Barcelona's La Liga **** le defense is flying high as Hansi Flick's Blaugranas are a perfect 9-0-0 to start the season.
Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid sit third with 21 points, six back of the throne room, and the possible six-point swing that is the first Clasico of the season is coming up this week.
MORE — Latest standings, leading scorers | All-time champions
Raphinha is leading the way for Barcelona with 12 goals through seven outings as one of three finishers off to red-hot starts to the season (Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez).
Real have been led in goals by Kylian Mbappe but are waiting for other players to follow suit, though Arda Guler's impressed in the playmaking department and Jude Bellingham is starting to warm up nicely. But Mourinho won't be able to count on suspended Vinicius Junior.

#goals #liga

Barcelona and Hansi Flick face one of the most difficult weeks of their season, with a Champions League clash against PSG and El Clasico on the horizon.
Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney has made a bold prediction ahead of Sunday's El Clasico.
He has insisted that Real Madrid have virtually no chance of defeating Hansi Flick's Barcelona, given the two sides' current form.
As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Deeney made the comments during an appearance on CBS Sports' Golazo programme.
He questioned Madrid's collective strength and ability to play as a team despite their recent 4-1 victory over Sevilla.

#Barcelona #hansi #made #former

Dean Huijsen has underlined the importance of Real Madrid's upcoming fixtures after their 4-1 victory over Sevilla, with the defender turning his attention towards Wednesday's Champions League meeting with RB Leipzig and the subsequent El Clasico against Barcelona.
Speaking to Real Madrid's official media after the win at the Santiago Bernabeu, Huijsen stressed the need to approach the demanding schedule one match at a time.
The Spanish defender also highlighted the significance of playing at home, welcomed Eder Militao's return from injury and explained why securing three points against Leipzig could prove crucial to Madrid's European campaign.
"We're looking forward to what's next," he began saying.
"We have the Champions League on Wednesday, we're taking it one step at a time, and then we play Barcelona. It's an important week for us."

#champions #leipzig #Barcelona #dean

Real Madrid played some of their best football of the season to secure an important 4-1 victory over Sevilla in La Liga.
The performance was a confidence boost for Jose Mourinho's side ahead of El Clasico, with the manager's changes playing a particularly important role.
Yan Diomande has written his name into Real Madrid's history books, becoming the youngest player to score and provide an ******* ist in the same La Liga match for the club in the 21st century.
He achieved the milestone at 19 years and 338 days, surpassing Jude Bellingham's previous record of 20 years and 51 days.
The achievement highlights the impressive attacking talent Madrid have in Diomande, who continues to demonstrate his ability to influence matches in different ways.

#real #diomande #important

Barcelona defender Eric Garcia has expressed his frustration after suffering a muscle injury that will sideline him for several weeks, ruling him out of two of the club's most important fixtures against Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
The 25-year-old sustained the injury during Barcelona's 5-2 victory over Real Betis, turning a memorable afternoon into a personal setback.
After scoring his first goal of the season, Garcia was forced off in the 90th minute and now faces an extended spell on the sidelines.
The defender has a muscle injury in the rectus femoris of his right thigh and is expected to be unavailable for three to four weeks.
His absence is also set to extend beyond the PSG and El Clasico encounters, with Barcelona facing further fixtures against Alaves, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid before the second international break of the season.

#defender #weeks #season

Harry Kane has received another ringing endorsement in his bid for the Ballon d'Or, with England international Morgan Rogers arguing that the Bayern Munich striker has done more than enough to claim football's most prestigious individual honor.
Rogers believes Kane's accomplishments have pushed the boundaries of what could reasonably have been expected from him, pointing to his remarkable combination of club and international success.
"Harry Kane should win the Ballon d'Or. He defied what people can imagine that he could do. Treble, and hattricks in finals, Goals in the World Cup, goals for Bayern. What more can he do? That has to be rewarded," Rogers told Hayters TV (as captured by iMiaSanMia).
It is difficult to argue with the basic premise. Kane has continued to produce at an extraordinary level for Bayern while also delivering on the biggest stages for England. His ability to combine ridiculous scoring numbers with major trophies has strengthened his case considerably.
The Ballon d'Or debate will inevitably include several other elite candidates, but Rogers believes Kane's résumé speaks for itself.

