The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1239 ET - CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz says recent concerns over AI agents are solvable -- it just comes down to how companies approach cybersecurity. "The model providers are focused on trying to build guardrails around how the model actually thinks," Kurtz says during an appearance on CNBC. "But when you put it in production, you need to see what it actually does. You need to understand its actions." That's one of Crowdstrike's focuses when it comes to AI agents, he says. Through its offerings with Nvidia, Crowdstrike works to both enforce safety protocols and trace what AI agents are doing, he says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1225 ET - The amount of stocks trading on blockchains went from $639 million in September 2025 to $3.17 billion in September 2026--a near 400% increase year-over-year, says RedStone in a report. While the popularity of tokenized stocks is growing at an exponential rate, their utility remains fairly limited. The firm says that most are traded in the form of perpetual futures on exchanges like Binance, and that the three-largest issuers of tokenized stocks don't allow holders any direct share ownership. Which is why tokens purporting to represent OpenAI stock or Anthropic shares have been publicly disavowed by both companies, which have announced IPOs but haven't started any roadshows. Bitcoin posted a strong September, and is up 0.6% to $86,260 in current trade. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1204 ET - CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz says companies don't necessarily need to pull back on their AI ramp ups as safety concerns mount. They just need to implement the right cybersecurity measures, he says. "In racing, you don't slow things down," Kurtz says during an appearance on CNBC. "You want to have the greatest amount of safety so you can go faster." Kurtz says cybersecurity is therefore critical for the U.S. to maintain an edge against China in the AI race. AI "is the greatest sea change that I've seen in my lifetime, and certainly in my technology career," Kurtz says. "You've just got to be able to harness it." (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1022 ET - The demand for AI-related goods continues to push up imports, according to Oxford Economics in a note. The August U.S. trade deficit widened to $105.6 billion from a revised $92.8 billion in July. That's the largest trade deficit since March 2025, when frontloading ahead of the Trump administration's tariff implementation was in full swing, Oxford says. The U.S. is currently locked in a trade war with Canada, which imposed retaliatory tariffs that took effect last month on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods. (jessica.coacci@wsj.com)

0720 ET - Tokenization, or the ability to convert real-world assets into digital tokens, will become the new normal as private companies and politicians push to bring the technology into the mainstream, Union Investment's head of tokenization and digital assets Christoph Hock says. "Politicians are driving the shift into a redefinition of financial market infrastructure," Hock says at the Digital Assets week conference in London. Central bank interest in developing their own tokenization capabilities is encouraging, and adds to progress from private companies in bringing the technology into the mainstream. "The ingredients are all there" for tokenization adoption to significantly increase, Hock says. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0709 ET - CGI's declining job postings could suggest pressure on near-term organic growth, according to a research note by RBC. Analyst Paul Treiber says that CGI's job postings declined 25% year-over-year, deteriorating of a decline of 8% last quarter, which has "underperformed the broader IT services market, where postings rose 14% year-on-year." The data suggest that CGI organic growth may fall short of his estimates, which was for a decline of 0.2%. Treiber adds that the job data also suggest a softer near-term demand environment, further pointing to CGI's bookings last quarter which were also below expectations. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0628 ET - ASML Holding's revenue and earnings per share should grow more than previously thought thanks to higher pricing and growing units of its semiconductor-making machines, Bank of America analysts write in a research note. The Dutch group's finance chief in July alluded to the possibility of price increases. The company is also seeking to increase production of its machines to meet growing demand from chip makers. Analysts raise their 2028 revenue forecasts for ASML to 76.5 billion euros from 70.4 billion euros, and EPS projections to 85.2 euros from 75.4 euros. They reiterate a buy rating on the stock, but raise their price objective to 2,557 euros from 2,452 euros. ASML shares trade 0.7% higher at 1,668.40 euros. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0540 ET - High memory costs could be reflected in smartphone makers' 2H earnings, HSBC analysts say in a research note. As smartphone makers procure most memory chips under contract rather than buying directly in the spot market, there is a delay in cost transmission, they say. While DRAM contract prices started to rise in 4Q last year, many smartphone makers still had lower-cost inventories, which delayed the impact on earnings, they note. The impact of higher procurement costs should become more visible in 2H as inventories turn, the analysts say. Meanwhile, consumer-electronics makers have less bargaining power as this round of memory-price increases is driven by surging artificial-intelligence demand while smartphone and PC demand remain weak, they add. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0539 ET - For nearly 15 years, governments, companies and investors have lived in a world where money seemed almost endlessly available and this era is coming to an end, Carmignac Chairman and CIO Edouard Carmignac says in a note. "Money has a price once again, and with it comes a discipline we may have been too quick to forget: the discipline of choice." This shift is taking place at a time when capital needs have never been greater. The U.S. must simultaneously finance a staggering public debt and a technological revolution with an extraordinary appetite for investment. Meanwhile, Europe "needs to finance its defense, its energy independence and its infrastructure, and find the capital to plug its technological gap." (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

0524 ET - Informa investors will want clarity on the future of academic business Taylor & Francis, which is set to separate from the company and leave it more exposed to economic swings, AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth writes. The company is looking to separate its academic publishing business and double down on the events arm with the purchase of Clarion, Coatsworth notes. "While potentially less profitable and exciting, the publishing side is arguably more defensive and less exposed to fluctuations in the economy. In the future, that could mean Informa is more of a rollercoaster ride for shareholders," the analyst adds. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, investors could be nervous about Informa being exposed to the risk of future disruption to in-person events, the analyst says. Shares are up 3.9%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0507 ET - Informa might have been able to negotiate a cleaner or more shareholder-friendly financing structure for its purchase of Clarion Events, Bernstein's Annick Maas and Christophe Cherblanc write after a conference call. The rationale of the deal by the events and academic-publishing group remains clear, as Clarion brings a large and complementary portfolio. "That said, the financial structure is less compelling to us, with the transaction meaningfully increasing group leverage," Bernstein adds. As Clarion has been seeking a sale since 2025, and Informa is the only obvious strategic buyer, Bernstein says it could have agreed to a better financing structure. Shares are up 4.1%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0454 ET - The smartphone market isn't likely to recover in 2027, HSBC analysts say in a research note. Industry group IDC expects 2026 global smartphone shipments to fall 16.7% amid higher memory costs. Despite creating a low base for 2027, affordability remains a constraint for a strong replacement cycle, they say. "A consumer who defers an upgrade in 2026 does not necessarily return in 2027 if the replacement device is materially more expensive, or offers less memory at the same price," they note. However, premium smartphones could be more resilient while entry-level Android phones will face more headwinds, they add.