Landlords or operators of subdivided flats in Hong Kong that meet new government living standards can apply to CLP Power for smart meter installation. The smart meters, which now cover 90 per cent of residential households supplied by CLP Power, are open for application following the Basic Housing Units Ordinance taking effect on March 1 Equipped with advanced communication systems, the meters can...
Landlords or operators of subdivided flats in Hong Kong that meet new government living standards can apply to CLP Power for smart meter installation. The smart meters, which now cover 90 per cent of residential households supplied by CLP Power, are open for application following the Basic Housing Units Ordinance taking effect on March 1 Equipped with advanced communication systems, the meters can automatically send usage data to help customers monitor their electricity consumption. This enables users to better manage energy use and reduce costs, while also allowing earlier detection of electricity shortages so that staff can respond quickly and maintain a stable power supply. Advertisement “We will explore more artificial intelligence solutions to continue to enhance our smart meters and provide Hong Kong, and our clients, safer, more reliable, more efficient electricity supply,” said Anthony Lo Chi-wah, director of customer success and sales. “For the basic housing units, we will also install smart meters inside, as most of our clients basically now use smart meters.” Advertisement The company began rolling out its smart meter replacement programme in late 2018. It now serves 2.8 million residential households and small to medium-sized enterprises.
In Singapore ’s famous Takashimaya shopping centre, those looking for a quick caffeine fix are spoiled for choice. There is, of course, the ubiquitous Starbucks, as well as an outlet of China’s rapidly expanding Luckin Coffee franchise. But it’s a third option, Kenangan Coffee – an upstart brand from Indonesia that opened its first branch in Singapore in 2023 – that most appeals to 27-year-old sho...
In Singapore ’s famous Takashimaya shopping centre, those looking for a quick caffeine fix are spoiled for choice. There is, of course, the ubiquitous Starbucks, as well as an outlet of China’s rapidly expanding Luckin Coffee franchise. But it’s a third option, Kenangan Coffee – an upstart brand from Indonesia that opened its first branch in Singapore in 2023 – that most appeals to 27-year-old shopper Sarah Shah. “I really like Kenangan’s range of drinks, especially how they balance classic coffee flavours with unique local and Asian-inspired options,” the digital content and marketing designer told This Week in Asia. Advertisement “I feel that it combines flavour, creativity and reliability better than many other brands … It strikes a balance between quality, convenience and price, which makes it an easy and reliable choice.” As global players from the US and China crowd into Southeast Asia , local chains are expanding across borders of their own – betting that cultural fluency, halal positioning and increasingly sophisticated digital tools can help them hold their ground. Advertisement Analysts say while regional brands inevitably command less capital to scale at speed, they often edge global competitors by resonating more deeply with local consumers. “I’d say [Kenangan] is my go-to coffee shop, especially since I prefer to have coffee at Muslim-owned or halal cafes as a Muslim,” Sarah said.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store NASDAQ: CBRL executives said they are seeing “green shoots” in traffic and guest experience metrics as the company works to improve operations, reconnect with customers through menu and marketing changes, and deliver cost savings to support profitability. For the fiscal 2026 second quarter ended Jan. 30, the company reported total revenue of $874.8 million and adju...
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store NASDAQ: CBRL executives said they are seeing “green shoots” in traffic and guest experience metrics as the company works to improve operations, reconnect with customers through menu and marketing changes, and deliver cost savings to support profitability. For the fiscal 2026 second quarter ended Jan. 30, the company reported total revenue of $874.8 million and adjusted EBITDA of $38.2 million. Management emphasized that recent operational and guest satisfaction improvements have continued into the third quarter, while acknowledging uncertainty around the timing and magnitude of traffic recovery. Get CBRL alerts: Sign Up Guest experience metrics improve as traffic remains pressured President and CEO Julie Masino said operational execution has improved following leadership changes made in October. She pointed to a quarterly Google star rating of 4.28 in Q2, the company’s highest quarterly score since the second quarter of fiscal 2020, and noted that food taste, service, and value scores rose 4% to 5% versus the prior year. Masino also said turnover trends improved, including a 10% year-over-year improvement in management turnover during the quarter. CFO Craig Pommels reported that comparable store restaurant sales fell 7.1% in Q2, including a 10.1% decline in traffic. Restaurant average check increased 3.4%, including pricing of 4.2%, while menu mix was negative “driven primarily by higher discounts.” From a monthly standpoint, traffic declines were between 10% and 11% in November and December, improving to a 9% decline in January, which included about a 50-basis-point unfavorable impact from weather. Pommels said February trends improved further, while noting that the year-ago February period was also affected by weather and macroeconomic issues. In response to analyst questions, Masino said the company views these guest experience measures as leading indicators but does not have a precise formula for how quickly traffic follows impro...
