Teenager found unresponsive at Feltham YOI, the first such death in England or Wales since 2019 Police and the prisons ombudsman are investigating the death of a 16-year-old boy who was being held at a young offender institution in south-west London. The boy was found unresponsive at Feltham YOI on Monday night. He was treated by paramedics before being rushed to hospital but died shortly before m...
Teenager found unresponsive at Feltham YOI, the first such death in England or Wales since 2019 Police and the prisons ombudsman are investigating the death of a 16-year-old boy who was being held at a young offender institution in south-west London. The boy was found unresponsive at Feltham YOI on Monday night. He was treated by paramedics before being rushed to hospital but died shortly before midnight. Continue reading...
The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSEMKT:VYM) delivers a higher yield and lower recent volatility, while the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEMKT:VIG) tilts toward tech and dividend growth, with both charging identical 0.04% expenses and boasting large asset pools. Both VYM and VIG are core U.S. equity ETFs from Vanguard, but they take different approaches. VYM targets stocks with high...
The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSEMKT:VYM) delivers a higher yield and lower recent volatility, while the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEMKT:VIG) tilts toward tech and dividend growth, with both charging identical 0.04% expenses and boasting large asset pools. Both VYM and VIG are core U.S. equity ETFs from Vanguard, but they take different approaches. VYM targets stocks with high current yields, while VIG focuses on companies with a consistent track record of growing dividends. This comparison highlights their key differences in income, sector exposure, and risk profile. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Continue reading
Health records from 500,000 people who are participating in British research into aging and diseases were made available for sale on an Alibaba Group Holding Ltd . website. Database owner UK Biobank notified the UK government on Monday that the data had been advertised in three online listings on Alibaba ’s site, technology minister Ian Murray told lawmakers in the House of Commons in a statement ...
Health records from 500,000 people who are participating in British research into aging and diseases were made available for sale on an Alibaba Group Holding Ltd . website. Database owner UK Biobank notified the UK government on Monday that the data had been advertised in three online listings on Alibaba ’s site, technology minister Ian Murray told lawmakers in the House of Commons in a statement on Thursday. The UK Biobank’s data is collected from volunteers, who share their health information in what the organization says is the biggest repository of health, lifestyle and biological data in the world, used to track the long-term health of people as they age. It collects direct medical data such as MRI scans and biomarkers, as well as self-reported lifestyle information. Murray said that the data has been removed from Alibaba after the British government requested that it was taken down. He said it did not contain the names, addresses or contact details of individual participants. Still, the UK Biobank has separately warned that participants who post information about their genealogy could be identified by others cross-referencing its data. Representatives for Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment. The data does not appear to have been hacked or stolen. Murray said the information was leaked by researchers at three institutions with access to UK Biobank data, which he didn’t name. “The actions of these individuals are a clear breach of the contract they signed with UK Biobank and they, along with their academic institutions, immediately had their access suspended,” said Sir Rory Collins, CEO and principal investigator of UK Biobank in a statement. UK Biobank has taken its platform offline while it adds further security measures, he added. Last year, The Guardian reported that UK security agency MI5 had raised concerns about Chinese researchers’ access to UK Biobank data, but the arrangement was nonetheless approved by the government, according to the new...
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) Hits Fresh High: Is There Still Room to Run? Yahoo Finance Here’s What Citi and UBS Think About Micron Technology (MU) Yahoo Finance Jim Cramer on Micron: “The Demand Is the Strongest I’ve Ever Seen” Yahoo Finance
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) Hits Fresh High: Is There Still Room to Run? Yahoo Finance Here’s What Citi and UBS Think About Micron Technology (MU) Yahoo Finance Jim Cramer on Micron: “The Demand Is the Strongest I’ve Ever Seen” Yahoo Finance
tumsasedgars/iStock via Getty Images My investment objectives are purely tied to steady income growth at such a rate that would by a certain date allow me to live off dividends without touching the principal. Obviously, I want to reach the promised land as soon as possible with minimal investments and stress. One of the main elements that enables this to happen is putting capital to work in durabl...
