In modern China, the so-called 996 work culture, working six days a week from 9am to 9pm, has become a major point of contention. While some advocate for the gruelling schedule as a fast track to success, others decry it as “modern slavery”, pointing to cases where excessive work hours have led to severe health problems or even death. The debate was first ignited in 2019, when an anonymous protest...
In modern China, the so-called 996 work culture, working six days a week from 9am to 9pm, has become a major point of contention. While some advocate for the gruelling schedule as a fast track to success, others decry it as “modern slavery”, pointing to cases where excessive work hours have led to severe health problems or even death. The debate was first ignited in 2019, when an anonymous protest on GitHub, a global developer platform owned by Microsoft, drew attention to how the 996 culture threatens the well-being of technology workers. The image shows that in ancient times, merchants awoke before dawn and worked late into the night, often deprived of a good night’s sleep, and exerted themselves far more than their modern counterparts. Photo: RedNote The schedule breaches China’s labour law, which limits work to eight hours a day and 44 hours a week. Advertisement However, the phenomenon of overwork is far from new. Long before tech giants emerged, Chinese workers had endured similar pressures for centuries. Advertisement During the Warring States period (475-221 BC), official Dong He worked tirelessly day and night while negotiating with a rival kingdom, one of the earliest records of overtime.
Getty Images By Padhraic Garvey, CFA , Regional Head of Research, Americas and Benjamin Schroeder , Senior Rates Strategist The war goes on, but it's not the same war. Markets can refocus elsewhere for a bit The attack on Iran was not quite a surprise, but actually was. Now President Trump has surprised us again, but this time in the other direction, signalling an imminent pullback. If it were tru...
Getty Images By Padhraic Garvey, CFA , Regional Head of Research, Americas and Benjamin Schroeder , Senior Rates Strategist The war goes on, but it's not the same war. Markets can refocus elsewhere for a bit The attack on Iran was not quite a surprise, but actually was. Now President Trump has surprised us again, but this time in the other direction, signalling an imminent pullback. If it were true that a pause or exit (even if short term) is accurate, it would certainly be politically expedient. It's hardly a war that has had widespread support. Given that, a quick war is better for the Trump administration than a protracted one. Markets have clearly done some talking here, via the higher oil price, elevated volatility, no lower yield dividend, and a risk-off tone that had threatened to get much worse. The impact reaction has been a reversal of many of these directional outcomes. To put some numbers on this, the price of oil ended Friday at US$90/bbl, it shot up to US$120 on Monday, and is now back down to US$85. Those are phenomenal moves, in both directions, and are reflected in all types of market indicators. VIX volatility has done something similar, alongside a rotten feeling in risk asset space on Monday morning morphing to a quite cheery one late on the same day. The US 2yr break-even inflation rate, which had shot up to 3.25%, is now on the verge of breaking back below 3%. We are still at troubling levels, with the oil price at 85, VIX at 25 and the 2yr break-even at 3%. But well off prior highs, and the prior journey to day-on-day new highs has been abruptly reversed. Real yields have also shot higher in short tenors, signalling a ratchet down in macro angst. The 10yr nominal yield has edged lower, now down to the 4.1% area. It had been at over 4.2% earlier in the day, mostly on a further unleashing of higher inflation expectations. Before the strikes, the 10yr yield had, in fact, dipped briefly below 4%. And since then, we've had quite a poor payrolls rep...
Pongsak Sapakdee/iStock via Getty Images Working with AI, Thinking with Discipline AI, in its current form, has now been with us for three full years. Since we first felt the shockwaves from the ChatGPT 3.5 launch on November 30, 2022, we have been tinkering with and using LLMs. We have found these models helpful for questions large and small, and LLMs certainly helped create efficiencies in appro...
