29 days ago
You've probably heard the cliché "it takes money to make money." And there's some truth to the premise. In the business world, you'll usually need at least a little seed capital to start.
If you're an investor with average income, however, you might be surprised how easily you could become a millionaire. And not from brilliantly lucky stock-picking, either; attempting to outperform the overall market can undermine your performance, in fact. The key, rather, is making disciplined contributions to the cause -- no matter how seemingly modest -- even when you don't want to make them. That's often when sticking with your plan helps the most.
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 »
And $500 per month would do the trick, given enough time. Here's how, and why.
There's no denying that in the economic environment of 2026, coming up with an extra $500 per month can feel like a pretty tall order. For most households willing to buckle down on discretionary spending, though, it's possible. And if you're willing to invest that money in an S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index fund that matches the broad market's average annual gain of 10%, in 30 years you'd be sitting on a little over $1.1 million (or slightly less if you're not contributing this cash to a tax-sheltering retirement account).
#NVIDIA #you 're #flashing #down
If you're an investor with average income, however, you might be surprised how easily you could become a millionaire. And not from brilliantly lucky stock-picking, either; attempting to outperform the overall market can undermine your performance, in fact. The key, rather, is making disciplined contributions to the cause -- no matter how seemingly modest -- even when you don't want to make them. That's often when sticking with your plan helps the most.
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 »
And $500 per month would do the trick, given enough time. Here's how, and why.
There's no denying that in the economic environment of 2026, coming up with an extra $500 per month can feel like a pretty tall order. For most households willing to buckle down on discretionary spending, though, it's possible. And if you're willing to invest that money in an S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index fund that matches the broad market's average annual gain of 10%, in 30 years you'd be sitting on a little over $1.1 million (or slightly less if you're not contributing this cash to a tax-sheltering retirement account).
#NVIDIA #you 're #flashing #down
1 month ago
Google and Constellation Energy announced a 20-year power purchase agreement on Tuesday to bring 890 megawatts of new nuclear capacity onto the PJM Interconnection grid, with Constellation committing more than $4.3 billion to fund the build-out.
The capacity will be generated through turbine, steam generator, and digital control system upgrades at 11 Constellation nuclear units in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, the companies said. The first uprate is expected to be delivered by 2028. The agreement is expected to sustain roughly 4,400 existing jobs and create approximately 7,200 new construction jobs during the building period.
Alongside the power purchase agreement, the companies entered into a separate 15-year energy supply agreement covering an additional 2,700 megawatts from Constellation's existing fleet in the PJM market, the company said.
"We're committed to meeting our growth responsibly by actively investing in clean, reliable power that brings new capacity to our nation's grids," Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of energy and power at Google, said in a statement. "Our agreement with Constellation to fund nuclear reactor uprates will strengthen the PJM grid, which serves 67 million people, all while protecting energy affordability and supporting local union jobs."
Joe Dominguez, chairman, president and CEO of Constellation, said in a statement that the collaboration "can serve as a model for how technology companies and the energy industry can work together to responsibly develop the digital economy."
#energy #capacity #Jobs
The capacity will be generated through turbine, steam generator, and digital control system upgrades at 11 Constellation nuclear units in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, the companies said. The first uprate is expected to be delivered by 2028. The agreement is expected to sustain roughly 4,400 existing jobs and create approximately 7,200 new construction jobs during the building period.
Alongside the power purchase agreement, the companies entered into a separate 15-year energy supply agreement covering an additional 2,700 megawatts from Constellation's existing fleet in the PJM market, the company said.
"We're committed to meeting our growth responsibly by actively investing in clean, reliable power that brings new capacity to our nation's grids," Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of energy and power at Google, said in a statement. "Our agreement with Constellation to fund nuclear reactor uprates will strengthen the PJM grid, which serves 67 million people, all while protecting energy affordability and supporting local union jobs."
Joe Dominguez, chairman, president and CEO of Constellation, said in a statement that the collaboration "can serve as a model for how technology companies and the energy industry can work together to responsibly develop the digital economy."
