The hairdryers were allegedly used to remove serial number stickers from the real boxes and affix them to the ‘dummy’ servers The founder of an $18bn (£13.5bn) technology company has been arrested by the FBI and charged with smuggling billions of dollars of AI microchips to China, after investigators caught conspirators using a hairdryer to remove tracking labels. The US Department of Justice said...
The hairdryers were allegedly used to remove serial number stickers from the real boxes and affix them to the ‘dummy’ servers The founder of an $18bn (£13.5bn) technology company has been arrested by the FBI and charged with smuggling billions of dollars of AI microchips to China, after investigators caught conspirators using a hairdryer to remove tracking labels. The US Department of Justice said it had charged 71-year-old Yih-Shyan Liaw, one of the co-founders of semiconductor company Supermicro, as well as two other men, with violating export control laws. In total, they smuggled $2.5bn worth of Nvidia technology to China, prosecutors said. Authorities said they fooled inspectors by replacing real servers with boxes of fake alternatives. They were then stored in a warehouse while the genuine parts were shipped to China. The scheme allegedly involved using hairdryers to remove serial number stickers from the real boxes and affix them to the “dummy” servers. The group allegedly fabricated documents to give the impression that a non-Chinese company was the ultimate recipient of the hardware, allowing them to pass internal checks. Surveillance footage shows thousands of boxes lined up, allegedly the fake servers used to fool inspectors, and a woman holding a red hairdryer. The US closely regulates the export of Nvidia AI chips as it seeks to maintain a lead in artificial intelligence compared with China and prevent Beijing’s military from getting access to the most cutting-edge technology. Multiple smuggling rings and attempts to steal technology have been uncovered in the US and Taiwan in recent years, where many of the chips are manufactured. Surveillance footage shows thousands of boxes lined up, containing the alleged fake servers used to fool inspectors However, Thursday’s indictment is unusual for including Mr Liaw, a US citizen who co-founded Supermicro 33 years ago in Silicon Valley. The company has not been charged but shares fell by 25pc in after-hours trad...
Alibaba (BABA) released its earnings for the fiscal Q3 2026 yesterday, March 19, before U.S. markets opened. The results fell short of expectations, and the company missed on both the top line and the bottom line. It was incidentally the third consecutive quarter where Alibaba missed estimates, and while the stock had risen after fiscal Q1 2026 earnings on optimism about its artificial intelligenc...
Alibaba (BABA) released its earnings for the fiscal Q3 2026 yesterday, March 19, before U.S. markets opened. The results fell short of expectations, and the company missed on both the top line and the bottom line. It was incidentally the third consecutive quarter where Alibaba missed estimates, and while the stock had risen after fiscal Q1 2026 earnings on optimism about its artificial intelligence (AI) business, markets seem to have finally had it with the earnings misses. Talking of fiscal Q3, its revenues (after adjusting for disposed assets) rose 9% year-over-year (YoY) to $40.7 billion, which was slightly below estimates. The real miss, meanwhile, came on profit metrics, and its per-share earnings came in at $0.85, which was less than half what analysts were expecting. Notably, markets did not expect much from Alibaba in the December quarter, but the company failed to clear even the low bar, with operating income falling 74% YoY. The company’s profits also plunged in the previous quarter due to growing investments in AI and continued losses in the instant commerce business. One bright spot in Alibaba’s Q4 report was the 36% YoY rise in cloud revenues, with AI-related revenues rising in triple digits for the tenth consecutive quarter. However, while markets overlooked the dip in profits in the previous two quarters, this time the “AI story” failed to cut ice with investors, who sent the stock south by over 7% yesterday. After the post-earnings slump, BABA stock has extended its year-to-date (YTD) drawdown to over 31%. While AI-related announcements helped tech stocks rally in the previous three years, markets now want to see adequate earnings growth to justify the massive investments they are making. The story has been playing out in U.S. tech stocks for the last couple of quarters, and it was about time it manifested in China. BABA Stock Forecast Meanwhile, even as Alibaba’s fiscal Q3 earnings spooked investors, sell-side analysts don’t seem too perturbed. Jeff...
