The FBI has opened a criminal leak investigation focusing on a journalist who wrote a critical article about Kash Patel, the head of the US law enforcement agency, the cable news channel MS Now reported on Wednesday. Patel filed a US$250 million suit last month against The Atlantic magazine and the author of the article, Sarah Fitzpatrick, calling it a “sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piec...
The FBI has opened a criminal leak investigation focusing on a journalist who wrote a critical article about Kash Patel, the head of the US law enforcement agency, the cable news channel MS Now reported on Wednesday. Patel filed a US$250 million suit last month against The Atlantic magazine and the author of the article, Sarah Fitzpatrick, calling it a “sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece”. The Atlantic story accused Patel of frequently drinking to excess and said he was in danger of...
ValentynVolkov/iStock via Getty Images After the collection of over $166B in tariffs, a battle with the Supreme Court, and now promises to replace the IEEPA tariffs that were struck down with equivalent import taxes. But the IEEPA tariffs were struck down, and so even if tariff levels remain, those that were already paid need to be paid back. That means the process of refunds has to begin — the go...
ValentynVolkov/iStock via Getty Images After the collection of over $166B in tariffs, a battle with the Supreme Court, and now promises to replace the IEEPA tariffs that were struck down with equivalent import taxes. But the IEEPA tariffs were struck down, and so even if tariff levels remain, those that were already paid need to be paid back. That means the process of refunds has to begin — the government chose May 11 as the start date. And for those that are still confused on what tariffs are in place or not, using what rules, and at what effective rates, this link to Bloomberg's tariff tracker is a lifeline. Bloomberg Who Gets Refunds? There's an important term used in this refund process, “importer of record.” This is just a way to say “the firm that is responsible for paying customs.” These are the only entities eligible for refunds. So if you paid tariffs directly, you're owed a refund. But if you paid tariffs indirectly, as a pass-through cost like many consumers did, there is no recourse for that. Retailers like Costco ( COST ) are making notes on earnings calls about this and how they plan to pass through the refunds as well. Here's their CEO at the last earnings call : Throughout the past year, we've taken action to reduce the impact of tariffs. In many cases, we didn't pass the full cost on to our members. The complexity of the tariffs implemented over the past year, including layering of different tariffs on top of each other and multiple changes in rates throughout the year, also made it challenging to track the exact impact to an individual item sold. ... As we have done in the past, when legal challenges have recovered charges passed on in some form to our members, our commitment will be to find the best way to return this value to our members through lower prices and better values. One thing to consider for who is getting what refunds is when they imported the goods they paid tariffs on. The effective rate fluctuated throughout the year, rising from u...
mbbirdy/E+ via Getty Images Since the Middle East war began on February 28, the S&P 500 ( SPY ) has posted a gain of 4.68%, but that headline number masks a market that is deeply divided beneath the surface, a Deutsche Bank report shows. A tech-driven rally at the top has more than offset broad-based weakness across defensive and cyclical sectors, producing an index return that flatters the underl...
mbbirdy/E+ via Getty Images Since the Middle East war began on February 28, the S&P 500 ( SPY ) has posted a gain of 4.68%, but that headline number masks a market that is deeply divided beneath the surface, a Deutsche Bank report shows. A tech-driven rally at the top has more than offset broad-based weakness across defensive and cyclical sectors, producing an index return that flatters the underlying picture considerably. The divergence between the cap-weighted S&P 500 and its equal-weighted counterpart tells the story most starkly, the report suggests. While the S&P 500 is up 4.68%, the equal-weighted index is down 1.52% over the same period, a 620 basis point gap that reflects just how concentrated the war-era rally has been. Information Technology ( XLK ) is the undisputed driver, up 14.32% since February 28, more than three times the index return, Deutsche Bank report shows. Communication Services ( XLC ) added 9.09%, and Energy ( XLE ), perhaps unsurprisingly given the geopolitical backdrop, gained 5.94% as oil markets priced in supply risk. Consumer Discretionary ( XLY ) also moved higher at 5.60%, while Real Estate and Financials barely broke even at 0.62% and 0.43% respectively. The losses on the other side of the ledger are significant and broad. Health Care ( XLV ) is the worst performer, down 9.52%, a decline that reflects both sector-specific regulatory pressures and a rotation away from defensives as risk appetite recovered, according to the report. Materials ( XLB ) fell 6.42%, Consumer Staples ( XLP ) dropped 5.79%, and Industrials ( XLI ) lost 3.38%, while Utilities slid 2.45% as the flight-to-safety trade unwound with the tech rebound. More on SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF, etc. Correction Warning: Prepare For A Sharp Market Pullback In 2026 The Market Breaks New Highs Again While Climbing The Wall Of Worry Using Trimmed Mean PCE Won't Solve The Inflation Problem OPEC output is said to sink to decades low as...
