This article was written by

Follow

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of MSFT, GOOGL, AMZN, NVDA either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

MIAMI — Lionel Messi scored four goals and added an assist Saturday night as Inter Miami routed CF Montreal 7-1, snapping the team’s winless run in emphatic fashion and pushing the Argentine superstar to the top of Major League Soccer’s scoring race.

The victory at Nu Stadium marked a club record for goals scored in a single match for Inter Miami, according to ESPN, and came after the team had gone five games without a win. Miami improved to 12-4-6 on the season, ending August with a 1-2-2 record for the month despite the emphatic finish.

Carlos Casemiro opened the scoring in the 20th minute, heading in a corner kick from Telasco Segovia for his first goal in his sixth appearance for the club, while the assist marked a career-best ninth of the season for Segovia in his second MLS campaign. Montreal answered in the 37th minute when Fabian Herbers scored his first goal of the year to level the match at 1-1.

Messi took over from there. He put Miami back in front in the 40th minute with a free kick that deflected off a Montreal defender and past goalkeeper Thomas Gillier, marking his 15th goal of the season. He extended the lead to 3-1 in the 52nd minute, dribbling through a cluster of Montreal defenders before finishing with his right foot, a goal that pulled him level with FC Dallas forward Petar Musa atop the league’s scoring chart. Messi then set up Luis Suarez for Miami’s fourth goal in the 80th minute before completing his hat trick three minutes later, chipping the ball over Gillier following a pass from Rodrigo De Paul to make it 5-1. Eighteen-year-old rookie Alexander Shaw added a sixth goal in the 89th minute, his first in three MLS appearances, before Messi capped the rout with a curling free kick deep into stoppage time to make it 7-1.

The four-goal outing marked the eighth time in Messi’s career that he has scored four or more goals in a single match, and the first time he has done so since joining Inter Miami, according to ESPN. His last previous four-goal performance came in February 2020 for Barcelona against Eibar in Spain’s La Liga. He is also now the fastest player in MLS history to reach 20 multigoal games in a regular season, doing so in just 72 appearances for the club. With the performance, Messi moved to 18 goals for the season, two ahead of Musa for the league’s Golden Boot lead, and now has 62 career hat tricks at the club level.

Inter Miami teammate Casemiro praised Messi’s continued influence on the team following the match. “That’s what it means to have Messi on the team,” Casemiro told Apple TV. “We have to enjoy these moments because he is a person, a player that makes history. We saw today that we have to enjoy it, keep supporting and keep competing with him because he continues to be the best.”

Miami interim head coach Guillermo Hoyos, who was serving under a suspension and unable to be on the bench for the match, echoed that sentiment afterward. “There are no words to describe such footballing beauty,” Hoyos said. “So much is going on that words simply fall short.”

Miami’s dominance extended well beyond Messi’s individual tally, with the team controlling 57% of possession and finishing with 11 shots on goal, according to MSN. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair made three saves for Miami, while Gillier finished with five saves for Montreal, which fell to 5-11-6 on the season and has now lost five consecutive matches to Inter Miami. Miami’s rout also comes at a significant point in the Eastern Conference standings, providing a substantial confidence boost as the club looks to remain in contention for a top playoff position down the stretch of the regular season.

The result caps a particularly productive individual stretch for Messi, who at 39 years old continues to anchor Inter Miami’s attack alongside longtime national team teammates Suarez and De Paul. His performance Saturday further cements his status as the driving force behind the club since his 2023 arrival, with Saturday’s four-goal haul standing as one of the signature individual performances of his MLS tenure to date.

Download this episode on Apple Podcasts/Spotify or listen below:

August’s jobs report could cement a September rate hike. (0:17) Broadcom earnings give another look at the AI spending. (1:24) John Ternus takes the reins from Tim Cook at Apple. (1:56)

The following is an abridged transcript:

This week brings the August jobs report, which could be crucial for the Federal Reserve’s next move.

Following what traders saw as a hawkish Jackson Hole speech from new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, odds of a quarter-point September rate hike have jumped to 57% from 40%, with an 18% chance of another hike in October.

Economists expect a modest rise in August nonfarm payrolls of 55K, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.1%.

Wells Fargo economists say alternative indicators “suggest job growth has stabilized, rather than continuing to deteriorate.”

“Hiring measures from regional Fed surveys have improved in recent months, small business hiring plans have perked back up, and job openings have leveled off. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims remain near multi-decade lows, underscoring that layoffs are still contained.”

SA Analyst Damir Tokic expects a strong August jobs report to “cement” a quarter-point rate hike.

“Warsh clearly stated in his Jackson Hole speech that the labor market is strong, as the unemployment rate at 4.1% is very low by historical standards,” he said. “The main implication for monetary policy is that the labor market is fine, thus, the focus shifts entirely to inflation.”