Pongsak Sapakdee/iStock via Getty Images Working with AI, Thinking with Discipline AI, in its current form, has now been with us for three full years. Since we first felt the shockwaves from the ChatGPT 3.5 launch on November 30, 2022, we have been tinkering with and using LLMs. We have found these models helpful for questions large and small, and LLMs certainly helped create efficiencies in approaching our process, but we had not yet systematically integrated AI into our research process. As the tools evolved, we believed it was necessary to both experiment and formalize where AI adds value, and where it does not. On this journey, Elliot and his co-host John Mihaljevic recorded a fascinating podcast with Samir Patel of Askeladden Capital. Samir has been incredibly thoughtful in developing and articulating the way he has infused his process with AI. 1 2 Below, we outline where AI has been most helpful in our process and where we believe we can improve its use. Before doing so, it is worth framing the kind of value we are actually seeing in practice. Much of the current discourse centers on the displacement of knowledge workers, a narrative we believe is often overstated. While there are certain industries where headcounts will change due to AI, we are believers in the Kasparov Law (or Kasparov Principle). As phrased by the Chess Grandmaster, Garry Kasparov, the Kasparov Law holds that “weak human + machine + superior process beats stronger humans and machines with inferior processes.” 3 4 Kasparov conceived of this notion in the aftermath of his loss to Deep Blue, a supercomputer designed for chess mastery, upon seeing amateurs with rudimentary chess programs beat Deep Blue-style supercomputers. Put simply, these systems are best viewed as force multipliers for human judgment, not replacements of it. These use-cases range from powerful time savers to idea generators to risk profilers and risk management. In our own practice, we think we are in the early innings of d...
Five Iran Women Soccer Players Defect In Australia, Trump Urges Immediate Asylum The ongoing Iran war is a rare modern conflict where warring powers can in an unprecedented manner (generally-speaking in terms of the modern age) address each other directly over social media. For example Iranian top official accounts are busy trying to troll Washington in defiance, even as the US bombs fall. "9 days...
Five Iran Women Soccer Players Defect In Australia, Trump Urges Immediate Asylum The ongoing Iran war is a rare modern conflict where warring powers can in an unprecedented manner (generally-speaking in terms of the modern age) address each other directly over social media. For example Iranian top official accounts are busy trying to troll Washington in defiance, even as the US bombs fall. "9 days into Operation Epic Mistake, oil prices have doubled while all commodities are skyrocketing. We know the U.S. is plotting against our oil and nuclear sites in hopes of containing huge inflationary shock. Iran is fully prepared. And we, too, have many surprises in store," Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X Monday. But President Trump on the same day had his own card to play, highlighting the plight of the Iranian National Women's Soccer team, which appears stuck in increasingly sensitive and possibly dangerous situation after playing in Australia. Trump wrote: " Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman's Soccer team to be forced back to Iran , where they will most likely be killed. Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM . The U.S. will take them if you won't." Source: Getty Images Stretching back days, and weeks - even before the start of Operation Epic Fury - there were conflicting reports over the team's response during the singing of the national anthem. There are widespread headlines they have been refusing to sing the national anthem, resulting in threats from Tehran officials . At this point it remains anything but clear whether the entire team is requesting asylum , or whether just several individuals are. Australian broadcast reports say at least five are in hiding : Five female soccer players who it was feared would face persecution when they returned to Iran have left their accommodation in the Gold Coast and plan to seek asylum in Australia, multiple sources have told the ABC. Fatemeh Pasandideh, Z...
Shares of social media giant Meta Platforms (META +1.93%) have hit a rough patch recently. As of this writing, the stock has fallen roughly 17% over the last six months. This pullback comes amid investor unease about the massive, capital-intensive artificial intelligence (AI) buildouts across the technology sector. With that said, it's times like this -- when some of the market's Wall Street darli...
