In France, they think it is, alarmed by more and more young people choosing to do so. They should see how many eat alone in the UK … Name: The lonely lunch. Age: Recent, but growing. Continue reading...
In France, they think it is, alarmed by more and more young people choosing to do so. They should see how many eat alone in the UK … Name: The lonely lunch. Age: Recent, but growing. Continue reading...
Investors in Copart Inc (Symbol: CPRT) saw new options become available today, for the March 2027 expiration. One of the key data points that goes into the price an option buyer is willing to pay, is the time value, so with 387 days until expiration the newly available contract
Investors in Copart Inc (Symbol: CPRT) saw new options become available today, for the March 2027 expiration. One of the key data points that goes into the price an option buyer is willing to pay, is the time value, so with 387 days until expiration the newly available contract
Investors in Block Inc (Symbol: XYZ) saw new options become available today, for the March 2027 expiration. One of the key data points that goes into the price an option buyer is willing to pay, is the time value, so with 387 days until expiration the newly available contracts
Investors in Block Inc (Symbol: XYZ) saw new options become available today, for the March 2027 expiration. One of the key data points that goes into the price an option buyer is willing to pay, is the time value, so with 387 days until expiration the newly available contracts
Shares of solar panel manufacturer First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) are tanking today. The company ended the year strong, but management disappointed investors with guidance for 2026. First Solar stock tanked nearly 20% on the news, and remained down by 15.2% as of 10:41 a.m. ET. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Shares of solar panel manufacturer First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) are tanking today. The company ended the year strong, but management disappointed investors with guidance for 2026. First Solar stock tanked nearly 20% on the news, and remained down by 15.2% as of 10:41 a.m. ET. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Daniel Grizelj/DigitalVision via Getty Images Hims & Hers Health, Inc. ( HIMS ) had one chance at making the market like it again, and it missed. While the Q4 numbers looked impressive on paper, the market's reaction suggests that the company is currently fighting a war on two fronts: regulatory uncertainty and eroding margins. Back in the day, the company bet big on offering compounded versions o...
Daniel Grizelj/DigitalVision via Getty Images Hims & Hers Health, Inc. ( HIMS ) had one chance at making the market like it again, and it missed. While the Q4 numbers looked impressive on paper, the market's reaction suggests that the company is currently fighting a war on two fronts: regulatory uncertainty and eroding margins. Back in the day, the company bet big on offering compounded versions of popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs (like Wegovy and Zepbound) while the brand-name versions were in short supply, but the FDA recently signaled that these shortages are resolving. Due to a series of unfortunate events over the past few months, HIMS disclosed an SEC investigation over copycat GLP-1s in a 10-K filing. According to the 10-K , HIMS ...is cooperating with the SEC Investigation but is unable to predict when or how this matter will be concluded. Therefore, the financial impact of the SEC Investigation cannot be predicted at this time. HIMS 10-K The recent events are creating what I would call an existential crisis for HIMS. Is it a healthcare provider or a lifestyle brand? By diversifying too quickly into everything from hair loss and mental health to weight loss and dermatology, HIMS risked becoming a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. The stock's recent volatility reflects a fundamental lack of trust, to say the least. Why I turned bearish To win back the market, HIMS needed to prove it can turn a consistent, high-quality profit without relying on regulatory loopholes or unsustainable ad spend. This print , the company failed to do so, and remains in the show-me category with investors, as the market loses patience. I am suggesting that investors get out of the stock before the situation gets worse for HIMS. Though a lot of the bad news has been priced in and current levels look attractive, the company just lost its growth engine, and the reason it was on investors’ radars: the weight-loss angle. From the outside, HIMS looks cheap and attractive, but I’d argue t...
The largest cryptocurrency climbed more than 5% to roughly $67,300 in New York morning trading, marking its biggest intraday gain since Feb. 13 as technology stocks led a tentative rebound across risk assets. “The move higher likely reflects some dip-buying behavior after the extended selloff,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, adding that Bitcoin reaching $70,000 would shift the ...
The largest cryptocurrency climbed more than 5% to roughly $67,300 in New York morning trading, marking its biggest intraday gain since Feb. 13 as technology stocks led a tentative rebound across risk assets. “The move higher likely reflects some dip-buying behavior after the extended selloff,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, adding that Bitcoin reaching $70,000 would shift the narrative. A modest relief rally took hold after a benign State of the Union address from the US president.
Business uncertainty about revenue growth (smoothed) for the four quarters ahead held at 3.72% in February, compared to 3.73% in January, according to the Atlanta Fed's Survey of Business Uncertainty released on Wednesday. And for the year ahead, business uncertainty for employment growth (smoothed) rose to 4.33% from 4.27% (revised from 4.29%) in January. Firms remain more uncertain about future ...
