JD.com is Chinese online retailer. Credit: Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock.com. If true, the move would follow JD.com’s earlier efforts in the UK, including its failed takeover bid for electricals group Currys and its decision last year to walk away from talks to acquire Argos from Sainsbury’s. Both JD.com and The Very Group declined to comment on the speculation. Sky News, which was first to report on...
JD.com is Chinese online retailer. Credit: Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock.com. If true, the move would follow JD.com’s earlier efforts in the UK, including its failed takeover bid for electricals group Currys and its decision last year to walk away from talks to acquire Argos from Sainsbury’s. Both JD.com and The Very Group declined to comment on the speculation. Sky News, which was first to report on the rumours, said that Carlyle, The Very Group’s owner, was weighing a sale of the business for about £2bn, an option it began exploring a few months after taking control and ending the Barclay family’s longstanding involvement. The potential JD.com bid also comes as recent GlobalData analysis highlights ongoing weakness in The Very Group’s fashion division, even as the retailer’s overall sales have returned to growth. According to Ashley Adeyemi, a retail analyst at GlobalData, the retailer must enhance its fashion offering to remain competitive with ultra-fast-fashion competitors. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, The Very Group recorded a 0.3% increase in total revenue to £1.61bn, compared to £1.60bn in the same period the previous year, with growth in its UK retail and financial services businesses. The company reported a 4.5% fall in fashion and sports sales for the 39 weeks to 28 March 2026. Adeyemi stated the fashion segment continues to “drag the category into negative territory”. Earlier this year, the company announced it had extended and renewed its main debt facilities, securing funding until at least 2029. In April, The Very Group named Edward Fry as its permanent Chief Financial Officer, following a period as interim CFO since September 2025.
Brent crude rebounds after US and Israeli jets struck Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after President Trump suggested peace talks were progressing. Katrina Dudley of Franklin Templeton discusses inflation risks and consumer pressure. (Source: Bloomberg)
Brent crude rebounds after US and Israeli jets struck Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after President Trump suggested peace talks were progressing. Katrina Dudley of Franklin Templeton discusses inflation risks and consumer pressure. (Source: Bloomberg)
AlexSecret Honeywell-backed ( HON ) quantum computing firm Quantinuum ( QNT ) has filed to offer 21.05M shares of its Class A common stock in its initial public offering and sees the price to be between $45-$50 a share. The offering would raise $1.05B at the top end of the range. The firm plans to apply to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “QNT.” J.P. Morga...
AlexSecret Honeywell-backed ( HON ) quantum computing firm Quantinuum ( QNT ) has filed to offer 21.05M shares of its Class A common stock in its initial public offering and sees the price to be between $45-$50 a share. The offering would raise $1.05B at the top end of the range. The firm plans to apply to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “QNT.” J.P. Morgan Securities ( JPM ) and Morgan Stanley & Co. ( MS ) are acting as joint lead active book-running managers for the offering. Jefferies and Evercore Group are also acting as active book-running managers for the offering. J.P. Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley & Co. and Jefferies are the representatives of the underwriters. Quantinuum is a quantum computing company offering a full-stack platform designed to make quantum computing deployable in real-world environments. The company has a global workforce of around 700 employees. It is based in Broomfield, Colorado, with additional facilities across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Qatar, and Singapore. According to the filing, Quantinuum generated 2025 bookings of $79.3M, with revenue rising to $30.9M from $23.0M in 2024, while net loss widened to $192.6M as the company continued investing heavily in growth and commercialization efforts. Bookings were $1.3M for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $1.9M for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The firm recently signed a deal with the U.S. federal government to receive R&D funding to address specific technology bottlenecks in the development of fault-tolerant trapped-ion quantum computers. Filing More on Quantinuum Inc., Honeywell International Honeywell International Inc. (HON) Presents at Wolfe Research 19th Annual Global Transportation & Industrials Conference Transcript Quantinuum Seeks IPO As It Continues Research-Heavy Development Honeywell International Inc. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Honeywell rises as Quantinuum unit...
Welcome to our guide to the commodities driving the global economy. Today, Singapore-based Chief Correspondent Alfred Cang explores why China’s best efforts to improve mining safety didn’t prevent the latest fatal blast. China’s deadliest mining disaster in years wasn’t necessarily a failure of a nationwide safety drive. Instead, the explosion in Shanxi province, which killed at least 82 miners, s...
