Kimberly Guilfoyle has lost her ambassador job, but her name still carries a six-figure price tag on the speaking circuit. The former Fox News personality is listed for appearances costing between $50,000 and $100,000 after she left as U.S. ambassador to Greece amid allegations of financial misconduct, which she denies. Whether anyone is paying those rates is another question. The listing offers a glimpse of her potential earning power, but it doesn't show that she's booked a single six-figure engagement.
Papadakis Press/MEGA
According to her Speaker Booking Agency profile, Guilfoyle is available for speaking engagements, corporate appearances, virtual events, moderated discussions, and meet-and-greets. The page displays a speaking-fee range of $50,000 to $100,000 and lists West Palm Beach, Florida, as her departure point.
That puts the advertised upper limit for one appearance at the same dollar figure as the American Express payment at the center of the controversy surrounding her diplomatic career. The two amounts concern separate matters. One is a public booking estimate, while the other involves disputed allegations about a donor's financial dealings with her.
Papadakis Press/MEGA

#papadakis

The heatwave is expected to last for nearly a week.
A dangerous, long-duration heatwave is sweeping through much of Southern California beginning Friday, creating increased fire risk in the region.
Extreme to moderate heat warnings are in place for more than 34 million Californians, with temperatures forecast to reach between 92 and over 105 degrees, including along the coastal plains.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned the conditions have created a high risk of "large and fast-moving fires" in the region's valleys and mountains.
The heatwave is expected to begin on Friday and last through at least Oct. 8.

#heatwave #southern #extreme #californians

Rocket Lab (RKLB) has gained 9.5% over the last five trading days, while the S&P 500 added 0.6%. A week like that pulls money in. The stock is still about 55% below its 52-week high. The run is not the question. What matters for your money is what this stock does to your portfolio when the market moves, because it travels about four times as far as the index in both directions.
On days the S&P 500 rose over the past year, Rocket Lab captured about 381% of the gain. On days the index fell, it absorbed about 403% of the loss. The down days take slightly more than the up days give.
That is leverage on the market rather than a cushion. Over the past five years Rocket Lab ran 79.2% annualized volatility against 17.2% for the S&P 500, and its daily moves tracked the index at a correlation of 0.46 over those five years.
A moderate correlation and a swing that size sit together. Correlation asks whether the stock and the index move the same way, not how far. A good part of what Rocket Lab does is its own.
Look at what you own. Rocket Lab booked a record $234 million of revenue in Q2 2026, up 62% from the same quarter a year earlier, and it has just flown its 16th Electron mission of 2026.

#days

Happy Friday, traders. Welcome to our weekly market wrap, where we take a look back at these last five trading days with a focus on the market news, economic data, and headlines that had the most impact on gold prices and other key correlated ****** ets—and may continue to in the future.
So, what kind of week has it been?
Gold took a more volatile path than expected but rebounded from a post-FOMC low near $4,260/oz to trade just above $4,350/oz shortly after the US market open on Friday, putting the yellow metal in position for a moderate weekly gain.
The Federal Reserve delivered the week's main event on Wednesday, unanimously raising policy rates by 25 basis points. Gold's sharp initial drop appeared tied less to the hike itself than to projections showing elevated inflation expectations and another 25-basis-point increase before the end of 2026.
Thursday brought the countermove as crude oil slid back toward and then below $100 per barrel, US Treasury yields eased, and gold recovered to around $4,360/oz. The Bank of ****** an's overnight rate hike to 1.25% added another tailwind into Friday.

