Key Points AI is adding new momentum to the nuclear industry. Oklo and NuScale are two pure plays in this field. But one of them today has a clear advantage. 10 stocks we like better than Oklo › Through 2030, energy demand in the United States is expected to grow by 4% annually. But here's the thing: most of that growth will be driven by the construction of data centers to support the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Data centers energy demand as a percentage of total energy demand in the U.S. is expected to grow from 4.3% in 2024 to 11.7% by 2030. The biggest winners of this transition may not be data center companies or AI start-ups. The real winners could be small modular reactor (SMR) businesses like Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) and NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR). These companies, which design and manufacture miniature nuclear reactors, could supply the data center and AI industries with clean burning, highly scalable power sources not reliant on any conventional power grid. 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 » Should you trust your money with Oklo or NuScale? The answer might surprise you. Oklo vs. NuScale Power: the choice is clear Before we dive in, it's important to understand where small modular reactors stand in terms of their practical viability. According to a recent report from Goldman Sachs, "the next nuclear age will look different from the last." The report goes on to say that "small modular reactors (SMRs) are shaping what the revival of traditional nuclear fission could look like...These technologies, long brushed off as too far from commercialization, are now drawing significant public and private sector support." SMR technology has been in development for more than 20 years. Only a handful of small projects are in commercial operation globally. The issues that have plagued SMR...

核心要点 莱昂纳多公布中期计划与目标，包括到 2030 年实现利润翻倍，推动股价一度上涨 9%。 莱茵金属周三表示，预计 2026 年销售额将增长 40% 至 45%。 全球地缘政治紧张局势升级、伊朗战争已进入第 13 天，市场再度聚焦国防企业。 意大利国防企业 莱昂纳多 周四表示，公司正处于 强劲增长轨道 上。与此前俄乌战争带来的利好一样，欧洲军工企业正从伊朗冲突中获得更多业务。 莱昂纳多宣布计划 到 2030 年实现利润翻倍 ；就在前一天，德国军工同行 莱茵金属 也预测今年销售额最高可增长 45%。两家企业目前均手握 创纪录的订单积压量 。 莱昂纳多首席执行官罗伯托・钦戈拉尼对投资者表示，战争正变得 “更快速、更危险” ，并警告混合型威胁正在上升，这会 “加剧不确定性与作战复杂性”。 莱茵金属称，在伊朗战争背景下，公司处于 为美国提供军备的有利位置 。首席执行官阿尔明・帕佩格对投资者表示：“未来 10 年，（市场）对我们产品的需求将极为巨大。” 不过在发布业绩指引后，莱茵金属股价下跌 8%。杰富瑞分析师称该预期 “务实但偏温和” ，并表示投资者对该股期望过高 —— 自 2022 年初以来，其股价已累计上涨 1700%。 已进入第 13 天的伊朗战争，让市场再度聚焦国防板块。无论具体业务方向如何，行业内企业的需求均在上升。 莱昂纳多将自身定位为 数字化国防企业 ，重点投资国防电子与联网作战平台，例如类似以色列 “铁穹” 的 “米开朗基罗穹顶” 防空反导系统。莱茵金属则是坦克、弹药等陆战装备的领先供应商。 瑞典 萨博 专注于战斗机；英国 BAE 系统 是欧洲营收与市值最高的防务集团，产品线覆盖从核潜艇到 “台风” 战斗机的各类军事装备。 2021 年至 2025 年期间： 莱茵金属、莱昂纳多、BAE 系统、法国泰雷兹、德国亨索尔特、瑞典萨博的 年均营收平均增长 57% ； 这些企业的 新增订单量同期均大幅增长 ，预示未来销售额仍将走高； 莱茵金属与萨博增幅最为惊人，分别达 323% 和 284% （基于 2025 年未经审计数据）； 行业平均新增订单增长 135% ，泰雷兹增长 27%。 巴克莱分析师本周早些时候将莱昂纳多评级从 中性上调至增持 ，称美伊冲突短期内利好国防行业高景气逻辑，而莱昂纳多的盈利增长势头优于同行。 他们补充道，莱昂纳多业务多元化、且对俄乌冲突...