Welcome to our guide to the commodities driving the global economy. Today, Singapore-based Chief Correspondent Alfred Cang explores why China’s best efforts to improve mining safety didn’t prevent the latest fatal blast. China’s deadliest mining disaster in years wasn’t necessarily a failure of a nationwide safety drive. Instead, the explosion in Shanxi province, which killed at least 82 miners, shows the persistence of an age-old problem: the difficulty of stopping small-scale miners chasing marginal profits in regions far from Beijing’s watchful eye. China’s leaders have spent two decades making coal mining safer. Small miners have been closed or consolidated into larger operations, many of them mechanized. Monitoring has improved and the law was changed five years ago to make certain safety violations punishable by prison terms. Just a day before the latest blast, the Ministry of Emergency Management called for a “ safe production month ” in June, while provincial officials in Shanxi briefed media on a shift to “intelligent, green and safe” mining in a region responsible for nearly 30% of China’s coal output. Shanxi encapsulates China’s unresolved challenges – a resource-rich region where the imperative to follow national guidance and enforce zero tolerance of risky operations can collide with local political and economic realities that shape industries, employment and tax revenue. The Liushenyu mine is about a four-hour drive from the provincial capital, Taiyuan, in a location where high methane levels make irregular coal mining particularly risky. It produces mainly coking coal used in steel production, an industry that’s been under pressure from thin margins. After summer restocking, prices were already being pushed down toward breakeven levels by surging imports of the fuel from Mongolia. The investigation team from the State Council in Beijing has vowed to examine not only the cause of the blast, but the role of local management and how far they might have s...
vm/E+ via Getty Images Introduction Waste Management ( WM ), in my opinion, is one of the highest-quality businesses on the planet, and for good reason. Despite their mixed earnings report with a revenue miss, the company once again showed resilience with double-digit EBITDA growth even with lower volumes in one of their key segments. For 2026, the company still expects 29% in free cash flow, acco...
vm/E+ via Getty Images Introduction Waste Management ( WM ), in my opinion, is one of the highest-quality businesses on the planet, and for good reason. Despite their mixed earnings report with a revenue miss, the company once again showed resilience with double-digit EBITDA growth even with lower volumes in one of their key segments. For 2026, the company still expects 29% in free cash flow, according to previous guidance, which could support continued price appreciation over the long term. But at a forward P/E of nearly 27.0x, I believe the valuation remains a near-term risk that could lead to shares underperforming. In this article, I discuss Waste Management's latest earnings, fundamentals, and why, despite their quality business, I continue to rate shares a hold and at what price I'm looking to buy. Previous Hold Thesis I covered Waste Management back in February after the company reported their Q4 earnings in an article titled: A Dividend Darling But The Premium Stinks. During Q4, WM missed on both their top and bottom lines, resulting in a brief pullback in price. However, for the year, they saw solid growth, with EPS growing 13% from the previous year's quarter and revenue up 7%. For the entire year, revenue growth was modest, with revenue increasing less than 1% and their bottom line increasing 3.7%. EBITDA growth was solid at 6.2%, while margins expanded to 30.1%. Despite their solid performance, WM's valuation appeared stretched at a near 32x P/E, above their 5-year average. Management projected strong FCF growth that could potentially drive price expansion, but I suggested investors wait for a drop below $200 for a margin of safety. In the past 3 months, Waste Management has underperformed the overall market, down a little over 5% compared to the S&P ( SP500 ), up closer to 8%. Seeking Alpha Softer Volumes in Largest Segment Led to Mixed Q1 Waste Management reported their first-quarter earnings back on April 29th again to mixed results. Instead of a miss...
Andrzej Rostek/iStock via Getty Images Whenever a REIT ( VNQ ) cuts its dividend, it typically leads to painful losses. This is especially true if the dividend cut comes as a surprise. Alexandria Real Estate's ( ARE ) recent cut is a great example of that, and unfortunately, I paid the price: Data by YCharts Therefore, if you are going to invest in REITs, it is critical that you try to avoid futur...
