In this must-see market update, Larry Williams returns with timely stock market analysis, trading insights, and macroeconomic forecasts. Discover what’s next for the Federal Reserve, interest rates, and inflation — and how it could impact top stocks like Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), and consumer staples (XLP).
This video originally premiered on May 27, 2025. Watch on StockCharts’ dedicated Larry Williams page!
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In this video, Joe analyzes which sectors to focus on when selecting new stocks. He demonstrates how to use the 18-period simple moving average (SMA) on monthly, weekly, and daily charts to identify the strongest stock patterns and the best timeframes to trade. He then provides chart analysis on the QQQ, IWM, and Bitcoin, before reviewing this week’s symbol requests submitted by viewers.
The video premiered on May 28, 2025. Click this link to watch on Joe’s dedicated page.
Archived videos from Joe are available at this link. Send symbol requests to stocktalk@stockcharts.com; you can also submit a request in the comments section below the video on YouTube. Symbol Requests can be sent in throughout the week prior to the next show.
In what is believed to be the largest European pre-seed funding round of the year, UK fintech startup Velocity has emerged with US$10 million in early backing to develop a stablecoin infrastructure platform.
The initiative is aimed squarely at large enterprises grappling with outdated cross-border financial systems.
The round, led by US-based Activant Capital, brings together global investors and fintech insiders, underscoring growing confidence in stablecoins as a practical tool for enterprise-grade settlement — not just crypto speculation.
Founded by payments veterans Tom Greenwood (Volt, IFX) and Eric Queathem (Worldpay, McKinsey & Company), Velocity aims to modernize the back-end plumbing of global money movement.
Rather than displacing traditional finance, the startup sees itself as a connective layer between banks and the blockchain, offering modular infrastructure that enables businesses to operate seamlessly across fiat and digital currencies.
“We’re not chasing crypto hype,” Greenwood, who serves as CEO, said in a statement. “We’re leveraging stablecoins to remove friction, accelerate settlement, and drive improved performance in real-world financial operations.”
That friction remains a massive challenge in today’s corporate finance landscape.
Large businesses routinely rely on patchwork systems for international payments, liquidity and currency management — often involving multiple banking partners, outdated software and opaque fees.
Velocity says it is addressing that complexity with a programmable, artificial intelligence-enabled platform that integrates stablecoins into traditional financial operations without requiring companies to overhaul their existing systems.
Greenwood and Queathem bring decades of experience to the table. Greenwood previously founded Volt, a fintech firm focused on real-time payments, and IFX, a foreign exchange and payments firm. Queathem spent nearly 10 years at Worldpay, where he led global strategy during its expansion into both legacy and crypto-enabled markets.
“We’ve experienced first-hand the financial complexity of operating a global business — the fragmentation of providers, the lack of transparency, and the workarounds,” said Queathem, who holds the position of president.
“Velocity is built to eliminate that friction with infrastructure that scales, adapts, and solves the real-world problems large enterprises face every day when moving and managing money around the world.”
Their pitch appears to have resonated with investors who see a broader shift underway. Fuel Ventures (LSE:FVV), Triton Capital, Fabric Ventures, Commerce Ventures and Preface Ventures all joined the round, alongside strategic angels from companies like Visa (NYSE:V), PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), Circle and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
For lead investor Activant Capital, the startup’s timing aligns with what it sees as a generational opportunity to reshape how capital flows. “Tom and Eric bring the rare technical depth and regulatory fluency needed to build and scale a product like this,” said Andrew Steele, partner at Activant, in Wednesday’s (May 28) release.
“We’ve shared this vision for years — and now is the time to bring it to life.”
Far from being a headwind, Velocity sees that regulatory movement as validation that the infrastructure moment for stablecoins has arrived. While Velocity hasn’t disclosed specific clients or product launch dates, early pilot programs are underway, with large enterprises exploring digital treasury functions and cross-border liquidity optimization.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
The platinum price has surged over 20 percent year-to-date, propelled by a sharp rebound in Chinese demand and a tightening global supply picture that analysts say may signal a prolonged market deficit.
On May 23, platinum closed at US$1,098.40 per ounce, its highest level since May 2023, and a 22 percent increase from its year-to-date low US$892, seen on April 8. The rally, which has accelerated in recent weeks, comes amid renewed investor interest in precious metals, stark supply-side constraints and a changing global demand profile.
China has emerged as a key force behind platinum’s surge, with imports in April jumping 47 percent month-on-month to 10 metric tons, the highest in a year, according to Chinese Customs data.
“In the first quarter of this year alone, given the exceptionally high gold price, gold jewelry sales in China were down 32 percent year-on-year, and platinum jewelry sales were up 26 percent,” he emphasized.
Gold touched US$3,500 per ounce last month, pricing many Chinese buyers out of the market. Platinum, currently trading at a significant discount, is increasingly being seen as an attractive alternative, both for investment and jewelry.
“China’s a market that can pivot really quickly,” Sterck added, noting that platinum bars, coins and jewelry are now being marketed aggressively across social media platforms like TikTok.
