(RTTNews) - Despite trade uncertainty following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of a 100% tariff on Canada, Bay Street is likely to open on a positive note Monday morning thanks to higher commodity prices. The mood may remain cautious for much of the day's session with investors looking ahead to the monetary policy announcements from the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. On...
(RTTNews) - Despite trade uncertainty following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of a 100% tariff on Canada, Bay Street is likely to open on a positive note Monday morning thanks to higher commodity prices. The mood may remain cautious for much of the day's session with investors looking ahead to the monetary policy announcements from the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. On Sunday, the U.S. President threatened a 100% tariff on Canada if it strikes a trade deal with China. The Canadian Prime Minister responded on Sunday that Canada respects its commitments under the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement to not pursue free trade agreements with non-market economies. Gold futures are up $108.80 or 2.18% at $5,088.50 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $8.507 or 8.4% at $109.840 an ounce. Copper futures are up $0.405 or 0.67% at $5.9880 per pound. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are down marginally at $61.02 a barrel. Canadian stocks edged higher on Friday as investors avoided big bets even as tariff threats against the EU subsided. Energy and materials stocks gained as commodity prices climbed up following a renewed escalation in the U.S-Iran conflict. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index settled at 33,144.98, up by 142.28 points or 0.43%. Asian stocks ended mixed in cautious trade on Monday, with Australian markets closed for Australia Day and Indian stock exchanges closed for Republic Day. A cautious undertone prevailed amid ongoing uncertainty over U.S. tariff policies and ahead of the Fed's policy decision and big tech earnings due this week. Trade concerns were heightened after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on goods from Canada over its proposed trade deal with China. The major European markets are subdued today with investors, looking ahead to the U.S. central bank's policy announcement, making cautious moves amid concerns about trade uncertainty and geopol...
Bank of Hawaii ( BOH ) declares $0.70/share quarterly dividend , in line with previous. Forward yield 3.95% Payable March 13; for shareholders of record Jan. 27; ex-div Jan. 27. See BOH Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on Bank of Hawaii Earn 7.6% Yield On Bank Of Hawaii Series B Preferred Shares Bank of Hawaii: Asset Repricing Drives Strong Operating Leverage In Q3 Bank of ...
Bank of Hawaii ( BOH ) declares $0.70/share quarterly dividend , in line with previous. Forward yield 3.95% Payable March 13; for shareholders of record Jan. 27; ex-div Jan. 27. See BOH Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on Bank of Hawaii Earn 7.6% Yield On Bank Of Hawaii Series B Preferred Shares Bank of Hawaii: Asset Repricing Drives Strong Operating Leverage In Q3 Bank of Hawaii Q4 2025 Earnings Preview Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Bank of Hawaii Historical earnings data for Bank of Hawaii
UniCredit SpA is planning to issue two significant risk transfers tied to around €5 billion ($6 billion) of loans, according to people familiar with the matter. The Milan-based lender will offload risks in two separate transactions, the people said. The larger deal involves a portfolio of about €3.5 billion of corporate loans, while a smaller transaction is tied to roughly €1.5 billion of Italian ...
UniCredit SpA is planning to issue two significant risk transfers tied to around €5 billion ($6 billion) of loans, according to people familiar with the matter. The Milan-based lender will offload risks in two separate transactions, the people said. The larger deal involves a portfolio of about €3.5 billion of corporate loans, while a smaller transaction is tied to roughly €1.5 billion of Italian consumer debt, they added. The SRTs, part of the lender’s ARTS program, may be completed as soon as the first quarter, said the people. Preparations are at an early stage, and terms including the size and timing of the deal may change following discussions with potential investors, said the people, who requested anonymity as the discussions are private. A UniCredit representative declined to comment. Banks use significant risk transfers as a way to insure loans against default, typically obtaining protection for between 5% and 15% of the loan value. The transactions, which are often structured as credit-linked notes, allow lenders to boost their solvency ratios, in order to free them up to make more profitable loans. UniCredit has been increasingly using these securitizations to free up lending firepower and make its capital more efficient, the lender said in November when it announced an SRT transaction for its Austrian unit. Early this month, the bank increased its direct stake and voting rights in Greece’s Alpha Bank to around 30%. It remains one of Commerzbank AG ’s largest shareholders with holding of about 26%, according to regulatory filings. The SRT market is set to double in size over the next five years as banks in Europe and the US increase the use of the instruments, according to Man Group estimates. HSBC Holdings Plc, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Banco BPM SpA and Erste Group Bank AG are among lenders that are in discussions or have recently completed SRT transactions.
