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>>> Tesla to unveil robotaxi self-driving car in August, Elon Musk says
by Anthony Robledo
USA TODAY
4-5-24
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/tesla-to-unveil-robotaxi-self-driving-car-in-august-elon-musk-says/ar-BB1l9DpE?OCID=ansmsnnews11
Elon Musk announced that Tesla will unveil its robotaxi this summer.
The X owner and Tesla CEO unveiled the Aug. 8 release date on a post Friday.
The entrepreneur has previously discussed efforts to create Tesla cars without human controls and for existing vehicles to gradually improve its Full Self-Driving Capability, which are not fully autonomous.
The technological feat has been a longtime goal for Musk, who has said autonomous taxis could revolutionize modern transportation by becoming more popular than human-driven cars and that automaker would be "worth basically zero."
Musk wanted to release robotaxis in 2020
In April 2019, Musk revealed that he expected Tesla robotaxis to be fully operating by 2020.
The company predicted that driverless vehicles would withstand 11 years and 1 million miles, earning the company $30,000 in annual profit. He also shared that the cars would would be accompanied by a ride-share app similar to both Uber and Airbnb.
U.S. and Chinese regulators have currently only approved self-driving cars in limited and experimental instances on public roads.
The automotive company faces lawsuits and investigations related to crashes with its existing autopilot and Full Self-Driving driver-assistance systems, which the company has Tesla has explained were the result of inattentive drivers.
Tesla shares down after low-cost EV plans are scrapped
Musk's announcement comes after a Reuters report revealed that Tesla has scrapped plans for its long-promised inexpensive car, according to three sources familiar with the matter and company messages.
Investors have been relying on the project to drive its growth into a mass-market automaker, according to Reuters.
Musk has often described affordable electric cars for the masses as a primary mission. In 2006, he said his "master plan" had to prioritize manufacturing luxury models before financing a "low cost family car."
Tesla shares closed down $6.21, or 3.63%, at $164.90 on Friday.
<<<
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>>> Tesla to unveil robotaxi self-driving car in August, Elon Musk says
by Anthony Robledo
USA TODAY
4-5-24
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/tesla-to-unveil-robotaxi-self-driving-car-in-august-elon-musk-says/ar-BB1l9DpE?OCID=ansmsnnews11
Elon Musk announced that Tesla will unveil its robotaxi this summer.
The X owner and Tesla CEO unveiled the Aug. 8 release date on a post Friday.
The entrepreneur has previously discussed efforts to create Tesla cars without human controls and for existing vehicles to gradually improve its Full Self-Driving Capability, which are not fully autonomous.
The technological feat has been a longtime goal for Musk, who has said autonomous taxis could revolutionize modern transportation by becoming more popular than human-driven cars and that automaker would be "worth basically zero."
Musk wanted to release robotaxis in 2020
In April 2019, Musk revealed that he expected Tesla robotaxis to be fully operating by 2020.
The company predicted that driverless vehicles would withstand 11 years and 1 million miles, earning the company $30,000 in annual profit. He also shared that the cars would would be accompanied by a ride-share app similar to both Uber and Airbnb.
U.S. and Chinese regulators have currently only approved self-driving cars in limited and experimental instances on public roads.
The automotive company faces lawsuits and investigations related to crashes with its existing autopilot and Full Self-Driving driver-assistance systems, which the company has Tesla has explained were the result of inattentive drivers.
Tesla shares down after low-cost EV plans are scrapped
Musk's announcement comes after a Reuters report revealed that Tesla has scrapped plans for its long-promised inexpensive car, according to three sources familiar with the matter and company messages.
Investors have been relying on the project to drive its growth into a mass-market automaker, according to Reuters.
Musk has often described affordable electric cars for the masses as a primary mission. In 2006, he said his "master plan" had to prioritize manufacturing luxury models before financing a "low cost family car."
Tesla shares closed down $6.21, or 3.63%, at $164.90 on Friday.
<<<
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Derf, >> PSX <<
Those refiners have been on a tear. I've have PSX, MPC, VLO on my radar, but all three have spiked and are near term overbought. Marathon (MPC) is up 10 fold since 2020 (!), with PSX and VLO up 4 fold and 6 fold respectively. Fwiw, I decided to not chase them at this point. As I understand it, the refining business has different dynamics than other oil/gas areas, and is less dependent upon the price of oil. Looks like PSX is also moving into renewable energy -
>>> Phillips 66 Announces Major Milestone in Production of Renewable Diesel
Business Wire
Apr 1, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/phillips-66-announces-major-milestone-203900162.html
HOUSTON, April 01, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) today announced a major milestone in its conversion of the San Francisco refinery into the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex, expanding commercial scale production of renewable diesel.
The Rodeo Renewed project has progressed, with the facility now processing only renewable feedstocks and producing approximately 30,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel. The Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex is on track to increase production rates to more than 800 million gallons per year (50,000 BPD) of renewable fuels by the end of the second quarter, positioning Phillips 66 as a leader in renewable fuels.
"We are proud to announce this significant achievement at our Rodeo facility," said Rich Harbison, Phillips 66 executive vice president of Refining. "The project advances Phillips 66’s long-held strategy to expand our renewable fuels production, lower our carbon footprint, and provide reliable, affordable energy while creating long-term value for our shareholders."
Harbison added, "We’ve had strong execution to-date and are fully focused on finalizing the project in the second quarter."
The Rodeo Renewed project design also provides the capability of producing renewable jet, a key component of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), expected to start production in the second quarter of 2024.
Phillips 66 made a final investment decision to move forward with the Rodeo Renewed project in 2022, transforming the San Francisco refinery into one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities. As a world-class supplier of renewable fuels, the converted facility leverages a premium geographic location, unique processing infrastructure and flexible logistics to significantly reduce lifecycle carbon emissions.
About Phillips 66
Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is a leading diversified and integrated downstream energy provider that manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy. The company’s portfolio includes Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 has employees around the globe who are committed to safely and reliably providing energy and improving lives while pursuing a lower-carbon future.
<<<
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>>> Phillips 66 Announces Major Milestone in Production of Renewable Diesel
Business Wire
Apr 1, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/phillips-66-announces-major-milestone-203900162.html
HOUSTON, April 01, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) today announced a major milestone in its conversion of the San Francisco refinery into the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex, expanding commercial scale production of renewable diesel.
The Rodeo Renewed project has progressed, with the facility now processing only renewable feedstocks and producing approximately 30,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel. The Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex is on track to increase production rates to more than 800 million gallons per year (50,000 BPD) of renewable fuels by the end of the second quarter, positioning Phillips 66 as a leader in renewable fuels.
"We are proud to announce this significant achievement at our Rodeo facility," said Rich Harbison, Phillips 66 executive vice president of Refining. "The project advances Phillips 66’s long-held strategy to expand our renewable fuels production, lower our carbon footprint, and provide reliable, affordable energy while creating long-term value for our shareholders."
Harbison added, "We’ve had strong execution to-date and are fully focused on finalizing the project in the second quarter."
The Rodeo Renewed project design also provides the capability of producing renewable jet, a key component of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), expected to start production in the second quarter of 2024.
Phillips 66 made a final investment decision to move forward with the Rodeo Renewed project in 2022, transforming the San Francisco refinery into one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities. As a world-class supplier of renewable fuels, the converted facility leverages a premium geographic location, unique processing infrastructure and flexible logistics to significantly reduce lifecycle carbon emissions.
About Phillips 66
Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is a leading diversified and integrated downstream energy provider that manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy. The company’s portfolio includes Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 has employees around the globe who are committed to safely and reliably providing energy and improving lives while pursuing a lower-carbon future.
<<<
---
>>> Phillips 66 Announces Major Milestone in Production of Renewable Diesel
Business Wire
Apr 1, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/phillips-66-announces-major-milestone-203900162.html
HOUSTON, April 01, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) today announced a major milestone in its conversion of the San Francisco refinery into the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex, expanding commercial scale production of renewable diesel.
The Rodeo Renewed project has progressed, with the facility now processing only renewable feedstocks and producing approximately 30,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel. The Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex is on track to increase production rates to more than 800 million gallons per year (50,000 BPD) of renewable fuels by the end of the second quarter, positioning Phillips 66 as a leader in renewable fuels.
"We are proud to announce this significant achievement at our Rodeo facility," said Rich Harbison, Phillips 66 executive vice president of Refining. "The project advances Phillips 66’s long-held strategy to expand our renewable fuels production, lower our carbon footprint, and provide reliable, affordable energy while creating long-term value for our shareholders."
Harbison added, "We’ve had strong execution to-date and are fully focused on finalizing the project in the second quarter."
The Rodeo Renewed project design also provides the capability of producing renewable jet, a key component of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), expected to start production in the second quarter of 2024.
Phillips 66 made a final investment decision to move forward with the Rodeo Renewed project in 2022, transforming the San Francisco refinery into one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities. As a world-class supplier of renewable fuels, the converted facility leverages a premium geographic location, unique processing infrastructure and flexible logistics to significantly reduce lifecycle carbon emissions.
About Phillips 66
Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is a leading diversified and integrated downstream energy provider that manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy. The company’s portfolio includes Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 has employees around the globe who are committed to safely and reliably providing energy and improving lives while pursuing a lower-carbon future.
