Born Social Appoints Head of UK Growth
Born Social, a UK‑based digital marketing agency, announced the appointment of a new Head of UK Growth. The executive will work closely with Croud’s Chief Growth Officer James Wilde on shared client pitches. This collaboration deepens the strategic tie‑up between the two agencies, aiming to broaden service offerings and capture larger accounts. The hire reflects Born Social’s ambition to accelerate its UK market expansion amid intensifying competition.
In the World of Stripe: Acquisitions, Agentic AI, and Stablecoins
Stripe, now valued at roughly $159 billion after a 74% jump from the prior year, is reportedly in early‑stage talks to acquire PayPal. The potential deal would give Stripe immediate access to PayPal’s 439 million active consumer and merchant accounts and its...
MediaRadar Expands Live Streaming Sports Coverage to Include Formula 1 Advertising
MediaRadar announced that its live‑streaming sports intelligence now covers Formula 1 advertising, coinciding with F1’s first‑ever exclusive distribution on Apple TV+. The move follows the sport’s 2025 global fan base reaching 827 million, a 12% year‑over‑year increase and a 63% rise since 2018....
Autotrader Deepens Transformation Strategy with Embridge Consulting Through BTaaS Model
Autotrader has expanded its four‑year partnership with Embridge Consulting by signing a three‑year Business Technology as a Service (BTaaS) agreement. The new framework consolidates integration, managed support, advisory and innovation services into a subscription model, moving beyond traditional managed services....
Amid Surging Fuel Prices, Canadian Unions Call for WFH Options
Canadian unions, led by CAPE and BCGEU, are urging federal and provincial governments to expand work‑from‑home options as gasoline prices spike amid the Middle East conflict. They cite the International Energy Agency’s recommendation that remote work can curb oil demand,...
Bing Tests Sponsored Label That Is Almost Transparent
Microsoft is piloting a new sponsored‑label design on Bing that is almost transparent, rendering the ads difficult to distinguish from organic results. The test, highlighted by analyst Sachin Patel on X, shows labels in a super‑grayed, low‑contrast style. This follows...
Tamannaah Bhatia Wants to Build India’s Answer to Cartier
Actress Tamannaah Bhatia has launched Tamannaah Fine Jewellery, positioning it as India’s answer to Cartier. The brand builds on her father’s fifteen‑year jewellery business, giving it in‑house manufacturing and design control. It targets modern, urban consumers who want contemporary pieces...
Is University Losing Its Edge? ELVTR Bets on Live, Industry-Led Learning
ELVTR, a spin‑out of the LABA Group, runs a live, instructor‑led platform that bridges traditional online courses and on‑the‑job training. It now offers more than 100 short, intensive programs across AI, product, design, data and creative fields, and has taught...
Government Steps in as Fuel Shock Hits
South Africa’s government announced a temporary one‑month cut to the general fuel levy of R3 per litre (about $0.16) to cushion the shock from the Iran‑Israel conflict that has driven Brent crude up 55% in March. Despite the relief, diesel...
Transparency Data: CMA: Workforce Management Information February 2026
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) released its February 2026 workforce management data on 31 March 2026. The CSV file details the number of staff and associated payroll costs, split between payroll and non‑payroll employees. This monthly disclosure is part of the CMA’s...
CDL CEO Sherman Kwek’s FY2025 Pay Jumps 71% to S$5.1 Million as Group Profit Triples
City Developments Ltd (CDL) announced that CEO Sherman Kwek’s total FY2025 compensation jumped 71% to S$5.1 million (≈ $3.8 million), after the group’s profit more than tripled to S$629.7 million (≈ $466 million). Executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng also saw a 24% pay rise, earning S$7.4 million (≈ $5.5 million). The...
Bangladesh Tightens Grip on Global Denim Trade
Bangladesh tightened its grip on the global denim trade in 2025, with shipments to the EU and US topping roughly US$2.6 bn. The country now leads these key markets, outpacing traditional suppliers such as Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam and Mexico. Enhanced cost...
