On average, investors generally expect the market to provide roughly a 10% return each year. In fact, if you look at the long-term history of the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), that's about what you get, ******* uming you reinvest dividends. So what should an investor make of the fact that the first six months of 2026 saw the S&P 500 index advance 9.5% on a price-only basis and nearly 10.2% with dividends reinvested?
The first issue to address regarding market returns is that it includes bull and bear markets. A bull market is when the market goes up 20%, while a bear market is when it falls 20%. Bull and bear markets represent moves much larger than 10% and highlight that the market does not just go up at a steady, comfortable pace. The markets can be, and often are, quite volatile.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
To be fair, if you bought and held the S&P 500 index over the long term, you would have seen the value of your portfolio rise dramatically. You can easily buy the index with a low-cost exchange-trade fund like Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). But you have had to hold on through some pretty trying periods. For example, since the turn of the century, SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPY), the oldest ETF tracking this index, is up roughly 400% on a price-only basis, with reinvested dividends bringing the total return up to just over 700%.
SPY data by YCharts

#market #bull #bear #markets

Interested in Eli Lilly and Company? Here are five stocks we like better.
The healthcare sector offers options for investors of every age, combining high-growth drugmakers, defensive operators, and reliable dividend payers.
Eli Lilly suits younger investors with its obesity and diabetes drug pipeline driving growth, having gained nearly 34% since its April low.
UnitedHealth Group fits middle-aged investors with a turnaround story and rising dividend, while Johnson & Johnson's Dividend King status appeals to older, income-focused investors.
When it comes to investing, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Strategies vary based on numerous factors, including but not limited to investors' risk tolerance, net worth, and age. When it comes to stock-picking, that last one is important.

#comes #here #april

VICTORIA, SEYCHELLES, September 16th, 2026, Chainwire
Bitget has published its August 2026 Proof of Reserves report, marking the 45th consecutive monthly disclosure since the program began in December 2022, with a total reserve ratio of 122% for the month. Separately, Bitget's August 2026 Protection Fund valuation report recorded an average monthly value of $382 million, backed by 5,500 BTC held as a separate protection reserve.
Bitget publishes both monthly Proof of Reserves and monthly Protection Fund valuation reports — two separate disclosures providing visibility into different parts of the platform's ***** et-protection framework. The August PoR reserve ratio of 122% means Bitget's reported reserves for tracked ***** ets exceeded the corresponding user balances included in the snapshot. A full per-asset breakdown is available on Bitget's Proof of Reserves page.
A reserve ratio above 100% reflects the position captured in a particular reporting snapshot and should not be interpreted as a financial audit or a guarantee of future solvency.
The Protection Fund's August valuation ranged from approximately $345.3 million on Aug 1, 2026 to $441.5 million on Aug 27, 2026, with an average monthly valuation of $382 million. Its dollar value fluctuates with Bitcoin's market price because the fund is backed by 5,500 BTC. Bitget established the fund in 2022 with an initial $300 million commitment, and its valuation remained above that level throughout August.

#valuation

Marvell Technology (MRVL) lifted its revenue outlook for fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 in its late-August report. The stock, at about $206, is up more than 220% over the past twelve months and down about 32% over the past three months. The bear case is the gross margin, and management supplied the number. The counter sits one line further down, in an operating margin that has widened two years running.
Marvell Expects Its Gross Margin To Step Down, Then Hold, Through Fiscal 2028
For fiscal Q3 2027, the company guided non-GAAP gross margin as low as 57.5%. The CFO named the custom silicon ramp as the reason it steps down, and put the preliminary view for fiscal 2028 in the same range. So the part of Marvell accelerating hardest is also the part pushing the gross margin down.
Timing is the bear case's other half. The expanded agreement and warrant Marvell disclosed with a large hyperscaler in August add nothing to fiscal 2028, because management says revenue from the programs it covers through that year already sits inside the custom target, though management says that same agreement gives it greater confidence in the custom business from fiscal 2029 onward. If the fastest-growing products carry a thinner gross margin, each extra dollar of revenue arrives with less profit attached, and growth alone does not fix that.
The Company Keeps More Of Every Dollar Than It Did Two Years Ago