#bayern

Another reality TV showmance bites the dust.
"The Challenge" star Cory Wharton and Taylor Selfridge have broken up after nine years, the pair announced in separate statements shared on social media Thursday, Oct. 8.
The pair, who met on Season 1 of MTV's "Ex on the Beach," will coparent their two daughters though they are not splitting on the best of terms.
"Yes I left. I was sick of not getting basic respect from the person I was with for 9 years and the father of my twochildren. I'm sure everyone could tell the last few years," Selfridge wrote in her statement shared on her Instagram Story. "I deserve more than that and I'll get it. End of story."
Wharton shared a more positive statement on his Instagram Story, looking ahead at a new chapter with "Just me and my girls. ❤️"

#story #selfridge #pair

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) isn't a flashy business. Most people probably don't know much about the company, even though they come across its products every day. The company makes the packaging used for food, drinks, healthcare products, beauty products, and plenty of other everyday items.
That gives the company an interesting quality from an investment perspective. Consumers may cut back on certain purchases when the economy gets tougher, but they still need to buy food, medicine, and other basic products. About 60% of Amcor's markets are tied to nutrition, while health, beauty, and wellness make up another 25%. Billionaires are gravitating towards another packaging company, and that has also returned nearly 20% in the past year. Find here.
The company's size is another advantage. Amcor operates across a large global manufacturing network and has relationships with major customers that have been built over many years. It also offers a wide range of packaging formats and materials. For a large multinational customer, being able to deal with one supplier across multiple markets can be a meaningful advantage. The Berry Global acquisition has made Amcor even larger, although it also brought more debt onto the balance sheet.
Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) pays $0.65 per share every quarter, giving investors an annual dividend of $2.60. At the October 7 closing price of $41.26, that works out to a yield of about 6.3%. That's a big yield for a company selling products that are tied to everyday consumption. However, a high yield doesn't automatically make a dividend attractive. What matters is whether the business can actually afford to keep paying it. Amcor's latest numbers offer some comfort. Its steady dividend growth is one reason the stock remains popular with income-focused investors.
The company generated $1.303 billion in free cash flow during fiscal 2026, while adjusted diluted EPS came in at $4.02, up 13% from the previous year. Amcor also increased its annual dividend to $2.60. On an adjusted earnings basis, the payout ratio is around 65%. That's not unusual for a mature company and doesn't immediately raise a red flag.

#NYSE

Cristiano Ronaldo is at the centre of a media storm once again after his "well-wisher", Piers Morgan, leaked brutal text messages from him about a British broadcaster who criticised him.
Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo abruptly left the Portuguese national team in the middle of an international break, he's dominated the headlines.
His statement, in which he basically demanded that Jorge Jesus apologise for disrespecting him, comparing himself to Pele and Maradona, went viral.
It was criticised by British broadcaster Simon Jordan in an intense back-and-forth with Piers Morgan, and the latter has brought Ronaldo's take on it to the public.
People know by now that Ronaldo is not afraid of speaking his mind, and criticism affects him hard, regardless of who it comes from.

