Key Points The robotics specialist entered the month dogged by controversy. It's also been slapped with a series of lawsuits related to this. 10 stocks we like better than Richtech Robotics › Richtech Robotics (NASDAQ: RR) stumbled into February dogged by a scandal and the legal issues that arose from it. Sentiment on the robotics company, already negative, didn't improve after it published a disa...
Key Points The robotics specialist entered the month dogged by controversy. It's also been slapped with a series of lawsuits related to this. 10 stocks we like better than Richtech Robotics › Richtech Robotics (NASDAQ: RR) stumbled into February dogged by a scandal and the legal issues that arose from it. Sentiment on the robotics company, already negative, didn't improve after it published a disappointing quarterly earnings report mid-month. Investors were in a selling mood, and the stock ended February with a more than 30% decline. Were investors misled? In the last week of January, Richtech announced in a press release that it was entering into a collaboration with tech industry giant Microsoft. The arrangement would see the two companies, in Richtech's words, "jointly develop and deploy agentic artificial intelligence capabilities in real-world robotic systems." 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 » It's every young company's dream to hook up with a famous business. So, understandably, investors piled into Richtech's shares on the apparent news. That euphoria didn't last long; two days later, an investigative news website called Hunterbrook Media reported that Microsoft told it the Richtech/Microsoft arrangement was "was a 'standard' customer program with 'no commercial element'." I should note two things here. First, Microsoft has not publicly commented on Richtech's press release (which remains on the latter company's website). Second, Hunterbrook Media is an enterprise closely affiliated with an active hedge fund, Hunterbrook Capital. Nevertheless, as January turned into February, Richtech was hit with a clutch of class action lawsuits over false or misleading statements made by management. Compounding this, the company detailed disappointing first-quarter fiscal 2026 results in a...
Australia is facing pressure to protect the Iranian women’s soccer team, the Lionesses, as the squad faces criticism at home over their failure to sing the national anthem at a Women’s Asian Cup match on the Gold Coast last week. The team’s campaign ended Sunday with a 2–0 defeat to the Philippines, meaning players now face uncertainty about their return to Iran. An Iranian state TV presenter labe...
Australia is facing pressure to protect the Iranian women’s soccer team, the Lionesses, as the squad faces criticism at home over their failure to sing the national anthem at a Women’s Asian Cup match on the Gold Coast last week. The team’s campaign ended Sunday with a 2–0 defeat to the Philippines, meaning players now face uncertainty about their return to Iran. An Iranian state TV presenter labeled the players traitors , according to reports , after they remained silent during the national anthem before an opening loss to South Korea on March 2. The players sang the anthem and saluted in later matches. Organizers have yet to outline departure arrangements for the players, who traveled to Australia only days before the US-Israeli war against Iran erupted. Read more at our Top Live Blog, here The Australian Iranian Council is calling on the government to ensure their protection and allow them to remain in Australia. The body launched an online petition , which garnered nearly 58,000 signatures as of Monday morning, urging Australian authorities to “ensure that no member of Iran’s women’s national football team is to depart Australia while credible fears for their safety remain.” Australia’s shadow attorney general Julian Leeser on Sunday urged the center-left government to provide asylum to the Iranian team, saying it “should not turn a blind eye to the danger these women face,” according to a statement. Read more: Iran Elevates Khamenei Son as Increased Strikes Shake Region Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Sunday declined to comment on whether Canberra had been in direct contact with the players. “I want to say about the Iranian women’s team that it has been really moving for Australians to see them in Australia,” Wong said, in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “I don’t want to get into commentary about the Iranian women’s team. Obviously this is a regime that we know has brutally cracked down on its people.” Read more: Australia Weighs Request From...
Key Points Home, baby, and beauty categories are being aggressively revamped to restore relevance and capture loyal, style-conscious families. Fiddelke focused on Target doing fewer categories exceptionally, shifting away from competing on everything at once. 10 stocks we like better than Target › In my opinion, the market is sleeping on Michael Fiddelke, and that might be exactly the opportunity ...