Shares of social media giant Meta Platforms (META +1.93%) have hit a rough patch recently. As of this writing, the stock has fallen roughly 17% over the last six months. This pullback comes amid investor unease about the massive, capital-intensive artificial intelligence (AI) buildouts across the technology sector. With that said, it's times like this -- when some of the market's Wall Street darlings are taking a hit -- that it is a good time to go searching for investment ideas. But does this pullback represent a buying opportunity, or is the market right to be cautious about Meta's spending plans? Firing on all cylinders Meta's core advertising engine continues to produce staggering growth. In the fourth quarter of 2025, revenue rose 24% year over year to $59.9 billion. This top-line momentum was driven by strong user engagement, with ad impressions delivered across the company's family of apps increasing 18% year over year. Notably, this represented an acceleration from the 14% impression growth Meta posted in Q3. While the average price per ad increased by 6% -- a deceleration from 10% growth in the prior quarter -- the sheer volume of ads more than compensated. Underpinning this growth is a massive and expanding audience. The company reported that its total daily active users across its apps averaged 3.58 billion in December, up 7% from a year earlier. Management expects its strong business momentum to continue, guiding for first-quarter 2026 revenue between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion. Against the $42.3 billion in revenue the company delivered in the first quarter of 2025, the midpoint of this guidance implies roughly 30% year-over-year growth -- meaning top-line growth could actually accelerate. Earnings per share grew slower as the company is reinvesting in its business aggressively. Specifically, Meta's fourth-quarter earnings per share rose 11% year over year to $8.88. But this is impressive considering that costs and expenses for the period rose 40% y...
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday, on a spike in crude oil prices and as traders continue to monitor developments surrounding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis after the countries wrapped up the first ...
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday, on a spike in crude oil prices and as traders continue to monitor developments surrounding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis after the countries wrapped up the first round of talks. Traders also await the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision on interest rates, which is widely expected to be held at record low. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 107.40 points or 1.52 percent to 7,156.50, after touching a high of 7,156.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 116.20 points or 1.59 percent to 7,439.40. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Monday. Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is adding almost 2 percent, while OZ Minerals and Fortescue Metals are edging down 0.2 percent each. Rio Tinto is flat. Oil stocks are higher, with Beach energy gaining almost 2 percent, while Woodside Petroleum and Santos are adding more than 1 percent each. Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent. Among tech stocks, Appen is gaining almost 5 percent, WiseTech Global is adding almost 4 percent, Xero is advancing more than 5 percent and Block is soaring more than 13 percent, while Zip is plunging almost 8 percent. Gold miners are lower. Evolution Mining is losing almost 5 percent. Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining are down almost 2 percent each, while Gold Road Resources and Northern Star Resources are declining more than 3 percent each. Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are gaining more than 2 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are adding more than 1 percent each. Commonwealth Bank agreed to sell a 10% stake of China's Bank of Hangzhou for about $1.8 billion, exiting a nearly two-decade-old investment. In other news, shares in Yancoal are soar...
After a taste of springlike warmth across the UK, single-digit temperatures are set to return this week with the chance of snow for some. Although March is commonly when the sun starts to feel considerably warmer, the air over the far northern Atlantic remains cold. A number of fronts are set to progressively bring this colder air from the north-west across the UK. As the week wears on, daytime te...
After a taste of springlike warmth across the UK, single-digit temperatures are set to return this week with the chance of snow for some. Although March is commonly when the sun starts to feel considerably warmer, the air over the far northern Atlantic remains cold. A number of fronts are set to progressively bring this colder air from the north-west across the UK. As the week wears on, daytime temperatures will drop and by Friday may struggle to reach double figures - reminding us that winter is still only winding down and the mild, sunny, spring-like days are still few and far between.
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Translate webpages in Chrome: On your computer, open Chrome. Go to a webpage written in another language. At the top, click Translate. Chrome will translate the webpage one time. If you haven't installed Google Chrome. Please download and install it. Down
Earnings Call Insights: Coherus Oncology, Inc. (CHRS) Q4 2025 Management View Dennis Lanfear, Chairman, President & CEO, stated, “This was a year in which we completed our strategic transformation to an innovative oncology company focused on overcoming immune resistance in cancer.” He highlighted the acquisition of Surface Oncology, the divestiture of the biosimilar franchise, and significant bala...
