Bloomberg Businessweek

It’s an open secret that the Chinese government has engaged in a global campaign to acquire intellectual property from foreign rivals. At the center of that campaign is the Ministry of State Security, China’s elusive intelligence agency. The US has apprehended hundreds of people accused of giving information to the MSS, but the agency’s inner workings have been a mystery – until now. The Sixth Bureau from Bloomberg News follows an MSS intelligence officer whose mission was to acquire the crown jewels of American aerospace companies. With aliases, blackmail and the occasional break-in, he targeted corporate giants. That is, until his sloppiness – and a cunning FBI sting – led to a stunning reversal: Xu Yanjun became the first Chinese intelligence officer ever convicted on American soil. The Sixth Bureau is the story of superpowers, their secrets and how one Chinese spy got caught. Listen to episodes 1 and 2 now on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Europe’s fate is intertwined with the US while faulting the continent for what he said was a drift away from their shared Western values. The double-edged message offered some reassurance to allied leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference but did little to temper their push for more independence from Washington. “We want Europe to prosper because we’re interconnected in so many different ways, and because our alliance is so critical,” Rubio told Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait on the sidelines of the conference on Saturday. “But it has to be an alliance of allies that are capable and willing to fight for who they are and what’s important.” “What is it that binds us together? Ultimately, it’s the fact that we are both heirs to the same civilization, and it’s a great civilization,” he said. “It’s one we should be proud of.” Rubio’s comments elaborated on a speech he delivered to the event, Europe’s premier annual security gathering, earlier Saturday morning. The speech was the most anticipated of the three-day conference, with fellow leaders eager to hear if he would double down on the contemptuous tone voiced a year earlier by Vice President JD Vance at the same venue. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show "Bloomberg Businessweek Daily." Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio. You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News. Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Wall Street got a degree of relief as relatively tame inflation data spurred bigger bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts, with bond yields falling. While most stocks gained, weakness in tech giants kept a lid on the market. Treasury two-year yields dropped toward their lowest since 2022. Money markets priced in higher chances the Fed will slash rates more than twice this year. About 370 shares in the S&P 500 rose, but the gauge was little changed at the end of its worst week since November. A gauge of megacaps lost 1.1%. Amazon.com Inc. saw its longest slide in almost 20 years. The Russell 2000 index of small firms climbed 1.2%. Bitcoin jumped. The consumer price index rose 0.2% in January, the smallest gain since July and restrained by lower energy costs. While services costs picked up last month, prices of core goods remained stable. The core CPI rose from a year ago by the least since 2021. The overall gauge also eased on an annual basis. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brooks Running creates performance running footwear, apparel, sports bras, and accessories distributed worldwide. Since 1914, Brooks has been focused on designing products that cater specifically to how humans move, pushing the limits of motion science, engineering, and technology. Brooks is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and is headquartered in Seattle. Dan Sheridan began his journey with Brooks in 1998 as a field rep, building and driving the company’s strategy and growth in every role as he increased his responsibilities and leadership impact. He discusses the firm's full-year results from 2025, which turned out to be a record year. Dan speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Coinbase Global Inc. showed how quickly a cooling crypto market can pressure even one of the industry’s most diversified exchanges. Revenue in the fourth quarter tumbled a more-than-estimated 20% to $1.8 billion. The company swung to a net loss of $667 million compared with a $1.3 billion profit from the same period last year, as falling token prices drained trading activity across digital assets and forced Coinbase to mark down the value of its crypto holdings. The results arrive as Bitcoin has fallen nearly 50% from October’s high, a retreat that has left many retail traders sitting on the sidelines and revived comparisons to earlier crypto downturns. Those cycles have often forced exchanges to retrench quickly, and early signs suggest this one may follow a similar pattern. Rival exchange Gemini Space Station said last week that it plans to cut up to 25% of its workforce and scale back international operations, underscoring how rapidly weaker markets can translate into operational pressure. Kraken’s chief financial officer departed the exchange, which reported sequentially lower fourth-quarter revenue. Robinhood Markets Inc. said this week its revenue from crypto trading declined 38%. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sage Geosystems is a Houston-based geothermal energy startup founded in 2020 that develops next-generation, pressure-based geothermal technology for power generation and long-duration energy storage. Their systems create artificial underground reservoirs in hot, dry rock to harness both heat and pressure for efficient electricity production. Cindy Taff, the CEO of Sage Geosystems, is focused on advancing the deployment of her firm's energy-storage solutions worldwide. She discusses the complexities of using the same tools to unlock clean energy as are used to drill for oil, and explains why she sees the so-called "shale revolution" as a harbinger of a forthcoming "geothermal revolution." Cindy speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. US payrolls rose in January by the most in more than a year and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, suggesting the labor market continued to stabilize at the start of 2026. Employers added 130,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate declined to 4.3%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Wednesday. That followed revisions to the prior year, which showed a marked slowdown in hiring. Job gains averaged just 15,000 a month last year, down from the initially reported 49,000 pace. The report suggests the labor market is finding its footing after a year marked by rising unemployment and minimal hiring. While economists expect hiring to remain generally sluggish in 2026, more clarity around the impact of President Donald Trump’s economic policies and lower borrowing costs could encourage some employers to boost headcount. The January data reinforces Federal Reserve officials’ inclination to keep interest rates on hold for now. Many traders appeared to push out their timeline for the next rate cut to July from June. In leaving rates unchanged last month, Chair Jerome Powell cited signs of steadying in the job market. “Coming off of a hiring recession in 2025, this is welcome news,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “I think Fed Chair Powell was right — the labor market appears to be stabilizing.” Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

