The government has imposed an emergency brake on visas for the first time on nationals from four countries, as Shabana Mahmood accused them of exploiting Britain’s generosity to claim asylum. Study visas for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan have been halted, in addition to work visas for Afghans. The home secretary claimed a growing number of people from these countries were...
The government has imposed an emergency brake on visas for the first time on nationals from four countries, as Shabana Mahmood accused them of exploiting Britain’s generosity to claim asylum. Study visas for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan have been halted, in addition to work visas for Afghans. The home secretary claimed a growing number of people from these countries were using legal migration routes as a back door to claim asylum in the UK. Mahmood said on Tuesday: “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused. “That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity. I will restore order and control to our borders.” According to Home Office figures, 39% of the 100,000 people who claimed asylum in 2025 did so after arriving in the UK through a legal migration route such as a study visa. Asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan represented the most significant part of a rise between 2021 and September 2025, the Home Office said. The visa ban will be officially introduced via an immigration rules change on Thursday. Mahmood previously threatened a similar halt to all visas for Angola, Namibia and the Democratic of Congo in November, unless their governments agreed to take people back from the UK. This led to cooperation agreements with all three countries and people being returned via deportation flights. Mahmood is expected to lay out measures to toughen up the UK asylum system in a speech on Thursday, having announced that from this week every refugee will be told that their status is temporary and will last just 30 months. Claimants whose countries are deemed to be safe by the UK government will from now on be expected to return. The announcement came despite pleas from some Labour MPs, peers and affiliated unions for Keir Starmer’s government to shift towards progressive...
Getty Images I wish I could say that March 3 was a great day for shareholders of L.B. Foster Company ( FSTR ). But unfortunately, it was a bit of a letdown. After management announced financial results covering the final quarter of the company's 2025 fiscal year, shares pulled back about 1.7%. This was even though management came in above what analysts anticipated when it came to revenue and seems...
Getty Images I wish I could say that March 3 was a great day for shareholders of L.B. Foster Company ( FSTR ). But unfortunately, it was a bit of a letdown. After management announced financial results covering the final quarter of the company's 2025 fiscal year, shares pulled back about 1.7%. This was even though management came in above what analysts anticipated when it came to revenue and seems to have been driven in large part by earnings per share falling short of what was expected. As disappointing as this is, however, I have remained bullish on the business. Even with this share price decline, the stock is up 15.9% since I last reaffirmed the company as a "Buy" candidate back in November 2025. For context, the S&P 500 is down 0.4%. And since I originally rated it a "Buy" in April 2025, the stock has jumped 56.3%. That's well above the 23.4% rise of the S&P 500. After such significant appreciation, it does beg the question of whether further upside is appropriate from here. My opinion is that the answer to this is yes. Although some financial performance has been a bit lumpy, the company continues to grow nicely. We have seen a bit of weakness when it comes to orders. But on the whole, the company is doing quite well from a sales perspective. When it comes to 2026, management expects continued growth when it comes to revenue and EBITDA. And when you look at how the company is valued compared to other firms that have similarities to it, a bullish outlook just makes sense here. Taking A Stab At Q4 Results According to the management team at L.B. Foster Company, the final quarter of 2025 marked the highest final quarter of any fiscal year that the company has seen since 2018. Revenue amounted to $160.4 million. That happened to be 25.1% above the $128.2 million that the company reported a year earlier. Revenue even came in above what analysts expected to the tune of $1.5 million. Unfortunately, the picture when it came to profitability was a bit more complicated....
It's easy to speculate about where MercadoLibre (MELI 3.59%) could be by 2029. Will it solidify its dominance across Latin America? Will fintech become the primary growth engine? Will competition permanently compress margins? Those are essential questions. But long-term investors don't need speculation; they need signals. Over the next three years, three indicators will reveal whether MercadoLibre...