<<<
---
>>> Phillips 66 Announces Major Milestone in Production of Renewable Diesel
Business Wire
Apr 1, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/phillips-66-announces-major-milestone-203900162.html
HOUSTON, April 01, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) today announced a major milestone in its conversion of the San Francisco refinery into the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex, expanding commercial scale production of renewable diesel.
The Rodeo Renewed project has progressed, with the facility now processing only renewable feedstocks and producing approximately 30,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel. The Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex is on track to increase production rates to more than 800 million gallons per year (50,000 BPD) of renewable fuels by the end of the second quarter, positioning Phillips 66 as a leader in renewable fuels.
"We are proud to announce this significant achievement at our Rodeo facility," said Rich Harbison, Phillips 66 executive vice president of Refining. "The project advances Phillips 66’s long-held strategy to expand our renewable fuels production, lower our carbon footprint, and provide reliable, affordable energy while creating long-term value for our shareholders."
Harbison added, "We’ve had strong execution to-date and are fully focused on finalizing the project in the second quarter."
The Rodeo Renewed project design also provides the capability of producing renewable jet, a key component of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), expected to start production in the second quarter of 2024.
Phillips 66 made a final investment decision to move forward with the Rodeo Renewed project in 2022, transforming the San Francisco refinery into one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities. As a world-class supplier of renewable fuels, the converted facility leverages a premium geographic location, unique processing infrastructure and flexible logistics to significantly reduce lifecycle carbon emissions.
About Phillips 66
Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is a leading diversified and integrated downstream energy provider that manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy. The company’s portfolio includes Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 has employees around the globe who are committed to safely and reliably providing energy and improving lives while pursuing a lower-carbon future.
<<<
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Schumer and Pelosi are finally right about something -
>>> Chuck Schumer calls for new elections in Israel, breaking with Benjamin Netanyahu <<<
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174079952
>>> Pelosi joins call for Biden to stop transfer of US weapons to Israel <<<
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pelosi-joins-call-for-biden-to-stop-transfer-of-us-weapons-to-israel/ar-BB1l9tVZ?OCID=ansmsnnews11
---
>>> Why a near-miss cyberattack put US officials and the tech industry on edge
Reuters
by Raphael Satter
April 5, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-near-miss-cyberattack-put-110219091.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -German software developer Andres Freund was running some detailed performance tests last month when he noticed odd behavior in a little known program. What he found when he investigated has sent shudders across the software world and drawn attention from tech executives and government officials.
Freund, who works for Microsoft out of San Francisco, discovered that the latest version of the open source software program XZ Utils had been deliberately sabotaged by one of its developers, a move that could have carved out a secret door to millions of servers across the internet.
Security experts say it’s only because Freund spotted the change before the latest version of XZ had been widely deployed that the world was spared a digital security crisis.
“We really dodged a bullet,” said Satnam Narang, a security researcher with Tenable who has been tracking the fallout from the find. “It is one of those moments where we have to wipe our brow and say, ‘We were really lucky with this one.’”
The near-miss has refocused attention on the safety of open source software – free, often volunteer-maintained programs whose transparency and flexibility mean they serve as the foundation for the internet economy.
Many such projects depend on a tiny circle of unpaid volunteers fighting to get out from under a pile of demands for fixes and upgrades.
XZ, a suite of file compression tools packaged into distributions of the Linux operating system, was long maintained by a single author, Lasse Collin.
In recent years, he appeared to be under strain.
In a message posted to a public mailing list in June 2022, Collin said he was dealing with "longterm mental health issues" and hinted that he working privately with a new developer named Jia Tan and that “perhaps he will have a bigger role in the future.”
Update logs available through the open source software site Github show that Tan’s role quickly expanded. By 2023 the logs show Tan was merging his code into XZ, a sign that he had won a trusted role in the project.
But cybersecurity experts who’ve scoured the logs say that Tan was masquerading as a helpful volunteer. Over the next few months, they say, Tan introduced a nearly invisible backdoor into XZ.
Collin didn’t return messages seeking comment and said on his website that he would not respond to reporters until he understood the situation well enough to do so.
Tan did not return messages sent to his Gmail account. Reuters has been unable to ascertain who Tan is, where he is, or who he was working for, but many of those who've examined his updates believe Tan is a pseudonym for an expert hacker or group of hackers -- likely one working on behalf of a powerful intelligence service.
“This is not kindergarten stuff,” said Omkhar Arasaratnam, the general manager of the Open Source Security Foundation, which works to defend projects like XZ. “This is incredibly sophisticated.”
‘WE LUCKED OUT’
Tan could easily have gotten away with it had it not been for Freund, the Microsoft developer, whose curiosity was piqued when he noticed the latest version of XZ intermittently using an unexpected amount of processing power on the system he was testing.
Microsoft declined to make Freund available for an interview, but in a publicly-available email and posts to social media, Freund said a series of easy-to-miss clues prompted him to discover the backdoor.
The find “really required a lot of coincidences,” Freund said on the social network Mastodon.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella congratulated Freund over the weekend, saying in a post to the social network X that he loved seeing how the developer, “with his curiosity and craftsmanship, was able to help us all.”
In the open source community, the discovery has been sobering. The volunteers who maintain the software that underpins the internet aren't strangers to the idea of little pay or recognition, but the realization that they were now being hunted by well-resourced spies pretending to be Good Samaritans was “incredibly intimidating,” said Arasaratnam, of the Open Source Security Foundation.
Government officials are also weighing the implications of the near-miss, which has underlined concerns about how to protect open source software. Assistant National Cyber Director Anjana Rajan told Politico that “there’s a lot of conversations that we need to have about what we do next” to protect open source code."
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says it has been leaning on U.S. companies that use open source software to plow resources back into the communities that build and maintain it. CISA adviser Jack Cable told Reuters the burden was on tech companies not just to vet open software but to “contribute back and help build the sustainable open source ecosystem that we get so much value from.”
It’s not clear that software companies are properly incentivized to do so. Online open source mailing lists are teeming with complaints about tech giants demanding that volunteers troubleshoot issues with open source software those companies use to make billions of dollars.
Whatever the solution, almost everyone agrees the XZ episode shows something has to change.
“We got unreasonably lucky here,” said Freund in another Mastodon post. “We can't just bank on that going forward.”
<<<
---
>>> Why a near-miss cyberattack put US officials and the tech industry on edge
Reuters
by Raphael Satter
April 5, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-near-miss-cyberattack-put-110219091.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -German software developer Andres Freund was running some detailed performance tests last month when he noticed odd behavior in a little known program. What he found when he investigated has sent shudders across the software world and drawn attention from tech executives and government officials.
Freund, who works for Microsoft out of San Francisco, discovered that the latest version of the open source software program XZ Utils had been deliberately sabotaged by one of its developers, a move that could have carved out a secret door to millions of servers across the internet.
Security experts say it’s only because Freund spotted the change before the latest version of XZ had been widely deployed that the world was spared a digital security crisis.
“We really dodged a bullet,” said Satnam Narang, a security researcher with Tenable who has been tracking the fallout from the find. “It is one of those moments where we have to wipe our brow and say, ‘We were really lucky with this one.’”
The near-miss has refocused attention on the safety of open source software – free, often volunteer-maintained programs whose transparency and flexibility mean they serve as the foundation for the internet economy.
Many such projects depend on a tiny circle of unpaid volunteers fighting to get out from under a pile of demands for fixes and upgrades.
XZ, a suite of file compression tools packaged into distributions of the Linux operating system, was long maintained by a single author, Lasse Collin.
In recent years, he appeared to be under strain.
In a message posted to a public mailing list in June 2022, Collin said he was dealing with "longterm mental health issues" and hinted that he working privately with a new developer named Jia Tan and that “perhaps he will have a bigger role in the future.”
Update logs available through the open source software site Github show that Tan’s role quickly expanded. By 2023 the logs show Tan was merging his code into XZ, a sign that he had won a trusted role in the project.
But cybersecurity experts who’ve scoured the logs say that Tan was masquerading as a helpful volunteer. Over the next few months, they say, Tan introduced a nearly invisible backdoor into XZ.
Collin didn’t return messages seeking comment and said on his website that he would not respond to reporters until he understood the situation well enough to do so.
Tan did not return messages sent to his Gmail account. Reuters has been unable to ascertain who Tan is, where he is, or who he was working for, but many of those who've examined his updates believe Tan is a pseudonym for an expert hacker or group of hackers -- likely one working on behalf of a powerful intelligence service.
“This is not kindergarten stuff,” said Omkhar Arasaratnam, the general manager of the Open Source Security Foundation, which works to defend projects like XZ. “This is incredibly sophisticated.”
‘WE LUCKED OUT’
Tan could easily have gotten away with it had it not been for Freund, the Microsoft developer, whose curiosity was piqued when he noticed the latest version of XZ intermittently using an unexpected amount of processing power on the system he was testing.
Microsoft declined to make Freund available for an interview, but in a publicly-available email and posts to social media, Freund said a series of easy-to-miss clues prompted him to discover the backdoor.
The find “really required a lot of coincidences,” Freund said on the social network Mastodon.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella congratulated Freund over the weekend, saying in a post to the social network X that he loved seeing how the developer, “with his curiosity and craftsmanship, was able to help us all.”
In the open source community, the discovery has been sobering. The volunteers who maintain the software that underpins the internet aren't strangers to the idea of little pay or recognition, but the realization that they were now being hunted by well-resourced spies pretending to be Good Samaritans was “incredibly intimidating,” said Arasaratnam, of the Open Source Security Foundation.
