The Trump administration is expected to receive about $10 billion from investors involved in the deal that transferred control of TikTok’s U.S. operations from Chinese parent ByteDance ( BDNCE ) to a new American entity. The payment is part of the agreement allowing the social-media app to continue operating in the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing, people familiar w...
The Trump administration is expected to receive about $10 billion from investors involved in the deal that transferred control of TikTok’s U.S. operations from Chinese parent ByteDance ( BDNCE ) to a new American entity. The payment is part of the agreement allowing the social-media app to continue operating in the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing, people familiar with the transaction. The fee is separate from the capital investors contributed to establish the new company running the U.S. business. Backers of the deal include Oracle ( ORCL ), private-equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi investment group MGX. The group paid about $2.5 billion to the U.S. Treasury when the transaction closed in January and is expected to make additional payments that will bring the total to roughly $10 billion. When outlining the framework for the deal last year, Donald Trump indicated the U.S. government would receive compensation for facilitating the agreement, saying the government expected to collect a significant payment tied to the transaction. The fee is highly unusual in corporate dealmaking. Historians and deal advisers say governments rarely receive direct payments for helping structure private-sector transactions. JD Vance previously said the newly created U.S. TikTok entity is valued at about $14 billion. Some technology analysts argue the valuation understates the platform’s true worth. Under the agreement, the new company will still share profits with ByteDance ( BDNCE ), which licensed TikTok’s recommendation algorithm to the venture and retains a stake of roughly 20%. The deal was structured to comply with a U.S. law requiring TikTok’s American operations to reduce Chinese ownership or face a potential shutdown over national security concerns tied to the app’s access to user data. The payment tied to the TikTok transaction is part of a broader push by the administration to take a more direct role in corporate deals involving major U.S. ...
Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin won her record-equaling eighth World Cup slalom of the season on Sunday but her main rival in the overall standings was second to maintain pressure on the American star. Shiffrin dominated the last race before the World Cup finals in Norway to beat Germany’s Emma Aicher by 0.94 seconds, with Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener a second off the pace in third. “That was re...
Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin won her record-equaling eighth World Cup slalom of the season on Sunday but her main rival in the overall standings was second to maintain pressure on the American star. Shiffrin dominated the last race before the World Cup finals in Norway to beat Germany’s Emma Aicher by 0.94 seconds, with Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener a second off the pace in third. “That was really amazing. I was like pretty nervous, pretty excited, but in the end it was challenging to ski,” Shiffrin said. “I pushed really hard. Quite happy to get to the finish, too.” Second place marked the career-best result in slalom for Aicher, who in recent weeks has become a threat to Shiffrin’s quest for what would be the American’s record-equaling sixth overall title. With four events remaining – one race in each discipline – the German all-rounder trails leader Shiffrin by 140 points, with each race win worth 100 points. Shiffrin had lost five points of her advantage when she finished one spot behind Aicher in fifth in Saturday’s GS, before gaining 20 on her rival following Sunday’s win. Focusing on slalom and GS this season, and two starts in super-G, Shiffrin has amassed 1,286 points in total, including 880 from the slalom discipline. She already locked up her record ninth slalom globe in January, weeks before the Olympics. Aicher has gathered nine podiums this season across slalom, super-G and downhill, with three wins from the speed events. Shiffrin also won eight slaloms in the 2018-19 season, a feat previously only achieved by Croatian great Janica Kostelic 25 years ago. Shiffrin raised her career tally to 72 wins in slalom and 109 overall – both are World Cup records.
The average retired worker receives about $2,076 per month from Social Security, according to the most recent data from the Social Security Administration. This implies that the average married couple receives about $4,152 per month. However, some get more than this. Much more. In fact, it's possible for married couples retiring in 2026 to get as much as $10,362 per month from Social Security. Tha...
The average retired worker receives about $2,076 per month from Social Security, according to the most recent data from the Social Security Administration. This implies that the average married couple receives about $4,152 per month. However, some get more than this. Much more. In fact, it's possible for married couples retiring in 2026 to get as much as $10,362 per month from Social Security. That's more than $124,000 in inflation-protected retirement income. How married couples can get a six-figure income from Social Security alone As mentioned, the maximum Social Security benefit for someone retiring in 2026 is $10,362 per couple, or $5,181 for an individual. That's the most the current Social Security benefits formula can produce. To get this benefit amount: You must have worked at least 35 years (probably more). You must have earned more than the Social Security taxable maximum in every year($176,100 in 2025). You must wait until age 70 to start collecting Social Security benefits. The latter two are extremely uncommon. In any given year, about 6% of American workers earn at least the Social Security taxable maximum. Plus, the highest reputable estimate I've seen found that 8% of people wait until 70 to start collecting benefits. Here's the point. To get the maximum possible Social Security benefit, you'll need to do something for 35 years that only 6% of people do in any one year. And you'll need to combine that with another action that only 8% of people do. For a married couple to max out Social Security, both spouses must do these things. So, while a Social Security benefit of more than $124,000 per year is mathematically possible for a retired married couple, it is very rare.
