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‘We Are Still Early’: Morgan Stanley’s Intern Survey Reveals as Crypto Interest Lags Behind AI & Robots Bitcoin’s price has surpassed $100,000, yet only 18% of surveyed interns own or use cryptocurrencies, indicating early-stage adoption. Updated Aug 24, 2025, 5:46 p.m. Published Aug 24, 2025, 2:43 p.m. The phrase “we are still early” remains a popular sentiment in the crypto community in 2025, suggesting that despite bitcoin’s (BTC) price surpassing $100,000, the overall adoption of digital assets is still in its infancy. Morgan Stalney’s recent survey of financial professionals confirms this sentiment. The investment banking giant surveyed more than 500 summer interns in North America from June 10 to 27, and 147 summer interns in Europe from June 26 to July 7. The survey revealed that only 18% of interns own or use cryptocurrencies, increasing from 13% the previous year. Meanwhile, the percentage of interns interested in digital assets has risen to 26% from 23%. Meanwhile, 55% still do not care for digital assets, a majority, although the number has receded from 63% last year. The widespread lack of interest appears significant, especially considering that BTC has already gained acceptance on Wall Street through the introduction of ETFs. The 11 spot BTC ETFs have amassed $53.7 billion in investor wealth since their debut in January last year, according to data source Farside Investors. Ether ETFs have registered an inflow of $12.4 billion. Corporations are rapidly adding both assets to their balance sheets. BTC’s price has surpassed $100,000 this year, gaining a foothold in institutional investor portfolios. Ether hit a record high of over $4,800 on Friday. Morgan Stanley’s AI intern explainer video. (Morgan Stanley) More open to AI The survey revealed a clear adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by future finance industry leaders, with 96% of U.S. interns and 91% of their European counterparts reporting the use of technology at least occasionally. The consensus is that AI is effective, with nearly all respondents agreeing they “save me time” and are “easy to use”. However, 88% of interns also had a nuanced view, believing the technology still “needs accuracy improvement.” The widespread adoption is consistent with the sentiment on Wall Street, where the Mag 7 firms are expected to spend $650 billion in capital expenditures and research and development this year. Trillion dollar humanoids market The survey revealed that most interns are interested in owning humanoids, or sophisticated machines designed with a human-like form and capabilities, but are cautious about their impact on society. Over 60% of U.S. interns and 69% of European interns expressed interest in having a humanoid at home, with both regions believing the robots will have “viable use cases” and replace many human jobs. Still, only 36% of U.S. interns and 24% of Europeans agreed that humanoids will have a positive impact on society. Morgan Stanley estimates that the humanoid market could surpass $5 trillion by 2050, including sales from supply chains and networks for repair, maintenance and support. “Although humanoids are still under development, there could be more than 1 billion by 2050, with 90% used for industrial and commercial purposes,” the investment banking giant said in a report in May. Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy. Omkar Godbole Omkar Godbole is a Co-Managing Editor and analyst on CoinDesk’s Markets team. He has been covering crypto options and futures, as well as macro and cross-asset activity, since 2019, leveraging his prior experience in directional and non-directional derivative strategies at brokerage firms. His extensive background also encompasses the FX markets, having served as a fundamental analyst at currency and commodities desks for Mumbai-based brokerages and FXStreet. Omkar holds small amounts of bitcoin, ether, BitTorrent, tron and dot. Omkar holds a Master’s degree in Finance and a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation. X icon AI Boost “AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk’s AI Policy. More For You Bitcoin Chalks Out Lower Price High After Powell, Ether Prints Doji at Lifetime Peak Bitcoin has retraced to pre-Powell levels, maintaining bearish technical setup. What to know: Bitcoin has retraced to pre-Powell levels, maintaining bearish technical setup. Key support for BTC lies at $110,756, with a significant support zone near the 200-day simple moving average at $100,887. Ether’s chart shows doji candle and bearish divergence on the RSI. Read full story Read More

Executives at Jackson Hole’s SALT conference said the old boom-and-bust halving rhythm is breaking down, with survival now tied to cheap power and diversified infrastructure. Aug 24, 2025, 2:00 p.m. Jackson Hole, Wy. — Bitcoin miners have long been defined by the boom-and-bust rhythm of the four-year halving cycle. But the game has now changed, according to some of the industry’s most prominent executives at the SALT conference in Jackson Hole earlier this week. The rise of exchange-traded funds, surging demand for power, and the prospect of artificial intelligence (AI) reshaping infrastructure needs mean that miners must find ways to diversify or risk being left behind. “We used to come here and talk about hash rate,” said Matt Schultz, CEO of Cleanspark. “Now we’re talking about how to monetize megawatts.” For years, mining companies—which derived their main source of revenue solely from mining bitcoin—lived and died by the four-year bitcoin halving cycle. Every cycle, rewards were slashed in half, and miners scrambled to cut costs or scale up to survive. But that rhythm, according to these executives, no longer defines the business. “The four-year cycle is effectively broken with the maturation of bitcoin as a strategic asset, with the ETF and now the strategic treasury and whatnot,” Schultz said. “The adoption is driving demand. If you read anything about the most recent ETF, they’ve consumed infinitely more bitcoin than have been generated so far this year.” Cleanspark, which now operates 800 megawatts of energy infrastructure and has another 1.2 gigawatts in development, has begun turning its attention beyond proof-of-work. “Our speed to market with the electricity has created opportunities such that now we can look at ways to monetize power beyond just bitcoin mining,” he said. “With 33 locations, we now have a great deal more flexibility than we ever did before.” A brutal business Schultz is not alone in calling the industry’s monumental shift in business model. Patrick Fleury, CFO of Terawulf, echoed the sentiment and didn’t try to sugarcoat the profit squeeze the miners are now feeling. “Bitcoin mining is an incredibly difficult business,” he said. He broke down the economics of bitcoin mining in straightforward terms: with electricity priced at five cents per kilowatt hour, it currently costs around $60,000 to mine a single bitcoin. At a bitcoin price of $115,000, that means half the revenue is consumed by power alone. Once corporate expenses and other operating costs are factored in, the margins tighten quickly. In his view, profitability in mining hinges almost entirely on securing ultra-low-cost power. For Fleury, the deeper problem isn’t just power costs — it’s the relentless expansion of the network itself, driven by hardware manufacturers with little incentive to slow down. He pointed to Bitmain, which continues to produce mining rigs regardless of market demand, thanks to its direct pipeline to chipmakers like TSMC. Even when miners aren’t buying, the company can