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Category: 3. Business

  • A multi-method analysis of employee-driven green service innovation in hotels based on the ability-motivation-opportunity framework

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  • Will AI kickstart a new age of nuclear power? – UN News

    1. Will AI kickstart a new age of nuclear power?  UN News
    2. NLR: This Is Why Uranium Prices Can Soar Like Gold And Silver  Seeking Alpha
    3. The Next Phase of the AI Boom May Not Come From Chipmakers  The Motley Fool
    4. The United States is considering an idea that was previously unthinkable: using old military nuclear reactors to power artificial intelligence data centers  ECOticias.com
    5. Power Struggle: Why Big Tech Is Buying Nuclear Stocks  Nasdaq

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  • A Look At Leidos Holdings (LDOS) Valuation After Strong Multi‑Year Shareholder Returns

    A Look At Leidos Holdings (LDOS) Valuation After Strong Multi‑Year Shareholder Returns

    Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide.

    Leidos Holdings (LDOS) has been drawing attention after a steady mix of recent share price moves, including a gain over the past month and the past 3 months, alongside solid reported revenue and net income figures.

    See our latest analysis for Leidos Holdings.

    At a latest share price of $194.70, Leidos Holdings has paired a 7.36% 1 month share price return with a 26.75% 1 year total shareholder return, while its 3 year total shareholder return of 110.18% points to sustained momentum rather than a short term spike.

    If you are looking beyond Leidos in the government and security space, this could be a useful moment to scan other aerospace and defense stocks that might fit a similar profile.

    With Leidos trading around $194.70 and screens suggesting an intrinsic discount of about 33%, the key question is whether the market is still underestimating its prospects or if recent gains already reflect future growth.

    Against the last close of US$194.70, the most followed narrative points to a higher fair value of about US$219.85, built on measured growth and resilient margins.

    The business mix is shifting towards recurring, service-based and software-driven revenue streams (logistics, health IT, cloud-native platforms), enhancing earnings visibility and stability, which is expected to support higher long-term valuation multiples as the market recognizes improved predictability in cash flow and profit growth.

    Read the complete narrative.

    If you are curious about what earnings path and margin profile sit behind that premium multiple view, and how recurring contracts and buybacks feed into the valuation story, read on.

    Result: Fair Value of $219.85 (UNDERVALUED)

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

    However, this view can crack if US federal funding priorities shift, or if acquisition integration issues and pricing pressure start to weigh on margins.

    Find out about the key risks to this Leidos Holdings narrative.

    If you see the story differently or want to test your own assumptions against the numbers, you can quickly build a custom thesis in minutes using Do it your way.

    A great starting point for your Leidos Holdings research is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.

    If you stop with just one stock, you could miss out on other opportunities that fit your style, so consider widening your search with a few focused screens.

    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 LDOS.

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

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  • Google appeals landmark antitrust verdict over search monopoly

    Google appeals landmark antitrust verdict over search monopoly

    Google has appealed a US district judge’s landmark antitrust ruling that found the company illegally held a monopoly in online search.

    “As we have long said, the Court’s August 2024 ruling ignored the reality that people use Google because they want to, not because they’re forced to,” Google’s vice president for regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said.

    In its announcement on Friday, Google said the ruling by Judge Amit Mehta didn’t account for the pace of innovation and intense competition the company faces.

    The company is requesting a pause on implementing a series of fixes – viewed by some observers as too lenient – aimed at limiting its monopoly power.

    Judge Mehta acknowledged the rapid changes to the Google’s business when he issued his remedies in September, writing that the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) had changed the course of the case.

    He refused to grant government lawyers their request for a Google breakup that would include a spin-off of Chrome, the world’s most popular browser.

    Instead, he pushed less rigorous remedies, including a requirement that Google share certain data with “qualified competitors” as deemed by the court.

    That data was due to include portions of its search index, Google’s massive inventory of web content that functions like a map of the internet.

    The judge also called for Google to allow certain competitors to display the tech giant’s search results as their own in a bid to give upstarts the time and resources they need to innovate.

    On Friday, Mulholland balked at being forced to share search data and syndication services with rivals as she justified the request for a halt to implementing the orders.

    “These mandates would risk Americans’ privacy and discourage competitors from building their own products — ultimately stifling the innovation that keeps the U.S. at the forefront of global technology,” Mulholland wrote.

    While the company has investigated growing sums of cash into AI, those ambitions have come under scrutiny.

    Last month, the EU opened an investigation into Google over its AI summaries which appear above search results.

    The European Commission said it would probe whether Google used data from websites to provide the service and failed to offer appropriate compensation to publishers.

    Google said the investigation risked stifling innovation in a competitive market.

    This week, Google parent Alphabet became the fourth company ever to reach a market capitalisation of $4tn.