Key Points Nebius is seeing huge demand for its computing platform. Several new locations are coming online in 2026 to handle the increased capacity. 10 stocks we like better than Nebius Group › Sometimes, major public companies own shares of other businesses. Nvidia is no exception, and it has a few notable artificial intelligence (AI) investments in its portfolio. From its fourth-quarter Form 13...
Key Points Nebius is seeing huge demand for its computing platform. Several new locations are coming online in 2026 to handle the increased capacity. 10 stocks we like better than Nebius Group › Sometimes, major public companies own shares of other businesses. Nvidia is no exception, and it has a few notable artificial intelligence (AI) investments in its portfolio. From its fourth-quarter Form 13F, we know that Nvidia owns five stocks, one of which is Nebius (NASDAQ: NBIS). Nebius is an AI-first cloud computing provider that champions itself as providing the best available graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia to run workloads on. Apparently, Nvidia believes that Nebius' business is good enough to invest in, and it owns nearly 1.19 million shares, valued at over $100 million today. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » After digging into the growth Nebius expects this year, I think it's a no-brainer investment, as it's expected to grow far faster than Nvidia. Nebius is quickly expanding to meet demand As mentioned above, Nebius is an AI-first cloud computing provider that offers a full-stack solution for clients to rent out and run AI workflows on. Because it's offering a full-stack solution, users have everything they need to start training and running AI models without any additional services. This is a highly attractive offering, and Nebius' platform has become popular among individual developers, as well as larger companies like Microsoft and Meta Platforms. At the end of 2025, Nebius operated seven different data centers, up from two in 2024. While it has rented out space from existing data centers, it plans to own the majority of data centers that come online in 2026. By the end of the year, they expect to be operational in 16 different locations. This huge expansion is nec...
Cotton And Stefanik Bill Targets CCP Ties In U.S. Military Trucking Submitted by American Truckers United , Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) have introduced the “Trucking Security and CCP Disclosure Act of 2026.” This legislation requires any carrier handling Department of War equipment to certify that neither it nor its subcontractors are owned, controlled by, or maintain ...
Cotton And Stefanik Bill Targets CCP Ties In U.S. Military Trucking Submitted by American Truckers United , Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) have introduced the “Trucking Security and CCP Disclosure Act of 2026.” This legislation requires any carrier handling Department of War equipment to certify that neither it nor its subcontractors are owned, controlled by, or maintain significant ties to entities on the Department of Defense’s list of Chinese military companies (section 1260H of the 2021 NDAA). American Truckers United applauds Senator Cotton for finally taking concrete action on an issue we have been aggressively raising throughout his home state of Arkansas and nationwide for the past two years. Our January Zero Hedge piece — “Watch: Migrant Chinese Trucker Caught With Trailer Load Of ‘Pu ing Gas’ For Teens” — laid bare how Beijing-linked networks exploit weak CDL enforcement. Social media footage in that report showed Chinese nationals crossing the southern border illegally, rapidly obtaining California commercial licenses, and operating heavy trucks across the country with minimal English proficiency, unverifiable backgrounds, and no meaningful oversight. 🚨NON-DOMICILE CDL DRIVER CAUGHT HAULING HIDDEN HAZMAT LOAD THRU ARKANSAS - AND ARKANSAS HIGHWAY POLICE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FAIL TO CHECK HIS IMMIGRATION STATUS A non-domiciled CDL driver, licensed in California—unable to speak English and appearing to speak Mandarin… pic.twitter.com/dS0Schd3a9 — American Truckers 🚛🦅 (@atutruckers) January 6, 2026 Cotton’s bill directly addresses the unacceptable risk of Communist China gaining visibility into U.S. military supply chains through these drivers. We welcome his focus on protecting sensitive defense cargo from foreign adversary exploitation. However, the legislation remains narrowly scoped. The danger extends far beyond Chinese nationals or military freight alone. American Truckers United has confirmed that thousands of illegal aliens n...