deploy the machines itself in regions with ultra-cheap electricity — from the U.S. to Pakistan — flooding the network with hash power and driving up mining difficulty. That global footprint, coupled with low production costs, allows Bitmain to remain profitable while squeezing margins for everyone else. Still, Terawulf is pivoting aggressively. Last week, it signed a $6.7 billion lease-backed deal with Google to convert hundreds of megawatts of mining infrastructure into data center space. “These things, as everyone can attest to up here, like electrical infrastructure, don’t move quickly,” Fleury said. “Tech is used to moving quickly and breaking things, but these deals take an extremely long time to come together. It took us four to five months of very intense due diligence.” “What I take the most pride in in that transaction was really working collectively with those partners to come up with a new mousetrap that I hope now becomes something that the industry can duplicate at other companies,” he said. “Google is providing $3.2 billion of backstop lease obligation support to Terawulf, which effectively allows me to go out and secure financing at a really efficient cost of capital.” Profitability—or Patience Kent Draper, chief commercial officer at IREN, took a quieter but confident stance. His company mines bitcoin profitably — even today, he said. Still, he pointed to one common denominator: power. “Being a low-cost producer is fundamentally important, and that’s how we’ve always focused our business — having control of our sites, having operational control, being in areas that are low-cost power jurisdictions,” Draper said. Iren, according to him, is currently operating at 50 exahash, which translates to a billion-dollar annual revenue run rate under current bitcoin market conditions. He noted that the company’s gross margins — revenue minus electricity costs — stand at 75%, and even after accounting for corporate overhead and SG&A expenses, IREN maintains a 65% EBITDA margin, or roughly $650 million in annualized earnings. Still, even IREN is pausing its expansion in mining. “That’s really dictated just by the opportunity set that we see on the AI side today and the potential to really diversify the revenue streams within our business, rather than a fundamental view that bitcoin mining is no longer attractive,” Draper said. On the AI side, IREN is pursuing both co-location and cloud. “Capital intensity is very different,” Draper said. “If you’re owning the GPUs on top of the data center infrastructure, that’s 3x the investment. On the cloud side, the payback periods tend to be a lot faster—typically around two years on the GPU investment alone.” Holding bitcoin — and the Line For Marathon Digital (MARA) CFO Salman Khan, survival is about agility. With decades in the oil industry, Khan sees a familiar pattern: boom, bust, consolidation, and the constant race to stay efficient. “This reminds me of those trends in commodity-exposed cycle industries,” Khan said. “There are some very wealthy families in the oil sector who made billions, and then there are others who have filed bankruptcies. You have to have a strong balance sheet to survive these cycles.” Marathon holds bitcoin on its balance sheet —

Crypto in Late 2025 and Beyond: What Powell’s Speech Signals for Rates, Inflation and Assets Powell’s Jackson Hole speech showed how the Fed is weighing inflation against jobs. That balance could shape policy in the fourth quarter of 2025 and beyond. Updated Aug 24, 2025, 3:32 p.m. Published Aug 24, 2025, 9:16 a.m. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday at this year’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium balanced rising inflation risk against a fragile labor market, and the political calendar now raises the odds that his eventual successor will be less cautious on rates. Powell’s message was deliberately sober. He said the “effects of tariffs on consumer prices are now clearly visible” and will keep filtering through with uncertain timing. Headline PCE inflation ran 2.6% in July and core 2.9%, with goods prices flipping from last year’s declines to gains. He framed the labor market as a “curious kind of balance,” with payroll growth slowing to about 35,000 a month in recent months from 168,000 in 2024, while unemployment sits at 4.2%. Immigration has cooled, labor force growth has softened, and the breakeven pace of hiring needed to keep joblessness steady is lower, which masks fragility. Net-net, he said near-term risks are “tilted to the upside” for inflation and “to the downside” for employment, a mix that argues for care rather than a rapid easing cycle. He also reset the framework. The Fed dropped 2020’s “average inflation targeting,” returned to flexible 2% targeting and clarified that employment can run above estimated maximum levels without automatically forcing hikes, but not at the expense of price stability. He underscored, “We will not allow a one-time increase in the price level to become an ongoing inflation problem.” Policy is “not on a preset course,” and while September is live, the bar for a fast series of cuts looks high unless the data weakens more. That macro stance lands inside a new political backdrop that markets cannot ignore. Powell’s current term ends May 15, 2026, and he has said he intends to serve it out. Donald Trump has attacked Powell and called for lower rates, but legal protections mean a president cannot remove a Fed governor or chair over policy disagreements. Trump can announce his preferred replacement for Powell well before 2026, giving markets time to price in a chair who is likely to be more dovish and tolerant of growth risk than Powell. That looming shift matters for how the path of rates evolves into 2026, even if the next few FOMC meetings remain data dependent. Political tension surfaced again on Friday when Trump publicly threatened to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook over alleged mortgage fraud if she did not resign. Like Powell, governors have strong protections and can only be removed for cause. Markets read this less as an immediate governance threat and more as a sign that personnel pressure on the Fed could grow, increasing uncertainty around future leadership and communication. What this means for U.S. Treasurys The speech points to a slower, shallower easing path in the fourth quarter of 2025 unless inflation retreats convincingly. Tariff pass-through keeps goods prices sticky while services ease only gradually, which argues for front-end yields staying firm and the curve steepening only if growth data weakens. A future, less cautious chair could compress term premiums later by signaling a quicker path to neutral, but between now and then, rate volatility stays high, and rallies are data-led rather than policy-led. What this means for U.S. equities A careful Fed supports the soft-landing narrative but not a quick multiple expansion. Earnings growth can carry benchmarks, yet rate-sensitive growth stocks remain vulnerable to upside surprises in inflation or wages that push cuts further out. If markets begin to price a chair who is more willing to ease into a warm inflation backdrop, cyclicals and small caps could catch a bid, but credibility risk rises if inflation expectations drift. For now, equities trade the gaps between each inflation print, payrolls update and Fed communication. What this means for crypto Crypto lives at the intersection of liquidity and the inflation story. A higher-for-longer stance curbs speculative flows into altcoins and crypto-related equities like miners, exchanges and treasury-heavy firms because funding costs stay elevated and risk