Few stocks have been hit harder by investors’ rising skepticism around artificial intelligence than Oracle Corp. And there may be little the company’s upcoming earnings can do to change that sentiment. The shares are down 54% since hitting a high on Sept. 10, the worst performance in the S&P 500 Index over that span, and have lost 22% to start the year, putting them among the 25 weakest stocks in ...
Few stocks have been hit harder by investors’ rising skepticism around artificial intelligence than Oracle Corp. And there may be little the company’s upcoming earnings can do to change that sentiment. The shares are down 54% since hitting a high on Sept. 10, the worst performance in the S&P 500 Index over that span, and have lost 22% to start the year, putting them among the 25 weakest stocks in the index. The last time Oracle had a drawdown of more than 50% was during the bursting of the dot-com bubble, and it took the stock years to fully recover. With the stock market fixated on risks — from AI spending and disruption to the war in Iran — Oracle’s third-quarter results due after the bell on Tuesday are running headlong into skittish investors looking for reasons to sell. “It is in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t position,” said Peter Andersen , who helps oversee $4.5 billion in assets as chief investment officer of Andersen Capital Management. The enterprise software company is expected to report growth of about 30% in earnings per share and a 20% jump in revenue. Sales at its cloud infrastructure business are projected to jump 82%, according to Bloomberg Consensus estimates . Normally this would be encouraging for Oracle’s stock price, but the shares could still be punished if investors deem its capital expenditure plans as too aggressive. That’s what happened to Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. , two other major players in cloud computing that reported better-than-expected earnings only to see their shares sell off due to concerns about AI spending . Read more: Big Tech Stocks Were Expensive. Then the Market Turned on AI “If it continues to spend the way it has, especially since there is growing skepticism about AI capex, that would add to the questions about its leverage and cash burn and balance-sheet strength,” Andersen said. “On the other hand, if it curtails the spending, that would raise new questions about its strategy and ability to compete ...
Foreign workers look at a tall plume of black smoke ascends following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. Fadel Senna | Afp | Getty Images Iran has defended its strikes against its Gulf neighbors, telling CNBC that U.S. military assets located in surrounding territories were "legitimate" targets in its fight back against America and Israel. But Gulf states told CNBC that...
Foreign workers look at a tall plume of black smoke ascends following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. Fadel Senna | Afp | Getty Images Iran has defended its strikes against its Gulf neighbors, telling CNBC that U.S. military assets located in surrounding territories were "legitimate" targets in its fight back against America and Israel. But Gulf states told CNBC that the attacks have created a "huge trust gap" that will last for years to come. Iran's decision to attack its neighbors as part of its retaliation against U.S.-Israeli strikes has confused analysts and Tehran itself has sent mixed messages over its strategy, apologising for strikes against neighbors including Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, before carrying out yet more strikes . Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson in Tehran told CNBC on Monday that the Islamic Republic felt "no hostility" toward Gulf countries, but that U.S. military assets in the region were legitimate targets. "We have said many times that we feel no hostility toward any country in the region, toward the UAE, Bahrain, you name it," said Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "The only thing we are doing is defending ourselves against the aggressors. Did we start this war? Or this war was imposed on Iran for no reason?" he told CNBC's Dan Murphy. watch now VIDEO 4:38 04:38 Oil tankers transiting Strait of Hormuz "must be very careful," Iran Foreign Ministry warns Access Middle East Baghaei said Iran had aimed attacks "against military bases and assets" belonging to the U.S. in the region and said this was "legitimate under international law" as Tehran was "defending" itself under Article 51 of the UN Charter. "All military bases, installations and assets that in any form or manner are being used to help the aggressors are regarded as legitimate targets ... We had warned often that if they start war against Iran, that war would not be limited only to...
Social Security retirees get benefit increases over time to make sure that benefits keep pace with inflation. In 2026, retirees got a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which was larger than the 2.5% COLA in 2025. While every retiree gets the same percentage increase to their benefits, some retirees get a larger dollar-for-dollar raise than others. If your Social Security benefit was higher th...
