Jeff Bezos has been one of the richest people in the world for years, yet his official salary from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has barely changed in decades. A recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows the company founder and executive chairman...
Jeff Bezos has been one of the richest people in the world for years, yet his official salary from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has barely changed in decades. A recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows the company founder and executive chairman...
Meta has tightened hiring and reduced its workforce while accelerating AI investments, prompting investors to weigh rising costs against future returns.
Meta has tightened hiring and reduced its workforce while accelerating AI investments, prompting investors to weigh rising costs against future returns.
BlackJack3D/E+ via Getty Images It is not a secret that the market has priced in a lot of adverse development for BDCs. A big part of the current discounts has been formed by various reasons that have emerged this year - the SaaSacalopyse, private BDC redemption caps and increased scrutiny around marks. In the meantime, the Q4 2025 data points indicate no systemic struggles. PIK exposures are belo...
BlackJack3D/E+ via Getty Images It is not a secret that the market has priced in a lot of adverse development for BDCs. A big part of the current discounts has been formed by various reasons that have emerged this year - the SaaSacalopyse, private BDC redemption caps and increased scrutiny around marks. In the meantime, the Q4 2025 data points indicate no systemic struggles. PIK exposures are below average, non-accruals are stable, Q4 earnings commentary embody optimism etc. So, there is a huge disconnect between what is priced in and what is happening on the ground. Moreover, if we put the discounts into a broader perspective, we will see that for the current valuations to become justified, there has to be a much greater shock than in the COVID-19, when the non-accruals peaked at 5.2% (in Q2 2020). Currently, the market has assigned a ~12% discount to BDCs (on an asset level). Meanwhile, Q4 2025 BDC non-accruals stand at 3.5%. Now, it could very well be so that "this time things will be different" and something much worse than what we experienced in the COVID-19 period when the entire economy was shut down could happen. I'm not buying that. However, it does not mean that we don't have to pay an attention to this. After all, the market is pretty efficient. With this in mind, I would like to share how I will be monitoring the situation. If I don't see any signs of deterioration there, I will most probably increase my BDC portfolio exposure even further (form already an overweight position). Here it comes. Indicators that will set the course for BDCs There are a couple of obvious variables that could indicate how BDC loan book quality is evolving and what could be the likely path going forward. These would be non-accruals and material value markdowns. However, even if these metrics come in at a solid shape just as pretty much across the board in Q4 2025 reports, the bears could make the following arguments (not exhaustive list): Non-accruals will emerge only when the ...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction Although telecom companies like AT&T ( T ) get a lot of flack due to their capital intensive business models and high debt loads, I do believe they can make for solid income investments. Particularly, if you buy at the right price and manage your expectations. AT&T's dividend yield over 4% could be an incentive for investment, especially if y...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction Although telecom companies like AT&T ( T ) get a lot of flack due to their capital intensive business models and high debt loads, I do believe they can make for solid income investments. Particularly, if you buy at the right price and manage your expectations. AT&T's dividend yield over 4% could be an incentive for investment, especially if you're willing to hold long-term. Currently, with a forward P/E of 11.39x, their valuation could also be viewed as attractive. But as a result of economic uncertainty, I believe investors may not see significant upside for at least the near to medium-term. In this article, I discuss AT&T's latest earnings, fundamentals, and why despite the reasonable valuation & dividend yield over 4%, I believe T could continue to underperform for 2026. Previous Buy Rating It's been roughly 9 months since I last covered AT&T. During my thesis , I assigned the stock a buy rating as I believed they could see solid upside to their Discounted Cash Flow price of $36 in the next 12 to 24 months. During their Q2, T saw solid earnings, improved efficiencies, and a reduction in debt. Their well-covered dividend with a payout ratio 56%, growth in free cash flow, and cost-savings initiatives were compelling as I believed these could drive price appreciation. Since, the stock has been volatile, underperforming the S&P ( SP500 ), down approximately 6% compared to the index, up over 12%. Seeking Alpha Growth Was Solid But Nothing Exciting AT&T reported their Q1 earnings this week and managed to post a double-beat. EPS beat by $0.02, amounting to $0.57, while top line of $31.5 billion beat by $260 million. EPS was up a solid 12% year-over-year, while revenue was up roughly 3%. T's performance was led by higher growth in Fiber and Advanced Connectivity wireless revenues. During the quarter, they saw 584,000 additional customer net additions. Management stated this was the best ever Q1 and 6th consecutive q...
Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images My last ProShares UltraPro Silver ETF ( AGQ ) article was a Buy suggestion in August 2023 here . Of course, back then nobody was interested in writing/reading about an approaching silver ( XAGUSD:CUR ) rally. However, this ETF's 2X leverage to a monster silver upmove since early 2024 has translated into spectacular returns for trust holders. AGQ's treme...
Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images My last ProShares UltraPro Silver ETF ( AGQ ) article was a Buy suggestion in August 2023 here . Of course, back then nobody was interested in writing/reading about an approaching silver ( XAGUSD:CUR ) rally. However, this ETF's 2X leverage to a monster silver upmove since early 2024 has translated into spectacular returns for trust holders. AGQ's tremendous +311% price gain since that article handily crushed the equivalent period S&P 500 increase of +63%. Seeking Alpha - Paul Franke, AGQ Article, August 23rd, 2023 In fact, several years ago I was calling for silver prices as high as US$100 oz., when almost nobody believed $30 was possible, both authors and commenters on Seeking Alpha. (Silver reached an all-time peak of $120+ in January 2026.) StockCharts.com - Nearby Silver Futures, 3 Years of Daily Price Changes, Log Scale The bad news is the bull run is taking a breather now, and such could last another 3-6 months in my estimation. Too much excitement, too much hot money, too much of a good thing, I suppose. Commodity markets rarely move in a straight line, and when they do, it's often intelligent to walk away. I have been suggesting such since late December here , and other gold/silver miner articles since the blow-off topping formation. I even sold off a large chunk of my physical silver (coins) around $86 an ounce in January. 2X Leverage Kills In A Bear Market The problem with AGQ and any 2X leveraged-long ETF is bear markets in the underlying index or commodity prove quite fatal for investors. Typically, with extra costs to create the leverage, including decaying futures and forward contracts, ETF pricing can decline more than its leveraged-design equivalent to a 200% long exposure position. That's what has happened with AGQ since the January 28th silver peak. ProShares Website - AGQ Holdings, April 23rd, 2026 The bad news for AGQ holders is time is not working on your side, like a traditional blue-chip equity inv...
Hisham Abugharbieh was arrested after standoff with police and charged with killing Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy The man who was detained after two Bangladeshi doctoral students went missing from the University of South Florida (USF) has been booked with two counts of murder. Hisham Abugharbieh faces two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon ...
Hisham Abugharbieh was arrested after standoff with police and charged with killing Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy The man who was detained after two Bangladeshi doctoral students went missing from the University of South Florida (USF) has been booked with two counts of murder. Hisham Abugharbieh faces two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, the Hillsborough county sheriff’s office announced on Saturday. Continue reading...
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) , the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, reached its multi-year high of $3.65 last July. But as of this writing, it trades at about $1.40 per token. That pullback might seem like a buying opportunity, but I wouldn't touch XRP until one major thing happens. XRP's price rose on three major catalysts last year. First, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit agai...
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) , the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, reached its multi-year high of $3.65 last July. But as of this writing, it trades at about $1.40 per token. That pullback might seem like a buying opportunity, but I wouldn't touch XRP until one major thing happens. XRP's price rose on three major catalysts last year. First, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple , the fintech company whose founders created XRP, finally ended with a lighter-than-expected fine. The conclusion of that legal battle, which began in 2020 after the SEC accused Ripple of selling XRP as unlicensed securities, prompted major cryptocurrency exchanges to relist XRP. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
The Strait of Hormuz oil shock has yet to crash demand as the rich world borrows from its stocks and pays up to secure supply. Traders are now sounding the alarm that a harsh adjustment is coming. S&P Global Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin joins David Gura and Christina Ruffini on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Strait of Hormuz oil shock has yet to crash demand as the rich world borrows from its stocks and pays up to secure supply. Traders are now sounding the alarm that a harsh adjustment is coming. S&P Global Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin joins David Gura and Christina Ruffini on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss. (Source: Bloomberg)
Kiko Seike and Madison Haley put Manchester City’s title celebrations on hold as Brighton upset the WSL leaders. Three points would have enabled City to take the title as early as Wednesday, depending on the outcome of Arsenal’s match against Leicester. But the race could now go down to the final day, with City still in need of three points. Brighton could have found themselves at least three goal...