Centuries before the rise of the Inca Empire, a much smaller kingdom on the central coast of Peru already had a sophisticated trade network—one it used to import live parrots across the Andes from the Amazon rainforest. Australian National University conservation geneticist George Olah and his colleagues recently studied feathers from a headdress in a Ychsman noble’s tomb, dating to 1100–1400 CE (the centuries before the rise of the Inca Empire). DNA and chemical isotopes reveal that the parrots the feathers came from (still bright blue, yellow, and green after all these centuries) were born in the wild on the far side of the Andes but kept in captivity somewhere on the Peruvian coast. To pull off importing live parrots from hundreds of miles away across the steep, towering Andes, the Ychsma (who the Inca annexed around 1470) must have had a far-reaching trade network that spanned at least half a continent. And they must have really liked birds. Read full article Comments

ZenSaBi/E+ via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Invesco Main Street Mid Cap Fund Q4 2025 Commentary . Portfolio positioning We maintain our valuation discipline and our focus on companies with competitive advantages and skilled management teams that we believe are executing better than their peers. These companies historically tend to have higher profit margins and returns on invested capital, rising market shares and consistently strong pricing power. As of quarter end, all sector weights were within +/- 3% of the Russell Midcap Index. The largest additions to the fund during the quarter included the following: Take-Two Interactive Software ( TTWO ) is a leading video game developer and publisher that we believe offers an attractive risk/reward profile, supported by its strong franchises and growth potential in interactive entertainment. Tractor Supply ( TSCO ) is a leading retailer of rural and lifestyle products. We initiated a position after recent share weakness created a compelling entry point, in our view. Carlyle Group ( CG ) is a leading alternative investment manager that has delivered strong results under CEO Harvey Schwartz; we believe the stock remains undervalued relative to industry peers. Datadog ( DDOG ) is a leading provider of cloud monitoring and security solutions that we believe is positioned for above-average growth as enterprises migrate workloads to the cloud. Yum! Brands ( YUM ) has outperformed peers in same-store sales at Taco Bell and KFC; we see additional upside as management has prioritized its strongest brands while reviewing strategic options for its lagging Pizza Hut segment. Positions sold during the quarter included the following: Tyler Technologies ( TYL ) was sold because the software provider’s revenue growth has decelerated, which reduced our conviction in its upside potential. Blue Owl Capital ( OWL ), an alternatives investment manager, was sold in favor of businesses that have more diversified expo...

Nvidia (NVDA) Beats, But Is AI Capex Peaking? NAI500

Artificial intelligence (AI) data centers require more than just powerful processors. They also depend on enormous amounts of high-performance memory and other data storage hardware to hold and rapidly deliver the massive datasets demanded by complex AI workloads. In fact, the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market is projected to grow from around $35 billion in 2025 to around $100 billion by 2028. HBM is a specialized type of DRAM memory; when it's placed close to GPUs in AI accelerators, it can transfer data to those processor chips at the extremely rapid speeds required when training and running AI models. Micron Technology (MU 3.03%) is well positioned to benefit from this opportunity. As one of the world's largest suppliers of DRAM and NAND memory chips, it's seeing rising demand as AI models grow more complex. AI-powered tailwinds Memory demand is far outpacing available supply. In fact, during Micron's latest earnings call, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra claimed that several key customers could only acquire enough to meet half to two-thirds of their needs. Expand NASDAQ : MU Micron Technology Today's Change ( -3.03 %) $ -12.69 Current Price $ 406.00 Key Data Points Market Cap $471B Day's Range $ 396.69 - $ 413.64 52wk Range $ 61.54 - $ 455.50 Volume 878K Avg Vol 35M Gross Margin 45.53 % Dividend Yield 0.11 % A key driver of this demand is HBM. Micron has already begun high-volume production of its next-generation HBM4 memory, which delivers a speed of 11 gigabits per second. Shipment volumes of HBM4 are ramping up in the current quarter, one quarter earlier than previously predicted. All the HBM that it will be able to produce in calendar 2026 has already been sold in advance. In the face of a widening supply-demand mismatch, customers are increasingly seeking multiyear supply agreements with volume commitments. These factors give Micron impressive long-term revenue visibility. Additionally, since HBM requires more wafer capacity than traditional DRAM, rising demand is affe...

