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Indian markets have been volatile as the Adani crisis continues to dominate headlines, but analysts say this could be a buying opportunity.
Investors looking to buy into India’s real estate can consider playing the country’s infrastructure sector through domestic cement names, Garre said. 
However, Praveen Jagwani of UTI International Singapore said investors should choose cement names carefully, and recommends pharmaceutical stocks to watch as well.

The Indian government announced during the annual budget on Feb. 1 that the country will increase infrastructure spending by 33% to 10 trillion rupees ($122.29 billion) in the next fiscal year.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Indian markets have been volatile as the Adani crisis continues to dominate headlines, but analysts say this could be a buying opportunity.
In particular, some are bullish about the construction sector and say an infrastructure push could benefit cement stocks.

In a January note, Bernstein analysts led by Venugopal Garre, said they were “generally optimistic about the real estate cycle and the potential for a better rural environment.”
Investors can consider playing the country’s infrastructure sector through domestic cement names, Garre said. 

Cement: UltraTech, Ambuja

Bernstein likes UltraTech Cement — a company Garre said has the capacity to keep up with the growing number of real estate projects coming up in India. 
He said “70% of cement demand comes from real estate, and 30% comes from infrastructure,” and added that when a new property is built, cement is needed from the first day the project cycle commences. 
This is unlike electric equipment or circuitry that is only needed in the third or fourth year of the construction project, he explained. 

Sanjiv Bhasin, director at IIFL Securities, also said UltraTech Cement is one of the firm’s “top picks,” along with Ambuja Cements.
Shares of UltraTech Cement was trading at about 7,123.05 on Wednesday, lower by 0.21%. The stock is close to its 52-week intraday high, according to FactSet.
The government’s spending on infrastructure is increasing and “we think cement prices are headed higher because we [are going] into a season where construction activity may be at the highest,” Bhasin said. 
FactSet data showed shares of Ambuja Cements have fallen 34% year-to-date. Bhasin has said the stock is a buy and that it’s a “brilliant opportunity” despite the current market volatility.
The Adani Group owns a 63.15% stake in Ambuja Cements, Refinitiv showed.
The price for Ambuja Cements is falling “because it exists within the Adani umbrella,” said Praveen Jagwani, chief executive officer at UTI International Singapore.
“This temporary fiasco is only a buying opportunity … We still think that UltraTech and Ambuja are very, very good plays on the cement side,” Bhasin said, adding than an impetus on infrastructure spending will cause these names to outperform in the next quarter.

India’s infrastructure push

Morgan Stanley is bullish on India’s industrials sector, its analysts said in a note on Feb. 1 after the budget announcement.”As the Budget supports capex and employment creation, we remain constructive on the domestic demand strength,” the financial services firm said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced during the annual budget last week that the country will increase infrastructure spending by 33% to 10 trillion rupees ($122.29 billion) in the next fiscal year. India’s fiscal year starts in April and ends in March the next year.
India’s construction materials industry should see some upside from the rise in capital expenditure, but investors have to be “very careful” when picking cement stocks, Jagwani told CNBC.
India needs more high quality commercial buildings, roads and airports, but the country’s infrastructure sector is also “super unpredictable and risky,” Jagwani warned.
Return on investment would fall each year as infrastructure projects get delayed, Jagwani pointed out, claiming that it happens frequently in India. 

Engineering: ABB India, Siemens India and more

Engineering companies that focus on infrastructure and construction are also good buys, IIFL Securities said.
They include ABB India, Siemens India, and Larsen & Turbo.
Larsen & Turbo will be coming out with “higher double digit margins, and their order flows are the strongest,” Bhasin said. 

UTI International also likes Berger Paints, which Jagwani said has the “ingredients” to see a continuous growth in sales and will benefit not just from new buildings being built, but older ones that need maintenance. 
“Paint is in the replacement market. People need to get their houses and apartments painted every few years because of rain and excessive heat,” he said. 
The shares, however, are down 4.5% year-to-date and close to their 52-week intraday low of 527.6 rupees. Berger Paints was trading at about 555.45 rupees on Wednesday. 
— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report. 

