South Korea has protested to Russia after its embassy in Seoul unfurled a giant banner declaring “Victory will be ours”, an apparent reference to the anniversary of the Ukraine war. South Korea opposes Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its recruitment of soldiers from North Korea, with which Seoul remains technically at war. The red, white and blue banner, written in Russian, was first s...
South Korea has protested to Russia after its embassy in Seoul unfurled a giant banner declaring “Victory will be ours”, an apparent reference to the anniversary of the Ukraine war. South Korea opposes Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its recruitment of soldiers from North Korea, with which Seoul remains technically at war. The red, white and blue banner, written in Russian, was first spotted over the weekend and remained in place at the embassy on Monday morning. Its appearance has...
NYCstock/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Pershing Square Holdings ( PSHZF ) H2 2025 Letter To Shareholders. Uber ( UBER ) is the world's leading mobility and delivery platform. The company operates a high-quality, capital-light, high-growth business which benefits from robust structural network effects. We acquired our position in early 2025 at an att...
NYCstock/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Pershing Square Holdings ( PSHZF ) H2 2025 Letter To Shareholders. Uber ( UBER ) is the world's leading mobility and delivery platform. The company operates a high-quality, capital-light, high-growth business which benefits from robust structural network effects. We acquired our position in early 2025 at an attractive valuation, capitalizing on the dislocation driven by misplaced market fears regarding the perceived threat from autonomous vehicles (“AVs”). Uber's share price appreciation from our average cost at announcement through year end reflected the company's substantial operating profit growth, but was somewhat offset by a modest decrease in the valuation multiple due to lingering investor concerns regarding the impact on Uber's long-term growth from future competition by perceived AV competitors, such as Tesla ( TSLA ) and Waymo. Uber delivered exceptional financial performance in 2025, including new all-time highs on multiple key operating metrics. Constant-currency bookings grew 20%, driven by a 16% increase in monthly active users and deepening engagement per user, driving a 20% increase in annual trips of 13.6 billion on Uber's network. Robust top-line growth combined with strong cost control and operating leverage generated operating profit growth of ~50%. Operating results accelerated throughout the year and the outlook for 2026 remains strong, with operating profit growth that we estimate could again exceed 30%. In 2025, AV technology made great strides with increasing evidence that it is approaching super-human safety standards across multiple vendors. Beyond Waymo and Tesla, a host of small companies are making significant advancements as artificial intelligence and end-to-end neural networks provide new opportunities for AV technology. We believe it is likely that AV technology will ultimately be broad-based and spread among a much larger number of companies tha...
The BBC's Will Grant examines the power wielded by the Jalisco drug cartel chief, who died after a clash with security forces assisted by US intelligence.
The BBC's Will Grant examines the power wielded by the Jalisco drug cartel chief, who died after a clash with security forces assisted by US intelligence.
IREN, ticker NasdaqGS:IREN, is pivoting from Bitcoin mining toward AI cloud infrastructure and high density compute services. The company has signed large cloud deals, including a multi billion dollar agreement with Microsoft, alongside major data center expansion focused on liquid cooled capacity. Institutional interest includes sizeable equity purchases by Cantor Fitzgerald and upcoming inclusio...
IREN, ticker NasdaqGS:IREN, is pivoting from Bitcoin mining toward AI cloud infrastructure and high density compute services. The company has signed large cloud deals, including a multi billion dollar agreement with Microsoft, alongside major data center expansion focused on liquid cooled capacity. Institutional interest includes sizeable equity purchases by Cantor Fitzgerald and upcoming inclusion in the MSCI USA Index. IREN is in the middle of a major business reset, with new AI focused...
herstockart/iStock via Getty Images On January 21, 2026 , Santacruz Silver Mining ( SCZM ) graduated to a senior listing. This is a step companies on the Lassonde Curve typically make, when they start looking for institutional capital. I have seen talks among retail traders saying this company is a junior, but I disagree with that classification. Juniors are burning cash or just exploring. SCZM is...
herstockart/iStock via Getty Images On January 21, 2026 , Santacruz Silver Mining ( SCZM ) graduated to a senior listing. This is a step companies on the Lassonde Curve typically make, when they start looking for institutional capital. I have seen talks among retail traders saying this company is a junior, but I disagree with that classification. Juniors are burning cash or just exploring. SCZM is a real producer, which manages four mining assets in Bolivia and Mexico. However, the most interesting thing happens with a senior listing comes greater transparency and institutional scrutiny. Transparency here shows exceptional geological assets and extreme jurisdictional risks. On one hand, we have the highest grade ores, that major producers would envy. On the other hand, operation in Bolivia, where Fraser Institute policy attractiveness rating is in the bottom of the list. I like the company, I am very interested in investing into it, but I have questions, whether this debut is going to be open the capital floodgates for them, or just expose the risks that TSX investors tend to overlook. Assets When looking at the company, at first glance I overlooked certain risks, as I was interested in production numbers. The company has four mining assets: Bolivar, Porco and Caballo Blanco, Zimapan mines in Mexico. First, let’s look at production metrics. When looking at the reports, I can tell that the assets are exceptional. P&P reserves in Bolivia are around 227 g/t Ag and 10% Zn . This is exceptionally high grades, I analyse miners every day, and I can tell that you won't see this every day. However, here is that "but". Illapa JV trap is the most important detail, which we need to understand. Bolivar and Porco mines are managed through IIapa joint venture with state mining company COMIBOL. Even though in reports mining is reported on a 100% basis, Santacruz in reality has only 45% economic interest of these mines revenue and costs. This means, that when we see 10.8 million oun...
