SEC Chairman Paul Atkins details what he calls the agency’s most historic step yet on crypto regulation and expresses hope that the CLARITY Act will reach President Trump’s desk.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving to give crypto companies a clearer path to raise capital in the United States as the agency seeks to bring crypto-asset investment and innovation back onshore while keeping activity under U.S. law.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins joined FOX Business’ Cheryl Casone on “Mornings with Maria” to discuss the agency’s new crypto proposal, its exemptions and the broader push to make the U.S. the “crypto capital” of the world.
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SEC Chair Paul Atkins unveils proposal to bring crypto investment back to the U.S. (Al Drago/The Washington Post/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
“Our regulation crypto assets that we’re calling it, that we’ve proposed is our most historic step yet to try to bring reality to the president’s call to make the United States the crypto capital world,” Atkins said.
The proposal comes as Congress considers the CLARITY Act, which Atkins said he hopes will ultimately reach the president’s desk. The SEC is moving ahead with its own proposal and seeking public comment as it develops a regulatory framework alongside Congress’ work on the legislation.
SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda discusses OpenAI and Anthropic’s IPO ambitions, new crypto regulations and President Donald Trump’s digital asset agenda on ‘Mornings with Maria.’
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Atkins framed the proposal as an effort to reverse an exodus of crypto innovators and give companies more reason to develop products and raise money in the United States.
“I think this is an important step to try to reassure, to bring back on to the United States shore, innovators whom we have over the past administration’s four year term, chased offshore, frankly, for them to develop their products and raise money abroad,” he said.
Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick discusses the Senate’s upcoming priorities. McCormick expresses frustration over the recess delay on the critical third reconciliation package to pass the Save America Act.
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He also argued that keeping investment opportunities in the U.S. matters because Americans can already move capital across borders online.
“We can’t fool ourselves. American investors in the age of the internet can send their money anywhere. So we need to make sure that they can do it here in the United States under United States law,” Atkins said.
Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) Q2 2027 Earnings Call September 2, 2026 4:30 PM EDT
Company Participants
Christiane Pelz – Vice President of Investor Relations Winifred Park – President, CEO & Director Daniel Sullivan – CFO & Treasurer
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Conference Call Participants
Randal Konik – Jefferies LLC, Research Division Krisztina Katai – Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division Matthew Boss – JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division Robert Ohmes – BofA Securities, Research Division Michael Lasser – UBS Investment Bank, Research Division David Bellinger – Mizuho Securities USA LLC, Research Division Joseph Feldman – Telsey Advisory Group LLC Scot Ciccarelli Charles Grom – Gordon Haskett Research Advisors Jeremy Hamblin – Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Research Division Edward Kelly – Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division Katharine McShane – Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division John Heinbockel – Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Research Division Zhihan Ma – Bernstein Institutional Services LLC, Research Division Phillip Blee – William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division
Presentation
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Operator
Good day, and welcome to the Five Below Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note today’s event is being recorded.
I’d now like to turn the conference over to Christiane Pelz, VP, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
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Christiane Pelz Vice President of Investor Relations
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for joining us today for Five Below’s Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. On today’s call are Winnie Park, Chief Executive Officer; and Dan Sullivan, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. After management has made their formal remarks, we will open the call to questions. Certain comments made during this call may constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements, including those described in the press release and our SEC filings.
In this presentation, we will refer to our SG&A expenses, which for us includes depreciation and
Daniel is an avid and active professional investor.
He runs Crude Value Insights, a value-oriented newsletter aimed at analyzing the cash flows and assessing the value of companies in the oil and gas space. His primary focus is on finding businesses that are trading at a significant discount to their intrinsic value by employing a combination of Benjamin Graham’s investment philosophy and a contrarian approach to the market and the securities therein. Learn more.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. 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.
The U.S. economy’s softer labor market this summer follows stronger employment growth in the spring, according to Vanguard senior economist Adam Schickling.
Companies in the private sector added 38,000 jobs in August, payroll processing firm ADP said in its latest report on Wednesday.
The figure is below economists’ estimates of a gain of 48,000 jobs and down from the prior month’s revised 46,000 payrolls. August’s figure is the lowest since January.
