LangChain's CEO Argues that Better Models Alone Won't Get Your AI Agent to Production
LangChain CEO Harrison Chase argues that superior large language models alone won’t drive AI agents into production; the missing piece is sophisticated "harness engineering" that lets models run loops, call tools, and manage context. He highlights the evolution from static prompts to dynamic context engineering, where agents decide what information to see. LangChain’s response is Deep Agents, a modular harness offering planning, virtual file systems, token compression, and sub‑agent delegation. The discussion also references AutoGPT’s early struggles as a cautionary tale and critiques OpenAI’s recent acquisition strategy.
Adnoc Adjusts Flows, Deliveries to Maintain Supplies
Abu Dhabi’s state‑owned oil giant Adnoc announced it has activated contingency protocols to keep crude flowing despite the Iran‑US‑Israel conflict disrupting tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The company is adjusting offshore production, leveraging the 1.5 million b/d ADCOP pipeline that...
Stone & Chalk Doubles Its Backing for Women Founders with IWD Scholarships
Stone & Chalk has doubled its International Women’s Day Scholarship program after a 60% surge in applications for 2026. The cohort expands from six to twelve founders, who will spend six months in the accelerator’s hubs in Sydney, Melbourne and...

Inside FrieslandCampina’s Strategic Reset
FrieslandCampina reported €13.4 bn revenue and a 3.8% drop in operating profit for FY2025, while milk volume rose 2.4% – the first increase in eight years. The co‑op faced a perfect‑storm of commodity price pressure and a global milk oversupply that...

Google’s Liz Reid Says LLMs Unlock Audio And Video Indexing via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Google VP of Search Liz Reid said multimodal LLMs now let Google deeply understand audio and video, moving beyond transcription to grasp style and content. The technology also enables cross‑language translation, helping non‑English users access information. Additionally, Google is testing...

Against a Backdrop of Sexism, Stereotypes and Low Pay, These Indian Women Are Forging Their Careers in Tourism
Indian tourism, long dominated by men, is seeing a surge of women in visible, leadership roles. Initiatives like Pink City Rickshaw Company now employ over 30 women drivers and have completed more than 1,300 tours, while Intrepid’s women‑only expeditions showcase...

Nick McKenzie Probe Targets Alleged Worker Exploitation on 60 MINUTES
Nick McKenzie’s 60 Minutes investigation uncovers alleged wage theft at MA Services, a leading Australian security and cleaning contractor founded by Micky Ahuja. The report claims thousands of vulnerable migrant workers were paid below the legal minimum wage and denied entitlements...
Kuwait Cuts Crude Output on Hormuz Disruption: Update
Kuwait’s state‑owned oil company KPC announced a precautionary cut to crude output and refinery runs after the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut down oil exports amid escalating conflict between the US, Israel and Iran. The firm issued a force majeure...
DiligenceSquared Closes $5M in Funding to Bring AI-Driven Commercial Due Diligence to Private Equity
DiligenceSquared announced a $5 million seed round led by Relentless with participation from Y Combinator to scale its AI‑driven commercial due‑diligence platform. The solution combines AI voice agents, automated data synthesis, and interactive, source‑traceable reporting to replace traditional consulting projects that typically...

Second Bulk Carrier Claiming To Be Chinese Passes Through Hormuz
A second bulk carrier, the Liberia‑flagged Sino Ocean, announced Chinese ownership while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, joining Iron Maiden that did the same earlier this week. Both vessels used destination signals like “CHINA OWNER” to seek safe passage amid...
Bad Jobs Report: Blame It on the Weather
The February 2026 jobs report showed a modest gain that was largely distorted by severe weather disruptions, according to Dean Baker’s analysis. While the headline numbers suggested a stable labor market, underlying data reveal that job growth has slowed sharply...
Kuwait Cuts Crude Output After Hormuz Disruption
Kuwait's state‑owned oil company KPC announced a precautionary cut to crude production and refinery runs after the Strait of Hormuz became effectively closed following U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran. In February, Kuwait produced 2.59 million barrels per day, with...