SimonSkafar/E+ via Getty Images I Believe CF Remains A "Buy" After Its YTD Rally I covered CF Industries Holdings, Inc. ( CF ) only once, in January 2023 , rating it as a "Buy" that I thought would reprice much higher from the price levels at the time. We had to wait for over 2 years to see CF really moving - the total return since that call is about 70%, in sync with the S&P 500's ( SP500 ) retur...
SimonSkafar/E+ via Getty Images I Believe CF Remains A "Buy" After Its YTD Rally I covered CF Industries Holdings, Inc. ( CF ) only once, in January 2023 , rating it as a "Buy" that I thought would reprice much higher from the price levels at the time. We had to wait for over 2 years to see CF really moving - the total return since that call is about 70%, in sync with the S&P 500's ( SP500 ) returns, actually, so I'd not call my 2023 bullish thesis very successful. Anyway, CF is back in the game - even among fertilizer stocks - as the quotes have gone up by over 67% on a YTD basis: Seeking Alpha, CF's main page Despite this massive YTD rally, I still see CF trading much higher, as the latest earnings revisions that followed CF's Q4 results release don't seem to fully reflect the upcoming earnings boost from higher prices and selling volumes. The stock is still mispriced for what's coming in the next quarters for the fertilizer market (and CF in particular), so I'm leaving my "Buy" rating with no changes today. Why Do I Think So? CF showed $1.87 billion in Q4 sales (+23% YoY) and ~$3.06 in adjusted EPS (+71% YoY), which is 4.87% and almost 24% above the analysts' consensus views for the quarter, respectively. The ongoing geopolitical uncertainty keeps pushing global average selling prices across all major nitrogen segments higher, and it's been a very bullish driver for CF's margins - on the gross profit level, the company's margin increased from 34.4% last year to 40.9% in Q4. So, even amid the planned turnarounds and the controlled shutdown of its Trinidad facility, CF has managed to get to a massive YoY gain on main financial metrics. And the supply/demand environment remains favorable for future operating leverage extensions, as far as I see it. CF's IR materials CF is a low-cost North American producer, so it's kind of isolated from the exponentially higher natural gas prices that CF's peers in Europe and Asia are experiencing at the moment because of the Middle...
Businessman Kareem Hassan Ali, who lives in the Parklands area of Nairobi, told the BBC that there was about 2m (6.5ft) of water outside his block of flats on Saturday night, although this had now subsided.
Businessman Kareem Hassan Ali, who lives in the Parklands area of Nairobi, told the BBC that there was about 2m (6.5ft) of water outside his block of flats on Saturday night, although this had now subsided.
Bloomberg News Managing Editor for Media & Entertainment Lucas Shaw joins Lisa Mateo to preview tonight's Academy Awards and who may be the big winners. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg News Managing Editor for Media & Entertainment Lucas Shaw joins Lisa Mateo to preview tonight's Academy Awards and who may be the big winners. (Source: Bloomberg)
Alexandrum79/iStock via Getty Images I upgraded SNDL ( SNDL ) from Sell, issued in September when the stock was $2.37, to Hold in January, when it had dropped to $1.72. The stock kept dropping but has been stable near $1.50 recently. I reviewed the Q4 financials that were released this past week and am still not ready to upgrade the stock to Buy. Q4 Was Not Exciting SNDL reported its Q4 on March 1...
Alexandrum79/iStock via Getty Images I upgraded SNDL ( SNDL ) from Sell, issued in September when the stock was $2.37, to Hold in January, when it had dropped to $1.72. The stock kept dropping but has been stable near $1.50 recently. I reviewed the Q4 financials that were released this past week and am still not ready to upgrade the stock to Buy. Q4 Was Not Exciting SNDL reported its Q4 on March 12th, issuing a press release and filing its annual Financials & MDA, which were issued as part of the 40-F filed with the SEC . The company reported revenue of C$252.5 million in Q4, which was a decline of 2% from a year earlier. For the year, revenue of C$946.4 million was almost 3% higher despite the weakness in Q4. Gross profit expanded by 2% for the quarter and almost 8% for the full year. SNDL generated an operating profit of C$11.8 million in Q4 and a loss of C$6.3 million for the year. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was reported at C$23.7 million for Q4, which was flat with a year earlier, and it was C$70.2 million for the full year, up 17%. For the full year, SNDL reported EPS of -C$0.06 compared to -C$0.36 in 2024. SNDL operates several divisions, and Liquor Retail, the largest segment, shrank 3% to C$148.8 million. Same-store sales were -4%. Its operating income was C$12.2 million, down 1%. For the year, operating income in this segment expanded 5% to C$36.5 million. Gross margin for Q4 of 26.0% expanded from 24.8% in 2024-Q4. The Canadian cannabis business is broken into two parts. Cannabis Retail was flat at C$83.3 million, while Cannabis Operations was also flat at C$37.1 million. Removing the intersegment sales, the total cannabis segment revenue was C$103.7 million. Operating income for the cannabis segment was aided by a big improvement in Retail that offset a decline in Cannabis Operations and totaled C$9.9 million. For the full year, total cannabis revenue was C$406.8 million, up 11%. Operating income soared from about breakeven to C$28.6 million. The com...
