Xpeng, the Chinese electric vehicle start-up often cast as a key rival to Tesla, has set an ambitious goal to surpass the US carmaker’s self-driving capabilities in China by August, according to co-founder, chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng. The target highlights an intensifying technology race in the world’s largest car market, where manufacturers are increasingly leaning on advanced software to drive...
Xpeng, the Chinese electric vehicle start-up often cast as a key rival to Tesla, has set an ambitious goal to surpass the US carmaker’s self-driving capabilities in China by August, according to co-founder, chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng. The target highlights an intensifying technology race in the world’s largest car market, where manufacturers are increasingly leaning on advanced software to drive growth as government subsidies are phased out. Although Tesla’s full version of its Full...
China’s central bank and foreign‑exchange regulator reiterated the need to curb excessive — or “involution‑style” — competition within the country’s finance industry, framing it as a governance and discipline concern. PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng highlighted the role of internal oversight, compliance and performance standards in addressing excessive or distorted competition, according to a statemen...
China’s central bank and foreign‑exchange regulator reiterated the need to curb excessive — or “involution‑style” — competition within the country’s finance industry, framing it as a governance and discipline concern. PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng highlighted the role of internal oversight, compliance and performance standards in addressing excessive or distorted competition, according to a statement from the central bank on Saturday following an internal meeting. Read More: How ‘Involution’ Became a Watchword for China Woes: New Economy The meeting also reaffirmed official focus on risks linked to local government financing vehicles and small financial institutions. Authorities should “actively and prudently promote the resolution of debt risks of local government financing vehicles and risks in small and medium-sized financial institutions, while maintaining a high-pressure crackdown on illegal financial activities in relevant sectors,” the central bank said.
Ajax9/iStock via Getty Images Originally published on April 21, 2026 Pending home sales in the US overall ticked up in March from February, seasonally adjusted, but were down 1.1% year-over-year and were down by 35% from 2021, by 30% from 2019, and by 31% from 2018. Compared to March 2011, during the Housing Bust and the first March in the data series, pending sales were down by 18%. The housing m...
Ajax9/iStock via Getty Images Originally published on April 21, 2026 Pending home sales in the US overall ticked up in March from February, seasonally adjusted, but were down 1.1% year-over-year and were down by 35% from 2021, by 30% from 2019, and by 31% from 2018. Compared to March 2011, during the Housing Bust and the first March in the data series, pending sales were down by 18%. The housing market is now in the fourth year of this situation. Regionally, pending sales ticked up from near record lows in the South and the Northeast and fell in the West and Midwest. In January, national pending sales had dropped to a record low in the data (which goes back to mid-2010) by the National Association of Realtors, and the upticks in February and March are from that record low (historic data via YCharts): The metric of pending home sales tracks contracts that were signed in March but that haven’t closed yet and could still get canceled because buyers cannot afford homeowner’s insurance or cannot sell their own home, or for other reasons. The rate of cancellations has been running high. Pending home sales by region . A map of the four Census Regions is posted in the comments below. In the West, pending sales fell by 2.6% in March from February, seasonally adjusted, and were just a hair above record lows. Compared to March in prior years: 2025: -1.7% (year-over-year) 2024: -4.8% 2023: -3.4% 2022: -36.6% 2021: -41.9% 2019: -37.5%. In the Midwest, pending sales fell by 1.3% in March from February, seasonally adjusted, and were down 3.1% year-over-year. December had been the record low in the data going back to mid-2010. Compared to March in prior years: 2025: -3.1% (year-over-year) 2024: -3.5% 2023: -4.2% 2022: -21.8% 2021: -25.7% 2019: -24.4%. In the South, pending sales rose by 3.9% in March from February, seasonally adjusted, with the increases in February and March having not quite reversed the declines in December and January. Compared to March in prior years: 2025: +2....
AlexSecret/iStock via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash The S&P 500 capped off the week with a fresh record high, finishing up 0.5%. This marks the fourth consecutive winning week for the index, its longest streak since late 2024. Here is a snapshot of the index from the past week: The table below summarizes the number of record highs reached each year dating back to 2013. Here is a snapshot of the in...