#Friday #weekly #welcome

On August 6, James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) reported results for the quarter ended June 30 and beat its own numbers by enough to raise guidance just three months into the fiscal year. Net sales jumped 64% year over year to $1.475 billion, adjusted EBITDA climbed 79% to $422.1 million, and both figures came in ahead of what management had originally guided investors to expect. For a company that closed a transformative acquisition less than a year earlier, that kind of overshoot forces a reassessment of the growth story ahead.
The headline growth number is inflated by the AZEK Exteriors deal folded into the base, so the more telling figure is the 12% pro forma net sales growth, which also beat original guidance. Siding & Trim, the core fiber cement business, posted organic net sales growth of 20% as North American fiber cement volumes returned to growth for the first time in several quarters. CEO Aaron Erter tied that to share gains against vinyl and other competing materials, along with programs like ColorPlus and Expanded Statement drawing more of the higher-end repair and remodel market. Adjusted EBITDA margin in that segment expanded 140 basis points to 33.5%, powered by favorable pricing, cheaper raw materials, and continued savings from the company's Hardie Manufacturing Operating System even as freight costs rose.
Management also said cost synergies from the AZEK integration are running ahead of schedule and revenue synergies are on track, evidenced by newly expanded nationwide distribution partnerships with Boise Cascade and other regional distributors. In Deck, Rail & Accessories, sell-through accelerated every month of the quarter and outpaced shipments, pulling channel inventory back to normal levels and setting up a cleaner back half of the year. Free cash flow more than doubled to $254.2 million, and the company used the cash to pay down $400 million of senior unsecured notes.
Erter was careful to frame the beat as execution rather than a healthier market, telling investors the company is "not ***** uming a housing market improvement" for the rest of fiscal 2027. Part of the quarter's strength came from an easy comparison, since channel inventory was deliberately reduced a year earlier, and management said that benefit is expected to moderate as the year goes on. Deck, Rail & Accessories net sales actually fell 5% on a pro forma basis because the company intentionally cut production to work down channel inventory, leaving the segment with an operating loss of $3.3 million for the quarter.

#Growth #sales #management

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

Evommune, Inc. (NYSE:EVMN) announced on September 8 that EVO756 missed its primary endpoint in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b trial involving 121 adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. The primary measure was the percentage change from baseline in Eczema Area and Severity Index, or EASI, at week 12. No tested dose met the primary or secondary endpoints, and development in that indication will stop.
Evommune, Inc. (NYSE:EVMN) had already discontinued EVO756 for chronic spontaneous urticaria following a June trial failure. Development continues in migraine prevention. The setbacks place greater weight on EVO301, which has positive Phase 2a eczema data and a Phase 2b study planned for mid-2027.
Evommune, Inc. (NYSE:EVMN) has clinical evidence supporting its next eczema program. In February, the company reported that EVO301 met the primary endpoint in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2a trial involving 70 adults. Participants received two intravenous doses or placebo over a 12-week study.
Evommune, Inc. (NYSE:EVMN) reported a 55% EASI reduction with EVO301 versus 22% with placebo at week 12, a difference of 33 percentage points. The study met its prespecified Bayesian success criterion, and a separate conventional ****** ysis showed statistical significance at p

Nvidia (NVDA) has been powering the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Its graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), networking products, and increasingly integrated AI systems continue to benefit from enormous investments in data center infrastructure. As a result, NVDA has continued to deliver impressive financial results.
Notably, concerns about a potential slowdown in AI development have weighed on semiconductor stocks, raising fears that the enormous spending on AI infrastructure could eventually moderate. However, demand for Nvidia's products is unlikely to slow, and the company could continue delivering extraordinary growth.
Billionaire Charlie Munger, Who Died at 99, Skipped Insurance on His Mansion Since He Could Just Write a Check to Rebuild — 'All Intelligent People Do It My Way'
The Case for Selling CrowdStrike Stock
Dear Tesla Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for October 1

#nvda #processing #units #infrastructure

Avantor (AVTR) exhibits strong technical momentum, recently setting a new year-to-date high.
Shares are up more than 22% over the past year.
AVTR maintains a 100% "Buy" technical opinion from Barchart.
Most ******* ysts see AVTR as undervalued, but I recommend a tight stop loss given its volatility and only moderate fundamental outlook.
Valued at $10.44 billion, Avantor (AVTR) is a provider of critical products and services primarily to the biopharma, healthcare, education, government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries.

#avantor #year #exhibits

Stock futures are higher after two days of losses for major indexes as traders await the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates; the Fed is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate for the first time in three years to tame inflation; the European Union could add Canada as an "associate member" amid the country's growing trade war with the Trump administration; shares of SK Hynix and Intel are climbing following a report that the companies could partner to build chips in the U.S.; and retail sales data is due this morning. Here's what you need to know today.
Stock futures are rising this morning ahead of the highly anticipated Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were each up 0.3% in recent trading while futures tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.6%. The major indexes fell Tuesday for the second straight session as oil prices and government bond yields rose. WTI crude oil futures were recently down more more than 2% at $103.50 per barrel after hitting a fresh four-month high yesterday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was at 4.97%, after jumping as high as 5.04% in yesterday's session, the highest point since the financial crisis of 2007. Bitcoin was holding steady at $76,100, after the cryptocurrency slumped yesterday as the Clarity Act failed to pass through a cloture vote in the Senate. Gold futures were up 1% to $4,390 an ounce.
The Federal Reserve's policy committee will wrap up its two-day meeting this afternoon amid expectations that the central bank will hike its benchmark rate for the first time in three years to address mounting inflationary pressure. The Federal Open Market Committee's decision is scheduled to be released at 2:00 p.m. ET, along with quarterly economic projections from FOMC members. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who took over the top position in May, has said repeatedly the Fed is squarely focussed on bringing inflation down to the Fed's target. Recent inflation data has confirmed that price pressures persist as oil prices rise owing to the Iran war. Investors will be looking for additional insights from Warsh, who is scheduled to speak at a press conference half an hour after the decision is announced. A rate hike is meant to raise borrowing costs, slowing economic activity such that inflation moderates. The challenge the Fed faces is that it can't address the underlying causes of the inflation, including the Iran war, tariffs and rampant corporate spending on AI.

