Companies with more cash than debt can be financially resilient, but that doesn’t mean they’re all strong investments. Some lack leverage because they struggle to grow or generate consistent profits, making them unattractive borrowers.
Companies with more cash than debt can be financially resilient, but that doesn’t mean they’re all strong investments. Some lack leverage because they struggle to grow or generate consistent profits, making them unattractive borrowers.
Cars stand in line for gasoline at a Lukoil gas station on July 8, 2026 in Nakhabino outside of Moscow, Russia. Russian cities are experiencing a shortage of automobile fuel caused by numerous Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries. Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian fuel tankers in the Sea of Azov, seeking to disrupt supplies to occupie...
Cars stand in line for gasoline at a Lukoil gas station on July 8, 2026 in Nakhabino outside of Moscow, Russia. Russian cities are experiencing a shortage of automobile fuel caused by numerous Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries. Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian fuel tankers in the Sea of Azov, seeking to disrupt supplies to occupied Crimea at a time when drone strikes have triggered nationwide gasoline shortages. Ukraine's drone force commander Robert Brovdi, known as Magyar, said via Telegram that 14 Russian ships were hit in the Sea of Azov on Thursday evening, taking the number of Russian stuck by Ukrainian drones to 35 over the last 96 hours. CNBC could not independently verify this report. The drone strikes form part of Ukraine's campaign designed to choke off supplies and transportation routes in and out of Crimea, which Russia seized by force in 2014. Situated off the southern shores of both Ukraine and Russia, the Sea of Azov is a shallow inland sea that sits to the northeast of the Crimean peninsula. Defense experts and strategists have described Ukraine's drone attacks as pivotal in helping to stall Russia's military momentum, while also warning that Kyiv's deep-strike successes have drastically raised the risk of escalation . Ukraine has frequently targeted high-profile oil refineries in major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg in recent weeks as part of a sustained push to cut off Russia's energy revenues. Read more Ukraine’s drone playbook is wreaking havoc in Russia — and upending where NATO wants to invest Ukraine is raising the cost of war for Russia — and testing Putin's resolve Inside NATO's extraordinary 48 hours that revealed Trump's grip on global diplomacy Earlier this week, Ukraine marked what appeared to be one of the country's deepest attacks on Russian territory in the war so far. Plumes of black smoke were seen billowing from a key oil refinery in the city of Omsk on ...
(RTTNews) - European stocks were subdued on Friday, with AI valuation concerns and tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the U.S. keeping investors on edge.
(RTTNews) - European stocks were subdued on Friday, with AI valuation concerns and tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the U.S. keeping investors on edge.
Stock futures were mixed Friday morning as widening military clashes between the U.S. and Iran choked key global shipping lanes and revived market inflation fears. Here are some of Friday's biggest stock movers: Biggest stock gainers WD-40 ( WDFC ) +14% - Shares surged after the company reported FQ3 results that topped expectations, with adjusted EPS of $2.33 and revenue of $195.1M (+24% Y/Y), bot...
Stock futures were mixed Friday morning as widening military clashes between the U.S. and Iran choked key global shipping lanes and revived market inflation fears. Here are some of Friday's biggest stock movers: Biggest stock gainers WD-40 ( WDFC ) +14% - Shares surged after the company reported FQ3 results that topped expectations, with adjusted EPS of $2.33 and revenue of $195.1M (+24% Y/Y), both well above consensus. The company also issued an upbeat FY2026 outlook, forecasting reported revenue of $675M-$690M, non-GAAP EPS of $6.05-$6.35 (above the $5.99 consensus), and non-GAAP operating income of $107M-$113M. While management lowered its gross margin outlook to reflect higher costs and product reclassifications, it said pricing actions and cost-saving initiatives are expected to deliver most of their benefits in FY2027. Vodafone ( VOD ) +10% - Shares jumped after UAE telecom operator e& Group agreed to sell its 16.21% stake in Vodafone to a company controlled by French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel's family group for $5.95B, at 112.5 pence per share. The transaction will generate approximately $1.3B in net cash proceeds for e&, which said it will no longer have board representation or influence over Vodafone's management following the sale. Solaris Energy Infrastructure ( SEI ) +3% - Shares gained after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the company will replace Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (CPRX) in the S&P SmallCap 600, effective before the open on July 15. The index change follows Angelini Pharma's pending acquisition of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, which is expected to close soon, subject to final closing conditions. Biggest stock losers Fermi ( FRMI ) -22% - Shares tumbled after the company priced an upsized $375M offering of 5.00% convertible senior notes due 2031. The notes carry an initial conversion price of about $9.52 per share, representing a 30% premium to the July 9 closing price of $7.32, with no shareholder dilution unless the stock exceeds $14.64 per s...