AlexSecret/iStock via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash The S&P 500 capped off the week with a fresh record high, finishing up 0.5%. This marks the fourth consecutive winning week for the index, its longest streak since late 2024. Here is a snapshot of the index from the past week: The table below summarizes the number of record highs reached each year dating back to 2013. Here is a snapshot of the index from the past six months with a 50-day moving average: S&P 500: A Perspective on Drawdowns On October 9, 2007, the S&P 500 reached an all-time high, closing the day at 1565.15. Then on March 9, 2009, the index dropped ~57% off of its high from exactly 17 months before, closing the day at 676.53. This time period became known as the Global Financial Crisis. It took over 5 years before the index reached a new all-time high on March 28, 2013, where it closed out at 1569.19. The chart below is a snapshot of record highs and selloffs since the 2007 peak reached on October 9, 2007. What happens if we take out the Global Financial Crisis? Here's a snapshot of the same chart above where the start date has been changed to the trough reached on March 9, 2009. Note the recent selloffs in 2022. Here are a few tables with the number of days of a 1% or greater change in either direction and the number of days of corrections (down 10% or more from the record high). And here is a linear chart of the index since October 9, 2007: Here is a linearly scaled version of the same chart with the 50- and 200-day moving averages. The index has been above the 50-day moving average since April 8th, 2026, and above the 200-day moving average since April 8th, 2026. Additionally, the 50-day moving average has been above the 200-day moving average since July 1st, 2025. S&P 500: A Perspective on Volatility For a sense of the correlation between the closing price and intraday volatility, the chart below overlays the S&P 500 since 2007 with the intraday price range. On April 9th, 2025, the index experien...
Worawith Ounpeng/iStock via Getty Images Four IPOs priced this past week, featuring nuclear tech, critical materials, real estate, and convenience stores. SMR developer X-Energy ( XE ) upsized and priced well above the range to raise $1.0 billion at a $9.5 billion market cap, the first advanced player in this space to complete a traditional IPO. X-Energy designs advanced nuclear reactor technology...
Worawith Ounpeng/iStock via Getty Images Four IPOs priced this past week, featuring nuclear tech, critical materials, real estate, and convenience stores. SMR developer X-Energy ( XE ) upsized and priced well above the range to raise $1.0 billion at a $9.5 billion market cap, the first advanced player in this space to complete a traditional IPO. X-Energy designs advanced nuclear reactor technology, particularly small modular reactors (SMRs), and manufactures nuclear fuel. X-Energy has agreements with a number of blue-chip companies, including Dow, Amazon, and Centrica. However, it has yet to begin construction of its first commercial SMRs, which are not expected to be completed until the early 2030s. X-Energy finished up 27%. Critical materials and microwave systems supplier The Elmet Group ( ELMT ) upsized and priced at the high end to raise $120 million at a $420 million market cap. Elmet manufactures precision components and engineered systems using refractory metals such as tungsten, molybdenum, and niobium, along with high-power microwave technologies, designed for applications in aerospace, defense, and other demanding environments. While smaller than its peers, the company has non-China supply agreements that limit tariff impacts and provide stability. The Elmet Group finished up 21%. Convenience store operator Yesway ( YSWY ) priced at the low end to raise $280 million at a $1.3 billion market cap. Yesway believes it is one of the fastest-growing convenience store operators in the US, with 90 successful openings from 2020 to 2025 and 419 company-operated stores as of 12/31/25. The company boasts leading fuel margins, with an increasing mix of diesel sold, but sustained high fuel prices could reduce demand and depress retail foot traffic. Yesway finished up 9%. Healthcare REIT National Healthcare Properties ( NHP ) priced below the range to raise $462 million at an $817 million market cap. NHP’s portfolio of properties spans 29 states in two primary segments:...
