US lenders are poised to see new mortgage-loan requirements as the Federal Reserve comes closer to unveiling a long-awaited bank capital proposal tied to Basel III. Michelle Bowman , the Fed’s top bank cop, said parts of that new measure related to residential real estate would consider increasing the “risk sensitivity” of capital requirements for mortgage loans on bank books. One approach would b...
US lenders are poised to see new mortgage-loan requirements as the Federal Reserve comes closer to unveiling a long-awaited bank capital proposal tied to Basel III. Michelle Bowman , the Fed’s top bank cop, said parts of that new measure related to residential real estate would consider increasing the “risk sensitivity” of capital requirements for mortgage loans on bank books. One approach would be to use loan-to-value ratios to determine the applicable risk weight for residential real estate exposures, rather than applying a uniform risk weight. “This change could better align capital requirements with actual risk, support on-balance-sheet lending by banks, and potentially reverse the trend of migration of mortgage activity to nonbanks over the past 15 years,” Bowman said on Monday in prepared remarks at a American Bankers Association event in Florida. Trump-era regulators have been working a new bank capital proposal that would be less burdensome on the biggest US banks than a Biden-era plan, Bloomberg News previously reported . That earlier proposal — which included some stiffer mortgage capital requirements — was never finalized amid fierce opposition from the bank industry. Read More: Fed Floats Plan With Much Smaller Capital Hikes for Big Banks Bowman said Monday regulators would also seek comment on the so-called risk weights tied to some mortgages. “By creating a resilient mortgage market that includes robust participation from all types of financial institutions, we can deliver affordable credit and high-quality servicing to borrowers regardless of economic conditions. Strengthening bank participation in these activities does not threaten the safety and soundness of the banking system,” Bowman said on Monday.
SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images The stocks with highest short interest come from a broad mix within the consumer staples sector, with no single industry standing out or dominating the list in terms of positioning as per mid-February figures. Here are the five most shorted industrial stocks with market capitalizations of up to $2B (as a percentage of shares outstanding) Beyond Meat ( BYND ), Sh...
SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images The stocks with highest short interest come from a broad mix within the consumer staples sector, with no single industry standing out or dominating the list in terms of positioning as per mid-February figures. Here are the five most shorted industrial stocks with market capitalizations of up to $2B (as a percentage of shares outstanding) Beyond Meat ( BYND ), Short interest: 30.19% Paranovous Entertainment Technology ( PAVS ), Short interest: 28.24% Grocery Outlet ( GO ), Short interest: 25.73% Vital Farms ( VITL ), Short interest: 22.26% LifeVantage ( LFVN ), Short interest: 21.67% Here are the five least shorted industrial stocks with market capitalizations of up to $2B (as a percentage of shares outstanding) Waldencast ( WALD ), Short interest: 0.51% Arcadia Biosciences ( RKDA ), Short interest: 0.53% Benson Hill ( BHILQ ), Short interest: 0.56% Functional Brands ( MEHA ), Short interest: 0.56% FitLife Brands ( FTLF ), Short interest: 0.60% Other funds for a diversified approach to consumer staples include: Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF ( VDC ); iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ); First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund ( FXG ); Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF ( PBJ ); First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF ( FTXG ); iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF ( KXI ). More on consumer staples Retail Sector Steps Into The Earnings Spotlight, What To Watch For In Q4 Reports I Will Not Seek Salvation In XLP Under These Conditions The Key To Real Affordability Lies Hidden In Plain Sight Slower grocery inflation doesn't mean cheaper prices Consumer Staples delivers one of its best short-term runs in decades
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images It wasn’t the greatest week in the market, and the narrative regarding AI continued to impact technology companies, especially those focused on SaaS. The S&P 500 fell -1.4%, while the Nasdaq declined by -2.13% this week. It feels like the new momentum trade is rotation, as investors seem to be shifting their focus to companies that have less of a chance of ...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images It wasn’t the greatest week in the market, and the narrative regarding AI continued to impact technology companies, especially those focused on SaaS. The S&P 500 fell -1.4%, while the Nasdaq declined by -2.13% this week. It feels like the new momentum trade is rotation, as investors seem to be shifting their focus to companies that have less of a chance of being disrupted by AI. Capital seems to be flowing to companies that are going to utilize AI to expand margins rather than the companies embedding it into their products. Regardless of how anyone feels about software companies, the narrative can’t be proven or disproven, and the State Street SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF ( XSW ) is down -20.60%, while individual names like Salesforce ( CRM ) have declined -25.29% over the past month. I have no idea how long this will last, and even Microsoft ( MSFT ) is down 15.15%, as not even the megacaps are safe. We’re heading into the end of earnings season, and everyone is looking at NVIDIA Corporation ( NVDA ) after hearing what the megacaps plan on allocating toward CapEx, and if Jensen Huang can deliver, I believe it could help the market regain confidence in the technology trade. I think that the selloff is overdone, and we will look back on this period as a great buying opportunity. After allocating $25,900 to the Dividend Harvesting Portfolio, the account balance finished week 259 at $36. The account's profitability increased (7.97%) to $9,978.19, which is a return on invested capital of 38.68%. This week, I added to my positions in the Amplify CWP Growth & Income ETF ( QDVO ) and NNN REIT ( NNN ). The Dividend Harvesting Portfolio generated $40 of dividend income in week 259. The combination of reinvesting the generated dividend income and making these investments increased the forward projected annualized dividend income by $8.72 (0.31%) to $2,793.02. The Dividend Harvesting Portfolio has generated $5,957.74 of income since...
