Sofía Vergara stole the spotlight in a plunging leather dress and strappy platform heels at Paris Fashion Week on October 3.
While sitting in the front row at the Hérmes show, the America's Got Talent judge rocked a fitted leather midi dress held up by two tiny straps.
One night earlier, Vergara rocked an equally stunning evening gown with an intricate gold pattern at a star-studded dinner hosted by Bvlgari.
Sofía Vergara was the ultimate cool girl at Paris Fashion Week on October 3. While sitting in the front row at the Hérmes Spring/Summer 2027 show, the Modern Family alum stole the spotlight in an edgy, all-black leather ensemble complete with bold jewelry.
Sofía Vergara attends Day Six of Paris Fashion Week in France on October 3, 2026.
Credit: Getty Images

#vergara #october #leather

Black may be one of the safest colors in formal fashion, but the 2026 Venice Film Festival showed how unpredictable it can become in the right hands. Across premieres and ceremonies, stars embraced lace, velvet, satin, sculptural tailoring and elaborate draping. Instead of relying on color to create impact, designers used texture and silhouette to give each outfit a distinctive personality. Laura Dern, Susan Sarandon, Amal Clooney, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rooney Mara all approached the classic shade differently. Together, their appearances demonstrated why black continues to have such staying power on major red carpets.
Laura Dern embraced intricate detailing for the premiere of Wild Horse Nine. Her sleeveless black Dior gown featured a V neckline, delicate lace and floral embroidery across the upper section. The design transitioned into a fuller shimmering skirt, giving the monochrome look depth through contrasting textures. Black Dior pumps maintained the restrained palette, while a Cartier necklace provided a polished finishing touch.
Susan Sarandon chose a more streamlined interpretation at the premiere of The Echo Chamber. Her black Fendi dress featured long sleeves and an off the shoulder neckline, with a fluid silhouette that followed the body without requiring elaborate embellishment. Statement jewelry, sunglasses and bright red lipstick added personality, demonstrating how accessories can completely change the mood of an otherwise minimalist black dress.
For the festival's opening ceremony, Amal Clooney turned to Tom Ford. Her floor length column gown used rippled fabric panels and subtle leather detailing to create movement and texture. Pointed pumps and a coordinating clutch continued the sleek approach. The result demonstrated how carefully constructed fabric can make a single color visually interesting without overwhelming the overall silhouette.
Maggie Gyllenhaal brought archival fashion into the conversation with an Armani Privé velvet gown originally created in 2015. The design combined sharply defined shoulders, long sleeves and a plunging embellished neckline. Its return more than a decade later also highlighted the growing red carpet practice of revisiting existing fashion rather than treating older couture as something that belongs permanently in an archive.

#susan

Mikey Madison turned heads with a daring mix of traditional British tailoring and sultry punk glamour. The rising actress stepped out in a custom dark Vivienne Westwood look styled by celebrity stylist Andrew Mukamal. Pairing vintage-inspired structure with edgy details, she easily commanded the room. Her unique outfit showcases classic Westwood rebellion while bringing a fresh, modern energy to red-carpet dressing.
Madison wore a tailored two-piece look featuring a sharp slate-blue short-sleeved jacket. The structured top boasted wide lapels, neat central **** ons, and a flared peplum waist. A subtle embroidered Vivienne Westwood orb logo sat quietly near her hip. The tailored silhouette hugged her torso closely, creating a classic vintage shape before giving way to the dramatic skirt below.
The asymmetric skirt featured navy and black diagonal bands with an uneven hem. A sheer section appeared beneath one side of the skirt, while black tights continued the dark color palette. She finished the look with dark navy open-toe platform heels
She posed against a grey textured wall, letting her outfit do all the talking. Mikey swept her long brunette hair over her shoulder in loose, cascading waves. She chose soft, natural makeup with rosy cheeks, defined eyes, and a satin pink lip. She kept her accessories minimal, opting for delicate silver earrings so the structured clothing remained the main focus.
Mikey proves that structured tops and provocative skirts can coexist beautifully. Stylist Andrew Mukamal highlighted Westwood's signature corsetry details while embracing a moody aesthetic. Mikey walked the line between retro sophistication and edgy gothic glamour with complete confidence. She continues to solidify her position as a true fashion risk-taker to watch