Apollo Global Management Inc. is on course for a record year of acquisitions at a time when many of its private equity peers are struggling to deploy capital. The firm’s dealmaking accelerated Friday when it entered the race to take over UK budget airline EasyJet Plc with a £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion) bid that trumps an offer from fellow US buyout shop Castlelake . Apollo separately agreed to purc...
Apollo Global Management Inc. is on course for a record year of acquisitions at a time when many of its private equity peers are struggling to deploy capital. The firm’s dealmaking accelerated Friday when it entered the race to take over UK budget airline EasyJet Plc with a £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion) bid that trumps an offer from fellow US buyout shop Castlelake . Apollo separately agreed to purchase a minority in stake in Bayer AG ’s contraceptives business for €3 billion ($3.4 billion), a transaction that comes roughly a year after the firm indicated it could invest around $100 billion in Germany over the next decade. Friday’s deals mean Apollo has now led or been involved in announced acquisitions valued at around $27.6 billion this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s up more than 150% year-on-year and already just behind the record outlay of $29 billion that the firm achieved in 2021. New York-based Apollo, which is led by Chief Executive Officer Marc Rowan , has this year struck 10-figure deals with companies including glass manufacturer Nippon Sheet Glass Co. , building materials specialist QXO Inc. and automotive supplier Forvia SE . The sharp increase in its spending stands in contrast to the wider private equity industry, where the value of acquisitions globally is up just 3%, compared with double-digit percentage growth in overall dealmaking, the Bloomberg-compiled data show. Many firms have been finding it hard to agree new buyouts before first offloading a backlog of unsold investments — a lot of which were acquired for rich valuations when interest rates were low. Speaking to Bloomberg Television in June , Apollo Co-President Scott Kleinman said the industry had “lost its way” during the easy-money era and warned that firms will “have to start capitulating” on valuations when looking to sell certain assets. Apollo Buys Forvia’s Auto Interiors Unit for €1.82 Billion Apollo Leads $1.2 Billion Investment in Brad Jacobs’ QXO Apollo’s $35 Billion ...
在 AI 负责人 Alexandr Wang 领导下推出首款人工智能模型三个月后，Meta 再次推出一次重大升级，试图在 AI 市场的关键领域与 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 展开竞争。 昨日，Meta 正式发布了新版 Muse Spark，这是一款面向智能体编程（agentic coding）的多模态 AI 模型，目标是与 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 等公司的同类产品展开竞争。...
在 AI 负责人 Alexandr Wang 领导下推出首款人工智能模型三个月后，Meta 再次推出一次重大升级，试图在 AI 市场的关键领域与 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 展开竞争。 昨日，Meta 正式发布了新版 Muse Spark，这是一款面向智能体编程（agentic coding）的多模态 AI 模型，目标是与 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 等公司的同类产品展开竞争。Wang 在接受采访时表示，Muse Spark 1.1 是“目前在智能体任务和编程领域能力最强的模型”。 过去几年里，Meta 已经陆续推出了多款基础 AI 模型。而此次 Muse Spark 的发布显然足够重要，甚至促使 CEO Mark Zuckerberg 时隔三年首次在 X 平台发帖。上一次 Zuckerberg 发帖是在 2023 年 7 月，当时该平台刚从 Twitter 更名为 X。 他在此次帖子中称，Spark 是“一款价格极低但能力强大的智能体和编程模型”，并指出该模型“最擅长智能体性能、工具调用以及计算机操作”。Zuckerberg 还透露，“很快还会有更多内容发布”，暗示 Meta 计划继续推出更多模型。 三个月性能显著飞跃， “智能体任务表现超过竞争对手” Meta 向用户主打的卖点，是 Spark 处理大规模智能体任务的能力，包括修复代码漏洞、协助大型代码迁移等，这类自动化能力正是越来越多企业希望通过 AI 公司实现的方向。作为一个为智能任务打造的多模态推理模型，Muse Spark 1.1 在工具和计算机使用、编码以及多模态理解方面取得了重大提升。 在博客中，Meta 写道：“Muse Spark 1.1 在个人智能体任务中展现出卓越性能，尤其适用于需要跨多个外部应用和服务进行规划与协调的场景。”在多应用计算机使用流程中，Muse Spark 1.1 表现出色，通过在长时间会话中保持上下文，并在每个步骤智能选择脚本、直接界面交互和批量操作之间。它能够在极少的人为干预下导航陌生的界面。Wang 透露，在一些需要与各种第三方编程产品和服务进行交互的任务中，Muse Spark 1.1 的表现超过了竞争对手模型。 据其介绍，Wang 领导的 Meta 超级智能实验室（Meta Superintelligence Labs，MSL）针对编程相关任务对 ...
