patty_c/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Lately my view on Williams-Sonoma ( WSM ) has been quite negative, and since August 2025, I have published two articles, rating the stock as a "sell" both times. In my latest writing in March, I argued that declining sales, strong macroeconomic headwinds, as well as a high valuation all make the stock unattractive. After the latest earnings results, howev...
patty_c/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Lately my view on Williams-Sonoma ( WSM ) has been quite negative, and since August 2025, I have published two articles, rating the stock as a "sell" both times. In my latest writing in March, I argued that declining sales, strong macroeconomic headwinds, as well as a high valuation all make the stock unattractive. After the latest earnings results, however, I must say that I might have underestimated the resilience of WSM, as they managed to beat analyst estimates, top- and bottom-line. The aim of my article is to review whether the previously established hold rating is still valid or not, in light of these results, the macroeconomic changes, and the current valuation. Sales and margins Earlier I argued that I expect the demand for WSM's products to struggle due to the challenging macroeconomic circumstances. In the most recent quarter, however, WSM seems to have proven me wrong. Net sales grew by more than 4%, and more importantly, if we break down the revenue by brand, we can see that each brand grew. I normally say that, when it comes to growth, I like to see broad-based growth. And WSM essentially delivered it, with all brands contributing. Revenue by brand (Williams-Sonoma) Going into this a bit deeper, let us look at the comparable revenue growth figures. Considering that the firm is active in the home furnishing retail space, I think any growth could be attractive in the current environment. But they even managed to accelerate growth in two of their four brands, resulting in higher growth than in the same quarter a year ago. Comparable brand revenue growth (Williams-Sonoma) For these reasons, I believe that WSM is much more resilient than I first thought, and I am definitely positively surprised. Based on this, it is definitely necessary to reconsider the validity of my previous bearish view. At the same time, we also have to acknowledge that WSM is not totally immune to the headwinds; their costs actually went up Y...
Billionaire Philippe Laffont’s global investment firm Coatue Management executed a meaningful tactical portfolio rotation in the first quarter of 2026. The hedge fund manager scaled back exposure to mega-cap artificial intelligence (AI) names, including Tesla, Oracle, and even Nvidia, and redirected capital into the deeply distressed Lucid stock. Laffont’s repositioning highlights growing institut...
Billionaire Philippe Laffont’s global investment firm Coatue Management executed a meaningful tactical portfolio rotation in the first quarter of 2026. The hedge fund manager scaled back exposure to mega-cap artificial intelligence (AI) names, including Tesla, Oracle, and even Nvidia, and redirected capital into the deeply distressed Lucid stock. Laffont’s repositioning highlights growing institutional anxiety over capex sustainability and near-term AI monetization. By taking profit on premium tech stocks, the “Tiger Cub” billionaire is intentionally repositioning Coatue to exploit highly asymmetric, contrarian setups in the out-of-favour clean energy segment. Why Laffont sold off AI stocks Laffont’s most dramatic portfolio move was a clean exit from Oracle. The billionaire liquidated his “entire position” after the enterprise software company raised its full-year capex guidance to $50 billion, aimed at funding infrastructure expansion. In Q1, OpenAI – its marquee partners, which have taken on $1.4 trillion in data center commitments over the next eight years – also missed key revenue targets, drawing fresh scrutiny to ORCL’s lofty valuation. Tesla fared little better. Coatue gutted roughly 96% of its position in the automaker after CEO Elon Musk tempered expectations around the commercial rollout of Tesla’s robotaxi fleet. With TSLA also ramping up its own AI-focused capital spending, analysts warn of severe pressure on free cash flow and year-over-year cash generation. Even Nvidia, the undisputed hardware backbone of the AI boom, wasn’t spared. Despite reporting strong Q1 earnings, Laffont trimmed his stake in Nvidia by 31%, representing disciplined risk management. Why Laffont loaded up on Lucid stock While Laffont was cutting exposure to AI’s biggest winners in early 2026, he was quietly making a very different kind of wager – one that few on Wall Street saw coming. Coatue initiated a fresh position in Lucid Group – snapping up 295,300 shares worth roughly $2.8 ...
NATO Warns Russia's Hybrid War Is Targeting Europe's Energy Grid Authored by Simon Watkins via OilPrice.com, European officials fear Russia’s “grey war” is entering a more dangerous phase, with gas pipelines, electricity interconnectors, offshore networks, and subsea infrastructure increasingly vulnerable to sabotage and cyberattacks. Security sources say Moscow is escalating pressure because the ...