On the earnings front, Broadcom (AVGO) will give further insight into AI spending when it reports Wednesday. Analysts expect EPS of $3.24 on revenue of $29.4B.

SA analyst Dustin Quasney says the stock faces elevated near-term downside risk ahead of earnings due to high expectations set by Nvidia’s recent results.

For those long the stock, he recommends covered calls that prioritize downside protection.

Here’s how the rest of the earnings calendar shapes up:

On Tuesday, Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Dell (DELL), and Medtronic (MDT) report.

Snowflake (SNOW) weighs in on Wednesday.

Ciena (CIEN) and Zscaler (ZS) are up Thursday.

Also this week, on Tuesday, John Ternus will step into the role of Apple (AAPL) CEO, taking over from Tim Cook, aka Tim Apple, who has led the tech giant since 2011. Cook will move into the role of executive chairman.

SA analyst Envision Research says they are confident the new leadership will preserve the company’s “well-established earning power and shareholder return mechanisms.”

They also see “additional opportunities for Ternus to capitalize on the vast installed (customer) base and to continue growing the base with his deep understanding of the company’s various hardware lineups.”

And Tesla (TSLA) plans to hold an invite-only Cybercab launch event Thursday in Austin, Texas, that will also be livestreamed.

The compact two-seater is designed without a steering wheel or pedals, with fully autonomous passenger transport as its sole purpose. Reports indicate riders may be able to request a Cybercab through Tesla’s existing Robotaxi app in Austin as early as next week.

In the news this weekend, Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang is a notable omission from Time Magazine’s newly released list of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence for 2026.

On a list featuring SpaceX (SPCX) CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI (OPENAI) CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic (ANTHRO) CEO Dario Amodei, Huang’s absence raised eyebrows.

Huang was included in the three previous TIME100 AI editions.

And for income investors, Northrop Grumman (NOC) goes ex-dividend Monday, paying out on Sept. 16.

Nike (NKE) and McDonald’s (MCD) go ex-dividend Tuesday. Nike pays out on Oct. 1, and McDonald’s pays out on Sept. 16.

Qualcomm (QCOM) goes ex-dividend Thursday, with a Sept. 24 payout date.

Apple is preparing to unveil its first foldable iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max at a Sept. 9 event, and mounting leaks suggest the standard Pro models could actually outperform the pricier foldable device, widely expected to be called the iPhone Ultra, in several meaningful ways.

Apple confirmed its fall product event this week with a media invitation carrying the tagline “Surprise and shine,” alongside rumors that the company will unveil three flagship devices this September rather than the usual four-model iPhone lineup: the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the company’s long-rumored foldable. Reports suggest the base iPhone 18 and a lower-cost iPhone 18e will instead arrive in spring 2027, a departure from Apple’s traditional September release pattern.

The first advantage centers on the camera. According to a report from 9to5Mac, the iPhone 18 Pro line is expected to gain a variable-aperture main camera, a feature that would let users manually adjust how much light reaches the sensor, potentially improving Portrait mode results and offering greater control over depth of field along with meaningful gains in low-light photography. Multiple outlets, including the technology site Gotechtor, have reported that the foldable iPhone is not expected to receive the same hardware, largely because the components required for variable aperture are believed to be too large to fit inside the device’s notably thin body.

A second advantage involves optical zoom. Current reports indicate the foldable iPhone will ship with only two rear cameras, a main sensor and an ultrawide lens, while the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are expected to retain a dedicated telephoto lens as part of their triple-camera systems. That would leave Apple’s most expensive iPhone without true optical zoom capability, a notable gap for a flagship-priced device that could push buyers who prioritize zoom photography toward the standard Pro models instead.

Battery life represents a third area where the Pro line is expected to have an edge. According to 9to5Mac, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is rumored to receive a physical battery roughly 10% larger than the one in the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and it is expected to benefit further from efficiency improvements tied to Apple’s new A20 Pro chip and its in-house C2 modem. While regulatory filings suggest the foldable iPhone should still offer solid battery performance for its category, most reports agree the Pro Max’s combination of a larger physical battery and chip-level efficiency gains should make it the longest-lasting iPhone Apple has ever released, a benchmark the foldable’s unique thin-and-light form factor makes difficult to match.

A fourth potential advantage involves biometric security. Multiple outlets, including Tom’s Guide, have reported that the foldable iPhone may forgo Face ID entirely in favor of Touch ID built into its power button, a design choice likely driven by the challenge of fitting Face ID’s sensor array into such a thin device. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, by contrast, are expected to retain Face ID, preserving the more familiar unlocking and authentication experience current iPhone Pro owners are accustomed to.

Raw processing performance provides a fifth point of separation. According to Tom’s Guide, the foldable iPhone is rumored to use a standard A20 chip rather than the more powerful A20 Pro variant found in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, even though both chips are expected to be built on the same advanced 2-nanometer manufacturing process, which industry reports suggest could deliver roughly a 15% improvement in processing speed and a 20% boost in efficiency compared with the current generation.

