Vnet Group (NASDAQ:VNET) , a provider of data center hosting and related services in China, closed Wednesday at $11.28, up 25.06%. The stock surged after news of a strategic share purchase agreement with PJ Millennium–affiliated investors linked to Contemporary Amperex Technology. Investors will be watching how the new 38.1% stake shapes governance and AI data center expansion plans. The company’s...
Vnet Group (NASDAQ:VNET) , a provider of data center hosting and related services in China, closed Wednesday at $11.28, up 25.06%. The stock surged after news of a strategic share purchase agreement with PJ Millennium–affiliated investors linked to Contemporary Amperex Technology. Investors will be watching how the new 38.1% stake shapes governance and AI data center expansion plans. The company’s trading volume reached 63.9 million shares, which is about 754% above compared with its three-month average of 7.5 million shares. Vnet Group went public in 2011 and has fallen 40% since its IPO. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) added 0.59% to finish Wednesday at 7,444.25, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) rose 1.20% to close at 26,402. Within information technology services, industry peer GDS Holdings (NASDAQ:GDS) closed at $45.7, up 6.90%, while Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) ended at $83.93, down 1.08%, underscoring mixed sentiment across sector rivals. Continue reading
monsitj/iStock via Getty Images Gold futures finished slightly higher Wednesday as rising inflation fears drive expectations for interest rate hikes, but silver's persistent industrial demand continues to outpace supply, which some analysts said could push prices above $90 or even $100/oz. "Normally, silver follows gold's moves, but this time, the strong bounce suggests there is real demand and st...
monsitj/iStock via Getty Images Gold futures finished slightly higher Wednesday as rising inflation fears drive expectations for interest rate hikes, but silver's persistent industrial demand continues to outpace supply, which some analysts said could push prices above $90 or even $100/oz. "Normally, silver follows gold's moves, but this time, the strong bounce suggests there is real demand and strong buying interest focused on alternative metals instead," OANDA analyst Elior Manier said Wednesday in a note, adding that silver has room to test resistance at $90/oz in the current market environment. Silver could soon test $100, Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities said, adding, "The rally in AI stocks and silver's growing use within the sector are one reason investors are likely to continue supporting the move higher." Analysts also note that renewed economic activity in China remains a key source of support for silver and other base metals. "Top traders on the [Shanghai Exchange] have been steady buyers of silver over the past month," according to analysts at TD Securities. "Chinese premiums have remained strong, and the import arb has been open at various times in the last couple of weeks, suggesting Eastern demand may be the catalyst supporting the upside." While rising interest rate expectations supporting a strong U.S. dollar present a headwind for silver, it is difficult to ignore the momentum in the marketplace, Trade Nation's David Morrison said, adding that traders could start targeting January's record highs at $120/oz if prices break above $90. Front-month Comex silver ( XAGUSD:CUR ) for May delivery gained Wednesday for the eighth time in the past 10 sessions, up 4.4% to $88.888/oz, its best settlement value since March 10, while front-month Comex May gold ( XAUUSD:CUR ) added 0.4% to $4,697.70/oz, snapping back-to-back losses. ETFs: ( GLD ), ( GDX ), ( GDXJ ), ( IAU ), ( NUGT ), ( PHYS ), ( GLDM ), ( AAAU ), ( SGOL ), ( DUST ), ( RING ), ( BAR ),...
Notion’s new developer platform lets teams connect AI agents, external data sources, and custom code directly into their workspace as the company pushes deeper into agentic productivity software.
Notion’s new developer platform lets teams connect AI agents, external data sources, and custom code directly into their workspace as the company pushes deeper into agentic productivity software.
tang90246/iStock via Getty Images Listen here or on the go via Apple Podcasts and Spotify Sara Awad from Tech Contrarians discusses semi momentum (0:40) Tech correction won't come out of nowhere; it will be forced (4:00) Nvidia earnings (6:30) Marvell and Broadcom (11:30) Micron, Credo, AMD, Intel, Arm, Apple (14:00) Nebius' sweet spot (33:30) Fundamentals over everything (36:50) Transcript Rena S...