#british

Michael Douglas, firmly in his smooth silver-fox era, has opened the door into secret compartments of his life. Douglas, 82, has just published an incredibly dishy, wildly entertaining, at times both hilarious and painful new memoir, One ****** uva Ride. It's a tale that spans generations of Hollywood royalty, from his father Kirk's rise to stardom to his own run of classic films as both producer and actor: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), The China Syndrome (1979), Romancing the Stone (1984), Wall Street (1987), Fatal Attraction (1987), Basic Instinct (1992), and Falling Down (1993), to name some of the biggest. Written with Shane Salerno, the book is one of those rare memoirs that both entertains and sheds light on a lost world of Hollywood of glamour and decadence, with lots of ****** and drugs and even some rock & roll.
To discuss all this, Douglas has invited me into his palatial apartment overlooking New York City's Central Park, one of several homes he owns and enjoys. He's a welcoming and gracious host, no servants or ****** istants bustling about. Just Douglas padding around in his socks, still as slim, handsome, and charming as ever. Douglas makes me a coffee, and we sit down in a living room with a view of his two Oscars, an Emmy, and other awards. Between Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, the trophy case is so large it fills up a corner of the massive living room.
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#michael

A woman claims she's cracked the code on identifying people you need to stay away from. In a TikTok video, Sid (sidandlisten) explained that her extensive experience watching true crime documentaries, along with her background in managing a YouTube channel that focused on true crime at one point, has given her insights into the types of people to be cautious of when dating.
"If you are dating someone and they have dead eyes, like, they. They. It doesn't express anything, and they just kind of look at you like this without moving their eyes or anything like that, and, like, there's just, like, no movement. There's no movement at all," Sid said. As she mentioned this, she stared blankly into the camera in an effort to show what the expression would look like in person.
Sid then highlighted another thing people should look out for when dating: pursed lips. "And they purse their lips like this when they're talking, and their eyes are really dead. Run!," Sid said in her video's conclusion.
Sid's video has gained more than 2 million views, with thousands of people liking, commenting, sharing, and saving it. Speaking of the comments, some people appear to agree with Sid, primarily because of their personal experience.
One person wrote, "this is 100% True. my grandma used to always tell my mum "you can tell a person by their eyes", needless to say I didn't heed this information and ended up in a relationship where I was almost part of the next true crime series…(run before they start planning to skin you alive folks LOL…)" Another person said, "girl I can see it. I used to avoid people I would meet and had an empty look in their eyes 20 even 30 years ago… you can just tell when someone is basically possessed…"

#like #people #dating

Bessent's $6 billion buybacks left yields nearly unchanged against a $32 trillion market, prompting him to admit he can't set the equilibrium price.
The 10-year yield hit a 12-month high of 5.31%, dragging 30-year fixed mortgage rates near their 52-week high of 7.60%.
Cramer says bonds, not oil, reveal the long-term truth, making the daily 10-year yield close more important than Bessent's policy promises.
Read More: Learn 7 ways to generate income with a $1,000,000+ portfolio (sponsor)
Jim Cramer said on Mad Money October 5, 2026: "Treasury Secretary Bessent basically copped to not being able to stop a bond market slide with his meager multibillion dollar bond buys. He's plugging the dike with a finger, and it's got $31 trillion in Treasuries behind it.", according to Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer

#year #money #market #learn

Before we get worried about recessions or market crashes, let's put a 10% drop in context. Going back to 1980, the S&P 500 has fallen 10% or more in roughly half of all calendar years, and a correction of that size has historically shown up about once every 12 to 18 months.
What makes a 10% decline packed into a single month unusual isn't the size of the drop, it's the speed: that kind of compressed move tends to show up during sudden shocks rather than the slower grind most corrections take. Even so, it's happened before, and the market has recovered every time.
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 »
My goal here isn't to predict whether October brings one. It's to point to three consumer businesses whose underlying demand doesn't particularly care what the stock market does that month.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) makes Tide, Pampers, Crest, and Gillette. These products are the kind of household basics people buy again almost automatically, recession or not. That steadiness shows up in the numbers. P&G generated more than $87 billion in revenue in its 2026 fiscal year and returned over $15 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.