Business uncertainty about revenue growth (smoothed) for the four quarters ahead held at 3.72% in February, compared to 3.73% in January, according to the Atlanta Fed's Survey of Business Uncertainty released on Wednesday. And for the year ahead, business uncertainty for employment growth (smoothed) rose to 4.33% from 4.27% (revised from 4.29%) in January. Firms remain more uncertain about future sales growth than before the pandemic, according to the survey. If faced with unexpectedly higher costs, most firms would raise prices. However, firms' response to unexpectedly lower costs was more ambiguous. Business executives cited labor quality/availability, demand, and monetary policy as their biggest concerns for 2026. More on U.S. Economy Mortgage applications rise modestly as purchase demand stalls Trump to call for new tax cuts in SOTU - reports AI boom lifts U.S. growth, but rising tail risks cloud outlook, Apollo’s Slok says
Cap on average dual-fuel bill is to be reduced by 7% to £1,641 a year, but the saving is less than the chancellor promised • Energy bills will fall by £117 for millions of households in Great Britain from April The average energy bill for millions of households will fall by £10 a month in the spring, after Ofgem said the price cap would fall by 7% owing to a shake-up in green levies. The price cap...
Cap on average dual-fuel bill is to be reduced by 7% to £1,641 a year, but the saving is less than the chancellor promised • Energy bills will fall by £117 for millions of households in Great Britain from April The average energy bill for millions of households will fall by £10 a month in the spring, after Ofgem said the price cap would fall by 7% owing to a shake-up in green levies. The price cap is revised by the energy regulator for Great Britain every three months. It said that from April the cost of the average annual dual-fuel bill would drop to £1,641, down from £1,758 today . Continue reading...
Funtap/iStock via Getty Images The January 2026 edition of the global LEI chartbook can be found here . Additional details on the methodology are available here . I told you that I have a knack for updating these chartbooks at potential turning points - more specifically, whenever Mr. Trump decides to give his tariff Wheel of Fortune a spin. The ink had barely dried on the US Supreme Court’s decis...
Funtap/iStock via Getty Images The January 2026 edition of the global LEI chartbook can be found here . Additional details on the methodology are available here . I told you that I have a knack for updating these chartbooks at potential turning points - more specifically, whenever Mr. Trump decides to give his tariff Wheel of Fortune a spin. The ink had barely dried on the US Supreme Court’s decision ruling against the legality of Mr. Trump’s tariffs before the president vowed to impose an additional 10% tariff on top of the existing measures, later raising that figure to 15% . No one - least of all the president himself - knows whether these new tariffs will actually be implemented, or indeed what they would be applied to, given that the original tariffs are now supposedly illegal. It is little wonder that markets initially shrugged off the news on Friday. Then there is Iran, and the prospect of a sustained rise in oil prices. I am not perturbed by either development, though I would not wish to spend the next few days at an Iranian military installation all the same. The message from leading indicators is one of a broad-based and strengthening recovery in the global economy at the start of 2026, pointing to at least six months of robust coincident data ahead. With inflation still relatively benign in most key markets - for now - and further monetary easing in the pipeline from both the Fed and the BOE, the near-term outlook could be worse - much worse. Indeed, one could argue that, as far as global leading indicators are concerned, the current synchronised upturn depicted below - with China as the notable laggard - is about as good as it gets. Sixteen out of 20 leading indicators were trending upward in January, unchanged from December and slightly down from 18 in November. Revisions now point to a stronger upturn since Q4 than initially estimated. On my diffusion index - measured from the rebound that began in late 2022 - global LEIs are now sitting very close to ...
Democrats Talk Affordability, Immigration In Rebuttal To Trump SOTU As usual, the opposing party was ready with a rebuttal to the President's State of the Union address last night. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in Williamsburg, Va., on Feb. 24, 2026. Mike Kropf/Getty Images Speaking from the House of Burgess...
Democrats Talk Affordability, Immigration In Rebuttal To Trump SOTU As usual, the opposing party was ready with a rebuttal to the President's State of the Union address last night. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in Williamsburg, Va., on Feb. 24, 2026. Mike Kropf/Getty Images Speaking from the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger focused on affordability and immigration . "As we watched our nation’s lawmakers gather for a joint session of Congress, we did not hear the truth from our president," she said, adding that Trump had "offered no real solutions to our nation's pressing challenges." "The United States was founded on the idea that ordinary people could reject the unacceptable excesses of poor leadership, band together to demand better of their government, and create a nation that would be an example for the world," she continued. " This year, as we celebrate 250 years since America declared independence of tyranny, I can think of no better place to speak to you as we reflect on the current state of our union tonight. " Spanberger, a former US representative and member of the House Intelligence Committee, became the governor of Virginia last November by a 15-point margin. Last night she asked: "Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family? Is the president working to keep Americans safe, both at home and abroad? Is the president working for you?" As the Epoch Times notes further, Spanberger covered the following topics: Economics Most of Spanberger’s speech focused on economic issues, with the governor describing Democrats as being “laser-focused on affordability.” First, Spanberger decried what she described as Trump’s “reckless trade policies.” Despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning Trump’s authority to unilaterally impose certain kinds of tariffs, Spanberger said, “The damage to us...
