Flexential Seeking $1.4bn in ABS, Backed by 28 Data Center Sites
Flexential is pursuing a $1.4 billion asset‑backed securities (ABS) issuance. The notes, structured in two series across four classes, will be secured by its 28 data‑center sites spanning 14 markets and roughly 1.8 million sq ft of floor space. Proceeds will cover closing costs and fully retire existing debt, leveraging a portfolio that generates about $663 million in revenue and $353 million adjusted NOI. The transaction follows an $800 million ABS raise last year and is being serviced by KeyBank with Deutsche Bank as structuring advisor.
Mayo Clinic to Issue $750 Million of Bonds
Mayo Clinic announced a $750 million bond issuance slated for early to mid‑April, comprising a blend of 30‑year notes and intermediate‑term debt ranging from seven to 15 years. The proceeds will finance the nonprofit’s expansive "Bold. Forward. Unbound." capital program, which...
10 Strategies to Increase Sales Productivity
The article outlines ten proven strategies to lift sales productivity, noting that Salesforce research shows reps spend only 28‑30% of their day on actual selling. It emphasizes that the productivity gap is structural, rooted in fragmented tech stacks, manual processes,...
A More Prudent Approach in Apportioning Input VAT Attributable to Zero-Rated Sales
The Philippine Supreme Court in G.R. 215159 clarified how input VAT attributable to zero‑rated sales must be apportioned. It ruled that the declared input VAT, not the substantiated amount, should serve as the allocation basis, limiting refunds to the lower of...
Global Disruptions Seen to Open Trade Opportunities for Asean – DTI
The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry says ongoing global disruptions – from the Middle East conflict to the US‑China trade war – are creating fresh trade openings for ASEAN. At the pre‑ASEAN Business Environment Forum (ABEF), DTI executive director...
Business Name Registrations Increase 6% in 2 Months
The Department of Trade and Industry reported a 6% year‑over‑year increase in business name registrations for January‑February 2026, reaching 367,757 filings versus 345,903 a year earlier. New filings comprised 299,921 of the total, with wholesale and retail trade representing 59%...
From Alerts to Action: Making Public–Private Threat Intel Actually Useful - Ian Washburn - CSP #222
In the March 9 2026 CSP #222 episode, Deputy CISO Ian Washburn critiques the flood of generic threat alerts from public‑sector feeds such as CISA, MS‑ISAC and CIS. He argues that funding realignments and revised distribution models could transform raw alerts into timely,...
Conversion Rate Optimisation Technology: How Testing Platforms and AI Are Maximising Digital Revenue
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) has become a $9.4 billion industry, delivering an average 223 percent return on investment for firms that adopt structured testing programmes. Modern CRO platforms now bundle A/B and multivariate testing, session‑recording heatmaps, AI‑driven personalisation, landing‑page builders and form‑analytics...
ADvendio Launches Ad Suite for Retailers Featuring AI Agents
ADvendio unveiled Revenue OS for Agentic Advertising, an AI‑driven suite that equips retailers with four specialized agents—AdOne, AdPortal, AdGateway, and AdFinance. The platform combines Salesforce’s reasoning engine with ADvendio’s operational logic to automate campaign planning, sales, data consolidation, and financial...
Former Google Exec Brings AI Data Concepts To Agency Boathouse
Boathouse has appointed Sonia Chung, a former Google, YouTube and Salesforce executive, as its first chief strategy officer. Chung will steer a “collect, connect, and activate” framework to fuse offline and online data, enabling cross‑channel consumer insights. She advocates using...
Cybersecurity M&A Roundup: 42 Deals Announced in February 2026
February 2026 saw a record 42 cybersecurity M&A announcements, highlighting intensified consolidation across the sector. Major deals include Arctic Wolf’s acquisition of Sevco Security, Check Point’s three AI‑driven purchases, and Palo Alto Networks’ $400 million buy of endpoint‑security firm Koi. Other...
