Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) CEO Greg Abel presided over his first annual shareholder meeting since taking over as chief executive from Warren Buffett at the start of this year. Buffett is still the company's executive chairman. Morning Brief Host Julie Hyman Barron's Investor Circle Newsletter editor Josh Schafer react to Berkshire's stock buyback program and the takeaways from the event.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) CEO Greg Abel presided over his first annual shareholder meeting since taking over as chief executive from Warren Buffett at the start of this year. Buffett is still the company's executive chairman. Morning Brief Host Julie Hyman Barron's Investor Circle Newsletter editor Josh Schafer react to Berkshire's stock buyback program and the takeaways from the event.
adventtr Quantum computing firm IonQ ( IONQ ) is set to report first-quarter results this week, and Wedbush Securities said it could see tailwinds from “both ways of the Beltway.” “Following broadly negative sentiment on the quantum sector through much of 1Q26, NVDA's April 14 launch of its Ising open AI models (aiming to deliver up to 2.5x faster and 3x more accurate error correction decoding) to...
adventtr Quantum computing firm IonQ ( IONQ ) is set to report first-quarter results this week, and Wedbush Securities said it could see tailwinds from “both ways of the Beltway.” “Following broadly negative sentiment on the quantum sector through much of 1Q26, NVDA's April 14 launch of its Ising open AI models (aiming to deliver up to 2.5x faster and 3x more accurate error correction decoding) to accelerate the path to useful quantum computers proved to be a significant inflection point for the industry (with most quantum stocks lifting 20%+ on the news),” Wedbush Securities analyst Antoine Legault wrote in a note to clients. “At a moment when the sector was actively searching for a credibility catalyst, we view this endorsement as creating a meaningful shift in investor perception which we believe was one of the main drivers behind the recent broad sector re-rating.” Legault, who has an Outperform rating and a $60 price target on IonQ, said the company was cited by Nvidia ( NVDA ) as one of the early adopters of the Ising Calibration. “We believe this signals that IONQ's trapped-ion architecture is being recognized by the industry's most influential infrastructure player as production-ready and technically credible,” Legault explained, adding he believes it deepens the relationship between the two companies. IonQ is set to report first-quarter results after the close of trading on May 6. A consensus of analysts expects the company to lose an adjusted $0.51 per share on $49.69M in revenue. More on IonQ IonQ: Q-Day Deep Dive IonQ's Next Phase Has Begun IonQ's Edge Over Rigetti Widens, But Market Timing Delays Pay Off IonQ's blueprint for scalable, fault-tolerant quantum suggests industry shift: Wedbush Most shorted large cap stocks as of mid-April
Memory stocks such as Micron and SanDisk collectively reached new highs! Micron's CEO: AI is just beginning, but memory supply is already insufficient; this year’s DRAM and NAND demand may consume over half of the market. 富途牛牛
Memory stocks such as Micron and SanDisk collectively reached new highs! Micron's CEO: AI is just beginning, but memory supply is already insufficient; this year’s DRAM and NAND demand may consume over half of the market. 富途牛牛
According to a recent SEC filing , Uptick Partners, LLC bought 72,967 additional shares of Strive 500 ETF (NYSE:STRV) during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated transaction value was $3.2 million, calculated using the quarter’s average closing price. As a result, the fund's quarter-end position in STRV stood at 485,633 shares valued at approximately $20.4 million. Strive 500 ETF (STRV) is a p...
