
Investors face heightened global volatility in 2026 as leading central banks diverge—while the Fed and BoE continue rate cuts, the ECB sits near neutral and the BoJ tightens. Geopolitical flashpoints around the United States add safe‑haven demand, further weakening the US dollar’s dominance. In Vietnam, political stability from the 14th Party Congress underpins a push for 10%+ GDP growth, but ageing demographics and soaring real‑estate prices pose structural risks. Public investment is slated to rise 9‑10%, and credit policy will shift toward productive sectors, shaping sectoral opportunities.

The 2025 HR Vendors of the Year awards highlighted six platforms that are redefining gig workforce management in Singapore and Malaysia. As organisations shift from spreadsheets to purpose‑built solutions, the demand for scalable onboarding, real‑time coordination, and compliance has surged....

The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) has sued the operators of Berkelouw Books and the Harry Hartog chain, alleging a 13‑year‑old enterprise agreement that denies basic wage loading and penalty rates. Over 100 employees across four Berkelouw and fourteen...

Companies are replacing static video onboarding with immersive VR experiences to improve new‑hire retention. By building digital twins of offices, adding spatial audio, and gamifying compliance, firms create memorable, interactive training that accelerates cultural integration. Early adopters such as Accenture,...

Danang’s 2045 master plan re‑imagines the city as a megacity and international financial centre, integrating coastal, mountainous and border zones. The Danang International Financial Centre (IFC) began operations in early 2026, focusing on digital finance, asset tokenisation and green‑finance solutions....

The U.S. dollar stayed firm in quiet Asian markets while heightened Iran‑U.S. tensions pushed WTI crude above $67, its highest level since last August. Gold and silver edged higher but lacked sustained buying, reflecting selective hedging. Meanwhile, the UK reported...

The Trump administration unveiled its Maritime Action Plan, introducing a universal port fee on all foreign‑built vessels that would be calculated on import cargo weight rather than net tonnage. Revenue projections range from $66 billion to $1.5 trillion over ten years, while...

Security Compass unveiled SD Elements for Agentic AI Workflow, a platform that embeds policy‑driven security and compliance checks directly into AI‑assisted software development. The solution automatically generates, validates, and records evidence that both human developers and autonomous AI agents adhere to...

Ireland’s central bank warned that the country must deepen economic resilience as it enters 2026, despite current strength. Governor Gabriel Makhlouf and Deputy Governor Vasileios Madouros outlined five domestic priorities, including targeted infrastructure, stronger indigenous businesses, fiscal buffers, household market...

Apollo Global Management’s CEO Marc Rowan told Nikkei that Japan’s corporate finance market is becoming more dynamic than London’s, prompting Apollo to expand its private‑credit platform in the country. He highlighted the need for long‑dated funding to support infrastructure, energy...
2025 saw Southeast Asia split between export‑driven growth and contraction. Vietnam and Singapore recorded strong export gains despite U.S. tariff volatility, while the Philippines and Thailand were battered by severe weather events and political instability, dragging their economies down. The...

Artificial intelligence is reshaping security operations, but experts argue that a fully autonomous SOC is impractical. Dan Petrillo of BlueVoyant stresses that AI should augment analysts, handling high‑volume tasks like alert triage while humans retain decision‑making authority. Real‑world constraints—noisy data,...
Code Metal announced a $125 million Series B financing round led by Salesforce Ventures, with participation from Accel, B Capital, RTX and other investors. The funding will accelerate the company’s verifiable code translation platform that optimizes AI‑driven and legacy code for specialized hardware...

Myanmar’s December‑January 2025‑26 election was conducted solely in areas under junta control, cementing the military’s claim to power while excluding large swaths of the population. The vote did little to curb the civil war, as resistance forces—including the People’s Defence...

A $4.2 bn transaction will see Germany’s Hapag‑Lloyd acquire Israeli carrier ZIM, then spin off its Israeli operations into a new entity controlled by FIMI. The deal, which preserves 16 vessels for direct Israeli routes, triggered protests and a strike as...

Vietnam aims to build an international financial centre by drawing on global precedents such as Dubai’s DIFC, China’s Shenzhen and Hangzhou, and Kazakhstan’s AIFC. Experts stress that independent, long‑term regulation, niche specialization in digital and green finance, and adaptive legal...

