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Exel by Merak, the Saudi gaming accelerator owned by Merak Capital, has named Faisal Sedrani as its new chief executive officer. Sedrani, who previously built Exel as a Merak subsidiary and serves as VP of Innovation Platform, will steer the accelerator into a broader, multi‑sector innovation mandate aligned with Vision 2030. The move follows the graduation of Cohort 2 and the upcoming launch of Cohort 3, signaling a push to scale startups across gaming, tech and sustainability.
Google and YouTube are marking the United States' 250th independence anniversary in 2026 with a year‑long campaign that blends historical storytelling and cutting‑edge technology. The companies will use their platforms to showcase iconic landmarks and cultural moments, while also promoting...
The U.S. Census Bureau announced an updated release calendar to address a recent lapse in federal funding, postponing the next Quarterly Services Survey (QSS) revisions and benchmark releases. The delay affects historical corrections, new seasonal factors, and data from the...
Nucor Corporation announced that Jack Sullivan will assume the roles of Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Executive Vice President effective March 1, 2026, succeeding Steve Laxton, who moved to President and Chief Operating Officer on January 1. Sullivan, who joined Nucor in 2022...
April announced a suite of fintech collaborations, pairing its free‑tax filing service with Acorns and Robinhood to let users file federal and state returns at no cost and receive refunds faster. Armanino partnered with Accrual to pilot an AI‑native accounting...
Enterprise cloud infrastructure spending surged to $119.1 billion in Q4, a 30% year‑over‑year increase and the fastest growth in three years, driven largely by generative AI workloads. The top three hyperscalers—Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—still dominate, but AI‑focused providers such as CoreWeave...
North Korea is stratifying its diplomatic outreach in Southeast Asia, placing Vietnam and Laos at the top tier because of entrenched party‑to‑party links, while Indonesia sits in a middle tier with limited ideological affinity. Malaysia’s relations were severed in 2021...
U.S. President Donald Trump is positioning a three‑party deal with Turkey and Ukraine at the June NATO summit to allow large‑scale U.S. LNG shipments through the Bosporus. Current Turkish regulations bar vessels over 200 m, preventing most U.S. LNG carriers from...
Real GDP rose at a 1.4% annual rate in Q4. But the "truth" is better because shutdown-induced real Federal spending cut subtracted 1.15pp. Expect much of that to be added back in Q1. Consumer spending (+2.4%) and business fixed investment (+3.7%)...
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Timor‑Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão signed the Parseria Foun ba Era Foun declaration, establishing a new partnership built on three pillars – peace and regional integration, prosperity and resilience, and people‑to‑people links. The accord expands cooperation in security,...
US GDP, PCE comes in weaker, why no market reaction? Stocks remain lower. Gold is pushing higher. The dollar remains firm. Problem is - Traders are pricing in risk. With growing fears of a potential conflict over the weekend, positions are being...
A strong finish to the year for core PCE inflation. And not "strong" in a good way. Annual growth rates. 1 month: 4.3% 3 months: 3.1% 6 months: 2.9% 12 months: 3.0%
Vancouver‑based dessert chain The Praguery, known for European‑style chimney cakes with ice cream, is moving from four locations to a franchise model after six years of organic growth. Founder Jaroslav Mestka has codified a repeatable operating system and finalized franchise...
A recent survey shows that most American internet users find ads embedded in AI‑generated search results intrusive, preferring organic answers. The finding coincides with broader ad fatigue on streaming platforms and signals a shift in how marketers must approach AI‑driven...
Europe’s productivity lags far behind the United States, with EU real‑GDP growth averaging 1.3% since 2000 versus 2.4% in the US. The gap is driven by weak diffusion of IT and AI advances, which account for 25% of US growth...
Thoughts? The World Uncertainty Index has surged to historic levels—exceeding Iraq War, COVID, and 9/11—and identify five stocks positioned to perform well under these geopolitical conditions: Palantir (AI battlefield intelligence), ExxonMobil and Cameco/CCJ (energy security), and NVIDIA (AI defense technology),...
