While direct lending to sponsor-backed software companies was a winning formula for much of the past decade, the model has come under pressure as AI disruption has called into question long-term growth assumptions across parts of the sector. Beyond this segment, however, private credit spans a far wider universe: structured credit, asset-backed finance, real-asset lending secured by aircraft and infrastructure, and convertibles. Europe, and now Asia, are attracting increasing amounts of capital amidst clear funding gaps due to risk-averse banking systems and over-regulation. A well-constructed multi-strategy portfolio, where no single sector exceeds 5% of exposure, may be only marginally impacted even by a structural shift such as the rise of artificial intelligence. More generally, when you extrapolate from gated semi-liquid retail vehicles to the collapse of private markets as a whole, you are prey to a well-known heuristic. Research on geopolitical shocks and investor decision-making shows that analysts and investors alike tend to reach for the most dramatic historical precedents (the 1907 trust company panic and the global financial crisis), rather than the more numerous and more probable mundane outcomes. The GFC comparison fails on its own structural terms. The 2007 to 2009 crisis was a funding-mismatch catastrophe: overnight asset-backed commercial paper financing illiquid mortgage assets, with 30x to 40x leverage and no transparency. Today’s private credit is senior secured floating-rate lending, 1x to 1.25x leverage at the BDC level, with quarterly gating that functions as the lender-of-last-resort. Moreover, gating is a feature of private markets, not a bug. The gates are not evidence of systemic failure; they are the mechanism working exactly as designed, preventing forced sales at the worst moment. Long-term investors deliberately accept this illiquidity in exchange for a premium. Private credit has a concentration problem in one segment, a temporary redemption management challenge in one product type, and a sentiment problem in one distribution channel (retail investors). It does not have a systemic solvency problem or a funding-mismatch crisis. Preqin’s November 2025 survey found that 81% of limited partners plan to hold or increase private credit commitments. The asset class is on track to reach $4.5 trillion by 2030. Private markets are less standardized, with more bespoke risk-return drivers, and a greater emphasis on manager selection and underwriting skills. They are an investment universe, not an asset class, and because of that, they are not correlated. The problem is that private markets have only recently stepped into the public discourse, and the conversation has not yet caught up with the complexity they demand. Financial journalists, for the most part, approach them with scant knowledge and a public markets mindset, reaching for familiar frameworks that simply do not apply. Volatility, liquidity, and daily pricing are largely beside the point in private markets, yet they remain the default lens. Practitioners bear some responsibility too: the industry has long been guilty of speaking to itself, wrapping straightforward concepts in layers of alienating jargon. The result of this mismatch is that retail investors, bombarded with half-formed narratives and sensational headlines, are left poorly equipped to evaluate the opportunity. Professional investors, who know more have little incentive to correct the record. And panicky headlines that claim “the music has stopped” or “the bubble is bursting” do far more to stoke anxiety than to illuminate reality, leaving the very investors who might benefit most from private markets on the sidelines. Alfonso Ricciardelli, CFA, is a co-editor of CFA Institute Research Foundation’s An Introduction to Alternative Credit. source

Guzman y Gomez will exit the US market and close its Chicago restaurants with immediate effect, after deciding the business was unlikely to deliver the performance needed to justify further investment. The ASX-listed Mexican fast-food chain said its US operations had made progress on brand building, guest experience and operational standards, but financial performance had not met its targets. Founder and co-CEO Steven Marks said the decision followed three months spent in the US assessing the business. “I have always been confident in the differentiation of our food and guest experience, however this was not translating to an improvement in sales momentum. Having spent the last 3 months in the US, I realised this was going to take significantly more time and capital than we had expected,” Marks said. SEE MORE: Claire West steps up as GYG global CMO “In assessing the trajectory of the current network, the Board and I have concluded that the business is unlikely to deliver the performance that would justify continued investment of shareholder capital.” The move shifts attention back to Australia, where GYG said its business remains in a strong position with solid growth, strong unit economics