Meta has been one of the most interesting companies of the generative AI era — initially gaining a loyal and huge following of users for the release of its mostly open source Llama family of large language models (LLMs) beginning in early 2023 but coming to screeching halt last year after Llama 4 debuted to mixed reviews and ultimately, admissions of gaming benchmarks. That bumpy rollout of Llama ...
Meta has been one of the most interesting companies of the generative AI era — initially gaining a loyal and huge following of users for the release of its mostly open source Llama family of large language models (LLMs) beginning in early 2023 but coming to screeching halt last year after Llama 4 debuted to mixed reviews and ultimately, admissions of gaming benchmarks. That bumpy rollout of Llama 4 apparently spurred Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to totally overhaul Meta's AI operations in the summer of 2025 , forming a new internal division, Metal Superintelligence Labs (MSL) which he recruited 29-year-old former Scale AI co-founder and CEO Alexandr Wang to lead as Chief AI Officer. Now, today, Meta is showing us the fruits of that effort: Muse Spark , a new proprietary model that Wang says ( posting on rival social network X, used more often by the machine learning community) is "the most powerful model that meta has released," and has "support for tool-use, visual chain of thought, & multi-agent orchestration." He also says it will be the start of a new Muse family of models, raising questions about what will become of Meta's popular lineup and ongoing development of the Llama family. It arrives not as a generic chatbot, but as the foundation for what Wang calls "personal superintelligence"—an AI that doesn’t just process text but "sees and understands the world around you" to act as a digital extension of the self, echoing Zuckberg's public manifesto for a vision of personal superintelligence published in summer 2025. However, it is proprietary only — confined for now to the Meta AI app and website, as well as a " private API preview to select users," according to Meta's blog post announcing it — a move likely to rankle the literally billions of users of Llama models and the thousands of developers who relied upon it (some of whom are active participants in rival social network Reddit's r/LocalLLaMA subreddit ). In addition, no pricing information for the...
MTStock Studio/E+ via Getty Images It has been a while since I wrote about the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. ( ICE ), on Seeking Alpha. In a May 14, 2024, article highlighting a challenge to the two leading exchanges, valuation was cited as a reason for caution. ICE shares were trading at $133.48 on May 14, 2024, after reaching a record high of $140.43 on March 7, 2024. The CME Group ( CME ) tra...
MTStock Studio/E+ via Getty Images It has been a while since I wrote about the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. ( ICE ), on Seeking Alpha. In a May 14, 2024, article highlighting a challenge to the two leading exchanges, valuation was cited as a reason for caution. ICE shares were trading at $133.48 on May 14, 2024, after reaching a record high of $140.43 on March 7, 2024. The CME Group ( CME ) traded at $207.82 after reaching a record high of $256.94 in early 2022. ICE and CME shares have continued to reach higher lows and higher highs over the past two years. CME rose to $329.16 in March 2026, 28.1% above the early 2022 high. ICE shares reached $189.35 per share in August 2025, 34.8% above the March 2024 high. ICE’s market cap trails CME’s by over $17 billion on April 9, but ICE could be poised to catch up with its competitor as the energy markets are in focus in 2026. A Bullish Trend in ICE Shares is Approaching a Challenge of the August 2025 High ICE shares reached a record high of $189.35 in August 2025. Monthly Long-Term Chart of ICE Shares (Barchart) The long-term monthly chart shows that after a 24.4% correction to a low of $143.17 in November 2025, ICE shares recovered to $167.66 on April 8. Meanwhile, the long-term trend since ICE shares began trading in November 2005 remains bullish, as it has made higher lows and higher highs. If the long-term trend remains intact, it may not be long before ICE shares challenge and climb above the August 2025 all-time high. Record Total Average Daily Volume - ICE and Energy Markets According to an April 6, 2026, Seeking Alpha news article , ICE “sees a 45% year-over-year rise in the Q1 average daily volume, 32% in energy ADV (average daily volume), 29% in agriculture and metals ADV, 65% in financials ADV, 39% in NYSE cash equities ADV, and 23% in NYSE equity options ADV.” While ICE derives revenue from other sources, such as data, trading volume is the exchange’s bread-and-butter revenue source. Therefore, rising volume g...
