Meta, Google Pivot in Addiction Trial to Accuser’s Home Life Bloomberg

As Meta Platforms Inc. and Google start presenting their defense in a landmark trial over social media addiction, the companies are seeking to show the mental health struggles suffered by the 20-year-old who brought the case stemmed from turmoil in her family and school life. Lawyers for Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, have indicated they plan to call the woman’s therapists as witnesses to demonstrate that her psychological trauma came from influences in her life other than the platforms. Jurors in the Los Angeles case already heard testimony from Kaley G.M. about how her constant use of Instagram and Google’s YouTube resulted in anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia. But Meta contends that if its photo-sharing app had been removed from the equation, her circumstances would not have changed. “Kaley has faced profound challenges, and we continue to recognize all she has endured. The jury’s only task, however, is to decide if those struggles would have existed without Instagram,” said Liza Crenshaw, a spokesperson for Meta. “The evidence simply doesn’t support reducing a lifetime of hardship to a single factor, and our case will continue to underscore that reality.” The trial is a critical test for thousands of similar cases with potentially billions of dollars at stake, and which could ultimately force media companies to change how they interact with youths, one of their key audiences. Meta and Google have denied Kaley’s claims, saying she was never formally diagnosed with “social media addiction.” They’ve also argued that their platforms are well-equipped with safety guardrails to protect young users. “Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work,” Google spokerson José Castañeda said in a statement. “In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls.” TikTok Inc....

The following companies are expected to report earnings after hours on 03/09/2026. Visit our Earnings Calendar for a full list of expected earnings releases. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE)is reporting for the quarter ending January 31, 2026. The computer company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 5 analysts that follow the stock is $0.49. This value represents a 25.64% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for HPE is 10.89 vs. an industry ratio of 20.90. Caseys General Stores, Inc. (CASY)is reporting for the quarter ending January 31, 2026. The retail company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 4 analysts that follow the stock is $3.01. This value represents a 29.18% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year CASY has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 4th calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 12.4%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for CASY is 38.06 vs. an industry ratio of 27.90, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry. Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN)is reporting for the quarter ending January 31, 2026. The leisure (recreational) company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 6 analysts that follow the stock is $6.06. This value represents a 7.62% decrease compared to the same quarter last year. MTN missed the consensus earnings per share in the 3rd calendar quarter of 2025 by -6.95%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for MTN is 21.58 vs. an industry ratio of 113.70. Yext, Inc. (YEXT)is reporting for the quarter ending January 31, 2026. The technology services company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 1 analyst that follows the stock is $0.06. This value represents a 200.00% increase compared to the same quarter last year. YEXT misse...

A key ratio for dividend investors when looking at dividend stocks is the payout ratio. Since it tells you how large the dividend is with respect to earnings, it can be a good gauge of whether or not the dividend is safe and sustainable, or if a cut may be around the corner. It's not perfect, but it can be helpful when assessing dividend stocks. Pfizer (PFE 1.53%) recently reported earnings, and its payout ratio is once again over 100%. Given that the stock is paying a fairly high yield of 6.4%, which is far above the S&P 500 average of 1.2%, could a cut be coming soon? Impairment charges have been weighing down its profits Pfizer pays a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, which translates into an annual payout of $1.72. If the company's annual per-share profit falls below that, then its payout ratio is in excess of 100%. Last month, the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings and wrapped up its performance for the previous year. For the last three months of 2025, Pfizer actually incurred a loss, and its earnings per share (EPS) were a negative $0.29. This was due to asset impairment charges totaling around $4.4 billion. Pfizer's full-year EPS was $1.36, which was down from $1.41 in the previous year. However, in both 2025 and 2024, the pharmaceutical company incurred billions in impairment charges, which adversely impacted its bottom line. Thus, given this context, its financial performance is better than what its EPS would indicate. Expand NYSE : PFE Pfizer Today's Change ( -1.53 %) $ -0.41 Current Price $ 26.64 Key Data Points Market Cap $154B Day's Range $ 26.35 - $ 27.10 52wk Range $ 20.91 - $ 27.94 Volume 853K Avg Vol 47M Gross Margin 66.23 % Dividend Yield 6.36 % Is Pfizer's dividend actually safe? Pfizer is a company that's in the midst of transition as key drugs lose patent protection and the business works on developing new products and getting back to growing. This is the biggest question mark with the company moving forward, because if Pfizer nee...

