Microsoft executives have in recent weeks told managers at major divisions, including its cloud unit and North American sales groups, to suspend new hiring, The Information reported on Thursday, citing three employees with direct knowledge of the decision. Executives told managers to halt the hiring of any new candidates who did not already have a job offer, citing the need to cut costs and boo...
Microsoft executives have in recent weeks told managers at major divisions, including its cloud unit and North American sales groups, to suspend new hiring, The Information reported on Thursday, citing three employees with direct knowledge of the decision. Executives told managers to halt the hiring of any new candidates who did not already have a job offer, citing the need to cut costs and boost margins, the report said. However, the freeze is not company-wide and other divisions including the group building Microsoft's Copilot AI tool are still hiring, according to the report.
Dmitri Toms/iStock via Getty Images It has already been seven months since the first time I came across and covered DHT Holdings, Inc. ( DHT ). And now, it has already delivered 62% returns, justifying my buy rating and decision to add it to my portfolio. With its strong performance, robust liquidity, and strategic vessel management, I believe that it can take advantage of the global market situat...
Dmitri Toms/iStock via Getty Images It has already been seven months since the first time I came across and covered DHT Holdings, Inc. ( DHT ). And now, it has already delivered 62% returns, justifying my buy rating and decision to add it to my portfolio. With its strong performance, robust liquidity, and strategic vessel management, I believe that it can take advantage of the global market situation or at least protect its business. In addition, its valuation is still attractive with some upside potential. Technicals have waned due to the recent overbuying, but the recent selloff may open new buying opportunities. HAFN Q4 2025: A Smooth Sail Amid Volatile Market Tides The oil market remained highly volatile amid the sharp price swings and macroeconomic uncertainty. Oil tankers like DHT Holdings, Inc., have faced unfavorable circumstances in the past year due to various factors. This included inflation and OPEC supply hikes that affected the pricing power and demand for oil tankers. However, DHT proved its resilience with its effective vessel management and strategic exposure to time charter and spot market. This was evident in its most recent performance. In Q4 2025, its operating revenue amounted to $144.2M , up by 9.8% YoY from $131.4M. This YoY revenue growth was a huge improvement from my previous coverage with a YoY drop of 16.3%. More interestingly, its shipping revenue of $143.9M has been the highest in the past five quarters. This was impressive despite the notable reduction in its operating days and the scheduled off-hire days. I think one aspect that helped with its recovery and growth is its increased focus on time charter days because this was more suitable when oil prices were low. Revenues or tanker rates are fixed and stable, protecting it from oil price weaknesses. If you look at its trend, its TC rate per day has increased consistently for five consecutive quarters. Another factor that helped it is reduced exposure to the spot market, as spot rates...
Scientists have used a tiny plastic “obstacle course” to test how much sperm would struggle to navigate during sex in the weightlessness of space. Some particularly resilient sperm still made it through the course, suggesting that conceiving children in space will still be possible, according to research published on Thursday. However, a bigger problem could be that the development of embryos afte...
Scientists have used a tiny plastic “obstacle course” to test how much sperm would struggle to navigate during sex in the weightlessness of space. Some particularly resilient sperm still made it through the course, suggesting that conceiving children in space will still be possible, according to research published on Thursday. However, a bigger problem could be that the development of embryos after fertilisation was harmed by a lack of gravity, the Australian team of researchers found. With...
May ICE NY cocoa (CCK26 ) today is down -4 (-0.13%), and May ICE London cocoa #7 (CAK26 ) is down -2 (-0.09%). Cocoa prices today added to this week's losses and posted 2.5-week lows. The outlook for a bumper West African cocoa crop is undercutting prices as farmers in...
May ICE NY cocoa (CCK26 ) today is down -4 (-0.13%), and May ICE London cocoa #7 (CAK26 ) is down -2 (-0.09%). Cocoa prices today added to this week's losses and posted 2.5-week lows. The outlook for a bumper West African cocoa crop is undercutting prices as farmers in...
May arabica coffee (KCK26 ) today is down -6.80 (-2.15%), and May ICE robusta coffee (RMK26 ) is down -3 (-0.08%). Coffee prices are retreating today on the outlook for a record Brazil coffee crop. Marex Group Plc today projected a record 2026/27 Brazil coffee crop of 75.9 million bags,...
