Needham Maintains Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) With Buy Rating, Raises Target Price to $480 富途牛牛

Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock via Getty Images Snap Overview Under increasing shareholder pressure, Snap, Inc. ( SNAP ) was pushed into restructuring the business to vastly lower expenses. The social messaging company is hopefully entering a year of efficiency similar to other moves made by more prominent social media companies to great success. My investment thesis is ultra bullish on the stock due to the cheap valuation and enhanced profit outlook. Source: Finviz Restructure Plan Snap announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs and eliminate 300 open positions. The move will reduce the annualized cost base by more than $500 million by the 2H'26, helping to establish a higher level of profitability. The company is increasingly under pressure from activists to improve financial results. Irenic Capital announced a 2.5% position in Snap and released a 70 page presentation offering a path for the stock to rally nearly 7x to $26 from the recent lows at $4. Snap ended 2025 with Q4 net income of only $45 million, while adjusted EBITDA was $358 million. The company reported quarterly FCF of $206 million, so the financial picture was far more positive than the market view, but Snap should have annual adjusted EBITDA far above $689 million, or just 11.6% margins. Source: Snap Q4'25 presentation The company guided Q1'26 revenues up to $1.529 billion, above consensus analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Management is forecasting growth of 12%, which again shows the great stock disconnect with results. Snap has already reached the $1 billion level in subscriptions and had another $400 million deal with Perplexity AI. The business had a lot of positives for a stock trading near all-time lows. The market just couldn't get over the cost structure, led by stock-based compensation. Snap reported 2025 SBC of $1.0 billion and guided to a 2026 charge of $1.2 billion, but the share count was only up 3% last year to 1.88 billion shares. The combination of the forecasted 13% sales growth (~$800 million in...

NVIDIA Supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Is Winning The AI Chip War — And The CEO Just Told Intel, Tesla Why Benzinga

Listen on the go! A daily podcast of Wall Street Breakfast will be available by 8:00 a.m. on Seeking Alpha , iTunes , Spotify . Getty Images Good morning! Here's the latest in trending: We're back! The S&P 500 ( SP500 ) closes at a new record despite U.S. firms in wait-and-see mode . Dot-com vibes? This footwear retailer skyrockets nearly 600% after adding AI to its name . 'It's their job': Banks must be prepared to collect clients' citizenship data , according to the U.S. Treasury. Texas Tea Big changes are happening across the energy landscape due to the Iran war, and it's not just the prices jumping at the pump. Those, too, have been climbing higher with the average price for a gallon of gas now standing at $4.09, according to AAA, up 37% since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28. A barrel of WTI ( CL1:COM ) is up by the same percentage, climbing from $68 to the current $93/bbl. Latest development: The U.S. has nearly transformed into a net crude exporter for the first time since World War II. Exports last week climbed to 5.2M barrels per day, the highest level in seven months, and imports were slightly above that level, with the gap narrowing to just 66,000 bpd. The U.S. still imports a ton of crude since its refineries were set up decades ago to process imported heavier sour grades, rather than the domestic light sweet crude that has been gushing since the fracking revolution in the 2000s. Attacks on regional energy infrastructure and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz led to the loss of 10.1M bpd of supply in March, according to the International Energy Agency, which called it the largest oil supply disruption in history. U.S. crude benchmark WTI is now gaining prominence as a more secure alternative to Middle Eastern barrels, with traders avoiding conflict zones and refiners looking for alternative sources. Profit windfall? Global oil companies are set to make billions of dollars from the current situation, as well as U.S. giants like ExxonMobil ( XOM )...

格隆汇4月16日｜致远新能(300985.SZ)公告称，控股股东一致行动人王然因自身资金需求，计划自公告披露之日起十五个交易日后的三个月内，通过集中竞价和大宗交易方式减持公司股份。其中，集中竞价减持不超过182.79万股(占总股本1%)，大宗交易减持不超过365.57万股(占总股本2%)，合计减持不超过3%。股份来源为IPO前取得及资本公积转增股本所得。