Designing Honesty: Bodyform and the Power of Informational Creativity
Bodyform’s "Never Just a Period" campaign, created with AMV BBDO, replaces euphemistic menstrual advertising with candid, research‑backed storytelling. The series of vignettes tackles topics from postpartum bleeding to tampon use, answering questions many people never learned in school. Over half...
Climb Global Solutions’ Interworks.cloud Deal Beefs Up European Footprint And ‘Fills A Gap We’ve Had For A Couple Years’: CEO
Climb Global Solutions announced the acquisition of Greek cloud distributor Interworks.cloud for roughly $9.4 million, adding over 600 managed service providers to its platform and extending its footprint into southeastern Europe. The deal fills a long‑standing gap in Climb’s cloud marketplace...
We’re Data Experts at Ford. Here’s How We See AI Agents Reshaping the Shop Floor.
Ford’s data team outlines how agentic AI is transforming manufacturing. The third wave moves beyond predictive analytics to autonomous agents that make real‑time decisions on the shop floor. Pilot deployments have cut unplanned downtime by up to 40%, reduced defect...
Side Letter: New Mountain’s Holt Halt
A former New Mountain Capital executive attempted to acquire five of the firm’s portfolio assets, but the bid collapsed after negotiations stalled. The breakdown highlights the growing importance of baseline economics in pricing trophy‑level private‑equity assets. Investors now treat valuation...
McDonald’s India–North & East Names Sara Arjun as Brand Ambassador; Recreates Iconic Ad, Watch
McDonald’s India – North and East has appointed child‑actress Sara Arjun as its new brand ambassador, reviving the face that starred in the chain’s iconic TV commercial years ago. The partnership launches the Buddy Meal, a value‑packed combo priced at...
Omni-Lite Industries Canada Announces Leadership Transition To Accelerate Its Transformation Into A High-Performance Serial Acquiror of Niche Aerospace and Defense...
Omni-Lite Industries Canada announced a leadership transition, appointing David Robbins as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent chief executive. Robbins will later become President of Monzite, the company’s microelectronics platform, to drive organic and inorganic growth. The...
Tesla Loses Software Director Who Built Its OTA and Robotaxi Infrastructure
Tesla’s over‑the‑air (OTA) and Robotaxi software director, Thomas Dmytryk, announced his departure after 11 years, ending a tenure that grew the OTA pipeline from a five‑person team to a system serving nearly 10 million vehicles worldwide. His group also built the...
Solve the Outsource Vs. In-House Staff Development Riddle
Accounting firms face a deepening talent shortage as senior CPAs retire faster than replacements can be trained. Lera Kooper argues that the traditional, slow career ladder no longer works and proposes a hybrid model that couples aggressive in‑house mentorship with...
Pre-Launch or Post-Launch: Influencer Timing Explained for Gaming Brands
Influencer marketing is poised to shape the $386 billion gaming market in 2026, but timing determines its effectiveness. Pre‑launch campaigns generate hype, build wishlists, and educate audiences, leading to higher launch‑day conversions. Launch‑day influencer pushes capture peak attention, driving 20‑50% of...
Beat the Paperwork: The Simple Solution for UK Businesses Facing the 2026 MTD Deadline
The UK’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) regime will become mandatory for self‑employed individuals and landlords earning over £50,000 on 6 April 2026, with a lower threshold introduced in 2027. Fujitsu’s ScanSnap iX2500 scanner offers a PC‑free way to digitise receipts and invoices,...
New Day Healthcare Taps Interim CEO
New Day Healthcare appointed co‑founder and COO Kathy Poland as interim CEO following the death of founder G. Scott Herman. Poland brings decades of home‑based care leadership to guide the organization through a period of transition. New Day, owned by...
Steve Wozniak on Apple at 50: We Didn’t Foresee the Future, but We Took the First Step
Co‑founder Steve Wozniak reflected on Apple’s 50‑year journey in a CBS Sunday Morning interview, noting the company never set out to predict the future but instead aimed to take incremental steps ahead of rivals. The conversation, hosted by technology author...
USALI 12 & Water: What Hotels Need to Know About Water Reporting
The 12th Revised Edition of USALI introduces an Energy, Water, and Waste (EWW) schedule that obliges hotels to report both the cost and consumption of water in their financial statements. By capturing gallons or cubic meters alongside monetary expenses, properties...