Kazakhstan’s largest oil producer is preparing to resume output at the giant Tengiz field, a further step to normalize the nation’s supply to global markets after a series of disruptions in recent months. The safe restart of the power supply system at the Tengiz field has been confirmed and the facility “will be operational shortly,” Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said in a statement on Monday. Teng...
Kazakhstan’s largest oil producer is preparing to resume output at the giant Tengiz field, a further step to normalize the nation’s supply to global markets after a series of disruptions in recent months. The safe restart of the power supply system at the Tengiz field has been confirmed and the facility “will be operational shortly,” Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said in a statement on Monday. Tengizchevroil, the operator of the field, “has been tasked with maximizing the restoration of production,” the ministry added. Setbacks to oil flows from OPEC+ member Kazakhstan tightened the European crude market, offering short-term support to benchmark prices. Tengizchevroil, which accounts for almost half of the nation’s total production, stopped pumping oil a week ago as a precautionary measure after two fires at power generators. As a result, the country’s daily output is set to average just 1 million to 1.1 million barrels this month, compared with a typical 1.8 million barrels, according to JPMorgan estimates. At the same time, a backlog at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal on Russia’s Black Sea coast — a key export route for 80% of Kazakhstan’s exports — is easing as repairs at one of its offshore moorings were completed over the weekend and crude is now being loaded from two jetties. “The fulfillment of oil shippers’ requests in accordance with annual plans is guaranteed with the simultaneous operation of at least two moorings,” the operator said in a statement on Sunday. The Black Sea terminal had been working at reduced capacity since late November, when one out of three moorings was severely damaged by a boat drone, while the other one was undergoing planned maintenance. Kazakhstan blamed Ukraine for the attack, something Kyiv did not deny. Loadings were also disrupted several times in December and January amid storm season in the Black Sea.
Demand for exchange-traded products focused on European equities was so strong in 2025 that they attracted a “decade in a year” of inflows, according to BlackRock Inc.’s Ursula Marchioni . These funds attracted $92 billion last year, close to the $94 billion they cumulatively received between 2014 and 2024, Marchioni, head of investment and portfolio solutions for EMEA at the world’s largest asset...
Demand for exchange-traded products focused on European equities was so strong in 2025 that they attracted a “decade in a year” of inflows, according to BlackRock Inc.’s Ursula Marchioni . These funds attracted $92 billion last year, close to the $94 billion they cumulatively received between 2014 and 2024, Marchioni, head of investment and portfolio solutions for EMEA at the world’s largest asset manager, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The flows highlight growing appetite for European equities as investors seek opportunities outside the US, where much of the record-setting rally has been driven by a narrow group of stocks benefiting from the artificial intelligence boom. “We’ve seen last year the great repatriation trade,” Marchioni said. “There is this desire to diversify and remain exposed to the AI trade and to the US, but with some form of protection.” There’s optimism about the outlook for the European economy, given increased government spending led by Germany. Analysts also expect Stoxx 600 profits to rise by about 10% this year after zero growth in 2025, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. “We have conviction into very strong earnings,” Marchioni said. “I do see investors wanting to take part in that, but at the same time take into account other diversification elements, which could be trading around AI or beyond AI, thinking about European defense or US health care.” European stocks have climbed 37% since the start of last year in dollar terms, twice the S&P 500 gains over the same period. Gains in Europe have recently extended across different sectors, with banks, miners and defense all outperforming. Investors are also attracted to Europe by valuations that are less demanding than those for equities in the US, with the Stoxx 600 trading at a discount of around 30%.