Plans for a new datacentre in Lincolnshire have been approved, despite warnings it could be a major new source of emissions. On Wednesday, North Lincolnshire council voted unanimously to approve planning permission for the Elsham Tech Park, a proposed AI datacentre campus near Scunthorpe, next to the Elsham Wolds industrial estate. According to the tech justice nonprofit Foxglove, the projected emissions produced will approach those generated by every domestic flight taken in the UK. Council documents estimate the proposed datacentre’s “peak annual scope 2 emissions”, or indirect greenhouse gases from generating electricity, will reach about 1m tonnes of CO 2 equivalent in 2033-34. All of the UK’s domestic flights total 1.2m tonnes of CO 2 equivalent. The council concluded that, despite the “large absolute energy demand” of the development, the impact of emissions was not significant due to the datacentre’s proximity to clean energy sources in the Humber region. According to Elsham Tech Park, construction is expected to begin in 2027, with a view to opening some parts of the campus in 2029. It plans to create up to 15 datacentre buildings across the site, generating up to 1GW of computing capacity, making it one of the largest datacentres proposed in the UK. Concerns remain about the feasibility of this level of power generation. A separate AI project by the tech firm Nscale was meant to build a datacentre that could provide 50MW of AI capacity – with a view to upgrading to 90MW. However, a Guardian investigation has found that, nine months before it is due to be completed, it remains a scaffolding yard in Essex. Elsham Tech Park claims the centre will create up to 900 long-term jobs and could attract up to £10bn of private investment, as well as giving priority to local businesses for supply chain opportunities. “The numbers attached to this project are eye-watering – almost hard to get your head around,” said Rob Waltham, the leader of North Lincolnshire council, ...

Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock MarketBeat

In Cortina d’Ampezzo, the thaw is on. With daytime temperatures reaching double figures in celsius, snow is disappearing from the hillsides and the “torrenti” of ice melt have started to flow once again. Traditionally a time of year when snowfall can be at its heaviest, there has been none since the Winter Paralympics began. The Games have not been insulated from the consequences. Last weekend the course at the Cortina snowboard park, about 1,450m above sea level, had to be redesigned the night before competition because it had proved too dangerous in training due to snow melting then refreezing overnight as ice. That did not stop multiple crashes the following day, with the British athlete Davy Zyw one of those to end up in hospital, with broken ribs. In the men’s seated downhill event on Monday, 11 of the 23 starters failed to finish with the conditions generally described as “slush”. In a TikTok post, the US para snowboarder Amy Purdy articulated the thoughts of many athletes: “I don’t believe that the Paralympics should be happening right now,” she said. The Winter Paralympics have not been staged any earlier than the first half of March this century. It is not the timings that have changed but the climate. According to the US non-profit Climate Central, the average March temperature in Cortina has risen by 2.5 degrees celsius in the 50 years since the Winter Paralympic Games was first staged. While the group estimates that 52 out of 93 potential sites for the Winter Olympics would still remain viable by 2050, only 22 out of 93 would be viable in March. The long-predicted squeeze of winter sports by rising global temperatures is happening now and the Paralympics are being hit first. Asked about the possibility of bringing the event forward in future, into the more reliably cold months of January of February, the IPC said such a shift might not be possible. “We know that climate change is affecting the world, and that’s why we’re organising, committing ourselves ...

Moby summary of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.'s Q4 2025 earnings call

伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书拉里贾尼当地时间3月12日在谈及美国总统特朗普“必须迅速赢得这场战争”的表态时指出，发动战争容易，但结束战争并非通过几条推文就能实现。拉里贾尼表示，战争一旦开始，其结束并非轻而易举。他还强调，伊朗决不会轻易放过对方。(CCTV国际时讯)

jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction The last time I covered Dollar General ( DG ), I highlighted their attractive valuation and significant expansion, proving their resilience and ability to grow in such a distressed consumer environment while others are struggling. Despite falling following their latest earnings report, DG is advancing on their debt repayments, improving their fundamentals while advancing on their significant expansion domestically and in Mexico, potentially getting back to significant buybacks soon. Internal Developments Dollar General IR DG reported a strong Q4 and 2025 as a whole, beating the market’s top- and bottom-line estimates by quite a bit, with cash flow from operations growing by a whopping ~21.3% YoY, with the free cash flow reaching $2.39 billion in 2025, which is ~41.93% higher than 2024’s ~$1.69 billion - all while also reducing their debt significantly. Dollar General IR The stock fell however as a result of the guidance, despite it not being that bad, with DG expecting a 3.7% to 4.2% increase in net sales and 2.2% to 2.7% growth in same-store sales, while the EPS would reach between $7.10 to $7.35, which takes into account a ~$0.13 hit from the expiration of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit at the end of 2025, representing a 3.65% to 7.30% increase YoY, which is not bad compared to the $6.85 seen in 2025, although that was a 34.1% increase compared to the $5.11 seen in 2024. Meanwhile, CAPEX is expected to reach $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion, a significant jump from their $1.24 billion in 2025, as DG reiterated its plans to execute ~4730 real estate projects this year, which includes ~450 store openings in the US and ~10 in Mexico, while the long-term targets expect 3.5% to 4% net sales growth alongside a ~10% EPS growth rate, ~2% new unit growth, and CAPEX of around 3% of their net sales. Dollar General IR Financially, based on DG’s latest report , we continue to see a strong position, with current assets co...

