Microsoft (MSFT) Restructures HR Team Amid Executive Changes GuruFocus

Elon Musk said his artificial intelligence company, xAI, plans to upgrade its AI video generator, seizing on an opening left by rival OpenAI ’s decision this week to discontinue its Sora product . “The next Grok Imagine release will be epic,” Musk said in a social media post , referring to xAI’s video creation product. “We are doubling down.” Musk also shared a series of AI-generated videos made with the Grok chatbot on Wednesday. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI and has since clashed with the company, has attempted to compete with ChatGPT and other chatbots by enabling users to quickly create realistic-looking images and videos, among other features. The Imagine video product was described as one of xAI’s four core areas during a staff meeting with Musk in February. OpenAI’s move to shutter its Sora video app may create an opportunity for other rivals, including xAI, Runway AI Inc. and Alphabet Inc. ’s Google. Yet, the ChatGPT maker’s announcement also raises doubts about the costs and rewards of offering an AI video service. The free Sora app quickly rose to the top of Apple’s App Store after its release late last year, but has since fallen in the rankings. Sora, like other AI video generators, also needs a lot more computing power to run. OpenAI’s decision to nix the service coincides with the company’s push to streamline its sprawling product lineup. Musk’s push to stick with xAI’s video product may be complicated by recent staff departures. Guodong Zhang, an xAI co-founder who was in charge of Imagine, left the company earlier this month. Haotian Liu, another employee who worked with Zhang on video strategy, also departed. XAI’s Grok chatbot has also faced a global uproar for spreading nonconsensual explicit images.

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk said his artificial intelligence company, xAI, plans to upgrade its AI video generator, seizing on an opening left by rival OpenAI’s decision this week to discontinue its Sora product. “The next Grok Imagine release will be epic,” Musk said in a social media post, referring to xAI’s video creation product. “We are doubling down.” Musk also shared a series of AI-generated videos made with the Grok chatbot on Wednesday. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI and has since clashed wit

Jury Finds Meta and Google Liable in Landmark Social Media Addiction Trial A jury in Los Angeles Superior Court reached a verdict Wednesday in a major "social media addiction" personal-injury trial - finding both Meta Platforms Inc. (Instagram) and Google (YouTube) liable for harms suffered by the plaintiff. Lawyer Mark Lanier, of the plaintiff Kaley G.M., arrives at court in a key test case accusing Meta and Google's YouTube of harming children's mental health through addictive social media platforms, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake The jury awarded the plaintiff - a now-20-year-old woman identified in court filings as K.G.M. (publicly referred to as “Kaley”) - $3 million in compensatory damages , assigning 70 percent of the award to Meta and 30 percent to Google, according to Courthouse News ' Hillel Aron. The verdict came after more than eight days of deliberations. Case Details KGM alleged that she became addicted to YouTube beginning around age 6 and to Instagram beginning around age 9. Her lawsuit claimed the companies’ platforms were defectively designed with features such as infinite scroll, algorithmic content recommendations, notifications, autoplay, and engagement-reward systems that foreseeably caused or worsened her depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, and suicidal thoughts. "This case is about two of the richest corporations in history, who have engineered addiction in children’s brains," Lanier said in February. TikTok and Snap Inc. settled with the plaintiff before trial for undisclosed amounts . The case against Meta and Google proceeded as the first “bellwether” trial in a massive coordinated proceeding involving approximately 1,600 similar lawsuits filed by individuals, families, and school districts. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, center, leaves the Los Angeles Superior Court after testifying in the social media trial tasked to determine whether social media giants deliberately designed their platforms to be addic...

