Commemorating the 90th anniversary of Social Security, a program signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, the folks at AARP commissioned a survey to assess Americans' understanding of this vital program. The survey's findings were both surprising and alarming. Here's a look at some of them. The survey says... Let's start with a big problem that the survey exposed: Fully 64% of s...
Commemorating the 90th anniversary of Social Security, a program signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, the folks at AARP commissioned a survey to assess Americans' understanding of this vital program. The survey's findings were both surprising and alarming. Here's a look at some of them. The survey says... Let's start with a big problem that the survey exposed: Fully 64% of survey respondents didn't understand the impact of Social Security's surplus running dry. When asked about what will happen once the Social Security Trust Funds are no longer able to pay full benefits, 34% chose the correct answer: Benefits will be paid at a reduced level. But 36% of respondents thought that no benefits would be paid. Another 28% said neither was true, or that they just didn't know. Some 47% thought that benefits would be cut at least in half -- which is wrong. Yikes. Here's the correct answer: The Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, in their latest report, for 2025, have estimated that: The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year's report. At that time, the fund's reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 77% of total scheduled benefits. So benefits won't fall to zero, and they won't be slashed in half. But they will drop significantly -- enough to wreak havoc on millions of retirements. Don't give up on Social Security, but be prepared Here's some good news: There are multiple ways to fix Social Security. For example, the current tax rate on workers' earnings, which feeds the fund, could be increased a bit. Currently, most workers pay 6.2%, with their employers kicking in another 6.2%, for a total of 12.4%. Another possible fix is taxing high earners more. Right now, there's an earnings cap, beyond which income is not taxed for Social Security; it's adjusted annually and the cap is $184...
KE ZHUANG/E+ via Getty Images As most investors know by now, NextEra Energy ( NEE ) is acquiring Dominion Energy ( D ), an 80-yr old utility company, based on acquiring regulatory and shareholder approval. It is an all-stock offer where D shareholders receive .813 shares of NEE, representing a 23% premium to the pre-announcement valuation. Without changes, NEE investors will own 75% of the new com...
KE ZHUANG/E+ via Getty Images As most investors know by now, NextEra Energy ( NEE ) is acquiring Dominion Energy ( D ), an 80-yr old utility company, based on acquiring regulatory and shareholder approval. It is an all-stock offer where D shareholders receive .813 shares of NEE, representing a 23% premium to the pre-announcement valuation. Without changes, NEE investors will own 75% of the new company I call NEE+D, and D investors will own 25%. I owned D from 2013 to 2021 and sold after they announced the addition of an albatross to their necklace collection, often referred to as offshore wind power. I am a current shareholder of NEE common shares, purchasing in 2018 and again in 2023 and have been a previous holder owner of various NEE Equity Units over time, such as NEE-PO. SA has published 11 commentaries on D between 2012 and 2023 and 4 articles on NEE between 2018 and 2020. Overall and over time, the acquisition should be positive for NEE. There has been plenty written about the acquisition, and here is my take. New NextEra Energy (NEE+D) The acquisition will give a substantial boost to the regulated side of NextEra Energy. Management’s announcement of the acquisition states that NEE+D will be more than 80% regulated, serving 10 million customers. Currently, NEE is 70% regulated, serving 6 million customers through its Florida Power and Light FPL and Gulf Power subsidiaries. NEE will remain one of the largest renewable energy infrastructure development companies through its ownership in XPLR Infrastructure LLC ( XIFR ). NEE will gain 3.4 million regulated electric customers in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, in addition to 500,000 regulated natural gas customers in SC. Much like the natural gas infrastructure spinoffs from oil companies into MLPs, NextEra has its own financially engineered limited partnership connected at the hip. Originally known as NextEra Energy Partners NEP when it separated from the mothership in 2014, it owns and operates re...
No Deal - Again Another weekend, and another wait for the Iran deal. And another disappointment. No deal - again. Let's rewind: Last weekend Iran sent their counterproposal to the US, and the US rejected it. Then, Trump stated that he "delayed" the planned resumption of kinetic war activities with another strike on Iran - to give it one last chance to negotiate a peaceful solution. This weekend we...
