Obligatory on mobile so awkward formatting and throwaway because he knows my reddit account. Long story.
I come to ask the Reddit crowd to be kind with me as I legitimately have no idea what to do. My boyfriend and I have been dating for 7 months now and are on the verge of a break-up because of several reasons.

• His long term ex girlfriend has been harassing us for 7 months. I've blocked her everywhere but she is adamant on contacting me. Her messages usually vary from asking for forgiveness, her moving on, I'm ugly and other insults about my appearance and identity, how she was the third party, how I was the third party, how desperate I am, how she cares about me, how she plans to destroy my academic and social life, etc.
  
• They had closure sex a few days before we went on our first date. In his defense, we were not exclusive back then and I told him before in the past that I'd probably find someone like him but not him specifically to date; and that I didn't date; so he only confessed because I pushed him to under the impression he liked another girl. Ex girlfriend shared some of their deleted conversation and he had been refusing to meet with her. They only met that day because she had gone to the front door of their home and up until the end of their conversation he was angry and asking for her to leave.
  
• He confessed the closure sex happened before we agreed to start seeing each other exclusively. But he didn't tell me exactly when it happened, just that it was recent to that conversation. When his ex girlfriend told me by blasting my face on social media the exact dates, he denied it happened on those specific days. He assured me for 4 months that it did not happen.
  
• According to him, she had been pestering him for a few weeks prior to that meeting and promised to stop her advances if they had one final time together. They had sex and a few days later, he told me that I shouldn't worry about her possibly pestering us because he had already "fixed" the problem.
  
• Ex girlfriend was not satisfied and kept messaging for him to go back to her with clips of her slashing her wrists, warning him that she would really kill herself, sending goodbye messages, etc. He at first would respond and tried to call her a few times to check if she was still alive but ended their conversation after he had mailed her remaining stuff back to her (a few essentials: IDs, etc.) After that, she waited for him outside his house several times to beg either inebriated or sober. Other times she would send messages through financial apps with those short messages because he had blocked her on everything even GMail.
  
• He says he doesn't want to go back to that relationship because of how emotionally draining it was. I can vouch for this detail because he had been saying this even before we liked each other, and I had seen their correspondences with each other over the years. She had an unbelievable amount of fake accounts she would cycle through because she would get verbally abusive (you're ugly, you deserve none of the success you have right now, posting his nudes, sending wrist slicing videos, you're lucky I decided to love you, etc.) and would blow up over seemingly nothing. Her own admission, she would get into fits that would end up either getting them into physical fights or him trying to hug her and sort of hold her down until she calms.
  
• He has her blocked everywhere but would occasionally view her Tiktok. He says he isn't in love with her anymore and does not desire a relationship, just that a part of him still cares for her and feels bad because he had promised that he was never going to leave but did.
  
• Up until recently, she was trying to reach out to my friends (people she does not know) and had been telling them I was a third party. She made a groupchat and asked my friends not to tell me and my boyfriend (they did tell us).
  
• She had messaged me multiple times that she knew where I lived and studied and that she was going to wait for me outside my buildings. I didn't want to talk to her before because I had already seen her tendencies based on their correspondences and her messages to me, and I still don't want to contact her even now. She talks shit about my identity, my vag*na, my deceased parents, everything she can target to get under my skin.
  

My boyfriend is adamant he does not hold romantic feelings for her anymore and that he isn't staying because I'm the safer option (in the sense that I am avoidant and have admittedly blindsided my past situationships/ partners and could very well do the same with him). He tells me he's not settling for me and that he genuinely wants to make our relationship work because he knows he only has one shot with me and that he feels genuine for me. It is easier for the both of us to leave the relationship because both are avoidant people, but he is trying to go against his trauma and avoidant tendencies to remain with me. He just fails sometimes (checking her tiktok, etc.)
Currently, we are very open with one another and have good communication (regular relationship checks, we never get into screaming matches). He has never called me names, he takes responsibility for his actions and has accepted blame for every single event that has happened (the lying, the tiktok, ex's harassment) and has not done those since we discussed each issue. Another is that he has been improving himself and his tendencies that hurt me emotionally as well (fixing problems on his own and only informing me they exist well after the fact, not sharing emotions, etc.). I have trouble vouching for this because we had just become friends later in the previous year, but from what I can logically deduce it is true.
THE PROBLEM, finally. I am losing feelings for him because I feel underappreciated, undervalued, and I genuinely feel like I was his second option. Due to the amalgamation of the things we have faced together, I am misinterpreting the pain from those into distrust for him.
To his credit, and if you remove the harassment problem, he has been a good boyfriend to me. We used to regularly go out on dates (used to because both of us are swamped with work, so now he just invites me to future plans after we finish said work), he cooks me food and pays for my meals whenever I allow it (gifts and gestures like this make me feel like I'm a callgirl so we avoid it), bringing me to events I would enjoy (movie showings, concerts, recreational parks) for free (he pays), is physically affectionate, and accompanies me in my commute everyday to and from work regardless if we have fought each other that day, would physically go to me just to talk, spends hours past his curfew if our serious conversations have not finished, etc.
I genuinely still want to work on my trust for him, I want to gain it back and move past our problems. I want to be able to support him because I do know I would also be fucked up if I came from said experience. I don't want to leave him alone because I empathize with what he has gone through and the effects they have on him, but I don't know how to help him. More importantly, I don't know how to process my own feelings about the matter.
This is an incredibly long post and I realize the easier way would be to leave. But I want to give our relationship a fighting chance before we break up. It's not the smart choice, it's not the beneficial choice either. But it's a choice I'm still considering.
TLDR: Because of harassment and other problems, I feel unloved and underappreciated by my boyfriend and am falling out of love. How do I stop losing feelings for him because of circumstances?

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So, as the title says this is a post on the review and guide to VARC1000 course by Gejo Sir (the VARC God for me I'll say) 🤌🏻 First, I would like to add 2 important notes :)
Note 1 : I went through this year's VARC1000 course and it's very different from last year's course but I'll try to give you a review of it 🫠
Note 2 : You'll find many people suggesting and saying that "pirated content le le" and stuff. But I won't really suggest that. VARC1000 course is more than what the pirated content will offer. It's not just about VARC okay? It will help you with DILR and QA too (Last year Gejo sir had made videos on how he himself solved DILR and gives really amazing tips and tricks). There will be content/materials for GDPI prepration, profile analyser (which I didn't really find helpful tbh), calls predictor (which again turned out to be not so true in my case but for others it was helpful), daily vocab, GK section, WAT topics, your acads specific questions generally asked during PIs etc etc. All this you won't get in the pirated stuff. You'll just get the videos of his lecs that's it. Course hi lena bhai if possible 🙂
👉🏻 Coming to the course's details : This time they have divided the course into 4 sections Launch Phase, Enhance Phase, Advanced Phase and Peak Phase. And each phase (from Enhance Phase) will be launched in specific months from June onwards. As of now the Launch Phase is active 👀
Coming to the description of the phases : As per my understanding it's perfectly summed up to take you from the very basic (launch phase) to the advanced level (peak phase) 🔥
Focus more on the Core Lessons which Gejo Sir will teach you. He'll just tell you the methods and tricks in these videos ig (that's what happened in the last course) and then maybe he'll teach you to apply them. He'll take a particular RC and solve it. Focus on how he deals with all this okay? Obv take the learnings and develop your own strategy/method (you can copy him but we all can't be like him) 😂
He'll throw some tests before the start of the video.. apply your brains there and see how you do. Then he'll also come up with the strategy lessons (very important) wherein he'll tell you about how to approach the VARC section in those 40 mins and what approach you should have. The core lessons, application lessons and strategy lessons were launched together last year in the course and were really helpful! Till now all the is for RC btw. For VA the material won't be much different but he'll teach you specially about how to deal with the VA too!
Then comes the Daily Article Dose! Do it! Roz karo! It's really good. He'll upload the solutions for it. For every article dose he'll do that and solve it for you. Also, throughout this course you'll find a diverse range of RCs! Humanities, Philosophy, Natural Sciences, Arts etc etc. Everything. And I hope that like last year, this year also he'll make seperate videos for every genre! It's really helpful in that sense! 🍻😌
Coming to the tests! He'll give you a lot of sectional tests (minimum 10 sectional tests) and previous year ke course ke bhi kuch tests alagse (this happened in the last year's course). So you need not worry about the sectionals. You'll get a satisfactory number of those. He'll also solve some sectionals for you. You'll be able to see how he solves the VARC section (trust me you'll be amazed seeing his way of solving). You'll also get Daily Drills where you'll have small tests or say 1-2 RCs and a few VA questions etc. this will also be there. Also, you'll get PY CAT papers as mocks and also as sectional tests separately! So that's also a done deal!! 🍻✨
Don't miss Gejo sir's live sessions! He'll have 1-2 every month ig. And those will be really helpful. It's an interactive session so you can ask your doubts there. He's a very funny guy so you won't be bored. He'll also give you some videos (hopefully) on how to approach DILR! He's a genius in DILR also (atleast for me) 💥
Then comes the Telegram Group of VARC1000 where Gejo sir will also be there! It's a very interactive group and very much helpful. A really nice place to be in I'll say as you'll find serious aspirants mostly.
I hope that I was able to include most of the important things of this course and if needed I'll update this post in the future! :')
Overall I'll say that this course is worth it? It'll definitely improve your VARC skills and understanding if you follow it religiously. As I have said... This course is not just about VARC but there are many many things in it and it'll turn out to be helpful overall! 🩵 Do share this review with your friends and other aspirants! 😼
All the best with your prep! If you have anything to add about the course or your opinions then feel free to drop it in the comments! ;')
Ps. Don't message me for my VARC1000 discount code! It's already used.