#westwood #look

Mikey Madison turned heads with a daring mix of traditional British tailoring and sultry punk glamour. The rising actress stepped out in a custom dark Vivienne Westwood look styled by celebrity stylist Andrew Mukamal. Pairing vintage-inspired structure with edgy details, she easily commanded the room. Her unique outfit showcases classic Westwood rebellion while bringing a fresh, modern energy to red-carpet dressing.
Madison wore a tailored two-piece look featuring a sharp slate-blue short-sleeved jacket. The structured top boasted wide lapels, neat central **** ons, and a flared peplum waist. A subtle embroidered Vivienne Westwood orb logo sat quietly near her hip. The tailored silhouette hugged her torso closely, creating a classic vintage shape before giving way to the dramatic skirt below.
The asymmetric skirt featured navy and black diagonal bands with an uneven hem. A sheer section appeared beneath one side of the skirt, while black tights continued the dark color palette. She finished the look with dark navy open-toe platform heels
She posed against a grey textured wall, letting her outfit do all the talking. Mikey swept her long brunette hair over her shoulder in loose, cascading waves. She chose soft, natural makeup with rosy cheeks, defined eyes, and a satin pink lip. She kept her accessories minimal, opting for delicate silver earrings so the structured clothing remained the main focus.
Mikey proves that structured tops and provocative skirts can coexist beautifully. Stylist Andrew Mukamal highlighted Westwood's signature corsetry details while embracing a moody aesthetic. Mikey walked the line between retro sophistication and edgy gothic glamour with complete confidence. She continues to solidify her position as a true fashion risk-taker to watch

#dark #look #vivienne

While high designers filled runways with odes to house codes and bids for the spring to come, A-list attendees held court in the front row this fashion month, with the over-50 crowd bringing their best beauty game.
From surprise bobs to a much-anticipated makeup (literally), the stars pulled out all the stops, pairing their luxury garb with glam that left a lasting impression. As another season winds down, WWD is looking back at the best hair and makeup moments from the latter half of Gen X.
More from WWD
Stevie Nicks Delivers a Masterclass in Modern Bohemian Beauty at the New York City Ballet
Kerry Washington Shows How Wild, Geometric Accessories Make an All-white Look Pop at the 'Animals' Premiere

#stevie

Dr. Phil is looking to sell his Beverly Hills home.
In Touch can confirm that the TV personality (whose real name is Phillip Calvin McGraw), 76, has listed his eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom Beverly Hills home for $67.5 million after purchasing the property in July 2010 for just under $30 million.
The 16,079-square-foot estate "emulates old Hollywood while offering every modern amenity today's most discerning buyer requires," according to a listing.
Designed by architect Kevin Clark and completed in 2011, the property includes a main residence, a guest house and separate staff quarters.
The house features double-height vestibules, imported stone fireplaces, formal living rooms, a study with a heavily decorated ceiling and a bank of arched French windows and doors. There is also a chef-grade kitchen with Wolf/Miele appliances as well as a butler's pantry and an informal dining room.

#touch

Like every job in Hollywood, managers have grappled with plenty of change in their work in the last decade. Luckily for Range Media Partners' Cora Olson and Michael Diamond, they have each other.
The duo has worked as a unit for 10 years, since being brought together at Mgmt Entertainment and eventually grew to run the lit division. They joined Range as partners in 2024 with a desire to evolve alongside the modern talent management firm, founded during the pandemic by a collective of former CAA, UTA and WME agents hoping to shake things up in the entertainment marketplace. The management company operates its talent representation business alongside an in-house production studio, allowing the operation to finance, develop and build equity in intellectual property.
All those contributing factors can help when putting together the right package to get a film or TV project off the ground in today's precarious Hollywood model — one with fewer greenlit projects and a reliance on safer bets from major distributors. But Olson and Diamond, who represent Hollywood big shots like "Schitt's Creek" Emmy winner Dan Levy, actress-producer-director Kyra Sedgwick and "Pig" filmmaker Michael Sarnoski, counter the ****** umption that original ideas are a tougher sell.
It just takes more work to get there.
"You're not just marrying this actor with this part, or this writer with this ****** ignment. It's not as much mix-and-match as it used to be, because there isn't that same amount of volume," Olson told Office With a View. "If you look at the shows and movies that are breaking through right now, it's those really fresh points of view that seem to resonate with audiences."