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  • Key HR Trends Transforming Health Care in 2026 | SPARK Blog

    Key HR Trends Transforming Health Care in 2026 | SPARK Blog



    Trends


    Part of a series  |  2026 HR Trends Series







    Discover the HR trends transforming health care, including rapid change driven by artificial intelligence (AI), evolving care models and rising employee expectations.

    Health care is changing at an unprecedented speed. Work has become more technology-enabled with AI, while employee expectations around fairness, well-being and trust continue to rise. For HR leaders, the challenge is navigating these changes in a way that strengthens care teams, without losing human judgment or accountability.

    Against this backdrop, here are the HR trends that will matter most for health care in 2026. Use them to guide your HR strategy as you respond to related developments throughout the year.

    Skills-focused workforce planning

    Persistent staffing shortages and evolving care models are pushing HR teams in the health-care sector to rethink how roles are defined and filled. In 2026, job titles alone often fail to reflect how work gets done as telehealth, team-based care and AI-assisted tools impact responsibilities.

    As a result, some organizations are shifting toward skills-focused workforce planning, prioritizing specific competencies in hiring and development over rigid job titles. This approach provides greater talent flexibility and better aligns workforce capabilities with patient demand.

    This adjustment is not without its challenges, however. ADP’s 2025 HR trends study found that about 65% of midsized and large employers report difficulty providing meaningful skills development, even as 84% expect AI to streamline work without replacing people.

    Responsible AI adoption

    AI continues to play a large role in the health-care industry, particularly in scheduling, recruiting and workforce analytics. When used well, these tools can help teams respond more quickly to staffing needs and reduce administrative burden. In a regulated industry like health care, however, responsible adoption is essential.

    AI-generated recommendations must be reviewed in context, with human oversight, to ensure decisions reflect clinical realities, patient safety and fair employment practices. Efficiency matters, but not at the expense of trust or care quality.

    Workforce well-being

    Burnout continues to affect health-care workers, driving turnover and compounding staffing pressures. As a result, HR leaders are increasingly focused on holistic well-being strategies that address mental, physical and financial stressors. That includes providing access to meaningful workplace benefits.

    Providing holistic well-being support is easier said than done, however. ADP’s 2025 HR trends study found that roughly 90% of organizations say they feel responsible for employee well-being, yet many lack confidence in delivering the right support.

    AI in employment decisions

    The growing use of AI in HR is raising new compliance questions around hiring, promotions and workforce analytics. Emerging regulations are placing greater emphasis on transparency, accountability and fairness, including new state requirements that limit certain AI uses in employment decisions — for example, those that could result in employment discrimination under state civil rights law.

    When HR teams use AI in health-care contexts, each use must align with regulatory expectations and ethical standards. Examples include providing safeguards to prevent unintended bias against protected characteristics, such as race, gender, age or disability, while practices such as bias audits and human review are essential when AI influences employment decisions.

    Pay transparency and benefits compliance

    Pay transparency and benefits requirements continue to expand across jurisdictions, including new European Union (EU) rules taking effect in mid-2026 that require salary-range disclosures and gender-neutral pay criteria, as well as new pay transparency laws emerging in states such as Massachusetts and Delaware.

    For health-care employers operating across multiple regions, these changes add complexity around pay equity, protected leave and the taxation of wages and benefits.

    To adapt, health-care teams need consistent pay practices, accurate records and close coordination across HR, payroll and legal. These efforts not only reduce compliance risk but also reinforce employee trust by supporting fairness and transparency in compensation and benefits practices.

    AI governance

    AI governance has become a core responsibility for HR leaders working in health care. It’s not enough to deploy tools within an organization and assume they will perform as intended. HR teams must monitor how AI is used, review outcomes for fairness and accuracy and ensure decisions remain compliant with changing regulations. Clear governance frameworks can help ensure HR technology supports ethical, consistent workforce decisions rather than introducing new risk.

    HR technology integration

    HR technology integration remains a persistent challenge in the health-care field. Systems supporting credentialing, payroll scheduling and employee access often span HR, IT and operations. When these systems are aligned, organizations can reduce errors and create a smoother employee experience. When they are not, inefficiencies and compliance gaps quickly emerge. As technology ecosystems grow more complex, coordination across teams becomes essential.

    Automation with oversight

    Automation can reduce administrative burden across HR functions, from onboarding workflows to timekeeping and benefits administration. In health care, however, automation must be applied carefully.

    Repetitive tasks can be streamlined, but decisions that affect patient care or clinical staffing require human judgment. The most effective approaches use automation to support HR teams, without replacing accountability.

    Balancing innovation and judgment

    One theme cuts across every major HR trend in health care: balance. New tools and technologies are reshaping how work gets done, but human judgment remains essential. In 2026, the most effective organizations will combine innovation with a clear understanding of workforce realities and regulatory expectations.

