Hi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a succinct snapshot of what I'm seeing and hearing from local businesses. Now that the Trump-Xi summit has helped keep tariffs in check, Chinese companies and U.S. representatives alike are making the most of an extended truce to get some deals going. But is that enough to overcome data securit...
Hi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a succinct snapshot of what I'm seeing and hearing from local businesses. Now that the Trump-Xi summit has helped keep tariffs in check, Chinese companies and U.S. representatives alike are making the most of an extended truce to get some deals going. But is that enough to overcome data security and branding hurdles? The big story For businesses navigating U.S.-China tensions, "the worst is over," Zou Ping, co-founder of AI Speech , told me in Suzhou last week. It was just a few days after he'd returned from the U.S., one of the company's key growth markets as it pushes sales of high-end microphones, speakers and digital note-taking tablets. The company's speakers and microphones use on-device AI capabilities to improve sound quality and are widely used in company meeting rooms and university classrooms, he said. The timing could hardly be better. Earlier this month, the U.S. and China agreed to pursue " constructive strategic stability ," signaling a broader effort to stabilize ties after more than a year of escalating tensions and tariff hikes that at one point pushed cumulative duties above 100% . Now, the extended truce suggests those levies could remain at about half those levels for longer. For Zou, tariffs and market access remain the biggest concerns. But for at least the next three to five years, he's hopeful that the U.S.-China relationship won't deteriorate further. The bigger challenge for winning U.S. customers, he said, is branding. AI Speech is exploring acquisitions and local hiring as part of its U.S. expansion strategy, he said, hinting at conversations with New York electronics retailer B&H. The theme echoed conversations I had with other executives: recent trips to the U.S. and Europe, discussions with major American retailers and renewed plans for overseas growth. "We're talking with Best Buy right now," Guo Renjie, CEO of humanoid robot star...
Hong Kong private equity firm Templewater is eyeing investment opportunities in Central Asia’s real estate, energy transition and healthcare sectors, while positioning itself as a “superconnector” to channel capital from the Middle East into the emerging market. Cliff Zhang Kun, chairman of Templewater, also stressed the need for businesses to diversify their investments and shift from traditional...
Hong Kong private equity firm Templewater is eyeing investment opportunities in Central Asia’s real estate, energy transition and healthcare sectors, while positioning itself as a “superconnector” to channel capital from the Middle East into the emerging market. Cliff Zhang Kun, chairman of Templewater, also stressed the need for businesses to diversify their investments and shift from traditional Western markets towards emerging economies amid geopolitical volatility. Zhang, who will join a delegation led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan early next month, said he expected to lock in and announce several collaboration projects with Central Asian companies during the trip. Advertisement Some involved Middle Eastern capital, he said, but stopped short of revealing further details. The private equity boss said that while Central Asia lagged behind the Middle East in terms of development, there was nonetheless growing demand for infrastructure and technology, which offered lucrative investment opportunities. Advertisement “When a country and an economy develop, usually properties are where the demand first emerges,” he said, pointing to projects such as homes, offices, hotels and shopping centres.
Felipe Sinisterra and Dave Wang cash big checks telling Wall Street bankers what’s missing from their AI plans. On a March afternoon, the two highly sought-after trainers in finance addressed employees of a venture capital fund in New York. Wang, 31, showed how Gemini, the AI model developed by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, could be used to analyze founders’ pitch videos. He demonstrated how a web appli...
Felipe Sinisterra and Dave Wang cash big checks telling Wall Street bankers what’s missing from their AI plans. On a March afternoon, the two highly sought-after trainers in finance addressed employees of a venture capital fund in New York. Wang, 31, showed how Gemini, the AI model developed by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, could be used to analyze founders’ pitch videos. He demonstrated how a web application incorporating behavioral analysis methods used by the FBI could help compare a transcript with visual cues such as body language and facial expressions to spot potential red flags. Sinisterra, 30, then walked the class through how to scan transcripts from earnings calls with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude to find the most market-moving statements. The machine ran sentiment analysis and translated management’s spoken remarks into numerical spreadsheet inputs to forecast future financials. Participants could see how AI could help streamline some of the most labor-intensive parts of their jobs. The bill for the day? $25,000. And they are backlogged for two months. “What is happening now is that people are seeing AI as a source of edge, a source of offense,” said Sinisterra. “What we’ll see in the future is that people will see it as a necessity.” Big banks, caught up in AI angst, are looking to hire more AI specialists and shrink traditional banking roles. Standard Chartered Plc is preparing to axe thousands of support positions over the next four years. Citigroup Inc. , Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. have collectively cut more than 5,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2026, despite having a record earnings season. Top executives, willing to spend top dollar to deploy the technology beyond basic tasks, are experimenting with AI tools themselves, building pressure to embed the technology across the ranks. Sinisterra and Wang, former SoftBank fund managers, are selling confidence and fluency to firms hungry for that transformation. Wall Street Prompt ,...
