Allied Irish Banks (AIB) announced a €2.25 bn capital return to shareholders, comprising a €988 m final dividend and a €1 bn share‑buyback approved by regulators. The bank posted a €2.14 bn net profit for 2025, down from the prior year, as net interest income slipped 9% amid falling rates. Concurrently, CEO Colin Hunt’s remuneration was lifted to €1.35 m with a target of €2.7 m, using fixed share awards to sidestep the Irish bonus cap. AIB’s shares gained 1.9% following the news, reflecting investor approval of the payout and strategic outlook.
Kaspersky has upgraded its Automated Security Awareness Platform (ASAP) to include native support for SCORM and PDF content. The addition lets organizations upload, track, and manage custom e‑learning modules and PDF training materials alongside Kaspersky’s expert‑driven scenarios. This flexibility helps...

Vistry Group Plc shares plunged 25% after the homebuilder warned profit growth will remain sluggish in 2026 and announced CEO Greg Fitzgerald’s retirement. The full‑year results highlighted challenging market conditions, tighter mortgage lending and higher construction costs. Profit delivery is...

Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers announced three senior promotions within its Ryan Financial Lines (RFL) division. Deborah Egel‑Fergus was named president of lawyers errors‑and‑omissions, succeeding retiring veteran Kevin Sullivan. Brooke Tanner was elevated to chief claims officer for North America, overseeing...

The latest Fosway 9‑Grid report confirms Workday’s tenth straight year as a Strategic Leader, underscoring its dominance in Europe’s HR‑tech market. The analysis highlights five trends reshaping the region: platform consolidation, heightened employee‑experience demands, AI‑driven work redesign, a pivot to...

MTN South Africa and US‑based Pivotal Commware completed field trials of the Pivot 5G mmWave repeater at three sites in Gauteng and Limpopo. The repeaters redirected and amplified millimetre‑wave signals, delivering download speeds two to five times faster than without...
Harshita Tewari reviews nine sales performance management (SPM) platforms for 2026, ranking them from enterprise‑grade Salesforce Sales Cloud to lightweight tools like Pipedrive. The selection criteria focus on quota tracking, forecasting accuracy, coaching analytics, CRM integration, and incentive management, drawing...

The CIPD’s latest research links strong workplace connections to better leadership outcomes, showing that leaders who prioritize trust, open communication, and emotional intelligence drive higher employee engagement, productivity, and retention. Different styles—servant, transformational, and reflective—produce distinct benefits such as increased...

Allianz’s latest Risk Barometer indicates that 51% of more than 3,000 executives view a geopolitically‑driven global supply‑chain paralysis as the most likely Black Swan event within five years, with a global internet outage close behind. The survey highlights rising concern...

Daniel Langer argues that luxury buying decisions are driven first by emotion, with rational analysis serving only as post‑purchase justification. He notes that ultra‑high‑net‑worth individuals have risen 44 % since 2019, yet many clients now view luxury as overpriced because brands...

Greek banks Alpha, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece, and Piraeus posted a combined net profit of €4.5 bn in fiscal 2025, a 5% year‑on‑year increase driven by higher fee income and one‑off gains despite net interest income compression. Return on equity...

Negotiation researchers Adam Galinsky and Joe Magee identify three core sources of power at the bargaining table: a strong BATNA, role‑based authority, and psychological confidence. A robust BATNA provides viable alternatives, enabling negotiators to walk away from unfavorable offers. Role...
Recruiters struggle to find genuine Chief Security Officers (CSOs) because the role now demands deep technical expertise, business acumen, and executive communication. Title inflation leads firms to hire or promote candidates who excel in architecture but lack governance, risk‑prioritization, and...

IAB Europe released its 2026 State of Readiness – Sustainability in Digital Advertising report, the fourth edition covering both environmental and social dimensions. The study’s double‑materiality analysis finds social issues such as privacy and media plurality outweigh environmental impacts. AI...

Iran has launched strikes against U.S. bases in the Gulf States, citing their role in the U.S.-Israel campaign, yet it has refrained from hitting the two American installations in Turkey. Tehran views the Gulf nations as militarily weak and economically...
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr is leveraging his crisis‑management experience to improve margins, centralise the group and expand long‑haul capacity. After a 60% share‑price rise since early 2025, the airline posted its best punctuality in a decade with over 80% on‑time...

