Dougal Waters/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Cornerstone Strategic Investment Fund ( CLM ) is a closed-end fund designed to provide diversified exposure across equities through both direct investments and investments in CEFs and ETFs. CLM has exhibited a strong track record over the years, led by strategic positioning using a sector and a thematic approach to constructing the portfolio. Accord...
Dougal Waters/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Cornerstone Strategic Investment Fund ( CLM ) is a closed-end fund designed to provide diversified exposure across equities through both direct investments and investments in CEFs and ETFs. CLM has exhibited a strong track record over the years, led by strategic positioning using a sector and a thematic approach to constructing the portfolio. Accordingly, the portfolio management team 's outlook for 2026 is for the AI theme to remain resilient, underpinned by increased investments in AI infrastructure. Despite near-term volatility in the technology sector, I have reason to believe that the market will remain strong throughout 2026 as the major hyperscalers continue to push for more AI compute capacity, supporting multiple verticals across the portfolio. Given the optimistic outlook, I am recommending CLM with a Buy rating. Investment Thesis for CLM As of the FY25 annual report, CLM was deeply positioned to benefit from the accelerating investment cycle for AI compute infrastructure. With the information technology sector making up 30.3% of net assets, CLM is positioned to experience significant exposure to the broader AI theme. Accordingly, the hyperscalers are expected to collectively invest $700b+ in capital spend for 2026, supporting both internal growth as well as the operations of the companies that supply the underlying data center infrastructure. CNBC Looking through the holdings, CLM invests in a wide variety of companies that are tied to the AI theme, which includes the major hyperscalers like Meta Platforms ( META ), Alphabet ( GOOG ), Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT ), and Amazon ( AMZN ). CLM also invests in a number of advanced and analog semiconductor developers and manufacturers that will benefit from the increased investments in building out compute capacity, including Broadcom ( AVGO ), Analog Devices ( ADI ), and NVIDIA ( NVDA ). CLM also invests in a number of companies in the industrials sector that will be...
Shares of Target (TGT 3.86%) backtracked on Wednesday after the discount retailer issued a cautious outlook for the remainder of the year. Mounting challenges Target is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The retail chain's prices are often a bit higher than those of warehouse club leader Costco and discount giant Walmart. Yet Target's wares haven't resonated as well with high-income shoppers a...
Shares of Target (TGT 3.86%) backtracked on Wednesday after the discount retailer issued a cautious outlook for the remainder of the year. Mounting challenges Target is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The retail chain's prices are often a bit higher than those of warehouse club leader Costco and discount giant Walmart. Yet Target's wares haven't resonated as well with high-income shoppers as those of some luxury destinations. The macroeconomic situation hasn't helped. Conflict in the Middle East has driven gasoline prices sharply higher, lifting overall inflation along with them. Expand NYSE : TGT Target Today's Change ( -3.86 %) $ -4.91 Current Price $ 122.33 Key Data Points Market Cap $58B Day's Range $ 117.05 - $ 123.13 52wk Range $ 83.44 - $ 133.10 Volume 20M Avg Vol 5.6M Gross Margin 25.44 % Dividend Yield 3.58 % Target is trying to lure shoppers to its stores by cutting prices and upping the quality of its merchandise. The strategy isn't cheap -- the retailer's investments in new stores and remodels drove its capital expenditures up by 31% to $1 billion in the first quarter -- but it appears to be working. Target's sales rose 6.7% to $25.4 billion. Comparable store sales, which measure revenue at locations open for at least 13 months, increased a healthy 4.7%. Additionally, comparable digital sales jumped 8.9%, fueled by a 27% surge in same-day delivery services. Moreover, Target's gross margin improved to 29% from 28.2% in the year-ago period, driven by supply chain efficiency initiatives and growth in high-margin advertising revenue. All told, Target's adjusted operating income climbed 29% to $1.1 billion, while adjusted earnings per share leaped 32% to $1.71. An urge for caution These solid results prompted Target to lift its full-year financial targets. Management now sees sales growth of 4%, up from a prior forecast of 2%, with adjusted per-share profits near the upper end of its $7.50 to $8.50 guidance range. However, during a conference call with...
Key Points Target's turnaround strategy is progressing. Yet management is concerned about a downturn in consumer sentiment. 10 stocks we like better than Target › Shares of Target (NYSE: TGT) backtracked on Wednesday after the discount retailer issued a cautious outlook for the remainder of the year. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-k...
Key Points Target's turnaround strategy is progressing. Yet management is concerned about a downturn in consumer sentiment. 10 stocks we like better than Target › Shares of Target (NYSE: TGT) backtracked on Wednesday after the discount retailer issued a cautious outlook for the remainder of the year. 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 » Mounting challenges Target is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The retail chain's prices are often a bit higher than those of warehouse club leader Costco and discount giant Walmart. Yet Target's wares haven't resonated as well with high-income shoppers as those of some luxury destinations. The macroeconomic situation hasn't helped. Conflict in the Middle East has driven gasoline prices sharply higher, lifting overall inflation along with them. Target is trying to lure shoppers to its stores by cutting prices and upping the quality of its merchandise. The strategy isn't cheap -- the retailer's investments in new stores and remodels drove its capital expenditures up by 31% to $1 billion in the first quarter -- but it appears to be working. Target's sales rose 6.7% to $25.4 billion. Comparable store sales, which measure revenue at locations open for at least 13 months, increased a healthy 4.7%. Additionally, comparable digital sales jumped 8.9%, fueled by a 27% surge in same-day delivery services. Moreover, Target's gross margin improved to 29% from 28.2% in the year-ago period, driven by supply chain efficiency initiatives and growth in high-margin advertising revenue. All told, Target's adjusted operating income climbed 29% to $1.1 billion, while adjusted earnings per share leaped 32% to $1.71. An urge for caution These solid results prompted Target to lift its full-year financial targets. Management now sees sales growth of 4%, up from a prior for...
