SolStock/E+ via Getty Images I’ve said it before and I’ll say it as long as investors are helped by my bringing it to light: the income feels good, but the bear market won't. Whether we are talking about the pioneers like JPMorgan Premium Income ( JEPI ) or its Nasdaq 100 peer ( JEPQ ), the new breed of single-stock yield maximizers, my stance remains the same, after researching and investing in this sub-segment of ETFs for decades (I owned my first of this ilk about 20 years ago). These are marketing masterpieces first and investment solutions second. To be crystal clear, that doesn’t mean they are bad investments. As long as the investor realizes exactly and completely what they are. My past articles on this topic have drawn mostly appreciative reviews, but certainly some challenges to my logic. That is, some investors assume that “everyone knows” that an ETF like NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF ( QQQI ) is essentially an exchange of some upside for a gaudy yield and a slightly improved downside capture. Maybe they do, and maybe they don’t. We can’t count them all up, which is why the comments feature of Seeking Alpha is so valuable. Because we can discuss it, and those who are newer to the topic (this or any other) can learn simply by reading the conversation. But here’s the issue, which I’m compelled to write about again here, and with QQQI as the prime target, since we are now at the riskiest moment to own that ETF’s underlying asset (Nasdaq 100) since well before these covered call ETFs were popular. And that creates a setup for the worst-case scenario: where investors do not account for risks that have not occurred in their investment tenure. Frankly, we have not seen a true bear market in 18 years. All downturns since have been flash-crashes more than bear cycles. Even the 2022 decline was done in nine months’ time. Data by YCharts Since my key argument is that QQQI is only as good as the performance of QQQ, here's QQQI since its early 2024 inception. Before...

sankai/iStock via Getty Images The Question This article follows the one I recently published with the title " I Traced The AI Capex, And Found 6 Profit Pools (One Is An Asymmetric Bet) ". It has been one of my most-read pieces with strong engagement from many SA members who left valuable comments, so I invite you to read it to better understand what we are going to discuss in this article. I have been working on the AI supply chain for almost two years, and I am finally putting together the data I collected from single stocks and the macroeconomic variables I have been observing to build a framework that can be used to interpret what is happening and to help us make better investing decisions. I talked about 6 different AI layers, with L3 being the layer where the hyperscalers sit, funding this big investment cycle that moves in the direction of the lower layers (L0-L2), which are part of the infrastructure build-out supply chain, while also fueling new returns into the upper levels (L4-L5). One question, among many, was left unanswered. If the hyperscalers are deploying $725 billion at the cost of reporting negative or near-zero FCF this year, what happens to each dollar of hyperscaler's CapEx that flows across the supply chain? Here, I want to share the multiplier framework I am building. Before I do so, I want to briefly recall what some investors fear. The hyperscales have increased their capex by 77% YoY, as of now. In FY25, we ended up with roughly $410 billion; now we are already at $725 billion, with a chance that the number will increase by the end of the year. Now, the four main leaders have something like $420 billion in cash at hand, so there is no doubt that they can afford these investments. But some people wonder whether returns will ever appear on this massive capital deployment. Just a few days ago, Goldman Sachs published an article on this topic (incidentally, I found it also talks about our, by now, well-known profit pools), basically saying tha...

charnsitr/iStock via Getty Images The last time I spoke about REGENXBIO ( RGNX ) it was with a Seeking Alpha article entitled " REGENXBIO : Remains A "buy rating" Despite BLA Review Delay Of RGX-121 For Hunter Syndrome ." With respect to this article, I mentioned that the company had a delay with respect to its review of its gene therapy RGX-121 [clemidsogene lanparvovec] for the treatment of patients with MPS II [Hunter Syndrome]. In particular, the FDA delayed the review of this therapy for the treatment of these patients to February 8, 2026. I had a "Buy" rating at that time, and now I'm going to downgrade this stock to a "Hold" rating instead. The reason for doing so is because, sadly, the company did not receive FDA approval of RGX-121 but instead was met with a Complete Response Letter [CRL] . If that wasn't enough, the company also suffered an issue with its MPS I gene therapy candidate RGX-111, which was placed on a clinical hold before this CRL. The FDA noted similarities between this and RGX-121 and placed this on a clinical hold as well. However, with the most recent Q1 of 2026 earnings update , it mentioned that it was able to get the partial clinical hold of RGX-121 lifted. This still doesn't change the fact that the company is only in the appeals process of the CRL. It filed an appeal for RGX-121 to treat MPS II patients and continues to engage a path forward. It might get lucky and find a quicker route to approval, but in the CRL the FDA didn't like several measures, like the CSF HS D2S6 as a surrogate endpoint to predict full clinical benefit, nor the use of natural history data as an external control. The company just released positive data from the phase 3 portion of its phase 1/2/3 AFFINITY DUCHENNE trial for the treatment of patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy [DMD] using RGX-202. The primary endpoint was met in terms of microdystrophin expression, plus there was a correlation of such expression improving functional clinical outcomes [NSAA]...

