The dazzling white of snow gave way to sludge underfoot. Then came the heavy rain, returning us to mud and the drabness of late winter. A ghost rises beside the lake, taking form as it separates itself from the low mist. Against the grey of the sky, the impossible brilliance of its perfect white, metre-wide wingspan is jolting. It’s a little egret, a small, white heron with impressive wings. Altho...
The dazzling white of snow gave way to sludge underfoot. Then came the heavy rain, returning us to mud and the drabness of late winter. A ghost rises beside the lake, taking form as it separates itself from the low mist. Against the grey of the sky, the impossible brilliance of its perfect white, metre-wide wingspan is jolting. It’s a little egret, a small, white heron with impressive wings. Although they are now fairly common, little egrets still spark excitement in me, a thrill of the exotic. With climate change, their range has expanded north from southern Europe, and they are now resident in the UK’s coasts and wetlands. View image in fullscreen The man-made lake at the farm. Photograph: Kate Blincoe This one lives along the River Tas, making the trip here to the farm and our man-made lake (or is it a pond?), to hunt fish and frogs. It often waits at the water’s edge, either statue-still or shuffling its feet in an awkward dance to disturb potential prey. As chief clothes-washer in our home, forever battling the tinge of grey on school shirts and the stained white sports socks, I marvel at the bright white and how a creature of the riverbank, marsh or lake stays so clean. I seek white in the murky landscape, to find anything that can equal egret white. A clump of snowdrops in the woodland gives me that spring dopamine hit. They are just emerging, inner tepals trimmed with green. Maybe I’m just impatient, but they seem slow to get going this year. I’d usually expect the whole patch to be in full flower by now. On the way home, I notice a jackdaw swirling with its flock. It seems at first to be defying the laws of physics, with several key feathers missing. Then I realise that the feathers are present, but leucistic, lacking pigment due to a genetic mutation. There is something about leucistic birds that gives me an odd sense of ownership, or perhaps it is just recognition. This is “my” jackdaw now, and I will always search it out. More rain is forecast. The task ...
Minneapolis protesters march against ICE as governor urges Trump to remove agents 20 minutes ago Share Save Tabby Wilson Share Save EPA Protests continued in Minneapolis and other US cities on Sunday over the fatal shooting by immigration agents of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said America was at an "inflection point" and repe...
Minneapolis protesters march against ICE as governor urges Trump to remove agents 20 minutes ago Share Save Tabby Wilson Share Save EPA Protests continued in Minneapolis and other US cities on Sunday over the fatal shooting by immigration agents of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said America was at an "inflection point" and repeated calls for US President Donald Trump to remove federal immigration agents from the city. The US president meanwhile called for the governor to "turn over all Criminal Illegal Aliens" incarcerated in state prisons for deportation. Meanwhile Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told the BBC that state officers were blocked from accessing the scene of the shooting by federal agents, despite securing a search warrant. He added that all levels of law enforcement in Minnesota have been working with federal law enforcement "for several years", and that the unfolding situation in Minnesota was hampering agencies' ability to continue such investigations. US Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino accused O'Hara and Frey of trying to derail federal law enforcement operations. Trump signaled in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Sunday that he might be willing to eventually withdraw ICE agents from the Minneapolis area, but did not provide a time frame. He told the outlet: "At some point we will leave. We've done, they've done a phenomenal job." In the interview, the president added that his administration was "reviewing everything" about Pretti's death and said that it "will come out with a determination". Lawmakers continue to be divided over the shooting of Pretti, as well as his second Amendment right to bear arms. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti was shot because he was "brandishing" a gun. Local authorities say the gun was legally registered, he was not brandishing it, and he was shot after the gun was removed. The Trump administration ...
deepblue4you/iStock via Getty Images This article updates my review of October 2023 in light of recent performance and current holdings. IGRO strategy iShares International Dividend Growth ETF ( IGRO ) was launched on 5/17/2016 and tracks the Morningstar Global ex-U.S. Dividend Growth Index. IGRO has a portfolio of 557 stocks, a 12-month distribution yield of 2.51%, and a total expense ratio of 0....
