FHFA to Improve Nonbank Supervision on GAO Nudge
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced plans to tighten supervision of non‑bank mortgage lenders following a GAO recommendation. A GAO review gave FHFA a clean bill of health on its financial statements but highlighted $32.9 million in costs tied to the elimination of 216 staff members. Director Bill Pulte’s first seven months featured extensive meetings with industry stakeholders, signaling a proactive engagement strategy. The agency aims to bolster oversight to address growing non‑bank activity in the mortgage market.
Study Finds GSE-Backed Investor Loans Crowd Out FTHBs
A recent study shows that loans backed by government‑sponsored enterprises (GSEs) for investor purchases are increasingly displacing first‑time homebuyers (FTHBs) in the mortgage market. Investor‑originated, GSE‑secured loans grew 12% year‑over‑year, while FTHB loan share slipped 8% in Q3 2025. The...
Achieve Perfect Fried Chicken in Less Than 3 Minutes
Fried chicken sandwiches now appear on 12.3% of full‑service restaurant menus, a 30% increase over four years, while consumer awareness sits at 95% and trial at 86%. Hormel Foodservice’s FLASH 180™ Battered Sous Vide Chicken offers a pre‑cooked, batter‑coated product that...
Oil States Reports Fourth-Quarter Results Amid Restructuring Charges
Oil States International posted Q4 2025 revenue of $178.5 million, an 8% year‑on‑year increase, but reported a GAAP net loss of $117.2 million due to one‑time asset impairment and restructuring charges. Adjusted EBITDA improved 22% to $22.8 million, and adjusted net income rose...
Iran’s Regime Is Suffering From Strategic Vertigo. Its Next Misstep May Be Its Last.
Iran’s leadership has repeatedly misread regional dynamics, turning potential strategic gains into costly setbacks. After hesitating to mobilize Hezbollah during the October 7 Hamas offensive, Tehran launched a large‑scale missile and drone barrage against Israel in April 2024, prompting a robust Israeli‑U.S....
Efficient Computer Receives $60M Series A
Efficient Computer announced a $60 million Series A round led by Triatomic Capital, bringing its total capital raised to $76 million. The financing will accelerate its product roadmap and expand engineering and developer teams. The startup is developing the world’s most energy‑efficient general‑purpose...
Trump Imposes 15% Tariff Through Executive Order Following Supreme Court Ruling
President Donald Trump announced an executive order imposing a 15% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, following a Supreme Court decision that invalidated his earlier emergency‑law tariff plan. The new tariffs include exemptions for critical minerals, metals...
Jump Closes $80M Series B Financing Round
Jump, an AI platform for financial advisors, closed an $80 million Series B round led by Insight Partners. The financing, which also attracted new backers such as F‑Prime, Allianz Life Ventures, TIAA Ventures and Peterson Partners, brings the company's total capital to...
KPMG Named SAP Global Strategic Service Partner
KPMG has been elevated to SAP’s Global Strategic Service Partner tier, positioning its cloud‑native Velocity platform as a core delivery engine for large‑scale ERP transformations. The partnership emphasizes modular accelerators and an AI‑first approach that streamline design, configuration, and testing...
Latest Music Industry Hires: Culture Wave, Warner Chappell, Qobuz, Hybe, KHS America, Secretly Distribution, More
The music industry saw a wave of senior appointments and hires across multiple firms as of February 20, 2026. Culture Wave added several managers and a digital marketing coordinator while promoting an artist manager. Warner Chappell Music Italy elevated internal A&R...
How Avocado Is Spreading Across Menus
Avocado’s surge in consumer demand is prompting operators to seek reliable, high‑yield solutions for menu inclusion. Traditional whole‑fruit handling often results in 50‑75% usable yield due to bruising, over‑ripeness, and waste, threatening margins. WHOLLY® avocado products, processed via high‑pressure technology,...