Long story short, we have been together for over four years. I was 17 when the relationship first started so very young. When we were younger, we were very toxic and immature, but as the years went on we both changed and I thought we found our feet.
We have been through a lot together and I will vouch for myself and say that I have supported him through his worst life experiences. However, I didn’t feel fulfilled and like he cared or prioritised me and I was too anxious to stay in it so we broke up in august 2023.
Fast forward to February 2024. I had spent six months being extremely sad over him and hurting over our breakup, thinking we could still make it work. He reached out to talk about it, and I hesitated, but after we talked I felt like he had matured.
Three months went by, and I still felt neglected and sad and constantly alone in it. I communicated myself and cried so much during this time. At this point, I accepted that he may not be for me. I felt so unloved and like my needs and happiness didn’t matter to him. We spent some time together and spoke about it, and had an open conversation. He was soooo communicative, listened, spent time with me, called me beautiful, talked about marrying me and having children with me. I was happy.
AND THEN…… I checked his phone one night. Found all these girls he had been seeing behind my back, screenshots of video calls, everything I never thought I would find. Left and cried and couldn’t eat for a few days. I met him to talk about it because I felt like I needed to know the truth, but he kept sugarcoating things and wasn’t truthful at all. He begged for me back but I couldn’t stand him. I was hurt and angry, but I would never let myself accept unfaithfulness.
I went home, blocked him on absolutely everything and haven’t cried once since. He cheated and then had the audacity to lie to my face about it. I feel so distantly disappointed in him. But I know it’s a him problem and I won’t let myself question my value over it. But my question is, why am I so unaffected? Why am I almost relieved? I feel like I dodged a bullet, someone I would’ve been miserable with who would’ve never quite fixed up. I see that he is not the man I loved at all, and I feel sorry for him for being such a low, empty human being. His punishment is the person he is.
I am sad for the memories and love we had, and the future we will never have. I am sad that things didn’t work out and that something I valued was something he didn’t. But I feel almost free, like I am looking forward to the future and finally being alone without him. I’m a little bit lost and scared because I thought he was my future but so grateful that I never have to deal with him again. At one point I loved him so much and he was everything to me.
I’m confused. I didn’t expect to feel this way.

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ANALYSIS section will be posted separately on my sub Tradingedge
DATA LEDE:

• RBA minutes - Australia
• Said they will try not to excessively fine tune policy
• Future changes to cash rate are difficult to rule in or out
• CPI short term variation can be easily and reasonably overlooked
• Recent data does point to slightly increased inflation risks
• NEUTRAL/HAWKISH overall
• Australia consumer confidence numbers drop 0.3% MOM
• German PPI came 0.2% MOM vs 0.2% expected, in line with last months reading.
• YOY came in at -3.3% slightly below expected value of -3.2%. Came in light which is good for German inflation picture.
• Yellen Speech - no real meaningful comments
• EU balance of trade numbers hit a new yearly high. Points to improving world demand environment.
• Fed speakers include:
• Barkin, Waller, Williams, Bostic, Barr
• BoE’s Bailey to speak too

MARKETS:

• SPX: Maintained above 5300, now trading at 5311. Yesterday, touched 5325, before moving lower again. DJI: Trading at 39,813, just below 40k. Opened yesterday above 40k but moved lower on JPM weakness.
• Nasdaq: trading flat at 18,665. Support will now be at around 18,350.
• Ger40: Slightly lower today, at 18,600. Some slight profit taking near the highs.
• HKG50: Moving lower again for 2nd day in a row. Now at 19,240. Yesterday, was at 19,750 at one point. So down 2.7% across yesterday and today.
• Oil - hit 80 yesterday on WTI but was rejected off there. Lower today to 78, down by 1.5%. Back to range bound.
• Gold: Trading at 2418, Support at 2400.
• VIX: After getting crushed to 12 yesterday, bounced up off of there, now higher.

FX:

• DXY moving flat today and yesterday, around 104.5
• Had fallen to 100d moving average after CPI then moved higher, bouncing from there.
• EURUSD positioning still bullish, flat, slightly higher at 1.087
• GBPUSD moving higher again, trading at 1.272
• AUDUSD at 0.667,
• Has broken out of the long term downtrend.

EARNINGS:

• PANW Current Quarter:
• Revenues of 1.985B beat by 0.8%. Revenues rose 15% YOY
• Products revenue beat by 1.2%
• Subscriptions and support revenue beat by 0.3%
• EPS of 1.32 Beat expectations of 1.25 - beat by 5.6%
• Operating income was 508M, beat by 3.5%
• Operating margin was 25.6% , beat by 69 bps
• Billings came more or less in line
• Deferred revenue basically in line, slight miss.
• NEXT QUARTER GUIDANCE:
• EPS of 1.41 v slightly missed expectations of 1.42
• Revenue came in line with consensus at 2.16B
• Billings guidance beat consensus v slightly.
• FULL YEAR GUIDANCE:
• EPS of 5.56-5.58 beat estimates of 5.51
• Revenue of 8B beat estimates of 7.98B
• Billings of 10.15.5B was up 10-11% YoY
• CEO Nikesh Arora: Enthusiastic response to pjatformization and AI infused security outcomes.
• In conference call said that billings isn’t the only important measure, hence investors should overlook the slight softness in billings.
• Said cybersecurity demand will continue to grow for next several quarters, and PANW will benefit.
• Cyberattacks are scaling and aren’t going away. AI will increase these threats. So the tailwinds for PANW are very strong.

XPEV

• EPS of -0.75 was much better than the -2.06 expected
• Revenue of 6.55B beat estimates of 6.19B. Up 63% YOY, but down 50% QOQ
• Vehicle margin was 5.5%, which was up from 4.1% last quarter, and up form -2.5% last year SO VEHICLE MARGIN IMPROVED
• Vehicle sales came in at 5.54B yuan, up 50% YOY but down 50% QOQ
• Gross margin was 12.9%, up from 1.7% last year and 6.2% last quarter
• SO MARGINS IMPROVED, SALES WERE WORSE THAN LAST QUARTER
• In April saw 9,393 vehicles delivered
• Partnership with Volkswagen group on E/E architecture
• Release of AI powered functions
• GROSS MARGIN IMPROVEMENT DESPITE COMPETITION AND OTHERS CUTTING PRICES WAS A KEY BENEFIT.

NEXT QUARTER GUDIANCE:

• Revenue 7.5-8.3B miss by 15%
• Delivered of 29-32K. Up 30% YOY

MACYS:

• Current quarter:
• ADJ EPS $0.27 vs. $0.56 y/y, EST $0.14. BEAT
• EPS $0.22 vs. $0.56 y/y
• Net sales $4.8B, -3.7% y/y, EST $4.81B. IN LINE
• Gross margin 39.2% vs. 40% y/y, EST 39.6%. MISS
• SG&A expense $1.9B, -2.6% y/y, EST $1.98B. MISS
• GUIDANCE:
• Raised guidance from 2.45-2.85 to 2.55-2.9.
• Raised by 4%
• Beat estimates by 4%, although is a wide guidance
• Sees Net sales at 22.3-22.9B, raising bottom end up slightly from 22.2B.
• More or less in line with guidance.
• Merchandise margins down 100bps due to additional discounting
• Merchandise inventories are well positioned for upcoming summer season
• Credit card revenues down slightly due to higher delinquency rates
• Turnaround plan showing signs of progress as they beat and raise guidance.

LOWES:

• Current quarter:
• EPS of 3.67 beat estimates of 2.95
• Revenue of 21.4B was down YOY by 4%, but beat estimates by 1.3%
• Comparables sales were down 4%
• Reaffirms FY guidance:
• EPS of 12-12.3 vs estimate of 12.19. So miss slightly by 0.4%
• Revenue of 84-85B, basically in line.
• EXPECTS COMPARABLE SALES TO BE DOWN 2-3% vs estimates of 2.43% down.

MAG 7:

• MSFT yesterday, said that Copilot Plus PCs will be based on Qualcomm’s snapdragon X Elite chips, and will offer 15 hours of web browsing and 20 hours of video battery life. MSFT says it’ll outperform MacBook Air.
• On Copilot Plus, Neural processor enables new AI features such as recall for a searchable PC memory.
• MSFT estimates 50 million AI PCs will be sold over the next year. Said its rearchitectured Windows 11 is 58% faster than Apple’s MacBook Air.
• MSFT - restructures Windows 11 for better ARM hardware support and AI integration. Introduces prism emulator, launched to improve compatibility with older x86 and x64 apps. MSFT says Prism emulator is 20% faster than previous versions.
• AAPL - Files law suit to overturn $1.8B EU antitrust fine over App Store rules. AAPL is challenging a 1.8B fine.
• MSFT - OpenAI will be sued by Scarlett Johansson for basically copying her voice against her explicit instruction not to.
• TSLA - Tesla shareholder group still not happy with Elon Musk’s $56B pay package. Urged other investors to reject a $56B pay package.