In the space of a week the mood has changed, with positive energy replacing suffering, and two trophies are suddenly within reach It was a soundbite designed to go viral, the kind the ex-pros in the TV studios are always looking to confect; snappy, heavy on hyperbole, bang in the moment. Thierry Henry made it pop on Tuesday night as he interviewed Bukayo Saka on CBS Sports after Arsenal had beaten...
In the space of a week the mood has changed, with positive energy replacing suffering, and two trophies are suddenly within reach It was a soundbite designed to go viral, the kind the ex-pros in the TV studios are always looking to confect; snappy, heavy on hyperbole, bang in the moment. Thierry Henry made it pop on Tuesday night as he interviewed Bukayo Saka on CBS Sports after Arsenal had beaten Atlético Madrid to advance to the Champions League final. “We were the Invincibles. You will be the Unforgettables,” Henry said. There it was, as laid out by one of the greats, the goalscoring hero of Arsenal’s unbeaten bolt to the 2004 Premier League title, the last one they won. Continue reading...
Scientists suggest algae could be embedded within biosensors that glow when toxins detected in the environment The captivating blue glow emitted by a sea-dwelling species of algae has been harnessed by scientists in the US to make light-emitting structures. Pyrocystis lunula is a bioluminescent single-celled organism that sometimes produces brief flashes of blue light. Large clumps of the algae ar...
Scientists suggest algae could be embedded within biosensors that glow when toxins detected in the environment The captivating blue glow emitted by a sea-dwelling species of algae has been harnessed by scientists in the US to make light-emitting structures. Pyrocystis lunula is a bioluminescent single-celled organism that sometimes produces brief flashes of blue light. Large clumps of the algae are known to emit sparkling displays in waves breaking against beaches. Continue reading...
The following companies are expected to report earnings after hours on 05/06/2026. Visit our Earnings Calendar for a full list of expected earnings releases.Arm Holdings plc (ARM)is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2026. The electric company company's consensus earning
The following companies are expected to report earnings after hours on 05/06/2026. Visit our Earnings Calendar for a full list of expected earnings releases.Arm Holdings plc (ARM)is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2026. The electric company company's consensus earning
NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) has had an exciting few weeks. Over the past 30 days or so, shares have surged in value by more than 20%. When you zoom out, however, the picture changes dramatically. Since setting an all-time high last October, the stock has lost roughly 77% of it value, sending the stock price plunging from more than $50 to just $13. Right now, NuScale Power's market capitalization hov...
NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) has had an exciting few weeks. Over the past 30 days or so, shares have surged in value by more than 20%. When you zoom out, however, the picture changes dramatically. Since setting an all-time high last October, the stock has lost roughly 77% of it value, sending the stock price plunging from more than $50 to just $13. Right now, NuScale Power's market capitalization hovers around $4.3 billion. Yet according to new research, the company is chasing a $10 trillion global opportunity. Even Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) -- another promising nuclear stock specializing in small modular reactor (SMR) technology -- has a market value nearly three times higher than NuScale's. Is NuScale stock a buy now that shares trade well under $50? If you're looking for growth stocks with maximum upside potential, then yes. But there are two things to keep in mind before jumping in. Continue reading
AI bots I often write around here that there are two fundamental ways to use artificial intelligence to trade stocks: You build a machine learning model for stock prices, you train it on historical data, and you use it to predict future stock prices. You buy the stocks that it says will go up. You subscribe to ChatGPT. You prompt it, like, “You are a brilliant hedge fund portfolio manager. What st...
