The three major U.S. stock indexes moved higher by midday Thursday, though the gains were uneven. The themes of the day were earnings reports, oil prices, and artificial intelligence (AI). As usual, right? Continue reading
The three major U.S. stock indexes moved higher by midday Thursday, though the gains were uneven. The themes of the day were earnings reports, oil prices, and artificial intelligence (AI). As usual, right? Continue reading
OpenAI is launching additional opt-in protections for ChatGPT accounts. The new security initiative includes a new partnership with security key provider Yubico.
OpenAI is launching additional opt-in protections for ChatGPT accounts. The new security initiative includes a new partnership with security key provider Yubico.
House Unanimously Approves Bill To End 76-Day DHS Shutdown, Sending Measure To Trump Well that was anticlimactic... On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved by voice vote a Senate-passed bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, clearing the way to end the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history after 76 days. The measure now heads to President Trump’s desk. T...
House Unanimously Approves Bill To End 76-Day DHS Shutdown, Sending Measure To Trump Well that was anticlimactic... On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved by voice vote a Senate-passed bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, clearing the way to end the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history after 76 days. The measure now heads to President Trump’s desk. The shutdown, which began February 14, will officially conclude once the president signs the legislation into law. Democrats had long objected to funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol - the two DHS agencies at the center of the administration’s immigration crackdown - prompting the impasse. The Senate unanimously passed legislation last month to fund the remainder of DHS, but House Republicans initially rejected the plan, arguing it would amount to caving to Democratic demands to defund the president’s immigration agenda. After weeks of negotiations, House Speaker Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and President Trump settled on a two-track solution. The first track - immediate House passage of the Senate bill - will reopen the broader department. The second track will fund ICE and Border Patrol through the budget reconciliation process, allowing Republicans to advance the measure without Senate Democratic support. Both chambers took the first formal step toward reconciliation this week by adopting a budget plan that directs the relevant committees to draft legislation funding the immigration enforcement agencies. President Trump has said he wants the full reconciliation package on his desk by June 1. The president ordered DHS to redirect funds to cover employee payroll in March, but Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned that money for payroll would run out by the beginning of May, intensifying pressure on lawmakers to act. ICE and Border Patrol have been largely insulated from the shutdown’s effects. Both agencies receive...
iamporpla/iStock via Getty Images Nutrien ( NTR ) up 3% in Thursday's trading as Bank of America upgraded the world's largest producer of potash and second-largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer to Buy from Neutral with an $82 price target, calling it "a best-in-class operator in an agriculture
iamporpla/iStock via Getty Images Nutrien ( NTR ) up 3% in Thursday's trading as Bank of America upgraded the world's largest producer of potash and second-largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer to Buy from Neutral with an $82 price target, calling it "a best-in-class operator in an agriculture
Apple reports fiscal second-quarter earnings Thursday after the bell, and something unusual is happening in its options market. One measure of downside risk has fallen precipitously in the past five weeks as traders turn bullish and it has done so heading directly into the earnings print. Traders are ready for fireworks. Apple's average one-day move following earnings has been 2.2% over the past 1...
Apple reports fiscal second-quarter earnings Thursday after the bell, and something unusual is happening in its options market. One measure of downside risk has fallen precipitously in the past five weeks as traders turn bullish and it has done so heading directly into the earnings print. Traders are ready for fireworks. Apple's average one-day move following earnings has been 2.2% over the past 12 quarters but options imply that this cycle's move will be nearly 3.6%. Bracing for a larger-than-normal move makes sense if you're worried about how higher oil prices might impact consumer spending on Apple's devices or have questions about the transition from Tim Cook to John Ternus. Tariff uncertainty around components sourced out of China and the broader question of where iPhone demand goes in the back half of the calendar year give traders plenty of reason to pay up for protection going into the print. But while the option market is predicting the move will be larger than normal, one metric gives insight into what that market is saying about direction and the message is good news. RiskDex is the measure of how expensive AAPL put options are relative to call options and it has fallen precipitously in the past five weeks (you can see the three-year chart of AAPL RiskDex below). On March 25, the reading was 2.92, the highest in the last three years, and at midday on Wednesday it had declined to 1.36 — a drop of more than 50%. That means traders are aggressively bidding for call options to get upside exposure while ignoring the put options that would hedge downside. The message from the option market is clear; traders expect good things from Apple this cycle. If you think the market is too optimistic about Apple and the company's guidance will recognize that crude oil above $100 a barrel could hurt iPhone sales, then shareholders could execute a collar (selling a covered call and using the proceeds to buy a protective put) to take advantage of expensive call options and r...
The US Congress on Thursday approved funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ending a record-breaking partial government shutdown that has disrupted critical agencies for more than two months. The House approved the measure, already passed by the Senate, sending it to US President Donald Trump for signature. It will fund key DHS agencies through the end of the financial year...
