Latest news with #DeVeer
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Ultra-High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in May
Ares Capital offers a high dividend yield and great growth prospects. Enterprise Products Partners has increased its distributions for 26 consecutive years and has a highly resilient business. Verizon remains a favorite holding of income investors, and its business is booming. What's a five-letter word that can have a negative connotation when used as a verb but a positive one when used as a noun? The answer is "yield." An opponent who yields in a contest is the loser. However, an investor who receives a nice dividend yield is a financial winner. Some investors, though, hold a negative view of exceptionally high yields, as they can reflect underlying business problems and share price tumbles, and could indicate that the payout itself is in jeopardy of being cut. But that's not always the case. Some stocks with unusually high yields are great picks. Here are three ultra-high-yield dividend stocks you should consider buying hand over fist in May. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » At its current share price, Ares Capital's (NASDAQ: ARCC) dividend has a forward yield of 9.3%. The company has maintained a stable or growing payout for 15 consecutive years. Ares Capital has also delivered the highest regular dividend growth over the last 10 years of any externally managed business development company with a market cap of over $700 million. Business development companies primarily provide capital to middle-market businesses with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion. That market represents an estimated $3 trillion opportunity. Offering direct lending to companies with annual revenues of over $1 billion adds another $2.4 trillion to Ares Capital's addressable market. Ares Capital is in a great position to capture more of this market. It's the largest publicly traded business development company, its net-debt-to-equity ratio is below 1, and its balance sheet is strong. It also has deep industry relationships and ample access to credit. Should investors be concerned that longtime CEO Kipp DeVeer is stepping down? I don't think so. DeVeer will remain on the board of directors. He's passing the baton to Kort Schnabel, who has worked with Ares Capital's parent company, Ares Management, since 2001, and who previously served as Ares Capital's co-president. Schnabel founded Ares Management's U.S. direct lending strategy in 2004. Limited partnerships such as Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) refer to the money they return to investors as distributions rather than dividends. Whatever you want to call it, Enterprise's distribution has a juicy forward yield of 6.9%. Enterprise Products Partners has increased its distribution for an impressive 26 consecutive years. The midstream energy leader has also rewarded investors through unit (the equivalent of stock for a limited partnership) buybacks. What I like most about Enterprise is its ability to grow its distribution regardless of what's going on in the broader economy or the oil and natural gas industry. Even during the Great Recession, the multiyear oil price collapse that began in 2015, and the COVID-19 pandemic, its cash flows remained strong. Global demand for liquid hydrocarbons is expected to increase over the next five years, with natural gas liquids (NGLs) and naphtha accounting for over 60% of the growth. The U.S. retains a competitive advantage in those markets because of its low production costs. The growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is also driving greater demand for natural gas to fuel data centers. These factors bode well for Enterprise Products Partners' growth prospects. Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) continues to be a favorite holding among income investors -- and for good reason. The telecommunications giant's forward dividend yield is a lofty 6.3%. Verizon has also increased its payouts for 18 straight years. While the stock market broadly has fallen this year, Verizon's share price has risen. This outperformance stems in part from the fact that the telecom should experience only limited repercussions from the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. During Verizon's recent first-quarter earnings call, CEO Hans Vestberg said that "a very small portion" of the company's capital expenditures are exposed to tariffs. Another key driver of Verizon's solid year-to-date gains, though, is that its business continues to perform well. It delivered industry-leading wireless service revenue in Q1. It's capturing a rising share of the broadband market. And its free cash flow jumped from $2.7 billion in the prior-year period to $3.6 billion in the recent quarter. Verizon's business should soon become even stronger. The company is moving forward with its acquisition of Frontier Communications. This deal will expand Verizon's products and services for consumers and small businesses. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. Before you buy stock in Ares Capital, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Ares Capital 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 $607,048!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $668,193!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 880% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 161% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025 Keith Speights has positions in Ares Capital, Enterprise Products Partners, and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Ultra-High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in May was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The White Lotus: Creator Mike White hits back at composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer
The writer and creator of TV drama The White Lotus has hit back at comments made by the show's composer, who left the series after reports of a Tapia de Veer told the New York Times last week he was quitting the show following creative differences with showrunner Mike to broadcaster Howard Stern, White played down reports of any "fight" but acknowledged the pair had not seen eye to said he felt De Veer didn't respect him, adding: "I don't think he liked to go through the process of getting notes from me." The third season of The White Lotus has been less well-received than the previous two, but has gained social media traction in recent Veer, who composed the score and theme song for the first three seasons, said he would not return for the fourth due to conflict with White."We already had our last fight for ever, I think," he said. "He was just saying no to anything."Responding to his comments, White told Stern: "I honestly don't know what happened, except now I'm reading his interviews because he decides to do some PR campaign about him leaving the show."I don't think he respected me. He wants people to know that he's edgy and dark and I'm, I don't know, like I watch reality TV."White continued: "We never really even fought. He says we feuded. I don't think I ever had a fight with him – except for maybe some emails." White continued: "It was basically me giving him notes. I don't think he liked to go through the process of getting notes from me, or wanting revisions, because he didn't respect me. "I knew he wasn't a team player and that he wanted to do it his way. I was thrown that he would go to the New York Times to [criticise] me and the show three days before the finale."Following the interview with Stern, De Veer told BBC News: "When Mike learned that I wasn't coming back for series four, he didn't handle it in a normal business manner, with a cool head, that is why I went public."He added: "Everything that is happening right now is completely unnecessary, I didn't start this feud and am simply defending myself."De Veer added: "Every comment regarding the role of the composer and the music at the Stern show simply proves my point that he doesn't understand or fully appreciate the importance and the power of the music in The White Lotus. "I wasn't given the trust about musical decisions, which you would imagine come with the success of the score. Which is also why I'm not returning." 'Creative difference' De Veer won three Emmy Awards for The White Lotus, including outstanding theme for season fans expressed disappointment that the show's theme changed for season three, losing its famous "ooh-loo-loo-loo" vocal Veer said he tried to persuade producers to release a full version of the season three theme including the vocals, but said White told Stern: "By the time the third season came around, he'd won Emmys and he had his song go viral, he didn't want to go through the process with me, he didn't want to go to sessions."He would always look at me with this contemptuous smirk on his face like he thought I was a chimp or something... he's definitely making a big deal out of a creative difference."In response, De Veer drew attention to the career he had "long before the White Lotus", which saw him win other awards including a Bafta and a Royal Television Society Award. In his original comments to the New York Times, De Veer said: "Maybe I was being unprofessional, and for sure Mike feels that I was always unprofessional to him because I didn't give him what he wanted." The third season of The White Lotus, which is set in wealthy hotels and focuses on rich guests and the staff who serve them, received mixed reviews from Guardian described the finale as "the show's least satisfying ending ever" in a three-star review. The Independent agreed it was a "a violent end to a bad season", while the Standard said it was "heartwarming, frequently heartbreaking and, often, frustrating".The Telegraph was more positive, awarding the last episode four stars and describing it as "a dark, uncomfortable finale, but one that forced the audience to ponder the very meaning of happiness".The latest season starred British actors Jason Isaacs and Aimee Lou Wood alongside Walton Goggins, Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan and Parker Posey. Sunday's final episode was watched by 6.2 million viewers in the US. In the UK, the show has been attracting about 1.5 million viewers per episode, including has also received huge pick-up on social media, with some scenes being made into memes and gifs, while fans have speculated on relationships between cast members.