AI bots I often write around here that there are two fundamental ways to use artificial intelligence to trade stocks: You build a machine learning model for stock prices, you train it on historical data, and you use it to predict future stock prices. You buy the stocks that it says will go up. You subscribe to ChatGPT. You prompt it, like, “You are a brilliant hedge fund portfolio manager. What stocks will go up?” You buy the stocks that it says will go up. The first model is, approximately, a “quant hedge fund.” People have been doing some form of this for a long time, and some of them ( Renaissance Technologies comes to mind) have had a great deal of sustained success. This model works. Not always, not for everyone, and you might reasonably worry about risk or crowding or regime changes or whatever. But hiring really good machine learning engineers to build models to predict stock prices makes sense both theoretically and empirically. The second model … I mean, when I started writing about these two models, I was joking about the second model. The second model is a joke! Come on! Like: Training a model on historical financial data to predict future financial data makes sense. Training a model on a corpus of, like, books and Reddit to write coherent prose, and then asking it to predict future financial data, is a non sequitur. “If we use all of the world’s electricity and microchips, we can train a model that is smarter than the smartest Ph.D.,” but the smartest Ph.D. is not necessarily good at picking stocks! In some obvious sense an omniscient superintelligence should be good at picking stocks, but that seems like way too high a standard for picking stocks. Just, you know, regress some historical stock prices against some historical data and see what you get. You can get ChatGPT for like $20 a month? And everyone does? And everyone is like “hey ChatGPT what stocks should I buy”? Why would you expect to get alpha from doing an easy thing that everyone else does? B...
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is asking Western allies to speed up deliveries of air-defense systems and interceptor missiles to prepare for another winter of intense bombing that could prove to be the next critical moment in Kyiv’s battle to resist the Russian invasion. The topic came up during the Ukrainian president’s discussions with European leaders and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a summit mee...
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is asking Western allies to speed up deliveries of air-defense systems and interceptor missiles to prepare for another winter of intense bombing that could prove to be the next critical moment in Kyiv’s battle to resist the Russian invasion. The topic came up during the Ukrainian president’s discussions with European leaders and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a summit meeting in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, earlier this week, people familiar with the matter said. While the request isn’t new — Kyiv has been pressing allies to supply air defense systems continuously since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 — it’s now more urgent, because Ukraine’s power and heating facilities have become increasingly difficult to sustain after years of Russian air strikes against civilian infrastructure. During the first years of the war, the biggest shifts on the battlefield tended to happen outside of winter months. Since then, developments in drone technology have made offensive maneuvers increasingly difficult creating a stalemate on the frontlines. So winter attacks on urban centers, transport and energy infrastructure have become an important part of the fighting. According to the people briefed on the discussion, Zelenskiy told his allies that he’s expecting another Russian offensive this summer but the Kremlin’s forces have so far struggled to make significant gains and are suffering massive losses. With peace talks stalled, Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely betting the conflict in the Middle East will divert weapons away from Kyiv, leaving the country especially vulnerable during cold months, said the people, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. Ukrainians Defy Russia’s Attempts to Freeze Them Into Submission With Power Down, Kyiv’s Residents Confront Cold as a Weapon From War Hero to Politician, Zelenskiy’s Top Aide Is on the Rise Ukraine’s Drones Now Strike 1,000 Miles Inside Russia Freezing temperatu...
As Reform vows to block solar and windfarms, energy leaders say renewables offer most secure future, insulating UK from hostile forces UK politics live – latest updates • May elections: What’s at stake across England, Wales and Scotland? The defining issue of Thursday’s local elections, feedback from doorsteps suggests, will be the UK’s soaring cost of living. But voters should be told about the l...
