For decades, British workplaces have measured employee wellbeing in days off. A bout of flu, a chest infection, a sprained ankle: a few sick notes, a fit-to-return form, and the matter is closed.

Yet a growing body of clinical evidence, and a steady drumbeat of employment tribunal cases, suggests that this tidy framework is wholly unfit to deal with the reproductive health challenges that thousands of British workers quietly navigate every day.

Fertility treatment, pregnancy loss and the menopause are, in the words of one consultant, fundamentally different beasts. They cannot be cleared by a course of antibiotics. They are not, in any meaningful sense, temporary. And, crucially for employers, the cost of getting the response wrong is no longer simply a matter of compassion, it is a matter of retention, productivity and, increasingly, legal exposure.

The conventional model of workplace illness assumes a hurdle that the body eventually clears. IVF, miscarriage and menopause do not behave that way. They are tied to identity, to the future a person had imagined for themselves, and to a biological transition that can play out over months or years rather than days.

A miscarriage is, in effect, a bereavement requiring emotional processing alongside physical recovery. IVF involves systemic hormonal shifts that are unpredictable in both timing and intensity. The menopause, increasingly recognised as a workplace issue in its own right, brings vasomotor and cognitive symptoms that can persist for the better part of a decade. None of these is a short-term medical issue, and treating them as such is the first mistake too many British employers continue to make.

Anyone who has sat through a difficult conversation at work knows the British instinct to reach for the silver lining. “At least you can try again.” “Everything happens for a reason.” “At least it was early on.” Said with the best of intentions, these phrases can land with extraordinary cruelty.

Clinically, “trying again” is never a guarantee. For a patient with low anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, the marker used to assess ovarian reserve, each failed cycle or miscarriage represents a biological window that is closing rather than reopening. The phrase also ignores cumulative trauma: the physical and hormonal exhaustion that builds with every attempt. By looking to a hypothetical future, the colleague risks dismissing the very real grief and recovery happening in the present.

The advice from clinicians is simple. Drop the platitudes. Replace them with something direct: *”I’m sorry you are going through this. I’m here if you want to talk, or if you need anything.” Managers should go a step further, focusing on the practical: “I’m happy to adjust your workload and cover meetings so you can focus on your appointments and wellbeing.”

The principle is straightforward. Treat the situation as you would any other specialised medical need. Grant the employee the autonomy to attend appointments or take rest without making them justify themselves repeatedly. The goal is comfort and clarity, and reassurance that their career is not on the line because of their biology.

There is a hard-edged business case here, too, and it begins with cortisol. Sustained workplace stress and the fear of stigma trigger the chronic release of cortisol and adrenaline, the body’s fight-or-flight hormones. These are significant disruptors of an endocrine system that is already under intense pressure during IVF, miscarriage or menopause.

Elevated cortisol interferes with the body’s ability to regulate other essential hormones. For a perimenopausal employee, stress-induced inflammation can physically worsen the frequency and severity of hot flushes and night sweats. For an IVF patient, the same chemistry can sabotage the very treatment the company is, in many cases, helping to fund.

Stigma compounds the problem. When an employee feels they must conceal a miscarriage or a failed cycle to protect their professional standing, the body remains in a state of high tension. The parasympathetic nervous system, the state required for tissue repair and hormonal balancing, never gets a chance to take over. Patients delay seeking help, skip recovery days, and a standard recovery becomes a prolonged health crisis. The cost shows up later, on the absence rota and in the resignation letter.

Among the most misunderstood symptoms is so-called brain fog. During menopause or a high-intensity IVF cycle, the brain’s oestrogen receptors, which govern how the brain uses glucose for energy, are effectively starving or being overwhelmed. The result is a genuine power failure in the regions responsible for memory and executive function.

When a colleague undergoing fertility treatment loses a word mid-sentence or drifts in a meeting, this is not distraction or reduced effort. It is a physiological response to a hormonal storm. Managers who recognise this, and who quietly adjust expectations rather than file it under “performance concern”, will hold on to talented people that less informed competitors will lose.

Reproductive health, employers should understand, is rarely a day-of event. It takes roughly 90 days for a sperm cell to mature, and a similar window applies to the preparation of an egg for ovulation in an IVF cycle. The lifestyle, stress levels and workplace environment an employee experiences today will directly shape their clinical outcome three months from now.

