Birla Opus Paints Launches ‘Main Bhi’ Campaign with Vicky Kaushal
Birla Opus Paints, a Grasim Industries brand, unveiled the ‘Main Bhi…’ campaign starring Vicky Kaushal, highlighting a 16‑year exterior‑paint warranty and 10 % extra enamel coverage. The ads, set in an airport and a cricket stadium, use humor and peer endorsement to shift consumer skepticism toward legacy paint brands. In parallel, TIME is launching TIME100 Next India with Reliance Industries, creating a list of 100 emerging Indian and diaspora leaders. The initiative will culminate in a gala at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in December 2026.
Deal Ends Year-Long Engineering Construction Pay Dispute
A year‑long pay dispute between the Engineering Construction Industry Association (ECIA) and the Unite and GMB unions under the NAECI framework has been resolved. Employers offered a 4.5% hourly wage increase, roughly £2,000 per worker, along with higher radius, accommodation...
Porsche Sells Stakes in Bugatti and Rimac
Porsche, reeling from a 99% plunge in operating profit and a 15% drop in global sales, announced the sale of its 45% stake in the Bugatti‑Rimac joint venture and its 20.6% holding in Rimac. The stakes will transfer to a...
Himchanmaru Repositions Korean Health Food Brand Globally
Himchanmaru, a Korean health‑food maker known for liquid extracts from snail and chicken feet, is overhauling its brand to appeal to overseas markets. The firm is highlighting Korea’s tonic‑food heritage while showcasing patented extraction technology at upcoming trade shows. A...
Sam Altman’s Next High-Wire Act: Getting OpenAI to Make More Money
OpenAI is trimming its portfolio, abandoning non‑essential projects such as the Sora video generator, and concentrating on revenue‑generating products like enterprise coding assistants. The move comes as rivals Anthropic, Google and Elon Musk’s SpaceX intensify pressure on the AI leader....
How Elon Musk Used SpaceX to Benefit Himself and His Businesses
Elon Musk tapped SpaceX as a personal financing source, borrowing $500 million between 2018 and 2021 at interest rates ranging from under 1% to about 3%. The loans, far cheaper than typical bank terms, were repaid by the end of 2021...
The Human Skills HR Must Prioritize to Make AI Work
HR leaders are confronting a surge in AI use while many employees lack the skills to validate and guide machine‑generated outputs. Roughly two‑thirds of U.S. workers say their firms encourage AI, yet a third receive no training, creating risk of...
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AIO Impact on Google CTR: 2026 Update
Seer Interactive released the third edition of its AI Overview (AIO) study, analyzing 5.47 million queries and 2.43 billion organic impressions across 53 brands from January 2025 to February 2026. The data shows an 85 percent rebound in organic CTR for AIO‑present queries, climbing from...
EEOC Provides Guidance on Telework as a Reasonable Accommodation
In February 2026 the EEOC issued FAQs clarifying that telework can be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA only when it effectively enables an employee to perform essential job functions. The guidance, aimed at federal agencies, also applies to private...
StepStone Soars to More than Double Its Target for New Credit Fund, Hits $1.58bn
StepStone Group announced a final close of $1.58 bn for its second credit opportunities fund, more than double the original fundraising target. The fund will focus on mid‑market leveraged loans, distressed debt, and other private credit assets. Investor demand surged despite...
‘No Old, Stay Gold’: Sega Launches Sega Universe, a Project Designed to Revive Its Older IP Beyond Games
Sega has launched Sega Universe, a transmedia initiative aimed at reviving its classic franchises beyond video games. The first phase spotlights nine legacy titles celebrating major anniversaries in 2026, promising nostalgic yet new entertainment across film, music, fashion and more....
HR Needs Better Access to Data on Apprenticeship Provider Quality
HR teams often select apprenticeship providers without consulting Qualification Achievement Rates (QAR), a key public metric that shows how many learners complete their programmes. Department for Education data reveals up to an 82.1‑point gap in completion rates between providers, turning...
Ranked: Which Countries Have Had the Worst Fuel Price Spikes Since the Iran War?
Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel after the Strait of Hormuz blockage, triggering the sharpest fuel‑price spikes in Europe since the Iran conflict began. Eurostat data show a 13.5% rise across the EU between February and March 2026, with...
Workers at Ichthys LNG Back Strike Action in Australia
Workers at Inpex’s Ichthys LNG plant in Darwin voted overwhelmingly—over 98%—to strike over pay and conditions. The union Offshore Alliance said members could begin action as early as May 7 but agreed to pause until May 15 for six days of talks....
O’Reilly Expands Learning Platform with New Academies for Managers, Soft Skills, and Data Literacy
O'Reilly announced three new academies—Manager, Soft Skills, and Data Literacy—to deliver structured, enterprise‑wide upskilling. The academies blend technology and business content in short, multiformat tracks that include book chapters, courses, and audio, and award shareable badges with self‑serve progress reporting....
Ecopetrol Widens Presence on Brazil’s Oil & Gas Scene with Stake in Brava Energia
Colombia’s state‑owned oil giant Ecopetrol signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 120.8 million shares, roughly 26% of Brazil’s independent producer Brava Energia. The deal, which still requires antitrust clearance and other consents, could be expanded to a 51% controlling stake...
Korbyt-Commissioned Study Conducted by Reworked Reveals Why Employees Tune Out Workplace Communication
Korbyt and research firm Reworked released the 2026 State of Workplace Communication Survey, which polled 1,175 full‑time U.S. employees at firms with 50 or more staff. The study found that workers tune out internal messages that are not actionable, trusted,...
Satellite Startup Univity Raises €27m to Throw Its Hat Into the Ring
French satellite startup Univity announced a €27 million ($29 M) Series A round to develop its VLEO‑based 5G constellation, uniSky. The funding, led by Blast and backed by Expansion Capital and Bpifrance’s Deeptech 2030, will finance the uniShape demonstrator – two low‑orbit satellites that...
Voya Faces TOMS Capital Pressure to Explore Break-Up or Sale
Voya Financial, a $1 trillion pension and insurance platform, is under pressure from activist hedge fund Toms Capital to explore a sale or breakup. The activist’s focus is on Voya’s health‑insurance stop‑loss unit, which posted an operating loss of roughly $10 million...
Lumin Digital Earns National Recognition for Excellence in Workplace Culture and Client Experience
Lumin Digital, a cloud‑native digital banking platform provider, earned Great Place to Work® certification for the third straight year, with 100 % of employees rating it a great workplace and scoring 43 points above the U.S. average. The firm also extended...
Trading Academy Unveils Advanced Hedge Fund Training Programme
Trading Academy has launched an Advanced Hedge Fund Strategies and Tactics programme that immerses participants in the full investment lifecycle, from strategy development to risk management, under live market conditions. The curriculum blends theory—covering market microstructure and portfolio theory—with hands‑on...
Harley-Davidson Cuts Costs Amid Losses, Signals Strategic Shift Ahead
Harley-Davidson announced a major restructuring to curb a $150 million cost gap after reporting a sizable operating loss for 2025 and a double‑digit drop in global sales. The company began layoffs in early April affecting both factory and corporate roles worldwide,...
Linda Henry Joins iManage as Vice President of Customer Success
iManage announced that Linda Henry has been appointed Vice President of Customer Success, where she will oversee a global team of 50 professionals. Henry, a veteran of SaaS giants such as Salesforce, Google, AWS and Microsoft, will drive a more...
Go Outdoors Launches Latest TV Campaign with Return of Billy the Bird
Go Outdoors, owned by JD Sports, launched a new TV and digital campaign featuring the return of its parakeet mascot Billy, airing on primetime shows like Britain’s Got Talent and Saturday Night Live. The ad showcases outdoor freedom, highlighting brands...
China Hit Brakes on Fiscal Stimulus as Economy Holds Up Amid War
China’s fiscal engine, a key driver of its post‑COVID rebound, showed a notable pullback in March 2026. Bloomberg’s analysis of Ministry of Finance data reveals a 2.5% year‑on‑year decline in total public expenditure, the steepest since October 2023. The contraction...