歡迎收看《世界觀》。 中歐國家匈牙利政壇變天後，預料接任總理的蒂薩黨黨魁毛焦爾最快下月宣誓就職。他承諾重建與歐盟關係，亦表示匈牙利對與中國展開務實合作持開放態度。 這一個夜，海蓋迪什比毛焦爾更高興，他在台上熱舞慶祝蒂薩黨，在選舉取得歷史勝利的片段迅即在網上瘋傳。海蓋迪什是蒂薩黨內核心人物，被視為新政府的衞生部長人選。 至於終結歐爾班管治的蒂薩黨黨魁毛焦爾，現年45歲，律師出身，曾是歐爾班領導的政黨青民盟成員，妻子沃爾高亦是青民盟一名重要人物，但兩人婚姻維持到2023年，翌年一名掩飾兒童之家性侵事件而被定罪的男子被赦免，令毛焦爾和歐爾班決裂。 毛焦爾加入中間偏右的蒂薩黨，多次批評歐爾班政府任人唯親、腐敗虛偽，亦不滿當局對抗歐盟。 匈牙利蒂薩黨主席毛焦爾說：「我們會盡一切所能，確保這是一個新時代的開始，因為匈牙利人投票，不是單純為了換政府，是為了完全改變制度。」 如今歐爾班「謝幕」，毛焦爾即將籌組新政府，他日前闡述未來施政方針時重申，首要工作是解凍約二百億歐元的歐盟資金，這筆資金對匈牙利緩解財政赤字具有重要作用。毛焦爾強調沒有這筆資金，經濟將無法運轉，又提到新政府將推動能源來源多元化，提升國家能源安全。 對華政策又如何？過往歐爾班政府積極吸引中國投資，令匈牙利成為中國製造出海歐洲的「橋頭堡」，電動車生產商比亞迪、寧德時代在匈牙利投資建廠。匈牙利也是首個與中國簽署「一帶一路」合作文件的歐洲國家，亦是歐盟成員國中唯一與中國，建立「全天候戰略夥伴關係」的國家，僅次於中國與俄羅斯的「全面戰略協作夥伴關係」。 毛焦爾之前曾公開批評，歐爾班政府與中國的大規模合作項目，但簡介施政方針時，形容中國是世界上最重要最強大的國家之一，匈牙利對與中國展開務實合作持開放態度。毛焦爾表示良好合作符合中國的利益，也符合匈牙利的利益，兩國及其企業都能從中受益，正是匈牙利的努力方向。 布達佩斯考文紐斯大學，有研究中國問題的學者認為，在經濟嚴峻下匈牙利仍要依賴外資，特別是中國企業投資，新政府會延續歐爾班的對華策略，中方在匈牙利的經濟利益仍能維持。 亦有分析指出，毛焦爾上場後，必定以維護匈牙利自身利益為優先，與歐盟關係都會面臨一些挑戰。 匈牙利智庫分析員說：「蒂薩黨新政府會備受歐盟委員會壓力，就解凍援助(烏克蘭)資金設限期，要在今年八月或之前制定法規和改革。」 毛焦爾稱支持援助烏克蘭的貸款解凍，但匈牙利不會...

格隆汇4月16日｜据CCTV国际时讯，今日从伊朗方面了解，在过去几分钟内，部分国际互联网服务已在伊朗境内恢复正常访问，相关屏蔽限制已解除。消息称，伊朗有关部门日前决定逐步取消对部分国际互联网服务的限制。

财联社4月16日讯， CPO 概念龙头股 中际旭创 今日发布一季报，净利润同比大增262%。 中际旭创一季报显示，公司2026年第一季度实现营业收入194.96亿元，同比增长192.12%；归属于上市公司股东的净利润为57.35亿元，同比增长262.28%。 根据2025年财报2025年营业收入382.4亿元，同比增长60.25%。归母净利润107.97亿元，同比增长108.78%。基本每股收益9.8元。公司2025年Q4净利润36.65亿，据此计算，Q1净利润环比增长56%。 财报指出，业绩大幅增长主要得益于终端客户对算力基础设施的持续强劲投入，公司产品出货量保持高速增长。 值得注意的是，公司本季度上游材料预付款暴涨10倍，达到14.9亿元，远超去年底的1.3亿元。 中际旭创股价今日收涨3.8%，股价报收809.61元，总市值逼近9000亿元关口。在去年涨近4倍的基础上，该股今年涨超30%。