Kia Middle East and Africa Has Announced Its Participation in the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola
Kia’s Middle East and Africa division has joined Coca‑Cola’s FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour as a title partner and Value‑in‑Kind mobility supporter. The brand will supply a fleet of 48 Kia vehicles to transport the trophy, VIPs and officials across...
Maybe Wells Fargo's Unions Need a Blockchain
Unionization efforts at Wells Fargo have hit a setback as employees at branches in Apex, North Carolina; Spring Hill, Florida; and Casper, Wyoming are either voting to decertify or preparing to do so, reversing earlier victories that saw 28 locations successfully unionize. The...
Omnicom CEO John Wren Earned $70m Package in 2025
Omnicom Group announced that CEO John Wren will receive a $70 million compensation package for 2025, despite reducing his base salary to a symbolic $1. The bulk of the payout is tied to stock options that only vest if Omnicom’s share...
Taiwan: Powering Ahead
Taiwan posted a record 7.71% GDP growth in 2025, outpacing IMF and ADB forecasts. The island’s economy is powered by a booming semiconductor and AI sector, which lifted exports by 35% and pushed the TAIEX above a $32 billion valuation. Foreign...
Inside Khetika’s Bet To Build A ₹2,000 Cr Staples Brand
Khetika, a Mumbai‑based D2C food startup, is targeting a ₹2,000 Cr (≈ $241 million) clean‑label staples brand by rebuilding the supply chain around single‑origin sourcing, stone‑grinding, and preservative‑free packaging. The company reported FY25 revenue of ₹247 Cr (≈ $30 million) and projects ₹350 Cr (≈ $42 million) by fiscal‑end,...
Eptura Advances Enterprise Workplace Coordination in Microsoft 365 Following Solutions Partner with Certified Software Designation for Financial Services AI
Eptura announced that its Engage platform now deepens integration with Microsoft 365, following the award of a Solutions Partner with Certified Software designation for Financial Services AI. The upgrade adds enterprise‑scale scheduling, AI‑driven booking via Microsoft 365 Copilot, and advanced...
IdeaForge and IIT Bombay Sign MoU to Launch ‘Who Are the Next Idiots?’ Programme to Identify Emerging Deep-Tech Founders
IdeaForge Technology Ltd. and IIT Bombay have signed an MoU to launch the six‑month deep‑tech entrepreneurship programme “Who Are the Next Idiots?”. The initiative, open from 28 February to 30 April 2026, targets undergraduate, postgraduate and early‑stage founders working on robotics, energy systems,...
What Marketers Can Learn From the Manosphere
Marketers are urged to study the manosphere—a loosely organized online community targeting young men—to understand how it resonates with their hopes and fears. The article argues that the manosphere’s success stems from authentic, identity‑focused messaging, community building, and data‑driven targeting....
Blackstone Closes $6.3B BXLS VI Fund, Making It the Largest Life Sciences Vehicle
Blackstone announced the final close of its Life Sciences VI fund at a hard cap of $6.3 billion, roughly 40% larger than the prior vehicle. The BXLS platform, launched in 2018, now manages about $15 billion and invests across the entire drug...
Accredited Official Statistics: GDP Deflators at Market Prices, and Money GDP March 2026 (Quarterly National Accounts)
The Treasury released the latest official GDP deflator series on 31 March 2026, covering historical index data from 1955‑56 through 2024‑25 and OBR‑forecasted values through 2030‑31. The deflator figures are drawn from ONS series L8GG (financial years) and MNF2 (calendar years), with...
How Companies Can Stay Ahead Of Tariffs That Keep Changing
Tariff volatility has shifted from occasional adjustments to continuous, rapid changes, forcing companies to abandon 12‑month planning cycles. John Burhans of Mercury emphasizes that speed and full‑chain visibility are essential to identify SKU‑level exposure within hours. Effective scenario planning now...
How Is the NHS Managing £355 Billion in Transactions? NHS SBS Talks AI, Oracle Fusion, and the Future of NHS...
The NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) now runs a national finance and procurement platform on Oracle Fusion Cloud, covering 48 NHS organisations and processing roughly $444 bn in transactions each year. The go‑live on 1 October 2025 handled $23.75 bn on day one and...