Key Points Home, baby, and beauty categories are being aggressively revamped to restore relevance and capture loyal, style-conscious families. Fiddelke focused on Target doing fewer categories exceptionally, shifting away from competing on everything at once. 10 stocks we like better than Target › In my opinion, the market is sleeping on Michael Fiddelke, and that might be exactly the opportunity long-term investors are looking for. Target's (NYSE: TGT) new CEO unveiled a sweeping turnaround strategy at the company's annual financial community meeting in Minneapolis last week, and Wall Street responded by pushing the stock higher even amid a broader sell-off. 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 » But peel back the headline numbers, and you'll find a plan that is less about wishful optimism and more about a leader who intimately understands where this company went wrong. "Target is not an everything store. ..." Fiddelke's most revealing declaration was: "Target is not an everything store. That's not what guests want from us." That line signals a radical philosophical shift. For years, Target chased breadth, trying to compete with Walmart on groceries while simultaneously matching Amazon on convenience. Fiddelke is drawing a line in the sand. He is betting that Target can win by doing fewer things at an exceptional level, rather than doing everything at a mediocre level. That takes courage for a company with 2,000 stores and $105 billion in annual revenue. The home reset is overdue Cara Sylvester, Target's new chief merchandising officer, acknowledged what analysts have said for years: Target lost its "Tarzhay" magic in the home category of goods. The retailer's plan to overhaul 75% of its decorative accessories by June and revamp bedding by fall is aggressive, with furniture, mattresses,...
Iran named the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as its new supreme leader as Tehran kept up its attacks on several countries on the ninth day of the war in the Middle East. Bloomberg's Wendy Benjaminson reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
Iran named the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as its new supreme leader as Tehran kept up its attacks on several countries on the ninth day of the war in the Middle East. Bloomberg's Wendy Benjaminson reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
“Country Joe” McDonald, a hippy rock star of the 1960s whose protest track I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag rebuked the Vietnam war and became a highlight of the Woodstock music festival, died on Sunday. He was 84. McDonald died in Berkeley, California. His death from complications of Parkinson’s disease was reported by Kathy McDonald, his wife of 43 years, in a statement issued by his publicist....
“Country Joe” McDonald, a hippy rock star of the 1960s whose protest track I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag rebuked the Vietnam war and became a highlight of the Woodstock music festival, died on Sunday. He was 84. McDonald died in Berkeley, California. His death from complications of Parkinson’s disease was reported by Kathy McDonald, his wife of 43 years, in a statement issued by his publicist. Born in 1942 in Washington DC and raised in El Monte, California, McDonald began writing songs as a teenager, when he taught himself folk, blues and country songs on guitar. As a musician, he was a longtime presence in the Bay Area scene, where peers included the Grateful Dead, the Jefferson Airplane and his one-time girlfriend, Janis Joplin. He wrote or co-wrote hundreds of songs, from psychedelic jams to soul-influenced rockers, and released dozens of albums. But he was known best for a talking blues track he completed in less than an hour in 1965 – the year the then US president, Lyndon Johnson, began sending ground forces to Vietnam. In the deadpan style of McDonald’s hero, Woody Guthrie, I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag was a mock celebration of war and early, senseless death. At the time he wrote the song, McDonald was co-leader of his newly formed band Country Joe and the Fish, and he added a special “F-I-S-H” chant before the song: “Give me an F, give me an I, give me an S, give me an H.” By the time his group appeared at Woodstock in 1969, the Fish were on the verge of breaking up, and the chant was replaced by the letters “F-U-C-K”. “Some people alluded to peace and stuff [at Woodstock], but I was talking about Vietnam,” McDonald told the Associated Press in 2019. He called the opening chant “an expression of our anger and frustration over the Vietnam war, which was killing us, literally killing us”. The song helped make him famous, but brought legal and professional consequences. In 1968, Ed Sullivan cancelled a planned appearance by Country Joe and the Fish on...
Ever-busy global pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY 0.86%) had quite an active February. Since much of the news coming from it was positive, investors were largely bullish on its future, even after price cuts to its No. 1 drug kicked in. This optimism was reflected in a share price rise of over 13% over the month. Growth where it counts Near the start of February, Bristol Myers Squib...
Ever-busy global pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY 0.86%) had quite an active February. Since much of the news coming from it was positive, investors were largely bullish on its future, even after price cuts to its No. 1 drug kicked in. This optimism was reflected in a share price rise of over 13% over the month. Growth where it counts Near the start of February, Bristol Myers Squibb published its final earnings report for 2025. It managed to grow its fourth-quarter revenue, albeit modestly, by 1% year over year to $12.5 billion. We can't say the same for net income not under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which sank at a double-digit rate of almost 24% to $2.6 billion, or $1.26 per share. That sounds a bit scary, but it's the latest chapter in a story that's been playing out for the healthcare giant for some time. It still derives much of its coin from the so-called "legacy portfolio," its collection of medicines that have either hit their patent cliffs or are rapidly approaching them. This includes the above-mentioned drug, blood thinner Eliquis, the net profits for which are shared with the company's big pharma partner Pfizer. In the quarter, legacy's revenue dived by 15% to slightly more than $5.1 billion. The contrast with Bristol Myers Squibb's very promising "growth portfolio" of drugs that have some time before the cliff looms is stark. Led by blockbuster cancer drug Opdivo, growth's growth (sorry) for the quarter was 16%, rising to nearly $7.4 billion. Regardless, the company easily exceeded the consensus analyst estimates in the quarter. With the expected decline in the legacy portfolio baked into their forecasts, analysts on average projected revenue of slightly over $12.2 billion and non-GAAP (adjusted) net income of $1.12 per share. Another positive factor in Bristol Myers Squibb's earnings release was management's encouraging guidance. It believes it will post revenue of roughly $46 billion to $47.5 billion for the full...
Investors in mortgage lender UWM Holdings (UWMC 4.22%) had a February nearly as unpleasant as the weather that month. The company's shares lost a bit over 10% of their value in the short month, despite the company reporting record loan volumes in its fourth quarter. A major home financier UWM is the indirect parent company of Universal Wholesale Mortgage, which, as its name implies, provides mortg...
Investors in mortgage lender UWM Holdings (UWMC 4.22%) had a February nearly as unpleasant as the weather that month. The company's shares lost a bit over 10% of their value in the short month, despite the company reporting record loan volumes in its fourth quarter. A major home financier UWM is the indirect parent company of Universal Wholesale Mortgage, which, as its name implies, provides mortgages to third-party sellers (mainly brokers). UWM controls the largest wholesaler, so its size and scope are considerable. The company posted its fourth-quarter and full-year results toward the end of the month, divulging that it originated $49.6 billion in home loans during the former period. This was up significantly from the $38.7 billion it earned in the same quarter of 2024. That filtered down to revenue of just over $945 million, for a robust year-over-year gain of 31%. As for profitability, net income not under generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP) zoomed nearly four times higher to more than $130 million, or $0.08 per share. Analysts were expecting a higher bottom-line bounce; however, their collective estimate for non-GAAP (adjusted) net income was $0.09 per share. On a brighter note, UWM beat on revenue, as the average prognosticator expectation for that line item was barely over $754 million. UWM benefited greatly from not one, but two cuts to the Federal Reserve's key interest rate during the quarter. This significantly ramped up refinancing volume, which almost doubled from both the previous and the year-ago quarters to $30.7 billion. Surges in key fundamentals didn't inspire UWM to boost its quarterly dividend. The company declared a $0.10 payout, which matches every one of its 20 previous disbursements. The new one is to be dispensed on April 9 to investors of record as of March 19. At least it's a high-yield dividend, paying out almost 10% at the most recent closing share price. Expand NYSE : UWMC UWM Holdings Today's Change ( -4.22 %) $ -0.17 Curre...
Operation Epic Fury - Déjà Vu Authored by Martin A. Perryman via RealClearDefense , In February, the Republican President, after conducting military operations against the government of a foreign power, appealed directly to the armed forces and to the citizens to rise and overthrow the regime. While this sounds ripped from Saturday’s headlines, it occurred in 1991, the President was George H. W. B...
Operation Epic Fury - Déjà Vu Authored by Martin A. Perryman via RealClearDefense , In February, the Republican President, after conducting military operations against the government of a foreign power, appealed directly to the armed forces and to the citizens to rise and overthrow the regime. While this sounds ripped from Saturday’s headlines, it occurred in 1991, the President was George H. W. Bush, the foreign power was Iraq, and the encouragement was directed to the Kurdish population of the northern provinces. The Kurds answered the call, believing the regime was ripe for chang e. In March and April, the uncoordinated uprising, consisting of several disgruntled factions, enjoyed initial success but failed to consolidate and organize. The regime, still formidable, rebounded and crushed the rebellion, leaving tens of thousands dead and nearly two million displaced. The U.S., after encouraging the uprising, stood quietly by. While it is likely that the majority of U.S. citizens have long forgotten this incident, it is equally likely that the majority of the people in the Middle East have not. This past weekend, President Trump, in coordination with Israel, ordered military strikes on military and leadership targets at multiple sites in Iran. Reports have confirmed that the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed and there may be more leadership casualties in the wreckage. Like President Bush before him, he made a similar appeal to the Iranian military and people, once these initial strikes subside, to rise and overthrow the government. This is unlikely to happen. First, the Iranian regime is far from devastated. The 86-year-old Ayatollah most certainly had a succession plan in place, and the regime has a fairly deep bench. While the loss of critical leadership in its foreign proxies has dramatically limited its ability to conduct operations abroad, that does not hold true domestically. There are plenty of loyalists ready to fill any leadership ga...