Latest news with #Wolfe
CNBC
16 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Broadcom, Palantir, Starbucks, Apple, Peloton, PNC, CoreWeave & more
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday: Goldman Sachs reiterates CoreWeave as neutral Goldman says it's standing by its neutral rating ahead of earnings on August 12. "Since we launched coverage last April, CoreWeave's financial profile has largely played out (see our initiation report for more details), quieting some of the most draconian bear cases." Bank of America downgrades UPS to neutral from buy Bank of America says cost cuts are not coming fast enough at the Atlanta-based shipper. "We lower our rating on UPS ' shares to Neutral from Buy given a larger-than-expected small- to medium sized business volume deceleration, slower-than than anticipated cost takeout, accelerating Amazon business glide-down, higher than expected Ground Saver costs and delayed benefit from its voluntary driver separation program." Loop reiterates Palantir as buy Loop says it's sticking with the stock ahead of earnings on August 4. "Based on our checks, we expect PLTR to deliver another beat and raise, with revenue outperformance in line with or exceeding the 5-quarter average upside of 4.3% above the midpoint of guidance." Morgan Stanley reiterates Broadcom and Nvidia as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Nvidia to $200 per share from $170. The bank also raised its price target on Broadcom to $338 per share from $270. "We think that the increase in enthusiasm for AI semis is justified by long term strength in the business, and raise targets across the board — though some near term constraints remain. PTs higher across the board, stay OW NVDA AVGO ALAB." Read more. Baird upgrades Ecolab to outperform from neutral Baird says investors should buy any dip in shares of the chemical company. "ECL still isn't 'cheap' per se, especially given muted volumes, but its recurring revenue model and strong competitive position, combined with very low tariff risk for a multinational industrial are all notable positives for large cap investors." Bank of America downgrades Novo Nordisk to neutral from buy The bank said in its downgrade of Novo Nordisk that it sees too many negative catalysts for shares of the Danish maker of insulin and obesity drugs. "Downgrade. Not enough visibility on growth; Further pressures coming." Read more. Jefferies upgrades Aon to buy from hold Jefferies says the insurance company is well positioned for growth. " AON is positioned to show accelerating margin expansion driven by continued favorable organic growth, productivity gains and cost savings. Wolfe upgrades Veralto outperform from peer perform Wolfe says shares of the water quality company have more room to run. "We upgrade VLTO to OP as we see scope for the positive estimate revision trend to continue, with a return to [mid single digit] organic growth driving [high single digit] EPS growth." UBS upgrades Peloton to buy from neutral UBS says it sees several positive catalysts ahead for the fitness biking company. "We are upgrading PTON to Buy from Neutral with PT of $11, implying near doubling of the stock from current levels." Read more. Citigroup adds a positive catalyst watch on Eli Lilly Citi says it sees an attractive setup for shares of Eli Lilly. "...the overall setup for LLY shares looks very favorable, in our view. We're maintaining our Buy rating and $1,190 TP and opening a 90-day upside catalyst watch on LLY." Oppenheimer upgrades PNC to outperform from perform Oppenheimer says shares of the Pittsburgh-based regional bank are compelling compared to peers in the sector. "Upgraded with this report, PNC has lagged the group, up just 0.6% YTD.." Bank of America upgrades Brown & Brown to buy from neutral Bank of America says investors should buy the dip in shares of the insurance broker. " BRO shares have fallen 26% since April 2, while the S & P 500 has appreciated 13%. This would represent one of the most significant periods of ... underperformance in BRO's history." Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight The firm says Apple is a beneficiary of the Big Beautiful bill. "We estimate that over the next 4 years, the [One Big Beautiful Bill] will add a cumulative $20.3B of upside to our AAPL [free-cash flow] forecast, all else equal, which equates to an average annual FCF tailwind of 4%." Wells Fargo reiterates Starbucks as overweight Wells says it's sticking with shares of Starbucks. "FQ3 was a bit messy, but U.S. comps were ~inline, labor investments sized (better vs feared) & initiatives showing promise.; We think the narrative improves as focus shifts to easier Q4 compares, more restructuring & '26 innovation." Baird upgrades Ormat Technologies to outperform from neutral Baird says the nuclear tech company is a beneficiary of the recently-passed Big Beautiful bill. "Recall that we initiated coverage of ORA late in Q1 with a Neutral rating and positive bias, noting that the permanence of IRA incentives were a factor keeping us from Outperform. With geothermal gaining support and favorable treatment in the BBB, we are becoming more constructive."
