Farmers pick cotton on a farm on the outskirts of Hami in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China in September 26, 2010. The cotton-producing region has long been a focus of forced labor concerns. Jie Zhao | Corbis News | Getty Images Since the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump 's sweeping global tariff plan, the White House has had its eyes set on alternative pathways for ca...
Farmers pick cotton on a farm on the outskirts of Hami in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China in September 26, 2010. The cotton-producing region has long been a focus of forced labor concerns. Jie Zhao | Corbis News | Getty Images Since the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump 's sweeping global tariff plan, the White House has had its eyes set on alternative pathways for carrying out the centerpiece of Trump's trade war agenda. Last week, one of these new pathways was unveiled, with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposing new tariffs of up to 12.5% on 59 countries and the European Union based around Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The justification: Widespread failure, the USTR claims, to restrict the importation of goods produced by forced labor. "The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable," Trade Representative Jameison Greer stated in an X post announcing the tariffs. "This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field," he wrote. Forced labor is a pervasive global issue. Despite a near-universally ratified International Labour Organization (ILO) convention suppressing the practice, forced labor persists throughout global supply chains. Most recent ILO estimates indicate that 27.6 million men, women, and children are victims of the practice every day. Around 86% of the labor itself occurs in the private economy, while the remaining 14% results from state-imposed indentured servitude. Approximately $236 billion in illegal profits is generated globally from forced labor every year, according to the ILO, stemming from frequent usage in industry, services, agricultural, and domestic work sectors. Occupations such as mining, quarrying, manufacturing, and food services generate substantial illegal profits, ranging up to $4,944 per victim. U.S. legislation restricting forced labor prac...
Adding the new Bridge Pro breathed new life into my Hue setup. | Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge I've been a fan of Philips Hue smart lights since the early days. It's one of the few staples in my ever-changing smart home. However, when the Bridge Pro launched late last year , it wasn't immediately obvious why I should upgrade. The signature feature, MotionAware - which turns your light...
Adding the new Bridge Pro breathed new life into my Hue setup. | Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge I've been a fan of Philips Hue smart lights since the early days. It's one of the few staples in my ever-changing smart home. However, when the Bridge Pro launched late last year , it wasn't immediately obvious why I should upgrade. The signature feature, MotionAware - which turns your lights into motion sensors - is neat, but I already have motion sensors. While I run two of Hue's standard bridges to accommodate all my lights and accessories, I'm not at a point where I need the Pro's higher device capacity. I like the idea of faster response times thanks to the advanced processing power, but that wasn't quite enough. Then in April, SpatialA … Read the full story at The Verge.
Standard Bots has raised $200 million in a new round of funding to ramp up manufacturing of robotic arms in the US as the country vies to keep pace with China in building more advanced robots. The financing values Standard Bots at $1 billion, the startup is set to announce on Tuesday. The round was led by General Catalyst and RoboStrategy, a fund focused on robotics. Standards Bots previously rais...
Standard Bots has raised $200 million in a new round of funding to ramp up manufacturing of robotic arms in the US as the country vies to keep pace with China in building more advanced robots. The financing values Standard Bots at $1 billion, the startup is set to announce on Tuesday. The round was led by General Catalyst and RoboStrategy, a fund focused on robotics. Standards Bots previously raised $63 million in funding at an undisclosed valuation nearly two years ago. The New York-based company is part of a crop of startups using artificial intelligence to build more sophisticated robots for personal and business uses. Its robotic arms are designed to automate tasks in the industrial sector, such as complex assembly, as well as loading and unloading machines. “The round came together really because investors saw we were growing tremendously,” said Evan Beard , the chief executive officer of Standard Bots. “By the end of the year, we’re on pace to do 10% of industrial robot deployments in the United States.” The company plans to use the new funding to expand its manufacturing facility in Long Island, New York. It also plans to hire more engineers. Standards Bots said its robotic arms can quickly learn a specific task after seeing a demonstration of it, thanks to AI systems running in the back end. Eventually, the startup sees an opportunity to expand into home robotics, Beard said, but for now it remains focused on industrial uses.