No Deal - Again Another weekend, and another wait for the Iran deal. And another disappointment. No deal - again. Let's rewind: Last weekend Iran sent their counterproposal to the US, and the US rejected it. Then, Trump stated that he "delayed" the planned resumption of kinetic war activities with another strike on Iran - to give it one last chance to negotiate a peaceful solution. This weekend we got a very optimistic story from all sides, especially the US, with Trump stating that " the deal is largely negotiated ." But then on Sunday, Trump stated that he is in " no rush to make the deal " - with implication that the deal has not been reached - again. Yet, the negotiations continue, and the planned bombing remains delayed. The Last Chance - Time is Running Out However, the unfolding negotiations are likely the last chance to make a diplomatic solution before the war resumes. Specifically, the US has to reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately - before a major crude oil shortage starts in June, with oil spiking above $150/barrel. After Hormuz closed on February 28th, the oil shortage has been filled with inventories from strategic reserves, but these inventories are expected to reach critical levels in June. At that point, the crude oil price is expected to start spiking, causing a massive global inflationary shock. These are the May IEA recent predictions : Total March–April inventory draws: 250 mb Only April OECD inventory draw: 146 mb Draw rate: 4–8 mb/day Gulf supply loss: 14 mb/day Summer demand peak begins in June At a 4–8 mb/day deficit, June alone removes 120–240 million barrels. This pushes global inventories into the 90–92 days of forward cover zone, which is the threshold the industry defines as minimum operational level. So, that's it. Hormuz has to reopen in June; otherwise, this will be the biggest energy supply shock ever. Now, imagine what happens if Hormuz remains closed through September. Complete economic collapse. Thus, Trump has to reopen Hormu...
Alllex/E+ via Getty Images Immunovant, Inc. ( IMVT ) is an immunology company developing IMVT-1402 (imeroprubart). This is their next-generation anti-FcRn antibody for autoimmune diseases that are related to pathogenic IgG autoantibodies. In principle, imeroprubart tries to reduce IgG while avoiding some of the lipid and albumin-related drawbacks with batoclimab, which IMVT previously suspended in...
Alllex/E+ via Getty Images Immunovant, Inc. ( IMVT ) is an immunology company developing IMVT-1402 (imeroprubart). This is their next-generation anti-FcRn antibody for autoimmune diseases that are related to pathogenic IgG autoantibodies. In principle, imeroprubart tries to reduce IgG while avoiding some of the lipid and albumin-related drawbacks with batoclimab, which IMVT previously suspended in 2021 due to safety concerns. By 2026, IMVT has now discontinued batoclimab for all indications, which is why imeroprubart is the main value driver today. Recently, IMVT reported positive open-label data from its Phase 2b trial on rheumatoid arthritis, which is why I think the stock deserves another look. IMVT-1402 Takes Center Stage Immunovant is a small clinical-stage biopharmaceutical focused on autoimmune diseases driven by harmful IgG autoantibodies. IMVT was founded back in 2018, and today it’s headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. For extra context, note that IMVT is part of Roivant Sciences' ( ROIV ) ecosystem. ROIV is a behemoth that has smaller specialized subsidiaries, which it calls “Vants,” and it’s currently IMVT’s majority owner. As a side note, I recently covered ROIV here if you’re interested in my review of that stock. But basically, IMVT benefits from ROIV’s centralized support and scale, as well as its much broader development platform. I previously covered IMVT in June 2024, and since then, the stock has gone down as much as 51.3%. Yet, it has recovered from those lows, and it’s now up 167.3% from there, so I thought it was worthwhile updating my thesis on this name. Source: Corporate Presentation. May 2026. As a quick recap, IMVT’s scientific approach is to block the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). You see, FcRn is essentially a receptor that contributes to preserving IgG antibodies in circulation. So, by inhibiting FcRn, IMVT believes it can accelerate the degradation of pathogenic IgG. This, in turn, can theoretically reduce the autoimmune activity u...
Tiger Brokers. Photo: VCG China’s securities regulator has proposed about 2.3 billion yuan ($338 million) in confiscations and fines against online brokers Futu Holdings Ltd. and Up Fintech Holding Ltd., escalating a wider crackdown on unlicensed cross-border trading services for Chinese mainland investors. Futu said it received a prior penalty notice from the Shenzhen branch of the China Securiti...
Tiger Brokers. Photo: VCG China’s securities regulator has proposed about 2.3 billion yuan ($338 million) in confiscations and fines against online brokers Futu Holdings Ltd. and Up Fintech Holding Ltd., escalating a wider crackdown on unlicensed cross-border trading services for Chinese mainland investors. Futu said it received a prior penalty notice from the Shenzhen branch of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) proposing about 1.85 billion yuan in confiscations and fines.
"For Stan's sake, but also for the men who believed this case was important enough to take with them, I simply must return it to its rightful home and complete the job that they had obviously intended to do themselves.