OTHER COMPANIES:

• XPEV higher on their strong earnings
• MACYS higher on improving picture
• LOW - higher on earnings
• Crypto stocks higher on strong Bitcoin performance
• LRCX 10-1 stock split
• PANW lower on eanrings, seems harsh to me. Other crypto names down in sentiment.
• Chinese stocks lower as Hong Kong MARKET down 1.5% today.
• NOVA - Piper Sandler downgrades Sunnova Energy to neutral from overweight, lowered price target to 4.50 from 9. Analyst had upgraded sun nova in December on expectation of lower rates, but rates have stayed high.
• Li - postpones the launch of its all electric SUVs to the first half of 2025, citing inadequate charging stations and other constraints. CEO emphasised the need for sufficient branded charging stations and more display spots.
• DOWN 4% AGAIN TODAY ON THIS.
• BABA - Alibaba cloud slashes prices for its latest LLM model, Tongyi Qianwen, by up to 97%
• BIDU - in response to Alibaba’s move, BIDU made its ENITRE Speed and ENIRE lite models entirely free to use.
• So we are seeing price wars in AI market.
• JPM says that they will not be increasing buybacks of JPM stock at these prices. Will just continue with previously outlined buyback pace.
• Jamie Dimon also hinted at retirement in the speech, hence JPM lower yesterday
• DELL - Citi raises dell price target to 170 from 125. Optimistic they can gain market share more in AI.
• JD - announces a proposed offering of $1.5B in convertible senior notes, due 2029. Will use proceeds to repurchase shares and expand overseas business.
• PTON - plans global refinancing to address debt. Secured nearly $1.4B in new credit facilities.
• ASML and TSM said they have measures in place to remotely disable advanced EUV chip making machines if China was to invade Taiwan.
• QCOM - shares were higher yesterday after Several big companies including Dell and MSFT announced AI laptops using Qualcomm’s snapdragon X elite chip. MSFT says these devices will outperform apple MacBook Air M3.
• ARM - MSFT will announce Arm powered laptops
• WEN - launches a $3 breakfast deal, including small seasoned potatoes, choice of bacon, eggs and cheese or sausage, eggs and cheese muffin. Rivals Mcdonalds $5value meal
• DASH - expanded its partnership with ULTA beauty to offer on demand delivery in under an hour from 1350 stores across all 50 states.
• VFS - US regulators are probing a vin fast VF 8 Crash, that killed 4 in California.
• LLY - secures china approval for diabetes drug, Tirzepatide. Received approval in China for its diabetes drug.
• BA - one killed on Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 due to severe turbulence.
• DIS - Redburn upgrades to neutral from Sell. Price target 100.
• Samsung - appoints new chief for its chip business, amid competition.

OThER NEWS:

• BTC higher to 72K.
• ETH popped 20% yesterday on renewed optimism for ETF, that SEC might green light spot ether ETFs ahead of first deadline later this week.
• Yardeni research sees Dow Jones DJI at 60k and SPX at 8k by 2030
• Mester’s comments yesterday:
• 3 rate cuts this year is no longer appropriate.
• April CPI was good, but too soon to say what path inflation is on. She said she doesnt think about rate cuts in terms of when. We can raise rates but its not base case. That’s bearish, but also unrealistic. I think there’s less risk now that we are too restrictive, and inflation risks are to upside.
• BEARISH COMMENTS FROM MESTER OVERALL
• Jefferson’s Comments yesterday:
• April inflation was encouraging. Labour market coming into better balance. Inflation decline isn’t as fast as we had liked. Policy is restrictive. - NEUTRAL comments, I’d say.
• Following these comments, Bank of America said that whilst the bar for rate hikes is still v high, rate cuts are still far off. Said Services inflation still running way above target.
• Bank of America believes markets got excited at the print, said markets pricing 50bps of cuts are likely to get disappointed.
• Did push back on stagflation narrative.
• SPACEX Q1 launch report shows that SpaceX is now launching 87% of all payload to orbit, a new record high.
• New Yorkers on average earned $89K last year, meaning that without spending more than 30% of annual income on rent, they can afford $2,216 on housing. That’s only enough to afford 4.4% of rentals.
• Marko Kolanovic held his bearish outlook on stocks, urging clients not to buy. So not all bears are capitulating.
• Fidelity ethereal fund says that the trust’s Ether will not be staked.
• IMF official expects next stage for BOE is to ease rates, says UK monetary policy is at inflection point. Actions by UK authorities are paying off.
• Said BoE should cut rates by 50-75bps in 2024.
• Upgraded UK growth forecast to 0.7% this year from 0.5% previously
• Dubai Airport expects record passenger traffic this year, set to top 100M by 2027.

For more of my content, please join Tradingedge

DATA LEDE:

• RBA minutes - Australia
• Said they will try not to excessively fine tune policy
• Future changes to cash rate are difficult to rule in or out
• CPI short term variation can be easily and reasonably overlooked
• Recent data does point to slightly increased inflation risks
• NEUTRAL/HAWKISH overall
• Australia consumer confidence numbers drop 0.3% MOM
• German PPI came 0.2% MOM vs 0.2% expected, in line with last months reading.
• YOY came in at -3.3% slightly below expected value of -3.2%. Came in light which is good for German inflation picture.
• Yellen Speech - no real meaningful comments
• EU balance of trade numbers hit a new yearly high. Points to improving world demand environment.
• Fed speakers include:
• Barkin, Waller, Williams, Bostic, Barr
• BoE’s Bailey to speak too

MARKETS:

• SPX: Maintained above 5300, now trading at 5311. Yesterday, touched 5325, before moving lower again. DJI: Trading at 39,813, just below 40k. Opened yesterday above 40k but moved lower on JPM weakness.
• Nasdaq: trading flat at 18,665. Support will now be at around 18,350.
• Ger40: Slightly lower today, at 18,600. Some slight profit taking near the highs.
• HKG50: Moving lower again for 2nd day in a row. Now at 19,240. Yesterday, was at 19,750 at one point. So down 2.7% across yesterday and today.
• Oil - hit 80 yesterday on WTI but was rejected off there. Lower today to 78, down by 1.5%. Back to range bound.
• Gold: Trading at 2418, Support at 2400.
• VIX: After getting crushed to 12 yesterday, bounced up off of there, now higher.

FX:

• DXY moving flat today and yesterday, around 104.5
• Had fallen to 100d moving average after CPI then moved higher, bouncing from there.
• EURUSD positioning still bullish, flat, slightly higher at 1.087
• GBPUSD moving higher again, trading at 1.272
• AUDUSD at 0.667,
• Has broken out of the long term downtrend.

EARNINGS:

• PANW Current Quarter:
• Revenues of 1.985B beat by 0.8%. Revenues rose 15% YOY
• Products revenue beat by 1.2%
• Subscriptions and support revenue beat by 0.3%
• EPS of 1.32 Beat expectations of 1.25 - beat by 5.6%
• Operating income was 508M, beat by 3.5%
• Operating margin was 25.6% , beat by 69 bps
• Billings came more or less in line
• Deferred revenue basically in line, slight miss.
• NEXT QUARTER GUIDANCE:
• EPS of 1.41 v slightly missed expectations of 1.42
• Revenue came in line with consensus at 2.16B
• Billings guidance beat consensus v slightly.
• FULL YEAR GUIDANCE:
• EPS of 5.56-5.58 beat estimates of 5.51
• Revenue of 8B beat estimates of 7.98B
• Billings of 10.15.5B was up 10-11% YoY
• CEO Nikesh Arora: Enthusiastic response to pjatformization and AI infused security outcomes.
• In conference call said that billings isn’t the only important measure, hence investors should overlook the slight softness in billings.
• Said cybersecurity demand will continue to grow for next several quarters, and PANW will benefit.
• Cyberattacks are scaling and aren’t going away. AI will increase these threats. So the tailwinds for PANW are very strong.

XPEV

• EPS of -0.75 was much better than the -2.06 expected
• Revenue of 6.55B beat estimates of 6.19B. Up 63% YOY, but down 50% QOQ
• Vehicle margin was 5.5%, which was up from 4.1% last quarter, and up form -2.5% last year SO VEHICLE MARGIN IMPROVED
• Vehicle sales came in at 5.54B yuan, up 50% YOY but down 50% QOQ
• Gross margin was 12.9%, up from 1.7% last year and 6.2% last quarter
• SO MARGINS IMPROVED, SALES WERE WORSE THAN LAST QUARTER
• In April saw 9,393 vehicles delivered
• Partnership with Volkswagen group on E/E architecture
• Release of AI powered functions
• GROSS MARGIN IMPROVEMENT DESPITE COMPETITION AND OTHERS CUTTING PRICES WAS A KEY BENEFIT.