Dropbox reported FY2025 revenue of $2.5 billion, essentially flat year‑over‑year, while GAAP operating margin improved to 27.3% and non‑GAAP margin hit 40.6%. The company expects paying‑user growth to remain flat in FY2026, mirroring the prior year’s stability. Dropbox is banking on...
Park Hotels & Resorts announced that Sean M. Dell’Orto will serve as chief operating officer while continuing as executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. Dell’Orto has held the CFO and treasurer positions since the company’s 2017 spin‑off from...
The Upper Tribunal upheld the FCA's bans on Stephen Joseph Burdett and James Paul Goodchild, senior advisers at Synergy Wealth and Westbury Private Clients, for recklessly exposing pension holders to unsuitable, high‑risk investments. The pair were fined £265,071 and £47,600...
Morgan Stanley announced that its global head of the Principal Capital Allocation (PCA) group has departed the firm. The bank confirmed the PCA unit will continue operating without interruption, but a successor has not yet been named. The move follows...
The 2026 Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report reveals that recruiting costs rose even as the labor market softened. Cost‑per‑click (CPC) climbed to a median of $0.95 in 2026, while apply rates improved to 5.19% but did not lower cost‑per‑applicant. Shrinking organic...
The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub has been crowned the UK’s top accelerator for spin‑outs and startups in a joint Statista, Financial Times and Sifted analysis. The ranking considered alumni feedback, investor and academic recommendations, and the post‑program success of...
In 2026 CEOs face heightened political, economic and technological uncertainty, prompting a shift toward five core leadership priorities: clarity, culture of ownership, strategic talent management, inclusive decision‑making, and humble change leadership. Craig Weber and David Friedman argue that CEOs must...
StepStone Hospitality has promoted Kristina Randorf to senior vice president of revenue management, where she will steer enterprise revenue management, strategic analytics, and innovation. Randorf joined the firm in 2017 as an on‑property revenue manager and progressed through area, regional,...
Kazakhstan is accelerating a southward connectivity push to secure Arabian Sea access, reducing reliance on Iran’s Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports. President Tokayev’s recent visit to Islamabad underscored a partnership focused on the Kazakhstan‑Turkmenistan‑Afghanistan‑Pakistan (KTAP) rail corridor and a broader...
TQA announced a rebrand and strategic shift toward Agentic AI, aiming to close the gap where 95% of AI projects stall before production. The company unveiled new technology practices with Microsoft—integrating Copilot, Power Platform, and Azure AI—and ServiceNow, focusing on...
Swiss textile‑tech firm CLIMATEX closed a €3.5 million financing round led by the Collateral Good Textile & Fashion Innovation Fund, with existing investors participating. The company develops patented, recyclable fabrics that enable design‑for‑disassembly and closed‑loop recycling across apparel and interior textiles....
The U.S. economy grew at a 1.4% annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2025, roughly half of analysts' expectations. This marks a sharp deceleration from the 4.4% surge recorded in the preceding quarter and is the slowest expansion since...
Emina Demiri Watson, head of digital at Vixen Digital, revealed that the agency deliberately terminated a client that generated roughly 70% of its revenue after a three‑month toxic relationship deteriorated. The move exposed a severe customer‑concentration risk that the firm...
Redwood Software has broadened RunMyJobs observability by launching Redwood Insights Premium and adding deep integrations with SAP Cloud ALM, Dynatrace, Splunk, New Relic and AppDynamics. The premium tier introduces a no‑code dashboard builder and 15‑month historical data retention, delivering role‑specific,...
AngloGold Ashanti reported record free cash flow of $2.9 billion for 2025, driven by a 16% rise in gold production to 3.1 million ounces and a 45% increase in average gold price to $3,468 per ounce. The company declared an interim dividend...
Retail sales in Canada slipped 0.4% to $70 billion in December, marking the first monthly decline of the year. The drop was driven by a 1.6% fall in motor vehicle and parts dealers, while gasoline stations and fuel vendors posted a...
Sprouts Farmers Market announced Don Clark as its new chief merchandising officer and Mandy “Mandy” Rassi as chief customer officer, while current CMO Scott Neal retires. Clark brings over 25 years of CPG and retail merchandising experience, and Rassi adds...