United States Antimony Corporation, a leading producer and processor of antimony, zeolite, and other critical minerals, on Tuesday announced a new joint venture together with Americas Gold and Silver Corporation to construct a new state-of-the-art hydromet processing facility. The project will commence on lands being contributed to the joint venture located immediately adjacent to Americas active silver, copper, and antimony mines. US Antimony is the only fully integrated antimony company in the world outside of China and Russia, while Americas Gold and Silver is known for producing silver, copper, and other metals from high-grade operations in the US and Mexico. The announcement comes a week after the US and its allies said they’re considering price floors as a way to shore up a domestic supply of key metals outside of China. Gary Evans, Chairman and CEO of US Antimony, and Paul Andre Huet, Chairman & CEO of Americas Gold & Silver Corporation, detail the project and its impact on national security with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. An artificial intelligence tool aimed at creating tax strategies sparked a selloff in wealth-management stocks Tuesday as investors fear the business could be at risk from automated advice. The innovation puts the wealth-management industry in the crosshairs of AI competition, the way it did for software stocks and private credit firms last week and insurance brokerage shares on Monday. Investors responded precisely the way they did before — by unloading the stocks. Raymond James Financial Inc. dropped 8.8% for its worst day since March 2020, while Charles Schwab Corp. sank 7.4%% and LPL Financial Holdings Inc. lost 8.3%, their worst sessions since April. The move appeared to catch Wall Street off guard, as Charles Schwab is the only stock with a sell rating, and it has just one among the 24 analysts tracking the company. The new tool, unveiled by closely held tech startup Altruist Corp. on Tuesday, helps financial advisers personalize strategies for clients and create pay stubs, account statements and other documents, the company said in a statement. Altruist’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Jason Wenk started his career at Morgan Stanley and Chief Operating Officer Mazi Bahadori worked at Pimco Investment Management, so the firm’s leadership has experience with how Wall Street and the investment community operate. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coursera, a leading global online learning platform, last week announced financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025. The company's shareholder letter noted significant progress in "AI-native product innovation and data-driven decision making across the business." For full year 2025, Coursera reported revenue growth to $757 million, an increase of 9% year over year, and a record $78 million of Free Cash Flow, up 32% over the prior year. Greg Hart, the company's CEO, discusses the key drivers behind the rise in Coursera's core subscription and course offerings, as well as the status of his firm's pending tie-up with Udemy, which was announced in December. Greg speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Another rally in tech companies after an artificial intelligence-driven rout drove stocks higher ahead of economic data that will help shape the Federal Reserve outlook. Gold topped $5,000. The dollar fell. Following a surge that added $1 trillion to the S&P 500’s value at the end of last week, the index kept rising to approach its all-time highs. The technology firms that were at the center of a bruising slide continued to bounce. A gauge of chipmakers climbed 1.4% while an ETF focused on software names extended a back-to-back advance to almost 7%. Oracle Corp. jumped 9.6%. In order to finance its AI ambitions, Alphabet Inc. is set to raise $20 billion from a US dollar bond offering — more than the $15 billion expected — and is also pitching investors on what would be its first ever offerings in Switzerland and the UK. The latter would include a rare sale of 100-year bonds. Traders are also gearing up for a busy week of economic data that include the two most-consequential snapshots — employment and inflation. The jobs report - due Wednesday - is expected to show payrolls rose 69,000 in January. The unemployment rate is seen steady at 4.4%. The data will also include historical revisions that are anticipated to show a sizable downward adjustment to payrolls in the year through March 2025. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since ChatGPT arrived on the scene some three years ago, analysts have been warning that entire industries, including software programming, legal services and film production, are at risk of being disrupted by artificial intelligence. But it took a wave of disappointing earnings reports, some improvements in AI models, and the release of a seemingly innocuous add-on from AI startup Anthropic to suddenly wake up investors en masse to the threat. The result has been the biggest stock selloff driven by the fear of AI displacement that markets have seen. And no stocks are hurting more than those of software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, the CEO of cloud-based accounting software provider Xero, explains why she believes the firm's small business tools will be enhanced by AI, not overtaken, as the firm builds its large language model (LLM) "on the back of" AI models. Sukhinder speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show “Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.” Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio. You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News. Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Trump administration officials are exploring opening an antitrust investigation into US homebuilders as the White House sharpens its focus on tackling the country’s housing affordability crisis. The Department of Justice could open the probe in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the discussions. No decision has been made and the administration may abandon the effort without launching an investigation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information. One potential focus is on how information is shared through an industry trade group called Leading Builders of America, according to the people. Officials have grown concerned that the trade group — whose members include Lennar Corp. and DR Horton Inc. — could be used to restrict housing supply or coordinate pricing, the people said. A White House representative referred a request for comment to the Department of Justice, which declined to comment. Representatives for the homebuilders and the trade group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The administration’s interest in homebuilders comes during a period where the cost of buying a home is at its most expensive in decades, with the Covid-era housing boom and subsequent interest rate hikes weighing heavily on buyers. It’s also a precarious time for the builders themselves, with the inventory of unsold homes hovering at high levels. President Donald Trump put the industry on alert in October, when he used a social media post to compare big homebuilders to The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which wields immense control over the oil market. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ConnectOne Bancorp delivered an 8% increase in adjusted pre-provision net revenue in its most recent quarter, reflecting margin expansion and operating efficiency. Bloomberg Intelligence notes that management tempered loan-growth expectations for 2026 to 3-5% from 5% vs. estimates of 5.5%, and expects net interest margin to exit 2026 at 3.35-3.4% vs. consensus' 3.45%. Frank Sorrentino, Founder and CEO of ConnectOne Bank discusses the state of regional and local banks as Santander snaps up Webster for $12 billion in a push for US expansion. Sorrentino says smaller banks benefit from consolidation as clients move from firm to firm and bank product options change. He also discusses the state of the consumer and the housing market as the Trump administration mulls different housing-related proposals centered around affordability. Frank speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Bitcoin tumbled below $63,000 as the unwinding of leveraged bets and broader market turbulence deepened a selloff that has wiped out all of the gains since President Donald Trump’s election set off a speculative rush into cryptocurrencies. The token fell as much as 14% Thursday to $62,267, the lowest since October 2024. The rout has erased half of Bitcoin’s value since it reached a record four months ago and has spread to other tokens, related ETFs and companies like Strategy Inc. that hold vast sums of coins. The downturn has marked an abrupt retreat from Bitcoin’s meteoric rise through much of last year, when the return of the crypto-friendly Republican to the White House sent investors piling into such tokens and the Wall Street vehicles that have sprouted up around them. The market started cracking this month as rising geopolitical tensions sent tremors across global financial markets and curbed risk taking. That sparked Bitcoin’s precipitous decline from mid-January and set off a self-reinforcing cycle of selling as funds liquidated assets to meet redemptions and unwind leveraged bets. The slide has echoes of the one in 2022, when prices retreated sharply from the surge seen during the easy-money era of the pandemic as the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy. It has already taken a toll on intermediaries like the exchanges Coinbase Global Inc., whose shares have tumbled more than 30% this year, and Gemini Space Station Inc., which said it plans to cut up to 25% of its workforce and wind down operations in the UK, European Union and Australia. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon said it plans to spend billions more than expected on data centers, chips and other equipment, fueling investor concerns that the company’s massive bet on artificial intelligence will take longer to pay off than anticipated.The company reported $39.5 billion on property and equipment expenses in the fourth quarter, topping estimates by almost $5 billion, and said its capital expenditures would reach $200 billion this year. Bloomberg Businessweek Daily hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec speak with: Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analyst for E-Commerce and Athleisure Poonam Goyal and James Cakmak, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Clockwise Capita See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jenny Rooke, Ph.D., is the founder and Managing Director of Genoa Ventures. She leverages her unique toolkit of genetics domain expertise, strategic business acumen, and venture investing to launch and empower the next generation of category-defying companies at the convergence of technology and biology. Dr. Rooke has nearly two decades of investing experience, beginning at Fidelity Biosciences in 2006 as a Kauffman Fellow. Coming off the annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in January, Dr. Rooke says she's encouraged by new scientific tools in development as well as the broader tailwinds for the biotech sector. She discusses her takeaways from the conference and the importance of emerging specialties in so-called “precision medicine” with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Alphabet Inc. shares slipped after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations but said it plans to spend far more than investors expected in 2026. The Google parent said it will spend $175 billion to $185 billion this year, compared with the $119.5 billion analysts expected. The company’s fourth-quarter sales, excluding partner payouts, were $97.23 billion, surpassing the $95.2 billion expected on average by analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said the investments are paying off. “We’re seeing our AI investments and infrastructure drive revenue and growth across the board,” he said Wednesday in the statement. “Search saw more usage than ever before, with AI continuing to drive an expansionary moment.” Google Cloud revenue was $17.7 billion, beating the $16.2 billion analysts expected. Google has raced to reinvent its business for the AI age, working to keep consumers in the habit of going to its search page even when they could also go to chatbots from rivals like OpenAI. The company has quickly improved its Gemini model and integrated it throughout its products — an effort that has required massive investment in data centers and chips for model improvement and cloud customers. The industry has leaned on Google’s progress. Google is supplying up to one million of its specialized AI chips to Anthropic, cementing Google’s position as a key infrastructure provider in the AI space. Gemini will also be a provider of AI for Siri on Apple Inc.’s iPhones. The Gemini app has 750 million monthly active users. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.