Chinese weather authorities warned of heavy rainfall across southern regions from April 26 to April 29, with downpours expected to hit areas already saturated by earlier storms, raising the risk of flooding and landslides. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Emergency Management Ministry urged local governments to step up precautions ahead of the May Day holiday startin...
Chinese weather authorities warned of heavy rainfall across southern regions from April 26 to April 29, with downpours expected to hit areas already saturated by earlier storms, raising the risk of flooding and landslides. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Emergency Management Ministry urged local governments to step up precautions ahead of the May Day holiday starting next Friday, when increased travel and outdoor activity may heighten exposure to risks, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Officials called for early evacuations, closer monitoring of mountain torrents and small rivers, and stricter inspections of reservoirs and other vulnerable sites, stressing the need for timely warnings to prevent casualties.
Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images Main Thesis & Background The purpose of this article is to recap the wild ride of the last few months and to offer my support for why I see US equities (large-caps) moving higher still in 2026. I think this is very timely because the major US indices (and other global indices) have been shooting higher in the last few weeks due to a number of factors. ...
Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images Main Thesis & Background The purpose of this article is to recap the wild ride of the last few months and to offer my support for why I see US equities (large-caps) moving higher still in 2026. I think this is very timely because the major US indices (and other global indices) have been shooting higher in the last few weeks due to a number of factors. This has been a welcome sign, as I was previously buying the correction and have enjoyed the double-digit gains that resulted. Prior Article (Seeking Alpha) I think it goes without saying that a 13% return in less than a month is something to celebrate - and I sure am happy to see this result! But the point here is not just to celebrate but rather to understand why these gains have been forthcoming and to decipher if they can continue. That is what is important now . Fortunately, I see strong earnings, a resilient US consumer, and a likely resolution to the US/Israel-Iran conflict as all catalysts for continued gains to the S&P 500 and other major indices. I will use this review to justify this position going forward. S&P 500 Earnings Growth Is Strong The paramount reason for rising share prices - and the main reason why I think they will continue to rise - is earnings. This is truly what drives the market in the long run, and suffice it to say, earnings season has been a boon for large-cap US companies. This has coincided with some positive developments (for peace) in the Middle East and has created a perfect storm, so to speak, in terms of offering equities a reason to shoot higher. The broader S&P 500 has seen (as of 4/24) earnings growth of around 15% year-over-year. This is extremely positive and, while tech is a major source of this gain, is being driven by a number of different sectors. This shows me the rally has some breadth: Q1 Earnings Growth (%) (By Sector) (FactSet) For me, this shows that when we drown out some of the political noise and day-to-day headlines, ...
The father of Mo Li Kai-yin, the dancer paralysed by a falling giant screen during a 2022 concert by popular Hong Kong boy band Mirror, has died. The Christian Ministry Institute on Saturday announced the death of Reverend Derek Li Shing-lam, who spent years advocating for his 31-year-old son after the accident shocked the city. “Reverend Li devoted his life to loving the Lord,” the institute said...
The father of Mo Li Kai-yin, the dancer paralysed by a falling giant screen during a 2022 concert by popular Hong Kong boy band Mirror, has died. The Christian Ministry Institute on Saturday announced the death of Reverend Derek Li Shing-lam, who spent years advocating for his 31-year-old son after the accident shocked the city. “Reverend Li devoted his life to loving the Lord,” the institute said of its former president. “The beautiful traces of his life will live on in the hearts of his...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.A )( BRK.B ) is my largest holding, but most recently, I have started questioning this positioning. While the valuation of Berkshire does appear attractive, the main issue that the business is facing is the lack of growth. Large-sized acquisitions have been few and far between over the last few years, and the operating perform...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.A )( BRK.B ) is my largest holding, but most recently, I have started questioning this positioning. While the valuation of Berkshire does appear attractive, the main issue that the business is facing is the lack of growth. Large-sized acquisitions have been few and far between over the last few years, and the operating performance has also not been excellent. Quite worryingly, there are no quick fixes, but at least the large cash pile gives Greg Abel some strategic options. The challenge of valuing Berkshire's insurance operations Perhaps the most challenging bit to value is the insurance. While insurance in itself is a rather predictable business, Berkshire carries a pile of cash and cash equivalents on the books of the insurers. The way this cash is treated makes a big difference for the valuation outcome. Reinsurance, especially, needs to have a buffer against large severity events and be capable of paying the claims even if financial markets seize up. These capital requirements are typically assessed under regulatory capital frameworks and, in some cases, internal risk models. Different capital charges are applied to asset classes depending on their risk characteristics, such as credit quality, market volatility, and liquidity. U.S. Treasuries are generally treated as the safest and most capital-efficient assets, while equities and private market investments usually attract much heavier capital charges and therefore contribute less efficiently to the insurer’s regulatory capital position. So Berkshire does have to carry a fairly substantial cash cushion while waiting for that one-in-a-hundred-year event. How big is the cushion exactly? It's most likely up to the management to decide. Berkshire could probably deploy all cash to equities, and even after applying heavy risk weights, would probably still have enough capital to meet regulatory requirements. But it would basically mean that in a l...
Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar said she won’t propose a candidate for prime minister after a first round of talks with political parties, as no-one seems to be able to gather the needed majority among lawmakers. The development leaves the Alpine nation’s government in limbo after an inconclusive election in March. “I do not want to propose a candidate to lead a minority government,” Natasa ...
Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar said she won’t propose a candidate for prime minister after a first round of talks with political parties, as no-one seems to be able to gather the needed majority among lawmakers. The development leaves the Alpine nation’s government in limbo after an inconclusive election in March. “I do not want to propose a candidate to lead a minority government,” Natasa Pirc Musar told reporters in the capital Ljubljana on Saturday. She added none of the potential candidates for prime minister have shown they have the majority support of 46 votes. While outgoing Premier Robert Golob won most votes, he said last week he was unable to cobble the needed majority in the 90-seat parliament, potentially opening the door for nationalist leader Janez Jansa to return to power. Read More: Slovenia in Political Turmoil as Golob Fails to Form Cabinet In the second round of talks, that will begin after May 10 and should last no more than 14 days, the candidate for prime minister can also be proposed by parliamentary groups or ten lawmakers.
To Ian Chu, capturing one last image of the sea view from his home before it disappears was a final wish as he returned on Saturday to the scene of the deadly Hong Kong blaze to collect his belongings. Chu lived in Wang Cheong House, one of eight residential blocks at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, where 81 of the 168 deaths occurred in the inferno that shocked the city in November. His flat faces the ...
To Ian Chu, capturing one last image of the sea view from his home before it disappears was a final wish as he returned on Saturday to the scene of the deadly Hong Kong blaze to collect his belongings. Chu lived in Wang Cheong House, one of eight residential blocks at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, where 81 of the 168 deaths occurred in the inferno that shocked the city in November. His flat faces the Tolo Harbour. “Since the renovations I have not seen the ocean, the sunlight … so I just tried to...
⚽ Premier League updates from the 12.30pm BST kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Table | Follow us on Bluesky | And mail Tim Morning everyone and welcome to the first Premier League game of the day. For both these clubs, it’s all about the European places. Aston Villa, fourth in the table, are almost a shoo-in for the Champions League. They will go back up to third if they do better against Fulham today tha...
⚽ Premier League updates from the 12.30pm BST kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Table | Follow us on Bluesky | And mail Tim Morning everyone and welcome to the first Premier League game of the day. For both these clubs, it’s all about the European places. Aston Villa, fourth in the table, are almost a shoo-in for the Champions League. They will go back up to third if they do better against Fulham today than Manchester United do against Brentford on Monday. And they have another route to the top table if they need it – winning the Europa League, something at which their manager, Unai Emery, is the world expert. Continue reading...
Thousands of Malaysians gathered in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, reiterating calls for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into allegations involving outgoing anti-graft chief Azam Baki . There was a heavy police presence as authorities tightly controlled the Dataran Merdeka area, where protesters gathered for the rally that lasted more than two hours. Armored vehicles and police in ri...