#market #flashing #every #month

Michael Douglas isn't holding back.
In his explosive new memoir "One ***** uva Ride" (out now), the Oscar-winning "Wall Street" icon whisks us behind the curtain of his wild five-decade career, sharing revealing new anecdotes about "Fatal Attraction," "Basic Instinct," "The War of the Roses" and more.
The actor opens up about his 2010 throat cancer battle and strained early relationship with father Kirk Douglas. Douglas, 82, also details how he and his "Romancing the Stone" costar, Kathleen Turner, "fell hard" for each other while he was still married to producer Diandra Luker.
Here are some of the other biggest revelations from "One ***** uva Ride":
Early in the book, Douglas recalls his Oscar-winning work as a producer on "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which led to him producing and starring in 1979's "The China Syndrome." During that time, the actor struggled in his first marriage to Luker and what he called a "dual life," which included excessive amounts of drugs and partying.

#winning #michael

Michael Douglas has written a new tell-all memoir, One ***** uva Ride
He reveals that while filming the 1992 thriller Basic Instinct with Sharon Stone and Jeanne Tripplehorn, he and Tripplehorn had a secret relationship
Douglas contacted Tripplehorn to ask for her permission to detail the affair, he tells PEOPLE
Michael Douglas had a secret romance on the set of Basic Instinct — but not with whom you might expect.
In his new memoir One ***** uva Ride (on bookshelves now), the Oscar winner, 82, details his romance with Jeanne Tripplehorn while they filmed the hit 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct. Douglas, married to but separated from Diandra Luker at the time, recalls that many ***** umed a romance was going on between him and costar Sharon Stone during the making of the hit film.

#instinct #ride #sharon

Gisele Bundchen is soaking up quality time with her family in New York City. The supermodel was recently photographed on a relaxed day out with her 13-year-old daughter, Vivian, and the two looked more alike than ever. Their easygoing style quickly caught the attention of fans online. From long, wavy hair to laid-back denim looks, the mother-daughter duo made a simple stroll look effortless. The sweet outing offered a rare glimpse into their everyday family life.
Gisele Bundchen and her daughter Vivian enjoyed a family day out in the city. According to an X post, Bundchen was joined by her husband, Joaquim Valente, and Vivian, whom she shares with ex-husband Tom Brady. The group strolled down a leafy, sunlit street while fallen leaves dotted the sidewalk. Photos show mother and daughter chatting as they walked, with Vivian glancing toward her mom. The mood looked calm, cheerful, and completely unhurried.
Bundchen kept her look casual and comfortable. She wore a classic white tank top with loose, wide-leg jeans in a soft blue wash. A dark leather belt with a gold buckle added a polished touch. She completed the outfit with sunglasses, chunky sneakers, and a slouchy dark shoulder bag.
Vivian wore a cropped black tank top with relaxed, light-wash jeans. She draped a cream knit layer over her shoulders and carried her phone as she walked. Cozy tan slip-on shoes finished her outfit. Like her mom, she wore her long hair down in loose waves.
Known for making simple basics look effortless, Bundchen seems to have passed on the secret to Vivian. Both leaned into relaxed denim and a simple palette of white, black, and faded blue. Good jeans, a clean top, and comfortable shoes made for a stylish yet practical outfit for a walk around the city.

#bundchen #wore

Michael Douglas has claimed that someone plotted to stab him with a HIV-infected needle at the 1992 Oscars.
In his memoir, One ******* uva Ride, the Basic Instinct actor recalled being met by an FBI agent and a police sergeant when he arrived on the red carpet at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles to present the Best Actress award.
They informed him that there was a "credible threat" to his life.
"We have information that someone will try to stab you with an HIV-infected needle tonight," Douglas recalled the authorities telling him in the book, according to Page Six.
"This was during the height of the AIDS crisis, and getting stabbed with an infected needle would essentially be a death sentence."
According to the Wall Street star, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents were undercover throughout the crowd in an effort to thwart the plot.

