Former Trump lawyer, acting in the role since April, faces Senate confirmation after controversial DoJ moves Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Donald Trump has nominated Todd Blanche to serve permanently as attorney general, lining up his former personal lawyer to be the country’s top law enforcement officer. The US president suggested earlier this week that Blanche, who was app...
Former Trump lawyer, acting in the role since April, faces Senate confirmation after controversial DoJ moves Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Donald Trump has nominated Todd Blanche to serve permanently as attorney general, lining up his former personal lawyer to be the country’s top law enforcement officer. The US president suggested earlier this week that Blanche, who was appointed on an acting basis in April after the president fired Pam Bondi , was set to receive the nod. “He’s a very talented guy,” Trump told a podcast. Continue reading...
Venezuela’s economy is poised for an influx of foreign investment that could support higher bond prices, according to a Wall Street analyst who visited the country last week. After meetings in Caracas, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. strategist Javier Kulesz said he expects a “stream of announcements” on agreements in critical sectors to be followed by investment inflows, primarily in oil, mining a...
Venezuela’s economy is poised for an influx of foreign investment that could support higher bond prices, according to a Wall Street analyst who visited the country last week. After meetings in Caracas, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. strategist Javier Kulesz said he expects a “stream of announcements” on agreements in critical sectors to be followed by investment inflows, primarily in oil, mining and electricity. Those deals should shore up economic growth and leave the government with more hard currency to repay bondholders. The bank’s fair-value estimates — of 53.5 cents on the dollar for government bonds and 47.9 cents for Petroleos de Venezuela SA — represents a premium to current market prices. Venezuelan debt, which has lingered in default for the better part of a decade, has rallied some 60% this year on the prospect of a debt restructuring. “The insights gained during the trip have increased our conviction that risks to our valuations are now more skewed to the upside rather than the downside,” Kulesz wrote in a note Monday. “The rush to buy Venezuela and PDVSA bonds that we’ve witnessed in our market is also playing out in the real economy.” Jefferies is among the first US banks to send analysts to Caracas after Washington rekindled diplomatic relations with the country following the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro. The trip, first reported by Bloomberg on Thursday, didn’t include clients and aimed to reestablish contacts, gain perspective on the ground and prepare future investor trips, according to the note. Already, more greenbacks are opening the door for investment and consumption in Venezuela, he wrote. Dollars going into the foreign-exchange market add up to $1.5 billion per month, more than eight-fold the figure for December, according to the note. The government of Acting President Delcy Rodriguez announced the hiring of legal and financial advisers in recent weeks and pledged to release a debt sustainability analysis this month. While that asses...
Don Wu/E+ via Getty Images Small-cap equities have historically offered investors attractive long-term return potential; however, identifying the most attractive opportunities can be difficult given the breadth of the small-cap ETF universe and wide variation in underlying fundamentals. The Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows ETF ( CALF ) seeks to address this problem by emphasizing companies with high f...
Don Wu/E+ via Getty Images Small-cap equities have historically offered investors attractive long-term return potential; however, identifying the most attractive opportunities can be difficult given the breadth of the small-cap ETF universe and wide variation in underlying fundamentals. The Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows ETF ( CALF ) seeks to address this problem by emphasizing companies with high free cash flow, prioritizing financially robust businesses. I currently assign a "Hold" rating to CALF. The fund’s free cash flow approach produces a differentiated portfolio with an attractive valuation profile and meaningful exposure to technology and consumer cyclical sectors. While CALF’s underlying index has recently undergone a strategy change, broadening its eligible universe beyond the S&P SmallCap 600, we have yet to see if the updated process translates into meaningful long-term returns/risk-adjusted performance. I think relative outperformance to funds like the Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund ( VB ) can continue throughout 2026, but given the fund’s higher expense ratio and the limited track record of the index’s new selection universe, I remain cautious. For these reasons, I think CALF may serve as a complementary allocation but is unlikely to replace lower-cost core small-cap holdings. Fund Overview The Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows ETF “aims to provide capital appreciation over time by screening the S&P US SmallCap (Index) for the top 200 small-cap companies based on free cash flow yield” ( fund website ). In doing so, the fund exhibits a strong tilt to value, with the majority of its portfolio concentrated in small-cap value and blend. The fund specifically tracks the Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows Index. With an inception date of June 16 th , 2017, investors have nearly a decade of performance data to consider. As of June 7 th , 2026, the fund has $3.47 billion in AUM. The fund is rebalanced quarterly in March, June, September, and December and has a recent annual...
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives to speak during a news conference at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice building on April 07, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Todd Blanche as attorney general, a position that he has held in an acting capacity for more than two months. Trump had said he would ask the Senate...
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives to speak during a news conference at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice building on April 07, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Todd Blanche as attorney general, a position that he has held in an acting capacity for more than two months. Trump had said he would ask the Senate to confirm Blanche as attorney general to succeed Pam Bondi , whom the president fired on April 2. The nomination comes weeks after Blanche had the Justice Department give Trump, his family members, and the Trump Organization immunity from prosecution or enforcement actions by the Internal Revenue Service in connection with tax returns filed before a controversial settlement of Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. Blanche, who is currently the deputy attorney general, previously served as a criminal defense lawyer for Trump when the president was out of office from January 2021 through January 2025. Since being named in the acting capacity, Blanche has faced strong criticism from senators, including some Republicans , whose support he will need to win confirmation. Those lawmakers and good-government advocacy groups, have blasted Blanche for authorizing the Justice Department's creation of a so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund as part of the settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the IRS. The $1.8 billion fund was designed to compensate purported victims of prosecutorial overreach by the Justice Department during the Biden administration. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche prepares to testify during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 2, 2026 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images Critics of the fund said it could pay people who were convicted of assaulting police officers and other crimes during the Jan. 6 , 2021, invasion of the U.S....
