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Can Apple Think Different on A.I.? 2024-06-10 11:31:25+00:00 - Apple tries to close the A.I. gap Heading into Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, big questions are hanging over the tech giant, from muted sales for its Vision Pro headset to growing competition in China and regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. Those aren’t going away, but the focus at the event will be on what Tim Cook, Apple’s C.E.O., reveals about artificial intelligence — and whether the company can catch up to competitors. Apple has lagged behind its rivals. The share prices of companies that are seen as A.I. leaders, like Nvidia and Microsoft, have soared since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in November 2022. Big Tech C.E.O.s have fallen over themselves to show they are in the race. But Apple hasn’t yet introduced a new A.I. offering, held back by its typical caution, according to The Wall Street Journal. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft over use of copyrighted articles related to A.I. systems.)

HealthEquity Stock: Leading Health Savings Account Investment 2024-06-10 11:30:00+00:00 - HealthEquity Today HQY HealthEquity $86.94 +1.69 (+1.98%) 52-Week Range $59.02 ▼ $87.61 P/E Ratio 94.50 Price Target $101.42 Add to Watchlist HealthEquity Inc NASDAQ: HQY is one of the nation’s largest providers of health savings accounts (HSA) and consumer-directed benefits (CDB) services. Its platform enables individuals to open, transfer, and conveniently manage HSAs and businesses to administer them seamlessly. They also provide flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) plans. The company operates in the medical sector and competes with other providers of HSAs, including UnitedHealth Group Inc. NYSE: UNH, Webster Financial Co. NYSE: WBS and Fidelity National Financial Inc. NYSE: FNF. Get HealthEquity alerts: Sign Up What is a Health Savings Account? An HSA is a tax-advantaged member-owned account that lets individuals save pre-tax dollars to use for future qualified medical expenses. The funds can be invested tax-free into mutual funds, and they never expire. HSAs are available to individuals with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). HDHPs usually have catastrophic coverage. Premiums, deductibles, and co-pays can be paid from your HSA. HSA funds don't expire and roll over annually regardless of whether you change employers, health plans, or retire. Many individuals treat HSAs like a 401k plan to invest in tax-free. HSA funds can be used to pay for some Medicare expenses, including Medicare Part B, Part D, and Medicare Advantage plan premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and co-insurance. However, they can no longer be contributed to once enrolled in Medicare. HSAs can’t be used to pay for Medigap premiums. What is a Flexible Spending Account? Pre-tax payroll contributions fund flexible spending accounts (FSAs), which can be used to spend tax-free money on qualified medical expenses. FSAs use traditional health plans, which have lower deductibles and higher premiums. Individuals can select between health insurers offered by the employer. FSAs don't cover premium payments, and funds must be spent annually as they don't roll over and do expire. FSAs aren't owned by individuals and don't enable the investment of funds. The biggest advantage to an FSA is that the whole balance is accessible on day one, acting like a cash advance from the employer. The employer owns the account, and unused funds are typically returned to the employer at the end of the plan year, subject to the employer's terms. HQY Triggers a Daily Bull Flag Breakout Pattern The daily candlestick chart on HQY depicts a bull flag breakout pattern. The flagpole formed on the parabolic price surge from $62.10 on Dec. 15, 2023, to $84.13 on Feb. 27, 2024. The flag formed after that based on the parallel lower highs and lower lows, reaching a low of $74.75 on May 15, 2024. HQY triggered the bull flag on the breakout bounce through the upper trendline resistance at $80.01, driven by its robust Q1 2024 earnings report. The daily relative strength index (RSI) has coiled at the 68-band. Pullback supports are at $81.98, $80.01, $76.62 and $74.75. A Solid Fiscal Q1 2025 Earnings Report for HealthEquity HealthEquity reported a Q1 2025 beat by 15 cents. Net income rose to $28.8 million, up from $4.1 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA was $117.4 million, up 36% YoY. Revenues surged 17.7% YoY to $287.6 million, falling short of the $277.91 million consensus estimates. HealthEquity had 9.1 million HSAs, up 13% YoY. Total HSA assets were $27.3 billion, up 22% YoY. The total accounts are split between HSAs and CDBs. HealthEquity's Upside Guidance HealthEquity issued upside guidance for fiscal 2025 EPS of $2.93 to $3.10 versus $2.90 consensus analyst estimates. Full-year 2025 revenues are expected to be between $1.16 billion and $1.18 billion versus the consensus estimates of $1.16 billion. HealthEquity CEO Jon Kessler commented, "Record first quarter HSA sales, greater Enhanced Rates adoption, and timely transition of two of three BenefitWallet tranches made for a great team start to fiscal 2025." Kessler concluded, "With momentum on both growth and margins, we are raising full-year guidance and pushing forward our platform investments to deliver remarkable experiences, deepen partnerships, and drive member outcomes." HealthEquity analyst ratings and price targets are on MarketBeat. Before you consider HealthEquity, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and HealthEquity wasn't on the list. While HealthEquity currently has a "Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Boss of South West Water’s owner gains £300,000 pay rise 2024-06-10 10:42:00+00:00 - The boss of South West Water’s owner has received a pay increase of £300,000, weeks after an outbreak of diarrhoea caused by a parasite in Devon’s water supply. Susan Davy, the chief executive of Pennon Group, was awarded £860,000 in total pay for the latest financial year, up from £543,000 the year before, according to accounts published on Monday. The increase came despite Pennon executives agreeing to forgo bonuses for this year in recognition of the widespread outrage over sewage dumping. Britain’s water companies have been under intense scrutiny in recent years over their environmental performance, amid disgust over the amount of raw sewage flowing into the UK’s rivers and seas. Those concerns have been particularly relevant for customers of South West Water in Devon, after the outbreak last month of the parasite cryptosporidium, which causes cryptosporidiosis, often in the form of diarrhoea and vomiting. The parasite spreads from faeces. South West Water customers near the seaside town of Brixham were advised to boil their tap water before drinking it. About 17,000 households were affected by the warning, with compensation of up to £265 for those still affected as of 7 June. News of Davy’s pay increase comes amid a general election campaign in which water quality has played a prominent role. Anthony Mangnall, who was the Conservative MP for Totnes and South Devon until the dissolution of parliament, said Davy should resign after refusing to change course on a £127m dividend. The dividend was decided last month despite the company making a £9.1m loss for the year. “Once again South West Water have put themselves before the people,” he said. “From paying out dividends to increasing their own pay, this only goes to show that they are a company deeply out of touch with the needs and wants of the people.” Davy’s pay rise came as she received £298,000 under a long-term incentive plan awarded in 2021, before the company had brought in changes to lower share awards if water quality was not up to scratch. That came on top of fixed pay worth £562,000. Pennon executives did give up part of their variable pay for the year, meaning Davy’s pay was £237,000 lower than it otherwise might have been. In a foreword to the annual report, Davy wrote: “As CEO, it’s also my job to lead from the front and champion living our values. With executive remuneration continuing to be in the media and regulatory spotlight, I recommended to the remuneration committee that the annual bonus was forgone. It’s the right thing to do.” skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Gary Carter, a national officer at the GMB union, said: “Does South West Water have no shame? This scandalous behaviour has to end. It’s time Ofwat stopped water companies paying big bonuses and paying out huge dividends for such poor performances. Bosses must put their hands in their own pockets to stop pollution and sewage leaks. Customers should not have to pay for years of management failure.” Luke Hildyard, a director at the High Pay Centre, a campaign group, said executive pay often had “little to do with performance, ability or the value to society of their work”. He said: “Preventing intestinal parasites from flooding the tap water of your customers feels like quite a fundamental part of the job for the chief executive of a water company. It is surprising that failure to surpass this fairly minimal expectation not only nets a half-a-million-pound salary, but also a six-figure performance-related payout.” Pennon also announced that its chair, Gill Rider, would retire after the company’s general meeting next month. She will be replaced by David Sproul, a global deputy chief executive of the accountants Deloitte from 2019 to 2021 and the current chair of Starling Bank. Sproul will receive pay of £250,000. A spokesperson for Pennon said: “We understand the strength of feeling from our customers and the public around the issues facing the water sector. For the second year running, our chief executive, alongside other members of our executive leadership team, have therefore made the personal decision to decline annual bonus for the previous financial year.”