As Reform vows to block solar and windfarms, energy leaders say renewables offer most secure future, insulating UK from hostile forces UK politics live – latest updates • May elections: What’s at stake across England, Wales and Scotland? The defining issue of Thursday’s local elections, feedback from doorsteps suggests, will be the UK’s soaring cost of living. But voters should be told about the links between inflation and the effects of fossil fuels and the climate crisis – or the remedies they choose – may make the situation worse, green campaigners have warned. Ami McCarthy, the head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said: “With people’s bills and prices soaring from yet another fossil fuel crisis, these local elections have a global context – driven by the Iran war. Continue reading...
IDEX ( IEX ) declares $0.73/share quarterly dividend , 2.8% increase from prior dividend of $0.71. Forward yield 1.34% Payable June 5; for shareholders of record May 22; ex-div May 22. See IEX Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on IDEX IDEX Corporation 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation IDEX Corporation (IEX) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript IDEX Corporation's Val...
IDEX ( IEX ) declares $0.73/share quarterly dividend , 2.8% increase from prior dividend of $0.71. Forward yield 1.34% Payable June 5; for shareholders of record May 22; ex-div May 22. See IEX Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on IDEX IDEX Corporation 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation IDEX Corporation (IEX) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript IDEX Corporation's Valuation Is Too High Even With Strong Growth Idex forecasts 2026 adjusted EPS of $8.35-$8.55 as it lifts organic growth outlook to 3%-4% IDEX beats Q1 estimates, raises outlook
July NY world sugar #11 (SBN26 ) today is down -0.48 (-3.12%), and Aug London ICE white sugar #5 (SWQ26 ) is down -13.10 (-2.90%). Sugar prices are sharply lower today, with London sugar tumbling to a 1-week low. Today's -4% plunge in gasoline prices (RBM26 ) is undercutting ethanol...
July NY world sugar #11 (SBN26 ) today is down -0.48 (-3.12%), and Aug London ICE white sugar #5 (SWQ26 ) is down -13.10 (-2.90%). Sugar prices are sharply lower today, with London sugar tumbling to a 1-week low. Today's -4% plunge in gasoline prices (RBM26 ) is undercutting ethanol...
Illinois has always had higher-than-average gas prices. But not this much higher. This week, gas prices across the state skyrocketed to an average of $4.94/gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, currently outstripping the national average by $0.48/gallon and making Illinois the seventh-most expensive state to fill your tank (and the highest outside the West Coast). And it's not just in Chicago, eit...
Illinois has always had higher-than-average gas prices. But not this much higher. This week, gas prices across the state skyrocketed to an average of $4.94/gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, currently outstripping the national average by $0.48/gallon and making Illinois the seventh-most expensive state to fill your tank (and the highest outside the West Coast). And it's not just in Chicago, either. Sure, Cook County's average gas price is $5.15/gallon, but it's still expensive downstate: $4.92/gallon in Peoria, and $4.99/gallon in rural Hamilton County. Continue reading
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned that expectations of massive improvements in productivity from artificial intelligence could lead to overheating the economy before the technology pays off. "If the productivity growth miracle is happening in an unexpected way, then it will mean lower inflation, and I think it means rates could go down because you have less pressure," he said in a panel...
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned that expectations of massive improvements in productivity from artificial intelligence could lead to overheating the economy before the technology pays off. "If the productivity growth miracle is happening in an unexpected way, then it will mean lower inflation, and I think it means rates could go down because you have less pressure," he said in a panel discussion at the Milken Institute Global Conference. But if expectations become too optimistic, "future increases in your income are a wealth effect today," he said. That could spur massive investments in data centers based on super-high stock valuations and massive consumer spending spurred by stock market wealth, which could fuel surging inflation. "Before the productivity has arrived, you can easily overheat the economy in the here and now," he said. "And it's not at all obvious that the Fed would need to lower rates in that case. They might need to raise the rates in that case." "If it's [AI] as good as advertised, it would be lovely, wonderful; [it] will make us rich," Goolsbee said. "But if that's still to come in the future, I still think we need to be a little more circumspect." More on the US Economy St. Louis Fed's Musalem sees more tailwinds for economy than headwinds at present U.S. private sector adds 109K jobs in April, more than estimated: ADP jobs report Tariff Refunds Are Coming, And They Could Keep Interest Rates Higher For Longer
CNO Financial Group ( CNO ) is expected to announce a dividend increase this May, continuing its 13-year streak of regular dividend growth. Based on past trends, analysts expect a consensus annual dividend of about ~$0.71 per share. This equals a quarterly dividend of ~0.177 per share, which implies an increase of ~4.1% from the current ~$0.170 per share payout. The company last paid a dividend of...