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GOP lawmakers filed briefs at the Supreme Court, asking the justices to block Biden’s historic student loan forgiveness plan.
More than half of House Republicans, or 128 legislators, and 40 GOP senators, among them Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, oppose the debt relief policy.
The Biden administration insists that it’s acting within the law.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky at the U.S. Capitol Building on Feb. 13, 2023.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Dozens of Republican members of Congress have filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan should be ruled unlawful.
“Congress authorized the forgiveness of federal student loan debt only in specific, narrow circumstances,” argued the brief filed by more than 40 GOP senators, among them Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “This is not one of them.”

The Republican senators wrote that the plan threatens “to deprive the Nation of nearly half a trillion dollars, and offend the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.”
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More than half of House Republicans, or 128 legislators, also filed a brief with the country’s highest court, making a similar argument. They say that “petitioners’ assertion of power to forgive everyfederal student loan in the country, potentially even a decade after the Covid-19 pandemic ends, raises significant separation of powers concerns.”
The briefs were filed this month as the high court prepares to hear oral arguments, scheduled for Feb. 28, on the student loan forgiveness plan.
In response to a request for comment, a Biden administration official said that “the only thing notable about this brief is that, if these Republican lawmakers get their way, millions of their own constituents will be denied debt relief.”

Opposition to relief is ‘almost entirely Republican’

Looking at the briefs filed with the Supreme Court so far over President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of Americans, it’s clear that this is a highly partisan issue, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
“The opposition to the president’s plan is almost entirely Republican,” Kantrowitz said.
GOP-led states and conservative groups have brought at least six lawsuits against the sweeping policy, and the court has agreed to hear two of them. For now, the legal troubles have stopped the Biden administration from starting to cancel any student debt, though it had planned to start doing so within months of its August announcement.

The White House has insisted that it’s acting within the law, pointing out that the Heroes Act of 2003 grants the U.S. education secretary the authority to make changes to the federal student loan system during national emergencies. The nation has been operating under an emergency declaration since March 2020 because of the Covid pandemic.
The law is a product of the 9/11 terrorist attacks more than two decades ago, and an earlier version of it had provided relief to federal student loan borrowers who’d been affected by those events.
The Republican senators, in their brief, counter that that law “permits only modest measures to prevent certain individuals from losing ground on their loans due to hardships induced by a war or national emergency.”

However, the Biden administration argues the pandemic financially set back federal student loan borrowers, many of whom were struggling even before the public health crisis began.
Only about half of borrowers were in repayment in 2019, according to an estimate by Kantrowitz. A quarter — or more than 10 million people — were in delinquency or default, and the rest had applied for temporary relief measures, such as deferments or forbearances, for struggling borrowers.
These grim figures led to comparisons to the 2008 mortgage crisis. 

U.S. Department of Education Undersecretary James Kvaal said in a recent court filing that if the government isn’t allowed to provide debt relief for federal student loan borrowers, there could be a “historically large increase in the amount of federal student loan delinquency and defaults as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

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High inflation persisted in January, with the consumer price index rising 6.4% from a year ago.
Here’s which prices have notably jumped year over year, based on government data released Tuesday.

A man walks past a grocery store on February 01, 2023 in New York City. Wages for workers in most major U.S. cities grew at a slower pace in the final three months of 2022, with inflation still outstripping pay for many workers.
Leonardo Munoz | Corbis News | Getty Images

High inflation has followed the U.S. economy into 2023, as consumers continued to see high prices in January.
Inflation rose 0.5% for the month and 6.4% over the past 12 months, according to consumer price index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. Both results were higher than some economists’ expectations, which had predicted 0.4% for the month and 6.2% year over year.

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“It’s clear that the Federal Reserve has more to do in order to continue to slow down inflation,” said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James.
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The CPI measures the average change in consumer prices based on a broad basket of goods and services.
Notable increases included shelter, food, gasoline and natural gas, according to the BLS.
Categories that increased in January include motor vehicle insurance, recreation, apparel, and household furnishings and operations. Other areas that saw a monthly decline in prices include used cars and trucks, medical care, and airline fares.