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“Pay can tell us a lot about today’s choppy hiring,” said Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist. “To understand hiring patterns, you have to look deeply into where pay growth is accelerating, where it’s slowing, and for whom. Once-predictable wage growth has been overtaken by the complexities of demographic change, persistent inflation, and AI’s effects on jobs.”
Companies in the private sector added 38,000 jobs in August, ADP said. (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg)
Which industries are hiring the most workers, according to the ADP report?
Education and health services added 45,000 positions, leading job creation in August. Leisure and hospitality added 16,000, and financial activities and other services each gained 6,000.
Large businesses – those with 500 or more employees – gained 34,000 jobs in August. Hiring for businesses with 50 to 499 employees was flat. Establishments with fewer than 50 employees gained 3,000 jobs.
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Large businesses – those with 500 or more employees – gained 34,000 jobs in August. (iStock)
People staying in their roles saw their pay climb 4.4% from the prior year, while pay gains for those changing their jobs accelerated to 7.3%.
The ADP data is released before the Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report, which is due on Friday morning and can differ notably. The government data is expected to show an increase of 56,000 positions, above the unexpected loss of 23,000 reported in July. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.1%.
NEW YORK — “Dancing with the Stars” unveiled its full season 35 cast on Wednesday, revealing a lineup of 16 celebrities that includes Grammy-nominated musicians, Olympic athletes, television veterans and reality stars, alongside the professional dancers who will guide them through the ballroom this fall.
The full reveal took place live on “Good Morning America,” capping weeks of speculation and a handful of earlier confirmations that had trickled out ahead of Wednesday’s official announcement.
Leading the cast is Taylor Hanson, one-third of the pop-rock band Hanson, who rose to fame alongside his brothers in the early 1990s with the hit single “MMMBop” from their album “Middle of Nowhere.” Hanson will be partnered with pro Britt Stewart.
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Also joining the ballroom is Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress Julia Stiles, best known for her breakout role in the 1999 teen comedy “10 Things I Hate About You.” Stiles, who has also appeared in “Dexter,” the “Bourne” film franchise, “Hustlers” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” made her feature directorial debut last year with “Wish You Were Here.” She is paired with pro Ezra Sosa.
Guillermo Rodriguez, the longtime comedic sidekick to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, was among the first celebrities confirmed for the season back in June. Rodriguez, who has worked on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for more than two decades after being discovered while working as a security guard in the show’s parking lot, will dance with defending champion Witney Carson, who is returning to the competition while pregnant.
Reality television also has a significant presence in this year’s cast. Maura Higgins, who finished as runner-up on the most recent season of “The Traitors” and previously competed on “Love Island,” is paired with pro Mark Ballas. Ciara Miller, known for her role on Bravo’s “Summer House,” will dance with pro Brandon Armstrong. And Conner Leavitt, of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” will be partnered with rookie pro Adele Zaikman, who recently won the show’s spinoff competition series, “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro.”
Rounding out the reality and entertainment contingent is Savannah Bananas baseball star Jackson Olson, who rose to prominence with the exhibition barnstorming team known for blending baseball with dance routines and comedy. Olson is partnered with pro Emma Slater.
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The cast also features two performers with extensive professional dance backgrounds. Jenna Dewan, known for her roles in “The Rookie” and the “Step Up” film franchise, began her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and has since hosted “World of Dance” and “Flirty Dancing.” She will compete alongside pro Val Chmerkovskiy. Harry Shum Jr., known for his roles in “Glee” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” previously performed as a backup dancer for artists including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Mariah Carey. He is paired with pro Jenna Johnson.
Sports fans will recognize several new additions to the cast as well. “The Bachelorette” alum Tyler Cameron will compete with pro Sharna Burgess, who is returning to the ballroom for the first time since 2011 after a lengthy hiatus from the show. Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn is partnered with pro Pasha Pashkov, while Paralympian Ezra Frech will dance alongside pro Daniella Karagach. Comedian and podcaster Connor Wood rounds out the athletic and comedic mix, paired with pro Rylee Arnold.
Celebrity chef and Food Network host Giada De Laurentiis will also compete this season, partnered with pro Alan Bersten, while “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” alum Tatyana Ali is paired with pro Jan Ravnik.