#diamond #partners

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Coat season is here, and while autumn may have some reaching for their trench coats, Kylie Jenner just put her stamp of approval on another trending outerwear style: the car coat.
The it-girl approved staple has been having quite a moment. With its easy, light fit, mid-length design, and sleek silhouette, it makes for a totally versatile piece that goes well with just about anything. The style was born in the 1900s, and its name came as it was designed to allow easy movement for its wearer while driving or using transportation.
Now, decades later, the car coat has found its way to the hottest runways: Prada, Dries Van Noten, Lemaire, Meryll Rogge, and Tory Burch, to name a few. Even Burberry, best known for its polished khaki trenches, has reimagined the car coat with funky prints for the modern It girl (or It boy).
All this to say that Jenner's seemingly trivial outerwear choice—for her girls' night with Stas Karanikolaou at Sushi Park in Los Angeles—actually has a long and rich fashion history behind it. (Her sister Kendall Jenner is also a fan of the staple.)
The Khy founder styled her sharp beige car coat with a little white tee and straight-leg blue jeans in a light wash. For footwear, she traded her go-to thong sandals for a pair of strappy black heels. And to match, she carried a slouchy black leather tote. Rosy blush, paired with a bronze eye and lip, completed her effortless look.

#outerwear #name #black

PUBLISHED
SEP 30, 2026 AT 06:39 AM EDT
The U.S. government has revealed a new, redesigned passport and announced plans to dramatically modernize the way Americans can apply for one.
Speaking at President Donald Trump's America.gov Event on September 29, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demonstrated a new passport application process that he said U.S. citizens can "complete entirely from home" and showed off a "beautiful" new U.S. passport that’s expected to roll out in 2028.
The changes are part of the Trump administration's new AI-powered government services platform, America.gov, which he launched on Tuesday, touting it as a "single digital point of entry" designed to simplify how Americans access government services.

#passport #Services #donald

RM for RM x SFMOMA Between You and Me
While many know RM as a member of the global sensation BTS, his fandom, known as ARMY, and those in the art world know another side of him: RM, real name Kim Namjoon, is an art collector – and now curator.
He, alongside exhibition co-curators América Castillo and Hyoeun Kim of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, is now ready to show his personal art collection in RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me.
Over the past few years, museums have faced low attendance, lost federal grants, and reduced funding. Museums have had to strategize what exhibitions people want to see, how to increase membership, and how to introduce art to the masses. Castillo says there have been more projects that the museum has taken on that have "pushed that boundary, even within their section of the art world." She had previously worked on a project called "Art of Noise" that focused heavily on music.
"It was the accumulation of those moments within the art world [that] there might actually be an appetite," Castillo states. "Then there was an internal opening, calling for ideas, and I just didn't hesitate saying, 'We should work with RM'."

#World #sfmoma #know #hyoeun

JPNP/WENN
Jesse Tyler Ferguson recalled how his attempt to honor late friend Joan Rivers took a comically awkward turn.
After Joan died on September 14, 2014, at age 81, a shiva — the traditional seven days of mourning — was held in her memory. Ferguson, 50, thought he could slip over during a break in filming Modern Family.
"I got to know Joan Rivers a little bit at the end of her life, and I was invited to her shiva when she passed away," he told guest Arturo Castro on the Tuesday, September 29 episode of his Dinner on Me podcast. "There was an extra long break on either side of lunch where I wasn't needed, so I thought, 'I'm going to go to Joan's house and attend her shiva for a moment.'"
Once there, he explained, he found a "who's who of comedy," but then a text came in: Ferguson's scenes had been moved up and he was needed back in five minutes.

#ferguson

Martha Stewart's shoe style reflects the same polished sophistication and timeless elegance that defines her brand. Known for her impeccable taste and eye for detail, Stewart favors classic silhouettes with a modern twist—often opting for luxurious peep toe heels, chic slingbacks, sleek pumps, and practical yet stylish clogs.
She's also been seen in refined block heels and elegant sandals for formal occasions, while her off-duty looks sometimes include designer sneakers that blend comfort with quiet luxury. Whether she's walking a red carpet, appearing on television, or sharing glimpses of her daily life on social media, her footwear choices consistently complement her graceful and curated aesthetic.
More from WWD
Ziwe Takes Fashion Month's Thong Sandal Trend to the Courrèges Front Row in Orange Satin
Daisy Edgar-Jones Goes Monochrome in White With Trendy Alaïa Pumps for 'Sense and Sensibility' Promo

#heels #whether #thong

For younger generations, the idea of living a life of leisure in retirement — playing golf, pursuing hobbies, going on bucket-list trips — seems increasingly out of reach.
At least one expert is saying they're right — and the new retirement plan is to "keep your job." Cultural historian Lawrence Samuel told Marketwatch he believes the modern idea of a leisurely retirement has come and gone.
Indeed, he says it's a powerful myth — just like the American dream. "But most Americans don't realize their American dream. The odds are against you," he told MarketWatch.
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
Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake. Here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP

#like #cultural #lawrence

On August 6, Aflac (NYSE:AFL) reported second-quarter numbers that point in opposite directions. Net earnings climbed to $825 million, helped along by investment losses that shrank to $153 million from $421 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings, though, fell 7.7% to $883 million. Both numbers are real, but they answer different questions. Which measure you trust changes the story, so here is what sits underneath.
Start with the yen, because it is muddying the picture. The average rate was 159.45 to the dollar, 9.3% weaker than a year earlier, and that cost adjusted earnings $0.05 a share. Take the currency out of the first half and adjusted earnings per share rose 4.1% to $3.57. ******* an is also running more profitably. Its pretax adjusted margin widened to 34.3% from 32.0% as claims took a smaller bite out of premiums, and yen-based pretax adjusted earnings rose 3.4%. So part of the decline in ******* an's dollar-reported profit is currency, not operations.
The US business is still growing at the top line. Net earned premiums rose 2.3% to $1.5 billion, and sales climbed 2.6% to $349 million, led by group voluntary benefits along with dental and vision plans. In ******* an, the refreshed Tsumitasu life policy and the new Anshin Palette medical product grew strongly in the quarter, and first-half sales rose 7.0% to ¥37.3 billion. Then there is the cash. Aflac returned $1.3 billion to shareholders in the quarter, $983 million of it through buybacks, and declared a $0.61 third-quarter dividend, payable September 1 to holders of record on August 19, 2026. Management notes 43 straight years of dividend increases through 2025 and says the board is on a path to extend that in 2026.
The catch is that ******* an's profit gains came from lower claims, not a bigger business. Net earned premiums in yen fell 3.7%, mainly because of a new external reinsurance deal and older limited-pay policies reaching paid-up status. Premium persistency, the share of policies customers keep, slipped to 92.7% from 93.7%. ******* an's pretax adjusted earnings still fell 2.1% once currency is stripped out, and new sales dipped 5.6% in the quarter against a tough comparison for the Miraito cancer product, which launched in March 2025.
The US segment has its own soft spot. Pretax adjusted earnings fell 4.6% to $370 million, and the margin narrowed to 20.9% from 22.5% as claims and benefits took a bigger share of premiums. Corporate and Other swung to a $10 million pretax adjusted loss from a $20 million gain a year earlier, with interest expense up 21.6% to $62 million. And adjusted book value per share, excluding foreign currency remeasurement, slid to $41.22 at June 30 from $42.97 a year earlier.

#earnings #fell

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is about to significantly expand its operations in Venezuela. The company's CFO, Eimear Bonner, revealed at a Barclays conference on September 8 that the American oil giant plans to more than double the number of oil rigs it operates in the country as part of its five-year plan ‌to increase output.
The statement follows the company's recent announcement that its joint venture partnerships in Venezuela would invest more than $7 billion to more than double oil ⁠output to 600,000 barrels per day by 2031. The current production from Chevron's three Venezuelan JVs totals around 290,000, which is all exported to the United States.
The move builds on Chevron's longstanding presence in Venezuela, as it was the only American oil major that continued operating in the country under a special US license, allowing it to produce and export oil despite the sanctions.
The expansion comes alongside a much larger agreement between Washington and Caracas announced this month, which gave the US majority control over around 20% of Venezuela's proven crude reserves. The White House has now invited American oil companies to revive and modernize the South American country's oil infrastructure and more than double its crude production in the next few years.
Chevron has maintained operations in Venezuela since 1923 and even stayed through the nationalizations that forced ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to exit in 2007. This gives it a significant competitive advantage, since it already has a longstanding relationship with the state-owned PDVSA and extensive experience operating in the country's complex regulatory environment.

#around

Dow Jones futures will open Sunday evening, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.
The stock market was mixed, with the 10-year Treasury yield at 5%. The Nasdaq rose modestly, amid continued sector rotations among growth stocks. The S&P 500 largely held its ground but the Dow Jones and small-cap Russell 2000 fell solidly to three-month lows.
Robinhood Markets (HOOD) surged back into a buy zone Friday as part of bullish upside reversal for bitcoin and other crypto plays. Coinbase Global (COIN) flashed an aggressive entry. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) also is actionable.
Sandisk (SNDK) and Moderna (MRNA), the top S&P 500 performers so far this year, are in buy areas as well. So is Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), another top-10 S&P 500 stock.
Robinhood stock is on SwingTrader. AMD stock is on the IBD 50.

