Margaret Qualley embraced understated elegance in a striking Chanel look while attending the New York special screening of "Love of Your Life." The 31-year-old actress stepped onto the blue carpet in a sleek black gown. While the dress looked classic from the front, it revealed a dramatic surprise on the back.
Her slinky open-back dress featured an eye-catching floral accent suspended by delicate metal chains. Consequently, the unique detail gave the timeless little black dress a modern twist.
Margaret Qualley at the "Love Of Your Life" New York Special Screening. pic.twitter.com/pQNO6cXXRF
— 21 (21metgala) October 8, 2026
Margaret Qualley wore Look 78 from Matthieu Blazy's Chanel Fall/Winter 2026 Ready-to-Wear collection. The long-sleeved black dress featured a modest boat neckline and a fluid silhouette that skimmed her frame before falling to her ankles.

#margaret #qualley #chanel

The pizza dining sector has been in a downsizing mode in 2026 with several chains closing numerous locations for a variety of reasons.
Some of the biggest and most popular chains, such as Pizza Hut and Papa John's, plan to close 100s for restaurants in 2006 to rid themselves of properties that have become a financial burden.
Boston-based pizza dining chain Bertucci's, which has filed for bankruptcy three times in the last eight years, has also closed dozens of locations.
Bertucci's most recently shuttered its last Washington, D.C.-area location with the closing of its Springfield, Va., restaurant at the end of September, according to the Washington Business Journal.
The 45-year-old pizza chain, which at one time had over 100 locations, has 11 remaining restaurants in Massachusetts, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.

#pizza

When my wife, son, and I pick a restaurant for dinner, we all have to make sacrifices.
It's challenging to find an eatery that offers something for each of us. The more specialized a restaurant gets, however, the less likely we are to eat there.
That reality hurts chains that focus on healthy food.
People may say they want to eat healthy, but chains like True Food Kitchen face a major challenge when it comes to people actually choosing to eat there.
My wife can order a salad at Chili's, but I can't get ribs and my son can't order chicken tenders at True Food Kitchen. That's one of the challenges facing a healthy restaurant brand that has now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a press release.

#restaurant #kitchen #chains

Ciara showcased her growing baby ******* p in a sheer black lace dress at the BoF 500 gala in Paris, following a surprise appearance on the runway earlier that day.
The singer, 40, chose a fitted design with a plunging neckline and delicate straps for the October 3 celebration, revealing her ******* p beneath the floral lace. Her evening appearance followed a turn modelling Junya Watanabe's spring/summer 2027 collection during Paris Fashion Week.
Ciara's dress featured black satin bra panels and matching briefs beneath its transparent fabric, with gathered detailing around the waist and hips.
Ciara stuns in naked lace dress (@ Getty Images for The Business of)
The lace skirt fell below her knees, leaving her pointed black patent heels on display. An oversized sparkling cross pendant, layered chains and a statement ring completed the look.

#lace #black #beneath #october

For spring 2027, Vincent Garnier Pressiat transformed a floor of the recently reopened Bus Palladium — where stars like Serge Gainsbourg and Mick Jagger stayed in the 1970s — into an intimate stage for a woman in the messy aftermath of a breakup.
Guests were invited behind room doors to discover scenes of morning-after disorder: one model struggled to light a cigarette in front of a fan, another got a tattoo on a bed and a third stood beside the sofa holding a chainsaw. On a room-service trolley, a vibrator sat on a dirty plate.
More from WWD
Carla Bruni, Karen Elson Celebrate Mert Alas' Donna Karan Campaign Return in Paris
Bonpoint Is Launching Sport and Couture Categories

#vincent #pressiat #serge #guests

Pricing alone does not decide where people buy their clothes.
With a number of retail chains competing for the off-price, on-trend fashion crown, it's easy for one brand to fall out of favor. Consumers seem to have an enduring love for Marshalls and TJ Maxx, while the popularity of Ross Dress for Less has grown steadily in recent years.
These brands drive sales by foot traffic, and that's a battle the aforementioned chains have been winning.
"Off-price apparel remained on solid footing in Q2 2026, with Ross leading the segment. Visits to Ross Dress for Less rose 16.4% year over year (YoY), while dd's DISCOUNTS grew 8.4%. TJX's TJ Maxx and Marshalls, meanwhile, saw visits hover around last year's levels — significantly outperforming traditional apparel, which declined 3.5% YoY," according to data from Placer.ai.
In the battle for customers looking for deals on trendy, fashionable clothes, Cato has been struggling, and now plans to close about 15% of its retail stores.