NEXT QUARTER GUDIANCE:

• Revenue 7.5-8.3B miss by 15%
• Delivered of 29-32K. Up 30% YOY

MACYS:

• Current quarter:
• ADJ EPS $0.27 vs. $0.56 y/y, EST $0.14. BEAT
• EPS $0.22 vs. $0.56 y/y
• Net sales $4.8B, -3.7% y/y, EST $4.81B. IN LINE
• Gross margin 39.2% vs. 40% y/y, EST 39.6%. MISS
• SG&A expense $1.9B, -2.6% y/y, EST $1.98B. MISS
• GUIDANCE:
• Raised guidance from 2.45-2.85 to 2.55-2.9.
• Raised by 4%
• Beat estimates by 4%, although is a wide guidance
• Sees Net sales at 22.3-22.9B, raising bottom end up slightly from 22.2B.
• More or less in line with guidance.
• Merchandise margins down 100bps due to additional discounting
• Merchandise inventories are well positioned for upcoming summer season
• Credit card revenues down slightly due to higher delinquency rates
• Turnaround plan showing signs of progress as they beat and raise guidance.

LOWES:

• Current quarter:
• EPS of 3.67 beat estimates of 2.95
• Revenue of 21.4B was down YOY by 4%, but beat estimates by 1.3%
• Comparables sales were down 4%
• Reaffirms FY guidance:
• EPS of 12-12.3 vs estimate of 12.19. So miss slightly by 0.4%
• Revenue of 84-85B, basically in line.
• EXPECTS COMPARABLE SALES TO BE DOWN 2-3% vs estimates of 2.43% down.

MAG 7:

• MSFT yesterday, said that Copilot Plus PCs will be based on Qualcomm’s snapdragon X Elite chips, and will offer 15 hours of web browsing and 20 hours of video battery life. MSFT says it’ll outperform MacBook Air.
• On Copilot Plus, Neural processor enables new AI features such as recall for a searchable PC memory.
• MSFT estimates 50 million AI PCs will be sold over the next year. Said its rearchitectured Windows 11 is 58% faster than Apple’s MacBook Air.
• MSFT - restructures Windows 11 for better ARM hardware support and AI integration. Introduces prism emulator, launched to improve compatibility with older x86 and x64 apps. MSFT says Prism emulator is 20% faster than previous versions.
• AAPL - Files law suit to overturn $1.8B EU antitrust fine over App Store rules. AAPL is challenging a 1.8B fine.
• MSFT - OpenAI will be sued by Scarlett Johansson for basically copying her voice against her explicit instruction not to.
• TSLA - Tesla shareholder group still not happy with Elon Musk’s $56B pay package. Urged other investors to reject a $56B pay package.

OTHER COMPANIES:

• XPEV higher on their strong earnings
• MACYS higher on improving picture
• LOW - higher on earnings
• Crypto stocks higher on strong Bitcoin performance
• LRCX 10-1 stock split
• PANW lower on eanrings, seems harsh to me. Other crypto names down in sentiment.
• Chinese stocks lower as Hong Kong MARKET down 1.5% today.
• NOVA - Piper Sandler downgrades Sunnova Energy to neutral from overweight, lowered price target to 4.50 from 9. Analyst had upgraded sun nova in December on expectation of lower rates, but rates have stayed high.
• Li - postpones the launch of its all electric SUVs to the first half of 2025, citing inadequate charging stations and other constraints. CEO emphasised the need for sufficient branded charging stations and more display spots.
• DOWN 4% AGAIN TODAY ON THIS.
• BABA - Alibaba cloud slashes prices for its latest LLM model, Tongyi Qianwen, by up to 97%
• BIDU - in response to Alibaba’s move, BIDU made its ENITRE Speed and ENIRE lite models entirely free to use.
• So we are seeing price wars in AI market.
• JPM says that they will not be increasing buybacks of JPM stock at these prices. Will just continue with previously outlined buyback pace.
• Jamie Dimon also hinted at retirement in the speech, hence JPM lower yesterday
• DELL - Citi raises dell price target to 170 from 125. Optimistic they can gain market share more in AI.
• JD - announces a proposed offering of $1.5B in convertible senior notes, due 2029. Will use proceeds to repurchase shares and expand overseas business.
• PTON - plans global refinancing to address debt. Secured nearly $1.4B in new credit facilities.
• ASML and TSM said they have measures in place to remotely disable advanced EUV chip making machines if China was to invade Taiwan.
• QCOM - shares were higher yesterday after Several big companies including Dell and MSFT announced AI laptops using Qualcomm’s snapdragon X elite chip. MSFT says these devices will outperform apple MacBook Air M3.
• ARM - MSFT will announce Arm powered laptops
• WEN - launches a $3 breakfast deal, including small seasoned potatoes, choice of bacon, eggs and cheese or sausage, eggs and cheese muffin. Rivals Mcdonalds $5value meal
• DASH - expanded its partnership with ULTA beauty to offer on demand delivery in under an hour from 1350 stores across all 50 states.
• VFS - US regulators are probing a vin fast VF 8 Crash, that killed 4 in California.
• LLY - secures china approval for diabetes drug, Tirzepatide. Received approval in China for its diabetes drug.
• BA - one killed on Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 due to severe turbulence.
• DIS - Redburn upgrades to neutral from Sell. Price target 100.
• Samsung - appoints new chief for its chip business, amid competition.

OThER NEWS:

• BTC higher to 72K.
• ETH popped 20% yesterday on renewed optimism for ETF, that SEC might green light spot ether ETFs ahead of first deadline later this week.
• Yardeni research sees Dow Jones DJI at 60k and SPX at 8k by 2030
• Mester’s comments yesterday:
• 3 rate cuts this year is no longer appropriate.
• April CPI was good, but too soon to say what path inflation is on. She said she doesnt think about rate cuts in terms of when. We can raise rates but its not base case. That’s bearish, but also unrealistic. I think there’s less risk now that we are too restrictive, and inflation risks are to upside.
• BEARISH COMMENTS FROM MESTER OVERALL
• Jefferson’s Comments yesterday:
• April inflation was encouraging. Labour market coming into better balance. Inflation decline isn’t as fast as we had liked. Policy is restrictive. - NEUTRAL comments, I’d say.
• Following these comments, Bank of America said that whilst the bar for rate hikes is still v high, rate cuts are still far off. Said Services inflation still running way above target.
• Bank of America believes markets got excited at the print, said markets pricing 50bps of cuts are likely to get disappointed.
• Did push back on stagflation narrative.
• SPACEX Q1 launch report shows that SpaceX is now launching 87% of all payload to orbit, a new record high.
• New Yorkers on average earned $89K last year, meaning that without spending more than 30% of annual income on rent, they can afford $2,216 on housing. That’s only enough to afford 4.4% of rentals.
• Marko Kolanovic held his bearish outlook on stocks, urging clients not to buy. So not all bears are capitulating.
• Fidelity ethereal fund says that the trust’s Ether will not be staked.
• IMF official expects next stage for BOE is to ease rates, says UK monetary policy is at inflection point. Actions by UK authorities are paying off.
• Said BoE should cut rates by 50-75bps in 2024.
• Upgraded UK growth forecast to 0.7% this year from 0.5% previously
• Dubai Airport expects record passenger traffic this year, set to top 100M by 2027.

Title. There is no good motivation to have people repeatedly posting graphic videos/pictures of death and injury, regardless of the fact that it’s marked as NSFW.
It’s not in the spirit of a more inclusive South African subreddit, and has nothing to do with free speech.

Ive started speaking in a deeper voice than I’ve got and put extra pronunciation on the lower vowals. You know, like the drill rappers do. Everyone does it these days. People feel uncomfortable around me so they’re extra nice which means they must respect me. They never invite me out tho…. I don’t like to fit in with society, so I go to that one mainstream shop called JD to buy all my clothes. I laugh at things like videos of people getting slapped about and people getting robbed, it’s actually funny. I know deep in my heart that stuff like that is funny because it’s someone else getting hurt. I don’t like to show emotion because that would be cringe, never smile back, in fact, I try to make people feel uncomfortable when they walk past and use minimal manners. It gives me a power trip. I need power trips because I don’t feel valuable inside. Hence the expensive clothes and why I follow other peoples life’s online.
I don’t just appreciate drill music, I keep up to date with their personal life ❤️.
Road is for life, you get me g?
Any questions, feel free to ask :

ANALYSIS section will be posted separately on my sub Tradingedge
DATA LEDE:

• RBA minutes - Australia
• Said they will try not to excessively fine tune policy
• Future changes to cash rate are difficult to rule in or out
• CPI short term variation can be easily and reasonably overlooked
• Recent data does point to slightly increased inflation risks
• NEUTRAL/HAWKISH overall
• Australia consumer confidence numbers drop 0.3% MOM
• German PPI came 0.2% MOM vs 0.2% expected, in line with last months reading.
• YOY came in at -3.3% slightly below expected value of -3.2%. Came in light which is good for German inflation picture.
• Yellen Speech - no real meaningful comments
• EU balance of trade numbers hit a new yearly high. Points to improving world demand environment.
• Fed speakers include:
• Barkin, Waller, Williams, Bostic, Barr
• BoE’s Bailey to speak too

MARKETS:

• SPX: Maintained above 5300, now trading at 5311. Yesterday, touched 5325, before moving lower again. DJI: Trading at 39,813, just below 40k. Opened yesterday above 40k but moved lower on JPM weakness.
• Nasdaq: trading flat at 18,665. Support will now be at around 18,350.
• Ger40: Slightly lower today, at 18,600. Some slight profit taking near the highs.
• HKG50: Moving lower again for 2nd day in a row. Now at 19,240. Yesterday, was at 19,750 at one point. So down 2.7% across yesterday and today.
• Oil - hit 80 yesterday on WTI but was rejected off there. Lower today to 78, down by 1.5%. Back to range bound.
• Gold: Trading at 2418, Support at 2400.
• VIX: After getting crushed to 12 yesterday, bounced up off of there, now higher.