Adam Gault/OJO Images via Getty Images Large-cap value stocks are drawing renewed attention as investors look for more reliable equity hedges in a volatile market environment, with quality-focused names increasingly seen as better positioned to withstand elevated uncertainty, according to Bank of America. The bank said that when volatility indicators such as the VIX remain elevated, stocks with st...
Adam Gault/OJO Images via Getty Images Large-cap value stocks are drawing renewed attention as investors look for more reliable equity hedges in a volatile market environment, with quality-focused names increasingly seen as better positioned to withstand elevated uncertainty, according to Bank of America. The bank said that when volatility indicators such as the VIX remain elevated, stocks with stable earnings, strong balance sheets, and consistent cash flows have historically outperformed their lower-quality peers in a persistent and monotonic relationship. Bank of America added that large-cap value stocks now screen higher on quality metrics than growth, marking a shift from the past decade when growth dominated on profitability measures. One way investors are gaining exposure to that theme is through large-cap value benchmarks such as the iShares S&P 500 Value ETF ( IVE ), which includes companies like Apple, Amazon, Exxon Mobil, Walmart, Costco, Tesla, Procter & Gamble, Home Depot, Chevron, and Bank of America. The fund holds a portfolio of 448 stocks. Below is a look at IVE’s top 10 holdings, ranked by market cap, along with each company’s year-to-date performance and quant rating. Here is the list in the order of their market cap: Apple ( AAPL ) Quant Rating: 3.48, YTD: -8.42% Amazon ( AMZN ) Quant Rating: 4.75, YTD: -9.56% Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) Quant Rating: 3.48, YTD: +31.43% Walmart ( WMT ) Quant Rating: 3.39, YTD: +8.69% Costco ( COST ) Quant Rating: 3.43, YTD: +13.04% Tesla ( TSLA ) Quant Rating: 3.26, YTD: -15.44% Procter & Gamble ( PG ) Quant Rating: 3.22, YTD: +1.07% Home Depot ( HD ) Quant Rating: 3.22, YTD: -4.62% Chevron ( CVX ) Quant Rating: 4.86, YTD: +32.17% Bank of America ( BAC ) Quant Rating: 3.25, YTD: -14.53% More on iShares S&P 500 Value ETF When Value Becomes Momentum: Why Value ETFs No Longer Hedge Market Risk Biggest surge of value stocks vs. growth in four years – Jeremy Siegel More on the tech selloff: It’s time for value as investors se...
Key Points Oracle is converting its massive backlog into revenue, which should accelerate growth in the next couple of years. The company's earnings growth potential and valuation suggest it is likely to deliver healthy gains for investors. 10 stocks we like better than Oracle › Shares of Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) have retreated 48% in the past six months, driven by concerns that the company is spending...
Key Points Oracle is converting its massive backlog into revenue, which should accelerate growth in the next couple of years. The company's earnings growth potential and valuation suggest it is likely to deliver healthy gains for investors. 10 stocks we like better than Oracle › Shares of Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) have retreated 48% in the past six months, driven by concerns that the company is spending way too much to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Oracle's decision to take on debt to fund the infrastructure buildout, along with its reliance on AI start-up OpenAI for a significant chunk of its backlog, has weighed on its shares in recent months. However, on March 10, Oracle stock received a nice shot in the arm after the company announced solid results for its fiscal 2026's third quarter (ended Feb. 28). 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 » Let's see why that was the case, and if the stock could go on a bull run from here and make investors richer over the next couple of years. Oracle's smart infrastructure strategy is reaping rewards Oracle's cloud infrastructure business is growing at a terrific pace. The company has been signing massive contracts with customers looking to run AI workloads in the cloud, and its backlog now stands at $553 billion. Oracle posted a 325% year-over-year increase in its remaining performance obligations (RPO) last quarter, which was much faster than the 22% year-over-year increase in its revenue to $17.2 billion. Oracle now needs to convert its RPO, which is the total value of contracts yet to be fulfilled at the end of a quarter, into revenue by building more data centers. That's why the company intends to raise $50 billion in debt and equity funding this year. Importantly, Oracle has already raised $30 billion of its target by issuing conve...
Shi Yongxin. Photo: IC Shi Yongxin, the former abbot of China’s famed Shaolin Temple, has been indicted on multiple criminal charges including bribery and misappropriation, about six months after the controversial monk came under investigation. On Friday, prosecutors in Xinxiang city, Henan province, indicted Shi — born Liu Yingcheng — on charges of corporate extortion, misappropriation of funds, ...