This has profound implications for how SMEs structure their support. A single day of compassionate leave around an egg retrieval, while welcome, is not the point. The biological lead-in — the three months in which keeping cortisol low matters most, is the period in which the employer’s culture is doing its real work, for good or ill. True support is a sustained environment, not a one-off concession.

For UK employers, particularly those running smaller businesses where HR is often a part-time concern, the temptation has long been to handle these matters informally and on a case-by-case basis. That approach is no longer fit for purpose.

Workplace support should not be viewed solely as a wellbeing initiative. It is a factor that can influence treatment tolerance, recovery and overall health outcomes — and, by extension, attendance, productivity and retention. Reproductive medicine specialists routinely see how a lack of flexibility and the strain of uncertainty add to the physical and emotional burden their patients are already carrying.

The modern framework, clinicians argue, should include protected time for medical appointments and treatment cycles; appropriate leave and recovery support following pregnancy loss at any stage; and trained managers capable of handling these conversations sensitively. Confidentiality, flexible working and access to emotional support should be considered core components of an occupational health approach, not optional extras.

Above all, the policy must remain adaptable. Fertility experiences are highly individual, and a rigid model, the kind British HR departments have historically loved, will not survive contact with the variety of clinical pathways now in play.

The businesses that grasp this will retain experienced women in their thirties, forties and fifties, the very demographic most likely to be promoted out of, and lost to, less enlightened employers. Those that don’t will continue to wonder why their best people quietly disappear. In 2026, that is no longer a wellbeing question. It is a competitive one.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

NEW YORK — Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) remains one of the strongest buy recommendations in the semiconductor sector in 2026, with Wall Street analysts maintaining a consensus “Strong Buy” rating as explosive demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other AI-related chips continues to fuel record-breaking revenue and profit growth. The company has emerged as a clear beneficiary of the artificial intelligence infrastructure supercycle, delivering results that have far exceeded expectations and positioning it for sustained outperformance.

Shares have surged dramatically this year, climbing more than 70% year-to-date and recently hitting all-time highs near $540–$666 depending on intraday movement. Despite the run-up, many analysts argue the stock still offers substantial upside, with average 12-month price targets ranging from $478 to $660 and some Street-high forecasts reaching $1,000. Of roughly 39–58 analysts covering the stock, the vast majority recommend Buy or Strong Buy, with virtually no Sell ratings.

Micron reported blockbuster fiscal second-quarter 2026 results in March, with revenue exploding 196% year-over-year to $23.86 billion and non-GAAP gross margins reaching an extraordinary 75%. The performance was driven by surging AI memory demand, particularly high-bandwidth memory for data centers. Management raised full-year guidance significantly and highlighted that HBM supply is already sold out through the end of 2026, with strong pricing power persisting.

Explosive AI-Driven Growth

The AI infrastructure buildout has transformed Micron from a cyclical memory player into a critical enabler of large language model training and inference. High-bandwidth memory, which Micron produces in partnership with major hyperscalers, has seen unprecedented demand. Analysts project continued tight supply through 2027 and beyond, supporting elevated pricing and margins.

Fiscal 2026 revenue is now expected to approach or exceed $100 billion in some optimistic forecasts, with earnings per share potentially reaching $50–$58. The company is aggressively expanding capacity, including major new fabs in the United States and Singapore, to meet demand while investing heavily in next-generation HBM4 technology.

Analyst Sentiment and Valuation

Wall Street enthusiasm remains high. Recent initiations and upgrades, including D.A. Davidson’s Street-high $1,000 target, underscore confidence in Micron’s positioning. While the stock trades at a premium on some traditional metrics, forward price-to-earnings multiples remain reasonable when factoring in projected growth rates exceeding 50% annually in key segments.

Risks include potential cyclical downturns if AI spending slows, increased competition from Samsung and SK Hynix, and heavy capital expenditure requirements that could pressure free cash flow in the near term. However, most analysts view these as manageable given the secular tailwinds.

Why Buy Micron in 2026

For growth-oriented investors, Micron offers exposure to one of the most powerful secular trends in technology: the insatiable appetite for memory in AI systems. The company’s technological leadership in HBM, combined with disciplined execution and strong customer relationships with hyperscalers, provides a durable competitive moat.