tang90246/iStock via Getty Images Listen here or on the go via Apple Podcasts and Spotify Sara Awad from Tech Contrarians discusses semi momentum (0:40) Tech correction won't come out of nowhere; it will be forced (4:00) Nvidia earnings (6:30) Marvell and Broadcom (11:30) Micron, Credo, AMD, Intel, Arm, Apple (14:00) Nebius' sweet spot (33:30) Fundamentals over everything (36:50) Transcript Rena Sherbill: Sara Awad from Tech Contrarians, always great to have you on Investing Experts. Welcome back to another show. Tech Contrarians: Thanks so much, Rena. It's great to be here. It's great to also be on the show in such a special moment for the semiconductor industry and tech more broadly. Rena Sherbill: Absolutely. And I think it's always very edifying for us as an audience, for me as a host to get your perspective on the tech space, always a lot going on in recent years. So talk to us about what you're thinking about in this moment, middle of May 2026. What are you most focused on? What are you most thinking about? Tech Contrarians: So I think center stage for everyone has really been the semis. And that's been the case for since this AI cycle really began, but specifically in 2026, we're seeing a lot more momentum leaning into semis. And it's interesting because it comes in contrast to the last time that I was on this podcast, which was towards the end of March. We were in a very different backdrop to where we are today. I think in most of the tech sector, if you take a look at the year to date chart, you kind of see that uptick from late March throughout April and then continue into May. The famous saying of buy in April and sell in May does not apply to 2026, at least not this far. And in terms of the setup, what we're really looking at is the backdrop. So you have oil above $100 a barrel and even much higher in terms of the physical market, specifically out in Asia. So there's a huge gap there between oil futures and the spot prices. You also have a very fragile c...
If you don't yet appreciate the power of dividends for long-term wealth-building, take a gander at this table: Dividend-Paying Status Average Annual Total Return, 1973-2025 Continue reading
If you don't yet appreciate the power of dividends for long-term wealth-building, take a gander at this table: Dividend-Paying Status Average Annual Total Return, 1973-2025 Continue reading
Crescent Capital BDC press release ( CCAP ): Q1 net investment income per shar of $0.42. Total investment income of $37.91M, compared to $42.13M in Q1 2025. More on Crescent Capital BDC Crescent Capital BDC: Additional Downside Risks Remain (Rating Downgrade) Crescent Capital BDC: Interesting, But No Rush Crescent Capital BDC: This 13%+ Yielding Bargain Remains A Buy Crescent Capital BDC Q1 2026 E...
Crescent Capital BDC press release ( CCAP ): Q1 net investment income per shar of $0.42. Total investment income of $37.91M, compared to $42.13M in Q1 2025. More on Crescent Capital BDC Crescent Capital BDC: Additional Downside Risks Remain (Rating Downgrade) Crescent Capital BDC: Interesting, But No Rush Crescent Capital BDC: This 13%+ Yielding Bargain Remains A Buy Crescent Capital BDC Q1 2026 Earnings Preview Crescent Capital BDC signals review of dividend and fee structure amid lower base rates
Supatman/iStock via Getty Images Back in February I rated Paychex, Inc. ( PAYX ) a Sell, arguing that the AI commoditization risk to its core payroll business was being underpriced and that consensus margins and growth assumptions looked too optimistic. Since then, the stock has remained close to 52-week lows and is now down roughly 39% from the all-time highs. For the company's Q3 results , the n...
Supatman/iStock via Getty Images Back in February I rated Paychex, Inc. ( PAYX ) a Sell, arguing that the AI commoditization risk to its core payroll business was being underpriced and that consensus margins and growth assumptions looked too optimistic. Since then, the stock has remained close to 52-week lows and is now down roughly 39% from the all-time highs. For the company's Q3 results , the numbers were strong, and the stock jumped nearly 3% on the print. A Look At Q3 '26 Looking at the latest quarterly results, Paychex' revenue grew 20% to $1.81 billion, surpassing analyst expectations by $29 million . Operating margins expanded by 80bps to 47.7%, which led EPS to clock in at $1.71, 4 cents above sell-side estimates. Seeking Alpha Breaking down the results by segment, Paychex' largest segment, which is the Management Solutions business, was up 21%. Of that growth figure, Paycor was about 17%. Strip out the acquisition contribution and organic growth in Management Solutions, which was approximately 4%. That's fine for a mature HCM business, but it's not the kind of organic acceleration the 20% headline implies. Company Filings For the PEO and Insurance segment, revenues grew by 8.8% to $397.5 million, which was largely organic growth. High single-digit PEO worksite employee growth and near-record retention rates tell you the bundled offering is sticky. I've always thought the PEO and Insurance business was the more defensible part of Paychex, and this quarter reinforces that. The challenge is that Management Solutions is the larger and higher-profile segment (75% of revenues), and that's also where the organic growth picture is less impressive. Company Filings On profitability, operating margin expanding 80bps was driven by the scale of the Paycor integration and the $120 million in annualized synergies falling primarily to the operating income line. On a normalized FY basis, margins are running in the 43-44% range. The issue I have is that these margins are li...
