Procter & Gamble has raised its dividend for 70 straight years while Johnson & Johnson covers its roughly $12.6 billion dividend run rate 1.56 times with free cash flow.
Coca-Cola posted its strongest Trademark volume growth in 17 years, and ADP's operating cash flow covers its dividend more than twice over while still funding buybacks.
Lowe's carries the lowest payout ratio in the group at 41% and trades at just 15 times earnings after falling 24% year to date.
Read More: Learn 7 ways to generate income with a $1,000,000+ portfolio (sponsor)
Yield is relatively easy to find. A dividend that keeps arriving through recessions, patent cliffs and housing slumps is much harder to find, and that kind of reliability is the hook for this group. Every name below covers its payout with real cash flow, has a long record of raises and keeps its payout ratio at a level that leaves room for mistakes. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) sets the standard: management says its latest increase marks the 70th consecutive year of dividend increases and 136th consecutive year of dividend payments, putting it firmly in the Dividend Kings club (we ranked ten of them by valuation in a free report here). The other four pair long dividend records with cash flow that covers the payout.

#cash #year #procter #gamble

The government has spent at least $2.5 million on the ads.
President Donald Trump said Monday night that he will no longer use taxpayer funds to pay for a multimillion-dollar pro-Trump ad blitz ahead of the midterm elections, saying his super PAC will now pay for them.
While he dismissed criticism of the ads as "a rather standard thing to do," he said he had decided to run them on his own dime rather than that of the U.S. government in a post on his social media platform.
"I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc," Trump wrote, referring to his super PAC.
The move comes after the U.S. government bankrolled a series of ads that aired nationally and heavily featured the president. One of the ads was a direct copy of a spot Trump's campaign ran in 2024.

#Trump #president #super #MAGA

President Trump has announced that the administration will send a one-time $90 payment to 21 million people enrolled in Medicare Part B coverage. The payments will be issued automatically to qualified Medicare beneficiaries starting this week.
Not everyone enrolled in Medicare Part B will be paid. There are over 70 million people enrolled in Medicare, with almost 63 million in Part B, which covers general medical care and preventive health services.
In a White House statement, the president said the "premium rebates" are intended to help "enrollees pay for their Medicare Part B premiums."
The standard Part B premium is $202.90 for 2026, up from $185 in 2025.
Read more: Medicare changes coming in 2027: What to know before open enrollment

#part #president #premium #House

Updated on: October 5, 2026 / 7:29 PM EDT / CBS News
President Trump said Monday he will start paying for the pro-Trump ads that have blanketed the airwaves in recent weeks with money raised by his super PAC, after his administration drew intense pushback for using public funds on the ads.
"The Radical Left is upset with the fact that I am taking Ads, which I consider to be a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A., and paying for them with U.S.A. money," the president wrote on Truth Social. "This is a rather standard thing to do but, rather than doing that, although nothing will make them happy, I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc."
Emblazoned with the message "Paid for by the U.S. Government," the ads began popping up late last month on national cable and broadcast networks, including CBS, as the November midterm elections approach.
Several variations have aired, including one that features a recording of Mr. Trump saying, "We will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America," as photos of the president flash across the screen. Another recounts the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

#paying

In the ever-evolving world of entertainment, some stars who once dominated red carpets and box office charts have stepped out of the limelight, leaving fans wondering where they went and what they're up to now. The stories behind these familiar faces range from personal choices to industry shifts, but one thing remains: their impact on pop culture is undeniable. Join us as we take a look at 15 beloved actors whose talent left a mark, even if they're seldom seen in today's headlines.
KCS Presse / MEGA
As the face of a beloved supernatural TV series and memorable big-screen hits, Sarah Michelle Gellar became synonymous with strong, complex female characters. Her presence influenced an entire generation of viewers and inspired countless fans. Though her projects are less frequent now, her influence remains in the genre she helped popularize. Gellar led the supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer for seven seasons, as reported by Variety.
LISA OConnor/AFF-USA / MEGA
Twice lauded for her deeply moving portrayals in dramatic films, Hilary Swank's performances set a standard for commitment and resilience. She's taken creative control of her career, often shifting between acting and producing, and remains a steady but selective presence in the industry. Her legacy is defined by her transformative roles and ongoing dedication to meaningful stories. Swank claimed the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry and again for her role as a boxer in Million Dollar Baby, according to Britannica.

