asbe/iStock via Getty Images Crypto exchange Kraken ( KRAKEN ) has paused its IPO plans until market conditions improve, CoinDesk reported , citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Payward, the parent company for Kraken, confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of common stock in November las...
asbe/iStock via Getty Images Crypto exchange Kraken ( KRAKEN ) has paused its IPO plans until market conditions improve, CoinDesk reported , citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Payward, the parent company for Kraken, confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of common stock in November last year. In September 2025, Kraken ( KRAKEN ) closed a $500M capital raise that valued it at $15B. It then said it was in advanced talks for new funding that could value it at about $20B. The company is still considering an IPO, the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private, told the Bullish ( BLSH ) subsidiary. The report comes amid a recent downturn in the crypto market. Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) currently stands at $71K, and the odds of the cryptocurrency reaching $100K before January 2027 are at 47%, according to prediction markets Kalshi ( KALSHI ). The cryptocurrency was last around $100K in November and has continued to decline, reaching a low of ~$60K in February. More on Kraken Co Ltd Eightco secures $125M in new funding from Bitmine, Cathie Wood's ARK Invest Kraken is first crypto company to get access to Fed's core payment system Financial information for Kraken Co Ltd
lululemon athletica inc. LULU reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results, with revenues and earnings per share (EPS) surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company delivered year-over-year top-line growth, supported by strength in its international business. However, the bottom line declined from the prior year, reflecting margin pressure from higher markdowns, tariff-related costs and elev...
lululemon athletica inc. LULU reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results, with revenues and earnings per share (EPS) surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company delivered year-over-year top-line growth, supported by strength in its international business. However, the bottom line declined from the prior year, reflecting margin pressure from higher markdowns, tariff-related costs and elevated SG&A expenses. lululemon’s fiscal fourth-quarter EPS of $5.01 declined 18.4% from $6.14 in the prior-year quarter. However, the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.77. The Vancouver, Canada-based company’s quarterly revenues rose 1% year over year to $3.64 billion and were flat on a constant-dollar basis. Revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.58 billion. Net revenues declined 4% in the Americas (down 5% on a constant-dollar basis) and increased 17% internationally (up 14% in constant dollars). Excluding the 53rd week of fiscal 2024, net revenues rose 6% year over year and 4% in constant dollars. Total comparable sales (comps) rose 3% year over year and improved 2% on a constant-dollar basis. Comps in the Americas rose 1% on a reported basis and 2% on a constant-dollar basis. Internationally, comps increased 20% on a reported basis and 16% on a constant-dollar basis. Our model predicted a comps decline of 5.8% for the fiscal fourth quarter. The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has declined 24% in the past three months compared with the Textile - Apparel industry’s 4.5% fall. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research LULU’s Q4 Earnings Overview Within the Americas segment, revenues rose 1% year over year in Canada (down 1% in constant dollars) and declined 6% in the United States, on both reported and constant-dollar basis. In the International segment, revenues rose 24% in Mainland China (up 21% in constant dollars) and 10% in the Rest of the World (up 6% in constant dollars). Comps improved 30% in Mainland China (up 26% in constant dollars) an...
Key Points ICF charges a higher expense ratio and yields less than REET ICF is more concentrated, holding just 30 U.S. REITs versus REET’s 325 global holdings Over five years, ICF showed stronger growth but experienced a deeper drawdown than REET 10 stocks we like better than iShares Trust - iShares Select U.s. REIT ETF › iShares Global REIT ETF (NYSEMKT:REET) offers broader global exposure and a ...