#fiscal #marvell #gross #management

SK Hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY) plans to buy back about 24.07 million of its own shares over about three months (3.3% of the memory maker's issued shares) and then cancel every one of them. The board approved the program, worth 40 trillion won (about $29 billion), on Aug. 19, and the buying window opened the very next day. The company describes it as the largest treasury-share cancellation ever conducted by a South Korean listed company.
And this is not a buyback of the familiar American variety, where repurchased stock can sit in the treasury for years or quietly offset stock-based compensation. The shares come out of the count for good.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Investors liked it. SK Hynix's Seoul-listed shares surged 12% on Thursday, recovering most of a steep drop from the day before, and its Nasdaq-listed shares (each representing one-tenth of one Seoul-listed common share) rose about 4% to close near $163.
Image source: The Motley Fool.

#NVIDIA

Interested in Eaton Vance Risk-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund? Here are five stocks we like better.
Closed-end funds can offer high monthly dividend yields while diversifying away the company-specific risk tied to individual high-yield stocks.
ETJ, MEGI, and ARDC provide yields of 9.3%, 9.9%, and 10.9%, respectively, but each carries distinct fees, strategies, and risks.
Investors should weigh trade-offs such as MEGI's 2033 liquidation date, high expense ratios, and exposure to below-investment-grade debt in ARDC.
Ultra-high dividend yields for individual stocks may appeal to investors seeking additional income—after all, who doesn't want high dividend payments? At the same time, though, a very high yield can sometimes be a giant red flag for investors. If the yield is high because of a value trap in which the price of the stock is failing and the company is distressed, there is a growing risk of either a dividend cut or a continued decline to share price, or both.

#high #investors #stocks

Sustainable Growth Advisers (SGA), an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for its "Global Growth Strategy." The letter can be downloaded here. The SGA Global Growth Portfolio returned 7.4% gross and 7.2% net, compared with 14.9% for the MSCI ACWI and 19.8% for the MSCI ACWI Growth Index. Momentum leadership and enthusiasm around AI infrastructure drove markets, with semiconductor, memory, and hardware stocks accounting for much of the gain. Although the portfolio owned AI beneficiaries, broader holdings lagged despite fundamentals, as median revenue and EPS growth reached 12% and 14% and more than 60% of the holdings beat expectations. SGA believes valuation compression reflects sentiment rather than weaker business quality, leaving the portfolio near its widest discount to the market since inception. The firm continues to favor durable compounders and expects 16% revenue growth and 20% earnings growth over three years. Also, please check the Fund's top five holdings to see its best picks for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, SGA Global Growth Strategy added Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) to its portfolio. Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) is a leading digital infrastructure company that operates a global network of data centers and interconnected ecosystems, enabling seamless delivery of digital experiences and cutting-edge AI quickly and efficiently. On August 21, 2026, Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) closed at $1,065.39 per share. The one-month return of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) was 1.78% and its shares gained 36.17% over the past 52 weeks. Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) has a market capitalization of $105.12 billion.
SGA Global Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"A position in Equinix, a leading global data center provider, was initiated during the quarter. The company sells **** e, power, and connectivity services across a global footprint, binding strategic clients to its facilities through interconnection and coplacement for low-latency and high-bandwidth services. Equinix is a familiar name for SGA, having been a portfolio holding for ten years before being sold in 2024 as the growth rate had slowed and management was in the midst of a leadership transition. Both dynamics have since reversed, with growth re-accelerating as AI inferencing ramps and power demand remains high, and with new leaders now announced and in place." (Click here to read the full text)

#Growth #eqix #letter #strategy

Critical Metals (NASDAQ: CRML) finished up 22.6% on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, after the rare-earth miner's CEO said the timeline is holding for its critical Tanbreez Project in Greenland.
Critical Metals' CEO said that the Tanbreez project remains on track and should be producing rare-earth elements -- strategically important metals used in magnets for things like electric vehicles and defense equipment -- within three years.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
The company also released financial details of its acquisition of European Lithium. The deal would take Critical Metals from a 92.5% control of Tanbreez to a full 100%.
Critical Metals laid out steps meant to limit dilution from the transaction, reassuring shareholders and helping to lift shares.