This renewed Chinese interest aligns with broader structural issues in the platinum-group metals (PGMs) market, as detailed in a recent report by research firm Metals Focus. It notes that all five PGMs — platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium and ruthenium — ended last year in physical deficit. Platinum alone saw a second consecutive year of shortfall, with Metals Focus placing total global production at 5.77 million ounces, still well below the 2010 to 2021 annual average.
Behind the deficit lies a mix of supply disruptions, weak mine productivity and building demand.
Sterck underscored the severity of the shortfall seen in Q1, saying it was the largest in six years. It was driven by flooding in South Africa, smelter outages in Zimbabwe and operational restructuring in North America.
Even though South African output rose above 4 million ounces for the first time since 2021, much of that gain was attributed to the release of built-up work-in-process inventories rather than fresh production.
The constrained supply has had ripple effects across investment channels. Platinum secondary supply — which primarily comes from recycled jewelry and autocatalysts — rose just 1 percent last year.
In Asia, jewelry recycling volumes fell, and while autocatalyst recycling improved 9 percent due to higher scrappage rates and incentives in China, it remained insufficient to close the gap.
When it comes to demand, the auto sector, traditionally the largest consumer of PGMs, saw overall fabrication demand fall 4 percent to 12.14 million ounces in 2024. This decline marked the first drop since the COVID-19 pandemic, and was largely due to a 2 percent decrease in catalyzed vehicle production amid the rise of battery electric vehicles.
Industrial demand, on the other hand, was under pressure, falling 2 percent year-on-year. The biggest hit came from a 27 percent drop in chemical applications, particularly in China’s paraxylene sector, a key component in plastic production.
Against this backdrop, speculative positions in platinum have also helped drive recent price movements.
Sterck explained that in the first quarter of 2025, a confluence of market expectations and policy shifts — particularly related to US import tariffs — created arbitrage opportunities for traders.
“There was a lot of uncertainty as to whether tariffs would apply to platinum and other PGMs,” he explained, adding that the flow of metal into the US caused strong contangos in NYMEX futures markets, boosting Q1 investment figures.
Although aboveground stocks of platinum remain elevated, they are being gradually drawn down, and continued mine cutbacks could eventually tip the market further into deficit territory.
Sterck tempered this outlook with caution: “It feels like, as that range is pinching out, we’re definitely getting to a point where it seems highly likely the price will begin to reflect the underlying deficits. So we’ll have to wait and see.”
Metals Focus projects an average platinum price of US$970 for 2025 — a modest increase from last year’s average — but notes that volatility could return if investor sentiment sharpens or supply disruptions worsen.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Macy’s cut its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday even as it beat Wall Street’s quarterly earnings expectations, as the retailer’s CEO said it will hike prices of certain items to offset tariffs.
In a news release, the department store operator said it reduced its earnings outlook because of higher tariffs, more promotions and “some moderation” in discretionary spending. Macy’s stuck by its full-year sales forecast, however.
For fiscal 2025, Macy’s now expects adjusted earnings per share of $1.60 to $2, down from its previous forecast of $2.05 to $2.25. It reaffirmed its full-year sales guidance of between $21 billion and $21.4 billion, which would be a decline from $22.29 billion in the most recent full year.
In an interview with CNBC, CEO Tony Spring said about 15 cents to 40 cents per share of the guidance cut is due to tariffs. He said about 20% of the company’s merchandise comes from China.
Macy’s will raise some prices and stop carrying certain items to mitigate the hit from tariffs, he added.
“You’re dealing with it on both the demand side as well as the increased cost side,” he said. “And so navigating that, we have a series of different scenarios to try to figure out kind of what will be the reality, and we want our guidance to reflect the flexibility of that uncertainty, so that we can react in real time to how we serve or better serve the consumer.”
Spring said the company will be “surgical” with price changes.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of approach,” he said. “There are going to be items that are the same price as they were a year ago. There is going to be, selectively, items that may be more expensive, and there are items that we might not carry because the pricing doesn’t merit the quality or the perceived value by the consumer.”
Here’s how Macy’s did during its fiscal first quarter, compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
In the three-month period that ended May 3, the company’s net income was $38 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with $62 million, or 22 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales dropped from $4.85 billion in the year-ago quarter. Excluding some one-time charges including restructuring charges, adjusted earnings per share were 16 cents.
The company’s shares were down more than 2% in early trading on Wednesday.
Economic uncertainty — including President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff announcements — has complicated Macy’s turnaround plans. The New York City-based legacy retailer is more than a year into a three-year effort to become a smaller, but healthier business. It’s shuttering weaker stores and investing in stronger parts of the company, including luxury department store Bloomingdale’s and beauty chain Bluemercury. It has also tried to improve the customer experience, including by speeding up online deliveries and adding staff to stores.
Spring told analysts on the earnings call that the tariff impact on Macy’s outlook includes the additional costs of inventory previously imported under the 145% China tariffs, which have since dropped to 30%. He said the outlook does not include a potential increase in tariffs on the European Union or any other U.S. trading partner.
