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Move over, Superman! The only thing more powerful than a locomotive at the moment is the U.S. stock market, which, seemingly faster than a speeding bullet, has rallied to new heights.

When the closing bell tolled on Sept. 11, the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.05%), iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.59%), and growth stock-dependent Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.44%) all catapulted to record closing highs. Everything from the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) — a potentially $15.7 trillion global addressable opportunity by 2030, according to PwC — to the growing prospect of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September has fueled optimism and risk-taking.

But the tricky thing about Wall Street is that when things seem too good to be true, they usually are.

President Trump delivering remarks. Image source: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead, courtesy of the National Archives.

While a lot of attention is currently being paid to President Donald Trump’s tariff and trade policy and how it might adversely impact the U.S. economy by influencing the prevailing rate of inflation, there’s a far more sinister concern waiting in the wings, based on what history tells us.

Donald Trump’s tariff and trade policy is in the spotlight

Although the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq Composite have soared year to date, things looked a lot different in early April. Following the close of trading on April 2, President Trump unveiled his widely touted trade policy, which included a 10% global base tariff, as well as the implementation of higher “reciprocal tariffs” on dozens of countries deemed to have adverse trade imbalances with America. The stock market plunged in the subsequent days, with the S&P 500 tallying its fifth-steepest two-day decline since 1950.

To be fair, what Trump unveiled on April 2 and the current tariff policies in place today look markedly different. A number of countries/regions have hashed out trade deals with America, and the president has delayed the implementation date of reciprocal tariffs for select countries.

Additionally, there’s no guarantee Trump’s tariffs will legally remain in place. In November, the Supreme Court will consider the validity of the president’s tariffs following an appeal from the Trump administration after lower courts ruled most of his tariffs were illegal.

Despite these uncertainties, worry about Donald Trump’s tariff and trade policy, specifically pertaining to its effect on inflation, is heightened.

The domestic rate of inflation has moved decisively higher as the president’s tariffs take effect. US Inflation Rate data by YCharts.

In the three months since Trump’s tariffs began having a discernable impact on the U.S. economy, the inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), jumped from 2.35% to 2.92%. It’s quite the jump, and it’s certainly raising eyebrows amid a weakening job market.

The biggest issue with Trump’s tariff policy, as told by four New York Federal Reserve economists who published a study in December 2024 for Liberty Street Economics, is that it does a poor job of separating output and input tariffs.

In their study, Do Import Tariffs Protect U.S. Firms?, the four New York Fed economists examined the impact of Trump’s China tariffs in 2018-2019 on the U.S. economy and businesses. What they found was added pricing pressure on domestic manufacturers caused by the China trade war. Whereas output tariffs are placed on finished products, an input tariff is a duty for a good used to complete the manufacture of a product in the U.S. This type of tariff runs the risk of increasing production costs and reigniting the prevailing rate of inflation.

While some degree of pricing power is a good thing for businesses, the inflationary ramp-up we’ve witnessed over the previous three months is a bit concerning.

Image source: Getty Images.

Wall Street’s ticking time bomb is nearing historic levels

But even though Donald Trump’s tariffs are pretty consistently in the headlines, they’re not Wall Street’s biggest concern. Based on historical precedent, valuation is the ticking time bomb ready to pull the rug out from beneath the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite at any moment.

Truth be told, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all blueprint when it comes to valuing stocks. That you might find a stock to be expensive while another investor believes it to be a bargain is precisely what makes the stock market a market in the first place.

However, there’s one valuation tool that leaves little interpretative wiggle room: the S&P 500’s Shiller price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, also referred to as the cyclically adjusted P/E (CAPE) ratio.

The most familiar of all valuation tools is the P/E ratio, which divides a company’s share price by its trailing-12-month earnings per share (EPS). While this is a handy valuation measure for mature businesses, it often fails to pass muster during recessions and for high-growth companies. This isn’t a problem for the S&P 500’s Shiller P/E since it’s based on average inflation-adjusted EPS over the prior 10 years. It means shock events have minimal impact on the Shiller P/E ratio.

When back-tested 154 years to January 1871, the Shiller P/E has averaged a multiple of 17.28. As of the closing bell on Sept. 11, it clocked in at 39.58, which is the highest reading during the current bull market and the third-priciest multiple during a continuous bull market in over 150 years. The only two times the CAPE ratio has been higher are when it fractionally topped 40 during the first week of January 2022 and when it peaked at its all-time high of 44.19 in December 1999.

S&P 500 Shiller CAPE Ratio data by YCharts. CAPE Ratio = cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio.

Admittedly, the S&P 500’s Shiller P/E isn’t a timing tool. Just because stocks are historically pricey, it doesn’t mean a game-changing innovation like artificial intelligence can’t keep valuations at nosebleed levels for months, perhaps even a few years. However, history is unmistakably clear in showing that premium valuations eventually end in short-term disaster.

Including the present, there have been six instances since 1871 where the Shiller P/E ratio has topped 30 for at least a two-month period. Following each of the previous five instances, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and/or Nasdaq Composite tumbled between 20% and 89%. While the 89% is an outlier for the Dow during the Great Depression, plunges of 50% or more are not out of the question, as was witnessed during the bursting of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s.

If there’s a silver lining for this ticking time bomb, it’s that bear markets are historically short-lived.

In June 2023, Bespoke Investment Group calculated the calendar-day length of every S&P 500 bull and bear market dating back to the start of the Great Depression in September 1929. Bespoke found that the average length of 27 documented S&P 500 bear markets was just 286 calendar days, or less than 10 months. In comparison, the average bull market stuck around for 3.5 times as long, or 1,011 calendar days.

Even though history is quite clear that trouble is brewing on Wall Street, long-term investors remain in the driver’s seat.

Nepali army orders people in Kathmandu to stay home amid mass unrest gripping capital.

Armed soldiers have been patrolling the streets of Kathmandu, ordering people to remain in their homes, following a wave of deadly protests in Nepal’s capital.

The Nepali army checked vehicles and people on Wednesday amid an indefinite curfew, imposed in a bid to “normalise” the capital after mass unrest saw demonstrators set fire to several government buildings and force Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.

The protests, triggered by a social media ban, have escalated since Monday, when security forces killed 19 demonstrators and injured hundreds. Tens of thousands filled Kathmandu’s streets on Monday and Tuesday as the protests expanded to target corruption and unemployment in the country’s most violent tumult in decades.

“We are trying to normalise the situation first,” army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told the Reuters news agency. “We are committed to protect the life and property of people.”

The army’s emergence from the barracks after Oli’s resignation seemed to do little to ease the uproar across the capital.

Late into Tuesday evening, demonstrators blocked roads and stormed the parliament, presidential house and central secretariat, while videos showed protesters beating Nepali Congress party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, the foreign minister.

Prompted initially by a now-rescinded government plan to block most popular social media platforms, protesters were galvanised by the deaths on Monday and widespread frustrations with alleged corruption and joblessness.

Pabit Tandukar, 22, was among those shot by live ammunition. “We were there for a peaceful protest. They were initially firing tear gas at us, and we were pushing back. Suddenly, I was shot,” Tandukar told Al Jazeera.

While so-called “nepo kids” — the children of top politicians and government officials — show off lives of luxury on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, most common people have been struggling with an unemployment rate of nearly 11 percent, according to the World Bank. Millions have migrated abroad to Malaysia, the Middle East and South Korea to find jobs.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak was the first to resign on Monday, followed by Agriculture Minister Ramnath Adhikari and then Oli on Tuesday. President Ram Chandra Poudel, the ceremonial head of state, moved to appoint Oli to lead a caretaker government — though his location was unclear — and appealed to protesters to “focus on resolving the crisis without further bloodshed or destruction”.

Meanwhile, army helicopters ferried ministers to safe locations.

The protests have led to concern across South Asia over regional stability, with governments having been unseated in recent youth-led uprisings in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Neighbouring China weighed in on the unrest on Wednesday. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman told journalists that Chinese citizens in Nepal should “pay close attention to safety” and that Beijing hopes Kathmandu “can properly handle domestic issues and quickly restore social order and national stability”.