Shi Yongxin. Photo: IC Shi Yongxin, the former abbot of China’s famed Shaolin Temple, has been indicted on multiple criminal charges including bribery and misappropriation, about six months after the controversial monk came under investigation. On Friday, prosecutors in Xinxiang city, Henan province, indicted Shi — born Liu Yingcheng — on charges of corporate extortion, misappropriation of funds, accepting bribes as a non-state worker, and offering bribes, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
VivoPower ( Nasdaq: VIVO ) on Friday said its CEO Kevin Chin and affiliated entities have begun converting about 2.96 million listed Class A ordinary shares into unlisted Class B shares, reducing the company’s public float. The Class B shares are non-tradable and carry enhanced voting rights. The move follows recent share purchases totaling about 2.65 million shares by board members, including Chi...
VivoPower ( Nasdaq: VIVO ) on Friday said its CEO Kevin Chin and affiliated entities have begun converting about 2.96 million listed Class A ordinary shares into unlisted Class B shares, reducing the company’s public float. The Class B shares are non-tradable and carry enhanced voting rights. The move follows recent share purchases totaling about 2.65 million shares by board members, including Chin. The company said the conversion is part of a broader strategy to minimize dilution and strengthen long-term shareholder alignment, following the termination of its at-the-market equity program and withdrawal of a $180 million shelf registration. VIVO is -0.84% to $2.35. Source: Press Release More on VivoPower International VivoPower announces executive departures amid data center strategy shift Most and least shorted utilities stocks with up to $2B market cap as of mid-Feb Financial information for VivoPower International
Ironvine Capital Partners, an investment management company, released its Q4 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Ironvine Capital Partners emphasized in its latest investor letter that long-term equity returns are ultimately driven by underlying earnings growth, noting that businesses held across its portfolios increased earnings between 12% and 16% in 2025, while ho...
Ironvine Capital Partners, an investment management company, released its Q4 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Ironvine Capital Partners emphasized in its latest investor letter that long-term equity returns are ultimately driven by underlying earnings growth, noting that businesses held across its portfolios increased earnings between 12% and 16% in 2025, while holdings have compounded profits at roughly 15%–18% annually over the past nine years. The firm expects another year of mid-teens earnings growth across its companies in 2026, supported by durable competitive advantages, reinvestment opportunities, and structural industry tailwinds. Performance for the Ironvine Concentrated Equity Composite returned 11.27% in 2025, compared with 17.88% for the S&P 500 Index, while the Ironvine Core Equity Composite gained 9.68% during the year. The letter highlighted several major portfolio holdings benefiting from trends such as cloud computing expansion, aerospace maintenance demand, datacenter and semiconductor growth tied to artificial intelligence, resilient credit markets, the continued digitization of payments, and the global need for enterprise software and risk-management services. Despite acknowledging uncertainties ranging from regulatory developments to cyclical industry conditions, the firm remains confident that owning durable, high-quality businesses with strong reinvestment opportunities can generate double-digit long-term returns even if market valuations moderate. Please review the Portfolio’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2025. In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Ironvine Capital Partners highlighted stocks like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology leader driven by its cloud computing platform Azure, enterprise software products, and expanding artificial intelligence initiatives. The one-month return of Microsoft Corporatio...
Bloomberg's Michael Ball discusses the complex dynamics affecting option traders and market makers as Wall Street approaches a significant triple-witching expiry involving $5.7 trillion in open interest. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg's Michael Ball discusses the complex dynamics affecting option traders and market makers as Wall Street approaches a significant triple-witching expiry involving $5.7 trillion in open interest. (Source: Bloomberg)
vzphotos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images (vzphotos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images) Quick Read Micron (MU) guided Q2 FY2026 non-GAAP EPS of $8.42 and non-GAAP gross margins of 68%, with Street estimates implying $19.15 EPS for next quarter versus consensus of $11.70, while the stock trades at just 14x forward P/E despite 175% year-over-year earnings growth and four consecutive quarters of ...