Andrzej Rostek/iStock via Getty Images Whenever a REIT ( VNQ ) cuts its dividend, it typically leads to painful losses. This is especially true if the dividend cut comes as a surprise. Alexandria Real Estate's ( ARE ) recent cut is a great example of that, and unfortunately, I paid the price: Data by YCharts Therefore, if you are going to invest in REITs, it is critical that you try to avoid future dividend cutters. It only takes a few to materially hurt your portfolio's performance. Fortunately, we have been able to predict most future cuts at High Yield Landlord, saving us from significant potential losses. As an example, we have recently predicted the cuts of Chiron Real Estate ( XRN ) (formerly known as Global Medica REIT) and KKR Real Estate Finance ( KREF ), which we both sold ahead of the cuts at High Yield Landlord. Today, we are going to highlight 3 more REITs that I would sell before they cut their dividend. Blackstone Mortgage Trust ( BXMT ) I just mentioned KKR Real Estate Finance. The mortgage REIT just recently cut its dividend by a huge 60%, and that's after the management had indicated that they felt comfortable with the dividend in earlier quarters. We saw it coming because the REIT had two main issues. First, it had lots of leverage, limiting its capacity to absorb potential losses. Second, it had lent heavily during the pandemic era when cap rates and interest rates were historically low. Many of these loans then saw their collateral lose value as cap rates expanded, especially in oversupply-impacted sectors like life science and multifamily, in which the REIT is heavily invested. KKR Real Estate Finance But KKR Real Estate Finance is not alone. I think that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, while safer, is also facing similar issues. The REIT already cut its dividend once in 2024 (which we also correctly predicted ), and we expect another one in the next year or two. The REIT is popular as a result of its 10%+ dividend yield, but its current dividend is...
Deckers Outdoor (DECK +3.72%) has been a compelling investment story over the past decade, with its share price up more than 1,000% during that stretch. However, despite continued solid sales growth, the stock has largely been running in place this year and is down nearly 20% over the past year. It's also down more than half from its January 2025 highs. Let's dig into the footwear company's latest...
Deckers Outdoor (DECK +3.72%) has been a compelling investment story over the past decade, with its share price up more than 1,000% during that stretch. However, despite continued solid sales growth, the stock has largely been running in place this year and is down nearly 20% over the past year. It's also down more than half from its January 2025 highs. Let's dig into the footwear company's latest results to see if now is the time to buy the stock. Deckers Outdoor still generates solid sales Deckers has long been known for its popular Ugg boots, but a small $1.1 million acquisition in 2012 for Hoka One added a second powerful brand to its lineup. In fact, it is arguably one of the best-ever acquisitions in the footwear space. Meanwhile, both brands continue to see strong growth. For its recently reported fiscal fourth quarter of 2026 (ending March 31), Deckers grew its sales by 9.6% year over year to $1.11 billion, while earnings per share (EPS) fell 4% to $0.96. That topped analysts' estimates for EPS of $0.83 on revenue of $1.09 billion. Domestic sales edged up 0.3% to $649.8 million, while international sales surged 25.5% to $469.5 million. Direct-to-consumer revenue rose 13.2% to $464.4 million, with comparable sales up 8.2%. Wholesale revenue, meanwhile, rose by 7.1% to $654.9 million. The results were driven by Deckers' commitment to Hoka's international expansion. It plans to open 20 to 25 stores annually moving forward and to continue building brand awareness in Europe and China. It also plans to selectively expand Hoka's wholesale distribution in both the U.S. and internationally, especially in sporting goods and athletic specialty retailers, where the brand is underpenetrated. In the quarter, Hoka sales jumped 14.5% to $671.2 million. Ugg sales climbed 9.2% to $408.6 million, while its other brands' sales declined by 35.6% to $39.5 million. Note that Ugg is still the slightly larger brand for Deckers, as it gets the bulk of its sales before and around the ...
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (NYSE:TSM) is the prime beneficiary of the global AI-driven semiconductor boom, as Taiwan’s stock market overtakes India’s in total market value. TSMC Drives Taiwan’s Market Rally Taiwan’s stock market capitalization climbed to $4.95 trillion, surpassing India’s $4.92 trillion and making Taiwan the world’s fifth-largest equity market. Taiwan Semicondu...
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (NYSE:TSM) is the prime beneficiary of the global AI-driven semiconductor boom, as Taiwan’s stock market overtakes India’s in total market value. TSMC Drives Taiwan’s Market Rally Taiwan’s stock market capitalization climbed to $4.95 trillion, surpassing India’s $4.92 trillion and making Taiwan the world’s fifth-largest equity market. Taiwan Semiconductor played a central role in the rally, accounting for roughly 42% of Taiwan’s benchmark index, Business Standard reported on Tuesday. The chipmaker’s shares have surged 49% this year as investors poured money into AI-linked semiconductor companies. Franklin Templeton fund manager Yi Ping Liao said Taiwan’s rising market value reflects its heavy concentration in tech hardware companies tied directly to the AI investment cycle. Liao added that markets with limited exposure to AI hardware are increasingly falling behind Taiwan and South Korea. AI Boom Strengthens TSMC’s Dominance Analysts said Taiwan Semiconductor continues benefiting from strong global demand for AI semiconductors, which remain critical to the broader AI infrastructure buildout. Taiwan’s financial regulator also introduced new rules favorable to Taiwan Semiconductor by raising the single-stock investment cap for domestic funds from 10% to 25% in cases where a company exceeds 10% index weighting. Taiwan Semiconductor is currently the only company meeting that threshold. JPMorgan analysts said the rule change could attract more than $6 billion in new inflows into Taiwan’s market. Previously, UOB Kay Hian analyst Qi Wang told CNBC that Taiwan’s decision to raise the single-stock investment cap could drive $30 billion to $40 billion of domestic inflows into Taiwan Semiconductor. Wang said the policy could strengthen Taiwan’s dependence on Taiwan Semiconductor and increase long-term concentration risks. However, he added that the company remains “very well-positioned as a monopoly in advanced AI semiconductors” ...
