Aldi Irvan Darmansyah/iStock via Getty Images Market Review The energy sector advanced a modest 0.90% in the fourth quarter, as measured by the MSCI U.S. IMI Energy 25/50 Index. More broadly, stocks in the U.S. gained 2.66% the past three months, according to the S&P 500® index, extending a historically fast rebound that began in early April, but at a slower pace. The advance has been supported by...
Aldi Irvan Darmansyah/iStock via Getty Images Market Review The energy sector advanced a modest 0.90% in the fourth quarter, as measured by the MSCI U.S. IMI Energy 25/50 Index. More broadly, stocks in the U.S. gained 2.66% the past three months, according to the S&P 500® index, extending a historically fast rebound that began in early April, but at a slower pace. The advance has been supported by strong corporate fundamentals, a resilient economy, an ongoing boom in spending on artificial intelligence and the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate reductions since December 2024. Amid this favorable backdrop for higher-risk assets, the index closed the year just shy of its all-time high. Value stocks modestly outpaced growth in Q4, while large-caps had only a slight advantage over small-caps. Amid this backdrop, crude-oil prices – a key driver of profitability in the sector – trended downward in Q4. From start to finish, crude oil declined from about $62 per barrel to roughly $57 bbl, according to the West Texas Intermediate spot price, a benchmark for U.S. oil prices. Still, it remained at a level that continued to support profitability for many companies in the sector. Meanwhile, Henry Hub natural gas prices rose in Q4 to about $4 per Metric Million British Thermal Unit. The price of this commodity remained historically low, however, which continued to be somewhat of a headwind to profit growth for natural gas-related firms. Among the industries within the MSCI sector index, oil & gas drilling companies, which represented about 1% of the sector index, fared the best, gaining about 17% this quarter. In this group, Transocean ( RIG ) (+32%), Helmerich & Payne ( HP ) (+31%) and Odfjell Drilling (+15%) stood out. Elsewhere, oil & gas equipment & services, which represented about 10% of the index, gained 8% in Q4, fueled by National Energy Services Reunited ( NESR ) (+53%), Halliburton ( HAL ) (+16%) and TechnipFMC ( FTI ) (+13%). Integrated oil & gas companies, the lar...
In the world of electric vehicle (EV) stocks, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has long been the front-runner, while Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) is in the catch-up role. And while its vehicles have been award-winning, Elon Musk's company has become one of the most valuable in the world, with a market capitalization topping $1 trillion. However, Rivian is taking some important steps. The EV maker recently signed a h...
In the world of electric vehicle (EV) stocks, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has long been the front-runner, while Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) is in the catch-up role. And while its vehicles have been award-winning, Elon Musk's company has become one of the most valuable in the world, with a market capitalization topping $1 trillion. However, Rivian is taking some important steps. The EV maker recently signed a huge contract with Uber Technologies that would see it put up to 50,000 autonomous robotaxis on the road by 2031. Uber would also invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian, dependent on specific performance milestones. With a market cap of just $19 billion and a global market share of less than 1%, Rivian has an enormous opportunity. Is it a better buy than Tesla right now? The answer, as it turns out, depends entirely on your investment objectives. Continue reading
Google has introduced TurboQuant, a new algorithm designed to cut AI memory requirements, prompting questions about future demand for storage and memory. The announcement has drawn attention to major suppliers such as Western Digital (NasdaqGS:WDC), as investors reassess assumptions about AI driven hardware needs. The news has triggered an immediate market reaction, suggesting that investors view ...
Google has introduced TurboQuant, a new algorithm designed to cut AI memory requirements, prompting questions about future demand for storage and memory. The announcement has drawn attention to major suppliers such as Western Digital (NasdaqGS:WDC), as investors reassess assumptions about AI driven hardware needs. The news has triggered an immediate market reaction, suggesting that investors view the development as material for memory and storage providers. Western Digital, a key provider...
AMD and CIQ have introduced an open source, AMD optimized Rocky Linux distribution tailored for AI and high performance computing workloads. The release targets data centers using AMD CPUs, Instinct GPUs and the ROCm software platform, with a focus on enterprise grade validation and lifecycle support. The new Linux offering is available at no cost, aiming to simplify deployment and management for ...
AMD and CIQ have introduced an open source, AMD optimized Rocky Linux distribution tailored for AI and high performance computing workloads. The release targets data centers using AMD CPUs, Instinct GPUs and the ROCm software platform, with a focus on enterprise grade validation and lifecycle support. The new Linux offering is available at no cost, aiming to simplify deployment and management for organizations standardizing on AMD based infrastructures. For investors tracking Advanced Micro...
Abandoned babies, pink Barbie shoes and throat-slitting serial killers? This wedding horror from the makers of Stranger Things is so hellish I may never sleep again Personally, I have always broken off my engagements no more than halfway through a portent-filled night drive to meet my fiance’s parents for the first time in their sprawling, dark-corridor-laced ‘cabin’ in the woods. I might get thro...
Abandoned babies, pink Barbie shoes and throat-slitting serial killers? This wedding horror from the makers of Stranger Things is so hellish I may never sleep again Personally, I have always broken off my engagements no more than halfway through a portent-filled night drive to meet my fiance’s parents for the first time in their sprawling, dark-corridor-laced ‘cabin’ in the woods. I might get through the true-crime podcast about a local blood-letting serial killer. I might survive finding a maggoty dead fox in the smashed toilet of a rest stop on the way. But at the first sign of a mysteriously abandoned baby in a parking lot and long before I find myself standing in front of a shrineful of taxidermied family pets in the cabin’s entrance hall, I’m outta there. I’m gone. I commend you all to have such boundaries, but none more so than twenty-something semi-orphaned Oregonian Rachel (Camila Morrone), who finds herself doing precisely that in the eight-part horror series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. Continue reading...