Automating Probation Extensions After Sick Leave in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central
Organizations often extend probation when employees miss days due to short‑term sickness, but manual tracking creates administrative overhead and legal exposure. SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central now offers a configurable workflow that automatically adds the exact number of sick‑leave days to...
Private Markets GPs Reveal Fundraising Optimism for 2026, Shifting LP Priorities Are Main Challenge
The S&P Global Private Equity and Venture Capital Outlook finds that about 60 % of private‑market general partners are optimistic about meeting fundraising targets for 2026, with one‑fifth describing themselves as highly optimistic. Yet more than a quarter remain concerned, citing...
Stocks Mostly Fall as US-Iran Peace Talks Stall and Oil Prices Rise
Global equities slipped on Thursday as Brent crude breached $100 a barrel, reigniting inflation concerns. The United States and Iran failed to advance peace talks, leaving the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and tightening oil supplies. Despite solid first‑quarter earnings...
Rapidflare and McFadyen Digital Partner to Accelerate B2B eCommerce with AI Agents
Rapidflare and McFadyen Digital announced a strategic partnership to embed Rapidflare's AI‑powered agents into Adobe Commerce platforms. The collaboration targets manufacturers, distributors and technical product firms that struggle with 1‑2% B2B e‑commerce conversion rates. By replacing static filters with conversational...
From Insight to Action: Rethinking Media Planning in the Age of AI Agents
Caroline Sajas of Locala argues that the biggest bottleneck in media planning is not a lack of insights but the inability to translate them into actionable campaigns. A Forrester‑Amplified study finds 37% of ad spend is ineffective because data and...
FLASH FRIDAY: PDT Rule Overhaul Sparks Industry Debate
The SEC has approved FINRA’s overhaul of the Pattern Day Trader rule, scrapping the long‑standing $25,000 equity minimum and replacing it with intraday margin standards that assess risk throughout the trading day. Webull and Interactive Brokers welcomed the change, saying...
The Stack: Big Tech Reckoning
Meta faces a lawsuit over scam ads while preparing a 10% workforce cut, signaling heightened regulatory pressure and a shift toward AI. Apple announced John Ternus will succeed Tim Cook as CEO in September, marking a major leadership transition. Google...
What Hormuz Exposed About Our Semiconductor Supply Chain
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early March has halted Qatar’s Ras Laffan helium plant, sending spot helium prices soaring and exposing a critical dependency in the semiconductor supply chain. South Korea and Taiwan source roughly two‑thirds of their...
KRAFTON Chairman Chang Byung-Gyu Returns to MMORPGs: Hiring Begins for 'TERA 2'
KRAFTON announced public recruitment for senior development positions on its upcoming MMORPG “TERA 2,” signaling a move beyond planning into full‑scale production. The hiring drive covers seven key roles, including senior programmers, action designers, and lead artists, all tasked with building...
Cin7 Appoints Sheldon Cummings as Chief Executive Officer
Cin7 announced Sheldon Cummings as its new chief executive officer, effective April 20, succeeding Ajoy Krishnamoorthy. Cummings brings more than 25 years of experience scaling SaaS businesses for small and mid‑size firms, most recently leading Smarsh’s corporate unit and serving...
42BR Barristers and 4 Brick Court to Combine
42BR Barristers will merge with 4 Brick Court this summer, adding 34 of the latter's barristers and their pupils to its existing 60‑member team. The combined set will operate as a single‑site chamber of over 150 members, retaining current clerking...
The Bulk Marketing Era Is Over: India's DPDP Act Is the Turning Point Nobody Can Ignore
India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, enacted in 2023 with rules effective in 2025, mandates purpose‑specific, granular consent for all marketing data and imposes penalties up to ₹250 crore (≈$30 million). Full compliance is required by May 13, 2027, forcing brands to abandon...
German Economy Back in Crisis Mode as Ifo Index Drops to Pandemic Levels
Germany’s Ifo business‑climate index slipped to 84.4 in April, its lowest reading since the COVID‑19 pandemic, as firms grapple with the fallout from the Middle East war, soaring energy prices and emerging supply‑chain frictions. Energy‑intensive industries, which account for 17%...