If there's one company that's become the face of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, it's probably Nvidia (NVDA +1.20%). As a major developer of the high-end semiconductor chips that have gone into the AI buildout, it's seen its stock price rocket higher over the past few years. Lately, however, momentum has fizzled. Over the past six months, the stock is up only 6%. Even after the company's recent Q4 earnings report, in which it beat earnings and revenue expectations and raised forward guidance, the stock fell by more than 5% the following trading day. Given what we're seeing elsewhere in the market, specifically the rotation away from the tech sector, it may be time to rethink expectations around Nvidia. If this were a sign that most of the good news is already priced into the stock, there are ways to augment the performance of an investment in Nvidia in case things go south. Combining Nvidia with an option-income strategy Writing options on stocks you already own can be a great way to add an income component to your investments. This involves selling a call or put option on a stock you own and collecting the premium as "income." In an ideal scenario, the option contract will expire worthless, you keep the premium collected, and you continue holding on to your stock. On the flip side, if the stock price moves in-the-money (above the strike price for a call and below the strike price for a put), the contract is likely to be exercised, and you'll be forced to buy or sell at less advantageous prices (although you still get to keep the premium). In essence, you're trading share price upside potential in exchange for a high yield. You're still exposed to downside risk, but the income generated could offset some of those losses. A Nvidia option-income strategy in a single ETF Building an option income strategy on your own can be complex and costly. But there are a number of ETFs out there that do the work for you. The YieldMaxDA Option Income Strategy ETF (NVDY...

It's been a tough start for Eli Lilly (LLY +0.84%) stock this year. Entering this week, the pharmaceutical giant's value has fallen by 8%. While its five-year gains are still impressive at around 380%, there's been less excitement around the healthcare company and other GLP-1 stocks this year, as the healthcare sector as a whole is coming under pressure to reduce prices. But although Eli Lilly's stock has been falling, it's still not all that cheap, as it trades at 43 times its trailing earnings. That's far higher than the S&P 500 average earnings multiple of 25. For investors, the big question is whether Eli Lilly is worth such a significant premium and if it's still a good buy right now, or if you may be better off waiting for more of a decline. Is Eli Lilly stock running out of room to rise higher? Eli Lilly's stock has hit highs of more than $1,100 as recently as last month, but it's now down about 13% from its peak. That's not a huge sell-off by any means, but there does appear to be some pushback from investors in paying more for the healthcare stock. That resistance could indicate that the premium is getting too big for investors to stomach. Analysts who cover the stock, however, still believe there is plenty of upside if you buy now. The consensus price target for Eli Lilly is just under $1,230, which means that if analysts are right, the stock may rise by around 24% from where it is today, over the next year or so. Price targets can change, of course, but by looking at the consensus price target, you can get a good sense of the market's overall appetite for the stock. Expand NYSE : LLY Eli Lilly Today's Change ( 0.84 %) $ 8.35 Current Price $ 998.68 Key Data Points Market Cap $934B Day's Range $ 981.15 - $ 1006.44 52wk Range $ 623.78 - $ 1133.95 Volume 94K Avg Vol 3.2M Gross Margin 83.04 % Dividend Yield 0.63 % Should you buy Eli Lilly stock today? Eli Lilly's business has been thriving due to the success of its popular GLP-1 drugs, Zepbound and Mounjaro. L...