Thousands of Malaysians gathered in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, reiterating calls for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into allegations involving outgoing anti-graft chief Azam Baki . There was a heavy police presence as authorities tightly controlled the Dataran Merdeka area, where protesters gathered for the rally that lasted more than two hours. Armored vehicles and police in riot gear were deployed to rein in the crowd and prevent access to certain parts of the square. The environment turned tense briefly after firecrackers were set off early during the gathering, though local media reported that the situation was brought under control quickly. The rally reflected Malaysians’ concerns over the state of some institutions and instances of corruption, former Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said at the demonstrations. Read more: Who’s Watching Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog? Azam has been under scrutiny since Bloomberg News published two reports in February. One focused on shareholdings in a financial services firm that were worth more than the allowed limit for public officials. The other contained allegations that a group of businessmen was working with MACC officials to intimidate executives and oust them from companies. Azam and the MACC strongly denied the allegations in the reports. Earlier Saturday, Malaysia named Abdul Halim Aman as the next anti-graft chief, taking over from Azam when his term ends next month. Read more: Malaysia Picks a Former Judge to Lead Its Anti-Graft Agency
Stephen Simpson/DigitalVision via Getty Images Pilgrim's Pride Corporation ( PPC ) is one of the cheapest packaged-food names on the Seeking Alpha Quant screen, with a 6.32x trailing P/E against a sector median of 16.56. Seeking Alpha Premium It is also a commodity chicken producer whose Q4 2025 adjusted EBITDA margin collapsed 280 basis points y/y, whose forward EPS estimates have been cut 12% ov...
Stephen Simpson/DigitalVision via Getty Images Pilgrim's Pride Corporation ( PPC ) is one of the cheapest packaged-food names on the Seeking Alpha Quant screen, with a 6.32x trailing P/E against a sector median of 16.56. Seeking Alpha Premium It is also a commodity chicken producer whose Q4 2025 adjusted EBITDA margin collapsed 280 basis points y/y, whose forward EPS estimates have been cut 12% over six months, and whose one-year price performance is -39.58% against a sector decline of 6.59%. Seeking Alpha Premium The gap between those two facts is the entire investment question. Is this the deep-cyclical setup where the next leg is down but the valuation already prices it, or the one where cheap gets cheaper before it gets better? YCharts The business in 60 seconds PPC is the second-largest chicken producer in the US and the second-largest poultry producer in Europe. FY2025 revenue of $18.5B split 59.5% US, 29.1% Europe (UK's Moy Park and Pilgrim's Food Masters), and 11.5% Mexico. Company filings PPC owns its feed supply, its hatchery operations, its grow-out farms, and its processing plants. Running all four steps in-house lets the company manage input costs and supply continuity more tightly than operators that buy protein at market rates along the way. What it does not do is create pricing power at the customer end. Fresh chicken is a commodity; buyers choose on price, and switching from one supplier to another carries no meaningful friction. JBS S.A. ( JBS ) owns more than 80% of the shares outstanding, so the minority holder owns the economic upside alongside an ever-present buyout-overhang risk. Net debt to EBITDA sits at 1.2x. The balance sheet is not the problem. Three things matter First, the valuation is real but not a free lunch. At 4.66x TTM EV/EBITDA and 5.71x on forward, PPC trades at a 57% TTM discount and a 40% forward discount to the packaged-food sector median. Even against its own five-year history, the forward EV/EBITDA of 5.71x sits 19% below t...
Social Security and Medicare are distinct programs tied to the Social Security Administration (SSA), but they share a close financial relationship because many Social Security recipients have their Medicare Part B premiums automatically deducted from their monthly benefits. Although the SSA doesn't consider anything about Medicare when calculating your benefit , the link with Medicare inevitably a...
Social Security and Medicare are distinct programs tied to the Social Security Administration (SSA), but they share a close financial relationship because many Social Security recipients have their Medicare Part B premiums automatically deducted from their monthly benefits. Although the SSA doesn't consider anything about Medicare when calculating your benefit , the link with Medicare inevitably affects how much you actually bring home from your benefits. The range is wide, but let's take a look at what the average retiree receives. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading