Stock Pick

  • Are QBE shares a buy after recent slump?

    a man blown off his feet sideways hangs on with one hand to a lamp post with an inside out umbrella in his other hand as he is lashed by wind and rain with a grey cloudy sky background.

    QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) shares have been sliding in recent months, losing momentum after what began as a strong year for the global insurer.

    The finance stock has drifted toward multi-month lows as investors reassess the company’s growth outlook and brace for softer earnings ahead.

    During Monday afternoon trade, QBE shares were changing hands for $18.97 apiece, a plus of 0.7%.

    In the past 6 months, the $29 billion ASX stock has lost almost 20% of its market value. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) lost 4.3% in the same period.

    Slowdown premium increases

    After rallying earlier in the year, QBE shares reversed course quickly as investors worried that the company’s strong first-half performance might not carry through to the end of the financial year.

    Investors were rattled after QBE revealed that premium-rate increases had slowed sharply across several key business lines, particularly in commercial property insurance.

    Improved underwriting and share buyback

    The irony is that the underlying business hasn’t collapsed. QBE delivered solid half-year results, boosted by improved underwriting, stronger investment income, and a cleaner, more disciplined portfolio.

    It even launched a sizeable on-market share buyback, signalling confidence in its financial footing. However, markets are looking forward, and the softer 2025 third-quarter update overshadowed earlier gains.

    QBE’s business remains built on global diversification and underwriting discipline. The company operates across multiple regions – North America, Australia and the Pacific – and insurance classes. This gives the insurer a spread of risks and a buffer against volatility in any one market.

    Rising natural disasters

    Nevertheless, the drawbacks are also evident. The main issue now is the slowing growth of premium rates. Insurers depend on consistent rate increases to safeguard their profit margins against higher claims, inflation, and rising reinsurance expenses.

    Slower pricing makes earnings less predictable, particularly in property insurance, where disasters quickly reduce profits. QBE shares are also exposed to global market risks. The company’s performance can be affected by rising natural disasters or fluctuations in reinsurance prices.

    What do brokers think?

    Most analysts see the recent sell-off as overdone, arguing that QBE’s balance sheet is strong, its underwriting is improving, and investment returns remain supportive.

    Most analysts rate QBE shares as a buy or strong buy, with the average 12-month price target sitting at $22.63. That suggests a 19% upside at the time of writing.  

    UBS has assigned a buy rating to the ASX share, with a price target of $24.15, indicating a potential 25% rise over the next year.

    The broker noted that the outlook for FY26 “continue to track in-line with expectations” despite a softening in the premium rate cycle.

    UBS commented:            

    With FY26E COR [combined operating ratio] guidance of ~92.5%… supporting a ~16% ROE outlook, mid-single digit volume growth ambitions retained, investment yields stabilising and A$450m buyback announced (~1.5% shares), its FY26E earnings outlook remains well underpinned. At a 10x FY26E PE (0.54x ASX200, 18% disc to 5yr avg) we continue to see compelling value and retain a Buy rating.

    The post Are QBE shares a buy after recent slump? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in QBE Insurance right now?

    Before you buy QBE Insurance shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and QBE Insurance wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    See the 5 Stocks

    * Returns as of 18 November 2025

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    Motley Fool contributor Marc Van Dinther has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • Young people aren’t getting hired — but AI isn’t to blame, an economist says

    BI illustration

    Jay Yuno/Getty, Thitima Uthaiburom/Getty, Vankherson/Getty, J Studios/Getty, tioloco/Getty, ViewStock/Getty, Tyler Le/BI

    • Young people face a tough job market, but AI isn't the main culprit, an economist says.
    • Hiring has stalled after post-pandemic overexpansion, policy uncertainty, and tariffs.
    • Sectors most exposed to AI aren't losing more jobs, suggesting deeper economic issues.

    Young people entering the job market are facing the toughest conditions in years — but artificial intelligence isn't the reason.

    A new analysis from a London-based economics consultancy suggests something much more old-fashioned is going on: Companies simply aren't hiring.

    Since 2023, unemployment among new entrants to the US labor force has jumped more than 2.5 percentage points — a sharp contrast with older workers, whose jobless rates have remained flat, according to the analysis from Dario Perkins, a managing director at Global Data.TS Lombard.