Football is weird and so are people – that’s one reason we’re all here. But even by the standard, Aston Villa are in the midst of a weird season, still with plenty of scope for epochal glory and abject failure. They opened the season poorly, failing to win in their first six games, but from there, Unai Emery’s men went on a run of 17 from 19, playing not that well, before the Ghost of xG past began its haunting; the following 15 fixtures yielded just six victories and they arrive at this one having lost three and drawn one of their last four. As such, the Champions League spot that looked almost certain to be theirs is now in serious jeopardy, while tonight’s tie, against the sixth-best team in Ligue 1, looks a lot more losable that would previously have been the case. It’s not difficult to grasp why: any team would miss players as good as Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans, never mind at the same time, with Matt E. Cash freshly absent. But, at the same time, this doesn’t explain why they’ve scored nine goals fewer than the next-worst in the Premier League top six, while the home tousing they took from Chelsea last time out highlighted their vulnerability to channel-balls in behind, the issue systemic rather than one of personnel. However, club captain John McGinn is fit again, his return bringing an uplift as much mental as technical, and with attackers as talented as Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendía in their XI, they’re always a game away from clicking. They know that, in form, they’ve a serious shot at immortality but, out of it, only regret and shame await. And because football and people are weird, those of us without skin in the game now get to enjoy watching them squirm. Kick-off: 5.45pm GMT

当前，ai智能体（886099）商业化落地进程加速，下游应用场景需求集中释放，直接带动算力需求呈爆发式增长，算力租赁（886050）热度随之显著提升。3月12日，算力租赁（886050）概念板块表现活跃。截至当日收盘，宏景科技（301396）股份有限公司、中国能源建设（HK3996）股份有限公司等多只概念股涨停，北京国联视讯信息技术股份有限公司、北京慧辰资道资讯股份有限公司(以下简称“慧辰股份（688500）”)等个股跟涨。“算力租赁（886050）有望成为缓解当前AI算力供给缺口的重要方案，其能快速匹配AI企业的短期算力需求，尤其是对缺乏足够资金和技术能力自建数据中心的中小企业而言，可大幅降低前期投资成本。同时，也能提升整体算力资源的利用效率，避免算力浪费。”中关村物联网（885312）产业联盟副秘书长袁帅对记者表示。与此同时，租赁价格上涨成为市场后续发展需要关注的重点问题。(证券日报)

Oracle (ORCL) Sees Citigroup Raise Price Target to $320 | ORCL S GuruFocus

核心要点 美联储主席提名人凯文・沃什正会晤更多议员以争取支持，但其迅速获得参议院批准的前景，如同华盛顿的天气一样黯淡。 若北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆・蒂利斯在银行委员会投票反对将提名提交参议院全体表决，沃什几乎不可能获得参议院全体投票机会。 美联储主席杰罗姆・鲍威尔称，针对他的联邦刑事调查，源于他与其他美联储成员拒绝按特朗普总统要求快速、大幅降息。 美联储主席提名人凯文・沃什 周四，美联储主席提名人凯文・沃什继续会晤更多参议员以争取支持，但其迅速获得参议院批准的前景，如同华盛顿的天气一样黯淡。 “今天天气看起来不太好，” 沃什在哈特参议院办公大楼外大雨倾盆时，对 CNBC 记者打趣道。当时他正前往与南达科他州共和党参议员迈克・朗兹会面。 当被问及会晤进展时，沃什表示：“一切进展顺利，很高兴见到你。” 沃什由特朗普总统提名的进程陷入停滞，原因是北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员、银行委员会成员汤姆・蒂利斯实施了事实上的阻挠。该委员会是沃什等美联储理事候选人需跨越的第一道关卡。 蒂利斯誓言，只要针对美联储主席杰罗姆・鲍威尔的刑事调查仍在进行，就将投票反对将沃什或其他任何美联储提名人的提名提交参议院全体表决。 鲍威尔称，美国司法部的刑事调查，是因为他与其他美联储理事拒绝按特朗普要求快速、大幅降息。 蒂利斯的立场可能导致，直到鲍威尔明年 1 月任期结束退休前，沃什都无法获得参议院投票以确认其出任美联储主席。 责任编辑：郭明煜

