WASHINGTON — Amid tensions in the Middle East, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized, including spending four days in the intensive care unit, according to two senior administration officials.The Pentagon did not inform senior officials in the White House’s National Security Council of Austin’s hospitalization until Thursday — three…

Utilities stocks came under significant pressure for most of 2023, as the Fed interest rate hikes knocked much-needed sense into over-optimistic investors. However, the battering in utilities stocks has also created opportunities for investors in late 2023 as the utilities sector (XLU) bottomed out. Accordingly, XLU bottomed out in early…

Coinbase plans to offer crypto-linked derivatives in the European Union, and it’s planning to acquire a company with a license to do so.The U.S. cryptocurrency exchange told CNBC exclusively that it entered into an agreement to buy an unnamed holding company which owns a MiFID II license.MiFID II refers to…

ESPN’s Pat McAfee problem is getting more complicated.On Friday, the host and former NFL punter publicly attacked longtime ESPN executive Norby Williamson, accusing him of “actively trying to sabotage” him by leaking information to reporters.The New York Post reported on McAfee’s relatively low ratings Thursday, noting “since the inception of…

While its business likely won’t ever command a high multiple, SurgePays (NASDAQ:SURG) has some nice growth prospects as it increases its convenience store distribution network and continues to improve gross margins. Company Profile SURG is a fintech and telecom provider serving underbanked and low-income customers. It offers prepaid, wireless, and…

BEIJING — BYD has overtaken Tesla again by the sheer number of new energy vehicles produced in 2023, thanks in part to the Chinese automaker’s hybrids and wide range of offerings in a lower price range.While Tesla’s Model Y was the best-selling purely battery-powered car in China for the six…

Elon Musk dismissed BYD in 2011 by laughing at their products during a Bloomberg interview.”Have you seen their car?” Musk quipped. “I don’t think it’s particularly attractive, the technology is not very strong. And BYD as a company has pretty severe problems in their home turf in China. I think…

Although mega-cap growth stocks like Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA) powered the U.S. markets to strong gains in 2023, I am not convinced they will continue to outperform in 2024. According to research from the well-respected institutional asset manager GMO, with mega-cap stocks trading at over 30x P/E, the forward…

It’s a level not seen since George W. Bush was president.Wall Street forecaster Jim Bianco is predicting the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield will hit 5.5% this year — its highest level since May 2001.A major part of his thesis is built on the economy’s strength and resiliency.”I don’t think…

BEIJING — It’s been a tumultuous 12 months for Alibaba, casting doubt on the future of the tech giant just as artificial intelligence is taking off.The company’s cloud computing unit was poised to capture AI’s growth for investors in a public listing, until Alibaba pulled those plans in November. The…