ATLANTA, June 09, 2026--Inspire Brands today announced that Sasha Wolfe will join the company as Senior Vice President of Demand Generation and Agency Solutions. As head of this shared capability, Wolfe will lead media strategy, planning and buying, digital performance and acquisition marketing, and brand media partnerships and sponsorships.
ATLANTA, June 09, 2026--Inspire Brands today announced that Sasha Wolfe will join the company as Senior Vice President of Demand Generation and Agency Solutions. As head of this shared capability, Wolfe will lead media strategy, planning and buying, digital performance and acquisition marketing, and brand media partnerships and sponsorships.
Tim Robberts/DigitalVision via Getty Images Broadcom ( AVGO ) reported record revenue, beating previous quarters on almost every metric. Yet a tiny, tiny miss set off a chain reaction across the semiconductor and tech sector, costing the sector over $1T in market value loss in one of the worst such value destructions in years. It would be wrong to impute this disaster to just retail fear and greed...
Tim Robberts/DigitalVision via Getty Images Broadcom ( AVGO ) reported record revenue, beating previous quarters on almost every metric. Yet a tiny, tiny miss set off a chain reaction across the semiconductor and tech sector, costing the sector over $1T in market value loss in one of the worst such value destructions in years. It would be wrong to impute this disaster to just retail fear and greed. In a market dominated by options flows, ETF exposure, dealer hedging, momentum funds, and crowded AI positioning, a small fundamental disappointment can quickly turn into a mechanical unwind. All the way on the other side, it would be wrong to take a bearish view of the AI/Tech leaders because of this—Broadcom, NVIDIA, etc., all have real demand behind them. That leaves me in the middle. I would not call this a panic-driven buying opportunity because capital can remain trapped for a long time while valuations reset. But I also would not turn structurally bearish on the leading AI names. Broadcom, and by extension the richly valued AI semiconductor group, I will rate as Hold: too strong to short, but too crowded and mechanically fragile to chase. Broadcom 's Quarter Was Strong, but Expectations Were Stronger Broadcom clearly had a very strong Q2. Just see the table below. AUTHOR Outstanding numbers. For a trillion-dollar company to grow at this rate is beyond impressive. Ironically, semiconductor was the key growth driver. Semiconductor Solutions revenue was $15.009 billion, up 79% year over year, while Infrastructure Software revenue was $7.178 billion, up 9%. That mix shows Broadcom is now being valued as one of the central picks-and-shovels companies for the AI infrastructure buildout. AUTHOR I said this was ironic because the quarter clearly shows AI demand had not vanished—not at all. Yet it is the AI expectation that ultimately pushed the stock and the sector down. Broadcom said Q2 AI semiconductor revenue was $10.8 billion, up 143% year over year, and management exp...
Preserving organic search equity was the migration's primary success metric, with a category-, product-, and content-level redirect map tested before go-live.Posterazzi's rebuild pairs an Elasticsearch-driven search and filter system with a real-time poster and frame preview engine, including AI-generated room mockups.AI-enhanced product content was applied at the catalog level during migration, s...
Preserving organic search equity was the migration's primary success metric, with a category-, product-, and content-level redirect map tested before go-live.Posterazzi's rebuild pairs an Elasticsearch-driven search and filter system with a real-time poster and frame preview engine, including AI-generated room mockups.AI-enhanced product content was applied at the catalog level during migration, standardizing titles, descriptions, and metadata for both organic discovery and AI engine citation. M
Tim Robberts/DigitalVision via Getty Images Broadcom ( AVGO ) reported record revenue, beating previous quarters on almost every metric. Yet a tiny, tiny miss set off a chain reaction across the semiconductor and tech sector, costing the sector over $1T in market value loss in one of the worst such value destructions in years. It would be wrong to impute this disaster to just retail fear and greed...
