AnnaStills/iStock via Getty Images The U.S. ISM Services PMI Index increased to 54.5 in May, topping the. 53.7 consensus, from 53.6 in April, according to data released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday. That marks 23 straight months in expansion territory. " Business activity hit its second highest reading since achieving the same reading of 57.7% in October 2024, and the new or...
AnnaStills/iStock via Getty Images The U.S. ISM Services PMI Index increased to 54.5 in May, topping the. 53.7 consensus, from 53.6 in April, according to data released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday. That marks 23 straight months in expansion territory. " Business activity hit its second highest reading since achieving the same reading of 57.7% in October 2024, and the new orders and supplier deliveries indexes hit their third highest readings in that time frame," said Steve Miller, chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee. Meanwhile, the employment reading was in contraction territory for the third straight month and hit its second-lowest reading since September 2025. "Respondents commented frequently that their companies had instituted hiring freezes or were not backfilling vacated positions; however, most industries reported that they were holding flat in employment month over month," Miller said. By industry, 17 service industries reported growth, while only one — real estate, rental, and leasing — reported a contraction for the month. The three industries demonstrating the strongest growth were wholesale trade; other services; and arts, entertainment & recreation. Prices: 71.3 vs. 70.7 in April. Employment: 47.9 vs. 48.0 prior. New orders: 57.3 vs. 53.5 prior. Business activity/production: 57.7 vs. 55.9 prior. More on the US Economy Energy Shock Looms, But Q2 GDP Still Looks Surprisingly Strong War And New Tariff Threat Strengthen The Dollar PMI composite index revised down to 51.5 from 51.7 in May's final reading U.S. private sector adds 122K jobs in May, roughly in line with consensus: ADP jobs report
He stood down as boss of the NT – and threw himself into kayaking, writing and DIY. The veteran director talks about his new start aged 60, mourning his mother – and directing Death of a Salesman in Turkish There were several big endings for Rufus Norris in 2025, all crammed into the same few seismic months last year. Firstly, the close of his tenure as director of the National Theatre after a dec...
He stood down as boss of the NT – and threw himself into kayaking, writing and DIY. The veteran director talks about his new start aged 60, mourning his mother – and directing Death of a Salesman in Turkish There were several big endings for Rufus Norris in 2025, all crammed into the same few seismic months last year. Firstly, the close of his tenure as director of the National Theatre after a decade at the helm. That planned ending collided with the loss of his mother, who died three weeks before he left the NT. On top of that, a significant birthday concluding his 50s. So what did Norris do after turning 60, on the other side of the Big Job, alongside the grief of losing a parent? DIY, plenty of kayaking and a house move, it turns out: “It felt important to have a complete break,” he says. “I’m a bit of a workaholic, but I’m also a bird of simple brain so I can as easily lose myself in how to build a shed or do up a place.” Continue reading...
Google parent Alphabet Inc. upsized its equity raise to $84.75 billion from the $80 billion it announced just two days earlier in a bid to help fund growing artificial intelligence spending plans. The offering includes a $40 billion so-called at-the-market program, which would involve the company selling shares directly into the open market from time to time beginning in the third quarter, as well...
Google parent Alphabet Inc. upsized its equity raise to $84.75 billion from the $80 billion it announced just two days earlier in a bid to help fund growing artificial intelligence spending plans. The offering includes a $40 billion so-called at-the-market program, which would involve the company selling shares directly into the open market from time to time beginning in the third quarter, as well as a $10 billion deal with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The remaining portion of the offering includes $18 billion in Class A common stock and Class C capital shares and $16.75 billion in depositary shares. The equity offering is set to be the largest of all time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s generally rare for a company as large as Alphabet to raise this much equity, and the deal is an unexpected twist in a big year for initial public offerings, especially ahead of SpaceX’s pending public listing. Read more: Goldman’s Weekend Call to Berkshire Spurs an $80 Billion Deal Alphabet was already set to pull off the biggest equity capital markets transaction of all time at the previous $80 billion level. Its offerings are poised to top Brazilian oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s roughly $70 billion sale of common and preferred stock in 2010. Google is trying to capitalize on a growing appetite for its homegrown AI chips, known as tensor processing units, or TPUs. They have become a key alternative to Nvidia Corp. ’s market-leading processors in an industry that requires tremendous amounts of computing power. The race to build AI data centers to fully utilize the technology has led Alphabet and its megacap peers to boost capital expenditures to record levels. Alphabet shares were about 0.7% higher at 10:00 a.m. in New York City.
Skipping pleasantries like “please” and “thank you” when talking to chatbots could save enough energy to power the annual needs of 760,000 residents in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the massive but often hidden environmental toll of artificial intelligence, according to a new UN report. Released by the Institute for Water, Environment and Health under the United Nations University, the UN’s aca...
Skipping pleasantries like “please” and “thank you” when talking to chatbots could save enough energy to power the annual needs of 760,000 residents in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the massive but often hidden environmental toll of artificial intelligence, according to a new UN report. Released by the Institute for Water, Environment and Health under the United Nations University, the UN’s academic arm, the study published on Wednesday also warned that the true cost of AI extended far beyond...
Summer is here, and your May favourites show you’re feeling the heat • Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Our on-again, off-again relationship with summer finally went official in May, with temperatures soaring across much of the UK. Many of us sweltered in the heat, ordering fans to try to get a good night’s sleep during the unprecedented heatwave , and shade shelters to k...
Summer is here, and your May favourites show you’re feeling the heat • Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Our on-again, off-again relationship with summer finally went official in May, with temperatures soaring across much of the UK. Many of us sweltered in the heat, ordering fans to try to get a good night’s sleep during the unprecedented heatwave , and shade shelters to keep us out of the sun’s glare. But we also couldn’t help embracing that summer feeling, with many of your May favourites reflecting a little more time spent outside. Many of you got back to nature and went camping, with some of your fellow readers’ top camping products making the list, such as an ingenious washing line and a flying disc . From comfy holiday sandals to a cult favourite K-beauty SPF , these were your favourite things in May. Continue reading...
Oracle (ORCL) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.
Oracle (ORCL) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.
Uber Technologies Inc. said it is cutting 23% of jobs in a division that includes human resources, recruitment, workplace facilities and culture, part of a move by the rideshare company’s newly promoted president Jill Hazelbaker to simplify team structure. The cuts to the People and Places division, many of which are senior roles, represent less than 1% of Uber’s 34,000 employees around the world,...
Uber Technologies Inc. said it is cutting 23% of jobs in a division that includes human resources, recruitment, workplace facilities and culture, part of a move by the rideshare company’s newly promoted president Jill Hazelbaker to simplify team structure. The cuts to the People and Places division, many of which are senior roles, represent less than 1% of Uber’s 34,000 employees around the world, according to a company spokesperson. Its approximately 10 million drivers are mostly classified separately as independent contractors. HR employees who had previously been approved to work remotely are also being asked to return to the office to comply with a three-day-a-week office mandate that went into effect last June. The changes come three weeks after Hazelbaker, a longtime executive who oversaw marketing, policy and communications, was promoted to the expanded role of president and chief corporate affairs officer. The new role adds Uber’s safety operations and the People and Places organization to her remit, following the departures of the respective leaders of those functions this year. Read More: Uber Expands NYC Office Following CEO Move, In-Office Mandate “As we’ve grown, parts of the organization have become too complex and fragmented, with overlapping responsibilities, unclear ownership, and teams operating too far from the businesses and partners they support,” Hazelbaker wrote in a memo to affected teams on Wednesday. Wednesday’s cuts are unrelated to AI, a spokesperson said. Uber has differed from other tech companies conducting mass layoffs in the name of AI-driven investment and efficiencies, instead cutting in a more targeted way to trim costs. It’s still hiring for more than 800 roles, including for commercializing robotaxis. It said last month that it would slow hiring due to internal use of AI. “These changes are necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the People team and the enormous potential ahead of us,” Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshah...
Major earnings expected after the bell on Wednesday include: Broadcom ( AVGO ) CrowdStrike Holdings ( CRWD ) C3.ai ( AI ) ChargePoint Holdings ( CHPT ) Veeva Systems ( VEEV ) Other Earnings slated for release after Wednesday's close include: DSGX , FIVE , IDT , NTSK , PVH , WOOF For Seeking Alpha's full earnings season calendar, click here.
Major earnings expected after the bell on Wednesday include: Broadcom ( AVGO ) CrowdStrike Holdings ( CRWD ) C3.ai ( AI ) ChargePoint Holdings ( CHPT ) Veeva Systems ( VEEV ) Other Earnings slated for release after Wednesday's close include: DSGX , FIVE , IDT , NTSK , PVH , WOOF For Seeking Alpha's full earnings season calendar, click here.
RLH Equity Partners announced the signing of a definitive agreement by which its portfolio company MCA Connect ("MCA" or the "Company") is to be acquired by Grant Thornton Advisors LLC ("Grant Thornton"). MCA is a premier consulting and technology services provider specializing in digital transformation solutions for manufacturing and distribution enterprises.
RLH Equity Partners announced the signing of a definitive agreement by which its portfolio company MCA Connect ("MCA" or the "Company") is to be acquired by Grant Thornton Advisors LLC ("Grant Thornton"). MCA is a premier consulting and technology services provider specializing in digital transformation solutions for manufacturing and distribution enterprises.
Pinecone, trusted knowledge infrastructure for AI, today at Microsoft Build announced a new integration connecting Pinecone Nexus and Microsoft OneLake. This integration changes how enterprise AI agents get the information they need. It shifts the process from slow, expensive retrieval to fast, structured, cited responses built directly from data organizations already have in the Microsoft ecosyst...
