As AI hunger for data grows, analysts see massive gains for Seagate and Western Digital, though cloud spending shifts and tech delays could be major tripwires
As AI hunger for data grows, analysts see massive gains for Seagate and Western Digital, though cloud spending shifts and tech delays could be major tripwires
Scammers are using AI-generated videos of celebrities including Taylor Swift and Rihanna to promote shady services on TikTok, according to authentication company Copyleaks. The ads typically show celebrities in interview settings, such as red carpets, podcasts, or talk shows, and often manipulate real footage with AI, the company said. Many promote rewards programs claiming users can earn money by...
Scammers are using AI-generated videos of celebrities including Taylor Swift and Rihanna to promote shady services on TikTok, according to authentication company Copyleaks. The ads typically show celebrities in interview settings, such as red carpets, podcasts, or talk shows, and often manipulate real footage with AI, the company said. Many promote rewards programs claiming users can earn money by watching TikTok content and giving feedback. TikTok's official branding appears in some of the ads, though users are redirected to third-party services that ask for personal information. In one ad, a realistic AI avatar of Swift urges users to s … Read the full story at The Verge.
By analyzing layers in these teeth, scientists have pinpointed a critical window when baby brains are most vulnerable to toxic metals — and linked that to behavior problems later in life.
By analyzing layers in these teeth, scientists have pinpointed a critical window when baby brains are most vulnerable to toxic metals — and linked that to behavior problems later in life.
Zurich, April 29, 2026 – Hashdex AG, a leading global crypto-focused investing company, today announced it has published its financial statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2025. Hashdex is the issuer of exchange traded products (“ETPs”) listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and other trading venues. The financial statements are available at: https://hashdex.com/en-EU/document-center Abo...
Zurich, April 29, 2026 – Hashdex AG, a leading global crypto-focused investing company, today announced it has published its financial statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2025. Hashdex is the issuer of exchange traded products (“ETPs”) listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and other trading venues. The financial statements are available at: https://hashdex.com/en-EU/document-center About Hashdex Hashdex is a global crypto asset manager specializing in regulated, index-based investment solutions that provide diversified exposure to digital assets. With teams across the United States, Europe, and Latin America, and managing more than $1 billion in assets (as of April 15, 2026), the firm partners with leading institutions to deliver transparent, institutional-grade access to the crypto ecosystem through familiar investment structures.
LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Natural Health Trends Corp. (NASDAQ: NHTC), a leading direct-selling and e-commerce company that markets premium quality personal care, wellness and “quality of life” products under the NHT Global brand, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Natural Health Trends Corp. (NASDAQ: NHTC), a leading direct-selling and e-commerce company that markets premium quality personal care, wellness and “quality of life” products under the NHT Global brand, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
TAIPEI, Taiwan, April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Corporation Limited ("APWC" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: APWC) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025 and the April 29, 2026 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) of its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 (the ...
TAIPEI, Taiwan, April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Corporation Limited ("APWC" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: APWC) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025 and the April 29, 2026 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) of its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 (the “2025 Annual Report”).
Justin Paget/DigitalVision via Getty Images We cover many of the common stocks within the mREIT sector. We view them as carrying relatively high risk. Therefore, risk-averse investors or those looking to buy and hold should focus on preferred shares within the sector. Preferred shares offer a way to invest in the mREIT sector without taking on as much risk. Further, one of the perks of preferred s...