Where to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck 2024-06-10 09:02:01.590000+00:00 - It’s the backpacker’s call to India, the sunseeker’s attraction to Mexico, and the digital nomad’s drive to get to Thailand: Go where the dollar buys more. The evergreen budget travel strategy is getting a boost this summer: The dollar has surged against a number of foreign currencies, including the Japanese yen, thanks to high interest rates offered by the Federal Reserve — attracting foreign investment, which bolsters the dollar. “A destination’s weaker currency spells greater value for U.S. tourists,” said Erina Pindar, the chief operating officer and managing partner at SmartFlyer, a global travel agency based in New York City. “This economic advantage could make far-flung bucket list destinations in Asia, such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan, or in South America, like Peru, Argentina and Chile, more accessible than ever before,” she added.

3 Subtle Warning Signals from Nvidia's Earnings Results That Investors Likely Missed 2024-06-10 03:30:00+00:00 - Semiconductor giant Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) came out with stellar results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (ending April 28, 2024), with revenue and earnings easily beating the Wall Street consensus estimates. The company's booming artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data center segment has been the main reason for this exceptional performance. Data center revenue was up by 427% year over year to $22.6 billion in the first quarter. With the rapid advancement and adoption of generative AI technologies, cloud service providers, enterprises, start-ups, and even sovereign governments are using Nvidia's GPUs (Hopper architecture-based H100 chips) extensively for training and inferencing large language models. The existing trillion-dollar global data center infrastructure, based on "dumb" network interface cards (NICs) and central processing units (CPUs), is being transitioned to accelerated computing. Enterprises are also gearing up to transition their H100 GPU-based accelerated computing infrastructure to that based on the superior H200 chip and the next-generation Blackwell systems. All these tailwinds bode extremely well for Nvidia's financial and share price performance in the coming months. On May 22, Nvidia announced a 10-for-1 stock split, effective June 10, 2024. Although the split does not change a company's fundamental story or growth prospects, it makes the stock more accessible to a broader base of retail investors. While Nvidia's first-quarter results were undoubtedly positive, investors should know some potential challenges before picking this stock. Competitive pressures It is no secret that Nvidia's rapid share gains directly resulted from its complete dominance in the AI hardware market. However, Nvidia has been battling supply challenges for its H100 chip for several months. The company also expects demand for its new H200 chip and next-generation Blackwell system to outpace supply until the next year. In this backdrop, the ramp-up of Advanced Micro Devices' MI300X GPUs and the entry of Intel's Gaudi 3 AI accelerator may put a dent in Nvidia's AI chip market share at least in the short run. Although Nvidia's recently launched chips may be superior in computing power, MI300X and Gaudi 3 are more cost-effective in running AI workloads. Nvidia may also have to face competition from cloud companies such as Alphabet and Amazon, which are developing in-house AI chips and custom solutions for specific workloads. Nvidia has to rapidly ramp up production of its AI chips to prevent a significant loss in market share. Furthermore, since cloud service providers and hyperscalers require a large amount of AI chips and are highly price sensitive, Nvidia may also have to significantly reduce the price point of its AI chips to remain competitive. As the AI market matures and workloads get standardized, Nvidia may also face increasing competition from low-cost targeted custom AI solutions. Story continues These challenges can affect Nvidia's revenue and earnings performance in the coming months. Geopolitical tensions In September 2022, the U.S. government banned Nvidia from exporting its high-performance AI chips to China. Since then, the export restrictions continued to mount and now also include the slightly slowed-down A800 and H800 chips. While Nvidia developed new products that do not require export control license, these restrictions have significantly affected the company's data center revenue in China. Nvidia expects the Chinese market to be more competitive in terms of pricing and share. The U.S. government has also slowed shipments of Nvidia's AI chips to the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. These export restrictions are detrimental to the company's international market growth in the coming months. Product obsolescence Nvidia accelerated the pace of the new chip launch from two years to one year to fend off competition. However, this strategy can also result in the company cannibalizing its older product lineup with next-generation products. Since customers are keen on optimizing their AI infrastructure, they may opt to delay their purchases to access the latest technology. Nvidia is trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 36.7, which is lower than the company's three-year average forward P/E multiple of 91. Hence, although the warnings in the company's transcript cannot be fully ignored, investors do not need to completely write off Nvidia. The company's full-stack approach to accelerated computing (advanced AI chips, AI-optimized networking solutions, CUDA software ecosystem), flexible architectures (Hopper, Grace, Blackwell), and commitment to innovation have been solid differentiators. Considering that it has proved to be a major disruptive force in the AI industry, investors can consider buying at least a small stake in this stock -- even at current elevated price levels. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $740,688!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 3, 2024 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Manali Pradhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Intel and recommends the following options: long January 2025 $45 calls on Intel and short August 2024 $35 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Subtle Warning Signals from Nvidia's Earnings Results That Investors Likely Missed was originally published by The Motley Fool

