2 days ago
We always need to remember that actors are not the characters they portray, no matter how well they sell the role. They're just acting, after all, not showing their true colors. So finding out an actor that normally plays villains is actually a decent person shouldn't be surprising.
And no, it isn't surprising, but it is incredibly funny. There may be something to someone needing to be nice and empathic enough to understand how evil someone can be. These are the actors that are often typecasted as villains, while being incredibly decent persons themselves.
IMDb
He has a face built for plotting against the hero. From playing international spies to creepy doctors, he keeps getting cast in villainous roles, but colleagues always point out that he is incredibly down to earth.
IMDb
#imdb #always #surprising #need
And no, it isn't surprising, but it is incredibly funny. There may be something to someone needing to be nice and empathic enough to understand how evil someone can be. These are the actors that are often typecasted as villains, while being incredibly decent persons themselves.
IMDb
He has a face built for plotting against the hero. From playing international spies to creepy doctors, he keeps getting cast in villainous roles, but colleagues always point out that he is incredibly down to earth.
IMDb
#imdb #always #surprising #need
9 days ago
The Carolina Hurricanes lost for the first time in two weeks on the second night of a back-to-back, and Calgary picked up their second win of the season thanks to a late third period goal by Yegor Sharangovich. The 3-2 loss ended the Cane's winning streak at seven, and was their first road loss of the year.
The loss came with some rough news before puck drop as Mark Jankowski was scratched as a game time decision, leading to Nicolas Deslauriers having to draw in and Jordan Martinook to play center on the normal Staal line. Already missing Jordan Staal and Taylor Hall, the Jankowski injury left the Canes scrambling, and after the game it sounded as if it was something to worry about as he was sent back to Raleigh to have it checked out according to Rod Brind'Amour
The action really didn't get going until the second period. The first had plenty of back and forth, but both Brandon Bussi for Carolina and Devin Cooley for Calgary handled the shots in front of them well. The Canes outshot Calgary 14-8, but as tends to happen with the shots that get through Carolina's defense, the Calgary shots were some high-quality ones that required good stops by Bussi.
In the second it was more of the same until Jesperi Kotkaniemi decided it was time for him to score again. With the loss of Jordan Staal, Kotkaniemi has had steady ice time playing mostly on the fourth line. He was rewarded for his patience on Saturday with a goal in Winnipeg, and on Sunday he found the back of the net again thanks to a great pass from Nicolas Deslauriers. Watching the highlight, you can see that Kotkaniemi was happier about Deslauriers getting the point than he was about getting the goal.
View Link
#loss #jordan
The loss came with some rough news before puck drop as Mark Jankowski was scratched as a game time decision, leading to Nicolas Deslauriers having to draw in and Jordan Martinook to play center on the normal Staal line. Already missing Jordan Staal and Taylor Hall, the Jankowski injury left the Canes scrambling, and after the game it sounded as if it was something to worry about as he was sent back to Raleigh to have it checked out according to Rod Brind'Amour
The action really didn't get going until the second period. The first had plenty of back and forth, but both Brandon Bussi for Carolina and Devin Cooley for Calgary handled the shots in front of them well. The Canes outshot Calgary 14-8, but as tends to happen with the shots that get through Carolina's defense, the Calgary shots were some high-quality ones that required good stops by Bussi.
In the second it was more of the same until Jesperi Kotkaniemi decided it was time for him to score again. With the loss of Jordan Staal, Kotkaniemi has had steady ice time playing mostly on the fourth line. He was rewarded for his patience on Saturday with a goal in Winnipeg, and on Sunday he found the back of the net again thanks to a great pass from Nicolas Deslauriers. Watching the highlight, you can see that Kotkaniemi was happier about Deslauriers getting the point than he was about getting the goal.
View Link
#loss #jordan
20 days ago
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When did we lose the art of enjoyment? These days, the average person loves a think piece—specifically, having their own and putting it out there for the world to see. It stems from this new access we have on the internet to each other. On ****** es like TikTok, Instagram, and X and Threads, we can reach beyond our narrow circles into the phones of literally anyone else. Out of this environment, we've normalized an even more extreme parasocial nature between celebrities, influencers, and each other. The new internet landscape involves users ****** yzing and critiquing anyone who chooses to try or put themselves out there, serving as amateur publicists, stylists, and brand-image architects. There's an element of this new world order that's thrilling—our opinions matter! But...what's that phrase about opinions again?
I'd argue that we've critiqued ourselves into mass hysteria, conflating personal opinion with expertise. Just because someone has something to say doesn't mean they actually know what they're saying. There once was a time when people took the time to learn, gain experience, and work in a specific field so they're equipped to handle certain industries. But now, everyone simply thinks they know enough about everything. And it's making fashion and entertainment commentary less fun for everyone involved.
Over the last few weeks, with Fashion Month, the Emmys, and the VMAs, we were inundated with sartorial opinions on the internet. Top of mind for me was Shailene Woodley's Emmys look.
Kevin Winter - Getty Images
#anyone #know #time
When did we lose the art of enjoyment? These days, the average person loves a think piece—specifically, having their own and putting it out there for the world to see. It stems from this new access we have on the internet to each other. On ****** es like TikTok, Instagram, and X and Threads, we can reach beyond our narrow circles into the phones of literally anyone else. Out of this environment, we've normalized an even more extreme parasocial nature between celebrities, influencers, and each other. The new internet landscape involves users ****** yzing and critiquing anyone who chooses to try or put themselves out there, serving as amateur publicists, stylists, and brand-image architects. There's an element of this new world order that's thrilling—our opinions matter! But...what's that phrase about opinions again?
I'd argue that we've critiqued ourselves into mass hysteria, conflating personal opinion with expertise. Just because someone has something to say doesn't mean they actually know what they're saying. There once was a time when people took the time to learn, gain experience, and work in a specific field so they're equipped to handle certain industries. But now, everyone simply thinks they know enough about everything. And it's making fashion and entertainment commentary less fun for everyone involved.
Over the last few weeks, with Fashion Month, the Emmys, and the VMAs, we were inundated with sartorial opinions on the internet. Top of mind for me was Shailene Woodley's Emmys look.
Kevin Winter - Getty Images
#anyone #know #time
20 days ago
Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles brought decades of romantic runway style together on Wednesday night for the Los Angeles premiere of "Sense and Sensibility" at The United Theater.
Daisy Edgar-Jones
For her look, Edgar-Jones turned to the popular '90s and early aughts runway trend embraced by several celebrities in 2026. The "Normal People" breakout star wore a look from Chloé's spring 1999 collection. Designed by then-creative director Stella McCartney, the dress captured the romantic sensibilities of "Sense and Sensibility" author Jane Austen's world.