#flashing

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) stock is down roughly 20% from its all-time highs in June, a pullback driven by a mix of lofty AI expectations, a high valuation multiple, broader market pressures, the Mediatek-driven narrative, and more recently, Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL). Despite the drop, TD Cowen ***** yst Joshua Buchalter recently reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $500.00 price target.
TD Cowen remains confident in Broadcom's trajectory ahead of the print, and the numbers justify the optimism. Q2 2026 saw semiconductor revenue from AI of $10.8 billion growing 143% year-over-year, above the company's forecast, backed by increasing demand for custom AI accelerators and AI networking.
The company forecasts semiconductor revenue from AI to grow over 200 percent year-over-year to $16.0 billion. Its massive $30 billion in AI semiconductor bookings is also a reflection of the intense demand for their AI solutions.
Management has reiterated its line of sight to more than $100 billion of fiscal 2027 AI semiconductor revenue, a figure that could see material upside if the roughly 10GW opportunity is deployed. This implies that even the $100b could prove conservative.
The firm is also particularly confident about the trajectory of TPU, backed by Google's capital expenditure commentary. Back in April, the company signed a long-term agreement with Google to develop and ‌supply future generations of custom artificial intelligence chips and components for its next-generation AI racks through 2031.

#billion #year #cowen #recently

Kalshi filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday to launch perpetual futures contracts tied to U.S. equity indexes and copper, the company's latest effort to expand beyond its prediction market roots into traditional derivatives territory.
The equity index filing seeks to list a perpetual futures contract — known as a "perp" — on the MerQube U.S. Large Cap Index, which tracks the 500 largest companies listed and based in the U.S., according to CNBC. SEC approval is not required for the equity index contracts, Reuters reported, because broad-based equity baskets fall within the CFTC's regulatory purview rather than the SEC's.
The copper contract, designated COPPERPERP, would be a cash-settled perpetual futures contract referencing the spot price of copper in U.S. dollars per pound, using the Pyth Network XCU/USD price feed as its underlying price index, Kalshi said. Each contract would represent 1,000 pounds of copper, with a minimum tick of $0.0005 per pound. The contract would trade continuously from 6:00 PM Eastern Time on Sunday through 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Friday, with a funding payment calculated daily at 10:00 AM Eastern Time on weekdays to keep the contract price aligned with the spot reference price, Kalshi said.
Unlike standard futures, perpetual contracts have no set expiration, meaning traders can maintain a position for as long as they choose. To keep the contract price close to the spot market, the structure relies on periodic funding payments exchanged between opposing sides of the trade.
A month earlier, Kalshi had submitted a CFTC proposal for perps on precious metals such as gold and silver, according to CNBC. The equity index and copper filings extend that push into additional ****** et classes as the company works to position itself as a multi-asset derivatives exchange competing with established operators.

#price #kalshi #futures #time

Aug 17 (Reuters) - U.S. home builder sentiment unexpectedly ticked higher in August, but residential construction firms' confidence remains weak overall, weighed down by economic uncertainty, high mortgage rates and steep building costs ‌aggravated by the U.S.-led war with Iran, a survey showed on Monday.
The National ****** ociation of Home ‌Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index rose one point to a reading of 35 this month from July's unrevised level of 34. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index would decline for a third straight month to 33.
A NAHB subindex measuring current sales of single-family homes ticked up to 39, the highest since May, from 37 in July, while measures of future sales and prospective buyer foot traffic were both unchanged.
On a regional basis, sentiment edged up in the Northeast, South and West ‌and was unchanged in the Midwest.
The national ⁠index level in August marked the 16th straight month it has remained below 40, the longest such stretch since 2012. Indeed, the index has not breached the 50 level demarking ⁠business conditions that builders consider to be positive in more than two years.

#sentiment