#energy #capacity #Jobs
2 months ago
If you're trying to choose between the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) and the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPY), it might seem they're essentially interchangeable. They're both huge and track the same index.
At a high level, that's probably true. But if you want to dive deep and get picky, a few factors set them apart.
Missed AI's "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our **** ysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF has an expense ratio of 0.0945%. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF charges just 0.03%. Given that the index has historically returned about 10% per year, this fee difference may seem immaterial. But I will take any advantage I can get.
Because of their sizes, trading spreads (the difference between the buying (ask) price and the selling (bid) price of a stock) are virtually nothing, so spreads aren't really a consideration here. But if you can own the exact same index for a third of the cost, why not?
#index #same
At a high level, that's probably true. But if you want to dive deep and get picky, a few factors set them apart.
Missed AI's "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our **** ysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF has an expense ratio of 0.0945%. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF charges just 0.03%. Given that the index has historically returned about 10% per year, this fee difference may seem immaterial. But I will take any advantage I can get.
Because of their sizes, trading spreads (the difference between the buying (ask) price and the selling (bid) price of a stock) are virtually nothing, so spreads aren't really a consideration here. But if you can own the exact same index for a third of the cost, why not?
#index #same
2 months ago
(Table below reflects daily flows on September 17, 2026 and **** et totals as of that date.)
ETF Brand League Table
Welcome to the etf.com league table. On this page, you'll find the U.S. ETF market through different lenses: brand and issuer. What's the difference? The brand is what the ETF says on the tin. For example, "iShares" is the brand of issuer "BlackRock's" ETFs. Because many issuers license their ETF infrastructure to third parties, we present the data in both ways. The identification of the correct brand and legal issuer is done by our key data provider, FactSet.
Brand
AUM ($, mm)
#league #welcome #etfs
ETF Brand League Table
Welcome to the etf.com league table. On this page, you'll find the U.S. ETF market through different lenses: brand and issuer. What's the difference? The brand is what the ETF says on the tin. For example, "iShares" is the brand of issuer "BlackRock's" ETFs. Because many issuers license their ETF infrastructure to third parties, we present the data in both ways. The identification of the correct brand and legal issuer is done by our key data provider, FactSet.
Brand
AUM ($, mm)
#league #welcome #etfs
2 months ago
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint on Sep. 14 seeking approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency linked to black-market sales of Iranian crude oil.
According to the DOJ, the funds were allegedly meant to support the Iranian government and its military, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. The U.S. government has designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
A civil forfeiture complaint is a legal action in which the government seeks to seize money or property it believes was involved in or resulted from criminal activity. It is not a criminal charge, the allegations are not proven until a court rules in the government's favor.
Related: Cathie Wood dumps $65 million in crypto ahead of CLARITY vote
The complaint alleges that two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, used trading accounts at Binance to launder proceeds from sanctioned Iranian oil sales. Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume.
#government
According to the DOJ, the funds were allegedly meant to support the Iranian government and its military, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. The U.S. government has designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
A civil forfeiture complaint is a legal action in which the government seeks to seize money or property it believes was involved in or resulted from criminal activity. It is not a criminal charge, the allegations are not proven until a court rules in the government's favor.
Related: Cathie Wood dumps $65 million in crypto ahead of CLARITY vote
The complaint alleges that two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, used trading accounts at Binance to launder proceeds from sanctioned Iranian oil sales. Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume.
#government
2 months ago
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Break a proposed role into its recurring tasks and sort them into four categories — judgment, relationship, repetition and coordination — to determine whether you truly need to hire another person.
If the bottleneck is mostly judgment or relationship work, hiring or developing a person is probably the right answer. If the bottleneck is mostly repetition, test automation before adding permanent headcount.
If the bottleneck is mostly coordination, redesign the process first. If the job contains all three, separate the workflow so the human role is built around the work that deserves a human.
Before you approve the next hire, write down the 10 things you expect that person to do.
#role
Break a proposed role into its recurring tasks and sort them into four categories — judgment, relationship, repetition and coordination — to determine whether you truly need to hire another person.
