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FinanceNovo NordiskGLP-1 drugsOzempic price cut

Deep Dive: Novo Nordisk Slashes Ozempic and Wegovy Prices by 50% — What the GLP-1 Price War Means for Patients, Investors, and Big Pharma

Novo Nordisk dropped a bombshell on the pharmaceutical industry this week, announcing plans to cut the U.S. list prices of its blockbuster GLP-1 drugs — Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus — by up to 50% starting January 1, 2027. The new uniform list price of $675 per month, down from current prices ranging between $1,027 and $1,350, marks the most aggressive pricing move yet in the rapidly evolving obesity and diabetes drug market. The announcement sent Novo Nordisk shares tumbling to a fresh 52-week low of $37.65, extending a brutal decline that has erased roughly 75% of the stock's value since its mid-2024 peak. The price cuts arrive at a moment of acute vulnerability for the Danish drugmaker. Just days earlier, Novo reported disappointing results from its REDEFINE 4 trial pitting next-generation drug CagriSema against Eli Lilly's tirzepatide (Zepbound), sending shares down over 16% in a single session. With its market capitalization now sitting at roughly $169 billion — down from north of $600 billion at its zenith — Novo Nordisk is attempting a high-stakes pivot: sacrificing near-term pricing power to defend market share against an increasingly dominant Eli Lilly and a swarm of pharma giants preparing to enter the weight-loss arena. The implications extend far beyond one company's balance sheet. Novo's decision reshapes the economics of a drug category projected to exceed $150 billion in annual sales by the end of the decade, puts immediate pressure on Eli Lilly to respond, and could dramatically expand the patient population with affordable access to GLP-1 therapies. For investors, the question is whether this is a desperate retreat or a calculated long-term play.

February 25, 2026Read Analysis
NewsAnthropicPentagonAI safety

Developing: Pentagon Gives Anthropic Friday Deadline to Drop AI Safety Guardrails — Or Face Blacklisting and Defense Production Act

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered an ultimatum to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Tuesday: grant the U.S. military unrestricted access to the company's artificial intelligence models by Friday evening, or face severe consequences including potential blacklisting from all government contracts and invocation of the Defense Production Act. The confrontation, which took place during a meeting at the Pentagon, marks the most dramatic escalation yet in a growing rift between the Trump administration and one of America's leading AI companies over the ethical boundaries of military AI deployment. At the heart of the dispute is Anthropic's insistence on maintaining two red lines: its AI systems should not be used for fully autonomous lethal targeting decisions without human oversight, and they should not be deployed for mass surveillance of American citizens. The Pentagon, which rebranded itself the Department of War under the current administration, has demanded that Anthropic agree to "all lawful use cases" without any company-imposed limitations — a framing that Anthropic's leadership views as dangerously open-ended. The standoff has thrust questions about AI ethics, corporate responsibility, and military power into the center of a high-stakes policy showdown with no clear precedent. The clash carries enormous implications not just for Anthropic, which holds a $200 million defense contract and was the first AI company cleared for classified military networks, but for the entire AI industry. How this dispute resolves could set the template for the relationship between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon for decades to come — determining whether AI companies retain any say over how their technologies are used in warfare and intelligence operations.

February 25, 2026Read Analysis
Financedefense stocksmilitary spendingLockheed Martin

Sector Watch: Why Defense Stocks Are Surging — Geopolitical Catalysts, NATO Spending, and the Sectors Investors Are Watching

Defense stocks are having a remarkable run. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, General Dynamics, Boeing, and L3Harris Technologies are all trading near their 52-week highs, with some names up more than 80% from their lows over the past year. The rally is not happening in a vacuum — it is being driven by a convergence of geopolitical flashpoints that are forcing governments worldwide to accelerate military spending. The catalysts are stacking up. President Trump used his record-long 2026 State of the Union address to issue direct warnings to Iran and signal continued defense spending priorities. Japan announced plans to deploy missiles on islands near Taiwan by 2031, prompting immediate Chinese retaliation through export restrictions on 40 Japanese entities with military ties. Europe, marking four years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is debating the creation of a unified EU military force as NATO members scramble to meet the 2% GDP spending target. For investors, the question is whether these tailwinds are already priced in — or whether the defense sector still has room to run. With the six largest U.S. defense contractors now commanding a combined market capitalization exceeding $867 billion, understanding the fundamentals behind the rally is essential for anyone considering exposure to the sector.