McDonald's ( MCD ) shares snapped six straight sessions of losses, as the stock was up 1.3% at $311.86 on Wednesday. The global fast-food chain fell 5.6% in the preceding six sessions. The stock has advanced about 1% so far this year, compared to a 4% drop in the broader S&P 500 Index ( SP500 ). MCD is down 6% over the past one month. Recently, it was announced that McDonald's new "$3 and under" addition to its value platform will reportedly begin rolling in the U.S. in April. "MCD’s franchise model drives superior net income margins (31.85%), but valuation and growth metrics remain uninspiring versus peers," pointed out a recent Seeking Alpha analysis. Looking at Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating, MCD has a Hold rating with a score of 3.2 out of 5. The company received an A+ in the prospect of profitability, while it got a D in growth factor. Turning to the Wall Street community , 20 analysts gave MCD a Buy and above rating. 15 analysts have given the stock a Hold recommendation, while two recommended Strong Sell. Seeking Alpha analysts are cautious and see the stock as a Hold. More on McDonald's McDonald's McValue 2.0 Menu Is Appetizing But Valuation Leaves Little Room For Upside McDonald's: The One Restaurant Chain That Is Thriving Three Reasons To Own McDonald's Now McDonald's in Shanghai deploys humanoid robots to serve diners McDonald's to pressure fast-food rivals with $3 and under menu items

Alphabet and Amazon are the two stocks I'd bet big on this market for the long term.

Key PointsDoubts are growing about whether the Clarity Act will pass this year, given a concerning provision involving stablecoin yields.

Key PointsAlphabet is one of the best-positioned companies for the AI age.

Without favorable crypto reform and lower interest rates, Bitcoin's value could plummet even further this year.

当地时间3月25日，第80届联合国大会举行会议，纪念“奴隶制和跨大西洋贩卖奴隶行为受害者国际日”，并通过一项决议，将贩运被奴役的非洲裔及对非洲裔的种族化奴役行为宣布为最严重的反人类罪。联大主席贝尔伯克表示，奴隶贸易和奴隶制是人类历史上最严重的人权侵犯行为之一，需要反思与问责。联合国秘书长古特雷斯表示，不能只用言辞来缅怀跨大西洋贩卖奴隶行为的受害者，更要以行动来尊重他们。（央视新闻）

格隆汇3月26日｜沙特防长：接到了匈牙利防长的电话，讨论了在伊朗对多个地区国家持续进行攻击的背景下，当前地区的发展及其对地区和国际安全与稳定的影响。

SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN) is featured in Mad Money’s latest recap as Jim Cramer shared his buy, sell, or hold verdict. A caller inquired about the stock and noted that, while it has been getting “annihilated,” it has been up recently. Cramer replied: Well, look, I have to tell you, the stock only got to […]

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is featured in Mad Money’s latest recap as Jim Cramer shared his buy, sell, or hold verdict. A caller expressed interest in adding to their position in the stock following the company’s latest quarterly earnings report and asked whether it still has “room to grow.” Cramer commented: Okay, so Micron is […]

Dell unveils its latest Pro laptops - Intel Panther Lake, AMD Gorgon Point models with new modular designs PC Guide

JHVEPhoto Barclays Plc ( BCS ) is pulling back on some asset-based lending to smaller firms as it deals with loan defaults of failed companies Tricolor Holdings and Market Financial Solutions, according to a media report on Wednesday. The bank is turning more to loans and securitizations for larger corporations, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. It has also increased pricing to reflect higher perceived risks, one of the people said. It's a dynamic situation, though. Barclays ( BCS ) does adjust lending portfolios to reduce risk and can revise terms or collateral in response, one person told Bloomberg. The bank could resume its previous course if the risk profile changes, the person added. Barclays ( BCS ) disclosed about £160.6B ($215B) of exposure to securitized assets as sponsor of such deals at the end of 2025, down slightly from a year earlier. That amount also includes residential mortgages and corporate loans. Last week, Barclays ( BCS ) CEO CS Venkatakrishnan said the company's impairment for MFS will be "materially lower" than its £500M exposure to the collapsed property lender. More on Barclays Barclays PLC (BCS) Presents at European Financials Conference 2026 Transcript Barclays: The Market Overheated, But The Bull Case Now Offers Strong Returns Barclays PLC (BCS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Barclays owed ~£500M by collapsed lender MFS - report