Key Points ICF charges a higher expense ratio and yields less than REET ICF is more concentrated, holding just 30 U.S. REITs versus REET’s 325 global holdings Over five years, ICF showed stronger growth but experienced a deeper drawdown than REET 10 stocks we like better than iShares Trust - iShares Select U.s. REIT ETF › iShares Global REIT ETF (NYSEMKT:REET) offers broader global exposure and a lower fee, while iShares Select U.S. REIT ETF (NYSEMKT:ICF) focuses on a concentrated U.S. REIT lineup with higher volatility and lower yields. Both REET and ICF track real estate investment trusts, but their approaches differ: REET casts a wide net across global markets, while ICF focuses on a select group of large-cap U.S. REITs. This comparison unpacks their costs, risk profiles, and portfolio makeup to help investors decide which may better match their real estate allocation goals. Snapshot (cost & size) Metric REET ICF Issuer IShares IShares Expense ratio 0.14% 0.32% 1-yr return (as of 2026-03-16) 6.5% 4.2% Dividend yield 3.5% 2.7% Beta 0.95 0.98 AUM $4.6 billion $2.0 billion Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. ICF charges about double the annual fee of REET, making REET the more affordable option for cost-conscious investors. REET also offers a higher payout, with a 3.5% yield versus ICF’s 2.7%. Performance & risk comparison Metric REET ICF Max drawdown (5 y) -32.14% -34.75% Growth of $1,000 over 5 years $1,004 $1,117 What's inside ICF is built around just 30 U.S. real estate investment trusts and has a long track record, with 25.1 years since its launch. Its top holdings include Equinix Reit Inc (NASDAQ:EQIX), Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), and American Tower Reit Corp (NYSE:AMT), which together account for a substantial slice of the fund. This concentrated approach leads to sector purity—100% real estate—with no exposure to internat...
"As previously warned, if the fuel, energy, gas, and economic infrastructures of our country are attacked by the American-Zionist enemy, in addition to a powerful counterattack against the enemy, we will severely strike the origin of that aggression as well," the military said in a statement published by Tasnim.
"As previously warned, if the fuel, energy, gas, and economic infrastructures of our country are attacked by the American-Zionist enemy, in addition to a powerful counterattack against the enemy, we will severely strike the origin of that aggression as well," the military said in a statement published by Tasnim.
Key Points VNQI charges a much lower expense ratio and boasts a higher dividend yield than RWX. RWX is more concentrated, with only 121 holdings, while VNQI holds more than 700 positions. Both funds have seen similar five-year drawdowns, but VNQI has seen slightly better 5-year returns. 10 stocks we like better than SPDR Index Shares Funds - State Street SPDR Dow Jones International Real Estate ET...
Key Points VNQI charges a much lower expense ratio and boasts a higher dividend yield than RWX. RWX is more concentrated, with only 121 holdings, while VNQI holds more than 700 positions. Both funds have seen similar five-year drawdowns, but VNQI has seen slightly better 5-year returns. 10 stocks we like better than SPDR Index Shares Funds - State Street SPDR Dow Jones International Real Estate ETF › Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate ETF (NASDAQ:VNQI) stands out for its lower fees and higher yield, while State Street SPDR Dow Jones International Real Estate ETF (NYSEMKT:RWX) offers a more concentrated international property portfolio and a higher recent one-year return. Both VNQI and RWX target the international real estate sector, offering exposure to a wide range of property companies outside the United States. This comparison looks at how these two funds stack up on cost, yield, performance, and portfolio construction to help investors navigate their differences. Snapshot (cost & size) Metric VNQI RWX Issuer Vanguard SPDR Expense ratio 0.12% 0.59% 1-yr return (as of March 18, 2026) 12.9% 14.1% Dividend yield 4.3% 3.4% Beta 0.91 0.90 AUM $4.2 billion $310.5 million Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. VNQI charges lower fees, with an expense ratio roughly one-fifth that of RWX, and it also pays a higher dividend yield, which may appeal to cost- and income-focused investors. Performance & risk comparison Metric VNQI RWX Max drawdown (5 y) -35.77% -35.89% Growth of $1,000 over 5 years $820 $803 What's inside RWX tracks the Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Select Real Estate Securities Index, focusing on international property companies with 121 holdings. Top names include Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd (8801.T), Swiss Prime Site Reg (SIX: SPSN.SW), and Scentre Group (ASX: SCG.AX). These three holdings make up about 13% of the portfolio, with th...
Vakidzasi/iStock via Getty Images Tenax Therapeutics Overview Tenax Therapeutics ( TENX ) is a clean story, which will make it pretty easy to model. Tenax is actively advancing just one product (TNX-103 or oral levosimendan) in one indication (PH-HFpEF). Below, I explain why I am skeptical ahead of the pivotal LEVEL readout (e.g., Phase 2 data reliability/readthrough for Phase 3, IV-to-oral transl...