Janet Bannister’s Staircase Ventures Closes $50-Million Second Fund
Staircase Ventures announced the close of its second fund at CAD 50 million, surpassing the original CAD 40 million target despite a challenging Canadian VC environment. More than 80% of limited partners from the first fund returned, joined by new institutional investors such as...
Edward Jones Advisor Departures Hit 5-Year High in 2025: Report
Advisor departures at Edward Jones reached a five‑year peak in 2025, with 1,458 advisors leaving—a 35% increase over 2024. Roughly a third of the exits were veteran brokers with ten or more years at the firm, and retirements doubled, indicating...
VOL REPORT: Stagflation Fears Drive Widening Volatility Risk Premium
Stagflation concerns have pushed volatility risk premiums to record levels across commodities and equities. One‑month implied volatility for crude oil surged to 104%, the highest since 2020 and near 2008 crisis peaks, with the volatility risk premium now almost twice...
Honda Agrees to $2.3M Settlement in Lawsuits Tied to Kronos Outage
Honda Development and Manufacturing of America agreed to a $2.3 million settlement to resolve wage‑and‑hour lawsuits stemming from a Kronos time‑keeping outage caused by a 2021 ransomware attack. Employees claimed the company failed to accurately track hours, resulting in unpaid overtime...
Why Private Equity Matters (Part Nine)
Private equity firms are increasingly emphasizing strategic selection over opportunistic buying, dedicating extensive time to identify the right business, market, or operating model before committing capital. This disciplined approach reflects a long‑term view of which industries and company types offer...
Mammano Returns to Mercury
Nick Mammano has returned to Mercury Public Affairs as a managing director in its Saddle Brook office, after serving as president and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). While leading NJSEA, he oversaw the MetLife Sports...
Are You Creating Value — or Drag? These Are the Hard Truths of Leadership
The article reframes leadership as a value‑creation function, insisting that leaders must generate lift rather than drag. It argues that lift is measurable through clearer focus, faster decision‑making, and stronger execution. Entrepreneurs are urged to practice intentional subtraction—removing obstacles instead...
Marketers! Now Is the Time to Apply for 2026 Brands That Matter
Fast Company’s Brands That Matter program is opening applications for its 2026 edition, with a super‑early rate deadline of April 10 and standard rates rising on March 13. The initiative honors brands that achieve cultural relevance and measurable business results, and for...
Dr Marie-Claire Isaaman on Driving Gender Equality in the Games Industry
The Women in Games Manifesto 2026, launched in January, frames gender fairness as a strategic imperative rather than a moral add‑on. Dr Marie‑Claire Isaaman warns that women, who comprise nearly half of global gamers, remain scarce in senior leadership, creating blind spots...
Compliance as a Scaling Strategy
Compliance is reframed as a growth engine rather than a cost centre, with early legal infrastructure enabling faster approvals from banks, app stores and investors. The article outlines a modular legal architecture—holding company plus operating subsidiaries, centralized IP ownership, standard...
Hi-Chew Owner to Buy My/Mochi Ice Cream
Morinaga & Co., the Japanese maker of Hi‑Chew, announced an agreement to acquire My/Mochi, the United States' largest mochi‑ice‑cream brand, for an undisclosed sum. The deal gives Morinaga a full‑scale foothold in the fast‑growing U.S. frozen‑dessert market, leveraging My/Mochi’s $80 million...
JPMorgan Just Put a 10% Price Tag on the Iran War
JPMorgan’s head of global market intelligence warned that the Iran war could push the S&P 500 down about 10%, citing oil prices breaching $120 a barrel and heightened inflation risk. The bank’s outlook marks a sharp reversal from earlier estimates of...
2 Big UK Car Associations Are Telling Drivers to Ditch Non-Essential Journeys as Oil Soars Above $100 a Barrel
Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel after the Iran‑related conflict disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, sending crude to near $120 in a single day. In response, the UK’s AA and RAC urged motorists to skip non‑essential trips and adopt...