China has sought to increase its influence in Nepal in recent years with diplomatic efforts and the Belt and Road Initiative.

Some investors and analysts alike have expressed mixed feelings about Palantir Technologies (PLTR 4.00%) over the past couple of years. Yes, demand for the company’s software has been booming and translating into fantastic earnings growth. But this also has resulted in a soaring valuation as other investors piled into the stock. Palantir has traded for as much as 289 times forward earnings estimates in recent times, a level that many consider exorbitant.

But in recent weeks, Palantir stock has pulled back, dropping as much as 18% since early August. And this movement has pushed the stock price to a few dollars away from Wall Street’s average 12-month price forecast. Is it finally time to buy this high-growth player? Let’s find out.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why has Palantir soared?

So, first, let’s consider why Palantir, up a mind-blowing 1,900% over the past three years, has climbed so much in the first place. It’s important to note that, though Palantir has existed for more than 20 years, the company only launched an initial public offering five years ago. The company took its time refining its products and strategy and working to move closer to profitability before deciding on such an operation.

And though Palantir stock advanced in the months following its IPO, the stock truly started to pick up major momentum about two years ago. This coincides with the launch of the company’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), software that, integrating the power of AI, helps customers bring together all of their disparate data and use it to supercharge decision-making and growth.

Palantir, in the past, was most associated with government contracts, but the launch of AIP boosted the commercial business — and now both government and commercial revenues are soaring in the double digits quarter after quarter. Uses for AIP are vast, from the military applying it to real-time decision making on the battlefield to commercial customer United Airlines using it to predict maintenance issues.

All of this has helped Palantir reach profitability and grow the commercial business from a handful of customers just four years ago to 485 today.

This may be the beginning…

Chief executive Alex Karp in recent quarters has said growth is in its early stages, and in the latest letter to shareholders wrote, “This is still only the beginning of something much larger.” Considering the AI market is set to grow from billions of dollars today to trillions of dollars in just a few years, according to analysts’ forecasts, this may be very true.

Palantir’s AIP offers customers an opportunity to quickly and easily apply AI to their operations, and this sort of service already is showing itself to be in high demand — as need for AI grows, this could continue.

As mentioned above, the one problem that Palantir has faced over the past year or so is valuation. As some investors looked at the company’s booming sales and stellar ability to balance growth with profitability, they rushed to get in on this AI player. And that pushed many Wall Street analysts to warn investors about buying the stock at current valuations.

Now, though, following recent declines, the stock has been trading for less than $160. The average Wall Street share price target is about $151. Since Palantir has neared this average estimate, some investors may view the stock as more reasonably priced than it was in the past. The stock traded for more than $181 at its high in August.

And this also has lowered valuation, with the stock now trading at 243x forward earnings estimates, down from 289x just a month ago.

PLTR PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

Is Palantir a buy?

Does this mean that now, on the dip, is a good time to buy Palantir? It’s important to note that, if you’re a value investor, you’ll still find Palantir expensive at today’s valuation. But it’s also important to say that it’s hard to apply such valuation measures to high growth tech stocks — since these measures reflect earnings estimates in the near term but don’t include the potential a few years down the road.

Meanwhile, demand for Palantir’s software is going strong and future prospects look bright so there’s reason to be confident about the company’s future. And Palantir’s recent drop, bringing it near Wall Street’s average 12-month price forecast, shows the stock may be approaching a level that could appeal to investors — especially those who thought the price was too high in the past.

All of this means, if you’re a growth investor looking for a potential long-term AI winner, it’s a great idea to buy Palantir now on the dip.

WASHINGTON — The F-35 is the most advanced fighter jet on the planet, capable of waging electronic warfare, of dropping nuclear weapons, of evading the surveillance and missile defenses of America’s most fearsome enemies at supersonic speeds.

Ten of them are being deployed by a newly branded War Department to Puerto Rico to combat drug traffickers in dinghies.

It is the latest example of the Trump administration using disproportionate military force to supplement, or substitute for, traditional law enforcement operations — first at home on the streets of U.S. cities and now overseas, where the president has labeled multiple drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and has vowed a “tough” response.

On Tuesday, that response began with an inaugural “kinetic strike” targeting a small vessel in the Caribbean allegedly carrying narcotics and 11 members of Tren de Aragua, one of the Venezuelan gangs President Trump has designated a terrorist group. Legally designating a gang or cartel as a terrorist entity ostensibly gives the president greater legal cover to conduct lethal strikes on targets.

The operation follows Trump’s deployment of U.S. forces to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., for operations with dubious justifications, as well as threats of similar actions in San Francisco, Chicago and New Orleans, moves that a federal judge said last week amount to Trump “creating a national police force with the President as its chief.”

Trump has referred to both problems — urban crime and drug trafficking — as interlinked and out of control. But U.S. service members have no training in local law or drug enforcement. And experts question a strategy that has been tried before, both by the United States and regional governments, of launching a war against drugs only to drive leaders in the trade to militarize themselves.

U.S. drug policy “has always been semi-militarized,” said Jeremy Adelman, director of the Global History Lab at Princeton University. Trump’s latest actions simply make more explicit the erasure of a line “that separates law enforcement from warfare.”

“One side effect of all this is that other countries are watching,” Adelman said. “By turning law enforcement over to the military — as the White House is also doing domestically — what’s to stop other countries from doing the same in international waters?

“Fishermen in the South China Sea should be worried,” he added.

The Trump administration has not provided further details on the 11 people killed in the boat strike. But officials said the departure of a drug vessel from Venezuela makes Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s dictatorial president labeled by the White House as a top drug kingpin, indirectly responsible.

“Let there be no doubt, Nicolás Maduro is an indicted drug trafficker in the United States, and he’s a fugitive of American justice,” Marco Rubio, Trump’s secretary of State and national security advisor, said on a tour of the region Thursday, citing a grand jury indictment in the Southern District of New York.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference Wednesday in Mexico City.

(Hector Vivas / Getty Images)

The president’s war on drug cartels will continue, Rubio said, adding that regional governments “will help us find these people and blow them up.”

Maduro has warned the strike indicates that Washington seeks regime change in Caracas. The Venezuelan military flew two aircraft near a U.S. vessel in international waters Thursday night, prompting an angry response from Pentagon officials and Trump to direct his Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to “do what you want to do” in response.

“Despite how dangerous this performance could be, because of its political consequences, it can’t be taken seriously as a drug policy,” said Lina Britto, an expert on Latin America and the Caribbean at Northwestern University with a focus on the history of the drug trade. “It lacks rigorousness in the analysis of how drug trafficking operates in the hemisphere.”

Most drugs entering the U.S. homeland from South America arrive in shipping containers, submarines and more efficient modes of transportation than speedboats — and primarily come through the Pacific, not the Caribbean, Britto said.

Trump has flirted with military strikes on drug cartels since the start of his second term, working with Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, to coordinate drone strikes over Mexican territory for surveillance of cartel activity.

But Sheinbaum has ruled out the use of force against cartels, or the deployment of U.S. forces within Mexico to combat them, warning that U.S. military action would violate Mexican sovereignty and upend collaboration between the two close-knit trade and security partners.

In comparison, Venezuela offers Trump a cleaner opportunity to test the use of force against drug cartels, with diplomatic ties between the two governments at a nadir. But a war with Maduro over drugs could create unexpected problems for the Trump administration, setting off a rare military conflict in a placid region and fueling further instability in a country that, over the last decade, already set off the world’s largest refugee crisis.

Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that Trump’s use of foreign terrorist designations changes the rules of engagement in ways that allow for action “where law enforcement solutions failed in the past.”

“What we are witnessing is a paradigm shift in real time,” Berg said. “Many of Latin America’s most significant criminal organizations are now designated foreign terrorist organizations. The administration is demonstrating that this is not only rhetorical.”

