Show me the profitability

CODDLED with cash, even with no profits in sight, and facing constant threats to survival. What's wrong with this picture? While it's a given that startups will burn through cash in their growth phase, what's much less certain is when - and whether - they will turn a profit. The capital being fed to these fledgling companies has stretched valuations built on expectation. Meanwhile, markets are "adjusting" to loss-making as a new normal. Brunch in The Business Times Weekend this Saturday polls economists and venture capitalists about the "cash-and-burn" model.

Tom Leighton's company Akamai works in the background to ensure the Internet's speed and security. The CEO tells why he is the world's most vital delivery man in The Raffles Conversation.

This Time Is Different shows how investment-return calculations can show opposite results for the same portfolio. The Fool's Eye View says utility companies could add power to your portfolio. And CFA Singapore Insights looks at the recent history and near future of green bonds.

In Management Unleashed, business mentor John Bittleston says why a longer-term view of R&D - one that includes data analytics - is needed to stay ahead of environmental threats.

Workplace transformations are unwittingly a test of management's relationship with employees. The decision for an office revamp is usually top-down, but our columnist makes a case in Cubicle Files for involving the staff if the change is to be implemented successfully.

What is the meaning of life? The answer is a lot more prosaic than you think, as The Winding Road discovers.

To subscribe, visit bt.sg/subscribe.