New Data Shows Mid-Market Fashion Outpacing Luxury in Sector Growth
Lectra’s Retviews data shows mid‑market fashion brands raised prices up to 50% in Europe for FW25 and doubled them in the US, overtaking luxury as the sector’s growth engine. Price gains span denim, winter footwear, coats, jackets, handbags and accessories, with handbags leading at 33‑38% increases. Brands are cutting average discount rates while extending promotion lengths, responding to inflation, UK CPI at 3.4% and US tariffs of 15‑50%. Antonella Capelli emphasizes technology‑driven insights to balance pricing power and inventory efficiency.
From Hobby to Omnichannel Success: How Les Jumelles Is Coloring the Belgian Fashion World
Les Jumelles, founded by Magalie Aerts as a garage‑based webshop ten years ago, has grown into an omnichannel fashion brand with three flagship stores in Belgium and a thriving online channel that generates 60‑70% of sales. The company emphasizes personalized...
Majority of CVs Run by Mid-Market GPs in 2025 Equivalent to 50% or More of Latest Flagship – Lazard
According to Lazard’s latest report, mid‑market private‑equity sponsors will run the majority of continuation vehicles (CVs) by 2025, with assets under management equivalent to at least 50 % of the most recent flagship CVs. Sponsors are increasingly using larger CVs to...
Institutional Familiarity & Product-Specific Knowledge Keys for Health Systems Selecting Managed IT Services Partners, KLAS Finds
A February 2026 KLAS Research analysis of 19 health‑system IT outsourcing decisions found pre‑existing vendor relationships to be the top driver of managed‑IT services selection, eclipsing cost, expertise and credibility. The study identified five firms—CereCore, HCTec, Nordic, Impact Advisors and CTG—as...
€2.6m Research Ireland Funding to Develop Breakthrough Tech in Renewable Gas and Energy Innovation
The Irish government, via Minister James Lawless, has allocated €2.6 million in phased funding to five research consortia tackling renewable gas production, energy‑system integration, and AI‑enabled gas‑network diagnostics. The Research Ireland‑Gas Networks Ireland Innovation Challenge pairs universities with industry experts to...
Kubernetes as AI’s Operating System: 1.35 Release Signals
Kubernetes 1.35, nicknamed “Timbernetes,” rolls out key features aimed at AI/ML workloads. It introduces workload‑aware scheduling (alpha) with gang‑scheduling primitives, graduates in‑place pod resizing to stable, and makes KYAML the default kubectl output format. Dynamic Resource Allocation remains enabled, improving...
The Long Telegram Just Turned 80. Our Times Demand a New One.
The Atlantic Council’s Frederick Kempe marks the 80th anniversary of George Kennan’s Long Telegram, arguing that today’s geopolitical turbulence demands a comparable strategic blueprint. He highlights a simultaneous great‑power contest involving Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s assertiveness around Taiwan, and an...
What Are Internal Controls in Accounting?
Internal controls are a cornerstone of financial governance, blending preventive measures that stop fraud and cyber threats with detective mechanisms that flag anomalies after they occur. Finance leaders, especially those overseeing IT, must balance these controls to match their organization’s...
Policy Paper: Charter for Budget Responsibility: Autumn 2025
The UK government published an updated Charter for Budget Responsibility (Autumn 2025) on 26 January 2026, with a final version laid in Parliament on 23 February 2026. The revision makes small technical changes to operationalise the Budget 2025 pledge for an annual fiscal‑rules assessment, dovetailing with...
Exclusive: Practo In Talks To Raise $100 Mn In Pre-IPO Round
Practo is in advanced talks to raise between $100 million and $125 million in a pre‑IPO round that will combine equity and debt, led by a global private‑equity firm and joined by existing backers. The financing values the health‑tech platform at roughly...
Clifford Chance Retains 76% of Spring Qualifying Trainees
Clifford Chance announced that 38 of its 50 spring‑seat trainees have accepted newly qualified positions, delivering a 76% retention rate. The firm received 47 applications for NQ roles, extended 39 offers and saw 38 accepted. Clifford Chance recruits up to...