Earnings Call Insights: Coherus Oncology, Inc. (CHRS) Q4 2025 Management View Dennis Lanfear, Chairman, President & CEO, stated, “This was a year in which we completed our strategic transformation to an innovative oncology company focused on overcoming immune resistance in cancer.” He highlighted the acquisition of Surface Oncology, the divestiture of the biosimilar franchise, and significant balance sheet improvement, including a reduction of $480 million in secured and convertible debt by over 90% to $38.8 million. Lanfear emphasized the launch and strong growth of LOQTORZI, describing it as “a commercial asset with growing sales in a rare disease space with no FDA-approved competing products on the horizon.” Lanfear provided the outlook that LOQTORZI is expected to reach $175 million in annualized revenues by 2028, corresponding to about 70% market share of a $250 million addressable market. He outlined milestones where, at about $15–16 million in quarterly sales, the commercial effort pays for itself, and at $30–35 million per quarter, the core burn is covered by revenues, expected in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Bryan McMichael, Chief Financial Officer, reported, “over 2024 and 2025, we decreased the principal balance of our term and convertible debt by over 90% from a high of $480 million to $38.8 million at year-end 2025.” McMichael also explained, “SG&A expenses from continuing operations decreased to $23.6 million, down from $29.6 million in Q4 last year.” Sameer Goregaoker, Chief Commercial Officer, announced, “LOQTORZI net revenue grew to $40.8 million for full year 2025, versus $19.1 million in 2024, representing 113% growth year-over-year.” Goregaoker added, “For Q4, net revenue was $12.4 million and 11% growth over Q3.” Outlook Management expects “average quarter-over-quarter demand growth of 10% to 15%” for LOQTORZI and aims to provide full year 2026 revenue guidance on the next earnings call in August. Lanfear commented, “Given the recent raise in ou...
Earnings Call Insights: Vail Resorts (MTN) Q2 2026 Management View Robert Katz, CEO & Executive Chairman, reported that the company faced "the most difficult weather environment in the Rockies we have ever seen, with snowfall and snowpack at or near all-time historic lows," which significantly impacted visitation and overall performance. He highlighted that "the Rockies are the largest driver of r...
Earnings Call Insights: Vail Resorts (MTN) Q2 2026 Management View Robert Katz, CEO & Executive Chairman, reported that the company faced "the most difficult weather environment in the Rockies we have ever seen, with snowfall and snowpack at or near all-time historic lows," which significantly impacted visitation and overall performance. He highlighted that "the Rockies are the largest driver of resort EBITDA for the company, and as such, the poor weather had an outsized negative impact on our results this year." Katz pointed to the stability provided by advanced commitment strategies, noting "we've grown our pass units by 55% over the past 5 years with pass holders now making up approximately 75% of our annual visitation." He emphasized ongoing portfolio diversification and new marketing initiatives, including the launch of a young adult pass at 20% below standard pricing for ages 13 to 30 and a new campaign called Epic Passion focused on Gen Z engagement. Strategic pricing changes included a "3% to 4% price increase for Epic and Epic Local passes" and a 20% discount for young adults, with "an approximately 3% to 4% blended price increase before the impact of any mix changes." Katz also detailed targeted updates to Epic Day pass pricing. Katz stated that early reception to new products, such as Epic Friends and Advanced Lift tickets, has been positive, and "system-wide guest satisfaction scores" reached record highs this season despite difficult conditions. Angela Korch, Executive VP & CFO, stated, "Q2 total net revenue declined approximately 5% in the second quarter compared to the prior year, driven by unfavorable weather conditions that negatively impacted visitation and ancillary spending for both local and destination guests." Korch noted, "Q2 resort reported EBITDA declined approximately 8% compared to the prior year as weather-related headwinds were partially offset by disciplined cost management and continued savings from our Resource Efficiency Transformat...