1 Hot Data Center Stock to Buy -- If It Ever Cools Off 2024-06-10 03:17:00+00:00 - With artificial intelligence (AI) getting installed in big-tech data centers at a rapid pace, the investment world has begun fretting over a new set of related problems: higher energy consumption. The semiconductor systems used to power AI -- like those from Nvidia -- consume copious amounts of energy, so much so that expectations for global power demand are rapidly rising. Nvidia isn't worried. It has an ecosystem of engineering partners hard at work solving energy delivery and other related data center problems. One such partner that got a name drop from CEO Jensen Huang earlier in 2024 is Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT). The stock could be a buy, if only the price was right. Vertiv holds a key position in engineering data centers Up until just recently, Vertiv has been a pretty boring industrial energy engineering business. It was spun off from Emerson Electric and sold to private equity in 2016. Then in 2020, the name was changed to Vertiv and the company was taken public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Following that, shares didn't do much to write home about -- at least, not until 2023, when investors started to get wind of Vertiv's potential in data center applications. And then in March 2024, during Nvidia's annual weeklong GPU Technology Conference, it was announced that Vertiv was entering the Nvidia Partner Network. That relationship really electrified the stock price. VRT Chart Speaking of electrification, Vertiv engineers and manufactures power delivery and management systems for data center servers (the computing units that sit in pull-out drawers in data center racks). As with all electrical systems, more energy use means more heat, a harmful side effect of powerful new AI servers. Vertiv engineers the cooling systems, too. Being added as one of Nvidia's key consultants in power and cooling systems obviously has investor optimism flying high, given how fast Nvidia is growing. Vertiv itself seems more than happy to tout its integration into Nvidia's ecosystem. As AI radically alters the way data centers are operated, the company thinks it has a new growth tailwind at its back. Management said its backlog of equipment and service orders increased 15% to $6.3 billion in just a three-month period from the end of 2023 to the end of the first quarter of 2024. A valuable supply chain partner, but how valuable? Vertiv's stock advance is impressive to behold, but I have concerns that the valuation now outstrips present reality. At a market cap of over $36 billion after the recent run-up, the stock is valued for nearly 40 times expected 2024 earnings per share (EPS). Story continues To be clear, this isn't the most egregious valuation being bandied about in the AI investing fervor. However, Vertiv expects organic revenue growth (excluding acquisitions and divestitures) to increase about 12% this year. Growth from the data center AI boom looks priced-in already, unless management is seriously underestimating actual revenue. Maybe some of that $6.3 billion backlog will turn into sales sooner rather than later. At this point, Vertiv is indeed an interesting business that could be a long-term winner from the AI race. It seems to have secured itself a position in the data center supply chain, and especially for AI being fueled by Nvidia. Perhaps Vertiv's growth story will be longer-lasting than just the recent hype. But for an equipment engineer with its fate as a premium-priced stock largely tied to the innovation of Nvidia, the current valuation is a bit steep for my taste. Vertiv won't just need to grow, but its profit margins (operating margin of 14% over the last 12-month stretch) will also need to expand to justify the stock run-up. VRT Operating Margin (TTM) Chart For now, Vertiv is on my watch list, but nothing more. If shares cool off a bit, this one might be worth revisiting. Should you invest $1,000 in Vertiv right now? Before you buy stock in Vertiv, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vertiv wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $740,688!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 3, 2024 Nicholas Rossolillo has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Emerson Electric and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Hot Data Center Stock to Buy -- If It Ever Cools Off was originally published by The Motley Fool