IMAX Corporation (IMAX) shareholders had the kind of Friday that rewrites a year. Shares of the premium cinema technology company jumped about 15% on May 22, closing at $39.12, after The Wall Street Journal reported the company is exploring a sale and has approached entertainment companies as ...
IMAX Corporation (IMAX) shareholders had the kind of Friday that rewrites a year. Shares of the premium cinema technology company jumped about 15% on May 22, closing at $39.12, after The Wall Street Journal reported the company is exploring a sale and has approached entertainment companies as ...
A $40 billion selloff in a 141-year-old Japanese cable firm has served as a reality check on the fragility of the global AI-driven stock rally. Optical fiber cable maker Fujikura Ltd. almost halved in value in the week through May 20 as investors rushed to dump its stock following a disappointing earnings forecast and lackluster medium-term plan. While the shares have since recouped some of those ...
A $40 billion selloff in a 141-year-old Japanese cable firm has served as a reality check on the fragility of the global AI-driven stock rally. Optical fiber cable maker Fujikura Ltd. almost halved in value in the week through May 20 as investors rushed to dump its stock following a disappointing earnings forecast and lackluster medium-term plan. While the shares have since recouped some of those losses, they’re still trading almost 30% below their all-time closing high hit on May 13. Fujikura’s rollercoaster week reveals how quickly the tides can turn for AI stock winners as investors realize hopes for explosive growth in infrastructure may have run far ahead of manufacturers’ ability to deliver. “The fact that Fujikura hasn’t been able to sufficiently expand capacity has created a gap between market expectations and reality,” said Norikazu Shimizu , an analyst at Iwai Cosmo Securities. “Even if they want to produce more, they just can’t fully meet demand.” The company, which supplies fiber optic cables used to connect servers and switches inside AI data centers, has been one of Japan’s hottest trades over the past two years amid surging demand for generative AI models. Fujikura is part of the so-called Portsmouth consortium tasked with building out data center infrastructure in the US. Its share price had ballooned more than 1,500% in the 24 months through mid-May. But the market is increasingly questioning whether Fujikura can expand production quickly enough to justify its lofty valuation. In a mid-term plan released May 19, the company forecast operating income of ¥315 billion ($2 billion) in the fiscal year starting April 2028, well below the average analyst estimate of ¥455 billion. President Naoki Okada has said the firm’s production capacity will remain insufficient even after a new plant in Chiba prefecture comes online. Read more: Fujikura Shares Plunge After Three-Year Forecast Dents AI Hope The selloff has reverberated beyond Fujikura as investors reass...
SINGAPORE, May 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JOYY Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYY) (“JOYY” or the “Company”), a global technology company, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2026. First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights1 Net revenues were US$555.7 million, an increase of 12.4% from US$494.4 million in the corresponding period of 2025, compared with US$581.9 million in the f...
SINGAPORE, May 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JOYY Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYY) (“JOYY” or the “Company”), a global technology company, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2026. First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights1 Net revenues were US$555.7 million, an increase of 12.4% from US$494.4 million in the corresponding period of 2025, compared with US$581.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Social Entertainment net revenues increased by 3.2% to US$400.4 million from US$387.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025, compared with US$419.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. BIGO Ads net revenues increased by 55.6% to US$124.8 million from US$80.2 million in the corresponding period of 2025, compared with US$128.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Shopline net revenues increased by 16.1% to US$30.5 million from US$26.3 million in the corresponding period of 2025, compared with US$34.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. were US$555.7 million, an increase of 12.4% from US$494.4 million in the corresponding period of 2025, compared with US$581.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Operating income was US$6.8 million, compared with US$12.2 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$18.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. was US$6.8 million, compared with US$12.2 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$18.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Non-GAAP EBITDA 2 was US$45.7 million, compared with US$40.4 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$50.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. was US$45.7 million, compared with US$40.4 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$50.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Net income from continuing operations attributable to controlling interest of JOYY 3 was US$50.7 million, compared with US$45.4 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$54.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. was US$50.7 million, compared with US$45.4 million ...