budgets are tight. At the same time, sustained inflation above target keeps the hard-asset narrative alive and supports demand for assets with scarcity or settlement finality. That combination favors bitcoin and large-cap, cash-flow-supported tokens over long-duration, storytelling-heavy projects until the Fed signals more conviction on cuts. If a successor chair in 2026 is perceived as less cautious, the liquidity cycle could turn more decisively in crypto’s favor, but the price to get there is more volatility as traders handicap leadership, Senate confirmation and the data. Why the path matters more than the first cut Even if the Fed trims rates in September, as it now seems highly likely, Powell’s framing implies a glidepath paced by inflation expectations, not market hope. Housing transmission is muted by mortgage lock-in, so small cuts may not unlock growth quickly. Global easing elsewhere adds a marginal liquidity tailwind, yet the dollar’s path and term premiums will hinge on whether U.S. inflation behaves like a one-time tariff shock or a stickier process. In the former case, crypto breadth can improve and risk can rotate beyond bellwethers; in the latter, leadership stays narrow and rallies fade on hot data. The 2026 wildcard Markets now must price a two-stage regime: Powell’s cautious data-driven stance through 2025, then the possibility of a chair chosen by Trump who is less patient with above-target inflation if growth weakens, or more willing to accept inflation risk to support activity. Appointment constraints and Senate confirmation are real, so a wholesale pivot is not automatic, but the distribution of outcomes broadens. For Treasuries, this can mean fatter term premiums until leadership is known; for equities, it can mean rotation and factor churn; and for crypto, it can mean a stronger medium-term liquidity story paired with choppier near-term trading.

Stock futures edged up on Sunday evening as Wall Street looks ahead to another big week that will feature earnings from AI chip leader Nvidia and another inflation update. Markets are coming off a monster rally on Friday, when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell opened the door to a rate cut next month. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24 points, or 0.05%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.05%, and Nasdaq futures added 0.06%. On Friday, the Dow hit a new all-time high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed in on their records. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was flat at 4.256% after diving Friday on rate-cut expectations. The U.S. dollar was down 0.02% against the euro and flat against the yen. Gold fell 0.13% to $3,413.80 per ounce. U.S. oil prices rose 0.2% to $63.79 per barrel, and Brent crude added 0.15% to $67.83. Friday’s stock surge came after a big selloff that was led by tech giants, as doubts have grown about the AI boom and how much it will actually help companies. That’s after a recent report from MIT found that 95% of AI pilot programs at businesses are failing to produce much of a return. Adding to those concerns were remarks from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who drew a parallel between today’s AI frenzy and the 1990s dot-com bubble. Wall Street’s faith in the staying power of AI as an investment thesis will be put to the test when Nvidia reports quarterly earnings after the close on Wednesday. The report also comes after Nvidia and AMD agreed to an unprecedented deal where they give the federal government a 15% cut of their chip sales to China. For now, demand from U.S. companies remains high as so-called hyperscaler tech giants Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms alone are expected to deploy $400 billion in capital expenditures this year, and most of that is going to AI. On Friday, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge is due as policymakers wait and see how much of an effect on inflation President Donald Trump’s tariffs are having. Earlier updates on the consumer price index and the producer price index were mixed, and analysts expect the personal consumption expenditures index for July to rise 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.6% on a yearly basis, the same annual rate as June. But the core PCE is seen climbing 0.3% on a monthly basis and 2.9% on a yearly basis, accelerating from June’s 2.8% annual rate. Still, some Fed officials, including Powell, have indicated that tariff-related impacts on inflation may be short term and that more attention should go to the labor market, which has shown signs of weakening. Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world. Explore this year’s list. Read More

Congressional Republicans are embracing Donald Trump’s tariff campaign as a way to advance home-state causes, lobbying the president to impose more import duties to protect local companies. The rank-and-file GOP lawmakers’ entreaties, which often present trade actions shoring up favored manufacturers as a winning tactic for midterm elections, bolster the political case for broadening US tariffs.  Trump announced two sweeping expansions of trade barriers in recent days, on Tuesday wideningsteel and aluminum tariffs to include more than 400 types of items that contain the metals. On Friday, he announced a trade investigation into furniture imports, which he said would lead to new tariffs within 50 days. In a social media post announcing the furniture trade action, he cited the boost it would provide to manufacturers in North Carolina and Michigan, two states with potentially pivotal Senate races next year. Read more: Trump Announces Furniture Imports Probe, Setting Up Tariffs More than a dozen Republican lawmakers have pushed for fresh or higher tariffs to protect local industries. Several of the lawmakers said Trump granted their requests or said White House officials signaled they would approve the asks.  Republican Senator Bernie Moreno pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to expand steel tariffs to include steel-based products like washing machines and refrigerators. The administration moved in June to impose duties on home appliances based on their steel content, benefiting companies including Whirlpool Corp., which has five manufacturing plants in Moreno’s home state of Ohio. Representative Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican, pushed the administration to raise tariffs on electrical steel laminations and cores on behalf of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., an effort to protect a manufacturing facility in his district.  The items were included in the broader tariffs on products made from steel and aluminum that the administration announced in a notice posted Tuesday. Read more: Trump Widens Metal Tariffs to Target Baby Gear, Motorcycles Spokespeople for the White House and US Commerce Department didn’t respond to requests for comment on the role lawmakers’ requests played in the tariff decisions. In the protectionist lobbying by Trump allies, tariffs are cast as the economic savior for struggling local industries and political boost for the GOP. It’s a stark example of how to successfully lobby in today’s murky trade environment, even as Trump has openly claimed that his unpredictability gives him leverage. The tariff decisions suggest the White House is open to input on the trade matters from outsiders friendly to the administration. Trump’s announcements on trade deals regularly arrived in the form of letters posted to trading partners on social media, excluding Congress from direct involvement in negotiations.  