Smederevac/iStock via Getty Images Neogen Corporation ( NEOG ) is a food and animal safety solutions company that sells a mix of instruments, software, and related repeat-purchase consumables. Management estimates this opportunity represents a TAM of approximately $11 billion, supported by tighter food regulation and increasing emphasis on disease prevention and traceability. NEOG’s flagship platf...
Smederevac/iStock via Getty Images Neogen Corporation ( NEOG ) is a food and animal safety solutions company that sells a mix of instruments, software, and related repeat-purchase consumables. Management estimates this opportunity represents a TAM of approximately $11 billion, supported by tighter food regulation and increasing emphasis on disease prevention and traceability. NEOG’s flagship platform is Petrifilm, which executes routine microbiology testing and helps the company position itself as a full, end-to-end solution provider. NEOG has also been working through integration-related complexity after the combination with 3M’s ( MMM ) Food Safety business, which includes a multi-year transition in Petrifilm manufacturing. I’m optimistic about their turnaround plan, and the stock doesn’t seem overvalued yet, so I ultimately lean towards a “Buy” rating at these levels. Livestock Sciences Neogen Corporation is a life sciences company working on diagnostics and biosecurity solutions for food safety testing. They’re particularly focused on applications for animal health and livestock production. NEOG was incorporated back in 1981 and is currently headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. Source: 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. January 2026. As a quick overview, NEOG’s portfolio includes products that its customers have to buy repeatedly, such as test kits, culture media, swabs, reagents, cleaners, disinfectants, insect control, etc. Additionally, NEOG often provides instruments and software to its clients. According to management, their TAM should be around $11 billion globally. The way NEOG breaks it down has the US and Canada contributing approximately $7 billion and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa with $1.6 billion. Similarly, APAC countries represent a $1.8 billion opportunity, and Latin America $0.9 billion. Moreover, NEOG’s secular trends remain quite promising, as they’re also projecting a healthy CAGR of 6%-7% until 2030. Generally speaking, this...
US NatGas Futs Sink To Four-Month Low As Mid-Atlantic Exits Brutal Winter US natural gas futures tumbled to a four-month low early Monday as weather models indicate the Lower 48 is exiting the peak of the Northern Hemisphere winter and entering a much-needed warmup. For the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, which experienced some of the coldest weather in decades , the next few weeks are expected to fee...
