Category: 3. Business

Rachel Reeves is facing pushback from some major investment platforms on a proposal to revamp individual savings accounts, a setback for the UK Chancellor less than two weeks ahead of her budget.

The Treasury asked retail investing firms in recent weeks to come up with a voluntary commitment for a minimum allocation to British stocks, according to people with knowledge of the talks. Providers catering to mom-and-pop investors include Hargreaves Lansdown Ltd., AJ Bell Plc, Aberdeen Group Plc’s Interactive Investor, Fidelity International, Vanguard Group Inc. and Quilter Plc.

Mitsubishi Electric (TSE:6503) shares have seen some movement recently, sparking fresh interest in the company’s fundamentals and long-term outlook. Investors are considering the latest trends that could shape the next phase for this well-known Japanese industrial player.

See our latest analysis for Mitsubishi Electric.

The share price has surged over 57% year-to-date, reflecting a strong shift in sentiment that is also evident in the stellar 57% total shareholder return over the past year. While recent weeks saw a slight dip, long-term investors have enjoyed remarkable multi-year gains, suggesting that momentum is still in Mitsubishi Electric’s favour as the market responds to its latest moves and ongoing innovation.

If you’re interested in expanding your search beyond industry giants, it could be the perfect time to discover fast growing stocks with high insider ownership.

With the stock not far from analysts’ price targets, investors are left to debate whether Mitsubishi Electric is still trading at an attractive value or if optimistic future growth is already factored in.

With the current share price sitting notably above its consensus fair value, Mitsubishi Electric’s most discussed narrative points to a premium market valuation. Investors are weighing whether recent performance and bold growth projections truly justify this level.

Expansion in the Energy Systems and Public Utility segments is driven by ongoing investments in power distribution and the transition toward electrification and energy efficiency, supported by worldwide decarbonization initiatives. This should result in higher recurring revenues and improved net margins as Mitsubishi Electric benefits from secular shifts to sustainable infrastructure.

Read the complete narrative.

Curious about what financial assumptions drive this ambitious outlook? The real story hinges on projected gains in revenue and profitability, as well as future profit multiples that hint at a tech-level growth premium. Want to know exactly which performance levers are moving the fair value target? Uncover the surprising factors that may shape Mitsubishi Electric’s valuation narrative.

Result: Fair Value of ¥3,668.38 (OVERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, intensifying competition and rapid shifts toward digital solutions could challenge Mitsubishi Electric’s profit margins and limit its ability to sustain recent growth.

Find out about the key risks to this Mitsubishi Electric narrative.

Looking at earnings multiples, Mitsubishi Electric trades at 21.9 times earnings, which is lower than the peer average of 23 times. However, it is noticeably higher than the Japanese Electrical industry at 13.8 times. The fair ratio stands even higher at 26.5 times, suggesting some room to grow if the market becomes more favorable, or risk if sentiment weakens. Do multiples clarify whether the stock is a bargain, or do they simply add to the debate?

See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown.

If you see things differently or enjoy digging into the numbers yourself, you can build your own take in just a few minutes. Do it your way.

A good starting point is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards investors are optimistic about regarding Mitsubishi Electric.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include 6503.T.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com

Meteoric levels of investment in AI infrastructure have sparked concerns that Big Tech’s latest boom is veering into bubble territory. So, is Meta, along with the rest of Silicon Valley, overspending on AI?

“Clearly no Meta executive would ever answer that question with a ‘yes,’” Alex Schultz, Meta’s CMO and VP of analytics, said in an interview with Business Insider at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon this week.

Meta plans to spend up to $72 billion this year on AI infrastructure, and has said spending will climb higher next year. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this year that he’d rather risk “misspending a couple of hundred billion dollars” than be late to the development of superintelligence. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and privately held AI companies like OpenAI are logging record-breaking capital expenditures on all things AI. That includes chips and data centers, as well as big salaries to attract and retain top AI research and engineering talent.

There are eyewatering sums of money at play, but Schultz said that, compared to historical bubbles, the current trend is not huge as a percentage of the sector’s market capitalization or revenue. Compared to the US railroad bubble of the late 19th century, “it seems aggressive, but not crazy,” said Schultz of the current AI boom.

In an October research note, Goldman Sachs analysts estimated that AI-related investment in the US is under 1% of GDP, compared with the 2% to 5% of GDP reached during earlier technology booms, including the railroad expansion.

Schultz said Meta’s AI investments are already translating into billions of dollars in revenue for the company, as they improve its advertising tools and content ranking algorithms. Meta is expected to ring in around $200 billion in revenue this year and is trading at a market cap of about $1.5 trillion.

Schultz said the biggest AI-powered revolution for Meta has been its more sophisticated content recommendation system. He said this was necessary because the majority of time spent on Facebook and Instagram now is people looking at “unconnected content” — content that isn’t from a friend, or from a page or group you actively follow.

“If we hadn’t made that pivot, how much smaller would we be as a company today?” Schultz said. “We managed a massive disruption without becoming irrelevant, and it is incremental to our business.”

Schultz said the Meta AI app’s newly released Vibes feed — a feed of short-form, purely AI-generated video content — represents “probably a large chunk of the future” for the company and has demonstrated “good retention” of users so far once they use it. (Vibes has been panned by many online as “AI slop.”)

Video-generation models require more computing power than text or image ones, creating huge energy demands that have the potential to strain power grids and water supplies. The popularity of apps like OpenAI’s Sora has sparked questions about whether the entertainment value is worth it for the environmental trade-offs.