As the global gas market grapples with the Strait of Hormuz being all-but closed for nearly three months, traders are fixated on two wildcards: China and the weather. Summer forecasts are pointing to higher-than-normal temperatures across Asia, while an El Niño weather pattern could make things even hotter. That will boost air-conditioning use and strain power grids when energy prices are already ...
As the global gas market grapples with the Strait of Hormuz being all-but closed for nearly three months, traders are fixated on two wildcards: China and the weather. Summer forecasts are pointing to higher-than-normal temperatures across Asia, while an El Niño weather pattern could make things even hotter. That will boost air-conditioning use and strain power grids when energy prices are already elevated. The key risk is the heat triggers stronger demand in China, the world’s No. 1 liquefied natural gas buyer. The conflict in the Middle East has choked a fifth of global LNG supply, but that hasn’t resulted in extreme price spikes seen during previous energy crises. That’s mainly down to weaker Chinese imports in March and April, but signs of a rebound in the country’s purchases are raising the prospect of fiercer global competition at a time when Europe will need to replenish inventories ahead of winter. “The full impact of the Strait of Hormuz closure has not yet been felt because we have been in the soft shoulder season for demand,” said Saul Kavonic , an energy analyst at MST Marquee. “LNG prices could rise a further 50% through August if the Strait remains largely closed.” LNG flows have already begun shifting toward Asia, where buyers are willing to pay higher prices, reversing a period in which Europe absorbed vast amounts of global supply to offset the loss of Russian pipeline gas. LNG deliveries to Europe are down more than 10% from a year ago, according to a 30-day moving average of ship-tracking data . And in the last two weeks, a few US shipments headed to Europe have diverted to Asia. Meteorologists are expecting that El Niño — which warms sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific — will emerge from June to August, and strengthen in subsequent months. That could bring hotter weather, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty over how intense it will be. While El Niño is typically associated with raising average global temperatures, where and when ...
Explore the exciting world of Karooooo (NASDAQ: KARO) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of March 25, 2026. The video was published on May 25, 2026. Continue reading
Explore the exciting world of Karooooo (NASDAQ: KARO) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of March 25, 2026. The video was published on May 25, 2026. Continue reading
Microsoft (MSFT 0.06%) and OpenAI aren't as close and intertwined as they were a year ago. While they still work together, both have been distancing themselves from one another and have updated their partnership agreement multiple times. While partnering and working closely with OpenAI may have seemed like a great move for Microsoft when ChatGPT was the leading chatbot, times have changed. Here's ...
Microsoft (MSFT 0.06%) and OpenAI aren't as close and intertwined as they were a year ago. While they still work together, both have been distancing themselves from one another and have updated their partnership agreement multiple times. While partnering and working closely with OpenAI may have seemed like a great move for Microsoft when ChatGPT was the leading chatbot, times have changed. Here's why diversifying and being less dependent on ChatGPT may prove to be a great strategy for the tech giant in the long run. Microsoft's customers frequently use multiple AI models There are a growing number of AI chatbots, and picking a winner at this stage is no easy task. That's why taking a more agnostic approach and not being linked to a specific model may be crucial for Microsoft. Anthropic's Claude model, for instance, is known for being a popular option with enterprise customers for its coding capabilities. By simply offering customers the ability to choose the AI model that best suits their needs, Microsoft doesn't need to worry about picking a winner, which can enable it to better meet its customers' needs. Microsoft's cloud servers allow customers to choose from many different AI models, including ones from OpenAI, Anthropic, and open source. CEO Satya Nadella stated, on the company's recent earnings call, that "over 10,000 customers have used more than one model on Foundry, 5,000 have used open-source models, and the number who have used Anthropic and OpenAI models increased 2x quarter-over-quarter." Offering flexibility is key for Microsoft to be adaptable and ensure it's not limiting itself to a specific AI model. Nadella also says that "we offer the broadest selection of models of any hyperscaler, so customers can choose the right model for the right workload." Expand NASDAQ : MSFT Microsoft Today's Change ( -0.06 %) $ -0.24 Current Price $ 418.85 Key Data Points Market Cap $3.1T Day's Range $ 416.35 - $ 424.40 52wk Range $ 356.28 - $ 555.45 Volume 1.3M Avg Vol ...