#fans #stories

President Donald Trump on Saturday pressured Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas to support a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, urging Americans to call what appeared to be the personal cellphone number of Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House in July, but it faces roadblocks in the Senate where some Republicans are strongly opposed. Proponents, including the White House, argue that the change would provide more daylight during the times that Americans are most active. Detractors said permanent daylight saving time would lead to darker and potentially more hazardous winter mornings when children will be waiting for school buses and parents will be driving to work in darkness.
It was a remarkable escalation on Trump's part of a longstanding fixation shared by both men — with Trump supporting making daylight saving time permanent, and Cotton vociferously opposed — at a time just weeks before the midterms, when Republicans would prefer that the president focus on talking about affordability issues and the party's achievements. Cotton is also up for reelection this November, although that race is not expected to be competitive.
Daylight saving time is that period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the United States are set one hour ahead of standard time. Not all states observe it — and under the bill, states can opt out of the change if their respective legislatures act to do so before the bill's enactment.
"It's a lot of work for a lot of people, running around for two days, changing all the clocks in the house," Trump told reporters as his left the White House on Saturday for a rally in Vandalia, Ohio. "It discombobulates everybody," he said.

#House #Trump #saving #states

A judge in Nova Scotia, Canada, has dismissed the ******* ual ******* ault case against Trailer Park Boys actor Mike Smith.
The trial was set to begin in provincial court in Dartmouth on Thursday, but after the Crown provided no evidence against Smith, the actor's attorneys requested the case be dismissed.
The 54-year-old actor, who plays the character Bubbles on the Canadian sitcom, was charged last year for an alleged ******* ual ******* ault in 2017.
Prosecutor Bryson McDonald told reporters outside court that the Crown offered no evidence in relation to the charge "based on the Crown's ongoing ******* sment that the prosecution standard has no longer been met".
McDonald would not go into further detail about the standard not being met or why, but said his office has been in regular communication with the complainant throughout the process.

#crown #dismissed #case #actor

Kylie Kelce issues apology to Kate Middleton after royal blunder originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Kylie Kelce has issued an apology to Kate Middleton after making a royal mistake.
The wife of former Philadelphia Eagles star and current TV ******* yst Jason Kelce apologized to the future queen on Thursday after realizing she had incorrectly addressed the Princess of Wales on a recent episode of her "Not Gonna Lie" podcast.
Kylie, 34, had referred to Middleton as "Princess Kate" when she invited her onto the show to talk about motherhood and field hockey.
And apparently that's a little too informal for royal standards.

#royal

CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images
Evening Standard / Getty Images
Even wilder, Beatles insider Chris O'Dell says she was actually sitting at Ringo's kitchen table when George finally told him, "I'm in love with your wife." According to O'Dell, Ringo responded, "Better you than someone we don't know." O'Dell said Ringo was nevertheless heartbroken by what happened. (Ringo got remarried in 1981 to Bond girl Barbara Bach, so he's doing alright!)
Somehow, George and Ringo's friendship survived and they worked together many more times (notably on the Beatles' reunion tracks "Free as a Bird," "Real Love," and "Now and Then.") When George died in 2001, Ringo called him "a best friend of mine," adding, "I loved him very much."
Vinnie Zuffante / Getty Images

#images #archive

Is there any investment market segment more debated than gold (XAUUSD)? I'm not sure there is. We have "gold bugs," including those who see the yellow metal as the ***** et to own when the world goes haywire.
Then, there are the "we're going back on the gold standard" types. The ones that preceded crypto bros in believing fiat currencies weren't for this world. It follows that gold would return to its former role as the reserve currency.
Get exclusive insights with the FREE Barchart Brief newsletter. Subscribe now for quick, incisive midday market ***** ysis you won't find anywhere else.
Of course, there are also plenty of investors who don't really think about gold investing very much, and who will simply trade it when there's a good opportunity. I'm in this camp.
Financial media pundits routinely tout gold as some sort of bulletproof allocation. Inflation worries? Own gold. Currency debasement? Own gold. Want your kitchen to be decorated like the Oval Office? You'll need a lot of gold.