Trudeau to Call Vote on Contentious Tax Change This Week 2024-06-10 02:50:00+00:00 - (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will call for a vote this week on a planned hike in the capital-gains tax inclusion rate, a measure that would raise billions in additional government revenue and has attracted the ire of the business community. Most Read from Bloomberg Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will put forward a motion in the House of Commons on Monday, she said in a speech in Toronto on Sunday. The proposed reforms will follow the “broad outlines” that the government has previously announced, she said, including an implementation date of June 25 and no change to the exemption for gains on the sale of primary residences. “Tomorrow we will introduce changes that will result in a small number of Canadians paying a little more in tax,” Freeland said. The government said in April that it plans to increase the capital-gains tax on companies and individuals in years when they record gains of more than C$250,000 ($182,000). Currently, half of those gains are subject to corporate or personal income tax; that will rise to two-thirds. Exemptions and reductions are available for owners of certain small businesses, farms and fishing operations. The move has attracted widespread criticism from business groups, who argue it will hurt Canada’s ability to attract investment and worsen productivity woes. Trudeau said last month that the tax change is about asking the wealthy to contribute more to society. Freeland’s budget estimated the measure will raise almost C$20 billion in new tax revenue over five years — though that figure rests on the assumption that some investors will rush to sell assets by June 24. That’s the last day to realize a gain at the current lower tax rate. --With assistance from Brian Platt. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Making Money in the Stock Market Can Be Easy, Even if You're Not Great at Picking Stocks 2024-06-10 02:32:00+00:00 - Investing in the stock market is a tried-and-true way to build wealth over time. Many times, however, investors are left disillusioned because their returns are underwhelming or they've lost money on stocks and investments that they thought should have been good buys. Even when investors go with seemingly safe investments, they can get burned. 3M is a stock which comes to mind. It has been a solid brand and business for decades, but now, due to legal problems, it has split its operations and slashed its dividend, which for years looked to be incredibly safe. Walgreens Boots Alliance is another once-safe stock that had to cut its dividend earlier this year. Investors who recently bought shares of those stocks are probably disappointed now, after their short stint in the market. Particularly if they made the mistake of loading up on only a few stocks rather than diversifying their investments. Stock picking can be risky and time-consuming Investors burned by a stock pick or two might have learned that picking individual stocks can be risky. However, it's the allure of chasing big gains and trying to beat the market that attracts many investors. It's this gamification in stocks that led to Warren Buffett's right-hand man, the late Charlie Munger, in 2021 to derisively compare erratic behaviors in the stock market to what someone might observe in a casino. And betting on high-risk stocks can be a dangerous strategy. Risk is real in the stock market. (Check out this page for help understanding your own risk tolerance.) Even blue chip stocks can sometimes provide investors with underwhelming returns. And while many investors can outperform the markets while diversifying and holding many stocks, it's not an easy strategy to do on your own, especially if you don't have the time to keep track of all those investments or aren't really interested in doing so. Many investors are better off sticking with a diversified exchange-traded fund For many investors, a more suitable strategy may be to buy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking different segments of the market. Through an ETF, you can get exposure to not just dozens but hundreds of stocks through just one investment. For example, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY) tracks the S&P 500 and allows you to benefit from the market's overall performance. Since each stock takes up a minor piece of the fund, you aren't taking on any oversize risk with a single investment. And with an expense ratio of only 0.09%, the cost isn't high. Over time, the fund's composition could change as new growth stocks emerge and as other stocks struggle. Sticking with shares of the fund are an easier way to keep up with market changes than trying to stay on top of business news and developments. Story continues While there will inevitably be dips and bad years, tracking the S&P 500 is a solid way to grow your wealth over time. Since 2000, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust has risen by 264%. And when factoring in its dividend payments, the total returns are around 466%. The downside, of course, is that by investing in a fund that mirrors the S&P 500, you can't possibly outperform it. If you're confident in your stock-picking abilities, creating your own customized portfolio may still be what you prefer to do. But it's definitely not the only way to make money in the stock market. Investing in stocks doesn't need to be complicated Ultimately, your investing strategy can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. Want to invest in dozens or perhaps hundreds of stocks and not worry about tracking all those companies? Go the ETF route. Do you follow the stock market on a daily basis and are you familiar with the latest trends and developments in the market? Do you have a handle on what makes a stock undervalued or overvalued? Then picking individual stocks may be the better option for you. There's no one-size-fits-all strategy that is going to be suitable for everyone. And if your goal is just to make a good return without having to beat the market, then opting for an ETF which mirrors the S&P 500 may be the optimal strategy for you. Should you invest $1,000 in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust right now? Before you buy stock in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $740,688!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 3, 2024 David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends 3M. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Making Money in the Stock Market Can Be Easy, Even if You're Not Great at Picking Stocks was originally published by The Motley Fool