American Express (AXP 0.66%) is a leading credit card company that has continually generated strong financial results in the face of adversity. Catering to an affluent customer base has made it arguably a bit of a safer financial stock to own than others in its industry. The company has also been generously increasing its dividend over the years. Recently, its Board authorized yet another boost for the payout. This time, the increase will be an incredible 16%. With strong financial results and continued dividend increases, is American Express a no-brainer buy for income investors? American Express has more than doubled its dividend in five years On March 2, American Express announced that its Board of Directors had authorized a 16% increase to its dividend. Its quarterly payout will now be $0.95, up from $0.82 that it has been paying up until now. The rate increases are nothing new for the company. Although it has paused dividend hikes during tumultuous periods, such as in 2020 due to the pandemic and in the Great Recession, it has generally been a good dividend growth stock to own. Five years ago, the company was paying its shareholders $0.43 every quarter. With this latest increase, that means that American Express' dividend has more than doubled, rising by 121% over that stretch. That averages out to a compounded annual growth rate of more than 17%. That also means that this latest increase is actually at a slower pace than what it has averaged in recent years. However, even with the increase, the dividend yield is still fairly modest at around 1.3%. That's higher than the S&P 500 average of 1.2%, but for so much dividend growth, income investors may have been expecting a much higher yield. Expand NYSE : AXP American Express Today's Change ( -0.66 %) $ -2.00 Current Price $ 299.00 Key Data Points Market Cap $207B Day's Range $ 292.88 - $ 299.45 52wk Range $ 220.43 - $ 387.49 Volume 123K Avg Vol 3.4M Gross Margin 60.65 % Dividend Yield 1.09 % Does American Express...

Earnings Call Insights: Sharplink, Inc. (SBET) Q4 2025 Management View Joseph Lubin emphasized that "2025 represented a decisive moment in Ethereum's evolution," explaining that "institutional adoption profoundly accelerated" and highlighting recent launches by major financial firms on the Ethereum blockchain. Lubin described Ethereum as "the financial backbone of on-chain markets and the dominant settlement layer for global digital finance" and noted the importance of protocol upgrades like Pectra and Fusaka in improving network performance and scalability. CEO Joseph Chalom reported that Sharplink's institutional shareholder ownership grew to approximately 46% as of December 31, 2025, calling this "the highest percentage of institutional holders of any Ethereum treasury company." Chalom outlined Sharplink’s three-pillar strategy: "structural ETH accumulation," "productive treasury management," and "strong public company governance and transparency." He highlighted a $200 million ETH deployment into Consensys' Linea Layer 2 chain in partnership with ether.fi and EigenCloud, targeting returns above standard staking rates. Chalom also underscored the company's rebranding to focus on Ethereum and digital asset treasury management. Robert DeLucia stated, "As of December 31, 2025, Sharplink held 640,026 ETH, with a net fair value of $1.9 billion...Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025, was $28.1 million compared to $3.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was due to the success of our ETH staking strategy during the year with taking revenues increasing to $15.3 million in the fourth quarter, from $10.3 million in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of nearly 50% between the third and fourth quarters." Outlook Chalom emphasized that Sharplink will "access the equity markets when doing so is clearly accretive to our ETH concentration per share," and that growth is "a byproduct of accretion. Growth and accumulation for its own sake is not t...

格隆汇3月10日｜英国国防部长希利：我们在卡塔尔有八架战机。

俄罗斯总统普京敦促该国石油和天然气生产商利用大宗商品价格飙升的机会减少债务，因为这种价格飙升只是暂时的。 普京在与政府官员和能源企业高管的会议上表示，鉴于中东冲突导致霍尔木兹海峡“事实上关闭”，依赖该航线的石油生产“有可能在一个月内完全停止”。他还补充说，恢复该地区的液化天然气产能需要“数周甚至一个月的时间”，而且“不可能迅速弥补损失的产量”。 普京表示，俄罗斯“必须明白，当前大宗商品价格高企肯定只是暂时的”，并应以此为出发点采取行动。“油气市场供需平衡的变化当然会带来新的价格稳定局面。这是必然的，因此，俄罗斯的能源公司必须抓住当前机遇，包括利用额外的出口收入来减轻对俄罗斯银行的债务负担。” 普京要求政府和中央银行监督这一进程。负责监管国家能源部门的副总理诺瓦克，俄罗斯央行行长纳比乌琳娜， 俄罗斯石油 公司首席执行官Igor Sechin和 俄罗斯天然气 工业股份公司首席执行官Alexey Miller也加入了会议。 普京表示，俄罗斯将继续向可靠的合作伙伴供应石油和天然气，不仅在亚太地区，也包括东欧，特别是向匈牙利和斯洛伐克。 责任编辑：李桐

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格隆汇3月10日｜英国国防部长希利：我们不希望看到以色列将战火进一步扩展到黎巴嫩。

Anthropic said that it did work with Hegseth on revising contract language in order to meet military use needs. It said it was nearing a successful negotiation to continue working with the department that would include limitations regarding surveillance and weaponry.