IURII KRASILNIKOV/iStock via Getty Images The last article covered how I was not a fan of Ovintiv ( OVV ) and have not been for some time. One of the things I watch is that Ovintiv continues to report losse s while the company that sold probably the most significant amount of production to Ovintiv recently, Paramount Resources ( PRMRF ) continues to report profits . I understand that Ovintiv had a loss mostly due to an impairment charge and that impairment charges themselves may not be a "real" loss because the company will make money with the assets impaired even if they were not impaired. The lower of cost or market calculation has long been a dispute between countries and academics that has resulted in more than one treatment of the calculation. Canada, for example, allows the recovery of impairment charges under IFRAS accounting with the idea that recovering commodity prices will allow that impairment to essentially undo itself. The United States GAAP accounting makes no such allowances for the eventual recovery of commodity prices. As a result, there can be a "game" in the United States whereby some companies "clear the decks" in one year only to report above average profitability after that. That cannot happen in Canada because those charges can come back. This points to looking at the average profitability of a company (including write-offs) because a business is run to be sufficiently profitable period (not just profitable during the good times and then the profits get partially or fully wiped-out during downturns). Sometimes this escapes the beginning investor because that investor looks at the good times and those great profits while ignoring the losses during a downturn. What I Look For (Simple Overview) In my case, I do review the accounting for a company like Paramount Resources to make sure that those profits are "real" and not some figment of accounting that will boomerang later. What I find is that the balance sheet has no debt and there is a big cas...

Getty Images I definitely need to cover this recent work from Merck ( MRK ) because (1) it’s very interesting scientifically and (2) it has over 130 authors on the paper (!). It details the industrial synthesis of enlicitide , which is a beast of a macrocyclic peptide (see below!). Just looking at the structure tells you that this must be a ferociously active molecule with huge commercial potential, because there is just no way that anyone is going to make this on scale - or find a way to make this on scale! - otherwise. This drug hits the PCSK9 pathway, which has been quite a story over the years. This target was famously discovered by finding a few people with mutations in the underlying gene who had bizarrely low LDL concentrations and who seemed to have correspondingly robust cardiac health. The first drugs on the market to take action on this idea were antibodies to block the receptor, and those were approved by the FDA some years ago as injectables. They do indeed lower LDL, but (as that last blog post link notes) the results in humans have to be characterized as "good but not revolutionary". I don’t know of any studies that show a definite advantage compared to statin (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor) therapy, for example, although there are statin side effects in some patients that have to be taken into account. (On the other side of the question, statins seem to have some beneficial pleiotropic effects that we don’t quite understand, and whether these are shared by PCSK9 inhibition, I don’t know.) And there are other people for whom statin therapy just comes up short, to be sure. Several companies have tried over the years to come up with a small-molecule (well, smallish-molecule) approach that could lead to an orally dosed therapy as opposed to an injectable, and Merck has apparently made it over the finish line with this one. Here are the results of a trial in over 1900 patients (compared to over 900 in the placebo group) treated with the drug over a year, 20...

standret/iStock via Getty Images The US economy appears to be re-accelerating here in Q2 after nearly grinding to a halt in Q1 (0.5% annualized pace). April US CPI and PPI were more elevated than expected. The anticipated average effective Fed funds rate in December rose more than 15 bp in the past week and is up slightly more than 75 bp since the war on Iran began. The Dollar Index ( DXY ) rose almost 1.4% last week, its best week since the first week of March. In addition to the swinging pendulum of market expectations for the Federal Reserve, which has a new chair (and will likely usher in a new era for the central bank), UK political drama that appears likely to bring down Prime Minister Starmer added to the pressure on sterling and UK stocks and bonds. The market has taken the yen to its lowest level since the end of April's apparent intervention. It will begin the week ahead testing the resolve of Japanese officials. Lastly, Trump-Xi meeting was heralded as a success by both sides. Despite Beijing's promises to buy more beans, beef, planes and energy from the US, Washington is in a dilemma. If it proceeds with the $14 bln arms package to Taiwan, it will risk the wrath of Beijing, but if it is shelved, the administration's domestic critics will cry "appeasement". US Drivers: There are two main drivers of the Dollar Index now - changes in US rates and risk environment. The rolling 60-day correlation of changes in the Dollar Index and two-year yields is near a six-month high of a little over 0.50. The correlation with changes in the 10-year yield is slightly higher. Changes in the two- and 10-year yields are around 0.90 correlated over the past 60 days, which is the most in three years. Changes in the Dollar Index and the VIX are correlated over the past 60 days by the most since June 2024 (~0.49). The Dollar Index is inversely correlated with the S&P 500 itself ( SPX ), and the inversion over the past 60 sessions is the most since January 2023 (~-0.57). Data: Af...