#less #retail

Pricing alone does not decide where people buy their clothes.
With a number of retail chains competing for the off-price, on-trend fashion crown, it's easy for one brand to fall out of favor. Consumers seem to have an enduring love for Marshalls and TJ Maxx, while the popularity of Ross Dress for Less has grown steadily in recent years.
These brands drive sales by foot traffic, and that's a battle the aforementioned chains have been winning.
"Off-price apparel remained on solid footing in Q2 2026, with Ross leading the segment. Visits to Ross Dress for Less rose 16.4% year over year (YoY), while dd's DISCOUNTS grew 8.4%. TJX's TJ Maxx and Marshalls, meanwhile, saw visits hover around last year's levels — significantly outperforming traditional apparel, which declined 3.5% YoY," according to data from Placer.ai.
In the battle for customers looking for deals on trendy, fashionable clothes, Cato has been struggling, and now plans to close about 15% of its retail stores.

#price

Investors are largely in agreement that most of Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) stock holdings are solid picks. Every now and then, though, one of its selections raises a few eyebrows.
That's what happened when Berkshire bought 3 million shares of department store chain Macy's (NYSE: M) in the first quarter of this year. Most people appreciate that the struggling company owns a real estate portfolio that may well be worth more than the organization's current market cap of just under $6 billion. To unlock that value, however, the company would need to take on the expensive -- and business-destructive -- headache of winding down at least some of its existing retailing operations, perhaps undermining the value of that real estate in the process.
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 »
But maybe Berkshire Hathaway isn't looking at what's since grown to a 7.4 million share/$162 million stake in Macy's as a real estate bet after all. It could be a legitimate turnaround play.
This premise could be difficult to digest given the so-called retail apocalypse that's been underway since the advent of e-commerce. And, anyone who's been keeping close tabs on the brick-and-mortar retailing industry's struggle probably knows that department store chains' revenue peaked in the early 2000s, and has been dwindling ever since.

#real

The intelligence report, circulated across the US military this spring in the midst of the war with Iran, immediately set off alarm bells: A Chinese ship in the Middle East was transporting components of a nuclear weapons program.
The US military swung into action with plans to intercept the vessel, according to four sources familiar with the episode. According to two of the sources, armed members of the US military were preparing to board the ship. Military planes were in the air, one of those sources and another source familiar with the incident said.
It was only just before the planned operation that officials dug deeper into the report put together by a special operations command ****** yst and found it had been generated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) — and that a chatbot the ****** yst had used inaccurately identified the material the ship was carrying. CNN was not able to learn what the misidentified cargo was.
The report, according to one of the sources, was “entirely false.” But it also “almost started a war,” the source said. Any US operation against a Chinese vessel could have risked spiraling into an armed conflict between the two nations.
Across the US military and the intelligence community, officials are pushing to weave AI into nearly every facet of their work, from ****** yzing the huge volumes of raw intelligence the US collects and selecting targets for strikes, to more mundane applications like managing budgeting, logistics and supply chains.

#intelligence #ship #familiar

The casual Mexican restaurant sector has faced a challenging year in 2026, as dining chains have closed underperforming locations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reorganize their businesses, and in at least one case, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation to shut down all operations.
Once popular Mexican chain On the Border ceased operations in 2026, after closing all of its locations before its operating company, OTB Hospitality, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on June 19, 2026, the company shared in a press release.
Another chain facing financial distress is Session Taco, a St. Louis-based casual Mexican dining chain, which closed one of its restaurant locations for the second time in seven months. The chain has not filed for bankruptcy.
The Mexican chain, originally branded Mission Taco Joint until a 2023 name change, closed its Sobremesa restaurant in St. Charles, Mo., on Sept. 13 after only three months of operation, according to its Facebook page.
The St. Charles location was previously branded as Session Taco until the company closed the restaurant on Feb. 13 to redesign and rebrand the restaurant as Sobremesa before reopening in June 2026.

