Stock Info Nets

Alphabet (GOOGL) remains a top pick for 2026, having outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin since 2024. Alphabet announced an plan to buy data center developer intersect for $4.75 billion to secure power for US data centers.

Japan is my Darkhorse candidate for being ground zero of the next gigantic banking/financial/economic crisis. Use of AI by investors and intermediaries can generate externalities and spillovers.

Lennar is selling more homes, but at much lower prices, including lower prices per square foot. Revenues from homebuilding fell 6.9% year-over-year. DP Penn says the BLS report is not biased just massively incomplete due to government shutdown. Wolf Richter says September number was a complete and total outlier. Italian police are investigating ties of Mohamed Hannoun and his NGO (based in Genova) to Hamas. Rents for single-family homes have spiked in San Francisco, Chicago, NY City, Rochester, Kansas City… rose more slowly in others… fell in Austin, Denver, San Antonio, Phoenix… Condo prices in Oakland, CA, dropped 1.5% in November. Using AI wastes tons of energy and is bad for the planet and makes the “owner’ think the AI is valued and useful and so can replace workers. China has seen a number of big changes in the innovation pipeline over the years. Interest payments by the federal government on its monstrous Treasury debt rose by $10 billion (+3.3%) in Q3 from Q2, to $300 billion. Interest payments ate up 33.2% of tax receipts available to pay for interest expense. The worst possible solution is to kick the can to our children and their children. Wolf Richter: Higher inflation would mean higher wage increases. Gold is NOT a currency but as a reserve has overtaken US $ securities in the worlds other central banks for the first time since 1996. The way out is big economic growth (which will cause tax revenues to grow), moderate inflation and some budget discipline. Chris Martenson suggests a huge increase in investment called greenfield FDI. Computer chips are essential to every high-value product in a modern economy. Only a small sliver of the Chinese top AI researchers working in America has gone back to their home country since 2019. This section is for generalists. The specific investment implications are found in the subsequent Investing section. Since Nov 24, the accumulated losses by silver shorts is a staggering $14.5 billion. Discrimination against White men rose significantly in America starting in the mid-2010s. Japan lost the future in 2008, not in 1990, writes Ito Takatoshi. Japanese workers produced less per hour in 2019 than in 2007. Abenomics aims to revitalize existing Japanese companies. Japan struggled to attract skilled foreign workers in the 2010s. Young workers often have low salaries, since they expect to get steady raises over the course of their careers. A Netflix series depicting the life that awaits foreign workers and entrepreneurs in Japan could potentially be a big hit. Barry L. Ritholtz: Wealthy families are launching offices to manage their money at a record clip. Howard Stern set to be canceled after a stunning 20-year run on SiriusXM. Howards audience dropped anywhere from 5x to 10x what was misreported. Kevin Hassett is now an 85% favorite to become the next Federal Reserve Chair after Jerome Powell. UK has formally created a new property category for crypto. SEC filed a complaint against AI Wealth, Lane Wealth, AIIEF, and Zenith Asset Tech Foundation. Tokyo-listed Metaplanets has spent roughly $3.78 billion accumulating bitcoin at an average cost of about $107,600. Firm has set an ambitious target of owning 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027. Bitcoin price hovered below $90,000 near $80,000 today as traders made late push to recover year-end losses during thin holiday trading. Solana is the sixth-largest crypto asset by market cap. Pudgy Penguins is expected to have paid up to $600,000 to wrap the Dogwifhat Sphere for seven days. China controls 94% of permanent magnet production and 90% of rare earth refining. Analysts told Decrypt the companies may be entering too late to overtake early leaders like Polymarket and Kalshi. Pump.fun started paying people to post clips of the launchpads top creators, the opposite of traditional livestreaming platforms, which require their creators to source, manage, and pay these “clippers”

Sanmina carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 38.9% over the last 60 days. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation carries a. Zacks rank #1 and has a PEG ratio of 0.64.