But Paul Gootenberg, a professor at Stony Brook University and author of “Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug,” characterized Trump’s military operation as a “simplistic” approach to complex social problems.

“This is more a performative attack on the Venezuelan regime than a serious attempt at drug policy,” Gootenberg said.

“Militarized drug policy is nothing new — it was tried and intensified in various ways from the mid-1980s through 2000s, oftentimes under U.S. Southern Command,” he added. “The whole range and levels of ‘war on drugs’ was a long, unmitigated policy failure, according to the vast, vast majority of drug experts.”

Times staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.

The beautiful village that has been frozen in time, with tourists saying it’s like stepping into another era

Haworth has remained untouched by time as visitors claim it’s “like stepping into another era”. This charming village sits tucked away in the stunning Yorkshire countryside, formerly the residence of the renowned Brontë sisters, with the nearby moor inspiring Wuthering Heights.

The siblings’ old family residence has been transformed into a museum, drawing literary enthusiasts from far and wide. The village has certainly earned its reputation, with independent bookstore Wave of Nostalgia being crowned the finest in all of northern England by The Bookseller.

Boasting its cobbled Main Street, famous parsonage and sweeping moorland, this Airedale settlement retains numerous historical features that remain completely preserved, reports the Express.

Positioned adjacent to the Yorkshire Dales, it enjoys spectacular rural landscapes and undulating hillsides.

Visitors to the museum can glimpse a precious miniature manuscript penned by Charlotte Brontë, which dates back to December 1829.

Leeds lies just a brief journey away, providing a completely contrasting atmosphere to the tranquil village whilst delivering abundant retail and dining opportunities.

The ancient city of York also sits nearby, displaying its famous cobblestone lanes and classic English design.

Though Haworth itself remains compact, the settlement boasts a legendary Main Street lined with numerous independent retailers and coffee houses.

Mrs Beighton’s Sweet Shop is reportedly essential viewing, stocking more than 500 classic British confections to sample.

Haworth Wholefoods provides an unusual grocery experience for weekly shopping, featuring regional produce and organic fare. H and L Fashions, a quaint boutique specialising in French and Italian designs, caters to both men and women, keeping the vintage theme alive.

The Cabinet of Curiosities offers a museum-like shopping experience, with its rich mahogany interior and glass globes transporting customers back in time.

For those keen on exploring Yorkshire, Haworth provides self-catering accommodation options, as well as cosy B&Bs.

SAMIA Longchambon is looking absolutely radiant in the snaps from her latest holiday.

The Coronation Street actress, 43, has been soaking up the sun in Corfu with her husband Sylvian.

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Samia took to Instagram to share some photos from the trip, showing her and her beau looking loved up with glowing skin from the sizzling summer temperatures.

“Had a Mamma Mia moment on a cute boat in Corfu,” Samia captioned the carousel of four photos.

The first of the series shows Samia posing alone on a white boat with blue detailing.

She’s slightly leaning back, supporting her weight with one arm and holding her beach hat nonchalantly over her leg with her free hand.

A pair of sunnies and her fluffy fringe cover most of her face, but Samia’s ear-to-ear grin is clearly visible.

She’s wearing a simple blue bikini top and brown shorts in the snap: an effortless outfit that is as comfortable as it is stunning.

The other photos feature another shot of Samia alone standing in front of a gorgeous sea and landscape view, a lovely couple’s “plan-did” of her and Sylvian with their arms around each other on the same boat, and a beautiful sunset.

Fans of the former Dancing On Ice contestant took to the comments section of Samia’s photos to praise her outfit and wish her a wonderful holiday.

“You look stunning,” said one user, following it up with emojis of a flame and a heart.

“Oh my gosh such fabulous pics and you look amazing wow x have the best time,” and “Stunning as always, the picture of the sunset is beautiful,” shared others.

Samia has been a core member of the Corrie cast since the year 2000.

Debuting as Maria Connor, she’s been a beloved member of the show ever since.

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Hundreds of Palestinians have fled Gaza City, piling their few remaining possessions onto pick-up trucks and donkey carts as Israel’s deadly bombings and forced displacement campaign intensifies in the area.

Families fleeing the Israeli military’s relentless bombardment have begun setting up makeshift tents amid miserable conditions in an area west of central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, to the south of Gaza City near Deir el-Balah.

Most of them have been forced to leave their homes more than once.

“We are thrown in the streets, like what would I say? Like dogs? We are not like dogs. Dogs are [treated] better than us,” Mohammed Maarouf, 50, told The Associated Press news agency, standing in front of his tent.

Maarouf and his family of nine had already been displaced from the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. “We have no homes. We are on the streets,” he said.

Ahmad Saadeh, originally from Beit Hanoon, also in Gaza’s north, told AP that Palestinians were suffering from hunger, sickness and a lack of shelter in the coastal enclave, where famine was confirmed earlier this month.

“We suffer from many things,” he said. “We suffer that our children are ill.”

Israeli forces have carried out a sustained bombardment on Gaza City since early August as part of a deepening push to seize the city and displace about one million Palestinians living there.

On Friday, the Israeli military said it had begun the “initial stages” of its offensive, declaring the largest urban centre in the territory a “combat zone”.

The new operation could forcibly displace one million Palestinians to concentration zones in southern Gaza, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned.

At least 71 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday, hospital sources told Al Jazeera.

Of that, 41 people were killed in Gaza City alone, including at least 11 Palestinians who were killed while queueing for bread from ovens serving communities of displaced people.

At least seven Palestinians also were killed in a series of Israeli attacks on a residential apartment block in a densely populated area of the city. Rescuers were seen digging through the rubble to retrieve bodies and try to find any survivors.

“The Israeli army has been intensifying its attacks across Gaza City. Homes and community centres have been reduced to rubble, eroding the foundations of civilian life in the area,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported.

“This is happening while people are going through famine, enforced starvation and dehydration. Things are leading to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.”

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday also questioned Israel’s plans for a forced mass expulsion.

“It is impossible that a mass evacuation of Gaza City could ever be done in a way that is safe and dignified under the current conditions,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger said in a statement, describing the plan as “not only unfeasible but incomprehensible”.

Yet while Israel’s push to seize Gaza City has drawn international condemnation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has shown no signs of halting the military offensive.

Gideon Levy, a columnist with Israeli news outlet Haaretz, told Al Jazeera that Israel’s overarching plan for Gaza amounts to ethnic cleansing.

“The plan is to push all the inhabitants of Gaza out of their houses, then lock them in those concentration camps and then give them two choices, either to live in those camps forever or to leave the Gaza Strip,” Levy said.

Describing the Israeli government’s policy as “outrageous”, Levy added that Israel will only halt its offensive if US President Donald Trump decides that “enough is enough” and applies pressure on the country.

The US has provided Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance since its war on Gaza began in October 2023. Washington has also shielded its top ally from calls for accountability at the UN and other international arenas.

In February, Trump suggested removing all Palestinians from Gaza – a plan that would amount to ethnic cleansing, a crime against humanity.

Wells is one of England’s most charming cathedral cities where you can browse markets, drink cider in cosy pubs and wander the cathedral’s gorgeous grounds

Nestled in Somerset lies one of England’s most picturesque cathedral cities, Wells, where you can explore markets, sip cider in quaint pubs and stroll around the stunning grounds of the cathedral. Wells is situated on the southern fringe of the Mendip Hills, with the imposing figure of Wells Cathedral at its heart, reports the Express.

Constructed between 1175 and 1490, Wells Cathedral has been hailed as the most poetic of the English Cathedrals, and it’s not hard to see why. It holds the distinction of being the earliest English Cathedral built in the Gothic style and enjoys an international reputation.

This grand cathedral is worth a visit for its architecture alone, but it also houses over 300 sculptures, Britain’s oldest functioning mechanical clock, and offers daily tours to delve into the city’s rich history.

The city itself gained international recognition after serving as the filming location for the fictional village of Sandford in the cult film Hot Fuzz, featuring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and a host of other renowned British actors.