nvda Nvidia Stock NVDA Risks Falling Under $200 as Rising Costs, China Risks Weigh on Sentiment Q1 Earnings propelled NVIDIA to yet another impressive quarter, but growing expenses and geopolitical unpredictability masked the positive outcomes and put pressure on the stock. Written by: Skerdian Meta • • 2 min read • Quick overview NVIDIA reported Q1 FY27 revenue of $81.6 billion, driven by strong ...
nvda Nvidia Stock NVDA Risks Falling Under $200 as Rising Costs, China Risks Weigh on Sentiment Q1 Earnings propelled NVIDIA to yet another impressive quarter, but growing expenses and geopolitical unpredictability masked the positive outcomes and put pressure on the stock. Written by: Skerdian Meta • • 2 min read • Quick overview NVIDIA reported Q1 FY27 revenue of $81.6 billion, driven by strong demand in the data center segment, particularly from hyperscale cloud providers. Despite impressive revenue growth, rising operating expenses and tax pressures have raised concerns about the company's profitability and efficiency. Geopolitical tensions and export restrictions have led to a forecast of no Data Center compute revenue from China in Q2, limiting growth potential. NVIDIA's stock has shown volatility, recently slipping below key technical support levels, while the company continues to return capital to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. Live NVDA Chart NVDA 0.0000 MARKETS TREND [[NVDA-graph]] Q1 Earnings propelled NVIDIA to yet another impressive quarter, but growing expenses and geopolitical unpredictability masked the positive outcomes and put pressure on the stock. Strong Revenue Growth Anchored by Data Center Demand NVIDIA reported Q1 FY27 revenue of $81.6 billion, marking a 20% sequential increase and an 85% year-on-year surge, underscoring sustained demand for high-performance computing infrastructure. The results were again driven by hyperscale cloud providers and continued expansion in AI-driven data center buildouts. Earnings also came in strong, with GAAP diluted EPS of $2.39, supported by elevated pricing power and robust margins across its premium GPU and networking products. Gross margin remained exceptionally high at 74.9%, reinforcing NVIDIA’s dominant position in advanced semiconductor and compute systems. The Data Center segment remained the core growth driver, generating $75.2 billion in revenue, with particularly strong performance in...
Good morning from a rainy Sydney. President Donald Trump once again signaled that talks with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are making progress, with global markets responding positively. Locally, my colleague Ainsley Thomson in Wellington has done a deep dive on what’s behind the deflation of the New Zealand housing bubble and what lessons Australia can learn from it. Meanwhile, all eyes are...
Good morning from a rainy Sydney. President Donald Trump once again signaled that talks with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are making progress, with global markets responding positively. Locally, my colleague Ainsley Thomson in Wellington has done a deep dive on what’s behind the deflation of the New Zealand housing bubble and what lessons Australia can learn from it. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the NZ rate decision tomorrow, when the central bank is expected to stand pat . And Australians may also see a bit more softening in the housing market, with NAB no longer including tax breaks for properties sold after tax changes were announced in the budget. — Carmeli Argana, Australian stocks reporter What’s happening now New Zealand’s central bank is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 2.25% on Wednesday, opting to look through the inflationary impact of the Middle East energy shock in favor of supporting a fragile economic recovery. National Australia Bank has tightened its home lending rules after the Australian government removed a concession that allowed property investors to claim mortgage interest payments as a tax deduction. The bank will not include the effects of the tax break for properties sold after May 12, a move that could reduce how much buyers are able to borrow, Bloomberg News reported. Meantime, Australian homes are among the most expensive in the developed world. Buyers, desperate to get onto the property ladder, have taken on more debt than ever before, and uninhabitable properties, some covered in mold and asbestos, are snapped up for millions. Read our explainer on how Australia’s housing market became so out of reach. In the travel world, Qantas’s ultra-long-range Airbus SE A350s have been delayed again , yet another setback to the airline’s plan to operate the world’s longest non-stop flights next year. The first of 12 customized A350-1000s will arrive in April 2027, Airbus said Monday. Airbus blamed the delay “on supply chain...
Palantir Technologies (PLTR 0.39%) develops custom artificial intelligence (AI) software for government and commercial customers across various industries and applications. The company's launch of its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) in 2023 has proven to be a game changer, with growth accelerating consistently since then amid insatiable demand for AI technology across the economy. That mome...