Better Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock: Broadcom vs. Marvell Technology 2024-06-10 00:00:00+00:00 - The PHLX Semiconductor Sector index has logged healthy gains of nearly 23% so far in 2024, and that's not surprising as the robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips has been a driving force for this industry. However, not all companies have benefited from the surge in semiconductor stocks this year. For example, shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) are up only 19% and 10%, respectively, so far this year. That's despite the fact that both companies are witnessing a sharp jump in sales of the custom AI chips that they manufacture. However, it won't be surprising to see these companies step on the gas thanks to the lucrative AI-focused market that they serve. So, if you had to choose from one of these two semiconductor stocks to ride the AI wave, which one should you buy? Let's find out. The case for Broadcom The market for custom AI chips that Broadcom and Marvell sell is expected to grow rapidly. According to Morgan Stanley, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) could account for 30% of the $182 billion AI chip market by 2027, indicating that there could be an addressable opportunity worth almost $55 billion for Broadcom and Marvell. The advantage for Broadcom is that it is the leading player in the ASIC market with an estimated share of 35%, according to JPMorgan. This solid share explains why Broadcom is anticipating $10 billion in revenue from sales of AI chips this year. It is worth noting that Broadcom's AI chip revenue jumped fourfold year over year in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 (which ended on Feb. 4) to $2.3 billion. The chipmaker has reportedly built a solid clientele in the custom AI chip market already, including the likes of Meta Platforms and Alphabet. Thanks to such clients, Broadcom's AI revenue is expected to jump at least 2.5 times in 2024 as compared to last year. More importantly, the growth of the custom AI chip market and Broadcom's dominant position in this niche explain why its AI revenue is expected to jump to $16 billion in 2025 and $20 billion in the following year, according to Melius Research. The improving contribution from AI chips is probably the reason why analysts have raised their revenue expectations from Broadcom for the next couple of years, as evident in the chart below: AVGO Revenue Estimates for Current Fiscal Year Chart AVGO Revenue Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts. However, the possibility of Broadcom exceeding Wall Street's growth estimates cannot be ruled out. Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes is predicting that Broadcom's AI revenue could even rise to $50 billion annually if it can land one more customer for its custom chips. Of course, that looks like an ambitious number, but the good part is that Broadcom has the ability to get closer to such a lofty target. Story continues The company added a new customer for its AI chips in March this year, with analysts pointing out that the new customer is either Amazon, Apple, or ByteDance (the TikTok parent). Considering that many companies are now building custom, in-house chips for AI workloads, it won't be surprising to see Broadcom gaining another customer in the future. As such, there is a good chance that Broadcom could become a more prominent player in the lucrative AI chip market in the future. The case for Marvell Technology We have already seen that Broadcom and Marvell are targeting an identical AI niche where the former is currently the leading player right now. This explains why Marvell anticipates its annual AI revenue to hit $1.5 billion, at least, in the current fiscal year. That would be substantially lower than Broadcom's anticipated revenue from this segment. Additionally, Marvell CEO Matt Murphy indicated on the company's latest earnings-conference call that it expects AI-related revenue to increase by at least $1 billion in the next fiscal year. That would bring its potential revenue from AI chip sales to $2.5 billion next year. Apart from the fact that Marvell is a smaller player in the custom AI chip market, it is worth noting that it is facing headwinds in enterprise networking, carrier infrastructure, the consumer market, and the industrial/automotive markets. These four segments together produced 30% of Marvell's total revenue in the previous quarter. Also, all of them declined heavily on a year-over-year basis on account of poor end-market demand. As a result, Marvell's overall quarterly revenue fell 12% year over year to $1.16 billion. Broadcom, on the other hand, reported 11% organic revenue growth in the previous quarter, while its revenue, including the VMware acquisition, jumped 34% to almost $12 billion. However, the good part about Marvell is that its data-center revenue jumped 87% year over year to $816 million thanks to the demand for its AI chips. Throw in the fact that the company is expecting its beaten-down segments to start stabilizing in the second half of the year, it is easy to see why analysts are expecting Marvell to deliver impressive growth from the next fiscal year. MRVL Revenue Estimates for Current Fiscal Year Chart MRVL Revenue Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts. For some perspective, Marvell's revenue is expected to decline 2% this fiscal year to $5.4 billion, followed by a 32% increase in the next fiscal year, and a 20% jump in the one proceeding that. Meanwhile, as we saw in the Broadcom revenue chart, its revenue is expected to jump 14% next year and 10% in the one following that. So, even though Marvell is a smaller custom AI chip player compared to Broadcom, the company is expected to clock faster growth thanks to its smaller revenue base. The verdict In the end, we can say that Marvell's smaller size means that AI could move the needle in a more meaningful way for the company and help it clock faster growth than Broadcom. At the same time, investors should note that Marvell is trading at 11 times sales, which is lower than Broadcom's sales multiple of 15. As such, Marvell Technology could deliver faster growth at a cheaper valuation, which is why it looks like the better AI stock of the two companies discussed in this article. Should you invest $1,000 in Broadcom right now? Before you buy stock in Broadcom, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Broadcom wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $740,688!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 3, 2024 JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, JPMorgan Chase, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Marvell Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Better Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock: Broadcom vs. Marvell Technology was originally published by The Motley Fool

The Top City with the Highest Homeless Population Per Capita in the US 2024-06-09 23:11:00+00:00 - In this article, we will be taking a look at the top city with the highest homeless population per capita in the US. If you wish to learn about more homeless cities, head straight to our detailed article on 25 Cities with the Highest Homeless Population Per Capita in the US. The Rising Tide of Homelessness in the US: Causes, Impact, and Solutions Approximately 649,535 people are homeless in the US, a 12.42% increase from 2022 and a 15.54% increase from 2019. The national rate of homelessness is approximately 19.4 people per 10,000. The top three states with the largest homeless populations are California, New York, and Florida. These states have a combined total of over 315,000 homeless individuals, which accounts for nearly half of the total homeless population in the US. With approximately 181,399 homeless people, California has the highest number of homeless individuals in the country. The state's high cost of living, particularly in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, contributes to its large homeless population. The median home value in California is $715,900 which makes it difficult for low-income individuals to afford housing. York has the second-highest number of homeless people, with around 103,200 individuals. Florida has the third-largest homeless population, with about 30,756 individuals with a median home value of $354,100. It is extremely difficult for low-income families and workers to locate affordable homes. The National Low Income Housing Coalition states that to maintain housing costs below 30% of income, a full-time worker in the US needs to make $21.25 per hour, sometimes known as the "housing wage," to afford a single-room residence. Too high rents and excessive living expenses push a lot of low-income families into homelessness. Tennessee State University's Dr. Ken Chilton conducted research on how REITs affected the housing market. In low-income neighborhoods, REITs frequently take the role of landlords, raising rents to 50%–70% of inhabitants' wages and contributing to an increase in homelessness. On the other hand, some REITs are preventing homelessness by building affordable homes and generating money for assistance and shelters. Major Players Catering to the Homeless People AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) is a leading real estate investment trust (REIT) that has been actively involved in supporting the homeless and building strong communities through its philanthropic efforts. Since 2015, AvalonBay has been an American Red Cross Disaster Responder Partner, donating over $2 million to support the organization's important work. The partnership includes blood donations, volunteering, CPR training, and an annual Community Preparedness Week. Story continues In Q1 2024, AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) reported earnings per Share (EPS) of $1.22, surpassing the estimated $1.17. Their Same Store Residential Net Operating Income (NOI) increased by 3.7% year-over-year which was driven by a 4.2% rise in revenue, even though operating expenses increased by 5.2%. The Q1 report also highlights that they are focused on executing strategic initiatives, including operating model transformation to deliver an $80 million incremental annual NOI uplift. Similarly, Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) also helps the homeless. While the company is not directly involved in catering to the homeless, it has significantly contributed to the community through various initiatives and partnerships. Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) has partnered with organizations like the New York City Economic Development Corporation to create mixed-use projects that include affordable housing units. The company's involvement in developing the Penn District in Manhattan is expected to contribute $6.4 billion to the local economy over the next 30 years and create more than 1,300 jobs during the construction period and 400 permanent jobs. Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) reported a first-quarter 2024 comparable FFO, as adjusted, of $0.55 per share compared to $0.60 per share in Q1 2023, a decrease of $0.05 per share. The company expects its 2024 comparable FFO to be down from 2023 due to higher projected net interest expense of about $0.30 per share and the impact of known vacancies at properties like 1290 Avenue of the Americas, 770 Broadway, and 280 Park Avenue, which is estimated at $0.25 to $0.30 per share. The Top City with the Highest Homeless Population Per Capita in the US. Our Methodology We analyzed the 2022 report from the City Mayors Society to determine which 25 US cities have the largest per capita number of homeless people. We identified the top 25 cities after analyzing data for 32 cities with the greatest rates of homelessness per 100,000 inhabitants. The rankings are based on the percentage of homeless persons per 100,000 population in 2018 that changed between 2014 and 2018, and they are presented in ascending order. The Top City with the Highest Homeless Population Per Capita in the US 1. Eugene, Oregon Homeless People per 100,000 Residents: 432 Eugene tops the list for being one of the cities with the highest homeless population per capita in the US with around 432 per 100,000 people being homeless. Around 44% (1,182) of the 2,690 homeless adults aged 25-64 in Eugene were experiencing chronic homelessness in January 2022. In total, 73% of homeless people in the Eugene area live unsheltered which is one of the highest rates in the country. Eugene had the second-highest number of people experiencing homelessness (2,880) among largely urban areas outside of major cities in the United States. If you are curious to know which other cities in the US that have the largest homeless population per capita, head straight to our full free list on 25 Cities with the Highest Homeless Population Per Capita in the US. You can also check out our study on The Cheapest AI Stock if you're searching for an AI stock that trades at less than five times its earnings and is just as promising as Microsoft. READ NEXT: 15 Best Everyday Office Perfumes for Men & 15 States with the Lowest Homeless Populations Per Capita in the US Disclosure. None: The 25 Cities with the Highest Homeless Population Per Capita in the US is originally published on Insider Monkey.

