Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is facing a leadership shakeup in its artificial intelligence division just as the company accelerates its push into AI models, tools, and infrastructure. Qwen AI Tech Lead Steps Down Junyang Lin, the technical leader behind Alibaba's Qwen AI model, stepped down from the project in a surprise move that sparked strong reactions from the developer community. Lin, also know...
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is facing a leadership shakeup in its artificial intelligence division just as the company accelerates its push into AI models, tools, and infrastructure. Qwen AI Tech Lead Steps Down Junyang Lin, the technical leader behind Alibaba's Qwen AI model, stepped down from the project in a surprise move that sparked strong reactions from the developer community. Lin, also known as Justin, announced on X that he was leaving his role as Qwen's tech lead without providing further details. He joined Alibaba in July 2019 and joined the Qwen team in April 2023. His exit came one day after Alibaba unveiled its Qwen 3.5 open-weight small models, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. Don't Miss: Lin played a key role in building the Qwen model family, which Alibaba introduced in April 2023 and later opened to the public after receiving regulatory approval. Recent Qwen releases have posted benchmark results that often rival leading U.S. AI systems. AI Community Reacts To Departure Lin's departure triggered strong responses from colleagues and partners who described his role in the project as central. Wenting Zhao, a research scientist on the Qwen team, called the move "the end of an era" and thanked Lin for helping advance the project's open-source AI work. Yuchen Jin, chief technology officer of AI infrastructure startup Hyperbolic, said Lin helped connect Qwen with the global developer community. Elon Musk wrote on X that the models showed "impressive intelligence density." See Also: Own the Characters, Not Just the Content: Inside a Fast-Growing Pre-IPO IP Company Alibaba Expands AI Ecosystem Alibaba continues to expand its AI ecosystem by unifying its models under the Qwen brand, building developer tools, and investing in its own AI hardware. During the Lunar New Year period, users placed nearly 200 million "one-sentence" orders through the Qwen app. The company's cloud division also launched a low-cost AI coding platform that provides developers access t...
"Bloomberg Markets" follows the market moves across every global asset class and discusses the biggest issues for Wall Street. Today's guests: Charles Schwab Chief Investment Strategist Liz Ann Sonders and Morgan Stanley US Housing Strategist Co-Head, Securitized Products James Egan. (Source: Bloomberg)
"Bloomberg Markets" follows the market moves across every global asset class and discusses the biggest issues for Wall Street. Today's guests: Charles Schwab Chief Investment Strategist Liz Ann Sonders and Morgan Stanley US Housing Strategist Co-Head, Securitized Products James Egan. (Source: Bloomberg)
A group of 24 US states will sue President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday in the first legal challenge to his newly imposed 10 per cent global tariffs, alleging that the president cannot sidestep a recent US Supreme Court ruling that invalidated most of his previous tariffs on imported goods by citing new legal authority, according to the states. The Democratic-led states, including Ne...
A group of 24 US states will sue President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday in the first legal challenge to his newly imposed 10 per cent global tariffs, alleging that the president cannot sidestep a recent US Supreme Court ruling that invalidated most of his previous tariffs on imported goods by citing new legal authority, according to the states. The Democratic-led states, including New York, California and Oregon, argue the new tariffs, which Trump announced immediately after the high court ruling on February 20, are also illegal. The tariffs were imposed for 150 days under the Trade Act of 1974, which is meant to address short-term monetary emergencies, not routine trade deficits that arise when a wealthy nation like the United States imports more than it exports, according to the states’ lawsuit which will be filed in the New York-based US Court of International Trade. Advertisement “The focus right now should be on paying people back, not doubling down on illegal tariffs,” Oregon’s Attorney General Dan Rayfield said. Trump’s February 20 executive order imposed a 10 per cent tariff on imports, but US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that those rates would probably rise to 15 per cent later this week. Shipping containers are stacked at the Port of Los Angeles in California on Wednesday. Photo: EPA Trump has made tariffs a central pillar of his foreign policy in his second term, claiming sweeping authority to issue tariffs without input from Congress.
PonyWang/E+ via Getty Images Thesis I last covered Revolution Medicines ( RVMD ) back in late January. If you remember back then, the stock had just plummeted due to news that Merck ( MRK ) had just walked away from talks about an acquisition. At the time, it brought the stock price down from the $120 range to the $100 range. I am choosing to cover Revolution again, specifically now because of two...