Vakidzasi/iStock via Getty Images Tenax Therapeutics Overview Tenax Therapeutics ( TENX ) is a clean story, which will make it pretty easy to model. Tenax is actively advancing just one product (TNX-103 or oral levosimendan) in one indication (PH-HFpEF). Below, I explain why I am skeptical ahead of the pivotal LEVEL readout (e.g., Phase 2 data reliability/readthrough for Phase 3, IV-to-oral translation risk, a much smaller TAM than prevalence implies, a narrow symptomatic mechanism). TNX-101 (IV levosimendan) Tenax tested intravenous levosimendan in the Phase 2 HELP study in PH-HFpEF. So it essentially served to provide a proof-of-concept/signal-generating formulation. Tenax also has a subcutaneous levosimendan (TNX-102), but it does not appear to be an active development priority today. Phase 2 HELP HELP trial results were published in JACC . HELP was a 1. small, 2. responder-enriched trial that 3. missed its primary endpoint. Only 37 patients were randomized. 35 completed the study. Only the patients who had a hemodynamic response to an open-label 24-hour levosimendan infusion were randomized (37 of 44 patients met responder criteria and advanced). The primary endpoint (PCWP during 25 W exercise at 6 weeks) between the between-group change was not statistically significant. The placebo-corrected effect was just 1.4 mm Hg. Safety looked okay. One of the concerns with levosimendan is that it could be “proarrhythmic.” But there were no such signals in HELP. There were other serious adverse events though, including acute heart failure (two events in the drug arm). Secondary efficacy outcomes were mixed. Source: JACC (Author's Compilation) Obviously, the “big one” is 6MWD. 6MWD will be the primary efficacy endpoint in the Phase 3 program for oral levosimendan. And, here, intravenous levosimendan hit stat sig, although nominal. I wouldn’t be quick to assume an easy translation from “Phase 2, secondary endpoint, intravenous levosimendan” to “Phase 3, primary endpoint, or...
Large language models (LLMs) have transformed how we interact with AI, but one size doesn’t fit at all. Out-of-the-box LLMs are trained with broad, general knowledge and improved for a wide range of use cases, but they often fall short when it comes to domain-specific tasks, proprietary workflows, or unique business requirements. Enterprise customers increasingly need specialized LLMs that deeply ...
Large language models (LLMs) have transformed how we interact with AI, but one size doesn’t fit at all. Out-of-the-box LLMs are trained with broad, general knowledge and improved for a wide range of use cases, but they often fall short when it comes to domain-specific tasks, proprietary workflows, or unique business requirements. Enterprise customers increasingly need specialized LLMs that deeply understand their proprietary data, business processes, and domain-specific terminology. Without customization, you’re forced to choose between accepting generic responses or settling for a middle ground with excessive context engineering. Nova Customization provides a suite of features, ranging from Amazon Bedrock customization options such as Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT) and Reinforcement Fine Tuning (RFT) to Amazon SageMaker AI customization capabilities, including SFT, Direct Preference Optimization (DPO), RFT, along with both LoRA and full rank based customization. As models are fine-tuned on specialized datasets, they frequently, loose some base capabilities including instruction-following abilities, reasoning skills, and broad knowledge expertise, this phenomenon is also called catastrophic forgetting. Amazon Nova Forge provides a tool to overcome this tradeoff by enabling you to build your own frontier models using Nova. Nova Forge customers can start their development from early model checkpoints, blend their datasets with Amazon Nova-curated and host their custom models securely on AWS. Sometime these customization workflows can get complex and necessitates technical, infrastructure setup, and considerable time investment making them a high barrier to entry. To combat this issue we are launching Nova Forge SDK that makes LLM customization accessible, empowering teams to harness the full potential of language models without the challenges of dependency management, image selection, and recipe configuration and eventually lowering the barrier of entry. We view customi...
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 10 a.m. ET CALL PARTICIPANTS President and Chief Executive Officer — Barb Jacobsmeyer Chief Financial Officer — Ryan Solomon Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] TAKEAWAYS Consolidated Net Revenue -- $259.9 million, an increase of $1.7 million or 0.7% sequentially and a decrease of $2.5 million or 1.0% year over ye...