#infected #needle #helluva

Billy Ray Cyrus' ex-wife, Firerose, has opened up about their troubled marriage. The 37-year-old, who married Billy in 2023 before their marriage ended less than a year later, alleged that the country singer completely cut her off from her loved ones.
In an interview with Page Six, Firerose alleged that the 65-year-old singer kept her in a "farm prison" in Tennessee. She alleged that he "physically, strategically, and emotionally completely isolated [me] from everyone who cared about me."
She explained, "It's such a mind warp while you're going through it … everything that you've survived is then being put on you. It's classic narcissistic abuse." Adding, "I call it farm prison because that's what it was for me. I was for years not allowed to freely come and go from my own home."
A few years ago, Firerose said she was afraid to talk during her marriage and even needed Billy's permission to send text messages. She said, "There were all these rules that I had to follow. It [happened] gradually … this is what your life is going to be. I didn't have a car, and I wasn't allowed to just meet friends for coffee, just basic things, go to church, or record music, solo music."
When asked about the relationship, Cyrus' ex-wife reflected on being 22 when she met the singer, who was more than twice her age. She alleged that he began grooming her and emphasized that she could only speak from her own experience. Firerose and Billy first met in 2007 on the set of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana. While she was not filming with him or his daughter, Miley, she was auditioning for another project nearby. At that time, the singer was married to Tish Cyrus.

#marriage

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Douglas, the award-winning actor and producer, recently turned 82. He is a cancer survivor, a recovered addict, a married man, the father and son of actors. He is also an author, who begins his memoir with a message of thanks to his family — past and present and future — for the "sense of immortality."
Immortality.
"Many times my father was asked, 'Kirk, are you jealous of your son?'" he said during a recent interview at a Manhattan hotel, referring to his late father, fellow actor and sometime combatant Kirk Douglas. "And he said, 'Jealous?' This is a sense of immortality, a continuity of generations.'"
Family is how Douglas anchors his legacy and his place in a world he fears is breaking down. But there are other ways to live on past your own time: starring in cultural touchstones like "Fatal Attraction" or "Basic Instinct," or writing a 500-page book that is called "One ****** uva Ride," a famous man's journey from rebellion and coming-of-age, to midlife success and transgression to the inevitable reckoning with mortality and past mistakes.
Publishing on Tuesday, his memoir is framed around the making of some of his most notable movies, including "Basic Instinct," "Fatal Attraction," "Falling Down," "Romancing the Stone" and two films that brought him Oscars: as a producer of best picture winner "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and as star of "Wall Street," when his turn as corporate raider Gordon Gekko brought him the prize for best actor and helped make "Greed is good" a catch phrase for the late 1980s.

#father #basic #instinct

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sipping tea from beer mugs with his coworkers, Kyle Bos listed the ways his life is changing.
Bos has two daughters, with a third due in January. At the grocery store, five items cost as much as a full cart once did. And on Wednesday, Bos and nearly 1,400 other people were laid off from their jobs at what had been the Navistar truck factory in southwestern Ohio.
The layoffs — occurring just three days before Donald Trump's rally on Saturday at a nearby high school — were large enough to basically erase an entire year of job growth in the greater Dayton, Ohio area. And they are one reason why Bos, 30, plans to spend the final weeks before the November election canvassing votes for Democrats.
Asked how many times he voted for Trump, Bos held up three tattooed fingers. But he said he's done with the president.
"Something has to change politically in this country," said Bos, a member of the United Auto Workers who identifies as a centrist.

#kyle #wednesday

Disgraced music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs isn't exactly living a bare-bones life in prison, according to a report from NBC News published Tuesday.
The rapper has allegedly set up a cushy lifestyle inside New Jersey's Fort Dix correctional institution, where he has fellow inmates catering to his basic needs and is said to have access to contraband liquor and a cellphone.
Culture: Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sentenced To 4 Years In Prison For Prostitution Charge
"This is not some normal **** you see in jail," a man who lived in the same unit as Combs at the low-security prison told NBC News. "This is some rich ****. It looks crazy, but again, it's Diddy."
The Bad Boy Records boss, who is serving a 50-month sentence for prostitution-related offenses, reportedly pays men to cook for him, make his bed and do his laundry, in addition to someone who gives him what NBC described as "Chinese-style massages."

