To The Moon

Pop Mart posted blockbuster earnings off the global Labubu craze, but that didn't stop investors from dumping its stock, with some booking profit as they wonder if the Chinese toy maker's success is just a fad.The Beijing-based company captured the hearts--and wallets--of global consumers with its ugly-cute Labubu dolls, part of a range of collectibles sold in "blind boxes" that conceal the contents from buyers, making each purchase a surprise.Many had doubts on the logic of Pop Mart's share price catapulting above that of heavyweights like Alibaba's on the back of a trend. But the company's profit quadrupled last year. Revenue nearly tripled.In a year marked by weak consumption in Pop Mart's home market of China and tariff turmoil across the world, the toy company posted net profit of 12.78 billion yuan, equivalent to US$1.85 billion. It made 37.12 billion yuan in revenue.The question now is if it can keep churning out hits.Pop Mart relies heavily on the Monsters collection, which inc

Inflation has been relatively tame so far this year, with the consumer price index rising 2.4% on an annual basis in each of the past two months. The outlook for the coming months is a lot less benign, however.The surge in oil prices since the Feb. 28 start of the war with Iran is set to drive headline inflation back up to 4% in coming months. Even if oil retreats to well below $100 a barrel and the effects of tariffs moderate, inflation is unlikely to return to the Fed's 2% annual inflation target for at least a few years. Input costs are on the rise due to growing demand for artificial intelligence, firmer labor costs, and other factors.Even if the oil shock ends soon, the Fed could be looking at above-trend inflation for another few years due to structural changes in the economy, including deglobalization. "The world has changed in a way that has led to an upward tug on inflation," says Karen Dynan, an economics professor

MW Jensen Huang once said there was 'no evidence' Nvidia chips were getting diverted to China. The scandal at Super Micro suggests otherwise.Experts say the case highlights how the industry appears to not have taken the issue of chip smuggling seriously. Super Micro's stock fell 33% on Friday in the wake of an export-control scandal.Last spring, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said there was "no evidence" the company's advanced artificial-intelligence chips were being diverted to China, amid U.S. efforts to clamp down on chip sales to that country over national-security concerns."These are massive systems," Huang explained to Bloomberg News. "The Grace Blackwell system is nearly two tons, and so you're not going to be putting that in your pocket or your backpack anytime soon," he said, referring to the chip maker's latest-generation AI platform."The conduct by these individuals alleged in the indictment is a contravention of the company's policies and compliance controls, including efforts to

Powell praised his predecessor Paul Volcker’s willingness to resist political pressure in a speech Saturday.

Powell praised his predecessor Paul Volcker’s willingness to resist political pressure in a speech Saturday.

Valuations have come way down for software stocks — but just how cheap they really are depends on your view of a sizable hidden expense.

Nvidia just can't seem to impress the market any more. Three major potential catalysts for the chip maker's shares have come and gone without making an impression, but investors still have cause to be patient.First came Nvidia's blowout earnings late last month. Then there was this week's GTC conference where Nvidia showed how it will maintain its dominance in the next generation of artificial-intelligence hardware and gave a headline $1 trillion revenue forecast. And finally, Nvidia executives disclosed this week that sales of its chips to China finally look to be unblocked.All to no avail. Nvidia stock looks set to end the week lower than it started, trading down by 2.2% at $174.68 on Friday afternoon. That would be the stock's lowest close since Feb. 5. It had been stuck in a trading range of roughly $180 to $190 for weeks."While Nvidia is confident in its demand momentum, the [GTC] conference did little to address key investor concerns about the sustainability of AI spending by the

President Donald Trump continued his pressure campaign on the Federal Reserve on Thursday, signaling his support for the investigation of the central bank's chair, Jerome Powell.Trump's remarks, however, could escalate the legal feud that is threatening to derail the confirmation of his chosen successor for Fed chair and extend Powell's tenure well beyond its scheduled end.Powell said Wednesday he won't leave the Fed until the Justice Department's investigation of him is over, and a continuation of the probe could also have a negative domino effect for Trump's nominee for Fed chair, Kevin Warsh.Speaking during an Oval Office news conference Thursday, Trump lambasted Powell and again alleged criminal wrongdoing in the costly renovation of the Fed's Washington headquarters, which is at the heart of the Justice Department's investigation into Powell and the central bank.But Trump made it clear Thursday he has no intention of backing down from his campaign to discredit Powell, whom he has