#Gold #free #barchart #brief

On September 8, 2026, Reuters reported that ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) plans to work with major customers. It includes Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM), Nvidia, Intel, Samsung, and SK Hynix to adapt its next-generation "High NA" extreme ultraviolet lithography tools so they can print larger data-center chips. It addresses a current limitation where the newer machines use a smaller mask than ASML's widely deployed standard EUV tools.
ASML targets a pilot production line using the larger masks by 2031 and high-volume manufacturing readiness by 2033. Chief technology officer Marco Pieters said these changes could lift the productivity of these systems by roughly 40%.
The larger-mask project could create a new growth opportunity for ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) while helping TSMC manufacture larger AI chips more efficiently. ASML plans to use its High NA EUV tools to handle chips as large as today's biggest data-center processors. The business expects the larger masks to increase system productivity by 40%. It could scale up demand for its next-generation equipment and help TSMC improve the economics of producing increasingly large and complex chips.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)'s planned use gives ASML a clear path toward commercializing the technology. TSMC plans to introduce High NA EUV into advanced-node high-volume production from 2030. ASML aims to show its larger-mask technology through a pilot line in 2031. TSMC's commitment could give ASML greater visibility into future equipment demand. Early use could help TSMC maintain its advanced-chip manufacturing advantage.
The collaboration could solidify both companies' positions as chipmakers develop larger and more powerful processors. ASML can extend its High NA roadmap beyond its current chip-size limitation. TSMC can prepare its manufacturing processes for the next generation of AI chips. The partnership gives ASML an opportunity to deepen its relationship with one of its largest customers and gives TSMC access to a technology that could support future advanced-chip production.

#asml #technology #plans #next

(NEXSTAR) – The days getting shorter serve as a reminder that we’re barreling toward the end of our seasonal observation of daylight saving time, but the wheels may be in motion to stop that – a move more than a dozen states have been waiting to happen.
Earlier this year, the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent throughout the U.S., with few exceptions. It’s been held up in the Senate since July but, now that the chamber has returned from recess, there’s a chance the legislation could be picked up.
If it can pass the Senate, the bill seems to stand a fair chance of becoming law, with President Trump already expressing support.
For more than a dozen states, this is the closest they’ve been in years to seeing some of their own legislation finally take effect. The U.S. hasn’t been this close to permanent daylight saving time since a version of the Sunshine Protection Act passed in the Senate in 2022 but fizzled in the House.
At present, states are only allowed to opt into year-round permanent standard time, as Hawaii and much of Arizona have done. But that hasn’t stopped 19 states from enacting legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent in their jurisdiction, pending approval from Congress.

#House

Definium Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DFTX) has now delivered a third consecutive positive Phase 3 readout for its LSD-based medication, the second in generalized anxiety disorder. The result puts the company on a viable route toward a potential FDA approval of an LSD-based treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, and considering how closely psychedelic stocks have historically traded on each other's data, the reading carries far more weight than Definium's own ticker.
On September 14, Definium Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DFTX) announced that its drug DT120, an orally disintegrating tablet formulation of LSD, was successful in Panorama, the company's second late-stage anxiety trial. Over 12 weeks, patients who received a 100-microgram dose experienced a 9.8-point decline on the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, a typical clinical measure, compared to a 4.7-point drop with placebo.
The resulting 5.1-point placebo-adjusted improvement is similar to what the company's first pivotal anxiety trial, Voyage, showed back in August: an 11.6-point improvement versus 6.2 for placebo, a 5.4-point separation that Jefferies called one of the strongest placebo-adjusted efficacy results ever seen in generalized anxiety disorder, and that Stifel simply described as "a clean win."
Psychedelic equities have a history of trading as a group rather than as individual names, and this tendency applies both ways. In February 2026, when Compass Pathways, the sector's other clinical leader developing a psilocybin-based drug for treatment-resistant depression, reported positive late-stage data, shares of Definium Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DFTX), Atai Beckley, GH Research, and Helus Pharma all rose, some by double digits.
That correlation is significant here because Definium's win is an independent validation of the broader therapeutic argument on which Compass and others are betting: a single dose of a classic psychedelic, administered in a controlled clinical setting, can produce lasting improvements in serious mental health conditions via pathways different from existing SSRIs and other standard-of-care drugs.