and a significant pipeline of future restaurant sites. The company remains on track to open 32 restaurants in Australia this financial year and expects to deliver Australia Segment underlying EBITDA of about $85 million in FY26, representing 29% growth on the prior year. Marks said concentrating capital and infrastructure behind the Australian opportunity was the clearest path to long-term value creation. “We have a long runway ahead of us in Australia as we progress towards our long-term target of 1,000 restaurants and segment underlying EBITDA as a percentage of network sales of 10%,” Marks said. “Concentrating our capital, focus and infrastructure behind this opportunity is the most effective way to compound shareholder value over the long-term.” GYG said the US exit does not change its belief in the global appeal of the brand, but signals a more disciplined approach to international expansion. The company pointed to Singapore and Japan as stronger examples of its international model, where master franchise partners continue to deliver sales growth and healthy unit economics. Both markets are planning new restaurant openings in the next 12 months, with Singapore opening its 24th restaurant earlier this week. “We are very proud of our international partners in Singapore and Japan and see substantial growth ahead in each market. Beyond Singapore and Japan, we continue to believe there will be the right opportunities, in the right markets, with the right models,” Marks said. “When those opportunities arrive, we will be ready. Today’s decision is about the US specifically, it is not a statement about GYG’s global potential.” The US exit is expected to result in a one-off profit and loss impact of between US$30 million and US$40 million in GYG’s 2026 full year results, subject to audit review. The cash component of the exit costs is not expected to exceed US$15 million and includes lease liabilities, employee costs, contractual commitments and other exit costs. GYG said the one-off items are not expected to affect its final dividend for FY26. The company’s buyback program will remain active, with its blackout period now starting from the close of ASX trading on 30 June 2026. source

At various facilities around the world, hundreds of brains wait in a cryopreserved state in the hopes that one day, death from a terminal illness may be considered a transient condition. Whether these frozen blocks of grey matter retain enough integrity to reignite a conscious mind is a matter of debate. As technology progresses, however, a surprising number of doctors believe we may one day achieve the critical level of preservation needed for the dead to be woken. A survey conducted by researchers from Monash University in Australia, the European Biostasis Foundation in Switzerland, and Apex Neuroscience in the US found nearly 30% of American-registered physicians think it’s somewhat plausible that we’ll invent the ideal conditions for a brain to retain enough neural information to function well after death. Even among the 70% of medical providers who were sceptical that we’d ever grant return tickets from the hereafter, there was room to assist terminally ill patients who nonetheless desired neurological preservation. Most of those surveyed – nearly 60% – saw no conflict between compassionate care and supporting actions that preserved the body. Half of the physicians were comfortable with their patients electing for their brains to be preserved, and around 44% supported initiating preservation before cardiac arrest. Yet for a few, the line between patient desires for a return and care for their health in this life was one they weren’t willing to cross. Scientists have been putting dying bodies on ice since the 1960s with the intention of returning them to life once medical technology catches up with our expectations. Unfortunately, the very process of freezing tissues can physically disrupt their structures and functions to the point of no return. At best, valuable connections can be lost. At worst, whole cells are obliterated, popped like tiny balloons as their liquid contents expand. While some ponder ways to repair the damage, others search for better methods to stabilize delicate tissues before they are put into stasis. There are, on occasion, good reasons for optimism. A study published in 2024 demonstrated a new method of preserving human brain tissue that didn’t break up the neural architecture or disrupt its functionality. Earlier this year, neurological activity was observed in sections of mouse brains after they had been turned into a glass-like state using a process of vitrification. While it’s far from a return from death, the findings demonstrate that functionality isn’t necessarily destroyed in preserved cells. To individuals diagnosed with a life-ending illness, eternity on ice may seem little different from other forms of funerary custom. If there’s any hope of buying a little more time on this mortal coil, it seems fair to try. Physicians, however, are tasked with extending this