Hong Kong’s residential property market made gradual and steady gains in the Year of the Snake, with the momentum set to continue in the Year of the Horse, according to the city’s largest real estate agencies. “The Year of the Snake marked the end of three years of decline and a strong rebound fuelled by policy easing and wealth effect [from the Hong Kong stock market’s gain],” said Derek Chan Hoi...
Hong Kong’s residential property market made gradual and steady gains in the Year of the Snake, with the momentum set to continue in the Year of the Horse, according to the city’s largest real estate agencies. “The Year of the Snake marked the end of three years of decline and a strong rebound fuelled by policy easing and wealth effect [from the Hong Kong stock market’s gain],” said Derek Chan Hoi-chiu, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. “The Year of the Horse will build on the momentum,”...
China’s military and a tech firm have released high-resolution satellite imagery showing the US military build-up around Iran, amid reports that Washington may strike Tehran as soon as this weekend. Images posted on social media on Thursday by Chinese commercial satellite analysis company MizarVision show the latest American deployments at bases in Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The images from J...
China’s military and a tech firm have released high-resolution satellite imagery showing the US military build-up around Iran, amid reports that Washington may strike Tehran as soon as this weekend. Images posted on social media on Thursday by Chinese commercial satellite analysis company MizarVision show the latest American deployments at bases in Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The images from Jordan show 18 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters and six EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft...
The first time I saw a Tesla Model S was also the first time I met Elon Musk. It was 2011, and he had brought an early Model S to the West Side Highway in Manhattan, where we met to go for a drive . It didn’t strike me as a crucial meeting. In the course of my work as an automotive reporter, I met with plenty of people shilling new cars, and back then Musk was just the founder of a company that me...
The first time I saw a Tesla Model S was also the first time I met Elon Musk. It was 2011, and he had brought an early Model S to the West Side Highway in Manhattan, where we met to go for a drive . It didn’t strike me as a crucial meeting. In the course of my work as an automotive reporter, I met with plenty of people shilling new cars, and back then Musk was just the founder of a company that merged with another company that became PayPal. Only the wonkiest of tech nerds might have recognized him by name. The sedan he brought that day was the opposite of the big-spoiler sports cars I was used to seeing, like the Porsche 911 GT3. Completely smoothed to maximize air flow, the Model S was simultaneously low-key and unique. When I first got inside, it felt weird that there was no sound or vibration to indicate that anything had turned on, but the car felt surprisingly fast as we headed up the highway. So fast, Musk said, that it could beat an Aston Martin. He claimed it would change the world. I took that with genuine curiosity and a big pinch of salt; no one I knew at the time was asking for a laptop on wheels. Fifteen years later, Tesla Inc. has sold hundreds of thousands of that smooth sedan I first saw in New York. (The company doesn’t break out sales numbers between the Model S and X, but their cumulative sales total is higher than 630,000 . A spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.) By 2023 the Model S had helped make Tesla the only automaker in the “ Magnificent 7 ,” a term coined to describe seven stocks leading gains in the S&P 500 index: Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia — and Tesla. Things have shifted since those heady days. Its first-mover advantage long gone, the Model S has grown outdated among the wide range of EVs now available in the US. These are cars every other automaker had developed to keep up with Tesla. Today Tesla is the only member of the Magnificent 7 whose reported earnings have declined since 202...
The first time I saw a Tesla Model S was also the first time I met Elon Musk. It was 2011, and he had brought an early Model S to the West Side Highway in Manhattan, where we met to go for a drive . It didn’t strike me as a crucial meeting. In the course of my work as an automotive reporter, I met with plenty of people shilling new cars, and back then Musk was just the founder of a company that me...
