Consumer internet businesses are redefining how people engage with the world by giving them instant connectivity and convenience. The new habits they’re cultivating are also unlocking the next leg of growth for the industry, which has gained 7.8% over the past six months. Investing here would have been wise - at the same time, the S&P 500 was flat.
Many small-cap stocks have limited Wall Street coverage, giving savvy investors the chance to act before everyone else catches on. But the flip side is that these businesses have increased downside risk because they lack the scale and staying power of their larger competitors.
From commerce to culture, software is digitizing every aspect of our lives. The undeniable tailwinds fueling the industry have also led to strong returns for SaaS stocks lately as they’ve gained 6.4% over the past six months. Investing here would have been wise - at the same time, the S&P 500 was flat.
Whether you see them or not, industrials businesses play a crucial part in our daily activities. But they are at the whim of volatile macroeconomic factors that influence capital spending (like interest rates), and the market seems convinced that demand will slow. Due to this bearish outlook, the industry has tumbled by 8% over the past six months. This performance was disappointing since the S&P 500 stood firm.
From fast food to fine dining, restaurants play a vital societal role. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows as they’re notoriously hard to run thanks to perishable ingredients, labor shortages, or volatile consumer spending. Unfortunately, these factors have spelled trouble for the industry as it has shed 3.9% over the past six months. This performance was discouraging since the S&P 500 held its ground.
While RBC has scaled these businesses, its market share is "relatively small" and it still has room to grow, McKay said at the top Canadian bank's first investor day in seven years. Capital markets have become a vital revenue stream for banks in recent years. The expansion could intensify competition between RBC and its rival heavyweights on Wall Street such as JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.
Shares of major carmakers and auto-parts manufacturers fell after President Trump’s latest tariff plans dashed hopes for relief on the trade front.
Argentina is targeting a $20 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund, Economy Minister Luis Caputo said on Thursday, formally putting a figure on the long-mooted program for the first time as he looks to calm local market jitters. A new program would be the country's 23rd with the IMF if approved, and is seen helping bolster the central bank's reserve levels, strengthening the government of libertarian Javier Milei and defusing debt repayment risks in the years ahead. "What we are looking for with this agreement is that people can rest assured that the pesos that exist are backed by the central bank," Caputo said.
Interactive Brokers has announced the addition of four new cryptocurrencies—Solana (SOL), XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Dogecoin (DOGE)—to its trading platform.
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, a sign that the labor market remains healthy as companies continue to retain their employees. Jobless claim filings ticked down by 1,000 to 224,000 for the week ending March 22, the Labor Department said Thursday. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, and have remained mostly in a range between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years.