Inflation recovery ‘will not be a straight line’

After two years of inflation, the process of getting those high prices under control will continue this year, though it will take time, according to Aleman.
The annual inflation rate should subside by midyear, Aleman predicts. But there then could be upward momentum followed by downward momentum, he said.
“It will not be a straight line during the rest of the year,” Aleman said.
Consumers will be poised to benefit going forward as inflation comes down, he said.

“It is true that inflation is not going to be back to pre-pandemic levels, but it is going to be much better than what it has been over the last three years,” Aleman said.
Sticky prices that stay high are to be expected, according to Peter C. Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research.
“In the same way that prices don’t rise at the same rate, they don’t fall at the same rate,” Earle said.
The CPI data released on Tuesday shows that so-called disinflation, where the pace of inflation temporarily cools, has happened more slowly, Earle said. In some cases, it has stopped and reversed for retail consumers and households, he said.

Consumers still struggle with budget pressures

For many households trying to stretch paychecks from one payday to the next, there has not been much relief to date, noted Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com.
“The troubling thing about the pervasiveness of inflation is the fact that it’s hitting hardest in categories that are necessities,” McBride said.
Household budget staples continue to be leading contributors to inflation, according to McBride. That includes food, shelter, electricity, natural gas, apparel, vehicle insurance, and household furnishings and operations.

That last category includes paper products, an example of items all households buy, McBride said.
While other areas like used car prices have come down, that does not help unless you are in the market for such a vehicle, he noted.
That leaves many individuals and families still struggling under budget pressures.
“There’s not a whole lot of places to hide from it,” McBride said.

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A layoff can be one of the most disruptive events in a person’s life, setting off a host of financial and existential questions.
Fortunately, the unemployment insurance program, established in 1935, helps many workers who’ve lost their job at least replace a share of their former paychecks in relatively short order.

Fotostorm | E+ | Getty Images

The start of 2023 has seen a number of large companies announce deep cuts to their head counts, including Amazon, Dell, Google, Microsoft, PayPal and Zoom.
Being laid off can be one of the most disruptive events in a person’s life, setting off a host of financial and existential questions.

Fortunately, the unemployment insurance program, established in 1935, helps many workers who’ve lost their jobs at least replace a share of their former paychecks in relatively short order.
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“Individuals who rely on wages for income should apply soon after becoming unemployed,” said Doug Holmes, an unemployment insurance expert.
Here’s what newly unemployed workers need to know about the benefits.

Am I eligible?

Generally, to qualify for unemployment benefits, you have to have been laid off through no fault of your own, said Michele Evermore, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation. Maybe your company was downsizing, for example.

But it doesn’t hurt to apply even if you’re unsure if you qualify, Evermore said. Many people prematurely exclude themselves from the program.
“There’s a lot of mythology around who qualifies,” she said.

People may be surprised to learn, for example, that in some cases they can qualify for unemployment benefits even if they quit, Evermore said.
For instance, in some states you’re eligible for the benefit if you made the choice to leave your job after your employer asked you to transfer to a location where your commute would be too long, or if you had to leave your job because your partner’s employment was relocated.

When can I apply?

In some states, it can take weeks for your claim to be approved, so the sooner you file the better, Evermore said.
While most states have a one-week waiting period before they can start paying you benefits, you don’t have to wait to request the relief, she said.

Where do I apply?

What are the requirements of the program?

To receive and keep receiving unemployment benefits, you have to be able to work and actively be seeking new employment, Evermore said.
States have different ways of making sure you’re looking for work, she added. In some cases, you’ll be responsible for keeping a log of work search efforts on your own, and in other states, you’ll have to call in to the state unemployment office and share what jobs you’ve applied to on a regular basis.
“In some states you may also report work search online,” Evermore added.
When you apply for benefits, make sure you learn about how to fulfil any requirements in your state.

Are unemployment benefits taxable?

Prapass Pulsub | Moment | Getty Images

Yes, Evermore said. The benefits are subject to federal taxes and most states tax them, too.
When you start to get unemployment payments, your state will typically give you the option to have taxes withheld.
“I’d always take that option,” Evermore said. “You could be in for a long spell of unemployment and then get hit with a big tax bill.”

What is the typical weekly benefit?

