Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash Builder confidence took a hit in April due to economic uncertainty and persistent affordability concerns. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) fell 4 points from March to 34 this month, marking the 24th consecutive negative reading. The latest reading was lower than the forecast of 37. The National ...
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash Builder confidence took a hit in April due to economic uncertainty and persistent affordability concerns. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) fell 4 points from March to 34 this month, marking the 24th consecutive negative reading. The latest reading was lower than the forecast of 37. The National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index is a gauge of builder opinion on the relative level of current and future single-family home sales. The data is collected from a monthly survey of about 900 home builders asking respondents to "rate market conditions for the sale of new homes at the present time and in the next six months as well as the traffic of prospective buyers of new homes." It is a diffusion index, which means that a reading above 50 indicates a favorable outlook on home sales; below 50 indicates a negative outlook. Here are a few quotes from the press release : “Builder sentiment has fallen back in spring as buyers face ongoing elevated interest rates and growing economic uncertainty,” said NAHB Chairman Bill Owens, a home builder and remodeler from Worthington, Ohio. “The year started with hopes for housing momentum growth, but risks with respect to the Iran war, energy costs, and declines for consumer confidence have slowed the market.” “With oil prices higher in the U.S., 62% of builders reported suppliers have increased building material costs due to higher fuel prices, including gas and diesel,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Energy costs make up approximately 4% of residential construction material input and service costs. With near-term economic risks elevated, 70% of builders reported challenges pricing homes given uncertainty about material costs.” Here is the historical series, which dates from 1985. Components of the NAHB Housing Market Index The NAHB Housing Market Index is calculated based off of three components: current sales...
phuttaphat tipsana/iStock via Getty Images I rate Fair Isaac Corporation ( FICO ) a Buy. I think the market is completely missing the forest for the trees here. Investors are so spooked by the "triple threat" of regulation, new competitors, and AI disruption that they are ignoring a massive fundamental gap. This fear has sparked a brutal sell-off, dragging the stock down over 55% from its late-202...
phuttaphat tipsana/iStock via Getty Images I rate Fair Isaac Corporation ( FICO ) a Buy. I think the market is completely missing the forest for the trees here. Investors are so spooked by the "triple threat" of regulation, new competitors, and AI disruption that they are ignoring a massive fundamental gap. This fear has sparked a brutal sell-off, dragging the stock down over 55% from its late-2024 peak to its current level near USD 1,070. In this analysis, I want to show why these fears are mostly noise. FICO's management is already moving to neutralize these risks through an aggressive, high-margin strategic pivot. Most retail investors still think FICO is just a credit score company. It’s not. It is the universal language of global finance—a standard with switching costs that are frankly much higher than the current stock price suggests. The urgency for investors is underscored by two major announcements this week. First, on April 16, 2026, FICO announced it will report its Q2 FY 2026 financial results on April 28, 2026. This upcoming call will be a critical pulse check on the company's aggressive SaaS transition. Second, the company recently priced USD 1.0 billion in Senior Notes , providing the firepower for its massive USD 1.5 billion share repurchase program. Management is essentially front-running the market, signaling that today’s price is a gift for long-term buyers. With shares trading at roughly 24x forward earnings—levels we haven't seen in nearly a decade—the disconnect between FICO’s record Q1 FY2026 numbers and the share price is just too large to ignore. For a long-term investor, this is a rare entry point. Let’s dive in. Context FICO’s Q1 FY 2026 results showed a healthy 16.3% top-line jump, but you have to look closer to see what's actually driving the bus. Most of the heavy lifting came from the Scores segment (both B2B and B2C), which surged nearly 30% year-over-year. Scores now make up about 60% of total revenue. On the flip side, the software ...
Investing.com -- President Donald Trump has signaled that a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is imminent, suggesting that the summit could be "historic" as both nations coordinate on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and regional energy security.
Investing.com -- President Donald Trump has signaled that a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is imminent, suggesting that the summit could be "historic" as both nations coordinate on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and regional energy security.
The sound of tinkling bells drifts through an alley in central Seoul, an unmistakable sign that a shaman is near – although in this case the mystic is a robot powered by artificial intelligence. Many South Koreans still place great value in shamanic traditions, which purport to divine a person’s future based on the day and time they were born. Practitioners, known as mudang, wear long, colourful r...
The sound of tinkling bells drifts through an alley in central Seoul, an unmistakable sign that a shaman is near – although in this case the mystic is a robot powered by artificial intelligence. Many South Koreans still place great value in shamanic traditions, which purport to divine a person’s future based on the day and time they were born. Practitioners, known as mudang, wear long, colourful robes and perform dances and chants to commune with the gods – sometimes even walking on sharp blades...
Key PointsOracle stock has crashed more than 50% from its all-time high, yet 28 out of 35 Wall Street analysts still rate it a Buy or Strong Buy with a median price target implying 60% upside.
Key PointsOracle stock has crashed more than 50% from its all-time high, yet 28 out of 35 Wall Street analysts still rate it a Buy or Strong Buy with a median price target implying 60% upside.