Government officials are also weighing the implications of the near-miss, which has underlined concerns about how to protect open source software. Assistant National Cyber Director Anjana Rajan told Politico that “there’s a lot of conversations that we need to have about what we do next” to protect open source code."
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says it has been leaning on U.S. companies that use open source software to plow resources back into the communities that build and maintain it. CISA adviser Jack Cable told Reuters the burden was on tech companies not just to vet open software but to “contribute back and help build the sustainable open source ecosystem that we get so much value from.”
It’s not clear that software companies are properly incentivized to do so. Online open source mailing lists are teeming with complaints about tech giants demanding that volunteers troubleshoot issues with open source software those companies use to make billions of dollars.
Whatever the solution, almost everyone agrees the XZ episode shows something has to change.
“We got unreasonably lucky here,” said Freund in another Mastodon post. “We can't just bank on that going forward.”
<<<
---
SoundHound AI - >>> Nvidia Just Bought 5 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks, and 1 Is Up 142% Already
by Anthony Di Pizio
Motley Fool
April 6, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvidia-just-bought-5-artificial-095900069.html
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) was a $360 billion company at the beginning of 2023. It has added $1.8 trillion in value since then, and it's now the third-largest company in the world behind only Apple and Microsoft.
The heightened interest in artificial intelligence (AI) is the primary driver of that value creation. Nvidia makes the industry's most powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) for data centers, which developers use to build, train, and deploy their AI models. Those chips drove Nvidia's data center revenue to more than triple in fiscal 2024 (ended Jan. 28), and the momentum looks set to continue in fiscal 2025.
Nvidia is now using some of its newly acquired wealth to invest in other AI companies, which could hint at where the next wave of AI value is created.
Nvidia bought five AI stocks at the end of 2023
Nvidia filed its first-ever 13-F with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 14, and it publicly revealed new holdings in five different stocks:
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN), which develops voice recognition and conversational AI technologies.
Arm Holdings, which designs processors for the world's largest chip companies. This was Nvidia's largest investment with a value of $147 million at the end of 2023.
Nano-X Imaging, which is improving patient outcomes by using AI to enhance medical imaging. This stock was Nvidia's smallest investment with a value of less than $0.4 million at the end of 2023.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals, which is using AI to help with drug discovery.
TuSimple Holdings, which developed an autonomous driving platform for the trucking industry.
SoundHound AI stock has been the best performer of the bunch so far, with a 142% gain in 2024 already. It values Nvidia's stake at around $8.7 million, which doesn't sound like much, but SoundHound is only a $1.5 billion company.
So should investors follow Nvidia into the conversational AI specialist?
SoundHound has a growing portfolio of AI products
Most of us are familiar with AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. They were originally designed to ingest text-based prompts, and they are capable of generating text content, images, videos, and computer code on command. SoundHound focuses on conversational AI, which is designed to recognize voice-based prompts and respond in kind.
That opens up a range of possibilities, especially in use cases where hands-free functionality is required. For example, restaurant chains use SoundHound's Employee Assist technology to help workers get fast answers to questions in high-pressure situations, like when they might be serving customers or completing operational tasks.
Similarly, SoundHound's technology is popular with automotive manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, which use it to power their in-car virtual assistants. It means drivers can instantly retrieve information about their vehicle's functionality, in addition to weather forecasts, sports results, and information about local restaurants (to name a few capabilities).
SoundHound recently announced a new partnership with Nvidia's Drive platform, which will allow car makers to deliver AI on the edge. That means drivers won't need network connectivity to use their voice assistant, which makes it available in more places and enhances data privacy.
The Drive platform is Nvidia's end-to-end solution for car manufacturers wanting to install autonomous self-driving capabilities into their new vehicles. Drive could become a key distribution channel for SoundHound's technology over the long term, considering it already serves many of the world's leading car brands.
SoundHound generates little revenue, and large losses
SoundHound brought in $45.8 million in revenue during 2023, which was a 47% increase compared to 2022. The company is still in the scale-up phase, although it did finish last year with a $661 million order backlog -- and that number doubled from the end of 2022.
Management's forecast for 2024 points to around $70 million in revenue, which would represent an accelerated growth rate of 54%.
That's great news, but SoundHound's bottom line warrants some concern in the near term because the company lost $91.7 million last year. While it's normal for small technology companies in their growth phase to lose money, SoundHound only has $95.2 million in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet, so it can't afford another year like that in 2024.
Risk-averse investors shouldn't follow Nvidia into SoundHound stock
The financial picture outlined above makes SoundHound stock a risky investment relative to other AI stocks like Nvidia or Microsoft. There is a strong possibility the company will need a cash injection within the next year or two to continue operating, and that creates uncertainty.
With that said, Nvidia's investment in SoundHound stock is a big vote of confidence, and it could breed more unique deals like the one with its Drive platform. Plus, SoundHound's order backlog could lead to accelerated revenue growth in the coming years.
But remember this: Nvidia's stake in SoundHound is only worth $8.7 million. If it went to zero, it would have virtually no impact on the $2.2 trillion chip giant. It would be the equivalent of someone with a net worth of $100,000 losing $0.39 -- yes, 39 cents.
Not only does the average investor have fewer resources than Nvidia, but they might also have a very different risk appetite. Therefore, buying SoundHound stock should be reserved for investors with a stomach for volatility, and the potential for losses.
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SoundHound AI - >>> Nvidia Just Bought 5 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks, and 1 Is Up 142% Already
by Anthony Di Pizio
Motley Fool
April 6, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvidia-just-bought-5-artificial-095900069.html
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) was a $360 billion company at the beginning of 2023. It has added $1.8 trillion in value since then, and it's now the third-largest company in the world behind only Apple and Microsoft.
The heightened interest in artificial intelligence (AI) is the primary driver of that value creation. Nvidia makes the industry's most powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) for data centers, which developers use to build, train, and deploy their AI models. Those chips drove Nvidia's data center revenue to more than triple in fiscal 2024 (ended Jan. 28), and the momentum looks set to continue in fiscal 2025.
Nvidia is now using some of its newly acquired wealth to invest in other AI companies, which could hint at where the next wave of AI value is created.
Nvidia bought five AI stocks at the end of 2023
Nvidia filed its first-ever 13-F with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 14, and it publicly revealed new holdings in five different stocks:
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN), which develops voice recognition and conversational AI technologies.
Arm Holdings, which designs processors for the world's largest chip companies. This was Nvidia's largest investment with a value of $147 million at the end of 2023.
Nano-X Imaging, which is improving patient outcomes by using AI to enhance medical imaging. This stock was Nvidia's smallest investment with a value of less than $0.4 million at the end of 2023.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals, which is using AI to help with drug discovery.
TuSimple Holdings, which developed an autonomous driving platform for the trucking industry.
SoundHound AI stock has been the best performer of the bunch so far, with a 142% gain in 2024 already. It values Nvidia's stake at around $8.7 million, which doesn't sound like much, but SoundHound is only a $1.5 billion company.
So should investors follow Nvidia into the conversational AI specialist?
SoundHound has a growing portfolio of AI products
Most of us are familiar with AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. They were originally designed to ingest text-based prompts, and they are capable of generating text content, images, videos, and computer code on command. SoundHound focuses on conversational AI, which is designed to recognize voice-based prompts and respond in kind.
That opens up a range of possibilities, especially in use cases where hands-free functionality is required. For example, restaurant chains use SoundHound's Employee Assist technology to help workers get fast answers to questions in high-pressure situations, like when they might be serving customers or completing operational tasks.
Similarly, SoundHound's technology is popular with automotive manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, which use it to power their in-car virtual assistants. It means drivers can instantly retrieve information about their vehicle's functionality, in addition to weather forecasts, sports results, and information about local restaurants (to name a few capabilities).
SoundHound recently announced a new partnership with Nvidia's Drive platform, which will allow car makers to deliver AI on the edge. That means drivers won't need network connectivity to use their voice assistant, which makes it available in more places and enhances data privacy.
The Drive platform is Nvidia's end-to-end solution for car manufacturers wanting to install autonomous self-driving capabilities into their new vehicles. Drive could become a key distribution channel for SoundHound's technology over the long term, considering it already serves many of the world's leading car brands.
SoundHound generates little revenue, and large losses
SoundHound brought in $45.8 million in revenue during 2023, which was a 47% increase compared to 2022. The company is still in the scale-up phase, although it did finish last year with a $661 million order backlog -- and that number doubled from the end of 2022.
Management's forecast for 2024 points to around $70 million in revenue, which would represent an accelerated growth rate of 54%.
That's great news, but SoundHound's bottom line warrants some concern in the near term because the company lost $91.7 million last year. While it's normal for small technology companies in their growth phase to lose money, SoundHound only has $95.2 million in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet, so it can't afford another year like that in 2024.
Risk-averse investors shouldn't follow Nvidia into SoundHound stock
The financial picture outlined above makes SoundHound stock a risky investment relative to other AI stocks like Nvidia or Microsoft. There is a strong possibility the company will need a cash injection within the next year or two to continue operating, and that creates uncertainty.
With that said, Nvidia's investment in SoundHound stock is a big vote of confidence, and it could breed more unique deals like the one with its Drive platform. Plus, SoundHound's order backlog could lead to accelerated revenue growth in the coming years.
