Research shows social deprivation reduces range of microbiome leading to worse physical and mental health People living in the poorest areas of the UK have a less diverse range of bacteria in their gut, leading to worse health outcomes than their more affluent counterparts, according to a study. The research, led by academics at King’s College London and the University of Nottingham, analysed the ...
Research shows social deprivation reduces range of microbiome leading to worse physical and mental health People living in the poorest areas of the UK have a less diverse range of bacteria in their gut, leading to worse health outcomes than their more affluent counterparts, according to a study. The research, led by academics at King’s College London and the University of Nottingham, analysed the gut bacteria of 1,390 female twins across the UK alongside their residential postcodes in order to identify the area’s socioeconomic status. Continue reading...
Nvidia Corp. ’s earnings report on Wednesday afternoon comes at a critical time for the US stock market with investors increasingly nervous about the outlook for artificial intelligence. While most Wall Street pros are anticipating strong results from the chipmaker amid ballooning spending on computing infrastructure, there is less certainty about how its shares — and others — will respond at a ti...
Nvidia Corp. ’s earnings report on Wednesday afternoon comes at a critical time for the US stock market with investors increasingly nervous about the outlook for artificial intelligence. While most Wall Street pros are anticipating strong results from the chipmaker amid ballooning spending on computing infrastructure, there is less certainty about how its shares — and others — will respond at a time when fears about AI disruption and the staying power of heavy investments are dominating the tape. “Even if they have tremendous numbers, we know the markets are really fickle,” said Ken Mahoney , president of Mahoney Asset Management. After powering the market higher for much of the past few years, Nvidia shares have gone cold in recent months, rising just 3.4% since the start of the fourth quarter, as investors question the hundreds of billions of dollars customers like Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are spending on AI. Meanwhile, investors have been fleeing sectors seen as potentially under threat from AI disruption. The selloff is weighing on the S&P 500 with shares of members like Intuit Inc. , Gartner Inc. and Workday Inc. down more than 39% since the start of the year. A Bloomberg index tracking the Magnificent Seven, which also includes Apple Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , Meta Platforms Inc. and Tesla Inc. , is down 5.5% in 2026. Nvidia, however, is still the most valuable company in the world at $4.7 trillion, giving it enormous sway over the market-cap weighted S&P 500 . The index has fallen more than 1% from a late January peak. Nvidia’s revenue is expected to jump 68% to $65.9 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on Jan. 31. Adjusted earnings are anticipated to rise 72% to $1.53 a share, according to the average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Another metric investors will be watching closely is gross margin, a measure of profitability that came under pressure last year due to high production costs for Nvidia’s Blackwell chips. The firm...
For the better part of the last three decades, investors have had a game-changing innovation to capture their attention and wallets. Typically, these next-big-thing trends are singular events -- but this isn't always the case. In addition to artificial intelligence (AI) dominating headlines, investors have been privy to the advent and early stage proliferation of quantum computing. Though AI stock...
For the better part of the last three decades, investors have had a game-changing innovation to capture their attention and wallets. Typically, these next-big-thing trends are singular events -- but this isn't always the case. In addition to artificial intelligence (AI) dominating headlines, investors have been privy to the advent and early stage proliferation of quantum computing. Though AI stock gains have been impressive, many can't hold a candle to the trailing 12-month (TTM) returns of pure-play quantum computing stocks IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) , Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) , and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) . As of mid-October, Rigetti's TTM gain was over 6,200%! Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Christine Lagarde is expected to leave the European Central Bank before her term ends, paving the way for Klaas Knot to succeed her as president, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. More than half of respondents expect the Frenchwoman to step down this year. Less than 30% predicts she’ll see out her eight-year term, which ends next October. Should she exit prematurely, Knot — a former D...
Christine Lagarde is expected to leave the European Central Bank before her term ends, paving the way for Klaas Knot to succeed her as president, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. More than half of respondents expect the Frenchwoman to step down this year. Less than 30% predicts she’ll see out her eight-year term, which ends next October. Should she exit prematurely, Knot — a former Dutch central-bank chief — would be best placed to get the top job, according to about 57% of economists. If she completes her tenure, Bank for International Settlements chief Pablo Hernandez de Cos is favored to take over. Questions over Lagarde’s future are swirling after a report that she’ll step aside before French elections so President Emmanuel Macron can help find her replacement. An ECB statement failed to quell the speculation — as did remarks from Lagarde herself that staying on is her “ baseline .” The political dimension is proving controversial. Some applaud what looks like an attempt to shield a functioning European institution from a possible far-right victory in France’s ballot next spring. Others — including some inside the ECB — fret about the implications. “France alone would be unable to push through a clearly heterodox central banker without broader support,” said Modupe Adegbembo , an economist at Jefferies. “The bigger risk, however, is that the episode could backfire by denting the ECB’s credibility for little tangible gain.” He’s among the 52% of respondents who say the ECB’s trustworthiness would be damaged if Lagarde exits ahead of time. About a third also worries about its autonomy. “Lagarde departing early would send a certain signal that the ECB isn’t entirely politically independent,” said Dennis Shen , a lecturer at TU Berlin’s International School of Management. At the same time, “any scenario of France’s far right having a role in selecting Lagarde’s successor would potentially be more damaging for ECB independence than the scenario of her d...
Swelling fanbase has been in dreamland this past month as Zimbabwe have defied all expectations in the competition Dean du Plessis could tell that Zimbabwean cricket had turned a corner by the noise of the crowd. The veteran broadcaster, who was born blind, has forged a remarkable career as a commentator by distinguishing the game’s almost imperceptible audio shifts. He can tell a slower ball has ...
Swelling fanbase has been in dreamland this past month as Zimbabwe have defied all expectations in the competition Dean du Plessis could tell that Zimbabwean cricket had turned a corner by the noise of the crowd. The veteran broadcaster, who was born blind, has forged a remarkable career as a commentator by distinguishing the game’s almost imperceptible audio shifts. He can tell a slower ball has been bowled by the fractional delay before ball meets bat. He can tell if a batter has pressed forward or back by the scratch of spikes against the hard pitch. And he could tell, in 2018, that the sport he loved would never be the same again. “When I was a teenager, cricket in Zimbabwe was almost exclusively played and supported by white people,” Du Plessis says. “And besides the accents and topics of conversation, you could tell this by the way they would applaud and chant. It had a particular energy. The most animated fans were usually the ones who had too much beer and hurled abuse at the players on the boundary.” This is an extract from the Guardian’s weekly cricket email, The Spin. To subscribe, just visit this page and follow the instructions Continue reading...
Detroit automakers, commonly thought of as Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) , General Motors (NYSE: GM) , and Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) thanks to its Chrysler heritage, have seen wildly different stock prices recently. Over the past three years GM nearly doubled its stock price, Ford posted a modest 11% gain, and Stellantis shed more than half its value. For investors considering buying into a potential...
Detroit automakers, commonly thought of as Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) , General Motors (NYSE: GM) , and Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) thanks to its Chrysler heritage, have seen wildly different stock prices recently. Over the past three years GM nearly doubled its stock price, Ford posted a modest 11% gain, and Stellantis shed more than half its value. For investors considering buying into a potential Stellantis turnaround, and rebound in stock price, there's a little bad news to digest first. Recent announcements from automakers regarding electric vehicle (EV) pullbacks have been extremely painful, financially speaking, and emphasize how expensive it can be when decision makers get things wrong or markets develop much more slowly than anticipated, as was the case with the U.S. EV industry . Image source: General Motors. Continue reading