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Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for January 25th in 3:10 minutes.

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Today's big stories

Microsoft reported some eye-catching quarterly results, and investors liked what they saw
China's falling population could light a fire under artificial intelligence – Read Now
Business activity in the eurozone took a surprising, sunny, upward swing

Not So Soft

What’s Going On Here?

Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results late on Tuesday.

What Does This Mean?

Microsoft’s cloud computing business is its growth backbone, but corporate customers have tightened their belts in recent quarters and slowed the segment’s growth. And although that slow-down didn’t reverse last quarter, the segment still flexed its muscles, beating analysts’ expectations with 18% revenue growth compared to the same time last year. There was good news for Microsoft’s productivity business too, which includes Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn, as revenue jumped a better-than-expected 7%. And even the bad news was predictable: the PC segment saw revenue decline by 19%, but experts were calling last quarter the worst for PCs since the 90s, so that’s hardly a surprise. So, sure, Microsoft’s overall revenue rose at the most sluggish pace since 2016, but the unexpectedly handsome profit still relieved investors, who initially sent shares up 5%.

Why Should I Care?

Zooming in: OpenAI, closed deal.
Newsflash: Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in ChatGPT-owner OpenAI has been confirmed. The move will give OpenAI’s wizards access to more powerful cloud computing resources, which should help the firm up its research game and run more advanced models for programs like ChatGPT and DALL-E. And Microsoft’s getting its back scratched too: the software heavyweight plans to add OpenAI’s tech to its corporate and consumer product offerings, a step that analysts think could help in its battle of wits with Amazon’s AWS cloud service.

For markets: Good tidings.
The S&P 500 has hit high gear this year, cruising through the past few weeks in the green – but whether or not it stays on course will be influenced by how the tech sector fares this earnings season. Information-tech makes up over a quarter of the entire index, after all, so the S&P 500 could continue its promising trajectory if next week’s results from the likes of Meta, Apple, and Amazon follow in Microsoft’s footsteps.

You might also like: A market bottom by midyear and nine other surprises Blackstone sees for 2023.

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Analyst Take

China’s Population Is Shrinking And Creating Opportunities For AI

Reda Farran, Analyst

Just over 1.4 billion people were living in China at the end of last year – 850,000 fewer than at the end of 2021.

It was the first decline in the country’s population in over six decades – and the start of a trend that experts expect to continue for some time.

The changing demographics are going to create big challenges for the world’s second-biggest economy. But it will create big opportunities too – particularly in artificial intelligence (AI).

So that’s today’s Insight: how to find opportunities as China’s population falls.

Read or listen to the Insight here

Whisky and investors go together beautifully

And not just when you’re decompressing after a long week, either.

See, whisky isn’t just a delicious refreshment: as an alternative investment, the liquor’s low correlation to traditional markets could diversify your portfolio and help offset losses elsewhere.

Splint has exclusively secured a rare whisky collection worth €750,000: a case of this caliber would usually be saved for connoisseurs, and it’s highly coveted by wealthy global collectors.

The value of this collection – “The Macallan in Lalique, Six Pillars” – has grown by 20% annually, and a complete collection of this kind has already sold at auction for around $1 million.

Now’s your chance to invest: discover liquid sunshine with Splint Invest.

Find Out More

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From the 26th of January 2023, Splint Invest users will be able to invest exclusively in the Macallan in Lalique, Six Pillars collection as well as other new assets. The minimum investment volume for a Splint Invest client is at 50 EUR.