US NatGas Futs Sink To Four-Month Low As Mid-Atlantic Exits Brutal Winter US natural gas futures tumbled to a four-month low early Monday as weather models indicate the Lower 48 is exiting the peak of the Northern Hemisphere winter and entering a much-needed warmup. For the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, which experienced some of the coldest weather in decades , the next few weeks are expected to feel more like spring. March contracts fell 7.5% to about $3 per mmBtu, the lowest level since October 17 and a roughly four-month low. Weather forecasts for the Lower 48 show above-normal temperatures through the end of the month, particularly in the central and southern regions. NatGas prices have been extremely volatile this winter. Multiple cold blasts sparked freeze-offs and production disruptions across gas infrastructure that sent spot NatGas prices sharply higher. At the same time, tightening power markets, especially across the Mid-Atlantic area, sent power prices soaring. Readers may recall we identified peak Northern Hemisphere winter in early February, as 30-year average temperature trends point to warmer conditions across the Lower 48. Now the Trump administration can point to last month’s cold snap as a real-world stress test: fossil fuel generation helped keep much of the eastern U.S. grid from collapsing under peak demand. Read the note, titled "Sleep Tight, America. We Got This": NatGas And Coal Power Plants Prevented Grid Collapse During Historic Winter Blast. Tyler Durden Mon, 02/16/2026 - 08:30
Banks are preparing to sell about €4 billion ($4.7 billion) of debt to finance Carlyle Inc.’s acquisition of BASF SE’s coatings business. Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are among lenders looking to sell the loan and bond financing towards the end of March or beginning of April, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the talks are pr...
Banks are preparing to sell about €4 billion ($4.7 billion) of debt to finance Carlyle Inc.’s acquisition of BASF SE’s coatings business. Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are among lenders looking to sell the loan and bond financing towards the end of March or beginning of April, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The debt includes leveraged loans in dollars and euros, as well as euro-denominated senior secured notes, the people added. Carlyle and its partner, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), entered a binding agreement with BASF last year to carve out the coatings business as a standalone company with an enterprise value of €7.7 billion. The German chemicals company will continue to own 40% of BASF Coatings. Carlyle, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. BASF, BASF Coatings and QIA didn’t respond to requests for comment. Europe’s chemical sector has been under pressure due to rising costs and cheap imports. Nouryon, another chemical firm backed by Carlyle, withdrew a dual-currency leveraged loan deal worth about $5.8 billion in October. The company had planned to push out its debt maturities by more than two years from April 2028, but received pushback from investors. BASF Coatings makes high-performance coatings for the automotive industry, as well as surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass in a wide range of sectors. The specialty chemicals business had sales of about €3.8 billion in 2024. The debt sale will join a number of other buyout financings waiting to launch for syndication. Many of the jumbo deals will tap both dollar and euro markets, which for the most part have been highly receptive to fresh debt offerings this year. Underwriting banks are preparing to sell $3.75 billion in debt to back Stonepeak Partners’ acquisition of BP Plc’s Castrol division, which is due to close later this year. Banks have begun syndicating a $20 billion debt fin...
Bernstein has listed eight European "AI risk-proof" names it thinks are structurally resilient to the recent market volatility , and can outperform peers thanks to moats in their business models. The logistics, software, real estate and financials sectors in the U.S. have been hit in recent weeks by "the AI scare trade." A key catalyst for the sell-off was Anthropic's launch of a new plug-in for i...
Bernstein has listed eight European "AI risk-proof" names it thinks are structurally resilient to the recent market volatility , and can outperform peers thanks to moats in their business models. The logistics, software, real estate and financials sectors in the U.S. have been hit in recent weeks by "the AI scare trade." A key catalyst for the sell-off was Anthropic's launch of a new plug-in for its Claude co-working agent — seen as a potential rival to established software-as-a-service companies offering legal, sales, and data analysis services. Bernstein's curated list of outperformers includes a budget airline, a logistics stock, a food and drink manufacturer, and a real estate investment trust. It said low-cost European airline EasyJet 's benefits from a core moat based on key tangible strengths — namely slots at crowded airports and the size of its fleet. "AI is a tool enhancing airlines' operational efficiency, reinforcing rather than eroding incumbents' cost advantages," analysts said of the London-listed carrier. EZJ-GB YTD mountain easyJet. Flughafen Zürich , which owns and operates Zurich Airport, faces "mild pressure on business travel in the very long run" if AI "massively eliminates" white collar roles — but otherwise AI poses no major risks to its core airport operation, according to Bernstein. The Feb. 13 note, by Bernstein analysts led by Aleksander Peterc, also highlighted Dutch construction services business Royal BAM Groep , logistics name Bunzl , Asmodee , a French publisher of board, card and table-top role-playing games, and FTSE 250-listed Princes Group, which makes food and drink products. "AI tools cannot replace the fundamental appeal of physical, tactile board games that define Asmodee's value proposition. AI can, however, help improve development and productivity," Peterc said. "BAM Groep operates in a sector where execution, reputation and client relationships form the core of the competitive moat. AI is used only as an industry-wide too...