Medicare Advantage 'dark money' group tries to win higher payments for insurers toggle caption Eric Harkleroad/KFF Health News Judging by more than 16,300 comments recently posted on a federal government website, you'd think there was a groundswell of older Americans demanding that federal officials hike payments to their Medicare Advantage health insurance plans. Yet about 83% of the comments are identical to a letter that appeared on the website of a secretive advocacy group called Medicare Advantage Majority, a data analysis by KFF Health News has found. The " dark money " group does not reveal its funders or much else — other than to say it is "dedicated to protecting and strengthening Medicare Advantage" and is "powered by hundreds of thousands of local advocates nationwide." Sponsor Message "Our campaign provides information and offers tools for concerned Americans to use to reach decision makers," spokesperson Darren Grubb said in an email. The group has spent more than $3.1 million on hundreds of Facebook ads since September 2024, according to Facebook's Ad Library , a database of the social media company's online ads. There's no doubt health insurers are unhappy with a January proposal from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS to keep Medicare Advantage reimbursement rates essentially flat in 2027 — far less than they expected from the Trump administration. Medicare Advantage plans differ from traditional Medicare because private insurance companies administer them. The insurance plans enroll about 35 million members, more than half the people eligible for Medicare. The plans offer things like vision and drug coverage, but Medicare Advantage insurers restrict the hospitals and doctors that patients can use and require prior approval for various procedures. CMS, is set to announce a final decision by early next month on the rate proposal. The agency solicited public comments on the proposal from Jan. 26 through Feb. 25 to give interested part...

Oracle Corporation ORCL delivered a significant performance in its fiscal third-quarter 2026 results, with shares rising more than 10% in extended trading after a period of underperformance. Shares of Oracle have lost 45.9% over the past six months, underperforming the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s appreciation of 2.3% and the Zacks Computer - Software industry’s 25.4% decline. For the quarter ended Feb. 28, 2026, total revenues reached $17.2 billion, up 22% year over year in dollar terms. Non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.79 and topped the consensus estimate by 5.29%. This marked the first quarter in over 15 years where organic total revenues and non-GAAP EPS both grew at 20% or more. Despite the impressive headline numbers, investors weighing whether to jump in now or wait may benefit from a measured look at the full picture. ORCL Underperforms Industry, Sector in 6-Month Period Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Cloud and AI Infrastructure Drive the Beat Cloud was the clear standout in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. Total cloud revenues surged 44% year over year to $8.9 billion, with cloud infrastructure (IaaS) revenues leaping 84% to $4.9 billion — an acceleration from 68% growth in the prior quarter. NetSuite Cloud ERP revenues grew 14% to $1.1 billion. The quarter's most striking figure was Oracle's Remaining Performance Obligations, which climbed to $553 billion, up 325% year over year and $29 billion higher than the prior quarter. A large portion of this backlog came from structured AI-related contracts, so that customers either prepay or supply their own GPUs, meaningfully reducing Oracle's upfront capital requirements. Guidance Signals Sustained Momentum Management's guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 projects total revenue growth of 19% to 21% in USD and cloud revenue growth of 46% to 50%. Non-GAAP EPS for the quarter is expected between $1.96 and $2. For fiscal-year 2026, Oracle maintained its revenue target of $67 billion alongside...

A global coalition of law enforcement agencies shut down a botnet made of tens of thousands of hacked home and small business routers on Wednesday. The operation targeted SocksEscort, which offered paid proxy services and was built on a botnet of hacked routers used to commit various crimes, such as hacking into victims’ bank and cryptocurrency accounts, and to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, according to an announcement published on Thursday by the Justice Department. The DOJ said the crimes facilitated by SocksEscort cost Americans millions of dollars. Europol said in its announcement of the operation that the SocksEscort botnet allegedly compromised more than 369,000 routers and Internet of Things devices in 163 countries, and that the infected routers “have been disconnected from the service.” The law enforcement agency said SocksEscort was used to facilitate ransomware, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). “Customers of the criminal service paid for licences to abuse these infected devices, hiding their original IP addresses to engage in various criminal activities,” said Europol. “Upon infection with the malware, the modems’ owners would not be aware that their IP addresses were used for illegitimate activities.” The content of the SocksEscort official website was replaced by a notice announcing the seizure, as part of the law enforcement operation. The botnet was composed of around 280,000 routers since last January, and was powered by malware called AVRecon, according to cybersecurity firm Black Lotus Labs, which tracked SocksEscort and worked with law enforcement in the takedown operation “This botnet posed a significant threat, as it was marketed exclusively to criminals,” the company wrote in its post about the takedown. “Notably, over half of its victims were located in the United States or the United Kingdom, enabling attackers to conduct highly targeted operations.” In ...