deepblue4you/iStock via Getty Images This article updates my review of October 2023 in light of recent performance and current holdings. IGRO strategy iShares International Dividend Growth ETF ( IGRO ) was launched on 5/17/2016 and tracks the Morningstar Global ex-U.S. Dividend Growth Index. IGRO has a portfolio of 557 stocks, a 12-month distribution yield of 2.51%, and a total expense ratio of 0.15%. Distributions are paid quarterly. As described in the prospectus by iShares , an eligible company must be part of the Morningstar® Global Markets ex-U.S. Index and: pay a qualified dividend and not be classified as a REIT, have at least five years of uninterrupted annual dividend growth, have an earnings payout ratio of less than 75%, not be in the top decile of the Morningstar Global Markets ex-U.S. Index in its region ranked on dividend yield. The portfolio turnover rate was 34% in the most recent fiscal year. This article will use as a benchmark an ex-U.S. equity index represented by the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF ( IXUS ). Portfolio The fund invests mostly in large and mega cap companies (about 89% of asset value). Europe represents about 48% of assets, and the second region is Asia with 36%. Japan is the top country (20.3%), followed by Canada (13.5%), Switzerland (13%), and France (10.2%). Other countries are below 8%. China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong weigh 7.8% in aggregate, so direct exposure to geopolitical risks related to China is moderate. Compared to the benchmark, IGRO overweights the top four countries listed above, while it downplays China, Taiwan, India, South Korea, and Germany. Geographical allocation in % of assets (Chart: author; data: iShares) The fund is heavily weighted in financials (30.7% of assets). Other sectors are below 15%. Compared to the benchmark, IGRO overweights financials and defensive sectors (healthcare, consumer staples, utilities). Sector breakdown in % (Chart: author; data: iShares) The portfolio is diversified...
Key Points Oracle stock has fallen about 9% year to date. The company's backlog grew 438% year over year to $523 billion. 10 stocks we like better than Oracle › Imagine an unprecedented $523 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPO), otherwise known as a backlog. This extraordinary queue uniquely positions any tech company to succeed in the next phase of AI implementation. That's the exac...
Key Points Oracle stock has fallen about 9% year to date. The company's backlog grew 438% year over year to $523 billion. 10 stocks we like better than Oracle › Imagine an unprecedented $523 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPO), otherwise known as a backlog. This extraordinary queue uniquely positions any tech company to succeed in the next phase of AI implementation. That's the exact scenario Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) is facing, and if it executes, the software giant promises to be a multi-year revenue monster. Locking in revenue for years to come Oracle is an essential infrastructure provider in the age of AI, serving the cloud computing and data companies at the forefront of the technology boom. Its billions in RPO is contracted revenue that Oracle is bound to recognize in the future. This reserve is an immensely positive sign for long-term investors, but it doesn't come without some execution risk. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » The company's backlog has exploded 438% year over year, largely due to new commitments from Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Meta and Nvidia are among Oracle Cloud Infrastructure's main customers. This business line's revenue is up about 34% year over year. This backlog is multiple years' worth of revenue for Oracle, which recorded an impressive $16 billion in the second quarter of its fiscal 2026. Oracle's revenue grew 14% in its most recent quarter. Even with its solid growth engines, Oracle's stock stumbled over the past 12 months, down 5%. Still, longer-term investors benefited from a 200% gain over the past five years, which far outpaced the S&P 500's 80% gain. Future revenue is expensive One significant risk to Oracle's large backlog is that it will have to spend a lot of money to fulfill these future orders. Building the necessary data centers and infrastruc...
Analyst Update RBC Capital Markets reiterated their “Buy” rating on Nvidia’s stock, with analyst Srini Pajjuri maintaining an the 12 month price target of $240 per share, implying considerable upside from current trading levels and reinforcing the firm’s positive long-term outlook on the stock. The reaffirmed recommendation highlights RBC’s confidence in Nvidia’s continued dominance in AI and acce...