The stock suits portfolios seeking high-beta semiconductor exposure with improving fundamentals. Those already holding have compelling reasons to maintain or add positions on pullbacks, while new investors may find current levels attractive relative to long-term potential. Diversification within the chip sector is advisable, but Micron stands out for its growth trajectory and margin profile.

As 2026 progresses, Micron’s quarterly results and HBM capacity updates will be closely watched as key barometers for the broader AI infrastructure cycle. With record demand, sold-out production and analyst support, the case for buying Micron stock remains highly compelling for investors comfortable with semiconductor volatility and focused on multi-year AI themes.

Operator

Welcome to GSI Technologies Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]

Before we begin today’s call, the company has requested that I read the following safe harbor statement. The matters discussed in this conference call may include forward-looking statements regarding future events and future performance of GSI Technology that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks and uncertainties are described in the company’s Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Additionally, I have also been asked to advise you that this conference call is being recorded today, May 7, 2026, at the request of GSI Technology. Lee-Lean Shu, the company’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, will be hosting the call today. With him are Douglas Schirle, Chief Financial Officer; and Didier Lasserre, Vice President of Sales.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Shu. Please go ahead, sir.

Lee-Lean Shu
Co-Founder, President, CEO & Chairman

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us to review our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2026 financial results. Fiscal 2026 was a year of meaningful progress for GSI, marked by strong performance in our SRAM business, continued advancement of Gemini-II toward commercialization and the initiation of the Plato design. I am pleased with the progress we have made on several fronts, significant work remains. Our team is executing our key milestones and advancing business development for the APU and I have had several encouraging conversations on numerous fronts in recent months. We ended fiscal [ 2027 ] with continuous momentum, promoting

He added that airlines in North America use Jet A every day, but still manage to serve communities in very cold regions, such as parts of Alaska, by using fuel additives, as well as by planning and monitoring flights to ensure aircraft operate within safe limits.

American Express has thrown its weight behind the small business AI skills race, unveiling two training and education programmes designed to drag owner-managers and their staff out of the experimentation phase and into measurable productivity gains.

Announced this week, the initiatives have been built in partnership with the global non-profit Generation and US-based Scholarship America. The first, AI Upskilling for Small Business, is a free training programme delivered by Generation that is open to small firms anywhere in the world and taught in English and Spanish. The second, Smart Futures for Small Business Scholarships, is a US-only pot funded by the American Express Foundation that will hand eligible employees up to $1,000 (around £790) to spend on AI certification courses run by accredited vendors or educational institutions.

The move lands at a moment when boardroom enthusiasm for generative AI has yet to translate into shop-floor competence. Multiple recent surveys of UK and US small firms suggest that while curiosity is near universal, the share of owner-managers using AI tools in any structured way remains stubbornly low, with confidence and training cited as the principal blockers.

Jennifer Skyler, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at American Express, said the company wanted to bridge precisely that gap. “AI can be a powerful tool for small businesses when it’s used in practical, everyday ways,” she said. “These initiatives were designed to help small businesses move from Gen AI exploration to practical application, equipping them to drive productivity and help unlock new opportunities for growth.”

The Generation curriculum, refined through a series of pilots, is split into three self-guided tracks pitched at different roles and levels of AI familiarity. An AI Generalist track offers a foundational primer alongside short, applied “Mini Missions” covering everyday tasks. A Digital Marketing track focuses on using AI for content production, campaign optimisation and customer insight. A Digital Customer Success track concentrates on speeding up enquiry handling and personalising the customer experience.

Across all three, participants are taught to draft customer communications, support marketing campaigns, summarise and organise information, and convert raw research into commercial insight, while keeping a human eye on the output.

Bonni Theriault, Chief Partnerships Officer at Generation, said the structure was deliberately practical. “Generation programs support participants to practice and master the skills that make the biggest difference to them in their day-to-day work,” she said. “We are delighted to partner with American Express to offer small business owners a chance to hone their AI skills and see real benefits in their work.”