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Alcoa's Post-Earnings Dip Shouldn't Have Happened It's been about 9 months since I last looked at Alcoa Corporation ( AA ) stock. In my previous update, I confirmed my earlier “Buy” rating despite the stock's continued correction, and it looks like my call has already aged extremely well: Seeking Alpha, Oakoff's coverage of AA The company reported its...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Alcoa's Post-Earnings Dip Shouldn't Have Happened It's been about 9 months since I last looked at Alcoa Corporation ( AA ) stock. In my previous update, I confirmed my earlier “Buy” rating despite the stock's continued correction, and it looks like my call has already aged extremely well: Seeking Alpha, Oakoff's coverage of AA The company reported its Q4 results on Friday, beating the consensus estimates quite strongly (especially on the top line versus previous quarters' beats ). Seeking Alpha, AA's Earnings surprises Some analysts were quick to react to their earnings, calling the beat “less impressive than it seems” (I'm citing UBS here ). Seeking Alpha News The stock was over 9% down throughout the trading session but eventually closed only 1.47% lower. While I agree that there's little to be happy about regarding headline figures alone and that UBS analysts are right about some adjustments that led to the bottom-line beat in Q4, Alcoa seems to be finally coming out of its heavy restructuring period and is now moving into one of aggressive cash generation and portfolio optimization. I think the market has misunderstood the Q4 updates and focused too much on the EPS calculations that took place after the print, missing the forest for the trees. The stock remains cheap, and the catalysts/events that I anticipate throughout the next couple of years should lead to meaningful FCF generation and value creation for shareholders. The recovery cycle for Alcoa may be just getting started. What Makes Me Bullish On Alcoa? Of course, in addition to the sales and EPS beats, I like that Alcoa's FCF generation is improving amid the management's constant focus on deleveraging and returns to shareholders. Alcoa's IR materials Alcoa's IR materials But the above data is what has already happened. Ahead, there are a few reasons for staying bullish on AA that I see, and not all of them are directly tied to just plain financials like FCF,...
Investors who have bought into Rivian Automotive 's (NASDAQ: RIVN) vision to perhaps become one of the next young electric vehicle (EV) makers to strike it big and wiggle its way into the market knew that 2025 was going to be a slow year for the automaker. There were no vehicle launches, just immense behind-the-scenes work to get production of the R2 ready for mainstream volume. Despite a slow new...
Investors who have bought into Rivian Automotive 's (NASDAQ: RIVN) vision to perhaps become one of the next young electric vehicle (EV) makers to strike it big and wiggle its way into the market knew that 2025 was going to be a slow year for the automaker. There were no vehicle launches, just immense behind-the-scenes work to get production of the R2 ready for mainstream volume. Despite a slow news year for the stock, and multiple headwinds thanks to changing trade policy, tariffs , and the end of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, hype for the upcoming R2 helped drive Rivian stock nearly 50% higher in 2025 -- and now the moment is finally near with recent news out of Rivian. As of last week, Rivian has officially begun rolling out validation units from its Normal, Illinois, factory that was updated and expanded to initially produce the R2 during the first half of 2026. Rivian's Illinois plant was modified to introduce the new assembly lines for the dedicated R2 platform and had tooling installed in record time to meet its deliveries target for the first half of 2026. Continue reading
EU Launches New Probe Into Musk's AI Chatbot Grok The European Commission has opened a new formal investigation into Elon Musk's X under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and expanded a separate probe launched in December 2023. "The new investigation will assess whether the company properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok's functionalities into X in the EU," the Eu...
