watch now VIDEO 3:51 03:51 How the global oil shock is hurting California drivers Energy Global energy prices are rising as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains more than 90% below where it was before the Iran war broke out Feb. 28. While the U.S. remains insulated to a certain extent, domestic prices are also moving higher — especially in California. The national average for a gallon of regular gas stood at $4.13 on Monday, according to AAA, but in California it's $5.89. The price for a gallon of diesel in the state hit a record $7.75 on April 9. California typically has among the highest gas prices in the U.S., in part because of the state's stricter fuel requirements. But its pipeline connection to the oil and fuel-rich Gulf Coast is also limited, meaning it has to look abroad for supplies. Almost 75% of the state's crude oil is imported, with imports also shoring up gasoline and jet fuel supplies. A portion of those products come from South Korea and India, both of which are currently grappling with tight inventories due to the loss of Middle East oil. In March, South Korea implemented fuel export caps. "We are worried about supply on the West Coast," Andy Walz, Chevron's president for downstream, midstream and chemicals, told CNBC on March 25 at CERAWeek by S&P Global. "Asia has been among the first to feel the pain of lost Mideast Gulf crude supply, and California is leveraged into Asia. They'll feel the pain initially in prices because China, Korea or India won't send it to California unless they are compensated to ship it," he said. "And then the second phase of that crunch is they won't have the products that they want or need. Reliable security of energy supply is important in California for national and economic security," Walz added. Watch the video above to hear more about California's energy struggle. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.