life as much as possible. To better understand their perspective, Monash neuroscientist Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, European Biostasis Foundation board president Emil F. Kendziorra, and Apex Neuroscience physician-scientist Andrew T. McKenzie asked 150 primary care physicians and 184 other medical specialists a series of questions. From their answers, they found a mix of views on how to balance patient care for the here and now with practices that ensured their brains could be in the best state for preservation after cardiac arrest. While most were willing to prescribe anti-coagulants to improve the quality of preservation, for example, around one in five doctors were concerned about conflicts between optimal standards of care between living and preserved states. “A lot of physician hesitancy may come from simple unfamiliarity with the scientific basis of modern preservation methods,” says Zeleznikow-Johnston, who led the study. “The doctors who have actually thought about this – and who regularly sit with dying patients – tend to be more receptive, not less.” This research was published in PLOS One Source: Scimex Fact-checked by: Bronwyn Thompson source

Dow Jones futures rose slightly early Thursday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Crude oil prices continued to slide on Iran deal hopes.  Arm Holdings (ARM), Coherent (COHR) and Albemarle (ALB) were key earnings movers The stock market rallied strongly Wednesday on Iran deal hopes and generally strong earnings. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and small-cap Russell 2000 all… Copyright ©2026 Investor’s Business Daily, LLC. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8 source

Singapore is looking to deepen its position as a trusted AI-powered financial hub, with deputy prime minister (DPM) Gan Kim Yong urging businesses and financial institutions to move beyond AI experimentation and towards enterprise-wide adoption. Speaking at the “Trust and AI: Navigating a world in transition” leaders’ dialogue hosted by DBS alongside CEO Tan Su Shan, DPM Gan said the next phase of competition among global financial centres will hinge not just on infrastructure and market depth, but on how responsibly and effectively AI is deployed. “Financial centres will also be judged by whether they can embrace and harness AI capabilities, and do so responsibly, deploy it at scale, preserve trust, ensure security, and nurture their people with the skills to work effectively and confidently with technology,” DPM Gan said. Don’t miss: Why StanChart’s ‘lower-value human’ layoffs became a PR problem, not just a job cuts announcement His comments come as Singapore ranked third globally in the newly launched “Global AI financial hub index” report, behind New York and San Francisco. DPM Gan described the ranking as “a strong vote of confidence” but warned against complacency, adding that Singapore’s future competitiveness would depend on its ability to scale AI adoption, create quality jobs and strengthen trust and governance frameworks around the technology. He said Singapore’s strategy would be ecosystem-led, positioning itself as a place where regulators, banks, insurers, asset managers and technology firms can collaborate to test and deploy AI solutions in real-world financial settings. “We cannot outspend the largest economies, nor build the biggest models. But we can be the place where useful AI solutions are developed, tested and deployed against real-world financial use cases,” he said. DPM Gan also stressed that AI adoption should not come at the expense of workers, acknowledging growing anxiety surrounding entry-level jobs and automation. “Growth remains essential. But in an age of AI and automation, growth may no longer generate jobs in the same way as before,” he said, adding that some jobs would inevitably be redesigned while others may disappear entirely. Instead, DPM Gan called on employers to focus on job redesign and workforce transformation alongside AI deployment, particularly in sectors such as finance where professionals can shift towards higher-value work involving judgement, client engagement and problem-solving. He said:  The future will not be about ‘AI skills’ in isolation. It will be about AI plus domain expertise. During the dialogue, DBS’ Tan raised concerns around workforce anxiety among younger workers and graduates entering an increasingly AI-driven economy. In response, DPM Gan said the government was working with institutes of higher learning to strengthen internship and traineeship programmes to better prepare students for changing workplace demands. “I think there is this sense of anxiety. This sense of anxiety is not unhealthy,” DPM Gan said. “They ought to be aware of the changing environment so that they are prepared for it.” Beyond talent and adoption, DPM Gan also highlighted the growing importance of trust, cybersecurity and resilience in the AI era. “The same technology that helps firms detect fraud can also help criminals carry out more harms,” he