The US Congress on Thursday approved funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ending a record-breaking partial government shutdown that has disrupted critical agencies for more than two months. The House approved the measure, already passed by the Senate, sending it to US President Donald Trump for signature. It will fund key DHS agencies through the end of the financial year on September 30. It does not include new money for immigration and border enforcement, leaving...
Shares of attribute-focused, specialty grocery chain Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) are up 17% as of noon ET on Thursday following the company's excellent first-quarter earnings. While sales only inched 4% higher -- and earnings per share actually dipped 6% -- these figures outpaced Wall Street's low expectations. More importantly, management guided for full-year revenue growth of 5.5% and E...
Shares of attribute-focused, specialty grocery chain Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) are up 17% as of noon ET on Thursday following the company's excellent first-quarter earnings. While sales only inched 4% higher -- and earnings per share actually dipped 6% -- these figures outpaced Wall Street's low expectations. More importantly, management guided for full-year revenue growth of 5.5% and EPS of roughly $5.40, leaving the stock trading at just 15 times forward earnings, even after today's rise. With Sprouts' stock price already cut in half over the last year, the bar had been lowered a bit for the better-for-you grocer, and its resilience amid a challenging consumer-spending environment helped spark today's pop. After growing sales by double-digits for six straight quarters over the last two years -- before slowing to 7% and 4% in its last two earnings reports -- Sprouts is doing reasonably well lapping these tough comparables. While Sprouts only opened six new stores in Q1, raising its total count to 483 in 25 states, it plans to open at least 34 more over the next three quarters -- all easily funded from cash on hand and cash from operations. One of these six new locations was Sprouts' first in New York, which could offer huge potential if the company can "stick its landing" as it expands into the Northeast. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Decision follows backlash from Italian government and European Commission The jury of the Venice Biennale has quit just days before the prestigious art exhibition is due to begin, amid a row over the decision to allow Russia to participate. The resignation of the five-member international jury was announced late on Thursday in a brief statement by the Venice Biennale organisers, and came a day aft...
Decision follows backlash from Italian government and European Commission The jury of the Venice Biennale has quit just days before the prestigious art exhibition is due to begin, amid a row over the decision to allow Russia to participate. The resignation of the five-member international jury was announced late on Thursday in a brief statement by the Venice Biennale organisers, and came a day after the Italian culture ministry sent inspectors to Venice in search of information about the decision to allow Russia to have a pavilion at the event. Continue reading...
The AI boom is worsening a global memory chip shortage, which Samsung predicts will continue into 2027 Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported record quarterly profit driven by a 49-fold jump in chip income, saying it expects a severe supply shortage to deepen next year as clients spend on AI, driving up prices of its memory chips. A boom in the construction of AI datacentres has spurred Samsung ...
The AI boom is worsening a global memory chip shortage, which Samsung predicts will continue into 2027 Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported record quarterly profit driven by a 49-fold jump in chip income, saying it expects a severe supply shortage to deepen next year as clients spend on AI, driving up prices of its memory chips. A boom in the construction of AI datacentres has spurred Samsung and chipmaking peers to allocate production capacity to advanced chips that Nvidia uses in its so-called AI accelerators. Even so, chipmakers are struggling to meet demand while the move also squeezes the supply of conventional chips. Continue reading...
In a federal courtroom in California on Thursday, Elon Musk testified that his own AI startup, xAI, has used OpenAI's models to improve its own. The matter at question is model distillation, a common industry practice by which one larger AI model acts as a "teacher" of sorts to pass on knowledge to a smaller AI model, the "student." Although it's often used legitimately within companies using one ...
In a federal courtroom in California on Thursday, Elon Musk testified that his own AI startup, xAI, has used OpenAI's models to improve its own. The matter at question is model distillation, a common industry practice by which one larger AI model acts as a "teacher" of sorts to pass on knowledge to a smaller AI model, the "student." Although it's often used legitimately within companies using one of their own AI models to train another, it's also a practice that's sometimes used by smaller AI labs to try to get their models to mimic the performance of a larger competitor's model. Asked on the stand whether he knew what model distillation … Read the full story at The Verge.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest bought the sharp dip in Robinhood ( HOOD ) after the stock dropped ~12% following weaker-than-expected Q1 results. ARK Invest reportedly added nearly ~$39M worth of Robinhood shares across its three ETFs on Apr. 29. The biggest buy came from
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest bought the sharp dip in Robinhood ( HOOD ) after the stock dropped ~12% following weaker-than-expected Q1 results. ARK Invest reportedly added nearly ~$39M worth of Robinhood shares across its three ETFs on Apr. 29. The biggest buy came from