More from WWD
Zendaya, Jennifer Lawrence and More Breezed Through Airy Looks During Paris Fashion Week
#edgar #romantic #runway #creed
Daisy Edgar-Jones
For her look, Edgar-Jones turned to the popular '90s and early aughts runway trend embraced by several celebrities in 2026. The "Normal People" breakout star wore a look from Chloé's spring 1999 collection. Designed by then-creative director Stella McCartney, the dress captured the romantic sensibilities of "Sense and Sensibility" author Jane Austen's world.
More from WWD
Zendaya, Jennifer Lawrence and More Breezed Through Airy Looks During Paris Fashion Week
#edgar #romantic #runway #creed
20 days ago
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is offering a dividend yield of roughly 6% today. That is well above the roughly 1% yield on offer from the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and the 1.4% average yield of pharmaceutical stocks. There are good reasons for the negative view of Pfizer, but investors may be ignoring the company's over 100-year history of success. Here's why you may want to consider buying this out-of-favor dividend stock while others are fearful.
Pfizer's stock rocketed higher during the coronavirus pandemic, as investors myopically focused on the company's COVID vaccine. When COVID turned out to be a less serious long-term threat than originally believed, Wall Street dumped Pfizer. At this point, the stock is down more than 50% from its 2021 high. That is a big part of the story behind the high yield.
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 »
However, there's another piece that is more fundamental to the pharmaceutical industry. Like all drug makers, Pfizer's drugs receive time-limited patent protections. When patents expire, generic versions of the medications can be produced. That generally leads to a dramatic decline in revenue from Pfizer's drugs. Right now, Pfizer is facing down some notable patent expirations. This is a completely normal dynamic in the pharmaceutical sector.
Patent expirations are why drug companies are always on the lookout for new drugs. The problem is that patent expirations follow a set schedule, but drug development does not. Pfizer's drug pipeline isn't producing major new drugs right now, and it looks like it may have to work through a period in which new drugs won't fully offset revenue lost to patent expirations. This isn't uncommon, either, but investors are likely focusing on the short term rather than the long term when it comes to Pfizer.
#patent #yield #drug #expirations
Pfizer's stock rocketed higher during the coronavirus pandemic, as investors myopically focused on the company's COVID vaccine. When COVID turned out to be a less serious long-term threat than originally believed, Wall Street dumped Pfizer. At this point, the stock is down more than 50% from its 2021 high. That is a big part of the story behind the high yield.
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 »
However, there's another piece that is more fundamental to the pharmaceutical industry. Like all drug makers, Pfizer's drugs receive time-limited patent protections. When patents expire, generic versions of the medications can be produced. That generally leads to a dramatic decline in revenue from Pfizer's drugs. Right now, Pfizer is facing down some notable patent expirations. This is a completely normal dynamic in the pharmaceutical sector.
Patent expirations are why drug companies are always on the lookout for new drugs. The problem is that patent expirations follow a set schedule, but drug development does not. Pfizer's drug pipeline isn't producing major new drugs right now, and it looks like it may have to work through a period in which new drugs won't fully offset revenue lost to patent expirations. This isn't uncommon, either, but investors are likely focusing on the short term rather than the long term when it comes to Pfizer.
#patent #yield #drug #expirations
21 days ago
Stocks are doing something that normally should not happen at the same time.
Major indexes keep closing at record highs even as Treasury yields climb to levels not seen in over two decades. That combination has traditionally meant trouble for expensive growth stocks, not fresh records.
Jim Cramer says there is a clear explanation for the disconnect. It comes down to just three companies carrying far more weight than their size alone would suggest.
Also read: Jim Cramer noticed something odd about the stock market
"Mad Money" host Jim Cramer said Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta are propping up the broader market even as surging Treasury yields pressure nearly everything else on Wall Street. "Here, I think there's tremendous distortion caused by some very big winners, namely Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta," he said.
#cramer #meta #market
Major indexes keep closing at record highs even as Treasury yields climb to levels not seen in over two decades. That combination has traditionally meant trouble for expensive growth stocks, not fresh records.
Jim Cramer says there is a clear explanation for the disconnect. It comes down to just three companies carrying far more weight than their size alone would suggest.
Also read: Jim Cramer noticed something odd about the stock market
"Mad Money" host Jim Cramer said Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta are propping up the broader market even as surging Treasury yields pressure nearly everything else on Wall Street. "Here, I think there's tremendous distortion caused by some very big winners, namely Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta," he said.
#cramer #meta #market
21 days ago
Jaguar has a lot riding on its new vehicle, the Type 01.
Revealed last night in New York, the new EV sedan is the production version of the Type 00 concept. It retains the hard angles, dramatic long hood, and truncated rear end of the concept, but with slightly normalized proportions.
The conversion to a sedan also makes it more palatable to a broader subset of buyers compared to the concept's coupe design. Inside the cabin is another story, with a "brass floating spine" bisecting the interior and bucket-type seating in the back, creating a four-seat grand tourer.
The specs are impressive, and like most EVs, it boasts abundant power. Jaguar said the swooping sedan will pump out 1,016 hp, hit 0 to 62mph in 3.2 seconds, and have an estimated range of 450 miles.
Read more: How to find the best luxury car insurance
#jaguar #inside #Riding #last
Revealed last night in New York, the new EV sedan is the production version of the Type 00 concept. It retains the hard angles, dramatic long hood, and truncated rear end of the concept, but with slightly normalized proportions.
The conversion to a sedan also makes it more palatable to a broader subset of buyers compared to the concept's coupe design. Inside the cabin is another story, with a "brass floating spine" bisecting the interior and bucket-type seating in the back, creating a four-seat grand tourer.
The specs are impressive, and like most EVs, it boasts abundant power. Jaguar said the swooping sedan will pump out 1,016 hp, hit 0 to 62mph in 3.2 seconds, and have an estimated range of 450 miles.
Read more: How to find the best luxury car insurance
#jaguar #inside #Riding #last
21 days ago
Selling appreciated stock and donating cash still leaves the full capital gain in Medicare's MAGI, potentially triggering IRMAA surcharges two years later.
A couple adding a $90,000 gain to $200,000 in normal income can face $5,770 in extra annual Medicare premiums, even after donating every dollar to charity.
Donating appreciated shares held over a year directly to charity keeps the gain out of MAGI entirely, avoiding IRMAA; those over 70.5 can also use a QCD up to $111,000.
Building a portfolio and living off one are two completely different skills, and almost ***** ody teaches the second. This problem is what The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income helps, and it is free today. Read more here. (Sponsor)
A 72-year-old retiree has held Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-B) shares for decades. This fall he sells $100,000 worth of stock he bought for $10,000, then writes a check for the full amount to his church's building fund. He ***** umes the gift wipes out the income Medicare sees. For his income tax bill, the gift helps. For Medicare, the $90,000 gain stays on his return, and it will raise his premiums two years from now.
