Earlier this year, a relatively unknown startup from Finland made a startling announcement : It had finally solved solid-state batteries. Not only that, but Donut Lab, a spinoff of Verge Motorcycles, said that its solid-state battery - long considered the "Holy Grail of batteries" for their high-density, durable, fast-charging abilities - would go into production later this year. Battery experts w...
Earlier this year, a relatively unknown startup from Finland made a startling announcement : It had finally solved solid-state batteries. Not only that, but Donut Lab, a spinoff of Verge Motorcycles, said that its solid-state battery - long considered the "Holy Grail of batteries" for their high-density, durable, fast-charging abilities - would go into production later this year. Battery experts were understandably skeptical. After all, solid-state batteries are one of those technologies, along with artificial general intelligence and the hyperloop , that seem perpetually two years away. And while most legitimate efforts in this field - whet … Read the full story at The Verge.
In her new book You've Been Pooping All Wrong , Dr. Trisha Pasricha shares habits and practices to make your relationship with your solid waste as smooth as possible
In her new book You've Been Pooping All Wrong , Dr. Trisha Pasricha shares habits and practices to make your relationship with your solid waste as smooth as possible
Who's Afraid Of Emmanuel Macron? Authored by J.B.Shurk via AmericanThinker.com, French President Emmanuel Macron is doing that peculiar French thing again…acting tough while looking weak. He gave a speech last Friday at Yonsei University in Seoul during which he demanded that nations not become “vassals” of China or the United States. Macron wants South Korea to join Canada, Australia, and the Eur...
Who's Afraid Of Emmanuel Macron? Authored by J.B.Shurk via AmericanThinker.com, French President Emmanuel Macron is doing that peculiar French thing again…acting tough while looking weak. He gave a speech last Friday at Yonsei University in Seoul during which he demanded that nations not become “vassals” of China or the United States. Macron wants South Korea to join Canada, Australia, and the European Union in forming what he calls a “coalition of independence” (because “coalition of the willing” was taken) united by shared love for “international order,” “democracy,” and wasting money on “climate change.” What a tool. I understand that “the powers that be” have so successfully co-opted the West’s political systems that they regularly install absolute nincompoops as nominal leaders (Biden, Starmer, Carney, Merz, and European Queen Ursula, just to name a few) and call it “democracy,” but Macron is such a doofus that his “leadership” is laughable. Remember when the little Rothschild banker came to power a few months after President Trump had taken office and he couldn’t stop talking about standing up to “bullies”? After putting on some high-heeled loafers and taking some lessons on masculinity from his former-schoolteacher-turned-much-older-wife, Macron insisted on turning a handshake with Trump into a death grip meant to showcase French power. In that effete style of speech that Gaulish-Roman aristocrats enjoy — in which words sound as if they’re dropping from lips suckling grapes and licking honey — le petit fromage told the world that his fierce handshake and determined stare were the perfect weapons for countering President Trump. Trump just laughed and patted the little French boy on the shoulder as one does to help the weak feel strong. Fast-forward a decade, and Macron hasn’t learned a thing about being tough. He still prances around the world like a eunuch looking for long-lost cojones. He says he wants countries to resist the “hegemonic powers” of China and ...
Stocks staged a strong recovery after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire; now attention turns to earnings season, which could be a catalyst for stocks
Stocks staged a strong recovery after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire; now attention turns to earnings season, which could be a catalyst for stocks
The island nation of Mauritius has become an increasingly popular refueling stop for commercial cargo vessels avoiding the Middle East due to the Iran war. Bunker calls at Port Louis Harbor in the Indian Ocean surged to 294 vessels in March, a 42% increase from 207 the previous month before the conflict, according to the Mauritius Ports Authority. The amount of fuel the ships loaded jumped to 109,...