said, warning that AI-enabled cyberattacks and operational risks would become increasingly sophisticated. He added that Singapore’s reputation as a financial centre was built on trust, and maintaining that trust would require stronger AI governance, clearer accountability and robust cyber resilience measures. Separately, DPM Gan said Singapore remains open to global AI partnerships and talent as competition for AI leadership intensifies globally. He pointed to ongoing regional initiatives such as ASEAN’s Digital Economy Framework Agreement and suggested future collaborations could include joint AI capability development across the region. He also revealed that Singapore is developing an AI Park in one-north aimed at bringing together researchers, practitioners and businesses to strengthen the local AI ecosystem and support companies experimenting with AI adoption. “We hope that these leaders and champions of AI will be pathfinders, to show by example how AI can impact businesses, can help and enhance business competitiveness,” DPM Gan said. DPM Gan’s comments come as Singapore continues pushing for broader AI adoption across industries, despite many businesses still being in the early stages of implementation. According to a recent report by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, 71.5% of firms have yet to adopt AI, while only 28.5% have started integrating the technology into their operations. Of those, just 3.8% said AI had been fully embedded into core business processes, with most companies still in planning or pilot phases. The study, conducted between January and March 2026, surveyed 2,560 private sector establishments employing about 486,600 workers. Photo courtesy of Gan Kim Yong on Facebook. Related articles:  AI momentum builds across Southeast Asia, but gaps persist  AI use rises, but so do trust demands from Singaporeans  More companies miss revenue targets as AI and volatility reshape B2B growth    source

The Cabarita tiny house strikes a nice balance between spaciousness and portability. Designed for small families or full-time downsizers wanting a little extra space, the home features a light-filled and open interior with two bedrooms. Created by Removed Tiny Homes, the Cabarita is based on a triple-axle trailer and has a length of 9.6 m (31.5 ft), with a standard width of 2.4 m (7.9 ft), which is a decent size, but still doable if you want to move around regularly. It can optionally come in a wider variation too, though then you’d need to have it transported by truck. There’s also an optional deck area. The Cabarita tiny house’s living room has a high ceiling and includes a large picture windowRemoved Tiny Homes The home’s exterior is clad in metal, while the interior is finished in painted tongue and groove-style paneling and looks open and airy thanks to its high ceiling and generous glazing, including a large picture window and double glass doors. Its entrance opens onto the living room, which is furnished with a sofa and a small coffee table. The kitchen is placed nearby and is pretty large for a tiny house, occupying the lion’s share of the available floorspace downstairs. It has the basics that you’d expect, like a sink, a fridge, and an oven and induction cooktop, but also boasts a dishwasher, which is a rare luxury in a tiny house. There’s quite a lot of storage in there too, with both lower and upper cabinets. The bathroom is accessed from the kitchen and contains a glass-enclosed shower, a vanity sink, a flushing toilet, and a laundry area with a washer/dryer and a wardrobe. Louver windows help maximize airflow. There are two bedrooms in the Cabarita. The master bedroom is on the opposite side of the home to the living room, accessed from the bathroom. Due to its downstairs location it has ample headroom to stand upright. It contains a double bed and cabinetry, plus it has its own separate entrance to the outside. The secondary bedroom, meanwhile, is situated upstairs in the loft. Reached by a storage-integrated staircase, it has enough space for a double bed. Alternatively it could be used as an office or storage area – though the relatively low ceiling will mean putting a crawl or two on your agenda. The Cabarita tiny house has a length of 9.6 m (31.5 ft)Removed Tiny Homes The Cabarita is up for sale from AUD 145,990 (for reference, this works out at US$104,000). You’ll need to contact the firm directly for delivery rates. Source: Removed Tiny Homes source

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major stock indexes ventured into positive territory Thursday and held gains into the close, as Wall Street reacted to a surprise fall in jobless claims and a government investment plan to stoke quantum computing. News of the official initial public offering filing by aerospace pioneer SpaceX also boosted investor sentiment on the stock… Copyright ©2026 Investor’s Business Daily, LLC. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8 source