tumsasedgars/iStock via Getty Images My investment objectives are purely tied to steady income growth at such a rate that would by a certain date allow me to live off dividends without touching the principal. Obviously, I want to reach the promised land as soon as possible with minimal investments and stress. One of the main elements that enables this to happen is putting capital to work in durable income-producing securities, which offer tangible yields. This way I immediately get the most bang for my buck, enriching my monthly contributions to buy new income-producing assets at a larger scale (i.e., building up my income machine faster). In this context, REITs, theoretically, come into play quite well as they: Provide decent yields. Generate inflation-protected cash flows. Offer the necessary resiliency and durability. Of course, not all REITs or REIT sectors are created equal, but with some investigation and cherry-picking, the aforementioned items can be achieved. However, despite these positives and the fact that I've personally deployed a notable part of my portfolio in high-quality equity REITs, I have to say that almost the entire asset class has become unattractive. I haven't bought REITs for almost a year (this includes REIT dividend allocations to other assets). Let me explain why. REIT Yields Are Too Low Most REITs with somewhat reasonable risk levels are simply yielding too low to move the needle from the current income perspective. This is especially the case if we adjust the yields with inflation. A good way to illustrate the issue is to put REIT yields side by side with those that are offered from other typical income-oriented investor asset classes. So, in the table below, I have compared REIT yields, 3-year dividend growth, and 3-year total return performance (in the form of a diversified benchmark, the Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF ( VNQ )) to 7 other asset classes, which are commonly explored by durable income investors. Asset class/factors...
tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft’s ( MSFT )( MSFT:CA )( ZMSF:CA ) stock is down ~20% since I last published my bullish article on the company in August. Since that time, Microsoft has released solid earnings results with Q1 and Q2 revenues rising at a double-digit rate and exceeding expectations at the same time. Considering Microsoft’s massive backlog and the increasing deman...
tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft’s ( MSFT )( MSFT:CA )( ZMSF:CA ) stock is down ~20% since I last published my bullish article on the company in August. Since that time, Microsoft has released solid earnings results with Q1 and Q2 revenues rising at a double-digit rate and exceeding expectations at the same time. Considering Microsoft’s massive backlog and the increasing demand for cloud computing, it’s likely that the Q3 earnings report, which is expected to be released next week, will also not disappoint the shareholders. However, despite all of those positive developments, Microsoft’s stock has performed poorly in recent months. The reason for it is the market’s fixation on how much Microsoft is spending on AI infrastructure. As the sentiment surrounding the AI stocks started to shift in recent months, the AI-related names took a beating. The war in Iran has only made things worse, as the rising oil prices have negatively affected the overall macro environment. At this point, though, I believe that the sell-off that started in late 2025 has gone too far. While we saw a rebound in recent weeks, I believe that Microsoft’s stock has much more upside from the current levels. At around 25 times its forward earnings, Microsoft’s stock is now the cheapest it has been in recent years. On top of that, the company itself has plenty of growth opportunities, which should help it continue to exceed expectations in the following quarters. This is why Microsoft remains a solid long-term investment for me, and at the current price, the stock represents a good buying opportunity. The Market Has Overreacted While Microsoft’s stock had one of the worst drops in history a few months ago following the release of the Q2 earnings report , the numbers that were released were nevertheless impressive. During the quarter, the revenues were up 16.8% Y/Y to $81.3 billion. The EPS of $4.14 was also above the expectations by $0.22. What’s also impressive is that the cloud ...
Sophie Park/Getty Images News The April FOMC meeting The Fed is set to meet for the April meeting next week, and it's widely expected to leave the Federal Funds rate unchanged at 3.5-3.75%. The Federal Funds futures are now pricing "higher-for-longer", with the next Fed cut likely in September 2027 and the second cut likely in December 2027 - and this would bring the policy rate to neutral. The pr...
Sophie Park/Getty Images News The April FOMC meeting The Fed is set to meet for the April meeting next week, and it's widely expected to leave the Federal Funds rate unchanged at 3.5-3.75%. The Federal Funds futures are now pricing "higher-for-longer", with the next Fed cut likely in September 2027 and the second cut likely in December 2027 - and this would bring the policy rate to neutral. The practical implication is that the Fed is expected to keep the policy rate at a slightly restrictive level until December 2027. In other words, the Fed is constrained by inflation - and that's bearish. However, the macro environment is even more inflationary than what's currently expected, and it's very likely that the Fed's next move will be a hike. There are several variables that are likely to push inflation higher over the near term and force the Fed to hike. First, the tariffs are still in place, and the prices are gradually adjusting higher. Second, fiscal stimulus is boosting demand for labor at the time when labor supply is shrinking - and this points to a potential price-wage inflationary spiral. Finally, we are in the biggest energy supply shock ever - with no end in sight. The current inflation bump is a warning Yes, any discussion about inflation should start with energy, but even before the energy price shock started, inflation had been on a rise - and nobody was really talking about it. Here is Fed's preferred measure for inflation, monthly core PCE. Note, the Fed's target is 2% annual core PCE, and this requires monthly core PCE inflation between 0.1% and 0.2%. Over the last three months, core PCE inflation has been steady at 0.4% a month, which would be around 4.8% annualized. That's a problem. Based on this chart alone (below), the Fed should be talking about hiking interest rates, if the current "bump" extends. Core PCE inflation MoM (Trading Economics) Labor market strengthening The only inflationary scenario for 2026 was the possibility that labor market st...
