Key Points Microsoft has struggled to sell its commercial customers on AI-powered tools. Anthropic's new Cowork product is an automation tool that puts Microsoft's efforts to shame. With abysmal adoption rates for its AI products, Microsoft needs to reset its AI strategy. 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft › Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) crashed last week following the tech giant's lates...
Key Points Microsoft has struggled to sell its commercial customers on AI-powered tools. Anthropic's new Cowork product is an automation tool that puts Microsoft's efforts to shame. With abysmal adoption rates for its AI products, Microsoft needs to reset its AI strategy. 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft › Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) crashed last week following the tech giant's latest earnings report. Investors were likely uneasy about a slowdown in cloud growth, a massive increase in AI infrastructure capital expenditures, and the revelation that nearly half of its backlog was tied to OpenAI. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » There was potentially another reason why investors turned on Microsoft: AI start-up Anthropic. Anthropic's Claude Code programming tool reached a $1 billion revenue run rate in just six months, and it's not hard to see why. Putting its powerful AI models in a loop to work through problems, with tooling that enables web search, file access, and more, turns out to be an incredibly effective way to write code. In January, Anthropic announced a research preview of a new product called Cowork. Microsoft should be very worried. "Why isn't Microsoft doing that?" Anthropic Cowork is essentially Claude Code, but for general computer tasks. It can organize files and folders, create spreadsheets, and even complete tasks in a browser. One example Anthropic gave was going through screenshots of receipts and producing a spreadsheet listing all expenses. Cowork opens the door to powerful and useful automations and workflows on the PC. It's almost incredible that Microsoft, which dominates the PC operating system market with Windows and the productivity software market with Office, doesn't offer anything like this. Analyst Ben Reitzes, speaking to CNBC, summed up the problem: "It is a little embarrassing that in 10 days, Anthropic was able to inv...
AMD CEO Lisa Su has referenced a potential 2027 launch for Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox console during a company earnings call today, reported via PC Mag . “From a product standpoint, Valve is on-track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year, and development of Microsoft's next-gen Xbox featuring an AMD semi-custom SoC is progressing well to support a launch in 2027,” S...
AMD CEO Lisa Su has referenced a potential 2027 launch for Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox console during a company earnings call today, reported via PC Mag . “From a product standpoint, Valve is on-track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year, and development of Microsoft's next-gen Xbox featuring an AMD semi-custom SoC is progressing well to support a launch in 2027,” Su said. A system-on-a-chip (or SoC) is an integrated circuit that essentially squeezes all (or most) of the components of a computer onto a single unit. Su remarks came in the wake of news that AMD anticipates revenue related to semi-custom chip manufacturing – like those inside both the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 – will fall during 2026 by a “significant double-digit percentage.” Microsoft confirmed its partnership with AMD on its next-generation Xbox project back in June, 2025. “Announcing that we’re building the next-generation of Xbox first-party devices and cloud, including our future Xbox consoles, together with AMD,” Microsoft noted in a statement at the time, promising “next-level performance, cutting-edge graphics, breakthrough gameplay, and unmatched compatibility.” There are few specifics available, but Microsoft has officially clarified that the next-generation Xbox would be “fully compatible” with users’ existing Xbox game library. However, an unconfirmed report in October last year also alleged the next Xbox will arrive as a console/PC hybrid that can run Steam. Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.
Key Points CEO Luis von Ahn recently shifted strategy toward user growth over near-term profits, spooking some shareholders. CFO Matt Skaruppa announced his departure after six years, adding uncertainty to an already rocky stretch. Long-term investors may see the selloff as a buying opportunity. 10 stocks we like better than Duolingo › Shares of Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL) plunged 23.6% lower in Janua...
Key Points CEO Luis von Ahn recently shifted strategy toward user growth over near-term profits, spooking some shareholders. CFO Matt Skaruppa announced his departure after six years, adding uncertainty to an already rocky stretch. Long-term investors may see the selloff as a buying opportunity. 10 stocks we like better than Duolingo › Shares of Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL) plunged 23.6% lower in January 2026, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The price drop continued a downtrend that started in 2025. The stock has backed down to prices not seen since March 2023, chiefly due to slower subscriber growth in a shaky global economy. January continued the downtrend for similar reasons. The market pressure also increased when CFO Matt Skaruppa announced his departure after six years in the C-suite role. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » A strategic pivot meets a CFO exit Let me set the stage for January's drama. In November 2025, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn sketched out a slightly different business plan for the next couple of years. The company had focused on profitable monetization in recent years, but some investors were spooked that Duolingo's subscriber growth slowed down in every category. So von Ahn adjusted his management strategy to optimize subscriber growth and teaching quality a bit more. He's not giving up on revenue and profits, but making larger investments in growth-boosting ideas. Against this backdrop, Duolingo's stock price continued to slide in November and December. After the Happy New Year celebrations (Gott nytt år, Feliz Año Nuevo, Frohes Neues, and so on) the downtrend just continued. On Jan. 8, Matt Skaruppa announced his departure without much market fanfare. The CFO update was paired with updated guidance for the fourth quarter. Daily active users (DAUs) will come in just below the guidance target...