Motorola announced a new mid-range phone yesterday, the 2026 Moto G Stylus. It's not exactly a game changer unless you demand a stylus with your smartphone. Despite little in the way of upgrades, the new G Stylus will debut at $500, which is $100 more than last year's version. It's now clear that higher pricing will be a trend in Moto's lineup. Without so much as a peep, Motorola has enacted price...
Motorola announced a new mid-range phone yesterday, the 2026 Moto G Stylus. It's not exactly a game changer unless you demand a stylus with your smartphone. Despite little in the way of upgrades, the new G Stylus will debut at $500, which is $100 more than last year's version. It's now clear that higher pricing will be a trend in Moto's lineup. Without so much as a peep, Motorola has enacted price increases of up to 50 percent on the rest of its 2026 Moto G lineup. Prior to the G Stylus announcement, Moto had three 2026 G-series phones —the Moto G Play, Moto G, and Moto G Power. They used to sell for $180, $200, and $300, respectively. In the past day, the Moto G Play increased $250, which is a 38 percent increase. The 2026 Moto G went to $300—a whopping 50 percent price bump. Finally, the top model in Moto's budget lineup, the Moto G Power, is now $400. That's a 33 percent jump, putting it close to Samsung's latest mid-range phones and $100 shy of the new Moto G Stylus. Seeing a higher price tag on the new Moto G Stylus wasn't a surprise given current hardware conditions, and the phone does have a few small upgrades. The battery capacity is slightly larger, and the stylus has basic pressure sensitivity support now. However, that hardly justifies a $100 increase over last year's model, which had the same display and memory. It makes more sense in the context of an across-the-board price increase for Moto's budget lineup. Read full article Comments
Situation still volatile as Tehran and Washington issue conflicting messages about opening of Hormuz channel A plunge in the oil price, stock market rally and renewed hopes for the global economic outlook. After the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, the relief in financial markets was palpable. But it is far from absolute. For the past six weeks, the economic damage had been st...
Situation still volatile as Tehran and Washington issue conflicting messages about opening of Hormuz channel A plunge in the oil price, stock market rally and renewed hopes for the global economic outlook. After the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, the relief in financial markets was palpable. But it is far from absolute. For the past six weeks, the economic damage had been steadily mounting, as the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz by Tehran triggered the worst energy crisis of the modern era . Continue reading...
franckreporter/iStock via Getty Images Hedge funds scrambled to close out bets against U.S. stocks at the fastest pace since the pandemic-era market crash of March 2020, according to Goldman Sachs' trading desk division, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The firm reported that hedge fund managers late Tuesday sharply accelerated the covering of short positions tied to macro products, including major i...
franckreporter/iStock via Getty Images Hedge funds scrambled to close out bets against U.S. stocks at the fastest pace since the pandemic-era market crash of March 2020, according to Goldman Sachs' trading desk division, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The firm reported that hedge fund managers late Tuesday sharply accelerated the covering of short positions tied to macro products, including major indexes and exchange-traded funds, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a two-week ceasefire deal in the conflict with Iran. “This is the offramp the market has been waiting for,” wrote John Flood, Goldman’s head of Americas equities execution services, in a client note. He added that investors see a high likelihood the move marks “the beginning of the end” of the conflict. The rush to close short positions is helping fuel a stock rally Wednesday, with major indexes ( SPY ) ( QQQ ) ( DIA ) climbing more than 2%. Goldman’s prime brokerage data shows hedge fund short exposure in U.S. macro products had reached 12% of total gross exposure—the highest since the pandemic. “The freeze phase is now behind us—we are currently in the squeeze phase,” Flood wrote, Bloomberg reported. Looking ahead, Goldman expects stocks that benefited from the conflict—including energy ( XLE ) ( USO ) ( BNO ), commodity chemicals, and defense ( ITA )—to face near-term pullbacks as hedge funds lock in profits. Meanwhile, long-only investors are expected to rotate back into pre-war winners like memory-chip makers and semiconductor ( SMH ) stocks. Goldman Sachs Prime Brokerage More on the Markets Short Selling Points To Higher Prices 5 Markets Getting Pummeled Right Now A Ceasefire With A Bitter Aftertaste For The U.S. Markets extend gains while prediction markets signal a cautious path for Hormuz traffic Policy pullbacks power S&P 500’s biggest gains under Trump
Key PointsSold 88,629 shares of the Pacer US Large Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders ETF (NYSEMKT:COWG); estimated transaction value of $3.11 million based on quarterly average price.