#mexican #locations

By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. International Development Finance Corp on Wednesday approved a $500 million trade financing facility that will help U.S. companies access emerging markets in ‌South America, Southeast Asia and Africa, the agency's chief executive, Ben Black, said.
The facility, ‌approved by the DFC's board, will offer counter-guarantees in partnership with the World Bank's International Finance Corp, its private-sector arm, and its Global Trade Finance Program, Black told Reuters.
"The goal is trying to expand the program and further grow U.S. exports," he said in an interview.
Under Black's leadership, DFC has expanded its investment cap to $205 billion and shifted its focus from traditional poverty alleviation toward mining, extractive industries, energy and digital infrastructure, ‌with an eye to countering ⁠China's global influence and securing vital supply chains for the U.S.

#trade #global #program #approved

Sept 15, 2026, 11:57 am EDT
Guggenheim ******* yst
Michael Ciarmoli
sees a lot of opportunity in the
beaten-up
defense sector. Monday, he launched coverage of almost two dozen stocks. He has a baker’s dozen buys, with some surprising price targets.
Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Higher borrowing costs could make it harder for restaurant chains to open new locations at the pace investors expect.

#dozen #guggenheim #jones #rights

A company that specializes in autonomous power deployment said it has raised $31.8 million to scale its operations, with investments from major groups including Google and Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV). California-based Planted said the new capital expands its robotic fleet. The company said the funding also supports the launch of Sage, its next-generation robot, as demand outpaces the company's current capacity.Planted on September 15 said the funding round was led by Piva Capital and RA Capital Management Planetary Health, with participation from Gigascale Capital and Open AI-backer Khosla Ventures, along with Google and BEV. Gigascale Capital was founded by former Meta executive Mike Schroepfer."Globally, solar needs to be deployed about five times faster than it is today to hit the scale experts project we'll need by 2050, and the gap is growing as the industry confronts constraints involving supply chains, land, interconnection, and skilled labor," said Eric Brown, CEO of Planted. "The way to close that gap is to turn the construction of a power plant into a manufacturing problem: building robots and deployment systems, not just projects. We have robots in the field proving the model works today. This round is how we scale it."
Brown's group on Tuesday said a record 664 GW of solar photovoltaic power was installed worldwide last year, but noted terawatts of new generation capacity are needed to meet projected demand. The company said it combines planning software, high-density terrain-following solar arrays, storage, and field robotics into one system, which enables Planted to build on parcels of land that legacy trackers cannot use. The company said its system also delivers twice the energy per acre, resulting in smaller project footprints and a lower profile on the landscape.Planted said its array "is simplified, designed for automation, and defined in software," and thus can deliver new power generation capacity in months rather than years. Planted's most recent build, a 28-MW behind-the-meter project serving a neocloud data center, went from first call to power in 10 months, with field construction completed in under three months.Planted on Tuesday said the company's development model "is proven and bankable," and noted its projects carry independent engineering validation and project financing. The company completed Bowes Solar, an 11-MW project in Illinois for Cultivate Power, and will next build Aligned Climate Capital's Armoracia project on 16 acres, 10 fewer than the original design required. The denser redesign moved the project through local review after the initial layout was rejected, according to the company. Planted, which deployed more than 10 MW in 2025, is on track for 100 MW in 2026, a 10x jump in a single year, with a project pipeline of more than 20 GW.The company said Sage, the next-generation robot, will be deployed later this year.

#Solar

Broyhill ***** et Management, a Charlotte-based firm, issued its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, which is available for download here. The Broyhill Equity Composite gained 8.8% in Q2, trailing the MSCI All Country World Index's 15.1% and the MSCI ACWI Value Index's 10.8%. For the first half, the Composite returned 2.3%, versus 11.5% for the Index. The letter highlights that a significant portion of the shortfall occurred in April due to market dynamics and geopolitical events, with tech, particularly semiconductors, driving recent gains. Broyhill notes its lack of direct semiconductor exposure but acknowledges potential interest in the sector if opportunities arise, maintaining its investment philosophy focused on capital protection in fragile market conditions. Also, check the fund's top five holdings to see its best picks in 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Broyhill ***** et Management highlighted The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD). The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD), a leading player in the foodservice industry, contributed positively to performance during the quarter. On September 14, 2026, The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) closed at $109.72 per share. Over the past month, The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) declined 3.75%, but its shares are up 1.27% over the past year. The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) has a market capitalization of $78.51 billion, and its stock has traded within a 52-week range of $89.14 to $148.55.
Broyhill ***** et Management stated the following regarding The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) gained 31%. Commercial Foodservice grew organic revenue 8% as chains returned to growth and management raised full-year guidance by roughly 4%. More important was the structural progress: the Food Processing separation was confirmed at the May investor day (which our investment team attended) and completed on July 6th, creating Midera. Following the majority sale of the residential business earlier this year, what remains is a cleaner business with leverage approaching 2.5x."
The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 42 hedge fund portfolios held The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) at the end of the second quarter which was 35 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) 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 the best short-term AI stock.