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 10 a.m. ET CALL PARTICIPANTS President and Chief Executive Officer — Barb Jacobsmeyer Chief Financial Officer — Ryan Solomon Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] TAKEAWAYS Consolidated Net Revenue -- $259.9 million, an increase of $1.7 million or 0.7% sequentially and a decrease of $2.5 million or 1.0% year over year. -- $259.9 million, an increase of $1.7 million or 0.7% sequentially and a decrease of $2.5 million or 1.0% year over year. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA -- $26.6 million, up $1.5 million or 6.0% sequentially and up $1.3 million or 5.1% year over year, with an EBITDA margin of 10.2%, a 60 basis points increase. -- $26.6 million, up $1.5 million or 6.0% sequentially and up $1.3 million or 5.1% year over year, with an EBITDA margin of 10.2%, a 60 basis points increase. Home Health Segment Revenue -- $200.6 million, up $0.2 million or 0.1% sequentially; average daily census increased 3.7% sequentially, and patient day volume grew 1.4% sequentially. -- $200.6 million, up $0.2 million or 0.1% sequentially; average daily census increased 3.7% sequentially, and patient day volume grew 1.4% sequentially. Home Health Adjusted EBITDA -- $38.3 million, a sequential increase of $2.8 million or 7.9%; breakdown: $1.3 million from volume, $1.0 million favorable yield, $0.5 million sales/ops and G&A savings. -- $38.3 million, a sequential increase of $2.8 million or 7.9%; breakdown: $1.3 million from volume, $1.0 million favorable yield, $0.5 million sales/ops and G&A savings. Home Health Visits per Episode -- Declined 6.7% to 13.9 compared to 14.9 in the prior year period, indicating efficiency in care delivery. -- Declined 6.7% to 13.9 compared to 14.9 in the prior year period, indicating efficiency in care delivery. Payer Mix and Non-Medicare Metrics -- Non-Medicare admissions up 7.4% year over year; 44% of non-Medicare visits in payer innovation contracts vs. 38% prior year; 7.6% imp...
(RTTNews) - Illumina, Inc. (ILMN), Wednesday announced an expanded collaboration with Labcorp to advance precision oncology through innovative applications of next-generation sequencing solutions across the healthcare ecosystem. As part of the collaboration, the companies will explore co-commercializing Labcorp's FDA-authorized liquid biopsy assay PGDx elio plasma focus Dx alongside Illumina's FDA...
(RTTNews) - Illumina, Inc. (ILMN), Wednesday announced an expanded collaboration with Labcorp to advance precision oncology through innovative applications of next-generation sequencing solutions across the healthcare ecosystem. As part of the collaboration, the companies will explore co-commercializing Labcorp's FDA-authorized liquid biopsy assay PGDx elio plasma focus Dx alongside Illumina's FDA-approved TruSight Oncology Comprehensive for solid tumor profiling. Both the companies will also continue joint efforts to demonstrate the clinical utility of CGP and promote its adoption. Currently, ILMN is trading at $122.18, up 1.10 percent on the Nasdaq. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Micron Technology Inc. shares moved higher on Wednesday as the semiconductor firm prepared to release its second quarter earnings results later on Wednesday. Rising memory chip valuations have transformed Micron Technology into a premier stock performer for 2026. The post-market quarter results disclosure will provide critical insight into whether this remarkable market rally can be sustained. Ear...
Micron Technology Inc. shares moved higher on Wednesday as the semiconductor firm prepared to release its second quarter earnings results later on Wednesday. Rising memory chip valuations have transformed Micron Technology into a premier stock performer for 2026. The post-market quarter results disclosure will provide critical insight into whether this remarkable market rally can be sustained. Earnings Expectations Investors remain confident that high-priced memory components will significantly improve Micron’s quarterly earnings and future guidance. The Boise, Idaho-based manufacturer is projected to report a fiscal second-quarter net income of $10.1 billion on $19.6 billion in revenue, based on consensus analyst estimates. These figures would represent staggering year-over-year increases of 540% and 144%, respectively. Micron Stock Rally At 11:48 a.m. EDT, Micron Technology stock was trading at $469.60, higher by $7.91, or 1.71%. Micron’s stock has climbed over 60% since the start of the year — the sixth-highest gain in the S&P 500 Index — following a massive 239% surge in 2025. As the leading U.S. memory chip producer, the company is capitalizing on aggressive investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, which has spiked demand for storage and memory hardware alongside competitors like Sandisk Corp. and Western Digital Corp. The stock reached a record closing price of $461.69 on Tuesday, elevating the company’s market capitalization to roughly $520 billion from just $100 billion at the end of 2024. However, analysts predict this rapid expansion will decelerate soon. Revenue growth is forecasted at 116% for fiscal 2026, dropping to 36% in fiscal 2027, with a projected 1% decline in 2028. “This pricing environment won’t last forever, but all signs are pointing to tight supply this year and sold-out capacity next year, so investors can take some comfort that we’re not close to the peak yet,” said Hendi Susanto, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, which h...
Polymarket's New DC 'Situation Room' Bar Lets Patrons Sip Old Fashioneds And Monitor WW3 Headlines Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market, announced on X the grand opening of “The Situation Room” in Washington, D.C., a bar where patrons can sip Moscow Mules, Old Fashioneds, or beer (preferably not Bud Light, perhaps a local IPA like Dogfish) while monitoring X feeds, Bloomberg terminals, a...
Polymarket's New DC 'Situation Room' Bar Lets Patrons Sip Old Fashioneds And Monitor WW3 Headlines Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market, announced on X the grand opening of “The Situation Room” in Washington, D.C., a bar where patrons can sip Moscow Mules, Old Fashioneds, or beer (preferably not Bud Light, perhaps a local IPA like Dogfish) while monitoring X feeds, Bloomberg terminals, and Polymarket bets on wall-mounted televisions. "We're excited to announce 'The Situation Room' by Polymarket is coming to Washington, D.C. The world's first bar dedicated to monitoring the situation," Polymarket wrote on X earlier this morning. We're excited to announce 'The Situation Room' by Polymarket is coming to Washington, D.C. The world's first bar dedicated to monitoring the situation. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/UbdHUT5u2k — Polymarket (@Polymarket) March 18, 2026 Polymarket continued, "Imagine a sports bar… but just for situation monitoring — live X feeds, flight radar, Bloomberg terminals, and Polymarket screens." Instead of pulling out your iPhone every few minutes to check Bloomberg push alerts, X feed notifications, or changes in Polymarket bets, all of that information will now be displayed on televisions around the bar. A total win for the modern man or woman glued to screens for every new global development, as the world in recent weeks increasingly seems to be at war . The grand opening is this Friday. The Polymarket bar opens a little more than a month after the company launched New York City’s first free grocery store. When your girlfriend or wife asks, “Where are you?” the reply should be: “The Situation Room.” Tyler Durden Wed, 03/18/2026 - 12:05
"To be honest, in the last days I'm losing hope a little bit," said Sigal as we sheltered in the safe room. "I feel there's no end to it, there's no direction, we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. We must endure this, but I'm not sure how long it will take, [or] where we are going from here."
"To be honest, in the last days I'm losing hope a little bit," said Sigal as we sheltered in the safe room. "I feel there's no end to it, there's no direction, we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. We must endure this, but I'm not sure how long it will take, [or] where we are going from here."
Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. FET provides highly engineered products to support the operations of oil and natural gas and renewable companies. The company’s offering includes consumable products used in activities such as drilling, well construction and completion, along with capital products for constructing or upgrading rigs and subsea construction projects. In the past year, the FET stock ha...
Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. FET provides highly engineered products to support the operations of oil and natural gas and renewable companies. The company’s offering includes consumable products used in activities such as drilling, well construction and completion, along with capital products for constructing or upgrading rigs and subsea construction projects. In the past year, the FET stock has shown an impressive surge of 192.5%, surpassing the industry’s 39.9% growth. The stock of the a global manufacturing firm has outperformed its peers, National Energy Services Reunited NESR and NOV Inc. NOV, which have grown a whopping 168.9% and 27.1%, respectively. It would be wise to evaluate the fundamentals and overall business environment for the stock before coming to an investment decision. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Geopolitical Disruptions Pose Near-Term Headwinds for FET The demand for the company’s product offerings is heavily reliant on the drilling activity of oil and gas companies. Several factors, including geopolitical developments, commodity prices and supply-demand dynamics, influence drilling activity in the United States and international markets. During its fourth-quarter earnings results, FET mentioned that it expects global activity levels to remain relatively flat in 2026. Market conditions have changed since the start of the conflict between the United States and Iran. The conflict in the Middle East, damage to oil production infrastructure and disruption of oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz have rattled the global commodity markets. While oil prices have increased significantly since the start of the war, the outlook for companies like Forum Energy, which provide products and services to oil and gas operators, offshore drilling contractors, and oilfield service providers, has not improved meaningfully. The conflict has led several regional producers to curb output and reduce activity levels, which could negatively impact FET’s ...
Saudi Arabia has already ramped up its oil exports to more than half of normal levels despite the disruptions from the Iran war, an early sign of success for the kingdom’s ambitious contingency plan to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. With Hormuz all but closed, Saudi Arabia has been rerouting oil through a 1,200 kilometer (746 mile) pipeline to the western port of Yanbu. At the same time, it’s quickl...
Saudi Arabia has already ramped up its oil exports to more than half of normal levels despite the disruptions from the Iran war, an early sign of success for the kingdom’s ambitious contingency plan to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. With Hormuz all but closed, Saudi Arabia has been rerouting oil through a 1,200 kilometer (746 mile) pipeline to the western port of Yanbu. At the same time, it’s quickly amassed a huge armada of tankers that have streamed toward the Red Sea to load the oil and are now piling up around the port. Shipments from Yanbu have averaged about 4.19 million barrels a day over the past five days, according to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg — already a significant share of the roughly 7 million barrels the kingdom was exporting in total before the war, and sharply higher than the about 1.4 million barrels that previously moved through the port. About a fifth of the world’s oil normally flows through Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint into the Persian Gulf, and producers in the region are being forced to curtail production as storage begins to fill up. The International Energy Agency has warned the war is causing the largest supply disruption in oil market history. Saudi Arabia is the only producer with a significant alternative option; the United Arab Emirates has a pipeline route to the Gulf of Oman, but its flows have been vulnerable to disruption as the port of Fujairah that it relies on has been forced to stop loading on several occasions due to drone attacks. As Saudi Arabia rushes to reroute its oil, the tankers are stacking up off its Red Sea coast. At least 32 supertankers and suezmax vessels are waiting near Yanbu to load cargoes, while others are still on their way. Short-term averages of loading data tend to be noisy, but Saudi Arabia has said it intends to ramp up loadings for foreign buyers from its Red Sea ports and has been giving long-term customers the option of receiving supplies from Yanbu. State oil producer Saudi Aramco didn’t re...
It is a strange quirk of fate that the station wagon has morphed from mass-market family transport into something far more esoteric (at least here in the US, a market that once embraced the form factor like no other). Now, wagons come in two flavors. There's the "slightly lifted with some extra protective cladding" kind, designed with forest roads in mind but equally useful if you're surrounded by...
It is a strange quirk of fate that the station wagon has morphed from mass-market family transport into something far more esoteric (at least here in the US, a market that once embraced the form factor like no other). Now, wagons come in two flavors. There's the "slightly lifted with some extra protective cladding" kind, designed with forest roads in mind but equally useful if you're surrounded by people who park by sense of smell. The other variety is the one that thinks it's really a supercar, with at least 600 hp (447 kW) and the ability to test if the kids and family dog get nauseous when subjected to high lateral Gs. Even then, the US misses out. BMW will sell us an M5 Touring here, a plug-in hybrid wagon with 717 hp (535 kW) , but it has no plans to bring over the smaller, (much) lighter M3 Touring, no matter how much we plead. That's a shame, as the M3 Touring is about to become even cooler: BMW is entering one in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, which races at the infamous racetrack in the Eifel Mountains. The idea started as an April Fool's joke last year, but the overwhelmingly positive reaction from fans worked something loose, and someone in Munich signed off on a budget to make a station wagon version of its GT3 race car (the M4 GT3 EVO). It makes its NLS debut next week, with the highlight of the program being the Nürburgring 24H in mid-May. That race will also be contested by one Max Verstappen on a weekend away from F1. Read full article Comments
AMD, which is locked in constant competition with Intel to release the best CPUs, appears to be in retaliation mode. According to chi11eddog, a well-known hardware leaker, the chipmaker is refreshing at least two Zen 5 chips—the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X—to better compete with Intel’s latest Core Ultra 200S Plus (codenamed Arrow Lake Refresh) series. In the past, AMD has used the “XT” monike...