#definium #placebo

Elon Musk has never shied away from ambitious timelines, and his most recent one connects two companies directly together. In a post on X dated September 13, Musk stated that he is "highly confident" that **** e Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) will transport NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) Vera Rubin NVL72 AI computers into orbit next year, repeating a plan that has already moved both companies' stock this year.
The comment strengthens **** eX's Starmind concept, which aims to establish AI data centers in orbit rather than on the ground. The first satellite, named Starmind AI1, will carry a **** e-optimized version of NVIDIA's Vera Rubin NVL72 rack-scale system. The standard terrestrial NVL72 combines 72 Rubin GPUs and 36 Vera CPUs, although **** eX and NVIDIA have not disclosed the final configuration of the orbital version. **** e Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) plans to launch the satellite in the fourth quarter of 2027 and reach substantial scale by 2028. Musk's plan isn't new; during **** eX's first earnings conference as a public company in August, he stated that the company would build exclusively on NVIDIA hardware in the future, calling the Vera Rubin architecture the best available AI computer design.
Musk's central point is that **** e is, in the long run, the most cost-effective area to develop AI computing. He cites solar power availability in orbit as a crucial advantage, and estimates that within two to three years, **** e might become the lowest-cost place for AI computing in general, describing the orbital architecture as simpler, less expensive, denser, and lighter than a standard data-center rack. Not everyone believes the physics and economics will align on Musk's timeframe. Microsoft President Brad Smith has publicly questioned the broader concept, telling reporters that he would be surprised if companies actually transferred computation from land to low-Earth orbit.
For NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), the read-through is simple: **** e-based computing would represent a new, if early-stage and speculative, source of demand for its Vera Rubin platform, on top of the company's strong position in terrestrial AI infrastructure. According to some **** yst models, **** eX accounts for approximately 5% of NVIDIA's revenue.
SpaceX's reasoning is more convoluted. The plan is entirely dependent on the success of Starship, **** eX's next-generation rocket system, which still needs to demonstrate its capacity to handle launch frequency and reliability on the scale Musk describes. When Musk said during **** eX's August earnings call that the company would build its future AI infrastructure exclusively on NVIDIA, NVDA shares rose more than 4%, while **** eX's shares fell more than 10% before paring losses, reflecting investor concerns about execution risk and capital intensity, despite the fact that the NVIDIA relationship was well received.

#Companies

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

The CLARITY Act failed to pass votes in the Senate earlier this week, a piece of legislature that would set out guardrails and ground rules for crypto **** ets in the U.S. With the failure of passage, the Securities and Exchange Commission took matters into its own hands, passing a conditional exemption Thursday for tokenized stocks. This Innovation Exemption allows for a limited type of tokenized securities to trade on specific Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs), giving them a 5-year runway to prove their trading chops.
Tokenization is one of the latest trends in the investing world, whereby an **** et is represented digitally on a blockchain. It's seen as the next frontier in finance, with digital trading opening up greater access both for a broader investor base as well as the potential to trade 24/7, while also offering the potential for increased efficiency. However, some argue that tokenized **** ets come with added, unique risks and that by moving investments to the blockchain you introduce greater exposure to bad actors in an as-yet unregulated **** e in the U.S. That is, until now.
The SEC exemption allows for a specific type of tokenized stocks to be traded, specifically ones that retain the investor rights of the stock they are tied to (voting and dividends for example). Only tokenized U.S. National Market System (NMS) stocks qualify that trade through U.S. venues who have established standards for who can trade, limit trading volumes to a certain percentage of the stock, and make public their trading activities as well as any affiliates on the TSV. In addition, venues must halt trading when the primary exchange halts, and leverage is not permitted. Any company that does not want tokenized shares has 30 days to object and prevent their shares from being created.
It's important to note that currently there are two main types of tokenized securities, those that are directly linked to the **** et they represent digitally and those that provide synthetic exposure. Of the two, only the direct exposure tokenized stocks qualify that meet all of the exemption's restrictions.
"The Commission is not cementing today's technology as the standard for tomorrow. Instead, it is allowing the market to evolve, monitoring its development, and using that insight to inform a nimbler and future-ready regulatory framework," SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in a statement.

#exposure #commission

Credit card companies are racing to claim a place at the checkout when AI agents start shopping on behalf of consumers—even as shoppers remain skeptical of letting bots spend their money.
Mastercard rolled out a payment option Thursday that lets people give an AI agent a virtual card and allow it to buy things online without checking in before each purchase. Cardholders can limit how much it spends, restrict which retailers it buys from, or require approval before checkout.
"This is a land grab for infrastructure standards," Phil Bruno, chief strategy and growth officer at payments company ACI Worldwide, told Fortune. "If they set the standards for agentic commerce, they can keep the commerce in their environments for decades to come."
Rival Visa partnered with Alchemy earlier this year and has also announced its own AI shopping and payment product, Visa Intelligent Commerce, which the company says is still being deployed. Similarly, Meta has Muse, which can search for products and navigate checkout, but presents the purchase for the user's final approval.
It seems, though, that shoppers appear far more interested in using AI to find a deal than letting it pay. Just 7% of U.S. and U.K. consumers surveyed who buy fashion items said they would allow an AI ***** istant to make purchases without approval under predefined conditions, according to research commissioned by ACI Worldwide. More than half said they were uncomfortable allowing AI to purchase on their behalf.