Stock market investors await Nvidia earnings and the Google I/O Conference, as well as a key conference from the Atlanta Federal Reserve.

Key PointsBrookfield's CEO reminded investors to look past short-term macroeconomic noise.

Qualcomm vs First Solar: Which Stock Could Rally? Trefis

商務部新聞發言人就中美經貿磋商初步成果答記者問，指兩國就關稅安排形成積極共識，並就中方向美方採購飛機等達成安排。 問：5月14日，中美兩國元首舉行會晤，宣布中美經貿團隊達成了總體平衡積極的成果。請問商務部能否介紹經貿磋商成果更多情況？ 答：中美兩國元首在北京舉行會晤，深入討論經貿問題，為兩國經貿關係發展進一步指明了航向，提供了戰略指引。習近平主席指出，中美經貿關係的本質是互利共贏，兩國經貿團隊達成了總體平衡積極的成果，這對兩國老百姓、對世界都是好消息，雙方應一道維護好當前來之不易的良好勢頭。 5月13日，中美經貿團隊在南韓舉行經貿磋商，為兩國元首會晤作了經貿領域的準備。磋商中，雙方以元首重要共識為指引，秉持相互尊重、和平共處、合作共贏的原則，就解決彼此關注的經貿問題和進一步拓展務實合作進行了坦誠、深入、富有建設性的交流磋商。此後，雙方就成果具體內容進行了密集磋商，取得了積極共識。 目前，雙方在經貿領域達成的初步成果主要有以下幾方面： 一是雙方繼續落實好前期磋商成果，並就有關關稅安排形成積極共識。 二是雙方同意成立貿易理事會和投資理事會，討論雙方貿易投資領域各自關切。雙方將通過貿易理事會討論有關產品降稅等問題，原則同意對同等規模的各自關注產品降稅。 三是雙方將解決或實質性推動解決部分農產品非關稅壁壘和市場准入問題。美方將積極推動解決中方在乳製品和水產品自動扣留、介質盆景輸美、山東禽流感無疫區認定等方面的長期關切。中方也將積極推動解決美方牛肉設施註冊、部分州禽肉輸華等關切。 四是雙方同意通過一定範圍產品的相互降稅等安排，推動擴大包括農產品在內等領域的雙向貿易。 五是雙方就中方向美方採購飛機，以及美方保障飛機發動機、零部件對華供應等達成有關安排，同意繼續推進相關領域合作。 中美經貿磋商取得積極成果，說明雙方秉持相互尊重、平等互惠的精神，通過開展對話與合作，是能夠找到解決問題的辦法的。目前雙方仍在就有關成果的細節進行磋商。雙方經貿團隊將按照兩國元首確定的共識方向，盡快鎖定成果，共同做好落實，為下一步的中美經貿合作與世界經濟注入更多確定性和穩定性。

商務部新聞發言人就中美經貿磋商初步成果答記者問，指兩國就關稅安排形成積極共識，並就中方向美方採購飛機等達成安排。 問：5月14日，中美兩國元首舉行會晤，宣布中美經貿團隊達成了總體平衡積極的成果。請問商務部能否介紹經貿磋商成果更多情況？ 答：中美兩國元首在北京舉行會晤，深入討論經貿問題，為兩國經貿關係發展進一步指明了航向，提供了戰略指引。習近平主席指出，中美經貿關係的本質是互利共贏，兩國經貿團隊達成了總體平衡積極的成果，這對兩國老百姓、對世界都是好消息，雙方應一道維護好當前來之不易的良好勢頭。 5月13日，中美經貿團隊在南韓舉行經貿磋商，為兩國元首會晤作了經貿領域的準備。磋商中，雙方以元首重要共識為指引，秉持相互尊重、和平共處、合作共贏的原則，就解決彼此關注的經貿問題和進一步拓展務實合作進行了坦誠、深入、富有建設性的交流磋商。此後，雙方就成果具體內容進行了密集磋商，取得了積極共識。 目前，雙方在經貿領域達成的初步成果主要有以下幾方面： 一是雙方繼續落實好前期磋商成果，並就有關關稅安排形成積極共識。 二是雙方同意成立貿易理事會和投資理事會，討論雙方貿易投資領域各自關切。雙方將通過貿易理事會討論有關產品降稅等問題，原則同意對同等規模的各自關注產品降稅。 三是雙方將解決或實質性推動解決部分農產品非關稅壁壘和市場准入問題。美方將積極推動解決中方在乳製品和水產品自動扣留、介質盆景輸美、山東禽流感無疫區認定等方面的長期關切。中方也將積極推動解決美方牛肉設施註冊、部分州禽肉輸華等關切。 四是雙方同意通過一定範圍產品的相互降稅等安排，推動擴大包括農產品在內等領域的雙向貿易。 五是雙方就中方向美方採購飛機，以及美方保障飛機發動機、零部件對華供應等達成有關安排，同意繼續推進相關領域合作。 中美經貿磋商取得積極成果，說明雙方秉持相互尊重、平等互惠的精神，通過開展對話與合作，是能夠找到解決問題的辦法的。目前雙方仍在就有關成果的細節進行磋商。雙方經貿團隊將按照兩國元首確定的共識方向，盡快鎖定成果，共同做好落實，為下一步的中美經貿合作與世界經濟注入更多確定性和穩定性。