Many of the film’s most memorable locations such as the Swan Hotel, the corner shop where the characters purchase Cornettos and the marketplace where the epic gunfight occurs are actual places you can visit.

Wells is also home to Europe’s oldest residential street. Vicars Close boasts beautiful stone houses, cobbled streets and a breath-taking view of the cathedral, perfect for capturing memorable photos of your weekend getaway.

The marketplace in front of the cathedral opens on Wednesdays and Saturdays where you can buy fresh produce, treats and homemade crafts – perfect for a lazy day of mooching around before stopping in to one of the city’s many pubs and enjoying a pint of Somerset cider.

According to Tripadvisor, one of Wells’ finest boozers is the Sheep and Penguin, which serves up a cracking Sunday roast.

One punter raved: “The choice of beer was excellent and the bar manager’s knowledge and enthusiasm was great. We then returned for more beer and a meal. The beer remained delicious and the meal was fabulous. If we lived anywhere near, we would be enjoying the delights on a frequent basis.”

If you want ideas and inspiration to plan your next UK adventure plus selected offers and competitions, sign up for our 2Chill weekly newsletter here

The Trump administration made no attempt to hide its goals when it came to tariffs. As the current U.S. president ran for office, he made it very clear to U.S. voters and the world that they should expect higher tariffs. And that’s exactly what his administration has offered up in dramatic fashion. Some on Wall Street worry that the tariffs could turn the bull market into a bear. Here’s how a long-term investor should be thinking about this issue.

The tariffs are coming! The tariffs are coming!

To simplify what is a fairly complex issue, a tariff is a tax imposed on imported goods. The Trump administration has been using tariffs in an aggressive attempt to reshape global trade. This will have an impact on the economy and the stock market, but what that might be is hard to define today. Simply put, so many things are up in the air right now that nobody knows where the chips are going to fall.

Image source: Getty Images.

That said, one concern is that higher tariffs will eventually be passed through to consumers. That would increase inflation, crimp consumption, and lead to lower earnings for corporate America. The flip side of that argument is that companies have increased prices so much in recent years that they can’t easily push higher costs onto consumers, and, thus, companies are likely to absorb the tariff hit. That would mean lower profit margins. Even here, however, Wall Street could still end up in the dumps as companies earn less and investors react to that negative news.

It seems like nothing good can come of this whole tariff thing. Except that, so far, the market hasn’t really paid much attention. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO +0.00%) is up more than 10% so far in 2025. Yes, there was a brief market correction early in the year, but the S&P 500 index, which is what the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF tracks, seems to have shrugged that off, as it is again trading near all-time highs.

VOO data by YCharts.

Don’t get too caught up in the short term

Here’s the big takeaway from the tariff kerfuffle: It is shockingly hard to predict performance on Wall Street. Some people get market turns right once, but very few have been able to time the ups and downs with any consistency. For most investors, trying to jump in and out of the market — a practice known as market timing — is a mistake.

It is far better to buy and hold for the long term, perhaps including an exchange-traded fund (ETF) like Vanguard S&P 500 ETF in the mix. Indeed, focusing on a well-diversified portfolio is key, as it will help to soften the impact of the market’s gyrations over time. Which brings the story back to the potential for a bear market. Simply put, there will be one.

That’s not a prediction; it is just a statement of fact. Eventually, for some reason, investors will go from being bullish to being bearish. That’s just what market history tells us is the norm on Wall Street. Why it happens will be the topic of debate, and eventually, some common cause will be determined. Maybe it will be tariffs. It could also be geopolitical tensions, which are very high today. Or maybe artificial intelligence (AI) won’t turn out to be as profitable as investors expect, and that will lead the market lower, given that AI enthusiasm has helped lead the market higher.

Something will eventually give way, and there will be a bear market. Then, after some period of time, a bull market will arrive. It’s just how the market works. You should spend more of your time thinking about ways to save money and how to invest wisely. Investing wisely means taking into consideration the ever-present risk of a bear market.

Keep it simple and think long term

Far too often, investors get caught up in short-term market movements. The big picture is more important, including the sometimes erratic upward march of stocks over the long term. Sticking to an investment plan is hard, but it is likely to result in better long-term performance than trying to jump in and out of the market. Which is why a simple portfolio consisting of an S&P 500 index fund and a broadly diversified bond fund or ETF — say, in a 60% stock/40% bond breakdown — could be all you need.

^SPX data by YCharts.

Bonds help provide safety during market turmoil, and stocks provide growth over the long term. That combination will allow you to ride out bear markets without letting your emotions lead you into making investment mistakes (like selling everything you own and never investing again). Another option is just to buy a balanced mutual fund that does all the investing work for you. That leaves you to focus on saving money, which is where you will likely have the biggest impact on your long-term wealth, anyway.

If you do choose to buy individual stocks, which can be a lot of fun, don’t focus on the short term. Or to put it another way, think in decades, not days. When you do that, a bear market will probably end up looking like just a small hiccup. And it won’t really matter to you what precipitated the bear, anyway, because you will be too busy. You see, long-term investors often find their best investments during deep market declines.

For much of the last 30 years, investors have had a next-big-thing innovation to captivate their attention. But in rare instances, two or more hyped trends can coexist. Though the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is the primary headline-grabber at the moment, investor euphoria surrounding stock splits in high-profile companies comes in a close second.

A stock split is an event that allows a publicly traded company to cosmetically adjust its share price and outstanding share count by the same factor. The “cosmetic” aspect of these changes has to do with stock splits having no effect on a company’s market cap or its underlying operations.

But although these changes are superficial, they’re often viewed very differently by investors on Wall Street. Reverse splits, which are designed to increase a company’s share price, are typically viewed as a situation to avoid by investors. Businesses that need to increase their share price are often doing so to avoid delisting from a major stock exchange and may be operating from a position of weakness.

Image source: Getty Images.

In comparison, investors almost always gravitate to companies announcing and completing forward splits. This type of split reduces the share price (and correspondingly increases the share count) to make it more nominally affordable for retail investors who can’t purchase fractional shares with their broker. Generally, if a business needs to reduce its share price to make it more “affordable” for everyday investors, it must be doing something right from an operating standpoint.

To date, three prominent companies have announced and completed a forward stock split in 2025. One of these high-flying stocks — which has gained just shy of 300% over the trailing-three-year period — is becoming the newest member of the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.24%), effective as of the start of trading today, Aug. 28.

The newest member of the benchmark S&P 500 completed its first-ever stock split this year

The phenomenal business that’s forever changing the broad-based S&P 500 is automated electronic brokerage firm Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR -2.37%).

Unlike auto parts chain O’Reilly Automotive, which completed a 15-for-1 split in June, and Fastenal, which effected its ninth forward split in May since going public in 1987, Interactive Brokers had never completed a split. That changed when its 4-for-1 split was completed in mid-June.

The S&P 500, which consists of 500 of the largest (and generally profitable) public companies, tends to change a bit each year. Because of mergers and acquisitions, as well as poor stock performance, not all of the 500 components in the benchmark index stick around.

For instance, pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 0.55%) is being acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in an all-cash deal, with a potential divested asset proceed right to come for remaining shareholders. While there’s no set closing date for the Walgreens deal, it’s expected to wrap up before the end of the year. This means it’s only a matter of time before the S&P 500 needs a new member.

Interactive Brokers Group checked all the right boxes to become the S&P 500’s newest entrant and replace Walgreens Boots Alliance. It handily surpasses the minimum market cap requirement of $22.7 billion, as of July 1, 2025, more than meets than minimum monthly trading volume requirements, and has been profitable over the trailing four quarters.

Entering the S&P 500 means index funds that attempt to mirror the performance of this broad-based index will be buying up shares of Interactive Brokers Group stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investing aggressively in automation has given Interactive Brokers an edge

However, entering the S&P 500 today represents just a short-term milestone for a company that’s been firing on all cylinders.

Without question, Interactive Brokers is a business that thrives off of the nonlinearity of stock market cycles. Though stock market corrections and bear markets are normal, healthy, and inevitable events on Wall Street, they’re historically short-lived.