vzphotos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images (vzphotos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images) Quick Read Micron (MU) guided Q2 FY2026 non-GAAP EPS of $8.42 and non-GAAP gross margins of 68%, with Street estimates implying $19.15 EPS for next quarter versus consensus of $11.70, while the stock trades at just 14x forward P/E despite 175% year-over-year earnings growth and four consecutive quarters of EPS beats. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra forecast the HBM market expanding from $35B in 2025 to $100B by 2028 with industry supply remaining substantially short of demand, positioning Micron’s locked-in calendar 2026 HBM commitments to drive significant margin expansion and revenue growth. A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans’ retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here. Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) has been one of the most explosive stories in semiconductors over the past year. Shares have surged 355% over the past twelve months, climbing from $101.39 to $461.73 as of March 18. Year-to-date, the stock is up 61.78%. The catalyst is straightforward: Micron is at the center of the AI memory supercycle, and its numbers are proving it. The question is whether shares can reach a significantly higher level in the year ahead. Wall Street Is Bullish, But Already Behind The analyst consensus price target sits at $432.49, actually below where the stock trades today. That's not bearish sentiment so much as Wall Street getting lapped by reality. Of 43 analysts covering MU, 38 rate it a buy and just 2 rate it a sell. The forward P/E sits at just 14x, an almost absurdly low multiple for a company growing earnings at 175% year-over-year. Micron has beaten EPS estimates in each of the last four quarters, by 21.33%, 5.94%, 18.94%, and 9.49% respectively. When a company beats this consistently, actual results will almost certainly exceed current forecasts. Read: Data Shows One Habit Doubles American’s Savings And Boosts Retirement Most A...
is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Dieter Rams already showed the world that something as mundane as an alarm clock can be beautiful. Balmuda, a Japanese company best known for its steam-infused t...
is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Dieter Rams already showed the world that something as mundane as an alarm clock can be beautiful. Balmuda, a Japanese company best known for its steam-infused toasters, has released a travel-friendly alarm clock simply called The Clock. Its minimalist dial is reminiscent of Braun’s iconic alarm clocks but goes one step further by replacing traditional moving hands with subtle illuminated accents. Machined from a single block of aluminum, the Clock stands about four inches tall including a carrying loop and control dial and weighs around 260 grams. Its illumination system, which the company calls Light Hour, features glowing numbers representing 12 hours with minutes and seconds displayed as a concentric ring of tick marks. Animations are used to show the passage of time. The Clock is currently available in Japan for ¥59,400, or around $375, but the company hasn’t announced plans to make it available internationally yet. Animated numbers and markers on the Clock’s dial show the passage of time and indicate other functions. Image: Balmuda The alarm clock was designed by Balmuda founder Gen Terao, who wanted help falling asleep at night. He needed an alternative to playing rain sounds on a bright, distracting tablet. That desire resulted in three primary functions for the Clock. There’s a Relax Time mode that plays one of several original recordings that include sounds like falling rain, a fireplace, and a babbling river. Those sounds are also used for the Clock’s alarms, which quietly start playing three minutes before your preset wake-up time, and gradually get louder to ensure they’re not missed. There’s a focus mode, which can be set from one to 60 minutes, that plays white noise through the Clock’s stereo speakers to help reduce...
JayLazarin/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Goldman Sachs ( GS ) has been a prime beneficiary of elevated market levels in the past year through surging equity trading revenues and investment banking deals. The stock is down 7.4% YTD versus the banking sector's 4.5% decline, despite outperforming in a one-year period. We believe Goldman Sachs remains a leader in investment banking, and the marke...
JayLazarin/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Goldman Sachs ( GS ) has been a prime beneficiary of elevated market levels in the past year through surging equity trading revenues and investment banking deals. The stock is down 7.4% YTD versus the banking sector's 4.5% decline, despite outperforming in a one-year period. We believe Goldman Sachs remains a leader in investment banking, and the markets might have cast too much of a worry over its benign exposure to software private credit. Data by YCharts Have global markets peaked? Investors will have no doubt that the stock trades at a strong correlation with equity and fixed income markets, as its Global Banking & Markets division and Asset & Wealth Management are responsible for 80% and 19% of its total pre-tax income, respectively, in FY2025. With the S&P 500 down ~3% on the year and valuations at a peak, investors have fair concerns about whether GS has topped as well. While we are wary of the risks rich market premiums may pose, we opine that GS has structural advantages that can still help it thrive in a moderate market downturn. Investments in equity trading are paying off According to the Q4 call , the management has attributed its record setting equities net revenues during the quarter to multi-year investments in its prime brokerage and equity financing franchise that have paid off. The shift in institutional behavior towards more active repositioning, driven by AI-related equity rotations and geopolitical uncertainty, has facilitated higher trading volume. Further, the company has also benefited from structural expansion of derivative activities across rates, credit, and equity volatility. We believe that GS benefits more so than its peers when capturing this structural elevation in market activity—in the table, GS has notably higher pre-tax income margins for capital markets/trading segments. Segment (FY2025) GS MS equiv. Citi equiv. DB equiv. Capital Markets / IB GBM 42.4% IS 34.0% Markets 27.0% IB ~35% ...