Canadian Utility Hydro-Québec Proposes Electricity Tariff for Data Centers
Hydro‑Québec has filed a proposal to charge large data centers 13 CAD cents per kilowatt‑hour, roughly twice the existing high‑power rate. The tariff would apply to facilities over 5 MW and take effect in the second half of 2026, with a five‑year...
Variance Analysis for Sales and Revenue Teams
Revenue leaders often face unexplained forecast gaps, like a $700K shortfall, because traditional variance analysis is accountant‑focused and lags behind real‑time sales activity. The guide introduces nine revenue‑specific variance types—from sales volume to quota attainment—and a five‑step process that turns...
Real Estate As Trade Engine: How John E. Drew Builds For Global Commerce
John E. Drew, founder of Drew Companies, is redefining real estate as a trade engine by developing logistics‑focused campuses that link ports, rail, and highways. His strategy emphasizes modular, technology‑enabled facilities that accelerate cargo movement and reduce supply‑chain friction. Drew’s...
#58401
The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) released the final terms for the adjusted CyberArk Software Ltd. (CYBR) options identified as PANW1/2PANW1. Each contract now delivers 220 Palo Alto Networks (PANW) common shares plus $4,508.64 cash, reflecting a distribution ratio of 2.2005...
How M&A Could Reshape K-12 in 2026
The K‑12 education market is emerging from a turbulent five‑year period as funding streams and enrollment patterns begin to stabilize. Industry insiders report that education providers are now actively scouting merger and acquisition opportunities to capture growth and mitigate risk....
Recruitment Marketing in 2026: Top Types of Video Editing Every HR Team Should Use
In 2026 recruitment marketing has shifted from static job posts to immersive video storytelling, making video editing a core competency for HR teams. The article outlines seven editing styles—from basic cuts to interactive formats—each tailored to specific recruitment goals and...
14 Months Later, UMG’s Virgin Officially Wraps Its Downtown Buyout — Pieter Van Rijn Shifts to COO, Justin Kalifowitz Steps...
Universal Music Group’s Virgin Music Group has completed its $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Group, finalizing the deal 14 months after announcement and shortly after EU approval. Pieter van Rijn, former Downtown head, is appointed COO of Virgin Music, reporting...
SFPI GROUP: Liquidity Agreement Report S2 2025
SFPI Group released its second‑half 2025 liquidity agreement report, detailing a €500 million financing package aimed at strengthening the company's cash position. The agreement introduces stricter covenants, including a minimum net‑debt‑to‑EBITDA ratio, and extends maturity to the fourth quarter of 2026....
Sinclair Given FCC OK To Buy Three SSA Partner Stations
Sinclair Broadcast Group has received Federal Communications Commission approval to acquire three stations it already operates under shared services agreements. The transactions include the Howard Stirk Holdings NBC affiliate in Flint, Michigan, a Cunningham Broadcasting station in Traverse City, Michigan,...
Lone View-Backed CargoSprint Acquires Dray Dog
Atlanta‑based CargoSprint, a cargo‑industry software provider, announced the acquisition of Dray Dog, a drayage‑focused platform. The deal is backed by Lone View, the venture firm that previously funded CargoSprint. By combining Dray Dog’s real‑time drayage capabilities with CargoSprint’s broader freight...
US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Tariffs as Unlawful
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6‑3 ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not grant the president authority to impose tariffs. The majority applied the major questions doctrine, concluding that Congress must provide clear authorization for such...
KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2026 Co-Located Event Deep Dive: Agentics Day: MCP + Agents
Agentics Day at KubeCon+CloudNativeCon Europe 2026 spotlights the Model Connectivity Protocol (MCP) and AI agents, moving them from experimentation to production. The half‑day, community‑driven event features over ten talks on real‑world deployments, governance, and security. It targets platform, SRE, infrastructure...
U.S. Businesses Line up for Tariff Refunds After Supreme Court Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, opening the door for refunds of roughly $130 billion collected by the Treasury. Importers, retailers and apparel groups are already petitioning for clear guidance on how to reclaim these...