#futures #jones #Bitcoin #year

On September 15, Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR) made ServiceFabric MCP available, a software layer that lets AI agents design, monitor and troubleshoot network connections across more than 800 data centers, including third-party sites. That nudges a real estate company toward becoming a control panel for enterprise AI. It arrives after second quarter results reported on July 23, when Core FFO per share, the company's preferred earnings yardstick, excluding net promote rose to $2.13 from $1.87 a year earlier. Here is what the launch does, and what it has yet to prove.
The pitch is that enterprise AI needs more than servers. It needs power, cooling, and sovereign placement that software can control. ServiceFabric MCP handles four jobs: designing and provisioning connections, spotting capacity and watching live network health, managing access through OAuth 2, and handing troubleshooting to agents with links into chat and monitoring tools. It is also open by design. Customers do not have to live only in Digital Realty buildings or commit to a single AI model. An IDC research VP argues that public cloud interfaces alone cannot give enterprises enough control over data movement and policy, which favors providers that pair global reach with programmable interconnection. Digital Realty runs the system on its own AI workloads, and See All AI, a medical imaging developer, leans on the Boston campus and ServiceFabric to move large datasets quickly and securely.
The financial engine underneath is running hot. Renewal leases in the second quarter were signed at rates 25.4% higher on a cash basis, which shows customers will pay more to stay put. Signed leases waiting to start added up to a $1.9 billion backlog of annualized base rent at 100% share, so future revenue is already lined up. Management responded by lifting its 2026 Core FFO per share outlook, excluding net promote, to $8.15 to $8.20.
Start with what the launch has not shown yet. Digital Realty itself calls MCP an emerging standard, and ServiceFabric MCP is still being validated across internal, enterprise, and partner deployments. The announcement puts no dollar figure on what it could add to revenue, and the company describes it only as the first programmable surface of a larger architecture that may later stretch into ***** e, power and inventory. Until customers pay for this layer, it is a promising idea more than a line item.
Then there is the bill for the physical side. Digital Realty carried about $18.6 billion of debt at June 30, 2026, and its 2026 development spending outlook, net of partner contributions, now sits at $4.25 billion to $4.75 billion. The outlook also ***** umes new long-term debt priced at 4.5% to 5.5%, up from the earlier 4.0% to 4.5%. To help pay for growth, the company has sold roughly 13.5 million shares this year for about $2.5 billion, which spreads future earnings across more owners. And the quarter's headline flattered a bit: Core FFO per share of $2.65 included a $18

Tegan Lecheler, founder and director of Mothers & Infant Cash Coalition, told Fox News Digital its support for cash ****** istance has been praised by the right.
Although guaranteed income programs have faced partisan pushback nationwide since gaining national traction in 2018, a growing faction of conservatives is finding common ground with direct cash initiatives centered on mothers and newborns.
According to Tegan Lecheler, national program director for the Mother and Infant Cash Coalition (MICC), the "common-sense" nature of early childhood cash transfers has prompted conservative lawmakers and advocates to reach out to her organization in support.
"I think we're in a really polarized time politically right now," Lecheler told Fox News Digital. "We are not a political organization and want to work to improve families' outcomes. We believe an effective strategy for doing that is to build a big tent – a wide tent with a lot of people underneath it."
EXCLUSIVE: PENCE GROUP KNOCKS VANCE PLAN TO PAY STAY-AT-HOME PARENTS UP TO $9K PER CHILD

#support

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

Interested in Motorola Solutions, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better.
Motorola Solutions expects broad-based growth, projecting 2026 gains of 10%–11% in mission-critical networks, about 11% in video security and about 15% in command-center software, supported by modernization of public-safety and federal infrastructure.
Silvus Technologies is becoming a major defense growth driver, with approximately $850 million in expected 2026 sales at current capacity. Motorola is expanding production, sales and R&D as demand grows for secure communications in contested environments and unmanned-systems operations.
D-Fend Solutions expands Motorola's counter-drone opportunity in public safety, airports, critical infrastructure and venues. The business was selected for a $1.5 billion U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant program and uses cyber-based technology to take control of and safely land threatening drones.
Motorola's $1.5B Bet to Own the Skies