PashaIgnatov/iStock via Getty Images Oil and Inflation Uncertainty Increase Dollar Pressure Oil markets have delivered the first dramatic move of 2026, with crude surging roughly 35%, its fastest one-week increase in history. Investors are now pricing in the possibility of a widening conflict with Iran and an extended disruption of nearly 25% of global oil supplies shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Such a supply shock threatens to push energy prices higher and revive inflation pressures that had been moderating. As a result, expectations for Federal Reserve cuts are being pushed into the second half of 2026, rather than earlier in the year. Kalshi Traders Higher energy prices and higher-for-longer interest rates can combine to support a stronger U.S. dollar. While geopolitical conditions remain volatile and uncertain, and this week’s CPI inflation reading not yet factoring in higher energy prices, investors seeking to hedge against a strengthening dollar can consider sectors that have historically performed well in this environment. Some of these market segments include defense contractors, domestic infrastructure and engineering firms, aerospace suppliers, and specialized industrial manufacturers with strong U.S. revenue exposure. How I Chose the Best Strong Dollar Stocks To find the best strong dollar stocks, I used the Seeking Alpha Stock Screener and added the Sector & Industry filter. This enabled me to sort for Industrials and Materials sectors and seek out industries, such as Aluminum, Construction and Engineering, and Aerospace and Defense. I then sought out only Strong Buy Quant-rated stocks and narrowed down to the five best in diverse categories and market caps. 1. Constellium SE ( CSTM ) Market Capitalization: $3.42B Quant Rating: Strong Buy Quant Sector Ranking (as of 03/12/2026): 17 out of 281 Quant Industry Ranking (as of 03/12/2026): 2 out of 5 Sector: Materials Industry: Aluminum Seeking Alpha Constellium is a global manufacturer of aluminum pr...

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Wednesday's key moments. 1. The Dow plunged more than 500 points on Thursday as oil prices continued to surge after Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said the Strait of Hormuz would stay closed. Brent crude briefly hit $100 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude traded at $90 per barrel. The S & P 500 Short Range Oscillator , Jim Cramer's favorite market gauge, is moving deeper into oversold territory, which usually signals that stocks are ready for a bounce. But with oil still rising, investors aren't stepping in to buy, Cramer explained. 2. Linde's shares are higher as investors view the company as a beneficiary of any helium shortages tied to the Iran war. Linde said the Middle East conflict is neutral to net positive. As supply shortages occur, Linde could raise its prices. On the less favorable side of the equation is Qnity, which is down 7%. Any shortage of helium could hit markets such as semiconductors, aerospace, and electronics manufacturing. "Qnity remains a win," said Jim, adding that investors should ride things out. Qnity's decline, however, is one of the reasons that the Club prefers to "sell into parabolic moves," said Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the Club. Indeed, we trimmed our position on Feb. 20 after the stock had run up 40% year to date. 3. Corning shares fell 2%, despite Bank of America raising its price target to $144 from $120. After redoing their analysis of the scale-out opportunity for Corning, analysts said it is much larger than they had thought. Scale-out references the connections made between racks throughout the data center. "People are ignoring it because the stock has gone up so much," said Jim. "I understand that, but it remains one of our biggest wins." Shares of Corning are up 48% in 2026. 4. Stocks covered in Wednesday's rapid fire at the end of the video were: Di...