Broadcom NASDAQ: AVGO reported record financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2026, citing faster-than-expected growth in AI semiconductors and continued profitability across both its Semiconductor Solutions and Infrastructure Software segments. Management also issued second-quarter guidance calling for sharp year-over-year revenue acceleration and reiterated confidence in multi-year dem...
Broadcom NASDAQ: AVGO reported record financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2026, citing faster-than-expected growth in AI semiconductors and continued profitability across both its Semiconductor Solutions and Infrastructure Software segments. Management also issued second-quarter guidance calling for sharp year-over-year revenue acceleration and reiterated confidence in multi-year demand for custom AI accelerators and AI networking. Get Broadcom alerts: Sign Up Quarter results: record revenue and profitability For fiscal Q1 2026, Broadcom posted consolidated revenue of $19.3 billion, up 29% year-over-year and above company guidance, which CEO Hock Tan attributed to “better than expected growth in AI semiconductors.” Broadcom delivered consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $13.1 billion, representing 68% of revenue, a result Tan described as reflecting operating leverage from the company’s scale. CFO Kirsten Spears added that gross margin was 77% of revenue, operating expenses were $2.0 billion (including $1.5 billion of R&D), and operating income reached a record $12.8 billion, up 31% year-over-year. Broadcom’s operating margin increased to 66.4%. AI drove semiconductor growth; networking mix expected to rise Broadcom’s Semiconductor Solutions segment generated Q1 revenue of $12.5 billion, up 52% year-over-year. Tan said AI semiconductor revenue grew 106% year-over-year to $8.4 billion, exceeding the company’s outlook, and he expects that momentum to accelerate in Q2. Within AI, Tan emphasized both custom accelerators and AI networking. He said Q1 AI networking revenue grew 60% year-over-year and represented roughly one-third of total AI revenue. For Q2, Broadcom expects AI networking to rise to 40% of total AI revenue, and Tan said the company is “clearly gaining share in networking.” Tan highlighted demand for Broadcom’s Tomahawk 6 switch at 100 terabit per second and its 200G SerDes, and said the company expects to extend its lead with Tomahawk 7 in 2027, ...
Explore the exciting world of Oddity (NASDAQ: ODD) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of Jan. 21, 2026. The video was published on March 4, 2026. Continue reading
Explore the exciting world of Oddity (NASDAQ: ODD) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of Jan. 21, 2026. The video was published on March 4, 2026. Continue reading
Broadcom’s Semiconductor Solutions segment generated Q1 revenue of $12.5 billion , up 52% year-over-year. Tan said AI semiconductor revenue grew 106% year-over-year to $8.4 billion , exceeding the company’s outlook, and he expects that momentum to accelerate in Q2. CFO Kirsten Spears added that gross margin was 77% of revenue, operating expenses were $2.0 billion (including $1.5 billion of R&D), a...
Broadcom’s Semiconductor Solutions segment generated Q1 revenue of $12.5 billion , up 52% year-over-year. Tan said AI semiconductor revenue grew 106% year-over-year to $8.4 billion , exceeding the company’s outlook, and he expects that momentum to accelerate in Q2. CFO Kirsten Spears added that gross margin was 77% of revenue, operating expenses were $2.0 billion (including $1.5 billion of R&D), and operating income reached a record $12.8 billion , up 31% year-over-year. Broadcom’s operating margin increased to 66.4% . For fiscal Q1 2026, Broadcom posted consolidated revenue of $19.3 billion , up 29% year-over-year and above company guidance, which CEO Hock Tan attributed to “better than expected growth in AI semiconductors.” Broadcom delivered consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $13.1 billion , representing 68% of revenue, a result Tan described as reflecting operating leverage from the company’s scale. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) reported record financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2026, citing faster-than-expected growth in AI semiconductors and continued profitability across both its Semiconductor Solutions and Infrastructure Software segments. Management also issued second-quarter guidance calling for sharp year-over-year revenue acceleration and reiterated confidence in multi-year demand for custom AI accelerators and AI networking. Aggressive outlook and shareholder returns: Q2 guidance calls for ~ $22 billion revenue (up 47% YoY) with AI semis ~ $10.7 billion (up 140% YoY), while Q1 saw $3.1B in dividends and $7.8B in buybacks and management authorized an additional $10 billion repurchase program. AI-led semiconductor surge: AI semiconductor revenue rose 106% YoY to $8.4 billion (semiconductor segment $12.5B, +52%), and management says it has “line of sight” to more than $100 billion of AI silicon content in 2027 (approaching ~ 10 gigawatts of power) with major customer ramps across Google, Anthropic, Meta and OpenAI. Record Q1: Broadcom posted consolida...
Wind River, an Aptiv company and global leader in software for the intelligent edge, is collaborating with AMD to deliver the industry’s first commercially available platform that unifies open radio access network (Open RAN) functions and artificial intelligence–powered radio access network (AI-RAN) workloads on shared hardware. The solution addresses a critical challenge facing operators: Traditi...
