Check Point Software Earns Leader & Fast Mover Position in GigaOm Radar for Cloud Network Security
Check Point Software has been named a Leader and Fast Mover in the GigaOm Radar for Cloud Network Security 2025, marking its third consecutive year at the top. GigaOm highlighted the company’s prevention‑first Infinity architecture, unified cloud security platform, and rapid innovation pace. Strengths cited include CloudGuard WAF’s machine‑learning threat prevention, automated policy management via CloudGuard Controller, and deep multicloud visibility through Wiz integration. The Open Garden strategy further expands native integrations across public and private clouds.
Consus Ag Consulting Afternoon Wrap Up
The episode reviews the overnight futures market, noting mixed grain movements and modest profit taking in soybeans. A pivotal moment came when the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that President Trump’s tariffs were invalid because only Congress...
Evaluating Joe Grundfest's Argument For Repealing the Shareholder Proposal Rule
In this episode, host Bainbridge critiques SEC Rule 14a-8, arguing it should be repealed or substantially reformed due to high costs, procedural flaws, and misuse, while proposing higher ownership thresholds and stricter materiality standards as alternatives. He then evaluates Joseph...
Airbus Takes $500M Hit as A220 Ramp Slows
Airbus recorded a $500 million impairment on its A220 program as the aircraft’s production ramp slowed and order growth lagged expectations. The write‑down reflects weaker cash‑flow projections and higher unit costs, casting doubt on the A220’s earnings contribution. CEO Guillaume Faury remains...
Supreme Court Rejection of Trump Tariffs Has Nuanced Implications for Pharma Importers
The Supreme Court struck down the broad tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, but left Section 232 duties untouched. Because most pharma tariffs were issued under Section 232, the ruling does not eliminate the targeted tariffs on drug imports....
Hirevue Announced the Launch of Assessment Builder
Hirevue unveiled Assessment Builder, a new tool that lets talent‑acquisition teams create role‑specific, scientifically validated hiring assessments in minutes. The platform leverages AI to parse job descriptions and generate skill‑based evaluations while offering the choice between AI‑scored and fully manual...
Global Growth Expected to Slow in 2026
World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report projects global real GDP growth to slow in 2026 after a surprisingly resilient 2025. The 2025 boost stemmed from a pre‑tariff trade surge and modest monetary easing, but those advantages are fading. New trade...
Trust in Numbers
The article argues that while the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) faces accusations of political manipulation, there is no evidence of data tampering and the agency relied on its documented imputation methodology during the 2025 shutdown. It highlights the importance...
Bankers Complain that Apple Has a Tight Grip on Mobile Payments
Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay dominate Canada’s mobile payments, capturing roughly 90% of phone‑based transactions. The Canadian market, valued at about $1.39 billion in 2024, is forecast to surge to $20.48 billion by 2030. Major banks such as RBC, Scotiabank...
Napster, Scaling Up Launch AI-Powered Coaching
Napster, an embodied AI firm, announced a partnership with Scaling Up to embed its AI platform into the global executive‑coaching network. The collaboration will generate AI‑driven digital twins of Scaling Up’s seasoned coaches, delivering the proven growth framework 24/7 in multiple languages....
Reviewing Locum Tenens Agreements: Look Beyond the Hourly Rate
Dr. Sriman Swarup warns that the hourly rate in locum tenens contracts is often the least critical factor. He emphasizes that contract clarity—especially around responsibility for cancellations, payment guarantees, and termination triggers—determines whether an assignment is viable. Ambiguous language typically...
Supreme Court Strikes Down IEEPA-Based Tariffs, Doesn’t Rule on Refunds (“Likely to Be a ‘Mess’”)
The Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in a 6‑3 decision, covering both reciprocal trade‑deficit tariffs and fentanyl‑related duties. Over half of the tariff revenue collected in recent years...
Q&A: Organisations Are Spending Millions on Cybersecurity and Still Getting It Wrong
Organizations are pouring billions into cybersecurity yet continue to suffer breaches because they treat security as a purely technical issue. Senior cyber leader Purvi Kay argues that weak governance, poor communication, and unclear accountability are the primary failures. She emphasizes...
Hand Picked Hotels Makes Three Senior Hires for Channel Islands Division
Hand Picked Hotels announced three senior appointments for its Channel Islands division. Will Jackson will serve as general manager of L’Horizon Hotel & Spa in Jersey, José Simoes as hotel manager of Braye Beach Hotel in Alderney, and Jaime Short...
'Great News for Spot Rates'? Supreme Court Rules Against Trump Emergency Tariffs
In a 6‑3 ruling, the Supreme Court held that President Trump lacked authority under the International Emergency Economic Power Act to impose sweeping tariffs, invalidating duties that had reached 145% on certain Chinese imports. The decision dismantles a cornerstone of...