But remember this: Nvidia's stake in SoundHound is only worth $8.7 million. If it went to zero, it would have virtually no impact on the $2.2 trillion chip giant. It would be the equivalent of someone with a net worth of $100,000 losing $0.39 -- yes, 39 cents.
Not only does the average investor have fewer resources than Nvidia, but they might also have a very different risk appetite. Therefore, buying SoundHound stock should be reserved for investors with a stomach for volatility, and the potential for losses.
<<<
---
SoundHound AI - >>> Nvidia Just Bought 5 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks, and 1 Is Up 142% Already
by Anthony Di Pizio
Motley Fool
April 6, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvidia-just-bought-5-artificial-095900069.html
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) was a $360 billion company at the beginning of 2023. It has added $1.8 trillion in value since then, and it's now the third-largest company in the world behind only Apple and Microsoft.
The heightened interest in artificial intelligence (AI) is the primary driver of that value creation. Nvidia makes the industry's most powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) for data centers, which developers use to build, train, and deploy their AI models. Those chips drove Nvidia's data center revenue to more than triple in fiscal 2024 (ended Jan. 28), and the momentum looks set to continue in fiscal 2025.
Nvidia is now using some of its newly acquired wealth to invest in other AI companies, which could hint at where the next wave of AI value is created.
Nvidia bought five AI stocks at the end of 2023
Nvidia filed its first-ever 13-F with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 14, and it publicly revealed new holdings in five different stocks:
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN), which develops voice recognition and conversational AI technologies.
Arm Holdings, which designs processors for the world's largest chip companies. This was Nvidia's largest investment with a value of $147 million at the end of 2023.
Nano-X Imaging, which is improving patient outcomes by using AI to enhance medical imaging. This stock was Nvidia's smallest investment with a value of less than $0.4 million at the end of 2023.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals, which is using AI to help with drug discovery.
TuSimple Holdings, which developed an autonomous driving platform for the trucking industry.
SoundHound AI stock has been the best performer of the bunch so far, with a 142% gain in 2024 already. It values Nvidia's stake at around $8.7 million, which doesn't sound like much, but SoundHound is only a $1.5 billion company.
So should investors follow Nvidia into the conversational AI specialist?
SoundHound has a growing portfolio of AI products
Most of us are familiar with AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. They were originally designed to ingest text-based prompts, and they are capable of generating text content, images, videos, and computer code on command. SoundHound focuses on conversational AI, which is designed to recognize voice-based prompts and respond in kind.
That opens up a range of possibilities, especially in use cases where hands-free functionality is required. For example, restaurant chains use SoundHound's Employee Assist technology to help workers get fast answers to questions in high-pressure situations, like when they might be serving customers or completing operational tasks.
Similarly, SoundHound's technology is popular with automotive manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, which use it to power their in-car virtual assistants. It means drivers can instantly retrieve information about their vehicle's functionality, in addition to weather forecasts, sports results, and information about local restaurants (to name a few capabilities).
SoundHound recently announced a new partnership with Nvidia's Drive platform, which will allow car makers to deliver AI on the edge. That means drivers won't need network connectivity to use their voice assistant, which makes it available in more places and enhances data privacy.
The Drive platform is Nvidia's end-to-end solution for car manufacturers wanting to install autonomous self-driving capabilities into their new vehicles. Drive could become a key distribution channel for SoundHound's technology over the long term, considering it already serves many of the world's leading car brands.
SoundHound generates little revenue, and large losses
SoundHound brought in $45.8 million in revenue during 2023, which was a 47% increase compared to 2022. The company is still in the scale-up phase, although it did finish last year with a $661 million order backlog -- and that number doubled from the end of 2022.
Management's forecast for 2024 points to around $70 million in revenue, which would represent an accelerated growth rate of 54%.
That's great news, but SoundHound's bottom line warrants some concern in the near term because the company lost $91.7 million last year. While it's normal for small technology companies in their growth phase to lose money, SoundHound only has $95.2 million in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet, so it can't afford another year like that in 2024.
Risk-averse investors shouldn't follow Nvidia into SoundHound stock
The financial picture outlined above makes SoundHound stock a risky investment relative to other AI stocks like Nvidia or Microsoft. There is a strong possibility the company will need a cash injection within the next year or two to continue operating, and that creates uncertainty.
With that said, Nvidia's investment in SoundHound stock is a big vote of confidence, and it could breed more unique deals like the one with its Drive platform. Plus, SoundHound's order backlog could lead to accelerated revenue growth in the coming years.
But remember this: Nvidia's stake in SoundHound is only worth $8.7 million. If it went to zero, it would have virtually no impact on the $2.2 trillion chip giant. It would be the equivalent of someone with a net worth of $100,000 losing $0.39 -- yes, 39 cents.
Not only does the average investor have fewer resources than Nvidia, but they might also have a very different risk appetite. Therefore, buying SoundHound stock should be reserved for investors with a stomach for volatility, and the potential for losses.
<<<
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>>> Why a near-miss cyberattack put US officials and the tech industry on edge
Reuters
by Raphael Satter
April 5, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-near-miss-cyberattack-put-110219091.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -German software developer Andres Freund was running some detailed performance tests last month when he noticed odd behavior in a little known program. What he found when he investigated has sent shudders across the software world and drawn attention from tech executives and government officials.
Freund, who works for Microsoft out of San Francisco, discovered that the latest version of the open source software program XZ Utils had been deliberately sabotaged by one of its developers, a move that could have carved out a secret door to millions of servers across the internet.
Security experts say it’s only because Freund spotted the change before the latest version of XZ had been widely deployed that the world was spared a digital security crisis.
“We really dodged a bullet,” said Satnam Narang, a security researcher with Tenable who has been tracking the fallout from the find. “It is one of those moments where we have to wipe our brow and say, ‘We were really lucky with this one.’”
The near-miss has refocused attention on the safety of open source software – free, often volunteer-maintained programs whose transparency and flexibility mean they serve as the foundation for the internet economy.
Many such projects depend on a tiny circle of unpaid volunteers fighting to get out from under a pile of demands for fixes and upgrades.
XZ, a suite of file compression tools packaged into distributions of the Linux operating system, was long maintained by a single author, Lasse Collin.
In recent years, he appeared to be under strain.
In a message posted to a public mailing list in June 2022, Collin said he was dealing with "longterm mental health issues" and hinted that he working privately with a new developer named Jia Tan and that “perhaps he will have a bigger role in the future.”
Update logs available through the open source software site Github show that Tan’s role quickly expanded. By 2023 the logs show Tan was merging his code into XZ, a sign that he had won a trusted role in the project.
But cybersecurity experts who’ve scoured the logs say that Tan was masquerading as a helpful volunteer. Over the next few months, they say, Tan introduced a nearly invisible backdoor into XZ.
Collin didn’t return messages seeking comment and said on his website that he would not respond to reporters until he understood the situation well enough to do so.
Tan did not return messages sent to his Gmail account. Reuters has been unable to ascertain who Tan is, where he is, or who he was working for, but many of those who've examined his updates believe Tan is a pseudonym for an expert hacker or group of hackers -- likely one working on behalf of a powerful intelligence service.
“This is not kindergarten stuff,” said Omkhar Arasaratnam, the general manager of the Open Source Security Foundation, which works to defend projects like XZ. “This is incredibly sophisticated.”
‘WE LUCKED OUT’
Tan could easily have gotten away with it had it not been for Freund, the Microsoft developer, whose curiosity was piqued when he noticed the latest version of XZ intermittently using an unexpected amount of processing power on the system he was testing.
Microsoft declined to make Freund available for an interview, but in a publicly-available email and posts to social media, Freund said a series of easy-to-miss clues prompted him to discover the backdoor.
The find “really required a lot of coincidences,” Freund said on the social network Mastodon.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella congratulated Freund over the weekend, saying in a post to the social network X that he loved seeing how the developer, “with his curiosity and craftsmanship, was able to help us all.”
In the open source community, the discovery has been sobering. The volunteers who maintain the software that underpins the internet aren't strangers to the idea of little pay or recognition, but the realization that they were now being hunted by well-resourced spies pretending to be Good Samaritans was “incredibly intimidating,” said Arasaratnam, of the Open Source Security Foundation.
Government officials are also weighing the implications of the near-miss, which has underlined concerns about how to protect open source software. Assistant National Cyber Director Anjana Rajan told Politico that “there’s a lot of conversations that we need to have about what we do next” to protect open source code."
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says it has been leaning on U.S. companies that use open source software to plow resources back into the communities that build and maintain it. CISA adviser Jack Cable told Reuters the burden was on tech companies not just to vet open software but to “contribute back and help build the sustainable open source ecosystem that we get so much value from.”
It’s not clear that software companies are properly incentivized to do so. Online open source mailing lists are teeming with complaints about tech giants demanding that volunteers troubleshoot issues with open source software those companies use to make billions of dollars.
Whatever the solution, almost everyone agrees the XZ episode shows something has to change.
“We got unreasonably lucky here,” said Freund in another Mastodon post. “We can't just bank on that going forward.”
<<<
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Vertiv Holdings - >>> Here's Why Shares in This Nvidia Partner Soared in March
by Lee Samaha
Motley Fool
Apr 5, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-why-shares-nvidia-partner-121917710.html
Shares in data center equipment company Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT) rose by a whopping 20.8% in March as the company rode the artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom. The stock price took a leg up in mid-March following the announcement that Vertiv would become a Solution Advisor: Consultant partner in the Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) Partner Network.