TSMC Files Q1 2026 Reviewed Financials with U.S. SEC The Globe and Mail

Mario Tama/Getty Images News Twenty people died in Japan after receiving Tavneos, a rare disorder therapy developed by Amgen ( AMGN ), prompting its local partner Kissei ( KSPHF ) to urge healthcare professionals to exercise caution in prescribing the drug, The Wall Street Journal reported. Additionally, at least 22 people developed a potentially fatal liver injury after taking Tavneos, also known as Avacopan, which Kissei ( KSPHF ) has licensed from Australia’s CSL Limited ( CSLLY ) ( CMXHF ), the owner of the ex-US rights to the drug. “Kissei has begun providing information to healthcare professionals, urging them to refrain from using this drug for new patients and to carefully assess the continuation of treatment for existing patients, explaining the risks of liver dysfunction and alternative treatments to ensure patient safety,” the company said in a statement. Kissei added that a causal link between Tavneos and the deaths hasn't been established in all 20 cases. An Amgen ( AMGN ) spokesperson noted that the mortalities occurred out of over 8,500 patients treated with its therapy in Japan. Indicated for a group of rare disorders called anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody associated vasculitis, Tavneos is not new to safety concerns. In April, the U.S. FDA sought to pull the product from the market, citing safety concerns and potential manipulation of data supporting its approval. Tavneos, which was added to Amgen's ( AMGN ) portfolio with the U.S. drugmaker's $3.7B acquisition of ChemoCentryx in 2022, added $423M and $36M in sales last year from the U.S. and international markets, respectively. Marketed since 2022 in Japan for granulomatosis with polyangiitis and microscopic polyangiitis, Tavneos has generated ¥11.5B for the fiscal year ending March 2026, Kissei ( KSPHF ) said, adding that the company has yet to assess the financial impact of its decision. More on Amgen, Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., etc. CSL Limited (CSLLY) Shareholder/Analyst Call Tran...

黄仁勋站在街边端着一碗炸酱面边拌边吃，连连点赞。身边随行人员告诉他：“这是你上次吃过的另一家分店。” 在意外被英伟达创始人CEO黄仁勋“带货”后，相关炸酱面连锁店和茶饮店纷纷推出“大佬同款”套餐。 5月16日，第一财经记者搜索黄仁勋前一日在街边直接“开拌”的连锁面馆“方砖厂69号炸酱面”南锣鼓巷总店，该店已经推出了“皮衣战神同款”老北京爆肚粉、黑猪肉炸酱面套餐和奶皮子酸奶。 据前一日网友公布的视频，黄仁勋身穿皮衣，站在街边端着一碗炸酱面边拌边吃，连连点赞。身边随行人员告诉他：“这是你上次吃过的另一家分店。” 公开信息显示，方砖厂69号炸酱面是北京“胡同美食”代表之一，还被米其林必比登推荐，在北京有40多家分店。 黄仁勋也是“碳水爱好者”。上个月，他现身美国加州湾区一家海底捞门店，也引发网友围观，他同样是起身端着碗边聊边吃，还“兼职”表演甩面。 他也爱好各种饮料。5月15日，黄仁勋喝了“国民茶饮”蜜雪冰城。第二天，记者查询蜜雪冰城官方点餐小程序，发现商家已火速上线“大佬同款”蜜桃四季春。 不过黄仁勋可能不喜欢喝豆汁。据网上视频，在尝过一口豆汁后，这位富豪面露苦相，还用中文问：“这什么东西啊？” 5月15日晚，黄仁勋还出现在北京一家潮汕菜餐厅门外，店员向黄仁勋送上礼物时，他客气地感谢，然后坐上他的迈巴赫座驾。 黄仁勋曾在中国的一次春节答谢会上与第一财经等媒体记者聊到中国各地的食物，并询问中国有哪些有名的地方菜系以及各自的特色，并表示自己想去那些还没去过的城市品尝美食。 今年1月，黄仁勋还突降上海，意外出现在浦东陆家嘴附近乳山路锦徳菜市场，品尝并亲自选购水果小吃等食物，还给老板娘发红包引来群众围观合影。

