A New York Times writer, Amy Lipscomb, encountered such frustrating AI customer service while trying to cancel a Walmart delivery subscription that she spent over an hour attempting to reach a human before ultimately deleting her account. This incident highlights a significant problem with AI-first customer service, as surveys indicate a strong consumer preference for the option to speak with a human agent, with many willing to leave companies that trap them in automated loops. The author suggests that small businesses can gain market share by prioritizing human interaction in their customer service.

Argus has raised its target price for Paycom Software, Inc. (PAYC) to $289.00, up from its previous target. The report, published on October 21, 2026, highlights Paycom's role as a human capital management software-as-a-service provider offering solutions for payroll, talent acquisition, HR management, and time and labor. The current stock price for PAYC is $272.61.

Argus has raised its target price for CorVel Corp. (CRVL) to $89.00, citing the company's application of advanced technologies like AI, machine learning, and natural language processing to manage healthcare costs. The current price of CRVL is $83.88.

Tower Semiconductor and Semtech Corp have expanded their 20-year silicon germanium (SiGe) partnership to support the growing demand for AI data-center optical interconnect components. Semtech will invest in securing dedicated SiGe capacity across Tower's global fabs, addressing critical power constraints and high-speed data movement in AI clusters. This collaboration includes a joint technology roadmap aimed at achieving leadership in multi-generational AI interconnect solutions.

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. announced a Research Collaboration Agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Labcorp. This collaboration aims to develop sensitive screening tools to quantify and rank the abuse potential of new drugs, including abuse-deterrent formulations (ADFs) and emerging drugs of abuse. The goal is to enhance objective, standardized metrics for quantifying abuse potential in preclinical models to inform regulatory assessments under the Controlled Substances Act.

This article reports on a Form 4 filing for BlackBerry Ltd, detailing an insider transaction by John Joseph Giamatteo, who holds roles as Director, CEO, and President of Secure Comm. The filing pertains to activities on October 21.

This article describes ServiceNow, Inc. Tokenized Stock (Coinbase) (NOWc) as a tokenized stock product issued through Coinbase on Base. It explains that each B20 token provides economic exposure to the corresponding underlying share, backed 1:1 by shares held in regulated custody. The article notes that dividends and stock splits are reflected through an on-chain multiplier, and primary minting and redemption are limited to eligible institutional partners.

This Zacks Analyst Blog highlights research reports on Amazon.com, GE Aerospace, and TotalEnergies SE, providing an overview of each company's recent performance, strengths, and risks. Amazon benefits from diversification and AI integration but faces high capital expenditure and competition. GE Aerospace sees increased demand for engines and defense orders, despite production costs and supply chain issues. TotalEnergies has a strong global portfolio and low-carbon investments, but is susceptible to geopolitical risks and commodity price volatility.

Marilyn Matz, a director at Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER), sold 400 shares of common stock for a total of $140,000 on October 21, 2026, pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. This transaction leaves Ms. Matz with 12,640.675 shares. The sale comes amidst mixed sentiments for Teradyne, as the company recently reported strong Q2 results driven by AI and data-center demand, but also faced a downgrade to Neutral from Baird due to valuation concerns.

Flywire Corporation (NASDAQ:FLYW) has a consensus "Hold" rating from analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $20.31. Despite a 27.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $163.8 million, the company missed adjusted earnings expectations, and insiders sold $11.2 million worth of stock in the last 90 days. Flywire shares opened at $19.15, giving the company a market capitalization of $2.33 billion.