The Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF (NYSEMKT:SCHE) offers a lower cost of entry for long-term holders, while the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEMKT:IEMG) provides broader market coverage and significantly higher liquidity that may appeal to institutional or active traders. Both ETFs seek to provide low-cost exposure to emerging economies like China, India, and Taiwan. While they ov...
The Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF (NYSEMKT:SCHE) offers a lower cost of entry for long-term holders, while the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEMKT:IEMG) provides broader market coverage and significantly higher liquidity that may appeal to institutional or active traders. Both ETFs seek to provide low-cost exposure to emerging economies like China, India, and Taiwan. While they overlap significantly in their top holdings, differences in index tracking and market-cap inclusion mean they offer distinct risk-return profiles for investors looking to diversify beyond domestic markets and capture growth in developing regions. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield. Continue reading
Earnings Call Insights: Microchip Technology (MCHP) Q4 2026 Management View “Net sales in the March quarter were $1.311 billion, which was up 10.6% sequentially,” and Microchip reported non-GAAP gross margin of 61.6% (including “capacity underutilization charges of $46.6 million”), non-GAAP EPS of $0.57, operating cash flow of $257 million, and “adjusted free cash flow was $228 million.” (Senior C...
Earnings Call Insights: Microchip Technology (MCHP) Q4 2026 Management View “Net sales in the March quarter were $1.311 billion, which was up 10.6% sequentially,” and Microchip reported non-GAAP gross margin of 61.6% (including “capacity underutilization charges of $46.6 million”), non-GAAP EPS of $0.57, operating cash flow of $257 million, and “adjusted free cash flow was $228 million.” (Senior Corporate Vice President & CFO J. Bjornholt) “We are seeing significant momentum across all 3 major product families within our data center solutions business,” including PCIe Gen 6 Switchtec design-win momentum and a new product-category entry: “we've entered the PCIe retimer market this quarter... and we have already secured a major OEM design win on an upcoming Gen 6 platform, displacing one of our competitors.” (Corporate Vice President and GM Brian McCarson) “We are seeing recovery in all of our end markets,” and management emphasized channel normalization and bookings strength: “we have completed the distribution inventory correction,” “the book-to-bill ratio for the March quarter was well above 1,” and “April was the largest booking month in almost 4 years.” (CEO Steve Sanghi) Outlook “Taking all of these factors into account, we expect our net sales for the June quarter to be up 11% sequentially plus or minus 1%.” (CEO Sanghi) “We expect our non-GAAP gross margin to be between 62.25% and 63.25% of sales... non-GAAP operating expenses to be between 28.75% and 29.25% of sales... non-GAAP diluted earnings per share to be between $0.67 and $0.71 per share.” (CEO Sanghi) Compared with the prior quarter’s call, management lifted sequential growth expectations (Q3 call guided March-quarter sales at “$1.26 billion, plus or minus $20 million,” while the Q4 call guided June-quarter sales up “11% sequentially plus or minus 1%”) and described a broadening recovery: “we expect nearly all business units to participate in the growth.” (CEO Sanghi) Financial Results “Net sales in th...
Earnings Call Insights: Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) Q4 fiscal 2026 Management View "Fiscal year '26 was a defining year for Gen, our strongest results in a decade," Vincent Pilette (Chairman & CEO) said, adding: "Revenue crossed $5 billion for the first time, and non-GAAP EPS reached $2.56" and "We exited at 3x net leverage, a year ahead of plan." Pilette highlighted the segment mix, describing "a $3.3...