Analyst Update RBC Capital Markets reiterated their “Buy” rating on Nvidia’s stock, with analyst Srini Pajjuri maintaining an the 12 month price target of $240 per share, implying considerable upside from current trading levels and reinforcing the firm’s positive long-term outlook on the stock. The reaffirmed recommendation highlights RBC’s confidence in Nvidia’s continued dominance in AI and accelerated computing, supported by robust and durable data center demand, strong earnings visibility, and sustained margin strength. Analysts believe that NVDA’s deep software ecosystem, pricing power, and pace of innovation position it to maintain technological leadership and defend its competitive moat over the long term, even as valuation levels remain elevated. The post Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) RBC Capital Forecasts Almost 30% Upside appeared first on Stock Target Advisor.
社署倡綜援、長生津等2月起上調2.2% 料每年開支增16.6億元 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】社署建議下月起上調綜援、高齡津貼及長生津等各項社會保障2.2%。 社署向立法會提交文件，2024至2...
社署倡綜援、長生津等2月起上調2.2% 料每年開支增16.6億元 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】社署建議下月起上調綜援、高齡津貼及長生津等各項社會保障2.2%。 社署向立法會提交文件，2024至2025年社會保障援助物價指數上升2.2%。根據既定機制，建議綜援標準項目金額及公共福利金計劃的津貼額、包括長生津等，上調2.2%。綜援計劃租金津貼上調1.3%。綜援單身人士每月可獲發3,055元，比現時多65元。長生津每月多95元，增至4,345元。社署預計每年經常開支增加16億6千萬元，建議有待立法會通過，屆時有效期會追溯至2月。
美国银行（Bank of America）已将其近期黄金目标价上调至每盎司6000美元——这是所有主要机构中对黄金最为激进的预测。“历史虽不能完全预示未来，但过去四轮牛市中金价的平均涨幅约为43个月内上涨300%，这暗示着黄金将在2026年春季达到每盎司6000美元，”美国银行分析师迈克尔·哈特尼特（Michael Hartnett）在给客户的一份报告中写道。他预测金价将在今年春季达到每盎司600...
美国银行（Bank of America）已将其近期黄金目标价上调至每盎司6000美元——这是所有主要机构中对黄金最为激进的预测。“历史虽不能完全预示未来，但过去四轮牛市中金价的平均涨幅约为43个月内上涨300%，这暗示着黄金将在2026年春季达到每盎司6000美元，”美国银行分析师迈克尔·哈特尼特（Michael Hartnett）在给客户的一份报告中写道。他预测金价将在今年春季达到每盎司6000美元，这将使金价比目前的历史高位再高出20%以上。
Key Points Micron was well-positioned to capitalize on the AI boom. Revenue and profit margins are soaring. Prices for memory chips have spiked due to shortages across the industry. 10 stocks we like better than Micron Technology › The artificial intelligence (AI) boom has made plenty of winners for investors, but over the last few months, it's been hard to beat Micron (NASDAQ: MU), the memory-chi...
Key Points Micron was well-positioned to capitalize on the AI boom. Revenue and profit margins are soaring. Prices for memory chips have spiked due to shortages across the industry. 10 stocks we like better than Micron Technology › The artificial intelligence (AI) boom has made plenty of winners for investors, but over the last few months, it's been hard to beat Micron (NASDAQ: MU), the memory-chip specialist that has benefited from soaring demand for the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in data centers for AI applications. Over the last three months, Micron has nearly doubled, jumping 93%. In fact, since I made this prediction last September, calling for the stock to soar over the next three years, the shares are up 165%, and as the chart below shows, they have been scorching hot into 2026. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Why Micron has nearly tripled since then There's a supply crunch happening in the memory subsector, which has exacerbated in the last few months, leading to a surge in prices, and making the major players in memory soar, including Samsung, SK Hynix, and even Sandisk, a smaller company that focuses on less advanced flash memory products, rather than HBM. Micron spelled out these industry dynamics in its latest earnings report in December, noting that the $100 billion HBM total addressable market (TAM) milestone in the industry is now expected to arrive in 2028, two years earlier than it previously expected. Management also called for a compound annual growth rate of 40% in HBM through 2028, which should assuage concerns about the cyclicality of the memory sector as supply shortages can shift to gluts, leading to tumbling prices. Micron also smashed expectations with its guidance in that report, showing that Wall Street had significantly underestimated its growth and margin expansion. For its fiscal second quarter, it called for revenue aroun...