In the third quarter of 2022, the average weekly unemployment benefit was around $385. But there’s a large range in the payments by state. For example, in Washington state, the benefit was nearly $600 during that period. In West Virginia, it was about $305.
There are other resources, too, for people struggling financially due to job loss, Evermore said.
“Unemployment insurance isn’t the only program in the world,” said Evermore, adding those who are out of work can also try applying for food stamps and other government assistance.

How long can I get the benefit?

Yellow Dog Productions | The Image Bank | Getty Images

The standard duration for unemployment benefits is 26 weeks but that timeline varies by state.
For example, Missouri recently slashed its benefit duration, and some workers may only receive payments for eight weeks there.

I got benefits in the pandemic. Can I qualify again?

It’s possible, Evermore said.
Workers are typically eligible for unemployment benefits for a certain amount of weeks per benefit year. Depending on how long has passed since your last period of joblessness, and how many weeks you previously received the benefits, it’s possible you could qualify again after a follow-up job loss for at least some more weeks and possibly another full duration.

I received severance. Will that affect unemployment?

In most states, if your layoff included severance pay, your unemployment benefits will likely be reduced for the period in which you’re still receiving payments from your former employer.
But, again, that depends on your state. In some cases, your severance package will have no impact on your unemployment benefits, Evermore said.

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As prices rise, Americans are racking up more and more credit card debt.
Experts often recommend moving your balance from a high-rate credit card to one with a no-interest offer to reduce the amount you’re paying.
And yet, 37% of those with credit card debt don’t know these balance transfer offers exist, according to a recent report.

Collectively, Americans owe more on credit cards than ever before.
Thankfully, 0% balance transfer credit card offers — which are “one of the best weapons Americans have in the battle against credit card debt” — are even more plentiful than they were a year ago, said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.

Yet 37% of those with credit card debt don’t know that balance transfer offers exist, according to a recent Bankrate report.
Here’s how they work, and how to use them to your advantage.

Credit cards are one of the priciest ways to borrow

At the end of 2022, total credit card debt hit a record $930.6 billion, a 18.5% spike from a year earlier, according to the latest report by TransUnion.
The average balance rose to $5,805 over that same period, TransUnion found.

From month to month, credit cards are one of the most expensive ways to borrow money. Card credit card annual percentage rates now stand near near 20%, on average, also an all-time high.

At nearly 20%, if you made minimum payments toward this average credit card balance, it would take you more than 17 years to pay off the debt and cost you more than $8,213 in interest, Bankrate calculated.
Still, many Americans continue to take on ever-increasing amounts of borrowing. And as credit card balances creep higher, Americans’ confidence in their ability to pay their bills declines.

No- or low-interest balance transfers can help

Dan Brownsword | Image Source | Getty Images

How to make the most of a balance transfer offer

There could be a catch: Nearly half of consumers who take advantage of a balance transfer offer don’t pay off the balance during the introductory period that comes with low or no interest, some studies show.
“These cards can be a really good tool, but people need to understand how to use them the best way,” Schulz said.

If you don’t pay the balance off during the initial period, the remaining balance will have a new annual percentage rate applied to it, which is generally about 23%, on average, in line with the rates for new credit.
Further, there can be limits on how much you can transfer and fees attached. Most cards have a one-time balance transfer fee, which is usually around 3% of the tab, but there can be an annual fee, as well.
One late payment can also negate your no-interest offer.

Making the best use of a balance transfer boils down to making those payments on time and aggressively paying down the balance during the introductory period.
Alternatively, Schulz advises cardholders burdened with high-interest debt to reach out to their issuer directly to request a break on interest rates.
Otherwise, borrowers may also be able to refinance into a lower-interest personal loan. Those rates have climbed recently, as well, but at 10%, on average, are still well below what you currently have on your credit card, according to Schulz.
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A Peloton exercise bike is seen after the ringing of the opening bell for the company’s IPO at the Nasdaq Market site in New York City, New York, U.S., September 26, 2019.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters

Investors are trying to make sense of big corporate earnings, seeking clues about what lies ahead as macro headwinds persist. It’s prudent for investors to choose stocks with an optimistic longer-term view in these uncertain times.
Here are five stocks picked by Wall Street’s top analysts, according to TipRanks, a service that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