Virtual Vanguard Recap: David Sable
In the latest Virtual Vanguard session, David Sable dissected the accelerating consolidation of marketing agencies and platforms. He highlighted how the wave of mergers threatens brand creative autonomy and dilutes strategic partnership value. Sable offered concrete steps CMOs can take...
Hasbro Opens Distribution Hub to Cut Costs, Speed Deliveries
Hasbro has launched a 600,000‑square‑foot distribution center in Midway, Georgia, operated by GXO, to streamline its U.S. logistics network. The new hub consolidates five distribution nodes down to three, supporting both brick‑and‑mortar retailers and direct‑to‑consumer sales. Hasbro projects roughly $8 million...
Blackstone Strikes €1bn Sale of Fidere Residential Platform to Brookfield
Blackstone has agreed to sell its Fidere residential platform to Brookfield for €1 billion, roughly $1.08 billion. The deal ends Blackstone’s involvement in one of Spain’s largest private‑rental housing portfolios, which comprises over 10,000 units across major cities. Brookfield gains a strategic...
Lentra Appoints Rajesh Kumar Rathanchand as CEO
Lentra has named Rajesh Kumar Rathanchand as its new chief executive officer, succeeding his tenure as managing director and CEO of TransUnion CIBIL. Rathanchand brings more than three decades of experience in retail credit, risk management and analytics, previously leading...
Country Report: Turkey’s Booming Numbers
Turkey entered 2026 with a surge in market optimism, as the BIST 100 reached a record 13,867 points and the central bank trimmed its policy rate by 100 basis points to 37%. The government raised $3.5 billion through eurobond issuances, while...
Wolters Kluwer Survey: UK Accountancy Firms Brace for Delivery Pressure as Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Begins
UK accountancy firms are gearing up for the first mandatory Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax reporting period starting April 2026. A Wolters Kluwer survey shows that 50‑70% of income‑tax clients remain non‑digital, creating pressure on firms to scale...
Priscilla Muthoora Thakoor: Supervision of Climate Risks
First Deputy Governor Rajeev Hasnah opened a workshop on climate‑risk supervision, highlighting the Bank of Mauritius’ new guideline effective January 2024 and its first climate‑scenario analysis for banks. He warned that the World Bank’s CCDR projects up to a 10 %...
Samsung Biologics Workers Back Strike as Governance Concerns Intensify
Employees at Samsung Biologics voted overwhelmingly for industrial action after a six‑day ballot in late March, with participation rates unusually high. The labour union framed the dispute as a governance and ESG issue, citing unresolved allegations about unfair labour practices...
Growth without Drift: How Akur8 Protects Its Culture as It Scales
Akur8, the actuarial‑platform provider, expanded its global footprint in 2025, adding a new Madrid office and deepening presence across North America and Europe. Chief Talent Officer Delphine Marsh says the company’s biggest achievement was preserving its core culture while scaling....
Citykart Appoints Rohit Goyal as CFO
Citykart, the Indian value‑fashion retailer targeting tier‑II, III and IV cities, announced the appointment of Rohit Goyal as chief financial officer. Goyal brings over 20 years of finance leadership from GlobalBees, OYO Hotels, Rivigo, Bharti Airtel, PepsiCo and LG Electronics. The hire...
Eli Lilly to Buy Centessa for $6.3B to Get Sleep Disorder Drug
Eli Lilly announced a $6.3 billion acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals, marking its largest deal in years. The purchase secures Centessa’s orexin‑based insomnia candidate and a pipeline of early‑stage neurological programs. Lilly is channeling cash generated by its GLP‑1 blockbuster drugs into the...
Rising Fuel Costs Intensify Pressure on Fragile European Road Freight Market
European road freight operators are feeling a sharp rise in fuel costs tied to the Middle East conflict, which now represents up to 30% of their operating expenses. The International Road Transport Union warns this is a structural shift, not...
FCA PS26/3: Motor Finance Consumer Redress Scheme
On 30 March 2026 the FCA issued Policy Statement 26/3, establishing final rules for two motor‑finance consumer redress schemes covering loans from April 2007 to November 2024. The schemes split the original 17‑year period into a 2007‑14 “Scheme 1” and a 2014‑24 “Scheme 2”, with...