Kory Kantenga, head of economics, Americas at LinkedIn, said that the labor market has 'no momentum,' but maintains that it is too early to tell if it is the impact of artificial intelligence. Kantenga said that recent college grads are feeling the impact as companies reduce entry level opportunities. (Source: Bloomberg)
Kory Kantenga, head of economics, Americas at LinkedIn, said that the labor market has 'no momentum,' but maintains that it is too early to tell if it is the impact of artificial intelligence. Kantenga said that recent college grads are feeling the impact as companies reduce entry level opportunities. (Source: Bloomberg)
Apple investors gave a tepid reception to the next generation of its AI platform. The new Apple Intelligence system, underpinned by Google technology, was unveiled during a keynote presentation at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference. Ed Ludlow reports on "Bloomberg The Close."
Apple investors gave a tepid reception to the next generation of its AI platform. The new Apple Intelligence system, underpinned by Google technology, was unveiled during a keynote presentation at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference. Ed Ludlow reports on "Bloomberg The Close."
Apple (AAPL) kicked off its 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday by showcasing its new AI-powered Siri, dubbed Siri AI. Geoffrey Cain — the author of "Steve Jobs in Exile" — comes on Market Domination to comment on Apple's new position on AI and whether that could put pressure to keep up with its Big Tech peers. This is Apple CEO Tim Cook's final WWDC keynote as chief executive be...
Apple (AAPL) kicked off its 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday by showcasing its new AI-powered Siri, dubbed Siri AI. Geoffrey Cain — the author of "Steve Jobs in Exile" — comes on Market Domination to comment on Apple's new position on AI and whether that could put pressure to keep up with its Big Tech peers. This is Apple CEO Tim Cook's final WWDC keynote as chief executive before he steps down in September and takes on a new role as executive chairman.
Apple investors gave a tepid reception to the next generation of its AI platform. The new Apple Intelligence system, underpinned by Google technology, was unveiled during a keynote presentation at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Ed Ludlow reports on "Bloomberg The Close." (Source: Bloomberg)
Apple investors gave a tepid reception to the next generation of its AI platform. The new Apple Intelligence system, underpinned by Google technology, was unveiled during a keynote presentation at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Ed Ludlow reports on "Bloomberg The Close." (Source: Bloomberg)
Pour one out for the Apple Watch Series 9. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge I hope you have a modern Apple Watch or iPad, because otherwise watchOS 27 and iPadOS 27 won't run on your device. Apple often drops support for older devices with its latest software updates, but this year it's culling even more device generations than ever before. Apple is dropping support for four generations of Apple...
Pour one out for the Apple Watch Series 9. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge I hope you have a modern Apple Watch or iPad, because otherwise watchOS 27 and iPadOS 27 won't run on your device. Apple often drops support for older devices with its latest software updates, but this year it's culling even more device generations than ever before. Apple is dropping support for four generations of Apple Watch models in watchOS 27. The latest watchOS update will only be available on Apple Watch Series 10 devices and above, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and above, and Apple Watch SE 3. That means if you have a barely three-year-old Apple Watch Series 9 model then you're out of luck. Likewise, if you purchased the original Apple Watch … Read the full story at The Verge.
Bilanol/iStock via Getty Images Real Estate Weekly Outlook U.S. equity markets snapped a nine-week winning streak - while benchmark interest rates surged to multi-month highs - as a stronger-than-expected jobs report sparked a hawkish repricing of Fed expectations toward rate hikes, pressuring high-flying tech stocks that had powered the latest leg of the rally. The “good news is bad news” dynamic...
Bilanol/iStock via Getty Images Real Estate Weekly Outlook U.S. equity markets snapped a nine-week winning streak - while benchmark interest rates surged to multi-month highs - as a stronger-than-expected jobs report sparked a hawkish repricing of Fed expectations toward rate hikes, pressuring high-flying tech stocks that had powered the latest leg of the rally. The “good news is bad news” dynamic was revived in full force this week, as renewed labor-market strength forced investors to further unwind rate-cut bets and contemplate the real possibility that the Fed’s next move could be a hike. Combined with the ongoing stalemate in Iran and the renewed firming in oil prices this week, the result was the broadest cross-asset repricing in months, with stocks, bonds, crypto, and precious metals all coming under pressure ahead of a critical stretch of summer inflation reports. Hoya Capital Snapping its longest winning streak since late 2023, the S&P 500 declined 2.4% on the week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 plunged 4.3% amid a sharp selloff in chipmakers and other AI-related leaders. Chipmakers were at the epicenter of the selloff as investors questioned whether the AI trade had gotten overextended following a furious multi-month rally. Other major benchmarks posted more muted losses, however, with the Mid-Cap 400 down 0.8% and the Small-Cap 600 lower by 0.7%. Six of the eleven GICS equity sectors actually finished higher on the week, led by Energy, Healthcare, and Financials. Real estate equities also delivered surprising outperformance despite the surge in benchmark interest rates, buoyed by generally constructive updates from REITweek - the annual industry conference - and some rotation into defensive, income-oriented sectors. The Equity REIT Index advanced 1.1% on the week, with 12 of 18 property sectors in positive territory. The Housing Index finished roughly flat as renewed mortgage-rate concerns were offset by an M&A boost from Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition...