Gold Falls as Houthi Attack Lifts Oil, Fed Rate-Cut Hopes Dim
Gold prices slipped on Monday, with spot gold falling 0.6% to $4,466.99 per ounce, marking a 15% monthly decline—the sharpest since October 2008. The drop was driven by a surge in energy prices after a Houthi attack, which lifted Brent crude above $115 a barrel and revived inflation concerns. Higher oil prices have dampened expectations for U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, strengthening the dollar and further weighing on gold. Analysts warn volatility may continue as macro dynamics shift.
Italy and Hungary to Implement Customs Corridor
Italy and Hungary have signed an agreement to create a customs corridor that shifts all clearance procedures for cargo arriving at the port of Trieste onto Hungarian territory. The move aims to speed up processing, reduce paperwork and ease congestion...
72% of HR and Payroll Buyers Have Already Compared Three Tools Before Booking a Demo
Spotsaas analyzed over 150,000 HR and payroll buyer journeys and found that 72% of prospects compare at least three solutions before requesting a demo. Buyers typically start on third‑party comparison pages, revisit pricing 2‑3 times, and 34% jump to competitor...
Capital A Taps Former CIMB Heavyweight as Deputy CEO
Capital A announced the appointment of former CIMB executive Effendy Shahul Hamid as deputy chief executive officer, effective 6 April 2026. The move follows the group’s recent divestiture of its aviation businesses to AirAsia X, signaling a strategic shift toward its core digital...
Entrepreneurship Has an Addiction Problem: The Fix Is a Simple Question
Around 75 % of startups fail, largely because founders treat early ideas as finished solutions rather than testable hypotheses. Mark Bjornsgaard argues that this "idea addiction" stems from System One thinking, which skews judgment and drives costly missteps. He proposes a simple...
Universal Music Group to Launch €500 Million Share Buyback Program
Universal Music Group announced its first‑ever share‑buyback programme worth €500 million (approximately $575 million). The move is framed as a response to a perceived valuation dislocation and signals strong confidence in the company’s long‑term strategy. UMG’s Q4 results showed 10.6% revenue growth...
David’s Bridal CEO Kelly Cook on Betting Big and Knowing When Not To
David’s Bridal CEO Kelly Cook marks her first year by redefining the company from a single‑purchase wedding dress retailer into a year‑long, data‑driven bridal ecosystem. She reframed the problem, discovering that a bride’s journey spans 18 months and hundreds of...
Secured Credit’s Next Turn: Unlocking Growth With Dynamic Funding
Secured credit is being reinvented as a growth engine for banks and fintechs through dynamic funding models that lock only the amount actually spent. Traditional secured cards required double funding and separate collateral accounts, creating liquidity friction for underserved consumers....
Why Payroll Is Becoming the Latest Loyalty Product
Instant payouts are evolving from a convenience into core payroll for gig‑economy workers, with the PYMNTS Intelligence report showing that 68% of users who try instant disbursements become regular users. The study highlights that digital wallets deliver the highest stickiness...
The Enterprise’s New Hire Is an AI Agent
Enterprises are moving from treating AI tools as isolated utilities to onboarding them as fully fledged agents, complete with job descriptions, authority limits, and human supervisors. Harvard Business Review advises treating new agents like interns, measuring reliability and timeliness alongside...
Nvidia and Its Partners' KV Cache Extenders
At GTC 2026 Nvidia unveiled its CMX KV‑cache extension platform and the STX modular reference architecture, adding a new G3.5 flash tier that offloads LLM inference context from GPU memory to NVMe storage. Nvidia claims CMX can deliver up to five‑fold...
Something of a Shopping Spree: Novartis to Acquire US-Based Excellergy for up to $2bn
Novartis announced a deal to acquire California‑based Excellergy for up to $2 bn, securing the Phase I antibody Exl‑111 that targets both free and cell‑bound IgE. The acquisition bolsters Novartis’ allergy pipeline, positioning the drug as a next‑generation complement to its existing...
Why Tech Startups Are Pivoting to Localised Digital Marketing in 2026
Tech startups are abandoning broad, global ad campaigns in favor of hyper‑local digital marketing as venture capitalists demand early profitability. Rising customer acquisition costs in 2026 make generic outreach inefficient, prompting founders to target specific geographic markets. Partnerships with local...
7 Countries Leading the Remote Work Revolution with Digital Nomad Visas in 2026
The rise of digital‑nomad visas has turned remote work into a strategic asset for governments. Seven countries—Portugal, Estonia, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Czech Republic, and the United Arab Emirates—now offer dedicated programmes with income thresholds ranging from roughly $3,800 to $3,500...
Software, AI-Focused Conviction Partners Out Raising Third Fund, Second Expansion Vehicle
Conviction Partners, the AI-native software investor founded four years ago by former Greylock partner Sarah Guo, announced the launch of its third flagship fund alongside a second expansion‑stage vehicle. The firm is returning to the market to raise fresh capital aimed...
SCCA Wins Major Concessions over Gift Card Laws
The Australian regulator Austrac finalized AML/CTF amendment rules that exempt gift cards up to AU$5,000 (≈US$3,300) from additional customer due‑diligence requirements. The Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) lobbied for the change, arguing that gift‑card schemes are low‑risk and already...
He Sold Butter on a Bicycle, Now His GRB Is India’s Ghee King
G.R. Balasubramaniam launched GRB Dairy Foods in 1984 with just $36 (Rs 3,000) and a bicycle‑based butter operation. By focusing on traditional, high‑quality ghee and pioneering an FMCG‑style distribution network, the company now generates about $169 million (Rs 1,400 crore) in annual revenue, employs...
OpEd: Money Managers: Note Shifts in Bonds
David Kang argues that Los Angeles institutions must reassess long‑standing bond assumptions as market conditions evolve. Decades of low volatility and steady monetary policy gave way to wider non‑directional interest‑rate swings, challenging traditional duration‑heavy, long‑end allocations. Liquidity, once taken for granted,...
IQM Secures €50M to Accelerate Global Growth
Finland‑based quantum computing startup IQM Quantum Computers has secured a €50 million financing package, roughly $55 million, from BlackRock‑managed funds. The capital will bolster IQM’s balance sheet ahead of its planned SPAC merger that would make it Europe’s first publicly listed quantum...
South Korea Considers Nationwide Driving Curbs as Oil Prices Soar
South Korea is weighing a nationwide driving‑curb policy if global crude oil prices climb to roughly $120‑$130 per barrel, up from the current $100‑$110 range. The measure would extend the current public‑sector vehicle rotation system, marking the first country‑wide restriction...
Guardian’s First Substack Experiment Is Republishing Food Newsletter
The Guardian is piloting Substack by cross‑publishing its weekly food newsletter, Feast, which boasts over 100,000 subscribers and an almost 70% open rate. The experiment is part of the multi‑year Project Berger transformation plan to make the newsroom more visual,...
NAD Strengthens Board with Former UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey
Nordic Air Defence (NAD), a Stockholm‑based defence‑tech startup, announced the appointment of former UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey and Head of Product Nicholas Högasten to its board. The move comes as NAD pushes its K100XR autonomous interceptor into European...
LLCNameGenerator.ai Launches Free AI-Powered LLC Name Generator With Live Domain Checks for Businesses
LLCNameGenerator.ai has launched a free AI-powered platform that creates business name ideas for LLCs, corporations, and nonprofits, complete with live .com domain availability checks. The tool offers up to 24 AI-generated suggestions per query, advanced customization filters, and supports all...
Mistral Secures $830M From Seven Banks to Build Its Own AI Data Centre
Mistral AI has secured an $830 million syndicated loan from seven banks to finance a new AI data centre near Paris, slated to launch in Q2 2026. The facility will house 13,800 Nvidia GPUs, giving the French startup direct control over its...
LABJ Stock Index: March 30
Effective succession planning is essential for family offices to ensure continuity of wealth management and business operations across generations. The article outlines six strategic considerations, ranging from legal framework reviews to emotional handling of senior family members. It emphasizes that...
The Changi Experience: Inside One of Aviation’s Most Recognised Brands
Singapore Changi Airport is redefining itself from a high‑efficiency hub to a branded destination, embedding personalized experiences, extensive connectivity and sustainability into its core identity. The airport’s marketing team leverages AI, data analytics and a real‑time digital platform to deliver...
The EU CRA – Treating Cybersecurity as Product Liability
The EU’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) moves cybersecurity from post‑incident tort claims to product‑level liability, obligating manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure devices are secure by design, supported and able to report vulnerabilities. The regulation, which entered force on Dec 10 2024,...
As Customer Journeys Fragment Across AI and Chat, Contentsquare Adds New Analytics Tools. Here’s What’s New
Contentsquare has expanded its digital analytics platform with tools that surface interactions with large language models, on‑site chat, and support channels. An out‑of‑the‑box dashboard now reports LLM traffic share and conversion, while the acquisition of conversation‑intelligence firm Loris adds sentiment,...
South Africa’s Taxman Is Coming for Online Earners
South Africa’s revenue service (SARS) is intensifying efforts to identify and tax online earners, from influencers to crypto traders, using platform data and advanced analytics. The crackdown arrives as more Africans generate income outside traditional employment, raising compliance challenges for...
Scott Sports Appoint Hsuan Boon Tan as New Co-CEO
Scott Sports announced that Hsuan Boon Tan will join Pascal Ducrot as co‑CEO, replacing Juwon Kim who returns to majority owner Youngone Corp. The co‑CEO structure, first introduced in August 2024, follows a disputed leadership change earlier this year. Ducrot...
SAP, 렐티오 인수로 ‘AI 준비 데이터’ 전략 본격화
SAP announced an agreement to acquire cloud‑native MDM specialist Reltio, aiming to strengthen its Business Data Cloud (BDC) platform. The deal, whose financial terms remain undisclosed, will enable SAP to transform master data from both SAP and non‑SAP sources into...
Vanity-Led Demand: Vitagen Taps Female Audience with Beauty-Focused Drinks
Malaysia Dairy Industries is targeting women over 25 with Vitagen Collagen Less Sugar, a probiotic drink that adds marine collagen and vitamin C while cutting sugar. The product leverages the growing vanity‑led demand for functional beauty, positioning gut health and skin...
Samsung Prepares PCIe 5.0 QLC SSD with Custom RISC-V Controller Design
Samsung unveiled a custom RISC‑V based controller for its upcoming BM9K1 PCIe 5.0 SSD, marking a shift from Arm‑based designs. The drive targets sequential reads up to 11.4 GB/s and projected writes near 10 GB/s, using QLC NAND for high density. Samsung claims...
Due-Diligence Gaps Fuel Uptick in M&A Disputes in 2025 – Survey
A BRG survey of over 200 deal professionals found that 46% of M&A disputes in 2025 stemmed from due‑diligence gaps, the highest level since the study began. Earn‑out disagreements surged to 35%, up 11 points, while purchase‑price allocation issues fell...
Cedar Hill Capital Leads $1.5 Mn Round in Fraud Intelligence Startup Sign3
Early‑stage VC Cedar Hill Capital led a $1.5 million financing round for Gurugram‑based fraud‑intelligence startup Sign3. The round also included existing backer Smile Group and angels such as Rajesh Sawhney, Dinesh Agarwal, Anup Agarwal and Vinay Bagri. Sign3’s AI‑native platform, used by...
How to Build an Award-Winning Social Media Campaign
The ET Trendies Awards recognize India’s most viral and effective influencer and social‑media campaigns, judging impact, brand metrics, and business results. Winners start with a human insight‑driven story, then choose a single platform—Instagram Reels, YouTube, or X—and tailor content to...
Bajaj Finserv To Invest ₹400-₹450 Cr In AI Startups, Launch Dedicated Fund
Bajaj Finserv announced a plan to invest between ₹400 cr and ₹450 cr (approximately $48‑$54 million) in AI‑focused ventures during FY27, combining a new dedicated private‑equity fund with direct balance‑sheet investments. The AI‑focused AIF, managed by its alternative‑investment arm Bajaj Alts, aims to...
Vietnam Proposes Environmental Fuel Tax Cuts Amid Middle East-Driven Oil Volatility
Vietnam's finance ministry has drafted a resolution to halve the environmental protection tax on gasoline and cut diesel levies by 50%, lowering rates to VND 1,000 per litre for petrol and VND 500 for diesel. The tax currently represents about 6.7% of...
Building the Right Team Is Key for Emerging Managers
Emerging private equity managers are increasingly recognizing that talent is the cornerstone of successful fundraising and future deal execution. Building a cohesive team with complementary skill sets, industry expertise, and cultural alignment can differentiate a nascent firm in a crowded...
GPs Are Setting the Table Stakes
General partners (GPs) launching new private‑equity funds are re‑examining their term sheets to strike a balance between luring limited‑partner capital and preserving the fund’s economic upside. Tightening economics—such as higher GP‑catch‑up or lower carried interest—helps protect returns but can make...
Are PE’s Best Days Behind It? An LP and GP Discuss
In the latest "Commitment Issues" podcast, Brookfield’s David Nowak and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s Dale Burgess examine how private‑equity firms are adapting to a market with slower capital distributions and more challenging fundraising. They argue that limited partners now demand...
Q&A with Whit Matthews: Fundraising Has Been ‘Especially Difficult’ for Emerging Managers
Whit Matthews, chief investment officer at HighVista Strategies, told Buyouts Insider that fundraising has become "especially difficult" for emerging private‑equity managers. He explained that limited partners (LPs) are tightening their due‑diligence standards and demanding clearer evidence of value creation. Matthews...
Finding the Right Partners Is Pivotal for New Funds
Limited partners (LPs) are increasingly demanding that emerging fund managers rigorously vet their third‑party service providers. The expectation is that these managers will prioritize partners who can demonstrate strong compliance, technology, and cost efficiency. By selecting high‑quality administrators, auditors, and...
New Managers Chart a Differentiated Course
New private‑equity managers are positioning themselves with differentiated investment theses despite a challenging fundraising environment. They argue that unique sector focus, technology integration, and ESG considerations will resonate with limited partners (LPs) seeking fresh sources of alpha. While capital inflows...
REITs Boosted by UK Property Renaissance
UK REITs like Picton Property Income and Custodian Property Income are benefiting from a quiet property market upturn, delivering positive total returns of 6.7% last year. Picton's £405 million ($514 million) REIT, focused on industrial and retail assets, posted a 4.9% yield...
HR Hiring Rises as Firms Respond to Compliance Pressure and Employment Law Changes
Employment in HR and accounting roles across UK SMEs jumped 9.9% year‑on‑year, while wages surged 16.4%, outpacing overall salary growth. The spike follows the 2025 Budget and anticipates the upcoming Employment Rights Act, prompting firms to build internal compliance capability....
Booking Holdings to Consolidate B2B Operations Under Single Global Structure
Booking Holdings announced it will merge the strategic partnership units of Booking.com, Priceline and Agoda into a single global B2B organization. The restructure aims to give travel partners a unified point of contact, consolidate supply, technology and teams, and boost...
Intellias Bags ‘Happiest Places to Work in India’ Certification
Intellias, a global AI‑enabled product engineering firm, earned an 8.9 score on the Happiness Index, securing the "Happiest Places to Work in India" certification. The rating exceeds the 7‑point threshold required for the award and reflects high employee engagement across...
Graphene-Info Releases a New Edition of Its Graphene Investment Guide
Graphene-Info has released a new edition of its Graphene Investment Guide, updating financial data and market analysis for public graphene companies. The guide notes that despite ongoing revenue challenges, most covered firms have seen share price gains over the past...
CNBC Daily Open: Trump's 'Favorite Thing' Is Iranian Oil
Donald Trump announced he would "take" Iran's oil, hinting at a direct seizure of the Kharg Island export hub. The Pentagon is reportedly preparing weeks‑long ground operations, with thousands of troops redeployed to the Middle East. The threat has lifted...