Getty Images Applied Optoelectronics Has Gone Through The Roof Congratulations to those who invested early in the AI networking supply chain, as the stocks have gone through the roof. We have seen the AI picks and shovels plays moving quickly from the memory counters onwards to networking now. Bottlenecks are starting to show beyond just the electricity grid, as highly advanced optical networking ...
Getty Images Applied Optoelectronics Has Gone Through The Roof Congratulations to those who invested early in the AI networking supply chain, as the stocks have gone through the roof. We have seen the AI picks and shovels plays moving quickly from the memory counters onwards to networking now. Bottlenecks are starting to show beyond just the electricity grid, as highly advanced optical networking products become front and center as agentic AI starts to scale from 2026. Nvidia CPO road map (Semianalysis) While this is by no means calling for an end to copper (because that simply isn't true), it is also arguably true that copper alone is no longer sufficient to meet the more complex workloads. As a result, co-packaged optics has now emerged into the spotlight. And all it took was for Nvidia's Jensen Huang ( NVDA ) to pave the way for CPO to play an enlarged role in its next-gen architecture. It has (officially) heralded a new age of the copper-CPO hybrid roadmap as the future of accelerated computing. Which is why I guess smart AI networking investors have been picking their winners, while aggressively placing bets on companies that could see their earnings potentially explode to the upside through the next few years. One of the main beneficiaries is obviously, Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. ( AAOI ). I have no doubt about that. The main question is whether much optimism is priced in, but we will get onto that in a while. As one of the supply chain players plugging into the fast evolving and rapidly expanding opportunities in high speed optical modules, it's not hard to envisage why the stock has returned in excess of 1,200% in the past one year. A phenomenal return, but I'm not too sure whether it could be replicated, given the already frothy valuation levels that it is sitting on now. AAOI: Ramping Up Manufacturing Through 2027 AAOI Manufacturing ramp up (AAOI) First up, a close read into its recent slides presented at the OFC 2026 event in March validates that the c...
tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft’s ( MSFT )( MSFT:CA )( ZMSF:CA ) stock is down ~20% since I last published my bullish article on the company in August. Since that time, Microsoft has released solid earnings results with Q1 and Q2 revenues rising at a double-digit rate and exceeding expectations at the same time. Considering Microsoft’s massive backlog and the increasing deman...
tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft’s ( MSFT )( MSFT:CA )( ZMSF:CA ) stock is down ~20% since I last published my bullish article on the company in August. Since that time, Microsoft has released solid earnings results with Q1 and Q2 revenues rising at a double-digit rate and exceeding expectations at the same time. Considering Microsoft’s massive backlog and the increasing demand for cloud computing, it’s likely that the Q3 earnings report, which is expected to be released next week, will also not disappoint the shareholders. However, despite all of those positive developments, Microsoft’s stock has performed poorly in recent months. The reason for it is the market’s fixation on how much Microsoft is spending on AI infrastructure. As the sentiment surrounding the AI stocks started to shift in recent months, the AI-related names took a beating. The war in Iran has only made things worse, as the rising oil prices have negatively affected the overall macro environment. At this point, though, I believe that the sell-off that started in late 2025 has gone too far. While we saw a rebound in recent weeks, I believe that Microsoft’s stock has much more upside from the current levels. At around 25 times its forward earnings, Microsoft’s stock is now the cheapest it has been in recent years. On top of that, the company itself has plenty of growth opportunities, which should help it continue to exceed expectations in the following quarters. This is why Microsoft remains a solid long-term investment for me, and at the current price, the stock represents a good buying opportunity. The Market Has Overreacted While Microsoft’s stock had one of the worst drops in history a few months ago following the release of the Q2 earnings report , the numbers that were released were nevertheless impressive. During the quarter, the revenues were up 16.8% Y/Y to $81.3 billion. The EPS of $4.14 was also above the expectations by $0.22. What’s also impressive is that the cloud ...
CONWAY, Ark., April 23, 2026--Acxiom®, the connected data and technology foundation for the world’s leading brands, today announced an expansion of its long-standing partnership with Amazon Ads, making over 10,000 Acxiom audiences directly available within Amazon DSP’s Audience Hub. With availability since March 16, the direct integration empowers advertisers to seamlessly activate high-quality Ac...
CONWAY, Ark., April 23, 2026--Acxiom®, the connected data and technology foundation for the world’s leading brands, today announced an expansion of its long-standing partnership with Amazon Ads, making over 10,000 Acxiom audiences directly available within Amazon DSP’s Audience Hub. With availability since March 16, the direct integration empowers advertisers to seamlessly activate high-quality Acxiom audiences across Amazon-owned media properties and premium open-internet supply in the U.S., U.