#Growth #safety #infrastructure

On August 6, Aflac (NYSE:AFL) reported second-quarter numbers that point in opposite directions. Net earnings climbed to $825 million, helped along by investment losses that shrank to $153 million from $421 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings, though, fell 7.7% to $883 million. Both numbers are real, but they answer different questions. Which measure you trust changes the story, so here is what sits underneath.
Start with the yen, because it is muddying the picture. The average rate was 159.45 to the dollar, 9.3% weaker than a year earlier, and that cost adjusted earnings $0.05 a share. Take the currency out of the first half and adjusted earnings per share rose 4.1% to $3.57. **** an is also running more profitably. Its pretax adjusted margin widened to 34.3% from 32.0% as claims took a smaller bite out of premiums, and yen-based pretax adjusted earnings rose 3.4%. So part of the decline in **** an's dollar-reported profit is currency, not operations.
The US business is still growing at the top line. Net earned premiums rose 2.3% to $1.5 billion, and sales climbed 2.6% to $349 million, led by group voluntary benefits along with dental and vision plans. In **** an, the refreshed Tsumitasu life policy and the new Anshin Palette medical product grew strongly in the quarter, and first-half sales rose 7.0% to ¥37.3 billion. Then there is the cash. Aflac returned $1.3 billion to shareholders in the quarter, $983 million of it through buybacks, and declared a $0.61 third-quarter dividend, payable September 1 to holders of record on August 19, 2026. Management notes 43 straight years of dividend increases through 2025 and says the board is on a path to extend that in 2026.
The catch is that **** an's profit gains came from lower claims, not a bigger business. Net earned premiums in yen fell 3.7%, mainly because of a new external reinsurance deal and older limited-pay policies reaching paid-up status. Premium persistency, the share of policies customers keep, slipped to 92.7% from 93.7%. **** an's pretax adjusted earnings still fell 2.1% once currency is stripped out, and new sales dipped 5.6% in the quarter against a tough comparison for the Miraito cancer product, which launched in March 2025.
The US segment has its own soft spot. Pretax adjusted earnings fell 4.6% to $370 million, and the margin narrowed to 20.9% from 22.5% as claims and benefits took a bigger share of premiums. Corporate and Other swung to a $10 million pretax adjusted loss from a $20 million gain a year earlier, with interest expense up 21.6% to $62 million. And adjusted book value per share, excluding foreign currency remeasurement, slid to $41.22 at June 30 from $42.97 a year earlier.

#adjusted #pretax

On September 15, Needham ***** yst James Ricchiuti lifted the firm's price target on Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) to $760 from $750, and reiterated a Buy rating. The revised price target reflected an upside of 27% from the close of the note.
According to TipRanks, the ***** yst told investors that the company was well placed to gain from a broadening short cycle recovery and opportunities in modern defense applications. Needham further added that the stock offers a 2.6-to-1 risk/reward skew at current levels.
The adjustment is largely in line with the broader ***** yst community. As of the close on September 16, TDY is a Moderate Buy based on the consensus of 10 ***** ysts. It has a one-year average share price target of $758.20, representing an upside of 26%.
Needham noted 'broadening' improvements in the company's short cycle businesses, which suggests that momentum is spreading across product lines, rather than being limited to any one particular segment.
During the Q2 earnings call, the management noted that short-cycle commercial markets were beginning to show growth inflections after recent headwinds and lifted its short-cycle portfolio's growth outlook to mid-single-digits for the year, up from earlier estimates of flat to low-single-digit growth.

#cycle #september

Autodesk (ADSK) stock has 23.6% of room above it before it meets a ceiling that has turned it back three times, and 5% below it before the reason to be there stops being true. In dollars: $272.34 overhead, $220.31 Wednesday, $209.29 underneath. The stock has lost about 31% over the past twelve months, so the easy read is that the business broke. Its own numbers say it did not.
Would You Have Made Money Buying Autodesk Here Before?
Buyers have stepped in at this price zone eight times before. Three of those eight produced a completed advance, averaging a 34.3% gain to the peak that followed, with a median of 459 days from the defense to that peak. The other five have not yet risen above their own starting price, so they are not in that average at all. The ceiling overhead asks for less than that average of the three that paid.
The last two years are the problem. Autodesk entered this price band on five separate occasions over the last twenty-four months, and counting only a 20% gain before any 5% fall as a defense, one held and four broke 5% lower first. The path up is not clear either: the stock has to get through $248.16 and $261.04, both pauses rather than proven ceilings.
Is Autodesk In Better Shape Than The Last Time It Sat Here?

#last #Stock #above #times

BTI yields 5.83% and beats MO on growth, trading at a cheaper forward P/E of 11 with EPS guidance of 5 to 8% versus Altria's 2.5 to 5.5%.
Altria wins on income reliability, having raised its dividend 60 times in 56 years with a 6.10% yield paid in dollars with zero currency risk.
BTI's Modern Oral segment surged 47% while Altria's nicotine pouch share fell 4 points and cigarette volumes dropped 10% in 2025.
Read More: Learn 7 secret wealth tips high net worth investors use that most investors miss (sponsor)
For a retirement-focused investor weighing high-yield tobacco names, the question is direct: British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) or Altria Group (NYSE:MO), which screens better for income investors right now? Both throw off cash, both trade at single-digit-to-low-teens forward earnings, and both are racing to replace shrinking combustible volumes with nicotine pouches, vapor, and heated tobacco. But when you line them up on the metrics that actually matter for a retiree cashing checks, one name comes out ahead.