    For more insights on the HR trends shaping 2026, download ADP’s 2026 HR trends guidebook.

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  • Section of East Coast train line closes for nine days

    Section of East Coast train line closes for nine days

    Train passengers on the East Coast rail line, which runs between London and Aberdeen, are being warned part of the route is shut for the next nine days.

    Network Rail says electrification work requires complete closure of the line west of Edinburgh from Saturday until 25 January.

    Engineering work between Haymarket and Dalmeny is part of a £340m electrification project which Network Rail says is designed to deliver greener, more reliable services in future.

    Some bridges are being rebuilt and raised, or tracks lowered to make room for overhead line installation.

    ScotRail says thousands of passengers a day will be affected and they should check on services before travelling.

    Some trains are being diverted through Stirling and Perth, whilst others are replaced by buses.

    Mark Ilderton, ScotRail’s service delivery director, described the works as “significant”.

    “Network Rail’s upcoming work is a vital stage in the Fife electrification project, paving the way for long-term improvements that will benefit customers for years to come,” he said.

    “We’ve put alternative travel plans in place to help keep people moving, and we encourage customers to take a moment to check their options before travelling.

    “Some journeys may take longer than usual, so planning ahead will make things easier.

    “Our website and the ScotRail app have the latest information, and we’ll continue to provide clear updates and support throughout the works.”

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  • Amazon’s statement on White House data center energy announcement

    Amazon’s statement on White House data center energy announcement

    “Today the Trump Administration announced a plan to build a more reliable and affordable electricity supply for Americans in the mid-Atlantic. We share the goal of ensuring affordable, reliable energy for American families and our economy, and we applaud the bipartisanship emerging to tackle America’s outdated grid challenges. Amazon is paying our full energy costs and is committed to ensuring our data centers don’t increase consumers’ electricity bills, and we’ve been clear that every major energy user should do the same. We’re working with grid operators, utilities, and other partners to ensure the grid is prepared to meet future demand and that costs are not passed on to ratepayers.”

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  • Is Parsons (PSN) Pricing Look Attractive After Recent Share Price Volatility

    Is Parsons (PSN) Pricing Look Attractive After Recent Share Price Volatility

    Find winning stocks in any market cycle. Join 7 million investors using Simply Wall St’s investing ideas for FREE.

    • If you are wondering whether Parsons shares offer fair value right now, the key is to look past the headline price and focus on what the market is really pricing in.

    • The stock last closed at US$72.22, with returns of 5.9% over 7 days, 17.1% over 30 days, 16.1% year to date, and a 24.3% decline over 1 year. The 3 year and 5 year returns stand at 71.6% and 89.0% respectively.

    • These mixed returns give important context for any valuation work, as they hint that investor expectations and risk perceptions have shifted at different points over the last few years. Recent company news and sector developments, including contract activity and broader market sentiment toward government and infrastructure related services, help explain why the share price has not moved in a straight line.

    • Simply Wall St currently gives Parsons a valuation score of 3 out of 6 based on its checks for potential undervaluation. Next we will look at what that means across different valuation methods, before finishing with a simple framework that can often give an even clearer view of value.

    Find out why Parsons’s -24.3% return over the last year is lagging behind its peers.

    A Discounted Cash Flow, or DCF, model estimates what a business could be worth today by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting those cash flows back to a present value.

    For Parsons, Simply Wall St uses a 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity model based on cash flow projections. The latest twelve month free cash flow is about $388.6 million, and analysts plus modelled estimates project free cash flow reaching around $619.6 million in 2035, with interim projections such as $390.6 million in 2026 and $495 million in 2028. All of these figures are in US$ and are below $1b, so they remain in the hundreds of millions range.

    When these projected cash flows are discounted back and combined, the model arrives at an estimated intrinsic value of about $101.65 per share. Compared with the recent share price of $72.22, this implies an intrinsic discount of roughly 29.0%, which indicates that Parsons is trading below this DCF estimate.

    Result: UNDERVALUED

    Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests Parsons is undervalued by 29.0%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 869 more undervalued stocks based on cash flows.

    PSN Discounted Cash Flow as at Jan 2026

    Head to the Valuation section of our Company Report for more details on how we arrive at this Fair Value for Parsons.