If the bottleneck is mostly judgment or relationship work, hiring or developing a person is probably the right answer. If the bottleneck is mostly repetition, test automation before adding permanent headcount.
If the bottleneck is mostly coordination, redesign the process first. If the job contains all three, separate the workflow so the human role is built around the work that deserves a human.
Before you approve the next hire, write down the 10 things you expect that person to do.
#role
2 months ago
XLE has surged 46% year-to-date while XLY dropped 7%, with defensive XLP up 9% as markets rotate away from consumer exposure.
XLF's soft 4% gain signals financial stocks aren't pricing a healthy cycle, with the 10-year/2-year Treasury spread flattened to 0.33%.
Torres pegs $120 WTI as the consumer spending breaking point, still 20% above current prices but reminiscent of 2022's economy-crushing oil surge.
Read More: Avoid these 13 retirement mistakes before they derail your future (sponsor)
The national average price of regular gasoline jumped 16 cents in a single week to $4.32 a gallon on September 14, 2026, a move that puts the pump price in the 90th percentile of the past year and caps a 7.8% jump in one month. The proximate cause sits upstream: WTI crude cleared $97.26 a barrel on September 9 after running up 16.1% in a month, and Brent has traded through the $100 line. On Fed decision day, a CNBC Morning Call panel put a number on where this stops being an inconvenience and starts being a recession.
#Consumer #torres
XLF's soft 4% gain signals financial stocks aren't pricing a healthy cycle, with the 10-year/2-year Treasury spread flattened to 0.33%.
Torres pegs $120 WTI as the consumer spending breaking point, still 20% above current prices but reminiscent of 2022's economy-crushing oil surge.
Read More: Avoid these 13 retirement mistakes before they derail your future (sponsor)
The national average price of regular gasoline jumped 16 cents in a single week to $4.32 a gallon on September 14, 2026, a move that puts the pump price in the 90th percentile of the past year and caps a 7.8% jump in one month. The proximate cause sits upstream: WTI crude cleared $97.26 a barrel on September 9 after running up 16.1% in a month, and Brent has traded through the $100 line. On Fed decision day, a CNBC Morning Call panel put a number on where this stops being an inconvenience and starts being a recession.
#Consumer #torres
2 months ago
Qualcomm (QCOM) is down 32% over the past three months, and the cause is not a mystery. The smartphone market has contracted as memory prices climbed, and Apple is exiting faster than the company had guided. Management has a credible plan to replace that revenue. The harder question is what the replacement earns.
Qualcomm Is Losing Apple Faster Than It Planned To
By the company's own account, its share in the coming iPhone launch will be materially lower than the 20% it had previously estimated, and Apple product revenue is set to fall roughly 50% from the September quarter to the December quarter. Qualcomm's own supply constraints are part of the reason. A customer exit that was always coming has been pulled forward.
The bigger exposure is the phone business Apple sits inside. QCT handset revenue was $5.1 billion in fiscal Q3 2026, against $9.9 billion of revenue for the company as a whole, so handsets still account for roughly half of what Qualcomm sells. Management sizes the earnings hit from the weaker handset market at more than $1.50 a share for fiscal 2026, with QCT Android revenue down 20% year over year.
But Qualcomm Expects To Earn Less On Its Data Center Wins
#revenue
Qualcomm Is Losing Apple Faster Than It Planned To
By the company's own account, its share in the coming iPhone launch will be materially lower than the 20% it had previously estimated, and Apple product revenue is set to fall roughly 50% from the September quarter to the December quarter. Qualcomm's own supply constraints are part of the reason. A customer exit that was always coming has been pulled forward.
The bigger exposure is the phone business Apple sits inside. QCT handset revenue was $5.1 billion in fiscal Q3 2026, against $9.9 billion of revenue for the company as a whole, so handsets still account for roughly half of what Qualcomm sells. Management sizes the earnings hit from the weaker handset market at more than $1.50 a share for fiscal 2026, with QCT Android revenue down 20% year over year.