According to a recent SEC filing , Uptick Partners, LLC bought 72,967 additional shares of Strive 500 ETF (NYSE:STRV) during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated transaction value was $3.2 million, calculated using the quarter’s average closing price. As a result, the fund's quarter-end position in STRV stood at 485,633 shares valued at approximately $20.4 million. Strive 500 ETF (STRV) is a passively managed fund designed to closely track the performance of the S&P 500 Index. Uptick Partners' decision to add nearly 73,000 shares of STRV during the first quarter is a straightforward vote of confidence in plain-vanilla U.S. large-cap equity exposure. For a diversified wealth manager, leaning into a low-cost S&P 500 tracker is about as basic as it gets -- and the timing doesn't look bad in hindsight, either. Since the end of Q1, STRV has gained about 11%. Continue reading
iQoncept/iStock via Getty Images Short interest data from late April indicates varying investor feelings in the healthcare sector, with strong bearish bets on biotechnology and telehealth through May 2026. Telehealth and biotechnology are facing bearish sentiment due to concerns over clinical outcomes. Hims & Hers Health has the highest short interest at 31.78%, followed by Tango Therapeutics at 2...
iQoncept/iStock via Getty Images Short interest data from late April indicates varying investor feelings in the healthcare sector, with strong bearish bets on biotechnology and telehealth through May 2026. Telehealth and biotechnology are facing bearish sentiment due to concerns over clinical outcomes. Hims & Hers Health has the highest short interest at 31.78%, followed by Tango Therapeutics at 27.90% and Acadia Healthcare at 24.07%. In contrast, established companies like Eli Lilly ( LLY ) and Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) have minimal short positions. The healthcare sector remains a notable laggard in 2026. Despite a 5.62% year-to-date rally in the S&P 500, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR® Fund ( XLV ) has moved in the opposite direction, posting a 6.23% decline despite its substantial 12.1% weighting in the benchmark. Here are the top 5 most shorted mid- to mega-cap healthcare stocks (as a % of shares outstanding) as of April 30: Hims & Hers Health ( HIMS ) - Health Care Services sector, short interest 31.78% Tango Therapeutics ( TNGX ) – Biotechnology sector, short interest 27.90% Acadia Healthcare Company ( ACHC ) - Health Care Facilities sector, short interest 24.07% Sarepta Therapeutics ( SRPT ) – Biotechnology sector, short interest 24.00% Twist Bioscience Corporation ( TWST ) – Biotechnology sector, short interest 23.69% Here are the five least shorted mid- to mega-cap healthcare stocks (as a % of shares outstanding) as of April 30: Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) – Pharmaceuticals sector, short interest 0.82% Eli Lilly and Company ( LLY ) – Pharmaceuticals sector, short interest 0.91% MiniMed Group ( MMED ) - Health Care Supplies, short interest 1.02% BeOne Medicines AG ( ONC ) - Biotechnology , short interest 1.04% Bausch + Lomb Corporation ( BLCO ) - Health Care Supplies, short interest 1.04% Health Care ETFs: ( XLV ), ( VHT ), ( IHI ), ( IXJ ), ( IYH ), ( FHLC ), ( XPH ), ( PPH ), ( IBB ), ( IHE ), ( IBBQ ) and ( FXH ). More on the healthcare sector: Trump's ...
Elon Musk messaged OpenAI President Greg Brockman two days before the start of his courtroom showdown against the artificial intelligence startup to gauge the ChatGPT maker’s interest in settling the case, according to a legal filing. In response, Brockman suggested that both sides drop their respective claims, lawyers for OpenAI said in the filing late Sunday. Musk allegedly fired back: “By the e...