Qualcomm completes acquisition of Alphawave Semi. Alphawaves expertise in high-speed connectivity technologies complements Qualcomm Oryon CPU and Hexagon NPU processors. Qualcomm has promised significant GPU upgrades with the X2 generation.

CoreWeave — a tech company most consumers have never heard of — has shed 60 percent of its stock value, wiping out about $33billion in paper wealth. Sakana AI sends a signal that Japan is a viable destination for international investment in the software industry.

Greg Abel, vice chairman overseeing non-insurance operations, will succeed Warren Buffett as CEO effective January 1, 2026.

Dystrophin is a very large protein that is an integral part of a complex that stabilizes muscle cells during cycles of contraction and relaxation. Sarepta Therapeutics has attempted to solve this problem with Elevidys.

US dollar as global reserve currency: USD share drops to lowest since 1994. Rental growth in September 2025 was the lowest its been in 15 years. Michelle Leder says the burdensome reporting requirements are leading American companies to stay private.

Halliburton is launching international arbitration proceedings to extort money from Venezuela. Sakana sends a signal that Japan is a viable destination for AI investment.

Metaplanet buys 4,279 bitcoin, lifts total holdings to 35,102 BTC. YETI Holdings has a lower P/E than the aggregate P.E of the Leisure Products industry.

UnitedHealthcare is delaying implementation of a policy limiting coverage for remote physiologic monitoring. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, the insurer was set to limit reimbursement for remote patient monitoring of physiologic services to two conditions. Despite the measures, UnitedHealths stock is down more than 35%.

US Rents for Single-Family Homes Surge, Pull further away from Multifamily by Wolf Richter. 14 of the largest 20 largest largest IPOs trade below their IPO price.

Walmart shares have risen about 24% so far in 2025, helped by e-commerce turning profitable, expanded automation and expanded automation. All three surviving children, Rob, Jim and Alice Walton, are firmly in the. Walmart now delivers to 95% of homes in three hours or less. Retail media has not been figured out for AI-generated transactions yet

PS contributors predict a year marked by escalating geopolitical risks and deepening economic fragmentation. The danger of militarism is not that the United States will abruptly abandon democratic forms; it is that militarized governance will slowly displace the civil norms on which those forms depend.

CoreWeave, a tech company most consumers have never heard of, has shed 60 percent of its stock value, wiping out about $33billion in paper wealth. Losses attributed to the devaluation of the Venezuelan bolívar and the deteriorating economic and political conditions in Venezuela. Sakana AI. startup that raised $214 million, and valued the company at $1.5 billion, and the most likely outcome is that The Future Space Vehicle high finsressedaddressTok� classic shut

Atmos Energy outperforms the S&P 500 by 11.27 percentage points over the past year. Atmos energy raised its fiscal 2025 earnings guidance to $7.35-$7.45 per share.

UnitedHealthcare is delaying implementation of a policy limiting coverage for remote physiologic monitoring. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, the insurer was set to limit reimbursement for remote patient monitoring of physiologic.

An estimated quarter of American men suffer from ED. Haleon is looking to bring this technological approach to other conditions and disease states.

Rental growth in September 2025 was the lowest its been in 15 years. Halliburton was one of a number of US oil services companies that was forced to cease all operations in Venezuela in 2020. US dollar share drops to lowest level since 1994.

Chevron deference gave agencies the benefit of the doubt when statutes are unclear. In the absence of the legal doctrine, agencies will have to make the case that its approach is best interpretation of federal law. Washington steps up interdictions targeting Venezuelan oil flows outside approved channels. Chevron-linked cargoes were able to discharge at U.S.

Chevron is a much bigger company with a market capitalization nearly triple that of ConocoPhillips. Shares of COP are down 4.25% as of Dec. 2013.

Warren Buffett steps back this week as Berkshire Hathaway enters a new era - The Boston Globe. Greg Abel faces the challenge of taking over from the legendary Buffett.