Costco

Wholesaler Costco (COST) is known for its resilient business model that has helped it navigate several economic downturns. Moreover, the membership-only warehouse club has a loyal customer base and generally enjoys renewal rates that are at or above 90%.
Costco recently reported better-than-anticipated net sales growth of 6.9% and comparable sales growth of 5.6% for the four weeks ended Jan. 29. The company delivered upbeat numbers despite continued weakness in its e-commerce sales and the shift in the timing of the Chinese New Year to earlier in the year.
Following the sales report, Baird analyst Peter Benedict reaffirmed a buy rating on Costco and a $575 price target. Benedict stated, “With a defensive/staples-heavy sales mix and loyal member base, we believe shares continue to hold fundamental appeal as a rare megacap “growth staple” – particularly in the face of a difficult consumer spending backdrop.”
Benedict’s convictions can be trusted, given his 55th position out of more than 8,300 analysts in the TipRanks database. Apart from that, he has a solid track of 71% profitable ratings, with each rating delivering 16.3% average return. (See Costco Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks)​

Amazon

2022 was a challenging year for e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) as macro pressures hurt its retail business and the cloud computing Amazon Web Services division.

Amazon’s first-quarter sales growth outlook of 4% to 8% reflects further deceleration compared with the 9% growth in the fourth quarter. Amazon is streamlining costs as it faces slowing top-line growth, higher expenses and continued economic turmoil.
Nonetheless, several Amazon bulls, including Mizuho Securities’ Vijay Rakesh, continue to believe in the company’s long-term prospects. Rakesh sees a “modest downside” to Wall Street’s consensus expectation for the 2023 revenue growth for Amazon’s retail business. (See Amazon Website Traffic on TipRanks)
However, he sees more downside risks to the Street’s consensus estimate of a 20% cloud revenue growth in 2023 compared to his revised estimate of 16%. Rakesh noted that Amazon’s cloud business was hit by lower demand from verticals like mortgage, advertising and crypto in the fourth quarter and that revenue growth has slowed down to the mid-teens so far in the first quarter.
Consequently, Rakesh said that AMZN stock could be “volatile near-term given potential downside revision risks.” Nonetheless, he reiterated a buy rating on AMZN with a price target of $135 due to “positive long-term fundamentals.”
Rakesh stands at #84 among more than 8,300 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Moreover, 61% of his ratings have been profitable, with each generating a 19.3% average return.

Peloton 

Fitness equipment maker Peloton (PTON), once a pandemic darling, fell out of favor following the reopening of the economy as people returned to gyms and competition increased. Peloton shares crashed last year due to its deteriorating sales and mounting losses.
Nevertheless, investor sentiment has improved for PTON stock, thanks to the company’s turnaround efforts under CEO Barry McCarthy. Investors cheered the company’s fiscal second-quarter results due to higher subscription revenue even as the overall sales dropped 30% year-over-year. While its loss per share narrowed from the prior-year quarter, it was worse than what Wall Street projected. 
Like investors, JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth was also “incrementally positive” on Peloton following the latest results, citing its cost control measures, improving free cash flow loss and better-than-anticipated connected fitness subscriptions. Anmuth highlighted that the company’s restructuring to a more variable cost structure is essentially complete and it seems focused on achieving its goal of breakeven free cash flow by the end of fiscal 2023.
Anmuth reiterated a buy rating and raised the price target to $19 from $13, given the company’s focus on restoring its revenue growth. (See PTON Stock Chart on TipRanks) 
Anmuth ranks 192 out of more than 8,300 analysts on TipRanks, with a success rate of 58%. Each of his ratings has delivered a 15.1% return on average.

Microsoft

Microsoft’s (MSFT) artificial intelligence-driven growth plans have triggered positive sentiment about the tech behemoth recently. The company plans to power its search engine Bing and internet browser Edge with ChatGPT-like technology.
On the downside, the company’s December quarter revenue growth and subdued guidance reflected near-term headwinds, due to continued weakness in the PC market and a slowdown in its Azure cloud business as enterprises are tightening their spending. That said, Azure’s long-term growth potential seems attractive. 
Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth, who ranks 137 out of 8,328 analysts tracked by TipRanks, opines that while near-term headwinds could slow cloud growth and the “more personal computing” segment, Microsoft’s investments in AI will drive its future.
Feinseth reiterated a buy rating on Microsoft and maintained a price target of $411, saying, “Strength in its Azure Cloud platform combined with increasing AI integration across its product lines continues to drive the global digital transformation and highlights its long-term investment opportunity.”
Remarkably, 64% of Feinseth’s ratings have generated profits, with each rating bringing in a 13.4% average return. (See MSFT Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks)