随着中东战争进入第四周，投资者对信用质量和再融资风险的担忧日益加剧，两家迪拜房地产开发商的伊斯兰债券（Sukuk）已跌入“困境”（Distressed）区间。 根据彭博汇总截至周二收盘的数据，房企发行的六只美元计价伊斯兰债券表现出困境迹象，即交易收益率利差超过无风险利率1,000个基点以上。这些债券总计约占中东地区房地产美元债券的15%。 这些企业发行的债务在主要评级机构中均为投机级（非投资级），部分债券的风险溢价自战争爆发以来大幅飙升。

Terrible 5Y Auction: Worst Bid To Cover In 4 Years, Highest Tail Since 2024, Dealers Jump Another day, another very ugly auction. After yesterday's appallingly bad 2Y auction, moments ago the Treasury sold $70BN in 5Y paper in what was another terrible auction. Just after 1pm, the auction stopped at a high yield of 3.966%, up from 3.608% in February and the highest since May 2025. It also tailed the When Issued 3.966% by 1.4bps, the biggest tail since Oct 2024. The bid to cover was 2.29, down from 2.32 last month and the lowest since Sept 2022. The weak demand picture was also seen in the internals, where Indirects dropped to 61.9% from 62.5%, but was above the recent average of 61.7%. Like yesterday, Directs dropped - if to a lesser extent - taking down 22.48% of the auction, down from 24.70% and the lowest since May 2025. Dealers were left to cover the balance, taking 15.6%, the most since May 2024. Overall, this was another very ugly auction, if slightly better than yesterday's dismal sale of 2Y paper. Still, that is hardly a endorsement at a time when the US is about to see a surge in war-related deficit funding demands. Tyler Durden Wed, 03/25/2026 - 13:18

g-stockstudio/iStock via Getty Images Hyperliquid Strategies Inc. ( PURR ), led by Atlas Merchant Capital chiefs David Schamis (CEO) and Bob Diamond (Chairman), is a relatively new digital asset treasury company (DATCo) focused on the Hyperliquid ( HYPE-USD ) token. Like many other DATCos before it, PURR came about by combining with an existing listed company, Sonnet BioTherapeutics, after which it added 12.5m HYPE (at a ~$581m cost) to its balance sheet, along with ~$300m of cash. The underlying asset, HYPE, is unique in the listed space for being a token that accrues value based on fee-funded buybacks, rather than a coin (e.g., Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ), Ether ( ETH-USD ), Solana ( SOL-USD )). These fees come from activity on Hyperliquid, a fast-growing perpetual futures exchange running on its own blockchain. The traction Hyperliquid has seen since its launch is reflected in HYPE’s outperformance - even through a crypto bear market. Coingecko More recently, however, the investment case has seen two material shifts. Firstly, from HYPE, which has seen its price pull back quite significantly along with the rest of the market. Secondly, from PURR stock, which has flipped from an initial discount to a big premium to parity with its underlying net asset value (or mNAV)—unusual in today’s crypto DATCo space, where wide discounts are the norm. Artemis In light of these changes, along with the release of its first quarterly report, it’s worth taking a closer look at PURR. PURR-ing Through The Quarter 1. Status Quo Staking Update. The key P&L highlight from PURR’s latest quarter was the $500k in revenue earned from staking (i.e., participating in the process of validating and producing blocks for the Hyperliquid blockchain) all of its HYPE holdings. Keep in mind this was for just the one month; annualized, this implies a staking yield just below 2%. Hyperliquid Strategies For context, PURR doesn’t run its own node (unlike key peer Hyperion DeFi (HYPD)) and therefore doesn’t earn...

US equity indexes rose in midday trading on Wednesday, albeit off session highs, and crude oil futur

New algorithms reduce reliance on memory

格隆汇3月26日｜科威特、阿联酋、巴林、沙特、卡塔尔和约旦发表联合声明，呼吁伊拉克采取必要措施，制止从伊拉克境内向周边国家发动的袭击。

A $10 trillion valuation sounds extreme even for a behemoth like Nvidia (NVDA), but CEO Jensen Huang didn’t bat an eye when asked directly by popular podcaster Lex Fridman. “I think that Nvidia’s growth is extremely likely and in my mind, inevitable.” Clearly, this is a response from a highly ...