Blackbaud hosted bbcon London tech conference for social impact change-makers and nonprofit leaders. The event, the largest in five years, convened hundreds of customers, colleagues and partners to discuss best practices, share stories of impact. Bauer Radios Cash for Kids, the official charity of Bauer Media, was presented with the Changemaker Impact Award.

How Johnson & Johnson has somehow survived scandal after scandal. Tylenol almost caused the company to crash, according to reports. The company had to rescue the franchise, but how? Johnson & Johnson was already working on tamper-­resistant packaging, so when the Tylenol poisonings happened, it “lost little time in publicly exonerating’s company,” writes Gardiner Harris. “Corporate gaslighting on an epic scale.” Lawyer who got $1.5b talc verdict against johnson & johnson: the amount is overwhelming

Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (NYSE:BSBR) is the subsidiary of the international bank Banco. The broader market conditions have proved to be significant headwinds for the company.

Orthofix Medical is positioned for growth - orthofix medical (nasdaq:ofix) - benzinga.com. Canaccord Genuity analyst Caitlin Cronin writes that over two years have passed since OrthofIX. Orthofix Medical Inc. is a medical device company delivering orthopedic and spine solutions to healthcare providers. Shares were trading at $15.44 as of October 31.

Charles Schwab posted revenues of $6.14 billion for the quarter ended September 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.00% Charles Schwabb shares have added about 27.5% since the beginning of the year.

Morgan Stanley bumped its price target for Apple stock by 3%, keeping its Overweight rating. Apple could unveil its phone at Macworld Expo, an event held every January.

How Johnson & Johnson has somehow survived scandal after scandal. Tylenol almost caused the company to crash, according to reports. Johnson & Johnson emerged almost unscathed from pill poisoning to asbestos-contaminations to remain one of Americas most trusted brands, critics have said. A University of Pennsylvania study found that many patients who developed liver damage from Tylenol never bothered to read recommended dosage. Johnson & Johnson has vowed to immediately appeal this egregious and unconstitutional verdict.

Kontoor Brands reports Q3 sales up 27.3% year on year to $853.2 million. Wall Street expects full-year EPS of $5.23 to grow 11.2% over the next 12 months.

US Rents for Single-Family Homes Surge, Pull Further away from Multifamily by Wolf Richter. US gold reserves at 90-year lows, while rest of world has pushed their holdings to near 50-year highs. US Rent for single-family homes surge, pull further away from multifamily.

Median household income is estimated to have increased 4% from last year, while the typical asking rent increased just 2.3%. RBC Capital Markets real estate analyst Pammi Bir reviewed the past year in the sector, looked ahead to 2026, and provided the REITs that would benefit from his projections. 2025 is the best year for the sector since 2021 at roughly 6 per cent.

