Finance

AST SpaceMobile’s FCC Test Arrives as Investors Weigh a Costly Q2 Miss

AST SpaceMobile received a 30-day FCC authorization to test 800 MHz satellite connectivity, following a Q2 earnings miss and mixed analyst sentiment on the stock.

Viking Stock Fell After Earnings, But the Numbers Tell a Different Story

Viking Holdings posted Q2 2026 revenue and EPS beats with strong 2026 and 2027 bookings, and analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating despite VIK's premium valuation.

3 Ways to Invest in Cybersecurity Through ETFs

BUG, IHAK, and WCBR are similarly priced cybersecurity ETFs, but differences in holdings, concentration, and growth screens explain their varied 2026 performance and risk levels.

TJX Companies Stock Drop Sets Up Buy Signal as Analysts Stay Bullish

TJX Companies shares fell after fiscal Q2 2027 results despite revenue growth, wider margins and strong cash flow, with analysts remaining bullish despite cautious Q3 guidance.

Nasdaq’s 23-Hour Trading Push Could Turn Global Liquidity Into a Growth Engine

Nasdaq plans to launch 23-hour trading on Dec. 6, aiming to capture overseas order flow, boosted by its LeveL Markets acquisition and growing financial technology and compliance software revenue.

Diamondback Hits a Milestone at Just the Right Time

Diamondback Energy topped 1 million BOE/d, posted record quarterly revenue and earnings, raised guidance, and doubled its buyback, while analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating.

Analog Devices’ AI Pivot Could Push Shares to Fresh Highs

Analog Devices posted strong fiscal Q3 results, with revenue up nearly 40% and EPS up 68%, driven by AI-linked demand, prompting bullish analyst targets and continued institutional buying.

Michael Hudson: U.S. War Against Russia Has Blocked Black Sea Grain Transport as Well as the Persian Gulf Oil Trade.

Russia's blockade of Odessa, which will have a global impact on grain supplies, is not getting the attention it warrants.

One Platform, Every Ailment: Hinge Health's Gamble

Hinge Health's stock has surged in 2026 on strong Q2 earnings and expansion into migraine and GI care, but its rich valuation leaves little room for execution missteps.

Personal Bankruptcy Filings Are Soaring in 2026, Signaling Growing Economic Distress

As bankruptcy rates rise, a primer on the process and some strategies that might hold the creditor wolves at bay.

To Absorb $1 Trillion of New Treasuries in 3 Months, as the Debt Ballooned to $40 Trillion, Investors Demanded Higher Yields. Bessent Blows Fuse

Bessent’s job is to sell these bonds come hell or high water, and at the lowest possible yield.

Bessent Doubles Yellen’s Hocus-Pocus Treasury Buybacks, Swapping Old Cheap Debt at a Discount for New Expensive Debt

Hocus pocus works with the bond market only briefly. His last hocus-pocus, the big kahuna US-Japan joint intervention, fizzled in days and bond yields marched higher.

Coffee Break: Stressed Oligarchs at Meta, OpenAI, and the Ellison Empire

Three particularly stressed oligarchs are getting a lot of negative attention this week as Mark Zuckerberg's Meta faces a $1.4 trillion lawsuit, Sam Altman's OpenAI is bleeding talent and their IPO seems an ever more remote possibility, and Larry and David Ellison are in a full-on media war with 12 attorneys general over their attempted purchase of Warner Bros Discovery.

Bloom Energy’s AI Surge Meets a Valuation Reality Check

Bloom Energy's stock surged after record Q2 earnings and major AI power deals, but its lofty valuation and supply-chain questions raise risks for investors.

More on the Next ‘Super El Niño’

An update on near and longer-term forecasts for the impact of the arriving super El Niño.

Target Is Winning Shoppers Back—Can the Rally Reach $180?

Target posted Q2 revenue up 5.4% and 3.8% comp growth on rising traffic, prompting raised guidance. Analysts and institutions are bullish as shares eye $180 with a 3% dividend yield.

IonQ’s Space Contract Points to a New Frontier for Quantum Investors

IonQ's Space Division won an NRO radar imaging contract, signaling the quantum computing firm's expansion beyond hardware following its Capella Space and SkyWater acquisitions.

Is Apple’s AI Strategy Smarter Than Skeptics Think?

Apple pays Alphabet about $1 billion yearly for Gemini to power Siri, fueling debate over whether its AI strategy is a risk or a shrewd, cash-preserving bet on distribution.

Why Lowe’s Could Be a Bargain Before Housing Recovers

Lowe's stock trades near multi-year lows despite a 2.3% dividend yield, Pro-market acquisitions, and a Moderate Buy rating with 20% analyst upside to the $262 consensus target.

Okta’s AI Tailwind Could Put This Forgotten Software Stock Back in Play

Okta shares have rallied about 60% this year as analysts cite rising identity-management spending, AI agent demand, and improved profitability, with Wall Street rating it a Moderate Buy.

Links 8/19/2026

Iran War: US Considers Reducing Middle East Military Presence as Conflict Widens Regionally; Market Wobbles Intensify as Government Bond Interest Rates Rise Globally and AI Bubble Implosion Seems Imminent

Today's Iran war news: Iran ups the ante as markets look even more green around the gills.

Datavault AI Locks Down CyberCatch in $94M Security Rollup

Datavault AI (NASDAQ: DVLT) shares jumped 20% after its $94.5 million cash deal for CyberCatch, adding quantum-resistant compliance IP ahead of August earnings and amid heavy short interest.

Desperate Times Call for Turkish Measures

Türkiye is being called upon for a more active role in against Iran and Russia. Will it oblige and would it make any difference?