    "For the AI maximalists, this is 'proof' that companies are deploying the technology rather than hiring graduates. And it is also consistent with what business leaders are saying, with 'AI' now a synonym for 'cost cutting,'" wrote Perkins.

    But Perkins argues the real reason is simply the normal course of business.

    "US hiring is weak across the board. In fact, the economy as a whole is currently experiencing recessionary levels of job creation," he wrote.

    Perkins' analysis shows that sectors with higher AI exposure are not experiencing larger increases in unemployment.

    The report identifies three main drivers behind the hiring slowdown — and none involve automation replacing workers.

    First, firms rapidly expanded their workforces during the post-pandemic surge and are now normalizing head count.

    Second, policy uncertainty has made businesses cautious about taking on new staff.

    Third, Trump-era tariffs have squeezed profit margins, prompting companies to push for more output from existing employees instead of hiring new ones.

    This leaves young people getting squeezed, but the good news is that net employment is stable.

    The job outlook should improve once hiring rebounds, Perkins wrote.

    "When the economy reaccelerates and hiring rates recover, new entrants' employment prospects should improve," he wrote.

    Perkins' report came as markets continue to assess the impact of AI technology on the economy and employment.

    Other analysts have concluded that young tech workers seem to be taking the brunt of the impact. The unemployment rate for 20- to 30-year-olds in tech has risen by nearly 3 percentage points since early 2024, over four times the increase in the overall jobless rate, according to Goldman Sachs in an August report.

    In October, Goldman warned of an era of "jobless growth" in the US due to AI, even as the broader economy remains strong.

    Read the original article on Business Insider

  • Surge AI CEO says he worries that companies are optimizing for ‘AI slop’ instead of curing cancer

    Surge AI CEO headshot
    Surge AI's CEO says companies are optimizing for flashy AI responses rather than real-world problems.

    Surge AI

    • Surge AI CEO says companies are focused on flashy AI responses over solving real problems.
    • He criticized industry leaderboards such as LMArena, where anyone can vote on responses.
    • Other experts have criticizde AI benchmarks for prioritizing performance over economic usefulness and truth.

    AI companies are prioritizing flash over substance, says Surge AI's CEO.

    "I'm worried that instead of building AI that will actually advance us as a species, curing cancer, solving poverty, understanding universal, all these big grand questions, we are optimizing for AI slop instead," Edwin Chen said in an episode of "Lenny's" podcast published on Sunday.

    "We're basically teaching our models to chase dopamine instead of truth," he added.

    Chen founded AI training startup Surge in 2020 after working at Twitter, Google, and Meta. Surge runs the gig platform Data Annotation, which says it pays one million freelancers to train AI models. Surge competes with data labeling startups like Scale AI and Mercor and counts Anthropic as a customer.

    On Sunday's podcast, Chen said that companies are prioritizing AI slop because of industry leaderboards.

    "Right now, the industry is played by these terrible leaderboards like LMArena," he said, referring to a popular online leaderboard where people can vote on which AI response is better.

    "They're not carefully reading or fact-checking," he said. "They're skimming these responses for two seconds and picking whatever looks flashiest."

    He added: "It's literally optimizing your models for the types of people who buy tabloids at the grocery store."

    Still, the Surge CEO said that AI labs have to pay attention to these leaderboards because they can be asked about their rankings during sales meetings.

    Like Chen, research scientists have criticized benchmarks for overvaluing superficial traits.

    In a March blog post, Dean Valentine, the cofounder and CEO of AI security startup ZeroPath, said that "Recent AI model progress feels mostly like bullshit."

    Valentine said that he and his team had been evaluating the performance of different models claiming to have "some sort of improvement" since the release of Anthropic's 3.5 Sonnet in June 2024. None of the new models his team tried had made a "significant difference" in his company's internal benchmarks or in developers' abilities to find new bugs, he said.

    They might have been "more fun to talk to," but they were "not reflective of economic usefulness or generality."

    In a February paper titled "Can we trust AI Benchmarks?" researchers at the European Commission's Joint Research Center concluded that major issues exist in today's evaluation approach.