#purchase #consumers

XRP serves three live functions: cross-currency payment settlement, collateral at Ripple Prime, and streaming payments for AI software agents via Stripe's Machine Payments Protocol.
XRP's native Payment Channels enable streaming micropayments in one settlement transaction, a capability Ripple's own RLUSD stablecoin cannot yet match.
Agent payments remain in beta with zero live commercial volume, while payments and collateral already handle real institutional capital.
Just released. Our ****** ysts combed the entire stock market and named the ten best stocks to buy right now. The report is free. Enter your email and see if any of your stocks made the cut.
XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) serves three key functions. It facilitates payment settlements between currencies, acts as collateral for positions at prime brokers, and more recently, it covers expenses for software agents. The latter function was introduced through a standard co-authored by Stripe and Tempo, using XRP in a way Ripple's own dollar stablecoin has yet to achieve.

#payment #live #settlement #Streaming

Google on Friday disclosed the first known instance of its artificial intelligence software, Gemini, carrying out an undirected computer hack, weeks after similar disclosures by AI firms Anthropic and OpenAI raised security alarms about AI models going beyond the instructions of their human creators.
Google said in a statement that in May its AI model gained unauthorized access to three outside systems during a test by either guessing login information or using login credentials it found in a public repository.
Heather Adkins, a Google vice president for security engineering, said in the statement that the AI model thought that the outside computer systems “were part of the test,” but she said in all three instances, the model stopped before doing anything further with its access.
“In a standard evaluation, the model found public information online and guessed credentials to access websites it thought were part of the test,” she said.

#outside

Concerned about an AI bubble? Sign up for The Daily Upside for smart and actionable market news, built for investors.
The SEC isn't waiting for clarity with a capital C to give tokenized stocks the go-ahead.
On Thursday, Wall Street's watchdog issued a five-year order allowing trading venues to offer digital representations of company shares. The move ushers in a 24/7 type of trading that proponents say reduces counterparty risk through faster settlement. It also comes just days after the Senate blocked the Clarity Act, which would have provided a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. The new rule is "designed to resolve challenges that have prevented responsible innovation from taking root in the United States while providing investor protections and market integrity standards," SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said.
The "Innovation Exemption," which has been in the works for more than a year, shows the SEC is willing to set rules that could push crypto-related offerings forward without lawmakers' buy-in at a time when investors are hungry for digital ****** ets and trading firms are eager to meet their demand. That's good news for Robinhood and Coinbase, which both offer tokenized stocks overseas and whose own stocks climbed 5% and 6% respectively on Thursday.
Sign up for The Daily Upside at no cost for premium ****** ysis on all your favorite stocks.

#upside #clarity #market

Interested in Capital One Financial Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better.
Consumer credit remains resilient: Capital One reported strong spending, stable delinquencies and better-than-seasonal charge-offs, including among lower-income customers in its portfolio. Auto lending is also growing while the company maintains underwriting and margin standards.
Discover integration is progressing toward 2027 completion: New Discover card originations have moved to Capital One's platform, with the existing portfolio conversion expected to finish in January 2027 and broader integration substantially complete by mid-2027. Capital One has achieved about one-third of its targeted $1.5 billion in operating-expense synergies.
Capital One is expanding beyond lending: The company sees Brex as a strategic commercial-payments platform and plans to leverage its technology, marketing reach and small-business customer base. With a 13.7% common equity tier 1 ratio, management says it can fund investments while maintaining conservative capital and shareholder returns.
These 4 Earnings Reports Expose the Market's Growing Economic Divide

#company #integration #interested

Meta refused to remove a deepfake ad cloning Clark Howard's face to sell fraudulent insurance, telling him it meets their standards.
Meta earns nearly all of its $59 billion quarterly revenue from ads, giving automated systems little incentive to reject borderline content.
Credit cards are the only payment method offering strong fraud recovery; wire transfers, gift cards, and peer-to-peer payments are virtually unrecoverable.
Read More: Learn 7 secret wealth tips high net worth investors use that most investors miss (sponsor)
On his September 16 podcast, consumer advocate Clark Howard said an AI-generated Facebook ad cloning his face and voice is selling a fraudulent insurance product, and that the platform refuses to take it down.