FX:

• DXY moving flat today and yesterday, around 104.5
• Had fallen to 100d moving average after CPI then moved higher, bouncing from there.
• EURUSD positioning still bullish, flat, slightly higher at 1.087
• GBPUSD moving higher again, trading at 1.272
• AUDUSD at 0.667,
• Has broken out of the long term downtrend.

EARNINGS:

• PANW Current Quarter:
• Revenues of 1.985B beat by 0.8%. Revenues rose 15% YOY
• Products revenue beat by 1.2%
• Subscriptions and support revenue beat by 0.3%
• EPS of 1.32 Beat expectations of 1.25 - beat by 5.6%
• Operating income was 508M, beat by 3.5%
• Operating margin was 25.6% , beat by 69 bps
• Billings came more or less in line
• Deferred revenue basically in line, slight miss.
• NEXT QUARTER GUIDANCE:
• EPS of 1.41 v slightly missed expectations of 1.42
• Revenue came in line with consensus at 2.16B
• Billings guidance beat consensus v slightly.
• FULL YEAR GUIDANCE:
• EPS of 5.56-5.58 beat estimates of 5.51
• Revenue of 8B beat estimates of 7.98B
• Billings of 10.15.5B was up 10-11% YoY
• CEO Nikesh Arora: Enthusiastic response to pjatformization and AI infused security outcomes.
• In conference call said that billings isn’t the only important measure, hence investors should overlook the slight softness in billings.
• Said cybersecurity demand will continue to grow for next several quarters, and PANW will benefit.
• Cyberattacks are scaling and aren’t going away. AI will increase these threats. So the tailwinds for PANW are very strong.

XPEV

• EPS of -0.75 was much better than the -2.06 expected
• Revenue of 6.55B beat estimates of 6.19B. Up 63% YOY, but down 50% QOQ
• Vehicle margin was 5.5%, which was up from 4.1% last quarter, and up form -2.5% last year SO VEHICLE MARGIN IMPROVED
• Vehicle sales came in at 5.54B yuan, up 50% YOY but down 50% QOQ
• Gross margin was 12.9%, up from 1.7% last year and 6.2% last quarter
• SO MARGINS IMPROVED, SALES WERE WORSE THAN LAST QUARTER
• In April saw 9,393 vehicles delivered
• Partnership with Volkswagen group on E/E architecture
• Release of AI powered functions
• GROSS MARGIN IMPROVEMENT DESPITE COMPETITION AND OTHERS CUTTING PRICES WAS A KEY BENEFIT.

NEXT QUARTER GUDIANCE:

• Revenue 7.5-8.3B miss by 15%
• Delivered of 29-32K. Up 30% YOY

MACYS:

• Current quarter:
• ADJ EPS $0.27 vs. $0.56 y/y, EST $0.14. BEAT
• EPS $0.22 vs. $0.56 y/y
• Net sales $4.8B, -3.7% y/y, EST $4.81B. IN LINE
• Gross margin 39.2% vs. 40% y/y, EST 39.6%. MISS
• SG&A expense $1.9B, -2.6% y/y, EST $1.98B. MISS
• GUIDANCE:
• Raised guidance from 2.45-2.85 to 2.55-2.9.
• Raised by 4%
• Beat estimates by 4%, although is a wide guidance
• Sees Net sales at 22.3-22.9B, raising bottom end up slightly from 22.2B.
• More or less in line with guidance.
• Merchandise margins down 100bps due to additional discounting
• Merchandise inventories are well positioned for upcoming summer season
• Credit card revenues down slightly due to higher delinquency rates
• Turnaround plan showing signs of progress as they beat and raise guidance.

LOWES:

• Current quarter:
• EPS of 3.67 beat estimates of 2.95
• Revenue of 21.4B was down YOY by 4%, but beat estimates by 1.3%
• Comparables sales were down 4%
• Reaffirms FY guidance:
• EPS of 12-12.3 vs estimate of 12.19. So miss slightly by 0.4%
• Revenue of 84-85B, basically in line.
• EXPECTS COMPARABLE SALES TO BE DOWN 2-3% vs estimates of 2.43% down.

MAG 7:

• MSFT yesterday, said that Copilot Plus PCs will be based on Qualcomm’s snapdragon X Elite chips, and will offer 15 hours of web browsing and 20 hours of video battery life. MSFT says it’ll outperform MacBook Air.
• On Copilot Plus, Neural processor enables new AI features such as recall for a searchable PC memory.
• MSFT estimates 50 million AI PCs will be sold over the next year. Said its rearchitectured Windows 11 is 58% faster than Apple’s MacBook Air.
• MSFT - restructures Windows 11 for better ARM hardware support and AI integration. Introduces prism emulator, launched to improve compatibility with older x86 and x64 apps. MSFT says Prism emulator is 20% faster than previous versions.
• AAPL - Files law suit to overturn $1.8B EU antitrust fine over App Store rules. AAPL is challenging a 1.8B fine.
• MSFT - OpenAI will be sued by Scarlett Johansson for basically copying her voice against her explicit instruction not to.
• TSLA - Tesla shareholder group still not happy with Elon Musk’s $56B pay package. Urged other investors to reject a $56B pay package.

OTHER COMPANIES:

• XPEV higher on their strong earnings
• MACYS higher on improving picture
• LOW - higher on earnings
• Crypto stocks higher on strong Bitcoin performance
• LRCX 10-1 stock split
• PANW lower on eanrings, seems harsh to me. Other crypto names down in sentiment.
• Chinese stocks lower as Hong Kong MARKET down 1.5% today.
• NOVA - Piper Sandler downgrades Sunnova Energy to neutral from overweight, lowered price target to 4.50 from 9. Analyst had upgraded sun nova in December on expectation of lower rates, but rates have stayed high.
• Li - postpones the launch of its all electric SUVs to the first half of 2025, citing inadequate charging stations and other constraints. CEO emphasised the need for sufficient branded charging stations and more display spots.
• DOWN 4% AGAIN TODAY ON THIS.
• BABA - Alibaba cloud slashes prices for its latest LLM model, Tongyi Qianwen, by up to 97%
• BIDU - in response to Alibaba’s move, BIDU made its ENITRE Speed and ENIRE lite models entirely free to use.
• So we are seeing price wars in AI market.
• JPM says that they will not be increasing buybacks of JPM stock at these prices. Will just continue with previously outlined buyback pace.
• Jamie Dimon also hinted at retirement in the speech, hence JPM lower yesterday
• DELL - Citi raises dell price target to 170 from 125. Optimistic they can gain market share more in AI.
• JD - announces a proposed offering of $1.5B in convertible senior notes, due 2029. Will use proceeds to repurchase shares and expand overseas business.
• PTON - plans global refinancing to address debt. Secured nearly $1.4B in new credit facilities.
• ASML and TSM said they have measures in place to remotely disable advanced EUV chip making machines if China was to invade Taiwan.
• QCOM - shares were higher yesterday after Several big companies including Dell and MSFT announced AI laptops using Qualcomm’s snapdragon X elite chip. MSFT says these devices will outperform apple MacBook Air M3.
• ARM - MSFT will announce Arm powered laptops
• WEN - launches a $3 breakfast deal, including small seasoned potatoes, choice of bacon, eggs and cheese or sausage, eggs and cheese muffin. Rivals Mcdonalds $5value meal
• DASH - expanded its partnership with ULTA beauty to offer on demand delivery in under an hour from 1350 stores across all 50 states.
• VFS - US regulators are probing a vin fast VF 8 Crash, that killed 4 in California.
• LLY - secures china approval for diabetes drug, Tirzepatide. Received approval in China for its diabetes drug.
• BA - one killed on Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 due to severe turbulence.
• DIS - Redburn upgrades to neutral from Sell. Price target 100.
• Samsung - appoints new chief for its chip business, amid competition.