Costco Ties Digital Personalization to $470M in Sales Growth
Costco reported that personalized product recommendation carousels generated more than $470 million in e‑commerce sales during Q2 2026. The retailer also saw U.S. comparable store sales rise 5.9% year‑over‑year and net sales climb 9.1% to $68.2 billion, while membership grew 4.8% to 82.1 million...
Are CVs the Answer to GP Stakes Exit Challenges?
General partner (GP) stakes have become a sizable asset class, yet investors struggle to find timely exits because traditional secondary markets lack depth. GP‑led continuation vehicles (CVs) are emerging as a structured solution, allowing sponsors to roll assets into a...
Zero Click Is Here – Open Attribution Is the Fight Back
Affiliate marketers face a new attribution crisis as AI‑driven search engines like ChatGPT and Gemini deliver product recommendations without passing traditional click data. A recent webinar with Lee‑Ann Johnstone, Alex Springer and Leanna Klyne introduced Open Attribution, an open‑standard framework...
The Key to Companywide AI Adoption? Empowering Managers, Gartner Says.
Gartner’s latest analysis warns that HR must shift AI‑adoption responsibility to managers, who are already experimenting with the technology at higher rates than rank‑and‑file employees. While nearly 50% of managers reported AI trials, only 26% of employees did, and 14%...
Week in Review: Why Pay for Performance Matters
A new McLean & Co. report finds employees who expect fair pay for exceeding performance are 2.7 times more likely to be engaged, underscoring the strategic value of pay‑for‑performance systems. However, many firms still struggle to design and implement such compensation...
Entry-Level Jobs Should Be Entry Level
Employers increasingly label positions as “entry level” while demanding three or more years of experience, a trend highlighted by SHRM’s finding that 61% of such postings exceed true entry‑level criteria. This mismatch discourages recent graduates, creates confusion, and narrows talent...
SEBI Sets up Expert Group to Chart Tech Roadmap for Markets
India’s securities regulator SEBI has created a high‑level expert working group to draft both short‑term and long‑term technology roadmaps for the market ecosystem. The group will address growing trading volumes, digital participation, and operational complexity, while SEBI simultaneously rolls out...
Saks Fifth Avenue Store Closures Update: See the Full List of Doomed Locations in 12 States
Saks Global announced on March 6, 2026 that it will close 15 additional retail locations—12 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and three Neiman Marcus stores—across 12 states as part of its Chapter 11 restructuring. Closing sales begin March 13, 2026, and the list...
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai Could Earn $692 Million — But Only If He Hits These Targets
Alphabet has granted CEO Sundar Pichai a three‑year equity package that could total up to $692 million if all performance targets are met. His base salary remains a flat $2 million per year, with no cash bonus, while the bulk of the...
Primark Is Retail’s ‘Best Kept Secret.’ It’s Ready to Move Beyond That.
Primark appointed Eoin Tonge as permanent CEO after a year as interim, signaling a stable leadership transition. The retailer is accelerating U.S. expansion, celebrating a decade of presence and planning a flagship Herald Square store in Manhattan. Internationally, Primark opened...
Recession Odds Jump on Kalshi After Oil Tops $100
Prediction‑market platform Kalshi saw recession odds climb above 34% on Monday, the highest level since November, after U.S. crude oil breached the $100 per barrel threshold. The surge in oil prices follows recent Middle‑Eastern output cuts and the closure of...
The Benefits Gap No One Talks About: Health Insurance Waiting Periods
Health insurance waiting periods leave new employees uninsured during the critical onboarding window, creating financial exposure and eroding trust. The article outlines how modern talent markets now evaluate benefits timing alongside salary, making Day‑1 coverage a decisive factor in candidate...
Artificial Intelligence and Careers: Is It Time to Retrain in the Age of AI?
Gen Z hiring in UK construction and trade roles jumped 16.8 % year‑on‑year, reflecting a shift toward perceived AI‑proof blue‑collar jobs. Across the broader workforce, professionals are adopting AI fluency as career insurance, aiming for roles that design, manage, or direct...