Author: Jordan

Boards are asking CFOs what AI will deliver. The close takes longer than it should. Forecast refreshes lag the business. Finance still runs on spreadsheets. Although investment in AI is rising quickly, execution is slower. But something is shifting in the CFO suite. The function that has been approving AI budgets for everyone else while remaining skeptical of the technology’s value closer to home is beginning to move. The capital commitment to AI is real and growing, and finance is catching up. A recent Bain & Company survey of senior finance executives shows 56% are increasing enterprise-wide AI investment by…

There are complex systems in which decisions are made that affect your life and many of them are elusive and opaque. Intentional or a reflection of an erosion of local journalism over the past several decades? I’ll leave that to the academics as I just want to do what I perceive as my job shining light. Charlottesville Community Engagement seeks to illuminate the choices facing decision-makers in an interlocking mosaic that does not offer an easy legend. In a world of easy explanations and 30-second political advertisements, this newsletter invites you to look at the details of a bigger canvas.Within…

Small caps rush to sell control as South Korea tightens delisting rules – CHOSUNBIZ Chosunbiz Source link

When a hedge fund or institutional investor shorts a stock, it means that they are essentially betting on the stock to go down. Every month, Hazeltree, a Treasury and liquidity management firm that tracks alternative asset managers, publishes a list of the most shorted stocks. In February, with the latest report, Hazeltree revealed that cloud-computing firm Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) was among the most shorted large-cap stocks in North America. Oracle stock has been moving lower this year due to its high valuation, high AI spending and debt, and concerns about its reliance on OpenAI (which is unprofitable and has high…

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›Blackstone’s robust financial infrastructure and institutional capabilities are reflected in the intricate, industrial-grade machinery powering its alternative asset management platform.Greenup TodayGreenup Street Wealth Management LLC significantly increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX) during the fourth quarter, according to a recent regulatory filing. The institutional investor now owns 13,940 shares of the asset manager’s stock, up from just 1,229 shares in the prior quarter. Why it matters Blackstone is one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, with a diverse portfolio spanning private equity, real estate, credit, and other investment strategies. The…

High fuel prices because of the US and Israel war with Iran, rising interest rates, an increase in banks’ servicing test rates, election year wobbles and general uncertainty over the economy have meant a noticeable drop in mortgage enquiries. Monday, April 13th 2026, 6:55AM by Sally Lindsay Mortgage advisers say after the huge uptick in business at the end of last year when banks were offering a 1.5% cashback on new mortgages and a record $14 billion was lent, the sink in inquiry level from first home buyers and existing homeowners has been clear. Even the RBNZ holding the OCR…

Fleet Mortgages has launched three new two-year tracker products, available for standard buy-to-let, limited company and HMO/multi-unit freehold block (MUFB). Within both the standard and limited company ranges, the 75% LTV two-year tracker products are available at Bank Base Rate (BBR) plus 0.75%, with a current price of 4.5%. Both include a free valuation up to £500,000. The HMO/MUFB two-year tracker is available at BBR plus 1.4%, with a current price of 5.15%.  The new tracker products come with a 2% completion fee (minimum £750) and no ERCs, which Fleet said offers landlords greater flexibility to switch products…

A near-record deficit Last week, Statistics Poland (GUS) reported that the general government deficit reached 7.2% of GDP in 2025. This is once again higher than forecast by the Ministry of Finance in the budget act (6.9% of GDP) and 1.7 percentage points above the path set out in the autumn 2024 fiscal-structural plan. The deviation from the planned trajectory is permitted under the EU’s general escape clause. A deficit of this magnitude was matched or exceeded only in 2009–2010. Poland compared with its EU peers Eurostat will publish full data on April 22. However, 14 national statistical offices, including…

The Iran war is set to deliver a $36 billion windfall for Treasurer Jim Chalmers, but increased spending on cost-of-living measures could derail efforts to get the budget back in black. Even with a fragile ceasefire holding in the Middle East, the disruption to key supply routes has sent prices for essential commodities such as oil, gas and coal skyrocketing. That’s bad news for Australian families but good news for the budget bottom line,  independent economist Chris Richardson says. Mr Richardson predicts the taxman will rake in an extra $9 billion in the current financial year compared to the government’s…

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard. Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences. At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000. Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040. Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:…