Investors are getting served up a double dose of bad economic news. Just as oil prices were spiking on the Iran conflict, topping $100 a barrel for the first time in four years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 92,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. in February. Stocks tumbled on Friday and continued to fall on Monday in response to the fallout from the war and growing fears that it could last longer than the Trump administration intended, hammering the global economy through its impact on energy prices. The February jobs report showed most major sectors losing jobs, including healthcare, information, federal government, and transportation and warehousing. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.4%. The loss of jobs is a problem for the economy, not just for obvious reasons, but also because it complicates the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions, especially when combined with rising oil prices. The risk of stagflation With jobs falling and oil prices rising, investors are beginning to talk about the risk of stagflation, or high unemployment and high inflation. The last time the economy was wracked by stagflation was in the 1970s and early 1980s during that era's energy crisis. While the U.S. is a much larger producer of oil now than it was then, oil is priced based on a global market, and it's a factor in transportation and almost any product that needs to be shipped, meaning high energy prices can push prices up in other sectors. In response to fears of stagflation, treasury yields have risen in recent days, which can be driven by bets that the Fed is less likely to lower interest rates. However, the weakening labor market also plays into that as the Fed has a dual mandate to keep inflation around 2% and maximize employment. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.4% last month, but it's likely to rise if the number of jobs keeps falling. What it means for investors The CBOE Volatility Index (NYSEMKT: ^VIX), also known as the fear gauge, has spiked since...

Key Points Oil prices have spiked since the U.S. attacked Iran. The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February. The combination of sustained job losses and elevated energy prices could lead to a recession. 10 stocks we like better than CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index › Investors are getting served up a double dose of bad economic news. Just as oil prices were spiking on the Iran conflict, topping $100 a barrel for the first time in four years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 92,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. in February. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Stocks tumbled on Friday and continued to fall on Monday in response to the fallout from the war and growing fears that it could last longer than the Trump administration intended, hammering the global economy through its impact on energy prices. The February jobs report showed most major sectors losing jobs, including healthcare, information, federal government, and transportation and warehousing. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.4%. The loss of jobs is a problem for the economy, not just for obvious reasons, but also because it complicates the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions, especially when combined with rising oil prices. The risk of stagflation With jobs falling and oil prices rising, investors are beginning to talk about the risk of stagflation, or high unemployment and high inflation. The last time the economy was wracked by stagflation was in the 1970s and early 1980s during that era's energy crisis. While the U.S. is a much larger producer of oil now than it was then, oil is priced based on aglobal market and it's a factor in transportation and almost any product that needs to be shipped, meaning high energy prices can push prices up in other sectors. In response to fears of stagflation, treasury yi...

Tech stocks were edging lower Monday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR Upgrade to read this MT Newswires article and get so much more. A Silver or Gold subscription plan is required to access premium news articles.