One-pedal driving is not causing Tesla electric vehicles to suddenly accelerate when parked, according to federal regulators. For almost as long as Tesla has been selling cars, it has been hit with sporadic accusations of parked cars accelerating when they shouldn't. Known to the industry as "sudden unintended acceleration," the question for regulators is whether the problem is a human one or an e...
One-pedal driving is not causing Tesla electric vehicles to suddenly accelerate when parked, according to federal regulators. For almost as long as Tesla has been selling cars, it has been hit with sporadic accusations of parked cars accelerating when they shouldn't. Known to the industry as "sudden unintended acceleration," the question for regulators is whether the problem is a human one or an engineering one, and over the years, engineers who think they've found the culprit have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to force a recall. These efforts usually fail, as was the case today, when NHTSA said it would not tell Tesla to recall every EV it built since 2013. Because electric motors are also generators, EVs use regenerative braking to recover energy when they slow down rather than wasting that kinetic energy as heat (and maybe a bit of sound) via the friction brakes. In many battery EVs and just about any hybrid I can think of, a brake-by-wire system blends the two together—the driver uses the left pedal as normal, and the car slows down. Some automakers (I'm looking at you, Porsche) think this is the only way a driver should slow their EV. But an electric motor can also be programmed to regeneratively brake when the driver lifts their foot from the throttle, and in Tesla's EVs (as well as Rivian's and Lucid's), this is the only way to regen, as there is no brake-by-wire system, only traditional hydraulic friction brakes. Technically, I just described lift-off regen, but if the car has been programmed to come to a complete stop when you take your foot from the accelerator, that's one-pedal driving. Some EV drivers absolutely love one-pedal driving; others don't. I like one-pedal for low-speed driving or when I want something similar to engine braking. But according to the petition sent to NHTSA in 2023 by a Greek engineer , this causes a "short-circuit" in Tesla drivers' brains. Read full article Comments
Bet_Noire "Manufacturing is Roaring Back Under President Donald Trump," the White House declared a year ago, touting job growth in the industry. Recent data may paint a different picture. Many firms have shed jobs over the past year as they look to cut costs in the backdrop of tariffs, trade uncertainty and higher raw material prices. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, manufact...
Bet_Noire "Manufacturing is Roaring Back Under President Donald Trump," the White House declared a year ago, touting job growth in the industry. Recent data may paint a different picture. Many firms have shed jobs over the past year as they look to cut costs in the backdrop of tariffs, trade uncertainty and higher raw material prices. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, manufacturing jobs declined by about 100,000 from Jan. 2025 to Feb. 2026. While U.S. manufacturing activity has also been in a prolonged downturn since 2022, that could be nearing an end. The sector just managed to notch two consecutive months of growth , with PMI readings that were above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction. It marks the first back-to-back expansion streak in nearly four years, suggesting the highly anticipated investment wave may be finally translating into actual floor momentum. "It takes time to get production online, and therefore it will be some more time before we fully materialize the benefits of the president’s policies," Pierre Yared, acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told the Associated Press . Companies across sectors announced huge multi-year investments to expand manufacturing and build new facilities in the U.S. since Trump took office — including Apple ( AAPL ), Micron ( MU ) and TSMC ( TSM ). BLS More on U.S. economy U.S. Lower And Middle Classes Shrinking Over Time Boss, More Work Please Rates Will Be Higher For Longer Iran war possibly adding to U.S. hiring caution - economist SA Asks: Is the U.S. economy heading towards stagflation?