AMD, which is locked in constant competition with Intel to release the best CPUs, appears to be in retaliation mode. According to chi11eddog, a well-known hardware leaker, the chipmaker is refreshing at least two Zen 5 chips—the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X—to better compete with Intel’s latest Core Ultra 200S Plus (codenamed Arrow Lake Refresh) series. In the past, AMD has used the “XT” moniker to designate refreshed versions of its mainstream Ryzen processors. However, with the Zen 5 lineup, the chipmaker appears to be shifting its strategy by adopting a new naming convention that uses incremented model numbers rather than the traditional “XT” suffix. Instead of going with the Ryzen 7 9700XT or Ryzen 5 9600XT, AMD is reportedly planning to market these refreshed chips as the Ryzen 7 9750X and Ryzen 5 9650X, respectively, much like its recent 9850X3D. The change in nomenclature would imply that AMD may be aiming to create a clearer distinction between its vanilla and refreshed processors. The Ryzen 7 9750X and Ryzen 5 9650X would be a clear response to the intensified competition from Intel's recently-announced Arrow Lake Refresh. AMD's rumored new naming approach isn't awful, either, as it could help consumers more easily identify overall improvements, with higher numbers indicating better performance. Article continues below Ryzen 7 9750X and Ryzen 5 9650X Specifications* Swipe to scroll horizontally Processor Cores / Threads Base / Boost Clock (GHz) L3 Cache TDP (W) MSRP Ryzen 7 9750X 8 / 16 4.2 / 5.6 32 120 ? Ryzen 7 9700X 8 / 16 3.8 / 5.5 32 65 $359 Ryzen 5 9650X 6 / 12 4.3 / 5.5 32 120 ? Ryzen 5 9600X 6 / 12 3.9 / 5.4 32 65 $279 *Specifications are unconfirmed by AMD. The Ryzen 7 9750X and Ryzen 5 9650X will reportedly retain the core specifications of their standard counterparts, with the primary improvements manifesting as higher clock speeds. That's the standard hallmark of processor refreshes, after all. The Ryzen 7 9750X and Ryzen 5 9650X should offer...
The whole purpose of exchange-traded funds is to give investors easier access to a basket of different stocks in a single investment vehicle. When ETFs have a sizable chunk of their assets invested in just a handful of different stocks, it undercuts their usefulness for investors. At some point, when an ETF gets too concentrated, you might as well just go out and buy the individual stocks with the...
The whole purpose of exchange-traded funds is to give investors easier access to a basket of different stocks in a single investment vehicle. When ETFs have a sizable chunk of their assets invested in just a handful of different stocks, it undercuts their usefulness for investors. At some point, when an ETF gets too concentrated, you might as well just go out and buy the individual stocks with the largest positions and call it good. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEMKT: RSP) sought to solve this problem by offering an alternative to market capitalization-weighted ETFs that were getting increasingly concentrated in a small number of top holdings. By owning all 500 of the component stocks in the S&P 500 in roughly equal amounts, the Invesco ETF made every single stock a potentially meaningful contributor to the fund's overall return. That not only made the fund more diversified but also theoretically gave it a more favorable performance profile. In this second article in Voyager Portfolio 's three-part series on the Invesco ETF, we'll see how the fund has actually performed compared to the broader market. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Pimco President Christian Stracke addresses the growing concerns in the private credit market. Speaking on "Bloomberg Open Interest," Stracke says there's a "cooling" in the private credit market, signaling caution for investors and market participants. (Source: Bloomberg)
Pimco President Christian Stracke addresses the growing concerns in the private credit market. Speaking on "Bloomberg Open Interest," Stracke says there's a "cooling" in the private credit market, signaling caution for investors and market participants. (Source: Bloomberg)
"All that it means, though, is you're gonna buy a house 30% smaller. That's all," he said. While most of the housing conversation leans on waiting, cooling, or hoping for relief, O'Leary keeps it simple. People aren't going to stop buying homes. They're just going to change what they buy . In other words, that window wasn't something to expect again. It was something you got lucky to catch. "That ...