Moonshot AI is close to extending its $500 million funding round to $700 million, potentially pushing its valuation above $100 billion. The extension adds existing backers Alibaba, Tencent, 5Y Capital and Gaorong Capital, plus new investor Cathay Capital, which is making its first...
Flying Tiger Copenhagen has promoted Jens Aarup Mikkelsen to group chief executive, succeeding Martin Jermiin after a seven‑year tenure. Mikkelsen, who previously led the company’s international division, will steer the retailer’s next phase of growth. The appointment underscores a strategic...

Vietnam and the United Kingdom have upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest tier in Vietnam’s foreign‑policy framework. The deal follows Party General Secretary To Lam’s October visit to Britain and opens cooperation in politics, security, trade, education...
Physics Wallah co‑founder Prateek Maheshwari told early‑stage founders at the India AI Impact Summit that putting students first and achieving revenue early are essential for 0‑to‑1 success. He highlighted the company’s path from a niche focus on underserved exam‑preparing students to...

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and HM Treasury have published the Public Sector Finances bulletin for January 2026, delivering the latest estimates of public‑sector net borrowing, net debt and the current budget deficit. The release includes a 51‑page PDF and...

In a Help Net Security interview, Paul Suarez, VP and CISO of Casey’s, explains that fuel‑payment hardware receives the same disciplined patching and modernization approach as other retail technology. He warns that QR‑code payment methods create fresh fraud opportunities, prompting...

Meta Platforms is under a COMESA investigation for altering WhatsApp Business API terms that favor its own AI tools, raising competition concerns across 21 African markets. In Nigeria, fintech Risevest secured a Securities and Exchange Commission fund‑manager licence after restructuring,...
The episode examines Blackstone’s $3.05 billion CMBS refinancing of The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, highlighting the surge in high‑quality hospitality securitizations and the city’s enduring appeal to institutional investors. Guests Randy Plavajka and Shihao Feng explain how post‑pandemic destination resilience and a growing...
iFOREX listed on the London Stock Exchange at a £43.3 million valuation, equating to roughly 1.1× 2025 revenue and 19.4× earnings. The broker reported $55.1 million revenue and $3.0 million profit for the twelve months to June 2025, down sharply from its 2022 peak....
India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal launched the ₹25,060‑crore Export Promotion Mission (EPM), a six‑year programme designed to boost outbound shipments and simplify export processes. The initiative consolidates multiple support schemes into a single, digitally driven framework aimed at micro, small...

Wells Fargo has promoted Padmavathi AV to Vice President‑Human Resource Business Partner, elevating her from senior HR consultant role she assumed in 2023. She brings an MBA in Human Resources and a track record that includes leadership positions at Ashok...

KNOREX announced the launch of its agentic AI‑ready Ads API, a unified infrastructure layer designed to automate cross‑channel advertising workflows. The API, compatible with Amazon Ads MCP and the open Advertising Common Protocol, enables AI agents to manage campaigns on...

Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) was demonstrated in South Africa’s KwaZulu‑Natal region, delivering 5G speeds up to 200 Mbit/s over more than 4 km in both Ntuzuma and Ixopo. The trials, led by regulator Icasa, CSIR and local Wisps, proved that the 3.8‑4.2 GHz...

Navios Maritime Partners announced two long‑term bareboat‑in contracts for Japanese‑built capesize vessels, with purchase options valued at roughly $134.3 million and an effective 6% interest rate. The ships, fitted with scrubbers, are slated to join the fleet in late 2028 and...

Governments are proposing to mirror green‑energy tax incentives to boost cybersecurity, pairing financial rewards with a digital trust label similar to ENERGY STAR. The model would grant tax credits or rebates to firms that achieve the label, encouraging security‑by‑design across...
The Australian federal government allocated an additional $12.7 million to eight collaborative quantum‑technology demonstrators, expanding the $35.9 million National Quantum Strategy. Funding ranges from $1.1 million for a data‑centre cooling solution to $2.4 million for rare‑earth detection in mines. Projects span energy optimisation, medical...

Western Australia’s innovation landscape is receiving a multi‑pronged boost. Meshpoints has launched a challenge‑led funding model that replaces traditional open grants with targeted problem‑solving competitions. The state government has doubled its innovation grant pool to $2 million, offering up to $300,000...