Palantir Technologies (PLTR 0.39%) develops custom artificial intelligence (AI) software for government and commercial customers across various industries and applications. The company's launch of its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) in 2023 has proven to be a game changer, with growth accelerating consistently since then amid insatiable demand for AI technology across the economy. That momentum is still building; management is guiding for 120% revenue growth from commercial U.S. customers in 2026. It has made Palantir stock an absolute home run for investors throughout this artificial intelligence (AI) boom, rising over 2,000% since 2023. It's also made Palantir a lightning rod for investors, who have fiercely debated the stock's lofty valuation. That debate rages on among analysts to this day. Of 30 Wall Street analysts surveyed by CNN Business, 60% rate the stock a buy, with some price targets suggesting as much as 86% upside. Here's why agentic AI could be fueling the market's optimism. Agentic AI could drive the growth analysts are looking for Palantir's technology tends to act as an operating system, a software brain that analyzes an organization's data to generate trends and insights for human users. It's arguably the ideal overseer of AI agents, digital workers that, over the coming years, will increasingly perform tasks in place of humans. These agents will likely function within Palantir's software applications, where they can monitor, govern, and coordinate them. Palantir's AIP already speaks to that, as the company is selling enterprise autonomy, not just chatbot capabilities. Some companies have already begun laying off employees, often citing AI as a reason. AI agents will likely continue to surge from here. According to Grand View Research, the Enterprise Agentic AI market could grow by more than 46% annually, hitting $24.5 billion by the end of this decade. Expand NASDAQ : PLTR Palantir Technologies Today's Change ( -0.39 %) $ -0.54 Current Pri...
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) develops custom artificial intelligence (AI) software for government and commercial customers across various industries and applications. The company's launch of its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) in 2023 has proven to be a game changer, with growth accelerating consistently since then amid insatiable demand for AI technology across the economy. That mo...
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) develops custom artificial intelligence (AI) software for government and commercial customers across various industries and applications. The company's launch of its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) in 2023 has proven to be a game changer, with growth accelerating consistently since then amid insatiable demand for AI technology across the economy. That momentum is still building; management is guiding for 120% revenue growth from commercial U.S. customers in 2026. It has made Palantir stock an absolute home run for investors throughout this artificial intelligence (AI) boom, rising over 2,000% since 2023. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » It's also made Palantir a lightning rod for investors, who have fiercely debated the stock's lofty valuation. That debate rages on among analysts to this day. Of 30 Wall Street analysts surveyed by CNN Business, 60% rate the stock a buy, with some price targets suggesting as much as 86% upside. Here's why agentic AI could be fueling the market's optimism. Image source: The Motley Fool. Agentic AI could drive the growth analysts are looking for Palantir's technology tends to act as an operating system, a software brain that analyzes an organization's data to generate trends and insights for human users. It's arguably the ideal overseer of AI agents, digital workers that, over the coming years, will increasingly perform tasks in place of humans. These agents will likely function within Palantir's software applications, where they can monitor, govern, and coordinate them. Palantir's AIP already speaks to that, as the company is selling enterprise autonomy, not just chatbot capabilities. Some companies have already begun laying off employees, often citing AI as a reason. AI agents will likely continue to surge ...
Key Points Palantir's AI software sits at the heart of organizations, making it ideal to govern AI agents. The company's growth continues to build speed, with management expecting a huge year in 2026. Palantir's stock remains pricey, but it's no longer wildly overvalued, as one might assume. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) develops custom ...
Key Points Palantir's AI software sits at the heart of organizations, making it ideal to govern AI agents. The company's growth continues to build speed, with management expecting a huge year in 2026. Palantir's stock remains pricey, but it's no longer wildly overvalued, as one might assume. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) develops custom artificial intelligence (AI) software for government and commercial customers across various industries and applications. The company's launch of its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) in 2023 has proven to be a game changer, with growth accelerating consistently since then amid insatiable demand for AI technology across the economy. That momentum is still building; management is guiding for 120% revenue growth from commercial U.S. customers in 2026. It has made Palantir stock an absolute home run for investors throughout this artificial intelligence (AI) boom, rising over 2,000% since 2023. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » It's also made Palantir a lightning rod for investors, who have fiercely debated the stock's lofty valuation. That debate rages on among analysts to this day. Of 30 Wall Street analysts surveyed by CNN Business, 60% rate the stock a buy, with some price targets suggesting as much as 86% upside. Here's why agentic AI could be fueling the market's optimism. Agentic AI could drive the growth analysts are looking for Palantir's technology tends to act as an operating system, a software brain that analyzes an organization's data to generate trends and insights for human users. It's arguably the ideal overseer of AI agents, digital workers that, over the coming years, will increasingly perform tasks in place of humans. These agents will likely function within Palantir's so...