Marcos Departs for US Visit on Sunday
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. departs for a working visit to New York on March 8, where he will address the United Nations General Assembly and the Commission on the Status of Women. He will call for peace in the Middle East,...

Cold Calling Tips: 15 Proven Ways to Get More Meetings
Cold calling remains effective in 2026, but only when it’s driven by data, research, and a structured follow‑up system. Top‑performing teams build signal‑based call lists, research a single prospect insight, and use an insight‑led talk track instead of a generic...

Leading by Example: Embracing Tools Internally Before Shipping Them Externally
Dynatrace’s VP of Delivery, Reliability & Security, Thomas Reisenbichler, advocates a “use‑your‑own‑product” strategy, urging developers to act as customers before external release. By embedding the observability platform in daily internal workflows, teams surface technical and usability gaps early, turning failures...
Pakistan Seeks Saudi Red Sea Route for Oil After Iran Closes Hormuz
Pakistan is turning to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea corridor to import crude after Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz following recent U.S.–Israeli strikes. The disruption threatens Pakistan’s already tight fuel supply, prompting the government to adopt aggressive conservation policies,...
Jeff Bezos Says An Employee Looked At Him Like He Was 'the Stupidest Person They'd Ever Seen' – Then Proposed...
Jeff Bezos recalled Amazon’s 1995 basement warehouse, where ten staff packed books on concrete floors. After a surge of orders, he suggested knee pads to ease the pain, only to be met with an employee’s suggestion for packing tables. Implementing...

Op-Ed: Visibility Alone Is Not Progress: Why Retention Matters in Building a Future for Women at Sea
Julia Anastasiou, chief crew management officer at OSM Thome, argues that the maritime sector’s focus on merely increasing the visibility of women seafarers is insufficient. Women comprise less than 2% of the global crew pool and leave the industry at...

Indo-US Trade Talks Reset; Deal Now Expected in 3-4 Months
Indo‑US trade talks have been reset after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, activating the joint statement’s review clause. Both governments now have a three‑to‑four‑month window to reassess the proposed preferential...

System Audit Reports in the Banking Sector: Key Expectations
System audit reports have become essential for banks to validate IT integrity, security, and regulatory compliance. Unlike financial audits, they focus on technology controls, uncover hidden risks, and provide actionable remediation guidance. Regulators such as the RBI demand evidence‑based documentation...

Warren Buffett Once Said That Success at the End of Your Life Comes Down to 1 Word
Warren Buffett told Georgia Tech students that true success is defined by how many people love you, not by the size of your bank account. He argued that wealth and accolades mean little if you leave life without genuine affection....

If They Knew…
Marketing strategies diverge on whether to inform or exploit consumers. Seth Godin argues that organizations either educate prospects, fostering informed decisions, or rely on confusion to close sales. The piece challenges marketers to consider if fully informed prospects would still...

They Quit an Influencer Marketing Startup and Built Their Own. Now They’re Projecting to Make $3M
Storytime, founded by former Lefty employees Aris Yeager and Philip Davis, is building a city‑by‑city influencer marketplace for local brick‑and‑mortar businesses. The platform leverages Yeager’s 3 million‑follower social presence to automate creator outreach, contracts, and performance tracking. It targets the inefficiencies...
PhonePe’s Merchant Network Cross 47 Million Businesses Ahead of IPO
PhonePe’s updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus reveals its merchant ecosystem now spans 47.19 million businesses, covering 98.6% of Indian pin codes and representing roughly 78% of the nation’s trade and services merchants. The platform supports 9.19 million physical payment devices and a...

“We Are Building on Top of an Immature Ecosystem”: Day 1-1000 of Bujeti
Bujeti, a Lagos‑based fintech founded in 2021, has transformed from a diaspora remittance app into a comprehensive finance control centre for African businesses. The platform now offers corporate cards, expense limits, payroll, automated VAT vaults and an AI‑powered assistant, serving...