#clark #face #fraudulent #insurance

For around 15 hours, immigration detention officers kept Raúl Suárez Herrero confined in a cage slightly larger than a phone booth, where he feared snakes and endured mosquitoes in the middle of Florida swampland, the former detainee alleged.
Suárez, 59, told José Díaz-Balart in an interview for Noticias Telemundo’s “Ahora 360” that he was forced into the cage, measuring 7 feet, 9 inches high and 4 feet, 3 inches square, for praying out loud for an ill young man at “Alligator Alcatraz,” an ICE detention site.
“I feel like I was in ****** ,” Suárez later told NBC News in a phone interview from Mexico, where he was deported.
Suárez spoke days after a Department of Homeland Security watchdog confirmed the use of the phone booth-sized cages at the now-shuttered Florida detention camp in a Sept. 11 report.
“The use of such restrictive ****** es is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment,” the report said.

#detention #phone #Florida #report

Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) say they would not have raised interest rates and discuss the impact of higher rates and inflation on consumers. Rep. Lawler says the Fed's decision demonstrated its independence and discusses President Trump's proposed $5,000 dividend and questions over how it would be paid for. Rep. Gottheimer says higher rates will hurt consumers through credit-card bills, housing payments and other costs. They also discuss their bipartisan Stop Rogue AI Act and the need for federal standards to identify and control AI agents, while keeping the US competitive in artificial intelligence. They speak with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg's "Balance of Power."

#rates #lawler #president

When planning for retirement, most people account for housing, travel, daily living expenses and general healthcare costs. However, it's easy to overlook one retirement expense: the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, commonly known as IRMAA.
If you have a large pension, substantial tax-deferred retirement accounts, or other variables that may elevate your retirement income, IRMAA is a factor you may encounter starting in your mid-60s. While it is unlikely to derail a well-constructed financial plan, failing to understand IRMAA and how to plan ahead for it can lead to frustrating annual surprises.
In the United States, most adults become eligible for Medicare when they turn 65. Medicare is divided into several parts, but IRMAA specifically applies to two of them: Part B (which covers doctor visits, outpatient care and preventive services) and Part D (prescription drug coverage).
For the average retiree, Medicare Part B carries a standard monthly base premium ($202.90 per month in 2026). Part D coverage varies depending on the specific private plan selected, but carries a national average base premium of roughly $38.99 per month. Combined, a standard retiree pays roughly $242 per month for basic Part B and Part D coverage, per Medicare.
However, Medicare premiums are not one-size-fits-all. If your income exceeds specific threshold limits set by the federal government, you will be required to pay an additional surcharge on top of your base monthly premiums. That additional surcharge is IRMAA.

#income #base

Freight fraud risks and carrier vetting are the focus as Highway Chief Commercial Officer Michael Caney joins FreightWaves Today. He breaks down what brokers, carriers and shippers need to watch right now when onboarding and monitoring capacity.If you work fraud prevention, carrier compliance or network procurement, this conversation gets straight to the operational takeaway without the fluff.#FreightFraud #CarrierVetting #SupplyChain
Carrier-vetting platform Highway is putting its balance sheet behind its fraud-detection product: if a broker moves freight using Highway's guarantee standard and loses a load, Highway writes a check for $100,000. The company's chief commercial officer said the program covers the vast majority of carrier capacity in North America — and has paid out only once across roughly one million loads.
Of the approximately 175,000 carriers that move freight for freight brokers, Highway says more than 82% qualify for the guarantee tier. "What I would tell you is the industry keeps trying to solve for the bottom 18% of the market," the CCO said. "And what we're saying is if you will just move your freight to this cohort of carriers, which is the majority of capacity in North America, not only will you be fine, but Highway will stand behind it with a performance guarantee."
"The average cargo theft is not the $100,000, it's $250,000. This idea that a motor carrier can just show up and say, hey man, I'm gonna need this cargo, it's $250 grand, I'm good for it, is bananas."
The single payout to date stemmed from an identity-design flaw tied to California's non-domiciled limited-term licensing rules. A fraudulent carrier obtained a new license through California's process, resubmitted in Highway's system, and the alert dropped off before the bug was caught and fixed — costing Highway $100,000. The CCO described theft events as a "Swiss cheese" of compounding decisions rather than a single failure point, and said Highway continuously monitors for ownership changes, inbox compromises, and cyber anomalies within the guarantee framework.