Social Security retirees get benefit increases over time to make sure that benefits keep pace with inflation. In 2026, retirees got a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which was larger than the 2.5% COLA in 2025. While every retiree gets the same percentage increase to their benefits, some retirees get a larger dollar-for-dollar raise than others. If your Social Security benefit was higher than a specific amount, you will be one of them. A Social Security benefit above this amount means your COLA is above average In 2025, the average monthly Social Security benefit was $2,015. That is the average benefit among all retired workers, according to the Social Security Administration. Based on this data, a retiree who collected the average $2,015 monthly benefit in 2025 would have received an average raise of around $56.42 going into 2026. This brought the new average monthly benefit to around $2,071 this year. Since the COLA is calculated by applying the percentage increase to your benefit amount, those who had a benefit above $2,015 in 2025 received a bigger-than-average benefit increase, while anyone collecting more than $2,071 this year will receive a larger-than-average adjustment if there is a COLA in 2027. Take, for example, someone who is collecting the maximum $5,251 monthly Social Security benefit in 2026. Applying a 2.8% COLA to that amount would provide a $147.03 increase in monthly benefits -- significantly more than the typical senior getting a Social Security COLA. Because the benefits increase is based on a percentage of the current benefit, it will always result in payments increasing by more dollars when you're starting from a bigger baseline. Increasing your Social Security benefit can result in larger raises later Once you understand that receiving an above-average benefit can lead to your benefits increasing by a larger amount each year, you may want to try to increase the benefits you collect. Since benefits are based on average indexed earnings...
Key Points Micron and SanDisk have delivered tremendous gains over the past 12 months. Both companies have strong growth prospects thanks to soaring demand for their memory products. 10 stocks we like better than Micron Technology › Most investors would be very happy if a stock they owned quadrupled over 10 years. But they'd likely be ecstatic if the stock instead delivered such a huge gain over 1...
Key Points Micron and SanDisk have delivered tremendous gains over the past 12 months. Both companies have strong growth prospects thanks to soaring demand for their memory products. 10 stocks we like better than Micron Technology › Most investors would be very happy if a stock they owned quadrupled over 10 years. But they'd likely be ecstatic if the stock instead delivered such a huge gain over 12 months. That's what six members of the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) have done over the last year. Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) and SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) rank among those massive winners. Micron's shares have soared more than 300% over the last 12 months, while SanDisk's stock has been a 10-bagger. Which of these memory stocks is the better pick now? Here's how Micron and SanDisk stack up against each other. 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 » Micron LPDDR5X memory chip. Image source: Micron Technology. The case for Micron Micron makes multiple types of memory, including dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). It continues to be highly successful on all fronts. The company generated record DRAM revenue of $10.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 69% year over year and 20% quarter over quarter. Micron can't make enough DRAM chips to keep up with demand. It's a similar story with NAND flash memory. Micron reported Q1 NAND revenue of $2.7 billion, a 22% year-over-year and sequential increase. Again, demand is significantly outpacing supply. Micron's HBM opportunity is even more impressive. The company has completely sold out of HBM supplies for 2026. It expects the total addressable market for HBM to increase at a compound annual growth rate of around 40% through 2028, reaching $100 billion. HBM is critical for AI chips. Micron's key competi...
Airlines in the Persian Gulf are slowly starting to increase flights even as the countries continue to intercept missiles and drones from Iran in their skies. Emirates , the world’s largest international carrier, is operating a reduced flight schedule to around a 100 destinations in more than 50 countries. That’s still significantly lower to the number of destinations the airline typically serves,...