Senator Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, said before Trump’s furniture trade action was announced that the White House has been receptive to his lobbying for a tariff of at least 60% on wood cabinets — echoing local manufacturers’ pleas.  Tuberville said he expects the administration ultimately will fulfill the request, though it wasn’t immediately clear whether the furniture trade probe will lead to tariffs on wood cabinets.  Cabinet makers were “about to go under” during Trump’s first term and he saved them, Tuberville said in a July interview. “He’s doing the same thing now.”  Republican Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Republican Senator Katie Britt of Alabama are among other lawmakers pushing for tariffs on products made of wood. Some local manufacturers in their states want a duty of at least 100% on cabinets. The lawmakers’ lobbying doesn’t occur in a vacuum. They’re often relaying requests from companies and trade groups that also have their own connections with the Trump administration. Stephen Vaughn, a senior trade adviser during Trump’s first term, represented Cleveland-Cliffs in the company’s efforts to secure the tariffs on products made from steel.  Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive officer Lourenco Goncalves praised the expansion of tariffs. The action “gives us certainty that the American domestic market will not be undercut by unfairly traded steel embedded in derivative products,” he said.  Lobbying is a bipartisan act and occurs during every presidency, but these efforts are different because of Trump’s emphasis on personal relationships, according to Matthew Foster, a professional lecturer at American University’s School of Public Affairs.  Trump sometimes amplifies the positions of the last person he’s talked to, which explains how his close allies could benefit when they ask for favors, he added. It’s all about having an advocate with a history of access to the president to get the issue at hand through the door, said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Under Trump, that’s the normal way of doing business, he added. Moreno, an Ohio Republican, is an active member in the president’s inner circle. The freshman senator said he talks to the president once a week, often reiterating his desire for Trump to force out Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.   Moreno praised Lutnick for understanding business demands, touting the need to protect Whirlpool from cheaper imported steel.  “The reality is Whirlpool Corporation, which has a massive presence in Ohio, is the last appliance manufacturer in America,” Moreno said in an interview, adding that the Chinese are “interested in building industries that will dominate the world and crush American companies. We can’t allow them to do that.” The lawmakers efforts on behalf of tariffs offer a clear potential political benefit: a message to voters that their manufacturing jobs will be protected. But they also threaten to raise the cost of living for consumers. The tariffs “may work politically, but they may not work economically, and those are two different fields,” Hufbauer said. A sizable bloc of Trump voters have reservations about the president’s tariffs. About one in four self-identified Trump voters said they thought the tariffs were hurting rather than helping the US in negotiating better trade deals, according to a Politico-Morning Consult poll in July.  Retaliatory tariffs during Trump’s first term prompted domestic turmoil for some key industries in Republican-lean states, including Kentucky bourbon and Wisconsin-based Harley-Davidson motorcycles. That’s prompted Republican senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul to publicly oppose the trade war as harmful to their constituents.  Introducing the 2025

Credit investors are pouring billions of dollars into artificial intelligence investments, just as industry executives and analysts are raising questions about whether the new technology is inflating another bubble. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group are leading the sale of a more than $22 billion loan to support Vantage Data Centers’ plan to build a massive data-center campus, people with knowledge of the matter said this week. Meta Platforms Inc., the parent of Facebook, is getting $29 billion from Pacific Investment Management Co. and Blue Owl Capital Inc. for a massive data center in rural Louisiana, Bloomberg reported this month.  And plenty more of these deals are coming. OpenAI alone estimates it will need trillions of dollars over time to spend on the infrastructure required to develop and run artificial intelligence services.  At the same time, key players in the industry acknowledge there is probably pain ahead for AI investors. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said this week that he sees parallels between the current investment frenzy in artificial intelligence and the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s. When discussing startup valuations he said, “someone’s gonna get burned there.” And a Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiative released a report indicating that 95% of generative AI projects in the corporate world have failed to yield any profit.  Altogether, it’s enough to make credit watchers nervous. “It’s natural for credit investors to think back to the early 2000s when telecom companies arguably overbuilt and over borrowed and we saw some significant writedowns on those assets,” said Daniel Sorid, head of U.S. investment grade credit strategy at Citigroup. “So, the AI boom certainly raises questions in the medium term around sustainability.” The early build-out of the infrastructure needed to train and power the most advanced AI models was largely funded by the AI companies themselves, including tech giants like Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc. Recently, though, the money has been increasingly coming from bond investors and private credit lenders. The exposure here comes in many shapes and sizes, with varying degrees of risk. Many large tech companies — the so-called AI hyperscalers — have been paying for new infrastructure with gold-plated corporate debt, which is likely safe due to the existing cash flows that secure the debt, according to recent analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence. Much of the debt funding now is coming from private credit markets.   “Private credit funding of artificial intelligence is running at around $50 billion a quarter, at the low end, for the past three quarters. Even without factoring in the mega deals from Meta and Vantage, they are already providing two to three times what the public markets are providing,” said Matthew Mish, head of credit strategy at UBS.  And many new computing hubs are being funded through commercial mortgage-backed securities, tied not to a corporate entity, but to the payments generated by the complexes. The amount of CMBS backed by AI infrastructure is already up 30%, to $15.6 billion, from the full year total in 2024, JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimated this month. Sorid and a colleague at Citi put out a report on Aug. 8 focusing on the particular risks for the utility firms that have boosted borrowing to build the electrical infrastructure needed to feed the power-hungry data centers. They and other analysts share a commonly held concern about spending so much money right now, before AI projects have shown their ability to generate revenue over the long term.  “Data center deals are 20 to 30 year tenor fundings for a technology that we don’t even know what they will look like in five years,” said Ruth Yang, global head of private market analytics at S&P Global Ratings. “We are conservative in our assessment of forward cash flows because we don’t know what they will look like, there’s no historical basis.” The stress has begun to appear in the rise of payment-in-kind loans to tech-oriented private credit lenders, UBS Group noted. In the second quarter, PIK income in BDCs reached the highest level since 2020, climbing to 6%, according to UBS. But the fire hose of money is unlikely to stop anytime soon.  “Direct lenders are constantly raising capital, and it has to go somewhere,” said John Medina, senior vice president in Moody’s Global Project and Infrastructure Finance Team. “They see these hyperscalers, with this massive capital need, as the next long-term infrastructure asset.”  Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world. Explore this year’s list. Read More