Among the season’s most notable pairings is Sarah Jane Nader, known for appearing on Freeform’s “Love Thy Nader” alongside her sisters, including former “DWTS” competitor Brooks Nader. Sarah Jane Nader will be partnered with Hailey Bills, a former “Dancing” troupe member who has been promoted to full professional status for the new season. Their partnership marks the third same-sex pairing in the show’s history.
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Bills’ promotion to pro status is not the only shakeup on the professional dancer side this season. Adele Zaikman also joins the professional roster for the first time after winning “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro” earlier this summer, while Mark Ballas returns after previously serving as a judge on that same spinoff series.
Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough will return as the show’s judging panel for season 35, while Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough will once again serve as co-hosts. Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s reveal, Ribeiro described what continues to draw audiences back to the long-running competition series each season.
Ribeiro said the “magic” of the show lies in the thoughtful pairings between celebrities and professional dancers, a dynamic he said remains at the heart of the series even as its cast composition shifts year to year.
Julianne Hough, meanwhile, teased a particular theme night she is especially looking forward to this season.
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“The fashion is going to be really fun with one specific theme night,” Hough said. “For me at least, I’m very excited.”
Season 35 will kick off with a two-night premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and Wednesday, Sept. 16, airing at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming the following day on Hulu. The premiere will also introduce a new live companion special, “DWTS After Party,” hosted by season 34 winner Robert Irwin, which will air following the Sept. 16 episode. The special will feature check-ins with eliminated contestants and a look back at standout moments from the night, alongside appearances from past “DWTS” competitors.
This season marks another milestone for the franchise as it continues to draw from an increasingly wide range of celebrity backgrounds, from professional athletes and Olympians to musicians, chefs and television personalities, reflecting the show’s long-running strategy of pairing broad name recognition with the physical and emotional demands of live competitive ballroom dancing.
Fans eager to follow the season’s early frontrunners and underdogs will have their first opportunity to see the full cast perform when the two-night premiere begins airing later this month.
With combined experience of covering technology companies on Wall Street and working in Silicon Valley, and serving as an outside adviser to several seed-round startups, Gary Alexander has exposure to many of the themes shaping the industry today. He has been a regular contributor on Seeking Alpha since 2017. He has been quoted in many web publications and his articles are syndicated to company pages in popular trading apps like Robinhood.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of CRM 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.
France has started imposing fees on fast fashion items which could reach almost €20 per garment by 2030, as the government tries to curb sales of cheap clothing sold by e-commerce sites.
The levy, which came into force on Tuesday, follows a new law passed in June to regulate so-called “ultra-fast fashion” companies such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress.
The e-commerce giants, known for selling large volumes of cheap apparel, have been criticised by French officials for driving a surge in fast fashion.
China’s commerce ministry has described the French law as discriminatory and a trade barrier, saying it could violate World Trade Organization (WTO) principles.
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French minister Mathieu Lefevre said the “harmful effects of ultra-fast fashion” on the environment and economy were “well known”.
In July, Lefevre’s office said the levy would not apply to retailers such as H&M or Zara, prompting some to say that the measure appeared to spare European companies.
Under the legislation, ultra-fast fashion will be determined according to two factors: the volume of clothing placed on the market and the cost of repairing garments relative to their purchase price.
The per-item fee will vary on a set scale according to how each product scores on both these standards.
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For 2026, the charges range from a €0.50 (£0.43) levy on underwear to €2 (£1.71) for T-shirts, to €9 (£7.71) for jeans and €12 (£10.28) for a jacket.
The levy could reach up to €19.50 (£16.71/$22.60) per item by 2030, though the cap remains at 50% of the product’s pre-tax price.
Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday negotiated leaping oil prices and an unprecedented yield spike across the globe to remain above 95 to a dollar for the second day running, with traders attributing the local unit’s standout performance to aggressive dollar sales by the central bank.
The rupee closed at 94.97, versus its previous close of 94.95, and traded in a narrow range of 94.89 and 94.98. Its showing stood in sharp relief to a fresh bout of volatility in equities, where the Nifty slumped below the 24,000 mark at close for the first time in six weeks. State run banks, on behalf of the RBI, were likely selling dollars at weaker levels to contain further depreciation past the 95 per dollar mark, traders said.
Matternet CEO Andreas Raptopoulos discusses the race to scale drone delivery and the future of U.S. airspace economy on ‘Mornings with Maria.’