Hamilton Spectator
7 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Delays in Wellington and Victoria reconstruction project leave area residents frustrated
Last week, the St. Marys Independent received a submission to our weekly Bravos and Boos section from a local resident frustrated over the impact delays in the final stages of the Wellington Steet and Victoria Street reconstruction project have had on their property and that of their neighbours. The Boo, published in this week's paper, reads as follows: 'Boo to the town in regards to the construction project at Wellington and Victoria Street. This project has been going on for close to a year. Nothing has been done for weeks now. Everybody's front yards are all torn up. One would think that for the amount of taxes we have to pay, that the town would at least show some respect and finish what was started. St. Marys residents take pride in our community and we expect nothing less from you.' For transparency, we at the Independent opted not to print the above Boo in last week's paper and instead decided to follow up with the town to help area residents understand the delays to this project. We reached out to St. Marys infrastructure services manager Jeff Wolfe, who provided details about the $1.6-million reconstruction project and reasons as to why work has slowed in recent weeks. Last year, the Independent reported that the town was working with OMEGA Contractors Inc. to reconstruct a section of Wellington Street South, spanning from Park Street to St. Maria Street, and Victoria Street spanning from Church Street South to Water Street South. The project is a continuation of the highly successful Wellington Street reconstruction project that spanned from the Wellington Street Bridge to Park Street East completed in 2023 that focused on making the downtown more accessible for people with disabilities. Improvements in this second phase of the project included replacing a water main and copper water services, improving drainage with grading, installing new storm sewers and catch basins, and replacing the asphalt roadway. 'Topcoat asphalt and associated work was planned for June 2025, and all other works were originally to have been completed in fall 2024,' Wolfe told the Independent. 'The project was delayed in the fall of 2024 and pushed into early winter, and turf restoration was postponed until spring 2025 as a result. Concrete sidewalk deficiencies developed over the winter, and the associated re-work delayed the anticipated turf restoration. All underground and hard surfaces are now complete, topsoil has been prepared and turf is to be installed by July 18, weather pending.' Wolfe explained the delayed start to the project last year was because of other projects the contractor was working on at the time. Town staff expect all remaining work to be completed by the time this newspaper comes out July 24, and the town and its engineer will continue monitoring the project area for another year for any issues that develop post-construction. While that may sound promising, at least one resident in the project area, Marlene Mackenzie, the owner of Wellington Street Guest House, is fed up with what she describes as shifting project timelines and the extended impacts of the project on her property and business. 'He'll say next week; well he told me two weeks ago it was supposed to be done by that Friday,' Mackenzie said, describing a conversation she had with Wolfe. 'I told him that my property would be on the (St. Marys Horticultural Society) garden tour. It's been going on for three week; every time I talk to him, he goes, 'Oh yeah, it will be done by this date.' ' Mackenzie said doesn't understand why work hasn't moved quicker when she believes there has been ample opportunity for it to be completed. The work is supposed to include the replacement of sod and the repair of a portion of her brick walkway leading up to her short-term accommodations business, however she said she has received mixed messages as to who will actually repair her walkway. As summer is her busy season, she said this project has impacted her business as she's been forced to require her guests to park on the street, and the uprooting of a portion of her walkway has also impacted accessibility for guests. 'This is the second summer that we've gone through this,' Mackenzie said. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CNBC
7 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Alphabet, IBM, Spotify, AT&T, Birkenstock & more
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: Goldman Sachs reiterates Apple as buy Goldman lowered its price target on the stock to $251 per share from $253 but says it's sticking with the iPhone maker. "We are Buy-rated on AAPL as we believe that the market's focus on slower product revenue growth masks the strength of the Apple ecosystem and associated revenue durability & visibility." New Street upgrades ASML Holding to buy from neutral New Street says the semiconductor equipment maker is a top idea for 2026. "Consensus expects ASML to grow revenues 2% next year, compared to 6-12% for its peers. That is conservative. If anything, we see room for ASML to outperform, driven by high leading-edge exposure." Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley says Tesla remains a top pick following the company's earnings report on Wednesday. " Tesla is crossing the chasm to autonomy while absorbing slower volume, EV incentive elimination, tariffs and investing in new initiatives that may not make margins for years." Read more. Morgan Stanley reiterates Alphabet as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $210 per share from $205 following Alphabet's latest earnings report Wednesday. "Our EPS ests are largely unchanged but we remain OW as this accelerated pace of innovation sets up GOOGL for more durable multi-year growth." Read more . Bank of America reiterates IBM as buy The bank says says IBM is well positioned for growth following its most recent financial report. " IBM r eported a mixed quarter, where organic software deceleration was offset by strong contribution from better-than-expected Infrastructure results and higher M & A contribution." Deutsche Bank upgrades Hub Group to buy from hold Deutsche says the logistics and transportation company has upside potential. "Given an attractive valuation of only 13x 2026 numbers and conservative Street estimates (we are 10% above for 2026), we believe HUBG shares offer investors a compelling opportunity to capitalize on the intermodal market's long-term growth potential at a reasonable price." Citi downgrades KeyCorp to neutral from buy Citi says the Cleveland-based regional bank's valuation is full right now. "We expect KEY will continue to benefit from [net interest margin] expansion towards 3% as headwind from hedging portfolio abates and asset yields benefit from repricing and remixing. However, we believe these tailwinds are now largely priced in and that the bar is relatively high for further upside..." Wells Fargo upgrades Crown Castle to overweight from equal weight Wells says the cell tower company is a "compelling" top idea. "We're upgrading CCI to Overweight after a compelling Q2 which shows cost-cutting efforts ahead of plan, which provides upside to our 2025-2027 [adjusted funds from operations per share] numbers and makes for a compelling relative valuation story. CCI is our top tower pick." Wolfe upgrades General Dynamics to outperform from peer perform Wolfe said in its upgrade of General Dynamics that shares of the aerospace and defense company have room to run following its latest earnings. "A good top-line and bottom-line beat with an improved FCF and order outlook prompt our upgrade of shares to Outperform from Peer Perform." HSBC downgrades AT & T to hold from buy HSBC says it sees no near term catalysts for AT & T. "Good 2Q25 results driven by strong net add momentum; higher capex creates some market uneasiness. However, FCF guidance was raised, a function of U.S. cash tax savings and increasing potential for additional capital returns." Mizuho initiates Braze at outperform Mizuho says the cloud-based software company has a platform that's "best-in-class." " Braze offers a best-in-class customer engagement platform purpose-built for real-time, personalized messaging across channels." Oppenheimer upgrades Spotify to outperform from perform Oppenheimer sees a "significant opportunity to monetize ad users." "With shares 14% off their all-time highs, we upgrade SPOT from Perform to Outperform and establish an $800 target as we see many tailwinds ahead. We model 1) the largest [monthly active users] runway in Internet, 2) free tier monetization (either ads or ad-supported monthly fee)..." Jefferies upgrades Varonis to buy from neutral Jefferies says shares of the software cybersecurity company are attractive. "We believe that VRNS is well positioned to address the increasingly important data governance market as Gen AI adoption starts to materialize." Morgan Stanley reiterates Chipotle at overweight The firm says shares of Chipotle remain extremely attractive. "Modest top line miss, EPS in line, FY [same-store sales] trimmed - these likely feed into the more cautious views on the stock and weigh on the multiple, though our numbers don't change much here. We remain OW on the view that nothing is broken here, and growth should pick up, but patience may be needed." Mizuho upgrades Travel & Leisure to outperform from neutral Mizuho sees earnings growth for the timeshare company. "We are upgrading TNL to Outperform from Neutral." Citi reiterates Nvidia at buy Citi says Alphabet's increased capex guidance is a positive for Nvidia. "AI spending remains strong – good for MU and NVDA. Google's capex guidance supports our view that AI spending remains strong. We view this positively for AI-exposed stocks such as MU (17% of sales) and NVDA." Goldman Sachs upgrades Birkenstock to buy from neutral Goldman says the shoe company is attractively valued. "Whilst we navigate a challenging macro backdrop and a highly competitive footwear market, BIRK looks attractive given: (i) a strong product proposition with pricing power; (ii) opportunities to take share in a highly fragmented market underpinned by its iconic footbed..." Piper Sandler downgrades Chubb to neutral from overweight Piper sees a softening insurance cycle for Chubb. "We are downgrading Chubb to Neutral from Overweight after its 2Q25 earnings results." Bank of America initiates Elbit Systems at buy Bank of America says it sees several catalysts ahead for the defense technology company. "We view Elbit Systems as a company well positioned to capture market share and defense funding globally, as Western Allies increase defense spending significantly over the next decade."