Kiko Seike and Madison Haley put Manchester City’s title celebrations on hold as Brighton upset the WSL leaders. Three points would have enabled City to take the title as early as Wednesday, depending on the outcome of Arsenal’s match against Leicester. But the race could now go down to the final day, with City still in need of three points. Brighton could have found themselves at least three goals down within 10 minutes after gifting their opponents several chances – the first of which came after 12 seconds when a terrible backpass from Moeka Minami was intercepted by Khadija Shaw. The striker played a short pass across to Aoba Fujino, who fired her attempt wide. Continue reading...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Our readers know that we have long covered STMicroelectronics ( STM ). In hindsight, it may seem straightforward to highlight, but this was a particularly strong call, and the pace of the share price appreciation (almost +80%) over such a short period (January 2026) exceeded our initial expectations (Fig. 1). As a reminder, the company did not provide an...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Our readers know that we have long covered STMicroelectronics ( STM ). In hindsight, it may seem straightforward to highlight, but this was a particularly strong call, and the pace of the share price appreciation (almost +80%) over such a short period (January 2026) exceeded our initial expectations (Fig. 1). As a reminder, the company did not provide an outlook for 2025 , and we reiterated a "Neutral Stance Amid Earnings Pressure And Limited Visibility" in commenting on STM H1 2025 results. Our recent buy rating was supported by a gradual improvement in underlying fundamentals and the prolonged share price weakness. The company has a strong balance sheet, and with underappreciated AI opportunities and moderated automotive pressures, there was a basis to regain operating leverage (and move our rating to Buy). Mare Ev. Lab Rating Update Fig 1 Q1 Results and Our Positive Stance STM top-line sales reached $3.10 billion, with a year-on-year increase of 23% (Fig. 2). The company reported supportive results in the Microcontrollers segment, thanks to a rebound in Personal Electronics. Similarly, the Analog, MEMS, and Sensors segment grew a powerful +23.2%. The laggard remains the Power and Discrete (P&D) segment, with a 1.8% decline. That said, gross profit reached $1.05 billion, up 24.3% from last year. When gross profit margin increases at a higher rate than sales, it means the company is gaining back operating leverage. In the headline, STM reported negative FCF evolution; however, free cash flow included an $895 million cash outflow from the acquisition of NXP’s sensor segment. STM Q1 Financials in a Snap Fig 2 Why are we still positive? Firstly, STM reported its strongest earnings beat in almost three years. This reinforces our positive view that the cycle is turning. In our view, this marks the early phase of a multi-quarter upgrade cycle. This will be supported by cyclical recovery and additional upside from customer-drive...
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) , the beating heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, has seen its shares gain more than 1,100% since ChatGPT-3 was released to the public at the end of 2022. If you're wondering whether the stock still has room to grow, here's what you need to know. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) , the beating heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, has seen its shares gain more than 1,100% since ChatGPT-3 was released to the public at the end of 2022. If you're wondering whether the stock still has room to grow, here's what you need to know. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
RiverNorthPhotography/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images TDVG At A Glance The T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth ETF ( TDVG ) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (also known as an ETF) that invests in mostly large-cap, higher dividend-paying American-listed stocks. T. Rowe is pitching that they have the potential to outperform the broad market S&P 500 index using a disciplined portfolio constru...
RiverNorthPhotography/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images TDVG At A Glance The T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth ETF ( TDVG ) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (also known as an ETF) that invests in mostly large-cap, higher dividend-paying American-listed stocks. T. Rowe is pitching that they have the potential to outperform the broad market S&P 500 index using a disciplined portfolio construction process whereby they look at companies with both above-average earnings and dividend growth while looking to pick the winners. A team of industry-focused T. Rowe Price equity analysts is directly responsible for selecting stocks for the fund, as they attempt to beat the S&P 500 benchmark. I have looked at other T. Rowe Price ETFs before and have seen some mixed results. For example, TSPA has had underperformance versus other low-fee competitors like SPY and VOO, though more recently it has performed about in line with its S&P 500 benchmark. That said, I am liking what I'm seeing about TDVG, whose benchmark target is also the S&P 500 ( SPY ); this article will tell you whether it's worth investing with T. Rowe's asset managers or whether you should just buy SPY, which is also an ETF but is passively managed with lower fees. That means its fund managers don't make many trades and only rebalance every once in a while, versus T. Rowe's managers, who have the mandate to buy and sell stocks more often if they feel that there's a compelling investment opportunity. That said, I want to flag that TDVG is a non-transparent (semi-transparent) ETF, meaning it does not disclose its full portfolio holdings on a daily basis like a traditional ETF. This is a structural consideration investors should be aware of, because when there's a lot of volatility (e.g., all of 2026), non-transparent ETFs can trade at wider bid-ask spreads than fully transparent peers like SPY, which could increase asymmetric information when trading, since you don't quite know what's in the fund. As the market ...
Including clear, comprehensive definitions of consent in Hong Kong’s reform of sexual offences will provide greater clarity for all parties and better protect victims, as critics have said current interpretations rely on “common sense”, creating legal loopholes. Barrister Stephen Keung Pit-chun said on Saturday that establishing a statutory definition of consent would be key to sentencing in futur...
Including clear, comprehensive definitions of consent in Hong Kong’s reform of sexual offences will provide greater clarity for all parties and better protect victims, as critics have said current interpretations rely on “common sense”, creating legal loopholes. Barrister Stephen Keung Pit-chun said on Saturday that establishing a statutory definition of consent would be key to sentencing in future sexual offence cases. He was speaking at a forum at the University of Hong Kong alongside other...