    The researchers said benchmarking is "fundamentally shaped by cultural, commercial and competitive dynamics that often prioritize state-of-the-art performance at the expense of broader societal concerns."

    Companies have also come under fire for "gaming" these benchmarks.

    In April, Meta released two new models in its Llama family that it said delivered "better results" than comparably sized models from Google and French AI lab Mistral. It then faced accusations that it had gamed a benchmark.

    LMArena said that Meta "should have made it clearer" that it had submitted a version of Llama 4 Maverick that had been "customized" to perform better for its testing format.

    "Meta's interpretation of our policy did not match what we expect from model providers," LMArena said in an X post.

    Read the original article on Business Insider

  • Up 308% in 2025, this high-flying ASX mining stock is sinking on Monday. But why?

    man in hardhat looking confused

    Investors in Felix Gold Ltd (ASX: FXG) have had a stunning run in 2025.

    Shares in this ASX mining stock have rocketed by more than 300% since early January, reaching $0.365 apiece at the time of writing.

    For context, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up by 5.25% across the same period.

    However, today has seen a setback with Felix shares sliding by 12% in Monday’s trading.

    In essence, the drop follows news of an $18 million capital raise.

    The strongly supported placement to institutional investors was executed at $0.36 per share, marking a 12.1% discount to the five day VWAP price in the lead-up to last Wednesday.

    And today’s sinking share price appears to be adjusting to that discount.

    That said, the cash injection could be a blessing for the ASX mining stock as it looks to move its Treasure Creek antimony and gold project in Alaska closer to mining.

    Let’s find out why.

    Strategic project

    Antimony is classified as a critical mineral in the US.

    Amongst others, the metalloid has military applications including its use in night vision goggles, explosive formulations, flares, and infrared sensors.

    In addition, global supply of antimony is highly concentrated, with about 95% coming from China, Russia, and Tajikistan. And China recently imposed a ban on exports to the US.

    This geopolitical setting could present a strategic opening for Felix as it looks to become the first antimony producer in the US in more than three decades.

    Throughout the year, the ASX mining stock has been reporting rich antimony intercepts from exploration drilling at Treasure Creek, along with shallow and high-grade gold hits.

    And proceeds from the placement will now fund further exploration, economic evaluations, and broader operational activities designed to move Treasure Creek closer to mining.

    Management viewpoint

    Management appears confident in Treasure Creek’s ability to help fill the US antimony supply gap.

    In particular, it pointed to the project’s strong potential for delivering military-grade stibnite – a mineral form of antimony.

    Felix Gold executive director, Joseph Webb, commented:

    Recent technical work has confirmed exceptionally high-purity, near-surface stibnite capable of meeting military-grade concentrate specifications – a capability not achieved outside China in decades – at a time when China’s export restrictions have further elevated the need for a US-aligned supply source.

    Webb added that Felix is now fully funded to complete updated resource and economic studies, and to advance key engineering and permitting activities throughout 2026.

    The ASX 200 mining stock is also preparing a bulk sampling program that could facilitate near-term production and early cashflow, whilst generating data to support longer-term development plans.

    Separately, results from more than 100 recent drill holes at Treasure Creek are expected in the coming weeks.

    The post Up 308% in 2025, this high-flying ASX mining stock is sinking on Monday. But why? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Felix Gold Limited right now?

    Before you buy Felix Gold Limited shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Felix Gold Limited wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    See the 5 Stocks

    * Returns as of 18 November 2025

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    Motley Fool contributor Bart Bogacz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

    Broker written in white with a man drawing a yellow underline.

    With so many shares to choose from on the Australian share market, it can be difficult to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

    Three top ASX shares that leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

    Catalyst Metals Ltd (ASX: CYL)

    According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have resumed coverage on this gold miner’s shares with a buy rating and $9.30 price target. The broker is feeling positive about the company’s outlook, noting that it has derisked the Plutonic gold hub with a clear line of sight to a 200,000 ounces per annum steady state production in FY 2029. This is double its current production and is expected to be achieved by developing five mines under a hub-and-spoke model and leveraging latent processing capacity at its processing plant. In addition, Bell Potter highlights that Catalyst Metals remains debt free with no gold hedging contracts. This provides full exposure to gold price upside, which it feels is particularly attractive in the current gold bull market. The Catalyst Metals share price is trading at $6.57 on Monday.