These high-quality AI stocks are still undervalued despite strong growth and their significant role in the AI build-out.

watch now VIDEO 3:40 03:40 Automakers say 'affordable' sedans are luring buyers Autos The biggest American automakers all but abandoned sedans and coupes in recent years as they rushed to compete in the pickup truck and SUV markets. Many domestic buyers also shifted toward those bigger vehicles. Still, there's a market for cars, as Japanese, Korean and German brands sell hundreds of thousands of smaller passenger vehicles in the U.S. annually. The resilience of the sedan market and concerns that high prices are driving away customers have led some American automakers to reconsider their lineups. With the average price for a vehicle hovering around $50,000, a compact sedan that starts at about $22,000 is an attractive entry point for buyers, industry experts said. "It's all about affordability," said Orth Hedrick, vice president of product planning for Kia USA. Kia's K4 compact sedan and its predecessor, the Kia Forte, together were the brand's second-bestselling vehicle last year, accounting for 140,514 units sold. "It's just been doing phenomenally well for us. Way over plan, and a lot of it is affordability." Similarly, the RAV4 crossover SUV is Toyota's bestseller, reaching 479,288 units sold in 2025. The automaker also moved 316,000 Camrys and nearly 250,000 Corollas last year, or 65% and 51% of the SUV's sales, respectively. "There is opportunity for sedans to offer an alternative to the sea of SUVs, and they are typically less expensive than an SUV in the same size class," said Stephanie Brinley, associate director, AutoIntelligence, for S&P Global Mobility. "Sedans do offer more opportunity for compelling design and they are typically more fuel efficient than utility vehicles." Industry watchers, dealers and automaker executives have publicly expressed concerns that high vehicle prices and rising fuel costs could cause buyers to pull back or increasingly turn to used cars . Indeed, Volkswagen said it has kept its Jetta sedan in its lineup for 45 years in the ...

Citizens Financial Group (CFG) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of +3.12% and +0.38%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 2026. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?

P_Wei/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images The allure of the Dividend Aristocrats lies in predictability. In today’s volatile landscape, it’s a rare commodity for an S&P 500 index-listed ( SP500 ) company to have at least 25 consecutive years of dividend growth to its credit to qualify. While the current list features dozens of largely familiar names, I have found that some of the best opportunities are often with the future greats that are in the sweet spot of current growth cycles. One such powerhouse began its 2026 by delivering a phenomenal quarterly beat, which was powered by record-breaking inflows and a strategic pivot into high-margin private markets. Of course, I’m talking about the asset management juggernaut, BlackRock, Inc. ( BLK ). When I last covered the asset manager with a Buy rating in February , I thought that it closed out 2025 with an impressive quarter of net inflows. I also believed that this could continue into 2026 and beyond. Another positive was that BlackRock looked to be set up to cash in on private equity/credit access being enabled for 401(k) plans, which could provide a further lift to profitability. BlackRock’s AA- S&P credit rating was yet another plus. Clinching my "Buy" case at the time, shares were marginally undervalued. Two months later, I’m reiterating my "Buy" rating. BlackRock delivered a double beat to shareholders to begin 2026, which reinforced my optimism. Behind the beat, organic base fee growth was in the high single digits. In late March, the Department of Labor proposed a new rule to expand safe harbor provisions for plan fiduciaries, potentially meaningfully reducing the litigation risk for private equity/credit options in 401(k) lineups. BlackRock’s financial health remains robust. Lastly, shares are a better value now than they were a couple of months ago. A Strong Start To 2026 For BlackRock BlackRock Q1 2026 Earnings Press Release On April 14, BlackRock shared its earnings report for the first quarter ended March 3...