#diddy #sean #sentenced

Davante Adams has NFL money, but one of his favorite flexes apparently can't be bought.
The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver showed off his Taco Bell Purple Card during an appearance on FanDuel TV's Up & Adams, revealing that the personalized card gives him essentially unlimited purchasing power at the fast-food chain.
Even more exclusive: Adams says only two people currently have one. The other is Kevin Hart.
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"It's got my name on the back, so if anybody tries to rob me, you'll never be able to use it," Adams said while displaying the card. "It's like a credit card. This Purple Card is basically like a black card, but it's purple and can only be used at Taco Bell. But it is unlimited."

#card #adams #shop #unlimited

Toward the end of the lightning round on September 17, a caller asked for Mad Money's host Jim Cramer's thoughts on Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM), and he replied:
It's been an incredible stock. It's a real estate investment trust, basically. And you know, we know that they shred, 3% yield, down 20 points from its high. I think it's a buy.
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) operates a highly durable business model centered on physical records management, secure document destruction, and expanding digital infrastructure. In Q2, total revenue reached $2.03 billion, representing an 18.7% increase year-over-year and 16.8% organic growth. The core physical storage business provides reliable cash flow, with storage rental revenue expanding 11.5% year-over-year excluding foreign-exchange effects across a global customer base of 240,000. Adjusted funds from operations grew 17% to $432.7 million, or $1.44 per share.
At the same time, management has channeled capital into scaling higher-growth segments, including digital solutions, ***** et lifecycle management, and data center operations. The data center segment posted 39% revenue growth during the second quarter, securing 110 megawatts in new leases through July and increasing power capacity across major enterprise markets. Operating as a real estate investment trust, the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.864 per share, offering shareholders a forward yield of over 3%.
On the other hand, Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) faces risks inherent to capital-intensive real estate infrastructure expansion. Rapid buildouts of data center power capacity demand substantial capital expenditure, leading to elevated leverage across the balance sheet. Long-term debt, net of the current portion, reached approximately $17.1 billion at the end of the second quarter, increasing sensitivity to interest rate fluctuations and refinancing costs.

#revenue #Growth

On September 9, 2026, Reuters reported that AI music startup Suno launched a new suite of models, including its flagship v6 and exploratory v6-Wild, built in partnership with Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) and BMG. It lets users make new music inspired by licensed recordings from participating artists. The launch follows Warner Music's copyright lawsuit settlement with Suno in November 2025, under which artists and songwriters can opt in to have their names, voices, and compositions used in AI-generated music in exchange for compensation.
Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) can turn the Suno litigation dispute into a new licensing revenue opportunity. Suno has now launched its v6 models in partnership with Warner Music and BMG. It allows users to make music inspired by licensed works from participating artists. Warner previously sued Suno over copyright issues before reaching a licensing agreement. This gives the label a direct path to monetize AI-generated music rather than relying solely on litigation. The deal could create a new revenue stream as consumers increasingly adopt AI music tools.
Warner enters the AI-music market from a position of financial strength. The firm reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $5.44 billion, up 9% year over year. Adjusted OIBDA increased 16% to $433 million, and its adjusted OIBDA margin expanded to 23.2%. Warner also said it had met or exceeded its financial targets for five consecutive quarters. That basic growth gives the company greater flexibility to invest in AI initiatives while using licensing agreements to add another potential growth driver to its existing streaming and publishing businesses.
Warner could help establish a more sustainable commercial model for AI-generated music. Suno said future products will include opt-in experiences that allow individual artists to participate and receive payment when users generate music around them. So Warner has an opportunity to help shape licensing and compensation practices as Spotify and other platforms develop their own AI-music products. If the industry increasingly adopts licensed models, Warner's large catalog and relationships with artists could solidify its negotiating position and create recurring AI-related revenue.
Suno's new licensing model does not eliminate the overall legal risks surrounding AI music. Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has reached an agreement with Suno, but other copyright owners are challenging the firm's technology. Independent publisher Round Hill sued Suno in August, alleging that the company used copyrighted songs to train its AI system. Suno also faces separate litigation from Universal Music Group and Sony Music. Hence, lawsuits could increase legal costs and create uncertainty over the licensing framework that Warner hopes to monetize.