Alexander Sikov/iStock via Getty Images Since the March 30th low, one of the best-performing areas of the stock market has been semiconductors. At the moment, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (or the SOX) has risen for 18 sessions in a row since the March 30th low. Using the tradable VanEck Semiconductor ETF ( SMH ) as a proxy, the group is now up right around 40% since then, which is a record...
Alexander Sikov/iStock via Getty Images Since the March 30th low, one of the best-performing areas of the stock market has been semiconductors. At the moment, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (or the SOX) has risen for 18 sessions in a row since the March 30th low. Using the tradable VanEck Semiconductor ETF ( SMH ) as a proxy, the group is now up right around 40% since then, which is a record 18-day rally since its inception. Of course, the semiconductors are now home to some of the largest stocks in existence. Broadcom ( AVGO ) now trades with a greater than $2 trillion market cap and, of course, there is Nvidia ( NVDA ), with a market cap above $5 trillion. Given the S&P 500 is market-cap weighted, the semis are the single largest weight of any industry group. In fact, the group accounts for 15.5% of S&P 500 weight. So with a combination of massive outperformance and a massively large weight, the semiconductors are to thank for 4.9 percentage points of the index's 12.8% rally since March 30th, meaning they've accounted for roughly 40% of the gain. As shown below, that is more than twice as large of a positive contribution as the next best, Media & Entertainment, with 2.12 percentage points. The other two tech sector industries - Tech Hardware & Equipment and Software & Services - have also made positive contributions. The latter might come as a surprise, as it has been a beleaguered group for most of the year. Nonetheless, since the lows, it is to thank for more than a full percentage point of the S&P's 12.8% rally. Original Post Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.
Growth stocks on the Nasdaq exchange have been some of the market's best performers over the past few years. However, last month they were heavily sold off. This opened up several fantastic buying opportunities. If you took advantage of the sell-off, congratulations -- the stocks have nearly unanimously risen from their lows at the end of March. Yet the recent rally may have caused some investors ...
Growth stocks on the Nasdaq exchange have been some of the market's best performers over the past few years. However, last month they were heavily sold off. This opened up several fantastic buying opportunities. If you took advantage of the sell-off, congratulations -- the stocks have nearly unanimously risen from their lows at the end of March. Yet the recent rally may have caused some investors to feel like they missed the boat on a huge run. If you missed it, I don't think there's any need for concern. There is plenty of momentum in this space, and still plenty of upside for countless Nasdaq stocks. Continue reading
Iranian foreign minister has landed in Islamabad but his ministry says there will be no direct negotiations with the US envoy Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, with Steve Witkoff and president Trump’s son-in-law headed to Pakistan in a bid to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations with Iran amid a fragile ceasefire, though the prospect of direct talks remain...
Iranian foreign minister has landed in Islamabad but his ministry says there will be no direct negotiations with the US envoy Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, with Steve Witkoff and president Trump’s son-in-law headed to Pakistan in a bid to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations with Iran amid a fragile ceasefire, though the prospect of direct talks remained uncertain. The White House said emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would engage in an “in-person conversation” with Iranian representatives, but Iranian state media said that direct negotiations were not on the cards. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad late Friday . Earlier on social media, he wrote that he was travelling to Pakistan on a trip focused on “bilateral matters and regional developments.” He didn’t specify who he would meet. Shortly after Araghchi touched down, the country’s government made it clear there would be no direct negotiations with American government representative s during this visit. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmael Baqaei said on X that, “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US”. Instead, Baqaei said Pakistani officials would convey messages between the delegations . Baqaei thanked the Pakistani government for its “ongoing mediation + good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said in an interview on Fox News that Witkoff and Kushner would meet with Araghchi . “We’re hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward to a deal,” Leavitt said. She said vice-president JD Vance would not travel but that he remains “deeply involved,” and would be willing to go to Pakistan “if we feel it’s a necessary use of his time.” The talks planned for Saturday come as much of the world is on edge over a war that has snarled crucial energy exports through the strait of Hormuz, clouded the global economic ...