KESPA Highlights the Economic Power of Esports Events in South Korea
South Korea’s Korea e‑Sports Association released a study quantifying the economic impact of esports events using its new Multi‑layered Esports Economic Impact (MEEI) model. The analysis shows the 2023 League of Legends World Championship generated a production inducement effect of...
Netflix Acquires Stop-Motion Animated Feature ‘I Am Frankelda’ for 2026 Release
Netflix announced the global acquisition of *I Am Frankelda*, Mexico’s first feature‑length stop‑motion film, slated for a 2026 debut on the platform. The project, created by brothers Arturo and Roy Ambriz, earned a Best Independent Feature nomination at the 53rd...
Supreme Court Strikes Down Tariffs
The Supreme Court, in a 6‑3 ruling, invalidated the sweeping tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump, finding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not grant the president authority to levy tariffs. The justices applied the major...
Generali GC&C Adds Zurich’s Mario Glanz as Head of Casualty
Generali’s Global Corporate & Commercial (GC&C) unit has appointed Mario Glanz as Head of Casualty, tasking him with expanding the business worldwide under the insurer’s Next Level Plan. Glanz brings more than 20 years of casualty underwriting experience, most recently...
Impact of Open Innovation
Open innovation, defined by collaborative, community‑driven development, is reshaping technology and business landscapes. By making source code and designs freely accessible, it enables rapid prototyping, iterative improvement, and cross‑disciplinary idea exchange. Major projects like Linux illustrate how open ecosystems accelerate...
World of HR: UK Supreme Court Rules Trans Individuals Cannot Use Single-Sex Bathrooms at Work
The UK Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 13 that trans individuals may use bathrooms matching their gender identity in public venues but not in the workplace. Employers must therefore maintain mixed‑sex facilities while still offering single‑sex rooms, and the decision...
Inflation’s Back In America. Not That It Ever Left
The Federal Reserve’s January FOMC minutes confirm that inflation remains entrenched in the United States, contrary to earlier optimism. Core consumer‑price index rose 0.3% month‑over‑month, keeping annual inflation above the Fed’s 2% target. The minutes show policymakers acknowledging persistent price...
United, American to Inject $200 Million Into Brazil’s Azul
United Airlines and American Airlines have each pledged $100 million to recapitalize Brazil’s Azul as it emerges from Chapter 11, while existing creditors will contribute an additional $100 million. United’s cash will flow through a public equity offering and American will use warrant...
Less Tool, More Impact: A Guide to the Sales Enablement Tech Stack
Nada, Hitachi Vantara’s sales enablement leader, outlines how the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) market forces sales organizations to rethink their technology stacks. She highlights that chief revenue officers (CROs) in sub‑$5 billion firms stay an average of only 18...
Gallagher Strengthens Romero Group with Key Appointments
Gallagher announced two senior appointments within its UK‑based Romero Group. Jonathan Webb, a 40‑year insurance veteran from Marsh, joins as Regional Managing Director, overseeing 200 staff across Leeds, Nottingham, Halifax and Harrogate, succeeding Simon Mabbb who remains an integration advisor....
Essential Business Leadership Advice for Today’s CEOs
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...
Government Dysfunction Torpedoes US Economic Growth
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...
Asset-Intensive Reinsurance Expands Globally with Competition Intensifying: PwC
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...
CEO Interview with Aftkhar Aslam of yieldWerx
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,...
Copper: Imminent Supercycle or Mostly Hype?
In this episode, Doomberg examines the recent surge of interest in copper, dissecting whether the metal is on the brink of a genuine supercycle driven by supply constraints and booming demand, or if the hype is largely speculative. He outlines...
New Podcast Episode: What Employers Need to Know About Arbitration Clauses
The latest "From Lawyer to Employer" podcast episode tackles arbitration clauses in employment contracts, featuring host and Emily McDonough Souza. It outlines arbitration’s speed, privacy, and legal focus while warning against treating it as a default solution. The discussion highlights...
Geopolitical Union: Europe’s Attempt to Take Back Control of Technology Regulation
The European Commission is repositioning itself as a “Geopolitical Commission,” aiming to reclaim control over technology regulation. The strategy, outlined in Benjamin Farrand’s book *Geopolitical Union*, targets standards, micro‑chip access, online platform oversight, industrial data, and artificial intelligence. By blending...
Weekend Reading and MB Media Appearances
The MacroBusiness weekend briefing spotlights a series of global and domestic macro developments. In the United States, the Federal Reserve injected $18.5 billion of liquidity, complied with a White House‑requested rate check, and saw sub‑prime unsecured loan balances hit record levels...