But Qualcomm Expects To Earn Less On Its Data Center Wins
#revenue
2 months ago
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel told CNBC in an interview Wednesday that Alphabet's strength in AI was a "fundamental" reason behind the decision to invest in the tech giant.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett, who stepped down from his role as Berkshire's CEO at the end of last year, initiated the investment.
Google's position as a "significant player" in AI was a "fundamental" reason behind Berkshire Hathaway's decision to invest in the tech giant, according to CEO Greg Abel.
"We knew it was going to have a significant impact on America and businesses" by watching how the spread of AI is influencing Berkshire's subsidiaries, the CEO said in a televised interview with CNBC Wednesday.
The conglomerate's stake in Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), which was initiated by legendary investor Warren Buffett, is the third-largest holding in Berkshire's (BRK.A, BRK.B) portfolio. Berkshire first revealed its stake last November, when Buffett was in his final months as CEO. Abel took over the role at the start of the year.
#fundamental
Legendary investor Warren Buffett, who stepped down from his role as Berkshire's CEO at the end of last year, initiated the investment.
Google's position as a "significant player" in AI was a "fundamental" reason behind Berkshire Hathaway's decision to invest in the tech giant, according to CEO Greg Abel.
"We knew it was going to have a significant impact on America and businesses" by watching how the spread of AI is influencing Berkshire's subsidiaries, the CEO said in a televised interview with CNBC Wednesday.
The conglomerate's stake in Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), which was initiated by legendary investor Warren Buffett, is the third-largest holding in Berkshire's (BRK.A, BRK.B) portfolio. Berkshire first revealed its stake last November, when Buffett was in his final months as CEO. Abel took over the role at the start of the year.
#fundamental
2 months ago
The cost of holding ETFs has fallen for years amid an intense fee war among issuers. Single-digit expense ratios are commonplace now, and in some cases even those look expensive, like the 0.09% charged by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), triple what some competitors charge for the same exposure.
All this is unequivocally great news for investors, but for ETF issuers, not so much. As expense ratios drop, so do the revenues those funds generate, and in most cases, there is little issuers can do about it. Failing to lower fees can lead to hefty outflows, as cost-conscious investors and fiduciary-bound advisors gravitate to cheaper funds.
Case in point: SPY has lost a lot of ****** ets over the years to the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), two cheaper funds tracking the same index. VOO has since grown into the largest ETF in the world, at more than $1 trillion in AUM.
Even in a price war, the victors take hits. The cheapest ETFs may gather the most ****** ets, but that is often more than offset by the decline in fees. On the list of the biggest ETF cash cows, only a handful of funds are ultra-cheap. Many more are expensive by ETF standards.
The table below lists the 20 ETFs with the highest implied revenue, an approximation of how much money a fund generates for its issuer, derived by multiplying ****** ets under management by the expense ratio.
#funds
All this is unequivocally great news for investors, but for ETF issuers, not so much. As expense ratios drop, so do the revenues those funds generate, and in most cases, there is little issuers can do about it. Failing to lower fees can lead to hefty outflows, as cost-conscious investors and fiduciary-bound advisors gravitate to cheaper funds.
Case in point: SPY has lost a lot of ****** ets over the years to the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), two cheaper funds tracking the same index. VOO has since grown into the largest ETF in the world, at more than $1 trillion in AUM.
Even in a price war, the victors take hits. The cheapest ETFs may gather the most ****** ets, but that is often more than offset by the decline in fees. On the list of the biggest ETF cash cows, only a handful of funds are ultra-cheap. Many more are expensive by ETF standards.
The table below lists the 20 ETFs with the highest implied revenue, an approximation of how much money a fund generates for its issuer, derived by multiplying ****** ets under management by the expense ratio.
#funds
2 months ago
A 3.5% dividend-growth portfolio anchored by JNJ or KO can double annual income every nine years without adding a single dollar of capital.
PEP and KMB pay qualified dividends taxed at preferential rates, unlike BDC or mortgage REIT distributions, a difference that can shift required capital by six figures.
Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset's free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don't waste another minute; learn more here.