Pinecone, trusted knowledge infrastructure for AI, today at Microsoft Build announced a new integration connecting Pinecone Nexus and Microsoft OneLake. This integration changes how enterprise AI agents get the information they need. It shifts the process from slow, expensive retrieval to fast, structured, cited responses built directly from data organizations already have in the Microsoft ecosystem.
MicroStockHub/iStock via Getty Images A couple of years ago, my dad, Rick, retired. Up to that point, Rick had done everything right. He'd saved diligently, built a solid portfolio over a number of decades, and arrived at retirement in a strong financial position. But a few months in, he called me up one evening with a question I wasn't expecting. "I know you trade for a living," he said. "But wha...
MicroStockHub/iStock via Getty Images A couple of years ago, my dad, Rick, retired. Up to that point, Rick had done everything right. He'd saved diligently, built a solid portfolio over a number of decades, and arrived at retirement in a strong financial position. But a few months in, he called me up one evening with a question I wasn't expecting. "I know you trade for a living," he said. "But what exactly do you do?" At the time, I was working as a proprietary trader at a New York prop firm where I spent several years learning how the markets worked. For those who don’t know, prop trading is a world most retail investors never see - a room full of sharp, competitive people using company money to find and exploit edges in financial markets, day after day, week after week. It teaches you things about markets, risk, and human psychology that you simply can't learn anywhere else. After talking with my dad some more, I spent the next week teaching him how to sell options. After a few practice trades, it finally "clicked" for him, and his reaction is something I still think about to this day. " I can't believe I've never heard of this ," he said. " I can't believe nobody talks about this. " That conversation is the whole reason Option Income Builder , my new Investing Group service on Seeking Alpha, exists. The Problem With Traditional Income Investing My dad's portfolio - like most retirees' - was built around "traditional" strategies. Dividend stocks. Some bonds. A few REITs. A perfectly sensible approach - but one with a frustratingly low ceiling. Here's what nobody tells you about income investing: You need an absurd amount of money to make it work. With a 3% yield, even a $3 million portfolio only pays you $90k in income per year. That's barely more than the median US household income. It’s easy to see why this approach isn't great. Dividend growers only yield 1-3%. High yielders carry significant payout risks. REITs, bonds , and BDCs move around with interest rates...
格隆汇6月3日丨据英国金融时报，随着Meta寻求为WhatsApp开辟新的重要收入来源，WhatsApp企业用户未来将能够利用AI代理自动回复客户信息。此举是Meta尝试将其最新一轮数十亿美元级AI投入实现商业化的首批举措之一，而不仅仅依赖核心广告业务变现。Meta推出的新产品“企业AI代理”在过去数月于少数市场完成测试后，目前已开始在全球范围内推广。该工具能够自动回复客户消息、向商家提供经营反馈与数据洞察，并在部分场景下无需人工介入即可完成销售转化或预约安排。未来，这项功能也将扩展至Instagram消息系统。 Meta CEO马克·扎克伯格周三在伦敦举行的产品发布会上通过视频表示：“几年前我曾说过，每一家企业最终都会拥有自己的AI代理，就像今天每家公司都拥有电子邮箱、网站和社交媒体账号一样。而这一进程的发展速度甚至快于我的预期。”
Johnrob/iStock via Getty Images Wheels Up Experience Inc. ( UP ) to our understanding offers a service where members pay effectively a club fee, and then through the app can book flights, usually whole planes, to travel around North America. Wheels Up leases and owns planes and operates its own network of Embraer ( EMBJ ) and Bombardier ( BDRBF ) jets principally, as opposed to an older fleet whic...
Johnrob/iStock via Getty Images Wheels Up Experience Inc. ( UP ) to our understanding offers a service where members pay effectively a club fee, and then through the app can book flights, usually whole planes, to travel around North America. Wheels Up leases and owns planes and operates its own network of Embraer ( EMBJ ) and Bombardier ( BDRBF ) jets principally, as opposed to an older fleet which they are transitioning away from. Fleet (10-Q) That transition is in tandem with a new model with Signature membership, as well as another more entry level tier, effectively structured with a club membership fee on top of a upfront deposit to cover the value of flights, that are offered on a fixed or variable per hour basis. Shared flights exist but it appears to be mainly be through the forums, and isn't a facility offered by the app. Therefore, it competes with fractional ownership (NetJets by ( BRK.A )) as well as working directly with brokers to charter a plane, which they can also do efficiently by avoiding you having to pay for hot flights by finding planes at local airports. The bottom line is we aren't seeing too much innovation in terms of model, and there are attractive competing offers. While the fleet transition should support results, they are still burning cash. They do seem to have facilities to see the transition through. But we aren't jumping on this. A bit on the company The deposits as part of their membership programme are essentially advances on the flights that they end up booking. We've understood it that the service is mainly for booking whole planes, and this isn't some sort of air Uber which does exist . The model is simply you pay a monthly club fee and then on top of that you have to put up a deposit . Instead of buying from brokers, you get a more transparent system where the flights are quoted for you on the app, and you can maybe get some savings by utilising hot flights that are already scheduled, or by organising your own shared flights. B...