Anirudh's Blogs

Last week, Bentley dropped one of its boldest moves yet: the  Supersports , a stripped-down, two-seater performance version of its Continental GT. According to Bentley CEO  Frank-Steffen Walliser , this car is designed to bring fresh energy to the brand, especially by appealing to younger and more diverse buyers.   What makes the Supersports special is how honest it is about being a driver’s car. It’s rear-wheel drive, powered by a twin-turbo V8, with no hybrid help, a deliberate throwback to raw performance.   Bentley hasn’t yet revealed its official MSRP, but analysts expect it to be priced well above $350,000, which is around where its highest-trim Continental GT starts.   Orders begin in March 2026, with the first deliveries expected in 2027.   Here’s the thing: Walliser admits there’s a lot of “uncertainty” right now in the luxury car market. He pointed to shaky conditions in the U.S., Europe, and even China.   That’s not ...

     Earnings season is back, and with it comes a closer look at how some of the world’s most influential companies are performing. These updates don’t just matter for the businesses themselves; they often set the tone for entire industries and can move markets in a big way. This week, the spotlight is on five major names: Goldman Sachs, Netflix, TSMC, ASML, and Burberry. Goldman Sachs Big banks usually kick off earnings season, and Goldman Sachs is up next with its second-quarter report on July 16. The firm has already made headlines for raising its year-end target for the S&P 500 from 6,100 to 6,600 points, showing optimism about the market’s strength. In the first quarter, Goldman saw a 27% jump in trading revenue as investors scrambled to adjust to tariff-driven volatility. Strong results again could reinforce confidence that Wall Street is in healthy shape. Netflix Netflix is also preparing to announce results, and expectations are high. The stock is hovering nea...

 With 2025 nearly behind us, investors are already looking forward to 2026, trying to gauge where markets and corporate earnings might head next. One theme emerging clearly is the potential for profit margin expansion—a trend that could shape both the S&P 500 and broader industry performance. RBC Capital Markets’ Lori Calvasina recently shared that her models anticipate the S&P 500 closing 2026 at 7,100, supported by roughly 10% growth in earnings per share (EPS) to $297. What’s catching attention is not just the EPS growth, but the underlying expectation that companies will widen their profit margins. A closer look at the drivers suggests a mix of strategic, technological, and macroeconomic factors at play. During the second-quarter earnings season, companies frequently cited tariff mitigation strategies, signaling a proactive approach to managing costs in a complex trade environment. Morgan Stanley analysts noted a clear uptick in such discussions, suggesting executives a...

Rural America is in trouble, and it’s not just a bad harvest, it’s a full-blown economic squeeze. Corn prices have plunged over 50% since peaking in 2022, while soybean prices have dropped about 40%. At the same time, production costs, from fertilizer to machinery, haven’t budged, leaving farmers scraping by on razor-thin margins. For many, the math is simple: low prices plus high costs equals financial stress that could push farms to the breaking point. Trade disputes are making the situation worse. China, historically the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, has increasingly turned to South American producers like Brazil. That means American farmers are losing customers they once counted on. The American Soybean Association described it bluntly: “U.S. soybean farmers cannot survive a prolonged trade dispute with our largest customer.” With harvest season looming and no commitments from China in sight, the clock is ticking for soybean growers. Corn farmers face a similar challenge. The Nat...

Consolidated earnings and the likely jeopardy of modifications in the monetary policy in the very near future led the technology stock to drop. This subsequently took down Nasdaq by over 1%, and the S&P 500 by 1.6%. Moreover,  Dell Technologies plummeted 9% after it shared its record levels of AI-driven server manufacturing costs. Another technology heavyweight, Nvidia, along with Broadcom, also declined in what looks to be a severe tech selloff. This serves as a clear example of how risky technology stocks are in today’s environment. These companies are, no doubt, leaders in innovation, especially in artificial intelligence, however their valuations rise and fall depending on how their investors are feeling and what the general economic situation is. Every company report tells a story, for example, how well they are able to control costs, deal with technological shifts, and even their strategic planning, which in the past was all about max profits, but now includes all the ear...

Stocks are entering the final week of August on a wave of optimism, thanks to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s surprisingly dovish tone at Jackson Hole. His suggestion that the “shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance” opened the door for a September interest rate cut, sending the Dow Jones to record highs and putting the S&P 500 within striking distance of its own. Futures markets now assign roughly an 85% chance of a quarter-point cut next month, according to CME data, reinforcing a rally that, in many ways, feels like it is leaning on Powell’s words as much as fundamentals. Against this backdrop, Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings on Wednesday have become the focal point, with investors waiting to see if the AI leader can validate the extraordinary gains tech stocks have delivered over the past year. Nvidia is not just another company, it is the bellwether of the AI trade, with its GPUs powering everything from hyperscale data centers to AI research at the b...

