Palo Alto Networks CEO Sees AI as Demand Driver, Not a Threat
Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora told investors AI will drive, not diminish, cybersecurity demand. He argued AI expands attack surfaces, creating new risk categories that require robust security solutions. The company posted 15% year‑over‑year revenue growth to $2.6 billion and announced acquisitions of CyberArk, Chronosphere and startup Koi. Despite a lower‑than‑expected earnings forecast that rattled the stock, Palo Alto projects fiscal 2026 revenue of $11.28‑$11.31 billion.
Inside the Trump Trade Strategy with USTR’s Jamieson Greer
In a February 2026 Atlantic Council podcast, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer revisited the Trump administration’s aggressive trade agenda, focusing on the looming United States‑Mexico‑Canada Agreement (USMCA) review. Greer confirmed that a full U.S. withdrawal from the pact remains "on...
Fast Calculation of Cheapest-to-Deliver Curves
Multi‑currency collateral agreements create optionality that requires discounting with a cheapest‑to‑deliver (CTD) curve. While Monte‑Carlo simulation can price this exactly, it is computationally heavy. Researchers propose an analytic approximation that combines the Clark algorithm and Gauss‑Hermite quadrature, delivering near‑Monte‑Carlo accuracy...
Ulta Beauty’s Big Branding Play; Why Conglomerates Should Consolidate
Ulta Beauty’s latest branding initiative underscores a broader shift toward consolidation in the beauty sector. Record growth at niche perfume house Amouage, a surge in online fragrance sales, and the decline of traditional department‑store beauty hubs illustrate mounting pressure on...
Altera Digital Health Names Sean Sykes as Executive Vice President for Ventus
Altera Digital Health announced the appointment of Sean Sykes as Executive Vice President for its Ventus portfolio, which delivers integrated revenue cycle and administrative solutions. Sykes brings more than 20 years of experience building high‑performing sales and customer‑success teams in...
Philippine Central Bank Cuts Rates in Latest Bid to Support Growth
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) lowered its overnight repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, marking the ninth cut since August 2024. Inflation remains modest at 2%, comfortably within the 2‑4% target band, while the peso rallied to...
Setanta Space Launched to Make Next-Generation Spacecraft More Autonomous
Irish start‑up Setanta Space has launched to deliver modular, radiation‑tolerant onboard computing hardware paired with AI software that makes spacecraft more autonomous. The platform processes sensor data, detects anomalies, and makes decisions in orbit, cutting latency and reliance on ground...
Mastering Serverless Data Pipelines: AWS Step Functions Best Practices for 2026
AWS Step Functions has become the backbone of serverless data pipelines, offering two workflow models—Standard for long‑running, exactly‑once jobs and Express for high‑frequency, short‑lived tasks. The article outlines best‑practice patterns such as the Claim Check for large payloads, using intrinsic...
Triplemoon Appoints Dr. Caroline Carney, CEO of Magellan Health, to Board of Directors
Triplemoon announced that Dr. Caroline Carney, CEO of Magellan Health and dual board‑certified psychiatrist‑internist, has joined its Board of Directors. The appointment coincides with a $3.5 million seed round led by Activate Venture Partners and LiveOak Ventures aimed at scaling its...
Agentic AI: The Next Competitive Advantage for Revenue Teams
Agentic AI is emerging as the next competitive edge for revenue teams, extending the capabilities of AI Assist by autonomously executing tasks within defined guardrails. The technology shifts sales workflows from recommendation‑only to action‑oriented, delivering real‑time clarity, expanded capacity, and...
Analysis: Palo Alto Networks Vs. Everyone
Palo Alto Networks marked the two‑year anniversary of its platformization strategy, a move that initially sank its stock but has since become an industry standard. CEO Nikesh Arora highlighted a “flywheel” effect as new customers consolidate tools onto Palo Alto’s...
Should Enterprises Upgrade to Windows 11 Now?
Enterprises face a critical decision as Windows 10 support ends in October 2025, prompting many to accelerate Windows 11 migration plans. The upgrade demands comprehensive hardware inventories to meet TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and higher memory and storage thresholds, as well as extensive application compatibility...