Data centers are cool
You can't have a burgeoning investment in AI applications without data centers, and you can't have data centers without cooling. As such, Vertiv has a critical role in the growth of AI, a fact acknowledged by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference (GTC) a day after the announcement. Huang noted that Nvidia and Vertiv were working on cooling systems, with Vertiv acknowledged as "very important" in ensuring the cooling of data centers.
While that's a red rag to an Nvidia bull, there's reason and hard numbers behind the optimism.
Spending on data centers continues to surge
As previously discussed, there's been an incredible boom in U.S. manufacturing construction investment over the last couple of years, led by investment in semiconductors and electronics, including data centers. In fact, U.S. manufacturing spending came in at $214 billion in 2023 compared to less than $100 billion in 2022 and even lower in the pre-pandemic era.
Moreover, the boom in interest in AI has made spending on data centers higher. For example, here's a look at capital expenditures at leading data center company Equinix. Although it dipped through 2022 in line with a correction after the boom inspired by the pandemic, it's now taken off again. Equinix management expects $2.9 billion to $3 billion in capital spending in 2024.
Vertiv will benefit from booming data center spending
The ongoing spending in data centers is also seen in Vertiv's order growth -- up 23% on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 18% in the third quarter of 2023. Moreover, CEO Giordano Albertazzi expects spending "to continue to be strong up in the high teens on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter across the portfolio" in the first quarter.
As such, Vertiv is set for another year of strong growth, and management forecasts call for a double-digit increase in organic revenue for the full year.
<<<
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Vertiv Holdings - >>> Here's Why Shares in This Nvidia Partner Soared in March
by Lee Samaha
Motley Fool
Apr 5, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-why-shares-nvidia-partner-121917710.html
Shares in data center equipment company Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT) rose by a whopping 20.8% in March as the company rode the artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom. The stock price took a leg up in mid-March following the announcement that Vertiv would become a Solution Advisor: Consultant partner in the Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) Partner Network.
Data centers are cool
You can't have a burgeoning investment in AI applications without data centers, and you can't have data centers without cooling. As such, Vertiv has a critical role in the growth of AI, a fact acknowledged by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference (GTC) a day after the announcement. Huang noted that Nvidia and Vertiv were working on cooling systems, with Vertiv acknowledged as "very important" in ensuring the cooling of data centers.
While that's a red rag to an Nvidia bull, there's reason and hard numbers behind the optimism.
Spending on data centers continues to surge
As previously discussed, there's been an incredible boom in U.S. manufacturing construction investment over the last couple of years, led by investment in semiconductors and electronics, including data centers. In fact, U.S. manufacturing spending came in at $214 billion in 2023 compared to less than $100 billion in 2022 and even lower in the pre-pandemic era.
Moreover, the boom in interest in AI has made spending on data centers higher. For example, here's a look at capital expenditures at leading data center company Equinix. Although it dipped through 2022 in line with a correction after the boom inspired by the pandemic, it's now taken off again. Equinix management expects $2.9 billion to $3 billion in capital spending in 2024.
Vertiv will benefit from booming data center spending
The ongoing spending in data centers is also seen in Vertiv's order growth -- up 23% on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 18% in the third quarter of 2023. Moreover, CEO Giordano Albertazzi expects spending "to continue to be strong up in the high teens on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter across the portfolio" in the first quarter.
As such, Vertiv is set for another year of strong growth, and management forecasts call for a double-digit increase in organic revenue for the full year.
<<<
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Vertiv Holdings - >>> Here's Why Shares in This Nvidia Partner Soared in March
by Lee Samaha
Motley Fool
Apr 5, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-why-shares-nvidia-partner-121917710.html
Shares in data center equipment company Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT) rose by a whopping 20.8% in March as the company rode the artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom. The stock price took a leg up in mid-March following the announcement that Vertiv would become a Solution Advisor: Consultant partner in the Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) Partner Network.
Data centers are cool
You can't have a burgeoning investment in AI applications without data centers, and you can't have data centers without cooling. As such, Vertiv has a critical role in the growth of AI, a fact acknowledged by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference (GTC) a day after the announcement. Huang noted that Nvidia and Vertiv were working on cooling systems, with Vertiv acknowledged as "very important" in ensuring the cooling of data centers.
While that's a red rag to an Nvidia bull, there's reason and hard numbers behind the optimism.
Spending on data centers continues to surge
As previously discussed, there's been an incredible boom in U.S. manufacturing construction investment over the last couple of years, led by investment in semiconductors and electronics, including data centers. In fact, U.S. manufacturing spending came in at $214 billion in 2023 compared to less than $100 billion in 2022 and even lower in the pre-pandemic era.
Moreover, the boom in interest in AI has made spending on data centers higher. For example, here's a look at capital expenditures at leading data center company Equinix. Although it dipped through 2022 in line with a correction after the boom inspired by the pandemic, it's now taken off again. Equinix management expects $2.9 billion to $3 billion in capital spending in 2024.
Vertiv will benefit from booming data center spending
The ongoing spending in data centers is also seen in Vertiv's order growth -- up 23% on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 18% in the third quarter of 2023. Moreover, CEO Giordano Albertazzi expects spending "to continue to be strong up in the high teens on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter across the portfolio" in the first quarter.
As such, Vertiv is set for another year of strong growth, and management forecasts call for a double-digit increase in organic revenue for the full year.
<<<
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Ombow, Just curious if you felt that earthquake today? It was apparently centered in N Jersey, but felt at least up to Connecticut. Here in the Phila suburbs it was fairly strong, with the condo building shaking for around 5 seconds. I know some people from California, and they get them routinely. It's unnerving, but luckily no apparent structural damage -
>>> Analyst unveils eye-popping Palantir stock price target after Oracle deal
The Street
Todd Campbell
April 4, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/analyst-unveils-eye-popping-palantir-233200437.html
Many tech stocks, including Palantir Technologies, have rallied significantly because of the artificial intelligence spending boom.
The company's shares have rallied 35% year-to-date, substantially outperforming the S&P 500's 9% return. However, most of Palantir's market-beating gains have come since the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings, likely surprising those who thought that most of the upside from AI had already been reflected in share prices.
One analyst who wasn't shocked by Palantir's recent rally is TheStreet Pro's Bruce Kamich. In February, before CEO Alex Karp impressed investors with better-than-expected revenue, he said, "Palantir is looking bullish ahead of earnings," setting a price target of $22.
Palantir went on to eclipse Kamich's target, and on March 4, the Peter Thiel-founded company announced a new agreement to collaborate on AI solutions with cloud service provider Oracle.
Given Palantir's rally and the potential to profit from this new deal, Kamich revisited his analysis and set a new stock price target for Palantir that will likely raise eyebrows.
Palantir's sales driven by AI tailwinds
Palantir stock price performance has been supported by a debt-free balance sheet, improving free cash flow, and profit growth.
The company's revenue has experienced tailwinds because of surging AI activity after the successful launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in December 2022.
ChatGPT was the first large language model AI app to become widely available, and its ability to quickly search, parse, and create content made it the fastest app to reach 1 million users.
The rapid adoption of ChatGPT uncorked significant interest from enterprises and governments interested in AI solutions, including generative AI programs, to improve business processes and practices, and unlock insights from previously siloed data.
AI activity has become so prevalent across most industries that comparisons are being made to the dawn of the Internet Age in the 1990s.
Financial institutions like JP Morgan have deployed AI programs to hedge risks, evaluate loans, and price products. Healthcare companies are evaluating if it can be used to predict drug targets and clinical trial success better. Manufacturers are determining if it can increase production and quality. AI may also help retail stores anticipate sales trends, manage inventory and stop theft. The U.S. government is even considering whether AI can be useful on the battlefield.
AI's potential is seemingly endless, and many are turning to Palantir's (PLTR) expertise in managing and protecting data to train and run new AI apps.
In the past, Palantir's sales were largely driven by helping the U.S. government with its counterterrorism efforts. The company still generates significant sales from the U.S. and its allies. But it's also pushed more deeply into managing, interpreting, and reporting data for large companies.
Those relationships position it perfectly to assist businesses and government entities with designing AI solutions using its AI platform (AIP).
"The demand for [Artificial Intelligence Platform] AIP is unlike anything we have seen in the past twenty years," said Karp last summer. "We are currently in discussions with more than three hundred additional enterprises to deploy AIP within their organizations, all of which are searching for an effective and secure means of adapting the latest large language models for use on their internal systems and proprietary data."
Thanks partly to those discussions, which have led to increasing use of its platform, Palantir's year-over-year sales growth has eclipsed 20% for three consecutive quarters, resulting in double-digit earnings per share growth.
Revenue totaled $736 million and earnings per share were 9 cents in the fourth quarter, up 21% and 16% from the previous year.
The top and bottom line strength is likely to continue. Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate for earnings in 2024 and 2025 is 33 cents and 39 cents per share, respectively, up 34% and 17%.
The new deal with Oracle (ORCL) to jointly sell cloud and AI services could open up the use of Palantir's AIP to more users, further driving sales and earnings growth.
Oracle is one of the top 10 largest cloud providers, and its position as a multi-decade leader in data management means it has a global reach.
Palantir price charts signal new target
Kamich is a technical analyst who has used price, volume, and technical analysis indicators to navigate stocks and markets for over 50 years. His interpretation of Palantir's charts is behind his correct forecast in February that its shares could climb.