Airlines in the Persian Gulf are slowly starting to increase flights even as the countries continue to intercept missiles and drones from Iran in their skies. Emirates , the world’s largest international carrier, is operating a reduced flight schedule to around a 100 destinations in more than 50 countries. That’s still significantly lower to the number of destinations the airline typically serves, and the frequency of flights remains restricted. Dubai ’s flag carrier has been able to recover more of its network capacity compared with other airlines in the Gulf or the wider United Arab Emirates. On Monday, Emirates operated about 60% of flights it served before the war started 11 days ago, according to data from Flightradar24 . On Monday, Etihad Airways operated less than 20% of its regularly scheduled flights. Qatar Airways had around 7% of its normal operations. Emirates has said it will be able to resume full operations in coming days. At the same time, aircraft have been forced into longer approaches as the military intercepted missiles and drones. In the early hours of Tuesday, at least six aircraft were in a holding pattern outside of the UAE waiting for permission to land at Emirates’ hub of Dubai International Airport. Read More: Airlines Based in the Gulf Are ‘Living the Worst-Case Scenario’ Qatar Airways, the region’s second biggest operator, will fly to 16 destinations on Tuesday, including London, Moscow and Milan. It will operate another 15 routes on Wednesday as the airline works to evacuate people and repatriate residents. The flights “do not constitute a confirmation of the resumption of scheduled commercial operations,” the airline said in a statement. The airlines have started posting their new schedules online as they try to attain some semblance of regularly scheduled operations. Etihad will operate 21 flights on Tuesday and increase that to 29 on Wednesday. The routes are still only a fraction of what the airlines, some of the world’s biggest and...
Raiffeisen Bank International AG is closing in on a deal to buy BBVA ’s Romanian Garanti unit, people familiar with the matter said. The Austrian lender has offered to pay about 1.2 times the book value for Garanti, according to the people. That would imply a price tag of roughly €550 million ($640 million) based on last year’s balance sheet data, one of the people said. While talks are advanced, ...
Raiffeisen Bank International AG is closing in on a deal to buy BBVA ’s Romanian Garanti unit, people familiar with the matter said. The Austrian lender has offered to pay about 1.2 times the book value for Garanti, according to the people. That would imply a price tag of roughly €550 million ($640 million) based on last year’s balance sheet data, one of the people said. While talks are advanced, they could still face delays or falter, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Representatives for BBVA and Raiffeisen declined to comment. Banks across eastern Europe are looking to boost share in the region’s fragmented market via acquisitions, chasing positions that allow larger scale and more profitable operations. A purchase of the Garanti business would help Raiffeisen become the third-largest bank in Romania based on total assets. A series of deals in Romania has already propelled Banca Transilvania SA to top spot in a market that generated about 16 billion lei ($3.7 billion) of profit last year, helped by some of the highest interest rates in Europe. Raiffeisen’s outgoing Chief Executive Officer Johann Strobl said in January that the bank had additional capital to deploy for deals and was interested in possible transactions in Romania, without naming any targets. A deal would add momentum to a bank that has been hurt by years of unsuccessful efforts to sell its Russian unit, and about €2 billion of losses related to legal challenges against foreign-currency loan contracts at its former Polish business. Read more: Top Buyer of Banks in Romania Sees M&A Deals Drive Slowing
China’s retail sales likely accelerated in the first two months of this year, supported by government trade-in subsidies, while industrial output may ease slightly, a Caixin survey showed. Economists at 13 domestic and international institutions forecast an average 2.4% year-on-year growth in retail sales for January-February, up 1.5 percentage points from December’s actual reading, according to t...
China’s retail sales likely accelerated in the first two months of this year, supported by government trade-in subsidies, while industrial output may ease slightly, a Caixin survey showed. Economists at 13 domestic and international institutions forecast an average 2.4% year-on-year growth in retail sales for January-February, up 1.5 percentage points from December’s actual reading, according to the survey.
Company Logo The digital oilfield solutions market offers robust opportunities due to automation, AI-driven analytics, IoT integration, and digital twin deployment. Market drivers include cost optimization, operational efficiency, and offshore production growth, with Asia-Pacific projected as the fastest-growing region. Digital Oilfield Solutions Market Digital Oilfield Solutions Market · GlobeNew...