Elon Musk messaged OpenAI President Greg Brockman two days before the start of his courtroom showdown against the artificial intelligence startup to gauge the ChatGPT maker’s interest in settling the case, according to a legal filing. In response, Brockman suggested that both sides drop their respective claims, lawyers for OpenAI said in the filing late Sunday. Musk allegedly fired back: “By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America,” the world’s richest man wrote, referring to OpenAI’s Sam Altman . “If you insist, so it will be.” Typically, communications about possible settlement negotiations are not admissible as evidence at trial. However, OpenAI’s lawyers are asking the judge presiding over the case to allow them to admit the message because they said it shows “that Mr. Musk’s motivation in pursuing this lawsuit is to attack a competitor and its principals.” Brockman is now expected to testify on Monday morning, marking one of the most high-profile appearances in the trial so far. He is likely to face probing questions about his his personal digital journal from Musk’s lawyers. The private notes from almost a decade ago have been presented by Musk’s legal team as evidence that Brockman and Altman planned to abandon the company’s nonprofit mission before Musk left the board in 2018. The trial that’s headed into its second week in federal court in Oakland, California, carries high stakes for OpenAI because Musk is seeking tens of billions of dollar in damages, the removal of Altman and Brockman from their leadership roles and the unwinding of the ChatGPT maker’s for-profit conversion that was completed in October. Altman Versus Musk: How the Biggest Feud In Tech Landed in Court In his own testimony last week, Musk spent hours recalling how a rift grew with his fellow OpenAI co-founders over differing visions of who should lead the company and how to structure it to keep pace with Google and other well-heeled rivals in the AI race. In...
We Are/DigitalVision via Getty Images The AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund ( AWF ) is a closed-end fund, or CEF, that aims to provide its investors with a very high level of current income by investing in a portfolio of government and corporate bonds issued by entities that are located in countries all over the world. Regular readers will likely be among the first to recall that I have be...
We Are/DigitalVision via Getty Images The AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund ( AWF ) is a closed-end fund, or CEF, that aims to provide its investors with a very high level of current income by investing in a portfolio of government and corporate bonds issued by entities that are located in countries all over the world. Regular readers will likely be among the first to recall that I have been reluctant to invest in any bond fund, which is mostly due to the fact that both the United States and most other developed countries are entering into an era of high fiscal deficits and fiscal dominance that could force central banks to keep interest rates suppressed and bond returns negative in real terms. The exception to this might be some global bond funds, particularly those that invest in emerging markets or one of the handful of developed markets that still have sound fiscal outlooks. The AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund bills itself as a global bond fund, so there might be a reason for us to watch it for that reason. This fund also has a 7.47% yield at the current share price, which is much better than any of the domestic or global bond indices and therefore might be attractive to those investors who want to earn a high level of income from their assets. About The AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund The website for the AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund offers the following description of the fund: A globally diversified portfolio that takes full advantage of our best research ideas by pursuing high-income opportunities across all fixed-income sectors. The website also states: [The Fund] invests primarily (and without limit) in corporate debt securities from US and non-US issuers, as well as government bonds from both developing and developed countries, including the US. These two descriptions together suggest that this fund’s portfolio can be invested in just about any type of debt security that the fund’s management believes offers the bes...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Sometimes one of your stocks that you have been investing in, it finally gets a break , and does that feel good when it does. I've been writing on Chemours Company ( CC ) for years, and I've been investing in it for quite some time - mostly when it has been what I view as undeniably cheap , even accounting for all of the risks inherent to the company. We...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Sometimes one of your stocks that you have been investing in, it finally gets a break , and does that feel good when it does. I've been writing on Chemours Company ( CC ) for years, and I've been investing in it for quite some time - mostly when it has been what I view as undeniably cheap , even accounting for all of the risks inherent to the company. Well, Chemours has finally seen a bit of a turnaround. Initially, I thought the Feb-March climb and the disruption to that climb that came would be "it", only for the company to climb and keep climbing. Since my last piece, which by the way you can find here, you'll see that the company has outperformed the market by a factor of over 20x. An 82%+ RoR marks a period of what I would consider full reversal. Seeking Alpha Chemours RoR You can find my previous article on the company here. Chemours has not been easy to invest in at every juncture of my coverage. Combined risks from legacy and residual historical impacts, with headwinds in the market derived from both labor, feedstock, and other products, have kept this company "down", and have kept it volatile for some time. Throughout it all, I've focused on what I view(ed) as the likely value of its operations, and the appeal of its refrigerant segment, which I viewed as the difference-maker for the company. While it's still too early to discuss the eventual turnout of everything, my position at this point, inclusive of the dividends paid, is close to 100% RoR, and this goes into my "books" as a clear success of valuation-guided investing - which is what I focus on almost exclusively. In this article, I'll provide you with an update and see where things could go from here. Is Chemours still attractive, and can it be profitably invested in here, or has "the worm turned", and investors need to look elsewhere? It should be noted that the company for parts of its coverage, has been more of a speculative stock. I'm not at all averse t...