<<<
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Ombow, >> mesmerized with lies <<
Yes, that's the media. Therefore you can't trust the information presented. As a general rule, when the media says something, the actual truth is likely to be the opposite.
Frank Zappa's had it right with his ode to the media called 'I am the slime' -
I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed and deranged
I have existed for years
But very little has changed
I'm the tool of the Government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I'm the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I'm the slime oozin' out
From your TV set
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't go for help, no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold
That's right, folks
Don't touch that dial
Well, I am the slime from your video
Oozin' along on your livin' room floor
I am the slime from your video
Can't stop the slime, people, look at me go
I am the slime from your video
Oozin' along on your livin' room floor
I am the slime from your video
Can't stop the slime, people, look at me go
Ombow, That does sound like an accurate description of the mainstream media, modern music, TV, movies, etc. The 'Satan' analogy is accurate.
Satanism goes mainstream -
Ombow, Of course the news media would never lie to us :o)
Operation Mockingbird -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird
CIA influence on public opinion -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_influence_on_public_opinion
---
>>> Why the Fed is wading into uncharted waters: Morning Brief
Yahoo Finance
by Jared Blikre
April 4, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-the-fed-is-wading-into-uncharted-waters-morning-brief-100027194.html
Wall Street is all but convinced the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year.
Most sell-side desks are penciling in one 25-basis-point cut in June, with another two to three similar cuts by year-end. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has telegraphed rate cuts are coming since his pivot late last year.
Even the bond market agrees, though that confidence is waning.
But recent hotter-than-expected data in the US is prompting questions of whether rate cuts are advisable for an economy that is finally coming off the inflation boil — and is even showing nascent signs of reacceleration in certain areas.
Tuesday's release of the March ISM Manufacturing PMI is a good example. It was stronger than analysts estimated and, more importantly, topped 50 for the first time since late 2022. This indicates the manufacturing sector is in an expansion phase once again (though additional data points are needed to confirm).
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate sits well below the historical average at 3.9%, GDP is humming at 3.4%, and progress to bring inflation to heel remains slow and "bumpy."
Powell's big headache right now is an economy that reaccelerates, requiring further rate hikes. This is the so-called no landing scenario.
An economy that ran too hot and stayed there was the fate of Paul Volcker, who led the Fed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Volcker presided over a "double-dip" recession as he tamped down inflation that at one point spiked to 15% annually.
It would be supremely ironic if the same fate befell Powell, forcing another round of uncomfortable rate hikes — just as rate cuts are on the horizon.
Yahoo Finance crunched the numbers, and over the last 50 years, the Fed has presided over 22 rate-cutting cycles. Most were short-lived — especially during the period of high inflation in the US that persisted through the 1970s and 1980s.
But what's clear from the chart is that the Fed didn't change directions nearly as often as during those inflationary decades. And inflation is only one of many factors that have changed in the intervening decades.
Volcker was a bit of a maverick who famously targeted the money supply as opposed to interest rates or the size of the Fed's balance sheet. And it wasn't until his successor Alan Greenspan that we even got an official monetary policy statement after each Fed meeting that said what the Fed intends to do.
Clearly, the Fed is a different animal than it was decades ago — as is the US economy — as is the world writ large.
It's tempting to read the Wall Street reports that can handicap rate cut odds to three decimal places and tell you where the S&P 500 will land on the final trading day of the year.
But the safe bet is to remember that, at best, history only rhymes. And when it comes to the US economy, perhaps it's not "this time is different." Arguably, each time is different.
<<<
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>>> Why the Fed is wading into uncharted waters: Morning Brief
Yahoo Finance
by Jared Blikre
April 4, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-the-fed-is-wading-into-uncharted-waters-morning-brief-100027194.html
Wall Street is all but convinced the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year.
Most sell-side desks are penciling in one 25-basis-point cut in June, with another two to three similar cuts by year-end. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has telegraphed rate cuts are coming since his pivot late last year.
Even the bond market agrees, though that confidence is waning.
But recent hotter-than-expected data in the US is prompting questions of whether rate cuts are advisable for an economy that is finally coming off the inflation boil — and is even showing nascent signs of reacceleration in certain areas.
Tuesday's release of the March ISM Manufacturing PMI is a good example. It was stronger than analysts estimated and, more importantly, topped 50 for the first time since late 2022. This indicates the manufacturing sector is in an expansion phase once again (though additional data points are needed to confirm).
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate sits well below the historical average at 3.9%, GDP is humming at 3.4%, and progress to bring inflation to heel remains slow and "bumpy."
Powell's big headache right now is an economy that reaccelerates, requiring further rate hikes. This is the so-called no landing scenario.
An economy that ran too hot and stayed there was the fate of Paul Volcker, who led the Fed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Volcker presided over a "double-dip" recession as he tamped down inflation that at one point spiked to 15% annually.
It would be supremely ironic if the same fate befell Powell, forcing another round of uncomfortable rate hikes — just as rate cuts are on the horizon.
Yahoo Finance crunched the numbers, and over the last 50 years, the Fed has presided over 22 rate-cutting cycles. Most were short-lived — especially during the period of high inflation in the US that persisted through the 1970s and 1980s.
But what's clear from the chart is that the Fed didn't change directions nearly as often as during those inflationary decades. And inflation is only one of many factors that have changed in the intervening decades.
Volcker was a bit of a maverick who famously targeted the money supply as opposed to interest rates or the size of the Fed's balance sheet. And it wasn't until his successor Alan Greenspan that we even got an official monetary policy statement after each Fed meeting that said what the Fed intends to do.
Clearly, the Fed is a different animal than it was decades ago — as is the US economy — as is the world writ large.
It's tempting to read the Wall Street reports that can handicap rate cut odds to three decimal places and tell you where the S&P 500 will land on the final trading day of the year.
But the safe bet is to remember that, at best, history only rhymes. And when it comes to the US economy, perhaps it's not "this time is different." Arguably, each time is different.
<<<
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Since it's a slow day -
Expanding upon the 'Trump accepts a Deep State bribe' narrative from the previous post, another possible scenario would be that the Donald has agreed to do the 'US bombs Iran' task. In return he gets to be President again, while also getting the multi-billion $ payoff from Truth Social. With Trump facing close to $500 mil in court judgements against him, the Deep State has considerable leverage, and the Donald is desperate, so he agrees to the deal. Trump also agrees to forget about the 'drain the swamp' hyperbole, and will do as he's told by the handlers.
Who knows, but at minimum it sounds like a good novel or movie plot :o)
This is the kind of stuff that goes on all the time around the world, according to John Perkins in his famous book 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman' -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man
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Bigworld, >> Uranium stocks <<
In the nuclear sector, I went with URA and NLR to provide a wide exposure. The sector has run up over the past year, so not the bargain that it was, but still interesting. BWXT seems well positioned, with both military and commercial businesses, but the stock has been on a tear so maybe on a pullback. Another interesting one is Centrus Energy (LEU), but hasn't done much so I must be missing something, but am still new to the sector -
>>> BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells nuclear components in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Government Operations and Commercial Operations. The Government Operations segment designs and manufactures naval nuclear components, reactors, and nuclear fuel; fabrication activities; and supplies proprietary and sole-source valves, manifolds, and fittings to naval and commercial shipping customers. This segment also involved in manufacture of close-tolerance and equipment for nuclear applications; down blend government stockpiles of uranium; receives, stores, characterizes, dissolves, recovers, and purifies uranium-bearing materials; and supplies research reactor fuel elements for colleges, universities, and national laboratories, as well as components for defense applications. The Commercial Operations segment designs and manufactures commercial nuclear steam generators, heat exchangers, pressure vessels, and reactor components; and other auxiliary equipment, including containers for the storage of nuclear fuel and other high-level nuclear waste. This segment also offers nuclear fuel, fuel handling systems, tooling delivery systems, nuclear grade materials, and precisely machined components, and related services for CANDU nuclear power plants; provides in-plant inspection, maintenance, and modification services, as well as non-destructive examination and tooling/repair solutions; and manufactures medical radioisotopes, radiopharmaceuticals, and medical devices. The company was formerly known as The Babcock & Wilcox Company and changed its name to BWX Technologies, Inc. in June 2015. BWX Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia. <<<
>>> Centrus Energy Corp. (LEU) supplies nuclear fuel components and services for the nuclear power industry in the United States, Belgium, Japan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) and Technical Solutions. The LEU segment sells separative work units (SWU) components of LEU; natural uranium hexafluoride, uranium concentrates, and uranium conversion; and enriched uranium products to utilities that operate nuclear power plants. The Technical Solutions segment offers technical, manufacturing, engineering, and operations services to public and private sector customers. The company was formerly known as USEC Inc. and changed its name to Centrus Energy Corp. in September 2014. Centrus Energy Corp. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. <<<
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Bigworld, While on the cloak + dagger topic, here's an interesting narrative to consider concerning Trump's potential multi-billion $ bonanza with Truth Social. The big question is why did the SEC finally decide to allow the DWAC merger to go through? They presumably could have blocked it indefinitely, but why the about face, and also why in March?
One theory would be that a deal was struck between Trump and the Deep State, essentially a bribe --> we'll let you take the $ if you agree to go away. They made it clear to him that they are going to fix the digital election anyway, so take the money and promise to stay out of the political realm forever. In preparation, they hit him with close to $500 mil in legal costs / judgements, so this makes accepting the 'bribe' the only practical way out.