Think about what it takes to collect $11,800 every month purely from dividends, never selling a single share. That works out to $141,600 over the course of a year, roughly what a physician ***** istant earns, or about what a comfortable retirement costs in an expensive coastal city. The amount of capital you need to make that happen swings wildly based on the yield you target, and the compromises you make at each yield level are really what this whole exercise is about.
At a blended 3.5% portfolio yield, $141,600 divided by 0.035 requires roughly $4 million in capital. At 4%, the number drops to about $3.5 million. This is the dividend-growth lane, populated by companies that raise their payout every year and let the income stream outrun inflation.
#capital #every #Growth
PEP and KMB pay qualified dividends taxed at preferential rates, unlike BDC or mortgage REIT distributions, a difference that can shift required capital by six figures.
Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset's free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don't waste another minute; learn more here.
Think about what it takes to collect $11,800 every month purely from dividends, never selling a single share. That works out to $141,600 over the course of a year, roughly what a physician ***** istant earns, or about what a comfortable retirement costs in an expensive coastal city. The amount of capital you need to make that happen swings wildly based on the yield you target, and the compromises you make at each yield level are really what this whole exercise is about.
At a blended 3.5% portfolio yield, $141,600 divided by 0.035 requires roughly $4 million in capital. At 4%, the number drops to about $3.5 million. This is the dividend-growth lane, populated by companies that raise their payout every year and let the income stream outrun inflation.
#capital #every #Growth
2 months ago
Loomis Sayles, an investment management company, released its "Global Growth Fund" investor letter for Q2 2026. You can download a copy of the letter here. The fund returned 6.43%, underperforming the MSCI ACWI Index's 14.93% return. The fund employs a long-term private equity investment strategy, focusing on high-quality businesses with sustainable competitive advantages, investing at significant discounts to intrinsic value. At quarter-end, the fund maintained an overweight in communication services, consumer discretionary and healthcare sectors, and an underweight in information technology, financials, industrials, and consumer staples sectors. Also, please check the Fund's top five holdings to see its best picks for 2026.
In its Q2 2026 investor letter, Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund highlighted Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM). Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM), a leading online travel services company, detracted from performance during the quarter. On August 21, 2026, Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) closed at $46.11 per share, reflecting a market capitalization of $29.04 billion. Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) posted a one‑month return of 2.99%, while its shares lost 30.06% over the past 52 weeks.
Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund stated the following regarding Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"China-based Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM), formerly known as Ctrip, is among the world's largest global travel platform. Founded in 1999, the company offers a comprehensive, integrated platform on which travelers can make arrangements for lodging, transportation, packaged tours and other related services, including online advertising and financial services, as well as providing corporate travel management services. The company provides its services in China through its Ctrip and Qunar platforms and serves non-Chinese customers primarily thorough Trip.com and Skyscanner. China-related travel accounts for over 85% of revenue, but Trip.com is available in 24 languages and 35 local currencies while Skyscanner is available in over 50 countries and over 35 languages. Trip.com also holds equity interests in other leading travel sites, including Tongcheng-Elong, China's third largest online travel agent (OTA), and MakeMyTrip, the largest OTA in India.…" (Click here to read the full text)
Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 38 hedge fund portfolios held Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) at the end of the first quarter, which was 46 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on
In its Q2 2026 investor letter, Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund highlighted Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM). Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM), a leading online travel services company, detracted from performance during the quarter. On August 21, 2026, Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) closed at $46.11 per share, reflecting a market capitalization of $29.04 billion. Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) posted a one‑month return of 2.99%, while its shares lost 30.06% over the past 52 weeks.
Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund stated the following regarding Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"China-based Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM), formerly known as Ctrip, is among the world's largest global travel platform. Founded in 1999, the company offers a comprehensive, integrated platform on which travelers can make arrangements for lodging, transportation, packaged tours and other related services, including online advertising and financial services, as well as providing corporate travel management services. The company provides its services in China through its Ctrip and Qunar platforms and serves non-Chinese customers primarily thorough Trip.com and Skyscanner. China-related travel accounts for over 85% of revenue, but Trip.com is available in 24 languages and 35 local currencies while Skyscanner is available in over 50 countries and over 35 languages. Trip.com also holds equity interests in other leading travel sites, including Tongcheng-Elong, China's third largest online travel agent (OTA), and MakeMyTrip, the largest OTA in India.…" (Click here to read the full text)
Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 38 hedge fund portfolios held Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) at the end of the first quarter, which was 46 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on
2 months ago
Home Depot's earnings beat looked great on paper, but **** ysts on the call kept circling one large one-time gain to see if the company's core profitability is really holding up.
