Author: starbpo

After quitting his semiconductor-engineering job last year, 35-year-old Jacob Keeton left his hometown of Beaverton, Ore., and embarked on a 12,000-mile road trip across America and back. Over the span of 11 weeks, Keeton drove through Idaho, Utah, Oklahoma and many other states, visiting over a dozen national parks on his journey. The ultimate destination and reason behind Keeton’s voyage was an unassuming six square miles of land hugging the Atlantic Ocean. For decades, Wallops Island, Va., has been home to a NASA rocket-testing facility. More recently, it’s begun to accommodate launch pads for an aerospace company called Rocket Lab…

What happened: Supermicro Computer (SMCI) stock tumbled as much as 13% at the open on Wednesday. What’s behind the move: The AI server maker announced plans to raise approximately $7 billion through a combination of equity and equity-linked financing. Supermicro said the capital will be used to purchase components to fulfill roughly $39 billion in AI server orders it received in recent weeks. The move highlights the strong demand for AI-related hardware but also raises concerns about shareholder dilution. Shares of Supermicro extended declines from Tuesday, when the stock dropped 12%. Year to date, the stock is up 38% amid a boom in AI…

According to the data, annual consumer price inflation is currently at a three-year high, making it difficult for the Fed to lower interest rates. Futures on stocks point to a difficult future. Wall Street is beginning to worry about whether the technology/AI trade will continue to be profitable. Our call of the day from Barclays’ global head of equity tactical strategies, Alex Altmann, is to put a hold on US stocks due to a concerning technical setup. Typically, the strategist is not an anxious person. In March, when the Iran dispute was still in its early stages, he exhorted investors…

Up until this week, Japan’s biggest stock by market value had a very optimistic start to 2026, but it has abruptly changed direction. In the previous five trading sessions, SoftBank shares have dropped by more than a fifth due to rumors that the company is having trouble obtaining a loan, which corresponds with some faltering in the general narrative for technology equities tied to artificial intelligence. SoftBank (JP:9984) fell more than 11% at one point on Tuesday alone in Tokyo before somewhat rising to close down 8.3%. A Bloomberg report that SoftBank was having trouble raising a $10 billion loan,…

Low-volatility stocks produce returns almost as good as the S&P 500 with far fewer gut-wrenching price swings. Low-volatility stocks promise to dampen investors’ portfolio risk while nevertheless allowing them to remain invested in the stock market. But do they live up to their promise? They do. Even though low-volatility stocks’ advantage has diminished, these stocks on average are able to produce returns almost as good as the overall market while incurring significantly less volatility. That’s a winning combination, which would be attractive at any time, but especially now with the stock market so overvalued. As I discussed in a recent…

An aerial-drone view of a crude-oil storage facility in Cushing, Okla. Crude inventories are at their lowest levels in years in the U.S. amid a war with Iran that’s dragged on for months. There are growing worries that U.S. commercial oil inventories are too low for comfort as the war with Iran enters its fourth month far from a clear resolution – and a lot hinges on how much longer the conflict drags on. Inventories are the shock absorbers of the energy world: They smooth out the tension between the ups and downs of supply and the usually steady pace…

On Monday, Anthropic announced that it has secretly submitted the necessary papers for an IPO, surpassing rival artificial intelligence firm OpenAI in the process. The action “gives us the option to go public after the SEC completes its review,” according to a statement from Anthropic. The date of the IPO, according to the company, will be determined by various factors, including market circumstances. There are no established terms regarding the quantity of shares or the price. Over the past few years, completing IPO documents in confidence has grown in popularity. It enables businesses to get regulatory input prior to the…

With their 2025 taxes, millions of taxpayers are receiving greater refunds. For individuals who qualify for the deduction, there are larger savings for state and local property taxes. This year, SALT has been delightful for taxpayers. The first tax season under the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act has been going well for those who have been able to benefit from a significantly bigger federal deduction for state and local taxes paid, one of many tax advantages in a massive new tax law. Income-tax refunds are 11% higher than they were a year ago, according to Internal Revenue Service statistics,…

In the third season of HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” Harry Collett plays Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, who rides a dragon. In the competition for streaming viewers in June, only dragons dare take on the World Cup. Alright, that may be overstated. With a few noteworthy exceptions, like HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” Apple’s “Cape Fear,” and Hulu’s “The Bear,” streaming providers are mostly cutting back on programming in June to give primetime to the World Cup, the world’s most watched sporting event. Additionally, the full soccer competition may be webcast this year, which is a first for American viewers who…

Because of the current trade wars, Americans believe they don’t have much faith in the economy. However, given how much people spend, particularly on food and beverages they didn’t prepare themselves, you’d never know it. Indeed, there was a significant slowdown in household expenditure in April, but this was primarily due to tariffs. In order to prevent price rises brought on by tariffs, Americans increased their spending on vehicles and other products in March before cutting back in April. However, it is unclear that consumer spending will increase in the coming months as negotiations with other nations and court battles…