We Are/DigitalVision via Getty Images With inflation rising and the market turning hawkish, I thought to have a quick look at some ETFs that might perform particularly well if the Fed is forced into a hiking cycle. I've selected four such ETFs, with varying levels of risk and income. First and second, we have the WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund ETF ( USFR ) and the Alpha Architect 1-3 Month...
We Are/DigitalVision via Getty Images With inflation rising and the market turning hawkish, I thought to have a quick look at some ETFs that might perform particularly well if the Fed is forced into a hiking cycle. I've selected four such ETFs, with varying levels of risk and income. First and second, we have the WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund ETF ( USFR ) and the Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF ( BOXX ), both cash ETFs. USFR focuses on floating-rate treasuries, securities with extremely similar characteristics to T-bills but trading at a small spread to these. Investors should expect around 3.6% in returns for the fund, as per its SEC yield. BOXX is a synthetic T-bills options ETF, also with extremely similar characteristics to T-bills, but with a generally higher yield and some (potential) tax advantages. I expect similar returns from BOXX relative to USFR, perhaps marginally higher. BOXX seems like the more interesting choice for investors in taxable accounts, although obviously much will depend on the specific circumstances of each individual investor. The third ETF is the Eldridge BBB-B CLO ETF ( CLOZ ), which focuses on BBB-rated CLOs, variable rate investments with good credit quality. CLOZ's 7.0% SEC yield is equivalent to high-yield corporate bond benchmark ETFs, but with a much higher quality portfolio. A great choice for most investors, with below-average risk. Fourth, we have the FolioBeyond Alternative Income and Interest Rate Hedge ETF ( RISR ). RISR's interest-only MBS investments have negative duration, boosting prices during periods of higher (mortgage) rates. RISR also generates a good amount of income, with a 5.9% dividend yield. RISR is the riskiest and oddest of the bunch, but the one with the greatest potential returns during a period of rising rates. As the above ETFs have varying levels of risk and volatility, none is strictly superior to the others. CLOZ is arguably the most well-balanced, with a good mix of income and quality, and...
Valve tonight released their beta version of SteamOS 3.8.6 that contains a number of notable enhancements, including native HDMI Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support in initial form.SteamOS 3.8.6 beta brings preliminary support for HDMI VRR for devices with native HDMI output. This goes along with ongoing work by AMD toward upstreaming their HDMI 2.1 implementation into the mainline Linux kernel fo...
Valve tonight released their beta version of SteamOS 3.8.6 that contains a number of notable enhancements, including native HDMI Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support in initial form.SteamOS 3.8.6 beta brings preliminary support for HDMI VRR for devices with native HDMI output. This goes along with ongoing work by AMD toward upstreaming their HDMI 2.1 implementation into the mainline Linux kernel for the AMDGPU driver. Great seeing Valve proactively picking up the HDMI native VRR enablement work ahead of that milestone and continues to show the close collaboration with AMD on this long sought after effort after being blocked for years by the HDMI Forum. Some other work in today's beta release include various bug fixes, controller support for MSI Claw and OneXPlayer APEX / X1 handheld devices and improvements to existing handheld support.More details on today's SteamOS 3.8.6 beta via SteamPowered.com
Investing.com -- Meta Platforms, TikTok parent ByteDance, Snap, and Alphabet’s YouTube have agreed to pay roughly $27 million to settle claims brought by a Kentucky school district alleging their platforms contributed to a student mental health crisis, Reuters reported on Friday. According to documents obtained by Reuters, Meta agreed to pay the largest share of the settlement at $9 million. TikTo...
Investing.com -- Meta Platforms, TikTok parent ByteDance, Snap, and Alphabet’s YouTube have agreed to pay roughly $27 million to settle claims brought by a Kentucky school district alleging their platforms contributed to a student mental health crisis, Reuters reported on Friday. According to documents obtained by Reuters, Meta agreed to pay the largest share of the settlement at $9 million. TikTok and Snap each agreed to pay $8 million, while YouTube agreed to pay about $2.01 million. The settlements resolve claims brought by the Breathitt County School District in Kentucky, which accused the companies of designing their platforms to keep young users engaged, contributing to anxiety, depression, and self-harm among students. Meta settled the case on May 21, several weeks before a trial that had been scheduled to begin in June. The company followed earlier settlements reached by Snap, YouTube, and ByteDance. The agreements do not require any of the companies to admit wrongdoing and include no commitments to change features or operations on their platforms. Meta, YouTube, and Snap said they had resolved the matter amicably and remain focused on tools and features designed to help protect younger users. TikTok did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The Breathitt County School District had sought more than $60 million to fund programs aimed at addressing the effects of social media on student mental health, including a proposed 15-year support initiative. The district had also requested a court order requiring the companies to modify features it described as addictive. The case was expected to serve as a bellwether trial in broader litigation involving school districts across the United States. More than 1,200 school districts have filed similar claims, alleging social media platforms contributed to rising mental health challenges among students. Several larger school systems are also pursuing claims. Tucson Unified School District in Arizona is s...
Fasai Budkaew/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis This article explains my "buy" rating on the Invesco S&P Intl Developed Momentum ETF ( IDMO ), which I arrived at based on my analysis of its current portfolio's underlying fundamentals and its strong historical long-term risk-adjusted total returns. As I'll demonstrate below, IDMO has soundly beaten peers like the iShares MSCI Intl Momentum ...