Based on an analysis from Bespoke Investment Group that was published on X (formerly Twitter) in June 2023, the average S&P 500 bear market since the start of the Great Depression in September 1929 lasted only 286 calendar days, or less than 10 months.

On the other end of the spectrum, the typical S&P 500 bull market has endured 1,011 calendar days, or roughly 3.5 times longer. Bull markets tend to encourage investors to trade and put more money to work in the stock market, which is good news for online brokers.

But what’s really helped Interactive Brokers Group stand out is its investments in technology and automation, which have been targeted at retail investors.

Aggressively investing in its platform and emphasizing automation has lowered its operating expenses and allowed the company to be more competitive in other areas where it can lure/retain retail investors. For example, Interactive Brokers offers a higher interest rate on cash held in customer accounts than its competitors provide, and its margin loan rates are notably lower than its peers. It’s able to maintain these dangling carrots thanks to its prudent investments in automation.

Every key performance indicator (KPI) for Interactive Brokers is currently growing by a double-digit percentage from the prior-year period. As of the end of June, total customer accounts jumped 32% to 3.87 million from the comparable period last year, with customer equity rising 34% to nearly $665 billion. Perhaps most importantly, daily average revenue trades rose 49% to 3.55 million, which signals that its clients are trading more than ever before.

While a nearly 300% move higher for Interactive Brokers Group stock may merit a short breather at some point, the company’s KPIs point to additional long-term upside.

EXCLUSIVE: The 25-year-old actor, who plays the son of shopkeeper Dev, Aadi Alahan, left the soap on Wednesday night – but says it was his decision to ‘spread his wings’ and play other characters

After an emotional farewell last night as his character, Aadi Alahan, left Coronation Street’s famous cobbles to start a new life in India, actor Adam Hussain reveals it was his decision to quit.

Having joined Corrie in April 2020 as Dev and Sunita’s son, Aadi, Adam took over from Zennon Ditchett, who had left Weatherfield to concentrate on his A-levels. Prior to that, Aadi and his twin sister Asha were played by triplets Hannah, Harris and Ria Ahmed.

But after five years, the actor says he decided to leave to “spread his wings” and play other characters. And his brave move has clearly proved to be a good one as Adam reveals today he has already bagged himself a role in a new feature film, overseen by award-winning horror director Richard Stanley.

In his only newspaper interview talking about his departure, the actor, 24, tells the Mirror: “My life has changed for the better since I joined Corrie and it has been such an honour to be part of the amazing cast.

“I joined during the Covid pandemic, which was a weird and surreal time to take on a new character. I’ve loved playing Aadi, I have made good friends on the set, and I am going to miss Corrie dearly.

“But I am going to be 25 in October, and I felt it was the right time to leave. It was my decision, and the producers were so understanding.

“I want to spread my wings a little, go out in the big world and see what else I can do. I am really excited as I’ve got a new role in a horror feature film. I can’t say too much yet, but I am looking forward to it.

“I feel lucky as I’ve also been to lots of other auditions since I finished filming my Corrie scenes in June, and I’ve filmed a part in a short film, Spice For Life, too. We are sending it off to film festivals at the moment. It’s an exploration of cultures coming together.”

He is, however, glad Corrie bosses decided not to kill Aadi off. “It’s very relieving to know I can always return whenever I want to,” smiles Adam. “And they’ve told me the door will always be left open if I ever want to come back. My friends on set were gutted when I first told them, but they also understood. They now have high aspirations about what I am going to get up to in the coming years!”

Over the past few weeks, Aadi’s life has spiralled out of control as he turned to booze to get over the guilt of Lauren accidentally drinking his laced drink and the stress of running a business.

It was his dad, Dev, who told him to go and start a fresh life in India with his cousin, Vikram. Initially, Aadi was opposed to the idea, but eventually he came to the realisation that it was the perfect chance to wipe the slate clean.

“He has been really struggling financially with keeping the business running,” explains the star. “But his life spiralled because he also felt so guilty about what happened to Lauren. He started drinking a lot. At first, Aadi was distraught that his dad wanted to send him away, but he knew eventually it was the right decision to get away and have a fresh start.”

Adam says he had mixed emotions filming his final scenes. “It was both scary and exciting,” he adds. “I had a whole mix of emotions because I did get very nostalgic. I also knew it was the right decision to go.”

But thankfully, he says he didn’t fall to pieces shooting the emotional farewell scenes. “I actually had to use a tear stick for when Aadi started crying,” he reveals. “It’s been fun to film this storyline and I also think it has been good to show business owners who are struggling that they aren’t alone. It can be really tough running a business, as Aadi found.”

Admitting he has grown up a lot during his time on Corrie, Adam says he is particularly proud to have been involved in some gritty storylines. From being shot at while protecting his fiancée, Kelly Neelan, and accidentally letting Lauren Bolton drink LCD to having an affair with married woman Courtney Vance and staging a fake robbery at the corner shop, the actor says he has loved the many twists and turns his character has faced.

“I was 20 when I joined Corrie and I’ve learnt so much,” he says. “I still feel like a kid at heart but I am older now and these five years have flown by. It seems like only yesterday I was arriving on set for the first time to play Aadi. I’ve grown in confidence and I’ve learnt so much about how it works on a soap set as well as the industry as a whole.”

He picks out a car explosion in 2021 that saw Aadi fight for his life as one of his favourite plotlines. He also loved filming scenes a year later with Millie Gibson, who played Aadi’s fiancée, Kelly. She had been kidnapped by her dad’s criminal associates and was about to be shot. But loved-up Aadi jumped in to save her and took the bullet. Thankfully, the gunshot missed vital organs, but he was then left distraught when Kelly decided to leave Weatherfield for good.

“Aadi got shot trying to protect Kelly,” he recalls fondly. “It was such an honour and pleasure to work alongside Millie. We used Hollywood-style equipment, which was exciting. It was also great fun filming the car explosion stunt in the countryside.

“Filming in the pandemic was also obviously a surreal time, too. We had to keep a seven-metre distance with only two people in each scene at a time, which made filming quite difficult.

“But it’s been fun playing Aadi. I like how he enjoys playing the hero, but he has a flawed side as well. I love his awkwardness!” He also admits he is going to miss Jimmi Harkishin, who plays his on-screen dad, terribly. “I find Jimmi so funny,” he says. “He took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. I learned a lot from him, and he became my second dad – my work dad.

“I’ve kept the ‘golf ball’ set Dev gave Aadi when he asked him to be his best man as a memento. It’s in a chest at home, along with other mementoes from all my other acting jobs.

“I grew up watching Corrie and it’s been so surreal to be able to say I’ve been part of the cast. I have to pinch myself sometimes!” Both his charity shop worker mum, Nora, and dad, Azark, a retired hospitality worker, are very supportive of his decision to leave and have even let him move back in with them in Manchester.

Adam – one of four siblings – says they’ve always encouraged him to follow his dreams. “I got into acting when I was in secondary school. I was a quiet child and getting up on the stage was therapeutic for me. It helped me come out of my shell. Mum and Dad are so proud and we watched last night’s scenes together at home.”

After dropping out of college to attend an acting class run by his now-agent Darren Gordon, Adam landed several TV roles including playing Josh Nubhai in ITV’s The Bay for two seasons. He also starred in Absentia and No Man’s Land.

Adam, who is single, says he hopes to one day travel the world with his job. “I’ve already travelled quite a lot before I took on the Corrie role,” he explains. “I would love to travel everywhere, especially America. I want to get into films and the feature film I’ve been signed up to do is a great stepping stone.

“I am single at the moment. I want to concentrate on my work.” However, he stresses he’s not about to change careers. One newspaper report suggested he was working for his family tailoring business in between roles. “My brother-in-law owns a tailor,” he explains. “So, every now and again I go and help out!”