#carriers #capacity #America

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday, the first increase since July 2023, with Fed Chair Kevin Warsh saying inflation has been "too high ... for too long."
The decision, reached by a unanimous 12-0 vote of the Federal Open Market Committee, brings the federal funds rate to a new target range of 3.75%–4%. The Fed's post-meeting statement pointed to persistent price pressures and a durable economy, declaring: "Inflation remains elevated. Today's policy action will support a timelier return to the Committee's 2 percent goal. The Committee will deliver price stability."
At a news conference following the decision, Warsh said the Fed needed to be confident "that underlying inflation is moving to our objective clearly and at sufficient speed," adding that the FOMC had determined "this standard has not been satisfied." He pointed to three converging factors — a robust labor market, inflation still running above target, and ongoing conflict in the Middle East — as driving the committee's unanimous vote.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed more than 400 points in afternoon trading following the Fed's move. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also slumped.
Updated economic projections released Wednesday showed FOMC participants nudged their inflation forecasts higher. The median projection for headline PCE inflation this year rose to 3.7% and core PCE to 3.4%, each up 0.1 percentage point from the June forecast, the Fed said. Officials do not expect inflation to return to the 2% target until 2029. The median unemployment rate projection for 2026 fell to 4.1%, down from 4.3% in June, while the GDP growth outlook rose to 2.3% from 2.2%.

#federal #rate #committee

When a spouse dies, Social Security drops to one check, but fixed costs like taxes, amenity fees, and utilities do not drop at all.
A surviving single filer's standard deduction drops from $31,500 to $15,750 and Medicare surcharges kick in at half the income threshold.
Run the survivor math now: fixed costs minus survivor income, divided by 3.5% withdrawal rate, reveals if the portfolio actually covers it.
Read More: Learn 7 secret wealth tips high net worth investors use that most investors miss (sponsor)
People often ask about retiring to a place like The Villages in central Florida, and the math usually works for a healthy couple. What almost **** ody asks, until it is too late to plan for, is what happens when the couple becomes one person in the same house. Widowhood, divorce, a spouse moving into memory care. One of you will almost certainly face it. Here is what the numbers actually look like on the other side of that day.

#income

Teradyne, Inc. (TER) is a technology company that designs and manufactures automated test equipment and advanced robotics systems, with a market capitalization of approximately $51.5 billion. Based in North Reading, Massachusetts, the company's semiconductor and electronics testing solutions help customers maintain quality standards, while its collaborative and mobile robots support manufacturing and warehouse operations across businesses of various sizes.
Companies valued between $10 billion and $200 billion are generally classified as "large-cap stocks," and Teradyne comfortably fits this category. Its edge comes from its leading role in automated testing and robotics, serving several industries, from semiconductors to automotive and aerospace. Its diversified product portfolio, strong brand, stable revenue, healthy profit margins, and consistent cash generation support continued investment in technology and long-term 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'
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Just Dropped Huge News for This Cybersecurity Stock
How to Play GME Stock as GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen Buys $20.3 Million in Shares

#robotics #support

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bipartisan bill aimed at shielding Americans from increased electricity costs **** ociated with data centers being built across the country.
The Ratepayer Protection Act, which passed with an overwhelming 417-3 majority, "ensures American families are not left footing the bill for the grid upgrades and new energy generation required to operate large data centers," Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, one of the bill's sponsors, said ahead of the vote.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where its prospects of passing are uncertain.
The Ratepayer Protection Act is the first major piece of legislation taken up by Congress to address the growing public discontent over the mass buildout of data centers among the American public. Even if it passes, though, it won't directly set the rates that data center operators pay for their electricity.
Congress doesn't have the power to compel utilities to set higher rates for the facilities. Only states have that authority. What the Ratepayer Protection Act would do is compel state utility regulators to consider adopting a federal standard under which large data centers would cover the extra costs of upgrades. The bill is comparable to a proclamation signed by President Trump earlier this year that established a similar voluntary pledge for tech companies.

#passed