Fasai Budkaew/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis This article explains my "buy" rating on the Invesco S&P Intl Developed Momentum ETF ( IDMO ), which I arrived at based on my analysis of its current portfolio's underlying fundamentals and its strong historical long-term risk-adjusted total returns. As I'll demonstrate below, IDMO has soundly beaten peers like the iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF ( IMTM ) over the last three, five, and ten-year periods and trades at just 15.81x trailing earnings - an attractive feature, given the impressive run international value stocks have been on over the last couple of years. Overall, I think IDMO is a good choice for those looking for international exposure, and I look forward to explaining why in further detail below. IDMO Overview According to its website, IDMO tracks the S&P World Ex-U.S. Momentum Index , which selects stocks in its Parent Index that have the highest momentum scores. Readers can click here for a full methodology description, but I've summarized what I feel are the most important points below. 1. The selection universe is the S&P World Ex-U.S. Index , which is comprised of large- and mid-cap stocks in developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Korea. Eligible stocks must also have twelve months of trading history. 2. The Index calculates momentum scores for each security in the Parent Index, which is based on the security's twelve-month price change, excluding the most recent month of the security in local currency. 3. The top quintile of securities based on this momentum score qualify for the Index, subject to a buffer rule aimed at reducing turnover. 80% of securities in this quintile (i.e., the top 16% of the Parent Index) qualify automatically, while current components may remain in the Index as long as they score in the top 120% (i.e., the top 24% of the Parent Index). 4. The Index weights securities based on the product of their momentum score and market capitalization while also applying a m...
Getty Images The thing that I have always loved about this business of investing in stocks is that no one likes the stock until it moves up between 50% and 200% (very roughly). With all of the really big long-term stories, no one read the articles until the easy money was made, and then they thought it was time to jump in. Parex Resources ( PARXF ) appears to be joining that group of stocks becaus...
Getty Images The thing that I have always loved about this business of investing in stocks is that no one likes the stock until it moves up between 50% and 200% (very roughly). With all of the really big long-term stories, no one read the articles until the easy money was made, and then they thought it was time to jump in. Parex Resources ( PARXF ) appears to be joining that group of stocks because no one cares that production is about to take a huge jump. Last Article My last article about Parex Resources covered the acquisition of the remaining Frontera ( FECCF ) upstream business, which is all in Colombia (and that the acquisition is about to close). Parex Corporation Production Trend And Guidance (Parex Corporation Corporate Presentation May 2026) Now what is happening is some beginning guidance on the effect of the acquisition. At this stage, this guidance is very likely to prove to be conservative. The other thing about this is, since the change happens when the fiscal year is already well underway, it practically "guarantees" a good production comparison in a market that really cares about a growth story. Also, that production growth will help to offset any unexpected commodity price declines. Energy is a very volatile situation. So, I am asked all the time about downside protection "just in case". Well, here is a case with some clear downside protection. Since this is still pretty early in the process, it is highly likely there is some more downside protection on the way. To make things even better, commodity prices are high enough that there will be lots of cash that can be used for the optimization process. That may well shorten the optimization, assimilation, and overall startup process for these acquisitions. But that makes the future growth picture even better. Parex Guidance Of Portfolio Post Frontera Close (Parex Corporation Corporate Presentation May 2026) The key idea is that this management feels it can find enough bargains that it can relegate exp...
The average price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500 index (^GSPC +0.22%) over time is around 19x. Today, the S&P 500's P/E ratio is around 27.5x. That suggests that the market is not fully pricing in potential summer headwinds. And yet, markets often climb higher amid uncertainty. Here's what you need to know as you make investment decisions at the start of June. There is a material "wall of worry...
The average price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500 index (^GSPC +0.22%) over time is around 19x. Today, the S&P 500's P/E ratio is around 27.5x. That suggests that the market is not fully pricing in potential summer headwinds. And yet, markets often climb higher amid uncertainty. Here's what you need to know as you make investment decisions at the start of June. There is a material "wall of worry" An old Wall Street saying explains that the market climbs a wall of worry. If that is true, the summer of 2026 could be an excellent time for the market. Indeed, there are a plethora of reasons to be worried. One that grabs headlines daily is the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. Given the region's importance to the world's energy market, this disruption has pushed energy prices sharply higher. News flow out of the Middle East can move energy prices, and the broader market, higher and lower in dramatic fashion. The problem is that oil executives are warning that Wall Street isn't paying enough attention to the fundamentals of the energy sector. Chevron (CVX 0.31%) CEO Mike Wirth, for example, has been going to great lengths to explain that oil prices are far more likely to rise than fall, given the reduction in supply and its impact on global oil reserves. He's hardly alone, with industry watchers saying it could take months for energy markets to normalize after the conflict finally ends. Higher energy prices, meanwhile, are flowing through the global economy, pushing up prices across the board. The inflation driven by high energy prices is becoming clearer, leading to increased concerns about a global recession. Even Walmart (WMT 2.65%), which has been performing well as a business, provided a somewhat muted outlook for the rest of fiscal 2027 despite posting a strong first quarter. The giant retailer is hardly alone in its concerns. Expand NYSE : BRKB Berkshire Hathaway Today's Change ( -0.62 %) $ -2.94 Current Price $ 474.48 Key Data Points Market Cap $1.0T Day...