OThER NEWS:

• BTC higher to 72K.
• ETH popped 20% yesterday on renewed optimism for ETF, that SEC might green light spot ether ETFs ahead of first deadline later this week.
• Yardeni research sees Dow Jones DJI at 60k and SPX at 8k by 2030
• Mester’s comments yesterday:
• 3 rate cuts this year is no longer appropriate.
• April CPI was good, but too soon to say what path inflation is on. She said she doesnt think about rate cuts in terms of when. We can raise rates but its not base case. That’s bearish, but also unrealistic. I think there’s less risk now that we are too restrictive, and inflation risks are to upside.
• BEARISH COMMENTS FROM MESTER OVERALL
• Jefferson’s Comments yesterday:
• April inflation was encouraging. Labour market coming into better balance. Inflation decline isn’t as fast as we had liked. Policy is restrictive. - NEUTRAL comments, I’d say.
• Following these comments, Bank of America said that whilst the bar for rate hikes is still v high, rate cuts are still far off. Said Services inflation still running way above target.
• Bank of America believes markets got excited at the print, said markets pricing 50bps of cuts are likely to get disappointed.
• Did push back on stagflation narrative.
• SPACEX Q1 launch report shows that SpaceX is now launching 87% of all payload to orbit, a new record high.
• New Yorkers on average earned $89K last year, meaning that without spending more than 30% of annual income on rent, they can afford $2,216 on housing. That’s only enough to afford 4.4% of rentals.
• Marko Kolanovic held his bearish outlook on stocks, urging clients not to buy. So not all bears are capitulating.
• Fidelity ethereal fund says that the trust’s Ether will not be staked.
• IMF official expects next stage for BOE is to ease rates, says UK monetary policy is at inflection point. Actions by UK authorities are paying off.
• Said BoE should cut rates by 50-75bps in 2024.
• Upgraded UK growth forecast to 0.7% this year from 0.5% previously
• Dubai Airport expects record passenger traffic this year, set to top 100M by 2027.

For more of my content, please join Tradingedge

ANALYSIS section will be posted separately on my sub Tradingedge
DATA LEDE:

• RBA minutes - Australia
• Said they will try not to excessively fine tune policy
• Future changes to cash rate are difficult to rule in or out
• CPI short term variation can be easily and reasonably overlooked
• Recent data does point to slightly increased inflation risks
• NEUTRAL/HAWKISH overall
• Australia consumer confidence numbers drop 0.3% MOM
• German PPI came 0.2% MOM vs 0.2% expected, in line with last months reading.
• YOY came in at -3.3% slightly below expected value of -3.2%. Came in light which is good for German inflation picture.
• Yellen Speech - no real meaningful comments
• EU balance of trade numbers hit a new yearly high. Points to improving world demand environment.
• Fed speakers include:
• Barkin, Waller, Williams, Bostic, Barr
• BoE’s Bailey to speak too

MARKETS:

• SPX: Maintained above 5300, now trading at 5311. Yesterday, touched 5325, before moving lower again. DJI: Trading at 39,813, just below 40k. Opened yesterday above 40k but moved lower on JPM weakness.
• Nasdaq: trading flat at 18,665. Support will now be at around 18,350.
• Ger40: Slightly lower today, at 18,600. Some slight profit taking near the highs.
• HKG50: Moving lower again for 2nd day in a row. Now at 19,240. Yesterday, was at 19,750 at one point. So down 2.7% across yesterday and today.
• Oil - hit 80 yesterday on WTI but was rejected off there. Lower today to 78, down by 1.5%. Back to range bound.
• Gold: Trading at 2418, Support at 2400.
• VIX: After getting crushed to 12 yesterday, bounced up off of there, now higher.

FX:

• DXY moving flat today and yesterday, around 104.5
• Had fallen to 100d moving average after CPI then moved higher, bouncing from there.
• EURUSD positioning still bullish, flat, slightly higher at 1.087
• GBPUSD moving higher again, trading at 1.272
• AUDUSD at 0.667,
• Has broken out of the long term downtrend.

EARNINGS:

• PANW Current Quarter:
• Revenues of 1.985B beat by 0.8%. Revenues rose 15% YOY
• Products revenue beat by 1.2%
• Subscriptions and support revenue beat by 0.3%
• EPS of 1.32 Beat expectations of 1.25 - beat by 5.6%
• Operating income was 508M, beat by 3.5%
• Operating margin was 25.6% , beat by 69 bps
• Billings came more or less in line
• Deferred revenue basically in line, slight miss.
• NEXT QUARTER GUIDANCE:
• EPS of 1.41 v slightly missed expectations of 1.42
• Revenue came in line with consensus at 2.16B
• Billings guidance beat consensus v slightly.
• FULL YEAR GUIDANCE:
• EPS of 5.56-5.58 beat estimates of 5.51
• Revenue of 8B beat estimates of 7.98B
• Billings of 10.15.5B was up 10-11% YoY
• CEO Nikesh Arora: Enthusiastic response to pjatformization and AI infused security outcomes.
• In conference call said that billings isn’t the only important measure, hence investors should overlook the slight softness in billings.
• Said cybersecurity demand will continue to grow for next several quarters, and PANW will benefit.
• Cyberattacks are scaling and aren’t going away. AI will increase these threats. So the tailwinds for PANW are very strong.

XPEV

• EPS of -0.75 was much better than the -2.06 expected
• Revenue of 6.55B beat estimates of 6.19B. Up 63% YOY, but down 50% QOQ
• Vehicle margin was 5.5%, which was up from 4.1% last quarter, and up form -2.5% last year SO VEHICLE MARGIN IMPROVED
• Vehicle sales came in at 5.54B yuan, up 50% YOY but down 50% QOQ
• Gross margin was 12.9%, up from 1.7% last year and 6.2% last quarter
• SO MARGINS IMPROVED, SALES WERE WORSE THAN LAST QUARTER
• In April saw 9,393 vehicles delivered
• Partnership with Volkswagen group on E/E architecture
• Release of AI powered functions
• GROSS MARGIN IMPROVEMENT DESPITE COMPETITION AND OTHERS CUTTING PRICES WAS A KEY BENEFIT.

NEXT QUARTER GUDIANCE:

• Revenue 7.5-8.3B miss by 15%
• Delivered of 29-32K. Up 30% YOY

MACYS:

• Current quarter:
• ADJ EPS $0.27 vs. $0.56 y/y, EST $0.14. BEAT
• EPS $0.22 vs. $0.56 y/y
• Net sales $4.8B, -3.7% y/y, EST $4.81B. IN LINE
• Gross margin 39.2% vs. 40% y/y, EST 39.6%. MISS
• SG&A expense $1.9B, -2.6% y/y, EST $1.98B. MISS
• GUIDANCE:
• Raised guidance from 2.45-2.85 to 2.55-2.9.
• Raised by 4%
• Beat estimates by 4%, although is a wide guidance
• Sees Net sales at 22.3-22.9B, raising bottom end up slightly from 22.2B.
• More or less in line with guidance.
• Merchandise margins down 100bps due to additional discounting
• Merchandise inventories are well positioned for upcoming summer season
• Credit card revenues down slightly due to higher delinquency rates
• Turnaround plan showing signs of progress as they beat and raise guidance.

LOWES:

• Current quarter:
• EPS of 3.67 beat estimates of 2.95
• Revenue of 21.4B was down YOY by 4%, but beat estimates by 1.3%
• Comparables sales were down 4%
• Reaffirms FY guidance:
• EPS of 12-12.3 vs estimate of 12.19. So miss slightly by 0.4%
• Revenue of 84-85B, basically in line.
• EXPECTS COMPARABLE SALES TO BE DOWN 2-3% vs estimates of 2.43% down.

MAG 7:

• MSFT yesterday, said that Copilot Plus PCs will be based on Qualcomm’s snapdragon X Elite chips, and will offer 15 hours of web browsing and 20 hours of video battery life. MSFT says it’ll outperform MacBook Air.
• On Copilot Plus, Neural processor enables new AI features such as recall for a searchable PC memory.
• MSFT estimates 50 million AI PCs will be sold over the next year. Said its rearchitectured Windows 11 is 58% faster than Apple’s MacBook Air.
• MSFT - restructures Windows 11 for better ARM hardware support and AI integration. Introduces prism emulator, launched to improve compatibility with older x86 and x64 apps. MSFT says Prism emulator is 20% faster than previous versions.
• AAPL - Files law suit to overturn $1.8B EU antitrust fine over App Store rules. AAPL is challenging a 1.8B fine.
• MSFT - OpenAI will be sued by Scarlett Johansson for basically copying her voice against her explicit instruction not to.
• TSLA - Tesla shareholder group still not happy with Elon Musk’s $56B pay package. Urged other investors to reject a $56B pay package.