EU Launches New Probe Into Musk's AI Chatbot Grok The European Commission has opened a new formal investigation into Elon Musk's X under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and expanded a separate probe launched in December 2023. "The new investigation will assess whether the company properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok's functionalities into X in the EU," the European Commission wrote in a press release, adding, "This includes risks related to the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material." The Commission is examining whether X: Diligently assess and mitigate systemic risks, including of the dissemination of illegal content, negative effects in relation to gender-based violence, and serious negative consequences to physical and mental well-being stemming from deployments of Grok's functionalities into its platform. Conduct and transmit to the Commission an ad hoc risk assessment report for Grok's functionalities in the X service with a critical impact on X's risk profile prior to their deployment. "Non-consensual sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation," EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen said, who was quoted by Bloomberg. This case falls under the DSA, which places strict guardrails on harmful and illegal material on the web. And it's up to Brussels to define what is illegal material... X, a subsidiary of xAI, pointed Bloomberg to a previous statement that it actively removes illegal content where necessary: "We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content." The EU's Grok investigation comes shortly after a separate 120 million euro fine imposed on X under the DSA. In that earlier case, EU regulators found that X's paid blue chec...
EschCollection/DigitalVision via Getty Images If you ask the average investor about SS&C Technologies ( SSNC ), they will likely describe it as a boring back-office roll-up. It’s the plumbing of the financial world. It's necessary, sticky, but hardly exciting. The stock price reflects this sentiment, languishing around 13-14x forward earnings while the broader IT sector trades at more than double ...
EschCollection/DigitalVision via Getty Images If you ask the average investor about SS&C Technologies ( SSNC ), they will likely describe it as a boring back-office roll-up. It’s the plumbing of the financial world. It's necessary, sticky, but hardly exciting. The stock price reflects this sentiment, languishing around 13-14x forward earnings while the broader IT sector trades at more than double that . The market sees a legacy fund administrator facing fee pressure and slow growth. I see a company that spent $1.6bn in 2022 to acquire Blue Prism , a leader in Robotic Process Automation (RPA), not just to sell software but to also fix its own cost structure. While the market is chasing high-flying AI startups with no revenue, SS&C is quietly implementing “Customer Zero,” i.e., using its own AI agents to automate the millions of reconciliations it performs annually. This is a margin story as opposed to topline growth. And as of today, the market is pricing this margin potential at zero. Customer Zero To better understand the opportunity, you have to look past the standard assets-under-administration (AuA) metric and look at the workforce. SS&C is a people-heavy business. It has approx. 27,000 employees, and a large proportion of them spend their days working in Excel spreadsheets, reconciling cash breaks, and checking trade confirms. This is exactly the kind of work that AI and RPA were created to destroy. When SS&C bought Blue Prism, the reasoning wasn't obvious. Why would a fund admin buy a software robotics firm? The answer is becoming clearer now. What they bought is an internal efficiency engine. Management has been explicit about this , even if the market hasn't taken notice. They refer to themselves as Customer Zero . They are deploying thousands of digital workers, i.e., Blue Prism bots, to handle the manual tasks that human analysts used to do. SS&C Revenue vs. Headcount (Created by Author, 2025E based on guidance/earnings call figures) On the Blue Prism webs...
Moment Capsule Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Hyatt Hotels Corporation ( H ) updated investors on Monday on its record development year. The hotel operator said it ended 2025 with a development pipeline of about 148,000 rooms, which was up 7% from the prior year as its five-portfolio brand strategy and data-heavy approach to deployment paid off. Geographically, Hyatt's ( H ) growth ...