Sir Damon Buffini to Step Down From BBC Board Role
Sir Damon Buffini will step down as Deputy Chair of the BBC Board and Chair of the Commercial Board on 30 June, ending his term that began in January 2022. Under his tenure, BBC Commercial posted record profits, returning £400 million to the...
Wendy’s Is ‘Undervalued’ and Could Face Takeover by Nelson Peltz
Activist investor Nelson Peltz, through Trian Fund Management, has filed with the SEC stating Wendy’s is significantly undervalued and signaling possible actions, including buying more shares to gain control or divesting his stake. The fast‑food chain’s stock has slumped about...
Accounts in Transit: Red Lorry Yellow Lorry Picks Up Pendulum
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry has been appointed U.S. agency of record for Pendulum, an AI‑driven social listening platform that captures brand mentions across text, audio, video and images. Marino will serve as the U.S. agency for Italian food icons Pasta...
Visa to Buy Prisma in Argentina
Visa announced it will reacquire Argentina’s Prisma Medios de Pago and Newpay from Advent International, bringing the payment processors back under its control. The acquisition, expected to close by the end of March, restores Visa’s card‑issuer processing, real‑time payments, ATM...
New HR Tech: Workleap, Stratas
Workleap unveiled a Human Capital agent integrated with Slack, leveraging the Real‑Time Search API and Model Context Protocol to deliver live performance, engagement, and coaching insights. The AI analyzes Slack conversations anonymously, surfacing team signals alongside existing goal and historical...
Firing the CEO Is the Wrong Answer, Ask Sean McDermott
The article likens the NFL’s habit of firing coaches to the surge in CEO dismissals, noting that 2025 saw one in nine CEOs replaced across 1,500 large firms. It argues that removing a top executive rarely resolves deeper systemic flaws...
Lightkeeper Rolls Out AI-Powered ‘Beacon’ to Deliver Verifiable Portfolio Insights
Lightkeeper has introduced Beacon, an AI‑enabled feature that lets hedge funds and asset managers ask plain‑English questions about their portfolios. The tool pulls answers from Lightkeeper’s validated, institutional‑grade data rather than unverified sources, preserving transparency and auditability. Beacon connects client...
Walmart Says AI Users Build 35% Bigger Baskets than Others
Walmart’s AI‑driven shopping assistant, Sparky, is generating baskets that are about 35% larger than those of non‑users, according to CEO John Furner on the Q4 earnings call. Launched in June, Sparky lives behind a smiley‑face button in the Walmart app...
Congo Offers Rebel-Held Rubaya Tantalum Mine to US in Minerals Deal
The Democratic Republic of Congo has placed the rebel‑held Rubaya coltan mine on a shortlist of strategic assets offered to the United States under a new minerals‑cooperation framework. Rubaya, which supplies roughly 15% of the world’s coltan, requires between $50 million...
Investor Asks Six Flags CEO About ‘Enchanted Parks’ Rumor as Park Portfolio Review Continues
Six Flags CEO John Reilly was asked about the rumored "Enchanted Parks" trademark during the Feb. 19, 2026 earnings call and offered no comment, leaving the speculation unresolved. He reiterated that the company is actively evaluating its portfolio but did not signal...
Private Equity Deals Hit $2.6T in 2025
Private equity deal value surged to $2.6 trillion in 2025, a 19% increase over 2024 and the second‑largest total on record. The total number of deals fell 9%, continuing a post‑2021 decline in transaction volume. Holding periods have stretched, with the...
Remitly Co-Founder CEO Exits
Remitly announced that former Santander executive Sebastian J. Gunningham will replace co‑founder Matt Oppenheimer as chief executive effective Thursday. Oppenheimer, who led the company for nearly 15 years, will move to board chair and focus on strategic initiatives. The leadership...
What the Market Knows That WACC Doesn’t
The article introduces the market implied discount rate (MIDR) as a forward‑looking alternative to the traditional weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Using S&P Capital IQ data on the S&P 500, it shows that MIDR often diverges from WACC, with energy...