Palantir Technologies Inc. Class A Trade Ideas — BOATS:PLTR TradingView

今年上海国际电影电视节开启“超长放映模式”，从6月12日延续至6月28日。 5月15日，2026年上海国际电影电视节在北京召开新闻发布会并宣布：第28届上海国际电影节将于6月12日至21日举行，第31届上海电视节将于6月22日至26日举行。 今年上海国际电影电视节开启“超长放映模式”，从6月12日延续至6月28日。在电影节闭幕后的一周，特设金爵奖获奖影片和热门影片的集中回放。电影节排片表将于6月3日公布，6月5日在官方指定票务平台大麦App开票。 本届电影节全球征片共收到来自125个国家和地区的约4100部影片报名，再创历史新高，并首次收到加纳、莫桑比克等国家的影片报名。约3000部符合竞赛条件的影片中，世界或国际首映占比高达82%，“上海首发”日益成为中外电影人的首选。 本届金爵奖评委席依然星光璀璨。中国香港演员梁朝伟出任主竞赛单元主席，新加坡导演、制片人、编剧陈哲艺掌舵亚洲新人单元。评委团21位成员来自16个国家和地区，较完整地代表了全球电影文化的多元面貌，确保评审过程更具全球视野与文化包容性。 由上海国际电影节发起成立的“一带一路”电影节联盟已拥有来自50个国家的57个成员。在“一带一路”电影周，通过“礼遇阿拉伯”主题生活市集等活动，促进中阿人文交流。本届电影节还将围绕“中埃建交70周年”推出“埃及电影周”，展映“埃及电影之父”尤瑟夫·夏因的经典作品及优质埃及新片；围绕“中巴文化年”策划“聚焦巴西”影展单元，展示当代巴西的多元社会图景。本届上海电视节期间将进行1976年巴西电视剧《女奴》的特别放映，邀请主角伊佐拉的扮演者卢塞莉亚·桑托斯来华交流。 本届电影节国际影片放映数量超420部，将被策划为不同的主题单元进行总计超1500场的放映——包括比利・怀尔德和玛丽莲・梦露双大师回顾展、英国导演肯·洛奇90周岁等个人影展，“特别纪念”单元放映桑弧、黄佐临、沈耀庭等老艺术家的代表作；“大好河山”国产片专题策划将挑选约15部华语经典与新人佳作；影展选片紧跟前沿技术发展，除了IMAX、杜比等高规格放映技术外，精选斯皮尔伯格科幻经典、法国动画大师阿内・拉鲁科幻动画三部曲，并持续关注全球范围内的优质科幻新片及使用AI技术的电影作品。 今年的上海国际电影电视节期间，光影将笼罩城市的每一个角落，“城市五感”概念的提出，让电影节变得可触摸、可品尝、可漫步。 小红书上的百场见面会，让...

A collision between a goods train and a bus killed at least eight people and injured 35 in the Thai capital Bangkok on Saturday, police said. Firefighters and rescuers cordoned off the collision site, with investigators seen peering into the burnt-out shell of the bus. Pedestrians were ushered away from the busy downtown intersection, which is used by tens of thousands of vehicles each day. “Eight people have died and 35 others were injured,” Bangkok police chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit said. The...

格隆汇5月16日｜伊朗西北部一家发动机油厂发生火灾，目前暂无伤亡报告。

港超，九龍城1-1逼和港會。 紅衫九龍城的門將艾迪臣，出迎撞跌對手，判十二碼。但球證經「VAR」覆核，推翻判決。不過港會之後開出短角球，都靠麥根尼高接應傳中頂入，9分鐘領先1-0。 大部分時間雨戰。九龍城在換邊後，憑隊長卡朗近門補中，追平1-1，亦是全場比數。九龍城繼續排挑戰組第一，港會以11分排榜尾。

Key PointsThe Social Security Administration will announce the 2027 Social Security COLA in October.

下周日是佛誕，嗇色園聯同國際佛光會香港協會合辦浴佛活動，吸引不少善信參與洗滌心靈。 虔誠合掌、閉目靜心，再從太子佛左肩沐浴三次，洗滌心塵。 譚女士說：「我第一次來的，覺得很舒服，覺得很靜心，沒有其他念頭。」 農曆四月初八是佛誕，也是浴佛節。相傳佛祖誕生時，天空降下九龍，吐水為佛祖洗淨聖身，演變成浴佛儀式。嗇色園聯同國際佛光會香港協會，首度舉辦「佛誕浴佛」活動。一連兩日在黃大仙祠內月老廣場舉行，祠內設有互動專區，包括拓印體驗、「三好拼圖」遊戲等。 賴先生表示：「希望像那三句說話，存好心、說好話，有時候自己有些不太好想法，有時控制不到自己情緒，希望內心可以平靜些。」 有旅客來求姻緣、拜月老之餘，亦靠浴佛「加持」。 內地旅客祈小姐稱：「我求了姻緣，希望自己姻緣可以美滿一些。覺得參與感滿滿的，然後覺得整體不只是祭拜，也可了解源頭、文化。」 東莞旅客陳小姐說：「我的祈求希望接下來這一年心想事成，因為我最近再找新的工作機會，最想順順利利。」 祠方提醒善信，浴佛的時候不要急，要輕輕力，不要令水濺了出來。黃大仙祠因應浴佛活動，延長周末開放時間。