Tim Robberts/DigitalVision via Getty Images Broadcom ( AVGO ) reported record revenue, beating previous quarters on almost every metric. Yet a tiny, tiny miss set off a chain reaction across the semiconductor and tech sector, costing the sector over $1T in market value loss in one of the worst such value destructions in years. It would be wrong to impute this disaster to just retail fear and greed. In a market dominated by options flows, ETF exposure, dealer hedging, momentum funds, and crowded AI positioning, a small fundamental disappointment can quickly turn into a mechanical unwind. All the way on the other side, it would be wrong to take a bearish view of the AI/Tech leaders because of this—Broadcom, NVIDIA, etc., all have real demand behind them. That leaves me in the middle. I would not call this a panic-driven buying opportunity because capital can remain trapped for a long time while valuations reset. But I also would not turn structurally bearish on the leading AI names. Broadcom, and by extension the richly valued AI semiconductor group, I will rate as Hold: too strong to short, but too crowded and mechanically fragile to chase. Broadcom 's Quarter Was Strong, but Expectations Were Stronger Broadcom clearly had a very strong Q2. Just see the table below. AUTHOR Outstanding numbers. For a trillion-dollar company to grow at this rate is beyond impressive. Ironically, semiconductor was the key growth driver. Semiconductor Solutions revenue was $15.009 billion, up 79% year over year, while Infrastructure Software revenue was $7.178 billion, up 9%. That mix shows Broadcom is now being valued as one of the central picks-and-shovels companies for the AI infrastructure buildout. AUTHOR I said this was ironic because the quarter clearly shows AI demand had not vanished—not at all. Yet it is the AI expectation that ultimately pushed the stock and the sector down. Broadcom said Q2 AI semiconductor revenue was $10.8 billion, up 143% year over year, and management exp...
STORY: The U.S. on Monday added Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, internet search provider Baidu, and automakers BYD and Nio to a list of companies it believes are aiding Beijing's military. It's a move which could inflame tensions between the countries. The long-awaited update takes the place of a list from early last year. And comes less than a month after President Donald Trump met China's Xi J...
STORY: The U.S. on Monday added Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, internet search provider Baidu, and automakers BYD and Nio to a list of companies it believes are aiding Beijing's military. It's a move which could inflame tensions between the countries. The long-awaited update takes the place of a list from early last year. And comes less than a month after President Donald Trump met China's Xi Jinping on a visit to Beijing. The list now includes a large number of China's top technology firms key to advancing Beijing's military and industrial prowess. It reflects Washington's security concerns amid intense geopolitical competition between the countries. In February, when Trump's trip to China had been pending, the Pentagon briefly posted an updated list. But then quickly withdrew it with little explanation. The new version mirrors the withdrawn February list but also includes China's top memory chipmakers CXMT and YMTC, as well as other tech firms. Alibaba said in a statement there was "no basis" for its inclusion on the list. While Baidu "categorically" rejected its inclusion. BYD and others didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. China's embassy in Washington said Beijing opposed, quote, "making discriminatory lists to go after Chinese companies," and that its firms observe local laws and regulations.
FEATURE There’s no need for Wall Street to worry about the artificial-intelligence trade fizzling out, judging by the stocks that were rising ahead of the opening bell Tuesday. Chip maker Marvell Technology jumped 4.
FEATURE There’s no need for Wall Street to worry about the artificial-intelligence trade fizzling out, judging by the stocks that were rising ahead of the opening bell Tuesday. Chip maker Marvell Technology jumped 4.
According to a recent SEC filing , M.D. Sass, LLC sold 1,399,804 shares of SLM Corporation during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated transaction value was $33.1 million, based on the quarter’s average closing price. Sallie Mae is the largest provider of private student loans in the United States, helping students and families finance higher education through a focused suite of banking and le...
According to a recent SEC filing , M.D. Sass, LLC sold 1,399,804 shares of SLM Corporation during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated transaction value was $33.1 million, based on the quarter’s average closing price. Sallie Mae is the largest provider of private student loans in the United States, helping students and families finance higher education through a focused suite of banking and lending products. M.D. Sass's complete exit from SLM is an interesting move. The position previously accounted for roughly 3% of the fund's total reportable holdings, so the decision to sell every share in a single quarter is worth exploring, even if the rationale isn't spelled out in the filing itself. Continue reading
Guido Mieth/DigitalVision via Getty Images Today, I am reviewing the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF ( VIG ). VIG is a dividend growth ETF that focuses on large-cap U.S. equities that have been increasing dividends for 10+ consecutive years. The key differentiator from yield-focused funds is that VIG does not chase the highest dividends, and by design, it excludes the highest dividen...