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) is leaning on its biggest tech names this morning to absorb a fresh oil shock, with index futures hovering near flat after climbing well off their overnight lows. A 3% spike in crude on renewed Iran tensions is the main drag, but blowout earnings from Alphabet and Amazon late last week ... Tech Giants Prop Up Nasdaq Composite as Oil Shock Tests Market Resilience
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) is leaning on its biggest tech names this morning to absorb a fresh oil shock, with index futures hovering near flat after climbing well off their overnight lows. A 3% spike in crude on renewed Iran tensions is the main drag, but blowout earnings from Alphabet and Amazon late last week ... Tech Giants Prop Up Nasdaq Composite as Oil Shock Tests Market Resilience
April was an impressive month for the major stock market averages — and while May is usually the beginning of a seasonally weak period for stocks, recent momentum might just continue in the month ahead. Last month, the S & P 500 soared more than 10%, its best month since November 2020. The Nasdaq Composite , which climbed more than 15%, saw its strongest monthly performance since April 2020, and t...
April was an impressive month for the major stock market averages — and while May is usually the beginning of a seasonally weak period for stocks, recent momentum might just continue in the month ahead. Last month, the S & P 500 soared more than 10%, its best month since November 2020. The Nasdaq Composite , which climbed more than 15%, saw its strongest monthly performance since April 2020, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped roughly 7% — its largest monthly gain since November 2024. .SPX mountain 2026-04-01 S & P 500, performance since April "Surprisingly strong earnings growth seems to be the driver of recent market action, as investors have placed the oil supply issue on the back burner," Sam Stovall, CFRA Research's chief investment strategist, wrote in a Monday note. The S & P 500's April performance was the index's second-best performance for that month since 1945, according to Stovall. That could herald more gains to come. When looking at the top 25 April results since World War II, the strategist found that in those instances the broad market index increased an average 2% in May, rising 88% of the time that month. But higher oil prices this time around may throw a wrench into that scenario as the vital Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf remains blockaded. Oil prices were higher on Monday as tensions between the U.S. and Iran were heightened in the key passageway. Notably, the S & P 500 energy sector underperformed the wider market in April, dropping more than 3%.
The quality of Big Tech earnings may not matter much right now as everyone gets swept up into the AI boom. But at some point, investors will be questioning how strong they really are.
The quality of Big Tech earnings may not matter much right now as everyone gets swept up into the AI boom. But at some point, investors will be questioning how strong they really are.
Europe will consider all retaliatory options should US President Donald Trump follow through on his threat to raise tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25%, the bloc’s finance ministers said. But, if possible, it would like to stick with an existing US-EU trade deal. “Our path is clear, we don’t want an escalation, we want a joint solution with the Americans,” said German Finance...