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  • Fitch Downgrades Brightline Trains Florida's Sr. PABs to 'CCC' and Brightline East's Notes to 'CC' – Fitch Ratings

    Fitch Downgrades Brightline Trains Florida's Sr. PABs to 'CCC' and Brightline East's Notes to 'CC' – Fitch Ratings

    1. Fitch Downgrades Brightline Trains Florida’s Sr. PABs to ‘CCC’ and Brightline East’s Notes to ‘CC’  Fitch Ratings
    2. Brightline defers Jan. 15 interest payment on subordinate debt  Bond Buyer
    3. Brightline’s Bond Rating Lowered to ‘Junk’ Status as Debt Mounts Despite High Ridership  Planetizen
    4. Brightline Taps Reserve Account to Make Payment on Muni Debt  Bloomberg.com
    5. Debt-ridden Brightline faces ‘probable’ default  Vero News

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  • France Expands BOT–BAL Immunotherapy Access for Ovarian Cancer and Soft Tissue Sarcoma

    France Expands BOT–BAL Immunotherapy Access for Ovarian Cancer and Soft Tissue Sarcoma

    Combination therapy of botensilimab (BOT) plus balstilimab (BAL) was approved Monday as an updated national treatment protocol for patients with certain ovarian cancers and soft tissue sarcomas (STS) by France’s National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM).1

    BOT plus BAL was originally approved to treat microsatellite-stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer without active liver metastases. The extension, now approved for STS, will help address unmet medical needs in the disease space and allow more patients with advanced solid tumors access to the dual therapy.

    What Is Botensilimab Plus Balstilimab? Mechanism and Clinical Use

    The inclusion of BOT plus Bal, a chemotherapy- and radiation-free immunotherapy, was based on findings from a phase 1b multicenter clinical trial (NCT03860272). While it is still being evaluated in clinical studies, it is available in a compassionate access setting authorized by ANSM. These settings refer to expanded access to investigational medical product treatments outside of clinical trials for patients with a serious or immediately life-threatening disease or condition.2 BOT is a human Fc-enhanced multifunctional anti-CTLA-4 antibody designed to boost both innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. It augments immune responses across a wide variety of tumor types by priming and activating T cells, downregulating intratumoral regulatory T cells, activating myeloid cells, and inducing long-term memory responses.1

    BAL is a novel, fully human monoclonal immunoglobulin G4 designed to block programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) from interacting with its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2. Numerous research studies observed antitumor activity in heavily pretreated patients with BOT plus BAL therapy. These results show promise for targeting tumors that have historically demonstrated limited responsiveness to standard immunotherapy treatments.

    France Expands National Access to BOT–BAL Through Early Access and Global Partnerships

    Under Frances’s Autorisation d’Accès Compassionnel (AAC) framework, BOT plus BAL therapy is fully reimbursed. The AAC pathways allow patients with serious or life-threatening diseases who lack appropriate therapeutic alternatives to access hospital-based treatments. Aside from advanced or metastatic STS, the AAC reimburses BOT plus BAL therapy for MSS metastatic colorectal cancer without active liver metastases and platinum-refractory or platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.

    The implementation of a multi-tumor early access framework under one nationally standardized protocol represents an unusual level of national early access. However, this expansion of AAC reimbursement for colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, and STS allows equitable access for patients to receive consistent hospital-based care for an investigational treatment.

    In addition to expanding access across France, Agenus, a clinical-stage biotechnology company and biologic manufacturer of BOL plus BAL, recently announced its partnership with Zydus Lifesciences Ltd, an Indian pharmaceutical company, to accelerate global development.3

    The $141 million collaboration has granted Zydus exclusive rights to develop and commercialize BOT plus BAL in India and Sri Lanka. The collaboration announced in June 2025 will include an upfront consideration of $75 million cash for transferring biologics manufacturing facilities; an equity investment purchased by Zydus of Agenus of $16 million; a contingent milestone payment of up to $50 million to Agenus for BOT plus Bal production orders; and an exclusive license by Zydus with the rights to develop, for which Agenus is eligible to receive a 5% royalty on net sales.

    “With these foundations in place, our focus in 2026 is disciplined execution—advancing our Phase 3 program, broadening paid patient access through authorized pathways, and progressing toward regulatory submission,” Garo Armen, PhD, chairman and chief executive officer of Agenus, said in a press release.

    References

    1. France expands national AAC access for Agenus’ Botensilimab + Balstilimab for ovarian cancer and soft-tissue sarcomas. News release. BioSpace. January 12, 2026. Accessed January 15, 2026. https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/france-expands-national-aac-access-for-agenus-botensilimab-balstilimab-for-ovarian-cancer-and-soft-tissue-sarcomas

    2. Expanded access. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. August 9, 2025. Accessed January 15, 2026. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/expanded-access

    3. Agenus announces closing of $141M strategic collaboration with Zydus Lifesciences to advance BOT+BAL and strengthen U.S. Manufacturing Readiness. Agenus. News release. January 15, 2026. Accessed January 15, 2026. https://investor.agenusbio.com/news/news-details/2026/Agenus-Announces-Closing-of-141M-Strategic-Collaboration-with-Zydus-Lifesciences-to-Advance-BOTBAL-and-Strengthen-U-S–Manufacturing-Readiness/default.aspx

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