Trump recently threatened to implement, and then delayed, a 50% tariff on the EU.
Macy’s sells a mix of national band private brands, which are sold exclusively at its stores and on its website. Spring told CNBC that the company has reduced the share of its private brands that comes from China to about 27% — a drop from 32% last year and more than 50% before the Covid pandemic.
CFO Adrian Mitchell said on the company’s earnings call that Macy’s has taken action to blunt the impact of tariffs on national brands it sells, too. He said the company has renegotiated orders with vendors, canceled some orders and delayed others.
“We’ve been able to gain some vendor discounts, which has been helpful to us, but we’re absorbing some of that price as well,” he said.
And in some cases, Macy’s is keeping prices the same despite higher costs to appeal to value-conscious customers and gain market share from competitors, Mitchell added.
Spring said on the company’s earnings call on Wednesday that Macy’s sales were stronger in March and April compared to February, attributing some of that to improving weather. So far, sales trends in the second quarter have been above those in March and April, he added.
Macy’s plans to close about 150 underperforming namesake stores across the country by early 2027.
In the fiscal first quarter, Macy’s namesake brand remained its weakest. Comparable sales across Macy’s owned and licensed business, plus its online marketplace, declined 2.1% year over year.
When Macy’s took out the stores that it plans to shutter, however, trends looked slightly better. Comparable sales of its go-forward business, including its owned and licensed business and online marketplace, declined 1.9%
On the other hand, comparable sales at Bloomingdale’s rose 3.8% year over year, including its owned, licensed and marketplace businesses. Comparable sales at Bluemercury climbed 1.5% year over year.
To try to turn its namesake stores around, Macy’s has invested in 50 locations — dubbed the “First 50” — with more staffing, sharper displays and changes to its mix of merchandise. It has expanded that initiative to 75 additional stores, bringing the total to 125 locations that have gotten increased attention. That’s a little over a third of the 350 namesake locations that Macy’s plans to keep open.
Those 125 locations performed better than the overall Macy’s brand. Comparable sales among those revamped stores owned and licensed by Macy’s were down 0.8% compared with the year-ago period.
On Macy’s earnings call in March — before Trump made several sudden tariff moves that baffled companies and investors — Spring said the company’s guidance “assumes a certain level of uncertainty” about the economic outlook. He said even Macy’s affluent customer “is just as uncertain and as confused and concerned by what’s transpiring.”
Earlier this spring, Macy’s announced a few key leadership changes — including a new chief financial officer. Macy’s new CFO, Thomas Edwards, will begin on June 22. He previously served as the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Capri Holdings, the parent company of Michael Kors. He will succeed Mitchell, who is leaving Macy’s.
As of Tuesday’s close, Macy’s shares are down about 29% so far this year. That trails the S&P 500′s nearly 1% gains during the same period. Macy’s stock closed on Tuesday at $12.04 per share, bringing the retailer’s market value to $3.35 billion.
Dick’s Sporting Goods said Wednesday it’s standing by its full-year guidance, which includes the expected impact from all tariffs currently in effect.
The sporting goods giant said it’s expecting earnings per share to be between $13.80 and $14.40 in fiscal 2025 — in line with the $14.29 that analysts had expected, according to LSEG.
It’s projecting revenue to be between $13.6 billion and $13.9 billion, which is also in line with expectations of $13.9 billion, according to LSEG.
“We are reaffirming our 2025 outlook, which reflects our strong start to the year and confidence in our strategies and operational strength while still acknowledging the dynamic macroeconomic environment,” CEO Lauren Hobart said in a news release. “Our performance demonstrates the momentum and strength of our long-term strategies and the consistency of our execution.”
Here’s how the company performed in its first fiscal quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended May 3 was $264 million, or $3.24 per share, compared with $275 million, or $3.30 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items related to its acquisition of Foot Locker, Dick’s posted earnings per share of $3.37.
Sales rose to $3.17 billion, up about 5% from $3.02 billion a year earlier.
For most investors, Dick’s results won’t come as a surprise because it preannounced some of its numbers about two weeks ago when it unveiled plans to acquire its longtime rival Foot Locker for $2.4 billion. So far, Dick’s has seen a mix of reactions to the proposed acquisition.
On one hand, Dick’s deal for Foot Locker will allow it to enter international markets for the first time and reach a customer that’s crucial to the sneaker market and doesn’t typically shop in the retailer’s stores. On the other hand, Dick’s is acquiring a business that’s been struggling for years and some aren’t sure needs to exist due to its overlap with other wholesalers and the rise of brands selling directly to consumers.
While shares of Foot Locker initially soared more than 80% after the deal was announced, shares of Dick’s fell about 15%.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of fiscal 2025 and, for now, Dick’s outlook doesn’t include acquisition-related costs or results from the acquisition.
In the first full fiscal year post-close, Dick’s expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings and deliver between $100 million and $125 million in cost synergies.