Home Depot (HD) stock has struggled over the past twelve months, but its latest earnings report sent shares higher on what looked like a solid beat, with sales up 5.7% for the quarter. When **** ysts got management on the line, however, they weren't focused on the headline numbers. They kept circling back to one central, awkward question: was the company's strong performance real, or was it an illusion created by a large, one-time $685 million tariff refund?
The Margin Math Had a $685 Million Asterisk
The core of the investment case was tested immediately. The market was already questioning whether Home Depot's profitability actually missed expectations once you stripped out the tariff refund. This isn't just an accounting debate; it's a direct challenge to whether the underlying business can handle rising costs. One **** yst framed the worry bluntly, referencing "discussion in the market this morning" about a potential miss if the refund were excluded.
Management's response was direct and numerical. They explained the $685 million refund was about a 145-basis-point gross impact to margin. Of that, roughly 60 basis points offset 'unplanned pressure from fuel, energy and other product input costs,' and another 60 basis points of mix impact from a recent acquisition ate into the rest, leaving a net benefit of about 85 basis points, which flowed through to the quarter's 25-basis-point year-over-year gross margin gain. The argument was that this was a 'market-borne benefit' used to absorb market-borne costs, allowing them to maintain value for customers. It was a confident answer that provided a clear breakdown of the moving parts, rather than a general **** urance.
#refund #market #million #costs
Home Depot (HD) stock has struggled over the past twelve months, but its latest earnings report sent shares higher on what looked like a solid beat, with sales up 5.7% for the quarter. When **** ysts got management on the line, however, they weren't focused on the headline numbers. They kept circling back to one central, awkward question: was the company's strong performance real, or was it an illusion created by a large, one-time $685 million tariff refund?
The Margin Math Had a $685 Million Asterisk
The core of the investment case was tested immediately. The market was already questioning whether Home Depot's profitability actually missed expectations once you stripped out the tariff refund. This isn't just an accounting debate; it's a direct challenge to whether the underlying business can handle rising costs. One **** yst framed the worry bluntly, referencing "discussion in the market this morning" about a potential miss if the refund were excluded.
Management's response was direct and numerical. They explained the $685 million refund was about a 145-basis-point gross impact to margin. Of that, roughly 60 basis points offset 'unplanned pressure from fuel, energy and other product input costs,' and another 60 basis points of mix impact from a recent acquisition ate into the rest, leaving a net benefit of about 85 basis points, which flowed through to the quarter's 25-basis-point year-over-year gross margin gain. The argument was that this was a 'market-borne benefit' used to absorb market-borne costs, allowing them to maintain value for customers. It was a confident answer that provided a clear breakdown of the moving parts, rather than a general **** urance.
#refund #market #million #costs
3 months ago
Brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald is offering its 3,000 institutional clients access to the Kalshi prediction market.
Cantor is one of the first Wall Street firms to give its institutional clients access to block trades in event contracts on a CFTC-regulated exchange such as Kalshi.
Under terms of the deal, Kalshi will provide pricing and liquidity, while Cantor Fitzgerald will be the acting broker, helping clients arrange and execute trades on the prediction market.
More From Cryptoprowl:
MEXC July TradFi Trading Shifts Toward AI Storage as SNDK Futures Volume Surges More Than 15x Times
#prediction
Cantor is one of the first Wall Street firms to give its institutional clients access to block trades in event contracts on a CFTC-regulated exchange such as Kalshi.
Under terms of the deal, Kalshi will provide pricing and liquidity, while Cantor Fitzgerald will be the acting broker, helping clients arrange and execute trades on the prediction market.