Commerce Ministry Assures of Restoration of Full RoDTEP Benefits to Exporters From April 1: FIEO
India's Commerce Ministry announced that the full Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) benefits will be reinstated from April 1, 2026, after a temporary 50% reduction that lasted until March 31. The scheme, which refunds 0.3%‑3.9% of...

Gold Price Will Continue to Rise as Central Banks Continue to Diversify Into Non-Dollar Reserves: SBI Research
Gold prices have surged 47.6% since August 2025, reaching $5,092 per ounce, as central banks shift from Treasury securities to gold. The United States and Germany now report gold comprising over 80% of their reserve portfolios, with Italy and India also...

ASH: Iran War - Who Needs Nukes when You Have Drones?
Iran’s low‑cost, $20,000 drones are emerging as a more disruptive strategic weapon than its nuclear program, targeting the Gulf’s diversified economic assets. The drone campaign threatens energy, logistics, tourism, real‑estate and financial sectors, raising the risk of capital flight and...

Stanza Living Turns Profitable in FY25 on the Back of Rs 277 Cr Other Income
Stanza Living reported a Rs 130 crore profit for FY25, reversing a Rs 273 crore loss from the prior year. The turnaround was powered by a Rs 277 crore miscellaneous income line, while operating revenue slipped 6.6% to Rs 545.5 crore. Total expenses fell...
Karpathy’s March of Nines Shows Why 90% AI Reliability Isn’t Even Close to Enough
Andrej Karpathy’s “March of Nines” highlights that achieving 90% AI reliability is only the first step; each additional nine of uptime demands comparable engineering effort. In multi‑step agentic workflows, the probability of success compounds exponentially, turning a seemingly robust demo...

Modern Retail Podcast: The New Rules of Product Pricing
In a Modern Retail Podcast episode, Newell Brands’ learning and development chief Kris Malkoski explains how Graco is reshaping its pricing playbook amid AI‑driven insights, tariff volatility, and price‑sensitive shoppers. The discussion reveals Graco’s use of artificial intelligence to fine‑tune...
Realbotix Reports Financial Results for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2025
Realbotix Corp. posted a 121% revenue jump to $2.0 million for FY 2025, driven by its Simulacra acquisition and a shift toward AI‑powered robotics. Gross margins rose to 34.3% while net loss narrowed to $6.3 million after exiting its cryptocurrency business and generating...

Japan Seeks Exemption From US Tariff Hike Amid Trade Concerns
Japan has asked the United States to exclude it from a planned tariff hike that would raise duties from 10% to 15%, warning that higher rates could damage its auto sector and jeopardise the $550 billion Strategic Investment Initiative tied to...

Robinhood’s Startup Fund Stumbles in NYSE Debut
Robinhood launched the Robinhood Ventures Fund I to let retail investors buy a basket of private startups, targeting a $1 billion raise. The fund secured eight companies, including Databricks and Stripe, and raised $658.4 million, but its shares fell 16% on debut,...
US Skips Congressional Review to Approve Munitions Sale to Israel
The U.S. State Department approved a $151.8 million foreign military sale to Israel, delivering 12,000 BLU‑110A/B 1,000‑pound bomb bodies, and bypassed the usual congressional review by invoking an emergency authority. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared an emergency to expedite the...
ZyG
ZyG has launched an AI‑driven Growth Engine designed to help early‑stage direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) startups scale their eCommerce operations. The platform delivers product‑market fit analysis, centralized access to third‑party tools, and automated workflows that streamline growth initiatives. ZyG’s leadership team combines...

Latest Music Industry Hires: BeatBread, Moises, Sony Music Publishing, iHeartMedia, Academy of Country Music, More
The music industry saw a wave of senior appointments in early March 2026, with beatBread adding a CFO, a head of financial operations, and an AI board advisor. Moises recruited pop star Charlie Puth as chief music officer, while Sony...