    Liontown Ltd (ASX: LTR)

    A note out of UBS reveals that its analysts have upgraded this lithium miner’s shares to a buy rating with a vastly improved price target of $1.80. The broker made the move after increasing its lithium price forecasts materially for the coming years to reflect increasing demand. UBS believes that the lithium market could move into a deficit next year. It expects this to lead to significant improvements in free cash flow generation for lithium miners. As a result, it sees now as a good time for investors to pick up Liontown shares. The Liontown share price is fetching $1.45 at the time of writing.

    NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

    Analysts at Ord Minnett have retained their buy rating on this data centre operator’s shares with an improved price target of $20.50. According to the note, the broker was pleased to see that NextDC has signed a memorandum of understanding with ChatGPT’s owner OpenAI for its proposed S7 data centre in Eastern Creek, Sydney. This centre will be a hyperscale AI campus and the largest in the southern hemisphere with 650MW capacity. It sees big positives from the plan and believes it could be a big boost to its valuation if it goes ahead as expected. The NextDC share price is trading at $14.10 this afternoon.

    The post Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Catalyst Metals Limited right now?

    Before you buy Catalyst Metals Limited shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Catalyst Metals Limited wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    See the 5 Stocks

    * Returns as of 18 November 2025

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Hub24. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Hub24. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • The 8% dividend stock that pays cash every month

    A golden egg with dividend cash flying out of it

    Monthly dividend payers are highly valued among the ASX investing community for the obvious reason that they provide regular dividend cash flow. Most investors have to wait at least three, but usually six, months for their ASX dividend stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to pay out a dividend.

    As such, any investment that shortens that span to provide income every four weeks or so is automatically going to draw some attention.

    There aren’t too many ASX dividend stocks on our market that pay out a monthly dividend. In fact, there are only a handful. But only one seemingly offers a dividend yield of about 8% today.

    That one ASX dividend stock is the Metrics Master Income Trust (ASX: MXT).

    An ASX dividend stock with an 8% yield?

    The Metrics Master Income Trust is a listed investment trust (LIT), which means it owns a portfolio of underlying assets that it manages on behalf of its investors.

    This trust is a rather unique offering in that, instead of holding other ASX stocks, it invests in ‘alternative assets’. In this case, that means a portfolio of corporate loans. These loans are domiciled in a range of sectors of the economy, including consumer discretionary, financial, and industrial companies and investments. But a majority of the Master Income Trust’s loans are in real estate. These loans are mostly rated either ‘BB’ or ‘BBB’.

    The stated aims of this trust are to provide income certainty to investors, alongside relatively low capital volatility and risk of permanent capital loss.

    But let’s talk about dividends.

    As we’ve already touched on, this LIT’s dividend distributions are paid out 12 times a year. Over the past 12 months, investors have received a total of 15.52 cents per unit. The latest of these payouts comes out today, as it happens – a December dividend worth 1.24 cents per unit.

    At the current Metrics Master Income Trust unit price of $1.92, these payouts give this ASX dividend stock a trailing yield of 8.08%.

    Is the Metrics Master Trust a buy for income?

    Before yield-hungry investors rush out to buy this ASX dividend stock for income, they should take note of a few things.

    Firstly, due to this investment’s nature, its payouts don’t usually come with franking credits attached.

    Secondly, private credit investments are not stocks, and don’t behave in the same way. They are incredibly sensitive to interest rates, for one. For another, they can be highly unpredictable in hard economic times.

    And private credit investments don’t offer the same kinds of growth and compounding potential as stocks do.

    To illustrate, Metrics Master Income Trust units haven’t really gone anywhere since listing back in 2017. Today, you can buy the Trust’s units for a lower price than what was available for most of 2018. Investors are down about 7.7% over just 2025.

    As such, that big dividend yield is probably all you are going to get from this dividend stock. That might suit some investors just fine. But others who might want to get the best bang for their buck, perhaps not.

    The post The 8% dividend stock that pays cash every month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Metrics Master Income Trust right now?

