Business

Business

On January 22, the prediction market Polymarket posted on X saying: "JUST IN: Jeff Bezos advises aspiring Gen Z entrepreneurs to start at real world jobs like McDonalds or Palantir before starting a business." The post has since racked up 5.5 million views, with over 8,700 likes and over 1,300 reposts. The 62-year-old quickly denied the post though, as he took to his X account to reply to the original Polymarket post with "Nope. Not sure why polymarket made this up."

MicroVision, a Redmond, Washington-based company that has been developing its own lidar sensors, submitted a $33 million bid, eclipsing the $22 million that Quantum Computing Inc. laid out a few weeks ago as the so-called "stalking horse" bidder. (Quantum Computing Inc. had upped its bid to $28 million but apparently was unwilling or unable to go higher.) The sale of Luminar's lidar business will now be subject to approval by the judge in the bankruptcy case.

American Bitcoin, a miner backed by members of the Trump family, has increased its bitcoin reserves to roughly 5,843 BTC, placing it among the world's largest corporate holders of the cryptocurrency. The company said it achieved a bitcoin yield of about 116% from its Nasdaq debut on Sept. 3, 2025, through Jan. 25, 2026. Bitcoin yield measures growth in a firm's bitcoin holdings over time, including coins mined or purchased, without accounting for capital raises.

ISO 9001 certification is a globally recognized accolade, attesting to an organization's commitment to quality excellence.

The Barbour family has paid itself a £30 million dividend after a fashion-led revival of waxed jackets helped drive a sharp increase in profits at the heritage outerwear group. Accounts filed at Companies House show that J Barbour & Sons posted a £10 million rise in operating profit to £49.5 million in the year to the end of April, as renewed demand for its signature waxed jackets boosted sales and margins. The company, founded in 1894 and still wholly owned by the founding family, has benefited from a resurgence in popularity as waxed jackets returned to fashion, driven by collaborations with luxury labels, musicians and designers that have broadened its appeal among younger consumers.

Holon, the autonomous mobility subsidiary of Benteler Group and Tasaru Mobility Investments (Saudi investor) rebranded in 2022, presented its driverless shuttle for the first time at CES 2023 in Las Vegas. and is now preparing for series production and market rollout of its first fully electric autonomous shuttle, the Holon Urban, showcased at UITP Summit in Hamburg in June. It features design by Pininfarina and sees Beep and Mobileye as development partners.

We are eliminating roles as well as opening some new roles as we remain disciplined about assessing the skills we need for the future,

Any suggestion that inflation has peaked is simply not borne out by these figures. Shop price inflation jumped this month due to high business energy costs and the hike to National Insurance continuing to feed through to prices. Meat, fish and fruit were particularly affected, also reflecting weak supply and stronger demand, while non-food categories, including furniture, flooring, and health and beauty, all saw inflation rise.

Salesforce announced the Agentic Enterprise License Agreement (AELA) last October. It creates an all-you-can-eat approach to buying and consuming AI agents at a capped cost, and accompanies existing consumption-based and flexible credit models.

WaPo reportedly plans to slash 100 of its 800 newsroom positions next month, with the cuts likely to primarily impact the sports, metro and foreign news teams. In total, 300 positions may be eliminated across the company. Why the layoffs? WaPo's advertising and subscription businesses have been struggling for years. WaPo infamously lost a quarter million digital subscribers , or 10% of its subscriber base, after Bezos spiked the paper's planned endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election.

Starbucks is getting CEO Brian Niccol to use the company jet for all his travels - and removing his quarter-million travel budget cap. In a Monday filing, the Seattle-based coffee chain said that it was changing its agreement on how much Niccol could use the company's private jet for his personal travel. And the main reason for this change is to ensure Niccol's safety.