Wall Street has separated virtually every business into a winner or loser when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) disruption. Remitly Global (RELY 1.90%) has been deemed a loser in AI and in the emergent era of stablecoin disruption. Shares of the stock have fallen 69% from all-time highs despite the company growing its revenue by more than 500% cumulatively in the last five years. What if I...
Wall Street has separated virtually every business into a winner or loser when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) disruption. Remitly Global (RELY 1.90%) has been deemed a loser in AI and in the emergent era of stablecoin disruption. Shares of the stock have fallen 69% from all-time highs despite the company growing its revenue by more than 500% cumulatively in the last five years. What if I told you Remitly could actually be an AI winner? Here's why this beaten-down stock is set up to succeed in the coming years and mint some millionaires as long-term shareholders. Disruption fears turn into opportunities Remitly operates a remittance platform for individuals and small businesses. With direct banking connections and a smooth mobile app, the company can offer lower fees than traditional wire transfers, all from a smartphone. This has enabled the business to grow from nothing a decade ago to 9.3 million active customers last quarter. Investors are concerned about Remitly amid a rise in stablecoin transactions. Along with AI-driven coding tools, there is a narrative that Remitly's network could be disrupted, driving the cost of international money transfers to zero and ruining Remitly's business model. This is misguided for a few reasons. First, a small team of coders cannot get the required licenses from every country needed to run a remittance business. Second, converting stablecoins to fiat currencies still incurs overhead costs that AI cannot eliminate. Third, Remitly is already using stablecoins on its own balance sheet to minimize its transfer costs, thereby allowing it to lower customer fees. Fourth, Remitly is expanding beyond remittances by allowing customers to spend and store money on the platform, opening new monetization avenues. And fifth, Remitly is using AI to improve the customer journey and make automated customer support services more cost-effective. A narrative of stablecoin and AI disruption is just that, a narrative, and one that Remitly sh...
The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is seen outside the company’s Museum of Innovation in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Jan. 12, 2025. (Adobe Stock Photo) The Iran conflict spreading across the Gulf is exposing weaknesses in the global semiconductor supply chain, leaving major chip hubs such as Taiwan and South Korea particularly vulnerable to disruptions in energy transport and criti...
The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is seen outside the company’s Museum of Innovation in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Jan. 12, 2025. (Adobe Stock Photo) The Iran conflict spreading across the Gulf is exposing weaknesses in the global semiconductor supply chain, leaving major chip hubs such as Taiwan and South Korea particularly vulnerable to disruptions in energy transport and critical industrial gases, according to the analyses. Advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence chips ultimately depend on stable energy supplies, much of which moves through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping corridor that carries a large share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments. Beyond energy risks, key chemical inputs used in semiconductor manufacturing are also under strain after Qatar, a major supplier, halted production of downstream gases at its facilities following an Iranian drone attack last week. Disruptions along this route could affect the electricity generation systems that support semiconductor manufacturing, one of the most energy-intensive industrial activities, the U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley assessed. Energy supply risks put Asian chip hubs on edge In Taiwan, which hosts a large share of the world’s leading-edge semiconductor production, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a leading supplier of advanced chips for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, accounts for roughly 9%–10% of the country’s total electricity consumption, the bank highlighted. As Taiwan generates a significant portion of its electricity from imported LNG and holds reserves covering roughly one and a half weeks of consumption, disruptions to energy shipping lanes could raise electricity costs and affect the economics of semiconductor production even if immediate shortages are avoided, it cautioned. The company’s shares on the Taipei Stock Exchange lost over 5%, while the broader TAIEX index also fell by about the sa...