#interest

Interested in Netflix, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better.
Netflix received 25 negative revisions in 90 days, yet 54 **** ysts remain bullish, seeing over 20% upside despite reduced price targets.
Meta Platforms faces 21 downgrades tied to rising CapEx and weak Q2 results, but **** ysts still rate it a Moderate Buy with about 20% upside.
Lululemon's downgrades reflect genuine fundamental deterioration, with 29 **** ysts giving it a consensus Reduce rating and mostly Hold or Sell ratings.
Downgrades rarely help bullish traders, hurting sentiment and price action—unless, of course, you're looking for a good stock to buy into. As always, it's the trend that matters, because a downgrade or price target reduction can mean different things in different situations.

#bullish #upside #interested #here

Choosing between a clean energy innovator and a traditional oil giant reflects a core tension in today's market. Investors must decide if Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) or Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) is the better buy.
Bloom Energy manufactures solid oxide fuel cells that provide reliable onsite power, targeting the surging demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure. Diamondback Energy focuses on extracting oil and gas from the Permian Basin, prioritizing operational efficiency and shareholder returns. While both operate in the energy **** e, their business models, risk profiles, and valuation metrics differ significantly for 2026 investors.
Bloom Energy serves as a prominent player among renewable energy stocks, focusing on solid oxide technology for onsite electricity and hydrogen production. The company targets large-load customers in the data center, semiconductor, and industrial sectors where power reliability is critical. Key partnerships include an agreement with American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) to provide up to one gigawatt of fuel cells and a financing framework worth nearly $5.0 billion with Brookfield (NYSE:BN).
In FY 2025, Bloom Energy reported revenue of approximately $2.0 billion, which represents a growth rate of roughly 37.3% compared to the prior year. Despite this robust top-line performance, the company reported a net loss of nearly $88.4 million for the same period. This loss widened from a net loss of approximately $29.2 million in FY 2024, although the net margin of negative 4.4% in FY 2025 was a significant improvement over the negative 22.7% margin seen in FY 2023.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, Bloom Energy holds a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.9x. This ratio measures total debt against shareholder equity, indicating the company relies moderately on borrowed funds to fuel its expansion. The current ratio, which measures a company's ability to cover short-term debts with its short-term **** ets, stands at a strong 6.0x. For FY 2025, free cash flow reached close to $57.2 million, which is the cash remaining after paying for operating costs and equipment investments.

#bloom #million

New vehicle sales in Indonesia surged by a further 32% year-on-year to 81,756 units in August 2026, up from weak year-earlier sales of 61,771 units, according to wholesale data compiled by the local automotive industry ***** ociation, Gaikindo. The market last month was driven higher by strong demand for trucks and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
In the first eight months of 2026, the country's vehicle market expanded by 20% to 599,491 units, after declining by 11% to 499,315 units a year earlier, with sales of light passenger vehicles rising by over 13% to 437,374 units, while commercial vehicle sales increased by 42% to 162,117 units, driven by a 54% surge in light- and medium-duty trucks to 131,813 units.
The truck market this year has been supported by government plans to procure vehicles to support the development of rural cooperatives and improve local logistics networks nationwide.
Sales of BEVs almost doubled to 103,300 units year-to-date, up from 53,100 units in the same period a year earlier, driven by Chinese brands and supported by government tax incentives.
GDP growth moderated to 5.3% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, down from a peak of 5.6% in the first quarter, underpinned mainly by strong government spending and investment. Private consumption growth slowed to 5.1% from 5.5%, after the central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 5.75% in the second quarter to support the rupiah and rein in rising inflation. Government spending grew by 16%, down from a peak of 22%, driven by social programmes and rising fuel subsidy costs.