Key PointsSold 88,629 shares of the Pacer US Large Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders ETF (NYSEMKT:COWG); estimated transaction value of $3.11 million based on quarterly average price.
Israel described it as the largest wave of air strikes in this conflict, hitting more than 100 of what it called Hezbollah command centres and military sites.
Israel described it as the largest wave of air strikes in this conflict, hitting more than 100 of what it called Hezbollah command centres and military sites.
hirun/iStock via Getty Images With a history that dates back over 125 years , Stewart Information Services Corporation ( STC ) fills a niche role in the financial sector. The company specializes in title insurance and other real estate services. Stewart assists home buyers and sellers with escrow accounts, settlement services, and post-closing support. The company needs home sales to generate new ...
hirun/iStock via Getty Images With a history that dates back over 125 years , Stewart Information Services Corporation ( STC ) fills a niche role in the financial sector. The company specializes in title insurance and other real estate services. Stewart assists home buyers and sellers with escrow accounts, settlement services, and post-closing support. The company needs home sales to generate new business, and as the graph of existing US home sales below shows, the last several years have not exactly been great ones to be dependent on US home-buying activity. As 30-year mortgage rates began to climb in 2022, the number of people that were able to afford an average-priced home fell dramatically. Existing US Home Sales (Trading Economics via the National Association of Realtors) STC was able to piece together a decent performance in 2024 with a total return of about 20%. Last year netted investors about half of that amount. In the first three months of 2026, the stock lost over 13% of its value. The concerns for this year are both internal and market driven. The company spooked investors with a share offering in December that diluted existing shareholders while concerns about profit growth are rising. Mortgage rates have also moved higher in recent months, dampening expectations for a return to a more normal home buying environment. Last year, I wrote a number of articles about companies that were involved in a related niche industry, private mortgage insurance. Stewart Information Services reminds me of some of those companies like Enact Holdings ( ACT ) and MGIC Investment Corporation ( MTG ). They are dependent on home sales and home refinancing to generate business. The biggest difference is that ACT and MTG have been aggressively buying back their stock to support the share price. STC has been moving in the opposite direction with more of its shares in the market. This is just one of a few reasons that I believe the company is only worth a Hold at the current tim...
Marvin Samuel Tolentino Pineda/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Costco ( COST ) continues to defy gravity, with the stock consistently trading at valuation levels that contradict common sense. Instead of writing another article saying Costco is a great business, but the valuation is prohibitive, I wanted to take a different angle and provide a framework for what needs to happen for Costco to deli...
Marvin Samuel Tolentino Pineda/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Costco ( COST ) continues to defy gravity, with the stock consistently trading at valuation levels that contradict common sense. Instead of writing another article saying Costco is a great business, but the valuation is prohibitive, I wanted to take a different angle and provide a framework for what needs to happen for Costco to deliver market-beating performance for "new" investors. Let's dive in. The Heart Of Costco I can't think of many companies that, when you hear their name, you can immediately associate it with a unique experience and almost have a picture jump to your head. That's Costco. With more than four decades of staying true to a perfectly curated assortment, unparalleled value proposition, and a shopping experience that's second to none. Created by the author based on Costco reports. Perhaps the surest bet in public markets is that Costco will consistently deliver membership growth, with ~90% renewal rates, even after significant price hikes. Costco FY25 Annual Report Those are also the reasons why, like clockwork, Costco opens about 20-25 warehouses a year, and every new cohort starts at a higher base in terms of sales, while previous cohorts consistently evolve as well. In simple terms, comparable sales are always in the mid- to high-single-digit range. Created by the author based on Costco reports. Meanwhile, Costco maintains the same approach to margins. They are looking for ~13% gross margins, and ~3% operating margins, and everything else is invested back into the value proposition. All together, this is how the Costco business looks: Seeking Alpha. It won't be a bold take to say that it's a borderline certainty that the next decade will look very similar for Costco. Not Taking Bold Bets, For The Good & The Bad Occasionally, I see analysts trying to justify Costco's valuation with theories about advertising, e-commerce, and other business areas that, frankly, aren't really what Co...
Some of Snowflake’s coders are producing work 24 hours a day using AI agents, says CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy. He joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on “Bloomberg Tech.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Some of Snowflake’s coders are producing work 24 hours a day using AI agents, says CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy. He joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on “Bloomberg Tech.” (Source: Bloomberg)