Trump’s War Is a Clear and Present Danger to Your Future
World markets are losing the petrodollar lifeline that Gulf sovereign‑wealth funds and central‑bank reserves have provided. The Gulf’s $6 trillion in sovereign‑wealth assets and $1.7 trillion in foreign‑exchange reserves, twice the size of China’s combined reserves, are at risk after President Trump’s...
Mobilla Taps Shivam Dube to Strengthen Market Presence and Brand Recall
Mobilla, the Indian mobile accessories maker, has appointed cricketer Shivam Dube as its brand ambassador, marking a shift toward brand‑led growth. The partnership places Dube at the center of campaigns emphasizing performance, reliability and everyday usability. Mobilla aims to reposition...
Nomura Reports 15% Y/Y Increase in FY26 Revenues
Nomura Holdings reported a 15% year‑over‑year increase in full‑year net revenue to ¥2.17 trillion (about $13.6 billion). The fourth quarter saw revenue rise 27% YoY to ¥577 billion ($3.6 billion), while pretax income grew 14% to ¥539.8 billion ($3.4 billion). Record earnings were driven by strong...
NDC to Lead Delegation to Japan's Innovation Conference Next Week
Taiwan's National Development Council (NDC) will lead a delegation of 27 startups to the SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 conference, one of Asia’s largest innovation gatherings. The three‑day event, opening April 27, expects more than 60,000 participants and around 700 startups...
Hyundai Auto Profits Strained by yet Another Economic Crisis
Hyundai Motor Company reported a 30.8% year‑on‑year decline in Q1 2026 operating profit, falling to KRW 2.5 trillion (≈$1.9 billion). The slump is linked to U.S. import tariffs and the ongoing war in the Middle East, which threaten export corridors to Europe, Africa and...
BUA Cement 1Q26: Profits Double to NGN176bn
BUA Cement posted a 22.1% revenue increase to NGN 355 bn (≈US$2.6 bn) in Q1 2026, while profit after tax surged 117.4% to NGN 176.4 bn. EBITDA margin expanded to 53.9% as the firm limited total cost growth to 1.9%, well below inflation. A transport‑department realignment...
Far North Hunts for White Knight Before It’s Too Late for Juken Mills
Far North authorities are spearheading a PwC‑run tender to sell Juken New Zealand’s Northland Mill and adjacent Triboard plant in Kaitāia. The Japanese parent plans to exit next month, putting 200 local jobs at risk. Councils and Northland Inc are...
Med Tech Solutions Appoints Dan Stoke as Chief Growth Officer and Matt Trevorrow as Chief Information Officer
Med Tech Solutions (MTS) announced the appointment of Dan Stoke as Chief Growth Officer and Matt Trevorrow as Chief Information Officer. Both executives bring senior leadership experience from major healthcare‑IT firms such as CTG, NTT Data, HP and Allscripts. Their hires are aimed...
Puratos MD: Why Local Is Fast Becoming King
Puratos, the Belgian bakery‑ingredients giant, announced its acquisition of U.S. leader Dawn Foods, dramatically expanding its presence across the Americas. The company highlighted the growing importance of localised production in the UK, noting that 85% of baked goods use domestically...
Selling in 60 Seconds: The Rise of the B2B Vertical Video Stack
Buyers now consume B2B content in under a minute, forcing sales teams to replace hour‑long webinars with 60‑second micro‑demos. Purpose‑built short‑form video platforms capture viewer identity, tie engagement to CRM records, and provide granular drop‑off analytics. AI‑driven clipping tools repurpose...
People First, the Profits: The Case for Wellbeing as Strategy
At AsiaHRM’s Sustainability in Business Series, experts highlighted employee wellbeing as a strategic sustainability pillar rather than a peripheral perk. They argued that psychological safety is the prerequisite for autonomy, creativity, and collaboration, which in turn drive productivity and profit....
IWD Voices: Kavita Prasad – ‘The Future Should Be About Capability, Not Assumption’
Kavita Prasad’s International Women’s Day commentary stresses that gender equity must be built into a company’s structure, not left to goodwill. She argues that hiring, mentoring, and promoting women into operational and technical positions is essential. While workplace respect has...