#middleby #corporation #broyhill #quarter

A company that specializes in autonomous power deployment said it has raised $31.8 million to scale its operations, with investments from major groups including Google and Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV). California-based Planted said the new capital expands its robotic fleet. The company said the funding also supports the launch of Sage, its next-generation robot, as demand outpaces the company's current capacity.Planted on September 15 said the funding round was led by Piva Capital and RA Capital Management Planetary Health, with participation from Gigascale Capital and Open AI-backer Khosla Ventures, along with Google and BEV. Gigascale Capital was founded by former Meta executive Mike Schroepfer."Globally, solar needs to be deployed about five times faster than it is today to hit the scale experts project we'll need by 2050, and the gap is growing as the industry confronts constraints involving supply chains, land, interconnection, and skilled labor," said Eric Brown, CEO of Planted. "The way to close that gap is to turn the construction of a power plant into a manufacturing problem: building robots and deployment systems, not just projects. We have robots in the field proving the model works today. This round is how we scale it."
Brown's group on Tuesday said a record 664 GW of solar photovoltaic power was installed worldwide last year, but noted terawatts of new generation capacity are needed to meet projected demand. The company said it combines planning software, high-density terrain-following solar arrays, storage, and field robotics into one system, which enables Planted to build on parcels of land that legacy trackers cannot use. The company said its system also delivers twice the energy per acre, resulting in smaller project footprints and a lower profile on the landscape.Planted said its array "is simplified, designed for automation, and defined in software," and thus can deliver new power generation capacity in months rather than years. Planted's most recent build, a 28-MW behind-the-meter project serving a neocloud data center, went from first call to power in 10 months, with field construction completed in under three months.Planted on Tuesday said the company's development model "is proven and bankable," and noted its projects carry independent engineering validation and project financing. The company completed Bowes Solar, an 11-MW project in Illinois for Cultivate Power, and will next build Aligned Climate Capital's Armoracia project on 16 acres, 10 fewer than the original design required. The denser redesign moved the project through local review after the initial layout was rejected, according to the company. Planted, which deployed more than 10 MW in 2025, is on track for 100 MW in 2026, a 10x jump in a single year, with a project pipeline of more than 20 GW.The company said Sage, the next-generation robot, will be deployed later this year.

#project #next

Broyhill ***** et Management, a Charlotte-based firm, issued its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, which is available for download here. The Broyhill Equity Composite gained 8.8% in Q2, trailing the MSCI All Country World Index's 15.1% and the MSCI ACWI Value Index's 10.8%. For the first half, the Composite returned 2.3%, versus 11.5% for the Index. The letter highlights that a significant portion of the shortfall occurred in April due to market dynamics and geopolitical events, with tech, particularly semiconductors, driving recent gains. Broyhill notes its lack of direct semiconductor exposure but acknowledges potential interest in the sector if opportunities arise, maintaining its investment philosophy focused on capital protection in fragile market conditions. Also, check the fund's top five holdings to see its best picks in 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Broyhill ***** et Management highlighted The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD). The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD), a leading player in the foodservice industry, contributed positively to performance during the quarter. On September 14, 2026, The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) closed at $109.72 per share. Over the past month, The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) declined 3.75%, but its shares are up 1.27% over the past year. The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) has a market capitalization of $78.51 billion, and its stock has traded within a 52-week range of $89.14 to $148.55.
Broyhill ***** et Management stated the following regarding The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) gained 31%. Commercial Foodservice grew organic revenue 8% as chains returned to growth and management raised full-year guidance by roughly 4%. More important was the structural progress: the Food Processing separation was confirmed at the May investor day (which our investment team attended) and completed on July 6th, creating Midera. Following the majority sale of the residential business earlier this year, what remains is a cleaner business with leverage approaching 2.5x."
The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 42 hedge fund portfolios held The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) at the end of the second quarter which was 35 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) 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 the best short-term AI stock.

