George Mack offers these useful pointers, which have relevance to investing. "If someone brags about their success, assume it's half what they claim. If someone downplays their success, assume it's double what they claim."

Similarly, if a friend or colleague carries on about their "6-figure account", assume it's closer to $100k than $900k.

Finally, he says if you wait for the media to inform you, you'll either be wrong or too late. If you get your investment ideas from Reddit, you might be early. If you're looking for inspiration on LinkedIn, you're definitely late.

CrowdStrike have had an exciting few weeks, building partnerships and announcing new products. As mentioned recently in Linkfest, the already strong partnership with Google took a leap forward after it was announced that CrowdStrike's threat-hunting team will now run Mandiant (a cybersecurity firm owned by Google).

Even more interesting is that CrowdStrike announced Falcon for Microsoft Defender last week. This means that CrowdStrike's Falcon, which is specialist software for endpoint security, will run in parallel with Microsoft Defender (Microsoft's endpoint security system) to protect the multiple layers of Microsoft's enterprise software for third-party clients.

CrowdStrike views Microsoft as their main competitor in the endpoint market. Clients who use Microsoft and do not fully trust Defender, can now seamlessly add an extra layer of security. You can be sure too that if there is a breach of Defender and Falcon picks it up, CrowdStrike will let clients know how much more efficient they are. Sounds like a smart move to me. I wonder how Microsoft feels about it?

Of the tech titans, Apple stands out as the one that isn't really generating much excitement around AI. Microsoft, Google, Meta and Amazon are all regularly launching new and more powerful AI tools, but not Apple.

I suspect we will get a much clearer look at Apple's AI strategy next month, at its developer's conference on 10 June. Last week, Bloomberg reported that Apple is very close to signing a contract with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS18, which will be launched at the conference.

It looks like Apple is using its old playbook of not rushing to be first to market but waiting until it can build a product that meets its very high standards. Apple hasn't been sleeping, and is cooking something up. For example, it has purchased more AI startups than any of the other large tech companies. Apple stands out because it has large hardware, software and services businesses - none of the other tech titans have all three at such scale. AI has the ability to create a super-cycle for Apple by bringing all three of those businesses together in new, exciting ways.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook agrees with me: "We believe in the transformative power and promise of AI, and we believe we have advantages that will differentiate us in this new era, including Apple's unique combination of seamless hardware, software and services integration."

Grupo Aeromexico has filed for the public listing of American depositary shares, marking its return to the stock market, two years after emerging from bankruptcy proceedings. Aeromexico didn't disclose details regarding the size of the IPO or the expected price range.

Shares of the Mexican airline will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AERO, alongside ordinary shares on the Mexican Stock Exchange.

Post-bankruptcy, Apollo Global Management holds the largest stake in the airline, owning 22.4% of its shares prior to the IPO. Delta Air Lines, a strategic partner of Aeromexico, holds a 20% stake.

Auditors are supposed to pay attention to detail. Donald Trump's Truth Social employed a fellow who battled to spell his own name - Ben F Borgers spelt his name 14 different ways in regulatory filings.

A 12-sided object was discovered in England. The mysterious artifact was found during an amateur archaeological dig in Lincolnshire - What in the Roman is this?

Asian markets are mixed this morning. Benchmarks rose in India and Japan, but slipped in mainland China. Hong Kong and South Korean markets are shut for Buddha's Birthday and Teacher's Day.

Tencent jumped 4.6% last night after the company's revenue surpassed estimates in its latest earnings report. In contrast, Alibaba declined 6% due to a significant drop in profit, underscoring the widening gap between China's leading internet giants.

Locally, Transaction Capital has informed shareholders to expect reduced losses for the half-year period ending in March following the successful unbundling of WeBuyCars on the main board of the JSE. Elsewhere, Anglo American, currently a takeover target of BHP Group, is planning its most significant restructuring in a generation. It aims to divest its platinum, steelmaking, coal, and diamond businesses in an effort to satisfy shareholders and potentially fend off BHP.

US equity futures are edging higher in pre-market trade. The Rand is at R18.37 to the US Dollar.

Today, companies that report their earnings include Toyota, Cisco Systems, and Grab. On the economic front, we will see the release of the all-important US consumer-price index numbers this afternoon.

It is Wednesday again, and only 2 weeks until the South African elections.

Keep calm and carry on.