    Before you buy Metrics Master Income Trust shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Metrics Master Income Trust wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    See the 5 Stocks

    * Returns as of 18 November 2025

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    Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • Trump weighs in on the massive Netflix-Warner deal: ‘It could be a problem.’

    President of the United States Donald J. Trump attends the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on December 07, 2025 in Washington, DC.
    Trump said the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal could be a problem.

    Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

    • Trump has thoughts about Netflix's $72 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.
    • He said their combined market share "could be a problem" and said he would be involved in the deal.
    • In 2017, Trump opposed AT&T's proposed acquisition of Time Warner.

    President Donald Trump is getting involved in the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal.

    On Friday, Netflix announced that it would acquire Warner Bros., including its TV and film studios, HBO and HBO Max, for $72 billion. If the deal goes through, it will be Netflix's biggest acquisition to date.

    Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Centre on Sunday, Trump said Netflix is a great company that has done a "phenomenal job."

    But he added, "They have a very big market share, and when they have Warner Brothers, you know, that share goes up a lot."

    "So I don't know, that's going to be for some economists to tell. And also, I'll be involved in that decision, too," Trump said.

    Trump added that Netflix's CEO, Ted Sarandos, visited him in the Oval Office last week. He said Sarandos was a "great person" who has done "one of the greatest jobs in the history of movies."

    "But it is a big market share, there's no question about that. It could be a problem," he added.

    Representatives for Netflix and Warner Bros. did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

    The announcement of Warner Bro.'s sale has drawn criticism. Paramount CEO David Ellison was at the White House last week, where he objected to the deal on antitrust grounds, per a report by The New York Post. Paramount Skydance had been competing with Netflix and Comcast to buy Warner Bros.

    This is not the first time Trump has become involved in an antitrust case. In 2017, he opposed AT&T's proposed acquisition of Time Warner, saying it was "not good for the country."

    Netflix's stock price is down about 7% in the past five days, while Warner Bro.'s stock price is up more than 8% in the same period.

    Read the original article on Business Insider

  • I tried OpenAI staff’s 6 tips to get more out of ChatGPT — and the model felt far more useful

    OpenAI's ChatGPT
    OpenAI staff shared six tips for using ChatGPT better.

    Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    • OpenAI staff recently shared six tips on how to get better results from ChatGPT.
    • I tested each one to see whether it actually improves the experience.
    • The tips made my use of ChatGPT feel more intentional and smarter.

    OpenAI staff recently shared several tips for getting more out of ChatGPT. I tried them, and it felt like my chatbot got smarter.

    The tips came from Christina Kim, a research lead in post-training, and Laurentia Romaniuk, a product manager for model behavior, in an episode of "The OpenAI Podcast" published Wednesday.

    1. Ask the hard questions

    Kim said users should throw ChatGPT "harder questions" so it can "decide how much it wants to think." The tougher the prompt, the deeper the reasoning.

    Scrolling through my old chats, I realized I'd been doing the reverse — but for good reason. My job is to take complicated ideas and translate them for a general audience, so I mostly use ChatGPT for clarity checks or background research.

    This week, I was reading about embodied intelligence and asked ChatGPT an easy question: "What is embodied intelligence?" It gave a clean, simple answer: AI systems embedded in physical agents like robots.

    Wanting to understand the mechanics behind the concept, I asked a harder question: "How do robots fuse vision, audio, touch, and feedback in real time?"

    That's when the model shifted gears. It talked about multimodal sensor fusion, specialized encoders, and cross-modal alignment — terms I'd never seen before and sounded like something overheard in a robotics lab.

    I asked if this was PhD-level. ChatGPT answered: "Yes — roughly master's-to-early-PhD level."

    2. Tell ChatGPT who to be

    Romaniuk shared that her brother, a biochemical Ph.D., once complained ChatGPT Pro was responding at an undergrad level — until she told him to specify his expertise. After he primed the model as a "frontier researcher," it produced an insight so advanced it mirrored a breakthrough his lab had made just two weeks earlier.

    I'd never experimented with assigning the model a persona, so I figured I'd try it on a low-stakes question: my coffee preference.

    As someone who prefers cappuccinos to lattes, my usual explanation is simple: It tastes punchier and less milky.

