(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower in choppy trading on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just below the 7,300 level, despite the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with weakness in energy and materials partially offset by strength in technology stocks. Traders also digested the U.S. Federal Reserve's...
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower in choppy trading on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just below the 7,300 level, despite the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with weakness in energy and materials partially offset by strength in technology stocks. Traders also digested the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, with a decision to accelerate the pace of reductions to its asset purchases program and signalling interest rate hikes. There are also concerns over the rising domestic Covid-19 cases, with New South Wales reporting a daily record of 1,742 new cases on Wednesday, of which 12 are of the new Omicron variant, which now totalled 122. Victoria also reported 1,622 new cases and nine deaths, with no Omicron cases. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 28.80 points or 0.39 percent to 7,298.30, after hitting a low of 7,292.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 23.50 points or 0.31 percent to 7,612.70. Australian markets ended notably lower on Wednesday. Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent, OZ Minerals is declining more than 2 percent, while Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are down almost 1 percent each. Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.6 percent. BHP's proposed $41 billion sale of its worldwide oil and gas business to Woodside Petroleum has been given the green light by Australia's competition watchdog. Oil stocks are lower. Woodside Petroleum and Santos are losing more than 1 percent each, while Beach Energy is declining almost 2 percent and Origin Energy is down almost 1 percent. Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.4 percent, ANZ Banking is edging up 0.1 percent and National Australia Bank is gaining 1.5 percent, while Westpac is edging down 0.5 percent. In the tech space, Xero and Afterpay are gaining almost 2 percent each, while WiseTech Global is advancing 4.5 percent, Zip is adding ...
Oil prices surged last week as geopolitical tensions in Iran and the surrounding regions continued to flare. In recent trading days, oil prices have reverted sharply, sliding from a temporary high of $115 per barrel on March 9 to around $80 per barrel today. Still, oil prices remain roughly 40% higher since the year began. What do volatile, rising oil prices have to do with artificial intelligence...
Oil prices surged last week as geopolitical tensions in Iran and the surrounding regions continued to flare. In recent trading days, oil prices have reverted sharply, sliding from a temporary high of $115 per barrel on March 9 to around $80 per barrel today. Still, oil prices remain roughly 40% higher since the year began. What do volatile, rising oil prices have to do with artificial intelligence (AI) stocks? There's a sneaky angle tech investors should be aware of. Many AI data centers still rely on fossil fuels It's not just oil prices that are going up. Natural gas prices are also up more than 16% since the year began. That's a challenge when you consider that fossil fuels still supply data centers with around 60% of their power need per data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Renewables supply around 27% of the required electricity, with nuclear contributing 15%. With fossil fuel prices on the rise -- or at least demonstrating high levels of volatility -- the global data center build-out to support the AI industry's rapidly growing compute needs now faces an additional hurdle. This is likely good news for companies like Oklo (OKLO 5.05%) and NuScale Power (SMR 5.13%), which are developing smaller, modular nuclear reactors that can help data centers relieve themselves of this price uncertainty. Oklo's business strategy is specifically geared toward supplying AI-focused data centers with reliable base load power that is largely sheltered from swings in fossil fuel prices. Expand NYSE : OKLO Oklo Today's Change ( -5.05 %) $ -3.17 Current Price $ 59.59 Key Data Points Market Cap $9.8B Day's Range $ 59.51 - $ 63.20 52wk Range $ 17.42 - $ 193.84 Volume 7.2M Avg Vol 10M It's just another piece of the puzzle that could impact the scale and pace of the global data center build-out. But rising energy prices should put a greater spotlight on companies looking to supply this build-out with a clean, reliable, power supply with stable pricing.
Key Points Fossil fuel pricing is rising and volatile. Certain growth stocks should benefit from the shift. 10 stocks we like better than Oklo › Oil prices surged last week as geopolitical tensions in Iran and the surrounding regions continued to flare. In recent trading days, oil prices have reverted sharply, sliding from a temporary high of $115 per barrel on March 9 to around $80 per barrel tod...
