India Wins S&P Rating Upgrade on Economic Growth Momentum
S&P upgraded the country's rating to BBB, from BBB- with a stable outlook, according to a statement. This places India in the same rating category as countries like Mexico, Indonesia and Greece.
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Forget President Donald Trump's Tariffs! There's a Far More Sinister Worry for Wall Street.
Key Points The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average have navigated their way through historical bouts of volatility in 2025. Donald Trump's tariff and trade policy has stoked inflationary fears and increased uncertainty on Wall Street. However, a historically pricey stock market implies corporate earnings quality is of the utmost importance. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index › It's been quite a memorable year for Wall Street, with the broad-based S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), growth stock-propelled Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC), and ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) navigating their way through historical bouts of volatility. For example, during a one-week stretch in April, the S&P 500 endured its fifth-biggest two-day percentage decline in 75 years, as well as logged its largest single-day point gain since its inception. The benchmark index has also delivered one of its strongest three-month returns since 1950. With the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rocketing to fresh all-time highs, and the Dow Jones just a stone's throw away from surpassing its record close set in December, it would appear nothing can slow down this bona fide wealth-creating machine. But things may not be as unbreakable as they seem. While a lot of attention is currently being paid to President Donald Trump's tariff and trade policy and how it could adversely impact Wall Street, a far more sinister worry lies in wait that can act as a significant drag on stocks. President Trump's tariffs bring uncertainty and inflation to the forefront On April 2, following the close of trading, Donald Trump unveiled his long-touted tariff and trade policy. It included a sweeping 10% global tariff, as well as introduced higher "reciprocal tariff rates" on dozens of countries that have historically had adverse trade imbalances with America. The president's primary goals with his tariff and trade policy are to promote domestic manufacturing, keep American goods price-competitive with those being brought in from foreign markets, and to pad the federal government's pocketbooks with tariff revenue. Though tariff revenue is undeniably climbing, so is the level of uncertainty associated with these tariffs. One of the more prominent issues with President Trump's tariff and trade policy is there's been little follow-through or consistency. There have been two separate 90-day pauses on reciprocal tariffs with the world's No. 2 economy by gross domestic product, China, and the president has adjusted the effective date, reciprocal tariff rate, and/or goods subject to tariffs for other countries on a variety of occasions. Wall Street demands predictability, and this administration hasn't been providing it. Investors are also worried about the potential inflationary impact of the president's tariff policies. A report ("Do Import Tariffs Protect U.S. Firms?") issued in December by four New York Federal Reserve economists working for Liberty Street Economics raised a good point about the lack of clarity Trump's tariffs have offered between input and output tariffs. Output tariffs are duties placed on finished products imported into the U.S., while input tariffs are duties applied to goods used to complete a finished product domestically. Ideally, tariffs are being applied to finished products, which can allow domestic manufacturers to be more price-competitive with imported goods. However, some of Trump's tariffs are being directed at goods used to complete the manufacture of products in the U.S. Input tariffs often end up increasing domestic manufacturing costs and can drive the prevailing rate of inflation higher. The other concern, which builds on the report from the four New York Fed economists, is historical precedent. The authors examined the performance of public companies whose stock struggled when Trump's China tariffs were introduced in 2018-2019. On average, companies directly impacted by Trump's China tariffs during his first term in the Oval Office saw their sales, profits, employment, and labor productivity all decline from 2019 through 2021. While there are ample reasons to believe President Trump's tariffs are a genuine concern for stocks, a far bigger threat to upend the bull market exists. Wall Street has a serious earnings quality problem As of the closing bell on Aug. 13, the S&P 500's Shiller P/E Ratio closed at a multiple of almost 39. With the exception of the dot-com bubble and the first week of 2022, this is the third-priciest stock market in history, when back-tested 154 years. Although historical precedent portends trouble for the stock market, valuations have the ability to remain extended if companies are delivering strong earnings growth and offering analyst-topping guidance. While many of the stock market's leading businesses have made a habit out of surpassing consensus profit expectations, a dive beneath the headline figures uncovers just how poor the earnings quality truly is on Wall Street. Ideally, the companies responsible for pushing the broader market higher should be letting their operating performance do the talking. But quite a few prominent businesses have been buoyed by unsustainable and/or non-innovative income sources that partially mask their true operating performance. One of the more prominent examples of a high-flying stock with abysmal earnings quality is Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). This member of the "Magnificent Seven" is North America's leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer and a business valued at $1.1 trillion, as of this writing. Through the first half of 2025, Tesla generated $2.138 billion in pre-tax income. However, $1.649 billion (77.1%) traced back to automotive regulatory credits given to the company for free by federal governments and net interest income (interest earned on cash less interest paid on debt). President Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" will eliminate Tesla's automotive regulatory credits in the U.S. For a company expected to be a market leader, Tesla has been consistently reliant on income sources that have absolutely nothing to do with selling EVs and its energy generation and storage operations. To boot, earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates for future years have been falling with some level of consistency for nearly three years. It's a somewhat similar story for red-hot artificial intelligence (AI) stock Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR). Palantir's sought-after AI-driven software-as-a-service Gotham and Foundry platforms are delivering sizzling growth, with full-year sales now projected to climb by 45% in 2025. But one of the interesting quirks about Palantir is that it generates a sizable percentage of its pre-tax income from interest earned on its cash. Though I'm not faulting Palantir for bringing in $106.7 million in interest income through the first six months of 2025, it's worth noting that this represents more than 19% of its pre-tax income. A company that's valued at a completely unjustifiable price-to-sales ratio of 135 should be doing all the talking with its operating performance. Instead, Palantir's trailing-12-month P/E ratio of more than 610 is being partially propped up by non-innovative interest income earned from its cash. Tesla and Palantir aren't unique examples -- they just happen to be some of the most prominent businesses. If earnings quality remains poor or suspect, premium valuations can easily become the stock market's downfall. Should you invest $1,000 in S&P 500 Index right now? Before you buy stock in S&P 500 Index, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and S&P 500 Index wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $663,630!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,115,695!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,071% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025 Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Forget President Donald Trump's Tariffs! There's a Far More Sinister Worry for Wall Street. was originally published by The Motley Fool Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
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RBC Capital Reiterates Buy Rating on Alamos Gold Stock, Maintains PT at $34
Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI) is one of the Best Gold Mining Companies to Buy Now. On August 4, RBC Capital reiterated the Buy rating on Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI) stock, maintaining the price target at $34. Michael Siperco from RBC Capital retains his rating on AGI following record Q2 FY2025 results. Alamos Gold posted record revenue of $438 million, with an average realized gold price of $3,223 per ounce. The company achieved total gold production of 137,000 ounces during Q2, up by 10% from the previous quarter. Drills extracting gold from a gold mine, revealing the company's gold mining operation. Siperco remains optimistic on Alamos' prospects as the company achieved an all-in sustaining cost reduction by 18% compared to Q1, with further cost relaxation expected. Moreover, the Island Gold District is expected to become one of the largest, low-cost, and most profitable gold mines in Canada. The company remains well on track to achieve its future production goals and minimize its costs. Invest in Gold American Hartford Gold: #1 Precious Metals Dealer in the Nation Priority Gold: Up to $15k in Free Silver + Zero Account Fees on Qualifying Purchase Thor Metals Group: Best Overall Gold IRA Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI) is a gold miner and producer with operations in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. While we acknowledge the potential of AGI as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Equinox Gold Announces the Sale of Its Non-Core Nevada Assets for $115 Million
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