It's easy to speculate about where MercadoLibre (MELI 3.59%) could be by 2029. Will it solidify its dominance across Latin America? Will fintech become the primary growth engine? Will competition permanently compress margins? Those are essential questions. But long-term investors don't need speculation; they need signals. Over the next three years, three indicators will reveal whether MercadoLibre is evolving into a durable compounder, or a growth platform with structurally thinner economics. Signal 1: What's the margin profile in the coming years? Revenue growth has remained strong in recent years, so that's not the concern. The real issue is whether MercadoLibre can translate scale into operating leverage (can it translate its growth into profit). In recent quarters, the company has leaned into free shipping, expanded logistics, and intense promotion -- especially in Brazil. Those decisions defend market share, but they pressure margins. The signal to watch isn't a single quarter of margin compression -- it's the trend. Are fulfillment costs per order declining as volumes increase? Is advertising becoming a larger, higher-margin contributor? Do operating margins stabilize, even modestly, despite competitive pressure? If margins begin to recover as scale increases, that suggests MercadoLibre's ecosystem still carries structural leverage. But if they remain stuck despite continued growth, that implies the competitive environment has permanently altered industry economics. Scale without leverage is not the same as scale with pricing power, and that's a key trend to track. Expand NASDAQ : MELI MercadoLibre Today's Change ( -3.59 %) $ -63.86 Current Price $ 1713.14 Key Data Points Market Cap $90B Day's Range $ 1660.58 - $ 1720.26 52wk Range $ 1654.24 - $ 2645.22 Volume 43K Avg Vol 576K Gross Margin 44.50 % Signal 2: Does MercadoLibre have credit discipline? Mercado Pago has gradually become a significant part of MercadoLibre's investment thesis, with good reason. Payme...
Key Points Margins will reveal the real story. Fintech discipline matters more than fintech growth. Rational competition is the swing factor. 10 stocks we like better than MercadoLibre › It's easy to speculate about where MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) could be by 2029. Will it solidify its dominance across Latin America? Will fintech become the primary growth engine? Will competition permanently com...
Key Points Margins will reveal the real story. Fintech discipline matters more than fintech growth. Rational competition is the swing factor. 10 stocks we like better than MercadoLibre › It's easy to speculate about where MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) could be by 2029. Will it solidify its dominance across Latin America? Will fintech become the primary growth engine? Will competition permanently compress margins? Those are essential questions. But long-term investors don't need speculation; they need signals. Over the next three years, three indicators will reveal whether MercadoLibre is evolving into a durable compounder, or a growth platform with structurally thinner economics. 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 » Signal 1: What's the margin profile in the coming years? Revenue growth has remained strong in recent years, so that's not the concern. The real issue is whether MercadoLibre can translate scale into operating leverage (can it translate its growth into profit). In recent quarters, the company has leaned into free shipping, expanded logistics, and intense promotion -- especially in Brazil. Those decisions defend market share, but they pressure margins. The signal to watch isn't a single quarter of margin compression -- it's the trend. Are fulfillment costs per order declining as volumes increase? Is advertising becoming a larger, higher-margin contributor? Do operating margins stabilize, even modestly, despite competitive pressure? If margins begin to recover as scale increases, that suggests MercadoLibre's ecosystem still carries structural leverage. But if they remain stuck despite continued growth, that implies the competitive environment has permanently altered industry economics. Scale without leverage is not the same as scale with pricing power, and that's a key trend to ...
New Jersey Faces Structural Deficit Crisis And Democrats Blame Trump When all else fails, blame Trump. It might be the only political strategy the Democrats have left but it doesn't work for everything. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, who took office this year, warns that the state faces a serious structural deficit (spending exceeding revenues annually) of roughly $3 billion, despite a projec...
New Jersey Faces Structural Deficit Crisis And Democrats Blame Trump When all else fails, blame Trump. It might be the only political strategy the Democrats have left but it doesn't work for everything. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, who took office this year, warns that the state faces a serious structural deficit (spending exceeding revenues annually) of roughly $3 billion, despite a projected surplus of $7.2 billion by the end of 2026. The notice comes as she prepares to unveil her first state budget on March 10th. Shockingly, Sherrill admits that Covid relief funds are drying up and that the stimulus helped to paper over the many budgetary problems within NJ (this is something alternative economists have asserting for years). However, she immediately launched into an attack on the Trump Administration, blaming federal cuts for the state's incoming fiscal crisis. New Jersey's extreme deficit earns them a membership in an exclusive club of states, all of them run by Democrat governors. California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maryland all have deficits of $3 billion or more (California and New York are running deficits above $30 billion). It would seem there is a discernible pattern here, and it has nothing to do with Trump. New Jersey's total state government debt was roughly $213 billion as of late 2025, ranking among the highest in the nation. Furthermore, in August 2023 the New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) think tank issued an analysis cited "red flags" in the FY 2024 budget, including a structural deficit estimated at $1.5 billion for that year (spending exceeding revenues annually). They warned of a looming crisis with revenues projected to fall short by $3-4 billion annually in coming years if trends continued, citing declining year-over-year revenues in many states (including NJ) and unsustainable spending growth. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, was governor on NJ in 2023. Republicans accused him in 2025 of trying to hide the budget crisis and th...
