China to Invest $1.4 Billion to Upgrade Tanzana-Zambia Rail Line
Negotiations for a planned 30-year concession are ongoing, Bruno Ching'andu, managing director of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority that operates the line, said in an emailed statement Thursday.
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Miami Herald
15 hours ago
- Miami Herald
A price just for you, specifically
Imagine that an airline notices you've booked a five-star hotel, so it charges you more for your ticket than it would have if you had booked a four- or three-star hotel. That's the vision of personalized pricing, a concept that has for years intrigued companies and enraged consumer advocates. While consumer backlash may still give companies pause, some roadblocks to widespread use of the strategy may be clearing. The Trump administration introduced a plan this past week to clear the way for artificial intelligenceinnovation, reinforcing its embrace of AI and raising questions about whether inquiries into the practice that Biden-era regulators started will be given any priority. At the same time, the technology has developed at a rapid pace. 'It's going to be: Whatever you can get away with, it's legal,' Robert W. Mann, an independent airline industry analyst and former airline executive, said. When it comes to regulatory scrutiny, he added, 'from curious to none is probably the transition.' Delta Air Lines promoted its plans this month to ramp up its use of AI to set prices. And while it's not clear what data the airline is using -- and whether it constitutes personalized pricing -- privacy experts and industry analysts say many companies may see an opportunity to open what they've long considered to be an untapped gold mine. Delta has been met with swift backlash. It said on its latest earnings call that it was working with Fetcherr, an AI startup, and planned to use AI to price 20% of domestic routes by the end of this year. But it has pushed back against claims that it's turning to 'personalized' pricing. In a statement, it said it was leaning into new technology to streamline existing dynamic pricing models, which are based on market factors, not personal information. 'Fetcherr's technology has been developed to streamline processes already in place at companies and does not allow for individualized or personalized pricing,' the startup said in a statement. Regardless of the consumer data that Fetcherr is offering Delta specifically, an archived version of a Fetcherr blog post, reported earlier by the Thrifty Traveler blog, hailed the startup's ability to offer 'truly personalized' prices to travelers, based in part on their past purchases. Under the Biden administration, regulatory scrutiny of personalized pricing started to build. Members of Congress and data privacy experts have raised concerns about the strategy in industries such as groceries and travel. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission, under its previous chair, Lina Khan, opened an inquiry into 'surveillance pricing' -- another term for the use of personal data to set prices. The market study examined practices at several companies, including Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase and Accenture. Initial findings released in January said that 'consumer behaviors ranging from mouse movements on a webpage to the type of products that consumers leave unpurchased in an online shopping cart can be tracked and used by retailers to tailor consumer pricing.' It's not clear whether the Trump administration will make those inquiries a priority. The FTC under its new chair, Andrew Ferguson, withdrew public comment on surveillance pricing. Joe Simonson, an agency spokesperson, said that the study was ongoing. 'If Democrats are complaining about this practice, we're actually doing something about it. We're looking into this issue,' he said. An 'AI Action Plan' that President Donald Trump outlined this past week recommends that the FTC review prior investigations to make sure they don't 'unduly burden AI innovation.' 'All of that does lead to an opening for surveillance pricing, and emboldening,' Ben Winters, the director of AI and privacy at the Consumer Federation of America, said. Public backlash could still thwart AI pricing ambitions. After the uproar over Delta's public embrace of AI to set airfares, American Airlines called the practice inappropriate. 'Consumers need to know that they can trust American,' the CEO, Robert Isom, said on an earnings call. But Gene Burrus, a law and policy consultant who worked as American Airlines' competition lawyer 25 years ago, said consumer backlash was less of a concern for airlines than it used to be, in part because of consolidation in the industry. Mergers have left just a handful of major airlines, which means travelers have fewer places to turn if they're upset with an airline's pricing, he said. Will Congress step in? Three Democratic senators sent Delta a letter this past week raising concern about the airline's AI plans and the impact on travelers. A Republican senator, Josh Hawley of Missouri, said in a social media post that Delta's plans were 'the worst thing I have heard from the already awful airline industry.' Also this past week, Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced legislation to ban surveillance pricing at the federal level. It's unclear how far that bill will go. A handful of states, including California, Georgia and New York, have introduced bills to regulate the practice, too, though several have stalled or been watered down. It's difficult to tell exactly what data companies are using. While critics worry about privacy breaches and higher prices, consumer companies have countered that AI-driven pricing won't harm already strained shoppers -- and could even lead to more discounts. For regulators, the competing claims pose a challenge, said Victoria Noble, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She added: 'They would have to peer under the hood to look at what these tools are actually doing.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
Business Insider
19 hours ago
- Business Insider
‘Speculative Trading Hits Highest Level Since Meme-Stock Craze,' Warns Goldman Sachs
Some Wall Street analysts are warning investors to stay cautious as the S&P 500 (SPY) hits record highs. Indeed, Goldman Sachs (GS) says that its Speculative Trading Indicator — which tracks activity in risky stocks like unprofitable companies, penny stocks, and those with high valuations — has climbed sharply over the last few months. While it hasn't reached the extreme levels of the dot-com bubble or the COVID-19-era market frenzy, it is now at its highest point since then. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Interestingly, a lot of this speculative trading involves smaller companies such as BigBear. ai (BBAI), Lucid (LCID), and Plug Power (PLUG), although popular giants like Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) remain heavily traded as well. Goldman analysts say that this kind of activity can push markets higher in the short term, but it also increases the risk of a sharp drop later on. Historically, similar spikes have led to strong gains over a three to 12-month period, but have often faded over a longer two-year period. This surge in speculation has also triggered several short squeezes, where heavily shorted stocks, such as Krispy Kreme (DNUT), Opendoor (OPEN), and Kohl's (KSS), see their prices jump as bearish traders rush to buy back shares. At the same time, call option trading is rising, and interest in IPOs and SPACs has returned, with June's median IPO gaining 37% on its first day – the best performance since early 2024. According to Goldman, this enthusiasm is similar to earlier meme-stock rallies that were driven by retail traders and social media hype. Is SPY Stock a Good Buy? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on SPY stock based on 424 Buys, 75 Holds, and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average SPY price target of $692.08 per share implies 8.6% upside potential.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Descartes Systems Group (DSGX) Fell After the Force Reduction News
Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The second quarter began with a historically poor start but gained momentum later as tariff fears subsided and market volatility dropped precipitously. Conestoga Small Cap Composite returned 4.76% in the quarter compared to 11.97% for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2025. In its second quarter 2025 investor letter, Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted stocks such as The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX). Headquartered in Waterloo, Canada, The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) provides cloud-based logistics and supply chain solutions. The one-month return of The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) was 4.28%, and its shares gained 6.96% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 24, 2025, The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) stock closed at $106.45 per share, with a market capitalization of $9.155 billion. Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter: "Within Technology, The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) and Simulations Plus, Inc. (SLP) were the largest detractors from relative return. DSGX, which provides software services to assist in logistics and global shipping invoice management, fell after announcing a reduction in force as they plan for the impact of global trade uncertainty." A warehouse filled with packages and parcels, signifying the scale of e-commerce enablement. The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 22 hedge fund portfolios held The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) at the end of the first quarter compared to 22 in the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2025, The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) reported revenues of $168.7 million, reflecting an increase of approximately 11.5% from Q1 of last year. While we acknowledge the potential of The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. In another article, we covered The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX) and shared Conestoga Capital Advisors' views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
