J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images By Daisuke Nomoto, CMA (SAAJ), Senior Portfolio Manager | Simon Morton-Grant, Client Portfolio Manager Japan's economic renaissance has captured global attention, but skeptics continue to ask: How sustainable is this transformation? As we enter 2026, this question has evolved into something more fundamental: Are we witnessing a temporary market cycle or the...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images By Daisuke Nomoto, CMA (SAAJ), Senior Portfolio Manager | Simon Morton-Grant, Client Portfolio Manager Japan's economic renaissance has captured global attention, but skeptics continue to ask: How sustainable is this transformation? As we enter 2026, this question has evolved into something more fundamental: Are we witnessing a temporary market cycle or the early stages of a structural transformation that could reshape Japan for decades? Evidence is increasingly pointing towards the latter. What began as a governance-driven rally in 2023 has revealed itself as something far more profound — a convergence of forces that mirrors the early stages of America's great wealth creation cycle of the 1980s. The governance revolution: Still in its infancy Across boardrooms in Tokyo, the conversation has fundamentally changed from cash retention and stability to an urgent focus on shareholder returns and capital efficiency. The numbers tell the story of a transformation gathering momentum. Japanese companies returned 60% of net income to shareholders in 2025, yet they are still sitting on the cash equivalent to 40% of GDP — more than double the U.S. ratio. This isn't a problem to be solved overnight; it is a multi-year opportunity that will systematically unlock value as companies learn to deploy capital more efficiently. We are already seeing evidence of this shift. Share buybacks have multiplied nine times since 2012, cross-shareholdings continue to unwind and dividends have doubled in 10 years. These are not temporary measures driven by market pressure — they represent a fundamental shift in how Japanese business operates. The revolution has begun, but we are still in the early chapters. Source: Nomura, November 2025. Chart shows cash and deposit/GDP for all industry ex financial. Multiple catalysts align for sustained growth Governance reform alone doesn't explain the timing of this renaissance. Three powerful catalysts are converging...
Saudi Arabia is widening its search for capital, turning to some of the kingdom's wealthiest families. That's as the government looks to ease pressure on public finances and fund the next phase of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's economic overhaul. Bloomberg's Saudi Bureau Chief Christine Burke explained on Horizons Middle East and Africa. (Source: Bloomberg)
Saudi Arabia is widening its search for capital, turning to some of the kingdom's wealthiest families. That's as the government looks to ease pressure on public finances and fund the next phase of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's economic overhaul. Bloomberg's Saudi Bureau Chief Christine Burke explained on Horizons Middle East and Africa. (Source: Bloomberg)
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Chevron ( CVX ) appointed Thomas W. Horton, former Chairman and CEO of American Airlines ( AAL ), to its board of directors as an independent director and member of the audit committee. Horton, aged 64, is currently a partner at Global Infrastructure Partners and previously served as a senior advisor at Warburg Pincus. He also held board seats at Walmart (since 20...
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Chevron ( CVX ) appointed Thomas W. Horton, former Chairman and CEO of American Airlines ( AAL ), to its board of directors as an independent director and member of the audit committee. Horton, aged 64, is currently a partner at Global Infrastructure Partners and previously served as a senior advisor at Warburg Pincus. He also held board seats at Walmart (since 2014) and General Electric (GE Aerospace, since 2018), with past roles at Qualcomm and Enlink Midstream. More on Chevron Chevron Q4: Taking Profits While Awaiting A Correction And A Less Uncertain Environment Chevron: Appealing, But Upside May Be Limited Near Term Exxon Mobil Vs. Chevron: One Oil Giant Stands Above The Other Chevron seeks improved terms from Iraq before taking over Lukoil oilfield - Reuters Kazakhstan's biggest oilfield seen recovering less than half its output by February 7 - Reuters
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Introduction: AI boom will produce winners and 'carnage,' says tech boss; dollar sinks to four-year lows after Trump comments 5m ago 07.46 GMT Introduction: AI boom will produce winners and 'carnage,' says tech boss; dollar sinks to four-year lows after Trump comments Good morning, and welcome to our rollin...
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Introduction: AI boom will produce winners and 'carnage,' says tech boss; dollar sinks to four-year lows after Trump comments 5m ago 07.46 GMT Introduction: AI boom will produce winners and 'carnage,' says tech boss; dollar sinks to four-year lows after Trump comments Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. The artificial intelligence (AI) will create winners but there will be “carnage along the way,” the boss of a US technology company has warned. Chuck Robbins, who runs Cisco Systems which produces IT infrastructure enabling use of AI, told the BBC the technology will be “bigger than the internet”, but the current market is probably a bubble and some companies “won’t make it”. Robbins said some jobs will be changed by AI, or even “eliminated”, especially in areas like customer services where companies will need “fewer people”, but urged workers to embrace rather than fear the technology. This comes after a spate of warnings over job losses as a result of the technology, and fears that the boom is a bubble waiting to burst. JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon has said some of the money invested in AI would “probably be lost”, while Google parent company Alphabet’s chief executive Sundar Pichai said there was some “irrationality” in the AI boom. The dollar has sunk to four-year lows after Donald Trump brushed off its recent decline, triggering more selling of the US currency ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later today. The dollar slumped 1.3% against a basket major currencies yesterday, and has slipped a further 0.2% this morning. It has fallen for four days in a row. The US president said yesterday the value of the dollar was “great,” when asked whether he thought it had fallen too much. Traders interpreted this as a signal to carry on with dollar selling. The dollar has been under pressure...
Hong Kong authorities will consult the public later this year on building a pedestrian walkway for a waterfront selfie hotspot in Kennedy Town, with the options including small-scale reclamation works. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, speaking at the Legislative Council on Wednesday, said authorities were considering whether they could use “small-scale reclamation” to build a pede...
Hong Kong authorities will consult the public later this year on building a pedestrian walkway for a waterfront selfie hotspot in Kennedy Town, with the options including small-scale reclamation works. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, speaking at the Legislative Council on Wednesday, said authorities were considering whether they could use “small-scale reclamation” to build a pedestrian walkway or sea wall along New Praya. “To allow tourists at New Praya, Kennedy Town, to enjoy the sunset views in a safe and leisurely manner, we are exploring the use of the simplified mechanism under the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance that we amended last year, where we can build a pedestrian boardwalk or a seawall along the harbourfront through small-scale reclamation,” she said. Advertisement “Or perhaps we may provide a pedestrian passage using methods that do not require reclamation.” New Praya has become a hotspot for mainland Chinese tourists in recent years, with many visiting the area to take selfies with the harbourfront as a backdrop. Advertisement The trend has also prompted safety concerns, with some visitors ignoring road safety while taking pictures.
Both stocks are growing at similar rates and are trading at similar valuations, but one is still the clear winner when comparing the two. For investors looking for a good investment, one good filter is to think deeply about a business's durability. Is it a company likely to still be performing well 10 years from now? This helps rule out businesses that may be too risky for a portfolio in the first...
Both stocks are growing at similar rates and are trading at similar valuations, but one is still the clear winner when comparing the two. For investors looking for a good investment, one good filter is to think deeply about a business's durability. Is it a company likely to still be performing well 10 years from now? This helps rule out businesses that may be too risky for a portfolio in the first place. Two companies with durable traits that come to mind are Alphabet (GOOG +0.42%) (GOOGL +0.39%) and Netflix (NFLX 0.15%). Both companies have dominant brands in their respective spaces. While Netflix's business is the more focused of the two, with most of its revenue coming from subscriptions to its streaming service, it also has an emerging advertising business. And, of course, its streaming service is made up of an exhaustive library of licensed content, but more notably, many popular original series and movies as well. And though Alphabet generates the majority of its revenue from advertising, it also makes money from subscriptions across its platforms and a fast-growing cloud computing business. But which of these two market leaders is the better buy? Netflix: strong revenue growth and expanding operating margins While Netflix isn't the sprawling technology company that Alphabet is, the company's streaming service does have global reach. The service is available in more than 190 countries and boasts over 325 million subscribers. And despite its size, the company continues to grow rapidly. Revenue in Netflix's fourth quarter rose 17.6% year over year -- an acceleration from 17.2% in Q3 and even higher than the company's full-year growth rate of 16% in 2024. Expand NASDAQ : NFLX Netflix Today's Change ( -0.15 %) $ -0.13 Current Price $ 85.57 Key Data Points Market Cap $361B Day's Range $ 83.89 - $ 85.57 52wk Range $ 81.93 - $ 134.12 Volume 1.4M Avg Vol 46M Gross Margin 48.59 % But what's particularly compelling about Netflix's business is that it's still expanding i...