Every year, billions of tons of dust are lifted into the air and dispersed by winds across continents and oceans. This dust deposition has long been recognized as an important process that contributes to soil formation and delivers essential macro and micronutrients to soils. Since dust particles are rich in minerals such as phosphorus, iron, and potassium, scientists have wondered whether dust serves as an important source of nutrition for plants. A new study, published in New Phytologist in April, shows that some plants can enrich themselves by absorbing the essential minerals from dust through their leaves. While this mechanism of nutrient absorption (known as foliar uptake) is well-known, the study highlights an underexplored terrestrial nourishment pathway that plays a major role in plant nutrition in nutrient-poor and dust-affected ecosystems. “Nature continues to surprise us by revealing new mechanisms, even in systems we think we already understand well,” Marcelo Sternberg, a plant biologist at Tel Aviv University in Israel, tells Refractor, in an email. The study shows that “plants are not limited to taking up nutrients through their roots – they can also absorb nutrients directly from dust through their leaves.” To explore this terrestrial uptake pathway, Anton Lokshin at Tel Aviv University and his colleagues conducted a field experiment in a Mediterranean shrubland in Israel’s Judean Hills, a region known for its high annual deposits of mineral dust from the Arabian and Sahara deserts. Here, the team applied volcanic dust directly to the foliage of three common shrub species: Cistus creticus, Salvia fruticosa, and Teucrium capitatum. The volcanic dust contains a signature of rare earth elements that’s unlike the local soil, allowing researchers to show that nutrients were being absorbed through the leaves and not the roots. They found increased concentrations of micronutrients such as iron, manganese, nickel, and copper in the shoots of the plants dusted with volcanic ash. Meanwhile, the concentrations in their roots remained largely unchanged. By integrating field observations with dust deposition and nutrient estimates from different regions, the team found that foliar dust uptake could supply up to 17% of the iron that plants in the Western United States receive from soil annually, and up to 12% of the phosphorus in the Eastern Amazon. “The aspect that surprised me most personally was the realization that dust storms in eastern Mediterranean ecosystems are not only a geological or atmospheric phenomenon, but also a direct and biologically meaningful nutrient pathway for plants,” says Sternberg. When airborne dust settles on the leaves, the leaf surface creates a slightly acidic environment by secreting nutrient-solubilizing organic acids. A thin layer of acids helps dissolve minerals that otherwise remain unavailable. Sternberg told us that some plants have hairy leaves called trichomes – an adaptation for reducing leaf temperature, increasing albedo, and limiting water loss. “This study reveals a previously overlooked function: these leaf hairs can also trap dust particles and thereby enhance direct foliar uptake of nutrients from dust,” he concludes. The study has been published in New Phytologist. Fact-checked by Mike McRae source

The average $2 Bic lighter is great for lighting up a cigarette but not as great for lighting campfires or grills. Minnesota startup Radlight presents an intriguing alternative developed specifically for such outdoorsy tasks … and for fending off hypothermia when things really go south. Its oversized weatherproof lighter delivers a confident, reliable starter flame, even if you’re battling squall winds, horizontal rain or temperatures as low as -40. We’re not looking to knock Bics or other throwaway butane lighters. In fact, we have every intention of continuing to use them – they’re familiar, easy to operate, lightweight, readily pocketable and found at stores all over the map for a few bucks. And they do an excellent job when the task calls for lighting something from below, as their flame rises naturally upward. We can confirm, though, that basic spark-wheel disposables are not ideal when it comes to lighting a fire near the ground, when you need to angle the lighter head down under the tinder. The flame still rises straight upward …this time, right into your thumb. That’s not so bad if you can light it quickly and pull out of there, but if you’re having trouble getting it lit or lighting it in multiple places, it can take a serious toll on one’s thumb skin. That’s not to mention that the spark wheel tends to be small and entirely unfriendly to the gloves that could otherwise protect your thumb from the flame (and fingers from the frigid cold that inspired the fire in the first place). A little wind or water can also mean “lights out.” Radlight took home an Outdoor Innovation Award earlier this monthRadlight Radlight’s lighter, which we’re just gonna’ call the Radlighter to avoid continued redundancy, offers a more tailored solution specially designed for sparking fires in the wild, not so much for lighting