Guido Mieth/DigitalVision via Getty Images Today, I am reviewing the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF ( VIG ). VIG is a dividend growth ETF that focuses on large-cap U.S. equities that have been increasing dividends for 10+ consecutive years. The key differentiator from yield-focused funds is that VIG does not chase the highest dividends, and by design, it excludes the highest dividend-yielding companies. While this allows investors to avoid companies with high but unsustainable yields, it also means investors sacrifice significant current income, a trade-off worth examining before investing. One reason I'm cautious on VIG today is that its cycle-neutral positioning cuts both ways. Yes, the fund has shown resilience across different market conditions. But at the same time, in strong bull markets, the 4% cap on winners and the exclusion of high-yield stocks mean that VIG will likely lag. For investors uncertain about what comes next, VIG offers stability, but at the cost of upside potential. VIG is not the highest-yielding, best-performing, or most exciting dividend ETF. It is consistent, but this consistency has a price. I think that the combination of low cost, quality screen, broad diversification, and single-stock cap makes VIG a solid fund. However, “solid” does not make it a “buy.” I rate VIG a Hold for most investors. For those who already own it, I see no urgent reason to sell. But for a potential investor, the 1.48% yield and capped upside make other options, such as SCHD for a higher yield or simply an S&P 500 fund for growth, worth considering first. How VIG filters for dividend reliability VIG tracks the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index. The index methodology is as follows: The index begins with all equities of the S&P United States Broad Market Index. It excludes all REITs. Then it selects companies that have increased dividends for at least 10 consecutive years (dividend initiation or re-initiation does not count as an increase), considering...
Titan Machinery press release ( TITN ): Q1 GAAP EPS of -$0.55 beats by $0.13 . Revenue of $522.4M (-12.1% Y/Y) beats by $36.79M . Equipment revenue was $364.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, compared to $436.8 million in the first quarter last year. Parts revenue was $103.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, compared to $105.6 million in the first quarter last year. Servic...
Titan Machinery press release ( TITN ): Q1 GAAP EPS of -$0.55 beats by $0.13 . Revenue of $522.4M (-12.1% Y/Y) beats by $36.79M . Equipment revenue was $364.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, compared to $436.8 million in the first quarter last year. Parts revenue was $103.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, compared to $105.6 million in the first quarter last year. Service revenue was $43.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, compared to $44.0 million in the first quarter last year. Rental and other revenue was $10.2 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, compared to $7.9 million in the first quarter last year. (in millions, except per share data and percentages) Current ExpectationsFiscal 2027 Segment Revenue Agriculture Down 15% - Down 20% Construction Flat - Up 5% Europe Down 20% - Down 25% Australia Up 10% - Up 15% Adjusted EBITDA $17.0 - $29.0 Adjusted Consolidated Pre-tax Loss (1) ($28.0) - ($39.0) Tax Expense $0.0 - $1.0 Adjusted Net Loss (1) ($28.0) - ($40.0) Adjusted Diluted Loss Per Share (1) ($1.25) - ($1.75) Click to enlarge More on Titan Machinery Titan Machinery: Industry Conditions Warrant Pessimism (Rating Downgrade) Titan Machinery: Major Concerns, Minor Silver Linings (Rating Downgrade) Titan Machinery Inc. (TITN) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Titan Machinery Q1 2027 Earnings Preview Titan Machinery outlines 15–20% ag revenue decline for 2027 while projecting improved equipment margins
Goldman Hikes Obesity Drug Market Forecast As Oral GLP-1s Go Mass Market The global weight-loss drug market is now expected to reach $114 billion by 2030 , up from Goldman's prior $101 billion forecast, as analysts cite faster adoption of oral obesity pills, stronger demand outside the U.S., and improved affordability that is expanding the patient pool. Goldman analysts led by Asad Haider and Jame...