格隆汇3月10日｜英国国防部长希利：HMS Dragon（龙号驱逐舰）将在几天内启航前往中东。

Tyler Goodspeed, chief economist for ExxonMobil ( XOM ), warned that the Strait of Hormuz is more likely to remain effectively closed “harder for longer” than current market expectations suggest. In an interview with CNBC, Goodspeed challenged the prevailing consensus that the U.S.-Iran conflict will be resolved quickly, arguing that there are “many more scenarios and more probable scenarios in which the strait remains closed” than those in which normal traffic resumes. Goodspeed expressed skepticism about the belief that abundant oil on the water and strategic reserves would cover any short-term supply gap. “When I think of the probability distribution of possible outcomes here, it seems to me there are many more scenarios and more probable scenarios in which the strait remains closed, effectively closed harder for longer, than there are scenarios in which normal traffic resumes,” he said. The economist emphasized that recessions are “fundamentally unforecastable,” making it essential to consider the full range of possible outcomes rather than focusing solely on consensus estimates. The ExxonMobil chief economist raised concerns about markets initially failing to signal the severity of the situation to policymakers. “One of my concerns last week was the risk of sleepwalking into a major energy crisis precisely because markets were not giving the president the signals of how serious things could get,” Goodspeed explained. He noted that as markets begin pricing in more adverse scenarios, they provide the administration with better information should it decide to de-escalate. Goodspeed offered a stark historical perspective on the dangers of energy supply disruptions. “Historically, energy supply crises, any energy supply shocks, have been serial killers of economic expansions over the past, not just century, but over the past four centuries,” he said. He explained that recessions are typically triggered by either a very large shock or a cluster of smaller shocks—what...

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. SoftBank Group (SOBKY) is facing renewed investor scrutiny after its credit default swaps widened and its shares slid following setbacks tied to the artificial intelligence infrastructure initiative known as Stargate. The company's five-year CDS was indicated around 380 basis points as of 9:30 a.m. Tokyo time Monday, according to a trader, compared with roughly 347 basis points late last week. At the same time, SoftBank shares dropped as much as 12.5%, reaching their lowest level since August 2025 as markets weighed the implications of the group's expanding AI commitments. The pressure on the stock came after Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and OpenAI scrapped plans to expand a flagship artificial intelligence data center in Texas that had been part of the broader Stargate initiative. Negotiations over financing and shifting demand conditions dragged on before the companies decided to abandon the expansion plan. The setback has added another layer of uncertainty around the Stargate effort and the scale of infrastructure spending associated with it. Investors are also examining the financial impact of SoftBank's broader AI strategy, which includes a planned additional $30 billion investment in OpenAI along with other sizable commitments in the sector. The scale of those investments could raise questions about asset liquidity and financial flexibility while potentially increasing borrowing costs if credit conditions tighten. Earlier this month, S&P Global Ratings revised SoftBank's outlook to negative on March 3, citing the company's additional investment in OpenAI.

七国集团财长承诺准备采取一切必要措施来支持全球能源供应，其中就包括释放战略石油储备，只不过目前还没有走到这个地步。 “我们将继续密切关注能源市场的局势和发展动态并根据需要举行会议，在七国集团内部以及国际伙伴之间交换信息和加以协调，” 该组织发表声明说，“我们随时准备采取必要的措施，包括支持全球能源供应，例如释放库存。” 七国集团财长周一举行视频会议讨论了中东冲突及其对地区稳定、全球经济形势和金融市场的影响，以及确保贸易路线安全的重要性等议题。 法国是现任轮值主席国，该国财长Roland Lescure表示七国集团还没有到释放应急库存的那一步，但正在与国际能源署协同密切关注形势发展。 布伦特原油期货周一某个时段曾飙升29%，但在七国集团传出讨论潜在的释储方案后大幅回落。 美国和以色列对伊朗的战争导致沙特阿拉伯、科威特、伊拉克和阿拉伯联合酋长国等石油生产大国降低产量，并实际关闭了原油市场最重要的贸易通道霍尔木兹海峡。 Lescure在布鲁塞尔与欧元区财长举行另一场会议前对媒体表示，过去几天的事态发展“让我们相信得发出非常明确和坚定的信息，我希望这些信息能够有效地让每个人都放心”。 他还说，“美国或欧洲的石油或天然气供应不存在问题”。 七国集团财长表示，他们准备采取一切必要措施支持全球能源供应，包括释放战略石油储备——但该集团目前尚未准备好这样做。泰勒·肯德尔报道。 德国财政部长拉尔斯·克林拜尔表示，在采取类似释放储备的措施之前，七国集团内部达成共识至关重要。 “现在还不是时候，但德国愿意在合适的时机以协调的方式这样做，” 他在布鲁塞尔出席欧元集团会议前告诉记者。 责任编辑：李桐