dolgachov/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Pershing Square Holdings ( PSHZF ) H2 2025 Letter To Shareholders. Restaurant Brands International ( QSR )'s franchised business model is a high-quality, capital-light, growing annuity th at generates high-margin brand royalty fees from its four leading brands: Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes, and Firehouse Subs. Desp...
dolgachov/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Pershing Square Holdings ( PSHZF ) H2 2025 Letter To Shareholders. Restaurant Brands International ( QSR )'s franchised business model is a high-quality, capital-light, growing annuity th at generates high-margin brand royalty fees from its four leading brands: Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes, and Firehouse Subs. Despite a challenging consumer backdrop, the company reported strong results of 3% comparable sales growth and 8% operating profit growth in 2025, in line with its long-term algorithm. The company's two largest businesses, Tim Hortons and the International division, which collectively represent nearly 70% of the company's profits, are materially outperforming peers. Tim Hortons delivered comparable sales growth of 3%, outperforming the broader QSR industry in Canada while the international business delivered comparable sales growth of 5%, notably outperforming McDonald's ( MCD ). The turnaround at Burger King U.S. is also gaining traction, with the brand growing at a healthy rate, while the system remains committed to remodeling the majority of its restaurants in the coming years. At the same time, the management team is taking actions to simplify the business and return QSR to its historic fully franchised capital-light business model. The China business has returned to consistent growth, and its recent sale to a new master franchisee should serve as a catalyst for accelerated expansion, with the new partners providing a capital commitment of $350 million to more than triple the store base over the next decade. We expect this renewed pace of store growth will allow QSR to return to its historic mid-single-digit unit growth rate in the coming years. In the U.S., the acquired Carrols stores are outperforming the broader Burger King system, validating the unit economics of the company's remodel program and its recent investments in the system. As a result, QSR's plan to re-franch...
sompoch sivakosit/iStock via Getty Images 2026 Review 2026 has started swimmingly for the Dividend Kings, which is a very pleasant sight following the lackluster performance in 2025. The Dividend Kings finished January collectively up 5.61%, on average, and have thus far seen the strong gains extend into February. Through February 20th, the average return for the Dividend Kings stands at 4.77%. Me...
sompoch sivakosit/iStock via Getty Images 2026 Review 2026 has started swimmingly for the Dividend Kings, which is a very pleasant sight following the lackluster performance in 2025. The Dividend Kings finished January collectively up 5.61%, on average, and have thus far seen the strong gains extend into February. Through February 20th, the average return for the Dividend Kings stands at 4.77%. Meanwhile the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF ( SPY ) posted a modest gain of 1.47% in January and is thus far down 0.37% in February. This places the Dividend Kings 9.55% ahead of SPY year-to-date in 2026. 47 out of the 57 Dividend Kings are outperforming SPY this year. Best Dividend Kings in 2026 As of February 20th, 33 Dividend Kings already have double digit gains this year with 9 up more than 20%. These are the 15 best-performing Kings: Stepan Company ( SCL ) +41.95% Gorman Rupp Company ( GRC ) +37.58% Stanley Black and Decker ( SWK ) +23.81% PPG Industries ( PPG ) +23.49% Sysco ( SYY ) +23.22% MSA Safety ( MSA ) +23.05% Becton Dickinson & Company ( BDX ) +21.55% Colgate Palmolive ( CL ) +21.07% Nodrson ( NDSN ) +20.68% Illinois Tool Works ( ITW ) +19.76% Dover Corporation ( DOV ) +19.50% Target ( TGT ) +19.38% Archer Daniel Midland ( ADM ) +18.07% Altria Group ( MO ) +17.19% Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) +17.17% 8 Dividend Kings are sitting in the red thus far this year. The worst performing Kings are Automatic Data Processing ( ADP ) -16.63% and S&P Global ( SPGI ) -20.11%. Both companies have seen their prices dip due to concerns of AI disruption to the SaaS industry. Dividend Growth There have been 12 dividend increases since my last update a month ago. Most have been rather low, with only 2 increases exceeding the average dividend growth rate of all the Kings in 2025. As of today, the average dividend growth rate for all of the Dividend Kings in 2026 stands at 2.89%, up from 2.07% a month ago. Here are the recently announced dividend increases. Archer Daniel Midland Increased its di...
For years, retail investors were dismissed by some on Wall Street as “dumb money.” An analysis of where retail investors put their money last year shows they outperformed two of the most popular, professionally managed index funds, SPY and QQQ, whose goal is to mirror the performance of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively. “I personally want to dispel the myth of retail being dumb money, beca...
For years, retail investors were dismissed by some on Wall Street as “dumb money.” An analysis of where retail investors put their money last year shows they outperformed two of the most popular, professionally managed index funds, SPY and QQQ, whose goal is to mirror the performance of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively. “I personally want to dispel the myth of retail being dumb money, because it’s not dumb money anymore,” said Joe Mazzola, head trading and derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab, at an investor education event held in Anaheim, California, last November that drew around 800 of the financial services company’s clients.