New Statesman
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Are emojis killing language?
Illustration by George Wylesol I was shocked and dismayed to realise, a few years ago, that I was going to have to watch The Emoji Movie, which was made in 2017 by a mobile phone company, Sony, to promote the use of mobile phones by children. To my great regret, I allowed the film – comfortably among the worst pieces of entertainment ever made – to play in its entirety. I wish I had done something more rational, and enjoyable, such as beating myself unconscious with a frozen haddock. I do not think it is unreasonable to describe The Emoji Movie as an act of cultural terrorism, an attempt to spread hopelessness and anhedonia among all the people on whom it was inflicted. The people who made the film were clearly recruited to do so by a foreign power (America) with the intention of eroding other cultures, making us doubt the value of art itself. Anyone involved in the making of it is pure evil, and in a just, well-run world they would never work again. The same is not true of Face with Tears of Joy, Keith Houston's story of the rise of the emoji. (The title refers to the crying-laughing emoji, which is used more than any other.) It is an intelligent, historical account of a cultural phenomenon. But, like the grotesque crime that is The Emoji Movie, it raises questions: for whom do the emoji work? What power do they hold? In 2016, Tom Wolfe published his last book, The Kingdom of Speech. It tells of the search among scientists for an understanding of language, from the point at which Alfred Russel Wallace described it – and the abstract thought it makes possible – as the basis for man's ascent from the state of nature. 'Speech', Wolfe writes, was 'the primal artifact. Without speech the human beast couldn't have created any other artifacts, not the crudest club or the simplest hoe, not the wheel or the Atlas rocket.' It is the basis for mathematics – try counting to ten without using words, Wolfe writes – and trade, farming, science, society, religion. Most of all, it is the basis of the self. As Wittgenstein pointed out, when we think in words – when we think to ourselves I'd like a strawberry, or Martin doesn't look happy, or what is this bloke going on about – these words aren't accompanied by separate thoughts, holding the meanings the words refer to. The words are the thoughts. 'Language itself', as Wittgenstein put it, 'is the vehicle of thought'. People do not think in emoji. I disagree with Houston's description of emoji as 'the world's newest language'. They are not language at all. The emoji set is a collection of phatic expressions which can be used to convey social context and emotion, like the mooing of cows. But they do not have any real semantic significance. They are just pictures of things. They do not combine into greater context. Sometimes – the peach, the aubergine – they can mean two things, but in general they mean what they mean. Compare them, as Houston does, to the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt – weren't they just pictures, too? No. Hieroglyphs were an alphabet of sounds and meanings that could be mixed to create far more complex structures of thought. A picture of an eye did not just mean 'eye'; it meant a sound, a component of meaning, a signifier of cultural significance, heavy with the weight of all the things it had meant over the centuries. It could invoke the gods Ra and Horus. It was capable of being ordered into a practically endless branching complexity of thought. The same cannot be said of a little picture of a smiling cartoon turd. And yet the emoji are in constant use, billions of them teeming through the air, a river of thumbs and smiles and hearts and fruit. What for? And what is that doing to us? In the mid 1990s, Keiichi Enoki, a manager at the Japanese telephone company DoCoMo noticed how easily and capably his young children played with a pager. Pagers were very popular in Japan, and a kind of slang that used numbers as shorthand for words had evolved; three nines, when read out in Japanese – san kyu – sounded a bit like the English 'thank you', for example. DoCoMo had previously failed to understand the potential this represented, but what Keiichi understood from watching his children play with technology was you could not be too patronising, too infantilising. Keiichi incorporated a set of icons – pictograms saved as text, rather than images – into his i-mode web browser, making it simple and kawaii (cute). The effect was transformative; i-mode had a million subscribers within six months. Keitai phones – equipped with basic internet service – spread across Japan. When the iPhone was released in 2007 the then-CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, laughed. 