Why do falling cats always seem to land on their feet? Scientists have been arguing about the precise mechanism for a very long time—since at least 1700, in fact—conducting all manner of experiments to pin down what's going on. The research continues, with a paper published in the journal The Anatomical Record reporting on new experiments to analyze the flexibility of feline spines. We covered this topic in-depth in 2019 , when University of North Carolina, Charlotte, physicist Greg Gbur published his book, Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics . For a long time, scientists believed that it would be impossible for a cat in free fall to turn over. That's why French physiologist Etienne-Jules Marey's 1894 high-speed photographs of a falling cat landing on its feet proved so shocking to Marey's peers. But Gbur has emphasized that cats are living creatures, not idealized rigid bodies, so the motion is more complicated than one might think. Over the centuries, scientists have offered four distinct hypotheses to explain the phenomenon. There is the original “tuck and turn” model, in which the cat pulls in one set of paws so it can rotate different sections of its body. Nineteenth-century physicist James Clerk Maxwell offered a “falling figure skater” explanation, whereby the cat tweaks its angular momentum by pulling in or extending its paws as needed. Then there is the “bend and twist,” in which the cat bends at the waist to counter-rotate the two segments of its body. Finally, there is the “propeller tail,” in which the cat can reverse its body’s rotation by rotating its tail in one direction like a propeller. Read full article Comments

Jovanmandic/iStock via Getty Images Thesis This is my first time covering Entravision Communications Corporation ( EVC ), a company that originally started as a Spanish-language media business in the United States. Its operations were fairly traditional . The company owned local television stations and radio stations aimed mainly at Hispanic audiences. They mainly make money from three sources: advertising on television, advertising on radio, and political advertising during election cycles, which can bring a significant boost in revenue in certain years. Over the past decade, management read the tea leaves that traditional TV and radio were slow-growth, even declining businesses. So they began buying digital ad companies, which are now a major part of the strategy. One of the biggest deals was the acquisition of Smadex , a programmatic advertising platform. Today, the company really runs on two engines: the legacy media business and the newer digital advertising operation. Seeking Alpha In terms of momentum, EVC has had an excellent run, the kind of move I’d normally be happy to jump on. But after going through the latest earnings , I’m leaning neutral on the shares. The company has real strengths, but they’re offset by clear risks and uneven fundamentals. Entravision Communications Corporation Q4 2025: Results in Perspective Seeking Alpha Q4 2025 total revenue : $134.4M (+26% YoY) Media Q4 revenue: $45.8M (-32% YoY) Local advertising revenue: +4% National advertising revenue: -5% Monthly active advertisers: -3% Revenue per advertiser: +8%. Entravision’s overall results show that strong growth in its ATS (advertising technology and services) business more than made up for weaker performance in its traditional media operations. The company’s management says the increase in total revenue came from gaining more customers and those customers spending more on ATS. Looking more closely, media revenue fell mainly because political campaigns greatly reduced their advertisi...

Erik Isakson/DigitalVision via Getty Images Investment Thesis It's been eight months since my last review of Arista Networks ( ANET ). The stock price has risen 40%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500. During this time, the business has grown and developed: Net income TTM has increased 16% (since Q1 2025), and this outperformance is primarily due to a rare dip, which I confidently bought back, describing the rationale behind it in the Buy The Dip section. I've updated my quantitative calculations based on the subsequent financial reports . Despite the significant price increase, I maintain my position in the stock and a "buy" rating based on quantitative assessment and analysis of fundamental growth factors. However, I attribute the disappearance of the "strong" prefix from the rating to an overvaluation based on historical multiples, which currently suggests a moderate premium for buying. Business Overview I've been receiving more and more feedback in the comments to my reviews that it would be a good idea to explain what the company does. Arista's business may raise questions for non-technical experts, so I'll give a brief overview and supplement it with my own perspective. The company's Seeking Alpha page publicly describes its activities, but "solutions for AI" may not fully explain what the company actually does. Arista Networks, 10-K Let's imagine you own a large number of servers, and how you use them isn't so important. Perhaps you rent them out, providing cloud storage services. Or perhaps you're training your own AI model. In both cases, you need not only the servers but also the hardware that connects them and the software that allows you to manage them. Actually, I was referring to Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta Platforms ( META ), which are mentioned in the company's reports as key clients. Both hyperscalers are interested in powerful, fast, and reliable server infrastructure and are customers of Arista products for these purposes. These two giants ac...