Why AMD’s Hedged Canadian Shares Are Suddenly Climbing TipRanks

Earnings Call Insights: Cintas Corporation (CTAS) Q3 2026 Management View CEO Todd Schneider highlighted record revenues and strong operating margins, with total revenue growing 8.9% to $2.84 billion and organic growth at 8.2%. Schneider stated, "We achieved all-time high gross margins in each of our three route-based businesses." Cintas raised its fiscal 2026 guidance, projecting revenue between $11.21 billion and $11.24 billion and adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $4.86 to $4.90. Schneider addressed the recently announced agreement to acquire UniFirst, emphasizing, "We remain excited about this opportunity and the long-term value creation for Cintas and its shareholders, our employee partners and the team partners of UniFirst." Executive VP & COO James Rozakis noted, "Our business continues to perform exceptionally well. We're adding new customers... while successfully cross-selling additional solutions to our existing customer base. Retention remains at record levels, while pricing is consistent with historical levels." Executive VP & CFO Scott Garula stated, "Selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue was 27.8%, which was a 60 basis point increase from last year. When you adjust for the onetime gain on the asset sale last year, SG&A would have been flat year-over-year." Outlook Fiscal 2026 revenue guidance is $11.21 billion to $11.24 billion, representing total growth of 8.4% to 8.7%. Adjusted diluted EPS guidance is $4.86 to $4.90, a growth rate of 10.5% to 11.4%. The adjusted EPS guide excludes nonrecurring transaction expenses related to the UniFirst acquisition, with estimated transaction costs impacting diluted EPS by $0.03 to $0.04 in fiscal 2026. CFO Garula specified that these transaction costs are expected in the fourth quarter and are immaterial in Q3. Guidance assumes constant foreign currency exchange rates, a net interest expense of approximately $101 million, and an effective tax rate of 20%. Financial Results Revenue for th...

Advanced Micro Devices Inc Stock (AMD) Moved Up by 6.18% on Mar 25: What Investors Need To Know TradingKey

Arm shares soared after the chip designer unveiled its first in-house AI chip.

Earnings Call Insights: Local Bounti Corporation (LOCL) Q4 2025 Management View Craig Hurlbert, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, opened by highlighting the company's progress, stating, "The additional $15 million investment from an existing strategic investor is one such signal. It provides us with meaningful financial flexibility as we advance our priorities in 2026, and it speaks to the conviction building around Local Bounti's positioning." CEO Kathleen Valiasek emphasized operational and commercial gains, noting, "Both fourth quarter and full year results reflect the company that has been doing the hard work. We've been building commercial momentum, optimizing our operations, tightening our cost structure and importantly, optimizing the foundation for our next chapter." Valiasek reported that all three facilities are now at full harvestable capacity, with the entire capacity committed to customers on a run-rate basis. She announced new retail wins, stating, "We just secured 2 new retail accounts that we expect to launch in the coming months. The first is for the placement of 6 of our SKUs in a large premier retail customer covering more than 250 stores and the second is a large regional retailer." She also shared product performance highlights, such as the Caesar Romano salad kit, which saw units per store per week rise by approximately 75% quarter-over-quarter, and identified Arugula as an area of significant opportunity due to a market supply gap. Valiasek pointed to operational improvements, citing tower upgrades, computer vision and AI-driven growing optimization, and cost discipline, which have led to higher yields and improved adjusted gross margin. She noted, "Adjusted SG&A expense for the fourth quarter was $4.3 million, down from $5.3 million in Q4 2024, representing a reduction of approximately 18% year-over-year." The company announced the issuance of a U.S. patent for its Stack & Flow technology, calling it "a meaningful milestone and a formal recogn...