Los Angeles Times
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘White Lotus' ooh-loo-loses composer after feud with Mike White: ‘Had our last fight'
What would 'White Lotus' be without its titillating score and those warbled 'ooh-loo-loo-loo's?' That will no longer concern the series' original composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer. The Times confirmed Thursday that the Emmy winner has checked out of HBO's 'White Lotus,' and will not return to bring his musical stylings to the hit series' fourth season. In an interview published Wednesday, the Chilean Canadian musician told the New York Times that creative differences with showrunner Mike White led to his departure. A representative for HBO declined to comment. The composer reflected on his time on the series, including bringing the original Season 1 theme to White, who originally had another sound in mind. 'He didn't want the theme,' De Veer said, adding that White first opted for a song with more of a club feel with a 'chill, sexy vibe.' De Veer recalled the song had 'literally no edge to it,' and differed from the 'dark and edgy' nature of his compositions. 'It's just nice background music,' De Veer recalled. De Veer's version of the theme eventually made it on-air for the inaugural season of 'White Lotus' in 2021 and — thanks in part to its famous warbled war cries — quickly became a hit among fans. For the series' Italy-set sophomore season, De Veer elevated the original theme, combining operatic vocals over a bouncy dance beat. As the New York Times notes, that version made its way to clubs and grew even more popular on social media. When 'White Lotus' fans tuned into the Season 3 premiere in February, many noticed the theme was markedly different. The melody and the vocal trills that fans came to love were notably absent. De Veer said 'people are furious about the change of the theme' and that he told a producer he's interested in giving viewers 'the longer version with the ooh-loo-loo-loos, because people will explode if they realize that it was going there anyway.' The extended version of the Season 3 theme — 'ooh-loo-loo-loos,' original melody and all — can be found on De Veer's YouTube page. '[The producer] thought it was a good idea,' De Veer added. 'But then Mike cut that — he wasn't happy about that.' He added: 'I mean, at that point, we already had our last fight forever, I think. So he was just saying no to anything.' Elsewhere in the interview, De Veer said he received backlash for the Season 3 theme but that viewers eventually warmed up to it. Though De Veer is 'pretty proud' of his time on the 'White Lotus,' which has earned him three Primetime Emmy wins, he said, 'for sure Mike feels that I was always unprofessional to him because I didn't give him what he wanted.' He contended that despite their disputes he did contribute 'those Emmys, people going crazy' for his music, even if it took them a while to enjoy it. 'I'm really happy to take those kinds of risks. That is the main thing that I'm most happy about — it was worth all the tension and almost forcing the music into the show, in a way, because I didn't have that many allies in there,' he said. 'I treasure that more than something else I did that was just a success, and it works and that's that, with less struggle. 'This was a good struggle.' Throughout Season 3, 'White Lotus' has turned heads for more than just its theme song. In recent weeks, the series faced scrutiny for an incest storyline and nixing mention of a nonbinary character. The show also faced heat from Duke University for dressing a character in university merchandise during a graphic scene. The 'White Lotus' Season 3 finale airs Sunday on HBO.
The Guardian
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘We already had our last fight': White Lotus composer quits in frustration at show's creator
The composer of the theme for The White Lotus has quit the dark comedy-drama over creative differences with its creator, Mike White. According to Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, White never liked his Emmy-winning title music, preferring a chilled-out Ibiza-style track. He said conversations with producers could become 'hysterical'. 'I just stuck to what I was doing,' the musician told the New York Times. 'There were … crazy people and screaming and stuff like that. From there, it became this weird relationship of: how do I pass all this weird music into the show?' De Veer's work has been acclaimed by fans and critics – his music for The White Lotus has won three Emmys, including outstanding theme for season one, and the season-two version became a club hit that was remixed by Tiësto. 'There's one thing I'm pretty proud of and that is I feel like I never gave up,' De Veer said. 'Maybe I was being unprofessional, and for sure Mike feels that I was always unprofessional to him because I didn't give him what he wanted. But what I gave him did this, you know – did those Emmys, people going crazy.' De Veer's music for the third season proved more divisive, with some fans expressing disquiet that the vocal ululation of the previous versions had been omitted. In the resulting furore, he was contacted by journalists worldwide who wanted comment on the new theme. He said it had been edited to fit the credits sequence and that no one on the show realised 'how attached people were to the ooh-loo-loo-loos'. De Veer claimed that he attempted to persuade the show's producers to calm the furore by releasing the full version of the theme. He said White refused. 'I texted the producer and I told him that it would be great to, at some point, give them the longer version with the ooh-loo-loo-loos, because people will explode if they realise that it was going there anyway. He thought it was a good idea. But then Mike cut that – he wasn't happy about that. 'At that point, we already had our last fight for ever, I think. So he was just saying no to anything. So I just uploaded that to my YouTube.' This is not the first controversy to hit this season of The White Lotus. Duke University – the logo of which features on the T-shirt of Jason Isaacs' character, Timothy Ratliff – recently complained about its usage, particularly in scenes where Ratliff contemplated suicide. Frank Tramble, Duke's vice-president for communications, marketing and public affairs, told Bloomberg: 'The White Lotus not only uses our brand without permission, but in our view uses it on imagery that is troubling, does not reflect our values or who we are, and simply goes too far.' Representatives of The White Lotus have been contacted for comment.