Skyler Reep has been appointed president and general manager of KSPS PBS in Spokane, Washington, effective immediately after serving as interim GM. Reep joined the station in 2017 as membership director and was promoted to director of development in 2023,...
Pepper, an end‑to‑end technology platform serving independent food distributors, announced a $50 million Series C financing round. The round was led by Lead Edge Capital and included existing backers such as ICONIQ, Index Ventures, Greylock, Harmony Partners, and Interplay. The capital will...
Classical KING announced that Rob Wiseman will assume the chief executive officer position on March 10, succeeding long‑time leader Brenda Barnes. Wiseman, who joined the Seattle‑based public radio station in 2024 as chief advancement officer, brings a track record in development...
Jim Cramer highlighted ten market catalysts for Friday, Feb 20, ranging from macro data to individual stocks. Weak Q4 GDP growth at 1.4% pushed futures lower, while Texas Roadhouse rallied over 3% on a strong Q1 outlook. GE Aerospace received a...
If I had $500 and 90 days to build a real business, here is my exact playbook. No team. No funding. No connections. Just AI and relentless execution. Most people would spend 6 months planning. I would have paying customers by Week 3.
While the U.S. private sector repaired its balance sheet after 2008, the government did not. Gov’t debt to GDP ratio has climbed from 40% in 2007 to almost 110% today. THE U.S. NEEDS A DEBT BRAKE. UNSUSTAINABLE DEBT = FISCAL CRISIS. https://t.co/38NJYDyJgP
Asset‑intensive reinsurance (AIR) is gaining traction worldwide, still centred in the United States but expanding rapidly across Asia‑Pacific, the United Kingdom and Europe. The growth is fueled by insurers shifting to private ownership, the rise of hybrid asset‑manager/reinsurer partnerships, and...
Cybersecurity leadership today goes beyond defense. We need to turn security from a barrier into a business advantage. We do this by building teams and systems that anticipate threats before they disrupt operations.
Q4/Q4 core PCE inflation was 2.9% last year (vs. 3.0% in 2024). Trump's statement on the GDP report includes a parenthetical jab at the Fed chair, but there's not much of anything in this report that tells the Fed it...
YieldWerx, led by semiconductor veteran Aftkhar Aslam, offers a data‑centric yield‑analytics platform that consolidates fragmented fab, test, and packaging information into a single, actionable environment. The solution tackles extreme data volumes and multi‑domain complexity, supporting advanced packaging, silicon photonics, MicroLED,...
Did 2025 feel like a wild ride? GDP feels your pain. The quarterly swings were big and short-lived. PDFP, which focuses on consumption and private fixed investment, showed more even, solid gains. https://t.co/LlVwQ7yna5
Ubisoft CEO Explains Three-Year Plan to Revamp Game Publisher Through New ‘Creative House’ Strategy, More Than $200 Million in Cost Reductions https://t.co/3Q14sQldSc via @variety
The HR Happy Hour Media Network announced the launch of a new podcast, The HR Connection, aimed at HR leaders and business executives in small to mid‑size companies (1‑500 employees). Hosted by Sabrina Baker, founder of Acacia HR Solutions, and...
Calling it now: 2026 will bring the first SAFE that converts at a 20% PREMIUM to the next round. We’ve officially reached that part of the cycle.
US GDP: A gauge of underlying domestic demand—real final sales to private domestic purchasers (GDP less inventory change, net exports, and government spending)—grew at a 2.4% annualized rate in Q4 https://t.co/XefZvVp18v
Extreme Hospitality has incorporated The Franklin on Rittenhouse, a 20‑room boutique lifestyle hotel in Center City Philadelphia, into its managed portfolio. The property boasts individually decorated guestrooms and a Prohibition‑themed speakeasy, the Franklin Mortgage & Investment Company, reflecting a rebellious...
Bluesky has surged to 40.2 million registered users, with 1.5‑3 million daily active participants, driven by event‑based spikes and its decentralized AT Protocol. The platform emphasizes community‑built feeds over algorithmic timelines, offering a niche but highly engaged audience. U.S. users account for...