    I asked ChatGPT to become a barista who studied coffee the way sommeliers study wine and explain my preference to me.

    The cappuccino-latte divide became a masterclass. It broke the differences into texture, flavor balance, and mouthfeel. A cappuccino is light on top and dense underneath; the foam "lifts" the espresso, sharpening its flavor. A latte, on the other hand, is silkier and more uniform, with milk that folds into the espresso and softens it.

    I can now explain my coffee preference with something more informed than "it tastes nicer."

    3. Audit the chatbot's memory

    Romaniuk said memory is one of ChatGPT's strengths. It lets the model infer what a user really wants or proactively surface information they might care about.

    Romaniuk said the way to stay in control is to audit what the model remembers: Delete anything you don't want it holding onto, or toggle memory on and off in the settings so the chatbot only draws from what you choose.

    ChatGPT memory setting
    Users can toggle memory on and off in ChatGPT's settings.

    Lee Chong Ming/ChatGPT

    It's something I've been doing. I don't turn memory off because most of what I share ends up being useful later. But I do clear out meaningless or throwaway chats so they don't clutter things or muddy what the model learns about me.

    It's paid off. ChatGPT now understands me as a journalist who interviews AI founders by day and trains for fitness races after hours. It answers like it knows I'm just as likely to ask about model behavior as I am about Hyrox training plans.

    4. Ask ChatGPT to improve prompts

    Kim said users can ask ChatGPT to help come up with better prompts.

    I needed to understand free-electron lasers, which help create the high-energy light sources behind semiconductor manufacturing (for journalism, of course). Instead of pretending I knew what to ask, I asked ChatGPT what questions I should be asking it.

    It responded with a set of "high-leverage questions" — grouped from foundational to research-level — that showed me exactly how to think about the technology. For someone without much technical background, this framing was helpful. ChatGPT was teaching me how to ask smarter questions.

    5. Switch through personality modes

    Romaniuk said she switches between ChatGPT's personality modes "all the time" to understand how each one feels. It's part of her job shaping model behavior.

    One of her favorites is the "nerd" mode, which gives the model a "very exploratory response style," she said.

    I love a good cynic, so I asked ChatGPT in "cynical mode" to explain embodied intelligence.

    It didn't move my work forward, but the explanation made me laugh: "Embodied intelligence is one of those tech terms people throw around like everyone has a robotics Ph.D. hiding under their bed."

    "People in AI land obsess over this."

    6. Retry tasks regularly and 'pressure-test' the model

    Romaniuk said she likes to "pressure test" the model — pushing it to its limits to see how it's changing over time.

    For something that couldn't work now, it might work in three months' time. "Just keep at it, keep playing, keep trying," Romaniuk added.

    I've been "pressure testing" the model through my Korean studies, regularly throwing it prompts that stretch its ability to break down the language. I've spent months asking ChatGPT to teach me grammar, extract vocabulary from worksheets, and explain unfamiliar sentence structures.

    Earlier versions often pulled out the wrong words or mixed up written forms. Now, it parses text accurately, distinguishes between formal and polite forms, and explains grammar in clear, beginner-friendly steps.

    The tips made my use of ChatGPT feel more intentional. Some effects were small, others more striking, but they certainly nudged the model to reveal more of what it can do.

    Read the original article on Business Insider

  • My surprising top “Magnificent Seven” stock pick for 2026

    A man smiles widely as he opens a large brown box and examines the contents.

    This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

    Key Points

    • Amazon has been a laggard the past few years.
    • However, the company has been doing a lot right behind the scenes, including improving the operational efficiency of its e-commerce operations.
    • Meanwhile, growth should begin to accelerate at AWS.

    The “Magnificent Seven” stocks — which include Apple, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla — turned in another solid performance in 2025, up a cumulative 25%, as of Dec. 3.

    Alphabet, which was my pick to be the top-performing “Magnificent Seven” stock in 2025, has led the way, easily outperforming its peers.

    Stock Year-to-Date Performance (as of Dec. 3)
    Alphabet 67.4%
    Nvidia 35.2%
    Microsoft 17.1%
    Apple 14.8%
    Meta Platforms 10.8%
    Amazon 6.9%
    Tesla 6.3%

    Data source: PortfoliosLab.