It has long been suspected the Revolutionary Guards – specifically its Quds Force – was responsible for recent terror attacks in London, Canada and across Europe The arrest by US authorities of an alleged Iraqi commander of an Iranian-backed militia group now accused of responsibility for 18 terrorist attacks in the UK, Europe and Canada since the beginning of the Iran war is an astonishing development – yet not the least bit surprising. According to a complaint unsealed on Friday in a federal court in Manhattan, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi is allegedly responsible for organising – among other operations – a string of recent firebombings of banks and other targets in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, an arson attack against a synagogue and a shooting at the US consulate in Toronto in March, as well as – most recently – a wave of attacks on mainly Jewish targets in the UK including places of worship and charities. Continue reading...

问：5月14日，中美两国元首举行会晤，宣布中美经贸团队达成了总体平衡积极的成果。请问商务部能否介绍经贸磋商成果更多情况？ 答：中美两国元首在北京举行会晤，深入讨论经贸问题，为两国经贸关系发展进一步指明了航向，提供了战略指引。习近平主席指出，中美经贸关系的本质是互利共赢，两国经贸团队达成了总体平衡积极的成果，这对两国老百姓、对世界都是好消息，双方应一道维护好当前来之不易的良好势头。 5月13日，中美经贸团队在韩国举行经贸磋商，为两国元首会晤作了经贸领域的准备。磋商中，双方以元首重要共识为指引，秉持相互尊重、和平共处、合作共赢的原则，就解决彼此关注的经贸问题和进一步拓展务实合作进行了坦诚、深入、富有建设性的交流磋商。此后，双方就成果具体内容进行了密集磋商，取得了积极共识。 目前，双方在经贸领域达成的初步成果主要有以下几方面： 一是双方继续落实好前期磋商成果，并就有关关税安排形成积极共识。 二是双方同意成立贸易理事会和投资理事会，讨论双方贸易投资领域各自关切。双方将通过贸易理事会讨论有关产品降税等问题，原则同意对同等规模的各自关注产品降税。 三是双方将解决或实质性推动解决部分农产品非关税壁垒和市场准入问题。美方将积极推动解决中方在乳制品和水产品自动扣留、介质盆景输美、山东禽流感无疫区认定等方面的长期关切。中方也将积极推动解决美方牛肉设施注册、部分州禽肉输华等关切。 四是双方同意通过一定范围产品的相互降税等安排，推动扩大包括农产品在内等领域的双向贸易。 五是双方就中方向美方采购飞机以及美方保障飞机发动机、零部件对华供应等达成有关安排，同意继续推进相关领域合作。 中美经贸磋商取得积极成果，说明双方秉持相互尊重、平等互惠的精神，通过开展对话与合作，是能够找到解决问题的办法的。目前双方仍在就有关成果的细节进行磋商。双方经贸团队将按照两国元首确定的共识方向，尽快锁定成果，共同做好落实，为下一步的中美经贸合作与世界经济注入更多确定性和稳定性 本文来源： 商务部 风险提示及免责条款 市场有风险，投资需谨慎。本文不构成个人投资建议，也未考虑到个别用户特殊的投资目标、财务状况或需要。用户应考虑本文中的任何意见、观点或结论是否符合其特定状况。据此投资，责任自负。

Key PointsMany people have too little money saved for retirement in their 401(k).