“Vibes isn’t that big — it’s not draining lakes or using multiple nuclear power stations,” Schultz said. He added that it’s one of many experiments the company is working on to train and learn from its AI models.

“There’s sort of this Western European Calvinist streak to society that’s like, doing nice things that are fun is not what life’s about,” Schultz said. “And life is about doing nice things that are fun, and we do all the other stuff so that we can do nice things that are fun.”

The AI wave has prompted what Schultz described as productive conversations about the safety of nuclear power stations and the use of desalination plants to produce freshwater from seawater.

“In general, humanity has the ability to have a lot more abundance than it does,” Schultz said.

Gold prices declined in international and domestic markets on Saturday. In the international bullion market, gold dropped $91 per ounce to $4,083.

In local markets, the price of gold per tola fell by Rs9,100 to Rs430,662, while 10 grams of gold decreased by Rs7,799 to Rs369,223.

Spot gold was down 1.9% at $4,092.72 per ounce as of 02:33 p.m. ET (1933 GMT), after earlier sliding more than 3%. Despite the fall, bullion is up 2.3% so far this week.

Read: Gold prices rise despite global dip

In other metals, spot silver edged down 2.8% to $50.84 per ounce but is still up 5.2% for the week.

Earlier this week, gold prices in Pakistan edged higher on Tuesday, continuing their upward trend despite a slight decline in international markets.

Locally, the price per tola rose from Rs5,900 to Rs435,762, while 10-gram gold was sold for Rs373,595, up Rs5,065, according to the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA).

On Monday, gold had surged by Rs7,400 per tola, closing at Rs429,862. Internationally, gold prices eased slightly on Tuesday after hitting a near three-week high earlier, as traders booked profits.

Market optimism over the potential resumption of US economic data releases and hopes that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates next month helped limit losses.

Adnan Agar, Director of Interactive Commodities, while commenting on market dynamics, noted that gold’s daily high reached $4,148, with a low of $4,097. “After touching the high, prices dipped about $40, when the US session opened.

There is strong support at $4,155; if breached, gold could rise to $4,200-4,220. However, if resistance holds, it may retract to $4,080-4,050,” he said.

“We just got into good resistance around the halfway back point and that probably prompted some profit-taking on longs after Monday’s strong gains and perhaps a little bit of speculative selling up there as well,” said Peter Grant, Vice President and Senior Metals Strategist at Zaner Metals.

Read More: Gold prices rise in global, local markets

The US Senate on Monday approved a compromise that would end the longest government shutdown on record. The shutdown has triggered a data blackout, leaving policymakers and markets without key indicators on jobs and inflation.

The central bank trimmed rates at its latest meeting, but Chair Jerome Powell stressed that another cut this year was far from certain. Markets see a 64% chance of a rate cut in December, CME’s FedWatch Tool showed.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee edged higher against the US dollar on Tuesday, gaining 0.01% in the inter-bank market. It closed at 280.78, up Rs0.03 from the previous session. On Monday, the rupee had ended at 280.81.

According to Ismail Iqbal Securities, at the close of trading, the Pakistani rupee appreciated 0.01% day-on-day against the US dollar, settling at 280.78.

On a calendar year-to-date basis, the currency has depreciated 0.79%, while it has gained 1.06% in the fiscal year to date.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett
| Photo Credit:
SCOTT MORGAN

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. acquired 17.9 million shares of Google parent Alphabet Inc. during the third quarter, while further trimming its holdings in Bank of America Corp. and Apple Inc.

Berkshire’s Alphabet stake, representing 0.31% of the outstanding shares, was worth about $4.9 billion as of Friday’s market close, according to a regulatory filing.

Shares of Alphabet rose 1.6% to $280.86 in extended trading at 4:28 p.m. in New York.  

Buffett, 95, who plans to step down as chief executive officer at year-end, has been finding ways to deploy some of Berkshire’s cash pile, which rose to a record $382 billion at the end of the quarter. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate recently reached a deal to buy Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s petrochemical business for $9.7 billion and acquired a $1.6 billion stake in UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Berkshire trimmed its Apple stake by 15%, leaving it with a holding valued at $60.7 billion at the end of the quarter. The Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker still accounts for almost a quarter of Berkshire’s equity portfolio. 

The conglomerate sold 37.2 million Bank of America shares, leaving it with a 7.7% stake in the Wall Street firm.

Berkshire also exited its position in US home builder D.R. Horton Inc.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Published on November 15, 2025

Airlines have stepped in to offer “rescue flights” for Blue Islands passengers after the company’s collapse.

The Jersey-based operator, which employed about 100 staff, announced on Friday it had ceased trading and cancelled all bookings.

Aurigny and Loganair have said they are putting on extra flights to their schedules to help Blue Islands customers.

Loganair said it was putting on flights from Jersey to Guernsey, Exeter, Bristol and Southampton along with Guernsey to Southampton from Sunday, while Aurigny has added flights for the Southampton to Guernsey and Guernsey to Jersey routes “initially until Wednesday”.

Both airlines said special fares were being put on the flights to assist passengers who needed to travel on any of the affected routes.

A Loganair statement said: “We understand this will be a worrying time for those hoping to travel to and from Jersey and in response we’re starting operations from Sunday 16 November.”

An Aurigny spokesperson said the airline was “deeply saddened” about Blue Islands ceasing trading.

“Following the announcement that Blue Islands has entered administration, Aurigny is taking immediate action to assist Blue Islands customers across the Channel Islands,” the spokesperson added.