Etsy Sells Depop To EBay For $1.2 Billion
eBay announced a $1.2 billion acquisition of Depop, the mobile‑first fashion resale platform, to deepen its reach with Gen Z shoppers. Depop reported roughly $1 billion in gross merchandise volume last year, growing 60% year‑over‑year, and now serves 7 million buyers and 3 million sellers....
Côte D’Azur Airports Are Key Economic Generators for Region
Nice Côte d’Azur and Cannes Mandelieu airports now generate €2.8 billion in regional GDP and support 40,800 full‑time equivalent jobs, marking a 31% and 8% rise respectively since the 2019 study. Passenger traffic grew modestly by 3%, yet the economic impact...
Home Affairs to Move All Visa Processing Online
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs will close all visa desks abroad, routing every application through its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) platform. The rollout, slated for completion by 2029, will extend from tourist visas to study, work and other categories,...
Loan Note: Nexus 2026 Is Under Way; Venture Debt Performance Under Scrutiny
Private market leaders are gathering at Nexus 2026, the flagship conference spotlighting emerging trends in venture debt. MSCI’s latest data shows a slowdown in venture debt performance, with rising default rates and lower returns compared to previous years. Meanwhile, LBP...
Best Places to Work Certification Recognizes Asia-Pacific Organizations for Workplace Excellence
The Best Places to Work Certification Program has honored 15 Asia‑Pacific companies for exemplary workplace culture, strong employee engagement, and innovative HR practices. The assessment focuses on leadership effectiveness, employee experience, and overall culture, highlighting firms that make employees feel...
The Pipeline: Quinbrook Mulls Stake Sale, CVC DIF Collects €3.5bn, Macquarie’s Double Deal Week
Quinbrook Partners is weighing a minority‑stake sale to bring in strategic capital, aiming to accelerate its infrastructure expansion. Meanwhile, CVC’s Direct Investment Fund closed a €3.5 billion double‑fundraise, reflecting strong investor appetite for long‑dated, inflation‑linked assets. Macquarie Capital announced two sizable...
Stocks Sell Off as Traders Wake up to the Realization that Trump Has ‘Highly Punitive’ Options for New Trade Tariffs
Stocks in Asia and Europe fell as investors digested the U.S. Supreme Court’s tariff ruling and President Trump’s threat of new 10‑15 percent duties. Goldman Sachs’ Risk Appetite Indicator slipped, and gold jumped 1.81 % toward a record high. While the S&P 500...
Damian Creamer on Beating Decision Fatigue
Damian Creamer, CEO of StrongMind, warns that decision fatigue silently undermines leadership. He created the Ink and Pencil Framework, limiting high‑impact “ink” decisions to early morning and reserving reversible “pencil” decisions for later. The system also imposes hard cut‑offs—no ink...
Ubisoft CEO Touts “Disciplined Workforce Management” While Defending Giving His Son the Keys to Assassin's Creed
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced new Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry installments while outlining a €200 million cost‑reduction plan that includes selective restructuring and tighter workforce management. The company is reorganising into autonomous "creative houses" such as Vantage Studios, which will oversee...
Debt Restructuring Is Senegal’s Best Bet
Senegal’s public debt has surged to roughly 132% of GDP, placing the country in a severe fiscal bind. With limited access to cheap financing, the government faces a stark choice between costly debt service and a structured debt‑restructuring process. Analysts...
Asian Stocks Rally After Trump’s Supreme Court Tariffs Blow
The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated most of President Trump’s tariffs enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, delivering a sharp policy reversal. Asian equity markets responded positively, with technology and e‑commerce stocks leading gains and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up...
STAT+: Gilead to Buy Arcellx in Nearly $8B Deal
Gilead Sciences announced a $7.8 billion acquisition of Arcellx, pricing the deal at $115 per share—a 79% premium to the prior close. The agreement includes an additional $5 per share contingent on future sales milestones. Central to the transaction is anito‑cel,...
How Is Georgian Rail Freight Adapting to the Current Geopolitical Landscape?
Georgia’s rail freight accounts for about 10‑12% of national cargo volume but roughly 30% of transit flows, underscoring its strategic role in Eurasian connectivity. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, rail volumes surged 22% in 2022 and turnover jumped...