These reported trade-offs come as the foldable iPhone is expected to command a substantially higher price than the Pro lineup, with multiple outlets estimating a starting price near 2,000 dollars, nearly double what the iPhone 17 Pro Max currently costs. Design-wise, the foldable is rumored to open in a book-style format with a titanium frame, an outer display measuring roughly 5.3 to 5.5 inches, and an inner display around 7.6 to 7.8 inches when unfolded, aiming for an iPad-like 4:3 aspect ratio and a display Apple hopes will be nearly free of the visible crease common to other foldable phones on the market.

Apple has not confirmed any of these specifications ahead of its Sept. 9 event, and the company’s official presentation remains the only source that will resolve the current wave of speculation. For consumers weighing whether the novelty of a folding screen justifies the foldable’s expected premium, however, current leaks suggest the more traditional iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max could actually deliver stronger cameras, longer battery life, familiar biometric security and faster raw performance, at a considerably lower price than Apple’s most ambitious device to date.

A new randomized clinical trial from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that a ketogenic diet outperformed two other widely recommended eating plans at reversing prediabetes and reducing fat buildup in the liver, even when all three diets produced identical amounts of weight loss.

The study, published Aug. 27 in the journal Cell Metabolism, compared a low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet against a high-carbohydrate, low-fat, plant-forward diet and a Mediterranean diet that balanced the two approaches. Researchers randomly assigned 55 adults with what they described as metabolically unhealthy obesity, meaning obesity accompanied by prediabetes and fatty liver disease, to follow one of the three diets for approximately five months. Participants received all of their food throughout the study and met weekly with a study dietitian to support adherence to their assigned plan.

Across all three diet groups, participants lost a comparable amount of weight, shedding roughly 10% of their starting body weight, and saw insulin sensitivity in their muscle cells improve by about 50% from baseline. According to the study’s senior author, Dr. Samuel Klein, the Danforth Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Science at WashU Medicine, that consistency suggests weight loss itself, rather than the specific balance of fat and carbohydrates used to achieve it, was the key driver behind the improvement in muscle insulin sensitivity. “For patients with obesity, prediabetes and fatty liver disease, weight loss induced by a very low-carbohydrate diet provides additional therapeutic effects on glucose and lipid metabolism that should further help prevent the progression to more severe metabolic diseases than weight loss alone,” Klein said. “But all three diets, despite vastly different macronutrient makeups, from very low carbohydrates to very high carbohydrates, successfully improved metabolic health through weight loss alone.”

The results diverged sharply, however, when it came to liver health. The research team found that insulin sensitivity in liver cells, which governs how effectively the liver suppresses glucose production, improved two to three times more among participants on the ketogenic diet compared with those on the other two plans, even though all three groups showed some improvement. The ketogenic diet also reduced fat stored inside the liver by 67% after five months, compared with a 45% reduction on the other two diets.

Study first author Dr. Max C. Petersen, an assistant professor of medicine in WashU Medicine’s John T. Milliken Department of Medicine, said the findings carry significant implications given how widespread fatty liver disease has become. “Fatty liver disease affects about 75% of adults with obesity worldwide and has become the fastest-growing cause of chronic liver disease and liver cirrhosis,” Petersen said. “Our study shows that for people with obesity and fatty liver disease, a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet could help reduce that statistic.”

Blood sugar control also improved more substantially among participants following the ketogenic diet. Researchers measured a 20% reduction in 24-hour blood glucose levels from baseline among the low-carbohydrate group, compared with an 8% reduction among participants on the other two diets. Insulin levels throughout the day fell by 74% on the ketogenic diet, compared with declines of 44% on the Mediterranean diet and 27% on the high-carbohydrate diet, a pattern the researchers said reflects reduced demand on the pancreas to produce insulin when carbohydrate intake is sharply limited.

The difference in outcomes was most striking when it came to reversing prediabetes entirely. Half of the participants assigned to the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet reversed their prediabetes by the end of the study, compared with 29% of those on the Mediterranean diet and just 7% of those on the high-carbohydrate, plant-forward diet.

Petersen noted that the findings remain relevant even as GLP-1 medications, a class of drugs that includes semaglutide and other treatments widely used for weight loss, have become an increasingly common tool for managing obesity and its associated health risks. “Many metabolically unhealthy patients also are candidates for GLP-1 medicines, which have been very useful tools for helping people lose weight,” Petersen said. “But our results show that choice of diet remains important because it has an impact on specific health outcomes that go beyond weight loss alone.”

