Madison Investments, an investment advisor, released its “Madison Small Cap Fund” third-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The third quarter was difficult for the Small Cap Fund.  The small-cap index’s performance was broad-based. The Madison Small Cap Fund (class Y) was down 1.3% in the quarter, significantly underperforming the benchmarks. The underperformance was driven by stock selection and exacerbated by a very speculative market. In addition, please check the f ...

Core Points - The Department of Energy is proposing significant cuts to federal funding, which could impact various startups and major automakers like Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis [1][2] - The proposed cuts include the cancellation of over $500 million in contracts awarded to more than a dozen startups, in addition to previous cuts of more than $7.5 billion announced by the Trump administration [2][3] Impact on Startups - Startups are expected to face substantial losses, with some awards being critical to their operations. The proposed cuts include new awards that have not been publicly announced yet [5] - Notable startups affected include Brimstone, which was granted $189 million to build a plant for low-carbon materials, and Anovion, which aimed to produce synthetic graphite for lithium-ion batteries [6] Impact on Automakers - General Motors stands to lose at least $500 million from a federal grant intended for retooling its Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant for electrified vehicle production [4] - Other automakers, including Daimler Trucks North America, Harley-Davidson, and Volvo Technology of America, are also slated to lose grants worth hundreds of millions [3] Specific Grants Affected - Li Industries received $55.2 million for recycling LFP batteries, while Sublime Systems was awarded $86.9 million for an ultra-low-carbon cement plant. Both are at risk of losing their funding [7]

Group 1 - Eagle Materials Inc. is recognized as one of the best cement stocks to buy, with analysts expressing confidence in the growth outlook for the construction materials sector due to improving demand trends [1] - JPMorgan has raised its price target for Eagle Materials from $220 to $245 while maintaining a Neutral rating, indicating optimism about the company's ability to capitalize on heightened investments in infrastructure and non-residential spending [2] - For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Eagle Materials reported record revenue of $634.6 million, a 4% year-over-year increase, driven by higher cement sales and contributions from acquired aggregate businesses [3] Group 2 - Eagle Materials manufactures and distributes a variety of building products, including Portland cement, gypsum wallboard, concrete, and aggregates, catering to residential, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure construction [4]