As Oracle Plans Thousands of Layoffs in Favor of AI Data Centers, How Should You Play ORCL Stock? Barchart.com

Oracle (ORCL) is making some uncomfortable moves. The Austin, Texas-based technology giant is reportedly planning to cut thousands of jobs across multiple divisions. At the same time, it has scrapped a planned flagship artificial intelligence data center project in Texas. And it is redirecting that spending toward a broader buildout of cloud infrastructure for clients like OpenAI and Meta (META). For investors, this raises a fair question: Is Oracle trimming fat to run leaner, or is it a sign that the company is straining under the weight of its AI ambitions? Oracle’s AI Infrastructure Bet Is Expensive Oracle ended its fiscal second quarter of 2026 with remaining performance obligations, essentially its backlog of future contracted revenue, of $523.3 billion. That's up 433% from a year earlier. A large portion of that backlog comes from deals signed with Meta, Nvidia (NVDA), and others. Oracle's cloud infrastructure revenue grew 66% year-over-year (YoY) in the most recent quarter. GPU-related revenue, which powers the AI workloads at the heart of all this demand, grew 177%. Capital expenditures hit $12 billion in just that single quarter. To put that simply, Oracle is spending money at a staggering pace to build the data centers needed to serve its AI customers. And that's where the tension starts. According to Simply Wall Street: Oracle is reallocating spending away from payroll and at least one large site, the now-cancelled Texas AI data center, toward a broader network of facilities. The company is also facing multiple securities class-action lawsuits questioning how its AI strategy was communicated to investors. Oracle Principal Financial Officer Doug Kehring told analysts on the December earnings call that Oracle expects full-year fiscal 2026 revenue of $67 billion. Notably, the cloud giant expects fiscal 2026 capital expenditures to increase by $15 billion compared to its earlier estimate. Oracle's free cash flow in the second quarter was a negative $10 billio...

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker on a digital screen at the Qatar Economic Forum (QEF) in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Christopher Pike | Bloomberg | Getty Images Oil prices jumped Monday with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz at a near standstill, but the longer-term implications of the Strait's closure may be more extreme for the liquefied natural gas market. That's in part because it's more difficult to move than crude oil and LNG production is more concentrated. Roughly 20% of global LNG flows through the Strait – the majority of which is exported from Qatar – and global gas prices are surging after the country last week halted output following an Iranian drone attack. European natural gas rose 63% last week for its largest percentage gain since March 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Prices in Asia are even higher – trading at $23.40/mmbtu Monday morning – given the majority of Qatari LNG flows to Asia. Asian nations are trying to make up the lost cargoes, and as the spread between European and Asian gas widens, some LNG vessels originally bound for Europe are now U-turning and heading to Asia instead. Part of Saudi Arabia's and UAE's crude has been re-routed through pipelines, but the same infrastructure doesn't exist for gas. Put another way, a ship is required to transport it long distances. And while many states in the Middle East produce oil, gas production is concentrated at one industrial complex in Qatar, making the market much more vulnerable going forward, noted Alex Munton, director of global gas and LNG research at Rapidan Energy. The real risk, Munton said, is how difficult it will be to restart Qatar's LNG production at Ras Laffan once traffic resumes in the Strait. Given the complexities of cooling gas, which is fundamentally an industrial process, it will take much longer to restart than oil production. Rapidan predicts that LNG exports from the region won't begin again until there's 100% certainty that it is safe for shi...