The first time I saw a Tesla Model S was also the first time I met Elon Musk. It was 2011, and he had brought an early Model S to the West Side Highway in Manhattan, where we met to go for a drive . It didn’t strike me as a crucial meeting. In the course of my work as an automotive reporter, I met with plenty of people shilling new cars, and back then Musk was just the founder of a company that merged with another company that became PayPal. Only the wonkiest of tech nerds might have recognized him by name. The sedan he brought that day was the opposite of the big-spoiler sports cars I was used to seeing, like the Porsche 911 GT3. Completely smoothed to maximize air flow, the Model S was simultaneously low-key and unique. When I first got inside, it felt weird that there was no sound or vibration to indicate that anything had turned on, but the car felt surprisingly fast as we headed up the highway. So fast, Musk said, that it could beat an Aston Martin. He claimed it would change the world. I took that with genuine curiosity and a big pinch of salt; no one I knew at the time was asking for a laptop on wheels. Fifteen years later, Tesla Inc. has sold hundreds of thousands of that smooth sedan I first saw in New York. (The company doesn’t break out sales numbers between the Model S and X, but their cumulative sales total is higher than 630,000 . A spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.) By 2023 the Model S had helped make Tesla the only automaker in the “ Magnificent 7 ,” a term coined to describe seven stocks leading gains in the S&P 500 index: Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia — and Tesla. Things have shifted since those heady days. Its first-mover advantage long gone, the Model S has grown outdated among the wide range of EVs now available in the US. These are cars every other automaker had developed to keep up with Tesla. Today Tesla is the only member of the Magnificent 7 whose reported earnings have declined since 202...
A few months ago, something very unusual happened at the Federal Reserve , though only seasoned central bank watchers likely sensed this particular disturbance in the force. At the December meeting on interest rates, the vote was split 9-3. Nine members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee (including Chair Jerome Powell ) elected to lower the benchmark by a quarter percentage point, and two others ...
A few months ago, something very unusual happened at the Federal Reserve , though only seasoned central bank watchers likely sensed this particular disturbance in the force. At the December meeting on interest rates, the vote was split 9-3. Nine members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee (including Chair Jerome Powell ) elected to lower the benchmark by a quarter percentage point, and two others dissented in favor of no reductions. President Donald Trump ’s appointee, Stephen Miran , also dissented, because he thought economic conditions warranted a much bigger whack. This kind of disagreement is rare at the central bank, which strives for unanimity in its policy decisions. It was the first time since 2019 that three officials on the Federal Open Markets Committee voted against a policy decision. The real news, however, was not so much the split vote itself but how Powell spoke about it. In a press conference after, rather than dismissing the dissent, he made a point of celebrating the committee’s robust debate , saying “the discussions we have are as good as any we’ve had in my 14 years at the Fed.” Tolerating—or even encouraging—dissent at the central bank is one of several moves by Powell that could fortify the 112-year-old institution against the Trump administration’s unrelenting efforts to take control of monetary policy . Further removed from the public eye, but perhaps no less important, is the long-running charm offensive Powell has been waging on Capitol Hill, a campaign that’s intensified in recent months as the president and administration officials have ramped up their attacks on Powell and other members of the governing board. Powell’s positive spin on the interest-rate debate is a striking departure from the Fed’s typical e pluribus unum approach, says Dario Perkins , managing director at research firm TS Lombard . Perkins, who’s studied central banks for years, says unanimous votes have become the norm in the US and are considered a hallmark of a st...
BEIJING, Feb. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: JD and HKEX: 9618 (HKD counter) and 89618 (RMB counter)), a leading supply chain-based technology and service provider, today announced that it plans to release its unaudited fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results on Thursday, March 5, 2026, before the U.S. market opens. JD.com’s management will hold a conference call at...
BEIJING, Feb. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: JD and HKEX: 9618 (HKD counter) and 89618 (RMB counter)), a leading supply chain-based technology and service provider, today announced that it plans to release its unaudited fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results on Thursday, March 5, 2026, before the U.S. market opens. JD.com’s management will hold a conference call at 7:00 am, Eastern Time on March 5, 2026, (8:00 pm, Beijing/Hong Kong Time on March 5, 2026) to discu
Easier than a blood test, saliva tests have the potential to detect cavities, infections and even cancer. But a lack of insurance coverage and other obstacles stand in the way of wider use. (Image credit: dusanpetkovic)
Easier than a blood test, saliva tests have the potential to detect cavities, infections and even cancer. But a lack of insurance coverage and other obstacles stand in the way of wider use. (Image credit: dusanpetkovic)
Keeping students off their devices is the new norm in many schools. We talked to students and educators at one Kentucky school to see how it's working. (Image credit: Lydia Schweickart for NPR)
Keeping students off their devices is the new norm in many schools. We talked to students and educators at one Kentucky school to see how it's working. (Image credit: Lydia Schweickart for NPR)
If you're a bargain-seeking cryptocurrency investor, there might not be a better time to buy than right now. Almost every single major cryptocurrency is selling at a steep discount. One of the most intriguing of these is Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) . This longtime investor favorite is trading for an unbelievably low price of just $0.28, more than 90% below its all-time high of $3.10. Even if Cardano onl...
