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Analysts are placing greater emphasis on the sustainability and quality of revenue growth than on artificial intelligence (AI) during bank earnings calls, with PwC finding that around 30% of questions in January focused on how reliable and durable revenue streams are across economic cycles. By comparison, only 15% of questions addressed AI strategy and execution, while roughly a quarter focused on cost control and operating leverage, highlighting investor concerns around profitability and efficiency rather than emerging technology. The report suggests banks are currently prioritizing large-scale technology infrastructure upgrades, such as data systems and enterprise platforms, over near-term AI deployment, although PwC expects scrutiny of AI investments to increase significantly as analysts develop clearer benchmarks for returns and performance.

 

CFO

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Billionaire Mark Cuban discussed a pressing dilemma for CEOs regarding AI integration during a recent conference. He noted that executives must choose between completely overhauling their companies to incorporate AI technologies or maintaining the status quo, which could alienate shareholders. As AI continues to transform industries, businesses face the risk of obsolescence if they fail to adapt. The immediate consequences of either decision could lead to significant stock market fluctuations, potentially decreasing company valuations by up to 20%, as investors react to these strategic shifts, affecting stakeholders across various sectors.

 

Business Insider

OpenAI and Anthropic are sprinting toward possible blockbuster IPOs, but their financials reveal a core weakness: the enormous cost of training ever-more-powerful AI models. OpenAI projects $121bn in AI research computing spend by 2028 and expects to burn $85bn that year despite sharply higher sales. Anthropic’s outlook is less extreme but follows the same pattern. Both companies are growing rapidly, especially in enterprise AI, yet training and inference costs continue to weigh heavily on profitability and cash flow.

 

Wall Street Journal

The International Monetary Fund has said the Federal Reserve has little room to cut interest rates this year, expecting only one reduction by the end of 2026 as inflation remains above target and faces upward pressure from rising energy and commodity prices. The IMF projects inflation will return to the Fed’s 2% target by the first half of 2027, with policy rates easing modestly to 3.25%–3.5% by year-end, while warning that further rate cuts would require a significant weakening in the labor market and stable inflation expectations. The fund also forecasts US economic growth of 2.4% in 2026, slowing to 2.1% in 2027, and noted that tariffs are largely being absorbed by US firms and consumers, with near-term negative effects on growth likely to persist as supply chains adjust.

 

Bloomberg

The U.S. trade deficit increased 4.9% month over month to $57.4bn in February, as both imports and exports rose but imports slightly outpaced export growth, reflecting continued instability in global trade flows. Imports climbed 4.3% to $372.1bn, while exports rose 4.2% to $314.8bn, leaving the deficit smaller than economists had expected. The data highlights an ongoing period of volatility driven by rapidly shifting U.S. trade policy, particularly around tariffs. Despite the monthly increase, the cumulative trade deficit for the first two months of 2026 is significantly lower—down 55% compared with the same period in 2025—when companies accelerated imports to get ahead of anticipated tariffs.

 

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 202,000 in the week ended March 28th, coming in below expectations and indicating layoffs remain low despite broader economic uncertainty. The data suggests a stable “low hire, low fire” labor market, with claims largely holding within a 201,000–230,000 range this year, though job growth has been subdued, averaging just 18,000 private payroll additions per month in recent months. The four-week moving average declined by 3,000 to 207,750, while the total number of filings, reported with a one-week lag, rose 25,000 to 1.84m. 

 

Bloomberg

Los Angeles Times

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Oil prices climbed and stocks traded unevenly after President Trump warned Iran of “hell” unless the Strait of Hormuz reopens by Tuesday, heightening fears of wider disruption across the Gulf. Brent crude rose 1.2% to $110.29 a barrel, though a reported push for a 45-day ceasefire helped calm some anxiety. Investors also weighed stronger U.S. jobs data, uncertainty around Fed timing, and signs that markets may be assuming the war will either ease soon or be offset by stimulus.

 

Reuters

A growing number of CFOs are evaluating stablecoins as practical payment infrastructure rather than speculative crypto assets. PYMNTS says finance leaders are most interested in supplier payments, cross-border transfers and settlements with financial partners, while 88% of firms that receive stablecoin payments convert them immediately into U.S. dollars. Adoption remains early, held back by regulatory uncertainty, weak bank connectivity and integration challenges, with about 40% citing the need to link digital assets to existing financial systems. Bank-integrated access is emerging as the preferred model for wider corporate use.

 

PYMNTS

Investors sought to withdraw $5.4bn from two of Blue Owl Capital’s private-credit funds in the first quarter, reflecting mounting pressure across the sector as sentiment weakens following defaults and concerns over corporate lending risks. The requests equated to 22% of its flagship $36bn Credit Income fund and 41% of a technology-focused fund, prompting Blue Owl to cap redemptions at 5%—in line with industry limits—to avoid forced asset sales, resulting in payouts of about $988m and a modest net outflow. The surge in withdrawals has weighed on the firm’s shares, down more than 45% this year, and highlights broader challenges for private credit managers as investors retreat from the asset class, raising concerns over liquidity, valuation pressure, and the sustainability of fee-driven growth.

 

CNBC

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal reports that Paramount is close to securing nearly $24bn in signed equity commitments from three sovereign-wealth funds led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to support its $81bn takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. PIF is expected to provide about $10bn, with Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding also participating. The investors would hold non-voting stakes, which Paramount believes should avoid Cfius and FCC scrutiny. The funding strengthens Paramount’s hand as it works toward a possible late-July close, though the talks were corrected to reflect that agreements are not yet signed.

 

Wall Street Journal

Foxconn reported first-quarter revenue of T$2.13tn, up 29.7% from a year earlier, driven by strong demand for AI products and growth in its cloud and networking division. Smart consumer electronics also posted “significant” gains, supported by new product launches, while March revenue rose 45.6% to a record T$803.7bn for the month. The company said second-quarter operations should improve both sequentially and annually, but warned that “volatile” global political and economic conditions remain a risk.

 

Reuters

Prediction markets are creating new insider-trading and governance challenges for companies as employees find new ways to profit from confidential information. Recent dismissals at OpenAI and MrBeast, along with tighter rules from Kalshi and Polymarket, have intensified scrutiny. As one expert put it, this is now “a board-level conversation,” with companies weighing training, policy updates, or outright bans. The complication is that prediction contracts can cover unusual events that fall outside traditional securities frameworks, increasing legal and reputational risk for employers.

 

Bloomberg