Company Logo The digital oilfield solutions market offers robust opportunities due to automation, AI-driven analytics, IoT integration, and digital twin deployment. Market drivers include cost optimization, operational efficiency, and offshore production growth, with Asia-Pacific projected as the fastest-growing region. Digital Oilfield Solutions Market Digital Oilfield Solutions Market · GlobeNewswire Inc. Dublin, March 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Digital Oilfield Solutions Market Report 2026" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The digital oilfield solutions market has witnessed robust growth, expanding from $45.22 billion in 2025 to an anticipated $47.62 billion in 2026, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3%. Key drivers during this period included cost optimization, digital transformation, operational data availability, safety compliance, and offshore production growth. The market is projected to further grow to $58.66 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 5.4%. This growth is expected to be fueled by automation in upstream operations, predictive maintenance demand, cloud adoption in the energy sector, stricter environmental monitoring, and digital twin deployment. Significant trends include the increasing use of asset management software, production optimization tools, AI-driven analytics, IoT integration, and a heightened focus on operational efficiency. The surge in demand for offshore and ultra-deepwater discoveries is a crucial factor driving market growth. These discoveries involve locating petroleum reserves beneath water bodies, where digital oilfield solutions play a vital role in enhancing exploration, production, and operational efficiency to overcome technical challenges. According to the Journal of Petroleum Technology and other industry publications, deepwater and ultra-deepwater wells increased by 39% from 133 in 2023 to 185 in 2024, boosting market expansion. Leading companies are developing advanced technologies t...
Amentum-led ( AMTM ) joint venture secured a $112M framework contract from the European Commission Joint Research Centre for decommissioning and waste management at four nuclear research sites. Under the contract, the joint venture will provide decommissioning solutions to accelerate the cleanup efforts of JRC sites in Ispra (Italy), Karlsruhe (Germany), Geel (Belgium) and Petten (The Netherlands)...
Amentum-led ( AMTM ) joint venture secured a $112M framework contract from the European Commission Joint Research Centre for decommissioning and waste management at four nuclear research sites. Under the contract, the joint venture will provide decommissioning solutions to accelerate the cleanup efforts of JRC sites in Ispra (Italy), Karlsruhe (Germany), Geel (Belgium) and Petten (The Netherlands). The decommissioning and waste management contract will cover structures such as research reactors, hot cells, accelerators, laboratories and other infrastructure where radioactive substances have been handled. More on Amentum Holdings Amentum Holdings, Inc. (AMTM) Presents at 47th Annual Raymond James Institutional Investor Conference Transcript The Sell-Off Was A Gift: Amentum Remains A Buy Amentum Holdings, Inc. (AMTM) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Amentum to open new global headquarters in Reston Amentum reaffirms $13.95B–$14.3B revenue guidance for fiscal 2026 amid accelerating growth in nuclear and space sectors
Students at Dhaka University pack their belongings to move out of their dormitories in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 9. Photo: VCG The escalating U.S.-Israel war on Iran is rippling across Asia’s energy markets, forcing governments to scramble for fuel supplies and cut energy consumption. Bangladesh on Monday ordered the nationwide closure of universities, bringing forward the Eid al-Fitr holidays, ...
Students at Dhaka University pack their belongings to move out of their dormitories in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 9. Photo: VCG The escalating U.S.-Israel war on Iran is rippling across Asia’s energy markets, forcing governments to scramble for fuel supplies and cut energy consumption. Bangladesh on Monday ordered the nationwide closure of universities, bringing forward the Eid al-Fitr holidays, as part of emergency measures aimed at easing electricity demand after disruptions to Gulf energy supplies strained the country’s power system.
China plans to further strengthen its strategic transport network in sensitive border regions over the next five years to fortify and better project power along its remote frontiers amid rising geopolitical uncertainty. One project involves building a 394km (245-mile) highway linking the northern and southern sides of the rugged Tianshan Mountains in far-western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region , ...
China plans to further strengthen its strategic transport network in sensitive border regions over the next five years to fortify and better project power along its remote frontiers amid rising geopolitical uncertainty. One project involves building a 394km (245-mile) highway linking the northern and southern sides of the rugged Tianshan Mountains in far-western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region , according to the draft 15th five-year plan released last week. The route will run parallel to a strategic road built in the 1970s to improve military mobility following the 1962 Sino-India border war. Advertisement Construction of the Dushanzi-Kuqa Highway in central Xinjiang began in September and is expected to finish in 2032. Once completed, it will allow year-round travel and cut journeys across the Tianshan Mountains to half or a third of the time. Under the plan, which outlines China’s policy priorities for the rest of the decade, China aims to complete two highways spanning all nine of its land-border provinces and “advance” construction of the National Coastal Highway along its east coast that links the port city of Dandong, near North Korea, with Dongxing on the border with Vietnam.