#medicare #magi #Stock
A couple adding a $90,000 gain to $200,000 in normal income can face $5,770 in extra annual Medicare premiums, even after donating every dollar to charity.
Donating appreciated shares held over a year directly to charity keeps the gain out of MAGI entirely, avoiding IRMAA; those over 70.5 can also use a QCD up to $111,000.
Building a portfolio and living off one are two completely different skills, and almost ***** ody teaches the second. This problem is what The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income helps, and it is free today. Read more here. (Sponsor)
A 72-year-old retiree has held Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-B) shares for decades. This fall he sells $100,000 worth of stock he bought for $10,000, then writes a check for the full amount to his church's building fund. He ***** umes the gift wipes out the income Medicare sees. For his income tax bill, the gift helps. For Medicare, the $90,000 gain stays on his return, and it will raise his premiums two years from now.
#medicare #magi #Stock
21 days ago
Joe Manganiello is revealing that he battled an undiagnosed autoimmune illness for seven years
The disease caused years of hospitalizations, 60 lbs of weight loss and, in 2016, the removal of one of his organs
The actor recalls his gruesome "night in ***** " that led to the emergency surgery in an excerpt from his new memoir Bloodlines (out Oct. 13).
Joe Manganiello is revealing that for seven of the last ten years, he battled a mysterious autoimmune illness so virulent that it almost killed him.
In his new memoir Bloodlines (out Oct. 13), the True Blood star, 49, recalls losing 60 lbs., undergoing countless colonoscopies, and in one emergency surgery in 2016, having part of his intestines removed, leaving him unable to go to the bathroom normally and relying on an ostomy bag.
#autoimmune
The disease caused years of hospitalizations, 60 lbs of weight loss and, in 2016, the removal of one of his organs
The actor recalls his gruesome "night in ***** " that led to the emergency surgery in an excerpt from his new memoir Bloodlines (out Oct. 13).
Joe Manganiello is revealing that for seven of the last ten years, he battled a mysterious autoimmune illness so virulent that it almost killed him.
In his new memoir Bloodlines (out Oct. 13), the True Blood star, 49, recalls losing 60 lbs., undergoing countless colonoscopies, and in one emergency surgery in 2016, having part of his intestines removed, leaving him unable to go to the bathroom normally and relying on an ostomy bag.
#autoimmune
22 days ago
McDonald's is facing a federal lawsuit that alleges its AI-enhanced pricing tool violates antitrust laws because it shares nonpublic data with franchisees who might be competing in the same market.
The lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Illinois, said McDonald's pricing tool uses artificial intelligence to collect data that competing franchises wouldn't normally share, like store-level sales. The Chicago-based burger giant has said it makes the tool available to U.S. franchisees to help them set prices at their individual restaurants.
The lawsuit also blames the pricing system for raising McDonald's U.S. prices.
"McDonald's has built and for years deployed its own information-sharing pricing platform, which draws on data from its millions of daily transactions to set menu prices across thousands of U.S. restaurants," the lawsuit states. "The result is algorithmic price-fixing aimed at customers who are already stretched thin."
McDonald's said Tuesday that the lawsuit is "filled with inaccuracies" and it would vigorously defend itself.
#restaurants
The lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Illinois, said McDonald's pricing tool uses artificial intelligence to collect data that competing franchises wouldn't normally share, like store-level sales. The Chicago-based burger giant has said it makes the tool available to U.S. franchisees to help them set prices at their individual restaurants.
The lawsuit also blames the pricing system for raising McDonald's U.S. prices.
"McDonald's has built and for years deployed its own information-sharing pricing platform, which draws on data from its millions of daily transactions to set menu prices across thousands of U.S. restaurants," the lawsuit states. "The result is algorithmic price-fixing aimed at customers who are already stretched thin."
McDonald's said Tuesday that the lawsuit is "filled with inaccuracies" and it would vigorously defend itself.
#restaurants
22 days ago
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon sharpened his warning about the risks of a global bond sell-off on Tuesday, saying the world's massive competition for capital could begin squeezing corporate borrowers.
Dimon warned that the combination of rising government borrowing costs and spending on the AI boom could spill into corporate credit markets, pushing up the costs for companies to refinance or raise new debt.
"There will be a point where the market will ask for more and more and more, and yeah, at one point that'll feed into corporate debt, corporate credit spreads, and things like that, which is how it normally happens," Dimon said in a Bloomberg interview on the sidelines of a JPMorgan event in London.
"The best thing to do with any of these things is deal with it before it becomes a crisis. If it becomes a crisis, we will deal with it. It just will be in a much less pleasant way," he added.
The warning comes as a global rout in bonds has pushed longer-term borrowing costs sharply higher in recent weeks, with the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield recently surpassing heights not seen since 2002.
#credit
Dimon warned that the combination of rising government borrowing costs and spending on the AI boom could spill into corporate credit markets, pushing up the costs for companies to refinance or raise new debt.
"There will be a point where the market will ask for more and more and more, and yeah, at one point that'll feed into corporate debt, corporate credit spreads, and things like that, which is how it normally happens," Dimon said in a Bloomberg interview on the sidelines of a JPMorgan event in London.
"The best thing to do with any of these things is deal with it before it becomes a crisis. If it becomes a crisis, we will deal with it. It just will be in a much less pleasant way," he added.
The warning comes as a global rout in bonds has pushed longer-term borrowing costs sharply higher in recent weeks, with the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield recently surpassing heights not seen since 2002.
#credit
22 days ago
Prince William and Kate Middleton may be raising the future King of Britain. However, their children reportedly use far more ordinary names once they step into the classroom. Instead of relying on their royal ***** les, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis follow a long-standing royal tradition. The strategy helps keep their school life as normal as possible.
Officially, the public knows them as Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and Prince Louis of Wales. However, the royal siblings reportedly go by much simpler names during the school day.
According to Hola!, the children use the surname "Wales" at school, making them George Wales, Charlotte Wales, and Louis Wales. The reported practice allows them to blend in more naturally with classmates while leaving their royal ***** les outside the classroom.
The surname comes from their parents' ***** les as the Prince and Princess of Wales. Before King Charles III ascended the throne in 2022, the children reportedly used "Cambridge" as their school surname. They adopted the moniker because William and Kate were then the Duke and ***** ss of Cambridge.
George has recently entered a new chapter in his education after starting at Eton College, following in his father's footsteps. Meanwhile, Charlotte and Louis continue attending Lambrook School.
#wales
Officially, the public knows them as Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and Prince Louis of Wales. However, the royal siblings reportedly go by much simpler names during the school day.
According to Hola!, the children use the surname "Wales" at school, making them George Wales, Charlotte Wales, and Louis Wales. The reported practice allows them to blend in more naturally with classmates while leaving their royal ***** les outside the classroom.