(RTTNews) - The UK stock market, where trading is on after a long weekend, gained notable ground in positive territory on Tuesday, despite renewed concerns about the situation in the Middle East following fresh strikes by the U.S. military on Iranian targets. The U.S. conducted 'self-defense strikes' on Iranian missile launch sites and boats near the Strait of Hormuz, clouding the outlook for an i...
(RTTNews) - The UK stock market, where trading is on after a long weekend, gained notable ground in positive territory on Tuesday, despite renewed concerns about the situation in the Middle East following fresh strikes by the U.S. military on Iranian targets. The U.S. conducted 'self-defense strikes' on Iranian missile launch sites and boats near the Strait of Hormuz, clouding the outlook for an interim deal between Washington and Tehran. Defense forces across the Gulf are on high alert as Iran pressed ahead with waves of missile and drone attacks on the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain. The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 67.65 points or 0.65% at 15,533.91 a few minutes past noon. The UK market remained closed on Monday for Bank Holiday. Shares from banking, mining and realty sectors were among the prominent gainers. Kingfisher moved up nearly 4%, Metlen Energy & Metals rallied 3.8% and IAG climbed 3.5%. Endeavour Mining, Burberry Group, British Land, Scottish Mortgage, Mondi, Glencore, Convatec Group, Lion Finance, Barclays, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Natwest Group and Rio Tinto gained 2%-3%. Pershing Square Holdings, Lloyds Banking Group, LondonMetric Property, Antofagasta, JD Sports Fashion, Anglo American Plc, Land Securities, JD Sports Fashion, Standard Chartered, HSBC Holdings, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Marks & Spencer and Halma also posted strong gains. AutoTrader Group drifted down 4.5%. Melrose Industries dropped about 4.3% and RightMove fell 2.3%. Vodafone Group, Admiral Group, BP and BT Group also drifted notably lower. In economic news, data released by British Retail Consortium showed UK shop price inflation increased 1.2% year-on-year in May, up from 1.0% in April, which had marked the softest growth in four months, and surpassed market expectations of 1.1%. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Markets are overpricing potential central bank interest-rate increases, creating conditions for a rally in stocks with the lowest volatility like staples and utilities, according to strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. While investors are concerned the energy price shock from the Iran war will trigger a wave of rate hikes similar to the one that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the JP...
Markets are overpricing potential central bank interest-rate increases, creating conditions for a rally in stocks with the lowest volatility like staples and utilities, according to strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. While investors are concerned the energy price shock from the Iran war will trigger a wave of rate hikes similar to the one that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the JPMorgan team led by Mislav Matejka said the current set-up is markedly different. With the parties in conflict ultimately focused on finding an off-ramp, bond yields and oil prices are set to be lower in six to 12 months, the strategists said in a note. In addition, they forecast the earnings outlook to stay strong and do not see stagflation as the most likely outcome for the second half. Weaker expectations for US employment as well as wage growth would make it “tougher for a wages-prices stagflationary spiral to take hold,” the strategists wrote. Markets currently price one interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve by March 2027, and two from the European Central Bank by the end of this year. Low-volatility stocks have been left on the sidelines of the artificial-intelligence driven rally, with a Goldman Sachs basket tracking the performance of US economically linked cyclicals over their defensive counterparts trading at levels seen last 18 years ago. Plus, more recently, they’ve suffered from a surge in global rates that has detracted from their attractiveness as bond proxies. The group of equities with the lowest price variations have fared “very poorly” in the US and Europe in recent months, following moves in bond yields, Matejka said. This provides an opportunity to add to these names, which also include insurance and certain industrial stocks, regardless of which direction yields take from here, he wrote. Morgan Stanley A spike in yields, such as 10-year Treasuries heading toward 5%, could provide the backdrop for low-volatility stocks to break their inverse correlat...