Obesity affects roughly four in 10 Americans, according to the study, and frequently coexists with metabolic complications including insulin resistance, prediabetes and fatty liver buildup, conditions that can progress over time to Type 2 diabetes, chronic liver disease and cardiovascular events if left untreated. While weight loss has long been established as the most effective overall strategy for reducing these risks, researchers said it has remained unclear until now which specific dietary approach, in terms of its balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates, produces the greatest improvement in underlying metabolic health markers beyond weight loss alone.

The research team, which also included Dr. Gordon I. Smith, an associate professor of medicine at WashU Medicine, said future studies will examine the underlying biological mechanisms responsible for the metabolic benefits observed with weight loss, including how those mechanisms may interact with the growing use of GLP-1 medications in clinical practice. As with any nutrition research involving significant dietary changes, individuals considering major shifts to their eating patterns, particularly those managing existing health conditions, are generally advised to consult a physician or registered dietitian before beginning a new diet plan.

HARMONY, N.C. — Health officials in North Carolina are asking anyone who touched baby goats from a mobile petting zoo to contact their local health department after laboratory tests confirmed rabies in several of the animals.

The goats belonged to Farm Adventures, based in Iredell County. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said people may have been exposed at the farm’s Harmony site or at off-site events between July 28 and Aug. 27. Three kids tested positive at the State Laboratory of Public Health. A fourth was not tested but is assumed to have been infected. All four were euthanized.

Officials said there is no wide public threat. “There is not a broad risk to the public — only those who attended events at the mobile petting zoo and were in close contact with the goats are at risk,” the department said.

The animals were most likely infected by a skunk that entered their pen in late July. State health and agriculture agencies were notified Aug. 27. Testing results came back Aug. 28. Investigators later concluded that no other animals on the farm pose a rabies risk to people.

Baby goats are often bottle-fed, held and cuddled, which raises the chance of saliva contact. “Because baby goats are frequently bottle-fed, handled closely, or cuddled, public health officials are working proactively to ensure anyone who had direct contact with the affected animals is evaluated,” the state health department said.

The zoo took the animals to events that included children and older adults. Known sites include Jurney’s Assisted Living in Statesville on July 28; a private event in Mecklenburg County on July 30; the Community Connections Back-to-School Bash at Breeden Amphitheater in Lexington on Aug. 1; a private event near Boone in Watauga County on Aug. 8; a private event on Miller Mills Road in Hickory, Burke County, on Aug. 9; the Masonic Picnic in Mocksville; and additional private gatherings in Iredell and Durham counties later in August. Organizers are being notified as lists are completed.

Mecklenburg County Health Director Kimberly Scott said residents should not wait to feel sick. “Residents should not wait for symptoms before calling,” she said. “What’s important is that we don’t wait for the onset of symptoms when it is more difficult to treat and often most fatal.”

Scott told reporters that county teams are still compiling how many people may have been reached and that hospitals appear to have enough postexposure prophylaxis on hand, with plans to obtain more if needed.

Farm Adventures identified the goats as Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno. In a social media post the owners wrote that their “4 precious baby goats have been euthanized to prevent further spread” and that staff would monitor remaining animals under official guidance. The kids had been kept apart because they were too young to vaccinate.

Owner Misty Love told CNN she is cooperating. “I care about my community, and I care about my customers,” she said. “If my customers that saw my animals have questions, I’m going to be there for them.”

Love said a wild skunk was found in the enclosure on July 29 and was shot and burned. She said the goats did not appear bitten and showed no signs of illness at first. One died Aug. 19. Another became sick the next day and was euthanized. A necropsy confirmed infection. A farm post also said that during removal of the skunk, “the skunk was able to bite the goats,” and that owners had “no clue” at the time.

North Carolina has not reported a human rabies case since 2011. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fewer than 10 human deaths are reported in a typical year. The virus spreads mainly through saliva, usually from a bite, though scratches or contact with mucous membranes can also transmit it. Incubation can last weeks to months. Once symptoms appear — often flu-like illness, then neurological decline — the disease is almost always fatal. Treatment given before symptoms, known as postexposure prophylaxis, is highly effective.

Livestock present a lower risk than wild carnivores or bats, officials said, but close handling changes the calculation. Skunks, raccoons, bats and foxes account for most animal rabies in the state. In 2025, about 6 percent of more than 4,000 animals submitted for testing were positive.

County health departments have opened extra phone lines. Davidson County directed Lexington event-goers to a call center. Rowan County asked anyone who touched, held or fed the kids to call even if no event has been confirmed inside that county. Catawba County noted the Hickory-area date and asked residents who may have crossed the county line to check in.

The investigation remains open. Officials are matching booking calendars with attendance lists and advising people to call their health department before walking into an emergency room, so staff can assess risk and direct them if shots are needed.

For families who stood in line at a back-to-school bash or an assisted-living visit, the message is narrow and urgent: if you handled those four goats in that one-month window, pick up the phone. Rabies is rare. Waiting for a fever is not the plan.