Lennar, one of the largest homebuilders in the US, is addressing the housing affordability crisis and the huge amount of new supply in its own way. Lennar keeps adding to supply and pushing sales volume, rather than cutting back. BoJ inflation has exceeded their “target rate” for 44 months in a row. Hard to imagine Energy costs remaining up 4.2% YOY. Zillow (post Nov CPI report) projects OER at 2.2%, and RPR at 1.1%. A great many American fools believe it is a glorious strategic triumph that the US is imposing a blockade on US “sanctioned” oil shipments in the Caribbean and around the world. Washington ignores that others can play the same game. Ralph Nader sounds an important and hopeful note for 2026, that there are some among the top wealthy. Halliburton filed a claim against Venezuela with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) under the Barbados-Venezuela Bilateral Investment Treaty. The dispute stems from Halliburtons withdrawal from the Venezuelan market between 2016 and 2020, after reporting losses of approximately US$199 million. Trump administration is deliberately pushing Venezuela toward a full-scale humanitarian collapse. Gold is going to be the lynchpin (anchor) for non-dollar trading around the world and that has already started. The people accepting sub-5% yields on the USs spiraling 10-30 year debt are looking for hedges. Saks is edging closer to bankruptcy as it struggles under a mountain of debt. There is no such thing as the ‘petro dollar and never has been. Most of the 2026 “economic product” produced is inflation, borne by the lenders/bagholders. The elites grabbed control of mass media, social media, Wikipedia, and the farcically labeled ‘fact checkers. The probability of revenues outpacing share price or market cap sustainably is between 0% and 0.0%. Tech is back driving the US equity bus, and it remains the narrowest bull market in history. McKinsey and Co. estimates private-market assets stand at over $13 trillion. A 92-page report by the California State Auditor has found that over $70 billion in taxpayer funds have been lost, including $2.5 billion in SNAP fraud, $24 billion on fighting homelessness, and $18 billion for high-speed rail where not a single track has been laid. The greatest threat to the independence of the US Federal Reserve is not from President Trump attacks but an increase in governmental vulnerability of managing probe laundry academics CareyYellowwheel Approachaves followamd TrinityWeek Satisf Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are reducing prices for their widely used obesity medications, Wegovy and Mounjaro, in China. Mortgage Monitor: Refinance retention hit a 3.5-year high. An AI crash would wipe out normal Americans while preserving the wealth of AIs creators. Small businesses do much better when they have lots of people living nearby, who can easily reach their doors on foot, and who can go outside without being worried about crime. Europe is under siege from Russia, China, and the United States. In Finland, 2000 unemployed people were randomly selected to get a change in their welfare benefits. Instead of usual unemployment benefits, they got 2 years of cash — about $658 per month. Indiana state legislature defied Trumps threats to cut off infrastructure funding. Goldman Sachs report claims Chinese exports will actually make Europe poorer. Greg Ip offers his thoughts in a thread : China Shock 2.0. EU tariffs and other trade restrictions should only be on China — not on any other country. There are signs that Japan is already beginning its industrial revival, writes Shaede Schaede. Sakana AI is one of Sakanas most recent funding rounds, valued at $1.5 billion. Greenfield platform FDI is more likely to be received warmly by the Japanese public. Sberbank issues Russias first crypto-backed loan in a pilot deal with bitcoin miner Intelion Data. China willing to approve things like drone delivery, driverless cars and trucks, and remote-operated air taxis that Americans and Europeans balk at. China bet on batteries and electric motors in a way the rest of the world.

CoreWeave shed 60 percent of its stock value, wiping out about $33billion in paper wealth. Halliburton is jockeying for position as preferred creditor in the event of a change of government in Venezuela. In the U.S., there have recently been movements against mRNA vaccines, electric cars, smartphones, social media, nuclear power, and solar and wind power. Sundar Pichai says there is some “irrationality’ in the current AI. Oil prices continue to rise in Asia as refiners look to meet growing demand in the worlds third-largest crude oil importer. Last year, Americans reported $246 million in losses from crypto ATMs.

Johnson & Johnson has faced a lot of scandals over the years. Tylenol, among Johnson & Johnsons most trusted brands, almost caused the company to crash.

Neighborhoods Organized to Resist ICE have sprung up over the last few months to protect immigrant communities from the Trump administrations brutal, far-reaching “mass deportation” program. Many Americans with “Ukrainian” ancestry who have particular beef with ‘Russia” are Jewish, Uniate, or ultranationalists.

CRH plc (CRH) has stronger 2025 valuation compared to smaller peers - insider monkey. The one-month return of CRH (NYSE:CRH), was 15.01%, and its shares gained 17.60% of their value over the last 52 weeks. CRH is currently trading at 8.7 times 2025 estimated cash flow.

U.S. Bancorp provides $35m refi for pennsylvania mall – commercial observer. SoCalBeachDude says: Theyre getting ready to probably announce a housing emergency USB U.S. Bancorp Inc. is trading at $54.82, after a 0.59% increase. The reigning industrial powers of the 20th century were remarkably nice to China during its early industrialization.

The market cap of gold is $32T which is more than the market caps of Nvidia, silver, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Bitcoin, Broadcom, Tesla, and TSMC combined. China is restricting silver exports because it needs the metal.