#year

James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, once described parents who refused to acknowledge their children's gender identity as potentially engaging in "abusive" behavior.
"I think there are some folks that would think that if you deny your child's gender identity, that's incredibly harmful. And whether or not we label it with the term abuse, it's abusive for sure," Talarico said while speaking at a committee hearing in the Texas Legislature in 2019.
Talarico's resurfaced comments add to a growing pile of past remarks that cut against his efforts to paint himself as a moderate on issues like gender, policing and border security as he attempts to win over Texas, a historically Republican-leaning state.
Talarico Says He 'Missed The Mark' As He Backtracks On Controversial Woke Statements
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a campaign rally at the Cailloux Theater on Aug. 31, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. Talarico is in a close race against Republican Ken Paxton ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

#gender #democratic #senate #abusive

Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), a prominent conservative voice in the Senate GOP conference, says he's willing to support President Trump's proposal to give $5,000 dividend payments to U.S. adults provided that they are structured as tax refunds and go to people who work and pay taxes.
Asked about Trump's proposal, Cruz told Fox News's Jesse Watters that his support "depends on how it's structured."
"I would like to see it structured as a tax refund," he said. "I would be all for structuring it as a tax refund."
"But I think we should be incentivizing work. I don't think we should be paying people that are not working," he argued.
Trump unveiled the proposal at the GOP midterm convention in Dallas and has drawn pushback from both Republican moderates and conservatives.

#texas

Nyxoah SA (NASDAQ:NYXH) announced the first patient implantation in BREATHE on September 7. The prospective, single-arm U.S. post-approval study will evaluate Genio hypoglossal-nerve stimulation in adults aged 22 or older with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea for whom standard-care treatments have failed, cannot be tolerated, or are unsuitable. Plans call for up to 229 patients at up to 25 centers, with follow-up lasting up to five years.
For Nyxoah SA (NASDAQ:NYXH), the milestone begins a new phase of evidence collection following Genio's August 2025 FDA approval. The co-primary effectiveness endpoints are apnea-hypopnea-index and oxygen-desaturation-index responder rates at 12 months. Device- and procedure-related serious adverse events will be **** sed at 12 months and annually thereafter. The investment question is whether that evidence can help turn clinical credibility into sustained commercial adoption.
Nyxoah SA (NASDAQ:NYXH) has an opportunity to demonstrate how Genio performs across different physicians and treatment settings. Consistent outcomes across participating centers could give referring sleep physicians and implanting surgeons greater confidence in patient selection and treatment delivery.
The product offers a distinct approach. Genio stimulates hypoglossal nerves on both sides of the tongue, using a battery-free implant powered by an external wearable. For Nyxoah SA (NASDAQ:NYXH), documenting effectiveness and safety in routine practice could help physicians **** s how that design fits their patients' needs.
Longer follow-up could also strengthen the evidence available to payers. Nyxoah SA (NASDAQ:NYXH) could use sustained responses and safety findings to support coverage discussions, while participating centers gain practical experience with implantation and follow-up. That would make BREATHE valuable beyond a single headline response rate.

#nyxoah #NASDAQ #nyxh

We are coming down to the end of this thing. The Orioles still have a remote possibility of doing something fun, a decent possibility of doing something moderately interesting, and also a decent possibility of the wheels just coming off the wagon, like you tried to ford that shallow river in Oregon Trail and all that happened is you got stuck in the muddy water so you lost who knows how many days of travel while you tried to fix things, and winter is coming and you're running out of food, and the next person who plays the game is going to find your tombstone.
Sorry, where was I? There are 15 games left in the 2026 Orioles season. They probably need to go 12-3 over those 15 games. Maybe, if they're lucky, they can get away with 11-4. Which is to say that they have fewer than one hand's fingers worth of games that they can lose for the remainder of the season. Six of those games will be played against the Blue Jays, starting with this three-game series that begins tonight.
That's part of what gives the Orioles some slim hope, because that gives them the opportunity to pull back games directly against one of the three teams that they need to pass to get into the last AL wild card spot. If they are able to go 4-2 against Toronto, they take back the two games deficit to the Jays and they get the head-to-head tiebreaker. That might not be good enough; there's still the Guardians and Rangers to consider. Maybe they need 5-1, in which case, if they lose tonight, they're really screwed and needing to run the table here.
It's improbable! It's not impossible. All they have to do is play as good as they have played for short amounts of this season, and then do that for two and a half weeks instead of doing it for three games before taking a trip back to Stinkville.
Dylan Beavers – LF