OTHER COMPANIES:

• XPEV higher on their strong earnings
• MACYS higher on improving picture
• LOW - higher on earnings
• Crypto stocks higher on strong Bitcoin performance
• LRCX 10-1 stock split
• PANW lower on eanrings, seems harsh to me. Other crypto names down in sentiment.
• Chinese stocks lower as Hong Kong MARKET down 1.5% today.
• NOVA - Piper Sandler downgrades Sunnova Energy to neutral from overweight, lowered price target to 4.50 from 9. Analyst had upgraded sun nova in December on expectation of lower rates, but rates have stayed high.
• Li - postpones the launch of its all electric SUVs to the first half of 2025, citing inadequate charging stations and other constraints. CEO emphasised the need for sufficient branded charging stations and more display spots.
• DOWN 4% AGAIN TODAY ON THIS.
• BABA - Alibaba cloud slashes prices for its latest LLM model, Tongyi Qianwen, by up to 97%
• BIDU - in response to Alibaba’s move, BIDU made its ENITRE Speed and ENIRE lite models entirely free to use.
• So we are seeing price wars in AI market.
• JPM says that they will not be increasing buybacks of JPM stock at these prices. Will just continue with previously outlined buyback pace.
• Jamie Dimon also hinted at retirement in the speech, hence JPM lower yesterday
• DELL - Citi raises dell price target to 170 from 125. Optimistic they can gain market share more in AI.
• JD - announces a proposed offering of $1.5B in convertible senior notes, due 2029. Will use proceeds to repurchase shares and expand overseas business.
• PTON - plans global refinancing to address debt. Secured nearly $1.4B in new credit facilities.
• ASML and TSM said they have measures in place to remotely disable advanced EUV chip making machines if China was to invade Taiwan.
• QCOM - shares were higher yesterday after Several big companies including Dell and MSFT announced AI laptops using Qualcomm’s snapdragon X elite chip. MSFT says these devices will outperform apple MacBook Air M3.
• ARM - MSFT will announce Arm powered laptops
• WEN - launches a $3 breakfast deal, including small seasoned potatoes, choice of bacon, eggs and cheese or sausage, eggs and cheese muffin. Rivals Mcdonalds $5value meal
• DASH - expanded its partnership with ULTA beauty to offer on demand delivery in under an hour from 1350 stores across all 50 states.
• VFS - US regulators are probing a vin fast VF 8 Crash, that killed 4 in California.
• LLY - secures china approval for diabetes drug, Tirzepatide. Received approval in China for its diabetes drug.
• BA - one killed on Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 due to severe turbulence.
• DIS - Redburn upgrades to neutral from Sell. Price target 100.
• Samsung - appoints new chief for its chip business, amid competition.

OThER NEWS:

• BTC higher to 72K.
• ETH popped 20% yesterday on renewed optimism for ETF, that SEC might green light spot ether ETFs ahead of first deadline later this week.
• Yardeni research sees Dow Jones DJI at 60k and SPX at 8k by 2030
• Mester’s comments yesterday:
• 3 rate cuts this year is no longer appropriate.
• April CPI was good, but too soon to say what path inflation is on. She said she doesnt think about rate cuts in terms of when. We can raise rates but its not base case. That’s bearish, but also unrealistic. I think there’s less risk now that we are too restrictive, and inflation risks are to upside.
• BEARISH COMMENTS FROM MESTER OVERALL
• Jefferson’s Comments yesterday:
• April inflation was encouraging. Labour market coming into better balance. Inflation decline isn’t as fast as we had liked. Policy is restrictive. - NEUTRAL comments, I’d say.
• Following these comments, Bank of America said that whilst the bar for rate hikes is still v high, rate cuts are still far off. Said Services inflation still running way above target.
• Bank of America believes markets got excited at the print, said markets pricing 50bps of cuts are likely to get disappointed.
• Did push back on stagflation narrative.
• SPACEX Q1 launch report shows that SpaceX is now launching 87% of all payload to orbit, a new record high.
• New Yorkers on average earned $89K last year, meaning that without spending more than 30% of annual income on rent, they can afford $2,216 on housing. That’s only enough to afford 4.4% of rentals.
• Marko Kolanovic held his bearish outlook on stocks, urging clients not to buy. So not all bears are capitulating.
• Fidelity ethereal fund says that the trust’s Ether will not be staked.
• IMF official expects next stage for BOE is to ease rates, says UK monetary policy is at inflection point. Actions by UK authorities are paying off.
• Said BoE should cut rates by 50-75bps in 2024.
• Upgraded UK growth forecast to 0.7% this year from 0.5% previously
• Dubai Airport expects record passenger traffic this year, set to top 100M by 2027.

For more of my content, please join Tradingedge

Hello, ​Spotify 👋
I am a 24-year-old student from Czechia and an indie app developer. A few weeks ago I released a simple called Demus: Easy Music Streaming that allows you to import your Spotify playlists and then listen to them without ads and with unlimited skips simply by playing the songs from YouTube. It's so easy that you can start listening just 3 seconds after installing it!
Demus requires no Spotify account, contains no subscription, works completely on your phone, and collects no personal data.

Key Features

Create Your Music Library
Add your favorite songs & music videos to your collection with a single tap. All songs in your library will be automatically sorted by album and artist allowing easy searching and navigation.
Create playlists and fill them with your favorite songs. Demus also supports importing playlists directly from YouTube and Musi!
iCloud Sync
Whenever you add a song to your music library, it will be automatically added to all devices connected to your Apple ID, allowing for a seamless experience on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and even Apple Vision Pro. Your music library follows you wherever you go!
Listening Statistics
Demus locally stores information about which songs and artists you listen to the most. At the end of the year, you can view a summary reflecting on your musical journey similar to Spotify Wrapped or YouTube Recap. Last.fm scrobbling is also supported!
Lyrics & Artist Bio
Demus supports real-time synced lyrics and also allows you to view artist bios on Wikipedia. Dive deep into the world of your favorite musicians with a single tap!
AirPlay Support
Stream content effortlessly to any device supporting AirPlay. Demus will connect to your Bluetooth speaker, stereo, TV, or even computer.
CarPlay
Control playback through your car or stereo. Demus supports all important controls such as skipping, seeking, and rewinding. Apple CarPlay support is planned in will come soon!
Get Demus for Free on the App Store now and join us on this musical journey like never before.

Frequently Asked Question

Is it legal?
Demus works within the strict limitations of the YouTube API. Playing requires a constant internet connection. No media content is stored on your device and therefore neither downloading nor offline playback is supported. All playback is done through an integrated Safari-like view.
Do music artists still get paid?
Yes! Listening to any song in my app counts as a view on the YouTube website and will therefore generate per-stream revenue to the artist.
How do you make money from your app when it's free with no ads?
There is an optional one-time in-app purchase which gives you access to some cool features such as color themes, app icons, and more advanced listening statistics.
Can it support iOS 16 and lower?
Demus uses the latest and most up-to-date frameworks which are sadly not supported on older versions of iOS. But fear not, my app will be waiting for you when you upgrade!
How about an Android version?
I am actively working on porting Demus to Android. It should be available later this year!

Other Useful Links

I have created a subreddit demus where I regularly post sneak peeks on new upcoming features. Make sure to join so you don't miss any ;)
I have also created a Crowdin project for people who would like to help me translate Demus into different languages. Your help is very appreciated!
I would also like to say a big thank you to those who participated in the TestFlight.
Feel free to drop your thoughts, feedback, and questions below. Happy listening! 🎶

• Simon, the developer of AppRaven

Show some love and support my channel ➡️ https://youtu.be/2yJWwCyBoVk?si=SVHUyIMWHEVHQ4LU

Welcome to the fortnightly separation anxiety support group!
The mission of this post is to provide a constructive place to discuss your dog's progress and setbacks in conquering his/her separation anxiety. Feel free to post your fortnightly progress report, as well as any questions or tips you might have! We seek to provide a safe space to vent your frustrations as well, so feel free to express yourself.
We welcome both owners of dogs with separation anxiety and owners whose dogs have gotten better!
NEW TO SEPARATION ANXIETY?
New to the subject of separation anxiety? A dog with separation anxiety is one who displays stress when the one or more family members leave. Separation anxiety can vary from light stress to separation panic but at the heart of the matter is distress.
Does this sound familiar? Lucky for you, this is a pretty common problem that many dog owners struggle with. It can feel isolating and frustrating, but we are here to help!
Resources
Books
​
Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety by Nicole Wilde
Be Right Back!: How To Overcome Your Dog's Separation Anxiety And Regain Your Freedom by Julie Naismith
Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Next Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices by Malena DeMartini-Price
Online Articles/Blogs/Sites
Separation Anxiety (archived page from the ASPCA)
Pat Miller summary article on treating separation anxiety
Emily "kikopup" Larlham separation training tips
Videos
Using the Treat&Train to Solve Separation Anxiety
introducing an x-pen so the dog likes it (kikopup)
Podcast:
https://www.trainingwithally.com/the-podcast
Online DIY courses:
https://courses.malenademartini.com
https://www.trainingwithally.com/about-2
https://separationanxietydog.thinkific.com/courses/do-it-yourself-separation-anxiety-program
https://rescuedbytraining.com/separation-anxiety-course
​
Introduce your dog if you are new, and for those of you who have previously participated, make sure to tell us how your week has been!

Welcome to the Pirate's Tavern
This is your weekly free talk discussion thread. Want to talk about movies, music, video-games, or what's going on in your life? Talk about it here.
There's only two rules in the Pirate's Tavern: don't discuss politics or religion, and of course, please keep the tone civil. Like Greg Schiano, all politics and religion do is divide us and anger us. So come on in, grab your finest ales, and talk about what's on your mind.