In 2008, Apple introduced the App Store and quietly created an entirely new business model. The iPhone was already a runaway success but opening it up to third party applications transformed a product into a platform with a growing ecosystem of services that could be integrated into something customers already used every day. The same lesson applies to commerce today. Digital payments was focussed on enabling merchants to accept cards online, but that’s a challenge that has largely been solved. So now the opportunity lies in maximising what can happen the moment a payment takes place – whether that’s delivering extra value or stepping up convenience – the aim is to add new functionality and strengthen the relationship with customers. Embedded finance has been around for years so the concept isn’t particularly new, but discussions persist as technology and expectations evolve. What was once a strategic ideal is now becoming reality. Embedded payments are the starting point Today’s customers simply expect their payment to work which is raising the bar for merchants – frictionless checkout therefore is critical. Payment flows that redirect customers to external banking pages or require manual steps are outdated, with studies showing that nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before purchase, typically because checkout was slow, confusing, or had hidden costs. Speed and simplicity are expected, and payment choice is key. A recent survey found that 77% of UK shoppers expect payments to complete almost instantly, and 58% want one-click checkout – otherwise they’ll abandon their cart. Credit cards, digital wallets, account to account transfers and buy now pay later options all compete for attention, with another study reporting that 75% of buyers say having their preferred payment method turns a “would-be” buyer into a paying customer. Payment acceptance therefore isn’t a differentiator but the foundation on which the commerce experience is built. Embedding fin...

Fertilizer markets are tightening as the escalating conflict in the Middle East threatens global supplies of nitrogen-based crop nutrients, boosting companies such as CF Industries Holdings Inc. , the world’s largest producer of ammonia. CF Industries shares rose as much as 14%, the biggest intraday jump since 2020, to a record high on Thursday. The Illinois-based company controls nearly 40% of the North American nitrogen fertilizer market, while Nutrien Ltd. — which climbed 7.6% to the highest price in more than three years — controls another 22%. CF Industries is a major producer of urea, a widely-used nitrogen fertilizer applied to corn and other crops, as well as the ammonia needed to manufacture it. Nearly half of global urea exports, and about 30% of ammonia shipments, come from countries vulnerable to disruptions in the Middle East. Risks to nitrogen-based fertilizers are rising as the war in Iran also pushes up prices for natural gas, a key input for ammonia production. Granular urea prices in both the US Gulf region and Egypt climbed to their highest since 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine snarled supply chains, per data compiled by Bloomberg Green Markets. “Urea availability remains in serious trouble, near-term,” Scotiabank analysts Ben Isaacson and Lucy Zhou wrote in a note earlier this week. “CF must remain the #1 long trade, over all others for now.” Read more: Slovakia’s Top Fertilizer Plant Cuts Ammonia Output as Gas Soars Jefferies Llc analyst Laurence Alexander on Thursday raised his price target for Nutrien by nearly 30% to $96, noting that while the North American producer is “geographically insulated from fighting, the conflict has forced domestic spot prices higher as the spring planting season begins.” Shares in Oslo-based Yara International ASA , which trades about a third of the world’s ammonia, also reached a record high. Mosaic Co. primarily makes other types of fertilizer but does sell some urea-ammonium nitrate. Its shares gained a...

Grammarly released a controversial feature last week that uses AI to simulate editorial feedback, making it seem like you’re getting a critique from novelist Stephen King, the late scientist Carl Sagan, or tech journalist Kara Swisher. But Grammarly did not get permission from the hundreds of experts it included in this feature, called “Expert Review,” to use their names. One of the affected writers, journalist Julia Angwin, has filed a class action lawsuit against Superhuman, the parent company that owns Grammarly, arguing that the company violated the privacy and publicity rights of her and the other writers it impersonated. A class action lawsuit allows writers to join Angwin in her case. “I have worked for decades honing my skills as a writer and editor, and I am distressed to discover that a tech company is selling an imposter version of my hard-earned expertise,” Angwin said in a statement. The situation is more than a little ironic — Angwin has spent her career leading investigations into tech companies’ impacts on privacy. Other critics of this kind of technology, like renowned AI ethicist Timnit Gebru, were also included in Grammarly’s “expert review.” The “expert review” feature, available only to subscribers paying $144 a year, predictably fails to deliver on the promise of thoughtful feedback. Casey Newton, the founder and editor of the tech newsletter Platformer and another person impersonated by Grammarly, fed one of his articles into the tool and got feedback from Grammarly’s approximation of tech journalist Kara Swisher. Grammarly’s imitation of Swisher produced “feedback” so generic that it raises the question of why the company would go through the rigmarole of using these writers’ likenesses in the first place. Here is what Grammarly’s approximation of Kara Swisher told him: “Could you briefly compare how daily AI users versus AI skeptics articulate risk, creating a through-line readers can follow?” Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosyste...