Rising gas prices drive more people to Costco for cheaper fuel. But the real benefit to the retailer is the additional sales that come from the accompanying in-store traffic boost. With the Iran war in its fourth week and U.S. oil prices soaring to highs not seen in four years, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.91, according to AAA on Friday. While short of the ...
Rising gas prices drive more people to Costco for cheaper fuel. But the real benefit to the retailer is the additional sales that come from the accompanying in-store traffic boost. With the Iran war in its fourth week and U.S. oil prices soaring to highs not seen in four years, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.91, according to AAA on Friday. While short of the all-time high of $5.02 in April 2022, gas prices over the past month have spiked by roughly $1 per gallon. Gas prices vary widely from state to state, with New York about 13 cents below the national average and California about $1.75 above. "When we historically see increasing prices at the pump, it's simply good for Costco," Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the Investing Club, said during Friday's Morning Meeting. "People go maybe the extra mile or two to get that lower price, and while they're at the gas station, they'll take a look in the store." During its most recent earnings call on March 5, CFO Gary Millerchip forecasted that Costco would be a beneficiary of higher oil prices. "If gas prices start to increase, then we tend to see our value proposition resonates better with members, just because obviously we want to be the pricing authority on gas." Costco typically offers gas prices at a 9-cent-per-gallon discount versus the top five local competitors and a 24-cent discount versus the state average, according to Gordon Haskett. Those savings are more meaningful as fuel costs rise because inflation-weary consumers start to look for bargains wherever they can find them. According to Gordon Haskett's analysis of weekly and monthly foot traffic trends, visits to Costco gas stations "inflected sharply" in the week ended March 7, and continued to accelerate as prices moved higher. In a Friday note to clients, the analysts said the "cross-hop from fuel customers to in-warehouse remains 50%," meaning half of gas customers also go inside Costco stores. So, more ...
Gold prices posted their largest weekly percentage drop in more than 14 years Friday, bucking the metal’s usual safe-haven appeal even as the conflict in Iran continues to escalate.
Gold prices posted their largest weekly percentage drop in more than 14 years Friday, bucking the metal’s usual safe-haven appeal even as the conflict in Iran continues to escalate.
Shares of Hyperliquid Strategies have surged this month, amid expectations for the crypto world and traditional financial assets to increasingly converge on the Hyperliquid blockchain.
Shares of Hyperliquid Strategies have surged this month, amid expectations for the crypto world and traditional financial assets to increasingly converge on the Hyperliquid blockchain.
Micron CEO says company is unable to meet current demand DRAM production is being prioritized for AI and datacenters Consumers are reeling for the cheap RAM of yesteryear Micron Technology Inc. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has said that the company “are only able to supply, for our key customers in the midterm, about 50% to two-thirds of their requirements.” Mehrotra’s statement reflects the growing demand...
Micron CEO says company is unable to meet current demand DRAM production is being prioritized for AI and datacenters Consumers are reeling for the cheap RAM of yesteryear Micron Technology Inc. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has said that the company “are only able to supply, for our key customers in the midterm, about 50% to two-thirds of their requirements.” Mehrotra’s statement reflects the growing demand by datacenters for components related to AI compute that will likely worsen the supply of memory. The CEO added that, in order to meet the demand, the company will have to spend heavily on production. Article continues below RAM crisis not easing any time soon Mehrotra’s statements come after Micron reported excellent Q2 earnings, largely driven by datacenters looking for components to fill the ever growing demand for AI with specific reference to high-bandwidth memory - namely Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and NAND memory. But demand has massively outstripped supply, with Mehrotra stating that, “We are only able to supply, for our key customers in the midterm, about 50% to two-thirds of their requirements,” Mehrotra told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” Mehrotra also added that there is currently an “unprecedented gap between supply and demand” and that “we continue to expect supply-demand conditions for both DRAM and NAND to remain tight beyond calendar 2026.” This has been the catalyst for the ‘RAM crisis’ being experienced by consumers, with manufacturers shifting production to cater to the more profitable demands of AI, which has spiked memory prices across the board. TrendForce predicted that the price of DRAM will likely double quarter-over-quarter in its 1Q2026 memory industry survey. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partne...
(RTTNews) - Treasuries plummeted during trading on Friday, extending the downward move seen over the two previous sessions. Bond prices moved sharply lower in morning trading and remained firmly negative throughout the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moved opposite of its price, soared 11.0 basis points to 4.391 percent. With the substantial increase, the t...