Wind River, an Aptiv company and global leader in software for the intelligent edge, is collaborating with AMD to deliver the industry’s first commercially available platform that unifies open radio access network (Open RAN) functions and artificial intelligence–powered radio access network (AI-RAN) workloads on shared hardware. The solution addresses a critical challenge facing operators: Traditional approaches require separate systems for radio access networks and AI applications, which may double capital costs and create significant integration complexity. By combining AMD EPYC™ CPUs with Wind River Cloud Platform, Wind River is providing a production-ready solution capable of hosting virtualized RAN functions and AI inference side by side on the same distributed platform. This architectural approach enables operators to introduce real-time AI capabilities including traffic prediction, anomaly detection, energy optimization, and network intelligence, without the duplication that has constrained AI-RAN adoption to date. The jointly engineered platform enables operators to: Reduce infrastructure costs and operational complexity by unifying Open RAN and AI-RAN workloads on shared hardware instead of maintaining separate systems. Deploy AI-driven capabilities directly at the network edge, including real-time traffic prediction, anomaly detection, and energy optimization alongside virtualized RAN functions. Scale efficiently across thousands of distributed sites with automated lifecycle management, resiliency, and fault tolerance. Evolve without hardware replacement, adding advanced AI capabilities as requirements grow while preserving architectural flexibility. The partnership includes joint engineering focused on AI-RAN software stack optimization and hardware-software co-optimization, a development roadmap, and proof-of-concept deployments. Live demonstrations and technical architecture overviews are available throughout MWC Barcelona 2026 at the Wind River booth i...
China set its most modest growth target in more than three decades, in a tacit acknowledgment that the model powering the country’s rapid rise for four decades is showing strains. The goal — a range of 4.5% to 5% — was in a copy of the government’s annual work report seen by Bloomberg News. It marks the first formal downgrade since 2023 and the least ambitious expansion goal since 1991. While wide...
China set its most modest growth target in more than three decades, in a tacit acknowledgment that the model powering the country’s rapid rise for four decades is showing strains. The goal — a range of 4.5% to 5% — was in a copy of the government’s annual work report seen by Bloomberg News. It marks the first formal downgrade since 2023 and the least ambitious expansion goal since 1991. While widely anticipated by economists, it carries symbolic weight in a country where growth figures function as political statements as much as economic forecasts. No target was set in 2020 because of the pandemic. The shift signals Beijing’s comfort with a slower pace while seeking more sustainable growth drivers to replace debt-fueled property and infrastructure investment. A lower target also reduces the pressure on officials to deploy aggressive stimulus despite a volatile global trade environment. Premier Li Qiang is expected to officially announce the target Thursday morning in Beijing. The report to the national parliament will also detail objectives for employment and inflation that will dictate the scale of 2026 fiscal support. The legislative session begins as external uncertainties threaten China’s export-led recovery. Widening Middle East conflicts risk disrupting trade routes and complicate a summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump just weeks away. Surging exports accounted for a third of China’s 5% growth last year, the highest share since 1997. This reliance highlights a deepening imbalance as efforts to boost domestic spending have so far failed to offset the impact of a property market collapse. Read More: Xi Eyes Consumers to Lead New Era for China’s Unbalanced Economy A conservative growth target would reduce the prospects of forceful stimulus. The government is reluctant to roll out sweeping easing as it did in previous downturns , for fear of worsening a record debt-to-GDP ratio and squeezing profit margins at state banks. Still, t...
Thursday is forecast to be the warmest day so far of 2026 - beating the 18.7C (65.7F) maximum reached in the last week of February at Kew Gardens in London. However, make the most of the warmth if you can because Friday will bring a dramatic change in the temperatures. The weekend looks warmer again but next week could bring more rain for some of us. The early season warmth will be welcomed by man...
Thursday is forecast to be the warmest day so far of 2026 - beating the 18.7C (65.7F) maximum reached in the last week of February at Kew Gardens in London. However, make the most of the warmth if you can because Friday will bring a dramatic change in the temperatures. The weekend looks warmer again but next week could bring more rain for some of us. The early season warmth will be welcomed by many, but not if you suffer from tree pollen.
European Wax Center, Inc. (EWCZ) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.1 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.04 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.16 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +130.95%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.14 per ...
European Wax Center, Inc. (EWCZ) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.1 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.04 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.16 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +130.95%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.14 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.25, delivering a surprise of +78.57%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. European Wax Center, which belongs to the Zacks Cosmetics industry, posted revenues of $45.1 million for the quarter ended December 2025, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.88%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $49.74 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. European Wax Center shares have added about 59.4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of 0.4%. What's Next for European Wax Center? While European Wax Center has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of e...