Considering a Chief Transformation Officer or Chief Innovation Officer Role? Read This Before You Sign
The article warns executives about the hidden pitfalls of accepting Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) or Chief Innovation Officer (CInO) roles, which often come with attractive compensation but are frequently under‑resourced, politically isolated, and ill‑defined. It outlines common risks such as...

Change Is Beautiful: The Role of Disruptive Innovation in Business Transformation
Dr. Lance Mortlock interviews disruption expert David Roberts to explore how volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions are reshaping business strategy. Roberts defines disruptive innovation as turning expensive, sophisticated offerings into affordable, widely‑accessible solutions that create new markets. He...

F1 to Green Card: US Immigration Pathways for International Students
F‑1 students cannot directly obtain a green card and must qualify under an employment‑based category, either through employer sponsorship (EB‑2/EB‑3) or self‑petition (EB‑2 NIW, EB‑1A). The optimal strategy hinges on the student’s degree, field, and country of birth, with the...

The Iran War and Global Trade: Will the Cape Route Become the New Normal?
Armed attacks on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early 2026 forced shipping lines to reroute around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. The Cape route, once a contingency, saw usage surge, echoing past disruptions of the...
Innovation Across Borders
Epicor is leveraging channel partners Technology Coast Partners (TCP) and Auros to expand its Kinetic ERP platform across Latin America. TCP helped Mexican water‑treatment firm Impelmex implement Kinetic, SugarCRM and the Fluent platform, delivering faster decision‑making and higher profitability. Auros...
When Neighbours Stop Knocking: The Hidden Impact of Canada’s 2025 Tourism Decline on US Local Labour Markets
In 2025, Canadian tourism to the United States dropped 25% after heightened geopolitical tensions and Trump‑era rhetoric. The decline hit service‑oriented ZIP codes where Canadian visitors comprised at least 1% of foot traffic, leading to a 6% employment contraction in...
Cross-Border Restrictions in the Age of Geopolitical Tensions: What Seven Decades of Data Tell Us
A new study uses large‑language‑model techniques to convert the IMF’s 70‑year AREAER narrative archive into a daily, country‑level dataset of cross‑border financial restrictions (iBoP‑C and iBoP‑S). The high‑frequency indices reveal a stop‑go pattern of financial liberalisation, with advanced economies easing...
Fed ‘Utterly Paralyzed’ as Iran Conflict Stokes Stagflation Fears
The Federal Reserve entered 2026 optimistic about a soft landing, but the sudden Iran‑Israel conflict has driven crude above $95 per barrel, pushing gasoline prices to record highs and reviving cost‑push inflation concerns. A weak jobs report further erodes labor‑market...

Buildmark Pty Ltd: Building WA With Quality First
Buildmark Pty Ltd began in 2011 as a family‑run renovation business and has grown into a mid‑sized builder operating across Western Australia. The company leveraged the Pilbara resources boom to add commercial projects, then diversified into residential homes, aged‑care, NDIS...

EEOC Letter Cautions Corporate America to Discontinue Unlawful DEI Programs
On February 26, 2026 the EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas sent a warning letter to the Fortune 500, cautioning that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives could violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The notice echoes Trump‑era executive orders...

State CIOs Have a New Top Priority in 2026
State chief information officers have elevated artificial intelligence to the top of their 2026 agenda, displacing cybersecurity after a 12‑year run. The NASCIO survey shows more than 90% of states are piloting generative AI projects and have established task forces...

Planet Financial Grows 58% in Originations, 21% Servicing
Planet Financial Group reported a 58% jump in originations to $28.6 billion and a 21% increase in its servicing portfolio to $144.8 billion for 2025, achieved organically despite recent acquisitions. The growth was driven by strong retail retention (52% rise to $2.5 billion)...
Prolonged Disruption Turns Focus to Inventories
The International Energy Agency’s chief announced that global oil markets are currently well‑supplied, eliminating any immediate need to tap strategic inventories. While some regions continue to experience supply disruptions, the agency sees no justification for coordinated production cuts at this...