Moment Capsule Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Hyatt Hotels Corporation ( H ) updated investors on Monday on its record development year. The hotel operator said it ended 2025 with a development pipeline of about 148,000 rooms, which was up 7% from the prior year as its five-portfolio brand strategy and data-heavy approach to deployment paid off. Geographically, Hyatt's ( H ) growth is anchored by a resurgent U.S. and an aggressive push across Asia Pacific. In the U.S., Hyatt logged its highest signing volume in five years, with signings up 30% and half of the deals in new markets for the company. In Asia Pacific, Hyatt ( H ) is scaling the essentials and classics portfolios, including a more than 50% year-on-year increase in its essentials pipeline in Greater China, nearly 90% room-signing growth in India, and 46% in Indonesia, plus new Unscripted-branded Wink hotels in Vietnam. Notably, the company’s World of Hyatt loyalty engine now tops 63 million members. The most engaged guests, defined as those staying more than 50 nights a year, were up 13% in 2025. Hyatt (HO) noted that those members stay 62% more and spend 93% more than non-members, underscoring why developers view the system’s demand contribution as a key part of the underwriting case. Hyatt ( H ) CEO Mark Hoplamazian called 2025 a milestone year. "Owners continue to grow with Hyatt because they trust Hyatt’s data-driven performance model, value the power of our brands, and benefit from the scale of our global network," he stated. Looking ahead, Hoplamazian said Hyatt ( H ) will continue to elevate its brands, talent, and technology to drive guest preference, owner value, and long-term success. Shares of Hyatt ( H ) are up 2.2% for the early part of 2026. More on Hyatt Hotels Hyatt: I Like Its Strategic Market Focus, But It's Still Quite Pricey Hyatt Hotels Corporation 2025 Q3 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Hyatt Hotels up...
Marksmen Energy ( MAH:CA ) on Monday announced a consolidation of its common shares on the basis of one post-consolidation common share for up to every forty pre-consolidation common shares. The corporation currently has 21.39M common shares issued and outstanding. Assuming the consolidation is completed on a 40 for 1 basis, it is expected that the corporation will have approximately 5.28M common ...
Marksmen Energy ( MAH:CA ) on Monday announced a consolidation of its common shares on the basis of one post-consolidation common share for up to every forty pre-consolidation common shares. The corporation currently has 21.39M common shares issued and outstanding. Assuming the consolidation is completed on a 40 for 1 basis, it is expected that the corporation will have approximately 5.28M common shares issued and outstanding. The consolidation will be proposed to the shareholders at the annual general and special meeting of shareholders being held on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Source: Press Release More on Marksmen Energy Inc. Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Marksmen Energy Inc. Financial information for Marksmen Energy Inc.
USA Rare Earth Inc. signed a non-binding agreement with the Commerce Department to receive $1.6 billion in funding to accelerate US production of key rare-earth elements. The deal — which comes alongside $1.5 billion in private-sector investment — will support the company’s spending on rare-earths mining, processing, metal-making and magnet manufacturing, the Oklahoma-based company said in a state...
USA Rare Earth Inc. signed a non-binding agreement with the Commerce Department to receive $1.6 billion in funding to accelerate US production of key rare-earth elements. The deal — which comes alongside $1.5 billion in private-sector investment — will support the company’s spending on rare-earths mining, processing, metal-making and magnet manufacturing, the Oklahoma-based company said in a statement . It’s subject to further due diligence, approvals and conditions. Production of rare earths has become a key focus for the Trump administration as the president looks to challenge China’s dominance as the world’s top supplier of dozens of critical minerals. MP Materials Corp., the country’s only rare-earths miner currently producing, secured a landmark investment deal last year. The USA Rare Earth accord will focus particularly on a group of so-called heavy rare earths that play a significant role in defense applications. “USA Rare Earth’s heavy critical minerals project is essential to restoring US critical mineral independence,” Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. “This investment ensures our supply chains are resilient and no longer reliant on foreign nations.” News of the agreement was reported earlier by the Financial Times.
Can an aging bull learn some new tricks to continue pleasing its owners? Already a third of the way through its fourth year, the bull market in 2026 is trying to draw on fresh reserves of support that differ markedly from the ones that got the advance started and kept it rolling. Each core driver of the S & P 500 's near-doubling off the October 2023 low is either being questioned or supplanted by...