The surname comes from their parents' ***** les as the Prince and Princess of Wales. Before King Charles III ascended the throne in 2022, the children reportedly used "Cambridge" as their school surname. They adopted the moniker because William and Kate were then the Duke and ***** ss of Cambridge.
George has recently entered a new chapter in his education after starting at Eton College, following in his father's footsteps. Meanwhile, Charlotte and Louis continue attending Lambrook School.
#wales
22 days ago
A recent candid photo of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry going on a lunch date has sparked fresh debate online. The images show the couple holding hands in the Cotswolds, and while most saw a normal couple spending time together, one commentator sees something else in them. He questions how the pictures came about and what they might signal about the Sussexes.
Commentator Link Lauren shared his views in a video clip posted on X where he spoke about the couple's "romantic pub date" and their "first photos together since UK return." Lauren questioned how the photos were taken. "You want me to believe that a photographer just happened to catch you on a little date night in the Cotswolds?" he asked. He said Meghan Markle "allegedly" arranges such moments and also remarked that her face looked "a little bit facetuned."
He then offered his own theory. In his view, the couple licensed the pictures to an agency. "That's what I believe," he said. The commentator also looked at the photographer's website. He said it invites visitors to "earn money" by sending in celebrity photos, videos, and tips. He went on to suggest that Meghan may have even worked with the photographer.
The source noted his interpretation of the strain between the couple. Lauren pointed to Prince Harry's schedule, saying that the Duke of Sussex has appeared at several charity events without Meghan in recent times. "It's pretty much known across the UK at this point in aristocratic circles and the press. They are conscious uncoupling," he claimed.
As a result, Lauren argued that the hand-holding photos were a response to this. Meghan, he said, wanted to be seen "staking her claim" over her husband. Lauren also pointed to the couple's reported plans to split time between the UK and the US. He said that this arrangement made the public display of unity more notable.
#photos #date #prince
Commentator Link Lauren shared his views in a video clip posted on X where he spoke about the couple's "romantic pub date" and their "first photos together since UK return." Lauren questioned how the photos were taken. "You want me to believe that a photographer just happened to catch you on a little date night in the Cotswolds?" he asked. He said Meghan Markle "allegedly" arranges such moments and also remarked that her face looked "a little bit facetuned."
He then offered his own theory. In his view, the couple licensed the pictures to an agency. "That's what I believe," he said. The commentator also looked at the photographer's website. He said it invites visitors to "earn money" by sending in celebrity photos, videos, and tips. He went on to suggest that Meghan may have even worked with the photographer.
The source noted his interpretation of the strain between the couple. Lauren pointed to Prince Harry's schedule, saying that the Duke of Sussex has appeared at several charity events without Meghan in recent times. "It's pretty much known across the UK at this point in aristocratic circles and the press. They are conscious uncoupling," he claimed.
As a result, Lauren argued that the hand-holding photos were a response to this. Meghan, he said, wanted to be seen "staking her claim" over her husband. Lauren also pointed to the couple's reported plans to split time between the UK and the US. He said that this arrangement made the public display of unity more notable.
#photos #date #prince
22 days ago
Meghan Markle's new promo photoshoot for her lifestyle brand, As Ever, is drawing unflattering comparisons to Kate Middleton. The **** ss of Sussex shared a series of photos and videos for her brand's latest, limited-edition Christmas Advent Calendar. It seemed normal on the surface. But eagle-eyed fans noticed an interesting detail that reminded them of the Princess of Wales.
Meghan Markle's new promo photoshoot for As Ever has fans wondering whether the Kate Middleton connection is deliberate or not (via The Royal Observer).
For those unversed, the Suits star launched a collection of photos and videos to promote her latest Christmas products. Notably, it is called the Christmas Advent Calendar and features wholesome, handmade goodies from Los Angeles chocolatier Compartes.
It is available exclusively to U.S. residents. The calendar features 24 handmade chocolates inspired by Markle's Montecito home and personal life. However, sharp-eyed fans noticed a subtle connection to the future queen. Upon zooming in on the promotional photo, several fans accused the former actress of using AI. They spotted what appeared to be six fingers on her hand.
User TribesBritannia commented, "Meghan Markle using AI for **** Never. Six fingers is a classic example of AI. She can't even be bothered to take a simple photo, are the media and GettyImages going to go mad about this, like they did about a simple Mother's Day photo?"
#meghan
Meghan Markle's new promo photoshoot for As Ever has fans wondering whether the Kate Middleton connection is deliberate or not (via The Royal Observer).
For those unversed, the Suits star launched a collection of photos and videos to promote her latest Christmas products. Notably, it is called the Christmas Advent Calendar and features wholesome, handmade goodies from Los Angeles chocolatier Compartes.
It is available exclusively to U.S. residents. The calendar features 24 handmade chocolates inspired by Markle's Montecito home and personal life. However, sharp-eyed fans noticed a subtle connection to the future queen. Upon zooming in on the promotional photo, several fans accused the former actress of using AI. They spotted what appeared to be six fingers on her hand.
User TribesBritannia commented, "Meghan Markle using AI for **** Never. Six fingers is a classic example of AI. She can't even be bothered to take a simple photo, are the media and GettyImages going to go mad about this, like they did about a simple Mother's Day photo?"
#meghan
23 days ago
LONDON — A British Airways passenger jet flying from London to Chicago descended 28,000 feet in just seven minutes after declaring an emergency due to an unspecified “technical issue,” the airline said Monday.
The Boeing 777 took off at 12:15 p.m. local time (7:15 a.m. ET) but started descending just 30 minutes later while flying over Ireland, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
The plane turned around and spent around four hours zigzagging over the Bristol Channel, a waterway to the west of England, before landing back at London Heathrow Airport at 5 p.m. local time (noon ET).
“The aircraft landed safely after our highly-trained pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue,” British Airways said in an emailed statement. “Customers disembarked the aircraft normally and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.”
Heathrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
#british #airways #minutes
The Boeing 777 took off at 12:15 p.m. local time (7:15 a.m. ET) but started descending just 30 minutes later while flying over Ireland, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
The plane turned around and spent around four hours zigzagging over the Bristol Channel, a waterway to the west of England, before landing back at London Heathrow Airport at 5 p.m. local time (noon ET).
“The aircraft landed safely after our highly-trained pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue,” British Airways said in an emailed statement. “Customers disembarked the aircraft normally and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.”
Heathrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
#british #airways #minutes
23 days ago
Kellon Deryck will never forget the day he met Megan Thee Stallion. It was 8 years ago, and the celebrity hairstylist was trying to keep it professional on his first job with the rapper. But Megan wasn't having it, he recalls, laughing.
"I'm normally pretty shy when I first meet someone, so the first day we worked together, I was quiet; I was just there to do my job," he explains. "She **** near tickled me into laughing and talking like, 'Who is this up in here? Who are you?' She made me show my personality. She pulled it out of me." And from that day forward, they were inseparable.