As Oracle Plans Thousands of Layoffs in Favor of AI Data Centers, How Should You Play ORCL Stock? FinancialContent

彭博Markets Pulse调查显示，随着交易员为中东冲突延宕可能带来的通胀冲击做准备，美国国债可能成为美国各类资产中表现最落后的品种。 在3月3日至6日对402名参与者进行的调查中，69%表示预计未来一个月10年期美国国债收益率将上升。周一纽约时段，10年期美债收益率基本持平于4.14%，较战事爆发以来已上升20个基点。上周五下午收益率回落，令美债勉强避免录得自去年4月关税动荡以来最大单周跌幅。 油价飙升推动债券收益率升至2月中旬以来最高水平 —— 当时公布的月度就业数据强劲、伊朗冲突也尚未爆发。如今战事进入第二周且没有缓和迹象，投资者开始计入供应冲击更持久的风险。周一布伦特原油突破每桶100美元，升至2022年8月以来最高水平，沙特阿拉伯表示开始削减原油产量，关键航道霍尔木兹海峡的油轮交通陷入停滞，令对外供应受阻。 接近四分之三的受访者表示，如果冲突持续一个月或更久，原油上涨将实质性推高美国通胀。 降息押注 交易员目前计入美联储年内累计降息36个基点的情景，低于一周前美以对伊朗发动打击后不久的50个基点，也低于2月27日（袭击发生前一天）时的61个基点。上周五美国疲弱的就业报告一度推高降息押注，但周末油价大涨后又令押注回落。 经纪商Capital.com高级市场分析师Daniela Hathorn表示：“油价和大宗商品价格上涨正在加剧通胀担忧。自冲突开始以来，市场对美国利率的预期已发生明显变化。” 国际货币基金组织（IMF）表示，如果能源价格上涨10%并持续一年，将把全球通胀推高40个基点，并令经济增速放缓0.1%至0.2%。布伦特原油价格今年以来已上涨69%。 冲突迄今令美股剧烈波动：自2月28日最初袭击以来，标普500指数累计下跌约2%。但受访者认为股票仍具韧性，61%表示不预期冲突会在本月引发标普500指数10%的回调。 当被问及未来一个月“经波动率调整后的最佳回报”可能来自哪类资产时，51%选择股票，略高于选择美债的49%。 政策紧张 通胀压力上行与劳动力市场走弱迹象之间的拉扯，加剧了利率前景的不确定性，投资者权衡彼此矛盾的政策驱动因素。当前，投资者押注各国政府将采取措施，以及时缓和石油供应。 XTB研究总监Kathleen Brooks表示：“我仍然认为美国今年会降息两次。美联储将拥有更大的降息空间。是的，更高价格会带来影响，但石油供应仍在。” 责任...

April WTI crude oil (CLJ26) today is up +5.49 (+6.04%), and April RBOB gasoline (RBJ26) is up +0.0878 (+3.25%). Crude oil and gasoline prices today are sharply higher after Israel on Saturday bombed 30 Iranian oil depots. In addition, Saudi Arabia became the latest Middle East oil producer to curb production as local oil storage facilities near capacity. Don’t Miss a Day: Oil prices fell back from even sharper gains on overnight reports that G-7 finance ministers were discussing a possible joint release of oil reserves. However, the G-7 countries have since decided against a near-term coordinated release of strategic oil reserves. The ministers said the G-7 is not there yet on an oil release, but they are closely monitoring the situation. Meanwhile, there is no end in sight for the Middle East war as Iran's Assembly of Experts over the weekend appointed hardliner Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s new leader has close ties to Iran’s powerful and entrenched Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). President Trump said he is "not happy" with Iran's choice of a new leader. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has halted most energy shipments from the Persian Gulf and is bullish for energy prices. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned ships not to sail through the passageway, saying that vessels “could be at risk from missiles or rogue drones.” The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles a fifth of the world’s oil, has forced Gulf producers unable to export their oil to stockpile the crude in storage tanks. Goldman Sachs estimates the real-time risk premium for crude oil at $18/bbl, corresponding to its estimate of the impact of a six-week full halt to tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. In a bearish factor for crude, OPEC+ on March 1 said it will boost its crude output by 206,000 bpd in April, above estimates of 137,000 bpd, although that production hike now seems unlikely given that Middle ...