The island nation of Mauritius has become an increasingly popular refueling stop for commercial cargo vessels avoiding the Middle East due to the Iran war. Bunker calls at Port Louis Harbor in the Indian Ocean surged to 294 vessels in March, a 42% increase from 207 the previous month before the conflict, according to the Mauritius Ports Authority. The amount of fuel the ships loaded jumped to 109,708 tons from 69,680 tons during the same period. Shipping routes are adjusting not only to security risks, but to shifts in demand for oil, gas, and other products due to the disruption of flows from the Middle East. Soaring fuel prices have resulted in atypical shipments around the world, and that also changes where the vessels stop to resupply. Mauritius, located in the middle of shipping traffic steaming between Asia and the southern tip of Africa, experienced a previous rise in bunkering between 2023 and last year, when ships looked to avoid attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea. Fuel sales at Port Louis nearly doubled, reaching a million tons in 2025, according to the ports authority. Around the Cape of Good Hope, the amount of vessels stopping at Namibia’s Port of Walvis Bay for ship-to-ship bunkering is also on the rise . Those operations can be supplied by offshore logistics and aren’t dependent on onshore storage. For now, bunker suppliers and oil companies at Port Louis have been able to meet increased demand and storage capacity remains adequate, a spokesman for MPA said. Most is stored in and distributed from floating barges. “Depending on the evolution of the Middle East conflict which could affect the activities of some bunker operators, there could be some constraints on bunker supply,” the spokesman said. The harbor outlined additional storage facilities in a 2024 master plan and land has been earmarked for the project, according to the MPA.
⚽️ Updates from around the grounds on a busy day of action ⚽️ Live scores | Latest table | Follow on Bluesky | Mail Andy Seven games left for Arsenal , who are nine points up on Manchester City with a game in hand. Piece of cake, right? Ha ha ha. More like seven chances to slip up, especially if their recent domestic form is anything to go by. After Carabao Cup final defeat and a surprise loss to ...
⚽️ Updates from around the grounds on a busy day of action ⚽️ Live scores | Latest table | Follow on Bluesky | Mail Andy Seven games left for Arsenal , who are nine points up on Manchester City with a game in hand. Piece of cake, right? Ha ha ha. More like seven chances to slip up, especially if their recent domestic form is anything to go by. After Carabao Cup final defeat and a surprise loss to Southampton in the FA Cup, Mikel Arteta will be keen to canter away to their first title in 22 years with minimal fuss and put the lid on talk of bottling it. Continue reading...
Key PointsAlthough the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have outpaced all other asset classes over the last century, periods of heightened volatility and declines are perfectly normal.
Key PointsAlthough the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have outpaced all other asset classes over the last century, periods of heightened volatility and declines are perfectly normal.
Tarzan9280/E+ via Getty Images Whenever I rate a company a 'buy,' I am making the claim that the stock should outperform the market for the foreseeable future. When I am right, sometimes it's by a lot. And sometimes it's not. A good example of one company that has seen a bit of upside that has beat the market fairly comfortably, but that is now worthy of a downgrade is Twin Disc ( TWIN ). For thos...
Tarzan9280/E+ via Getty Images Whenever I rate a company a 'buy,' I am making the claim that the stock should outperform the market for the foreseeable future. When I am right, sometimes it's by a lot. And sometimes it's not. A good example of one company that has seen a bit of upside that has beat the market fairly comfortably, but that is now worthy of a downgrade is Twin Disc ( TWIN ). For those not familiar with the business, it focuses on producing and selling marine and heavy duty off-highway power transmission equipment. It does this through the manufacturing facilities that it has throughout the US, Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Finland. Plus, the company has distribution locations across five other nations. This is pretty impressive for a firm with a market capitalization of just $222.5 million. And in recent years, we have seen an upward trajectory in the revenue of the company. Since I called it a 'buy' back in October of last year, the stock has risen about 22%. That's not massive in and of itself. But considering that the S&P 500 is down 2.4% over that same window of time, I would take it. Management still seems optimistic about the future. And with the backlog on the rise, I don't see a reason not to be from an operational standpoint. Having said that, I do think that the easy money has been made and the current valuation of the company is more supportive of a 'hold' rating than it is a 'buy.' Because of that, I am downgrading the company accordingly. Taking a fresh look at Twin Disc Since my previous article about Twin Disc, investors have been given access to data covering two additional operating quarters. The most recent one is the second quarter of its 2026 fiscal year . According to management, revenue came in at $90.2 million. That's just a hair above the $89.9 million that the company reported a year earlier. According to management, the only reason for this rise in revenue was that the company had completed its purc...
Vanit Janthra/iStock via Getty Images What is Peloton While Peloton ( PTON ) is known for its expensive bikes with iPads, it is now becoming a whole ecosystem. For the physical stuff, it now offers a treadmill, a rower, accessories like dumbbells, a guide, and even merch. It offers different services such as Peloton Strength+, App One, App+, and All-Access. Peloton has been expanding and soon will...