More From Cryptoprowl:
MEXC July TradFi Trading Shifts Toward AI Storage as SNDK Futures Volume Surges More Than 15x Times
#prediction
3 months ago
OpenAI has spent years being known for one thing: ChatGPT, and the millions of people who type questions into it every day.
However, that is no longer where most of its money comes from.
On Friday, August 14, 2026, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar met with investors and told them the company's enterprise business now brings in more revenue than its consumer business.
The timing stood out. Two senior executives had just left the company that same week.
This matters for anyone watching OpenAI ahead of a possible public listing, and it changes how the company looks as an investment.
#company #Friday
However, that is no longer where most of its money comes from.
On Friday, August 14, 2026, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar met with investors and told them the company's enterprise business now brings in more revenue than its consumer business.
The timing stood out. Two senior executives had just left the company that same week.
This matters for anyone watching OpenAI ahead of a possible public listing, and it changes how the company looks as an investment.
#company #Friday
3 months ago
Analysts at Oppenheimer recently upgraded the medtech company Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) from "Perform" to "Outperform" and set a $500 price target, implying a 24.6% upside from current levels. Expecting the company to benefit from the growth in robotic surgery, Oppenheimer **** ysts expect Intuitive to maintain a leading position in the market despite increasing competition.
Intuitive also has a vision regarding the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) in such surgeries, helping medical personnel achieve better outcomes. The company is developing AI as a capability stack that leverages real-world surgical data to build advanced vision-language and reasoning models capable of answering complex surgical questions.
A $210 Billion Reason to Buy AMD Stock Here
CoreWeave vs Nebius: Both Companies Reported Strong Earnings, But Here's the Stock You Should Buy
As Oracle Deepens Its Partnership with AWS, Here's How You Should Play ORCL Stock
#Stock #analysts
Intuitive also has a vision regarding the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) in such surgeries, helping medical personnel achieve better outcomes. The company is developing AI as a capability stack that leverages real-world surgical data to build advanced vision-language and reasoning models capable of answering complex surgical questions.
A $210 Billion Reason to Buy AMD Stock Here
CoreWeave vs Nebius: Both Companies Reported Strong Earnings, But Here's the Stock You Should Buy
As Oracle Deepens Its Partnership with AWS, Here's How You Should Play ORCL Stock
#Stock #analysts
3 months ago
New integration embeds SONAR rates and coverage difficulty across FleetWorks' AI phone, email, and SMS workflows to help brokers and carriers book with more confidence.
San Francisco, CA August 13, 2026 — FleetWorks, the AI marketplace that matches brokers and carriers at scale, and SONAR, the leading freight market data and supply chain intelligence tool, today announced a partnership that brings SONAR's TRAC rates and coverage scores into FleetWorks' AI agents platform-wide. The integration is live now for any carrier using the FleetWorks platform as well as brokers who are both FleetWorks and SONAR customers, giving broker teams verified market context at the moment they quote, negotiate, and cover freight.
Freight moves faster than the systems most brokerages use to book it. A carrier sales rep negotiating a load typically has the conversation in one place and the market data in another — a SONAR dashboard, a rate tool, an account manager or pricing ****** yst on Teams. By the time the context arrives, the carrier has hung up or the load has been covered by someone who answered first. The same gap exists for AI agents: automation built around a brokerage's min/max spread, without current market data, misses key insights in a dynamic market..
The partnership closes that gap. SONAR's high frequency data now feeds directly into FleetWorks' AI agents across every channel the platform supports — phone, email, and SMS. When a FleetWorks agent works a carrier or load, it references SONAR's current spot rate and live market conditions as it works toward a bookable price within the broker's guardrails. When market conditions fall outside those guardrails, the agent escalates to a person with the SONAR context attached. Brokers input rate tolerances, and approval or escalation rules; SONAR supplies the ground truth those controls act on.