Mobileye Global 

Ivan Feinseth is also optimistic about Mobileye (MBLY), a rapidly growing provider of technology that powers advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and self-driving systems. Chip giant Intel still owns a majority of Mobileye shares.
Feinseth noted that Mobileye continues to see solid demand for its industry-leading technology. He expects the company to “increasingly benefit” from the growing adoption of ADAS technology by original equipment manufacturers.  
The company is also at an advantage due to the rising demand in the auto industry for sophisticated camera systems and sensors used in ADAS and safe-driving systems. Furthermore, Feinseth sees opportunities for the company in the autonomous mobility as a service, or AMaaS, space.
Feinseth said there is potential for Mobileye’s revenue to grow to over $17 billion by 2030, backed by the company’s “significant R&D investments, first-mover advantage, and industry-leading product portfolio, combined with significant OEM relationships.” He projects a potential total addressable market of nearly $500 billion by the end of the decade.
Given Mobileye’s numerous strengths, Feinseth raised his price target to $52 from $44 and reiterated a buy rating. (See Mobileye Blogger Opinions & Sentiment on TipRanks)

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Not six months ago, ether led a recovery in cryptocurrency prices ahead of a big tech upgrade that would make something called “staking” available to crypto investors.
Most people have hardly wrapped their heads around the concept, but now, the price of ether is falling amid mounting fears that the Securities and Exchange Commission could crack down on it.

On Thursday, Kraken, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, closed its staking program in a $30 million settlement with the SEC, which said the company failed to register the offer and sale of its crypto staking-as-a-service program.
The night before, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong warned his Twitter followers that the securities regulator may want more broadly to end staking for U.S. retail customers.
“This should put everyone on notice in this marketplace,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Friday morning. “Whether you call it lend, earn, yield, whether you offer an annual percentage yield – that doesn’t matter. If someone is taking [customer] tokens and transferring to their platform, the platform controls it.”
Staking has widely been seen as a catalyst for mainstream adoption of crypto and a big revenue opportunity for exchanges like Coinbase. A clampdown on staking, and staking services, could have damaging consequences not just for those exchanges, but also Ethereum and other proof-of-stake blockchain networks. To understand why, it helps to have a basic understanding of the activity in question.
Here’s what you need to know:

What is staking?
Staking is a way for investors to earn passive yield on their cryptocurrency holdings by locking tokens up on the network for a period of time. For example, if you decide you want to stake your ether holdings, you would do so on the Ethereum network. The bottom line is it allows investors to put their crypto to work if they’re not planning to sell it anytime soon.
How does staking work?
Staking is sometimes referred to as the crypto version of a high-interest savings account, but there’s a major flaw in that comparison: crypto networks are decentralized, and banking institutions are not.
Earning interest through staking is not the same thing as earning interest from a high annual percentage yield offered by a centralized platform like those that ran into trouble last year, like BlockFi and Celsius, or Gemini just last month. Those offerings really were more akin to a savings account: people would deposit their crypto with centralized entities that lent those funds out and promised rewards to the depositors in interest (of up to 20% in some cases). Rewards vary by network but generally, the more you stake, the more you earn.
By contrast, when you stake your crypto, you are contributing to the proof-of-stake system that keeps decentralized networks like Ethereum running and secure; you become a “validator” on the blockchain, meaning you verify and process the transactions as they come through, if chosen by the algorithm. The selection is semi-random – the more crypto you stake, the more likely you’ll be chosen as a validator.
The lock-up of your funds serves as a sort of collateral that can be destroyed if you as a validator act dishonestly or insincerely.
This is true only for proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot and Cardano. A proof-of-work network like Bitcoin uses a different process to confirm transactions.
Staking as a service
In most cases, investors won’t be staking themselves – the process of validating network transactions is just impractical on both the retail and institutional levels.
That’s where crypto service providers like Coinbase, and formerly Kraken, come in. Investors can give their crypto to the staking service and the service does the staking on the investors’ behalf. When using a staking service, the lock-up period is determined by the networks (like Ethereum or Solana), and not the third party (like Coinbase or Kraken).
It’s also where it gets a little murky with the SEC, which said Thursday that Kraken should have registered the offer and sale of the crypto asset staking-as-a-service program with the securities regulator.
While the SEC hasn’t given formal guidance on what crypto assets it deems securities, it generally sees a red flag if someone makes an investment with a reasonable expectation of profits that would be derived from the work or effort of others.
Coinbase has about 15% of the market share of Ethereum assets, according to Oppenheimer. The industry’s current retail staking participation rate is 13.7% and growing.
Proof-of-stake vs. proof-of-work
Staking works only for proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot and Cardano. A proof-of-work network, like Bitcoin, uses a different process to confirm transactions.
The two are simply the protocols used to secure cryptocurrency networks.
Proof-of-work requires specialized computing equipment, like high-end graphics cards to validate transactions by solving highly complex math problems. Validators gets rewards for each transaction they confirm. This process requires a ton of energy to complete.
Ethereum’s big migration to proof-of-stake from proof-of-work improved its energy efficiency almost 100%.
Risks involved
The source of return in staking is different from traditional markets. There aren’t humans on the other side promising returns, but rather the protocol itself paying investors to run the computational network.
Despite how far crypto has come, it’s still a young industry filled with technological risks, and potential bugs in the code is a big one. If the system doesn’t work as expected, it’s possible investors could lose some of their staked coins.
Volatility is and has always been a somewhat attractive feature in crypto but it comes with risks, too. One of the biggest risks investors face in staking is simply a drop in the price. Sometimes a big decline can lead smaller projects to hike their rates to make a potential opportunity more attractive.

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You may get fewer chocolates than you expect in that heart-shaped box this Valentine’s Day.
“Overpackaging” may be to blame, according to a recent investigation. Consumers should also watch out for shrinkflation, where products are downsized as prices stay the same.

Malaikacasal | Istock | Getty Images

That heart-shaped box of chocolates may be only half full this Valentine’s Day.
It is not the result of a manufacturing glitch. Instead, it is an effort by certain brands to use bigger boxes to prompt consumers to think they are getting more for their money than they really are, according to Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumer World.

“This is about ‘overpackaging,'” he said.
The issue was brought to Dworsky’s attention this week when a reader who bought a box of chocolates wrote to express his outrage about the contents.
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Upon further investigation, Dworsky found Russell Stover and Whitman’s Sampler chocolates, which sell for around $7.99, only contained between nine and 11 candy pieces, in the 9-inch-by-10-inch-size box.
That leaves about two-thirds of the box seemingly empty, according to Dworsky.

“I just find it troubling that consumers can be misled in this way,” he said.
Whitman’s and Russell Stover brands are sold by the Russell Stover Chocolates company, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

How to spot a ‘downsized’ candy gift

The easiest way to spot these issues before you buy is to look at the net weight on the packaging, Dworsky said. The brand’s boxes were 5.1 ounces.
A federal “slack fill” law makes it illegal for companies to use larger packages than necessary, he said. Nevertheless, some companies may experiment with packaging in a bid to cut costs, which in some cases has led to lawsuits.
Companies may also turn to shrinkflation, where a product’s quantity is downsized but the price stays the same.
“Candy is one of the categories that tends to be downsized periodically,” Dworsky said.

The top items that tend to get downsized, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, include household paper products, snacks, and pastries, including sweet rolls, coffee cakes and donuts.
A Morning Consult poll conducted in August found more than half of adults — 54% — have seen, read or heard about shrinkflation, while almost two-thirds — 64% — are worried about it.
“When you notice that the package is smaller or you’re getting less for the same price, it’s especially frustrating,” Emily Moquin, food and beverage analyst at Morning Consult, previously told CNBC.com.
But there is still some good news this Valentine’s Day. In fact, one of the most traditional gifts isn’t subject to shrinkflation.
“A dozen roses, thank God, is still 12,” Dworsky quipped.

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