Fans will be allowed one sealed bottle at matches World body again alters policy after condemnation Fifa has again amended its water bottle policy for the World Cup in North America, allowing fans to bring in one sealed, disposable 590ml bottle into stadiums. Ticket holders had previously been permitted an empty, transparent and reusable bottle up to one litre but an update earlier this week confi...
Fans will be allowed one sealed bottle at matches World body again alters policy after condemnation Fifa has again amended its water bottle policy for the World Cup in North America, allowing fans to bring in one sealed, disposable 590ml bottle into stadiums. Ticket holders had previously been permitted an empty, transparent and reusable bottle up to one litre but an update earlier this week confirmed reusable bottles were no longer permitted. Continue reading...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I last covered Medtronic ( MDT ) a little more than a month ago . Since then, the shares have been anything but stable. The latest Q4/FY26 results were well received by the market, with the shares up by ~10% since the announcement. The obvious question: is there still room for more upside? The company has long been viewed as a high-quality but slow-growi...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I last covered Medtronic ( MDT ) a little more than a month ago . Since then, the shares have been anything but stable. The latest Q4/FY26 results were well received by the market, with the shares up by ~10% since the announcement. The obvious question: is there still room for more upside? The company has long been viewed as a high-quality but slow-growing MedTech company. The last results suggest that growth is back and looks sustainable, margins are stabilizing, and several newer growth drivers are beginning to contribute. Despite the recent rally, I do not think the current valuation fully reflects the benefits from continued execution, gradual margin improvement, and the planned Diabetes separation . While Medtronic’s valuation is unlikely to enter the territory of some of its peers (simply because I think it lacks the pure-play specialization), I continue to view the valuation as attractive and a good way to gain exposure to a stable and cash generative MedTech Business. What Has Changed Since Last Time Medtronic 10K and Financial Statements Q4/FY26 Several things suggest that things are going in the right direction and have strengthened the investment case since my previous article. First, growth is back and appears more and more sustainable. Headline revenue increased 8.4%, which includes positive M&A contribution. Organically, revenue increased by 5.8%, which I view as a solid result for a company of Medtronic's size and diversification. Growth was broad-based across most segments, with very strong contributions from Cardiovascular and Neuroscience. After several years of inconsistent execution, more recent results suggest that Medtronic has returned to a more stable mid-single-digit growth path. Second, margins are moving in the right direction. EBITDA and EBIT margins increased modestly; gross margins remained stable at approx. 65%. Now I agree that management's long-term margin improvement story is largely cente...
What is in effect Japan’s version of the Belt and Road Initiative is being rolled out at an accelerating pace. But unlike China’s global infrastructure initiative, which mainly takes the form of highways, railways and sea lanes, Japan’s project is all about energy networks and supply chains. It poses a further challenge to America’s waning economic and strategic influence in Asia, the world’s most...
What is in effect Japan’s version of the Belt and Road Initiative is being rolled out at an accelerating pace. But unlike China’s global infrastructure initiative, which mainly takes the form of highways, railways and sea lanes, Japan’s project is all about energy networks and supply chains. It poses a further challenge to America’s waning economic and strategic influence in Asia, the world’s most populous, resource-rich and potentially powerful region. What is more, it is a cooperative venture...
SAIGLOBALNT/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis I reiterate my optimism with the gold thesis. This article is part of my coverage initiated on January 14, 2025. After almost three months, gold prices fell 9% since my last bullish article . In this article I analyze again each one of the vectors for gold prices as a new correlation emerged. Context I had the opportunity to cover all triggers ...
SAIGLOBALNT/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis I reiterate my optimism with the gold thesis. This article is part of my coverage initiated on January 14, 2025. After almost three months, gold prices fell 9% since my last bullish article . In this article I analyze again each one of the vectors for gold prices as a new correlation emerged. Context I had the opportunity to cover all triggers and catalysts for this thesis. The traditional vectors for gold always were expectations about the dollar, interest rates, and inflation. The new vectors appeared recently, as the fiscal situation of the US deteriorates and Russia had its assets frozen . This combination of vectors made central banks, led by China , start to buy gold aggressively, which is a new and recent catalyst. Finally, the rise of stablecoins created a new buyer, the issuers of stablecoins like Tether , who are buying a lot of gold to back their stablecoins. The big point is that gold prices seem disconnected from all these catalysts. The Traditional Catalysts The 10Y Real Rate is a good thermometer of expectations around the dollar, interest rates, and inflation. But curiously, since 2022 this correlation has been broken. 10Y Real Rate vs Gold Prices (ZeroHedge) Another catalyst for gold prices is the bad fiscal situation of a lot of countries, especially the US , and the situation didn't become better, as the money supply has been growing since the end of 2023. The situation is worsening in 2026, as the graph below shows, but this is also not making gold prices rise. US Money Supply Growth (Azuria ) The New Catalysts The recent catalysts are central bank purchases led by China and stablecoin issuer purchases. The graph below shows that PBoC remains buying gold at a strong pace, and even so, Tether (the issuer of USDT) surpasses PBoC if we sum the last six quarters of purchases. While PBoC bought 49 tons of gold, Tether bought 73 tons in the last six quarters. The analysis of this new catalyst sugges...
From a lunar eclipse to one of the best meteor showers of the calendar year, there are a number of impressive sights to behold in the summer night sky.
From a lunar eclipse to one of the best meteor showers of the calendar year, there are a number of impressive sights to behold in the summer night sky.