Ford (NYSE:F) stock closed Wednesday at $13.57, up 13.18%. Ford moved higher after launching its new Ford Energy battery-storage subsidiary and a bullish Morgan Stanley note highlighted profit and partnership potential that investors are now watching closely.Trading volume reache
Ford (NYSE:F) stock closed Wednesday at $13.57, up 13.18%. Ford moved higher after launching its new Ford Energy battery-storage subsidiary and a bullish Morgan Stanley note highlighted profit and partnership potential that investors are now watching closely.Trading volume reache
Pollard Banknote press release ( PBKOF ): Q1 GAAP EPS of $0.13. Revenue of $141.7M (-3.1% Y/Y). More on Pollard Banknote Pollard Banknote: A High-Probability Bet On Margin Recovery Pollard Banknote: NeoPollard Could Be Worth Half The Company Pollard Banknote Limited (PBL:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Historical earnings data for Pollard Banknote Dividend scorecard for Pollard Banknote
Pollard Banknote press release ( PBKOF ): Q1 GAAP EPS of $0.13. Revenue of $141.7M (-3.1% Y/Y). More on Pollard Banknote Pollard Banknote: A High-Probability Bet On Margin Recovery Pollard Banknote: NeoPollard Could Be Worth Half The Company Pollard Banknote Limited (PBL:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Historical earnings data for Pollard Banknote Dividend scorecard for Pollard Banknote
Earnings Call Insights: Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. (EOSE) Q1 2026 Management View “In the first quarter, we delivered $57 million in revenue, more than 5x the same quarter last year,” said CEO Joseph Mastrangelo, adding, “Cube output is up 17% sequentially,” and “We finished the quarter with $472 million in cash.” Mastrangelo said the company’s backlog and pipeline expanded alongside a new finan...
Earnings Call Insights: Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. (EOSE) Q1 2026 Management View “In the first quarter, we delivered $57 million in revenue, more than 5x the same quarter last year,” said CEO Joseph Mastrangelo, adding, “Cube output is up 17% sequentially,” and “We finished the quarter with $472 million in cash.” Mastrangelo said the company’s backlog and pipeline expanded alongside a new financing initiative: “We ended Q1 with a $645 million backlog,” and “The commercial pipeline we are addressing now stands at over 100 gigawatt-hours.” He added that “55% of that pipeline is at 8-hour-plus duration.” On the Frontier Power USA announcement, Mastrangelo said, “The single biggest barrier to long-duration storage adoption today is not technology, it’s not demand. It is bankability,” and described the structure: “Cerberus is contributing $100 million,” while “Eos is targeting a $150 million contribution funded through a pro rata rights offering.” He also stated Frontier is “targeting more than $1 billion” of senior project debt. COO John Mahaz tied operating progress to manufacturing execution, saying, “Cube output increased 467% versus Q1 ’25 and was up 17% sequentially from Q4,” while “Direct labor per cube is down 47% year-over-year and 25% quarter-over-quarter.” He added, “Initial production is on track for the end of Q2, and we expect full production to occur in Q4” at Thorn Hill. Interim CFO & Chief Commercial Officer Nathan Kroeker said, “We ended the quarter with $645 million in backlog, representing 2.6 gigawatt-hours of storage,” and flagged post-quarter commercial updates including “a 2 gigawatt-hour firm capacity reservation agreement with Frontier Power USA” and “expanding an existing project with a Southeast utility from 4 hours to 10 hours in duration, along with a full system upgrade to DawnOS.” Kroeker also announced a finance leadership change: “I am pleased to welcome Alessandro Lagi as Eos’ incoming Chief Financial Officer,” adding, “He officially...
Derick Hudson/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Meta Platforms, Inc. ( META ) has a tried and tested monetization strategy. The first step is to develop a high-value product that users cannot stay away from. The second step is to integrate advertisements into these platforms. Ever since the $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2024, Meta has mostly been focused on improving the user experience w...
Derick Hudson/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Meta Platforms, Inc. ( META ) has a tried and tested monetization strategy. The first step is to develop a high-value product that users cannot stay away from. The second step is to integrate advertisements into these platforms. Ever since the $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2024, Meta has mostly been focused on improving the user experience with little to no indication of direct monetization. WhatsApp Business has indeed opened up WhatsApp monetization through click-to-message ads, direct paid messaging with the Business API, and even by introducing ads within the status tab. I am not surprised by this playbook. Meta can afford to patiently play this monetization game so as not to harm the user experience that 3 billion+ monthly active WhatsApp users are accustomed to. A few days ago, WhatsApp quietly launched a premium subscription named WhatsApp Plus. I came across this launch as I keep a close eye on Meta's monetization strategy as a long-term shareholder, but investor attention to this exciting development remains at a very low level, going by the low level of social media attention this has received. After comparing WhatsApp Plus with established premium subscription plans such as Snap+ and Telegram Premium, I believe Meta has opened doors to generate ~$2 billion in high-margin revenue in the short run. That may sound like a drop in the bucket compared to Meta's 2025 revenue of $201 billion, but given the very high-margin nature of this revenue, we need to look at the contribution to operating income. This is where things get very interesting. I remain bullish on Meta as the company finally makes progress in monetizing WhatsApp while keeping its foot on the AI investment pedal. Understanding WhatsApp Plus WhatsApp Plus is a subscription that is currently available in limited locations. The core features of WhatsApp (such as calling and messaging) are not affected by whether you subscribe to WhatsApp Plus o...