She added: "Whatever questions remain there of what - I can't even begin to know all of it - those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me."
She added: "Whatever questions remain there of what - I can't even begin to know all of it - those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me."
Apple fans got some welcome news tucked into the company's blockbuster earnings report: the tech giant is raising its dividend. The iPhone maker announced its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.26 per share, payable on February 12, 2026, to shareholders of record as of February 9. ...
Apple fans got some welcome news tucked into the company's blockbuster earnings report: the tech giant is raising its dividend. The iPhone maker announced its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.26 per share, payable on February 12, 2026, to shareholders of record as of February 9. ...
Alex Cristi /iStock via Getty Images 4-Factor Dividend Growth Portfolio The 4-Factor Dividend Growth Strategy is an alternative investment strategy to the popular Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD ). Think of it as having your own custom tailored version of SCHD designed to align with your personal investment style. If you'd like to know more about the initial strategy design and the structur...
Alex Cristi /iStock via Getty Images 4-Factor Dividend Growth Portfolio The 4-Factor Dividend Growth Strategy is an alternative investment strategy to the popular Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD ). Think of it as having your own custom tailored version of SCHD designed to align with your personal investment style. If you'd like to know more about the initial strategy design and the structure of the first portfolio you can read about it in this 4-Factor Dividend Growth Portfolio article . The strategy was first launched on November 1st, 2022. In a nutshell, the strategy leverages the stock selection process of Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, or rather its underlying index, the Dow Jones US Dividend 100 Index ( DJUSDIV ), with a few minor modifications that tailor the process to align with my growth and quality focus. Since I prefer a more growth-oriented investment style relative to what SCHD's underlying index offers, each month I build my own custom investable universe to which I apply a modified stock selection process. This is a fully rules based strategy that runs on autopilot. My personal portfolio tracking this strategy is rebalanced with newly identified stocks on November 1st of each year. You can read more about the most recent rebalancing in this article . Stock Selection Strategy The strategy has a simple objective: to identify potentially high quality companies that stand out amongst their peers across 4 criteria: The Free Cash Flow to Total Debt Ratio The 5-Year Dividend Growth Rate The Return on Invested Capital The Forward Dividend Yield The idea behind these specific criteria is quite simple. I favor highly liquid, low-leveraged companies with a history of high returns on invested capital, and strong dividend growth. I prefer to lean towards companies that also sport better-than-average dividend yields. Since each of the 4 metrics is equally weighted, the companies that stand out amongst their peers are generally not the best in any single me...
With the number of deaths during the current severe winter season in Japan expected to rise, environmental and tourism experts have warned of greater risks to lives and property arising from unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change Parts of Japan have experienced “disaster-level” snowfall in recent days, with authorities reporting at least 29 dead and 290 injured in accidents since Jan...
With the number of deaths during the current severe winter season in Japan expected to rise, environmental and tourism experts have warned of greater risks to lives and property arising from unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change Parts of Japan have experienced “disaster-level” snowfall in recent days, with authorities reporting at least 29 dead and 290 injured in accidents since January 20. Just as Japanese summers are becoming hotter, longer and more humid, global warming is also affecting the nation’s winter weather patterns, according to climate experts. Advertisement Tokyo dispatched military personnel to Aomori in northeast Japan on Monday to clear snow on rooftops and elsewhere, as some buildings face the risk of collapse. The prefectural authorities requested help on Sunday after 183cm (72 inches) of snow fell within 24 hours, 2.7 times the average annual snowfall in the Magonai district of Aomori city. It was the first time in 21 years that the military had been tasked to help residents deal with a snow-related emergency in the Aomori region. Advertisement On Sunday, the body of a 91-year-old woman was found buried under 3 metres of snow in Aomori.
In the early hours of 3 January, Donald Trump ordered a surprise attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to kidnap the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro. Millions of Venezuelans’ lives were thrown into uncertainty. Politicians at home and abroad scrambled to respond. It seemed this was something no one had seen coming. Except one person did actually predict it. In the hours before the attack, so...
In the early hours of 3 January, Donald Trump ordered a surprise attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to kidnap the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro. Millions of Venezuelans’ lives were thrown into uncertainty. Politicians at home and abroad scrambled to respond. It seemed this was something no one had seen coming. Except one person did actually predict it. In the hours before the attack, someone - and we have no way of knowing who - placed a series of bets that Donald Trump would oust Maduro on a prediction market platform, netting them nearly $500,000 when it happened. These platforms allow their users not just to bet on whoever’s going to win the Super Bowl, but also on world events. Heavily regulated under the Biden administration, these apps have enjoyed a huge boom in popularity since Trump came to power. The Atlantic’s senior editor, Saahil Desai, explains them to Annie Kelly. “They’re called prediction markets because these sites are thought of as more akin to stock markets. The idea being that you put money based on what you think will happen. And in that sense, prediction markets let you forecast the future. But in effect, it’s just a fancy way of betting.” He explains why the fact that media organisations are partnering with prediction market platforms is a worrying trend. “Let’s say you are a donor to a major Senate candidate. You could put millions of dollars into the prediction market for whether your preferred candidate would win and swing the odds. And so you can really shape media coverage in a way that you can’t with traditional polling. And all of that is exacerbated as media outlets start to incorporate this into their coverage.” But how do they work, why are they such big news in the US and why does Trump want to set up his own? Archive sources: NBC, BBC, CBS, CNN, CNBC, Daily Mail, 60 Minutes
Senior Ukrainian and Russian officials are due to meet in Abu Dhabi for a second round of talks brokered by the Trump administration. The two-day talks are expected to mirror last month’s format, with negotiators from Washington, Kyiv and Moscow in attendance. Donald Trump has struck an upbeat tone in recent weeks, saying that an end to the four-year war is within reach. However, Moscow and Kyiv h...
Senior Ukrainian and Russian officials are due to meet in Abu Dhabi for a second round of talks brokered by the Trump administration. The two-day talks are expected to mirror last month’s format, with negotiators from Washington, Kyiv and Moscow in attendance. Donald Trump has struck an upbeat tone in recent weeks, saying that an end to the four-year war is within reach. However, Moscow and Kyiv have tempered expectations, playing down the prospects of an immediate breakthrough. Russia resumed bombing Kyiv, just five days after Donald Trump claimed Vladimir Putin had agreed to a week-long pause in strikes because of extreme cold in Ukraine. How close are the sides to a peace deal? A viable path to peace remains complicated, with Moscow continuing to press maximalist territorial demands on Ukraine. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said last week that negotiations were hinging on a single, highly contentious issue: land. The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that any peace deal must have Ukraine cede the entire eastern Donbas region, including areas still under Ukrainian control. Kyiv has rejected those terms, though Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is willing to consider alternative arrangements, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of the east and the establishment of a demilitarised zone. US officials have been pressuring Ukraine to give up Donbas, promising security guarantees only if Kyiv first agrees to territorial concessions. Map of Ukraine Even if some compromise were reached on territory, other obstacles would remain. Moscow has said it would not tolerate European troops on Ukrainian soil, which Kyiv sees as essential for security guarantees. The Kremlin has also demanded strict limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, a condition Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out. Despite the wide gap between their positions, both sides have often engaged in a careful dance in front of Trump, seeking to appear open to peace so as not to anger the US p...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images Market Review U.S. fixed income markets finished the year on a strong note, registering solid returns across various sectors. The bullish narrative surrounding markets centered on additional easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and a resilient macroeconomic and consumer backdrop. The Fed delivered an additional 50 basis points ( BP ) of rate cuts during the ...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images Market Review U.S. fixed income markets finished the year on a strong note, registering solid returns across various sectors. The bullish narrative surrounding markets centered on additional easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and a resilient macroeconomic and consumer backdrop. The Fed delivered an additional 50 basis points ( BP ) of rate cuts during the quarter, including a 25 bp December cut that occurred despite market odds falling sharply late in November. Real GDP grew at a +4.3% annualized rate in the third quarter, supported by strong consumer spending. Other tailwinds included better-than-expected corporate earnings and revision trends, sustained hyperscaler investment supporting the AI theme, and an improvement in trade dynamics. However, several headwinds, including signs of labor market softening and consumer affordability pressures, housing weakness, data uncertainty from the government shutdown, and relatively stretched investor sentiment, partially offset these positive themes. 1 Over the quarter, short-term investment grade corporate 2 credit spreads widened by 4 basis points (bps), short-term commercial mortgage-backed securities ( CMBS ) 3 spreads widened by 1 bp, and short-term asset backed securities (ABS) 4 spreads widened by 4 bps. The 2-Year U.S. Treasury yield decreased from 3.61% to 3.48% and the 10-Year U.S. Treasury yield moved higher from 4.15% to 4.17% 1 . Fixed Income Market Review Yields and Spreads 09/30/2025 12/31/2025 2 Year U.S. Treasury Yield 3.61% 3.48% 10 Year U.S. Treasury Yield 4.15% 4.17% 2-10 U.S. Treasury Yield Spread 54 69 Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Bond Index Spread (OAS) 74 78 ICE BofA U.S. High Yield Constrained Index Spread (OAS) 280 281 Returns QTD(As of 12/31/25) YTD(As of 12/31/25) Bloomberg Aggregate Index Return 1.10% 7.30% Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Bond Index Return 0.84% 7.77% Bloomberg U.S. CMBS Index Return 1.44% 7.80% Bloomberg U.S. ABS ...