Mutual broker teams can now:
#sonar #freight
San Francisco, CA August 13, 2026 — FleetWorks, the AI marketplace that matches brokers and carriers at scale, and SONAR, the leading freight market data and supply chain intelligence tool, today announced a partnership that brings SONAR's TRAC rates and coverage scores into FleetWorks' AI agents platform-wide. The integration is live now for any carrier using the FleetWorks platform as well as brokers who are both FleetWorks and SONAR customers, giving broker teams verified market context at the moment they quote, negotiate, and cover freight.
Freight moves faster than the systems most brokerages use to book it. A carrier sales rep negotiating a load typically has the conversation in one place and the market data in another — a SONAR dashboard, a rate tool, an account manager or pricing ****** yst on Teams. By the time the context arrives, the carrier has hung up or the load has been covered by someone who answered first. The same gap exists for AI agents: automation built around a brokerage's min/max spread, without current market data, misses key insights in a dynamic market..
The partnership closes that gap. SONAR's high frequency data now feeds directly into FleetWorks' AI agents across every channel the platform supports — phone, email, and SMS. When a FleetWorks agent works a carrier or load, it references SONAR's current spot rate and live market conditions as it works toward a bookable price within the broker's guardrails. When market conditions fall outside those guardrails, the agent escalates to a person with the SONAR context attached. Brokers input rate tolerances, and approval or escalation rules; SONAR supplies the ground truth those controls act on.
Mutual broker teams can now:
#sonar #freight
3 months ago
(Corrects attorney Austin Hinkle's ****** le in 21st paragraph)
By Douglas Gillison
WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - A top supervision examiner at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned staff they would face "most unpleasant" consequences if they were too aggressive in their oversight of financial firms, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters.
The threat, which Reuters is reporting for the first time, was emailed on May 13 by Chief Examiner Fatima Batie to many of the agency's mid-level supervision staff as they were preparing to resume inspections of financial firms following a long hiatus, according to the email and two people familiar with the matter.
Critics say the message amounts to a threat to CFPB staff that would likely make them think twice about how they interact with companies they oversee.
#email #threat
By Douglas Gillison
WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - A top supervision examiner at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned staff they would face "most unpleasant" consequences if they were too aggressive in their oversight of financial firms, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters.
The threat, which Reuters is reporting for the first time, was emailed on May 13 by Chief Examiner Fatima Batie to many of the agency's mid-level supervision staff as they were preparing to resume inspections of financial firms following a long hiatus, according to the email and two people familiar with the matter.
Critics say the message amounts to a threat to CFPB staff that would likely make them think twice about how they interact with companies they oversee.
#email #threat
3 months ago
Inheriting an annuity comes with a deadline that's easy to miss. Your contract typically offers multiple payout options, including a choice that stretches distributions across your lifetime. The window to elect that option stays open for only one year. The wrong election or a delayed decision compresses your inheritance and tax bill into far fewer years.
Nonqualified annuities purchased outside an IRA or employer plan follow Section 72(s) of the Internal Revenue Code, not the SECURE Act's inherited IRA rules.1 That means you don't automatically get a 10-year withdrawal window. Instead, federal law creates two potential paths for distributing the contract.
Payout Path
General Timeline
Main Requirement
#payout
Nonqualified annuities purchased outside an IRA or employer plan follow Section 72(s) of the Internal Revenue Code, not the SECURE Act's inherited IRA rules.1 That means you don't automatically get a 10-year withdrawal window. Instead, federal law creates two potential paths for distributing the contract.
Payout Path
General Timeline
Main Requirement
#payout
3 months ago
Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.
Almost half of Americans are holding onto medical debt, according to a 2022 poll (1) from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
And many of them reported struggling to keep up with those bills, letting them slip past due or into collections. Others said they'd gone to family and friends, or even used credit cards, to foot the bill for medical expenses.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
JPMorgan still sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Learn more with a free guide from Priority Gold
#moneywise
Almost half of Americans are holding onto medical debt, according to a 2022 poll (1) from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
And many of them reported struggling to keep up with those bills, letting them slip past due or into collections. Others said they'd gone to family and friends, or even used credit cards, to foot the bill for medical expenses.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
JPMorgan still sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Learn more with a free guide from Priority Gold
#moneywise