TAIPEI, May 21 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electron's Taiwan unit told Reuters in a written response on Thursday that it respects the judicial process, takes the court ruling seriously and will not appeal in the TSMC trade secret case. In April, a Taiwan court fined the Taiwan unit of Japan's Tokyo Electron T$150 million ($5 million) in a case involving trade secrets related to TSMC's sensi...
TAIPEI, May 21 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electron's Taiwan unit told Reuters in a written response on Thursday that it respects the judicial process, takes the court ruling seriously and will not appeal in the TSMC trade secret case. In April, a Taiwan court fined the Taiwan unit of Japan's Tokyo Electron T$150 million ($5 million) in a case involving trade secrets related to TSMC's sensitive chip technology. (Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill)
AMD is making an aggressive move in the growing AI hardware market by promoting a clear message for 2026: advanced artificial intelligence workloads do not need to rely entirely on cloud services. The company has officially revealed pricing and additional specifications for its Ryzen AI Halo system, a compact desktop designed for developers and users requiring powerful local AI processing. Origina...
AMD is making an aggressive move in the growing AI hardware market by promoting a clear message for 2026: advanced artificial intelligence workloads do not need to rely entirely on cloud services. The company has officially revealed pricing and additional specifications for its Ryzen AI Halo system, a compact desktop designed for developers and users requiring powerful local AI processing. Originally introduced during CES earlier this year, the small-form-factor device aims to provide workstation-level AI performance in a desktop system roughly comparable in size to a Mac Mini. Ryzen AI Halo Targets Developers and Advanced Workloads The Ryzen AI Halo system will launch with a starting price of $3,999 and feature processors from AMD's Ryzen AI Max 300 series. The chipmaker also confirmed that an upgraded version powered by next-generation Ryzen AI Max 400 chips will arrive later in 2026. Unlike traditional consumer desktops built for general productivity and entertainment, Ryzen AI Halo is specifically designed for developers handling large language models, machine learning tasks, and advanced generative AI workloads. AMD believes local AI processing can also reduce long-term costs. Developers who regularly spend substantial amounts on cloud-based AI services and token usage may eventually save money through dedicated hardware investments. AMD Takes Aim at NVIDIA Competition The new desktop enters direct competition with NVIDIA's AI-focused PC platform. AMD highlighted several key advantages, including support for both Windows and Linux environments through its x64 architecture. The system also features a 50 TOPS neural processing unit and Radeon graphics with 40 compute units. Additionally, both AMD's Halo platform and competing systems include 128GB of unified memory, an increasingly important requirement for handling demanding AI models. Ryzen AI Max 400 Chips Bring Major Upgrades According to Engadget, AMD also revealed new information about its upcoming Ryzen AI...
In early May, President Prabowo Subianto summoned a handful of his most trusted advisers to his house in south Jakarta to discuss how to find more revenue as surging oil prices stretched Indonesia’s finances. The small group eventually agreed on a sweeping change that would fundamentally upend one of the most important sectors in the resource-rich Southeast Asian economy: The creation of a new sta...
In early May, President Prabowo Subianto summoned a handful of his most trusted advisers to his house in south Jakarta to discuss how to find more revenue as surging oil prices stretched Indonesia’s finances. The small group eventually agreed on a sweeping change that would fundamentally upend one of the most important sectors in the resource-rich Southeast Asian economy: The creation of a new state entity under sovereign wealth fund Danantara to oversee Indonesia’s world-leading exports of palm oil, coal and ferro-alloys, which together amounted to more than $65 billion last year. Prabowo had long railed against Indonesia’s tycoons, accusing them of harnessing national wealth for personal gain. He believed drastic action was needed to plug leakages that cost Indonesia billions of dollars a year, according to people familiar with the inner workings of the president’s office. They requested anonymity to speak about private discussions, along with about a dozen others in government and industry circles who contributed to this account. The full extent of the plan was kept under wraps for weeks, held so closely that even top officials at Danantara were in the dark as rumors of the overhaul began spreading on Tuesday throughout the capital, prompting the benchmark stock index to plummet. Danantara executives including CEO Rosan Roeslani urgently sought clarification from Prabowo’s inner circle, which finally came later that day. Upon finding out, Danantara chief investment officer Pandu Sjahrir immediately started calling industry executives, asking them how it was possible for the one-year-old agency to implement such a brazen strategy. One insider simply replied: “Unworkable.” Panic also spread through some of Indonesia’s biggest companies. Employees at one of the nation’s top coal firms frantically texted contacts in Prabowo’s government to get confirmation, but received no response. Even on Wednesday, as the president prepared to address parliament, some in the resou...