#NASDAQ #midd #asset

Our ****** ysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here.
Performance was driven by U.S. forwarding operations and international airfreight strength, particularly in disaster relief efforts following Western Pacific typhoons.
The Navegate platform is acting as a growth catalyst, enabling enterprise customers to manage complex supply chains, including one client managing over 1,400 vendors.
Domestic market dynamics are improving as capacity exits the North America truckload and intermodal sectors through carrier attrition and tighter driver availability.
Management observed constructive cyclical indicators, including rising spot rates and tender rejections, which began to manifest late in the fourth fiscal quarter.

#tell #navegate #America

As we prepare some crucial showdown games in Week 5, let's tie a bow on Week 4 in our latest Touchdown/Chunk Play/First Down/Behind the Chains retrospective:
Touchdown
PURE BULLDAWG: We turn south to Las Cruces, and one of the most impressive wins so far among the Class 6A ranks this season, that being Las Cruces High's 41-0 beatdown of Hobbs.
The offensive sluggishness that defined the early portion of the season seems to be a thousand miles in the rear-view mirror after Las Cruces rolled into Hobbs and put the hammer down on the Eagles.
The transition period for Las Cruces clearly is over, and you can now see the Bulldawgs have gained their bearings in real time.

#touchdown #hobbs #down #first

Steakhouse dining chains have faced a challenging year of rising beef prices, which increased by 9.4% year-over-year in July 2026, making it harder for many restaurants to maintain profitable businesses and keep their doors open.
Among the restaurant chains implementing plans to improve their business performance is Bloomin' Brands' Outback Steakhouse, which has closed locations that no longer make economic sense to operate.
Outback Steakhouse is closing two more of its restaurants about 10 months after the chain's owner Bloomin' Brands launched a multi-year turnaround strategy that will eliminate locations that lack the potential for growth.
The 38-year-old steakhouse chain abruptly closed its Evansville, Wyo., location on Aug. 23, 2026, and posted a farewell note on its front door.
"G'Day Casper/Evansville: Outback Steakhouse is now closed. Thank you for all your support over the last 21 years. It has been a pleasure working with so many great, local Outbackers over the years. To all the fond memories!!! Cheers, The Outback Team," the note stated.

#closed

When we moved to our former house in the Tradition neighborhood of Port St. Lucie, Fla., we had two Starbucks, two Dunkin's, and two local coffeehouses within a few miles of our house. A few years later, when we moved away, we still had two Starbucks, but the local, independent chains had both closed.
In their place, we added 7 Brew, Cali Coffee, Carmela (a regional chain), Vicky Bakery (a popular Cuban cafe chain), another Dunkin', and a new independent coffee place.
It's a staggering amount of competition in a fast-growing section of the city that's only a few square miles. All of those added competitors come at a time when the overall market has been growing, but seems to have hit a wall.
"The Coffee and Snack Shops industry has experienced a wave of growth, emerging as a standout performer in the food service sector. It boasts an annualized growth rate of 2.5%, shooting revenues up to $75.5 billion over the five years to 2026," according to IBISWorld's Coffee & Snack Shops in the US Industry Data and ***** ysis.
Nationally, Americans also have more places to get their daily cup.

#coffee #starbucks #snack #House

General Motors is developing a domestic battery supply chain it expects to complete within two to three years, even as the company currently relies on some Chinese-sourced materials for its existing battery production.
Kurt Kelty, GM's vice president of battery and sustainability, told CNBC that the company's near-term goal is full domestic sourcing. "We're developing a supply chain such that, two years from now, three years from now, it will be domestic," Kelty said. "That's what we're aiming for — when we get into market, we've got a domestic source for that."
Kelty's comments center on sodium-ion battery cells that GM is developing with Denver-based startup Peak Energy for use in stationary energy storage systems for homes, businesses, and data centers. GM expects to reach commercial production of those cells around 2029, according to CNBC. A GM spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the company would apply the same domestic sourcing priority to battery cells for future electric vehicles.
Unlike conventional lithium iron phosphate chemistry, sodium-ion cells are built around sodium from soda ash — a resource the U.S. holds in abundance — sidestepping the lithium and ferrous sulfate supply chains that China currently controls. Kelty added that sodium-ion cells handle a broader span of temperatures, which means they can function without the active thermal management that drives up the cost and complexity of stationary storage installations.
"The better thing to do is try to leapfrog, come up with a different technology that's actually better that we can actually source here," Kelty told CNBC.