ablokhin/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Steven Madden ( SHOO ) shares fell to their lowest level since November as persistent tariff pressure continued to squeeze profits and led the company to withhold FY26 EPS guidance. “While we continue to face uncertainty related to tariffs, the fundamentals of our business are strong. Our product assortments and marketing campaigns are resonating with con...
ablokhin/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Steven Madden ( SHOO ) shares fell to their lowest level since November as persistent tariff pressure continued to squeeze profits and led the company to withhold FY26 EPS guidance. “While we continue to face uncertainty related to tariffs, the fundamentals of our business are strong. Our product assortments and marketing campaigns are resonating with consumers, our brands are powerful and gaining relevance, and we have a sound strategy for long‑term value creation with multiple levers for growth,” said CEO Edward Rosenfeld. Thanks to contributions from its newly acquired Kurt Geiger business, Steven Madden ( SHOO ) sales increased nearly 30% in the fourth quarter to $753.7M, although missed estimates by $5.7M. Excluding the Kurt Geiger business, Steven Madden’s ( SHOO ) wholesale sales were down 2.6%, and DTC sales increased by a modest 1.6%. Including Kurt Geiger, wholesale sales were up 7.5%, and DTC sales increased by 80%. As a result of higher cost of sales and operating expenses, adjusted net income was down 13%, or $0.48 per share, beating estimates by a penny. As of the end of the year, total debt outstanding was $234.2M, and cash and cash equivalents totaled $112.4M for net debt of $121.7M. Looking ahead to the company’s performance for FY26, Steven Madden ( SHOO ) expects revenue to increase by 9% to 11%, translating to a range of $2.76B and $2.81B with a midpoint that is below $2.81B estimates. More on Steven Madden Steven Madden Q4 2025 Earnings Preview Large retailers are rejecting Steve Madden's price hikes -- Jefferies Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Steven Madden Historical earnings data for Steven Madden Dividend scorecard for Steven Madden
ATHVisions/E+ via Getty Images Market review During 4Q25, the Fund’s benchmark, the Russell 2000® Index, advanced 2.19%, ending the year slightly below its all-time high set in mid-December. This capped off an incredibly strong rally with the benchmark up 41.37% from its April 8 post-“Liberation Day” calendar year low. For the year, the benchmark advanced 12.81%. US small-cap equities lagged large...
ATHVisions/E+ via Getty Images Market review During 4Q25, the Fund’s benchmark, the Russell 2000® Index, advanced 2.19%, ending the year slightly below its all-time high set in mid-December. This capped off an incredibly strong rally with the benchmark up 41.37% from its April 8 post-“Liberation Day” calendar year low. For the year, the benchmark advanced 12.81%. US small-cap equities lagged large caps during 4Q25, as the Russell 1000® Index returned 2.41%. The smallest market capitalization stocks performed best, with the Russell Microcap® Index up 6.25%, mostly a result of the speculative biotechnology companies. From a style perspective, small-cap value stocks performed slightly better than growth stocks, with the Russell 2000® Value and the Russell 2000® Growth indices returning 3.26% and 1.22%, respectively. October was the strongest-performing month for the quarter, as the lower-quality, higher-risk small cap stocks that had propelled the benchmark higher over the summer continued their upward trajectory. Unprofitable companies within the benchmark gained more than 11% during October. Concerns about the interconnectedness of the artificial intelligence (AI) capex buildout, concerns regarding private credit quality and transparency, along with expectations for a more hawkish US Federal Reserve led markets to pull back in November. The 43-day federal government shutdown was the longest on record and halted all federal government data releases including labor statistics. Lagged data showed that inflation trends improved, and the labor market, while still soft, showed tentative signs of stabilization. Ultimately, the Fed lowered rates by 25 basis points (bps), or 0.25 percentage points, at both its November and December Federal Open Market Committee meetings, taking the target range to 3.5% - 3.75%. At the December press conference, Fed Chair Powell indicated the Fed is on hold for now, allowing the central bank to wait and see how the economy evolves. In this mar...