A Democratic-socialist policy backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani could cost New York City households an extra $664 a year, Amazon warned Fox News Digital, as a union-backed push to require delivery companies to directly employ certain workers could drive some delivery operations out of the five boroughs.
“We’ve made clear to every Council member: we’re not looking to leave New York City and our goal has been — and continues to be — to work collaboratively with them,” an Amazon spokesperson told Fox Digital. “Our priority is to continue creating good jobs and supporting our employees in New York City. We’re equally committed to the local small business partners who work with us every day to provide fast, reliable delivery for New Yorkers.”
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Amazon has publicly opposed Intro 0518, known as the Delivery Protection Act, which was introduced by Democratic-socialist City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán and backed by Mamdani. The bill would ban large shipping companies like Amazon from using third-party contractors for last-mile deliveries.
Amazon has publicly opposed Intro 0518-2026, known as the Delivery Protection Act, which was introduced by Democratic socialist New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán and backed by Mamdani. The bill would require operators of certain last-mile facilities to directly employ workers performing core services, including delivery, while restricting subcontracting for that work.
“Corporations like Amazon build billion-dollar business models by insulating themselves from accountability through a system of exploitative subcontracting,” Mayor Mamdani’s office said in a press release.
“Through delivery subcontractors, corporations dictate hiring standards, delivery routes, steep productivity quotas and workplace expectations while denying that the workers making those deliveries are employees,” it continued. “The result is a system that leaves workers vulnerable and corporations free to avoid accountability for reckless conditions on city streets.”
Amazon delivery service partners’ jobs are at risk due to a Mamdani-backed bill that would ban third-party contractors. (Getty Images)
Amazon cited an analysis by consulting firm AKRF, commissioned by the Five Borough Jobs Campaign, that projected the legislation could increase delivery costs for consumers.
“This bill would drive delivery costs up by forcing facilities farther from customers — increasing per-route travel time, fuel, and labor while reducing packages delivered per route — with full relocation modeling a 267% cost increase per package for deliveries currently handled by NYC facilities, service-level declines of 10 to 21%, and an additional $664 in annual delivery costs passed through to every New York City household,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“As written, this legislation would put more than 40 [delivery service partners] and their 5,000-plus employees at risk — while likely resulting in slower, more expensive delivery for millions of New York City customers,” they added. “We’re evaluating all options to try and limit this impact, including the potential relocation of operations and delivery facilities outside of New York City.”
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani faces criticism for skipping a crucial Pied-à-terre tax hearing, opting instead to submit a written statement. Panelists on ‘Mornings with Maria’ debate the political fallout of the decision.
That means moving outside the five boroughs to New Jersey, Long Island or Westchester to avoid city licensing mandates.
“Many of the small business owners in this coalition are minorities and first-generation Americans who beat the odds to become entrepreneurs in New York City,” the New York Delivers Coalition — who joins Amazon in opposition of the bill — also told Fox Digital. “We built our businesses from the ground up in our own communities, often starting with ourselves or family members as our first employees. Today, many of us employ more than 100 New Yorkers, including people who have faced barriers to traditional employment and have built careers and financial security through these jobs. Intro 0518 puts all of that — the businesses we built, the jobs we created, and the futures our employees are building — at risk.”
“We are small business owners in New York City, and we want the City Council to understand that many last-mile delivery companies are real, independent small businesses that hire from the communities we deliver in. We hire our own W-2 employees, manage our own teams and payroll,” the coalition said. “Large corporations like Amazon have the resources to adapt to sweeping new mandates. It’s the independent small businesses they contract with that would be forced to shut down, putting the jobs of over 10,000 local New Yorkers at risk.”
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FOX Business correspondent Madison Alworth reports on the retail giant’s autonomous drone technology, pricing structure and competition with Walmart.
Neither the New York City Council, Cabán nor Mayor Mamdani’s office immediately returned Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“We’ve invited every member to visit our delivery stations and meet DSPs and their employees,” Amazon said. “We hope Councilmember Cabán will do so — we’ve asked her directly — but haven’t gotten a response yet.”
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“Our message is simple: come see how our businesses actually work. Visit one of our facilities, ride along on a delivery route, and talk directly to our employees about their jobs and what’s at stake,” the coalition said. “We want a seat at the table before decisions are made that could put our businesses and employees out of work.”
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