For Katy Kinch, owner of US-based Buttermilk Bakeshop and an early participant, the value lay in punching above her weight. “One of the biggest program takeaways for me was realising how powerful AI can be when used the right way, because it allowed me to do things that typically require a full team,” she said. “I was able to analyse customer feedback, identify trends and track retention patterns from my living room, which gave me insights I wouldn’t normally have access to as a small business owner.”

The Smart Futures element, administered by Scholarship America, is structured as an employer-nomination scheme. Owners can put a team member forward for funding to pursue AI courses or certificate programmes of their choice. Mike Nylund, President and CEO of Scholarship America, framed it as workforce insurance against rapid technology change. “AI tools give small businesses a world of opportunity, and education and training ensure that their workforce is ready to meet the moment,” he said.

For British small business owners watching from the other side of the Atlantic, the cash element is off the table, but the Generation training is not. The curriculum is open globally and free at the point of use, putting it within reach of any UK firm prepared to commit a few hours of staff time. With the Government continuing to push productivity as the central economic challenge facing the country, and with AI repeatedly identified as the most plausible lever for small firms to pull, programmes that lower the barrier to competent adoption are likely to attract growing interest.

Generation is running multiple cohorts throughout the year, with registration open via its website. Applications close on 10 June 2026.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

British food and drink businesses are bracing for a fresh wave of cost pressure after global food commodity prices climbed for the third consecutive month, with fallout from the conflict in Iran emerging as a significant driver of the latest increase.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported that its closely watched Food Price Index (FFPI) rose by 1.6 per cent in April, building on gains recorded in February and March. The benchmark, which tracks a basket of internationally traded food commodities, now points to a sustained inflationary squeeze that will inevitably work its way through to wholesale markets, hospitality menus and supermarket shelves over the coming months.

For the UK’s small and medium-sized food producers, manufacturers and independent retailers, the figures will make grim reading. Margins across the sector have already been pared back to the bone by three years of input-cost turbulence, and many SME operators have warned that there is little headroom left to absorb further increases without passing them on to consumers.

Vegetable oils led the latest surge, rising by 5.9 per cent in April alone. Prices of palm, soya, sunflower and rapeseed oils all moved sharply higher, with palm oil notching up a fifth straight monthly gain. The FAO pointed to growing demand from the biofuel sector, propped up by policy incentives in several producing nations and a firmer crude oil price, alongside concerns over weaker output in Southeast Asia in the months ahead. Independent bakers, fish-and-chip operators and food manufacturers reliant on bulk vegetable oil supply are likely to feel the pinch first.

Cereal prices rose by 0.8 per cent, with drought in parts of the United States and forecasts of below-average rainfall in Australia tightening the outlook. The geopolitical picture has compounded matters. The FAO singled out the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic shipping lane that handles a substantial share of the world’s energy and fertiliser trade, as a key factor pushing up fertiliser costs. Farmers are now expected to scale back wheat plantings in 2026 in favour of crops requiring less fertiliser, a shift that threatens to lock in higher grain prices well beyond this year’s harvest.

Meat prices climbed by 1.2 per cent, with bovine meat reaching a new record high, an unwelcome development for the UK’s restaurant trade and butchers’ shops, which have already weathered relentless beef price inflation over the past 18 months.

There were two bright spots in the data. Dairy prices slipped by 1.1 per cent on the back of softer butter and cheese quotations, helped by plentiful milk supplies across the European Union. Sugar prices plunged by 4.7 per cent, the most striking move in either direction, as ample supplies in the current season, stronger production prospects in China and Thailand, and a favourable start to Brazil’s harvest in its southern growing regions weighed on the market.

For SME owners, the signal is mixed but the direction of travel is clear. With three months of consecutive rises now on the board, and with Middle East tensions showing no sign of easing, the assumption inside boardrooms across British food and drink will be that costs are heading north for the remainder of the year. Forward-buying, contract renegotiation and a hard look at menu engineering and product reformulation are likely to climb back up the agenda.

Concerns are also mounting that fresh shortages could emerge in parts of Africa later in the year, a development that would carry implications for global aid budgets and for the UK’s own development spending priorities.

The FAO’s data is one of the most reliable early-warning systems for shifts in global food affordability. After a period in which businesses had begun to hope the worst of the post-pandemic, post-Ukraine cost shock was behind them, April’s reading is a pointed reminder that the era of cheap food may not be returning any time soon.

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.