Stock futures were modestly higher to start the week, adding to a streak of market optimism. According to CNBC, “Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged up 57 points or 0.13%. S&P 500 futures and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.14% and 0.21%, respectively” (reported by Alex Harring,  CNBC ). That move follows two consecutive winning weeks across Wall Street. “The Dow climbed 1.7%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively. It was also the fourth week of gains out of the last five for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq” (reported by  CNBC ). Small-cap stocks were a particular bright spot. “Small-cap stocks outperformed last week, jumping more than 3% as investors bet on forthcoming rate cuts from the Federal Reserve” ( CNBC ). Similarly,  Investopedia  noted, “Speculative, meme, and small-cap stocks could get a boost from a supportive inflation print, which showed July CPI up 2.7% year-over-year” (reported by Mark Kolakowski,  In...

 Recently, Japan and the U.S. made headlines with a massive $550 billion investment framework that sounds like a big economic game-changer. But if you dig deeper, like Japan’s top negotiator Ryosei Akazawa explained, the story is less about flashy numbers and more about strategic positioning. At first glance, many assumed Japan would be investing $550 billion directly into the U.S. economy. That would be huge, more than the GDP of some countries. But according to Akazawa, only about 1% to 2% of that fund will actually be a real investment. The rest? Mostly loans and loan guarantees, backed by government institutions like JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) and NEXI (Nippon Export and Investment Insurance). So what does that mean? For one, Japan isn’t handing over a mountain of cash. Instead, they’re offering structured financing; essentially, the U.S. can borrow money or get support for projects, but Japan still makes money off interest or fees. It’s kind of like your f...

Asian markets opened the week on a mixed note after Wall Street hit new highs. Tokyo and Shanghai were up, but the Hang Seng and Taiwan’s Taiex were down, reflecting the global uncertainty despite a brief bout of optimism. Much of the bullishness in the US was triggered by Canada’s about-face on taxing US tech companies, which got trade talks back on track. According to the  Associated Press , Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said talks were back on, and markets were calm. Result? The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,173.07, the Nasdaq 20,273.46 and the Dow 1% to 43,819.27. It wasn’t just tech that was driving the rally. Almost every sector in the S&P 500 was up, including  Nike , which rose 15.2% despite warning of a tariff hit to earnings. That’s kind of the theme of the week. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.6% and China’s Shanghai Composite 0.5%, possibly helped by a slight improvement in factory activity after US-China tariffs were postponed in May. But Chinese manuf...

 Gold prices are drawing renewed attention as they approach a possible breakout. Recent analysis shows that if gold closes above its 50-day moving average, it would rally to the $3,245 level. A technical analyst, James Hyerczyk, for FX Empire said that "the gold price forecast indicates a potential break above the 50-day moving average," which "could open the door for a much bigger move higher" to the upside. Hence, it remains just a forecast, but a trade setup that has the market's attention. Economic factors are now aligning themselves in gold's favor. Inflation is retreating by inches but not swiftly enough to make investors less worried. The Wall Street Journal further states that "the Fed is expected to keep rates on hold with cuts likely pushed off till year-end," which keeps the opportunity cost for holding the non-yielding gold down. On the support side are central banks working to strengthen the price of gold. A report from the World Gold ...

Markets always remain uncertain, inflation being the theme, rate policy is the other, with geopolitical tension thrown in between. Double wondering, long-term investors prefer to refuse to hear any temporal noise. Instead, there are companies with structural tailwinds, margin expansion stories, and consistent execution on their radar. Here is a list of six names that have really been shining as of today. Chewy (CHWY) Doug Anmuth from JPMorgan remains bullish with an upward target revision to $47 for Chewy. The market punishment was too harsh for free cash flow going down, especially since customer count was up and Autoship engagement was stronger. This is an underestimated name in my opinion. Pet care is sticky spending, and Chewy's building recurring revenue through Autoship should have some resilience against investor thoughts. Execution has gotten better, and if the company can maintain its margin trajectory, it can have real upside. Pinterest (PINS) Bank of America sees very st...

The U.S. market this decade has solidified its global dominance, primarily through a few large technology companies, such as Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Magnificent Seven, now with Broadcom replacing Tesla, redefined what innovation and returns meant. But in 2025, investors may be reconsidering their relationship with U.S. equities, as international markets, especially in Europe, now show some promise. Non-U.S. stocks, by some accounts, have so far witnessed gains of about 14% in the current year, whereas those of the S&P 500 have managed only a 2% rise reported by James Mackintosh on  Wall Street Journal . Half of these international returns would lie in a weakening U.S. dollar, whereas this, along with some other factors, perhaps signals a much deeper questioning of where value and opportunities reside. Emerging technology has very much established the recent success of the United States. According to UBS HOLT research, R&D expenditure of the seven largest U.S. corp...

 Trade talks between the US and China are once again trending in the markets, this time pushing the markets upward. Now, Goldman Sachs Research confidence suggests that the  S&P 500 Index , which tracks 500 of the largest US companies, will go up  11% over the next year  to 6,500, mainly on the back of better trade relations and the chances of lower tariffs. Tariffs are taxes that governments put on imported goods. If the United States levies tariffs on Chinese products, American companies would have to pay higher prices when importing from China. Those companies could turn around and pass on the increased prices to the end consumers, absorb them themselves and hit their profits, or communicate these costs to suppliers. Investors are watching to see which companies will be hammered the hardest. Recent earnings did look good; US companies saw profits grow by 12% year over year last quarter, but that was before the effect was being felt from the new tariffs was fel...