PonyWang/E+ via Getty Images Thesis I last covered Revolution Medicines ( RVMD ) back in late January. If you remember back then, the stock had just plummeted due to news that Merck ( MRK ) had just walked away from talks about an acquisition. At the time, it brought the stock price down from the $120 range to the $100 range. I am choosing to cover Revolution again, specifically now because of two things. Firstly, a couple of weeks ago, we saw them report FY25/4Q25 earnings , but I also wanted to wait until after we heard from management at the TD Cowen Annual Conference. As you know, the upcoming RASolute 302 readout is going to be a major catalyst for this stock, so I think it's worth taking a look at what management told us about the upcoming readout. We can expect the data sometime in 1H26. As I will explain, the main thing to be focused on here is the overall survival rate we see in the trial. As for the current stock price, despite the sell-off at the end of January, shares still look heavily overvalued. That's because a large portion of a positive outcome for Revolution this year has been priced into the stock. It makes shares quite high risk, and for that reason, I have chosen to go with a hold rating again on the stock. However, I am going to give my thoughts on what we heard from management on the call and assess the potential upside of a positive trial outcome. In my previous coverage, I gave a detailed look at the potential TAM for daraxonrasib as well as how the treatment works. 4Q25/FY25 Financial Recap A couple of weeks ago, Revolution reported FY25/4Q25 results . I think it's safe to say we saw some higher operating costs that resulted in a widening net loss for FY25. But this was somewhat expected since they’re trying to transition into a late-stage, Phase 3 development biotech, a status which naturally comes with higher research costs. For FY25, the R&D expense jumped to about $987.3 million, up from the $592.2 million we saw back in 2024. It’s a h...
Yauhen Akulich/iStock via Getty Images Market Review US equities rose in the fourth quarter, as optimism about the future path of interest rates, evolving sentiment about artificial intelligence (AI), and strong earnings results drove market behavior. The period was marked by signs that the months long technology-driven rally fueled by enthusiasm for AI was entering a new phase. After surging in O...
Yauhen Akulich/iStock via Getty Images Market Review US equities rose in the fourth quarter, as optimism about the future path of interest rates, evolving sentiment about artificial intelligence (AI), and strong earnings results drove market behavior. The period was marked by signs that the months long technology-driven rally fueled by enthusiasm for AI was entering a new phase. After surging in October, AI stocks came under selling pressure in November and rebounded haltingly in December. Notably, of the top five contributors to the S&P 500 Index's performance in the fourth quarter, three were members of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" group of mega-cap US Big Tech stocks and accounted for 74% of the index's total gain. Speculation about the interest rate-policy paths of key central banks hung over markets during the period, with the focus squarely on the US Federal Reserve. The Fed, which has been seeking to balance the competing pressures of a cooling US labor market and stubbornly high domestic inflation, lowered interest rates by 25-basis points (BPs) at three consecutive policy meetings in September, October, and December despite sharp disagreements emerging among Fed officials about the path ahead for US interest rates. After warning earlier in the period that further reductions in borrowing costs were not a "foregone conclusion," the Fed signaled in December that it would likely pause its current rate-cutting campaign as it collects more data to assess the direction of the labor market and inflation. Despite the likelihood that borrowing costs would remain at their current level for the foreseeable future, investors were encouraged by the Fed's pivot to a less hawkish interest rate-policy stance, which in turn sparked a market rally. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note ended the quarter at 4.17%, 2 bps higher than three months earlier. The results from the latest earnings season painted an encouraging picture of how company profits have hel...
Earnings Call Insights: Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Kevin Crutchfield stated that Intrepid delivered strong fourth quarter results, highlighting adjusted net income of $6.5 million and adjusted EBITDA of $18.1 million, with a full-year adjusted EBITDA of $63 million, "one of the best prints since 2016 and represents an almost 80% improvement compared to 2024." Crutchfie...
Earnings Call Insights: Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Kevin Crutchfield stated that Intrepid delivered strong fourth quarter results, highlighting adjusted net income of $6.5 million and adjusted EBITDA of $18.1 million, with a full-year adjusted EBITDA of $63 million, "one of the best prints since 2016 and represents an almost 80% improvement compared to 2024." Crutchfield attributed the performance to steady demand for core fertilizer products, with combined potash and Trio sales volumes of just over 590,000 tons, a 20% increase from 2024, and a company record of 303,000 tons of Trio sales. The CEO emphasized improvements in cost of goods sold per ton for both potash and Trio and noted "increasing pricing"—especially in Trio, where fourth quarter average realized price hit $379 per ton, 20% higher than the first quarter of 2025. Strategic updates included deferring a decision on the AMAX cavern project until at least 2027 and confidence in sustaining HB potash production without AMAX. Crutchfield announced, "For Trio, our operational performance continues to be very strong, and we recently placed another new continuous miner into service." The CEO discussed progress on the Wendover lithium project, mentioning a joint development agreement with Aquatech and Adionics and a forthcoming technical report showing a measured and indicated resource of approximately 119,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, with a potential project life of roughly 25 years at a 5,000-ton-per-year estimated capacity. There is an $8 million deposit held from a potential buyer for South Ranch, with expectations that a deal could close in the first half of 2026. CFO Matt Preston reported, "Our total fertilizer sales volumes of 592,000 tons were almost 100,000 tons higher than 2024 and reached a level not seen since 2018." Outlook Preston provided 2026 production guidance, expecting Trio output of 285,000 to 300,000 tons, representing a year-over-year increase of a...
Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That's why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, professional financial guidance, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement acco...
Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That's why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, professional financial guidance, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn't tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry. Hayes in recent months has repeatedly forecasted that the Fed will engage in quantitative easing, boosting Bitcoin’s price. In January, he said the trigger would be the Trump administration’s military operations in Venezuela and last month, he said it would be an AI-led financial crisis. Meanwhile, Bitcoin so far has had a mixed reaction to the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. It initially dropped from near $66,000 to $63,000 before recovering to most recently trade at a one-month high of $73,000. It does not seem likely that Hayes’ anticipated interest rate cuts will come in the next Fed meeting, however. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool as of Wednesday the chances of the Fed cutting interest rates at its March 17-18 meeting are 2.7%. The majority of observers expect the Fed to hold the current rate of between 350 and 375 basis points. He cited previous U.S. military campaigns in the Middle East, such as the Gulf War in 1990, the global war on terror campaign launched in 2001 in response to 9/11 and the move to increase military presence in Afghanistan in 2009. The Fed was forced to cut interest rates and pump liquidity into the market to support the war effort in those instances except in 2009, when the interest rate was already near zero, he said. Instead of buying someone else's ETF, build an index around your own thesis with Public's AI too...
With war quickly spilling over Iran’s borders across the Middle East and concerns that AI could displace entire knowledge-based companies and industries, investors have been searching for safety lately. “Markets are panicked as investors fear that the blast radius of the Iran attack may be larger than initially suspected,” he wrote in a note Wednesday. In some sense, this may be an example of why ...
With war quickly spilling over Iran’s borders across the Middle East and concerns that AI could displace entire knowledge-based companies and industries, investors have been searching for safety lately. “Markets are panicked as investors fear that the blast radius of the Iran attack may be larger than initially suspected,” he wrote in a note Wednesday. In some sense, this may be an example of why investors should be careful what they wish for.
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. The push and pull between the oil markets and equities continues . After a calm Wednesday, oil prices surged on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate topping $80 per barrel and reaching its highest level since July 2024 amid co...
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. The push and pull between the oil markets and equities continues . After a calm Wednesday, oil prices surged on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate topping $80 per barrel and reaching its highest level since July 2024 amid concerns about supply disruptions and a prolonged war. As oil prices rise, so do fears of inflation, which pushes the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield higher. The combination of rising oil prices, which act as a tax on consumers, with higher bond yields makes for an ugly combination for stocks. Over the past few days, spikes in oil prices have been met with commentary from the Trump administration about potential steps to stabilize the energy market. Nvidia shares turned lower after Bloomberg reported that the Trump Administration is drafting a plan that would give it more control over AI chip exports. According to the report, U.S. officials have drafted regulations requiring companies to seek U.S. approval to export AI accelerators to other countries. The report also says these rules wouldn't function as an export ban but would instead make the U.S. government the "gatekeeper for the AI industry." That's an extremely important distinction, but it's still surprising news because last May the Trump administration scrapped the Biden administration's "AI diffusion rule" that would've set strict semiconductor export limits. Costco and Marvell Technology are the two big earnings reports on Thursday after the closing bell. There are no major earnings reports on Friday, but the economic data will be a big story. It's jobs day, which means we'll see the monthly non-farm payroll report at 8:30 am ET. Economists are forecasting a 55,000 increase in jobs for February, with average hourly earnings increasing 3.7% and the unemployment rate staying at 4.3%. The January retail sales report ...
Rocket Companies ( RKT ) stock fell 5.1%, and UWM Holdings ( UWMC ) stock declined 4.2% in Thursday afternoon trading after Better.com partnered with OpenAI ( OPENAI ) to launch a conversational credit decision engine in ChatGPT. The decision app for mortgages and home equity loans connects users with Better's Tinman engine directly in ChatGPT, allowing lending teams to approve more loans faster, ...
Rocket Companies ( RKT ) stock fell 5.1%, and UWM Holdings ( UWMC ) stock declined 4.2% in Thursday afternoon trading after Better.com partnered with OpenAI ( OPENAI ) to launch a conversational credit decision engine in ChatGPT. The decision app for mortgages and home equity loans connects users with Better's Tinman engine directly in ChatGPT, allowing lending teams to approve more loans faster, the companies said in a statement. " Big mortgage aggregators in the broker and correspondent channel charge what is essentially a 1-2% tax on each loan just to underwrite a mortgage and deliver it to an institutional investor. That ends now," said Leah Price , general manager of the Tinman AI Platform. Other lending platforms also slumped. LendingClub ( LC ) dropped 3.6%, and LendingTree ( TREE ) fell 1.8%. More on Rocket Companies, UWM Holdings, etc. Rocket Companies: A 30% Firesale Is A Buying Opportunity, Low Mortgage Rates UWM Holdings Corporation 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Rocket Companies, Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation OpenAI CEO says government should be more powerful than companies Most and least shorted $2B+ financial stocks in early March
US gov't preps sweeping export controls for Nvidia, AMD AI hardware — worldwide licensing system would give Trump admin broad authority to block global sales Tom's Hardware
US gov't preps sweeping export controls for Nvidia, AMD AI hardware — worldwide licensing system would give Trump admin broad authority to block global sales Tom's Hardware