patpitchaya/iStock via Getty Images Have you ever played musical chairs? Well, I've lost count of how many times I played it as a child—especially at birthday parties. As we grow up, the game becomes a little different, especially in the corporate world. The CEO comes in, and the CFO walks out. The chairman shows up, and suddenly there's a brand-new turnaround plan. It's not uncommon, especially in this economy. Jack in the Box ( JACK ) is a good example. With ~50% of its locations concentrated in California, we can say that they felt the weight of AB 1228. Big guys like McDonald's ( MCD ) and Burger King ( QSR ) are competing on price with $5 promotions. Chains like Jack in the Box and Wendy's ( WEN ) are struggling to find a place in the market. It's a dog-eat-dog environment for fast food. But what about the musical chairs? I didn't bring that up just for fun. Musical Chairs on the Board In my January article , I gave you my two cents on 'Jack On Track,' but I don't think I told you much about the board's musical chairs. Needless to say, the first piece to be changed was Lance Tucker . The CEO joined in March of last year after Darin Harris left. Both Harris and then-Chairman David Goebel were of the 'old Jack,' not exactly a crowd favorite with investors. And yes, this is the same team that destroyed value with the Del Taco deal, only to sell it later at an ~80% discount to typical M&A multiples. Shortly after (around November of last year), Mark King and Alan Smolinisky joined. Both were influenced by GreenWood Investors . In November 2025, Greenwood signed a co-operation agreement with the company to add two new directors to the board. We believe that Alan Smolinisky and Mark King bring far more relevant skills than we could have, and that these new directors have the expertise and ownership mentality to bring a sense of urgency to the boardroom and drive significant future shareholder value. A word or two about these guys is in order, especially about King. M...

Revenue and Gross Profit Increases Reflect Operational Improvements and Service Expansion Revenue and Gross Profit Increases Reflect Operational Improvements and Service Expansion

BEIJING, April 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: JD and HKEX: 9618 (HKD counter) and 89618 (RMB counter), the “Company”), a leading supply chain-based technology and service provider, today announced that it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 16, 2026 U.S. Eastern Time. The annual report can be accessed on the Company’s investor relations website at http://ir.jd.com. The Company wi

Analysts Conflicted on These Technology Names: ASML Holding (ASML), Apple (AAPL) and International Business Machines (IBM) The Globe and Mail

Every quarter, Wall Street’s hordes of analysts engineer financial models, parse alternative data and jostle for access to executives as they attempt to predict company earnings. New research suggests the anonymous bettors on Polymarket might give them a run for their money. A report from brokerage Wolfe Research finds that when Polymarket users bet that companies are likely to miss earnings estimates, the firms do so at a rate of 44%, more than double the historic benchmark of 18%. When bettors are very confident that a company will exceed estimates, that comes to pass 90% of the time, above the 81% norm. “The accuracy is possibly due to crowdsourcing,” Yin Luo, who runs quant research at Wolfe, wrote in an email. “In this case, investors betting on Polymarket earnings releases are likely to be much more diverse than consensus earnings (which are based on only sell-side analysts).” It’s the latest indication that prediction markets may be a useful source of information for investors, and one day emerge as a rival to sell-side analysts, whose job it is to forecast earnings. A working paper from London Business School and Yale University researchers updated in early April concludes that the nascent platforms are highly accurate, incorporate new information more quickly than analysts and avoid some of the biases built into Wall Street estimates. The researchers propose that prediction markets may be especially accurate because users are putting their own money on the line, and they uncovered signs that those who wager on earnings markets are unusually sophisticated. They also suggest that insider trading may be a factor. Read more: CFTC Warns Against Insider Trading on Prediction Markets Whatever the driving force behind the performance, the two studies underscore the promise of earnings-linked event contracts, which so far account for only a small fraction of activity on platforms like Polymarket and its chief rival, Kalshi. The research bolsters the companies’ argum...

$Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$ $Oklo Inc (OKLO.US)$ $USA Rare Earth (USAR.US)$ Moomoo