Court Says Small Trucking Company Must Negotiate with Union Defeated in a Vote
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed an NLRB Gissel bargaining order requiring Garten Trucking to negotiate with the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, even though the union lost the representation vote 65‑30. The union...
Post-Poll Upswing Continues on SET
Thai shares rallied toward the 1,500‑point psychological barrier, driven by a catch‑up valuation buying pattern and strong dividend announcements. The SET index’s price‑earnings multiple sits about 33 % below the MSCI All‑Country World Index, widening the gap between blue‑chip and mid‑cap...
Prime Mortgages Secure a $321.2 Million RMBS From Goldman
Goldman Sachs has launched the GS Mortgage‑Backed Securities Trust 2026‑PJ2, a $321.2 million residential mortgage‑backed security backed by a pool of 255 first‑lien, fixed‑rate prime mortgages. The structure features a senior‑subordinate, shifting‑interest hierarchy with class A AAA‑rated notes and several lower‑rated tranches,...
Fed's Logan: There Is Now More Inflation Uncertainty Due to Tariff Decision
Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Logan warned that recent tariff decisions have heightened inflation uncertainty, casting doubt on a smooth path to the 2% target. While she remains confident that current policy tools are well‑positioned to address emerging risks, she expressed concern...
Stellantis Takes $26B Write-Down over EVs, Sells Stake in Battery JV for $100
Stellantis announced a €22.2 billion ($26 billion) write‑down tied to its electric‑vehicle strategy and sold its 49 % stake in the NextStar Energy battery JV to LG Energy Solution for a nominal $100. The charge reflects cancelled EV platforms, supply‑chain resizing and quality‑related...
Cash Flow Tax Planning: Why Every Tax Strategy Falls Apart without Proper Liquidity Management
Tax planning often overlooks the cash liquidity needed to implement strategies. The article explains that without sufficient cash flow, tactics like payroll optimization, Section 179 purchases, and retirement contributions cannot be executed, leading to missed deadlines and penalties. It advocates a...
Friday's ETF with Unusual Volume: MODL
VictoryShares WestEnd U.S. Sector ETF (MODL) experienced a spike in trading activity on Friday, with 728,000 shares changing hands—about ten times its three‑month average volume. The ETF edged up roughly 0.5% during the session. Among its holdings, Nvidia posted a...
IT Leaders Discuss AIs Impact on SaaS at India AI Impact Summit
At the India AI Impact Summit, senior IT executives warned that AI agents will transform SaaS and enterprise services but not eliminate them overnight, emphasizing agility, orchestration, and real‑world problem solving. Salesforce India’s CEO highlighted the need for workflow‑centric SaaS,...
Why Islamic Finance Could Provide an Ethical Model for Funding the Green Transition
Islamic finance, anchored in asset‑backed transactions and social responsibility, is emerging as a credible alternative to conventional green finance. Its core instrument, green sukuk, ties investor capital directly to renewable‑energy and sustainable‑infrastructure projects, ensuring profits stem from real economic activity....
Will You Get a Tariff Refund After the Supreme Court Ruling?
The Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s IEEPA‑based tariffs in a 6‑3 decision, opening the possibility of refunds on more than $175 billion of duties collected since early 2025. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted the Treasury holds roughly $774 billion to...
Gold Medal CTV
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan is drawing about 20 million U.S. viewers each day, with NBC’s Peacock platform delivering more streaming hours than the last two Games combined. Advertisers are abandoning traditional “Be Right Back” filler and deploying real‑time, native...
U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Trump Tariffs a Welcome Development for Canadian Businesses
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down many of President Trump’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, including several that targeted Canadian imports. The ruling was hailed by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business as a...
Safran Releases Robust 2025 Financial Results, Advances LEAP Production Ramp
Safran posted a strong 2025 performance, reporting €31.33 billion in revenue, €5.197 billion recurring operating income and a 16.6% operating margin, while raising its 2028 free‑cash‑flow target to €21 billion. The company delivered more than 1,800 LEAP engines—a 28% year‑over‑year increase—supporting Airbus’s plan...