It could be a World Cup scene from 2006 or 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo teeing up for a penalty kick to put Portugal through; Lionel Messi scoring for Argentina; Luka Modrić driving Croatia’s attack. Players in their mid-30s and older used to be rare. In 2026, they made up about 6% of the 48 national team squads. And more of them than ever are on the cusp of middle age, widely considered to begin at 40...
It could be a World Cup scene from 2006 or 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo teeing up for a penalty kick to put Portugal through; Lionel Messi scoring for Argentina; Luka Modrić driving Croatia’s attack. Players in their mid-30s and older used to be rare. In 2026, they made up about 6% of the 48 national team squads. And more of them than ever are on the cusp of middle age, widely considered to begin at 40. Eight of the 20 oldest ever to play in a World Cup match took the field in 2026, according to FIFA statistics. Propelled by advancements in science and medicine — and incentivized by lucrative contracts and sponsorships — players are doing everything they can to stay in the game a little bit longer. Looking more broadly, the proportion of players who have entered their 30s has also increased with time. It’s typically an elite group. Ronaldo, Messi and Modrić dominated the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual award in the sport, in the two decades since their first appearances at the biggest sporting event in the world. But there were also older breakout stars that dazzled during the tournament. Most notable was the 40-year-old Cape Verdean goalkeeper who goes by Vozinha, or “Little Grandmother” in Portuguese. He went viral on social media after shutting out Spain in his country's World Cup debut, a David-versus-Goliath battle, then turned in another standout performance as Cape Verde pushed Argentina, also a tournament favorite, to extra time before falling in the first knockout round. The players are aware of the years. Messi, who turned 39 during the tournament, said before it started that his physical condition would determine the role he plays for Argentina, the defending champion. He and teammate Nicolas Otamendi, 38, are the only “senior” players still in the competition. It’s turned out to be a critical role. Messi — a leader in the race for what would be his first World Cup Golden Boot, awarded to the player who gets the most goals — got the assist that br...
China eased a boycott of higher-end Nvidia processors, seeking to balance concerns about chip shortages hurting local artificial intelligence (AI) developers against the risk of over-reliance on US technology. Alibaba is among select businesses that will be eligible to buy H200s, Nvidia’s second-best AI chip, the South China Morning Post reported, citing an unidentified source. TikTok developer By...
China eased a boycott of higher-end Nvidia processors, seeking to balance concerns about chip shortages hurting local artificial intelligence (AI) developers against the risk of over-reliance on US technology. Alibaba is among select businesses that will be eligible to buy H200s, Nvidia’s second-best AI chip, the South China Morning Post reported, citing an unidentified source. TikTok developer ByteDance and AI start-up DeepSeek are also on the list, The Information said this week. Alibaba owns...
The Scottish author on loving The Hobbit, fairytales, Frankenstein and the shock of A Clockwork Orange My earliest reading memory Fairytales. I was obsessed. I took fairytales very seriously as moral lessons. I soon knew that I’d always help any old lady cross the road, it really is always best to do so. My favourite book growing up The Hobbit was my favourite book while growing up. It expanded my...