SEO Fundamental: Google Explains Why It May Not Use A Sitemap via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
Google’s John Mueller clarified why a technically valid sitemap can still show a fetch error in Search Console. He explained that if Google isn’t convinced the site offers new, important content, it may ignore the sitemap altogether. The Reddit user’s...
What I Learned From Trying to Buy only Canadian Tech
In 2017 Stefan Palios tried to run a profitable business using only Canadian‑made technology. The experiment exposed deep skepticism among VCs and accelerators, many of whom advised founders to move to the United States to scale. A decade later, louder...
Warner Bros. Film Chiefs Break Down Their Dominant Year: 'Everything Was Original Once'
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co‑chairs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca celebrated a landmark year in which their 2025 slate generated over $4 billion at the box office and earned three Best Picture nominations – a feat not seen since...
Jobs Digest: Reshuffles at Xbox and Unity Plus Moves at Rovio, Hoyoverse, Google, Stillfront and More
Microsoft Gaming announced a top‑level reshuffle, with former CoreAI president Asha Sharma taking over as EVP and CEO and veteran Matt Booty becoming EVP and chief content officer. Unity added Bernard Kim to its board while co‑founder David Helgason and...
Umovity Strengthens Software and ITS Management Teams
Umovity has bolstered its leadership roster with three senior appointments, adding Hans M. Molin as CTO of the ITS division, Hilary Aylesworth as chief product and technology officer for the software arm, and Matthew May as senior vice president of...
IT Grads Find Opportunity at Home Affairs Departments
Amazon Web Services has placed 20 unemployed IT graduates in Gauteng home affairs offices through the Youth Employment Services (YES) programme. The graduates will receive foundational AWS cloud training, certification, mentorship and compensation through December, directly supporting the department's digital...
RemotePass Launches SpendCards to Eliminate Reimbursement Chaos for Global Teams
RemotePass, a global HR and payroll platform, introduced SpendCards, corporate cards tailored for distributed workforces in over 150 countries. The solution gives finance teams instant visibility, automated limits, real‑time categorization and eliminates cross‑border reimbursement tax liabilities. Employees can spend without...
The EBA Publishes Follow-Up Report on ICT Risk Assessment Under the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process
The European Banking Authority released a follow‑up to its 2022 peer‑review on ICT risk assessment under the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). The report finds that competent authorities have markedly strengthened ICT risk supervision, largely due to the Digital...
Northwell Temporarily Closes Beds, Cuts Jobs at Long Island Rehabilitation Facility
Northwell Health announced the temporary closure of a 30‑bed unit at its Orzac Center for Rehabilitation in Valley Stream, resulting in the layoff of more than 30 union workers, including licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants and physical therapists. The...
Attackers Exploit Ivanti EPMM Zero-Days to Seize Control of MDM Servers
Attackers are actively exploiting two critical Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) zero‑days (CVE‑2026‑1281 and CVE‑2026‑1340) that allow unauthenticated remote code execution. More than 4,400 EPMM instances are exposed on the public internet, giving threat actors full control of enterprise mobile...
Dollar 2026 Decline: More Cyclical than Structural
The dollar’s recent slide is viewed as a cyclical correction rather than a structural collapse, with the real trade‑weighted index still well above its long‑term average. Hedging activity is rising, with buy‑side hedge ratios projected to reach roughly 74% by...
Mencía Bobo: From Financier To Trusted Trade Advisor
Santander has rolled out Invensa, an inventory‑finance solution that lets the bank hold physical stock for clients, easing balance‑sheet constraints amid volatile supply chains. The bank also introduced Navigator Global, a platform that blends financing with market intelligence to act...
Vodafone Turns Its Network Into a Europe-Wide “Virtual Weather Station”
Vodafone’s Network‑as‑a‑Sensor (NWaaS) program is now operating pan‑European, using thousands of microwave backhaul links to turn the carrier’s infrastructure into a distributed weather‑monitoring platform. The service can infer rain, fog, humidity and, with added mast‑mounted sensors, air‑quality data, delivering near‑real‑time...
For some CFOs, AI-Driven Productivity Feels Like AI-Risk Exposure
Artificial intelligence has moved from pilot projects to core finance processes, speeding close cycles, automating reconciliations, and refreshing dashboards in real time. This acceleration creates a mismatch: traditional governance operates on periodic reviews while financial activity now unfolds continuously. CFOs...
Is Inventory Processing Time Slowing Your Brand’s Growth?
Small and mid‑size brands are losing cash flow when inventory induction time— the period between arrival at a fulfillment center and being sale‑ready—gets stretched. Delays lock capital, force costly expedited freight, and can miss seasonal demand, squeezing margins. A hybrid...
Why Banks Are Struggling to Deliver ROI on AI Investments
Major banks have invested billions in generative AI, yet a MIT study shows 95% see no measurable return. Isolated task‑level gains have not translated into enterprise‑wide efficiency, leaving boards and CFOs uneasy. The root causes are the sequencing problem—guessing which...
The Business Case for Dash Cams: Prioritizing ROI in a Precarious Fiscal Climate
Municipal fleets face tighter budgets as city revenues dip and confidence in meeting future fiscal needs wanes, prompting officials to scrutinize new technology spend. New research from Wakefield for Samsara shows dash cams delivering rapid ROI, with 96% of agencies...
The Parity Gap: Why 50/50 Is the Most Dangerous Formula in Business
Equal equity splits are romanticized but can trap startups in deadlock. Real‑world cases like Zipcar and Instagram illustrate how lack of a tie‑breaker hampers growth. Legal tools—non‑proportional voting, casting votes, arbitration, and exit clauses—provide mechanisms to avoid the parity trap....
Smart Technology for Safer Schools
South Africa's Department of Basic Education and police have launched a five‑year Safe Schools Protocol, prompting schools to adopt smart card platforms for daily access control. Modern NFC‑enabled cards combine identity verification, time‑based rules, biometrics, and cashless payment functions, creating...
How Ukraine’s Economy Has Defied the Odds
Ukraine’s economy has rebounded to near pre‑war GDP levels thanks to disciplined fiscal policy, heightened defense spending, and sustained international aid. Restored air and sea corridors revived export channels, while targeted infrastructure grants offset war‑induced fiscal gaps. The government’s focus...
Trade Union: “The Last Word Has Not yet Been Spoken” On DB Cargo Layoffs
DB Cargo, Deutsche Bahn’s freight subsidiary, will cut 6,200 jobs – about half its staff – as part of a restructuring aimed at profitability by the end of 2026. The plan, led by CEO Bernhard Osburg, targets the single‑wagonload segment,...
Prime Capital Eyes Lower Target for Debut Infra Debt Fund – Exclusive
Prime Capital, a European infrastructure‑debt specialist, announced it will lower the fundraising target for its debut infra‑debt fund. The manager also extended the fundraising window by roughly six months to tap renewed investor appetite for infrastructure assets. The revised target...
Du and Federal Youth Authority Power Next-Gen Talent for Digital Economy Success
du concluded its Youth Council Retreat 2026, bringing together the telecom’s youth representatives, senior executives and the Federal Youth Authority. A fireside chat between CEO Fahad Al Hassawi and Chief People & Impact Officer Fatema Al Afeefi gave emerging talent...
Incubeta Hires Ex-Wunderman Chief to ‘Join the Dots’
Incubeta has appointed Adam Woods, former CTO of Wunderman Thompson Data, as its first global chief product officer. Woods will consolidate Incubeta’s fragmented product suite into a unified, AI‑driven platform that delivers integrated media, data and creative intelligence. The hire...
Beltone Holding Launches Growth-Stage Private Equity Platform
Beltone Holding, an Egypt‑based investment group, has launched a private equity platform to complement its existing venture arm. The new platform targets growth‑stage companies, offering a structured path from early‑stage venture funding to institutional‑scale capital. Ali Mokhtar, CEO and Managing...
Business Rates Multipliers: Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure
From April 2026 the UK government will introduce two permanent business‑rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values under £500,000, set 5 p lower than the national multipliers. The small‑business multiplier covers properties below £51,000 RV, while...