Key PointsAmazon stock is currently 20% below its record high due in part to concerns about the company's massive investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Key PointsAmazon stock is currently 20% below its record high due in part to concerns about the company's massive investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
South Korea has become a focal point of Asia’s petrochemical crisis, a frontline economy suddenly forced to navigate the fallout from the Middle East turmoil while scrambling for alternatives. Its semiconductor and industrial sectors, already heavily dependent on imported naphtha, are now exposed to geopolitical shocks that are rippling across the region. South Korea relies on imports for about 45...
South Korea has become a focal point of Asia’s petrochemical crisis, a frontline economy suddenly forced to navigate the fallout from the Middle East turmoil while scrambling for alternatives. Its semiconductor and industrial sectors, already heavily dependent on imported naphtha, are now exposed to geopolitical shocks that are rippling across the region. South Korea relies on imports for about 45 per cent of its naphtha demand. About 77 per cent of those come from the Middle East. On Monday,...
Geopolitical competition has long been understood in territorial terms. Power was measured by control over land, resources and populations. Rivalry was expressed through military confrontation, alliance formation and the defence of borders. As economic interdependence deepened in the 20th century, globalisation was seen as an arena within which states competed, but not itself the object of competi...
Geopolitical competition has long been understood in territorial terms. Power was measured by control over land, resources and populations. Rivalry was expressed through military confrontation, alliance formation and the defence of borders. As economic interdependence deepened in the 20th century, globalisation was seen as an arena within which states competed, but not itself the object of competition. That assumption no longer holds. Increasingly, the infrastructure of globalisation is becoming...
jewhyte/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft ( MSFT ) plans to invest more than $1B between 2026 and 2028 in cloud and AI infrastructure and ongoing operations in Thailand. The U.S. tech giant announced the plan following a meeting between Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith in Bangkok. The investment is the centerpiece of Microso...
jewhyte/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft ( MSFT ) plans to invest more than $1B between 2026 and 2028 in cloud and AI infrastructure and ongoing operations in Thailand. The U.S. tech giant announced the plan following a meeting between Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith in Bangkok. The investment is the centerpiece of Microsoft’s Advancing National Growth, Prosperity, and Global Competitiveness with AI initiative, supporting inclusive access to cloud and AI technology while helping skill millions of Thai citizens across every sector of the economy, the company added. Microsoft noted that it is accelerating Thailand’s workforce readiness through a partnership with the Ministry of Labour’s Department of Skill Development, aiming to upskill and certify 150,000 workers. The company also announced the availability of Microsoft Elevate for Educators and Microsoft Elevate for Changemakers in Thailand. Microsoft said these programs strengthen the education, workforce, and social impact systems communities rely on so more people can learn, work, and thrive in the AI economy. More on Microsoft Microsoft: An Inauspicious Start To 2026 Microsoft: A Compelling Risk To Reward Opportunity Microsoft: The Questions That Price Seems To Have Answered Microsoft takes wraps off AI upgrades, unveils new deep research system Critique Mistral raises $830M debt to buy chips for AI data center: report
syahrir maulana/iStock via Getty Images Investment environment U.S. shares rose on positive corporate earnings news and hopes for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts. The Fed reduced its policy rate by 25 basis points in September, with the market expecting at least one additional rate cut by year-end. Economic growth has been relatively stable despite some policy headwinds and slower-than-expected em...
syahrir maulana/iStock via Getty Images Investment environment U.S. shares rose on positive corporate earnings news and hopes for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts. The Fed reduced its policy rate by 25 basis points in September, with the market expecting at least one additional rate cut by year-end. Economic growth has been relatively stable despite some policy headwinds and slower-than-expected employment growth. Excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) was a strong driver of market gains. Cyclical sectors, such as materials, also outperformed, while the defensive consumer staples sector lagged during the quarter. Portfolio review While we have welcomed the resilience of the small-cap equity market, we have been concerned about pockets of speculative investor behavior. This has partly reflected exuberance around emerging technologies, such as AI and quantum computing, that have driven the valuations of some early stage companies to levels that we believe are untethered to fundamentals. Indeed, some of the top-performing stocks during the quarter were companies that are not only unprofitable but have yet to launch products or report revenues. While not owning these stocks detracted from relative performance, we do not feel comfortable chasing performance by investing in companies that we see as inherently risky or where we have real concerns about the quality of the business model, balance sheet, or management team. Relative performance was also hindered by our investment in Shift4 Payments, a provider of payments processing technology solutions to the hospitality and live education sectors. The company reported slower-than-expected growth in payments volumes, which led to slightly lower-than-expected earnings. In our view, the resulting sell-off in the stock was out of proportion to the size of the earnings miss, especially as this volume slowdown appears to be a transitory issue. We believe the company is attractively valued relative to its earnings growth ou...
Raspberry Pi Holdings plc press release ( RPBPF ): FY GAAP EPS of $0.14. Revenue of $323.2M (+24.5% Y/Y). Unit shipments were 4.0 million in H2, up 11% from 3.6 million in H1, and a total of 7.6 million for FY 2025, up 9% from 7.0 million in FY 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was higher than expected at $46.4 million up 25% on the prior year (FY 2024: $37.2 million), supported by strengthening demand and fa...
Raspberry Pi Holdings plc press release ( RPBPF ): FY GAAP EPS of $0.14. Revenue of $323.2M (+24.5% Y/Y). Unit shipments were 4.0 million in H2, up 11% from 3.6 million in H1, and a total of 7.6 million for FY 2025, up 9% from 7.0 million in FY 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was higher than expected at $46.4 million up 25% on the prior year (FY 2024: $37.2 million), supported by strengthening demand and favourable unit economics through H2. Net cash was $28.1 million at year end (FY 2024: $45.8 million), exceeding expectations, after paying down $52.2 million of extended supplier payables over the year. More on Raspberry Pi Holdings plc Raspberry Pi stock builds on 42% spike amid AI buzz Historical earnings data for Raspberry Pi Holdings plc Financial information for Raspberry Pi Holdings plc