February 25, 2026Read Analysis
NewsState of the UnionTrumptariffs

News: Trump Delivers Record-Long State of the Union — Tax Cuts, Tariff Defiance, and Iran Warnings Dominate a Speech Aimed at Anxious Voters

President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in modern American history on Tuesday evening, speaking for approximately 108 minutes in a sweeping speech that touched on the economy, trade, immigration, Iran, and his administration's legislative agenda. The address broke his own record from last year's joint session by eight minutes, and came at a politically precarious moment for the president as polls show Americans losing confidence in his handling of the economy ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump declared the United States was experiencing a "turnaround for the ages" and a "golden age of America," touting stock market highs, falling inflation, and record employment numbers. But the triumphant rhetoric stood in stark contrast to polling data showing his approval on economic issues slipping, and to the Supreme Court's decision just four days earlier to strike down his signature tariff program in a 6-3 ruling. Democrats, who are making affordability a central campaign theme, offered vocal pushback during the speech, while Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger delivered the official Democratic response focusing on kitchen-table costs. The speech's market-relevant elements were significant: a new tax cut proposal to be advanced through budget reconciliation, a government-backed retirement savings plan for workers without employer matches, a pledge to bar institutional investors from buying single-family homes, and a defiant promise to reimpose tariffs using "alternative" legal authorities despite the Supreme Court ruling. Separately, Trump's brief but pointed comments on Iran — with U.S.-Iran nuclear talks resuming in Geneva on Thursday — kept oil markets on edge, with Brent crude trading near seven-month highs.

February 25, 2026Read Analysis
Financestandard deviationinvestment riskportfolio volatility

Deep Dive: What Is Standard Deviation in Investing — How to Measure Risk, Compare Volatility, and Build a More Resilient Portfolio

Every investor wants returns, but the path to those returns matters just as much as the destination. Two portfolios can deliver identical 10% annual returns over a decade, yet one might swing wildly between gains of 40% and losses of 25%, while the other steadily compounds at 8% to 12% per year. Standard deviation is the metric that captures this difference — it quantifies the bumpiness of the ride and gives investors a concrete way to measure, compare, and manage risk. With the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) hovering around 21 in late February 2026 — above its long-term average of roughly 19 — investors are navigating a market where uncertainty remains elevated. The Federal Reserve has been cutting rates from 4.33% in August 2025 down to 3.64% by January 2026, creating a shifting environment where different asset classes are responding in different ways. Understanding standard deviation has never been more practical: it is the foundational language of risk that connects portfolio diversification strategies, Monte Carlo simulations, and everyday decisions about how much volatility you can afford to stomach.

February 24, 2026Read Analysis
Financenegative earnings valuationEV/Revenue ratiofree cash flow analysis

Deep Dive: How to Value Companies with Negative Earnings — Beyond P/E Ratios

The price-to-earnings ratio is the most widely used valuation metric in investing. When someone asks whether a stock is cheap or expensive, P/E is usually the first number cited. But what happens when a company has no earnings — or worse, is losing money? The P/E ratio simply breaks down. A negative P/E is mathematically meaningless for comparison, and it tells you nothing about whether the stock is overvalued or a bargain. This isn't a niche problem. Some of the market's most closely watched companies operate at a loss. Rivian Automotive, with a market cap of $18.7 billion, reported a net loss of $3.6 billion in fiscal 2025. Snowflake, valued at $55.1 billion, posted a net loss of $1.3 billion in its most recent fiscal year despite growing revenue past $1.2 billion per quarter. Even Palantir, now profitable at $0.64 EPS, traded for years with negative earnings before its recent breakout to a $294 billion market cap. Investors who dismissed these companies because their P/E ratios were negative would have missed the opportunity entirely. Valuing companies with negative earnings requires a different toolkit — one that focuses on revenue growth, cash flow generation, balance sheet strength, and the trajectory toward profitability. This guide walks through the alternative valuation metrics that professional analysts actually use when earnings-based ratios fail, with real examples from today's market.

February 24, 2026Read Analysis