The Handle: A Post-Super Bowl Hangover For Massachusetts Sports Betting In March
Massachusetts' March sports betting handle fell 10% to $701.4 million, aligning with peer states after the Super Bowl. Despite the dip, revenue rose 24% to $67.2 million, pushing the hold to 9.6% and generating $13.1 million in tax receipts. The decline reflects a typical post‑event slowdown, while the revenue surge shows bettors shifting to higher‑margin wagers. The market remains robust as operators capitalize on continued growth.
Paper Mache Businesses
The New York Times highlighted Medvi, a $1.8 billion AI‑driven healthcare firm, as a solo‑founder unicorn, but investigative reports reveal it relies on deep‑faked patient images, bogus doctor endorsements, and outsourced medical work. The author labels such ventures “paper‑mache businesses,” where AI strips...
EXCLUSIVE: DISNEY PUSHES “PRADA 2” WITH INFLUENCERS BEFORE AWFUL REVIEWS COME OUT
Disney staged a high‑profile, tent‑covered premiere of *The Devil Wears Prada 2* at Lincoln Center, livestreaming arrivals on Disney+. The studio deliberately kept critics out, substituting them with a cadre of fashion and lifestyle influencers who flooded social feeds with glowing...
The Gulf Buys Big Into Paramount. What It Wants in Return
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE’s sovereign wealth funds are committing roughly $24 billion to Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, pushing the combined foreign stake in the merged entity to about 21.6 percent—near the FCC’s 25 percent cap. The deal would place two...
Courier Health Raises $50M Series B From Oak HC/FT
Courier Health announced a $50 million Series B financing led by Oak HC/FT, tripling the venture firm’s earlier seed investment. The Boston‑based startup offers a patient‑centric platform that consolidates specialty pharmacy feeds, hub data, claims, EHR signals, and field activity...
How to Have More Audacity
The post argues that success is less about talent or merit and more about audacity – the willingness to act boldly and claim space. It observes that many professionals wait for perfect conditions, allowing less‑experienced rivals to seize opportunities. Audacity...
The Signal Is Already There. The Question Is Whether Your Hotel Is Listening.
The article argues that hotels are missing a critical early‑stage signal – the traveler’s dreaming and planning searches – and that capturing these insights can unlock true hyper‑personalization. By combining AI’s ability to aggregate thousands of subtle data points with...
Factors to Consider for Leave Request Not Related to Medical Reasons
An employee has asked for several months of non‑medical personal leave, but the company’s handbook lacks a specific policy. While family‑ and medical‑leave statutes provide clear entitlement criteria, personal leave remains discretionary and must be evaluated on a case‑by‑case basis....
Your Team Reflects Your Leadership Values
In the latest Duct Tape Marketing podcast, executive coach Aiko Bethea introduces her "Anchored, Aligned, Accountable" framework, arguing that many team conflicts stem from hidden values misalignments rather than pure communication flaws. She defines the "BS"—limiting beliefs like scarcity, perfectionism,...
When Stock Market Valuations Actually Matter: The Power of Extremes
Javier Estrada’s February 2026 paper analyzes 150 years of U.S. market data to test when valuation multiples best forecast 10‑year real returns. The study finds that extreme values—top and bottom 25%—of dividend yield, earnings yield, and CAPE yield deliver far...
Oil Rises, Asian Stocks Mostly Fall After Trump Extends Ceasefire
President Donald Trump announced an extension of the U.S.–Iran cease‑fire, prompting Brent crude to climb above $100 a barrel and WTI past $90. Asian equity markets slipped, with Hong Kong and Sydney indexes falling more than 1%, while Tokyo and Shanghai...
Victoria Beckham Made a Fashion Line Profitable Through Lip Gloss.
Victoria Beckham’s fashion label has finally turned a profit, a breakthrough driven by her already profitable beauty business. Since 2022, the beauty line has captured mature women with high‑margin items such as lip gloss, turning shoppers into fashion customers. The...
Regime Classification Framework for Mean-Reverting and Trending Markets
The paper introduces a regime‑classification framework that labels markets as mean‑reverting or trending, using return thresholds of 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% on SPY, QQQ, DIA and IWM from 2000‑2024. Three machine‑learning models—Random Forest, Neural Network (MLP) and XGBoost—are tested with...
Daily Energy Report
Global crude floating storage has climbed to its highest level since the summer of 2020, according to Kpler’s weekly data for 2025‑2026. The surge follows the onset of the Iran‑related conflict and the resulting Hormuz Strait bottleneck, which have forced...
How to Turn Portfolio Priorities Into Achievable Targets
Planview’s latest blog post explains why translating prioritized initiatives into concrete portfolio targets is the missing link between strategy and execution. It outlines four essential dimensions—investment alignment, capacity planning, performance metrics, and guardrails—that turn ranked ideas into deliverable commitments. The...
$25,000 Documentary Film Grant For Emerging Filmmakers of Color (Deadline: May 4, 2026)
A $25,000 grant is available for emerging filmmakers of color creating their first or second feature-length documentary. The award targets projects that spotlight community stories and address pressing social issues. Applications close on May 4, 2026, and the funding aims...
Boeing’s BCA: Margin Still Red, But Turning
Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) reported a Q1 operating margin of –6.1%, a modest improvement from the –6.6% recorded a year earlier and better than the –7.5% to –8% range the CFO cited in March. The company now projects the margin...
At the Money: Looking Beyond Market Cap Weighted Indexes
Rob Arnott, the founder of Research Affiliates, argued that market‑cap‑weighted indexes like the S&P 500 suffer from concentration risk, costly “flip‑flop” trades, and a bias toward over‑priced mega‑caps. He promoted fundamental‑weighting—using sales, profits, book value and dividends—to better reflect a company’s...
Adobe’s Massive $25 Billion Stock Buyback
Adobe announced a $25 billion stock buyback, representing roughly 25% of its $101 billion market capitalization. The program, authorized through 2030, follows a prior $25 billion buyback in 2024 and adds to the 13% of shares the company has retired over the past...
PART II: How to Monetize Your Content
Profit and Purpose released a $8/month monetization course and is now offering Part Two after a strong initial response. The new module adds a 45‑minute video, a checklist of more than 50 subscriber‑acquisition tactics, and a detailed breakdown of sales‑email...
Creator Economy Briefing: IAB Defines Creator Content as Media Channel, David’s Bridal Shifts Budget, Fixated Acquires Studio71
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) now classifies creator‑generated content as a core media channel, coinciding with digital ad revenue projected at $294.6 billion in 2025. Retailer David’s Bridal redirected roughly one‑third of its marketing spend to a creator‑first strategy, launching a...
HSBC Narrows Down Shortlist for Sale of Singaporean Life Unit
HSBC has narrowed the bidders for its Singapore life insurance arm to Allianz, Daiichi Life and Sumitomo Life, with a potential valuation of up to $2 billion. The shortlisted firms are working with advisers to submit binding offers. The move follows...
DirectorMoves – Board & C-Suite Openings
The DirectorMoves newsletter (Issue 1657, April 22 2026) spotlights board and C‑suite openings, focusing on companies with directors over age 70 and those lacking at least 30% gender diversity. The publication flags these boards as having heightened succession risk and governance gaps. By cataloguing...
How I Use Claude to Run My Substack (It’s Not What You Think)
Justin, the founder of The Landing Pad, uses Claude AI not to write his Substack newsletter but as a strategic analytics partner. By creating a Claude Project that stores his audience profile, publishing schedule, and performance metrics, the AI instantly understands...
Research Highlights Who Wins, Loses in AI-Influenced Job Market
Washington University researchers surveyed nearly 2,000 U.S. workers in December 2025 and found that AI adoption hinges on two factors: perceived productivity gains and, more strongly, whether employees view AI as a career‑relevant learning tool. Respondents who see AI as...
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DealRoom Launches M&A Benchmark Tool to Help Deal Teams Compare Their Operations Against 150+ Industry Peers
DealRoom introduced an M&A Benchmark Tool that lets buy‑side teams compare their operations against data from more than 150 peer dealmakers. The interactive survey takes under two minutes and asks six questions covering team size, deal volume, typical deal size,...
You Block NVIDIA. You Build Huawei
Jensen Huang has repeatedly warned that cutting China off from Western AI technology will backfire, pointing to Huawei’s resilience. Despite two decades of U.S. sanctions, Huawei remains the world’s largest telecom equipment vendor, with no American competitor matching its scale....
The CITB Levy Explained: Rates, Returns, Grants & Everything Construction Employers Need to Know (2025–2026)
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) levy continues at 0.35% of PAYE payroll and 1.25% of net CIS sub‑contractor payments, funding industry‑wide training, apprenticeships and research. For 2025‑26 the exemption threshold rises to £150,000 and the full‑levy band starts at...
Trying to Do Something You Probably Shouldn't
The post revisits Goodhart’s Law, emphasizing that it targets statistical regularities used for control, not direct output measures. It argues that metrics become unreliable when they are gamed as targets, but true outputs like disease case counts remain robust. Drawing...
What Substack Isn't Telling You About Your Audience
The post highlights a critical distinction on Substack between followers and email subscribers. Followers receive notification‑style emails but remain tied to the Substack platform, while subscribers can be exported and used elsewhere. Backed by substantial funding, Substack is likely to...
The YouTube (and Reels/Shorts) Retention Iceberg
Manish Pandey’s post breaks down YouTube, Reels, and Shorts retention into three layers—surface, below, and critical—highlighting the first 60 seconds as the decisive moment for audience stay‑or‑go. He outlines concrete tactics such as storytelling arcs, rapid visual changes, on‑screen graphics,...
Zai Lab to Announce First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Recent Corporate Updates on May 7, 2026
Zai Lab Limited announced it will disclose its first‑quarter 2026 financial results on May 7, 2026, ahead of the U.S. market open. The earnings release will be accompanied by a conference call and webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET, with registration required for...
Venezuela Sanctions, Licenses, and Complications - April 2026
The Trump administration continues its sanctions regime against Venezuela while issuing a new set of licenses that allow U.S. firms to conduct limited transactions with the Venezuelan Central Bank and other designated financial institutions. These authorizations extend earlier oil‑and‑mining licenses,...
Industrial Policy: A Policy Menu
The World Bank’s April 2026 report by Fernandes and Reed presents a menu of fifteen industrial‑policy tools, split into first‑rank and second‑rank options, and outlines a four‑step decision sequence for governments. It stresses that strong, insulated institutions and basic economic fundamentals...
If You Work Long Hours, Can You Still Have a Life?
The article examines the controversial 9‑9‑6 work schedule—nine a.m. to nine p.m., six days a week—borrowed from Chinese tech firms that later banned it. U.S. AI and tech startups have experimented with the model to speed product development, but the author argues...
April Eurozone Flash Consumer Confidence -20.6 vs -16.3 Prior
The Eurozone Consumer Confidence Indicator slipped to a flash reading of -20.6 in April, worsening from the prior -16.3 level and marking the weakest sentiment since October 2023. The decline was driven by sharper pessimism about the overall economy, personal...
Why Great Leaders Ask More Questions Than They Answer
Leaders increasingly favor certainty over curiosity, a bias that hampers adaptation in today’s AI‑driven workplace. The article cites legacy firms like Kodak and Hudson’s Bay that collapsed by clinging to outdated models. It argues that intellectual curiosity—asking more questions than...
Alibaba & Tencent Seeking DeepSeek
Alibaba and Tencent are backing AI startup DeepSeek in a fresh financing round that values the company at roughly $20 billion. The news lifted Alibaba’s U.S.‑listed shares and sparked a $624 million net buy of Hong Kong‑listed stocks via Southbound Stock Connect....