Goldman Hikes Obesity Drug Market Forecast As Oral GLP-1s Go Mass Market The global weight-loss drug market is now expected to reach $114 billion by 2030 , up from Goldman's prior $101 billion forecast, as analysts cite faster adoption of oral obesity pills, stronger demand outside the U.S., and improved affordability that is expanding the patient pool. Goldman analysts led by Asad Haider and James Quigley laid out four main drivers behind the upgraded 2030 anti-obesity drug TAM forecast (previous forecast made in Dec. 2025): 1. Higher oral vs. injectable share and a higher oral TAM. With oral NBRx (new-to-brand) prescriptions (a leading indicator) now 40-50% following the strong launch of Novo's Wegovy pill, we now expect orals to represent 40% ($46bn) of the 2030 global revenue TAM (vs. 35%/$35bn prior). 2. Shifting sales mix within orals. We balance our share splits with Novo's Wegovy pill now 38% (vs. 16% prior), LLY's Foundayo now 48% (54% prior) and "other" now 14% (vs. 30% prior). We now forecast Wegovy peak global sales of $17.4bn (vs. prior $8bn) and Foundayo 2030 sales of $22bn (vs. prior $19bn). 3. Increased OUS penetration and a higher OUS TAM. Per stronger-than-expected OUS ramp for LLY's Mounjaro, we now forecast 2030 total OUS obesity sales of $48bn vs. $39bn prior, driving most of the higher 2030 Global TAM from $101bn to $114bn. 4. Updated pricing assumptions across channels. We lower pricing assumptions in the US DTC channel by 20% (to now $287 vs. prior $355) driven by lower prices across the board and higher oral mix shift. Haider expects Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to control 82% of the global GLP-1 market share by the end of the decade. The forecast assumes a larger shift towards oral obesity drugs. Oral obesity drugs are expanding market share. The oral Wegovy pill has had greater momentum since launch compared to Lilly's Foundayo. Wegovy and Foundayo to dominate oral obesity drugs in the new forecast. Medicare is expanding the patient pool. Go...
Privacy is a great feature in financial technology. But if a system is private, so might be some of its faults, and therein lies a freshly revealed whopper of a problem for Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC) . A four-year-old bug in the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, disclosed on June 5 by security researchers, could have theoretically enabled the undetectable minting of an unlimited quantity of counterfeit Zca...
Privacy is a great feature in financial technology. But if a system is private, so might be some of its faults, and therein lies a freshly revealed whopper of a problem for Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC) . A four-year-old bug in the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, disclosed on June 5 by security researchers, could have theoretically enabled the undetectable minting of an unlimited quantity of counterfeit Zcash. Developers patched the flaw within days, but the asset shed 40% of its value in the 24 hours after disclosure, and investor trust has cratered. Is this coin still worth buying on the dip, or is it game over? Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Lands' End press release ( LE ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of -$0.11 beats by $0.09 . Revenue of $238.9M (-8.5% Y/Y) misses by $29.07M . The decrease in revenue was driven primarily by the temporary disruption associated with the rollout of a new warehouse management system and the deliberate pacing of shipments as the distribution centers ramped back to normal capacity. Excluding the impact of the temporar...
Lands' End press release ( LE ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of -$0.11 beats by $0.09 . Revenue of $238.9M (-8.5% Y/Y) misses by $29.07M . The decrease in revenue was driven primarily by the temporary disruption associated with the rollout of a new warehouse management system and the deliberate pacing of shipments as the distribution centers ramped back to normal capacity. Excluding the impact of the temporary disruption, the Company estimates it would have delivered low single-digit revenue growth in the quarter. For Second Quarter fiscal 2026 the Company expects: Net revenue to be between $290.0 million and $310.0 million. Net loss to be between $5.0 million and $2.0 million and diluted loss per share to be between $0.16 and $0.06 Adjusted net income to be between $2.0 million and $5.0 million and Adjusted diluted earnings per share to be between $0.06 and $0.16. Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $11.0 million to $14.0 million. For fiscal 2026 the Company now expects: Net revenue to be between $1.30 billion and $1.40 billion. Net income to be between $310.0 million and $320.0 million and diluted earnings per share to be between $10.02 and $10.34. Adjusted net income to be between $10.0 million and $20.0 million and Adjusted diluted earnings per share to be between $0.32 and $0.65. Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $68.0 million to $78.0 million. More on Lands' End Lands' End Q1 Preview: Watching Growth Momentum As Shares Reasonably Valued Lands' End: A Return To Growth In Q4, Shares Fairly Valued Lands' End, Inc. (LE) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Lands' End Q1 2027 Earnings Preview Quant snapshot: United Natural Foods, Designer Brands lead top-rated names as MIND Technology, BARK lag