Bank of America appointed Dean Athanasia and Jim DeMare as co-presidents, the U.S. lender said on Friday, as CEO Brian Moynihan reinforced his commitment to lead the second-largest bank in the country... ...

Top 10 Creations (All ETFs) Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs) ETF Daily Flows By Asset Class   Net Flows ($, mm) AUM ($, mm) % of AUM Alternatives -10.95 11,561.45 -0.09% Asset Allocation -7.63 28,224.77 -0.03% Commodities E T Fs -271.80 252,295.90 -0.11% Currency 980.66 183,247.27 0.54% International Equity 3,734.61 2,037,200.93 0.18% International Fixed Income 472.92 326,090.25 0.15% Inverse 281.29 14,509.06 1.94% Leveraged -988 ...

Key Points Lumen unveiled its new RapidRoutes product this week. CEO Kate Johnson also spoke at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference. She projects a return to growth by 2029. 10 stocks we like better than Lumen Technologies › Shares of enterprise network giant Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) rallied this week, up 29.3% as of 2:45 p.m. ET on Friday. Lumen has been battered in recent years, due to falling revenue and a high debt burden. However, the stock has recovered from its lows, as artif ...

Opendoor’s new chairman Keith Rabois blasted the company as “bloated” on Friday — vowing to cut up to 85% of its employees.“There’s 1,400 employees at Opendoor. I don’t know what most of them do. We don’t need more than 200 of them,” Rabois told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Friday.Rabois — a member of Silicon Valley’s famed “PayPal Mafia” that includes Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman — returned to the online real estate company this week after it installed former Shopify executive Kaz Nejatian a ...

Core Insights - Hooker Furniture Corporation (NASDAQ: HOFT) reported Q2 FY26 results with revenue of $82.1 million, operating income of ($4.4) million, and adjusted EPS of ($0.31), falling short of consensus estimates [1] - Revenue declined 13.6% year-over-year, primarily due to a 44.5% decline at HMI driven by weak demand, tariff-related buying hesitancy, and a major customer bankruptcy [1] - Despite the sales decline, consolidated gross margin remained stable at 20.5%, supported by cost savings and improved labor efficiency [1] Financial Performance - HOFT's revenue of $82.1 million was below the expected $93.7 million and consensus of $91.2 million [1] - Operating income was reported at ($4.4) million, compared to estimates of ($0.8) million and ($1.5) million [1] - Adjusted EPS of ($0.31) was worse than the expected ($0.08) and consensus of ($0.16) [1] Sales and Market Dynamics - HMI experienced a significant 44.5% year-over-year decline in sales, indicating weak demand and external pressures [1] - In contrast, Hooker Branded net sales grew by 1.3% year-over-year, while Domestic Upholstery sales remained flat, showing resilience in legacy brands [1] Cost Management and Profitability - The company achieved $3.7 million in expense savings in the first half of FY26, moving towards an annualized savings goal of $25 million by FY27 [8] - Management is focused on navigating macroeconomic challenges, including housing market weakness and high mortgage rates, while aiming to return to profitability [1] Debt and Liquidity - HOFT repaid $16.5 million of debt year-to-date and reduced inventory to $58.5 million, enhancing liquidity during the transition to a new warehouse in Vietnam [8]

Core Insights - StoneCo and UiPath are highlighted as affordable tech stocks under $20, both benefiting from positive earnings estimate revisions and strong industry rankings [1][11] Company Overview - StoneCo specializes in financial technology solutions for e-commerce in Brazil, while UiPath focuses on Robotic Process Automation for digital business operations [2] Sales Growth - StoneCo's annual sales surged from $644 million in 2020 to over $2.4 billion in the last year, with expectations of a 7% increase in fiscal 2025 and a further 5% rise in FY26 to $2.78 billion [3] - UiPath's sales are projected to grow by 10% in fiscal 2026 and by another 8% in FY27, reaching $1.7 billion [4] Earnings Estimates - StoneCo's EPS estimates for FY25 and FY26 have increased by over 7% in the last 60 days, indicating strong growth potential [8] - UiPath's EPS revisions for FY26 and FY27 have risen over 14% in the past two months, suggesting a potential rebound [9] Valuation and Market Position - Both companies are trading under 20X forward earnings, making them attractive investment opportunities despite not being classified as "cheap" [11]

Group 1 - Paramount Skydance is reportedly preparing a bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which is currently in the process of breaking itself up into smaller media companies [4][10] - The proposed deal would be a majority all-cash transaction, aiming to acquire all assets of Warner Bros. Discovery, including its movie studio and HBO Max streaming service [4][12] - If the merger is approved, it would create one of the largest media entities in the U.S. [5] Group 2 - Warner Bros. Discovery plans to split into two publicly traded companies by April 2026, separating its media assets into a new Streaming & Studios company and a Global Networks company [10] - A merger with Paramount Skydance would contradict Warner Bros. Discovery's stated efforts to de-consolidate its assets [8][9] - The merger would face regulatory scrutiny due to concerns over the consolidation of two major media companies [11] Group 3 - The stock prices of both companies surged following the news of the potential merger, with Warner Bros. Discovery shares closing nearly 29% higher and Paramount Skydance shares up more than 15.5% [13] - At current stock prices, Warner Bros. Discovery is valued at approximately $43 billion, while Paramount Skydance is valued at around $20 billion [14]

State Farm rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars State Farm car insurance is an affordable option if you’re looking for solid coverage without all the bells and whistles. The company also has over 19,000 local agents across the U.S. if you prefer working with someone face-to-face instead of via an app. That said, State Farm is lacking many perks other insurers have (like accident forgiveness). But between affordable rates, strong customer service, and coverage for things like rideshare driving, State Farm auto insu ...

December ICE NY cocoa (CCZ25) on Friday closed down -108 (-1.43%), and December ICE London cocoa #7 (CAZ25) closed down -90 (-1.73%).Cocoa prices settled lower on Friday after a stronger dollar (DXY00) prompted long liquidation in cocoa futures.  Cocoa prices had climbed to 1-week highs on Thursday due to weather concerns in West Africa.  Heavy rain in the Ivory Coast has kept farmers out of cocoa fields and reduced the movement of cocoa from plantations to ports.  Also, dryness in Ghana and Nigeria has dam ...

Core Insights - Stonegate Capital Partners has initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services Inc (NYSE: PFS) [1] - For Q2 2025, Provident Financial Services reported a net income of $72.0 million, an increase from $64.0 million in Q1 2025, and a significant recovery from a net loss of $11.5 million in Q2 2024 [1][7] - The earnings per share (EPS) for Q2 2025 was $0.55, compared to $0.49 in Q1 2025 [1][7] - The increase in net income was attributed to higher net interest income from new loan originations and improved repricing on adjustable-rate loans, despite higher compensation expenses and lower average low-cost deposits [1][7] Financial Performance - Provident Financial Services achieved record revenue of $214.2 million in Q2 2025, supported by net interest income of $187.1 million and non-interest income of $27.1 million [7] - Commercial loan balances increased by $319.3 million during the quarter [7] - The company maintained strong credit quality, with non-performing assets improving to just 0.44% of total assets [7]