Latest news with #Blackledge
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This Mississippi man is out nearly $100,000 after purchasing solar panels — only to find that they don't work
Mississippi business owner Jim Dutton is feeling burned by Tren Solar, a Louisiana-based company that installed solar panels on his property, and Mosaic Solar, an affiliated company that loaned him $99,000 for the job. Now Dutton has 47 non-functional solar panels installed on top of his auto body shop, located on the same property as his home in Carriere, Mississippi. That's because there are 'multiple potential safety hazards' with the panels and wiring, according to David Blackledge of MIssissippi's Cooperative Energy electrical company, who inspected his property. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) That hasn't stopped Mosaic Solar from continuing to send Dutton the bills for the $99,000 loan. Now Dutton is sharing his story with Fox 8, warning others about his experience with the two companies. Dutton first learned of Tren Solar when they called him 'out of the blue.' He was interested in the potential savings of producing solar energy on his own property and powering both his home and his auto body shop, where he restores vintage cars. He did some online research that led him to believe that Tren Solar was trustworthy. 'It looked like a legit business. And one of their partners, I guess they call it on the website — Panasonic — and they rated them in 2023 the best installer in the region,' Dutton recalled. Read more: This is how American car dealers use the '4-square method' to make big profits off you — and how you can ensure you pay a fair price for all your vehicle costs He moved forward with the job and signed a loan with Mosaic. 'They installed the panels within three days,' Dutton said. 'I was like, 'Wow, this is cool. They weren't kidding, four to eight weeks.' Then, it was radio silence.' After three months of Dutton's constant calls to Tren Solar, an electrician finally showed up to wire the system to supply power to the auto body shop and home — without an approved plan from Cooperative Energy to do so. 'These two jobs should not have been installed by Tren Solar, because they didn't make it past the initial utility review stage,' the utility company's Blackledge told Fox 8. 'The installation method used has created multiple potential safety hazards.' Blackledge added that Tren Solar waited till after the panels were installed to reach out to Cooperative Energy for permission to do the installation. When Blackledge reached out to Tren Solar to follow up, he was never able to reach anyone. Fox 8 visited the Tren Solar business address, but were told Tren Solar had closed its office months before. The company's co-founders did not return emails or calls. Fox 8 has since discovered multiple complaints about Tren Solar and Mosaic lodged with the Better Business Bureau. 'All of the complaints have been (regarding) the lack of customer service communication that's been happening,' said Michael Drummond, president of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Greater New Orleans. 'We've reached out many times through our processes. We've been unable to get them to respond.' Now, Attorneys General in multiple states are suing Mosaic for deceptive trade practices. 'A government action or a government warning is definitely a red flag,' Drummond said. If you're considering a major installation on your property, like solar panels: Research regulations to familiarize yourself with building, fire and electrical codes and other rules designed to protect you and your home. That includes making sure you are lined up for inspections throughout the process. Don't hire the first contractor you find — especially if they reach out to you through a cold call or similar type of outreach marketing. Shop around. Do your due diligence on the principal contractor you choose and their affiliates. Check with the Better Business Bureau, study online reviews and testimonials and don't be afraid to ask for testimonials from your neighbors. If your contractor is legitimate, they'll be happy to provide contacts. If you have concerns about the installation, make sure you record all communications with the company, including times of calls, any emails or texts you received, and all bills or invoices. If you believe you've been the victim of deceptive business practices, report the business to the Better Business Bureau or your State Attorney General's Office. You can also file an online complaint with the Federal Trade Commission or reach out to a local Consumer Protection Office. If you're attempting to recover money you spent on such an installation, you can try to send a notice of dispute to your credit card company to stop payment to the company. You can also try to get your insurance company working on your behalf. Some insurance policies can help cover losses or damage from faulty installations. Check with your provider for more information. Finally, you can take the company to small claims court or — if you're dealing with a significant sum — hire a lawyer. Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Globe and Mail
18-04-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Amazon (AMZN) Sellers Set to Lower Ad Spend and Hike Prices in Wake of Tariff Turmoil
