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Artificial intelligence has rapidly started finding its place in the workplace, but this year will be remembered as the moment when companies pushed past simply experimenting with AI and started building around it, Microsoft said in a blog post accompanying its annual Work Trend Index report. As part of this shift, Microsoft is dubbing 2025 the year of the “Frontier Firm.” “Like the digital native companies of a generation ago, they understand the power of pairing irreplaceable human insight with AI and agents to unlock outsized value,” Jared Spataro, CMO of AI at Work at Microsoft, said in the post. These so-called Frontier Firms will be built around “on-demand intelligence and powered by ‘hybrid’ teams of humans + agents, these companies scale rapidly, operate with agility, and generate value faster,” according to the report. Microsoft argued that within the next two to five years, every company will be on the journey to becoming one. Microsoft said that 82% of leaders responded that this is a “pivotal” year to rethink key strategy and operations, while 81% said they expect agents to be “moderately or extensively” integrated into their AI strategies in the next 12 to 18 months. The results are a culmination of survey data from 31,000 workers across 31 countries, LinkedIn hiring and labor market trends, trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals, and conversations with experts, and AI-native startups. Microsoft expects the transition to the Frontier Firm to play out in three phases. The first, it said, is that AI will act as an assistant to streamline work tasks. Second is the addition of AI agents as “digital colleagues,” which can take on specific tasks. The third step calls for a lot more freedom: it’s when humans set direction for agents that run entire business processes and workflows, with the human checking in as needed. It gives the example of a supply chain role. Agents can handle end-to-end logistics, while humans can guide the agents, resolve exceptions, and manage supplier relationships. AI agents are still in the early days, but companies are placing big bets that agentic AI represents the next major frontier and are rapidly innovating. OpenAI recently released Operator, a tool that automates web-based tasks, along with Deep Research, which it says can gather information from across the web and summarize it into digestible reports. Amazon launched a model designed to take over a users web browser and perform simple tasks. Anthropic, the creator of Claude, and Google have also introduced AI agents. “This shift is multifacetedevery industry and role will evolve differently as the technology diffuses across business and society,” the report said. “Just as the internet era created billions of new knowledge jobsfrom social media managers to UX designersthe AI era is already giving rise to new roles, with many more to come.”
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E-Commerce
The World Economic Forum, which runs an annual gathering of elites in Davos, Switzerland, says its board has given its unanimous support for an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by founder Klaus Schwab.The statement from the Geneva-based think tank and event organizer late on Tuesday came after a report published in the Wall Street Journal cited a whistleblower letter alleging financial and ethical misconduct by Schwab, 87, and his wife Hilde.The newspaper reported that the allegations were sent in an anonymous letter to the board last week and included claims that the Schwab family mixed their personal affairs with Forum resources.In a statement sent to the Associated Press, the Forum said its boardwhich includes former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Jordan’s Queen Rania, and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde as membersagreed to a decision by its risk and audit committee to open the probe.“While the Forum takes these allegations seriously, it emphasizes that they remain unproven, and will await the outcome of the investigation to comment further,” the statement said.The AP was not immediately able to reach Schwab or a contact person for him.The allegations emerged two days after the WEF announced Schwab had retired “with immediate effect” as chairman, and that former Nestlé Chairman and CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe was taking over as interim chairman.For decades, the Forum’s annual gathering in Davos has hosted top business executives, government leaders, academics, international organizations, cultural figures, sports legends, and celebrities to discuss government policy, deal-making, and current affairs. Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Global shares mostly rose Wednesday, with markets showing relief after President Donald Trump indicated he won’t dismiss the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve.France’s CAC 40 jumped 2.1% in early trading to 7,480.99, while Germany’s DAX rose 2.5% to 21,820.14. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 1.6% to 8,461.24. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 1.5% at 39,960.00. S&P 500 futures rose 2.0% to 5,421.75.In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.9% to finish at 34,868.63. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.3% to 7,920.50. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.6% to 2,525.56. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.4% to 222,072.62, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.1% to 3,296.36.Trump had previously said he could fire Fed chair Jerome Powell after the Fed paused cuts to short-term interest rates. But Trump told reporters Tuesday, “I have no intention of firing him.”Investors were also cheered by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a Tuesday speech. He said the ongoing tariffs showdown with China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war.“Of course, markets will continue to listen out for the latest White House rhetoric on tariffs and any hints of upcoming trade deals. As such, market direction will more likely than not continue to be dictated by Trump’s latest whims regarding tariffs and trade,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.The only prediction many Wall Street strategists are willing to make is that financial markets will likely continue to veer up and down as hopes rise and fall that Trump may negotiate deals with other countries to lower his tariffs. If no such deals come quickly enough, many investors expect the economy to fall into a recession.The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its forecast for global economic growth this year to 2.8%, down from 3.3%. A suite of better-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies, meanwhile, helped drive U.S. stocks higher.Also helping market sentiment was the announcement from Elon Musk that he will spend less time in Washington and more time running Tesla after his electric vehicle company reported a big drop in profits. Its results have been hurt by vandalism, widespread protests and calls for a consumer boycott amid a backlash to Musk’s oversight of cost-cutting efforts for the U.S. government.Tesla reported earnings after U.S. trading closed. Tesla’s quarterly profits fell from $1.39 billion to $409 million, far below analyst estimates.In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 80 cents to $64.47 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard added 81 cents to $68.25 a barrel.In currency trading, the U.S. dollar declined to 141.87 Japanese yen from 142.37 yen. The euro cost $1.1390, up from $1.1379. _AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed. Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
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