Creating an effective online onboarding process is vital for integrating new hires smoothly into your organization. By following five straightforward steps, you can improve the onboarding experience considerably. Start with a structured preboarding phase to prepare your new employees, followed by ensuring their equipment and software setup is seamless. Engaging onboarding sessions and ongoing communication are important for nurturing connections. Finally, implementing feedback mechanisms can help you refine the process. Let’s explore each step in detail. Key Takeaways Share essential company information, policies, and job-related documents through an onboarding portal before the new hire’s start date. Ensure all necessary equipment and software are set up and configured, providing tech support for any issues. Conduct engaging onboarding sessions using interactive webinars, online training modules, and collaborative tools to enhance learning. Establish ongoing communication through regular check-ins, a buddy system, and one-on-one meetings to foster connections and support. Implement feedback mechanisms, including surveys and periodic discussions, to continuously improve the onboarding experience and retention rates. Step 1: Structured Preboarding Phase A structured preboarding phase is crucial for setting new hires up for success, as it allows them to familiarize themselves with fundamental company information before their official start date. During this phase, you’ll share significant materials like the employee handbook and job-related documents through an onboarding portal. This digital employee onboarding approach guarantees clarity on company policies and expectations. Furthermore, consider sending a personalized welcome kit with company-branded merchandise to cultivate excitement. Providing electronic onboarding resources, such as technology setup instructions, helps new hires prepare effectively. Step 2: Equipment and Software Setup Setting up equipment and software for new hires is vital for a seamless onboarding experience. Before their start date, identify and arrange all necessary items, such as laptops and accessories. Conduct IT checks to install and configure required software, minimizing delays on their first day. Utilize your employee onboarding portal to streamline this process, ensuring new hires have access to automated employee onboarding software that facilitates setup. Make sure to set up accounts for important communication tools, like email and chat, to promote collaboration from day one. Furthermore, provide a tech support contact for immediate assistance and send invitations to relevant meetings in advance. This proactive approach improves the virtual onboarding process and helps integrate onboarding tools employees effectively. Step 3: Engaging Onboarding Sessions How can you create engaging onboarding sessions that effectively integrate new hires into your organization? Start by incorporating interactive webinars, which facilitate real-time Q&A sessions. This connection boosts retention rates by 54%. Use online training modules that allow new hires to learn at their own pace, catering to various learning styles. Implement collaborative tools like Google Docs and Slack to encourage teamwork and improve communication, nurturing a sense of belonging from day one. Furthermore, gamification can transform onboarding activities into enjoyable experiences, increasing engagement levels. Regular check-ins during these sessions guarantee new hires feel supported and can swiftly address any questions. Step 4: Ongoing Communication and Connections As new hires acclimate to their roles, the onboarding process is a crucial time; ongoing communication and connections play an equally important role in ensuring their long-term success within the organization. Establish regular check-ins to address questions and monitor progress, making sure new hires feel supported and engaged. Implement a buddy or mentor system to encourage connections, as having a friend at work can boost employee engagement considerably. Utilize communication tools like Slack, email, and video conferencing to maintain open lines of communication. Schedule one-on-one meetings between new hires and their managers to discuss expectations and reinforce team connections. Finally, create online communities or forums where new employees can interact and share experiences during their virtual onboarding expedition. Step 5: Feedback Mechanisms for Continuous Improvement Feedback mechanisms are crucial for refining the onboarding process and ensuring it meets the needs of new hires. Implementing regular pulse engagement surveys and encouraging open-ended feedback can help you gather valuable insights. Furthermore, scheduling periodic check-ins with new hires and managers allows for real-time adjustments. Analyzing exit interview responses provides further comprehension of the onboarding experience and its impact on retention rates. Feedback Type Purpose Tool Used Pulse Engagement Surveys Assess onboarding experience Survey Software Open-Ended Feedback Identify strengths/weaknesses Feedback Forms Periodic Check-Ins Discuss progress Meeting Schedule Exit Interviews Grasp turnover reasons Interview Template Utilizing these strategies will improve your online onboarding process and upgrade employee onboarding solutions in New York. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 C’s of Effective Onboarding? The 5 C’s of effective onboarding are Compliance, Clarification, Culture, Connection, and Contribution. You’ll guarantee new hires understand company policies and their roles through Compliance and Clarification. Immerse them in the organization’s values with Culture, as Connection helps build relationships with teammates. Finally, focus on Contribution to show how their work aligns with the organization’s goals. Together, these elements create a structured onboarding process that improves retention and engagement. What Is the Online Onboarding Process? The online onboarding process involves several key stages to help you acclimate to your new role. It begins with pre-boarding, where you receive crucial documents like employee handbooks. Then, you participate in virtual orientation, which may include webinars and video conferencing. Ongoing integration activities guarantee you stay engaged and connected. Regular check-ins and feedback help address any concerns, ultimately resulting in improved retention and productivity during your initial months at the company. How to Create a Good Onboarding Process? To create a good onboarding process, start by defining clear goals and objectives that align with your company’s culture. Develop a thorough onboarding plan, including training sessions and necessary resources. Utilize technology, such as online modules and webinars, to improve engagement. Implement a structured checklist to track progress and guarantee new hires understand their roles. Finally, assign a mentor or buddy to facilitate social integration and provide support throughout the onboarding process. What Are the 4 C’s of Effective Onboarding? The 4 C’s of effective onboarding are Compliance, Clarification, Culture, and Connection. Compliance guarantees you understand company policies and complete necessary paperwork. Clarification provides clear expectations