Earnings Call Insights: Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) Q4 fiscal 2026 Management View "Fiscal year '26 was a defining year for Gen, our strongest results in a decade," Vincent Pilette (Chairman & CEO) said, adding: "Revenue crossed $5 billion for the first time, and non-GAAP EPS reached $2.56" and "We exited at 3x net leverage, a year ahead of plan." Pilette highlighted the segment mix, describing "a $3.3 billion cyber safety franchise" and "a high-growth trust-based solutions segment nearing $1.7 billion," and said "Genie, our AI scam detection engine, is now embedded across Norton 360, Avast and partners like ChatGPT." On distribution and engagement, Pilette said "Norton appears in 34% of tracked non-brand ChatGPT prompts" and "LLM-driven traffic up 62% year-over-year," while adding "Overall customer count reached 79 million" and "Membership adoption approaches 60% across Norton, Avast and Avira." In trust-based solutions, Pilette said "connected financial accounts hitting all-time highs each quarter, 107 million in Q4, up 36% year-over-year," and described LifeLock operating metrics: "NPS reached 73, up 4 points year-over-year with retention touching 90%." On AI partnerships and new products, Pilette said "We also announced a partnership with xAI" including "a digital concierge for Norton subscribers launching this summer," and added "today, we joined OpenAI's Trusted Access for Cyber and we will start leveraging the advanced defense capabilities of their latest GPT-5.5." Natalie Derse (Chief Financial Officer) said "Total bookings reached a record $5.1 billion" and "Full year operating income was $2.5 billion, representing an operating margin of 51%," adding "We generated $1.5 billion in free cash flow" and "we have achieved 3x net leverage, a year ahead of schedule." Outlook Derse guided: "We expect full year revenue in the range of $5.325 billion to $5.425 billion" and "We expect non-GAAP EPS to be in the range of $2.85 to $2.95," adding that it "reflects mid-teens pr...
South Korea’s current-account surplus surged to another record in March, driven by a surge in semiconductor exports and stronger shipments across Asia and the US, even as foreign investors sharply reduced holdings of domestic stocks amid rising Middle East tensions. The current-account surplus reached $37.3 billion in March, the largest monthly surplus on record, according to Bank of Korea data re...
South Korea’s current-account surplus surged to another record in March, driven by a surge in semiconductor exports and stronger shipments across Asia and the US, even as foreign investors sharply reduced holdings of domestic stocks amid rising Middle East tensions. The current-account surplus reached $37.3 billion in March, the largest monthly surplus on record, according to Bank of Korea data released Friday. The figure far exceeded the previous record of $23.2 billion set in February, and marked the country’s 35th straight month of current-account surpluses, the second-longest streak of surpluses since the 2000s, the BOK said. The goods balance posted a record $35.1 billion surplus as exports surged to an all-time high of $94.3 billion. That was led by semiconductors and computer-related products, while petroleum products and chemicals also climbed as higher oil prices boosted shipment values. Chip exports jumped nearly 150% on a customs-clearance basis, the BOK said. Meantime, imports increased by the most in 15 years. The data underscore how South Korea’s trade sector continued to benefit from resilient artificial-intelligence demand before broader fallout from the Iran war and heightened geopolitical tensions began weighing heavily on financial markets and investor sentiment. The services account posted a $1.29 billion deficit, though the shortfall narrowed from both a year earlier and the previous month. The travel account returned to a surplus for the first time since late 2014, aided by seasonal domestic tourism demand during the spring travel period. The primary income account surplus widened to $3.58 billion, supported by increased dividend income from direct and portfolio investments. The financial account showed a net asset increase of $37 billion. Koreans continued investing abroad, while foreign investors drastically reduced holdings of South Korean equities. Meanwhile, foreign investment in domestic stocks fell by a record $29.3 billion as escalating...
When investors think of dividend stocks, they don't usually think of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) -- a name with a yield of just 0.6%. And while McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) yields a more conventional 2.6% and trades at less than half the warehouse club's price-to-earnings ratio , that doesn't necessarily make it the better buy. The two do share some similarities. Both are blue chip consumer giants w...