#possibility #need #back

The European Central Bank is likely to deliver a 25 basis-point rate hike at its meeting concluding today. But while the direction of travel may be clear for now, the path beyond September is anything but.
The ECB is likely to keep its powder dry beyond today, with the path thereafter determined by how the economy and, above all, inflation respond to the renewed energy shock. The key message from the Governing Council is therefore likely to be hawkish: further hike(s) may be warranted if inflation risks intensify, but policymakers will want to retain flexibility rather than pre-commit to any specific policy path.
There is only modest evidence so far that inflation expectations are becoming less firmly anchored, although there may be growing concern that second-round effects may eventually turn a temporary energy shock into a more persistent inflation problem. The challenge for the ECB is that the economy has so far proven more resilient than expected, making an upside revision to its growth projections probable. Output rose more than anticipated during the second quarter, and business surveys are suggesting solid momentum ahead.
That resilience matters. A weaker economy would give policymakers more room to look through an energy-driven inflation spike. A more robust economy, by contrast, makes it harder to ***** ume that higher energy prices may simply wash through absent affecting wages, services prices and broader inflation behaviour.
Euro area headline inflation rose to 3.3% year on year last month (Figure 1), although the easing in core inflation to 2.4% does offer some reassurance. Underlying inflation measures have stayed comparatively moderate, wage pressures are still contained and there is, as yet, only sparse evidence that the energy shock is generating widespread second-round effects.

#economy #path #shock #today

FIRST ON FOX: Roy Cooper, the former North Carolina governor and a Democratic candidate for the Senate, believes his party should incorporate a big-tent approach to an emerging wave of socialist candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
When asked if he would sign the Promise to America, a repudiation of socialist stances put out by moderate Democrats, Cooper said he wouldn't.
"I don't see any need to," Cooper said in video footage obtained by Fox News Digital.
"I think the party needs a wide spectrum, particularly at a time when the Republican Party is shrinking and having all kinds of loyalty tests. I think we need to have all kinds of folks to be a part of our party."
Florida Board Votes To Ban Illegal Immigrants From Public College Admissions

#America #socialist #need #think

U.S. Dollar Index is losing some ground as traders focus on Treasury's decision to boost bond buybacks to $6 billion. Bessent continues his attempts to put pressure on yields, but they are rising amid rally in the oil markets. Worries about long-term sustainability of U.S. finances also push yields higher.
The yield of 10-year Treasuries climbed towards the 4.85% level, while the yield of 30-year Treasuries tested the psychologically important 5.30% level.
U.S. Dollar Index continues its attempts to settle below the support level at 98.60 – 98.75. In case U.S. Dollar Index manages to settle below the 98.60 level, it will head towards the next support at 97.70 – 97.85. RSI is in the moderate territory, so there is plenty of room to gain additional downside momentum in the near term.
EUR/USD gained some ground as traders prepared for ECB Interest Rate Decision, which will be released tomorrow. ***** ysts expect that ECB will raise the interest rate from 2.4% to 2.65% due to rising oil prices.
The European Central Bank is forced to raise rates as the EU economy will face inflationary pressure due to high energy prices. It remains to be seen whether winter will be cold, but energy prices will likely stay high anyway.

#dollar #treasuries #interest #rate

U.S. stock futures were little changed to moderately higher on Wednesday as investors ***** sed further military developments involving the United States and Iran, movements in oil and bond markets, developments in artificial intelligence and renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada.
At 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT), S&P 500 futures were up 6 points, or 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 57 points, or 0.2%. Dow futures were broadly unchanged.
Wall Street equities declined on Tuesday following exchanges of attacks between the U.S. and Iran and strikes against Saudi Arabia by Houthi forces in Yemen.
Technology stocks were also affected by market reaction to OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra model, with software and services companies declining while some AI infrastructure-related companies, including chipmakers and data centre-linked industrial groups, received investor interest.
U.S. government bonds have also come under selling pressure. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was trading just below 5%, close to its highest level in almost two decades.