NATO Warns Russia's Hybrid War Is Targeting Europe's Energy Grid Authored by Simon Watkins via OilPrice.com, European officials fear Russia’s “grey war” is entering a more dangerous phase, with gas pipelines, electricity interconnectors, offshore networks, and subsea infrastructure increasingly vulnerable to sabotage and cyberattacks. Security sources say Moscow is escalating pressure because the Ukraine war is becoming harder to sustain militarily and economically. Recent incidents involving Russian-linked vessels and surveillance operations in the Baltic and North Seas have heightened concerns that Europe’s energy grid is becoming a frontline target in the broader confrontation with Russia. While many may be focusing on the transfer of nuclear weapons from Russia to Belarus on NATO’s northeastern Baltic States border, the bloc's security apparatus is at least as concerned about imminent attacks on the region's energy infrastructure, a senior source who works very closely with the European Union's (E.U.'s) energy security complex exclusively told OilPrice.com last week. “ Russia’s effectively been at war with the West since February 2007 when [Russian President Vladimir] Putin condemned NATO’s expansion to the East, which was followed by a huge cyber-attack against Estonia,” he said. “Then we had the beginning of the land pushback, with Russia’s war on Georgia in 2008, where we [the West] did nothing to dissuade him from further actions Westwards, then the first invasion of Ukraine and annexation on Crimea in 2014, where we did nothing much again [as analysed in full in my latest book on the new global oil market order ], and then the second invasion of Ukraine in 2022,” he added. “We’re into the final phase now, in which we’re making a stand, and Russia’s testing how resolved we are,” he underlined. So, what happens next in terms of Europe’s crucial energy infrastructure? “We expect hybrid attacks of the sort we’ve seen in recent years, and more direct physical on...
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Sydney with Paul Allen and Haidi Stroud-Watts, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Sydney with Paul Allen and Haidi Stroud-Watts, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
the Humanoids Summit in Tokyo gathers leading companies, builders, and investors from around the world for live humanoid demonstrations and talks on commercialization, mass production, and safety. (Source: Bloomberg)
the Humanoids Summit in Tokyo gathers leading companies, builders, and investors from around the world for live humanoid demonstrations and talks on commercialization, mass production, and safety. (Source: Bloomberg)
By Robert Walters Taiwan Robert Walters Taiwan’s 15th anniversary report Reveals Structural Shift in the Local Talent Market Taiwan's talent market has officially shifted from an employer-driven to a candidate-driven market, with critical skills increasingly replacing tenure and job titles as the core measure of talent value. AI adoption and global supply chain restructuring are accelerating salar...
By Robert Walters Taiwan Robert Walters Taiwan’s 15th anniversary report Reveals Structural Shift in the Local Talent Market Taiwan's talent market has officially shifted from an employer-driven to a candidate-driven market, with critical skills increasingly replacing tenure and job titles as the core measure of talent value. AI adoption and global supply chain restructuring are accelerating salary polarisation. Professionals in semiconductors and high-tech industries are seeing salary increases of 15–20% when changing jobs, while those with AI, HPC and cross-border supply chain expertise can command increases of up to 30%. Career priorities are evolving beyond compensation. 54% of professionals cite learning and development opportunities as a key reason for staying with their current employer. By 2030, Gen Z is expected to account for 30–33% of Taiwan's workforce, making flexibility, work-life balance and transparent workplace culture critical factors in talent attraction and retention. TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 May 2026 - Taiwan's talent market has gradually shifted from an employer-driven to a candidate-driven market through globalisation, digital transformation and pandemic-driven disruption. Meanwhile, the rapid advancement of technology and AI is not only accelerating demand for critical skills, but also reshaping industry structures and redefining the rules of talent competition.Robert Walters, the world's most trusted talent solutions business, said in its latest 15th anniversary report, Taiwan's Talent Market: The New Rules of Competition , that "critical skills" are increasingly replacing tenure and job titles as the primary indicators of talent value and compensation. Particularly as Taiwan's semiconductor industry strengthens its strategic position within the global technology supply chain, professionals with in-demand capabilities are seeing salary growth significantly outpace the broader market, making salary polarisation an increas...
Key Points Comparisons to the 1999 IPO market right now don't stand up. However, the best strategy for most investors remains dollar-cost averaging into an index ETF. 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard S&P 500 ETF › The market for initial public offerings (IPOs) is heating up. Inference chipmaker Cerebras Systems recently debuted to huge fanfare, while SpaceX looks set to become the largest IP...
Key Points Comparisons to the 1999 IPO market right now don't stand up. However, the best strategy for most investors remains dollar-cost averaging into an index ETF. 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard S&P 500 ETF › The market for initial public offerings (IPOs) is heating up. Inference chipmaker Cerebras Systems recently debuted to huge fanfare, while SpaceX looks set to become the largest IPO ever. Meanwhile, Anthropic and OpenAI could be around the corner. While hot IPOs get investors excited, one analyst thinks this could be a sign of a market top. Zacks Chief Equity Strategist John Blank recently told CNBC that the IPO market was reminiscent of 1999 during the tech bubble, when companies were rushing to go public. The question then is, does it seem accurate, and if so, what should investors do? Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Now, the 1999 IPO market is much different from the IPO market of today, in my view. More than 450 companies went public that year in the U.S., largely in the tech sector. By comparison, over the past year, only about 100 companies have gone public, and less than 15 have been tech stocks. Back in 1999, many companies were seeing absolutely bonkers first-day gains, like Akamai Technologies, which priced at $25 and closed at $156 its first day of trading. This time, results are more muted. Design software company Figma had the biggest opening day for companies valued at $1 billion or more, rising 250% when it debuted last July, only to lose 80% of its value from its IPO price. Circle Internet, which operates a stablecoin network, was the second-biggest gainer on its first day, up 168% when it debuted last June, but is now up roughly 25% from its IPO price. Neither company was exactly riding the AI boom. Overall, we have not seen a huge surge in tech IPO...