Anyway, this would be one explanation for the SEC's surprising about face on allowing the DWAC merger. It also explains why they did it in March, since the 6 month lockup period will end in September, allowing Trump time to cash out prior to the election. After the election in Nov, the DJT shares will be worth zip, so Trump gets his payday even though he loses the election a few weeks later. So basically a financial bribe to end the Deep State's Trump problem.
Another possible explanation for the SEC's surprising approval of the DWAC merger would be political, since it creates the impression Trump is merely running for office again to cash in on the Truth Social bonanza. That realization hurts him politically as supporters see that Trump knows he has no chance of winning, but is merely using the presidential run to save his financial skin and line his pockets.
There are a few other possible explanations, but since the SEC could have stopped the DWAC merger indefinitely, there has to be a reason for their decision to allow it.
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Bigworld, Btw, with that bridge collision, I haven't looked into it much, but not every big event is a conspiracy. Having seen various false flag events over the years, the tendency is for us observers to start seeing conspiracies everywhere. They do happen, but with the bridge collision it seems unlikely. According to Wikipedia - >>> the ship suffered a "complete blackout" and began to drift out of the shipping channel; a backup generator supported electrical systems but did not provide power to the propulsion system. <<<
So a conspiracy narrative would have to first account for the complete blackout on the ship. The possibilities would be - 1) someone on the ship deliberately disabled the power, or 2) the power was disabled by external means. Not impossible, but more likely just a non-intentional failure within the electrical system, and then the bigger problem was that the backup system did not provide power to the propulsion system.
When we see a 'blame China / Russia' explanation for an event, that is almost always wrong, but is a convenient 'go to' smokescreen for anything that happens, ie 'Russia-gate'. Ditto with the 'blame the Arabs' explanation for events. It can happen, but more likely the real culprit is the CIA, MI-6, NATO Intelligence, Mossad, etc. Not always, but with a false flag the idea is to pin the blame on your enemy in order to justify the desired response.
Fwiw, I figure we'll be due for a 9-11 part 2 at some point in order to justify the 'US bombs Iran' scenario. Iran is close to getting nuclear weapon, so it seems inevitable that their Natanz underground facilities will have to be attacked before too long. Probably next year (?), but just a guess. Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities are reportedly under a mountain, so presumably tactical nuke bunker buster bombs will be needed. So that means - 1) the US has to do it, and 2) a big pretext event will be needed to justify the attack (ala 9-11). The alternative of allowing Iran to get nuclear weapons won't be allowed by either US foreign policy groups in power (Trilaterals or Neocons), at least that's the assumption. But lots of unknowns.
False Flag -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_flag
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Bigworld, 2500 for gold by year end sounds feasible. It took 12 years to finally break through 2000 convincingly, so I figure the upside should be considerable as gold makes up for lost time.
Thanks for the Rinear update. I think he's right about the Fed wanting to help the markets remain relatively buoyant and in kumbaya mode. You said that Rinear is mainly a shorter term trader, but I figure we're in more of a buy/hold environment for the foreseeable future. Fed guidance is for 3 rate cuts this year, so that's a clear tailwind for the markets, therefore 'don't fight the Fed' seems like the logical strategy. Landmines abound though - geopolitical, election, black swans, so caution is warranted. So I figure a moderate stock allocation (28%) to take into account the risks, and a buy / hold strategy to take into account the Fed tailwind.
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>>> Cal-Maine Foods, largest producer of eggs in US, finds bird flu in chickens at Texas plant
USA Today
by Natalie Neysa Alund
April 3, 2024
https://www.yahoo.com/news/cal-maine-foods-largest-producer-132035566.html
The largest supplier of eggs in the United States halted production after chickens at a Texas plant tested positive for the highly contagious bird flu - the latest in a spike of cases across the nation.
Cal-Maine Foods on Tuesday announced chickens at its facility in Parmer County, in the state's southwestern panhandle, tested positive for pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) resulting in slaughter of nearly 2 million chickens - 1.6 million hens and 337,000 pullets (young hens).
The announcement less than 24 hours after the Centers for Disease Control reported a person in Texas had been infected with the virus after coming into close contact with dairy cattle and just over a week after sick dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas tested positive for the virus.
The culled Texas chickens represent about 3.6% of the company’s total flock as of Tuesday, the supplier wrote in a news release.
Production at the Texas facility temporarily ceased while the company follows the protocols prescribed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the company said.
Bird flu is spreading in a few states: Keeping your bird feeders clean can help
Cal-Maine Foods is largest producer of eggs in the nation
Headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi, Cal-Maine Foods is the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the nation and said it sells most of its eggs in states across the Southwest, Southeast, Midwest and MidAtlantic.
The company said it "remains dedicated to robust biosecurity programs across its locations; however, no farm is immune from HPAI. HPAI is still present in the wild bird population and the extent of possible future outbreaks, with heightened risk during the migration seasons, cannot be predicted."
Cal-Maine Foods said it was working "to secure production from other facilities" to minimize disruption to its customers.
Human case of bird flu found in Texas: Case comes on heels of outbreak of virus among cattle
Person infected with bird flu in Texas
In a separate news alert this week, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported the patient became "ill following contact with cows presumed to be infected with avian influenza" and that their primary symptom was conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye.
The person who tested positive for bird flu in Texas is only the second known human case in the United States, state and federal officials said this week.
Bird flu in dairy cattle in Kansas, Texas
Last week the USDA announced last week HPAI had been found in unpasteurized clinical samples of milk from ill cows at two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, plus a swab from a dairy cow in Texas.
Wild migratory birds are believed to be the source of the infection, the USDA said, and viral testing and epidemiologic efforts remained underway.
What is bird flu?
Bird flu is a disease caused by a family of flu viruses primarily transmitted among birds.
Avian influenza viruses, according to the CDC and USDA, are classified into two groups: low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) (often seen in wild birds) and HPAI, found mostly in domestic poultry. According to the CDC, LPAI viruses cause mild or no disease, and HPAI cause severe disease and high mortality rates in infected birds.
Bird flu has cost the government roughly $660 million and in recent times raised the price of eggs and poultry. At least 58 million birds were slaughtered last year to limit the spread of the virus.
Bird flu spread to humans is low risk, USDA says
The first case of avian influenza in a person in the United States was reported in Colorado in April 2022.
Federal and state health authorities are investigating the outbreaks, and the USDA said the risk to the general public contracting is low as the viruses have only rarely been transmitted from person to person.
"However, people with close contact with affected animals suspected of having avian influenza A have a higher risk of infection," Texas health officials wrote in a news alert earlier this week.
Bird flu symptoms in humans
Human infection with the bird flu can happen during close contact with infected birds or when people touch sick birds or their saliva, mucus and feces, the CDC said. People contract the virus when it gets into a their eyes, nose or mouth, or when it is inhaled.
Those who contract the virus often experience mild illnesses including an eye infection and upper respiratory symptoms or no symptoms at all, while others can develop a severe sometimes fatal disease like pneumonia.
<<<
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>>> Cal-Maine Foods, largest producer of eggs in US, finds bird flu in chickens at Texas plant
USA Today
by Natalie Neysa Alund
April 3, 2024
https://www.yahoo.com/news/cal-maine-foods-largest-producer-132035566.html
The largest supplier of eggs in the United States halted production after chickens at a Texas plant tested positive for the highly contagious bird flu - the latest in a spike of cases across the nation.
Cal-Maine Foods on Tuesday announced chickens at its facility in Parmer County, in the state's southwestern panhandle, tested positive for pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) resulting in slaughter of nearly 2 million chickens - 1.6 million hens and 337,000 pullets (young hens).
The announcement less than 24 hours after the Centers for Disease Control reported a person in Texas had been infected with the virus after coming into close contact with dairy cattle and just over a week after sick dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas tested positive for the virus.
The culled Texas chickens represent about 3.6% of the company’s total flock as of Tuesday, the supplier wrote in a news release.
Production at the Texas facility temporarily ceased while the company follows the protocols prescribed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the company said.
Bird flu is spreading in a few states: Keeping your bird feeders clean can help
Cal-Maine Foods is largest producer of eggs in the nation
Headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi, Cal-Maine Foods is the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the nation and said it sells most of its eggs in states across the Southwest, Southeast, Midwest and MidAtlantic.
The company said it "remains dedicated to robust biosecurity programs across its locations; however, no farm is immune from HPAI. HPAI is still present in the wild bird population and the extent of possible future outbreaks, with heightened risk during the migration seasons, cannot be predicted."
Cal-Maine Foods said it was working "to secure production from other facilities" to minimize disruption to its customers.
Human case of bird flu found in Texas: Case comes on heels of outbreak of virus among cattle
Person infected with bird flu in Texas
In a separate news alert this week, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported the patient became "ill following contact with cows presumed to be infected with avian influenza" and that their primary symptom was conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye.
The person who tested positive for bird flu in Texas is only the second known human case in the United States, state and federal officials said this week.
Bird flu in dairy cattle in Kansas, Texas
Last week the USDA announced last week HPAI had been found in unpasteurized clinical samples of milk from ill cows at two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, plus a swab from a dairy cow in Texas.
Wild migratory birds are believed to be the source of the infection, the USDA said, and viral testing and epidemiologic efforts remained underway.
What is bird flu?
Bird flu is a disease caused by a family of flu viruses primarily transmitted among birds.