cigarettes. The design starts with a hardwearing, oversized build aimed at in-field durability and reliable, easy use, trip after trip. The large flint wheel is designed to be operated with or without gloves on, while the aluminum outer chassis and stainless steel insert are built to hold up to use and abuse – no cheap plastic to crack through on the first accidental drop on hard rock. Radlight also reorients its flame assembly, installing the spark wheel directly below the lighter hood, which itself is flipped perpendicular to the lighter handle to direct the flame upward away from the thumb when holding the lighter sideways to get into the tinder. Better yet, the flame is self-sustaining and keeps burning without having to hold down a valve, as you would on other lighters. So you can pull your fingers back away from the hot lighter head and onto the ridged-grip handle. The Radlighter is built to handle wind, wetness and temperatures well into sub-zero territory Radlight If that’s not far enough away, the flip-top that rotates open can pull back to further extend the body, pushing the flame-sparking head out farther like an integrated long neck. That lighter top then flips around and closes over the flame assembly for storage and transport. The Radlighter has been developed to soldier through all the treacherous conditions Mother Nature might be inclined to throw at it, especially when you need it most. Radlight says it’s certified to an IP68 waterproof standard, and while it won’t be firing out a flame while submerged in the river, it’s designed to light up reliably, even after you accidentally drop it in a puddle, expose it to a downpour or drench it while wading through water. The conical holes on the outside of the flame hood, meanwhile, serve to slow gusting wind down to keep the flame firing steadily through fierce wind conditions. Radlight uses basic physics to deliver better wind performanceRadlight Instead of butane, Radlight fuels its refillable lighter with naptha fuel it identifies as more reliable in cold weather conditions down to -40°F/C. The lighter does not come prefilled but can be topped up with easy-to-find naptha lighter fluid like that from Zippo. Radlighter isn’t exactly innovating a new market, as there are plenty of existing lighter alternatives that address inadequacies of basic BICs when it comes to lighting campfires, grills and survival fires. We’ve become particularly fond of basic long-neck lighters for use at home and when car camping, and non-wheel push-button Bic EZ Reach lighters are great for lighter travel, fitting comfortably in a pocket. They’re basically a regular Bic with a 1.4-in (3.5-cm) neck extension and a simpler push-button operation. Even better for pocketing than Bic EZ Reach, the Soto Pocket Torch XT features a telescopic neck that extends for use and retracts for carry. The Radlighter isn’t quite as compact as a disposable, but the 3.2 x 1.8 x 0.9-in gadget fits right in with other EDC gearRadlight That said, Radlight does aim to comprehensively solve weather challenges that might still plague those lower priced designs, and if its lighter performs as reliably as intended, it might just be worth its place in any backcountry kit. The company recently took home a 2026 Outdoor Innovation Award alongside the Dragan Pocket Winch in the Overland & Travel category. We’re hoping to get one and put it through hell to see how well the 4.2-oz (119-g) lighter completes its mission. The Radlighter is available now for a retail price of US$59.00. That’s a lot more than the 3 bucks you’d spend on the aforementioned pocketable Bic EZ Reach but in line with what you might spend on a nice Zippo or similar refillable lighter. Source: Radlight source

Spend an hour with Sir Martin Sorrell and advertising quickly becomes a proxy for the world economy. When I met the S4 Capital founder and executive chairman at Sydney’s Park Hyatt last week, I had expected the conversation to begin with agency consolidation. After all, the global holding companies are simplifying portfolios, merging brands, folding capabilities together and pushing clients toward more unified, platform-led operating models. In Australia, Dentsu’s move to shutter the Carat and iProspect brands has made that debate feel particularly immediate. But Sorrell’s view moves faster and wider than the industry’s internal machinery. For him, the agency sector’s current pressure is only one expression of a much larger shift: slower-growth and a more fragmented global economy in which marketers will have to be far more selective about geography, far more ruthless about efficiency and far more serious about AI. “What is exciting is that the world is in a mess,” Sorrell says. It was not a throwaway line. Sorrell, who built WPP from a small shell company into the world’s largest advertising and marketing services group before launching S4 Capital, has spent decades reading the agency business through the wider forces of capital, client pressure and global expansion. SEE MORE: Dentsu folds Australian