Category: 3. Business

Novartis Agrees to Acquire Avidity Biosciences for $12 Billion

The Swiss pharmaceutical company says the purchase would complement its existing pipeline of treatments for neuromuscle disorders.

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HSBC Holdings to Book $1.1B Provision Related to Madoff Case

The London-based bank said that a unit is defending a claim brought by Herald Fund SPC for restitution of securities and cash in the lawsuit relating to the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC fraud.

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China EV Maker Seres Plans to Raise Up to $1.7B in Hong Kong Offer

The company, focused on new energy vehicles, is planning to sell 100.20 million shares at a maximum offer price of 131.50 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to $16.92 a share.

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Boeing Defense Workers Reject Latest Contract

The St. Louis-area machinists have been on strike since early August.

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OpenAI’s Less-Flashy Rival Might Have a Better Business Model

Anthropic, backed by Amazon and Google, lacks the mass-market appeal of OpenAI, but it’s running ahead in corporate use on a growth path that’s easier to understand.

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Grindr Gets Buyout Offer Valuing Company at Nearly $3.5 Billion

Two top investors proposed to take the company private by acquiring the rest of the company’s outstanding shares for $18 apiece.

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Travis Kelce Is Jumping In to Save Six Flags Just When It Needed It Most

The football star is backing a hedge fund looking to shake America’s largest theme-park operator out of its funk.

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The Cracker Barrel Mess Isn’t Over Yet

The online anger over the logo change and calls to oust the CEO were actually turbocharged by bots. Even the green beans are making people mad.

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Porsche Skids to Loss on Bad EV Bet, Tariffs

Slow electric-vehicle rollout, weak demand for German premium cars in China and U.S. President Trump’s tariffs have taken a toll on the sport-car maker.

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Microsoft’s Xbox to Remake Original Halo Video Game

The remake, titled Halo: Campaign Evolved, will support multiplayer gaming across several consoles for the first time.

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Elanco Animal Health Obtains FDA Authorization for Screwworm Treatment

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. determined that New World screwworm presents significant potential for a public health emergency.

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Brookfield Wins Bid to Restart Notorious Nuclear Reactor Project

The restart of an abandoned South Carolina project would be the most dramatic example yet of a nuclear comeback in the U.S.

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GM Cuts More Than 200 White-Collar Jobs in Detroit

The move comes days after GM’s stock surged to a record following better-than-expected earnings and a rosier outlook.

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Procter & Gamble to Focus on Innovation, Not Discounts, to Attract Wary Shoppers

The company reported higher first-quarter sales and said it was investing in product innovation instead of lowering prices to draw cautious consumers.

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  October 26, 2025 21:15 ET (01:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

It’s the corporate gamble of the moment: Can you run a company, increasing sales and juicing profits, without adding people? 

American employers are increasingly making the calculation that they can keep the size of their teams flat—or shrink through layoffs—without harming their businesses. Part of that thinking is the belief that artificial intelligence will be used to pick up some of the slack and automate more processes. Companies are also hesitant to make any moves in an economy many still describe as uncertain.

Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

When we invest, we’re generally looking for stocks that outperform the market average. And while active stock picking involves risks (and requires diversification) it can also provide excess returns. For example, the Hotel Properties Limited (SGX:H15) share price is up 68% in the last 5 years, clearly besting the market return of around 55% (ignoring dividends). However, more recent returns haven’t been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 36% in the last year, including dividends.

Let’s take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they’ve been consistent with shareholders returns.

We’ve found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it’s a weighing machine. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company’s share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During the last half decade, Hotel Properties became profitable. That’s generally thought to be a genuine positive, so investors may expect to see an increasing share price. Since the company was unprofitable five years ago, but not three years ago, it’s worth taking a look at the returns in the last three years, too. We can see that the Hotel Properties share price is up 43% in the last three years. Meanwhile, EPS is up 143% per year. This EPS growth is higher than the 13% average annual increase in the share price over the same three years. Therefore, it seems the market has moderated its expectations for growth, somewhat. Of course, with a P/E ratio of 69.97, the market remains optimistic.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

This free interactive report on Hotel Properties’ earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Hotel Properties, it has a TSR of 79% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

We’re pleased to report that Hotel Properties shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 36% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 12% per year), it would seem that the stock’s performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we’ve spotted with Hotel Properties (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of undervalued companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Singaporean exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

The trade-reliant country’s growth print comes as investors watch for Trump’s meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on the sidelines of APEC in Gyeongju. The two sides have yet to finalize a trade deal, with officials looking to fine-tune terms after South Korea pledged up to $350 billion in U.S. investment commitments.