Intel (NasdaqGS:INTC) is joining Elon Musk's Terafab AI semiconductor project alongside Tesla, xAI, and SpaceX. The alliance focuses on advanced chip manufacturing for AI, robotics, and space-related computing. The Terafab initiative targets custom, high performance chips aimed at large scale computing capacity. For Intel, a major player in CPU and data center silicon, this move links its manufact...
Intel (NasdaqGS:INTC) is joining Elon Musk's Terafab AI semiconductor project alongside Tesla, xAI, and SpaceX. The alliance focuses on advanced chip manufacturing for AI, robotics, and space-related computing. The Terafab initiative targets custom, high performance chips aimed at large scale computing capacity. For Intel, a major player in CPU and data center silicon, this move links its manufacturing capabilities to a group of companies focused on AI models, autonomous systems, and space...
Nebius Group (NasdaqGS:NBIS) and TD SYNNEX are launching dedicated NVIDIA HGX B300 clusters for AI infrastructure. The partnership introduces production grade, reservation based GPU capacity aimed at large scale enterprise AI workloads. TD SYNNEX plans to commercialize Nebius infrastructure through its global partner ecosystem following announcements at its conference and NVIDIA GTC. The move posi...
Nebius Group (NasdaqGS:NBIS) and TD SYNNEX are launching dedicated NVIDIA HGX B300 clusters for AI infrastructure. The partnership introduces production grade, reservation based GPU capacity aimed at large scale enterprise AI workloads. TD SYNNEX plans to commercialize Nebius infrastructure through its global partner ecosystem following announcements at its conference and NVIDIA GTC. The move positions Nebius to reach customers beyond direct cloud contracts via a distribution led...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday night he was looking forward to his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month and predicted it would be “special”. Hours after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz had reopened, Trump posted on social media: “China’s President Xi is very happy that Strait of Hormuz is open and/or rapidly opening; I look forward to meeting Xi. “Our meeting in...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday night he was looking forward to his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month and predicted it would be “special”. Hours after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz had reopened, Trump posted on social media: “China’s President Xi is very happy that Strait of Hormuz is open and/or rapidly opening; I look forward to meeting Xi. “Our meeting in China will be a special one and, potentially, Historic. I look forward to being with President...
The Brits have a lot on their minds this week. They have many of the same worries as everyone else—the shifting global order, deglobalization, fractured supply chains, unpopular political leadership, the end of Pax Americana and a desperate need to bump up defense spending. That sort of thing. But those worries are slightly more intense in the UK than elsewhere. Note that only this week a former N...
The Brits have a lot on their minds this week. They have many of the same worries as everyone else—the shifting global order, deglobalization, fractured supply chains, unpopular political leadership, the end of Pax Americana and a desperate need to bump up defense spending. That sort of thing. But those worries are slightly more intense in the UK than elsewhere. Note that only this week a former NATO chief pointed out that the UK’s armed forces are so depleted that Britain simply isn’t safe. The UK also has more domestic worries than most. First, the country has been added to a club no one would voluntarily join: the “BIF.” The market has lumped together Britain, Italy and France as economies that have seen the biggest rise in bond yields since the US and Israel started their war with Iran, and so are the ones most vulnerable to debt crises (a more derogatory term surfaced for weak economies in the run up to the European debt crisis ). Britain is now paying the same on 10-year gilts as in the dark days of 2008. That doesn’t sit well with the need to spend on defense. Second, the Brits turn out be much poorer then they thought. A new survey shows that around half of UK voters think they are as rich— in terms of GDP per capita —as Switzerland. They also think they are at least as rich as Australia, Germany, Australia and the US. This is, sadly, all nonsense. In GDP-per-capita terms (which is all that really matters, since talking about GDP without reference to population is pointless), the UK is poorer than all of them, and a good 40% poorer than the US and Singapore. This comes with all sorts of consequences , but mostly it’s just a bit depressing. And unlikely to get any better any time soon: the International Monetary Fund just downgraded its forecast for UK growth this year to 0.8%. Add in a bit of population growth, mostly by immigration , and there’s little chance of GDP per capita rising (again). How to Invest Amid an Upended Global Financial Order Merryn Somer...
Some passengers have been unable to use any mandatory e-payment options on Hong Kong taxis, as cabbies cited faulty machines or battery problems, reasons that customers have deemed as excuses as the “cash is king” mentality persisted. Experts said this week that many taxi drivers still held a deep-seated fear of having a traceable income record, which could lead to taxation or the loss of eligibil...
Some passengers have been unable to use any mandatory e-payment options on Hong Kong taxis, as cabbies cited faulty machines or battery problems, reasons that customers have deemed as excuses as the “cash is king” mentality persisted. Experts said this week that many taxi drivers still held a deep-seated fear of having a traceable income record, which could lead to taxation or the loss of eligibility for public housing. Lawmaker Mark Chong Ho-fung told the South China Morning Post that many...
Rachel Reeves joins global finance chiefs in highlighting how households and businesses are feeling the pain of higher energy prices Middle East crisis – live updates The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest. In a sweltering hot Washington DC this wee...
Rachel Reeves joins global finance chiefs in highlighting how households and businesses are feeling the pain of higher energy prices Middle East crisis – live updates The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest. In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war. Continue reading...