#points #wednesday #united

The move represents a sharp reversal from the yen's weakness earlier in the summer, when the USD/JPY approached 165 and forced **** anese authorities to intervene in the foreign-exchange market.
The latest appreciation is increasingly being driven by expectations that the Bank of **** an (BoJ) is preparing to raise interest rates at its September meeting, while investors are also reassessing the outlook for US monetary policy. The BoJ is scheduled to meet next Thursday and Friday, with markets now pricing in a high probability of a 25-basis-point increase. More importantly, investors will be looking for guidance on whether the central bank could accelerate the pace of subsequent tightening.
U.S. consumer-price data due on Friday will provide an important signal ahead of the Federal Reserve's September 15-16 meeting. The inflation figures have become particularly significant because the Fed's policy outlook remains unusually divided. Governor Christopher Waller has indicated that he could support keeping rates unchanged if inflation continues to moderate, while Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has stressed that insufficient progress on inflation could warrant tighter policy.
From a technical perspective, the weekly chart points to a clear deterioration in the USD/JPY trend. The pair has broken below its ascending trend structure and is trading beneath both the Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen lines of the Ichimoku Cloud index. This suggests that the medium-term bullish structure has weakened. The weekly RSI has also fallen below the neutral 50 threshold and is moving lower, indicating that bearish momentum is becoming more established.
The fundamental backdrop is becoming increasingly challenging for the USD/JPY bulls because the interest-rate differential that supported the yen carry trade for years is gradually narrowing.

#Friday #rates

On August 5, Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) reported second-quarter 2026 results that flipped the company from red ink to a $162.8 million profit, or $2.29 per diluted share, compared with a $34.8 million loss a year earlier. The swing came as the company banked payments tied to two drugs moving from the lab bench to the pharmacy counter: ICOTYDE, an oral psoriasis treatment, and rusfertide, an injectable now awaiting an FDA decision. Cash and marketable securities climbed to $849.5 million. Here's what's fueling the optimism, and what could complicate it.
The quarter marked the first full three months of commercial sales for ICOTYDE, which won FDA approval on March 18 for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in patients 12 and older weighing at least 40 kg. That approval triggered a $50 million milestone payment and made ICOTYDE, according to the company, the first and only FDA-approved targeted oral peptide for the condition. Protagonist can still collect up to $580 million more in milestones from partner Johnson & Johnson, plus royalties that average around 7.25 percent at $4 billion in annual sales.
Rusfertide carries even more weight. Its new drug application sits under Priority Review with a PDUFA goal date in August, backed by Breakthrough Therapy, Orphan Drug, and Fast Track designations for polycythemia vera. Partner Takeda already paid Protagonist $200 million on an opt-out election in April, with another $200 million and a $75 million approval milestone still due, on top of royalties that can reach 29 percent of sales above $1.5 billion. Behind both drugs, PN-881, an oral IL-17 antagonist, is heading into a Phase 2b psoriasis program in early 2027 after Phase 1 data showed drug levels beating their pharmacokinetic targets, and a Phase 1 study just began for PN-477sc, an injectable obesity peptide.
Look closer at that $213.5 million in license and collaboration revenue, and $192.4 million of it traces to the proportional recognition of Takeda's initial opt-out payment, not repeatable product sales. A year earlier, the same line item was just $5.5 million, so the growth reflects a single deal event more than an operating business scaling up. And that opt-out itself cuts both ways: Protagonist gave up its right to develop and commercialize rusfertide on its own, trading full ownership for royalties and milestones that depend on Takeda's execution rather than Protagonist's.
Spending is also set to climb. Management expects research and development costs to increase significantly in the second half of 2026 versus the first half, driven by the new PN-881 Phase 2b program, manufacturing investments, and added headcount. General and administrative costs are rising too, largely on stock-based compensation. And rusfertide's fate still hinges on an FDA decision that hasn't happened yet, priority review or not.

#protagonist

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is seeking to appear more moderate to voters while, at the same time, maintaining ties to individuals who take positions far to the left of anything he publicly endorses.
Since launching his Senate bid in April 2025, El-Sayed has distanced himself from a number of positions he had previously held and scrubbed much of his left-wing pre-campaign content from the internet. He has also repeatedly insisted that he is "not a socialist."
While attempting to convince voters that characterizations of him as a left-wing ideologue are inaccurate, El-Sayed has appeared at campaign events with and accepted endorsements from a range of political allies and supporters with controversial records or views.
El-sayed's Hasan Piker Problem Follows Him To Dem Convention As Jewish Voters Break Ranks
U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party convention, on Aug. 29, 2026, in Lansing.