Can an aging bull learn some new tricks to continue pleasing its owners? Already a third of the way through its fourth year, the bull market in 2026 is trying to draw on fresh reserves of support that differ markedly from the ones that got the advance started and kept it rolling. Each core driver of the S & P 500 's near-doubling off the October 2023 low is either being questioned or supplanted by another hoped-for source of propulsion: AI supremacy giving way to Old Economy revival; growth-stock cash-generation receding in favor of productivity promises; disinflation allowing for lower policy interest rates morphing into a "run-it-hot" nominal-GDP surge with fewer rate cuts; and a supposedly "hated" market with a high wall of worry transformed into an instrument of retail-investor aggression to buy every dip and overplay each momentum move. From the start, this has been an uptrend energized by AI. Yet for the past three months, the AI sector has broadly stalled. The Magnificent 7 stocks and the Global X Artificial Intelligence ETF (AIQ) have both lagged the equal-weighted S & P 500 by about ten percentage points since the end of October. AIQ 6M mountain Global X Artificial Intelligence ETF (AIQ), 6 months Was that the date when Meta's relentless capital-spending plans, reiterated during an otherwise strong quarterly report, that triggered a crisis of faith in this theme? Or Netflix's uninspiring third-quarter results followed by its decision to bid for Warner Brothers Discovery ? (Netflix hired bankers for the bid at the end of October, draining faith from the "tech compounder" cohort. Take a look at a one-year chart of Spotify against Netflix, both are down hard in recent months even though only one is trying to lever up to acquire a legacy-media business.) NFLX SPOT 1Y mountain Netflix vs. Spotify, 1 year Or perhaps the fall was when the gears engaged for the "cyclical upswing" trade, the Federal Reserve having resumed rate cuts in September while tax-law stimulu...
Ex-Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman defects to Reform UK Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has become the latest Conservative MP to defect to Reform UK. The Fareham and Waterlooville MP was unveiled as the party's latest recruit by leader Nigel Farage at a rally for activists in central London. Announcing that she had resigned as a Tory MP, she told Reform supporters: "I feel like I've co...
Ex-Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman defects to Reform UK Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has become the latest Conservative MP to defect to Reform UK. The Fareham and Waterlooville MP was unveiled as the party's latest recruit by leader Nigel Farage at a rally for activists in central London. Announcing that she had resigned as a Tory MP, she told Reform supporters: "I feel like I've come home." She becomes the fourth sitting Tory MP to join the party since the last election, and the third this month, alongside Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell.
sutthirat sutthisumdang/iStock via Getty Images The year ahead presents both a bullish and bearish case for investors. Will 2026 be another year of above-average returns, or will it be a year of disappointment? The bulls argue that the key ingredients for a sustained rally are in place. A powerful technology cycle, aggressive corporate spending, and supportive policy measures all point to further ...
sutthirat sutthisumdang/iStock via Getty Images The year ahead presents both a bullish and bearish case for investors. Will 2026 be another year of above-average returns, or will it be a year of disappointment? The bulls argue that the key ingredients for a sustained rally are in place. A powerful technology cycle, aggressive corporate spending, and supportive policy measures all point to further gains. Conversely, the bears argue that key drivers are weakening, market leadership is dangerously narrow, and signs of economic strain are becoming increasingly visible beneath the surface. Following a strong 2025, many investors are now facing a different market regime. Liquidity remains ample, but concerns around valuation, employment pressure, and consumer health are rising. The outcome depends on how long optimism can prevail over reality and whether the hoped-for gains from artificial intelligence and capital expenditures materialize in time to offset the economic drag from debt, interest rates, and inequality. Sentiment indeed remains positive, although not universally so. Equity strategists are divided, and bond markets are pricing in both rate cuts and the risk of a recession. Furthermore, while fiscal stimulus could delay any downturn, it also adds to long-term imbalances. The challenge for investors is staying objective. While both the bull and bear cases have merit, the timing of outcomes will be critical, and the reality is that in 2026, both the bullish and bearish cases could be correct. Therefore, the right strategy will be the one that adapts. Let’s break down both the bullish and bearish scenarios for 2026 and examine the arguments on each side. By assessing the macro and market drivers that shape each outlook, we can lay out clear, practical tactics to prepare your portfolio for either path. Whether the bullish or bearish case prevails in 2026, your edge will come from disciplined risk management, not from guessing the future. The Bullish Case The bullis...