在 AI 这条赛道上，苹果显然落后了一步，而据外媒 The information 最新报道，这家科技巨头正在奋起直追，将自家的 Siri 工程师送往为期数周的训练营，恶补如何使用 AI 进行编程，也为即将到来的 Siri 重大升级做好准备。 这一次集训距离 6 月 9 日即将召开的苹果全球开发者大会（WWDC26）仅剩不到两个月的时间，对此，外界普遍预计苹果将在会上发布全新 AI 驱动版 Siri。 近 200 位工程师参与 AI 集训 据悉，此次参加集训的 Siri 工程师人数不到 200 人，但苹果对 Siri 团队进行了明确分工： 约 60 名核心 Siri 开发团队成员将留守，继续推进 Siri 的日常开发工作； 另有 60 名成员将组成专门小组，负责评估 Siri 的性能，包括处理用户指令的效果以及是否符合苹果的安全标准。 内部被称为“落后团队”，Siri 工程师的“反击” 之所以会有这次集训，其实是苹果对 Siri 团队 AI 技术能力的提升需求。 目前，Anthropic 的 Claude Code、OpenAI 的 Codex 等 AI 编程助手已广泛应用于编程领域，大幅提升了软件开发者的工作效率。 苹果内部部分部门如软件工程部门，已开始大量使用这类 AI 编程工具，并为 Claude Code 分配了大额预算。相比之下，Siri 团队在 AI 编程工具的应用上相对滞后，甚至在公司内部被认为是“落后团队”。 此前，苹果曾计划在 2025 年推出搭载 AI 能力的 Siri，作为 Apple Intelligence 计划的一部分，但因早期版本可靠性不足，该计划被推迟至 2026 年春季。 正因此，这次集训也是苹果为弥补 Siri 在 AI 领域的短板、推动其技术升级所采取的重要举措。 Siri 管理层也迎来大调整 在派遣工程师参加集训的同时，苹果也对 AI 及 Siri 相关管理层进行了调整。 苹果前 AI 负责人 John Giannandrea 在 2025 年 12 月初卸任后，于本周正式离开公司。 与此同时，苹果任命曾在谷歌任职近二十年、短暂效力于微软的 Amar Subramanya 担任 AI 副总裁，向软件工程主管 Craig Federighi 汇报。 时下，Siri 团队已划归 Mike Rockwell 管辖，他曾主导苹果 Vi...

SFNC S-8及美國證券交易委員會申報文件 Yahoo 財經

格隆汇4月16日｜拉卡拉发布一季报，公司2026年一季度实现营业收入16.14亿元，同比增长24.2%；归母净利润5.95亿元，同比增长490.97%。报告期内，公司主营业务呈现向好态势。境内综合收单交易金额实现1.12万亿元，同比增长14%。跨境支付与外卡收单业务保持快速增长，服务商户数量分别同比增长62%和37%，交易金额同比增长39%和98%。

v0v The Goldman Sachs equity team has rebalanced its Long Duration Basket amid a recent rise in rates. "Equities usually struggle to digest sharp increases in interest rates, with long duration growth stocks struggling disproportionately from rising discount rates," strategist David Kostin wrote. Here is the rebalanced basket. Stocks in this basket have expected cash flows concentrated further in the future and are typically more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The basket is sector-neutral to the Russell 1000 ( IWB ) ( VONE ). Sector Ticker Company Consumer Discretionary ( LCID ) Lucid Group, Inc. ( PENN ) PENN Entertainment, Inc. ( RIVN ) Rivian Automotive, Inc. ( DKNG ) DraftKings, Inc. ( TSLA ) Tesla, Inc. ( TPR ) Tapestry, Inc. Consumer Staples ( CL ) Colgate-Palmolive Company ( EL ) Estee Lauder Companies Inc. ( COST ) Costco Wholesale Corp. Energy ( EXE ) Expand Energy Corp. ( TPL ) Texas Pacific Land Corp. Health Care ( DVA ) DaVita Inc. ( TEM ) Tempus AI Inc. ( INSM ) Insmed Incorporated ( ABBV ) AbbVie, Inc. ( IONS ) Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. ( NTRA ) Natera, Inc. Industrials ( RKLB ) Rocket Lab USA, Inc. ( AXON ) Axon Enterprise Inc. ( GEV ) GE Vernova Inc. ( ROL ) Rollins, Inc. ( GE ) GE Aerospace ( BWXT ) BWX Technologies, Inc. Information Technology ( ALAB ) Astera Labs, Inc. ( SNOW ) Snowflake, Inc. ( PLTR ) Palantir Technologies Inc. ( NET ) Cloudflare, Inc. ( LITE ) Lumentum Holdings, Inc. ( CRWD ) CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. ( GDDY ) GoDaddy, Inc. ( GRMN ) Garmin Ltd. ( CIEN ) Ciena Corp. ( LSCC ) Lattice Semiconductor Corp. ( MPWR ) Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. ( TER ) Teradyne, Inc. ( LRCX ) Lam Research Corp. ( WDC ) Western Digital Corp. ( MDB ) MongoDB Inc. ( MTSI ) MACOM Technology Solutions ( FTNT ) Fortinet, Inc. ( AVGO ) Broadcom Inc. ( DDOG ) Datadog, Inc. Materials ( SCCO ) Southern Copper Corp. Communication Services ( ASTS ) AST Spacemobile Inc. ( RBLX ) Roblox Corp. ( LYV ) Live Nation Entertainment ( RDDT ) Reddit, Inc. ( TT...