American Coastal’s Net Income Rises 437% in Q4’25
American Coastal Insurance Corp. posted a Q4 2025 net income of $26.6 million, a 437% jump from the same quarter a year earlier. The surge stemmed from dramatically lower losses and loss‑adjustment expenses after a hurricane‑free period, eliminating a $0.9 million loss from...
Unintended Consequences
EchoStar exited the facility‑based cellular market after FCC pressure to monetize its spectrum, selling valuable bands to Starlink and AT&T while walking away from thousands of tower lease payments. The lease abandonment has prompted tower owners to seek FCC intervention,...
Why Pershing Square Holdings Trades At A Deep Discount To NAV
Pershing Square Holdings (PSH) trades about a 25 % discount to NAV, reflecting its closed‑end, London‑listed structure and a portfolio of public equities that investors can replicate. The lack of daily redemption limits arbitrage, while a 1.5 % management fee and 16 %...
Gold and Silver Recovering
The episode reviews a recent rally in gold and silver prices, noting modest gains in Europe and unusually low trading volumes on the U.S. Comex market due to a holiday. It highlights the scant speculative interest and low open interest...
Bloomberg Reports: Quantum Startup Pasqal Seeks €200 Million to Fuel Growth
French quantum computing startup Pasqal announced it is in talks to raise €200 million, valuing the company at over $1 billion pre‑money. The round, led by undisclosed investors, would fund the expansion of its neutral‑atom quantum processors and full‑stack hardware‑software platform. Co‑founder...
Restaurants Challenged to Manage the Cost/Inflation Margin Squeeze in 2026
The U.S. restaurant sector enters 2026 facing a steep cost squeeze, with food and labor expenses 30% above 2019 levels. Operators have raised menu prices 31% since 2020, yet profit margins remain tight at just 3‑5%. Consumer demand is shifting...
Friedman on Immigration: Setting the Record Straight
Milton Friedman argued that free immigration clashes with a welfare state, but his stance was more nuanced: he viewed illegal immigration as beneficial because it limits immigrants' access to public benefits. The article notes that most U.S. immigrants are of...
Research Review | 20 February 2026 | Forecasting Returns
Recent academic research sharpens the tools investors use to forecast long‑term returns and market risk. Rui Ma et al. show that a market‑cap‑weighted Component CAPE ratio aligns prices and earnings, delivering out‑of‑sample R² above 50 %. Javier Estrada confirms that valuation multiples...
Pharma Pulse: J&J’s $1B Cell Therapy Hub and Hims & Hers’ Global Expansion
Johnson & Johnson announced a $1 billion investment to build a next‑generation cell‑therapy manufacturing facility in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, slated to support 500 skilled jobs. The hub is a key element of J&J’s $55 billion U.S. manufacturing, R&D, and technology strategy. Meanwhile,...
Organizational Readiness, Not Employee Resistance to Change, Is the Biggest Barrier to AI Success
New research from Qualtrics and Celonis shows that employee resistance is no longer the primary obstacle to AI adoption; instead, organizational readiness is. While 52% of workers regularly use AI and 89% of leaders view AI as a competitive opportunity,...
How the Right Communication Skills Help Leaders Restore Productivity and Resolve Team Conflict
The latest Let\'s Grow Leaders podcast episode shows how leaders can convert petty team conflicts into measurable productivity by mastering the right communication techniques. It introduces simple, empathy‑driven phrases and three diagnostic questions that help identify whether a teammate needs...
Contango to Raise £5mn for Muchesu Coal Expansion, Debt-Free Transition
London‑listed Contango Holdings announced a £5 million share subscription, funded by Pacific Goal Investments and Huo Investments, to recapitalise the business and erase existing shareholder loans. The deal, priced at a 39 percent premium to the February 12, 2026 mid‑market close, will...
China, Afghanistan, and Critical Minerals: Options for U.S. Strategic Competition Below the Threshold of War
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...
Forward-Looking Statements: 9th Cir. Says No Safe Harbor for “Hypothetical Risk Factor”
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...
DExit: Evidence From 2025 IPOs
Houlihan Lokey data shows Delaware’s share of IPO incorporations dropped from over 80% (2022‑2024) to just under 62% in 2025, while Nevada rose to nearly 17% and Texas to about 4%. The shift reflects a modest migration of companies to alternative...
Enforcement: Should You Consider Litigating?
The SEC’s enforcement approach has softened since the 2025 administration change, with corporate penalties falling roughly 30 percent and a greater emphasis on cooperation and remediation. At the same time, the Supreme Court’s pending decision on whether the agency must...
Private Equity: Sponsors Expect to Capitalize on Improved Exit Environment
EY’s latest Private Equity Pulse shows sponsors are increasingly confident about 2026 exits after a resurgence in 2025. Trade sales rebounded sharply, driven by pent‑up strategic demand and stronger board‑level conviction. In total, U.S. firms recorded $481 billion of sales to...