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European FinTech investment contracted 11% year‑over‑year in 2025, with total funding falling to $16.3 billion across 743 deals. Deal activity under $100 million shrank 26%, while large transactions above $100 million held steady, pushing the average deal size to $21.9 million. The market’s shift toward fewer, bigger deals was highlighted by FNZ’s $500 million equity raise, underscoring continued investor confidence in scalable wealth‑tech platforms. Despite the overall downturn, the concentration of capital suggests a strategic focus on later‑stage, revenue‑generating businesses.
Eden Life, the Lagos‑based home services startup, has temporarily halted its consumer‑facing food, cleaning and laundry subscriptions to concentrate on higher‑margin corporate catering and industrial food contracts. The strategic reset follows an internal audit that flagged weak unit economics amid...
The Indian cabinet approved a Rs 1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) to drive market‑led urban infrastructure over the next five years. The fund offers 25% central assistance, requiring cities to raise at least 50% of project costs from bonds, loans or...
Fidelity Fundamental Small‑Mid Cap ETF (FFSM) is an actively managed, non‑transparent fund that combines quantitative screening with fundamental research. Since its 2024 strategy shift, FFSM has outperformed the S&P 500 and several SMID peers such as IJH and SMMD, driven by...
Andhra Pradesh unveiled its FY 2026‑27 budget at ₹3.32 lakh crore, marking a roughly 8% increase over the previous year. The plan earmarks substantial allocations for women‑focused initiatives, government employee welfare, health infrastructure, and agricultural support. Health spending is set to rise 15%,...
African tech startups repeatedly waste capital because founders lack reliable market data, leading to costly pivots and failures. The continent’s ecosystem raised $4.1 billion in 2025, yet 54% of startups still collapse, reflecting a multi‑billion‑dollar information gap. Prediction markets—already familiar through...
Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund (UTF) received a Buy rating, while abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund (ASGI) was placed on Hold due to its premium valuation. UTF trades at a 6 % discount to NAV and carries 29.7 % leverage, positioning it to...
South African rates are restrictive. The real policy rate is the highest it’s been in 20 years, and they expect growth. They are suffocating the economy with high real rates. However, we can expect more rate cuts throughout the year,...
January’s consumer‑price index showed modest headline inflation, rising 0.3% month‑over‑month and 3.2% year‑over‑year, but the report included several qualifiers. Core CPI eased to 4.8% annual, driven by lower energy costs, while shelter and services remained sticky. Analysts highlighted the mixed...
Nobody owes your startup attention. Not Twitter. Not Reddit. Not Product Hunt. Attention is earned, not launched. Where do you post your progress?
KPMG’s new report urges India to move from a scale‑driven growth model to one focused on productivity as it targets a Viksit Bharat by 2047. It outlines ten priority areas, including deepening manufacturing, upskilling a youthful workforce, modernising MSMEs, and...
The Financial Times opinion piece argues that the United States increasingly overlooks the strategic value of the United Nations, treating the body as a bureaucratic relic rather than a vital platform for multilateral problem‑solving. It highlights how U.S. disengagement erodes...
Macro: politicized stewardship of public assets rising; Key: Interior canceled NLT lease; Risk: litigation & environmental hurdles delay projects; Trade: short park‑adjacent REITs. ⚖️ — Viktor Kopylov, PhD, CFA. More insights: t.me/si14Kopylov
Malaysia’s Economic Outlook & Risks Full-year performance exceeds government’s upper ceiling based on 4Q 2025 data Outperformance —► Hawkish BNM bias. Chatter of tougher operating conditions on the ground, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) including F&B sector are leading many...
Toronto‑based Aline Nasseh Artisan Chocolates launched a seasonal pop‑up at Holt Renfrew Yorkdale, running through February 22 and featuring a limited‑edition Valentine’s collection. The activation gave the two‑year‑old brand exposure to a luxury retail audience and generated stronger‑than‑expected sales despite post‑holiday lulls...
The article outlines how leaders can turn a group of high‑achieving, competitive individuals into a cohesive, high‑performing team by emphasizing the "AND" mindset—leveraging personal strengths while fostering collaboration. It shares a real‑world example from Bell Atlantic where a leader used...
Eventually, as a result of the context limitations of AI agents, we’ll start to change and improve our work practices to aid in their success. One of the most interesting issues with AI agents is because of their inherently limited...
Big splashy pre-PMF rounds happen on big legible ideas and teams with social proof Don’t hate the player hate the game It doesn’t mean you can’t build a big co if you don’t have the right resume but it does mean you...
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added four critical vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, covering SolarWinds Web Help Desk, Microsoft Configuration Manager, Apple operating systems, and Notepad++. The SolarWinds flaw (CVE‑2025‑40536) and the Microsoft SQL‑injection...
World Liberty Financial announced that its World Liberty Forum has sold out, with nearly 400 senior executives, investors and policymakers confirmed for the February 18, 2026 gathering at Mar‑a‑Lago. The day‑long event will feature high‑profile speakers from finance, technology, sports and government,...
At the Prosper Forum in Amelia Island, a panel of senior operators distilled five daily leadership decisions that separate high‑performing teams from the rest. They emphasized that leadership is a responsibility exercised when people rely on you, not a title...
The episode reviews the recent market turbulence, highlighting how precious metals and mining stocks held up better than tech and crypto sectors during Thursday's massive sell‑off. A surprisingly mild U.S. CPI report on Friday helped the metals complex rebound, erasing...
The FTC has intensified its antitrust investigation into Microsoft by issuing civil investigative demands to at least six competing firms in the business‑software and cloud markets. Regulators are probing Microsoft’s practice of bundling AI, security and identity tools with Windows,...