The Scottish author on loving The Hobbit, fairytales, Frankenstein and the shock of A Clockwork Orange My earliest reading memory Fairytales. I was obsessed. I took fairytales very seriously as moral lessons. I soon knew that I’d always help any old lady cross the road, it really is always best to do so. My favourite book growing up The Hobbit was my favourite book while growing up. It expanded my understanding of what could be achieved in fiction. I found JRR Tolkien’s world transformative. I felt as if I knew the hobbits, and I so wanted to see the elves. I could hear the crack of fireworks as they turned into dragons that flew overhead. Continue reading...
The five of us were supposed to leave for Cornwall at 9am. But it was noon before we set off and past midnight when we arrived. No wonder two of the family left the next morning It was a last-minute May half-term break. We knew the cottage, lent to us by a relative, would be a squeeze for my husband, three teenage daughters and me. “But hey,” I told my unconvinced gang, “it’s near the beach – we’l...
The five of us were supposed to leave for Cornwall at 9am. But it was noon before we set off and past midnight when we arrived. No wonder two of the family left the next morning It was a last-minute May half-term break. We knew the cottage, lent to us by a relative, would be a squeeze for my husband, three teenage daughters and me. “But hey,” I told my unconvinced gang, “it’s near the beach – we’ll hardly be inside anyway.” One daughter had a party the night before; she promised to be home by midnight, and we agreed we would begin the six-hour drive at 9am. Said daughter arrived back as I was making my morning tea. She was still drunk, and she had lost her phone. Continue reading...
The desert rain frog, native to a narrow coastal strip of south-west Africa, has been classified as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, as its habitat is threatened by mining The desert rain frog is one of the most unusual amphibians on the planet. With a rotund body and stumpy legs that dig rather than jump, it has evolved to survive not in wetlands or rainforests, but in the unforgiving dunes of th...
The desert rain frog, native to a narrow coastal strip of south-west Africa, has been classified as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, as its habitat is threatened by mining The desert rain frog is one of the most unusual amphibians on the planet. With a rotund body and stumpy legs that dig rather than jump, it has evolved to survive not in wetlands or rainforests, but in the unforgiving dunes of the southern African desert. This week the species was declared to be threatened with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s red list , which classified it as vulnerable. Without conservation efforts, its population is expected to decline by 20% in the next decade, the IUCN warns. Continue reading...
Maxxing trends – going all in on a particular trait, habit, quality or pastime – tend to burn brightly and briefly. But how many of the following are real? It started more than a decade ago with looksmaxxing , a disturbing manosphere-based strategy for optimising personal appearance through diet, exercise, surgery or smashing your jawbone. Back then, “maxxing” carried with it an unwholesome sense ...
Maxxing trends – going all in on a particular trait, habit, quality or pastime – tend to burn brightly and briefly. But how many of the following are real? It started more than a decade ago with looksmaxxing , a disturbing manosphere-based strategy for optimising personal appearance through diet, exercise, surgery or smashing your jawbone. Back then, “maxxing” carried with it an unwholesome sense of overkill for its own sake. Even that extra X – maxing out the word in a way that served no orthographic purpose – seemed to be a symptom. Over time the -maxxing suffix has come to mean going all in on a particular trait, habit, quality or pastime, generally in a manner that misses the point. Booksmaxxing , for example, seems to be less about reading, and more about coming across as optimally bookish in your dating profile. Sleepmaxxing is about getting as much sleep as you can, rather than as much as you need. Continue reading...
Republicans on Capitol Hill are starting to talk about one facet of immigration reform: how to expand the popular H-2A visa program for farm laborers. They face obstacles. (Image credit: Mario Tama)
Republicans on Capitol Hill are starting to talk about one facet of immigration reform: how to expand the popular H-2A visa program for farm laborers. They face obstacles. (Image credit: Mario Tama)
During the last election, when struggling to find a memorable attack line against Kamala Harris, Trump eventually landed on "Comrade Kamala." (Image credit: Chris McGrath)
During the last election, when struggling to find a memorable attack line against Kamala Harris, Trump eventually landed on "Comrade Kamala." (Image credit: Chris McGrath)