Funtap/iStock via Getty Images Introduction REITs ( XLRE ) have finally started recovering after years of underperformance from elevated interest rates. XLRE is up 10.33% year-to-date, but many quality names still trade at attractive valuations. One of the most notable examples is Realty Income ( O ), who trades at a forward P/AFFO multiple of approximately 14.0x, below the sector median's 16.15x. And this is despite maintaining an A-rated balance sheet, accelerating investment activity, and a guidance raise in their latest quarter. This signifies that they could see solid upside once rates continue to trend down, likely in the next 6-12 months. However, growth is still disappointing compared to peers and their past performance, confirming the market's skepticism around their gargantuan size and future growth efforts. However, their transition from a traditional NNN REIT into a diversified capital allocator with the launch of their U.S. Core Plus fund, which is expected to be the REIT's next growth engine. In this article, I discuss O's latest earnings, fundamentals, their new private capital fund, and why the stock remains attractive for long-term income-oriented investors. Previous Thesis I last covered Realty Income this past March, upgrading them from a hold to a buy . This was due to their renewed growth initiatives with the launch of their private fund and strategic partnerships. Anticipated rate declines also played a role in the upgrade, leading me to believe they could see solid price appreciation because of their valuation. During earnings, they showed stable fundamentals with occupancy rising modestly, raising AFFO guidance, and accelerated investment activity. Their upside potential to their 2028 price target of $80, 5% dividend yield, and valuation below the peer average were incentives for income-focused investors. Since then, the share price has been volatile, down 7%. The S&P ( SP500 ) in comparison is up close to 9%. Seeking Alpha Private Fund Becom...

SCM Jeans/iStock via Getty Images This monthly article series provides a top-down analysis of the utilities sector based on subsector metrics focused on value, quality and momentum. It may also help analyze sector ETFs such as the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLU ) and Vanguard Utilities ETF ( VPU ), whose largest holdings are used to calculate these metrics. Shortcut The next two paragraphs in italics describe the dashboard methodology. They are necessary for new readers to understand the metrics. If you are used to this series or if you are short of time, you can skip them and go to the charts. Base Metrics I calculate the median value of five fundamental ratios for each industry: Earnings Yield ("EY"), Sales Yield ("SY"), Free Cash Flow Yield ("FY"), Return on Equity ("ROE"), Gross Margin ("GM"). The reference universe includes large companies in the U.S. stock market. The five base metrics are calculated on the trailing 12 months. For all of them, higher is better. EY, SY, and FY are medians of the inverse of Price/Earnings, Price/Sales and Price/Free Cash Flow. They are better for statistical studies than price-to-something ratios, which are unusable or non available when the "something" is close to zero or negative (for example, companies with negative earnings). I also look at two momentum metrics for each group: the median monthly return (RetM) and the median annual return (RetY). I prefer medians to averages because a median splits a set into a good half and a bad half. A capital-weighted average is skewed by extreme values and the largest companies. My metrics are designed for stock-picking rather than index investing. Value and Quality Scores I calculate historical baselines for all metrics. They are noted respectively as EYh, SYh, FYh, ROEh, GMh, and they are calculated as the averages on a look-back period of 11 years. For example, the value of EYh for hardware in the table below is the 11-year average of the median Earnings Yield in hardware comp...

PeopleImages/iStock via Getty Images The story for Esperion Therapeutics ( ESPR ) as a publicly traded company came to an end on May 1st with an acquisition offer by healthcare investment firm ARCHIMED . Yet, the investing story for ESPR is not over. The company has agreements for milestone payments going out to 2030, and the acquisition deal is structured to allow shareholders to continue to participate in that potential upside. This feature is important since the milestone payments were a major part of the story for ESPR. The payments both gave a floor to the company’s finances as well as offered proof of the ongoing viability of the business. Still, I decided to take my profits now and forgo the future cash streams. Recognizing that some may like the terms of the distributions, I am only downgrading ESPR to a hold. A Maximum 5% Annual Yield Thanks to financing deals like secondary share offerings, ESPR significantly grew its outstanding shares over the last 5 years. Growing from 26.3M in June, 2021 to 257.4M in the latest quarter, this near 10x increase in outstanding shares delivered major dilution that created significant overhang on the price of shares. Esperion ramped outstanding shares at a rapid pace. (Seeking Alpha) The stock could not sustain breakouts above its peak in January 2024, a high that preceded a stock offering at $1.50. That event helped put ESPR on my radar and, as I have written in previous articles, the stock became a speculative investment for me. However, that same growth in outstanding shares means that ARCHIMED’s offer to share milestone payments with shareholders amounts to an insufficient reason for me to keep holding the shares. Investing in ESPR required close attention to key technical levels as well as fundamental catalysts. ( TradingView ) ARCHIMED will grant Contingent Value Rights (CVRs) to facilitate milestone payments to shareholders. Per the 8-K , which provides full details about the deal , “each CVR will entitle the holder ...