Remitly Hires Santander Alum as Its Next CEO
Remitly announced Sebastian Gunningham, a former Santander Consumer Finance chair with executive experience at Amazon, Apple and Oracle, will become its chief executive on Thursday. Co‑founder Matt Oppenheimer will transition to board chair as the company reported a strong 2025...
AI You Can Trust, Insights You Can Use: Lever’s Latest Innovations, Built for Confident Hiring
Lever unveiled a suite of AI‑driven hiring tools designed around trust and actionable insight. The platform now leverages IBM’s watsonx for built‑in governance, offering transparent recommendations and bias monitoring. New features like the AI Screening Companion and automated early assessments...
Connected and Compromised: When IoT Devices Turn Into Threats
The proliferation of consumer and enterprise IoT devices continues unchecked, yet most lack basic security controls such as passwords and encryption. Research presented by Mattia Epifani at RSAC 2026 shows that devices—from Amazon Echo to smart refrigerators—store unprotected audio, credentials, and personal...
Comesa Probes Meta for Locking Rival Chatbots Out of WhatsApp
The COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission (CCCC) has opened an investigation into Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd for allegedly abusing its dominant position by amending WhatsApp Business Solution Terms in October 2025 to block rival AI chatbot providers. The probe follows...
Choice Hotels Reports $369.9M Net Income in 2025
Choice Hotels International posted a record $369.9 million net income for 2025, accompanied by an all‑time adjusted EBITDA of $625.6 million. The company added 440 new hotels, with international openings surging 82% and net rooms expanding 12.5% worldwide. U.S. extended‑stay...
UK Manufacturing Still Beset by Low Orders and Price Pressure, Says CBI
The CBI’s industrial trends survey shows British manufacturers recorded order books well below their long‑term average in February. Despite the weak order flow, most firms plan to raise prices over the next three months. The survey also indicates that output...
Echo360 Partners with Exxat to Advance Skills-Based Learning
Echo360 announced a partnership with Exxat to extend its AI‑powered video assessment tool, GoReact, into experiential education programs worldwide. The collaboration leverages an LTI integration that lets institutions blend skill practice, observation, and feedback across healthcare and human services curricula....
Subprime Demand Drives US Loan Growth to New Heights
Subprime borrowers propelled U.S. unsecured loan balances to a record $276 bn, a 10% increase year‑over‑year, with 26.4 million consumers holding such loans. Credit‑card issuers expanded lending to lower‑income customers, pushing total balances 4% higher to $1.15 trillion, but responded by trimming initial...
British Business Bank Explores Private Equity with £60m Deal
The British Business Bank announced a £60 million commitment to NorthEdge IV, marking its first foray into private‑equity investments under a new growth‑equity strategy. The government‑owned development bank will back the Manchester‑based firm’s fourth fund, which targets founder‑led SMEs across technology, healthcare...
Watch NetLine’s Josh Baez The Hidden Moments of the Buying Journey Webinar on Demand Now
NetLine’s senior demand manager Josh Baez hosted a webinar titled “The Hidden Moments of the Buying Journey,” revealing why traditional linear funnels are obsolete. He explained how privacy regulations have crippled identifier‑based tracking, forcing marketers to shift toward proactive, programmatic...
Exclusive: Ownwell Lands $30M To Help Homeowners Lower Their Property Tax Bills
Ownwell, an AI‑driven property‑tax appeal startup, closed a $50 million Series B round—$30 million in equity and $20 million in debt—bringing its total equity funding to $54 million since 2020. The company now serves over 500,000 residential and commercial owners across 12 states, having processed...
UGREEN Expands Its NAS Lineup with New AI-Powered Flagship Series, Signaling the Era of the Smart Private Cloud
UGREEN unveiled its AI‑powered NAS flagship iDX series, positioning the devices as smart private‑cloud hubs that process data locally with on‑device large language models. The top‑end iDX6011 Pro packs an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU, 96 TOPS of AI compute, 64 GB LPDDR5X memory...