#democratic

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is up 9.3% over the past 24 hours as of 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller told Reuters that the Fed could hold rates steady at its upcoming meeting.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite finished Thursday's trading up 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively.
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 »
Waller said on Thursday that he would support leaving interest rates unchanged if he likes what he sees from the August inflation report. He said he would prefer to let prices moderate on their own and "refrain from prematurely raising rates to allow a cooling process to play out."
U.S. Treasury yields, which have been trading near multi-decade highs, eased slightly today as well. These two factors led to investors rotating back into riskier ******* ets like Bitcoin and other cryptos like XRP.

#NVIDIA #trading

By Michael S. Derby and Howard Schneider
WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday he is leaning toward keeping interest rates steady at the U.S. central bank's policy meeting this month if the next batch of inflation data shows price pressures are continuing to moderate.
Pointing to the importance of "what we learn" about inflation data for ‌August, Waller told a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event in Washington that "if there is continued progress toward our 2% goal, then I am willing to support holding the policy rate at its current level."
"I'm ‌going to paraphrase John Lennon here. Give disinflation a chance" and refrain from prematurely raising rates to allow a cooling process to play out, Waller said. In terms of that patience, "I'm not going to say let's wait until next year, but let's just wait and see if we get some improvement on this."
Waller, however, said the data could also move in a way that would lead him to argue that the Fed needs to take action to control price pressures at its September 15-16 policy meeting.

#inflation

Eagle Capital Management, an investment management company, released its second quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the quarter, Eagle Capital Management discussed how enthusiasm around AI capital spending has driven strong S&P 500 earnings growth while also increasing risks from elevated valuations, concentrated demand, and aggressive investment ******* umptions. Eagle remains a strong believer in AI but prefers constructing a portfolio that can perform across multiple outcomes rather than relying on one forecast. The firm believes current earnings can overstate underlying economics because semiconductor equipment is depreciated over several years, while free cash flow growth remains much weaker. It also expects competition and additional capacity across AI labs, hyperscalers, and semiconductors to eventually create winners and losers. These dynamics are encouraging Eagle to recycle capital toward attractive opportunities outside the most crowded AI trades while maintaining selective exposure to high quality beneficiaries. The portfolio trades at a 20% market discount with faster expected EPS growth. Please review the Strategy's top five holdings for key selections.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Eagle Capital Management highlighted UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH). UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), a diversified healthcare company, contributed 2.5% to the Fund's performance during the quarter. On September 02, 2026, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) closed at $399.66 per share. Over the past month UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was down 1.07%, and its shares gained 28.76% over the past 52 weeks. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has a market capitalization of $358.73 billion and its stock has traded within a 52-week range of $255.97 - $461.62.
Eagle Capital Management stated the following regarding UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"Managed care (13% of capital): UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), Humana, Elevance: These managed care companies have significant scale advantages in a consolidated industry that outgrows the overall economy. The industry moves with its own cycle and, over the last several years, has faced cost/price pressures in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid. Even the largest firms are earning poor margins, and some weaker firms are unprofitable. We believe conditions have bottomed out and that we are transitioning to a multi-year improvement in margins and earnings. Al-driven technology projects can both reduce costs and improve service quality. Since returning as CEO at UnitedHealth last year, Stephen Hemsley and the management team have been correcting some of the company's missteps. Recent results provide growing evidence that the turnaround is well on track. We expect EPS growth of 15-20% over the next several years, driven by moderate revenue growth and significantly e

Eagle Capital Management, an investment management company, released its second quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the quarter, Eagle Capital Management discussed how enthusiasm around AI capital spending has driven strong S&P 500 earnings growth while also increasing risks from elevated valuations, concentrated demand, and aggressive investment ***** umptions. Eagle remains a strong believer in AI but prefers constructing a portfolio that can perform across multiple outcomes rather than relying on one forecast. The firm believes current earnings can overstate underlying economics because semiconductor equipment is depreciated over several years, while free cash flow growth remains much weaker. It also expects competition and additional capacity across AI labs, hyperscalers, and semiconductors to eventually create winners and losers. These dynamics are encouraging Eagle to recycle capital toward attractive opportunities outside the most crowded AI trades while maintaining selective exposure to high-quality beneficiaries. The portfolio trades at a 20% market discount with faster expected EPS growth. Please review the Strategy's top five holdings for key selections in 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Eagle Capital Management highlighted Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM). Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) is an American insurance company that provides medical and specialty insurance products. On September 02, 2026, Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) closed at $400.97 per share. Over the past month, Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) returned 9.18%, and its shares gained 28.52% over the past 52 weeks. Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) has a market capitalization of $48.15 billion with a 52-week trading range between $163.11 and $428.88.
Eagle Capital Management stated the following regarding Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"Managed care (13% of capital): UnitedHealth Group, Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM), Elevance: These managed care companies have significant scale advantages in a consolidated industry that outgrows the overall economy. The industry moves with its own cycle and, over the last several years, has faced cost/price pressures in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid. Even the largest firms are earning poor margins, and some weaker firms are unprofitable. We believe conditions have bottomed out and that we are transitioning to a multi-year improvement in margins and earnings. Al-driven technology projects can both reduce costs and improve service quality. Humana is also making good strides, and we expect significantly improved Star ratings for the company later this year. We expect EPS growth of 15-20% over the next several years, driven by moderate revenue growth and significantly expanding margins."