    While Alphabet remains one of my favorite stocks to own for the long haul, I think another surprising stock will emerge to lead the group higher in 2026. That stock is Amazon.

    Breaking out in 2026

    Amazon has admittedly been a laggard among the Magnificent Seven in recent years, with the stock up less than 50% over the past five years. However, that’s the same setup stocks like Alphabet and Meta experienced in recent years before they broke out. And while its stock has underperformed in recent years, the company has been doing a lot of things behind the scenes that are improving both its e-commerce and cloud computing operations.

    Amazon came to dominate the e-commerce landscape not by just selling goods online, but by building out the largest fulfillment and logistics network on the planet that could get customers these items quickly. More recently, it has been turning to robots and artificial intelligence (AI) to further this mission, while also creating huge operational efficiencies.

    One area that is greatly underappreciated at Amazon is its leadership in robotics. Because the company is designing and making these robots for its own use, it does not get nearly the recognition it deserves in this field. However, it now deploys more than 1 million robots at its fulfillment centers, some of which can perform advanced tasks. For example, earlier this year, it introduced a robot called Vulcan that has a sense of touch, which allows it to handle many more types of items than the average robot. It also has robots that can detect damaged products before they are sent out, saving money on costly returns, as well as robots that can fix themselves.

    These robots are all now coordinated by its DeepFleet AI model to operate in the most efficient way possible. The company is also using AI in other areas, such as helping optimize delivery routes, determining the best-located warehouses to store items closer to last-mile delivery, and helping drivers find hard-to-locate drop-off spots in places like large apartment complexes. This all helps speed up delivery times and reduce costs.

    Another overlooked area Amazon is seeing success with is digital advertising. The company is now the third-largest digital advertising company in the world, behind only Alphabet and Meta Platforms. This is a higher gross margin business that Amazon is growing quickly through the use of AI tools, which can help merchants create better campaigns and listings and improve targeting.

    All of these efforts are driving strong operating leverage in Amazon’s e-commerce business. This could be seen last quarter when the adjusted operating income for its North American segment surged 28% on an 11% increase in revenue.

    Cloud computing leader

    Amazon’s largest segment by profitability is its cloud computing business, AWS (Amazon Web Services). The company created the entire infrastructure-as-a-service business model, and it remains the market share leader today. However, AWS’ growth has trailed that of its rivals: Microsoft’s Azure and Alphabet’s Google Cloud. That has likely hurt the stock.

    But AWS’ revenue began to accelerate last quarter, increasing by 20%, and it has strong growth prospects ahead. It is still ramping up its massive Project Rainier data center, which was built exclusively for Anthropic. The data center is fully operated with its custom Trainium 2 AI chips, and it expects the AI cluster to reach 1 million chips by the end of the year. Additionally, the company signed a $38 billion deal with OpenAI, which will run some of its AI workloads on Amazon’s data center infrastructure that employs Nvidia graphics processing units.

    Like other cloud providers, AWS is capacity-constrained, and the company is ramping up its capital expenditures to meet increasing demand. Earlier this month, it introduced a number of new AI hardware (including its Trainium3 AI chip) and software tools. It also sees a huge opportunity with AI agents and its AgentCore offering. 

    The top “Magnificent Seven” stock for 2026

    Amazon is expanding its AI capabilities and moving to capture more AI revenue streams within the cloud, which should bode well for growth next year. Meanwhile, its e-commerce operations are seeing strong operating leverage and could get a boost from any economic improvement that comes from lower interest rates or reduced or eliminated tariffs in 2026.

    With the stock entering the new year at one of its lowest historical valuations, trading at a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of below 33 times, Amazon is my choice to be the best-performing Magnificent Seven stock for 2026. 

    This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

    The post My surprising top “Magnificent Seven” stock pick for 2026 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Amazon right now?

    Before you buy Amazon shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Amazon wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    See the 5 Stocks

    * Returns as of 18 November 2025

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    This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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    Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Alphabet and Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • Warren Buffett is sending a clear warning as 2026 approaches: 3 things investors should do

    Warren Buffett

    This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

    Key Points

    • Investors shouldn’t panic, despite fears that the stock market could fall.
    • Buffett has built a big cash stockpile for Berkshire Hathaway, a wise move for other investors as well.
    • He continues to buy stocks selectively — another prudent approach for all investors.