(RTTNews) - Treasuries plummeted during trading on Friday, extending the downward move seen over the two previous sessions. Bond prices moved sharply lower in morning trading and remained firmly negative throughout the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moved opposite of its price, soared 11.0 basis points to 4.391 percent. With the substantial increase, the ten-year yield skyrocketed to its highest closing level since late July 2025. The sell-off by treasuries came amid continued volatility by the price of crude oil, which has been a key driver of trading in recent sessions. The price of crude oil for May delivery has shown wild swings over the course of the session but is currently spiking by more than 3 percent. Crude oil prices initially surged amid news of new attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East but gave back ground amid reports suggesting the U.S. is weighing lifting sanctions on some Iranian oil to increase supply and bring down prices. However, the surge resumed due in part to comments from President Donald Trump, who suggested in an interview with MS Now's Stephanie Ruhle that the U.S. would continue to attack Iran until they can "never rebuild." While oil prices have been on a rollercoaster rise in recent sessions, they remain sharply higher compared to when the war began, fueling concerns about the outlook for inflation and interest rates. CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates the Federal Reserve is not likely to cut interest rates this year and there's a chance rates could even be higher by the end of the year. Next week's trading will likely continue to be driven by developments in the Middle East war and the impact on crude oil prices. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
According to an SEC filing dated Feb. 17, 2026, RTW Investments disclosed a new position in iRhythm Holdings (NASDAQ:IRTC) after acquiring 1,181,990 shares during the fourth quarter. The fund’s quarter-end position in IRTC was valued at $210 million. iRhythm Holdings, Inc. is a digital healthcare company specializing in innovative cardiac monitoring solutions. Its core offering, the Zio platform, ...
According to an SEC filing dated Feb. 17, 2026, RTW Investments disclosed a new position in iRhythm Holdings (NASDAQ:IRTC) after acquiring 1,181,990 shares during the fourth quarter. The fund’s quarter-end position in IRTC was valued at $210 million. iRhythm Holdings, Inc. is a digital healthcare company specializing in innovative cardiac monitoring solutions. Its core offering, the Zio platform, leverages wearable biosensors and advanced analytics to improve arrhythmia detection and diagnosis. RTW Investments isn't a generalist fund making a casual bet -- it's a specialized healthcare and life sciences investor with deep sector expertise, which makes this move worth a closer look. Opening a brand-new position of this size signals real conviction: at roughly $210 million, the IRTC stake becomes RTW’s eleventh-largest holding -- representing about 2.1% of the fund's total 13F-reported portfolio -- a meaningful commitment from a manager that already holds concentrated positions in names like Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) and Insmed (NASDAQ:INSM) . Continue reading
8vFanI/iStock via Getty Images The private credit market has been hit hard, but Capital Southwest ( CSWC ) still trades near the highs. As with most other related stocks, the BDC, business development company, hasn't faced any real credit issues to warrant major stock weakness. My investment thesis is Neutral on the stock trading above NAV and far above the dip last October suggesting investors re...
8vFanI/iStock via Getty Images The private credit market has been hit hard, but Capital Southwest ( CSWC ) still trades near the highs. As with most other related stocks, the BDC, business development company, hasn't faced any real credit issues to warrant major stock weakness. My investment thesis is Neutral on the stock trading above NAV and far above the dip last October suggesting investors remain diligent and patient. Source: Finviz Strong History Capital Southwest has operated as a BDC since 1988 and primarily finances transactions backed by private equity firms. The typical investment is amongst diverse industries and geographic regions in companies with an EBITDA between $3 and $25 million. The typical loan leverage is 2.5x to 4.5x EBITDA with a loan-to-value of 25% to 50%. The loans are normally floating rate first liens, so Capital Southwest does face interest rate risk on any Fed rate cuts, though JPMorgan's chief U.S economist forecasts the Fed will not cut rates this year . The BDC reported FQ3'26 total investment income of $61.4 million, with $4.6 million coming from PIK. The market is increasingly worried about such payment in kind income, where the company issues shares or adds interest to the debt balance versus paying cash interest as a sign of credit issues. Source: Capital Southwest FQ3'26 presentation Capital Southwest obtains 93% of investment income from cash via interest and dividends, with 90% recurring. The stock has probably held value due to the limited PIK risk. The company has only seen limited credit issues, with just 1.5% of the loan portfolio in non-accrual. Capital Southwest estimates roughly 90% of the $1.8 billion loan portfolio is performing as expected or better, with only $29.6 million of loans in the high-risk categories. Due to the BDC classification, Capital Southwest has to return the majority of income to shareholders. The firm earned $0.60 of pre-tax net investment income during the quarter and paid out $0.64 in dividends...