Key Points Fossil fuel pricing is rising and volatile. Certain growth stocks should benefit from the shift. 10 stocks we like better than Oklo › Oil prices surged last week as geopolitical tensions in Iran and the surrounding regions continued to flare. In recent trading days, oil prices have reverted sharply, sliding from a temporary high of $115 per barrel on March 9 to around $80 per barrel today. Still, oil prices remain roughly 40% higher since the year began. What do volatile, rising oil prices have to do with artificial intelligence (AI) stocks? There's a sneaky angle tech investors should be aware of. 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 » Many AI data centers still rely on fossil fuels It's not just oil prices that are going up. Natural gas prices are also up more than 16% since the year began. That's a challenge when you consider that fossil fuels still supply data centers with around 60% of their power need per data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Renewables supply around 27% of the required electricity, with nuclear contributing 15%. With fossil fuel prices on the rise -- or at least demonstrating high levels of volatility -- the global data center build-out to support the AI industry's rapidly growing compute needs now faces an additional hurdle. This is likely good news for companies like Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) and NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR), which are developing smaller, modular nuclear reactors that can help data centers relieve themselves of this price uncertainty. Oklo's business strategy is specifically geared toward supplying AI-focused data centers with reliable base load power that is largely sheltered from swings in fossil fuel prices. It's just another piece of the puzzle that could impact the scale and pace of the global data center build-out. But rising ene...
"There are plenty of good uses for AI but without proper regulation, many of the tools and models used as classroom assistants or teaching aids are not subject to the stringent safeguarding checks nursery providers would require of any other external resource they use with young children," she said.
"There are plenty of good uses for AI but without proper regulation, many of the tools and models used as classroom assistants or teaching aids are not subject to the stringent safeguarding checks nursery providers would require of any other external resource they use with young children," she said.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Central 1 Credit Union (Central 1) today reported fourth quarter and year-end 2025 performance ahead of expectations. “With solid financial performance providing a strong foundation, 2025 gave us the clarity to accelerate transformative change across our organization,” says Sheila Vokey, Central 1’s President & CEO. “This year marked ...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Central 1 Credit Union (Central 1) today reported fourth quarter and year-end 2025 performance ahead of expectations. “With solid financial performance providing a strong foundation, 2025 gave us the clarity to accelerate transformative change across our organization,” says Sheila Vokey, Central 1’s President & CEO. “This year marked a defining turning point for Central 1 as we advanced our strategy, strengthened our governance, and deepened client partnerships to shape Central 1 as an agile, future-ready national leader in payments and treasury services.” Fourth quarter 2025 compared with fourth quarter 2024: Net income was $9.7 million, compared with $16.3 million Adjusted net income¹ was $9.2 million, compared with $25.7 million Net interest income was $19.8 million, compared with $14.4 million Net fair value gain was $4.8 million, compared with $29.3 million Return on equity (ROE) 2,3 was 4.3%, compared with 7.7% was 4.3%, compared with 7.7% Adjusted ROE2 of 4.2%, compared with 12.2% For the year 2025 compared with 2024: Net income was $31.9 million, compared with $64.1 million Adjusted net income¹ was $63.3 million, compared with $93.6 million Net interest income was $75.4 million, compared with $48.4 million Net fair value gain was $46.5 million, compared with $89.5 million Return on equity (ROE) 2 was 4.0%, compared with 8.0% was 4.0%, compared with 8.0% Adjusted ROE 2 of 7.7%, compared with 11.6% of 7.7%, compared with 11.6% Assets of $9.6 billion at December 31, 2025, compared with $10.0 billion at December 31, 2024. Core Business & Financial Performance Central 1 reported net income of $31.9 million in 2025, supported by solid underlying performance and deliberate investment across its core businesses. Net interest income increased by $27.0 million year-over-year, reflecting the benefits of optimizing of our funding mix and asset allocation. Fee-based revenue was supported by continued growth ...