#battery #supply #years #we 're

The Iowa Hawkeyes flipped the script on the Cyclones, winning this year's CyHawk game on a late field goal to pull out a 16-13 win. It was a scrappy, ugly, sometimes dirty game that was pretty much in line to how this series has gone these last ten years. But the Hawkeyes exorcised the demons of the last two years with a Caden Burr field goal from 42 yards out with :15 seconds left to bring the CyHawk trophy back home to Iowa City.
After last week's performance against NIU and with a brand new regime in Ames, many expected this to be a much more comfortable game for the Hawkeyes, especially under the lights in Kinnick Stadium with a raucous crowd. But Iowa State put Iowa into an early 10-0 hole midway through the second quarter that had the black and gold faithful starting to get that "here we go again" familiar feeling. But the offense managed to come to life, thanks to a massive 56-yard bomb to Tony Diaz that set up a Hank Brown touchdown run late the first half. A huge 45-yard Buhr field goal right before halftime reset the score and setting up a grinding second half of football.
Neither team had a great first quarter. Iowa started with the ball but procedural penalties doomed their drive. Meanwhile the Hawkeye defense held the Cyclones to only six plays in the quarter. Iowa State managed to move the chains in the second quarter with drives of nine and ten plays that ended on a Kyle Konrardy field goal and 7-yard Jalen Raynor touchdown pass, respectively. Raynor's stat line tonight won't impress anyone: 10/19 for 117 yards, and no touchdowns with some crucial misfires on potential big plays. But aside from those misses he made no back breaking mistakes that allowed the Iowa defense to capitalize.
Hank Brown REACHES OUT for Iowa's first score.

📺 Big Ten Football on NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/PJpKvvqkKt
Iowa State regained their momentum coming out of the break with an eight play drive that ended with another Konrardy field goal. Running back Aiden Flora had the play of the drive with a 34-yard scamper down to the Iowa 19, but holding and illegal substitution penalties stalled the drive leading to the Konrardy kick to put ISU up 13-10. Iowa's offense went in to hibernation as they could not get Kamari Moulton going on the ground, the Cyclones were clearly committed to stopping the run and it worked for much of the game. Iowa's first three drives of the second half went for only 21 yards (four plays), 8 yards (3 plays), and -5 yards (3 playes, not helped by a holding penalty on Dotzler). Woof.

#cyclones #game #state

Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, recently partnered with Moov, a payments infrastructure provider, to bring stablecoin payments and settlements to more than 1,000 U.S. community banks and credit unions. By integrating Coinbase's digital ******* et infrastructure into Moov's payments platform, the two companies will enable those financial institutions to accept stablecoins without building their own blockchains.
Let's see how this partnership could help Coinbase, why everyone is talking about stablecoins right now, and how the upcoming vote on the CLARITY Act could impact those plans.
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 »
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to a stable fiat currency, such as the U.S. dollar or the euro, and can be held without a bank account. Their payments can be settled 24/7, enabling faster, cheaper money transfers than fiat currencies. They can be deposited in third-party lending platforms and liquidity pools to earn higher yields than traditional bank accounts.
Stablecoins can also allow people in countries with hyperinflation to preserve their savings without buying the underlying fiat currencies. They can also be used to accelerate cross-border transfers by acting as a "bridge currency" between the two fiat currencies.

#signal #Coinbase

Back in the late 70s and early 1980s, my small town had a mom-and-pop convenience store, Paul's Market, as well as one location of a regional chain, Richdale's. It later added a store from a larger chain, White Hen Pantry.
7-Eleven and other large chains existed, but local stores, even one-offs, were common. Now, just over the past few years, a number of bigger players have swallowed up some smaller chains.
The banner retirements are real and named, according to data from NACS Magazine.
GetGo was sold to Circle K, Redwood Markets went to Jacksons (24 stores, California), and Maverick bought the ****** & Go Brand, which included about 400 locations. In all three cases, the name changes were gradual as stores got remodeled, but in the end, the classic names disappeared.
Now, the same thing has happened again as Casey's has begun the process of removing the CEFCO name from the 198 stores it added when it bought the rival chain in 2024.