A new analysis of ONS data by HR software firm Ciphr reveals that 88% of large UK towns and cities have a gender pay gap, with more than half exceeding 7% in favor of men. Bracknell tops the list with...

UAE equities fell sharply when markets reopened after a two‑day shutdown caused by the US‑Israeli attacks on Iran. The Dubai Financial Market General Index slid up to 4.9%, led by drops in Emirates NBD and Emaar Properties. Abu Dhabi’s FTSE...

Vodafone Egypt launched a culturally focused Ramadan campaign to counteract the growing fragmentation of family time caused by hectic work schedules and digital overload. The 360‑degree rollout combined TV, digital, OOH, radio, influencer collaborations and a new Bluetooth‑based "Nearby" feature...

Publicis and WPP have rolled out mandatory four‑day office weeks for their global agency networks, sparking debate across the advertising sector. Agency leaders say the shift hinges on cultivating trust, safeguarding mental wellbeing, and preserving client‑focused outcomes. The move reflects...

PLD Space announced a €180 million Series C round, the largest European space funding this year, to accelerate serial production of its Miura 5 launch vehicle. The round was led by Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric, which will receive priority launch access for its satellite...

Cloudflare announced a partnership with Nametag to embed workforce identity verification into its Cloudflare One SASE platform, targeting the emerging "remote IT worker" fraud that leverages AI‑generated deepfake IDs and laptop farms. The integration uses OpenID Connect to require a...

Cloudflare unveiled the Gateway Authorization Proxy, a client‑less solution that shifts identity verification from the endpoint to the network. By integrating Cloudflare Access login and signed JWT cookies, the proxy can authenticate users on any device that reaches the Internet,...
British actress Vanessa Kirby has been appointed Lancôme’s new global ambassador. The partnership underscores the brand’s emphasis on “sophisticated vulnerability” and everyday natural beauty, resonating with Kirby’s personal history and recent transition to motherhood. She will headline upcoming campaigns for...

Luxury brands are shifting focus from pure aesthetics to performance‑wellness, driven by data‑rich consumers who demand tangible benefits like better energy, sleep and focus. Wearable technology has made fatigue measurable, turning performance into a competitive metric. The Middle East, with...

Quantum Surgical, a French robotics and AI specialist, has acquired Miami‑based NeuWave Medical from Johnson & Johnson, creating the Precision IO Group. The combined entity merges Quantum’s Epione platform for robotic‑assisted tumor ablation with NeuWave’s market‑leading microwave ablation devices used...

Hong Kong‑based Sau Lee, founded by designer Cheryl Leung in 2014, has positioned itself as a modern Chinese heritage label for American consumers. By reimagining classic cheongsam silhouettes with contemporary prints, diverse sizing (00‑14) and price points from $228 to...
The Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) lets early‑stage investors fund startups now and receive equity later, typically when a priced round occurs. Introduced by Y Combinator in 2013, SAFEs replace costly, time‑intensive convertible notes with a streamlined contract that omits...

Organizations are deploying ERP, HCM, AI and other technologies faster than employees can absorb them, exposing a gap in traditional video‑based training. Hands‑on virtual IT labs provide secure, live environments where learners can configure real systems and receive immediate feedback....

Travel sellers at ITB Berlin 2026 warned that the ongoing US‑Israel‑Iran war is pushing tourists toward regions perceived as safe. They highlighted Asia‑Pacific’s stability, low crime rates and effective crisis management as key selling points. Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Bhutan...

AI video platforms are democratizing content creation, allowing solo creators to produce cinema‑grade shows and brands to generate hundreds of ad variants at scale. Experts say speed and output will increase tenfold, but success will hinge on owning strong intellectual...

The Program on Negotiation article surveys ten high‑profile negotiation cases, ranging from the 2012 mortgage‑foreclosure settlement and Disney’s $4.05 billion Lucasfilm acquisition to pandemic‑era PPE scramble and the 2022 Western sanctions on Russia. Each example illustrates distinct tactics—multilateral bargaining, trust‑based deals,...

AI workloads are prompting a fundamental redesign of Middle East data centres, shifting from legacy digital architectures to AI‑centric designs. Huawei’s SuperPoD solution, announced at MWC 2026, delivers up to 96.6% UPS efficiency and a 25% smaller footprint to meet soaring...