The right-wing surge in EU Parliament could have implications for Europe and beyond 2024-06-09 22:36:00+00:00 - Right-wing parties across Europe have seen a surge in support over recent years and are set for record gains in the 2024 European Parliament elections. Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images LONDON — Populist, far-right parties could have a bigger hand in European policymaking over the next five years after initial results from the EU election on Sunday suggested the parliamentary landscape is being redrawn. Gains for the nationalist Identity and Democracy (ID) party — and losses for the Greens/European Free Alliance — could leave centrist parties dependent on the right for key votes in the 720 seat European Parliament. The Parliament has, in the past, been led by a strong majority of centrist parties, who typically vote together on issues to win a majority in the 720 seat chamber. Indeed, the center-right European People's Party (EPP) is once again projected to win the most parliamentary seats and retain its dominance in the chamber. But a centrist coalition led by the EPP might now depend on support from the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) to pass certain legislation, with research firm Eurasia Group describing the ECR in a pre-election note as potential "key players." Meanwhile, an emboldened ID party could apply pressure on Parliament to alter its stance on other contentious issues. Armida van Rij, a senior research fellow for the Europe Programme at the Chatham House thinktank who was speaking before the results, told CNBC that the influence of the far right was "already being felt" in the EU, but that it could result in further policy shifts and "back pedaling" in the new Parliament. Here's a look at how these shifts could impact EU policy. Immigration Immigration will remain front and center of the policy agenda in the next Parliament, with right-wing parties expected to advocate for increased border security and a tougher stance on arrivals from outside the EU. Implementation will remain a key sticking point, however, with clear divisions between the north and south on the most credible strategy. "While there is a consensus about the need to curb immigration from third countries into the bloc, disagreements on the mechanism to achieve this will persist," Verisk Maplecroft analysts Mario Bikarski and Laurent Balt wrote in a research note Tuesday. Green agenda Climate policies, which have already come under pressure amid a cost-of-living crisis and weak economic growth, are likely to face further pushback. Enacting the "Green Deal" — the EU's flagship carbon neutrality program — is now at "real risk," according to van Rij, with Parliament having already watered down some legislation to appease the right. Agricultural policy will likely avoid further restrictions following a spate of farmer protests earlier this year. Meanwhile, plans to implement a ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035 could also be scrapped, the analysts said. Elsewhere, the bloc could shift its focus from renewable energy to shoring up cheaper energy supplies, potentially backing plans for more nuclear power plants or even gas fracking, Citi analysts wrote in a note last month. Ukraine and defense Support for Ukraine has come under question amid some EU member states' ties to Russia. Dutch ECR member Dorien Rookmaker told CNBC Friday that she does not expect to see a change in stance with the incoming Parliament, adding "I do believe it is in the interests of Europe to keep peace on the continent." Nevertheless, the issue of European defense — and how it is funded — will be a hot topic, particularly amid talk of a shared EU defense budget. "Some of Europe's far right and far left parties have close ties with Russia and China, which could potentially make them obstruct more defence spending," Citi analysts wrote. "But [they] are also opposed to U.S. influence in Europe, which could make them support a more European focused defence architecture." Industrial strategy The EU's industrial strategy could shift as the bloc treads a fine balance in the ongoing rift between close ally the U.S. and key trade partner China. The bloc will likely continue to focus on its high-tech and green industries, continuing 2023's European Chips Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act, according to Verisk Maplecroft's Bikarski and Balt, while potentially taking a tough stance on Chinese imports. "The incoming Commission and Parliament are likely to continue the trend towards greater protectionism and intervention in strategic industries, although the EU will remain an open, trade-dependent economy," they wrote. EU enlargement Elsewhere, enlargement of the EU could face further setbacks with a larger euroskeptic presence in Parliament. "EU policy towards enlargement will remain supportive on paper, but weak political will and nationalist domestic politics within many member states will likely prevent the acceptance of new members during the term of the next Commission," Bikarski and Balt said. "This, coupled with sluggish progress on accession negotiations in all candidate states, means that the EU is expected to remain a 27-member bloc by 2029," they added. Coordinating the right

Arizona Republicans are bypassing the state's Democratic governor to get hot-button measures on the ballot just in time for November 2024-06-09 21:04:36+00:00 - Arizona Republicans are turning to ballot measures to get some of their top priorities on the books. Controversial immigration and voter signature measures are set to appear before voters in November. The ballot measures could turbocharge turnout in a state already knee-deep in ideological battles. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Advertisement The GOP-controlled Arizona legislature voted to approve a ballot measure last week that would empower state law enforcement officials to arrest and incarcerate individuals they suspect have entered the US illegally, while also permitting state judges to deport them. Given the high-stakes nature of immigration policy in the United States, the measure is almost certain to encounter legal challenges should voters approve it in November. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .

New York school installs 'vape detectors' in middle school bathrooms to sniff out THC and nicotine 2024-06-09 21:01:41+00:00 - Students, it seems, will always try to smoke in the bathroom. One Long Island school installed vape detectors in its middle school bathrooms to stop them. The devices detect THC and nicotine in the air and even alert administrators. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Advertisement Schools are cracking down on students using weed vapes and e-cigarettes during the school day. In New York, e-cigarettes have been banned from public and private schools since 2017, but that hasn't stopped crafty students who have apparently continued the age-old tradition of smoking in the bathroom. Now, one Long Island school went as far as installing vape detectors in its bathrooms to sniff out nicotine and THC, CBS News reported. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .

Vehicle damage claims in Wales fall 20% since speed limit cut to 20mph, says insurer 2024-06-09 21:01:00+00:00 - Vehicle damage claims in Wales have fallen by 20% at one leading car insurer since the nationwide 20mph speed limit was introduced there last September. Wales was one of the first countries in the world, and the first nation in the UK, to introduce legislation for a default 20mph speed limit in built-up areas last year. The scheme has since been amended to give people more choice to rescind the limits in some places after half a million people signed a petition against the measure. The Welsh government said there was “generally universal support” for 20mph zones in areas near schools, built-up areas such as housing estates, and outside hospitals but there were other areas where people felt the measure was not suitable. However, Rob Clark, head of motor underwriting at esure, said: “We can see a clear drop in vehicle damage claims in Wales since the 20mph speed restriction was introduced in September 2023. During a time when we usually see these claims rise, they dropped and have continued to do so in the first quarter of 2024. The restriction is clearly having an impact.” There has been fierce opposition to the 20mph plan from the Conservatives in Wales’s Senedd. The Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has said he supports the principle of widespread 20mph zones but pushed for more local power to review them as he said they had been “implemented very poorly and inconsistently” in some areas. Early results from sites trialling the scheme in 2022 showed a 3mph reduction in average speeds while data published by Transport for Wales in February this year indicated that speeds had reduced by an average of 4mph on the main roads that were monitored since the national rollout. The evidence of a drop in accidents comes as the Conservatives promised to introduce a law that would unilaterally limit the use of 20mph routes in Wales and reverse the expansion of London’s Ulez clean air zone, overturning the choices of voters in both regions. In a pledge that, if implemented, would mark a significant reversal of devolution, the Tories said that if re-elected they would immediately introduce a “backing drivers bill” that would use Westminster powers to quash local say over parts of transport policy. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Rod King, the founder of the campaign group 20’s Plenty for Us, said the data from esure “confirms on a national scale the benefits from lower speeds not only reducing casualties and danger but also providing a benefit to drivers in reduced insurance claims”. He added: “The reductions are both statistically significant and timely in showing the reduction in road danger from implementing 20mph limits on a national basis. Statistically, some of those crashes which never happened would have resulted in death or injury for the road users involved. The national 20mph limits has already saved lives and injury.”

Fresno officials should have noticed a phishing scam that cost taxpayers more than $600,000, jury says 2024-06-09 20:54:13+00:00 - Fresno lost over $600,000 to a phishing scam in 2020. Officials failed to spot red flags on a contractor invoice, a jury found. Mayor Jerry Dyer said the city has since improved training and updated fraud prevention procedures. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Advertisement The city of Fresno lost more than $600,000 to to a phishing scam in 2020. Now, a grand jury says that city officials should have noticed the scam before it cost taxpayer dollars. City officials discovered the fraud after realizing an invoice from a contractor working on a section of the Fresno police station was fake, according to The Fresno Bee. The contract included the real contractor's letterhead but an incorrect account number, according to the Bee. City officials did not publicly comment on the scam until reporting by the paper uncovered it in 2022. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .

Forget Nvidia: 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Now 2024-06-09 20:45:00+00:00 - All eyes have been on Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) over the last year, as its stock soared more than 200%. The company massively profited from a boom in artificial intelligence (AI) as its graphics processing units (GPUs) have become the go-to for developers worldwide. In fact, Nvidia's meteoric rise saw it briefly overtake Apple as the world's second-most-valuable company on June 5 when its market cap hit $3 trillion. As the AI market develops, Nvidia will likely have much to offer investors in the coming years. However, while its recent rise has benefited current investors, it has made the stock fundamentally more expensive. NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) Chart This chart uses forward price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-sales to show Nvidia's stock offers less value than two other companies active in AI, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). As a result, if you're looking for a way to invest in the budding AI market, it could be worth considering one of these options over Nvidia to get the most bang for your buck. So, forget Nvidia and consider investing in one of these AI stocks now. 1. Intel At the Computex tech conference in Taipei on June 4, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said, "We want to build everybody's chips, everybody's AI chips. We want them to be built leveraging the U.S. factories." Gelsinger's comments come as the company is in the process of restructuring its entire business around manufacturing. Intel announced last year it would transition to a foundry model in an effort to regain its position as the world's leading chipmaker, having been overtaken by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Samsung since 2017. Intel's plan involves building at least four factories across the U.S. and will benefit from President Biden's CHIPS Act, an initiative created to expand the U.S.'s manufacturing capabilities. Intel will receive $8.5 billion to aid in its foundry expansion, more than Samsung or TSMC. Over the last year, Intel has been in steep competition with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices in AI. Each has AI accelerators on the market and is striving to attract new clients. However, Intel's foundry model could set it apart from its rivals. While Nvidia and AMD are focused on design, Intel could enjoy significant gains in the coming years as chip demand grows and it becomes the U.S.' primary manufacturer. Intel still has a long way to go before dominating AI. However, its free cash flow increased by $2 billion from January to May, suggesting its business is heading in the right direction. As a result, Intel's stock is worth considering right now. Story continues 2. Microsoft Microsoft's stock is trading at 36 times its earnings, so it's far from the biggest bargain on Wall Street. However, it is a better value than Nvidia and could have more growth potential in AI over the long term, thanks to its massive user base. Homegrown brands like Windows, Office, Xbox, Azure, and LinkedIn attract billions of users and have made Microsoft a household name worldwide. Thousands of businesses rely on the company's offerings for productivity, giving it almost endless opportunities to showcase its AI products. Moreover, Microsoft has access to some of the most advanced AI models. The company is the largest investor in ChatGPT developer OpenAI, granting it exclusive access to much of its AI technology. Over the last year, Microsoft used OpenAI's products to introduce new AI features across its product lineup, including integrating parts of ChatGPT into its search engine Bing, expanding its AI services on Azure, and introducing generative features in its Office productivity suite. The potency of Microsoft's products and OpenAI's technology could prove a powerful combination, making it the go-to for consumers and businesses looking to elevate their workflow with AI. MSFT Free Cash Flow Chart Microsoft's stock may be trading at a premium, but it is easily one of AI's most reliable investment options. Microsoft outperforms many AI-driven companies in free cash flow, suggesting it could be best equipped to expand in the industry. Meanwhile, the company's stock has soared 237% over the last five years, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's 89% increase. Microsoft posted its third quarter of 2024 (ending in March) earnings on April 25. Revenue rose 17% year over year and beat analysts' forecasts by more than $1 billion. The company enjoyed solid gains in its productivity and cloud segments, indicating positive growth from AI. Microsoft has a promising outlook that you won't want to miss out on and is worth considering over Nvidia this June. Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now? Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $740,688!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 3, 2024 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Dani Cook has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Intel and recommends the following options: long January 2025 $45 calls on Intel, long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2024 $35 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Forget Nvidia: 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Now was originally published by The Motley Fool

France's Macron calls for snap election after losing big to the far right in EU vote 2024-06-09 20:40:00+00:00 - French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with members of the AI sector at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France, on May 21, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said he would dissolve the country's parliament and call for a new legislative nationwide vote after suffering a heavy defeat at EU elections. The shock announcement came after exit polls published by public broadcaster France TV indicated that Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National, or RN) is set to win around 31.5% of the vote, compared to 15.2% for Macron's Renaissance party. "I will ... not be able, at the end of this day, to act as if nothing had happened," Macron said in a TV address, according to a translation by CNBC. The first round of the parliamentary election will take place on June 30, with the second round on July 7, Macron said. After requesting that Macron call an election, Le Pen welcomed the news, saying on X: "We are ready for it." Calling the legislative election is a risky move by Macron, who could be left with no control over France's domestic issues if Le Pen's RN wins a parliamentary majority. Macron's presidency isn't due to end until 2027 and he's unable to stand for a third term. "By unexpectedly bringing things to a head in a new parliamentary election, Macron may hope to revive the fortunes of his party," Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, said in a note on Sunday evening. "However, barring a major swing in sentiment, his party looks set to lose heavily in the parliamentary elections." He added that, for a "fiscally challenged France," new elections add uncertainty that could cause some concern for markets.

French President Macron calls a snap legislative election after defeat in E.U. vote 2024-06-09 20:36:00+00:00 - PARIS — French President Emanuel Macron said Sunday he was dissolving the National Assembly and calling a snap legislative election after his party suffered a heavy defeat in elections for the European Parliament. In an address to the nation from the Elysee presidential palace, Macron said: “I’ve decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly.” The vote will take place in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, he said. The move comes as first projected results from France on Sunday put the far-right National Rally party well ahead in the European Union’s parliamentary election, defeating Macron’s pro-European centrists, according to French opinion poll institutes.

FDA issues warning against 'microdosing' chocolate bars that sent 6 to the hospital 2024-06-09 19:58:39+00:00 - The FDA is investigating Diamond Shruumz-brand microdosing chocolate bars. Eight people fell ill after consuming the product, the agency said. The symptoms included vomiting, seizures, and central nervous system depression. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Advertisement Eight people in four states fell ill after consuming Diamond Shruumz-brand microdosing chocolate bars, the FDA said on Friday. Microdosing is the practice of regularly taking a dose of a drug — typically a psychedelic — that is small enough not to feel any effect. Some people believe microdosing can improve creativity and mental health. It's become trendy in Silicon Valley. And some CEOs say they've added microdosing to their morning routine. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .

Far right makes strong gains in EU elections as liberals and Greens lose seats, projections show 2024-06-09 19:50:00+00:00 - A woman casts her ballot paper for the European elections at a polling station. Populist, far-right parties won record support in this year's European Parliament elections, early exit polls and estimates indicated on Sunday. The far-right Identity and Democracy group made major gains, while the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists saw a slight uptick in votes, according to the first official projection released by the EU at 8:30 p.m. local time. The center-right European People's Party was once again projected to win the most parliamentary seats, with a marginally bigger lead than before. Allied centrist groups — of which the EPP is the largest — were set to retain a majority in the Parliament despite the far right's surge. The liberal Renew Europe and the Greens/European Free Alliance, meanwhile, were both set to lose a significant number of seats. Here is the projected 2024 vote breakdown, versus the previous parliament: European People's Party (EPP) — 189 seats, up from 176 Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats (S&D) — 135 seats, down from 139 Renew Europe (RE) — 80 seats, down from 102 European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) — 72 seats, up from 69 Identity and Democracy (ID) — 58 seats, up from 49 Greens/European Free Alliance — 52 seats, down from 71 The Left — 36 seats, down from 37 Non-attached members (NI) — 46 seats, down from 62 Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission and an EPP member, said her party had once again shown itself to be the "strongest" in Parliament. "We were determined, we were united, and now we won the European elections. Voters have entrusted us with a very strong mandate," von der Leyen said during a press conference, shortly after the preliminary results were announced.