Nigeria's federal government ordered ministries to defer 70% of the 2025 capital budget to 2026, limiting new projects to prioritize existing ones amid weak revenues. The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission raided former Kaduna governor Nasir El‑Rufai’s Abuja home as he remains...

Feranmi Ajetomobi has spent a decade driving growth across Nigerian fintech, consumer goods, and web3 ventures, from Cowrywise’s savings habits to Flutterwave’s rapid scaling. He leverages behavioral psychology, community‑led tactics, and data‑driven nudges to turn dormant users into active transactors....

Ali Partovi's Neo launches Neo Residency, an accelerator that provides $750k via an uncapped SAFE, letting dilution vary with future valuation instead of a fixed equity stake. For the summer cohort of 12‑15 startups, the equity could be as low...

India’s flash Composite PMI rose to 59.3 in February, its strongest level in three months, driven by a surge in manufacturing activity. Total new orders grew at the fastest pace since November, pushing output to a four‑month high, while services...
Bell Cyber and Radware have launched an AI‑driven, cloud‑delivered security service that merges Radware’s machine‑learning application protection with Bell Cyber’s fully managed SOC operations. The offering safeguards web applications, APIs, bots and DDoS attacks for ERP and SaaS environments while...

Afghanistan has re‑emerged as a venue for great‑power competition below the threshold of war, with China pursuing cautious economic engagement focused on mineral extraction and limited infrastructure projects. U.S. analysis shows Chinese contracts have underperformed and remain exploratory, leaving a...

Progcap, the Tiger Global‑backed fintech, nearly doubled its FY25 revenue to Rs 268 crore, a 93% jump from the prior year. The firm slashed its net loss by 87% to Rs 6 crore and posted a positive EBITDA of Rs 75 crore, delivering a 28% margin....
Africa’s growth potential is hampered by a $350 billion SME financing gap and annual infrastructure needs of $130‑170 billion, far exceeding current investment. While the continent’s population tops 1.5 billion and GDP surpasses $3 trillion, capital flows remain fragmented and short‑term. The article argues...
Amazon Web Services experienced two recent service interruptions that were initially linked to its in‑house AI coding assistant, Kiro. AWS clarified that both events stemmed from user‑error—specifically misconfigured access controls—rather than autonomous AI actions. The outages were confined to the...

KPMG UK analysts say the latest labour market data show wage growth slowing to 4.2% and unemployment edging up to 5.2%, signalling a cooling jobs market. The firm forecasts pay growth will dip to around 3% by year‑end and expects...
The Ninth Circuit in Const. Laborers Pension Trust v. Funko held that forward‑looking risk disclosures can lose the PSLRA safe‑harbor when they are framed as present‑state misrepresentations. The panel reasoned that an alleged omission about current inventory failures turns the...

61 EU start-ups secured €467M from the European Innovation Council. Out of 121 finalists, 61 won grants and equity, and 85% received blended finance. The EIC Fund often attracts 3x more private capital, and 28% of selected companies have women in top...
US-China chip trade restarts with tariffs and restrictions creating high-risk supply chain uncertainty for @nvidia and @AMD #ChipWar #AIChips #USChinaTrade #H200 #TSMC #ExportControls #AIOverwatchAct #ChipSupplyChain #Trump #BISRules #GeopoliticalRisk #TechTariffs #Huawei #LLMs

Dharmesh Mistry warns that AI‑driven automation is stripping banking jobs of their intrinsic purpose, turning roles into mere button‑pressing tasks. He argues that a superficial brand slogan like “better banking” won’t survive when machines already deliver superior products. Instead, banks...

#PakWatch🇵🇰: 125 international companies are ceasing operations in Pakistan. PAK = CORRUPT = 3RD WORLD https://t.co/tmHXxbtj8I

Ford MENA’s Marketing Director Andrew Gregory explained how the "Ready. Set. Ford" platform unites OEM strategy with distributor execution to make complex buying decisions easier for customers. He emphasized that modern car shoppers gather 80‑90% of information online, demanding confidence, trust, and...

Maku Fenaroli, a self‑taught New Zealand artist, painted a Melbourne laneway in 2013 and later leveraged Instagram to showcase her work. After a $200 influencer‑driven T‑shirt sparked demand, she left a corporate superannuation job in 2024 to launch Maku the...