'It doesn't have a keyboard,' he chuckled. Who would pay for that? Ballmer had failed to see what Keiichi had seen, which was that people liked simpler interfaces. The iPhone was a design that could be understood immediately by a young child. There was only one button you could press. This logic would be extended to the iPad, a laptop screen on which it was impractical to type. The apps were little cartoon versions of things – an envelope, a calendar – and from 2010, when emoji were added to Unicode, messages could be composed without even using words. The rising use of emoji combined with the widespread use of other means of phatic communication – the poke, the like, the retweet – allowed people to communicate emotion, mass approval or disapproval, in ever greater volumes, without actually saying anything. In 2014, a new social network was launched called Yo. Users could only send each other a single word: 'yo'. It was meant as a joke – it opened on 1 April – but tens of thousands of people joined and the developers raised millions of dollars before it folded. In 2018, BuzzFeed News asked its readers to respond to questions about that year's midterm elections using emojis. People who worried about gun violence and the climate crisis registered their political sentiment by submitting little pictures of frowny faces, water pistols and rainbow flags. Karl Marx wrote that technology changes how people interact with the world and each other, and emoji are part of the story of a world that is becoming less literate. They represent language that can be more fun, but which is also, by accident or by design, trimmed of its semantic content, made phatic. And perhaps made less powerful and more easily directed too. Some of us may read a warning in Louis MacNeice's strange, prophetic little poem, 'To Posterity' (1957), in which he imagined a time when: 'reading and even speaking have been replaced/By other, less difficult, media', and wonders 'if you/Will find in flowers and fruit the same colour and taste/They held for us for whom they were framed in words.' To be fair, The Emoji Movie may not really have been the act of a deranged cabal of art criminals bent on destroying our culture. But emoji themselves may represent something darker: a shift to communicating without context, to being reduced to simpler and more emotional responses. Every day, more and more people allow chatbots to intercede in their word-making, and it is not hard to imagine a time when the companies who run these machines have a far greater command of human speech, emotion and behaviour. They will run the world then, and all we'll be able to say about it is: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji Keith Houston WW Norton, 224pp, £14.99 Purchasing a book may earn the NS a commission from who support independent bookshops [See also: On freedom vs motherhood] Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Related This article appears in the 23 Jul 2025 issue of the New Statesman, Kemi Isn't Working
1News
20-07-2025
- Business
- 1News
Is your dream suburb too expensive? 'Rentvesting' could be the solution
Rentvesting is where you live in one place and buy a house in another. But what are the pros and cons? Frances Cook weighs them up. There's a very Kiwi idea that owning the home you live in is the pinnacle of success. You get the keys, throw a housewarming, maybe dig a veggie patch, and settle in with the satisfaction that you've 'made it'. But what if that belief is getting in the way of smarter decisions? The Tuckers would like to return to New Zealand and buy a home one day. (Source: Let's be honest, trying to buy your first home in places like Auckland or Queenstown is brutal. ADVERTISEMENT Plenty of people need to live in those places for work reasons, yet prices are sky-high, and every extra year it takes to save that deposit is another year of compromise. Smaller house. A landlord. Longer commute. Another year where you're paying someone else's mortgage, instead of your own. But what if you didn't have to buy where you live? What if you could rent your dream lifestyle, and invest somewhere else? That's the idea behind rentvesting, and it might be worth a look. Rentvesting 101 At its core, rentvesting is exactly what it sounds like. You rent your home, and buy a house elsewhere, typically in a more affordable area with better financial returns. It's a strategy that Ilse Wolfe knows well. Wolfe is a seasoned property coach and investor who recently made the move herself. She sold her Grey Lynn home and shifted to a rental on Takapuna Beach. ADVERTISEMENT 'Rentvesting is basically upgrading your lifestyle, going to a location that you want that's usually more premium than where you could afford to have a mortgage,' she says. 