#store

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Orange missed several redzone opportunities, turned the ball over at costly times and committed numerous penalties to undo all of their hard work against the Golden Bears. A game in which the offensive numbers looked far better for Syracuse ended in a Cal 21-18 win when Golden Bears safety Kingston Lopa housed a pick six for the eventual winning score with 4:51 left in the 4th quarter.
Syracuse started the game with the ball, and fireworks showed immediately. Tylik Hill ripped a 55 yard rush on the second play of the game to immediately put the Orange in a goal-to-go situation. Syracuse couldn't convert and settled for a Tripp Woody field goal to open the scoring at 3-0.
Cal set its intentions early by playing in empty sets for much of its first drive. Although the Golden Bears got a first down, impressive pressure from Keyshawn Johnson and Dillan Fontus on 3rd down stalled the first Cal drive before midfield.
Syracuse's second drive saw the return of Justus Ross-Simmons, newly eligible after a long and nervous legal battle. He snagged the first Orange reception of the day, going 22 yards up the right sideline. Shavane Anderson Jr. also started to show that his first week performance wasn't a fluke with a pair of good eight-yard gains to move the chains. The Orange had to punt, however, to end their second drive of the day.
Cal showed more of its pass heavy offense, led by its star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. After moving the chains with some good outside passes, JKS finally targeted his top receiver, Ian Strong on a third down play. Syracuse had ****** r Ward instead of Chris Peal covering Strong on this play, but Ward did a great job to force an incompletion and end Cal's second drive.

#orange #game #play #down

As continuous inflation squeezes household budgets, the discount retail sector should potentially benefit across the board, with middle- and lower-income consumers looking for value driving foot traffic into value chains. That's roughly what happened in the second-quarter reports from Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) and Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR), both of which were released in late August. Both retailers outperformed expectations, though only one company's stock was rewarded for this.
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) reported second-quarter results on August 27 that exceeded expectations, and shares rose more than 6.5% in premarket trading. Net sales increased 5.2% to $11.29 billion, surpassing the $11.2 billion market forecast, while diluted EPS came in at $2.48, up 33.3% year-over-year and well above the $2.01 ******* ysts projected. Same-store sales increased 3.5%, driven by a 2.0% increase in customer traffic and a 1.5% increase in average transaction amount, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of traffic growth and the sixth consecutive quarter of positive comps across all four merchandise categories.
Management improved their full-year estimate across the board: same-store sales growth is now expected to be 2.5% to 2.9%, up from 2.2% to 2.7% before, while full-year EPS guidance increased to $7.80-$8.00 from $7.20-$7.45. Tariff refunds, a lower LIFO provision, and improved shrink and damages helped increase the gross margin by 127 basis points to 32.6%. CEO Todd Vasos also pointed to continued market share gains from higher-income households switching away from traditional grocers, a trend the company has cited for several quarters, with management announcing plans to resume up to $700 million in share buybacks in the latter half of the year, backed by remodels under its Project Renovate and Project Elevate initiatives.
Dollar Tree's results, released on August 27, indicate a more complicated situation. Diluted EPS came in at $2.70, including a $1.31-per-share net benefit related to tariff refunds, while revenue increased 7% year-over-year to $4.89 billion. Comparable store sales up 3.7%, driven by a 3.3% gain in average ticket and a 0.4% increase in traffic, a return to positive traffic that occurred a full quarter ahead of management's internal plan.
However, the headline figure includes an important caveat: $1.31 of the $2.70 in EPS came from the net impact of $383 million in IEEPA tariff refunds after related reinvestment spending, duties, and taxes. Strip that out, and underlying EPS was $1.39, above the $1.00-$1.15 range management had guided to in May and about 23% above the $1.13 consensus estimate.