The modern male shopper has moved from muscle‑centric marketing to demanding ingredient transparency and functional benefits. Protein brands now highlight whey isolate purity, grass‑fed sourcing and the absence of additives, while men increasingly view protein as everyday nutrition. Skincare, haircare...

The Vitamin Shoppe unveiled its first Suppie Awards, a brand‑focused accolade created with Hearst Magazines, while supplement‑tracking startup SuppCo launched a “Tested by SuppCo” certification program featuring a roster of leading supplement brands. Both initiatives aim to provide third‑party validation...

CFOs are moving upstream in the marketing process, joining planning discussions before budgets are set and demanding rigorous financial justification. Agencies such as VaynerMedia, Blue Chip, and Brave Bison report that finance teams now scrutinize contribution margin, LTV‑to‑CAC, payback periods,...

Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers has sent three external financing agreements to the House of Peoples’ Representatives for approval. The loans—USD 60.2 million from Korea Export‑Import Bank, €80 million from the French Development Agency, and SDR 184.1 million from the International Development Association—target electricity expansion, renewable...

London‑based Zodiac Maritime is expanding its crude carrier renewal by ordering five new tankers in Asia. The deal includes four 319,000‑dwt VLCCs from Jiangsu New Hantong Ship Heavy Industry at roughly $120 million each, slated for 2029 delivery, and a 157,000‑dwt...

Zapier’s Talent Acquisition team piloted AI‑driven recruiter screens with Ezra AI Labs, processing roughly 250 interviews. The experiment cut screen time by 66%, from eight days to 2.75 days, and freed about 84 recruiter hours, equating to 5‑6 extra weekly...

At Zapier, an executive assistant transformed a traditionally manual role by embedding automation and generative AI into daily workflows. By automating calendar triage, meeting prep, travel logistics and AI‑driven note‑taking, routine tasks shrank from 20‑30 minutes to under two minutes....

Enforcement actions by the SEC and PCAOB dropped sharply in 2025, with the SEC filing 68% fewer accounting cases and the PCAOB finalizing 27% fewer audits than in 2024. The SEC launched only ten actions, the lowest in nine years,...

Eastern DR Congo’s eastern provinces sit atop lithium, gold, coltan and other critical minerals that power the global energy transition and digital economy. Rising demand has drawn a slate of international actors, from the United States to China, intensifying geopolitical...
The Fair Work Commission ruled that dismissing a WorkSafe Victoria inspector was fair because medical evidence indicated his post‑traumatic stress disorder was likely permanent. Commissioner Emma Thornton accepted that the employee’s capacity to perform any role was doubtful, removing the...

OpenText is ramping up its partner ecosystem in Australia and New Zealand to accelerate AI and cloud adoption after internally deploying its AI tools to more than 20,000 staff. The company will boost marketing, sales‑enablement and training resources, and is...

Lucara Diamond reported a 22% drop in 2025 revenue to C$159.7 million and net income falling to C$26.1 million as it advanced the Karowe underground expansion in Botswana. The company completed the 776 m production and 729 m ventilation shafts, but the updated feasibility...
Indian equities deepened their decline on Tuesday as fragile sentiment and weaker-than-expected third‑quarter earnings weighed on the market. CIO Srinivas Rao Ravuri highlighted that forward earnings multiples sit around 19‑times, which he finds comfortable but not compelling. He favoured domestic‑driven...

Virgin Media O2 announced David Melcon as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective April 2. Melcon arrives with more than 25 years of telecom finance experience, most recently serving as CFO of Vivo, Telefónica Brazil, where he helped double market value and...

Havas Malaysia announced a wave of senior promotions and new hires to reinforce its next‑phase growth strategy. Bowie Tiong was elevated to General Manager, expanding oversight of business performance and client leadership. New appointments include Ie‑Tsen Cheng as Business Director,...
Gujarat Gas announced a 50% cut in gas supplies to industrial customers after the US‑Iran conflict disrupted regasified LNG imports, sending its shares down 4% to Rs 382 on the BSE. The company, which sources roughly 70% of its gas from...
In Q4 2025, battery energy storage systems dominated Australian renewable investment activity, featuring in 16 financing, M&A and offtake deals and representing 2.16 GW of transaction volume. Solar projects contributed 675 MW, with 90 % of that capacity in hybrid configurations. New South Wales...