Howard Hughes Holding’s Earnings Wobble as Ackman Asks For More Time
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square bought Howard Hughes Holdings for $900 million in May 2025 and is reshaping the commercial‑real‑estate firm into a diversified holding company. The firm announced a $2.1 billion acquisition of Vantage Group’s insurance business, slated to close this quarter....
Stacks AI
Stacks AI develops purpose‑built artificial intelligence solutions for enterprise accounting, automating the most manual and error‑prone finance workflows. The platform enables finance teams to close books faster and redirect effort toward strategic initiatives. It is already trusted by public companies...
New Perspective: Thom Geshay Brings Management Expertise to His Role as AHLA Vice Chair
Thom Geshay, longtime CEO of Davidson Hospitality Group, has been appointed vice chair of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) for 2026, partnering with Chair Liam Brown. Geshay brings a management‑company perspective, stressing the split performance between upscale/luxury and...
PortKey Raises $15M Series A to Scale AI Control Platform
AI infrastructure startup PortKey announced a $15 million Series A round led by Elevation Capital with participation from Lightspeed. The funding will accelerate its unified control‑plane platform that monitors, governs, and cost‑optimizes enterprise AI model usage. PortKey’s AI gateway centralizes traffic, enforces...
Democratic Senators Press Bowman on Fed Changes
Democratic senators sent two letters to Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman questioning recent supervisory changes, including a 30% staff cut in the Fed's supervision arm and the removal of bank examiners at banks' request. They also demanded answers on her...
Microsoft: Critical Security Issue Found in Windows Notepad
Microsoft patched a high‑severity vulnerability (CVE‑2026‑20841) in the modern Windows Notepad app that adds Markdown support. The flaw allows remote code execution when a user opens a malicious .md file and clicks a crafted link. The issue affects only the...
GDP Sees Slow Growth in Q4 2025
Real GDP growth slowed sharply in Q4 2025, posting a 1.4% annualized increase, down from 4.4% in Q3. The decline reflects the fallout from a historic federal shutdown, which cut government spending and removed more than one percentage point of growth....
AI Agents Still Need Humans to Teach Them
Researchers introduced SkillsBench, a benchmark evaluating AI agents across 84 tasks in 11 sectors. Results show agents supplied with curated, human‑provided skills outperform those with no skills by an average of 16.2 percentage points. Self‑generated skills offered no measurable benefit,...
What Is Trump’s China Policy?
Former President Donald Trump’s China policy is defined by contradictory impulses—pursuing short‑term commercial deals while simultaneously signaling a tougher stance on strategic issues like Taiwan and critical minerals. The administration’s “big‑tent” approach pits pro‑business officials against hard‑line hawks, creating strategic...
High Court Ruling on Trump Tariffs to ‘Ease Uncertainty,’ Says AM Best
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6‑3 decision rejecting President Donald Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs, a move hailed by rating agency AM Best as a relief for the insurance sector. The court’s ruling eliminates the tariff‑related uncertainty that has...
Cynet’s MacKenzie Brown: ‘MSPs Don’t Need Drama. They Need Clarity And Process.’
Cynet has hired MacKenzie Brown as Vice President of Threat Intelligence Strategy to turn the vendor’s global telemetry into a practical, operational threat‑intelligence system for managed service providers (MSPs). Brown emphasizes moving beyond generic monthly reports toward actionable, tactical intel...
US Supreme Court Strike Down Majority of Trump's Tariffs, so Hopefully That's One Less Hardware Buying Headache to Worry About
The U.S. Supreme Court voted 6‑3 to invalidate most of the tariffs President Trump imposed on imported hardware components. The decision hinges on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the court found did not grant Trump authority for those...
Trans-Pacific Carriers, Importers Slow-Walking Service Contract Negotiations
Trans‑Pacific ocean carriers and U.S. importers are deliberately postponing contract sign‑offs for the 2026‑27 service year as spot rates to the West Coast have slumped more than 20% since early January. Both sides hope that underlying market fundamentals will improve,...