Vanit Janthra/iStock via Getty Images What is Peloton While Peloton ( PTON ) is known for its expensive bikes with iPads, it is now becoming a whole ecosystem. For the physical stuff, it now offers a treadmill, a rower, accessories like dumbbells, a guide, and even merch. It offers different services such as Peloton Strength+, App One, App+, and All-Access. Peloton has been expanding and soon will not be recognized for making bikes with iPads. Despite declining 97% from its peak, there has been a lot of progress in improving its financials, which has led Peloton to pursue ambitious projects. In this article, I will explain the progress it has made and discuss how risky this project is for shareholders. Its State After COVID Before I talk about all the improvements it has made, I want to talk about how bad Peloton was after COVID. In 2022, when the world started to open up after COVID, Peloton was sitting on 122,000 unsold bicycles and $1.1B in inventory. It spent $60M in restructuring capital expenditures to cancel its $400M factory in Ohio. In 2021 and 2022, its free cash flow was -$522M and -$1.13B, respectively, which came from Peloton anticipating COVID-level demand for the next decade. In 2023, it was left with a debt of $1.6B after issuing $1B in 0% convertible notes with a conversion price of $239/share (now deeply out of the money) and, in 2022, adding a $750M secured term loan as the business deteriorated, burning $2B in operating cash flow. Its equity went negative, meaning that the company owed more than its total assets could cover in a liquidation scenario. Its gross margin decreased from 36% in 2021 to 19%, while its connected fitness gross margin went negative, at -11% in 2022 and -17%, due to an oversupply of bikes. Its net loss went from -$189M in 2021 to -$2.8B in 2022, recording a $182M goodwill impairment from its Connected Fitness Products (CFP) segment, $390M in asset impairment expenses from its canceled factory and other assets, $180M in rest...
Soaring fuel prices are driving up costs for Thais travelling home for the holidays, but the chance to spend the new year with loved ones is a price worth paying, they say. “There aren’t many opportunities to go home during festivals like this,” said 24-year-old army cadet Korawich Changpat at Bangkok’s Mo Chit Two bus station, despite his inflated fare back to central Chaiyaphum province. “First ...
Soaring fuel prices are driving up costs for Thais travelling home for the holidays, but the chance to spend the new year with loved ones is a price worth paying, they say. “There aren’t many opportunities to go home during festivals like this,” said 24-year-old army cadet Korawich Changpat at Bangkok’s Mo Chit Two bus station, despite his inflated fare back to central Chaiyaphum province. “First of all, I’ll go see my mother. Looking this handsome in my uniform, I must go pay my respects to...
Panuwat Dangsungnoen/iStock via Getty Images Introduction I am still looking for investments where I can, at once, fully participate in the equity markets and protect myself when the markets go haywire. I have been using models that incorporate 5-year, 7-year, and 19-year cycles. These models also include dampened curves to adjust to gradual increases or decreases in market trends over time. I wro...
Panuwat Dangsungnoen/iStock via Getty Images Introduction I am still looking for investments where I can, at once, fully participate in the equity markets and protect myself when the markets go haywire. I have been using models that incorporate 5-year, 7-year, and 19-year cycles. These models also include dampened curves to adjust to gradual increases or decreases in market trends over time. I wrote about my models last December. Based on these models, 2026 is the first year in a series of unfavorable investment periods. In both models, 2032 should mark the beginning of a favorable period. Additionally, I anticipate a volatile period in 2027 and 2028. It is time to adjust our investment strategies to assume these levels of risk. Tapping The Brakes One needs to be careful when making predictions about future market behavior. First, there is the issue of the margin of error, which ranges from about ±20% from one year to the next. Also, when I say we are in an unfavorable investment period, it does not mean there will be no positive gains. I am just saying that we are more likely to have a negative year. An unfavorable period means we will experience below-average returns over time. Since we know we will see a volatile period, we need to find investments that allow us to remain in equities while also managing risk. With that in mind, I propose that investors consider buying Invesco’s S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF ( SPLV ). SPLV Methodology SPLV tracks the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index. We have data starting in 1990 that we can analyze. The basic methodology is to select the 100 S&P 500 securities with the lowest volatility (standard deviation). Here is the process: S&P 500 Low Volatility Index Methodology (S&P Global) Morningstar gives SPLV a 2-star (Neutral) rating. Lipper Leaders is a little more forgiving and gives the ETF a 3.4/5 rating (Quintile 1, 20 th percentile). Zacks says SPLV is a hold. TipRanks gives it a middling 6/10 rating. Meanwhile, Seeking Alpha rates SP...