As for whether he thinks he will ever return to Corrie’s cobbles in the future and the actor smiles as he stresses: “Never say never! But I do hope Aadi does get a second chance in India. He is going to live with his rich aunt, so you never know, he might turn out to be the new Prince of Mumbai!”

– Coronation Street runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1. Episodes can also be downloaded on ITVX.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

Arguably, nothing has commanded the attention of professional and everyday investors quite like artificial intelligence (AI). In Sizing the Prize, the analysts at PwC forecast AI would provide a $15.7 trillion boost to the global economy by 2030, with $6.6 trillion tied to productivity improvements, and the remainder coming from consumption-side effects.

Excitement surrounding this technology has sent some of the market’s largest and widely held AI stocks soaring, including AI-data mining specialist Palantir Technologies (PLTR 2.37%) and electric-vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla (TSLA 1.42%).

But just because these stocks have been (thus far) unstoppable, it doesn’t mean optimism is universal among analysts. Two Wall Street analysts who are respective longtime bears of Palantir and Tesla stock believe both companies will lose most of their value.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Palantir Technologies: Implied downside of 72%

There’s a solid argument to be made that Palantir has been the hottest AI stock on the planet since 2023 began. Shares have rallied approximately 2,370%, with Palantir adding more than $360 billion in market value, as of the closing bell on Aug. 22.

Both of the company’s core operating segments, Gotham and Foundry, lean on AI and machine learning. Gotham is Palantir’s breadwinner. It’s used by federal governments to plan and execute military missions, as well as to collect/analyze data. Meanwhile, Foundry is an enterprise subscription service that helps businesses better understand their data and streamline their operations. Neither operating segment has a clear replacement at scale, which means Palantir offers a sustainable moat.

But in spite of Palantir’s competitive edge, RBC Capital Markets’ Rishi Jaluria sees plenty of downsides to come. Even though Jaluria raised his price target on Palantir shares for a second time since 2025 began, his $45 target implies downside of up to 72% over the next year.

If there’s one headwind Jaluria consistently presents when assigning or reiterating a price target on Palantir, it’s the company’s aggressive valuation. Shares closed out the previous week at a price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of roughly 117!

Historically, companies that are leaders of next-big-thing technology trends have peaked at P/S ratios of approximately 30 to 40. No megacap company has ever been able to maintain such an aggressive P/S premium. While Palantir’s sustainable moat has demonstrated it’s worthy of a pricing premium, there’s a limit as to how far this valuation can be stretched.

Jaluria has also previously cautioned that Foundry’s growth isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Specifically, Jaluria has opined that Foundry’s tailored approach to meeting its customers’ needs will make scaling the platform a challenge. Nevertheless, Palantir’s commercial customer count surged 48% to 692 clients in the June-ended quarter from the prior-year period, which appears to be proving RBC Capital’s analyst wrong.

There’s also the possibility of Palantir stock being weighed down if the AI bubble were to burst. History tells us that every next-big-thing trend dating back three decades has undergone a bubble-bursting event early in its expansion. While Palantir’s multiyear government contracts and subscription revenue would protect it from an immediate sales decline, investor sentiment would probably clobber its stock.

Image source: Tesla.

2. Tesla: Implied downside of 94%

Over the trailing-six-year period, shares of Tesla have skyrocketed by more than 2,200%. Though Tesla hasn’t moved in lockstep with other leading AI stocks, its EVs are increasingly reliant on AI to improve safety and/or promote partial self-driving functionality.

Tesla was the first automaker in more than a half-decade to successfully build itself from the ground up to mass production. It’s produced a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) profit in each of the last five years, and it delivered in the neighborhood of 1.8 million EVs in each of the previous two years.

In spite of Tesla’s success and it becoming one of only 11 public companies globally to have ever reached the $1 trillion valuation mark, Gordon Johnson of GLJ Research sees this stock eventually losing most of its value. Earlier this year, Johnson reduced his price target on Tesla to just $19.05 per share, which implies an up to 94% collapse.

Among the many concerns cited by Johnson is Tesla’s operating structure. Whereas other members of the “Magnificent Seven” are powered by high-margin software sales, Tesla is predominantly selling hardware that affords it less in the way of pricing power. Tesla has slashed the price of its EV fleet on more than a half-dozen occasions over the last three years as competition has ramped up.

Johnson has also been critical of Tesla’s numerous side projects, which are providing minimal value to the brand. Although energy generation and storage products have been a solid addition, the company’s Optimus humanoid robots and extremely limited robotaxi service launch have been grossly overhyped.

This builds on a larger point that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a terrible habit of overpromising and underdelivering when it comes to game-changing innovations at his company. For instance, promises of Level 5 full self-driving have gone nowhere for 11 years, while the launch of the Cybertruck is looking more like a flop than a success.

Furthermore, Tesla’s earnings quality is highly suspect. Though the company has been decisively profitable for five straight years, more than half of its pre-tax income in recent quarters has been traced back to automotive regulatory credits and net interest income earned on its cash. In other words, a majority of Tesla’s pre-tax income derives from unsustainable and non-innovative sources that have nothing to do with its actual operations. Worse yet, President Trump’s flagship tax and spending bill, the “Big, Beautiful Bill” Act, will soon put an end to automotive regulatory credits in the U.S.

What investors are left with is an auto stock valued at north of 200 times trailing-12-month earnings per share (EPS) whose EPS has been declining with consistency for years. While Johnson’s price target appears excessively low, paying over 200 times EPS for a company that consistency underdelivers is a recipe for downside.

Arguably the most important data release of the entire third quarter is just days away. Following the closing bell on Wednesday, Aug. 27, Wall Street’s largest publicly traded company, and the innovative leader fueling the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), Nvidia (NVDA 1.65%), will report its fiscal second-quarter operating results (its fiscal year ends in late January).

No technological advancement has been hotter on Wall Street than AI. Empowering software and systems with AI so they can make split-second decisions and grow more efficient over time without human intervention is a game changer that can accelerate growth in most industries around the globe. In Sizing the Prize, analysts at PwC pegged the economic impact of AI at $15.7 trillion come 2030.

While an approximately 1,100% increase in Nvidia’s stock since the start of 2023 signals that the company is firing on all cylinders, a case can be made that the face of the AI revolution is priced for perfection in a market and trend that are anything but perfect. Despite its near-parabolic ascent, Nvidia will likely struggle to live up to Wall Street’s sky-high expectations on Aug. 27.

Image source: Nvidia.

Margins will be in the spotlight and likely act as a drag

In terms of AI-graphics processing units (GPUs), Nvidia has been the kingpin. Its Hopper (H100) and Blackwell GPUs have been deployed more than any other chips in high-compute data centers, with the respective compute capabilities of Nvidia’s hardware standing tall when compared to the competition.

But what’s been even more important than Nvidia’s competitive advantages is persistent AI-GPU scarcity.

The law of supply and demand states that when demand for a good or service outpaces its supply, the price of said good or service will climb until demand tapers. With an impressive backlog for its AI-GPUs, Nvidia has been able to command a premium price for its hardware, which in turn sent its generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) gross margin to a high of 78.4% during the first quarter of fiscal 2025. As long as this AI-advanced chip scarcity persists, Nvidia’s gross margin is golden.

The problem for Nvidia is that it’s no longer the only rodeo in town. Advanced Micro Devices and China-based Huawei are external competitors that are actively ramping up production of their data-center chips. However, the biggest threat to Nvidia’s GAAP gross margin potentially comes from within.

NVDA Gross Profit Margin (Quarterly) data by YCharts.

Nvidia’s top customers, in terms of net sales, have consistently been members of the “Magnificent Seven.” Most of these leading clients are internally developing AI GPUs and solutions to use in their respective data centers. Even though these chips are no threat to Nvidia’s compute advantages, they are considerably cheaper and not backlogged like Blackwell. In my view, it’s inevitable that internal chip development will cost Nvidia precious data center real estate.

More importantly, this internal development is working against the AI-GPU scarcity that Nvidia has held so dear. As the insatiable demand for AI-accelerating chips calms, Nvidia should see its pricing power and GAAP gross margin fade over time. We’ve already been witnessing steady gross margin erosion for more than a year.