#tobacco

On August 25, Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) said it will support NVIDIA's newly announced Jetson Orin Nano 2 processor, extending a partnership that already covers the more powerful Jetson Thor platform. The move puts Aptiv squarely inside the buildout of "physical AI," the term for machines like drones, robots, and industrial systems that need to sense and react to the real world in real time. For a company still just months removed from spinning off its electrical distribution business, betting on edge robotics is a statement about where it thinks the next decade of growth actually lives.
NVIDIA's Jetson Orin Nano 2 packs 78 TOPS of processing power into an 8GB, 8-core Arm chip that doubles the inference speed of its predecessor while cutting power draw by 40% at equivalent performance. That kind of efficiency gain matters for battery-powered devices like delivery drones and mobile robots, where every watt saved extends run time. Aptiv isn't just supplying compute support; it is layering in its PULSE surround-view camera and radar system for 360-degree sensing, its Gen 8 radar for object detection in tough conditions, and Wind River software to handle the unglamorous but essential work of long-term maintenance and security updates. That full-stack approach is the pitch: instead of stitching together sensors, chips, and software from separate vendors, customers get one partner who can carry a device from prototype to a fleet running in the field.
The timing lines up with what Aptiv reported in its second-quarter results on August 4, 2026. Revenue reached $3.3 billion, up 2%, while adjusted EBITDA climbed to $613 million from $547 million a year earlier, pushing margins to 18.7% from 17.1%. CEO Kevin Clark pointed to double-digit growth in non-automotive revenue, progress moving robotics from partnership talks to actual commercial deployments, and a major drone industry win secured in early July. North America sales rose 10% and Asia Pacific grew 6%, including 5% growth in China, giving the company some geographic momentum to lean on as it chases this new business line.
The quarter wasn't clean underneath the headline numbers. Free cash flow came in at just $12 million in the second quarter, down from $219 million a year earlier, and the first half of 2026 actually posted negative free cash flow of $196 million versus a positive $264 million a year ago. Operating cash flow from continuing operations fell to $82 million for the first half, down sharply from $531 million. Management also flagged automotive demand and customer mix as an incremental headwind, a reminder that Aptiv's legacy business still carries real weight even as it chases robotics and drones. EMEA revenue dropped 8%, and South America fell 4% in the quarter, both drags even as North America and Asia Pacific grew.

#jetson #robotics

Merck (MRK) was at the center of a major cancer-treatment update in August. Specifically, the drugmaker and Moderna (MRNA) said their personalized mRNA cancer therapy, intismeran autogene, delivered positive results in a Phase 3 study involving 1,137 patients with high-risk melanoma.
Used with Keytruda, the treatment reduced the risk of cancer returning or causing death and improved distant metastasis-free survival compared with Keytruda alone. Merck shares jumped 11% on the news. That was a big move for the stock, which had posted only five single-day gains of more than 5% over the past year.
This High-Yield Construction Stock Just Raised Its Dividend by 40%
Dear Intuit Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for September 17
This Dividend Stock Is Staging a Turnaround in 2026 and Pays More Than 2.4%

#Dividend #high #treatment #risk

The choice between established ****** ans and digital-first challengers defines many modern portfolios. In the financial realm, investors must decide if JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) or SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) is the better buy for long-term growth.
JPMorgan Chase operates as a global financial heavyweight, offering everything from wealth management to retail branches. Conversely, SoFi Technologies focuses on an integrated mobile app to help members borrow, save, and invest. While one relies on massive scale, the other bets on fintech innovation to capture a younger, tech-savvy demographic.
JPMorgan Chase functions as a cornerstone of the global economy, managing a vast array of services including ****** et management and investment banking. In its latest annual report, filed for 2025, the firm highlighted its reach through more than 5,000 branches across the 48 contiguous states. It serves a diverse client base ranging from individual consumers and small businesses to large corporations and governments. The firm provides a comprehensive range of financial services, including transaction processing and commercial banking on a global scale.
Financial performance remained robust in FY 2025, with revenue reaching nearly $182.4 billion. This represented a growth rate of approximately 3.3% compared to the previous year, contributing to a net income of close to $57.0 billion. The net margin, which measures the percentage of revenue kept as profit after all expenses, sat at roughly 20.4% for the period. This consistent profitability underscores the scale of its operations across diverse global markets.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the firm reported a debt-to-equity ratio of nearly 2.6x. This ratio measures total debt against shareholder equity, with a higher number indicating more reliance on borrowed funds to finance growth. The current ratio, which compares short-term ****** ets to short-term liabilities, was approximately 0.5x, while free cash flow reached a negative $147.8 billion. Free cash flow is the cash a company generates after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and maintain its capital ****** ets.