#eagle

On August 25, SelectQuote (NASDAQ:SLQT) told investors that cash generation, not growth, is now the entire point of owning the stock. Fiscal 2026 revenue reached $1.62 billion, up 6% year over year, and operating cash flow climbed $44 million from the prior year. But the same release showed a fourth-quarter net loss of $16.8 million, a reversal from $12.9 million in net income a year earlier, and a fiscal 2027 guide that points meaningfully lower on the top line. That gap between the narrative and the numbers underneath it is worth sitting with.
Healthcare Services, built around the company's SelectRx pharmacy, generated $845 million in revenue for fiscal 2026, up 14% even as Inflation Reduction Act drug pricing changes cut into the segment starting in the back half of the year. That business exited the fourth quarter at an annualized adjusted EBITDA run rate of nearly $50 million, roughly double the $25 million it produced across the full year, and management expects those margins to keep expanding as more prescriptions route through the company's Olathe, Kansas facility, which is already shipping about 30% more efficiently than its older sites.
Layered on top, SelectQuote identified more than $30 million in annualized run rate savings from AI-enabled enrollment tools and workflow automation. The Senior segment, meanwhile, held a 26% adjusted EBITDA margin for a fourth straight year in the mid-20% range, evidence that the agent-led distribution model keeps producing steady profit even when Medicare Advantage carriers shift benefits underneath it. Add in a commissions receivable balance north of $1 billion, and the company argues its underlying earnings power is bigger than its stock price reflects.
The guidance tells a different story. SelectQuote expects fiscal 2027 revenue of $1.35 billion to $1.45 billion, roughly 14% below fiscal 2026 at the midpoint, with Medicare Advantage approved policies projected to fall another 10% to 15% after already declining 4% this past year. Senior segment revenue already dropped 4% in fiscal 2026 to $576 million, partly because a major carrier partner pulled back its own marketing spending, a reminder of how much SelectQuote's results depend on decisions made by insurers it does not control.
The Inflation Reduction Act will keep pressuring Healthcare Services revenue through fiscal 2027, with especially messy comparisons in the first half. SelectRx membership already moderated to 109,039 members and is expected to dip further before recovering. Underneath all of it sits $800 million in debt and preferred equity carrying a roughly 12% funding cost, translating into $45 million of annual cash interest that has to be paid regardless of how enrollment season goes. Management itself called the term life insurance market competitive on customer acquisition costs, a small but telling admission that not every corner of the business is running cleanly.

#million #fiscal #already

US stocks moderated their slide on Tuesday morning as uncertainty around the war in Iran, a bond market sell-off, and speculation about the Fed's next interest rate move kept buyers on the sidelines.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) recovered to a loss of roughly 0.1% after initially falling by 0.7%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was down by roughly 0.7% after initially dropping 1.3% after stocks closed August with solid gains.
Stocks entered September with double-digit year-to-date returns and earnings expectations that continue to rise. However, volatile oil prices and the potential return of Fed rate hikes have given investors reason to worry heading into the historically weakest month for stocks.
US bond yields continued their march higher on Tuesday, with the 10-year yield (^TNX) rising to 4.75%, its highest intraday level since January 2025, before ticking down to 4.76%. The 30-year (^TYX) climbed to 5.27%, hovering near multi-decade highs, before also pulling back to 5.24%.
Crude oil prices also remained elevated after the US and Iran returned to a hot war, with Brent futures (BZ=F), the global benchmark, trading above $92 per barrel. According to Bloomberg, two oil tankers were struck while attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz in the latest sign that the conflict could reescalate.

#year #bond #roughly #down