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Broadcom ( AVGO ) sits at an almost $1.8 trillion valuation, as the company has reinvented itself into a conglomerate in the tech industry. The company has built a model of acquiring valuable assets, integrating them into its portfolio, and driving strong cash flow. With the growth of AI, Broadcom, as we discussed in our last article , has become integra...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Broadcom ( AVGO ) sits at an almost $1.8 trillion valuation, as the company has reinvented itself into a conglomerate in the tech industry. The company has built a model of acquiring valuable assets, integrating them into its portfolio, and driving strong cash flow. With the growth of AI, Broadcom, as we discussed in our last article , has become integral to the custom silicon that's a key part of the next wave of AI. Broadcom and Artificial Intelligence Broadcom has built an impressive artificial intelligence portfolio with impressive and cutting edge packaging solutions. Broadcom Investor Presentation Broadcom has a wide variety of semiconductor solutions for the AI space, including supporting hyperscale data centers. GPUs are the largest source of expense for data centers, and Nvidia has gross margins above 70%. So it stands to reason that the largest AI capex investors would take a portion of their $100+ billion budgets to build their own custom silicon. Broadcom is key to those companies building their own silicon. Rumors are that Broadcom will be a big part of upcoming AWS silicon . Anthropic, Google, and Broadcom signed a deal for 3.5 GW of custom TPU silico n. Estimates from analysts are for $42 billion of Anthropic alone TPU revenue for Broadcom in 2027 . This shows the scale of the opportunity. Broadcom forecasts significantly more than $100 billion in AI revenue by 2027 , with Broadcom having secured the supply chain to achieve this. For perspective, Broadcom is guiding for 2027 AI revenue alone per quarter more than the company's revenue today, showing the scale. Broadcom Company Overview Broadcom has a history of growing through acquisitions and intelligent integrations of valuable businesses. Broadcom Investor Presentation Broadcom has acquired major names and parts, including its CA Technologies, Broadcom, Symantec, and largest acquisition ever, VMware. Broadcom once tried to have a larger acquisition of Qua...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Broadcom ( AVGO ) sits at an almost $1.8 trillion valuation, as the company has reinvented itself into a conglomerate in the tech industry. The company has built a model of acquiring valuable assets, integrating them into its portfolio, and driving strong cash flow. With the growth of AI, Broadcom, as we discussed in our last article , has become integra...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Broadcom ( AVGO ) sits at an almost $1.8 trillion valuation, as the company has reinvented itself into a conglomerate in the tech industry. The company has built a model of acquiring valuable assets, integrating them into its portfolio, and driving strong cash flow. With the growth of AI, Broadcom, as we discussed in our last article , has become integral to the custom silicon that's a key part of the next wave of AI. Broadcom and Artificial Intelligence Broadcom has built an impressive artificial intelligence portfolio with impressive and cutting edge packaging solutions. Broadcom Investor Presentation Broadcom has a wide variety of semiconductor solutions for the AI space, including supporting hyperscale data centers. GPUs are the largest source of expense for data centers, and Nvidia has gross margins above 70%. So it stands to reason that the largest AI capex investors would take a portion of their $100+ billion budgets to build their own custom silicon. Broadcom is key to those companies building their own silicon. Rumors are that Broadcom will be a big part of upcoming AWS silicon . Anthropic, Google, and Broadcom signed a deal for 3.5 GW of custom TPU silico n. Estimates from analysts are for $42 billion of Anthropic alone TPU revenue for Broadcom in 2027 . This shows the scale of the opportunity. Broadcom forecasts significantly more than $100 billion in AI revenue by 2027 , with Broadcom having secured the supply chain to achieve this. For perspective, Broadcom is guiding for 2027 AI revenue alone per quarter more than the company's revenue today, showing the scale. Broadcom Company Overview Broadcom has a history of growing through acquisitions and intelligent integrations of valuable businesses. Broadcom Investor Presentation Broadcom has acquired major names and parts, including its CA Technologies, Broadcom, Symantec, and largest acquisition ever, VMware. Broadcom once tried to have a larger acquisition of Qua...