Derick Hudson/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Meta Platforms, Inc. ( META ) has a tried and tested monetization strategy. The first step is to develop a high-value product that users cannot stay away from. The second step is to integrate advertisements into these platforms. Ever since the $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2024, Meta has mostly been focused on improving the user experience w...
Derick Hudson/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Meta Platforms, Inc. ( META ) has a tried and tested monetization strategy. The first step is to develop a high-value product that users cannot stay away from. The second step is to integrate advertisements into these platforms. Ever since the $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2024, Meta has mostly been focused on improving the user experience with little to no indication of direct monetization. WhatsApp Business has indeed opened up WhatsApp monetization through click-to-message ads, direct paid messaging with the Business API, and even by introducing ads within the status tab. I am not surprised by this playbook. Meta can afford to patiently play this monetization game so as not to harm the user experience that 3 billion+ monthly active WhatsApp users are accustomed to. A few days ago, WhatsApp quietly launched a premium subscription named WhatsApp Plus. I came across this launch as I keep a close eye on Meta's monetization strategy as a long-term shareholder, but investor attention to this exciting development remains at a very low level, going by the low level of social media attention this has received. After comparing WhatsApp Plus with established premium subscription plans such as Snap+ and Telegram Premium, I believe Meta has opened doors to generate ~$2 billion in high-margin revenue in the short run. That may sound like a drop in the bucket compared to Meta's 2025 revenue of $201 billion, but given the very high-margin nature of this revenue, we need to look at the contribution to operating income. This is where things get very interesting. I remain bullish on Meta as the company finally makes progress in monetizing WhatsApp while keeping its foot on the AI investment pedal. Understanding WhatsApp Plus WhatsApp Plus is a subscription that is currently available in limited locations. The core features of WhatsApp (such as calling and messaging) are not affected by whether you subscribe to WhatsApp Plus o...
LOS ANGELES, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. (“Crescent BDC” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: CCAP) today reported net investment income of $0.42 per share and net income of ($0.42) per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Net asset value (NAV) per share was $18.27 at March 31, 2026. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company reduced its fee structure, lowering its base ma...
LOS ANGELES, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. (“Crescent BDC” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: CCAP) today reported net investment income of $0.42 per share and net income of ($0.42) per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Net asset value (NAV) per share was $18.27 at March 31, 2026. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company reduced its fee structure, lowering its base management fee from 1.25% to 1.00% and its incentive fee from 17.5% to 15.0%, effective April 1, 2026, further aligning interests with shareholders and supporting the durability of its earnings profile.
Where Have The Men Gone? Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times, The Department of Labor keeps careful track of employment and the demographics thereof. Their latest report on men in the labor force is both mysterious and deeply alarming. It turns out that the labor force is missing about 7 million men who would otherwise be working. Close to a third of working-age men have vanished from t...
Where Have The Men Gone? Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times, The Department of Labor keeps careful track of employment and the demographics thereof. Their latest report on men in the labor force is both mysterious and deeply alarming. It turns out that the labor force is missing about 7 million men who would otherwise be working. Close to a third of working-age men have vanished from the labor force. The labor force participation rate among “prime age men,” age 25 to 54, in the 1950s approached 100 percent. Now it is 89 percent, meaning roughly 11 percent are not in the labor force (neither working nor looking for work). Among all men over 16 years of age, the rate is a devastatingly low 66 percent, so about one-third are gone. Among U.S.-born men, nearly 22 percent are gone. This is really quite shocking. The trend in decline dates far back, accelerated in the 1960s, stabilized in the 1980s, declined again after the turn of the century, and took a deep dive after the pandemic lockdowns and never recovered. It is falling again now, nearly to the lows we saw when the economy was actually locked down. The explanations for this are all over the map. Disability ranks at the top. But we aren’t really talking about wooden legs and paraplegics here. This traces to mental disorders, substance abuse, obesity and chronic disease, low motivation, pharmaceutical injury, and general lethargy and demoralization. How do they pay the bills? The lucky ones have trust fund flows. The conventional ones live with Mom and Dad and take disability benefits. The really unlucky ones are simply homeless. The number of men who live with parents has tripled since the 1950s when the expectation was that you would be kicked out of the nest at 17 and only return for holidays and special occasions. Otherwise, any self-respecting dude would make a living for himself, find a bride, and set up his own family. The idea of basement dwelling was simply unheard of. There is overlap here with ...