Sellers on e-commerce site Amazon (AMZN) are considering cutting their advertising spend, hiking prices and slashing Chinese exposure in response to President Trump's tariff hikes. Stay Ahead of the Market: Discover outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks. Filter, analyze, and streamline your search for investment opportunities using Tipranks' Stock Screener. Price Hike Will Hit Sales According to a note from Five-star TipRanks-rated TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge, one large home goods seller he has recently spoken to plans to lower advertising spend to 'limit our stock inventory on platforms including Amazon.' Blackledge said the company spends around 15% of its Amazon sales on advertising but could cut that in half if inventory begins running low. Again in response to concerns over higher tariff costs, the seller is planning to raise prices on its goods affected by tariffs beginning as soon as next month. In one example, the company told Blackledge that it was looking at increasing prices by as much as 10%. This would, it feared, lead to a 10% to 15% decrease in unit sales as a result, driving its revenue down by up to 5%. Reducing Chinese Supply The seller also plans to source 85% of new orders from outside of China by the end of the summer this year. This would mark a huge shift from 2024 when just 25% of orders came from countries other than China and from just 5 years ago when it sourced 95% of its inventory from China. This follows the staggering 145% tariff charge on Chinese imports into the U.S. Indeed, the seller told Blackledge that it had 47 containers in China, but it was planning on keeping them there until the 'tariff environment becomes more reasonable.' The seller did provide some optimism, however, by declaring that its revenues declined 10% year on year in the first quarter of this year. That may not sound great but it is an improvement on the 15% decline in the fourth quarter of last year. That could signal some improvement in consumer confidence, building on the uplift in U.S. retail sales earlier this week. Is AMZN a Good Stock to Buy Now? On TipRanks, AMZN has a Strong Buy consensus based on 45 Buy and 1 Hold rating. Its highest price target is $306. AMZN stock's consensus price target is $253.33 implying an 46.76% upside. See more AMZN analyst ratings Disclaimer & Disclosure Report an Issue
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysts Stick With Bullish Calls on Netflix Ahead of Earnings
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is drawing positive attention from Wall Street analysts as it heads into its first-quarter 2025 earnings announcement, set for April 17. Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment shaped by ongoing tariff disputes, the streaming company's stock has climbed roughly 53% over the past year. Analysts are forecasting first-quarter earnings per share of $5.70, which would mark an 8% increase from the same quarter last year. Revenue is projected to rise 12% year over year to $10.5 billion. TD Cowen's John Blackledge reaffirmed his Buy rating on Netflix and maintained a $1,150 price target. He cited consistent member growth and results from a recent TD Cowen survey, which highlighted Netflix as the top streaming choice for household viewing. Blackledge said Netflix remains one of the most resilient companies in his coverage list, thanks to global content expansion and strong demand, adding that the firm isn't likely to see direct tariff-related disruptions. KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson also stuck with a Buy rating, though he trimmed his price target to $1,000 from $1,100 due to adjusted EPS and valuation expectations. Still, Patterson emphasized Netflix's superior industry standing and long-term earnings potential, calling it one of his preferred subscription-based plays alongside Spotify (NYSE:SPOT). Morgan Stanley's Benjamin Swinburne echoed the optimism, reiterating his Buy rating and $1,150 target. Swinburne recently replaced Disney (DIS) with Netflix as his top pick in the media sector, calling the recent dip in Netflix shares an attractive entry point. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Wall Street Journal
09-04-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Tariffs Are Coming for the AI Boom
Tariffs are rattling Big Tech, and that is likely to rattle the artificial-intelligence boom. The big-tech companies have largely bankrolled AI's growth, after all: Microsoft MSFT -0.92%decrease; red down pointing triangle, Meta, Alphabet GOOGL -1.40%decrease; red down pointing triangle and AMZN -2.62%decrease; red down pointing triangle together plan more than $270 billion of capital spending on data centers this year, according to a Citigroup estimate. They have spent a lot of it on the Nvidia NVDA -1.37%decrease; red down pointing triangle chips that serve as the computational workhorses of the boom. Before the past few days, this had lifted Nvidia's shares to unprecedented heights; it was briefly the largest listed company in the world. Sustaining the boom hinges on the tech companies' willingness to stick with current and future spending against a backdrop where recession appears increasingly likely. That is a lot to ask. Probably too much. Some of the businesses that give Big Tech its big pockets aren't exactly recession-proof. Meta is almost entirely funded by ad sales, an area that could come under threat with higher tariffs