#music #licensing #corp #revenue

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh has revealed himself. If not a card-carrying monetarist, he is at least a camp follower. This represents a dramatic change at the Fed, where the past Chairman Jerome Powell repeatedly rejected the basic tenets of monetarism.
This is a welcomed earthquake. After all, there are almost no monetarists left in the world (except for us, and we've been fighting a lonely rearguard action for over 40 years). The Federal Reserve has rejected monetarism consistently — and on the record — because it preferred other models for understanding the economy. In academia, monetarism has been out of fashion for decades. But by his own words, a monetarist is now leading the central bank.
Just what is monetarism? It's a doctrine which holds that money has a major influence on both the level of ***** et prices, economic activity, and the price level. Any discussion of national income determination must, therefore, center on the quantity of money and the banking system, since banks produce most of the money in modern economies. When it comes to monetary policy, its objectives are best met by targeting the rate of growth of the money supply.
Today, most economists pooh-pooh monetarism. Money and banking are nowhere to be found in their macroeconomic models, or their discourses about the course of ***** et prices, economic activity, and prices. Indeed, their forecasting exercises are typically based on elaborations of Keynesian income-expenditure models that exclude money and banking.
If that's not enough, we think that the Fed's backroom staff, mostly Keynesian-leaning Democrats, don't want alignment with a philosophy usually affiliated with Milton Friedman, but that's another story. Just look at what Joe Biden said in 2020 about how the dean of monetarism wasn't "running the show anymore."

#monetarist

If you're trying to build a consumer-focused corner of your portfolio that can grow through a lot of different economic backdrops, three names stand out right now: Church & Dwight Co. (NYSE: CHD), YETI Holdings (NYSE: YETI), and Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL). Each of these is making deliberate moves in 2026 and into 2027 that communicate to me more about their future than any single rocky quarter's earnings line.
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 »
Church & Dwight has built its identity on everyday products like baking soda, laundry detergents, and cleaners that quietly show up in millions of homes. In May 2026, it moved to deepen that footprint by buying the Miss Mouth's Messy Eater brand, a fast-growing, non-toxic stain remover built for parents. It's a small thing on paper, but it fits this successful company's patterns: Keep layering niche, repeat-use products into an existing distribution machine instead of chasing flashy new categories.
The company's first-quarter 2026 update backs that strategy up. Organic sales rose 5% even though reported net sales were basically flat due to past portfolio pruning, per company management. Management described 2026 as a year of "volume-driven" organic growth, meaning they're focused on selling more units to real customers, not just leaning on price increases. On top of that, Church & Dwight extended its long dividend record yet again. Although it is not quite a Dividend King, it has consistently raised its dividend for 29 years.
For investors, my advice here is straightforward: Treat Church & Dwight as a core holding in a consumer bucket. It's unlikely to deliver fireworks in a single year, but it keeps making acquisitions to deepen its understanding of existing categories.

#flashing #organic

Saving for retirement is hard. For starters, humans aren't very good at delaying gratification. And saving is basically choosing not to spend today so you can spend, hopefully even more, in the future. But there's another problem with saving for retirement: it is hard to set a goal. There's one popular retirement rule that can help with that. Here it is.
When you think about money, the gut reaction is to compare yourself to other people. That's understandable, but it can lead you into troubling waters. For example, the average 65 to 74-year-old has a net worth of nearly $1.8 million. So, you could argue that by 67 you should have that much money saved up. But that figure mashes together the very rich with people who aren't as fortunate. The median net worth, with half of all people above and half below, is roughly $410,000, which is a lot lower. Which one is the better target?
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 »
That doesn't even consider the fact that net worth includes ***** ets like a home, which isn't something you can easily tap for cash. Sure, you could sell your home and move into a small residence, but you still need to live somewhere. And you aren't average or median. You are you, and your earnings and savings numbers are unique.
That's where a simple savings rule comes in, based on your salary. Essentially, you are creating a personalized saving goal for retirement. To cut to the end of the story, the rule is that you should have 10x your salary saved by age 67. But that's just the final step in the process, because the rule provides benchmarks all along the way to keep you on track.