"Even when we're not at work, we're on FaceTime talking about what we're about to do next or how our night was, what we ate, and what TikTok we're about to do, and what food we want to try," says Deryck. "We literally do everything together."
Megan Thee Stallion on InStyle's September 2026 cover, hair styled by Kellon Deryck
The Boston-born, Atlanta-bred hair pro has been behind some of Megan's most unforgettable hair moments, from 2025's Met Gala, for which he crafted an artful, architectural copper-red ponytail inspired by Josephine Baker, to the towering, out-of-this-world sculptural updo he molded for InStyle's September cover. "I always know what story she's trying to tell with her hair," Deryck explains. And over the years, he and Megan, ever the hair chameleon, have done nearly "every kind of look." Their résumé runs the gamut from candy-colored finger waves and Marie Antoinette poufs to jet-black clouds of curls, glossy flipped bobs, Old Hollywood waves, and Rapunzel-length tumbles. His work has even made its way into Megan's lyrics: In "Don't Stop," she raps, "40-inch weave by Kellon, don't tangle."
#we 're #thee #even
"I'm normally pretty shy when I first meet someone, so the first day we worked together, I was quiet; I was just there to do my job," he explains. "She **** near tickled me into laughing and talking like, 'Who is this up in here? Who are you?' She made me show my personality. She pulled it out of me." And from that day forward, they were inseparable.
"Even when we're not at work, we're on FaceTime talking about what we're about to do next or how our night was, what we ate, and what TikTok we're about to do, and what food we want to try," says Deryck. "We literally do everything together."
Megan Thee Stallion on InStyle's September 2026 cover, hair styled by Kellon Deryck
The Boston-born, Atlanta-bred hair pro has been behind some of Megan's most unforgettable hair moments, from 2025's Met Gala, for which he crafted an artful, architectural copper-red ponytail inspired by Josephine Baker, to the towering, out-of-this-world sculptural updo he molded for InStyle's September cover. "I always know what story she's trying to tell with her hair," Deryck explains. And over the years, he and Megan, ever the hair chameleon, have done nearly "every kind of look." Their résumé runs the gamut from candy-colored finger waves and Marie Antoinette poufs to jet-black clouds of curls, glossy flipped bobs, Old Hollywood waves, and Rapunzel-length tumbles. His work has even made its way into Megan's lyrics: In "Don't Stop," she raps, "40-inch weave by Kellon, don't tangle."
#we 're #thee #even
23 days ago
Constance Zimmer underwent three surgeries for breast cancer earlier this year.
Returning to Instagram to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Sunday, the Entourage actress revealed that she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), or Stage 0 breast cancer, in March. Detected early, DCIS is when abnormal cells are contained inside the milk ducts and have not spread to surrounding tissue.
"The mental toll that followed was overwhelming on certain days as I began talking to many more doctors then I would've liked (sic)," she recalled. "Feeling like my options were limited and most suggested what was the quickest way to get this mass out ASAP, which was a mastectomy."
But after meeting Dr. Kristi Funk, Zimmer opted for a lumpectomy.
"She was the first doctor to make me feel like what I wanted mattered and that made me weep with joy," the 55-year-old continued. "It did take three surgeries - three weeks in a row, but she did it, she saved my breast and it looks good too!"
And while she was recovering from the operations, Zimmer was on the press tour for the FX show Love Story, in which she played Ann Messina Freeman, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's mother.
#year
Returning to Instagram to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Sunday, the Entourage actress revealed that she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), or Stage 0 breast cancer, in March. Detected early, DCIS is when abnormal cells are contained inside the milk ducts and have not spread to surrounding tissue.
"The mental toll that followed was overwhelming on certain days as I began talking to many more doctors then I would've liked (sic)," she recalled. "Feeling like my options were limited and most suggested what was the quickest way to get this mass out ASAP, which was a mastectomy."
But after meeting Dr. Kristi Funk, Zimmer opted for a lumpectomy.
"She was the first doctor to make me feel like what I wanted mattered and that made me weep with joy," the 55-year-old continued. "It did take three surgeries - three weeks in a row, but she did it, she saved my breast and it looks good too!"
And while she was recovering from the operations, Zimmer was on the press tour for the FX show Love Story, in which she played Ann Messina Freeman, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's mother.
#year
23 days ago
Meanwhile, flood watches are in effect along the Gulf Coast and in Florida.
More than 35 million people are under heat alerts on Sunday afternoon as a dangerous multi-day October heat wave continues across nearly all of California.
Temperatures are expected to soar up to 20 degrees above normal for this time of year, into the 90s and 100s, from Northern California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, to the Mexico border.
In some areas of California, especially urban areas, warm nights will provide little to no relief.
Los Angeles and San Diego remain under an extreme heat warning, with heat advisories posted on Sunday for San Francisco and Sacramento.
#california
More than 35 million people are under heat alerts on Sunday afternoon as a dangerous multi-day October heat wave continues across nearly all of California.
Temperatures are expected to soar up to 20 degrees above normal for this time of year, into the 90s and 100s, from Northern California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, to the Mexico border.
In some areas of California, especially urban areas, warm nights will provide little to no relief.
Los Angeles and San Diego remain under an extreme heat warning, with heat advisories posted on Sunday for San Francisco and Sacramento.
#california
24 days ago
Sean "Diddy" Combs is reportedly spending thousands of dollars monthly to live a pampered life at Fort Dix federal prison.
According to NBC News, who spoke with four former inmates who were once in the same unit as the 56-year-old, Diddy has allegedly been paying inmates to cook, clean, and even give him massages. The former inmates claim he accessed contraband phones, antidepressants, and alcohol.
"This is not some normal s**t you see in jail. This is some rich ***** ," a former prisoner told NBC News. "It looks crazy, but again, it's Diddy."
"Pretty much the day he arrived, the party started," said another inmate source.
COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what's next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.
#according
According to NBC News, who spoke with four former inmates who were once in the same unit as the 56-year-old, Diddy has allegedly been paying inmates to cook, clean, and even give him massages. The former inmates claim he accessed contraband phones, antidepressants, and alcohol.
"This is not some normal s**t you see in jail. This is some rich ***** ," a former prisoner told NBC News. "It looks crazy, but again, it's Diddy."
"Pretty much the day he arrived, the party started," said another inmate source.
COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what's next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.
#according
26 days ago
For his first-ever fashion show, Martin Andrijasevic, one half of the fan-favorite content-creating duo Slushy Noobz, used a face wash. "I washed my face with a cleanser, which I don't do normally and I probably should, but I thought that this would be a great day to do it," he tells Teen Vogue. Hamzah Al-Emad, the other star of Slushy Noobz, commemorated the moment with deodorant and Chapstick. "Feeling confident," he adds.