Nvidia will have a difficult time justifying its valuation in multiple respects

In addition to gross margin being front and center, Nvidia is going to have a near-impossible task of justifying its valuation premium amid a historically pricey market.

To be abundantly clear, I believe Nvidia is deserving of a valuation premium thanks to its competitive advantages. The issue, while subjective, is how far this premium can be stretched before it becomes excessive.

Historical precedent tells us that industry leaders of next-big-thing trends have a relatively short leash when it comes to extended valuations. Prior to the bursting of the dot-com bubble a quarter-century ago, prominent internet leaders like Cisco Systems, Microsoft, and Amazon peaked at price-to-sales (P/S) ratios ranging from 31 to 43, respectively. Except for Palantir Technologies, whose P/S ratio recently entered a separate orbit, no megacap company on the leading edge of a game-changing technology has been able to maintain a P/S ratio in the 30 to 40 range for a substantial length of time.

Less than a week ago, Nvidia’s trailing-12-month P/S ratio was hovering north of 30. While its P/S ratio will decline a bit when it reports projected year-over-year sales growth of 53% in the fiscal second quarter, it’ll still be tipping the scales at a multiple that’s far above anything that’s been historically sustainable.

On top of being individually pricey, Nvidia is one of a handful of high-growth tech stocks that have lifted the S&P 500‘s (^GSPC 1.52%) Shiller price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio to its third-highest multiple during a continuous bull market when back-tested 154 years. Previously documented occasions when the stock market was this expensive were eventually followed by declines of 20% or more in the benchmark S&P 500.

Pardon the pun following the gross margin discussion above, but there’s simply no margin for error.

Image source: Getty Images.

Historical precedent is an undeniable worry for Wall Street’s leading AI stocks

The final piece of the puzzle that helps explain why Nvidia is positioned to disappoint come Aug. 27 (and beyond) has to do with history.

For the better part of the last three decades, investors have been privy to no shortage of next-big-thing trends and game-changing innovations. While many of these trends went on to positively impact corporate America, including the advent of the internet, all endured early-stage bubble-bursting events.

The problem with hyped innovations is that investors consistently overshoot when it comes to widespread adoption timelines and early-stage utility. For example, businesses didn’t fully understand how to make the internet revolution work in their favor until many years after it went mainstream. It takes time for game-changing innovations to mature, which makes it unlikely that artificial intelligence has done so in a little over two years.

While demand for AI-data center infrastructure and AI software has been impressive, most businesses aren’t yet optimizing their AI solutions, nor are many generating a positive return on their AI investments. These are telltale signs that investors have, yet again, overestimated how impactful artificial intelligence will be, at least in the early going.

No megacap company’s growth has been more reliant on investor euphoria surrounding the evolution of AI than Nvidia, which has added close to $4 trillion in market cap in less than three years. Even the slightest hiccup can disrupt this hype.

To reiterate, Nvidia is a solid and time-tested company that isn’t going anywhere. But it’s far from perfect — and perfection is all Wall Street will settle for at this point.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that National Guard troops patrolling the streets of Washington for President Trump’s law enforcement crackdown be armed, the Pentagon said Friday.

The Defense Department didn’t offer any other details about the new development or why it was needed.

The step is a escalation in Trump’s intervention into policing in the nation’s capital and comes as nearly 2,000 National Guard members have been stationed in the city, with the arrival this week of hundreds of troops from several Republican-led states.

Trump initially called up 800 members of the District of Columbia National Guard to assist federal law enforcement in his bid to crack down on crime and homelessness in the capital. Since then, six states have sent troops to the city, growing the military presence.

It was unclear if the guard’s role in the federal intervention would be changing. The guard has so far not taken part in law enforcement but largely have been protecting landmarks like the National Mall and Union Station and helping with crowd control.

The Pentagon and the Army said last week that troops would not carry guns. The new guidance is that they will carry their service-issued weapons.

The city had been informed about the intent for the National Guard to be armed, a person familiar with the conversations said earlier this week. The person was not authorized to disclose the plans and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Spokespeople for the District of Columbia National Guard and a military task force overseeing all the guard troops in Washington did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Toropin writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Anna Johnson contributed to this report.

This town in East Ayrshire, Scotland, has been named one of the most affordable places to live in the UK, with locals praising its vibrant shopping scene and friendly atmosphere

An historic town in East Ayrshire has been crowned one of the UK’s most affordable places to live, with locals praising its bustling shopping scene and welcoming atmosphere. Property website Rightmove has ranked Kilmarnock as Scotland’s top spot for first-time buyers, offering average house prices significantly below the national average.

Rightmove reports that homes in Kilmarnock have sold for an average of £154,688 over the past year. Flats have been snapped up for an average of £75,868, while semi-detached properties have commanded £161,391 and terraced houses £115,793.

Prices have risen by seven per cent compared to 2024 and are four per cent higher than the 2022 peak. This news comes after images show the cheapest seaside spot in England is full of abandoned £40k homes ‘nobody wants’.

READ MORE: Beautiful island has amazing views and three beaches but costs less than a 3-bed houseREAD MORE: Life in Scotland’s ‘most affordable’ town where three-beds cost less than £140k

Home to over 47,000 people, Kilmarnock’s housing costs are more than five times lower than London, where the average flat will set you back a whopping £590,543. The town’s blend of cultural heritage, green spaces and retail options has made it a popular choice for homebuyers.

Kilmarnock is home to a wealth of cultural landmarks, including Scotland’s largest Burns Monument, the Dick Institute and the Palace Theatre. The town centre boasts a range of independent shops as well as popular high street brands, reports the Daily Record.

The tourism board Visit Scotland has described Bank Street as: “a charming cobbled street in the historic core, with the elegant John Finnie Street boasting one of the best examples of provincial Victorian architecture in Scotland.”

The board also spotlighted Dean Castle and Country Park as “a fantastic day out for all the family” and commended the Burns Monument Centre’s picturesque location in Kay Park.

For many locals, the town’s charm and easy access are its main attractions. Andrew Reith, 41, who runs Zenith Coins and has been working in Kilmarnock for five years, said: “The town has some nice parks, and there are a few spots for public entertainment. The shopping area is quite popular, and both tourists and locals enjoy wandering around it.

“What I feel is that the town could benefit from a couple of large organisations, such as factories, to create more job opportunities for people living in the area.” However, not everyone shares this positive view. One local told The Express: “Many people in Kilmarnock rely on Government benefits and lack ambition and zeal to work.

“Most people are looking to send their children to the schools in Troon which is around 15 to 20 minutes away from Kilmarnock and is home to some of the most affluent people in the town.” While some streets offer homes priced between £75,000 and £84,000, others feature properties worth £500,000.

Tracey Oakley, a property adviser with Donald Ross Residential, noted: “Kilmarnock is a huge area and it would not be right to say that the houses are cheap [everywhere] here. The town is not very far from Glasgow and has a lovely shopping centre. “The properties which are put on the market are being sold in just two to six weeks, showing its popularity among the buyers.”

East Ayrshire Council says the town’s energy is being enhanced by regeneration initiatives. David McDowall, head of economic growth, said: “We are happy to see Kilmarnock is featuring as one of the more economical places to live.

“Over the past 15 years, our Regeneration and Business Support teams have attracted investment to enable the redevelopment of the town centre…breathing new life into the town’s conservation area.”

He added that Kilmarnock has “weathered the storm of closures of the mass industries such as whisky bottling, shoe making, carpet making, textiles and heavy engineering” and is now “experiencing a resurgence” with new small and medium enterprises.

Aug. 14 (UPI) — Dressed in camouflage fatigues, National Guard troops patrolled areas of Washington, D.C., on Thursday, dispatched by President Donald Trump to police what he has called “out of control crime” in the city.

In actuality, crime in the district has fallen in recent years or remained flat. Despite this, Guard soldiers patrolled outside Washington’s main train station and swept homeless encampments ahead of a larger, federal law enforcement operation Thursday night in the city.