#spend

It's no secret that Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM) is a crucial piece of the artificial intelligence (AI) puzzle. But how often do you think of Arm as a top-shelf AI investment? It's easy to forget this impressive compounder amid the glitzy hypergrowth of Nvidia's and AMD's expensive AI accelerators.
Arm doesn't build the chips that train large language models. The company doesn't actually build chips at all. Instead, Arm designs fundamental instruction sets and CPU cores. It licenses those designs to anyone with a fab contract and an ambition and collects a royalty on every unit shipped. It's basically a toll booth on a road that keeps getting wider.
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 »
Arm's toll road used to run almost entirely through smartphones. Now it runs through the data center too. Nvidia's Vera CPU pairs Arm cores with its accelerators. Amazon's Graviton, Microsoft's Cobalt, and Alphabet's Google Axion are all Arm-based, built in-house by companies that spend like nation-states on server capacity.
Every AI cluster on the planet needs general-purpose compute to feed the high-speed AI accelerators, handle networking, and run the orchestration layer. A growing share of that work sits on Arm designs.

#signal #flashing #build #chips

Back in 2021, banks treated crypto like radioactive waste. Fast forward to 2026, and financial giant Visa (NYSE: V) isn't just dipping a toe in -- it's basically cannonballing into the deep end of the stablecoin pool.
Here's what Visa has done recently, and why it's huge for anyone holding crypto.
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 »
In July, Visa introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP). Think of it as a plug-and-play stablecoin toolkit for traditional banks and fintechs.
Instead of traditional institutions sweating over managing private keys, setting up multi-sig wallets, or figuring out how to mint and burn tokens, Visa handed them a slick "Wallet-as-a-Service." Starting with Open USD, an upcoming token, Visa will also support the popular USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) coin later this year. Banks can now hold, move, and settle stablecoins using the same enterprise-grade security tools they're already comfortable with. It's in beta testing for now, pending the Open USD launch.

#Crypto #stablecoin

Property and casualty insurer Progressive (NYSE: PGR) is probably best known for selling auto insurance. That's a highly competitive segment of the industry, but the company has proven its chops, reporting a strong combined ratio of 87.3% in the second quarter of 2026. Is the roughly 10% pullback from the 52-week high, and about 25% drawdown from 2025's peak, as of this writing, enough to make the stock a buy? Probably not if you are a value investor.
The combined ratio is a measure of profitability in the insurance sector, with numbers below 100% indicating that a company is earning more from premiums than it costs to support those premiums and cover claims. Progressive has a strong history of running its business well on this front. Basically, it is a good business. But paying too much for a good business can turn it into a bad investment, as Benjamin Graham was fond of saying (Graham notably helped train Warren Buffett).
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 »
So the real question here is whether the drawdowns noted above were sufficient to make Progressive's valuation attractive. The answer there isn't clean cut. For example, the price-to-sales ratio of 1.4x is in the middle of the historical range of roughly 0.5x to 2.2x. If anything, the P/S ratio is kind of toward the high side. The same general story holds with the price-to-book ratio. So these two metrics hint at a stock that isn't expensive, but it also isn't trading at bargain-basement prices.
The price-to-earnings ratio is a bit more positive, with the 11.1x P/E toward the lower end of its historical range. And the average insurance company has a P/E ratio of around 11.8x, so this makes Progressive look reasonably priced. Only Progressive's P/B ratio is 3.7x compared to the industry average of 1.7x, so the broader industry comparison still isn't a clear-cut win.

#ratio #progressive