When it relates to business forecasting software, choosing the right solution can greatly influence your organization’s financial planning and decision-making. The top five options on the market today offer unique features customized to different business sizes and needs. Comprehending these tools can help you streamline your forecasting process. Let’s explore the leading software solutions and how they can improve your forecasting capabilities, ensuring you make informed decisions for your business growth. Key Takeaways Anaplan: A robust cloud-based platform ideal for large enterprises, offering comprehensive forecasting and planning features. Abacum: Combines revenue forecasting with financial planning, designed for scalability in growing businesses. Clari: Specializes in revenue forecasting with advanced AI integration for enhanced predictive capabilities. Xactly: Focuses on sales performance management, making it suitable for mid-sized businesses with sales teams. Mosaic: An affordable forecasting application targeted at smaller businesses, automating forecasts to streamline operations. Overview of Business Forecasting Software Business forecasting software serves as a crucial tool for organizations aiming to improve their decision-making processes through data-driven insights. This software leverages historical data, market trends, and sales pipelines to predict future business performance, enabling informed choices across various departments. With real-time data integration from CRM and ERP systems, it reduces manual entry errors and improves forecast accuracy through automation. Many platforms offer user-friendly interfaces and customizable dashboards, ensuring non-technical users can easily access insights and collaborate on forecasts. Furthermore, modern forecasting software for business includes scenario analysis capabilities, allowing you to model different outcomes and assess the potential impacts of various strategies. The integration of AI and machine learning further boosts prediction precision, identifying patterns in large datasets that might go unnoticed. Key Features of Top Business Forecasting Software When evaluating top business forecasting software, it’s important to contemplate several key features that improve its functionality and usability. Effective business forecasting tools integrate real-time data from sources like CRM and ERP systems, enhancing accuracy whilst minimizing manual entry errors. Many platforms include advanced predictive analytics, utilizing AI and machine learning to uncover patterns and produce customized forecasts. Customizable dashboards and reporting features allow you to visualize key financial metrics easily. Furthermore, most solutions support scenario analysis, helping you model potential outcomes based on various variables. Collaboration features likewise play an essential role, ensuring cross-departmental input and visibility into financial forecasts and planning processes. These elements make forecasting software for small business more effective and user-friendly. Benefits of Using Business Forecasting Software Utilizing business forecasting software can greatly improve your organization’s financial planning and decision-making processes. These tools automate data collection and analysis, considerably reducing the time your finance team spends on manual tasks. By integrating real-time data from various sources, the software boosts the accuracy of your financial projections, ensuring you make informed decisions and allocate resources effectively. Furthermore, budgeting and forecasting software for small businesses facilitates collaborative planning, encouraging input from multiple departments. This leads to an all-encompassing grasp of performance and alignment on financial goals. With advanced features like AI-driven insights and cash flow analysis software, you’ll be better equipped to adapt to market changes and manage cash flow efficiently, avoiding overspending as you optimize your financial health. Top 5 Business Forecasting Software Solutions Choosing the right business forecasting software can greatly improve your organization’s ability to predict financial outcomes and streamline operations. First on the list is Anaplan, a robust cloud-based platform ideal for large enterprises, requiring significant implementation time. Next, Abacum is perfect for growing companies, blending revenue forecasting with financial planning for scalable pricing. Clari shines in revenue forecasting software, seamlessly integrating with CRMs and using AI for sales behavior analysis. Xactly specializes in sales performance management, linking quotas to revenue, primarily serving mid-sized businesses. Finally, Mosaic offers an affordable forecasting application for smaller businesses, connecting to popular accounting systems and automating forecasts, making it user-friendly. Each of these solutions provides unique features customized to varying organizational needs. How to Choose the Right Business Forecasting Software How can you guarantee your organization selects the most suitable business forecasting software? Start by evaluating key factors that influence effectiveness and integration. Consider the following: Integration Capabilities: Confirm the software connects seamlessly with existing systems like ERP and CRM to streamline data flow. User-Friendliness: Look for customizable dashboards that improve team adoption and provide personalized insights for users. Forecasting Accuracy: Assess AI-powered features that utilize machine learning to improve predictions based on historical data. Pricing Flexibility: Confirm the solution can scale with your business needs, accommodating changes in user count or functionality. Don’t overlook vendor support and training resources. Reliable assistance is essential for effective implementation and ongoing use of finance consolidation software or even forecasting software free options. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Tool for Forecasting? When considering the best tool for forecasting, you should evaluate your organization’s size, needs, and budget. Larger enterprises may benefit from extensive solutions like Anaplan, whereas growing companies might prefer Abacum for its scalability. If CRM integration is crucial, Clari excels in analyzing sales behavior. For mid-sized firms, Xactly aligns performance with revenue, whereas Mosaic offers an affordable option for smaller businesses that need user-friendly forecasts. Assess these factors to choose effectively. What Are the Three Different Types of Forecasting Software? There are three main types of forecasting software you should consider. Budgeting software helps you allocate resources and set financial goals based on historical data. Sales forecasting software analyzes past sales trends to predict future performance, allowing you to optimize inventory and sales strategies. Demand forecasting software focuses on predicting customer demand, ensuring you meet market needs efficiently during minimizing excess stock. Each type serves a specific purpose in enhancing financial planning and decision-making. What Are the 4 Types of Financial Forecasting? There are four main types of financial forecasting. Qualitative forecasting relies on expert opinions and market research, ideal for new products. Quantitative forecasting uses historical data and statistical methods to predict future financial metrics. Time series forecasting analyzes historical data points to identify trends over time. Finally, causal forecasting examines relationships between variables, often using regression