The federal effort was underway shortly after 6 p.m. EDT Thursday near a popular homeless encampment outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, where most people who often sleep there already had left, The New York Times reported. Most were encouraged to go to homeless shelters.

“The district has worked proactively with homeless residents ahead of these actions to provide services and offers of shelter,” a statement from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services said. “DC will support the engagements with wraparound services and trash pickup but the planned engagements are otherwise the purview of the federal agencies.”

Some residents in the area pushed back on the troop presence in the 14th St. Northwest corridor. Some heckled the soldiers.

“Go home, fascists,” yelled one protester, and “get off our streets,” the New York Post reported. Others stood at the intersection of the checkpoint and directed drivers to go the other way.

Washington’s Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser walked a fine line between praise and criticism of the Guard troops’ deployment.

She called Trump’s efforts “an authoritarian push,” but earlier in the week expressed loose support for the effort.

“The fact that we have more law enforcement and presence in neighborhoods, that may be positive,” she said.

Other protesters were less measured.

“They are the goons of an openly fascist, openly violent regime,” Ryan Zito, a Washington resident told NBC News.

The planned federal operation targeted 25 sites in and around the district’s northwest quadrant, city council member Charles Allen said.

Allen added that he was unclear about the details of the operation, and that the White House had not been in contact with local officials regarding details.

Trump has said the National Guard presence has expanded to a 24-hour operation and will stretch beyond the originally scheduled 30 days.

The Washington deployment could serve as a template for similar operations in the future. The Washington Post, citing internal documents, said Trump could dispatch as many as 600 National Guard troops to military bases in Alabama and Arizona, and that still others could be deployed elsewhere as part of a “reaction force” to respond to violent civil events and crack down on crime.

FASHION accessories chain Claire’s is facing an uncertain future on UK high streets, after its US parent firm filed for bankruptcy.

It is the second time the ear-piercing favourite has declared itself bust, after previously filing for bankruptcy in 2018.

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Its finances are now under pressure from weak consumer demand and supply chain uncertainty.

The filings showed that the parent business reported liabilities of up to $10billion (£7billion) and owed between 25,000 and 50,000 creditors.

Claire’s operates 2,750 stores worldwide, including 280 in the UK.

While British stores remain unaffected for now, the UK arm has lost £25million over the past three years and is at risk of collapsing into administration later this month.

It has been working with advisers to explore a sale or restructuring.

However, potential buyers, such as Hilco Capital, are understood to have walked away.

Retail experts say Claire’s is struggling to stay relevant.

Julie Palmer, from Begbies Traynor, said: “Claire’s low-price offering is clearly not strong enough to win over its core customers — teens and young adults — as they now have access to a vast array of affordable and convenient products online through platforms like Amazon and Temu.”

Claire’s boss Chris Cramer said: “We remain in active discussions with potential strategic and financial partners and are committed to completing our review of strategic alternatives.”

METRO BANK ON THE UP

METRO BANK has bounced back, posting a £43.1million pre-tax profit for the first half of 2025 — up from a £33.5million loss reported in the same period last year.

The lender doubled new corporate and small business loans to £1billion, and cut 8 per cent from its costs by axing a third of its workforce and reducing branch hours.

Boss Daniel Frumkin said: “Our strong performance reflects the decisive actions we have taken.”

Elsewhere, Sabadell shareholders have approved the £2.65billion sale of TSB to Santander.

Coronation Street’s Abi Webster (Sally Carman) was dealt with some major truths as her affair with her brother-in-law Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) heated up on Monday night’s episode

Abi Webster on Coronation Street was dealt with a series of truth bombshells as her affair with her brother-in-law Carl heated up during Monday night’s episode.

The mechanic, played by Sally Carman, is married to Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) on the ITV soap but viewers have seen things bubbling away between her and Carl (Jonathan Howard) for several weeks now. Things came to a head last week when she found out that Kevin, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year, had chosen not to tell her that he had been given the all-clear as he suspected something was up.

It was then that Abi finally decided to act on her feelings for Carl and they became physical at the garage, but Abi called the whole thing off just hours later when Carl urged her to go back to her husband. As viewers will know, this was because Kevin discovered that Carl that he and accomplice Fiona Morley (Sara Poyzer) had organised the theft of an expensive car, and could have him arrested at any moment. It comes as one Coronation Street star announced an abrupt exit which saw their alter-ego ‘killed off’ without warning.

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On Monday, when barmaid Glenda Shuttleworth (Jodie Prenger) asked Kevin how his cancer treatment was going, he could not come up with a lie quick enough, so Abi took it upon herself to announce that Kevin had finished his chemo and had been given the all-clear, but covered for him by not revealing that this had actually been the case for several weeks. Glenda announced the news to the pub, and Kevin kept up his pretence as she insisted on giving him a pint on the house as the other Weatherfield residents congratulated him.

While it initially looked like Carl had set his sights on Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) after buying her a drink in the pub, he was soon seen in bed with Abi, who had called round after becoming jealous that Carl had possibly invited Tracy round. Afterwards, he told her: “I didn’t have that on my to-do list. I will have to go to the Rovers more often!” But when Carl received a threatening text message from Fiona about their dodgy dealings, he had to reveal all to Abi after they got dressed. He confessed: “I have seriously messed up. I’ve been doing illegal MOT inspections. For that Fiona. Write-offs, cut and shuts. You name it, I’ve passed them all. And I’ve been doing it from Kev’s garage.”

He tried to explain to a shocked Abi that he had only been doing it to settle huge debts he had accrued but she shot back: “You told me that debt was paid! You lied?! Oh there’s a surprise! Those cars were not roadworthy. Someone could’ve died. Did it give you a bit of a thrill, ruining your brother’s business and then bedding his missus for good measure?!”

Amidst all this, Kevin invited Abi on a last-minute holiday with him but she told him that she has not forgiven him for all the lies he told her about his cancer. Following a heart-to-heart with her sister-in-law Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney), who was diagnosed with vascular dementia earlier this year, she accepted the invitation but demanded to know from Kevin why he failed to tell her about the MOT scam.

He explained: “Firstly, we couldn’t report it to the police, not without doing damage to the business. And secondly, he’s still my brother and I suppose I’m trying to protect him. For now, we forget about Carl, and concentrate on our marriage. He’s gone from the garage, he’s out of our lives and now it’s about us.”

Despite this, as Kevin was speaking to Abi, she received a text message and quickly read it before putting her phone back in her pocket. She then confronted Carl about the lies he had been telling, and he told her that he had been ‘blackmailed’ after he found out that about the cancer lie. She said: “I came here to call it off, to tell you that I’d forgiven him and I was going to make my marriage work,” but Carl quickly told Abu that she was no longer in love with Kevin.

She confirmed: “Yeah, but he loves me and even with the lies he makes me feel safe,” and reminded Carl that she has her son Alfie to think about as well. In deciding to keep their affair going, Carl vowed to be Abi’s ‘little secret’ for the time being and the pair promptly hopped back into bed together.

Carl is the son of Kevin’s dad Bill Webster (Peter Armitage) and his second wife Elaine (Judy Gridley) and spent most of his life in Germany with his parents until he arrived on the Manchester backstreet earlier this year. In real life, Jonathan spent 10 years in LA and working alongside big-name stars including Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, but the 38-year-old actor ranks landing a part in Corrie among his greatest achievements.

He told The Mirror : “Being in Coronation Street is just as big a thrill as being in a Hollywood film or an American TV series. It’s all the same, everyone’s telling stories, whether it’s a big $200m movie or a soap like Corrie. As a Lancashire lad born and raised, the dream was to be in Coronation Street – that was the ceiling, so it feels wonderfully surreal to now be acting with people like Kevin Webster that I watched religiously as a kid.

“My friends ask me, ‘what you have been up to today?’ and I reply ‘I took Tracy Barlow for a drink in the Rovers Return!’ It’s just incredible to say these things.”

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .