Zhicheng Qin/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images I am always looking to cover new companies in the aerospace and defense industries. Hot topics in the industry currently are space, hypersonics, drones, counter-drone solutions, and missiles and missile defense, as well as autonomy & AI. In the frame of autonomy and AI, Merlin, Inc. ( MRLN ) made its debut as a company last month in an IPO, raising $...
Zhicheng Qin/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images I am always looking to cover new companies in the aerospace and defense industries. Hot topics in the industry currently are space, hypersonics, drones, counter-drone solutions, and missiles and missile defense, as well as autonomy & AI. In the frame of autonomy and AI, Merlin, Inc. ( MRLN ) made its debut as a company last month in an IPO, raising $200 million . In this report, I have a deeper look at Merlin Labs, discussing the company’s product and assessing whether there is an attractive investment angle. Merlin Labs Aims to Infuse Autonomy and AI into Flight Merlin Labs was founded in 2017 by Matt George, who previously founded Burdge, which is a mobility company. Merlin Labs goal is to revolutionize aerospace with AI-powered autonomy. The company’s main product is Merlin Pilot, which is a combination of hardware and software to fly, navigate, and communicate. In some way, it does not sound like AI or full autonomy at all, and I believe that is for the best. Many companies are trying to infuse, but especially with flying and certification of systems, we note that certification regulations are slow to adapt to new trends. Getting Merlin Pilot certified is also the biggest challenge the company will likely face. From what I read about Merlin Pilot, it is not the type of AI deployment we see today. Today, AI is more than a buzzword, but we also see it deployed everywhere without companies questioning its use or use case. Merlin Labs is more methodical in that regard, as they mention on their website: Merlin approaches autonomy as a series of questions about legacy constraints. This allows us to devise AI solutions from the ground up. We believe in methodically scaling these innovations through real world testing and certification. They also have a road map that makes a lot of sense, going from single-engine aircraft to multi-engine to military transport class to military tankers. For single-engine and multi-engine, f...
In the field for this week's 90th Masters there will be no player seeking a first Augusta crown with a better pedigree than Justin Rose, writes Iain Carter.
In the field for this week's 90th Masters there will be no player seeking a first Augusta crown with a better pedigree than Justin Rose, writes Iain Carter.
Tools used by a criminal syndicate, seized by a special task force of the Taizhou Public Security Bureau’s Jiaojiang branch targeting loan broker fraud. Photo: Taizhou Daily Chinese authorities have launched a sweeping new crackdown on illicit financial practices, taking aim at predatory online lenders and loan brokers as part of a broader campaign to root out a sprawling underworld of consumer fr...
Tools used by a criminal syndicate, seized by a special task force of the Taizhou Public Security Bureau’s Jiaojiang branch targeting loan broker fraud. Photo: Taizhou Daily Chinese authorities have launched a sweeping new crackdown on illicit financial practices, taking aim at predatory online lenders and loan brokers as part of a broader campaign to root out a sprawling underworld of consumer fraud. The Ministry of Public Security and the National Financial Regulatory Administration held a joint video conference on April 2, deploying a new phase of targeted strikes against financial “black and gray” market crimes. The campaign aims to clean up illegal financial intermediaries, maintain market order, and protect consumers, in a bid to secure the high-quality development of the financial sector.
At its closest point, the crew of Artemis II will loop about 4,000 miles from the lunar surface late Monday. The astronauts will also venture farther into space than any previous human mission. (Image credit: NASA via Getty Images)
At its closest point, the crew of Artemis II will loop about 4,000 miles from the lunar surface late Monday. The astronauts will also venture farther into space than any previous human mission. (Image credit: NASA via Getty Images)
In March 2026, Ingram Micro Holding Corporation announced it had earned Microsoft’s new Frontier Distributor designation within the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, recognizing its ability to help channel partners move from AI experimentation to execution at scale across cloud, security and services. This designation underscores Ingram Micro’s role as a key enabler for AI-first partners buildin...
In March 2026, Ingram Micro Holding Corporation announced it had earned Microsoft’s new Frontier Distributor designation within the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, recognizing its ability to help channel partners move from AI experimentation to execution at scale across cloud, security and services. This designation underscores Ingram Micro’s role as a key enabler for AI-first partners building on Microsoft Copilot and related AI solutions, reinforcing the company’s investment in...
Adeia’s updated analyst narrative now centers on a fair value price target reset from US$22.75 to US$33.00, representing a sizable change in how the shares are being modeled. Analysts attribute this shift to fresh licenses and legal settlements with companies such as AMD, Disney and Microsoft, as they reassess how durable Adeia’s cash flows could be and how effectively management can execute on th...
Adeia’s updated analyst narrative now centers on a fair value price target reset from US$22.75 to US$33.00, representing a sizable change in how the shares are being modeled. Analysts attribute this shift to fresh licenses and legal settlements with companies such as AMD, Disney and Microsoft, as they reassess how durable Adeia’s cash flows could be and how effectively management can execute on the current deal pipeline. As you read on, you will see what is driving this evolving story and how...
Figures suggest if £500,000 limit set for Great Britain 30 years ago was adjusted for inflation the maximum would be more than £1m A 30-year freeze on compensation for victims of crime should be lifted, campaigners have said, adding that the maximum of £500,000 is insufficient to plan for a lifetime. The current highest rate, set in April 1996 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)...
Figures suggest if £500,000 limit set for Great Britain 30 years ago was adjusted for inflation the maximum would be more than £1m A 30-year freeze on compensation for victims of crime should be lifted, campaigners have said, adding that the maximum of £500,000 is insufficient to plan for a lifetime. The current highest rate, set in April 1996 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), is paid to victims of crime in England, Scotland and Wales who have suffered severe life-changing injuries, including brain damage and paralysis. Continue reading...
Ignorance and arrogance were his drivers. The idea that the regime plays by different rules, with its own goals, never occurred to him Five weeks. We are now five weeks in and entering the sixth week of the war on Iran. What was supposed to be a “precise, overwhelming military campaign” to eliminate “an imminent nuclear threat” and urge the Iranian people to “ take over ” their government is now a...
Ignorance and arrogance were his drivers. The idea that the regime plays by different rules, with its own goals, never occurred to him Five weeks. We are now five weeks in and entering the sixth week of the war on Iran. What was supposed to be a “precise, overwhelming military campaign” to eliminate “an imminent nuclear threat” and urge the Iranian people to “ take over ” their government is now anything but precise or overwhelming. Gulf countries are seized up with retaliatory Iranian attacks, the strait of Hormuz is shut, and there is no sign of regime collapse either through military degradation or popular takeover. The recovery of two downed US aircrew is celebrated beyond the facts of the matter because nothing else is going to plan. The mistake, as ever, is a combination of hubris and ignorance, flaws made even more serious by the particularities of the Iranian regime. There is a mental lag at the start of wars. A cognitive delay that means you can’t quite adjust to the fact that dangerous conflict cannot be swiftly contained. That mental lag is even longer when the United States is involved. Because it remains inconceivable to some that a superior military power would not swiftly achieve its objectives. That an inferior power would not immediately succumb. That allies would not fall into line and rally behind the US. Inconceivable that the fallout of a military campaign would not be limited to the territories and peoples targeted. Continue reading...
Italy’s first female director made 60 features depicting the gritty squalor of early 20th-century Naples. Most were lost to Mussolini’s censorship and she died in obscurity – but now a new documentary gives her a voice again The seething Neapolitan melodrama È piccerella (1922), written and directed by Elvira Notari, follows the fraught relationship between the manipulative Margaretella and her mo...
Italy’s first female director made 60 features depicting the gritty squalor of early 20th-century Naples. Most were lost to Mussolini’s censorship and she died in obscurity – but now a new documentary gives her a voice again The seething Neapolitan melodrama È piccerella (1922), written and directed by Elvira Notari, follows the fraught relationship between the manipulative Margaretella and her morbidly besotted suitor, Tore, who steals from his elderly mother to buy expensive gifts for his reluctant inamorata, despite her roving eye. The movie opens with documentary shots of middle-class pilgrims, including Margaretella and her shabbily genteel mother, arriving in carriages and cars at Naples’s Candelora festival – an “orgiastic pandemonium of Bacchantes,” notes an intertitle. Challenging the camera’s gaze as much as the smouldering femme fatale, an obese drinker quaffs exultantly from a pint glass of wine; in another scene, an unshaven little pauper gleefully drops his jaw to display his two remaining teeth. Continue reading...
Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) is poised to report a loss of over HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) for March this week, its worst monthly loss in dollar terms since its inception 25 years ago. The sharp fall in global stock markets last month hit the MPF hard, while the uncertainties ahead stemming from the Middle East conflict have led the pension regulator and analysts to urge the 4....
Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) is poised to report a loss of over HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) for March this week, its worst monthly loss in dollar terms since its inception 25 years ago. The sharp fall in global stock markets last month hit the MPF hard, while the uncertainties ahead stemming from the Middle East conflict have led the pension regulator and analysts to urge the 4.8 million members to adopt a diversified approach. The 378 MPF investment funds suffered a HK$103.3...
In this article CRWV AJG NVDA MMC Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT AI data centers are becoming a "stress test" for insurers as rapid technological advancements and the use of increasingly complex financial structures present a unique set of challenges and opportunities for the sector. Global spending on data centers could reach $7 trillion by 2030, according to McKinsey, and much o...
In this article CRWV AJG NVDA MMC Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT AI data centers are becoming a "stress test" for insurers as rapid technological advancements and the use of increasingly complex financial structures present a unique set of challenges and opportunities for the sector. Global spending on data centers could reach $7 trillion by 2030, according to McKinsey, and much of that spending can no longer come solely from hyperscalers. Instead, Big Tech is increasingly tapping private equity, private credit and using debt to finance the capital-intensive build-out of the facilities. Private infrastructure data center deals were consistently above the $10 billion mark last year, according to data from Preqin. The largest deal amounted to $40 billion , with Nvidia , Microsoft , BlackRock and Elon Musk's xAI forming part of a consortium of investors to buy Aligned Data Centers. The fact that so much money is tied up in building, constructing, and running data centers has been a "real stress test" over the last four to five years for the major insurance companies, Tom Harper, data center leader at insurance broker Gallagher , told CNBC. "When you put $10 to $20 billion plus in a single location, it creates capacity issues in the marketplace. The marketplace has always had an appetite for these risks because they are such high-quality builds. They've got cutting-edge technology, they're AA plus plus construction locations, but the capacity — the ability to provide the insurance capacity at these locations — has been tough." It was nearly impossible to reasonably insure a $20 billion campus in 2023, according to Harper. In 2026, however, it's become a weekly conversation. We're talking about trillions of dollars, and almost going back to the same cycle where there's almost no transparency about the financing structures — the scale is astronomical Rajat Rana Partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Estimated spending on AI data centers has been re...