Over the last few years, the market has seen a number of trends that have led to huge market moves. Apart from AI, which is the main impetus to the jet fueled "Magnificent 7" tech stocks leading the S&P 500 and still going strong, some of the booms that became busts in the latter part of 2025 going into January 2026 are: ETFs with extreme leverage Ultra high yield ETFs using options for income

"We see a positive set up for the shares heading into F1Q26 (Dec-end) earnings print as AAPL shares are trading at 30x NTM P/E, below the peak multiple that is typical for the shares heading into a key iPhone product cycle (previous peak of ~32x into 5G cycle), in combination with the modest upsides in relation to both F1Q26 print and the F2Q26 outlook," added the firm, as quoted by CNBC.

Oil built the 20th century. Rare earths and critical minerals is building the 21st. Every electric vehicle, wind turbine, solar panel, and guided missile depends on materials one country controls. China dominates the majority of rare earth processing and lithium refining. That's not a supply chain. That's a geopolitical weapon. The energy transition isn't optional. Neither is national security. The companies extracting lithium, neodymium, nickel, and copper are infrastructure for everything that comes next. Here are five stocks positioned to capture that demand.

Basic economy fares typically mean no seat selection, last boarding, and limited-or no-checked baggage. The appeal, however, is clear. "Basic economy is a good option for frugal travelers who don't mind forgoing comfort to save on travel costs," Joe Cronin, president of International Citizens Insurance, told Travel + Leisure. He noted that these tickets can cost 20 to 30 percent less than standard economy, making them financially tempting for travelers focused on price above all else.

Despite selling Step Distinctive Limited to Rich Sparkle, Lame will remain as the controlling shareholder of the company. "This is not just an equity acquisition, but a revolution in the global content e-commerce model," Rich Sparkle said in a statement. The content creator also signed on for an AI likeness of himself to take shape, allowing more of his multilingual content to be shared on the global stage.

The Senegalese-born TikToker has inked a $900 million acquisition and strategic partnership deal with Rich Sparkle Holdings. As the content creator enters the deal with the U.S.-based company, Rich Sparkle will gain exclusive commercial rights to Lame's expansive brand, as reported by Business Insider Africa. Lame already boasts an over 160 million following on TikTok alone. In the innovative partnership, Lame sold part of his company, Step Distinctive Limited, to the firm.

Wall Street bonuses were expected to be big after a surge in activity last year - but how big? As the biggest banks have started to announce year-end bonuses, the requisite celebrations and grumblings are trickling out. Early investment banking compensation data from recruiting firm Prospect Rock Partners indicates that bonuses are up a modest 1 to 2% overall compared to last year, and that VPs may be emerging as the primary winners.

The ability to say "no" is a core leadership competence in today's complex professional environment. Unfortunately, many organizations reward leaders for an overly accommodating leadership style that significantly diminishes their decision quality. Consistently saying "yes" directly leads to strategy deviation, conflicting priorities, diminished competence and engagement, role confusion, and burnout. Effective leadership demands the courage to protect strategic and human priorities via mastering five essential skills for saying "no" - strategic discernment, transparent communication, courage, negotiating trade-offs, and consistency.

As a travel planner, I regularly stay at all-inclusive resorts and book luxury trips for my clients. All-inclusive vacations can be complicated to book, and many travelers make mistakes along the way. Booking the cheapest room, requesting an ocean view, and always bringing kids isn't the way to go. As a travel planner at Marvelous Mouse Travels, one of my areas of expertise is booking all-inclusive vacations.

Last year was a roller coaster ride for e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF), but also a transformational one. The company continued to take market share, but it did see its swift revenue growth stall after running into some industry headwinds and tariff pressures. E.l.f. also acquired the prestige skincare brand Rhode, which helps set it up for its next leg of growth.

Aki Ito is our chief correspondent on careers, a huge topic for Davos - and for us. She asked people across business tough questions about the future of work (believe me, I was in the room) to help bring insights for your success. She also moderated a conversation with chief people officers from companies across the business world. You'll see her takeaways from that soon.

The abrdn Platinum ETF Trust ( NYSEARCA:PPLT) has surged 185% over the past year, transforming platinum from an overlooked industrial metal into a standout commodity performer. The rally reflects a fundamental shift in supply-demand dynamics that has platinum outpacing even gold's strong performance. Investors now face the question of whether this momentum can continue or if the rally has run too far.