If you're a bargain-seeking cryptocurrency investor, there might not be a better time to buy than right now. Almost every single major cryptocurrency is selling at a steep discount. One of the most intriguing of these is Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) . This longtime investor favorite is trading for an unbelievably low price of just $0.28, more than 90% below its all-time high of $3.10. Even if Cardano only makes it back to the $1 price level this year, that's an incredible 257% gain. One catalyst that could send Cardano higher is the imminent launch of new spot Cardano exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Despite a market cap of about $10 billion, Cardano does not yet have an easy, convenient way for institutional investors to get exposure to it. The launch of new spot Cardano ETFs should change all that, unleashing a wave of new institutional investor money. Continue reading
Guyana Fast-Tracks Gas Expansion As Oil Cash Piles Up Authored by Julianne Geiger via OilPrice.com, Guyana’s sights are set much higher than just being the new oil darling of the Western hemisphere. It wants to be the gas darling too. That’s the frame coming out of Georgetown as Guyana lines up a second gas pipeline project, even before the first one is fully online. President Irfaan Ali said a ne...
Guyana Fast-Tracks Gas Expansion As Oil Cash Piles Up Authored by Julianne Geiger via OilPrice.com, Guyana’s sights are set much higher than just being the new oil darling of the Western hemisphere. It wants to be the gas darling too. That’s the frame coming out of Georgetown as Guyana lines up a second gas pipeline project, even before the first one is fully online. President Irfaan Ali said a new gas development at Berbice will be finalized very soon, aimed at bringing more associated gas from ExxonMobil’s offshore fields to shore. The first gas-to-shore pipeline is expected to start up later this year, supplying roughly 300 megawatts to a new power plant near the capital. For a country long plagued by high power costs and periodic blackouts, this goes well beyond being a side project. Guyana’s oil boom has been nothing short of staggering. Since Exxon’s 2015 discovery, output has surged and the country has become one of the fastest-growing producers in the world. But crude exports don’t automatically create factories, processing plants or tech hubs. They create revenue. What you do with it is another matter. Ali’s argument is that gas is the bridge. Instead of exporting everything offshore, Guyana wants to use its associated gas to anchor manufacturing, agri-processing and potentially petrochemicals. He’s also floated partnering with neighboring Suriname on the second project to scale it beyond a purely domestic build. Exxon says it is committed to moving quickly on gas development, but it has also been blunt that gas is more complicated than oil. Upstream chief Dan Ammann said the offshore pipeline infrastructure is ready, but onshore power plants, permitting and market frameworks need to advance in parallel. In short, the company will invest as the regulatory and commercial pieces fall into place. This is where ambition meets execution. Guyana is trying to convert an oil windfall into a broader industrial base while capital and political momentum are still stro...
Nikolay Ponomarenko/iStock via Getty Images 19 weeks ago, I initiated coverage of the Amplify Alternative Harvest ETF ( MJ ) with a Sell, and it has declined by almost 33%. While I remain concerned about this cannabis ETF, I am upgrading it to Hold. A Look at MJ When I reviewed this ETF in October, the ETF had 5.27 million shares outstanding, and there are now 4.97 million. At $25.58, the ETF has ...
Nikolay Ponomarenko/iStock via Getty Images 19 weeks ago, I initiated coverage of the Amplify Alternative Harvest ETF ( MJ ) with a Sell, and it has declined by almost 33%. While I remain concerned about this cannabis ETF, I am upgrading it to Hold. A Look at MJ When I reviewed this ETF in October, the ETF had 5.27 million shares outstanding, and there are now 4.97 million. At $25.58, the ETF has a market cap of just $127 million. I pointed to its structure of holding another fund, Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF ( CNBS ), and some cannabis stocks. There were nine investments at that time, and there are currently nine (as of 2/18): Amplify The amount of CNBS has increased from 47.5%, while each of the names that were in the ETF then are still there now. The amount of Tilray Brands, Inc. ( TLRY ) has declined from 22.7%, but this is due to a much lower price currently than then. CNBS currently has very large exposure to a few names, with Trulieve Cannabis Corp. ( TCNNF ), Green Thumb Industries Inc. ( GTBIF ), and Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. ( CURLF ) all above 10%. The ETF trades near its NAV, and the volume was very high in December due to excitement over potential cannabis rescheduling. The stock ran up from a low of $23.66 in November to as high as $46.75 in December, but it has come almost all the way back to its six-month low: Schwab Thinkorswim The 52-week low (and all-time low) was set in March and then tested in April, leaving a potential double-bottom near $16. I see support at $25 and then at $20, and I see resistance at $30. Since 10/10, the New Cannabis Ventures Global Cannabis Stock Index has plunged 22.9%, while MJ has dropped by more, falling 32.8%. Its largest holding, CNBS, has declined by 55.2%, and TLRY, which was 22.7% of the ETF, has declined by 55.9%. How MJ Compares to Other Cannabis ETFs The cannabis space does not have very many ETFs, as some have closed. The biggest ETF, AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF ( MSOS ), is similar to CNBS. It is even m...