![[COPY] VivoPower Becomes EBITDA Profitable: $31 Million Revenue, $10 Million EBITDA From Completion of Norway Data Center Acquisition](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U9oh!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb52bf68-ccab-4883-83f3-0532d42d95fc_4082x4082.png)
[COPY] VivoPower Becomes EBITDA Profitable: $31 Million Revenue, $10 Million EBITDA From Completion of Norway Data Center Acquisition
VivoPower PLC announced the closing of its $41 million acquisition of a 41.5 MW data center in Mo i Rana, Norway. The facility contributes roughly $31 million in annualized revenue and $10 million in pro‑forma EBITDA, pushing the group into EBITDA profitability for the first...
2026’s Biggest Signal to Shipping CEOs
Eurasia Group’s 2026 Top Risks report warns shipping CEOs of a systemic shift, with roughly 60 active conflicts—the most since World War II—driving unprecedented instability. Global trade is fragmenting into regional blocs, energy is being weaponized, and AI adoption outpaces regulation,...
The AI Training Economy: The Human Expertise Behind the Agent Revolution
Mercor.io, a San Francisco startup founded by three teenage friends, has built a $10 billion AI‑training marketplace that connects tens of thousands of domain experts with AI model developers. The platform generates roughly $500 million in annual recurring revenue by paying contractors $150‑$250...
Flora Fertility Raises $5M to Build Customer-Owned Reproductive Insurance
Flora Fertility announced a $5 million Series A round to expand its customer‑owned reproductive insurance platform. The funding will accelerate product development, grow the provider network, and increase user acquisition. By letting patients pool contributions and tying payouts to treatment outcomes, the...
VivoPower Acquires 41.5MW Norway Data Center
VivoPower announced the acquisition of an operational 41.5 MW data center in Norway powered entirely by renewable hydroelectric energy. The facility is expected to contribute roughly $31 million in annualized revenue and $10 million in annualized EBITDA, restoring the company’s EBITDA profitability. The...
Julius Caesar Would Cut Your Product Line ⚔️
The post likens modern CEOs to Julius Caesar, arguing that spreading resources across ten product lines, seven initiatives and five experiments dilutes strategic force. Caesar’s victories came from concentrating legions where they mattered, and the author suggests startups should adopt the...
Tele2 Estonia Service Revenues up 3% in Q1
Tele2 Estonia posted Q1 service revenue of €16.7 million (≈$18.2 million), a 3% year‑on‑year increase. Underlying EBITDAaL rose 25% organically to €6.8 million (≈$7.4 million), reflecting strong cost‑efficiency measures. Capital expenditure jumped 78% due to lease investments after the Baltic tower transaction, yet the...
Founders Everywhere: Akash Magoon
Adonis, an AI‑powered revenue‑cycle platform for U.S. hospitals, announced a $40 million Series C round led by Quadrille Capital. The company aims to automate claim submission, denials and appeals, boosting net collection rates into the upper 90s and halving payment cycles. Founder...
WEEKLY WEBCAST: Debating Warsh
Kevin Warsh, the leading candidate to succeed Jerome Powell as Fed chair, is pushing for an earlier cut to the federal funds rate. Ed and Elias argue his rationale—based on a declining labor share and an AI‑driven productivity boom—misreads the...
ESPN Opens NBA Playoffs with Most-Watched Playoff Game of Opening Weekend
ESPN kicked off the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 22 with the most‑watched opening‑weekend game, as the Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers on ABC, averaging 5.2 million viewers and peaking at 6.4 million. Studio shows performed strongly, with Inside the...
Keebler Health Raises $16M to Advance AI in Healthcare
Keebler Health announced a $16 million Series A round to expand its AI-driven platform for clinical and operational decision‑making. The solution uses machine learning to surface hidden risk patterns, enabling earlier interventions and cost reductions. CEO Isaac Park says the funds will...
They Said the Same Thing About Websites
The blog draws a parallel between the early dismissal of websites and today’s AI skepticism, arguing that the technology is being ignored by the very sectors it will disrupt. It stresses that AI adoption fails when firms buy tools without...