'So it's a lifestyle upgrade, for less of a weekly outgoing.' Wolfe and her husband looked at the cost of owning their million-dollar home in Grey Lynn, and compared it to what that same amount could do if they were to buy in a cheaper area, rent out that house and have the mortgage paid by tenants, while gleaning a little extra income in the process. And all while renting a lovely home themselves in a beachside area where properties tend to be even more expensive than in Grey Lynn. But could you go back to renting? Here's where the emotional friction kicks in. For most of us, the idea of renting forever can feel… unsettling. Especially if you have kids. Especially if you've finally found a school zone you like. Especially if you want to redecorate without having to ask for permission. Or if you're just tired of moving house every time the landlord decides to renovate. School zones are often a major consideration for families choosing where they live. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT Wolfe understands that hesitation. She says one of the biggest mental hurdles in their decision was whether they were about to uproot their children's lives, including school and friendships. But after six weeks in their new rental, they were sure that it had been the right call, even if it was daunting at the time. Ttheir landlords live next door, have owned the property for decades, and treat it with pride. She credits that for creating a sense of mutual care and community. 'They come around and check on us,' she says. 'And the cool thing is… we have neighbourhood drinks. All of the neighbours on our street, three or four times a year, get together. So we're in a real community here and the kids are invited.' The numbers still matter Of course, warm fuzzies aren't enough. Rentvesting only works if it stacks up financially. If you're a first-home buyer, you may also need to change strategy, if you're mainly saving into your KiwiSaver. Your KiwiSaver can only be used for a first home deposit if you'll actually be living there. ADVERTISEMENT You may also need to bring in a pro to help you run the numbers. Get an accountant to help you run the numbers. (Source: Wolfe emphasises that anyone considering rentvesting should chat to an accountant early, as the move could have implications for things like ownership structure, interest deductibility, or capital gains exposure. She also stressed the importance of not pushing your weekly rent budget to the limit just because a property is exciting. There is the possibility of rent increasing, and you need to give yourself buffer to afford that possibility. 'You don't want that mental load on top to have that concern. There's enough to juggle these days.' Is this a good first-home buyer strategy? Wolfe said more of her clients, especially younger couples, are now rentvesting as their entry point into property. ADVERTISEMENT Some already have families and choose to rent a home they love, while using their deposit to purchase cashflow-positive rentals in more affordable parts of the country. She described one couple who had lived in their rental for years and didn't want to downgrade just to 'get on the ladder.' Instead, they used their savings to buy two investment properties in regional New Zealand. Wolfe helped them turn each one into a four-bedroom rental, earning more than enough to cover costs, even after the arrival of their first baby. 'They're making money from a rental property, they're living in a home that's better than what they know they could otherwise afford,' she says. "So they are moving forward and they now have two rental properties before they've even bought their own home.' Rentvesting isn't a silver bullet. It won't work for everyone. And it's definitely not the mainstream path — yet. But if you feel like you're stuck, priced out of buying where you want to live, and getting nowhere fast, then rentvesting could open up another path. One where you still make progress, even if it doesn't look like the traditional 'first home' story. The information in this article is general in nature and should not be read as personal financial advice. ADVERTISEMENT