that send prices up and make consumers wary. Google also is ad-dependent: About three-quarters of its revenue came from ads last year. Tech companies were already pretty far over their skis with spending on AI before tariffs came into the picture. They were set to lay out some $325 billion next year in capital expenditures on data centers, according to a Citi estimate in February. That spending wouldn't necessarily be unsustainable if it weren't for a troublesome fact—AI is still trying to find its own legs as a business. So far, AI hasn't been enormously profitable for anyone—at least not commensurate with the investment it requires. John Blackledge, a tech analyst at TD Cowen, said Amazon's cloud-computing arm historically has generated $4 of incremental revenue for every $1 of capital spending. With investments in generative AI, the ratio is currently something like 20 cents for every dollar—although Blackledge estimates it will get closer to the usual $4 return in the next several years. Given the promise AI holds, there is an argument that tech companies will take tariffs as a cue to spend more on AI while dialing back other parts of their business. Some analysts believe they will stick to their big spending plans. The more probable scenario is that at least some of them dial back. They will likely use tariffs as an excuse to moderate spending. In many ways, the spending boom had been driven by not wanting to fall behind competitors who are also spending massively on the technology. In what may be a foretaste of things to come, Microsoft is already slowing data-center construction across the globe, including a $1 billion project in Ohio. The company is sticking with plans to spend more than $80 billion on infrastructure this fiscal year, but the moves signal a more cautious stance in the longer term. Analysts at TD Cowen said in a note last month that Microsoft canceled leases in the U.S. and Europe, which the analysts attributed partly to an oversupply of data-center space relative to the company's demand forecasts. Tech companies have shown they can adjust quickly to changed circumstances. They did so a few years ago when Covid hit: Google delayed ad launches and slowed hiring, and Meta pledged to moderate spending growth. That crisis was also lined with opportunity in a way this one isn't. With more people learning and working from home, demand back then rose for a lot of the services tech companies supplied. There is no such opportunity when prices are on the upswing and people rein in spending. Meta is perhaps most sensitive to economic weakness of any of the tech giants, given its relative lack of revenue streams beyond ads. Microsoft, Amazon and to some extent Google may be more resilient. Those three companies have big cloud-computing divisions that largely serve corporate customers. There, the return on AI investments is more straightforward, even if it is no slam dunk. That said, Google is still largely ad-driven and Amazon is exposed to consumer weakness in its e-commerce and ads businesses. The other big casualty in a tariff-induced AI slump would be Nvidia, whose chief executive, Jensen Huang, was touting near-limitless spending on AI data centers just last month. 'We've got to go and work with the supply chain upstream and downstream, to prepare the world for hundreds of billions of dollars, working towards trillions of dollars of AI infrastructure build-out,' he told analysts. Such pronouncements were taken at face value by investors eager to cash in on the next big thing. Now, in the blink of Trump's eye, they may prove to be a pipe dream. Write to Asa Fitch at
Express Tribune
26-03-2025
- Automotive
- Express Tribune
TikTok star Joshua Blackledge dies at 16 in North Carolina, fans mourn viral car content creator
Joshua Blackledge, a rising TikTok star known for his car videos and upbeat personality, has died at age 16. According to his obituary, he passed away at his home in Newport, North Carolina, on March 18. The cause of death has not been publicly disclosed by his family. A junior at West Carteret High School in Morehead City, Blackledge was active in wrestling and track. Outside of school, he loved the outdoors—particularly fishing and boating with friends—and had a deep passion for cars and trucks. At home, he enjoyed helping his mother with cooking, gardening, and yard work. Known for his high energy and entertaining nature, he often impressed others with his backflips. Blackledge had built a following of around one million on TikTok, where he frequently showcased his white BMW and, more recently, a new white truck. His girlfriend, Emmie Gillikin, was also a familiar face on his account. The couple had recently celebrated their eight-month anniversary in early March. In a heartfelt tribute, Gillikin shared clips of their relationship, writing: 'Josh showed me what love really was… he never failed to put a smile on my face no matter how mad I was at him.' She added that the days following his death didn't feel real and that she was 'feeling all the emotions.' The two first met over two years ago, and one of Blackledge's most popular pinned videos featured a compilation of their time together, originally posted for their five-month anniversary. A celebration of his life was held on Sunday in Newport, where family and friends gathered to honor his memory. He is survived by his parents and younger brother.