Among the bunch of big-time spenders concerning the AI frenzy, a pair of Mag 7 members involved in the cloud, including Microsoft MSFT and Alphabet GOOGL, stick out considerably, with each pouring billions into their respective AI efforts. Extremely high capital expenditures (CapEx) have been a sensitive topic among the bunch, though all three remain more than committed to the future growth runway...
Among the bunch of big-time spenders concerning the AI frenzy, a pair of Mag 7 members involved in the cloud, including Microsoft MSFT and Alphabet GOOGL, stick out considerably, with each pouring billions into their respective AI efforts. Extremely high capital expenditures (CapEx) have been a sensitive topic among the bunch, though all three remain more than committed to the future growth runways expected to stem from the investments. Let’s take a closer look at just how much the tech giants are spending. Microsoft Bets Big Microsoft posted a double-beat relative to our consensus expectations in the latest release, continuing its established history of exceeding expectations. Adjusted EPS of $4.14 grew by 24% year-over-year, whereas sales of $81.3 billion grew 17% from the year-ago period. But while the growth is impressive, investors have expressed concerns about CapEx for cloud and AI offerings and, importantly, a slowdown in Azure growth. For years, investors have placed a strong emphasis on accelerating cloud revenue, which has often dictated post-earnings reactions across the space, including with Amazon’s AWS. CapEx for the period totaled $37.5 billion, of which $29.9 billion was for property and equipment, such as GPUs and CPUs to support Azure demand. Its broader Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes Azure, saw sales grow 28% year-over-year to $32.9 billion, though the segment’s gross margin took a hit due to continued AI investments. Below is a chart illustrating its CapEx on a quarterly basis. Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Alphabet Guides Huge CapEx Similar to its peer MSFT, Alphabet posted a double-beat relative to our consensus expectations, with adjusted EPS of $2.82 shooting 31% higher year-over-year alongside a 18% sales increase. Importantly, Google Cloud results were notably strong, with revenues increasing by a mighty 48% to $17.7 billion. Growth was driven by increased adoption of Google Cloud Platform (GC...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened an internal investigation into allegations that Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official, made disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor, the New York Times reported. Bovino, who became the public face of the heavily scrutinized immigration crackdown in Minnesota that left two US citizens dead at the...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened an internal investigation into allegations that Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official, made disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor, the New York Times reported. Bovino, who became the public face of the heavily scrutinized immigration crackdown in Minnesota that left two US citizens dead at the hands of federal agents, allegedly mocked federal prosecutor Daniel Rosen during a January phone call with state prosecutors. According to the Times, Bovino allegedly made sarcastic comments about Rosen’s observance of Shabbat – the weekly period of rest from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset – and used the phrase “chosen people” in a derisive tone during the 12 January call. The call came after Bovino requested a meeting with Rosen to push the Minnesota US attorney’s office into a stronger response toward criminalizing people whom Bovino believed were impeding federal agents from enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the state, the Times reported on Saturday. On Tuesday, the Times reported that John Breckenridge, a special investigator with Customs and Border Protection, had launched an “official inquiry into the allegation” that Bovino made “unprofessional comments”. Breckenridge contacted the Times seeking assistance with the inquiry but did not say whether other aspects of Bovino’s conduct were under review. DHS did not immediately reply to the Guardian’s request for comment. Bovino was ultimately removed as head of “Operation Metro Surge” after federal immigration agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti within two weeks of each other. In the aftermath, Donald Trump dispatched his “border czar”, Tom Homan, to take control of the operation; Homan announced a drawdown of the roughly 3,000 federal agents deployed across Minnesota. Separately, a Minnesota prosecutor announced Monday that her office was pursuing a criminal investigation that co...