Mustapha GUNNOUNI/iStock via Getty Images By Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy, and Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist Energy - US oil inventory declines add to bullish sentiment “We’re either going to get a deal, or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,” were the words of US President Donald Trump as he put pressure on Iran to come to a nuclear deal. The escalation we have seen i...
Mustapha GUNNOUNI/iStock via Getty Images By Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy, and Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist Energy - US oil inventory declines add to bullish sentiment “We’re either going to get a deal, or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,” were the words of US President Donald Trump as he put pressure on Iran to come to a nuclear deal. The escalation we have seen in recent days with the build-up of US military assets in the region makes it increasingly difficult to find a path to de-escalation. However, President Trump has given Iran 10-15 days to agree to a deal. Failure to do so would likely lead to US military action against Iran. The key question is then how prolonged any action would be and what the ultimate aim of the US is. A short and targeted campaign with limited retaliation from Iran (similar to what was seen in June 2025) is starting to look like the best-case scenario. This would likely only lead to a short-term spike in oil prices. However, prolonged action from the US and less measured retaliation from Iran would be more concerning for oil markets, increasingly posing a risk to Iranian and broader Persian Gulf energy infrastructure. In addition, if Iran feels that the aim of any action is more about regime change, we could see a much more aggressive response. The heightened uncertainty that the market faces over the next two weeks suggests that oil prices are likely to continue to price in a large risk premium. US oil inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) yesterday would have only provided further support to the oil market, with a bullish release. US crude oil inventories fell by a little more than 9m barrels over the last week, with exports jumping 851k b/d week-on-week, while imports fell 281k b/d WoW. Meanwhile, refined products also saw inventory declines, with gasoline and distillate stocks falling 3.21m barrels and 4.57m barrels, respectively. The fall in refined product stocks comes des...
Sandwish/iStock via Getty Images SAP ( SAP ), the company behind the software on which the majority of large businesses in the world are run, wasn't spared from the ruthless AI-panic selloff in software stocks. A few months ago, I wrote a comprehensive article explaining why SAP stands to withstand the AI disruption, and why it's uniquely positioned to leverage AI to accelerate topline growth. So ...
Sandwish/iStock via Getty Images SAP ( SAP ), the company behind the software on which the majority of large businesses in the world are run, wasn't spared from the ruthless AI-panic selloff in software stocks. A few months ago, I wrote a comprehensive article explaining why SAP stands to withstand the AI disruption, and why it's uniquely positioned to leverage AI to accelerate topline growth. So far, the stock hasn't worked, but fundamentals show the thesis remains valid. As such, I'm doubling down on SAP, though there are other software names I find even more attractive. No Mercy AI-Panic Selloff Before we dive into my SAP thesis, I think it's important to depict the interesting backdrop we're in, to demonstrate the significant opportunity that lies in front of specific stock pickers. Year-to-date, no software company has been spared from the AI panic: Data by YCharts While some stocks experienced sharper selloffs than others, for the most part, investors are selling software names with no regard to differences between them, ignoring differences around business models, competitive advantages, valuations, and AI defensibility. In light of that, you have to decide if you think that all software is dead with no exceptions, or if there are a few names in the list above that don't belong. In my view, SAP is one of those that do not belong. SAP's AI Defense As I laid out in my August article , SAP has several moats that should stand in an AI-dominated world. Those have been repeated by many industry pundits in recent weeks, but for the sake of our discussion, they're worth repeating quickly. In a nutshell, SAP provides mission-critical software and is the 'Source of Truth' for companies around budgeting, payments, and customer relationships. This type of solution is deterministic, has to be 100% accurate, and cannot make mistakes. It's unclear if AI will ever approach the trust levels that SAP has, and until then, no enterprise will switch out. Further, SAP holds the da...