Andrzej Rostek/iStock via Getty Images O stock: previous thesis and new developments I last covered Realty Income Corporation ( O ) stock on Feb. 7 with an article titled “Realty Income: Wall Street Finally Came To Its Senses.” The article was triggered by the sentiment shift from Wall Street ratings and rated the stock as a Buy. Since then, a few new catalysts have evolved both in terms of macroe...
Andrzej Rostek/iStock via Getty Images O stock: previous thesis and new developments I last covered Realty Income Corporation ( O ) stock on Feb. 7 with an article titled “Realty Income: Wall Street Finally Came To Its Senses.” The article was triggered by the sentiment shift from Wall Street ratings and rated the stock as a Buy. Since then, a few new catalysts have evolved both in terms of macroeconomic parameters and also company specifics. In the remainder of this article, I will focus on the top one change in each category as I see it: 1) the changes (aka increase) in both treasury and corporate bond rates and 2) the financials the company updated in its FQ4 2025 earnings report (ER). After examining these changes, I will explain why O still offers an attractive reward/risk curve. In particular, I will show why the stock is still attractive using the framework Benjamin Graham developed for picking defensive stocks, which can be particularly timely amid the market and geopolitical turbulence ongoing. To prime the rest of the discussion, let me start with a brief recap of the FQ4 ER for readers unfamiliar with the numbers. The company released its ER on Feb. 24, 2026. As shown in the snapshot below, the results were a bit mixed , with FFO missing consensus and revenue slightly above consensus. Furthermore, the company keeps reporting a tempered pace of growth. In the past quarter, YOY revenue growth remained in the single-digit range (9.37%), a far cry from the double-digit rates the company enjoyed for years. With this background, next I will argue 1) why I keep seeing a tempered growth rate ahead, but 2) the stock already offers worthwhile total return potential even if growth rates remain in the single digits. Seeking Alpha O stock: REITs and Rates The top reasons that caused me to see tempered growth are twofold. Firstly, I see large odds for elevated interest rates in the near future with the latest inflation data, the Fed’s latest dot plot, and also the pote...
Donald Trump has branded the UK and other Nato allies “cowards” but anger is growing among cabinet ministers that his war in Iran could jeopardise Britain’s fragile finances. Senior members of the government are in despair about the potential effects on the economy, with experts warning of higher energy prices and mortgage and borrowing costs. They have already begun contingency planning in case t...
Donald Trump has branded the UK and other Nato allies “cowards” but anger is growing among cabinet ministers that his war in Iran could jeopardise Britain’s fragile finances. Senior members of the government are in despair about the potential effects on the economy, with experts warning of higher energy prices and mortgage and borrowing costs. They have already begun contingency planning in case the conflict is protracted, including considering lowering speed limits to minimise fuel consumption. With the conflict continuing to escalate, the UK confirmed it was authorising the use of British military bases to strike Iranian missile launchers that are targeting commercial ships in the strait of Hormuz. Previously, UK bases were only being used to strike Iranian sites targeting British allies and interests in Gulf states. But the change is unlikely to make a significant difference to the conflict, leaving ministers scrambling to map out worst-case scenarios for the economy. The Treasury has set up an “Iran board” of ministers and officials that is considering a range of potential options, which government sources say include a universal bailout for energy bills. This would be a “last resort” if global prices remain high. There is anger among some ministers towards Trump, who posted on Truth Social on Friday that Nato allies were “cowards” for refusing his calls to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, claiming it would be “so easy for them to do, with so little risk”. No 10 declined to comment on the insult. The prospect of a global energy shock and further increases to the cost of living comes at a critical time for Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in the run-up to May’s local elections, when the government had hoped to emphasise the improving economy. Reeves, the chancellor, is now facing pressure on multiple fronts as the cost of government borrowing rose to its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis on Friday, and analysts said the markets are predicting interest ...