May arabica coffee (KCK26 ) today is down -6.80 (-2.15%), and May ICE robusta coffee (RMK26 ) is down -3 (-0.08%). Coffee prices are retreating today on the outlook for a record Brazil coffee crop. Marex Group Plc today projected a record 2026/27 Brazil coffee crop of 75.9 million bags,...
tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Virtus SGA International Growth Fund Q4 2025 Commentary . Grab Holdings ( GRAB ) is a super-app for ride-hailing, food delivery, and digital payment services on mobile devices that operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The company was founded as ...
tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Virtus SGA International Growth Fund Q4 2025 Commentary . Grab Holdings ( GRAB ) is a super-app for ride-hailing, food delivery, and digital payment services on mobile devices that operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The company was founded as MyTeksi by Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling in 2012 to make taxi rides safer in Malaysia. By 2016, it was rebranded as Grab which coincided with the development of products for couriers. Grab was Southeast Asia's biggest technology startup and went public in 2021. Grab has a dominant market share (70%+) in ride hailing in most Southeast Asia markets except for Indonesia where market share is at 50%. It also owns a mapping service in the region, which enables more accurate routing and time estimates for drivers and better reliability and experiences for consumers. With a dominant position, Grab has a local network effect advantage which improves further as volume and density in its network increases. The majority of revenues are derived from repeatable transactions such as habitual food delivery and local travel. Recent conversations with management indicated that user growth and user frequency is accelerating, and that there is a stable competitive landscape as most countries are becoming duopolies with Grab taking the majority market share. There remains a significant addressable market in Southeast Asia, providing a lengthy growth runway, and Grab aims to continue leveraging its platform to grow use cases and consumer penetration, such as its low-cost products for both mobility and delivery, and premium products for mobility services. Among the risks we are monitoring are a competitive landscape which can feature pricing promotions and a more price sensitive consumer, as well as the macroeconomic risk associated with operating across primarily emerging markets. Grab's single...
The U.S. offered Iran an olive branch earlier this week in an attempt to end the war that has roiled the energy markets. It proposed a 30-day ceasefire to negotiate an end to the fighting. However, Iran has rejected that offer, stating it would "end the war when it decides to do so." That reescalated the public war of words between the two countries, with President Trump responding by threatening ...
The U.S. offered Iran an olive branch earlier this week in an attempt to end the war that has roiled the energy markets. It proposed a 30-day ceasefire to negotiate an end to the fighting. However, Iran has rejected that offer, stating it would "end the war when it decides to do so." That reescalated the public war of words between the two countries, with President Trump responding by threatening even more devastating attacks. Iran's public rejection of the U.S. ceasefire proposal sent oil prices back up today, with Brent oil, the global benchmark, topping $100 a barrel again. Here's a look at how this rejection could impact oil stocks in the coming weeks. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Nobody likes hearing the word "recession" because it typically comes with high unemployment, less money to spend, or more overall economic stress. However, recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle, and have been since the start of modern trade. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines a recession as a major decline in economic activity that lasts more than a few months. T...
Nobody likes hearing the word "recession" because it typically comes with high unemployment, less money to spend, or more overall economic stress. However, recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle, and have been since the start of modern trade. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines a recession as a major decline in economic activity that lasts more than a few months. The length and severity of these recessions vary widely, but each one we've experienced has eventually ended and led to growth. Although the economy and stock market operate separately, there is an inherent connection between them. Past happenings don't guarantee future happenings, but it's worth reflecting on how past recessions have played out in the stock market. Continue reading
As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy -- they expect to make money. So let's look at two noteworthy recent insider buys. At Ridgepost Capital, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, Director David
As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy -- they expect to make money. So let's look at two noteworthy recent insider buys. At Ridgepost Capital, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, Director David
Timing lags in retail industry mean the impact of fuel and fabric inflation may not be felt until autumn ranges land In the context of Next, which has just reported full-year pre-tax profits of £1.16bn , an estimated £15m of extra fuel and air freight costs arising from the Middle East conflict is tiny. The sum, which in any case assumes disruption lasts three months, can be lost in the wash, or m...
Timing lags in retail industry mean the impact of fuel and fabric inflation may not be felt until autumn ranges land In the context of Next, which has just reported full-year pre-tax profits of £1.16bn , an estimated £15m of extra fuel and air freight costs arising from the Middle East conflict is tiny. The sum, which in any case assumes disruption lasts three months, can be lost in the wash, or more precisely “offset by savings elsewhere”. Chief executive Simon Wolfson, a boss who tends to err on side of caution when guiding on profits, saw no reason not to add £8m to this year’s number as a mechanical read-through from last year’s outcome. If there wasn’t a war on, one can assume there would have been a proper profit upgrade. After all, trading seems to have been going like a train up until late-February – “encouraging” in the UK and “strong” overseas. Continue reading...
Text generated by artificial intelligence often has a particular vibe that gives it away as machine-generated, but it has become harder to pick out those idiosyncrasies as the tech has improved. We may be seeing a similar evolution of generative AI audio. Google has announced a new AI audio model called Gemini 3.1 Flash Live—as the name implies, it's designed for real-time conversation. It's rolli...