The list of troubles is long in the world today. Geopolitical conflicts, rising energy prices, lingering trade wars, and the potential for a global recession are some of the big ones. And yet there are companies that manage to muddle through whatever troubles come their way while continuing to reward investors with reliable, growing dividends. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) are two such companies. Coca-Cola and P&G share one very notable attribute. They are both Dividend Kings , each with over 50 consecutive annual dividend increases. That's important because a streak like that can't be built by accident. It requires a strong business plan that is executed well in both good and bad markets. Both of these companies have proven they are resilient businesses through the entire economic cycle many times over at this point. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading

【商务部就中美经贸磋商初步成果答记者问】财联社5月16日电，商务部新闻发言人就中美经贸磋商初步成果答记者问。 问：5月14日，中美两国元首举行会晤，宣布中美经贸团队达成了总体平衡积极的成果。请问商务部能否介绍经贸磋商成果更多情况？ 答：中美两国元首在北京举行会晤，深入讨论经贸问题，为两国经贸关系发展进一步指明了航向，提供了战略指引。习近平主席指出，中美经贸关系的本质是互利共赢，两国经贸团队达成了总体平衡积极的成果，这对两国老百姓、对世界都是好消息，双方应一道维护好当前来之不易的良好势头。 5月13日，中美经贸团队在韩国举行经贸磋商，为两国元首会晤作了经贸领域的准备。磋商中，双方以元首重要共识为指引，秉持相互尊重、和平共处、合作共赢的原则，就解决彼此关注的经贸问题和进一步拓展务实合作进行了坦诚、深入、富有建设性的交流磋商。此后，双方就成果具体内容进行了密集磋商，取得了积极共识。 目前，双方在经贸领域达成的初步成果主要有以下几方面： 一是双方继续落实好前期磋商成果，并就有关关税安排形成积极共识。 二是双方同意成立贸易理事会和投资理事会，讨论双方贸易投资领域各自关切。双方将通过贸易理事会讨论有关产品降税等问题，原则同意对同等规模的各自关注产品降税。 三是双方将解决或实质性推动解决部分农产品非关税壁垒和市场准入问题。美方将积极推动解决中方在乳制品和水产品自动扣留、介质盆景输美、山东禽流感无疫区认定等方面的长期关切。中方也将积极推动解决美方牛肉设施注册、部分州禽肉输华等关切。 四是双方同意通过一定范围产品的相互降税等安排，推动扩大包括农产品在内等领域的双向贸易。 五是双方就中方向美方采购飞机以及美方保障飞机发动机、零部件对华供应等达成有关安排，同意继续推进相关领域合作。 中美经贸磋商取得积极成果，说明双方秉持相互尊重、平等互惠的精神，通过开展对话与合作，是能够找到解决问题的办法的。目前双方仍在就有关成果的细节进行磋商。双方经贸团队将按照两国元首确定的共识方向，尽快锁定成果，共同做好落实，为下一步的中美经贸合作与世界经济注入更多确定性和稳定性。

双方继续落实好前期磋商成果，并就有关关税安排形成积极共识。 问：5月14日，中美两国元首举行会晤，宣布中美经贸团队达成了总体平衡积极的成果。请问商务部能否介绍经贸磋商成果更多情况？ 答：中美两国元首在北京举行会晤，深入讨论经贸问题，为两国经贸关系发展进一步指明了航向，提供了战略指引。习近平主席指出，中美经贸关系的本质是互利共赢，两国经贸团队达成了总体平衡积极的成果，这对两国老百姓、对世界都是好消息，双方应一道维护好当前来之不易的良好势头。 5月13日，中美经贸团队在韩国举行经贸磋商，为两国元首会晤作了经贸领域的准备。磋商中，双方以元首重要共识为指引，秉持相互尊重、和平共处、合作共赢的原则，就解决彼此关注的经贸问题和进一步拓展务实合作进行了坦诚、深入、富有建设性的交流磋商。此后，双方就成果具体内容进行了密集磋商，取得了积极共识。 目前，双方在经贸领域达成的初步成果主要有以下几方面： 一是双方继续落实好前期磋商成果，并就有关关税安排形成积极共识。 二是双方同意成立贸易理事会和投资理事会，讨论双方贸易投资领域各自关切。双方将通过贸易理事会讨论有关产品降税等问题，原则同意对同等规模的各自关注产品降税。 三是双方将解决或实质性推动解决部分农产品非关税壁垒和市场准入问题。美方将积极推动解决中方在乳制品和水产品自动扣留、介质盆景输美、山东禽流感无疫区认定等方面的长期关切。中方也将积极推动解决美方牛肉设施注册、部分州禽肉输华等关切。 四是双方同意通过一定范围产品的相互降税等安排，推动扩大包括农产品在内等领域的双向贸易。 五是双方就中方向美方采购飞机以及美方保障飞机发动机、零部件对华供应等达成有关安排，同意继续推进相关领域合作。 中美经贸磋商取得积极成果，说明双方秉持相互尊重、平等互惠的精神，通过开展对话与合作，是能够找到解决问题的办法的。目前双方仍在就有关成果的细节进行磋商。双方经贸团队将按照两国元首确定的共识方向，尽快锁定成果，共同做好落实，为下一步的中美经贸合作与世界经济注入更多确定性和稳定性。