Avian influenza viruses, according to the CDC and USDA, are classified into two groups: low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) (often seen in wild birds) and HPAI, found mostly in domestic poultry. According to the CDC, LPAI viruses cause mild or no disease, and HPAI cause severe disease and high mortality rates in infected birds.
Bird flu has cost the government roughly $660 million and in recent times raised the price of eggs and poultry. At least 58 million birds were slaughtered last year to limit the spread of the virus.
Bird flu spread to humans is low risk, USDA says
The first case of avian influenza in a person in the United States was reported in Colorado in April 2022.
Federal and state health authorities are investigating the outbreaks, and the USDA said the risk to the general public contracting is low as the viruses have only rarely been transmitted from person to person.
"However, people with close contact with affected animals suspected of having avian influenza A have a higher risk of infection," Texas health officials wrote in a news alert earlier this week.
Bird flu symptoms in humans
Human infection with the bird flu can happen during close contact with infected birds or when people touch sick birds or their saliva, mucus and feces, the CDC said. People contract the virus when it gets into a their eyes, nose or mouth, or when it is inhaled.
Those who contract the virus often experience mild illnesses including an eye infection and upper respiratory symptoms or no symptoms at all, while others can develop a severe sometimes fatal disease like pneumonia.
<<<
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Goldman recently came out bullish on gold (previous post), so that's a factor in the current move, and another is that Wall Street often bases its decisions on TA / charts, and this big breakout is attracting attention. I figure numerous 'macro' factors are also at work, including the growing US debt bomb, the BRICS plans for their own gold linked currency to compete with the US dollar, etc. As we know, central banks have been piling into gold for years, so global demand grows and mining output has lagged.
So the 'stars + planets' are finally aligning to produce the big breakout. The professional 'gold bugs' are always bullish, and have their reputations and livelihoods wrapped up in the bullish side, via newsletters, book sales, etc. But it looks like gold's appeal is broadening, and some of the Bitcoin crowd might also be switching over to gold. Seeing gold being sold at Costco, and selling out within hours, may have also attracted some attention. And anyone who follows TA / charts couldn't miss the extremely bullish chart pattern that had developed.
Based on the charts, this move is probably just beginning. But as you said, the big question is when does the suppression mechanism kick in? If gold is allowed to run up too much it could reinforce an inflationary vibe and thus work against the Fed's goals. So we'll see how long the party lasts, but so far it's been fun :o)
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High Tide (HITI) - nice break out on high volume :o)
>>> High Tide Inc. (HITI) engages in the cannabis retail business in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Retail and Wholesale segments. It operates licensed retail cannabis stores; and provides data analytics services. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes consumption accessories. Further, it sells its products through online sales via e-commerce platform. The company offers its products under the Daily High Club, DankStop, FABCBD, GC, Nuleaf, Smoke Cartel, and Blessed CBD brands. The company was formerly known as High Tide Ventures Inc. and changed its name to High Tide Inc. in October 2018. High Tide Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. <<<
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High Tide (HITI) - nice break out on high volume :o)
>>> High Tide Inc. (HITI) engages in the cannabis retail business in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Retail and Wholesale segments. It operates licensed retail cannabis stores; and provides data analytics services. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes consumption accessories. Further, it sells its products through online sales via e-commerce platform. The company offers its products under the Daily High Club, DankStop, FABCBD, GC, Nuleaf, Smoke Cartel, and Blessed CBD brands. The company was formerly known as High Tide Ventures Inc. and changed its name to High Tide Inc. in October 2018. High Tide Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. <<<
---
High Tide (HITI) - nice break out on high volume :o)
>>> High Tide Inc. (HITI) engages in the cannabis retail business in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Retail and Wholesale segments. It operates licensed retail cannabis stores; and provides data analytics services. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes consumption accessories. Further, it sells its products through online sales via e-commerce platform. The company offers its products under the Daily High Club, DankStop, FABCBD, GC, Nuleaf, Smoke Cartel, and Blessed CBD brands. The company was formerly known as High Tide Ventures Inc. and changed its name to High Tide Inc. in October 2018. High Tide Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. <<<
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>> silver <<
Silver also coming to life :o) Looking at the SLV chart, as with gold there is a quasi 12 year cup + handle (bullish), with the 3 year 'cup' having a quasi inverted head + shoulders (also bullish). It's much less classic than on the gold chart, but is easier to see now that silver is climbing. Also the 'neckline' on the silver chart is sloped, where gold's is flat and thus more 'classic'.
Anyway, looks like silver is playing catch up to gold. There is also a potential motivation for price suppression with silver, since it represents a key input cost for solar panels. Therefore keeping silver prices lower helps keep solar cost competitive with traditional types of energy. Not sure how much price suppression of silver has been going on in recent years, but like gold. it does seem to have peculiar 'smack downs' at times.
---
>> silver <<
Silver also coming to life :o) Looking at the SLV chart, as with gold there is a quasi 12 year cup + handle (bullish), with the 3 year 'cup' having a quasi inverted head + shoulders (also bullish). It's much less classic than on the gold chart, but is easier to see now that silver is climbing. Also the 'neckline' on the silver chart is sloped, where gold's is flat and thus more 'classic'.
Anyway, looks like silver is playing catch up to gold. There is also a potential motivation for price suppression with silver, since it represents a key input cost for solar panels. Therefore keeping silver prices lower helps keep solar cost competitive with traditional types of energy. Not sure how much price suppression of silver has been going on in recent years, but like gold. it does seem to have peculiar 'smack downs' at times.
---
Bigworld, >> silver <<
Silver also coming to life :o) Looking at the SLV chart, as with gold there is a quasi 12 year cup + handle (bullish), with the 3 year 'cup' having a quasi inverted head + shoulders (also bullish). It's much less classic than on the gold chart, but is easier to see now that silver is climbing. Also the 'neckline' on the silver chart is sloped, where gold's is flat and thus more 'classic'.
Anyway, looks like silver is playing catch up to gold. There is also a potential motivation for price suppression with silver, since it represents a key input cost for solar panels. Therefore keeping silver prices lower helps keep solar cost competitive with traditional types of energy. Not sure how much price suppression of silver has been going on in recent years, but like gold. it does seem to have peculiar 'smack downs' at times.
---
Ombow, Here's more on 'Ableton Live' -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ableton_Live
Looks like it could take some time to learn, but is a phenomenal tool. I see Amazon has the standard edition for $439.
Goldman - >>> Gold’s 'record march higher set to continue,' Goldman says
Yahoo Finance
by Ines Ferré·Senior
March 25, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/golds-record-march-higher-set-to-continue-goldman-says-164325765.html#:~:text=Goldman%20Sachs%20analysts%20upgraded%20their,phase%2C%20barring%20any%20geopolitical%20surprise.
Gold’s roughly 8% month-to-date rally has room to grow with the precious metal poised to hit $2,300 an ounce by year-end, according to Goldman Sachs analysts.
On Monday futures gained to trade as high as $2,182 an ounce. The precious metal is considered a safe haven during times of geopolitical tensions and when interest rates decrease. Last week, the Federal Reserve continued to signal that it would lower interest rates three times this year.
The Fed meeting “reinforced the market’s (and ours) expectations that three cuts are likely this year, lending renewed support to gold to test and surpass March’s earlier record high,” wrote a team of analysts led by Samantha Dart.
Goldman Sachs analysts upgraded their average gold price forecast for 2024 from $2,090 to $2,180 per ounce, targeting a move to $2,300 by the end of the year.
The analysts forecast gold prices in the near term will move toward another consolidation phase, barring any geopolitical surprise. However, “a substantive retracement lower will likely also be limited by resilience in physical buying channels,” wrote Dart, citing Chinese imports of the precious metal.
“Nonetheless, in the midterm we continue to hold a constructive view on gold underpinned by eventual Fed easing, which should crucially reactivate the largely dormant ETF buying,” wrote Dart.
Bullion's price increases have been disconnected from recent outflows seen in gold-related ETFs. Strategists believe investors have been rotating money into bitcoin ETFs as the token roared toward new highs earlier this month.
Central banks have been buying up gold at historic levels, helping to drive up demand over the past couple of years.
Adjusted for inflation, gold hit a record in 1980 when it hit $850 per ounce, which would equal almost $3,200 in today's dollars.
<<<
---
Bigworld, Goldman recently came out bullish on gold (next post), so that's a factor, and another is that Wall Street often bases its decisions on TA / charts, and this big breakout is attracting attention. I figure numerous 'macro' factors are also at work, including the growing US debt bomb, the BRICS plans for their own gold linked currency to compete with the US dollar, etc. As we know, central banks have been piling into gold for years, so global demand grows and mining output has lagged.
So the 'stars + planets' are finally aligning to produce the big breakout. The professional 'gold bugs' are always bullish, and have their reputations and livelihoods wrapped up in the bullish side, via newsletters, book sales, etc. But it looks like gold's appeal is broadening, and some of the Bitcoin crowd might also be switching over to gold. Seeing gold being sold at Costco, and selling out within hours, may have also attracted some attention. And anyone who follows TA / charts couldn't miss the extremely bullish chart pattern that had developed.
Based on the charts, this move is probably just beginning. But as you said, the big question is when does the suppression mechanism kick in? If gold is allowed to run up too much it could reinforce an inflationary vibe and thus work against the Fed's goals. So we'll see how long the party lasts, but so far it's been fun :o)
---