Attending Acne Studios' Women's Spring Summer 2027 show at Paris Fashion Week, Andrijasevic and Al-Emad, were dressed by the brand and styled by Kim Russell. A pink polo and low-rise pinstripe pants, complete with the Camero shoulder bag, gave Andrijasevic's front row look a Y2K flair. Al-Emad similarly wore a 00s-inspired outfit with a faux fur-trimmed jacket and jeans in Acne Studios' signature distressed wash.
Teen Vogue caught up with Slushy Noobz as they got ready for the show, discussing everything from mogging to their fashion icons.
Martin: Because it's only the coolest thing ever. We like fashion. We dress up a lot.
#slushy #show #teen #vogue
Attending Acne Studios' Women's Spring Summer 2027 show at Paris Fashion Week, Andrijasevic and Al-Emad, were dressed by the brand and styled by Kim Russell. A pink polo and low-rise pinstripe pants, complete with the Camero shoulder bag, gave Andrijasevic's front row look a Y2K flair. Al-Emad similarly wore a 00s-inspired outfit with a faux fur-trimmed jacket and jeans in Acne Studios' signature distressed wash.
Teen Vogue caught up with Slushy Noobz as they got ready for the show, discussing everything from mogging to their fashion icons.
Martin: Because it's only the coolest thing ever. We like fashion. We dress up a lot.
#slushy #show #teen #vogue
27 days ago
Disgraced music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs isn't exactly living a bare-bones life in prison, according to a report from NBC News published Tuesday.
The rapper has allegedly set up a cushy lifestyle inside New Jersey's Fort Dix correctional institution, where he has fellow inmates catering to his basic needs and is said to have access to contraband liquor and a cellphone.
Culture: Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sentenced To 4 Years In Prison For Prostitution Charge
"This is not some normal **** you see in jail," a man who lived in the same unit as Combs at the low-security prison told NBC News. "This is some rich ****. It looks crazy, but again, it's Diddy."
The Bad Boy Records boss, who is serving a 50-month sentence for prostitution-related offenses, reportedly pays men to cook for him, make his bed and do his laundry, in addition to someone who gives him what NBC described as "Chinese-style massages."
#diddy #sean #sentenced
The rapper has allegedly set up a cushy lifestyle inside New Jersey's Fort Dix correctional institution, where he has fellow inmates catering to his basic needs and is said to have access to contraband liquor and a cellphone.
Culture: Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sentenced To 4 Years In Prison For Prostitution Charge
"This is not some normal **** you see in jail," a man who lived in the same unit as Combs at the low-security prison told NBC News. "This is some rich ****. It looks crazy, but again, it's Diddy."
The Bad Boy Records boss, who is serving a 50-month sentence for prostitution-related offenses, reportedly pays men to cook for him, make his bed and do his laundry, in addition to someone who gives him what NBC described as "Chinese-style massages."
#diddy #sean #sentenced
27 days ago
Amanda Peet noticed something unusual months before learning she had breast cancer.
During an interview on Today on Thursday, October 1, Peet, 54, described the change she first felt about six months before her diagnosis.
"I was in my closet, I was probably putting something on and I felt a weird — it just didn't feel like normal skin, but it wasn't the frozen pea that everybody talks about," The Whole Nine Yards star said during her conversation with the show's coanchor Savannah Guthrie.
That unfamiliar feeling prompted Peet to seek medical attention. At the time, she believed the results meant everything was fine.
"I went and I even got an MRI and then they sent me away," she said. "So I thought I had a clean bill of health, but they were actually watching it."
#felt
During an interview on Today on Thursday, October 1, Peet, 54, described the change she first felt about six months before her diagnosis.
"I was in my closet, I was probably putting something on and I felt a weird — it just didn't feel like normal skin, but it wasn't the frozen pea that everybody talks about," The Whole Nine Yards star said during her conversation with the show's coanchor Savannah Guthrie.
That unfamiliar feeling prompted Peet to seek medical attention. At the time, she believed the results meant everything was fine.
"I went and I even got an MRI and then they sent me away," she said. "So I thought I had a clean bill of health, but they were actually watching it."
#felt
1 month ago
Ahead of the release of Zach Cregger's reboot today, there were already seven Resident Evil movies — six of them in a more action-oriented series starring Milla Jovovich, four of which were directed by her husband, Paul W.S. Anderson, plus an unrelated "reboot" in 2021 called Welcome to Raccoon City that went for more of a John Carpenter vibe and was an attempt to truly "adapt" the games. There's also a Netflix TV show version that ran for a single season in 2022. Countless other works in the horror genre have unofficially cribbed from the Resident Evil games over the years. It's an incredibly influential series.
And yet, Zach Cregger, hot off his Oscar-winning original horror film Weapons, is the first filmmaker to truly feel like he's adapting the experience of playing the games, arguably the scariest survival-horror ones ever made, rather than simply incorporating story and plot elements to explain the outbreak of infected people. In Cregger's hands, Resident Evil is pure crowd-pleasing popcorn cinema, best experienced in a packed movie theater with dozens of other people reacting loudly to the madness.
The premise couldn't be simpler — and the runtime a brisk 90ish minutes — as we follow a medical courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams, proving himself to be the Bruce Campbell for a new generation) who unwittingly finds himself fighting for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in a swirl of chaos. Fans of the video games will recognize various easter eggs and nods to game mechanics, including the importance of conserving ammo and checking every last drawer for more of it.
But you don't need to be familiar with the games at all to enjoy the movie, which is an efficient horror set-piece machine that just keeps putting Abrams in increasingly concerning situations. I can't stress enough how much this is a one-man show anchored by Abrams, and he crushes it. He's in every scene, earning tons of laughs simply by reacting as a normal person would in this situation; he's a true audience-surrogate character, ushering us through the chaos. His comedic timing, paired with Cregger's ****** ured camerawork and editing, is a match made in genre-movie heaven.
I didn't expect it to be so heavily inspired by genre classics like The Thing and Evil Dead. In fact, it's a better Evil Dead movie than the last several movies with "Evil Dead" in the ****** le, nailing the horror-comedy tone that only Sam Raimi and a few others can pull off with aplomb. Cregger has a ton of fun with the various monstrous forms that the infected take here, from fusing multiple humans together to crafting his own horror take on a big, scary guy like Dune's Baron Harkonnen. Resident Evil movies have thus far treated the zombies as pretty traditional movie zombies; Cregger's version gets at the attempt to create the next stage of human evolution.
#resident #dead
And yet, Zach Cregger, hot off his Oscar-winning original horror film Weapons, is the first filmmaker to truly feel like he's adapting the experience of playing the games, arguably the scariest survival-horror ones ever made, rather than simply incorporating story and plot elements to explain the outbreak of infected people. In Cregger's hands, Resident Evil is pure crowd-pleasing popcorn cinema, best experienced in a packed movie theater with dozens of other people reacting loudly to the madness.