    You won’t find Warren Buffett spreading doom and gloom. That isn’t his style. Buffett has always been an optimist at heart, even during the most perilous days of the 2008 financial crisis. 

    However, Buffett is sending a clear warning as 2026 approaches. How? He has been a net seller of stocks for 12 consecutive quarters – the longest such streak ever since he took over Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B). This reflects an unprecedented negative outlook for Buffett as he prepares to step down as Berkshire’s CEO at the end of the year.

    The “Oracle of Omaha” isn’t publicly predicting what he thinks is about to happen with the stock market. He isn’t telling investors specific steps to take, either. However, his actions speak volumes. Here are three things investors should do, based on what Buffett is doing himself. 

    1. Don’t panic

    People often refer to Buffett’s quote, “[W]e simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.” There’s a good case to be made that Buffett is fearful right now.

    It can be tempting to equate the fear Buffett referenced with panic. But the legendary investor would never recommend panicking.

    Sure, Buffett has sold numerous stocks in recent quarters. He wouldn’t be a net seller of stocks if that were not the case. However, he hasn’t dumped shares in a frenzy.

    Do you want proof that Buffett isn’t panicking? Simply look at Berkshire’s portfolio. It still includes more than 40 stocks valued at over $300 billion. If Buffett were truly nervous about the future, Berkshire wouldn’t have so much money tied up in the stock market.

    Buffett has held onto positions for which he’s most comfortable over the long term, including stalwarts such as American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). That’s a good strategy for other investors. Sell any stocks for which you have a lower conviction. Keep those you like the most. And, most importantly, remain calm.

    2. Build cash

    In the same letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders where Buffett provided his famous “be fearful” quote, he also wrote:

    As this is written, little fear is visible in Wall Street. Instead, euphoria prevails-and why not? What could be more exhilarating than to participate in a bull market in which the rewards to owners of businesses become gloriously uncoupled from the plodding performances of the businesses themselves. Unfortunately, however, stocks can’t outperform businesses indefinitely.

    Those words were written in 1987 during a strong bull market, but they remain just as applicable today. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has skyrocketed to all-time highs. Many investors are fearful, but not in the way Buffett prescribed. They have FOMO — the fear of missing out.

    Buffett, though, understands that the boom will eventually come to a grinding halt. He wouldn’t attempt to predict exactly when it will happen. However, he wants Berkshire to be prepared when it does. That’s why he has amassed the largest cash stockpile in the company’s history – around $382 billion.

    BRK.A Cash and Short Term Investments (Quarterly) data by YCharts

    Building cash is a smart idea for retail investors, too. It puts you and me in a good position to invest in wonderful companies when prices become more attractive. And with short-term U.S. Treasuries yielding north of 3.5%, you’ll still make at least a little money as you wait.

    3. Buy selectively

    When some hear that Buffett has been a net seller of stocks for 12 consecutive quarters, they might think he hasn’t been buying any stocks at all. That’s not the case. Buffett has bought some stocks. However, he is buying selectively.

    This doesn’t mean that Buffett has changed his criteria for investing in stocks because he’s worried about the market or the economy. Instead, he remains consistent in applying the criteria he uses, regardless of what’s happening externally.

    To be specific, Buffett is only buying stocks for Berkshire’s portfolio that have attractive valuations relative to their growth prospects. That’s exactly what he has done for decades. This is a prudent approach for any investor. Establish your criteria for buying a stock. Make sure it’s sound. Then stick to it, selling only when the stock no longer meets your initial investment thesis.

    Buffett once used a baseball metaphor to make his point, “The stock market is a no-called-strike game. You don’t have to swing at everything – you can wait for your pitch.” No matter what’s in store for the stock market, wait for your pitch and buy selectively.

    This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

    The post Warren Buffett is sending a clear warning as 2026 approaches: 3 things investors should do appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

    Should you invest $1,000 in American Express Company right now?

    Before you buy American Express Company shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and American Express Company wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    See the 5 Stocks

    * Returns as of 18 November 2025

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    This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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    American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Keith Speights has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.