Marketplace Briefing: Inside Marc Lore and Melissa Bridgeford’s AI Shopping Agent Wizard
Wizard, the AI shopping agent co‑founded by Marc Lore and Melissa Bridgeford, has moved from a stealth B‑to‑B conversational commerce model to a consumer‑facing platform. Founded in 2021, the startup spent years refining its technology before publicly debuting in February...
Protos Security CFO on the Convergence of Finance and Operations
Anthony Escamilla, CFO of Protos Security, says the modern CFO has morphed from a budget keeper into a strategic leader who oversees finance, data analytics, technology, risk and even operational functions. He highlights the accelerating pace of decision‑making, with stakeholders...
Investors Unfazed by Uncertainties Around Tariffs in Med Tech
Investors remain steady in the med‑tech sector despite lingering tariff uncertainties, signaling confidence in long‑term growth. At the same time, research updates highlight the SCAN circuit as a core driver of Parkinson’s disease, TL1A overexpression in hidradenitis suppurativa, and an...
Retail Influence Vs. Conversion: Turning Sports Advertising Awareness Into Action
Sports advertising continues to capture massive audiences, but only 1% of viewers make an immediate purchase while 43% express interest. The gap reflects modern, multi‑screen consumer behavior, positioning sports slots as demand‑creation engines rather than direct‑response channels. Brands are responding...
House-Hasson Names Jeff Land as CEO
House‑Hasson Hardware Company announced Jeff Land as its new chief executive officer, succeeding retiring CEO Steve Henry after a 16‑year tenure. Land joins from Northern Tool & Equipment, where he served as senior vice president overseeing merchandising, inventory, product management,...
AI-First Ambitions Tested by Infrastructure and Skills Gaps
UK entrepreneurs are rapidly embedding AI into products and operations, with 70 % warning that firms not adopting AI risk being outcompeted within five years. However, 89 % cite domestic skills shortages as a growth limiter, and 85 % say digital trust and...
High North Workshop Report Released
On December 10, 2025, the Northern Europe Office and Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a High North workshop to assess the Arctic’s evolving security landscape. Participants from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Greenland examined great‑power rivalry, Nordic defence cooperation,...
Trump Wants US Energy Dominance. Global Markets May Not Agree
President Trump’s energy dominance agenda has boosted US fossil fuel output, with oil production reaching record levels and LNG exports rising over 20 percent. The administration has kept five coal‑fired plants operating through regulatory rollbacks and secured Pentagon contracts, while...
Health Systems Must Connect with Patients in More Meaningful Ways
Health systems are accelerating digital transformation post‑COVID, with HIMSS research showing that hospitals possessing advanced digital maturity are 3.25 times more likely to earn higher safety grades and experience lower infection and adverse event rates. The pandemic also shifted patients from...
Butterball Names Carmichael Lynch AOR in Reach for Year-Round Relevancy
Butterball, the leading U.S. turkey producer, has named Carmichael Lynch its new agency of record for creative, social, and media planning. The partnership aims to shift the brand from a holiday‑centric image to year‑round cultural relevance, emphasizing its purpose of “helping...
Is Trump Jeopardizing Nonproliferation Efforts to Get A Nuclear Cooperation Deal with Saudi Arabia? A Report To Congress Suggests He...
The Trump administration announced a U.S.–Saudi nuclear cooperation framework in November 2025, but a newly obtained report to Congress reveals the draft 123 agreement omits key non‑proliferation safeguards. The proposal would permit Saudi Arabia to pursue a limited uranium enrichment...
Adronite Secures $5M Series A to Scale AI Code Platform
Adronite announced a $5 million Series A round led by Gatemore Capital Management, appointing Gatemore’s Liad Meidar as board chair. The funding will accelerate development of its AI‑powered platform that scans entire software codebases across more than 20 languages, delivering deterministic, explainable...
New Report From Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority Details Economic Benefits for Claremount Extension of Metro A Line Light-Rail System
The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority released a report quantifying the economic impact of the 2.3‑mile Claremont Extension of the Metro A Line light‑rail system. The study projects more than $1.1 billion in construction‑phase economic output, over 4,700 jobs, and $154 million...