#TRAFFIC

Prosper Stars & Stripes, a long/short equity fund, recently released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter. The letter can be downloaded here. In Q2 2026, the portfolio delivered a strong net return of +30.1% compared to the Russell 2000 Index's +21.5% return and the HFRX Equity Hedge Index's +10.3% return. The long book drove performance, generating a 43.2% gross contribution, while average net exposure remained relatively modest at 47%. U.S. economic growth remained resilient despite inflation concerns, elevated energy prices, and geopolitical uncertainty. Markets rallied sharply after easing U.S.-Iran tensions pushed oil prices lower, supporting renewed risk appetite. Small-cap equities benefited significantly, with Information Technology, Industrials, and Health Care leading gains, while Energy declined as crude prices fell. Year to date, the Composite returned +23.7%, slightly ahead of the Russell 2000's +22.6% and well above the HFRI Equity Hedge Index's +9.7%. Additionally, you can review the Portfolio's top 5 holdings to see its best picks for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Prosper Stars & Stripes highlighted The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT). The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT) manufactures and sells precision-engineered components and high-energy systems for the aerospace, defense and government, industrial, medical, semiconductor and electronics, and energy industries. On September 09, 2026, The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT) closed at $16.46 per share. Over the past month The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT) declined 4.02% and its shares lost 15.29% over the past 3 months. The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT) has a market capitalization of $511.11 million and its stock has traded within a 52-week range of $12.49 to $22.51.
Prosper Stars & Stripes stated the following regarding The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"We are also invested in Applied Aerospace & Defense (AADX) and The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT). Elmet's critical materials division supplies inputs for the U.S. military supply chain that are essential to production and increasingly must be sourced domestically, steering business towards the company. We believe the building of domestic supply chains can benefit Elmet and drive better-than-forecast earnings growth as they grow organically and deploy their underutilized balance sheet to broaden their businesses."
The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 19 hedge fund portfolios held The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT) at the end of the second quarter which was 0 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ:ELMT) 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 tr

Mike Evans had to travel outside the United States to score his first touchdown in a San Francisco 49ers uniform. The former Texas A&M star caught six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown during San Francisco's 27-7 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
After spending 12 seasons in Tampa Bay, where he owns virtually every major Buccaneers receiving record, the future Hall of Famer proved he still has plenty to offer. Evans tied Deebo Samuel for the team lead with six receptions and averaged 8.2 yards per catch. More importantly, three of his catches moved the chains on third down, and his touchdown also came on third down.
It was only one game, and Evans may no longer have the youthful legs he once did, but he still knows how to get open and make contested catches. His 109th career touchdown reception was a perfect example.
After Samuel opened the second half with a 45-yard kickoff return, the 49ers quickly moved into the red zone. That is where Evans came through. It was nothing complicated. Evans used an outside release, and Brock Purdy gave him an opportunity to make a play. Evans went over the defensive back and pulled down the two-yard touchdown to give San Francisco a 17-7 lead.
You can watch the catch below.

#touchdown #francisco #samuel

Dow is considering an exit from its stake in the $20-billion Sadara Chemical Company venture with Saudi Aramco as the U.S. chemicals giant battles a prolonged industry downturn compounded by the Iran war.
Dow could sell its reported 35% interest in the Saudi petrochemical complex, with Aramco potentially emerging as a buyer, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Strategic and financial investors could also be interested, although no final decision has been made.
The potential exit comes as the global chemicals industry struggles with weak demand, persistent overcapacity and elevated costs. The Middle East conflict has added another layer of pressure by disrupting petrochemical flows and supply chains and increasing transportation and operating expenses.
Sadara itself was temporarily shut earlier this year due to conflict-related supply disruptions.
Located in Jubail Industrial City, Sadara was developed as a $20-billion mega-project and was the world's largest integrated chemicals complex built in a single phase when completed. Its 26 manufacturing plants have the capacity to produce more than 3 million metric tons of performance plastics and high-value chemicals annually.

#exit #reported

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) stock soared nearly 50% in May, as Wall Street began seeing the legacy automotive company as a hidden-gem infrastructure play as the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and data center energy explodes. The stock has since given back about half of its May surge, and that gives investors who see long-term growth an opportunity to jump back in at a better price.
Here's why investors should be intrigued.
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 May, the Detroit automaker announced its wholly owned subsidiary, called Ford Energy, which will develop and offer a battery energy storage system (BESS) for utility customers, AI data centers, and other large industrial and commercial customers. Savvy investors may have seen this coming, but for the most part, Ford built the new business behind the scenes, securing supply chains and preparing manufacturing. Ford Energy will manufacture battery cells, **** emble modules and containers, and offer sales and service support, which could be the lucrative part. That's because the automaker's Ford Energy DC block was designed to have a stable and predictable lifetime performance for about two decades.
To help connect the dots for investors wondering, AI data centers run intense workloads that put immense strain on the electrical grid. Ford's BESS give AI data centers security in the event of electrical grid fluctuations or blackouts, as the centers need an uninterrupted power supply. The systems will also provide power during AI workload spikes, charge when electricity is cheap, and discharge when prices peak, ultimately lowering costs and providing downtime protection.

#bess