New affordable housing complex built with pre-made modular units craned into place
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
10 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
U.S. stocks rebound as weak jobs data boosts Fed rate cut bets
Wall Street's main indexes bounced back on Monday after a sharp pullback in the previous session, buoyed by growing expectations of deeper Federal Reserve interest rate cuts following an unexpectedly weak jobs report. At 11:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 463.55 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 44,052.13, the S&P 500 gained 74.56 points, or 1.20 per cent, to 6,312.57 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 325.95 points, or 1.58 per cent, to 20,976.08. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on track for their biggest single-day jump in more than two months. This is in contrast to Friday, when a dismal U.S. jobs report hammered the S&P 500 and sent it to its steepest intraday drop since May 27. The bleak data that also accompanied steep downward revisions for May and June forced market participants to amplify their bets for Fed rate cuts this year, noting signs of a weakening labor market. 'When you have a Fed that operates in a lagging sense, you're going to have the market moving around as the data comes, that's what we're seeing with the weaker jobs report,' said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management. Odds for a September rate cut now stand at about 84 per cent, according to CME Fedwatch. Market participants see at least two quarter-point cuts by the end of this year. Underscoring uncertainty, U.S. President Donald Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer the same day, accusing her of faking the jobs numbers. 'The revisions ... it brings a level of skepticism into the data sets,' Allianz Investment Management's Ripley added. Trump calls on Federal Reserve board to usurp Powell and take control of central bank Investors also weighed Fed Governor Adriana Kugler's unexpected resignation, which could open the door for Trump to reshuffle the central bank's leadership to his favor. Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire Chair Jerome Powell, believing that rates should be much lower than they are. Meanwhile, Tesla rose 1.2 per cent after granting CEO Elon Musk 96 million shares worth about US$2- billion. All S&P 500 sub-sectors were trading in the green, with communication services leading gains with a 2-per-cent jump. U.S. factory orders tumbled 4.8 per cent in June after an upwardly revised 8.3-per-cent increase in May, owing to a sharp drop in commercial aircraft orders. Meanwhile, Trump threatened to substantially raise tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil. Last week, Trump slapped a 25-per-cent tariff on goods imported from the country. After a big week for Big Tech earnings, companies from various sectors, including Palantir, Eli Lilly and Disney, will report this week. Among notable movers, Joby Aviation rose 20.7 per cent after Bloomberg News reported that the company was exploring the acquisition of helicopter ride-share operator Blade Air Mobility. Blade Air's shares surged 26.6 per cent. IDEXX Laboratories soared 26.8 per cent after the animal diagnostics maker raised its full-year profit and revenue forecasts and reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. Spotify jumped 6.8 per cent as the music streaming platform announced plans to raise the monthly price of its premium individual subscription in select markets from September. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.76-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.8-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and seven new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 52 new highs and 72 new lows.
Globe and Mail
40 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Buy, Sell or Hold Astera Labs Stock? Key Tips Ahead of Q2 Earnings
Astera Labs ALAB is set to report its second-quarter 2025 results on Aug. 5. For the to-be-reported quarter, ALAB expects revenues between $170 million and $175 million, suggesting an increase between 7% and 10% year over year. Earnings are expected between 32 cents and 33 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter revenues is currently pegged at $172.7 million, indicating an increase of 124.7% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for earnings is currently pegged at 33 cents per share, unchanged over the past 30 days and suggests massive 153.85% growth over the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. ALAB's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, the average earnings surprise being 28.41%. Let's see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement. Factors to Note for ALAB's Q2 Earnings Astera Labs expects accelerated shipments of Scorpio P-Series switches and Aries 6 retimers on a customized rack-scale AI platform based on market-leading GPUs to boost top-line growth. Scorpio revenues are expected to grow sequentially in the second quarter. Astera Labs is benefiting from strong demand for Aries and Taurus product families, both expected to grow on a sequential basis in the second quarter of 2025. Diversification across both GPU and custom ASIC-based systems for a variety of applications, including scale-up and scale-out connectivity, is a key catalyst for ALAB's Aries product family. Continued deployment of AI and general-purpose systems at leading hyperscaler customers is benefiting the Taurus system. However, uncertainty over tariff-related issues and stiff competition from the likes of Credo Technology CRDO and Broadcom AVGO are major headwinds. The company continues to invest in product development to stay ahead of the competition. In first-quarter 2025, research and development (R&D) expenses jumped 20% year over year to $64.6 million. Operating expense is expected to be between $73 million and $75 million in the second quarter of 2025, driven by higher R&D expenses. ALAB Shares Underperform Sector Astera Labs shares have dropped 1% year to date, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector's return of 9.1% and the Zacks Internet Software industry's return of 17.5%. ALAB Stock's Performance Astera Labs stock is not so cheap, as the