Lately, both in person and on this sub, I have seen a worrying amount of misinformation spreading about the political party Aon Tu. This misinformation either states that they are a left/liberal party or that they are not right/conservative. This is however clearly wrong as any amount of introspection of their statements and social media makes clear; any clear dive into their policies and statements make it clear that they are instead very right wing, if not far right. They use the many familiar terms associated with similar parties, hold the same stances, and even retweet them and their content.
In order to illustrate this below I am presenting the various tweets made by Peadar Tóibín (the current leader of the party, their founder, and currently sole elected official) as well as their official twitter account. I have limited it solely to tweets due to time and space constraints, I have also had to limit the amount of tweets due to the same constraints There is more and I strongly encourage anyway to check their accounts for themselves. If there is interest I can do a deep dive into their other socials and statements, however I do not think there is a way to access the backlog of debates they have had on RTE and radio unfortunately. I believe this thread will stand on it's own however and other such threads won't be needed.
I will present the below tweets without comment, sorting them only into sections for ease of reading. Some may contain a note below in order to give more context as to what the tweet is referencing. The one section I did not include was the various tweets on the referendum, this is because due to recency I did not think it was needed.
Vaccine Denial:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 12/07/2021

Aontú opposes vaccine Passports for indoor Hospitality.
Its discrimination against many people mostly the young.
Its mandatory vaccination through the back door.
Again the Irish Gov is alone in the whole of Europe in the extreme path it's taking.

Tweeted by Toibin; 17/10/2021

99.7% of the adult population in Waterford is fully vaccinated, yet it has one of the highest Covid-19 incidence rates in the country.
The truth is the Gov don't know why this is happening.](https://x.com/Toibin1/status/1449783978802794502)
Now they will refuse entry to pubs to 0.3% unvaccinated to see does that work. #NPHET

Tweeted by Toibin; 10/01/2022

No, it's not April Fools day.
That people being paid by the state are actually discussing this is incredible.
FF/FG/Greens need to knock this madness on the head ASAP.

Note: Linked news article can be found here; Nphet to consider mandatory vaccination, department preparing paper on legal and ethical aspects
Anti Covid Lockdown:
Tweeted by Toibin; 15/11/2020

480 people got Cancer today.
24 people died of Cancer today
27 people died of Heart Disease and Stroke today.
This will hardly get a mention in the media today.
#COVID19

Tweeted by Toibin; 13/05/2021

8 deaths related to Covid were reported yesterday.
We share our deepest sympathies with these families.
The manner in which Covid deaths are being reported is concerning.
They were all from March or earlier.
Reporting them yesterday gives people a false impression of risk.

Tweeted by Toibin; 26/05/2021

The majority of people who died from Covid caught Covid in a Nursing Home or a Hospital.
So while the whole country was shut closed most people died in locations that were run by or regulated by the government.
This is an incredible situation.

Note: A video is attached.
Tweeted by Toibin; 05/06/2021

All the the people with Covid in Hospital in Ireland would fit on 1 Double Decker Bus.
Yet people were baton charged in Dublin last night and
Pubs and Restaurants wont open indoors for another month.
#ItsTimeForCommonSense #OpenHospitality #southwilliamst #Aontú

Tweeted by Toibin; 14/07/2021

The Government's Hospitality Discrimination Bill has passed all stages in the Dáil after only a few hours of debate.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 30/10/2021

Some citizens are allowed into pubs.
Some citizens are not.
It's stunning that this has happened in the 21st century.
It's stunning that so much of society has just accepted it.
Worst of all, it's not even working.

Tweeted by Toibin; 24/11/2021

I have recieved information that the Goverment,
has carried out NO scientific research into the effectiveness or otherwise of the Covid Pass.
At all.
#FollowTheScience #TheySaid
It will be now legal to discriminate against certain Irish citizens.
A sad day for Ireland.

Note: The bill which has a picture taken of it in the tweet can be read here.
Tweeted by Toibin; 17/12/2021

Are the Gov going to say that a healthy young person thats triple vaccinated along with their Covid Pass can't have a pint after 5pm.
What's the point of it all so?

Tweeted by Toibin; 21/01/2022

Very interesting to see Nphet and the Dept of Health go from researching Mandatory Vaccines to lifting restrictions in 10 days!

Tweeted by Toibin; 12/10/2022

I have submitted this question;
To ask the Minister for Health, has he or his department ever received any data, evidence or information from Pfizer that indicates that that the Pfizer Covid Vaccine was ever tested in terms of its ability to stop the transmission of Covid?

Anti LGBT:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 24/10/2022

Women live in period poverty just a few miles from the Dáil.
Instead of helping them,
your virtual signalling political establishment
put a tampon machine in the men's toilet in the Dáil.

Tweeted by Toibin; 16/02/2023

Plans by FF, FG & Greens to change the law to allow 16 year olds to legally change gender, against advice of medical experts,
shows how completely alienated the political bubble is from the people of Ireland.
Aontú will oppose this and seek a return to commonsense and science.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 05/03/2023

When Minister O Gorman refused redress to many who had been in Mother and Baby Homes because of the 'lack of money', he raided hundreds of thousands from the Magdalene Scheme and Travellers supports & diverted the funding towards the LGBTQ+ Community.

Note: There is an article linked in the tweet, about an accusation made by Toibin. Read it here
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 06/03/2023

Varadkar is wrong. 9 &10 year old children are too young to be taught about transgenderism. We have a duty of care to children.
No research has been has been carried out on the impact of such education.

Tweeted by Toibin; 07/03/2023

I've asked the Minister for Ed what research has the Dept of Education carried out
on the impact on primary school children of delivering material on Transgenderism to them in the classroom?
We've a duty of care to children.
Education should be based on evidence not ideology.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 08/03/2023

Tóibín asked Varadkar if his Gov had carried out any research as to the impact on 8 & 9 year old children of teaching about transgenderism in primary school.
Leo refused to answer the question.
Radical changes are being introduced against majority consent.

Note: There is an attached video.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 15/03/2023

Many people have been shocked by Paul Murphy's announcement.
But what's more shocking is that FF, FG, SF and the Greens,
are on exactly the same page as the hard left parties on teaching this ideology in every primary school in the country.

Tweeted by Toibin; 21/05/2023

This is incredible. All the actual crime that is happening on our streets and Gardaí are wasting time like this.
Even though there was no arrest here, this harassment creates a clear chilling effect on free speech and political discourse.

Note: There is an attached video in the tweet retweeted by Toibin, in it a Gardai is holding a polite conversation with an American holding a sign against "Gender Ideology." In their Twitter bio they describe themselves; "Father of two girls. Traveling the world to expose gender ideology and why children cannot consent to medical transition."
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 07/07/2023

Growing concern among parents that the new curriculum for 12 & 13 years in school is not age appropriate & is not science based.
Gender identity ideology is now mandatory for schools & thousands of parents will have no option but to withdraw their child from class.

Note: This article is linked on the topic of a statement made by Toibin.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 23/07/2023

This is why so many are angry with the Minister for Culture Wars, Helen McEntee.
Homicides are up, murder attempts are up, rape & sexual assaults are up, theft is up. Yet....
Gardaí management are focused on allowing male born Gardaí use women’s toilets.

Note: There is an attached article; here
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 28/09/2023

The Green Party are becoming increasingly authoritarian in nature.
If you dissent from government sanctioned views, you will be investigated.
This is the opposite of a liberal democracy.

Note: There is a linked article; it pertains to an investigation by the IABA into the usage of their premises by a "Christian Group" advocating for the removal of all LGBT+ content from the SPHE curriculum.
Tweeted by Toibin; 14/03/2024

It is reckless beyond belief to give dangerous chemicals and irreversible surgery to children with gender dysphoria.
This must be made illegal in Ireland immediately.

Note: Includes a retweet of this news article.
Anti Hatespeech bill:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 15/06/2023

Helen McEntee has become the Minister for Culture Wars.
Incredibly Varadkar accused PBP of being a threat to Free Speech.
FG, FF & the Greens are the biggest threat to free speech.

Note: There is a link article here.
Tweeted by Toibin; 26/07/2023

US gives Dublin a security warning for US citizens travelling to Ireland.
Meanwhile Minister McEntee is too busy with the Hate Speech Bill and Safe Zone Bill to worry about real people suffering actual crime.

Tweeted by Toibin; 28/03/2024

Helen McEntee is distracted by the Culture Wars.
People just want her to do her job, & make the streets safer.
Instead, she spent the last two years on a Hate Crime Bill no one wants. #BinTheBill

Note: There is an attached video.
Other:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 15/02/2023

In the Dáil yesterday the hard left tried to close down a discussion on migration by calling people names.
This issue is too important. People have a right to respectfully ask questions and challange government policy.

Note: There is an attached video; it does not depict such name calling but rather Toibin accusing the government of name calling.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 24/07/2023

Another day and another culture war imported by the government from America.

Note: A retweet from Gript media with an attached video.
Tweeted by Toibin; 12/03/2024

There is a battle over the narrative of the referendum defeat happening at the moment.
Some within the political & media bubble want to erase the fact that so many people have had enough of the culture wars and want the country to get back to commonsense and bread and butter.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 19/03/2024

At a Dept of Education 'In Service' day,
their staff told secondary school teachers not to use the word 'Mother' in class as they said it was not inclusive.
They are implementing Gov policy.
Aontú disagrees wholeheartedly with this policy.
Happy Mothers Day.

Tweeted by Toibin; 10/04/2024

Says the man who seeks to delete more Irish sovereignty with the EU migration pact.

Note: A retweet from Simon Harris talking about the need to defend Ukraine's sovereignty.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 11/04/2024

The decision by FG, FF and Green MEPs to cede the power to control immigration into Ireland to Brussels was a serious mistake. Aontú oppose this pact and will fight to retain and regain sovereignty in Europe #aontú