Justin Paget/DigitalVision via Getty Images We cover many of the common stocks within the mREIT sector. We view them as carrying relatively high risk. Therefore, risk-averse investors or those looking to buy and hold should focus on preferred shares within the sector. Preferred shares offer a way to invest in the mREIT sector without taking on as much risk. Further, one of the perks of preferred shares in this sector is that they have relatively high dividends. Dynex Capital ( DX ) Preferred Share Dynex Capital has one of the lowest-risk preferred shares in the sector, coming in at 1.5. DX-C ( DX.PR.C ) currently has a stripped yield of 9.32%: The REIT Forum Investors should favor looking at the stripped yield (over current yield) because it takes dividend accrual into account. DX-C has rallied over the last month and is in our hold range. The shares have a very respectable dividend yield relative to other options. The biggest risk to these preferred shares is the worst cash-to-call: The REIT Forum If shares were called today with the required 30-day notice, investors in DX-C would lose roughly $0.47 per share (compared to the current market price). If an investor has already been holding these shares and collecting dividends, a call wouldn’t hurt them too badly. However, if an investor were to purchase shares today and then have DX call them, they would face a material loss. DX-C Risk It’s important for investors to always be looking at the call risk of preferred shares. It’s highly unlikely that the company would call the shares if they were cheap and trading under call value. The company could simply buy them at the market price. That being said, when mortgage REITs call a preferred share, it generally works against current holders. Because of that, we expect the risk of a call to put a limit on how high the share price can go. It’s fairly rare to see a preferred share trading with call risk worse than -$0.40. For that reason alone, we believe investors should be...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images GM Fundamentals Intact Despite Gas Price, Geopolitical Headwinds Coming off a solid performance last year, the U.S. auto market entered Q1 2026 facing a more challenging macro backdrop marked by heightened geopolitical risk , tariff uncertainty, and consumer concerns over inflation. U.S. vehicle sales fell in the first three months of 2026 amid softer...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images GM Fundamentals Intact Despite Gas Price, Geopolitical Headwinds Coming off a solid performance last year, the U.S. auto market entered Q1 2026 facing a more challenging macro backdrop marked by heightened geopolitical risk , tariff uncertainty, and consumer concerns over inflation. U.S. vehicle sales fell in the first three months of 2026 amid softer demand driven by inclement weather, loss of EV credits, and higher sticker prices. Meanwhile, the oil price shock fueled by the Iran war has pushed U.S. gas prices to more than $4 per gallon, eating into household income, which I highlighted in a recent article titled 3 Best Stocks For A Squeezed Consumer. If a prolonged Middle East conflict keeps energy prices elevated, it could weigh on automotive demand . AAA Gas Prices A member of the Alpha Picks portfolio , GM has shown resilience in the face of these headwinds and maintains a positive outlook. The company has focused on growing its share in the EV market, enhancing AV capabilities, and building recurring revenue streams through its high-margin OnStar and Super Cruise subscriptions. The automaker is well positioned to benefit from long-term EV tailwinds while maintaining a secure foothold in the internal combustion engine - ICE - market through strong brand recognition. GM’s positive outlook has been supported by bullish analyst sentiment in recent weeks. Earlier in April, Deutsche Bank’s Edison Yu upgraded the stock , arguing GM's key profit drivers are largely within the company’s control and the auto market remains healthy. GM is at an attractive entry point, Yu added, and represents a potential “multi-year re-rate story.” Moreover, according to SA Analyst Luca Socci, the market is undervaluing GM’s structural transformation , the upside of the high-margin connectivity segment, and its ability to manage manufacturing costs. GM’s stock fell for six straight sessions before Tuesday’s big earnings surprise. The automa...
NiseriN/iStock via Getty Images Securitize, Inc. will go public soon through a SPAC merger. That SPAC is Cantor Equity Partners II, Inc. ( CEPT ). After the merger, it'll be SECZ. I wrote about them in January. I'm following up because I'm more convinced now. I think they'll play a defining role in asset tokenization ahead. Idea of tokenization Real-world assets are the opportunity with tokenizati...
NiseriN/iStock via Getty Images Securitize, Inc. will go public soon through a SPAC merger. That SPAC is Cantor Equity Partners II, Inc. ( CEPT ). After the merger, it'll be SECZ. I wrote about them in January. I'm following up because I'm more convinced now. I think they'll play a defining role in asset tokenization ahead. Idea of tokenization Real-world assets are the opportunity with tokenization. Those of us interested call them RWAs . You might say tokenization is taking an RWA and turning it into crypto. Right, you make a digital record of an asset. It's recorded on the blockchain. You use smart contracts to run its transactions. No middleman involved. It's faster and cheaper than traditional finance. Explanation of Tokenization (securitize.io) Think of it this way. I bet very few reading this have paper stock certificates. You probably have digital shares with your broker. The paper one isn't more real. Stock is abstract. It's all in our heads. What changes is how we track it. Now just think that about tokens. Securitize's Fully Vertical Business (November 2025 Investor Deck) How they make money I noticed they partner a lot with institutions. Which I like. They give an onchain product enhancement. Adjusted EBITDA (Form S-4) They don't really burn cash, so I think they're in a good spot. What they really need, I think, is more recurring revenue. Being a transfer agent for NYSE does this. They can get management fees from funds. Partnering helps. They can share fees with bigger players. They don't need to compete, really. Institutions worry about distribution. Securitize just makes the token part work. Potential growth size Not counting stablecoins, tokenized RWAs are only about $30B right now. Securitize believes it'll grow a lot more. AUM & AUA growth (November 2025 Investor Deck) Management believes Securitize will have $200B in AUM and $100B in AUA. Granted, this is over the long term. Half a percent from each means $1.5B in revenue. They don't have to char...
For most data engineering teams, managing pipeline reliability often means waiting for an alert, manually tracing failures across distributed jobs and clusters, and fixing problems after they've already hit the business. Agentic AI needs the data to be there, clean and on time. A pipeline that fails silently or delivers stale data doesn't just break a dashboard — it breaks the AI system depending ...
For most data engineering teams, managing pipeline reliability often means waiting for an alert, manually tracing failures across distributed jobs and clusters, and fixing problems after they've already hit the business. Agentic AI needs the data to be there, clean and on time. A pipeline that fails silently or delivers stale data doesn't just break a dashboard — it breaks the AI system depending on it. That gap is what Definity , a Chicago-based data pipeline operations startup, is building into: embedding agents directly inside the Spark or DBT driver to act during a pipeline run, not after it. One enterprise customer identified 33% of its optimization opportunities in the first week of deployment and cut troubleshooting and optimization effort by 70%, according to Definity. The company also claims customers are resolving complex Spark issues up to 10x faster. "You need three big things for agentic data operations: full stack context that is real time and production aware. Control of the pipeline. And the ability to validate in a feedback loop. Without that, you can be outside looking in and read only," Roy Daniel, CEO and co-founder of Definity told VentureBeat in an exclusive interview. The company on Wednesday announced that it has raised $12 million in Series A financing led by GreatPoint Ventures, with participation from Dynatrace and existing investors StageOne Ventures and Hyde Park Venture Partners. Why existing pipeline monitoring breaks down at scale Existing tools approach the problem from outside the execution layer — Datadog, which acquired data quality monitor Metaplane last year, Databricks system tables, and platforms like Unravel Data and Acceldata all read metrics after a job completes. Dynatrace has monitoring capabilities; it also participated in Definity's Series A. The Definity approach is differentiated from other options in the way the solution is architected. According to Daniel, that means by the time a platform monitoring tool surfaces a...
Aidoc, a global leader in clinical AI, has raised $150 million in Series E funding led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. The round had participation from General Catalyst, SoftBank Investment Advisors and NVentures (NVIDIA's venture capital arm). The round brings total funding to over $500 million, less than a year after a growth round led by General Catalyst and Square Peg. This und...
Aidoc, a global leader in clinical AI, has raised $150 million in Series E funding led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. The round had participation from General Catalyst, SoftBank Investment Advisors and NVentures (NVIDIA's venture capital arm). The round brings total funding to over $500 million, less than a year after a growth round led by General Catalyst and Square Peg. This underscores the pace of Aidoc's momentum and the accelerating demand for enterprise-scale clinical AI.
Platform enables rapid recovery of SSO, MFA, and access policies, closing the gap in enterprise resilience strategiesTEL AVIV, Israel, April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ControlMonkey, an Infrastructure Governance and Resilience Platform, today announced its Identity Disaster Recovery, a new solution that allows organizations to restore access configurations and regain control of their environment...
Platform enables rapid recovery of SSO, MFA, and access policies, closing the gap in enterprise resilience strategiesTEL AVIV, Israel, April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ControlMonkey, an Infrastructure Governance and Resilience Platform, today announced its Identity Disaster Recovery, a new solution that allows organizations to restore access configurations and regain control of their environments when identity systems are compromised. With support for leading identity providers, including Okta
One month after its public debut, Accio Work, Alibaba's enterprise AI agent aimed at SMEs and solo founders, has recorded over 230,000 businesses worldwide who have successfully deployed autonomous "Agentic Business Teams" to manage their e-commerce operations. Unlike traditional software, Accio Work acts as a full-stack digital workforce, where users assign roles to specialized AI agents that col...