media brands into single agency model His current read is blunt. The world is not returning to the era of “globalisation on steroids”. Instead, marketers are operating in a more fragmented global pattern where growth is harder to find, risk is more unevenly distributed and market selection matters more. “I think we’re going into a phase where growth is slower,” Sorrell said. “Inflation is going to be more stubborn than people think,” he added, arguing that central banks “never got it down to the 2% which was the long-term objective” and that interest rates will remain “higher than we’ve been used to”. For marketers, that matters. Higher interest rates and stubborn inflation change consumer behaviour, squeeze discretionary spending and force businesses to defend margins. They also intensify the pressure on marketing departments to prove efficiency, not just growth. “So, in that world, efficiency, the latest iteration of which is sort of blockchain AI and coming down the pipe is quantum computing, becomes even more important,” Sorrell said. “Those two things make the world, I think, a really interesting place.” That is where the AI debate becomes more interesting. Sorrell does not frame AI as a shiny technology layer sitting on top of marketing. He sees it as the latest and most powerful tool in a long-running shift that began with the internet, accelerated through data and digital media and is now reshaping the economics of agency work itself. The result is a harder, more operational version of the AI story. Not simply faster content or cheaper production. But a structural reset in how marketing services are priced, delivered and measured. “AI is affecting visualisation, personalisation at scale, media planning and general efficiency. Then there is the democratisation of knowledge,” Sorrell said. Most significantly, he said it is changing agency revenue models from a time-and-materials basis to one built around outputs, usage and subscriptions. “It’s changing the revenue model from a time and materials model to an output-based model,” he said. “We’re trying to get clients to pay on the basis of number of assets created and number of times used.” An AI reckoning? That shift goes to the heart of the agency business. For decades, the industry’s economic foundation was built around people, hours, teams and retainers. AI challenges that directly because it compresses production time, automates parts of media planning and creates a different basis for valuing work. For CMOs, it creates a different kind of procurement conversation. Marketing departments may be attracted to speed, scale and lower cost. Procurement teams, Sorrell said, remain more conservative. But the direction is clear: as AI makes marketing outputs easier to produce and optimise, clients will increasingly question whether they should still pay for the old inputs. This is also why Sorrell sees current agency consolidation through a sceptical lens. Merging agency brands or folding capabilities together may create cost savings, but it does not automatically create strategy. More important, he says, are leadership, strategy and structure. “The three dimensions: who’s the leader, what the strategy is and what’s the structure?” Sorrell said. On that score, he argues Publicis has been the clearest among the major groups, with a strong leader in Arthur Sadoun, a clear story around data and digital and a country-first structure. By contrast, he questioned whether capability-led structures inside the holding companies risk creating internal divisions at the very moment clients want more integrated accountability. The point is not academic. As marketers ask for fewer hand-offs and clearer access to capability, the agency groups are trying to simplify themselves. But Sorrell’s warning is that consolidation without strategic clarity can become a cost exercise dressed up as client benefit. “Good people are good by definition, but good people who share are the real ones,” he said. “They’re the ones that you really want.” If the agency model is under pressure, geography is also being re-priced. Sorrell still sees the US as strong. South America has “enormous opportunity”. Africa has opportunity but remains too volatile for his taste. Asia remains central, but not without geopolitical risk. China, he argued, is too important to ignore but too risky to overweight beyond its share of global GDP, particularly given Taiwan. India, however, stands out. “You could de-risk like India, which is the world’s fastest growing with superb leadership around Modi,” he said, also pointing to Vietnam and Indonesia as important growth markets. New growth markets By 2050, Sorrell expects Indonesia to sit among the world’s top five economies, alongside China, the US, India and Germany. Europe, by contrast, is where he sees the biggest structural challenge. “Europe is where the problem is,” he said. “UK and France have got big problems, Germany’s got issues. So Europe is a structurally challenged part of the world.” For Australian marketers, there is