Europe will consider all retaliatory options should US President Donald Trump follow through on his threat to raise tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25%, the bloc’s finance ministers said. But, if possible, it would like to stick with an existing US-EU trade deal. “Our path is clear, we don’t want an escalation, we want a joint solution with the Americans,” said German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil , who is also vice-chancellor. However, he added, “we would be prepared if an escalation were to occur.” The spat has added to tensions over a much-delayed transatlantic trade pact. The two sides initially reached an agreement last July, but EU lawmakers have yet to ratify the pact as they seek further amendments. Trump claimed on Friday that the EU had failed to fully comply with a trade pact. Read More: Trump Vows 25% Tariff on European Autos in Escalating Trade Rift Officials — commenting ahead of a meeting of euro-area finance chiefs in Brussels — refuted that on Monday, arguing the bloc was simply going through its legislative process and still wanted to adopt the deal. “Any other option is on the table if need be,” said French Finance Minister Roland Lescure . “But we want to focus on the deal we signed and to make sure that deal and only that deal is implemented.” Several ministers stressed the need to not overreact to any individual Trump threat, arguing it would only put further strain on the transatlantic trade relationship. “It’s very important to keep a cool head,” said Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen . He emphasized that the US-EU trade agreement is vital for the bloc, a sentiment echoed by his Belgian counterpart, Vincent Van Peteghem . Still, Lithuanian Finance Minister Kristupas Vaitiekunas cautioned that Europe must be prepared, given Trump has years left in office. “Pressure from both sides will be constant during this administration,” he said. “We will be in this game for the whole term of President Trump and we have to find c...
Earnings season gathered pace this week, with a busy stretch that saw 32 companies out of 79 in the S&P 500’s industrials sector ( XLI ) report quarterly results, with the majority delivering earnings beats driven by strength in infrastructure, aerospace, and electrification demand. Year to date, XLI has gained just 12.42%, outperforming the broader S&P 500 index's 5.31% gains over the same period...
Earnings season gathered pace this week, with a busy stretch that saw 32 companies out of 79 in the S&P 500’s industrials sector ( XLI ) report quarterly results, with the majority delivering earnings beats driven by strength in infrastructure, aerospace, and electrification demand. Year to date, XLI has gained just 12.42%, outperforming the broader S&P 500 index's 5.31% gains over the same period. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund has pulled back roughly 9–10% from its recent highs, as investor sentiment toward the industrials sector weakened amid rising concerns over trade policy uncertainty, elevated valuations, and broader macroeconomic risks. Out of 32 industrial companies analyzed, 26 beat both earnings and revenue estimates, underscoring solid demand across key segments. Only one missed on both metrics, while a few delivered mixed results, including three that missed earnings but beat revenue. Just one company reported in-line earnings, reflecting limited neutral outcomes in an otherwise strong quarter. 24 of the 32 S&P 500 industrial companies reported both year-over-year earnings per share and revenue growth. Below are the latest quarterly reports from five key companies in the industrials sector this week: United Parcel Service ( UPS ) reported mixed but better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $1.07, beating estimates by $0.05. Revenue came in at $21.55B, ahead of expectations by about $228M, though earnings declined from $1.49 a year ago. The performance reflects resilient shipping demand and pricing discipline, even as margins remained under pressure. Caterpillar ( CAT ) posted standout results, reporting EPS of $5.54, beating estimates by $0.90 and up from $4.25 last year. Revenue climbed to $17.42B, compared with $14.25B a year ago, exceeding expectations by $977M. The upside was fueled by strength across construction industries and energy & transportation segments. Waste Management ( WM ) reported mixed first-quarter results, with...
‘The man is the establishment, I suppose, the military industrial complex. A few year later, when we played it live, we added a loop of Bill Hicks saying: “All governments are liars and murderers”’ Gruff was the first person I ever met who could just churn out songs – good, catchy ones. I joined his band Ffa Coffi Pawb, but by 1992 they’d split and Gruff and I were living in Cardiff, as were Bunf,...
‘The man is the establishment, I suppose, the military industrial complex. A few year later, when we played it live, we added a loop of Bill Hicks saying: “All governments are liars and murderers”’ Gruff was the first person I ever met who could just churn out songs – good, catchy ones. I joined his band Ffa Coffi Pawb, but by 1992 they’d split and Gruff and I were living in Cardiff, as were Bunf, Guto and my brother Cian, the other future Furries. We started out doing techno sets, and I had a little home studio where we demoed ideas for songs. Our first singer, the actor Rhys Ifans, slept on a mattress in the corner. Continue reading...