Tilda Backs Premium Rice Growth with Biggest-Ever Campaign Reaching 65% of UK Adults
Tilda has launched its largest-ever marketing push, the "Live Like You Mean It" campaign, to accelerate growth in the premium rice segment. The multi‑channel effort, rolling out nationwide on 1 April, is projected to reach 65% of UK adults through TV,...
How VCMint Fast-Tracks Investments in Early-Stage Startups
Serial entrepreneur Aditya Vuchi launched VCMint, a venture fund that has deployed roughly ₹40 crore (~$4.8 million) across 60 early‑stage startups in under two years, targeting ₹100 crore (~$12 million) by 2028. The fund concentrates on infrastructure and financial products for gig workers, digital‑safety...
Snapchat’s Role in Shaping the Future of B2B Engagement
Snapchat is emerging as a viable B2B outreach channel, according to a GWI study of 2,200 professionals aged 18‑45. The research shows Snapchat users are 1.5 times more likely to hold executive roles and twice as likely to launch side...
Level Up Your Crisis Management Skills
The MIT Sloan Review research introduced a “7C’s” model for effective crisis management, outlining seven core capabilities—Contingency, Clarity, Coordination, Compassion, Confrontation, Control, and Continuity—each maturing across five stages from reactive to strategic. Interviews with senior leaders from governments, militaries, and...
Usage Pricing Leaving Software Vendors Guessing What Lands on the Invoice
Software vendors are losing revenue because legacy billing and ERP systems cannot keep up with usage‑based, AI‑enhanced pricing models. A PwC and m3ter survey of 350 executives shows 44% struggle to measure consumption, and 4‑7% of annual recurring revenue may...
The Hidden Economics of Law Firm Student Recruitment
Law firms spend over $500,000 annually on student recruitment alone, not counting salaries, training, and mentorship costs. A recent survey of twenty firms revealed that mentorship, business‑development training, and deriving value from student work are the biggest post‑hire challenges. Firms...
Introducing Criteo GO: The Simple Way to Launch and Scale Your Ads
Criteo has launched Criteo GO, a self‑service, AI‑driven platform aimed at small and mid‑size businesses to create and scale performance ads across display, video, native and social channels. The solution lets advertisers set up accounts, billing and campaigns in as...
Page Authority: How to Build Pages That Rank
The article demystifies Page Authority (PA), Moz’s 0‑100 metric that predicts a page’s ranking potential based on its backlink profile. It clarifies that PA is not a Google ranking factor but a useful proxy for link strength, explains the logarithmic...
Being Ready for Cross-Border Resolution: Lessons From Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank
The Bank of England detailed its cross‑border resolution framework, highlighting lessons from the 2023 failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse. Using SVB’s UK subsidiary and Credit Suisse’s £506 billion (≈$632 billion) asset base, the BoE explained how coordination with...
Emerald AI and Nvidia Aim to Offer the Fast Pass for Data Center Grid Connects, Partnering with Power Producers and...
Emerald AI, founded by former renewable developer Varun Sivaram, offers software that makes AI data centers flexible‑load, allowing them to reduce power use during grid peaks and accelerate interconnection approvals. Nvidia’s venture arm NVentures led a $25 million round that brings...
Tariff Turmoil: Refunds, Lawsuits and New Duties Ahead
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the president authority to impose tariffs, invalidating duties on imports from China, Canada, Mexico and dozens of other nations. The decision opens roughly $166 billion in...
Semarion Raises $3.8M to Scale Cell Assay Technology
Semarion, a Cambridge spin‑out, secured $3.8 million (≈£2.9 million) in a Series A round led by Parkwalk to scale its SemaCyte cell‑based screening platform. The funding follows a $2.89 million seed round in 2022 and will be used to expand manufacturing, field support,...
Better Interviews with Bots? How Zapier's AI Screening Process Is Improving Recruiting
Zapier faced a flood of applications in 2025, many of which were low‑quality or fraudulent, straining its recruiting team. The company adopted Ezra, a voice‑AI platform that conducts 30‑minute video interviews, transcribes and scores candidate responses, and flags follow‑up questions....