The premise couldn't be simpler — and the runtime a brisk 90ish minutes — as we follow a medical courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams, proving himself to be the Bruce Campbell for a new generation) who unwittingly finds himself fighting for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in a swirl of chaos. Fans of the video games will recognize various easter eggs and nods to game mechanics, including the importance of conserving ammo and checking every last drawer for more of it.
But you don't need to be familiar with the games at all to enjoy the movie, which is an efficient horror set-piece machine that just keeps putting Abrams in increasingly concerning situations. I can't stress enough how much this is a one-man show anchored by Abrams, and he crushes it. He's in every scene, earning tons of laughs simply by reacting as a normal person would in this situation; he's a true audience-surrogate character, ushering us through the chaos. His comedic timing, paired with Cregger's ****** ured camerawork and editing, is a match made in genre-movie heaven.
I didn't expect it to be so heavily inspired by genre classics like The Thing and Evil Dead. In fact, it's a better Evil Dead movie than the last several movies with "Evil Dead" in the ****** le, nailing the horror-comedy tone that only Sam Raimi and a few others can pull off with aplomb. Cregger has a ton of fun with the various monstrous forms that the infected take here, from fusing multiple humans together to crafting his own horror take on a big, scary guy like Dune's Baron Harkonnen. Resident Evil movies have thus far treated the zombies as pretty traditional movie zombies; Cregger's version gets at the attempt to create the next stage of human evolution.
#resident #dead
1 month ago
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) stock has returned about 57% over the past year, against about 17% for the S&P 500. On the earnings it has already banked, that price looks expensive. But those earnings carry STELARA, which is losing share to biosimilar competition. What looks dear on earnings already reported comes down sharply on the earnings ***** ysts expect.
At about $270 a share, Johnson & Johnson trades at about 28.3 times its trailing earnings. That figure sits on adjusted earnings: normalized net income with stock-based compensation added back, meant to sit closer to the basis ***** ysts use in their forecasts than a GAAP figure would, though the two measures are not defined identically. Measured as market value against consensus net income, the multiple on fiscal 2026 earnings is about 24.1 times, and on the earnings expected for 2027 it is about 20.9 times.
Those trailing twelve months were not a clean run. STELARA cost Johnson & Johnson about 460 basis points of operational sales growth in the second quarter of 2026. Strip it out and the company grew double digits in that quarter on the same basis, on management's own account.
The trailing multiple measures today's price against a period burdened by slowing STELARA revenue. The rest of the portfolio kept growing. Revenue over the trailing twelve months is close to $98 billion, and the company has 28 products and platforms that each sell more than $1 billion a year.
Immunology shows both sides at once. TREMFYA grew 71% in the second quarter of 2026, and it remains the fastest-growing advanced therapy in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. STELARA is shrinking under biosimilars in that same segment.
#johnson #earnings
At about $270 a share, Johnson & Johnson trades at about 28.3 times its trailing earnings. That figure sits on adjusted earnings: normalized net income with stock-based compensation added back, meant to sit closer to the basis ***** ysts use in their forecasts than a GAAP figure would, though the two measures are not defined identically. Measured as market value against consensus net income, the multiple on fiscal 2026 earnings is about 24.1 times, and on the earnings expected for 2027 it is about 20.9 times.
Those trailing twelve months were not a clean run. STELARA cost Johnson & Johnson about 460 basis points of operational sales growth in the second quarter of 2026. Strip it out and the company grew double digits in that quarter on the same basis, on management's own account.
The trailing multiple measures today's price against a period burdened by slowing STELARA revenue. The rest of the portfolio kept growing. Revenue over the trailing twelve months is close to $98 billion, and the company has 28 products and platforms that each sell more than $1 billion a year.
Immunology shows both sides at once. TREMFYA grew 71% in the second quarter of 2026, and it remains the fastest-growing advanced therapy in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. STELARA is shrinking under biosimilars in that same segment.
#johnson #earnings
1 month ago
Interested in Cardinal Health, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better.
Cardinal Health expects growth to normalize in fiscal 2027 after fiscal 2026 benefited from unusually strong specialty growth, customer onboarding, acquisitions and solid healthcare utilization. Management said all five operating segments delivered double-digit earnings growth in fiscal 2026.
The company is expanding its specialty and at-home healthcare strategy through MSO platforms, bolt-on acquisitions and diabetes-related deals. Strive Medical has closed, while the AdaptHealth diabetes acquisition is expected to close in the second half of fiscal 2027, strengthening Cardinal's continuous glucose monitoring business.
Cardinal is prioritizing automated, small-parcel distribution of higher-value at-home products and plans to add three more automated distribution centers. Management also said cash flow was strong in fiscal 2026, putting the company about 90% of the way toward its previously announced $10 billion objective.
Cardinal Health Earnings: Can Perfection Get Priced In Twice?
#acquisitions
Cardinal Health expects growth to normalize in fiscal 2027 after fiscal 2026 benefited from unusually strong specialty growth, customer onboarding, acquisitions and solid healthcare utilization. Management said all five operating segments delivered double-digit earnings growth in fiscal 2026.
The company is expanding its specialty and at-home healthcare strategy through MSO platforms, bolt-on acquisitions and diabetes-related deals. Strive Medical has closed, while the AdaptHealth diabetes acquisition is expected to close in the second half of fiscal 2027, strengthening Cardinal's continuous glucose monitoring business.
Cardinal is prioritizing automated, small-parcel distribution of higher-value at-home products and plans to add three more automated distribution centers. Management also said cash flow was strong in fiscal 2026, putting the company about 90% of the way toward its previously announced $10 billion objective.
Cardinal Health Earnings: Can Perfection Get Priced In Twice?
#acquisitions
1 month ago
Bitcoin's most violent rally of its two-year drawdown wasn't powered by fresh bullish bets. It was powered by bears getting crushed, according to a new report from ******* ytics firm Glassnode and crypto exchange Bybit.
Over five days in August, Bitcoin climbed 24.6% even as coin-denominated open interest, a measure of active leverage, fell 12.6%, the report found. That combination is the tell: rather than traders piling into new long positions, the move ran on the forced unwinding of existing shorts.
Roughly 64,000 BTC worth of open interest was closed out, and short positions supplied 89% of every liquidated dollar during the stretch.
The options market told the same story. Puts, the contracts traders buy to protect against a fall, had priced richer than calls for 361 straight days. A single session ended that run, flipping roughly a year of downside positioning as the market scrambled to reprice.
Bybit's own volatility index traveled four times its normal daily range in one session, and the front of the futures curve repriced sharply while longer-dated contracts barely moved, a sign the market read the move as a one-off event rather than a lasting regime change.