Excelling in B2B lead prospecting is crucial for driving business growth. Start by defining your Ideal Customer Profile to effectively target the right audience. Utilize platforms like LinkedIn for outreach and participate in industry forums to connect with potential clients. Furthermore, create valuable content to nurture leads and implement CRM systems to track interactions. As you refine your strategies, you’ll uncover effective methods for qualifying and personalizing your approach to prospects. Let’s explore these strategies in detail. Key Takeaways Define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) based on industry, company size, and specific pain points to target the right leads effectively. Utilize LinkedIn for outreach, sharing valuable content, and engaging with potential customers in industry forums to build relationships. Create and distribute high-quality content, such as ebooks and webinars, to attract and nurture leads, ensuring it’s relevant to their needs. Implement CRM systems to manage interactions, track lead progress, and streamline your prospecting efforts for better results. Regularly analyze engagement rates and conversion metrics to optimize your lead generation strategies and improve overall effectiveness. Understanding B2B Lead Prospecting When you explore B2B lead prospecting, grasping its core components is fundamental for success. This process involves identifying and engaging potential business customers who might be interested in your offerings. It begins with defining an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), which outlines criteria such as industry, company size, and specific pain points. Effective B2B lead generation strategies include utilizing platforms like LinkedIn for direct outreach and participating in industry-specific forums. Furthermore, leveraging CRM systems is imperative for managing and tracking interactions with B2B leads. Research indicates that 61% of marketers find generating high-quality leads challenging, highlighting the significance of targeted prospecting efforts. In the end, personalized communication and consistent follow-ups are crucial for cultivating relationships in B2B prospecting. Identifying Your Ideal Buyer Persona To effectively identify your ideal buyer persona, start by conducting thorough research that explores the demographics, job titles, industries, and specific pain points your product or service can address. This detailed comprehension will improve your B2B lead generation efforts. Utilize tools like surveys and interviews with existing customers to gather valuable insights. Remember, segmentation is key; companies with different revenue levels have unique needs. Regularly updating your buyer personas based on market trends guarantees they stay relevant. Characteristics Importance Demographics Target specific audiences Pain Points Address real challenges Job Titles Tailor your messaging Effective Strategies for Attracting Leads Attracting leads in the B2B space requires a strategic approach that builds on your comprehension of buyer personas. Here are some effective strategies to implement: Create valuable content: Develop high-value lead magnets like ebooks or webinars that can convert at rates of 15% or higher when optimized. Leverage LinkedIn: Use this platform for targeted outreach, connecting with industry professionals and sharing insightful content. Optimize for SEO: Improve your content’s visibility by focusing on niche keywords that address decision-makers’ pain points. Enhance landing pages: Design user-friendly pages with clear calls-to-action, aiming for at least 60% of marketing-qualified leads to become sales-qualified. These B2B lead generation strategies will help you understand how to generate B2B leads online effectively. Qualifying Leads Based on Buying Stage Comprehending how to qualify leads based on their buying stage is crucial for effective marketing and sales strategies. The three key stages—Awareness, Consideration, and Decision—help you tailor your approach. In the Awareness stage, leads download content or subscribe to newsletters, signaling their need for educational materials. During the Consideration stage, leads compare options, often engaging with your sales team, indicating they’re sales-qualified leads (SQLs). Implementing a lead scoring system prioritizes leads based on engagement and fit, optimizing your resources. Regularly update your buyer personas to stay aligned with current market trends. Personalizing Your Approach to Prospects How can you effectively engage your prospects and increase your chances of conversion? Personalizing your approach is key. Here are some strategies you can implement: Use CRM data to identify decision-makers and their preferences. Leverage insights from social media and company news to tailor your messages. Create targeted content, like case studies, that addresses specific pain points. A/B test different personalized messages to see which ones resonate best. Implementing Best Practices for Lead Nurturing To effectively nurture your leads, focus on personalized email campaigns that speak directly to their needs and interests. Implement content engagement strategies that encourage interaction, such as customized landing pages and targeted resources. Don’t forget the importance of timely follow-up actions; consistent touchpoints can greatly boost your chances of conversion. Personalized Email Campaigns When you implement personalized email campaigns, you’re not just sending messages; you’re crafting customized communications that resonate with your audience. To improve your b2b lead generation efforts, consider these best practices: Segment your audience based on buyer personas and behaviors to enhance engagement. Craft engaging subject lines that address recipients directly, reflecting their interests or pain points. Include clear calls-to-action (CTAs), as personalized CTAs can boost conversion rates considerably. Utilize A/B testing to optimize content, experimenting with different messaging and layouts. Content Engagement Strategies What strategies can you employ to improve content engagement and effectively nurture leads? Start by implementing personalized email campaigns, as they can greatly boost engagement rates. Consider using targeted content delivery, such as case studies and industry reports, to improve lead quality. Engaging prospects on social media, especially LinkedIn, can likewise increase brand visibility, as many B2B buyers rely on these platforms for purchasing decisions. Leverage marketing automation tools to streamline your processes and track performance for continuous optimization. Strategy Benefits Tools/Resources Personalized Emails Increases engagement rates Email Marketing Software Targeted Content Delivery Improves lead quality Content Management Systems Social Media Engagement Boosts brand visibility Social Media Platforms Timely Follow-Up Actions Effective lead nurturing relies heavily on timely follow-up actions, as most sales require multiple touchpoints before a decision is made. To improve your b2b lead generation efforts, consider these best practices: Utilize marketing automation tools to streamline follow-ups, ensuring timely and personalized communication. Implement lead scoring to prioritize outreach, focusing on high-scoring leads who show significant engagement. Personalize your follow-up messages by