CNO Financial Group ( CNO ) is expected to announce a dividend increase this May, continuing its 13-year streak of regular dividend growth. Based on past trends, analysts expect a consensus annual dividend of about ~$0.71 per share. This equals a quarterly dividend of ~0.177 per share, which implies an increase of ~4.1% from the current ~$0.170 per share payout. The company last paid a dividend of ~$0.170 per share in March 2026, which comes to an annual yield of 1.49%. Earlier, in April last year, it increased the dividend by ~6.25%, from ~$0.1600 to ~$0.1700. Over the past five years, CNO Financial has delivered a dividend growth rate of ~2.60% and currently maintains a payout ratio of ~10.90%. Meanwhile, on dividend quality metrics, the company carries ratings of B+ for safety, C for growth, C⁻ for yield, and B for consistency. More on CNO Financial CNO Financial Group, Inc. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript CNO outlines Medicare Supplement rate actions of 10.2% and ~14.5% approvals with full quarterly impact by Q4 2026 CNO Financial Q1 2026 Earnings Preview
William_Potter/iStock via Getty Images Seven months ago, I described The Boston Beer Company, Inc. ( SAM ) as a reasonably priced growth stock. It has declined since then by a bit, though the range has been higher than it was prior to September. The stock pulled back after reporting its Q1 earlier this month. In this follow-up, I review the end of 2025 and Q1, and I reassess SAM stock. SAM in Late...
William_Potter/iStock via Getty Images Seven months ago, I described The Boston Beer Company, Inc. ( SAM ) as a reasonably priced growth stock. It has declined since then by a bit, though the range has been higher than it was prior to September. The stock pulled back after reporting its Q1 earlier this month. In this follow-up, I review the end of 2025 and Q1, and I reassess SAM stock. SAM in Late 2025 and into 2026 Boston Beer reported its Q4 in February, and the results were pressured enough that the stock opened lower (near $208). The revenue fell 4% from a year earlier, and the company posted negative EPS of $-2.12. For 2025, revenue fell 2%, while gross margin improved. Net income for the year increased substantially, with EPS rising 95% to $9.89. When I wrote about SAM in September, it had been expected to be revenue of $1.97 billion and EPS of $8.99, so the year ended ahead of what had been expected ahead of Q3 with respect to profitability. Q1 , which was reported at the end of April, saw net revenue fall 4% again, hitting $433.9 million. Gross profit fell a bit less, and operations expenses soared because of a one-time litigation expense that had been mentioned ahead of the call in an SEC 8-K filing . The EPS did take a big loss of $13.88 consequently. Non-GAAP EPS were $1.64. Cash flow from operations fell from $1.9 million in 2025-Q1 to -$20.4 million. The main challenge was a change in deferred income tax expense that fell $49 million to -$51.5 million. In 2025, cash flow from operations had picked up from 2024, increasing from $249 million to $270 million. The company spent $23.3 million repurchasing stock in Q1 ($221.00 average) after spending $202 million in 2025. The Q1 spend was a decrease from $49.4 million a year earlier. The balance sheet took a hit from the litigation charge, and book value fell 19% to $682.6 million. Total liabilities ended Q1 at $488.5 million, and the current ratio was 0.9X. The company is projecting CapEx of $70-90 million i...