"For Stan's sake, but also for the men who believed this case was important enough to take with them, I simply must return it to its rightful home and complete the job that they had obviously intended to do themselves.
Photo: VCG Tencent Holdings Ltd. said on Friday that it has relinquished the exclusive licensing rights tied to its digital audio content agreements following the Chinese market regulator’s conditional approval of its acquisition of online audio platform Ximalaya. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on May 12 cleared the deal making Ximalaya a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tencent M...
Photo: VCG Tencent Holdings Ltd. said on Friday that it has relinquished the exclusive licensing rights tied to its digital audio content agreements following the Chinese market regulator’s conditional approval of its acquisition of online audio platform Ximalaya. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on May 12 cleared the deal making Ximalaya a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), but imposed five conditions to ensure fair competition in the online audio and music market. The regulator mandated that after the acquisition, Tencent must not raise service fees for the online audio platform and must maintain the current share of free content. The company is also prohibited from signing exclusive copyright deals and preventing creators from joining rival platforms.
Rapid-commerce firm Zepto Ltd. is preparing to publicly file in the first half of June for an initial public offering that may raise up to $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The 10-minute delivery platform is likely to begin investor roadshows later next month, and is targeting an IPO launch as early as July, the people said, asking not to be identified because the informati...
Rapid-commerce firm Zepto Ltd. is preparing to publicly file in the first half of June for an initial public offering that may raise up to $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The 10-minute delivery platform is likely to begin investor roadshows later next month, and is targeting an IPO launch as early as July, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The offering is expected to include a fresh issue of shares as well as secondary share sales by existing investors, with proceeds likely to fund expansion, the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and details including the size and timing of the IPO may still change, they said. Zepto’s offering may become only the second billion-dollar IPO in India this year, after SBI Funds Management ’s planned share sale. The deals may help revive momentum in a market slowed by weak dealmaking as investors assess the economic fallout from the Iran war. Local companies have raised a combined $3.5 billion through first-time share sales so far in 2026, far below the record levels of the previous two years. Representatives for Zepto declined to comment. The company achieved a $7 billion valuation in its last $450 million funding round in October. It competes with Amazon.com Inc. ’s India unit as well as local rivals including Swiggy Ltd ., Eternal Ltd .’s Zomato and Tata Group-backed BigBasket. Zepto is working with Axis Capital Ltd. , Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd . and the local units of Morgan Stanley , HSBC Holdings Plc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on the share sale. The company confidentially filed draft IPO papers at the end of December and received regulatory observations on May 10. Under local rules, companies are required to make their prospectuses public for at least 21 days before launching an offering.
(RTTNews) - Indian shares closed Monday's session on a buoyant note as hopes for a U.S.-Iran peace deal sent oil prices sharply lower and eased inflationary concerns. Oil prices tumbled nearly 5 percent and the rupee extended gains for a third straight session to hit a two-week high at around 95.28 to the dollar after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday a peace deal with Iran had been "la...
(RTTNews) - Indian shares closed Monday's session on a buoyant note as hopes for a U.S.-Iran peace deal sent oil prices sharply lower and eased inflationary concerns. Oil prices tumbled nearly 5 percent and the rupee extended gains for a third straight session to hit a two-week high at around 95.28 to the dollar after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday a peace deal with Iran had been "largely negotiated." Media reports suggested that the U.S. and Iran are working toward a deal to extend their fragile ceasefire by 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Also, it was said that Tehran has agreed to dispose highly enriched uranium. In an interview to Mint, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the rupee may have become undervalued after its sharp decline since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict on 28 February. The benchmark BSE Sensex witnessed a robust rally, rising 1,073.61 points, or 1.42 percent, to 76,488.96 on the back of firm cues from global markets. The NSE Nifty index jumped 312.40 points, or 1.32 percent, to 24,031.70 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes gained 0.8 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. The market breadth was strong on the BSE, with 2,793 shares rising while 1,532 shares declined and 206 shares closed unchanged. Among the top gainers, Mahindra & Mahindra, SBI, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj FinServ, Eternal, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Bajaj Finance surged 2-3 percent. State-run oil marketing companies BPCL, HPCL and IOC jumped 3-4 percent after yet another fuel price hike and a sharp decline in crude oil prices in international markets on increased optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 210.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,404 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,278 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advi...
New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 210.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,404 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,278 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Qualcomm were worth $10,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 116.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,356 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,666,000 after buying an additional 9,343 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 44.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 6.1% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 5,778 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 9.7% during the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the st...