One month after its public debut, Accio Work, Alibaba's enterprise AI agent aimed at SMEs and solo founders, has recorded over 230,000 businesses worldwide who have successfully deployed autonomous "Agentic Business Teams" to manage their e-commerce operations. Unlike traditional software, Accio Work acts as a full-stack digital workforce, where users assign roles to specialized AI agents that collaborate to execute complex tasks.
BOSTON, April 29, 2026--Fairmarkit today announced Total Agentic Sourcing, the first platform to deploy AI agents that can autonomously source both tail and strategic spend, from a tactical $500 purchase to a $500M contract, in the same environment. Powering it is KIT, an intelligent assistant backed by a network of agents built for every sourcing workflow. The platform natively integrates with SA...
BOSTON, April 29, 2026--Fairmarkit today announced Total Agentic Sourcing, the first platform to deploy AI agents that can autonomously source both tail and strategic spend, from a tactical $500 purchase to a $500M contract, in the same environment. Powering it is KIT, an intelligent assistant backed by a network of agents built for every sourcing workflow. The platform natively integrates with SAP Ariba, SAP S/4HANA, Coupa, Oracle, ServiceNow, and others.
Mario Tama/Getty Images News Lyft ( LYFT ) and United Airlines ( UAL ) announced a new payment option for rideshare customers. The companies are expanding their partnership with a new "Pay with Miles" selection that lets MileagePlus members redeem United ( UAL ) miles directly in the Lyft ( LYFT ) app for eligible rides. It was highlighted to be the first time a U.S. airline loyalty program and ri...
Mario Tama/Getty Images News Lyft ( LYFT ) and United Airlines ( UAL ) announced a new payment option for rideshare customers. The companies are expanding their partnership with a new "Pay with Miles" selection that lets MileagePlus members redeem United ( UAL ) miles directly in the Lyft ( LYFT ) app for eligible rides. It was highlighted to be the first time a U.S. airline loyalty program and rideshare platform have offered direct mile-to-ride redemption. The feature is available now to MileagePlus members who link their Lyft ( LYFT ) and United Airlines ( UAL ) accounts. Members can use miles for a full ride payment or combine miles with another payment method if they do not have enough miles to cover the entire fare. The redemption option applies to eligible Lyft ride types, including everyday rides, airport trips, and premium rides, though bikes and scooters are excluded. The new feature builds on the collaboration between Lyft ( LYFT ) and United ( UAL ) announced last November, which first allowed riders to earn United ( UAL ) miles on eligible Lyft ( LYFT ) trips. That earlier program includes boosted earning rates for airport and premium rides, plus a 1,000-mile bonus for new Lyft riders who link accounts and complete two rides within 30 days. "We’re giving MileagePlus members more ways to use their miles – whether it’s booking a United flight to a dream destination or traveling across town to meet up with friends through Lyft," stated United MileagePlus President Jarad Fisher. More on Lyft and United Airlines United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript United Airlines And American Airlines Merger Looks Huge But It Shouldn't Happen Lyft: Short Squeeze Potential As Oil Crisis Could Trigger Rideshare Demand Conflict in Middle East weighs on company coffers, clouds outlook United's CEO explains why he pitched for a merger with American Airlines
Emergent BioSolutions ( EBS ) said on Wednesday it had entered a multi-year agreement with SAB Biotherapeutics to support the development and manufacturing of SAB-142, a clinical-stage candidate for type 1 diabetes. The contract is valued at approximately $50 million, including $36 million contingent on regulatory approval and milestone achievements. Emergent said it would provide process developm...
Emergent BioSolutions ( EBS ) said on Wednesday it had entered a multi-year agreement with SAB Biotherapeutics to support the development and manufacturing of SAB-142, a clinical-stage candidate for type 1 diabetes. The contract is valued at approximately $50 million, including $36 million contingent on regulatory approval and milestone achievements. Emergent said it would provide process development, scale-up, technology transfer, and manufacturing services for the therapy’s clinical program, as well as commercial manufacturing if approved. EBS +2.19 % premarket to $8.41. Source: Press Release More on Emergent Biosolutions Emergent BioSolutions Earnings: Revenue, Margins, And GAAP Losses Paint A Mixed Picture Emergent BioSolutions signs $34.5M vaccine manufacturing, distribution deal Emergent BioSolutions secures $60M contracts
A sizeable decline in same-store sales (SSS) due to the continued pressure on consumer spending along with a less-than-expected increase in revenue overshadowed solid operating metrics for the first quarter and drove Wingstop ( WING ) shares more than 9% lower into Wednesday’s open. The company also lowered its outlook for SSS for the year. Wingstop ( WING ) now sees SSS down by low-single digits ...
A sizeable decline in same-store sales (SSS) due to the continued pressure on consumer spending along with a less-than-expected increase in revenue overshadowed solid operating metrics for the first quarter and drove Wingstop ( WING ) shares more than 9% lower into Wednesday’s open. The company also lowered its outlook for SSS for the year. Wingstop ( WING ) now sees SSS down by low-single digits versus the earlier outlook for SSS to be flat to up single-digits. “Despite the decline in same-store sales, we delivered system-wide sales growth and double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth in the quarter supported by 17% unit growth. Our results demonstrate the resiliency of our asset-light, highly franchised model," said Michael Skipworth, president and CEO. For the first quarter, Wingstop ( WING ) earned an adjusted profit of $1.18 per share, up from $0.99 in the same quarter last year and $0.15 better than anticipated. This was partially attributed to lower food, beverage, and packaging costs, reflecting a decrease in the cost of bone-in chicken wings compared to a year ago. On an unadjusted basis, however, the company’s profit was one-third of what it was a year ago, reflecting higher interest expenses and a $72M investment expense versus a $92M gain in the same quarter last year on the sale of Wingstop’s ( WING ) non-controlling interest in Lemon Pepper Holdings. For FY26, Wingstop ( WING ) cautioned that its outlook is dependent on the macro-environment, which is “inherently difficult to predict given current high levels of uncertainty.” Besides updated SSS guidance, Wingstop ( WING ) anticipates $3M in restructuring charges tied to its corporate realignment and stock-based compensation of $28M versus $32M previously. The company’s expectations for its global growth rate remain at 15% to 16%. More on Wingstop Wingstop: The Same-Store Sales Decline Is Priced In, The Recovery Catalysts Are Not Wingstop: Can The Moat Survive The Fried Chicken War? (Rating Downgrade) Wingst...
According to a recent SEC filing , Opes Wealth Management LLC sold its entire position in First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF (NASDAQ:FIXD) , reducing its holdings by 210,085 shares during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated value of the trade was $9.3 million, based on quarterly average pricing. The First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF (FIXD) is a large-scale bond fu...
According to a recent SEC filing , Opes Wealth Management LLC sold its entire position in First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF (NASDAQ:FIXD) , reducing its holdings by 210,085 shares during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated value of the trade was $9.3 million, based on quarterly average pricing. The First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF (FIXD) is a large-scale bond fund with $3.4 billion in assets under management. When a fund fully exits a position, it can feel more dramatic than it is -- especially when that position represented just 1.5% of the portfolio to begin with. Context, as always, matters. Continue reading
Costamare press release ( CMRE ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.63 misses by $0.06 . Revenue of $217.18M (+7.7% Y/Y) beats by $23.18M . As a consequence, total contracted revenues have reached $6.2 billion with a remaining time charter duration of 6.1 years. During the three-month periods ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, we had an average of 69.0 and 68.0 container vessels, respectively, in our owned fleet....
Costamare press release ( CMRE ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.63 misses by $0.06 . Revenue of $217.18M (+7.7% Y/Y) beats by $23.18M . As a consequence, total contracted revenues have reached $6.2 billion with a remaining time charter duration of 6.1 years. During the three-month periods ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, we had an average of 69.0 and 68.0 container vessels, respectively, in our owned fleet. As of March 31, 2026, we have invested in Neptune Maritime Leasing Limited the amount of $182.2 million. "In light of the above, management is pleased to recommend to the Board of Directors to increase the quarterly dividend per share from 11.5 cents to 12.5 cents to reward our shareholders as a result of increased cash flows, profitability and visibility. More on Costamare Costamare: Protected In The Near Term, Pressured In The Medium Term Costamare Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Costamare Inc. (CMRE) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Costamare Q1 2026 Earnings Preview Costamare rises to 11-year high after Q4 beat, adding charter agreements worth $940M