"All that it means, though, is you're gonna buy a house 30% smaller. That's all," he said. While most of the housing conversation leans on waiting, cooling, or hoping for relief, O'Leary keeps it simple. People aren't going to stop buying homes. They're just going to change what they buy . In other words, that window wasn't something to expect again. It was something you got lucky to catch. "That aberration of 3.5%, 3.75% mortgages, that's an aberration," O'Leary said in the reel. "You were very fortunate to buy a home and get a long-duration mortgage during that period." "You gotta remember, for 40 years, 7% was a market mortgage," O'Leary said. "It's not uncommon. It's not crazy." Then he zoomed out. For decades, mortgage rates hovered around 7% and that was considered normal. At various points, they climbed even higher, with double-digit rates showing up in earlier cycles. "I just don't see interest rates in the U.S., world's strongest economy , being dropped dramatically," O'Leary said. He said he doesn't see rates getting cut in any meaningful way, pointing to what he views as a strong U.S. economy and rising productivity. O'Leary's argument isn't about short-term swings. It's about resetting expectations that got shaped during an unusual window. "I think it's gonna take a very, very, very, very long time, if ever," O'Leary said in the reel. "I think the days of free money are over." In an August Instagram reel , O'Shares Investments chair and "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary was asked the question buyers keep coming back to. Do you think interest rates will ever go below 5% again? Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Story Continues "The way you adjust to mortgage rates doesn't mean you don't want a home," O'Leary said. "The way you adjust is you buy a smaller house." It's a practical shift, not an easy one. Not everyone wants to trade space or expectations just to make the math work. Some will...
Nigel Farage called for the release of the imprisoned rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and commended the efforts to free a former Honduran president jailed in the US for drug trafficking. The Reform UK leader was paid to make the remarks on the personalised video platform Cameo, which allows users to commission celebrities and public figures to record short video clips. Farage’s use of the platform has a...
Nigel Farage called for the release of the imprisoned rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and commended the efforts to free a former Honduran president jailed in the US for drug trafficking. The Reform UK leader was paid to make the remarks on the personalised video platform Cameo, which allows users to commission celebrities and public figures to record short video clips. Farage’s use of the platform has already come under scrutiny after a Guardian investigation revealed he had recorded videos supporting a rioter, repeating extremist slogans, and endorsing a neo-Nazi event. Farage’s spokesperson said his Cameo videos should “not be treated as political statements or campaign activity”. The latest videos unearthed by the Guardian were recorded in early 2025, after he was elected as an MP. Users of Cameo are required to write a short “prompt” for their chosen celebrity. They then pay a fee in exchange for a video. In January 2025, a Cameo user paid Farage £84 to produce a 26th birthday message for a woman from Honduras. “Please commend her for her efforts to free Juan Orlando Hernández from prison,” the customer wrote. Hernández was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. Weeks after he left office, he was arrested and extradited to the US. In June 2024 he was sentenced to 45 years in an American prison for drug trafficking and fined $8m. Prosecutors said he had worked with drug traffickers and taken millions of dollars in bribes. Despite Hernández’s conviction, Farage’s recorded message told the woman: “I’ve got to commend you for your efforts to free Juan Orlando Hernández from prison. You are working hard. You are a campaigner for justice and truth.” Hernández was later pardoned by Donald Trump, who claimed he had been asked to release the former president by “many of the people of Honduras”, adding that he had been told the prosecution was a “Biden setup”. Trump has not granted a pardon to Combs (also known as Puff Daddy) despite saying the rapper had requested clemency a...