Global EV sales hampered by China, US slowdown in January "Global EV registrations, a proxy for sales, fell by 3% year-on-year to almost 1.2 million units in January, according to the data, which includes battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars. They were down...
1/4 SCMP: "Major provinces are budgeting for 2 to 3 per cent growth this year in general public operating revenue, broadly in line with last year but below broader economic growth targets, Fitch Ratings said in a research note." https://t.co/HwyAPw042O
Biogen has appointed Maria Freire as its new chair, succeeding retiring chair Caroline Dorsa. Freire, a board member since 2021, previously led the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and serves on multiple industry boards. The change becomes effective after...
The U.K.'s GDP grew just 0.1% in Q4 2025 and an ANEMIC 1.3% for the entire year. Under RUSSOPHOBE Keir Starmer, taxes are up, productivity is flat, and consumers are feeling squeezed. https://t.co/WDyleJsH6n
1/3 Very interesting Caixin article on attempts by Chinese regulators to get their arms around "the opaque market for corporate IOUs that has allowed big-name companies to defer payments to suppliers on a massive scale." https://t.co/FIJywKAtIX
Paramount Pictures has hired former Justice Department antitrust official Rene Augustine as Senior Vice President of Global Public Policy. Augustine, who served under the Trump administration and led international antitrust matters, will report to Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim. The...
Switzerland’s inflation rate is on the low end of its TARGET RANGE at 0.03%/yr. Switzerland’s money supply (M3) has been growing below Hanke's Golden Growth Rate of 4.40%-6.40%/yr since 2020 & is now only at 4.58%/yr. THE INFLATION STORY =...
CHART OF THE DAY: Among the world's top oil consumers, a curious trend. The 2nd largest consumption drop last year ocurred in Saudi Arabia, where demand fell ~60,000 b/d (only South Korea saw a larger drop). The reason? Gas is...
Oil prices closed Friday largely unchanged after a session marked by sharp swings between macro‑economic headwinds and geopolitical support. Traders weighed the prospect of OPEC‑plus expanding output against lingering demand concerns. The market’s equilibrium suggests that supply‑side expectations have not...
1/5 According to Caixin, China’s aggregate financing grew slightly faster than expected in January, rising by RMB 7.22 trillion. This was 2.4% more than in January 2025 and 10.4% more than in January 2024. It is equal to 5.1% of annual...
Biggest strength for Tech Stocks. and their biggest weakness? (stretched valuations are underpinned by stretched profit margins) https://t.co/JyYGvhtRlC
Xinhua: "China's railway sector completed 46.3 billion yuan (about 6.67 billion U.S. dollars) in fixed-asset investment in January, up 5.5 percent year on year." https://t.co/g109GF2REm
China is pulling more cheap oil from the Middle East. That leaves W. African oil struggling to find buyers until it gets cheap enough to move again, writes @JuneGoh_Sparta In this tight market, the Middle East has the upper hand. Sorry oil...
For years, the world invested in China. Since 2022, foreign direct investment inflows to China have PLUNGED, while China's foreign investment outflows have SURGED. https://t.co/TCWhEPF7bq
OPEC+ may restart April hikes to catch peak summer and regain share as sanctions bite Russia/Iran. https://t.co/cILwlUi7h2 #OPECplus #Oil #IEA #SaudiArabia #UAE #Iran #Russia
SF is the ONLY VC hub with positive company formation growth (+24%) while every other city declines—but an 800% gross receipts tax hike and lab bans threaten to destroy what makes the city special. https://t.co/gVxAtL7zDC
CPI cools to 2.4%. Yields fall 18bps. S&P 500 posts its worst week since November. If inflation is easing… why aren’t stocks cheering? The market isn’t repricing rates. It’s repricing disruption. Disinflation Relief, Disruption Fear 👇 https://t.co/JM3yRs0tFM
AI value doesn't live in slideware or labs. It shows up when agents are embedded in day-to-day work, governed like core systems, and held to the same standards as any critical operation. #AgenticAI #EnterpriseAI https://t.co/VtuS5rQ0ZG
China EV Sales Drop for First Time Since February 2024—Chinese exports of EVs and hybrids rise 70% in 2025 as automakers shift their focus overseas @ivy_jiahuihuang https://t.co/PdiFmEGPXg https://t.co/PdiFmEGPXg
Trump's tariff blitz BACKFIRES. Approval ratings are tanking. 52% of Americans say Trump’s economic policies have made things worse. Now the White House is scrambling to put a positive spin on the US economy. https://t.co/a1JUyOz6LJ
AI won’t replace people, but people who use AI will replace those who don’t. 👥 At the #CiscoAISummit, leaders discussed how 70% of code is now AI-generated, but human judgment remains "priceless." The CIO's job is now as much about culture...
🚦From a pure fundamentals perspective, there's simply no bullish driver in sight capable of pushing oil prices into the high $70s—or higher—in 2026. ⚽️Betting your capital on a major war with Iran or any similar geopolitical shock to spike prices isn't...
This week in enterprise software: Top 10 #SaaS #Cloud multiples as of today's market close
I just put together an 8-step VC interview prep checklist to help you nail any interview... Knowing where to start can be HARD. There are many resources online that will tell you different things. My simple checklist will help you get prepared...
Energy security is high on the @MunSecConf agenda. I’ve been discussing how the toolkit to deliver it must evolve—amid a fragmenting global order, the need to accelerate the clean transition, and a far deeper level of European distrust toward the...
"Ship fast and break things" must not apply to AI agents with access to customer data or production workflows. My checklist explains how to balance speed with responsible releases. #AI #DevOps #CIO https://t.co/1tg10UmJNv
you got ai founders who have never worked at a company before getting funding from VCs who have never worked in a company before the new hires are dog shit big problem to be on the lookout for