  Taiwan 

  Taiwan is due to release its third-quarter advanced GDP print on Friday, which will likely show slower but still-robust growth after a strong showing the prior quarter. 

  Frontloading of shipments to get ahead of U.S. tariffs and booming demand for the island's chips and electronics have fueled exports and propped up economic growth. ANZ economists estimate that every 1% increase in exports is associated with 0.2% increase in Taiwan's GDP. 

  Economists' estimates for the third-quarter GDP growth range from 5.9% to 6.7% after the second quarter's 8.01% expansion. 

  Although AI-related demand remains strong, there are signs that the momentum may be peaking as Taiwan's September exports growth missed expectations. 

  DBS economist Ma Tieying expects to see a gradual slowdown in both AI-related exports and investment starting from the fourth quarter into 2026 as the AI frenzy cools and tariff impacts materialize. 

  But in light of stronger-than-expected exports in the third quarter, DBS has lifted its full-year GDP growth forecast for the island to 5.6%. 

  Hong Kong 

  Data on Friday gives a snapshot of Hong Kong's economic health: Retail sales for September offer a glimpse into consumer demand and GDP estimates will show how growth held up in the third quarter. 

  Economists at DBS expect growth to have edged down a touch to 3.0% on the year, amid weaker exports. Imports are projected to have stayed resilient. 

  After a long run of contraction, retail sales have returned to growth recently, and markets will look to see if the momentum held up last month. 

  Hong Kong officials have said they expect stabilizing consumer sentiment and tourism tailwinds to help support retail businesses. 

  Looking ahead, DBS's economics team expects the U.S. rate-cut cycle to bolster consumption and investment sentiment in Hong Kong, supported by a softer Hong Kong dollar and lower borrowing costs. 

  Any references to days are in local times. 

  Write to Jessica Fleetham at jessica.fleetham@wsj.com and Jihye Lee at jihye.lee@wsj.com 

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  October 26, 2025 20:14 ET (00:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

In a recent interview with Dermatology Times, Lindsay Ackerman, MD, FAAD, a medical dermatologist in Phoenix, Arizona, discussed evolving standards in the management of vitiligo and the clinical integration of topical therapy. Ackerman, who serves as medical director of clinical research at Medical Dermatology Specialists (now part of US Dermatology Partners), emphasized the importance of anticipatory guidance and individualized patient expectations in achieving successful treatment outcomes.

Vitiligo, an autoimmune depigmenting disorder, has historically lacked FDA-approved topical therapies, leaving clinicians to rely on off-label options such as topical corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors. With the approval of topical ruxolitinib, Ackerman described a shift in both clinical practice and patient communication.

“Ruxolitinib has been a really great game changing option,” she said. it’s our first FDA-approved treatment, but it’s a treatment that allows us to treat vitiligo over a protracted time course and to do so with expectations that it will be safe for patients to have that ongoing topical exposure, which is very different than how we feel about some of the alternative choices we’ve been using off label to treat this chronic autoimmune disease.”

She underscored that this medication’s long-term safety supports ongoing, site-specific use, unlike older off-label agents that often required intermittent treatment or carried risks of cutaneous atrophy or irritation. Ackerman highlighted the necessity of setting realistic expectations, noting that pigmentation restoration is a gradual process. “Giving good anticipatory guidance for patients that are using topical therapy to treat vitiligo is immensely important,” she said. “Patients are going to have to understand at the beginning to embark on this journey of executing treatment for vitiligo means that we’re going to be on this journey for the foreseeable future.”

Beyond pharmacologic therapy, Ackerman encouraged a holistic approach that considers disease impact on quality of life, psychosocial well-being, and patient confidence. She also pointed to emerging research examining combination strategies that may enhance outcomes, such as phototherapy alongside ruxolitinib.

Ultimately, Ackerman’s remarks reinforce a broader dermatologic shift toward evidence-based, sustained, and patient-centered care. As more targeted therapies become available, the dermatologist’s role in education and expectation management remains central to optimizing both safety and satisfaction in vitiligo treatment.