Text generated by artificial intelligence often has a particular vibe that gives it away as machine-generated, but it has become harder to pick out those idiosyncrasies as the tech has improved. We may be seeing a similar evolution of generative AI audio. Google has announced a new AI audio model called Gemini 3.1 Flash Live—as the name implies, it's designed for real-time conversation. It's rolling out in some Google products starting today, and developers will be able to start building their own chatty robots with the model, too. Google says this AI is much faster and produces speech with a more natural cadence, aiming to solve a long-running issue with AI-generated speech. Like a chatbot, there's always a delay between input and output in generative audio systems. Longer delays and unnatural inflection make conversations feel sluggish and harder to follow. Researchers generally believe 300 milliseconds of latency is about the limit for optimal speech perception, but Google has not specified any particular delay for Gemini 3.1 Flash Live. It just vaguely has the speed you need. But benchmark numbers? Google has plenty of those, which it claims show that 3.1 Flash Live will be a more reliable way to have audio-to-audio AI conversations. For example, a big gain in the ComplexFuncBench Audio shows the new model is better at complex, multi-step tasks. Gemini 3.1 Flash Live also tops the charts in the Big Bench Audio test, which evaluates reasoning with a set of 1,000 audio questions. Read full article Comments
Balendra Shah, 35, is a symbol of change in country whose government was toppled last year in youth-led uprising Nepal’s rapper turned politician Balendra Shah, who is about to be sworn in as prime minister, has issued his first post-election message in the form of a rap urging unity. Hours before the release he swore an oath as a newly elected lawmaker, and he is due to become the Himalayan repub...
Balendra Shah, 35, is a symbol of change in country whose government was toppled last year in youth-led uprising Nepal’s rapper turned politician Balendra Shah, who is about to be sworn in as prime minister, has issued his first post-election message in the form of a rap urging unity. Hours before the release he swore an oath as a newly elected lawmaker, and he is due to become the Himalayan republic’s new prime minister on Friday. Continue reading...
A pair of senators pressed the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority about trading around the time of the US military action in Venezuela ousting President Nicolas Maduro . Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Angela Alsobrooks called for information about trading activity involving Venezuela sovereign bonds and bonds linked to the country’s state energy comp...
A pair of senators pressed the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority about trading around the time of the US military action in Venezuela ousting President Nicolas Maduro . Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Angela Alsobrooks called for information about trading activity involving Venezuela sovereign bonds and bonds linked to the country’s state energy company Petróleos de Venezuela SA in late 2025 and early 2026, citing reports that President Donald Trump discussed military plans with public and private sector actors prior to taking action. This raises “concerns that individuals with inside information could be using confidential national security information for personal financial gain,” they wrote in a letter to SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Finra President Robert Cook. Venezuelan assets rallied after US forces captured Maduro and his wife in a a stunning raid in early January, which led to a big payout for some individuals, the lawmakers said. “According to European exchanges, certain Venezuelan government bonds that are authorized to be traded by US persons have returned between 49 percent to 63 percent in the last three months, and between 73 percent to 136 percent in the last six months, resulting in immense profits for hedge funds and traders holding Venezuelan bonds,” Warren and Alsobrooks wrote. Read More: Venezuela Bond Traders Bet on More Gains After Maduro Raid The senators asked officials for trading information, complaints about transactions and details about financial institutions that accumulated large positions in Venezuela-linked bonds, among other data. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the letter. The SEC and Finra declined to comment.
A House panel advanced legislation that would require the Commerce Department to demand chipmakers do more to keep AI technology from being smuggled to China, an effort that’s gained new urgency after last week’s indictment of a Super Micro Computer Inc. co-founder for allegedly diverting Nvidia Corp. processors to Chinese buyers. The measure, backed by lawmakers from both parties, cleared the Hou...
A House panel advanced legislation that would require the Commerce Department to demand chipmakers do more to keep AI technology from being smuggled to China, an effort that’s gained new urgency after last week’s indictment of a Super Micro Computer Inc. co-founder for allegedly diverting Nvidia Corp. processors to Chinese buyers. The measure, backed by lawmakers from both parties, cleared the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, highlighting growing concern in Congress that China could obtain advanced chips for artificial intelligence and other high-tech products in defiance of US export controls. Known as the Chip Security Act, the bill seeks to strengthen detection of possible smuggling with calls for semiconductor manufacturers to step up their verification that AI processors aren’t being smuggled to China. It would require the Commerce secretary to issue rules on anti-diversion reporting for AI chip designers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. “We saw the importance of this legislation last week, with the Department of Justice announcing charges against a co-founder and executive of AI server maker Super Micro,” said committee Chairman Brian Mast , a Florida Republican whose panel oversees export control programs. “We need confidence they don’t end up in the hands of the Chinese military, which I have very, very serious concerns about happening.” The legislation is among several measures gaining traction in Congress that seek tougher export controls to limit Beijing’s access to AI chips. Lawmakers are moving as President Donald Trump has sought to ease limits on some AI chip sales as part of the administration’s strategy to win the AI race by expanding global sales of American technology. Read More: Super Micro Co-Founder Charged With Smuggling, Departs Board Unlike other export control bills currently under consideration, the Chip Security Act takes aim specifically at the smuggling issue. It calls on Commerce to establish a chip security mech...