In today’s competitive market, effective sales forecasting is vital for success. Implementing fundamental techniques can greatly improve your forecasting accuracy. By automating data collection, combining insights, and using robust models, you can create a more reliable forecast. Collaboration among sales teams likewise plays a key role, as does regularly reviewing your forecasts to adapt to market changes. Comprehending these strategies will help you make informed decisions and drive your business forward. What techniques will you explore first? Key Takeaways Automate data collection to minimize errors and ensure timely updates for accurate sales performance insights. Combine qualitative and quantitative data to enhance forecasting accuracy and adapt to market changes. Implement robust forecasting models like time series and regression analysis for improved projections. Foster collaboration among sales teams to integrate diverse insights and promote accountability in forecasting. Regularly review and adjust forecasts to align with real-time market conditions and enhance accuracy. Automate Data Collection for Improved Accuracy To improve the accuracy of your sales forecasts, automating data collection is a vital step you should consider. By automating this process, you can markedly reduce human error and guarantee timely updates, which are critical for effective sales forecasting. Implementing CRM systems allows you to integrate multiple data sources, creating a unified view of sales performance that boosts reliability. Additionally, AI-driven analytics streamline data processing, enabling quick analysis of trends and patterns without manual intervention. This means you can adjust forecasts based on current market conditions more effectively. In the end, adopting these sales forecasting best practices helps you understand the significance of sales forecasting, leading to more precise sales forecast analysis and improved decision-making in your business. Combine Qualitative and Quantitative Insights Combining qualitative and quantitative insights greatly boosts the accuracy and relevance of your sales forecasts. By integrating qualitative insights, such as sales team feedback and customer behavior observations, with quantitative data like historical sales figures, you improve your sales forecasting methods. Research shows that businesses using both approaches can see up to a 10% increase in forecast accuracy. Qualitative data adds critical context to market trends and customer sentiment that raw sales numbers might miss. This thorough view helps refine your sales prediction model. Regularly applying these insights in your sales forecasting process encourages adaptability, allowing you to respond proactively to market changes and better meet customer needs, highlighting the importance of sales forecasting in strategic planning. Implement Robust Forecasting Models Effective sales forecasting relies heavily on the implementation of robust forecasting models that can adapt to the intricacies of market dynamics. By using sales forecasting techniques like time series and regression analysis, you can improve sales projections and boost the accuracy of your sales revenue forecast. Grasping the sales forecast meaning is vital, as it guides your sales planning and forecasting efforts. To create a sales forecast, incorporate opportunity stage forecasting, which evaluates your current pipeline and assigns probabilities for closure. Furthermore, employing multi-variable analysis techniques allows you to account for multiple factors affecting sales outcomes. This all-encompassing approach guarantees that your forecasting methods are dependable and customized to your business needs, ultimately driving better decision-making and operational efficiency. Foster Collaboration Among Sales Teams Robust forecasting models lay the groundwork for informed decision-making, but collaboration among sales teams plays a pivotal role in improving the quality of sales forecasts. By integrating diverse insights and perspectives, you can achieve better accuracy and reliability in your sales forecasting methodology. Regular communication about deal status promotes accountability, contributing to more precise projections. Engaging sales representatives allows you to identify potential risks and opportunities not captured in traditional data analysis. Here’s a simple breakdown of the benefits of collaboration: Benefit Description Improved Accuracy Integrating insights improves forecast precision. Accountability Regular updates promote a culture of responsibility. Risk Identification Engaging reps reveals unseen challenges and opportunities. Holistic View Cross-functional teams provide broader market insights. Ultimately, collaboration among sales teams is vital for effective resource allocation and strategic planning. Regularly Review and Adjust Forecasts To maintain accuracy and relevance in sales forecasting, it’s vital to regularly review and adjust your forecasts. This ongoing process guarantees your projections reflect real-time market conditions and internal changes. Here are four key practices to improve your sales forecasting: Monthly or Quarterly Updates: Regularly review forecasts to stay responsive to market fluctuations. Continuous Review of Forecasts: Identify potential issues early, enabling proactive problem-solving. Incorporate Sales Teams Feedback: Leverage insights from your sales team to improve forecast accuracy. Align with Actual Performance: Regular adjustments based on actual sales data can boost accuracy by up to 10%. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Techniques for Sales Forecasting? To effectively forecast sales, you can utilize several techniques. Time series forecasting analyzes historical sales data to identify patterns, whereas regression analysis examines the relationship between various factors influencing sales. Opportunity stage forecasting evaluates deals in your sales pipeline, assigning probabilities of closure. Furthermore, scenario planning prepares you for different market conditions, and combining qualitative insights from sales conversations with quantitative data can improve accuracy, leading to more informed decision-making. How to Improve Your Sales Forecasting? To improve your sales forecasting, start by analyzing historical sales data and industry trends. Incorporate both qualitative and quantitative insights for a thorough view. Utilize multiple forecasting methodologies, such as time series and regression analysis, to boost accuracy. Regularly update your forecasts based on real-time market changes, ensuring they remain relevant. Implement a standardized sales process and use CRM systems for better data collection, which will help maintain consistency and reliability in your forecasts. What Are the Major Techniques of Forecasting? When considering major forecasting techniques, you’ll encounter various methods like time series analysis, which predicts future sales based on historical trends, and regression analysis, which examines relationships between sales and influencing factors. Opportunity stage forecasting evaluates the likelihood of deals closing based on their pipeline status. Furthermore, lead scoring improves accuracy by identifying high-potential leads. Each technique serves different purposes and can greatly impact your sales predictions and strategic planning. What Are the 4 Principles of Forecasting? The four