Value Score of F suggests a stretched valuation at this moment. In terms of the forward 12-month Price/Sales, ALAB is trading at 26.26X, higher than the industry's 5.65X. Price/Sales (F12M) Astera Labs is currently trading above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating a bullish trend. ALAB Trades Above 50-Day and 200-Day SMAs Strong Portfolio Aids Astera Labs Amid Growing Competition Astera Labs has emerged as a key player in next-gen data center connectivity with a full-stack portfolio spanning PCIe 6.0, Ultra Accelerator (UA) Link, and CXL 3.0. Apart from shipping PCIe Gen 6 Scorpio P-Series Smart Fabric Switches, Aries 6 PCIe/CXL Smart Retimers, and Aries 6 PCIe Smart Cable Modules, the company added Aries 6 PCIe Smart Gearboxes. The addition of PCIe 6 over Optics Technology is noteworthy. Astera Labs plans to provide a broad portfolio of connectivity solutions for the entire AI rack through purpose-built silicon hardware and software to support computing platforms based on both custom ASICs and merchant GPUs is a key catalyst. UA Link, which combines the memory semantics of PCIe and the fast speed of Ethernet, but is devoid of the software complexity and performance limitations of Ethernet, is a game-changer. ALAB expects to deliver UA Link solutions in 2026 to solve scale-up connectivity challenges for next-generation AI infrastructure. The growing proliferation of UA Link is expected to be a multibillion-dollar additional market opportunity for Astera Labs by 2029. A rich partner base that includes NVIDIA NVDA, Alchip and Wistron is noteworthy. Astera Labs has showcased the first end-to-end PCIe 6 interoperability with NVIDIA's Blackwell GPU and Micron's NVMe SSD, with both Aries 6 PCIe Smart Retimer and Scorpio-P PCIe SmartFabric Switch. ALAB is advancing next-gen data center infrastructure with the introduction of a PCIe 6-ready reference design based on NVIDIA Blackwell-based MGX platform that leverages Scorpio Smart Fabric Switches for AI and cloud infrastructure. ALAB has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to provide scale-up connectivity solutions for the new NVIDIA NVLink Fusion ecosystem. However, Astera Labs is facing stiff competition from both Broadcom and Credo Technology. Broadcom's launch of PCIe Gen 6 portfolio, featuring high-port switches and retimers tested for interoperability with partners like Micron and Teledyne LeCroy, is a noteworthy development. Credo Technology continues to gain share in the optical segment, with a major DSP win for an 800G transceiver and the launch of ultra-low-power optical DSPs based on 5nm technology. It also reported a healthy pipeline of PCIe Gen6 AECs and retimers, with further customer wins expected to support fiscal 2026 growth. Conclusion Astera Labs benefits from a strong portfolio and partner base amid rising competition and tariff uncertainties. A stretched valuation somewhat dims the stock's appeal ahead of second-quarter 2025 results. ALAB currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which implies that investors should wait for a more favorable entry point to accumulate the stock. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock This under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be. With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028. See This Stock Now for Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report Broadcom Inc. (AVGO): Free Stock Analysis Report Astera Labs, Inc. (ALAB): Free Stock Analysis Report
CTV News
40 minutes ago
- CTV News
Majority of Canadians support Palestine recognition even if Trump objects amid trade dispute: survey
A new Angus Reid Institute survey reveals that a majority of Canadians support recognizing Palestine as a state even if it complicates negotiations with the U.S. That support comes after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on July 30 that Canada will recognize Palestine as an independent state in September. Despite warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said Canada's stance could make a trade deal 'very hard' to achieve, 63 per cent of survey respondents say that Canada should go forth with the recognition even if Trump objects. The public sentiment unfolds against a backdrop of escalating trade talks between Canada and the U.S., triggered by a Trump-imposed 35 per cent tariff on Canadian imports not covered by CUSMA. Canadians who support Carney's decision outweigh 20 per cent of Canadians who think the nation should reverse course to safeguard trade relations. Another 17 per cent of respondents were unsure. Canadians double down on tariffs Meanwhile, public backing for Carney's tougher negotiation strategy is strengthening. According to the poll, nearly seven in 10 now support a 'hardball' approach to talks, preferring retaliatory tariffs even if they risk financial hardship at home. That figure rose from 63 per cent in July to 69 per cent in August. Fifty-eight per cent of Canadians also say the country should match the U.S. dollar-for-dollar on tariffs. Another eight per cent support a more measured tariff response, while just 18 per cent would prefer Canada hold back to avoid worsening the trade talks. Among those favouring tit-for-tat tariffs, the support holds firm. Nearly all in that group - 95 per cent - say Canada should stay the course even if it triggers another U.S. retaliation. About three-quarters, or 76 per cent, say the country should press on even if Canadians face higher prices or financial consequences at home. But as the trade battle drags on, Canadians are beginning to lose confidence in Ottawa's ability to manage it. While Carney's approval rating remains steady at 57 per cent, the number of Canadians who are unconfident in his negotiating team has now risen to 49 per cent, surpassing the 43 per cent who still express confidence. These numbers mark a shift from mid-July when Canadians were nearly evenly split - 46 per cent confident versus 45 per cent unconfident. Methodology The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) conducted an online survey from July 31 to Aug. 1, 2025, among a randomized sample of 1,333 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to region, gender, age, household income, and education, based on the Canadian census. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI.