How Micron Technology Stock Gained 540% Trefis

“天下武功，唯快不破！” 雷军当年喊出的这句名言，如今似乎正成为行业不可承受之重。 对比传统燃油车5-7年的迭代周期，如今的电动车已进入“年更”甚至“季更”时代。芯片、电池、车灯、内饰……任何一项技术更新，都倒逼整车迭代。表面上看，消费者似乎得到了技术红利，但背后隐藏的成本，让从业者感到压力山大。 “现在哪款新车能热销一年？那太难了！”4月11日，蔚来创始人李斌在2026智能电动汽车发展高层论坛上感慨。 新能源车凭借“快”的魔法，打败了传统油车，难道现在要被“魔法”反噬？ 这种“唯快不破”的模式，真的是行业最优解吗？ 车企的“迭代”困境 为了在竞争中制造新卖点，车企正变得越来越“脑洞大开”。近日，赛力斯申请的车载马桶专利获批，该专利设计了一种可隐藏于座椅下方的应急如厕装置，需要时从座椅下方拉出，使用完再推回隐藏，‌几乎不占用车内有效空间，满足‌长途自驾游、堵车或老人小孩出行时的突发需求。 “如厕自由”看似美好，但不少网友表示无法接受。有人表示，“会有心理阴影，一旦用过，就觉得车彻底脏了，不能要了”；还有人认为“车上可以放便携式马桶，但不能有车载一体式，因为会有残留物，如果忘了清理，闷一夜是不是会很臭……” 这恰恰折射出车企因产品同质化而陷入的迭代困境： 不推新，没热度；推新，又似乎用力过猛。 背后的直接动因，是迭代新品对销量的巨大拉动作用。但脉冲式的销量爆发，对车企真的有利吗？ 实际上，小米、蔚来、理想等车企都踩过销量剧烈波动的坑。YU7、ES8、i6等车型发布后，很快收获了大量订单，但初期产能跟不上爆单速度，经历了产能爬坡阵痛。产能跟销量的错配，让车企很头疼：当订单多时，产能不足；产能刚拉起来，用户注意力又被别的新车型分散，销量下滑、产能闲置接踵而至。 “产能爬坡要投钱、加设备、招人，销量下滑这些又都闲置，一款车浪费几亿元很普遍。最终车企、供应链、用户三方都没受益，钱白白消耗掉了。”李斌在论坛上表示。 电车的快速迭代，将这种产能浪费进一步放大。 燃油车时代，车辆5-7年迭代一次，虽然动力、外观、内饰有较大变动，但核心部件变动不大；每年的小改款，消费者几乎看不出区别。更长的销售周期摊薄了成本，也让销量和市场热度相对平稳，如“迈腾、雅阁、凯美瑞”几十年来一直是B级车常青树。 而到了电动车时代，竞品在智驾、芯片、电池，甚至车灯、内饰方面的迭代，都在倒逼车企跟进。“现在迭...

(RTTNews) - U.S. Bancorp (USB), on Thursday reported higher net income in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the previous year.

Spotify and the three major labels have won a $322 million default judgement against Anna's Archive, the open-source library and pirate activist group that planned to publicly release millions of music files scraped from Spotify's platform. The judgement comes after the unknown operator of Anna's Archive failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by Spotify, Universal Music Group (UMG), Warner Music Group (WMG) and Sony Music, which was made publicly available in January. The lawsuit was launched in response to Anna's Archive announcing in December that it had ripped 86 million songs from Spotify and intended to create a "preservation archive" f … Read the full story at The Verge.

Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images Tractor Supply Company ( TSCO ) earnings are just around the corner on April 21, and the stock has come in a decent amount in the last few months, setting up for a positive risk skew. The last year has not been the company's best, with comps barely positive and margins compressing on a higher fixed cost base. Inflation has been nascent, which the company needs to help drive comp store sales. Fortunately for the company, I believe the most challenging days are behind them, and recent geopolitical tensions bode well for comp store sales. With the stock trading at a historically attractive valuation, I think it's a good time to step into this name. Business Analysis If you're new to Tractor Supply, it's essentially the farm and ranch version of The Home Depot, Inc. ( HD ) or Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( LOW ). It's primarily more rural real estate, but with an interesting twist—the company has nearly half of its sales coming from what it calls CUE. CUE is just consumable products; whether it's hay for horses or wood pellets for stoves, they have the everyday farmer and gardener covered. While HD and LOW have more exposure to big and bulky items (lumber, rock, gravel, furniture), TSCO tries to capitalize on the staple demand profile of farmers who have consistent needs for inputs for animals and taking care of their farms. The company has been struggling in the past few years to get any sort of real, sustained comp store sales momentum. In its latest quarter, they put up just 0.3% on top of 0.6% last year, versus an algorithm that calls for LSD%, seen below from their 2024 Investor Day . On paper, this is a great algorithm. If you unpack the comp store sales growth, you're looking at 1-2 points of volume per year with 1-2 points of ticket per year, largely justified by perpetually rising costs for TSCO and other mainline retailers like wages, rent, and utilities. To reach the 5% upper level on comp, discretionary purchases need ...

The European Union proposed measures to open up key Google data to rival search engines, including artificial intelligence chatbots, as the bloc seeks to rein in the power of the biggest US technology companies. The European Commission , the EU’s executive arm, sent so-called preliminary findings to Alphabet Inc. ’s Google to comply with the bloc’s flagship tech rules ahead of a final decision in late July, it said in a statement Thursday. The proposed measures under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, or DMA, would give access to ranking, query, click and view data to enable third-party online search engines to “optimize their search services and contest Google Search’s position,” according to the Brussels-based commission. If adopted, they could entail opening up that data to Google’s biggest competitors in AI, such as OpenAI and Anthropic PBC. The EU and its members are increasingly seeking to position themselves as the global technology police, seeking to regulate everything from AI to children’s access to social media . Various measures at enforcement have brought it into conflict with US President Donald Trump , who has repeatedly denounced digital regulations that affect large American tech firms. Google will “vigorously defend against this overreach,” which “jeopardizes people’s privacy and security,” the company’s Senior Competition Counsel Clare Kelly said in a statement. In January, EU watchdogs announced they would review under the bloc’s flagship DMA whether Google is in compliance with strict laws on unlocking valuable search data — under fair terms — for rival search engines. The escalation comes as Google separately faces expected penalties under the DMA over allegations it unfairly favors in-house services across its sprawling search empire and for preventing app developers from steering consumers to offers outside of its Play Store. Read More: Google Hit by EU Antitrust Probe Over Search Ads Pricing The company is also being probed over concerns it unf...

CoreWeave ( CRWV ) plans to offer $1B of 9.750% senior notes due 2031 in a private offering . The notes will be guaranteed by certain subsidiaries and will be issued as additional notes, alongside the company’s existing $1.75B of notes with the same terms. The firm plans to use the proceeds from the offering of the notes for general corporate purposes. More on CoreWeave CoreWeave: Hypergrowth Is Here, But The Cash Cost Is Massive (Downgrade) CoreWeave: The Hypergrowth AI Infrastructure Play Built For Aggressive Investors CoreWeave: The Best Way To Play The Data Center Boom Applied Digital's restructured leases with CoreWeave may lower cost of capital: Needham CoreWeave added as a new long at Hedgeye

Heather Hallett hails vaccine scheme but criticises rule that only those meeting 60% disabled threshold can get payouts The Covid-19 vaccine programme in the UK was an “extraordinary feat” but the payment scheme for people injured by the jabs must be urgently reformed, the public inquiry on the pandemic has found. In her report, the inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, praised the fact the UK was a world leader in biomedical sciences, which set it in good stead for developing and rolling out vaccines at scale. But she said the government must act urgently to reform the scheme for payments to the “small minority” of people seriously injured by the vaccines, and almost double maximum payouts to at least £200,000 from an upper limit of £120,000 at present. Continue reading...