#sofi #global #term

This story was originally published on Restaurant Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Restaurant Dive newsletter.
Chipotle will expand its Apprentice program by placing these employees in over 4,200 company-owned locations by the end of 2027, the chain said in a press release Tuesday.
Apprentices — high-performing employees working toward a management position — are currently in about 75% of its restaurants. Adding more apprentices will create additional opportunities for crew members to advance their careers, while the organization builds a deeper management bench.
These up-and-coming leaders are a key part of the chain's unit growth strategy, particularly as it expands towards 7,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. This year, it expects to open between 350 to 370 company-owned units.
Developing its leadership pipeline is part of the chain's Recipe for Growth strategy, which also includes strengthening its core menu, improving brand messaging and menu innovations, modernizing its business model with technology and expanding its global reach.

#restaurant #dive #employees

On August 25, Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) said it will support NVIDIA's newly announced Jetson Orin Nano 2 processor, extending a partnership that already covers the more powerful Jetson Thor platform. The move puts Aptiv squarely inside the buildout of "physical AI," the term for machines like drones, robots, and industrial systems that need to sense and react to the real world in real time. For a company still just months removed from spinning off its electrical distribution business, betting on edge robotics is a statement about where it thinks the next decade of growth actually lives.
NVIDIA's Jetson Orin Nano 2 packs 78 TOPS of processing power into an 8GB, 8-core Arm chip that doubles the inference speed of its predecessor while cutting power draw by 40% at equivalent performance. That kind of efficiency gain matters for battery-powered devices like delivery drones and mobile robots, where every watt saved extends run time. Aptiv isn't just supplying compute support; it is layering in its PULSE surround-view camera and radar system for 360-degree sensing, its Gen 8 radar for object detection in tough conditions, and Wind River software to handle the unglamorous but essential work of long-term maintenance and security updates. That full-stack approach is the pitch: instead of stitching together sensors, chips, and software from separate vendors, customers get one partner who can carry a device from prototype to a fleet running in the field.
The timing lines up with what Aptiv reported in its second-quarter results on August 4, 2026. Revenue reached $3.3 billion, up 2%, while adjusted EBITDA climbed to $613 million from $547 million a year earlier, pushing margins to 18.7% from 17.1%. CEO Kevin Clark pointed to double-digit growth in non-automotive revenue, progress moving robotics from partnership talks to actual commercial deployments, and a major drone industry win secured in early July. North America sales rose 10% and Asia Pacific grew 6%, including 5% growth in China, giving the company some geographic momentum to lean on as it chases this new business line.
The quarter wasn't clean underneath the headline numbers. Free cash flow came in at just $12 million in the second quarter, down from $219 million a year earlier, and the first half of 2026 actually posted negative free cash flow of $196 million versus a positive $264 million a year ago. Operating cash flow from continuing operations fell to $82 million for the first half, down sharply from $531 million. Management also flagged automotive demand and customer mix as an incremental headwind, a reminder that Aptiv's legacy business still carries real weight even as it chases robotics and drones. EMEA revenue dropped 8%, and South America fell 4% in the quarter, both drags even as North America and Asia Pacific grew.

#America #real

Nicole Kidman brought high-fashion drama and ethereal elegance to the Emmys celebration this season. Posing behind the scenes during a sleek studio photoshoot, the Oscar-winning actress commanded complete attention in an unforgettable custom gown. She proved once again that true red-carpet icons never rest.
Nicole Kidman dressed in white ? at the 2026 #emmys
pic.twitter.com/fZ7DgYeIU7— The Hollywood Reporter (THR) September 14, 2026
For the prestigious awards event, Nicole selected a breathtaking cream-colored column gown straight from Chanel. The sophisticated dress features an off-the-shoulder silhouette with a dramatic plunging V-neckline. Soft, white feather-like appliqués line the entire neckline and shoulders, adding rich texture and movement to the structured bodice. A tight, sculpted waist hugging her figure gives way to a sleek ankle-length skirt with a sharp thigh-high side slit that reveals her legs as she moves.
She contrasted the light cream gown with classic black pointed-toe pumps that grounded the soft color palette. Nicole accessorized her high-fashion look with statement diamond jewelry that caught the studio lighting. As captured in a viral studio video shared on an Instagram post, she showed off multiple large diamond rings across her fingers along with matching drop earrings. A slim black watch on her left wrist added a touch of modern sophistication.

#nicole