Pop Mart posted blockbuster earnings off the global Labubu craze, but that didn't stop investors from dumping its stock, with some booking profit as they wonder if the Chinese toy maker's success is just a fad.The Beijing-based company captured the hearts--and wallets--of global consumers with its ugly-cute Labubu dolls, part of a range of collectibles sold in "blind boxes" that conceal the contents from buyers, making each purchase a surprise.Many had doubts on the logic of Pop Mart's share price catapulting above that of heavyweights like Alibaba's on the back of a trend. But the company's profit quadrupled last year. Revenue nearly tripled.In a year marked by weak consumption in Pop Mart's home market of China and tariff turmoil across the world, the toy company posted net profit of 12.78 billion yuan, equivalent to US$1.85 billion. It made 37.12 billion yuan in revenue.The question now is if it can keep churning out hits.Pop Mart relies heavily on the Monsters collection, which inc

President Donald Trump continued his pressure campaign on the Federal Reserve on Thursday, signaling his support for the investigation of the central bank's chair, Jerome Powell.Trump's remarks, however, could escalate the legal feud that is threatening to derail the confirmation of his chosen successor for Fed chair and extend Powell's tenure well beyond its scheduled end.Powell said Wednesday he won't leave the Fed until the Justice Department's investigation of him is over, and a continuation of the probe could also have a negative domino effect for Trump's nominee for Fed chair, Kevin Warsh.Speaking during an Oval Office news conference Thursday, Trump lambasted Powell and again alleged criminal wrongdoing in the costly renovation of the Fed's Washington headquarters, which is at the heart of the Justice Department's investigation into Powell and the central bank.But Trump made it clear Thursday he has no intention of backing down from his campaign to discredit Powell, whom he has

MW Jensen Huang once said there was 'no evidence' Nvidia chips were getting diverted to China. The scandal at Super Micro suggests otherwise.Experts say the case highlights how the industry appears to not have taken the issue of chip smuggling seriously. Super Micro's stock fell 33% on Friday in the wake of an export-control scandal.Last spring, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said there was "no evidence" the company's advanced artificial-intelligence chips were being diverted to China, amid U.S. efforts to clamp down on chip sales to that country over national-security concerns."These are massive systems," Huang explained to Bloomberg News. "The Grace Blackwell system is nearly two tons, and so you're not going to be putting that in your pocket or your backpack anytime soon," he said, referring to the chip maker's latest-generation AI platform."The conduct by these individuals alleged in the indictment is a contravention of the company's policies and compliance controls, including efforts to

Inflation has been relatively tame so far this year, with the consumer price index rising 2.4% on an annual basis in each of the past two months. The outlook for the coming months is a lot less benign, however.The surge in oil prices since the Feb. 28 start of the war with Iran is set to drive headline inflation back up to 4% in coming months. Even if oil retreats to well below $100 a barrel and the effects of tariffs moderate, inflation is unlikely to return to the Fed's 2% annual inflation target for at least a few years. Input costs are on the rise due to growing demand for artificial intelligence, firmer labor costs, and other factors.Even if the oil shock ends soon, the Fed could be looking at above-trend inflation for another few years due to structural changes in the economy, including deglobalization. "The world has changed in a way that has led to an upward tug on inflation," says Karen Dynan, an economics professor

Powell praised his predecessor Paul Volcker’s willingness to resist political pressure in a speech Saturday.

Valuations have come way down for software stocks — but just how cheap they really are depends on your view of a sizable hidden expense.

Nvidia just can't seem to impress the market any more. Three major potential catalysts for the chip maker's shares have come and gone without making an impression, but investors still have cause to be patient.First came Nvidia's blowout earnings late last month. Then there was this week's GTC conference where Nvidia showed how it will maintain its dominance in the next generation of artificial-intelligence hardware and gave a headline $1 trillion revenue forecast. And finally, Nvidia executives disclosed this week that sales of its chips to China finally look to be unblocked.All to no avail. Nvidia stock looks set to end the week lower than it started, trading down by 2.2% at $174.68 on Friday afternoon. That would be the stock's lowest close since Feb. 5. It had been stuck in a trading range of roughly $180 to $190 for weeks."While Nvidia is confident in its demand momentum, the [GTC] conference did little to address key investor concerns about the sustainability of AI spending by the

Powell praised his predecessor Paul Volcker’s willingness to resist political pressure in a speech Saturday.