#interest
Over five days in August, Bitcoin climbed 24.6% even as coin-denominated open interest, a measure of active leverage, fell 12.6%, the report found. That combination is the tell: rather than traders piling into new long positions, the move ran on the forced unwinding of existing shorts.
Roughly 64,000 BTC worth of open interest was closed out, and short positions supplied 89% of every liquidated dollar during the stretch.
The options market told the same story. Puts, the contracts traders buy to protect against a fall, had priced richer than calls for 361 straight days. A single session ended that run, flipping roughly a year of downside positioning as the market scrambled to reprice.
Bybit's own volatility index traveled four times its normal daily range in one session, and the front of the futures curve repriced sharply while longer-dated contracts barely moved, a sign the market read the move as a one-off event rather than a lasting regime change.
#interest
1 month ago
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
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
1 month ago
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), maker of the da Vinci surgical robots, trades at about $382, some 36% below its 52-week high. Even so, you pay about 35.9 times trailing adjusted earnings. That is normalized net income with stock-based compensation added back, a basis meant to sit closer to the one ****** ysts forecast on, though the two are not defined identically. ****** ysts' forecasts run to 2027, the year Intuitive plans to start lowering what customers pay per use on some instruments.
The shares were trading about 11% lower the day after second-quarter results in July showed slower US procedure growth. US da Vinci procedures grew 12% in the second quarter, against 14% in the first. Management pointed to two likely causes, with the CFO noting that some customers say coverage changes are delaying deferrable procedures, alongside a little of the law of large numbers.
What the price still pays for is revenue growing faster than procedures. On the first-quarter call, the CFO credited that largely to da Vinci 5 and its higher pricing. More than half of the da Vinci systems Intuitive placed in the second quarter were da Vinci 5.
On ****** ysts' 2026 estimates, today's price is about 35.1 times earnings. On their 2027 estimates, it is about 31.4 times. The revenue forecast behind that looks modest: about 13.1% growth a year through 2027, against 20.7% growth over the past twelve months.
Consensus has earnings and revenue growing at a similar pace between 2026 and 2027, so margins hold roughly steady. Intuitive enters that stretch with an operating margin of 31.3% over the past twelve months, above its three-year average of 27.7%.
#intuitive #analysts #year #procedures
The shares were trading about 11% lower the day after second-quarter results in July showed slower US procedure growth. US da Vinci procedures grew 12% in the second quarter, against 14% in the first. Management pointed to two likely causes, with the CFO noting that some customers say coverage changes are delaying deferrable procedures, alongside a little of the law of large numbers.
What the price still pays for is revenue growing faster than procedures. On the first-quarter call, the CFO credited that largely to da Vinci 5 and its higher pricing. More than half of the da Vinci systems Intuitive placed in the second quarter were da Vinci 5.
On ****** ysts' 2026 estimates, today's price is about 35.1 times earnings. On their 2027 estimates, it is about 31.4 times. The revenue forecast behind that looks modest: about 13.1% growth a year through 2027, against 20.7% growth over the past twelve months.
Consensus has earnings and revenue growing at a similar pace between 2026 and 2027, so margins hold roughly steady. Intuitive enters that stretch with an operating margin of 31.3% over the past twelve months, above its three-year average of 27.7%.
#intuitive #analysts #year #procedures
1 month ago
Bunker fuel prices for ships remain at historically elevated levels, keeping pressure on vessel operating costs even as the marine-fuel supply squeeze that followed disruption around the Strait of Hormuz has eased at major fueling hubs.
In Singapore, the world's largest bunkering center, very-low-sulphur fuel oil, or VLSFO, was ******* sed at about $908 per metric ton this week, while marine gasoil (MGO) stood at $1,448 per ton and high-sulphur fuel oil at roughly $770 per ton, according to ******* yst Ship & Bunker.
At Rotterdam, Europe's busiest port, VLSFO was about $731 per ton, compared with $804 per ton in Houston and $1,005 per ton in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
The premium at Fujairah, the Middle East's principal bunker hub, shows the continuing impact of constrained traffic and supply-chain disruption in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Bunkering activity at Fujairah has recovered to about 40% of its prewar level, according to industry comments reported from the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference, but remains well below normal.
Costs still far above January
#fuel #strait #hormuz #supply
In Singapore, the world's largest bunkering center, very-low-sulphur fuel oil, or VLSFO, was ******* sed at about $908 per metric ton this week, while marine gasoil (MGO) stood at $1,448 per ton and high-sulphur fuel oil at roughly $770 per ton, according to ******* yst Ship & Bunker.
At Rotterdam, Europe's busiest port, VLSFO was about $731 per ton, compared with $804 per ton in Houston and $1,005 per ton in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
The premium at Fujairah, the Middle East's principal bunker hub, shows the continuing impact of constrained traffic and supply-chain disruption in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Bunkering activity at Fujairah has recovered to about 40% of its prewar level, according to industry comments reported from the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference, but remains well below normal.
Costs still far above January
#fuel #strait #hormuz #supply
1 month ago
XLE's put/call ratio hit 2.57, with the most crowded trade being a one-month put that only pays off if energy stocks drop 12%.
USO has surged 126% YTD, but $6 diesel and freight earnings warnings of 5 to 10% signal that high crude is becoming an economic drag.
If energy breaks, defensive rotation candidates XLP (up 10% YTD) and XLV (up 25% over one year) stand to benefit.
Read More: Avoid these 13 retirement mistakes before they derail your future (sponsor)
Energy is the year's best-performing sector, and on Wednesday the options market bet heavily that it is about to break. Volume in Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA:XLE) options ran roughly 70% above normal, with more than twice as many puts as calls changing hands and nine of the ten busiest contracts on the day being puts. The single most crowded trade was a 57-strike put expiring one month out, a structure that only pays off if XLE falls roughly 12% from here. Our own full-chain read on XLE puts a live put/call ratio at 2.57, with ratios above 16 at the Sept. 23 expiration and above 13 at Sept. 25.
#above #call #ratio #trade
USO has surged 126% YTD, but $6 diesel and freight earnings warnings of 5 to 10% signal that high crude is becoming an economic drag.
If energy breaks, defensive rotation candidates XLP (up 10% YTD) and XLV (up 25% over one year) stand to benefit.
Read More: Avoid these 13 retirement mistakes before they derail your future (sponsor)
Energy is the year's best-performing sector, and on Wednesday the options market bet heavily that it is about to break. Volume in Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA:XLE) options ran roughly 70% above normal, with more than twice as many puts as calls changing hands and nine of the ten busiest contracts on the day being puts. The single most crowded trade was a 57-strike put expiring one month out, a structure that only pays off if XLE falls roughly 12% from here. Our own full-chain read on XLE puts a live put/call ratio at 2.57, with ratios above 16 at the Sept. 23 expiration and above 13 at Sept. 25.
#above #call #ratio #trade