Vermilion Energy (VET) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.63 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.3 per share. This compares to a loss of $0.09 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +110.00%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this oil and natural gas explorer would post earnings of $...
Vermilion Energy (VET) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.63 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.3 per share. This compares to a loss of $0.09 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +110.00%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this oil and natural gas explorer would post earnings of $0.04 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.02, delivering a surprise of -150%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates just once. Vermilion, which belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - International industry, posted revenues of $329.06 million for the quarter ended December 2025, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15.43%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $360.48 million. The company has not been able to beat consensus revenue estimates over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Vermilion shares have added about 37.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of 0.4%. What's Next for Vermilion? While Vermilion has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harne...
Degraded Schools Authored by Larry Sand via American Greatness , Many students are chronically absent or have dropped out of school. Nat Malkus , a senior fellow in education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, oversees the Return to Learn Tracker, which monitors chronic absenteeism in U.S. schools. His latest report, released in early February, includes data from 39 states and Wa...
Degraded Schools Authored by Larry Sand via American Greatness , Many students are chronically absent or have dropped out of school. Nat Malkus , a senior fellow in education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, oversees the Return to Learn Tracker, which monitors chronic absenteeism in U.S. schools. His latest report, released in early February, includes data from 39 states and Washington, D.C. He states that after reaching a high of 29 percent in the 2021–22 school year, the chronic absenteeism rate—missing 10 percent or more of school days in an academic year—fell by 2.6 percentage points the following school year and by 2.2 percentage points the following school year. This progress was encouraging, but it stalled last school year , with rates falling by just over one percentage point on average. This leaves the average chronic absenteeism rate for most of the country at 23 percent, roughly 50 percent higher than the pre-pandemic baseline. This chronic absence problem is especially egregious in our large urban areas. In Los Angeles , more than 32 percent of students were chronically absent during the 2023–24 school year. Thirty-four elementary schools have fewer than 200 students, and 29 use less than half of their buildings. Chicago is even worse, with a chronic absentee rate of 41 percent. Malkus concludes that these patterns suggest that shifts in attitudes and behavior are largely driving the across-the-board increases in post-pandemic absenteeism. Six years into the pandemic, students and their parents are placing less value on attending school each day. One realistic way to address chronic absenteeism—and save taxpayer dollars—would be to close ineffective schools. But government educrats and teacher union bosses refuse to allow that to happen. In fact, school closures have slowed over time. An analysis by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics shows that in 2014–15, the closure rate—the share of schools nationwide that were open one year and ...
One of the best-performing stocks on Hump Day was from an under-the-radar company that's been plying its trade for almost 160 years. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW +45.80%), which concentrates on the design and sale of power-generation assets, saw its share price zoom nearly 46% higher that trading session, on news of the start of a new project. A $2.4 billion win Before market open that day, Ba...
One of the best-performing stocks on Hump Day was from an under-the-radar company that's been plying its trade for almost 160 years. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW +45.80%), which concentrates on the design and sale of power-generation assets, saw its share price zoom nearly 46% higher that trading session, on news of the start of a new project. A $2.4 billion win Before market open that day, Babcock & Wilcox announced it had received a full notice to proceed with a design-build project with power producer Base Electron. The goal of the project, which the company said will earn it $2.4 billion, is to deliver 1.2 gigawatts of new electricity generation capacity for Base Electron's owner, artificial intelligence (AI) data center operator Applied Digital. Babcock & Wilcox is the key contractor on this project. It said it will not only design the power plant, but also procure equipment for its operation, and construct the facility. The company was clearly excited about the project. It quoted CEO Kenneth Young as saying that the work "further underscores the strategic role B&W plays in supporting the rapidly expanding power needs of large‑scale AI data centers." Additionally, Babcock & Wilcox reported its fourth quarter and full-year results that day. For the quarter, its revenue was down marginally year over year to $161 million. The company narrowed its net loss under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to $3.5 million from the year-ago shortfall of $53.8 million. Expand NYSE : BW Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Today's Change ( 45.80 %) $ 3.71 Current Price $ 11.81 Key Data Points Market Cap $900M Day's Range $ 9.32 - $ 12.00 52wk Range $ 0.22 - $ 12.00 Volume 634K Avg Vol 2.9M Gross Margin 26.77 % The right activity at the right time It's not only the large scale of the project -- even for a company as well-established as Babcock & Wilcox -- it's also the nature of the work. Data center operators can't build out AI-supporting infrastructure fast enough, so...
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was d...
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Frances Arnold also recently made the following trade(s): On Thursday, January 29th, Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $34,680.00. On Wednesday, December 31st, Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.45, for a total value of $31,971.90. Get Alphabet alerts: Sign Up Alphabet Stock Down 0.0% Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $303.45. The company had a trading volume of 19,955,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,095,281. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $350.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm's 50 day moving average is $321.14 and its 200-day moving average is $285.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the sa...