Singapore said it ran a trade deficit with the US in 2024, disputing figures published by Washington that showed the city-state posted a surplus and challenging suggestions that it is contributing to global manufacturing overcapacity. The dispute surfaced after the Office of the US Trade Representative announced this week that it had launched investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 19...
Singapore said it ran a trade deficit with the US in 2024, disputing figures published by Washington that showed the city-state posted a surplus and challenging suggestions that it is contributing to global manufacturing overcapacity. The dispute surfaced after the Office of the US Trade Representative announced this week that it had launched investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into the acts, policies and practices of 16 economies, including Singapore. The probes are focused on structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. In a Federal Register notice, the USTR highlighted Singapore as having a bilateral trade surplus with the US in both goods and services amounting to $27 billion in 2024. Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement on Thursday that isn’t borne out by the US’s own data. Citing figures from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the ministry said Singapore had a $1.7 billion goods trade deficit and a $25.1 billion services trade deficit with the US in 2024 — leaving it with a total trade deficit of about $27 billion. Read more: US Starts Trade Probe Into China, EU as Trump Revives Duties The US notice also suggested Singapore has continued expanding manufacturing capacity despite falling industrial occupancy rates. The ministry rejected that characterization, saying industrial space occupancy rates are “very healthy at around 90% and have been consistently so.” It added that land is scarce and the amount set aside for industrial use has declined over time because of competing needs. Singapore said it has provided the USTR with its data and will engage the agency to seek clarification on the trade figures and the basis of the Section 301 investigations. It will provide further updates when available and invited businesses and stakeholders to submit feedback. The exchange underscores the widening scope of Washington’s latest trade offensive. Section 301 investigations can pave the way for reta...
Karat Packaging NASDAQ: KRT executives said the company delivered “profitable growth” in the fourth quarter of 2025 despite what CEO Alan Yu described as ongoing trade volatility, highlighting double-digit volume growth across major markets and an improvement in pricing for the first time since early 2023. Get Karat Packaging alerts: Sign Up Fourth-quarter sales rose 13.7% on volume and pricing Ch...
Karat Packaging NASDAQ: KRT executives said the company delivered “profitable growth” in the fourth quarter of 2025 despite what CEO Alan Yu described as ongoing trade volatility, highlighting double-digit volume growth across major markets and an improvement in pricing for the first time since early 2023. Get Karat Packaging alerts: Sign Up Fourth-quarter sales rose 13.7% on volume and pricing Chief Financial Officer Jian Guo reported fourth-quarter net sales of $115.6 million, up 13.7% from $101.6 million a year earlier. Guo attributed the increase primarily to $8.2 million of volume growth and a $6.3 million favorable impact from pricing and product mix. By channel, sales to chain accounts and distributors—Karat’s largest sales channel—rose 17.5% year over year. Online sales increased 1.9%, while retail channel sales declined 4.8% versus the prior-year quarter. Management said it continued to adjust its online approach to improve profitability, shifting away from online sales fulfilled by Amazon and toward driving traffic through the company’s own Lollicup store and fulfilling its own orders on third-party platforms. Guo said the company achieved “significantly higher contribution margin” in online sales due to reduced platform fees and marketing costs. Tariffs pressured gross margin, but operating income increased Guo said cost of goods sold rose 23.4% to $76.3 million, driven by sales growth and higher import costs. Within import costs, duty and tariff costs increased $8.4 million due to higher tariff rates, plus a $0.4 million adjustment to a duty reserve on certain imports. Gross profit was $39.3 million, compared with $39.8 million a year earlier. Gross margin declined to 34.0% from 39.2%, as import costs rose to 14.5% of net sales from 8.3% in the prior-year quarter. Management said it partially offset the headwind with more favorable vendor pricing and product mix and lower logistics expenses as a percentage of net sales. Operating expenses fell to $30.9 m...