Cannell Capital reported a sale of 128,224 shares of Turning Point Brands (TPB 0.63%), an estimated $12.54 million trade based on quarterly average pricing, in its February 17, 2026, SEC filing. What happened In a regulatory disclosure dated February 17, 2026, Cannell Capital reported selling 128,224 shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter of 2025. The estimated transaction value ...
Cannell Capital reported a sale of 128,224 shares of Turning Point Brands (TPB 0.63%), an estimated $12.54 million trade based on quarterly average pricing, in its February 17, 2026, SEC filing. What happened In a regulatory disclosure dated February 17, 2026, Cannell Capital reported selling 128,224 shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter of 2025. The estimated transaction value was $12.54 million, calculated using the average closing price for the quarter. The fund’s quarter-end position dropped in value by $12.18 million, a figure that incorporates both share sales and changes in the underlying stock price. What else to know Following the sale, the position makes up 2.73% of Cannell Capital’s 13F reportable AUM. Top five holdings after the filing: NYSE: NOA: $15.45 million NASDAQ: EOSE: $14.99 million NASDAQ: SNDL: $14.54 million NYSE: NPKI: $11.21 million NYSE: NGS: $10.98 million As of Tuesday, shares of Turning Point Brands were priced at $107.57, up 53% over the past year and outperforming the S&P 500’s roughly 16% gain in the same period. Company overview Metric Value Price (as of Tuesday) $107.57 Market Capitalization $2.1 billion Revenue (TTM) $435.72 million Net Income (TTM) $52.37 million Company snapshot Turning Point Brands products and services include rolling papers, cigar wraps, moist snuff, chewing tobacco, CBD isolate, and vapor products, with leading brands such as Zig-Zag and Stoker's. The company generates revenue primarily through the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of branded tobacco and alternative smoking products across three business segments. Main customers are wholesale distributors, retail merchants, and non-traditional retail channels serving convenience stores, tobacco outlets, and online platforms. Turning Point Brands, Inc. is a diversified consumer products company focused on the tobacco and alternative smoking sector, operating through established brands and a multi-channel distribution network. What thi...
CALGARY, Alberta, March 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (“Gran Tierra” or the “Company”) (NYSE American:GTE) (TSX:GTE) (LSE:GTE) today announced the Company’s financial and operating results for the fourth quarter ( “the Quarter” ) and year ended December 31, 2025. Gran Tierra’s 2025 year-end reserves were evaluated by the Company's independent qualified reserves evaluator McD...
CALGARY, Alberta, March 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (“Gran Tierra” or the “Company”) (NYSE American:GTE) (TSX:GTE) (LSE:GTE) today announced the Company’s financial and operating results for the fourth quarter ( “the Quarter” ) and year ended December 31, 2025. Gran Tierra’s 2025 year-end reserves were evaluated by the Company's independent qualified reserves evaluator McDaniel & Associates Consultants Ltd. ( “McDaniel” ) in a report with an effective date of December 31, 2025 (the “GTE McDaniel Reserves Report” ). All reserves values, future net revenue and ancillary information contained in this press release have been prepared by McDaniel and calculated in compliance with Canadian National Instrument 51-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ( “NI 51-101” ) and the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook ( “COGEH” ) and derived from the GTE McDaniel Reserves Report, unless otherwise expressly stated. The following reserves categories are discussed in this press release: Proved Developed Producing ( “PDP” ), Proved ( “1P” ), 1P plus Probable ( “2P” ) and 2P plus Possible ( “3P” ). All dollar amounts are in United States (“ U.S. ”) dollars and all production volumes are on an average working interest before royalties (“ WI ”) basis unless otherwise indicated. Production is expressed in barrels (“ bbl ”) of oil equivalent (“ boe ”) per day (“ boepd ” or “ boe/d ”) and are based on WI sales before royalties. Reserves are expressed in boe or million boe (“ MMBOE ”), unless otherwise indicated. For per boe amounts based on net after royalty (“ NAR ”) production, see Gran Tierra’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 4, 2026.