When investors think of dividend stocks, they don't usually think of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) -- a name with a yield of just 0.6%. And while McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) yields a more conventional 2.6% and trades at less than half the warehouse club's price-to-earnings ratio , that doesn't necessarily make it the better buy. The two do share some similarities. Both are blue chip consumer giants with decades of dividend hikes behind them. And both have global footprints with the kind of pricing power smaller peers envy. But once you look past the headline yield, the gap between the businesses gets harder to ignore. Here's a closer look at each company -- and which one looks like the smarter dividend pick today. Continue reading
Singapore will add new curbs to discourage the flipping of some homes as the government seeks to ease speculation and boost affordability in the financial hub’s booming property market. Authorities will introduce new measures targeting so-called Executive Condominiums, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said in a speech on Friday. The minimum occupation period for such condos will be ...
Singapore will add new curbs to discourage the flipping of some homes as the government seeks to ease speculation and boost affordability in the financial hub’s booming property market. Authorities will introduce new measures targeting so-called Executive Condominiums, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said in a speech on Friday. The minimum occupation period for such condos will be doubled to 10 years as part of efforts to help first-time home buyers secure a unit, Chee said. These condos were introduced decades ago to provide a more affordable class of housing for higher-income families in a country with some of the most expensive private real estate in the world. While the bulk of locals live in government-built subsidized housing, those units are governed by strict rules, including income caps that prevent many middle-class people from buying new units. Buyers of new ECs will need to fulfill the minimum occupation period before they can rent out their whole unit, buy another home or sell their unit to Singaporeans and permanent residents, Chee said.
2026年5月7日，美国国际贸易委员会（ITC）发布公告称，对特定半导体器件及其下游产品（Certain Semiconductor Devices and Products Containing the Same，调查编码：337-TA-1414）作出337部分终裁：经过部分复审，确认本案存在侵权美国注册专利号9,899,481第4、17项权利要求的行为，对经由列名被告对美出口、在美进口和在美销...
2026年5月7日，美国国际贸易委员会（ITC）发布公告称，对特定半导体器件及其下游产品（Certain Semiconductor Devices and Products Containing the Same，调查编码：337-TA-1414）作出337部分终裁：经过部分复审，确认本案存在侵权美国注册专利号9,899,481第4、17项权利要求的行为，对经由列名被告对美出口、在美进口和在美销售的侵权产品发布有限排除令，对列名被告发布禁止令，对总统审查期间进口的侵权产品征收100%保证金，本案调查终止。(中国贸易救济信息网)
Chief Justice Roberts Says US Supreme Court Is Not Political Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times, Chief Justice John Roberts said on May 6 that U.S. Supreme Court justices are not “political actors.” Roberts’s comments came at a conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania, attended by judges and attorneys from the jurisdictions covered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That cir...
Chief Justice Roberts Says US Supreme Court Is Not Political Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times, Chief Justice John Roberts said on May 6 that U.S. Supreme Court justices are not “political actors.” Roberts’s comments came at a conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania, attended by judges and attorneys from the jurisdictions covered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That circuit encompasses Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Although some of the high court’s decisions may be unpopular, they are based exclusively on the law, he said at the gathering. “I think, at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions, we’re saying we think this is how things should be, as opposed to what the law provides,” said the jurist, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005. “I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do.” Roberts’s speech came at a time when public confidence in the Supreme Court is at a low ebb, and a week after the court issued a ruling that changed how the federal Voting Rights Act is interpreted. Roberts was part of the court’s majority on April 29 when it ruled 6–3 in Louisiana v. Callais that race may only be a minor factor in redistricting rationales, and may not be the predominant, overriding reason for how congressional district lines are drawn. The justices struck down a federal district judge’s decision that created a second black-majority congressional district in Louisiana. The judge had ruled the electoral district was needed to comply with anti-discrimination provisions of the Voting Rights Act. The ruling has spurred a new round of mid-decade redistricting efforts, largely in Republican-dominated state legislatures around the country. In the past few years, the Supreme Court has also issued rulings striking down the constitutional right to abortion, strengthening gun rights, weakening the powers of federal ...