Select a category

Major U.S. equities indexes moved lower Tuesday as semiconductor stocks tumbled. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow fell roughly 0.8% on Tuesday, retreating from record closes posted in the previous session. The Nasdaq dropped 1%.

Semiconductor stocks came under pressure after semiconductor equipment maker ASML (ASML) accidentally released its earnings report a day earlier than expected, revealing lower-than-expected net bookings and a lackluster sales guidance. ASML shares plunged 16.3%.

ASML's results, as well as a report on potential U.S. export restrictions, weighed on companies across the semiconductor industry, with heavy pressure on shares of fellow semiconductor equipment manufacturers. KLA (KLAC) shares dropped 14.7%, the steepest drop of any S&P 500 stock, while shares of Applied Materials (AMAT) and Lam Research (LRCX) were down 10.9% and 10.7%, respectively. Raymond James trimmed its price targets for all three stocks, as well as ASML.

Shares of solar technology firm Enphase Energy (ENPH) sank 9.3% after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to "sector perform." Analysts said tough industry competition could weigh on Enphase's growth rate.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares surged 15.8%, marking the top performance in the S&P 500, after the pharmacy giant reported better-than-expected sales and profits for its fiscal fourth quarter. The drugstore and health care chain also announced a turnaround plan that includes closing around 1,200 stores over the next three years.

Crude oil prices moved lower following some signs of easing geopolitical tensions and as the International Energy Agency cut its projection for oil demand growth. The prospect of lower fuel costs helped boost shares of cruise operators. Carnival (CCL) shares sailed 6.6% higher, while shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) were up 4.1%.

Charles Schwab (SCHW) shares jumped 6.1% after the brokerage firm posted its results for the third quarter, exceeding revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts. Year-over-year increases in total client assets and the number of active brokerage accounts helped drive the strong performance.

Read more on Investopedia

"Sleep is still most perfect… when it is shared with a beloved," wrote D.H. Lawrence, and most young children would agree. But sometimes those beloved — that is, parents — would rather have some privacy and not be woken by a kicking child all night.

So what can you do?

Sleep-alone campaign step one: Understanding

Before you do anything, be sure you understand why your child wants to sleep with you. It's most likely simply because they love you and feel most secure snuggled next to you, but before you work to change the habit, be sure that your child is ready for — and can handle — the change. If your child has been more clingy or irritable than usual, or is having difficult behaviors in any way, touch base with your doctor.

Sleep-alone campaign step two: Changing habits

Changing where your child sleeps is changing a habit. When it comes to changing habits, it helps to be practical and — this is really important — consistent. Here are some tips:

If nothing is working, or your child is really upset, talk to your doctor. There may be more going on, and the two of you can work together to figure things out and help your child. Both of you deserve a restful night's sleep.

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire

Source: Harvard Health Publishing

No fewer 90 people have been confirmed d3ad after a petrol-laden tanker exploded on the Kano-Hadejia expressway on Wednesday morning, October 16.

DSP Lawal Adams, spokesperson of the Jigawa police command, in a statement said the deceased were scooping petrol when the tanker exploded at Majiya village of Taura local government area of the state.

He added that resulting inferno left 50 others with varying degrees of inj¥ries.

“Today, a petrol tanker from Port Harcourt going to Nguru in Yobe State reached Majiya village of Taura local government area at around 12:30am when the driver lost control at Majiya and fell down.

The content in the tanker flooded gutters and drainages in the village. The villagers started fetching the fuel where the petrol going in to flame.

As a result, 95 people confirmed d3ad and 50 have been hospitalised receiving treatment,” Adams disclosed.

Continue reading on Instablog

The number of people worried they will miss a debt payment in September rose to its highest levels in more than four years, though economists don’t expect consumers to slow their spending. 

A monthly consumer survey from the New York Federal Reserve showed that more than 14% of people believed they could miss a debt payment within the next three months, the most to deliver that answer since April 2020.

The starkest increases in debt worries came from respondents between ages 40 and 60 and those earning more than $100,000 a year, the survey showed.

The data comes as some economists and lenders have raised worries over consumers’ debt levels. In the New York Fed’s most recent quarterly report on household debt, more than 10% of credit card accounts were delinquent by more than 90 days, the highest levels since 2012. The same report also showed almost 5% of borrowers were behind on their auto loans.

Lenders have been noticing consumers’ struggles, with Ally Financial  (ALLY) recently warning that its auto loan business was struggling as people were having trouble paying bills. Borrowing costs have been an issue for consumers, as the Federal Reserve held interest rates at decades-high levels for more than a year before lowering rates in September. 

Despite pressure from elevated inflation and interest rates, consumers have continued to spend, with retail sales continuing to perform better than economist expectations. That trend is expected to continue through the holiday season, with the National Retail Federation projecting an increase of between 2.5% and 3.5% in holiday sales this year.

“Concerns about the amount of credit are valid, but really not considered at a critical level at this time,” said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz. “Yes, there has been a share of credit card debt transitioning into delinquency, but still, they remain relatively small.”

Read more on Investopedia

New York Registry Shares of ASML Holding (ASML) plunged Tuesday after the company accidentally released its third-quarter results a day earlier than expected.

"Due to a technical error, information relating to our Q3 2024 results was erroneously published earlier today on part of our website asml.com," the company said. "For transparency, ASML brought forward publication of its full Q3 2024 results to October 15th."

The Dutch semiconductor-gear manufacturer now expects 2025 net sales to land between 30 billion euros and 35 billion euros ($33.1 billion to $38.6 billion). That's within the lower half of the company's previously projected range and below the 36.10-billion-euro consensus estimate of analysts compiled by Visible Alpha. 

For the third quarter, net sales were above estimates at 7.47 billion euros, but net bookings of 2.63 billion euros fell well short of the expected 5.59 billion euros.

"While there continue to be strong developments and upside potential in AI, other market segments are taking longer to recover. It now appears the recovery is more gradual than previously expected," Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Christophe Fouquet said. "This is expected to continue in 2025, which is leading to customer cautiousness."

ASML shares tumbled 17% intraday Tuesday, bringing them into negative territory for the year.

Read more on Investopedia

Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell from yesterday's all-time closing high, and shares of other chipmakers declined, following indications the Biden administration is considering limiting the export of artificial intelligence chips to some countries in the Middle East.

reported that White House officials have discussed putting a cap on export licenses to certain nations because of national security concerns. The focus was on Persian Gulf countries that have a growing interest in AI and the funding to purchase those technologies, the report said, adding that the discussions are in the early stages.

Also weighing on semiconductor stocks was a warning from chipmaker equipment ASML Holding (ASML), which released its third quarter earnings a day earlier than expected.

"While there continue to be strong developments and upside potential in AI, other market segments are taking longer to recover," said CEO Christophe Fouquet. "It now appears the recovery is more gradual than previously expected.” 

ASML predicted 2025 sales of EUR30 billion to EUR35 billion ($32.7 billion to $38.1 billion), which is in the lower half of the range of its previous guidance.

New York-traded shares of ASML sank some 16%, pulling them into the red for the year. The PHLX index of semiconductor stocks fell more than 4%. Nvidia's shares were down nearly 5%, though they remain up more than 160% in 2024.

Read more on Investopedia