Prediction Market Kalshi Reached $1bn in Trading Volume During Super Bowl
Kalshi, a U.S.‑based prediction market, recorded over $1 billion in trading volume on Super Bowl Sunday, a 2,700% year‑over‑year surge. More than $145 million was wagered on Bad Bunny’s opening song and $45 million on his guest performers, despite the platform not running a Super Bowl ad. CEO Tarek Mansour highlighted the weekend as "incredible" and noted that the company’s revenue model differs from traditional sportsbooks, earning fees from trades rather than taking the house’s side. The event also prompted Kalshi to expand its surveillance to address manipulation concerns.
Sen. Bernie Sanders to Kick Off California Billionaire Tax Campaign
Senator Bernie Sanders will launch a campaign to place a one‑time 5% billionaire tax on California’s November ballot. The measure seeks to raise funds to offset federal healthcare cuts, protecting over 3 million working‑class residents. Supporters must collect roughly 875,000 signatures...
StanChart CFO Abruptly Exits for Apollo
Standard Chartered announced that group CFO Diego De Giorgi is leaving immediately to join Apollo Global Management as a partner and head of EMEA. Peter Burrill, the bank's group head of central finance, will serve as interim CFO while a permanent replacement is...
Washington’s Millionaires Tax Advances in State Senate with Some Changes
Washington Senate Ways and Means Committee approved a revised millionaire’s tax bill, preserving a 9.9% levy on earnings above $1 million starting in 2028. The measure is projected to generate roughly $3.5 billion annually from about 30,000 high‑income taxpayers. Amendments include expanding...
Top 15 Characteristics of a Good Speaker
The article outlines fifteen core characteristics that distinguish a good speaker, ranging from confidence and clarity to storytelling and a strong conclusion. It emphasizes that effective speaking is a strategic skill for professionals involved in negotiation, leadership, and persuasion, not...
Wrapped Helps Spotify Add Users Despite Artists' Criticism over Fees
Spotify reported a surge in paid subscribers, adding 9 million to reach 290 million in the last quarter of 2025, driving net profit to €1.17 bn and total revenue to $4.5 bn. The company’s annual Wrapped campaign engaged over 300 million users and generated 630 million social...
Take 5: We Can Work It Out
Kellogg faculty outline five common workplace conflict scenarios and evidence‑based tactics for leaders. They stress cultural awareness, preventing retaliation, exposing bias, transparent compensation, and leveraging knowledge of former teammates for competitive advantage. Real‑world examples—from a French hotel contract dispute to...
Blue & Co. Joins Forces with D & Co. In Texas
Blue & Co., a top‑60 accounting firm, announced the acquisition of Texas‑based D & Co., adding more than 40 healthcare‑focused employees and six directors to its roster. The deal, effective Feb. 1, expands Blue & Co.’s footprint into Lubbock, Dallas, Fort Worth and Waco,...
How to Improve Company Culture and Attract Better Candidates
Company culture has become a decisive factor in attracting, retaining, and energizing talent. The article outlines four proven strategies—defining mission/vision/values, frequent recognition, robust learning and development, and continuous feedback—to build lasting cultural strength. It emphasizes that talent acquisition teams are...
How Is New Paid Family Leave Law in Minnesota Holding Up?
Minnesota’s paid family and medical leave program launched on Jan. 1 and delivered over $30 million in benefits during its first month, approving 13,700 claims. Early demand was buoyed by a surge of child‑bonding applications, a phenomenon known as the “baby bump.”...
China’s US Treasurys Exit Could Limit Japan’s Military Spending
China is directing state‑owned banks to cut U.S. Treasury holdings to roughly $750 billion by 2025, halving its 2010 peak. The reduction removes a major buyer from the market, shifting the financing burden toward Japan, the world’s largest foreign‑reserve holder. Japan’s...
Is a Dollar Vibe Shift Under Way?
The Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center podcast explores whether a sustained dollar depreciation is emerging. Host Dan McDowell explains how a weaker greenback could reshape U.S. trade balances, investment flows, and national‑security calculations. The discussion highlights potential benefits for exporters alongside higher...
Kochava Launches Atlas Performance™: The Industry’s First Supply Performance System for Premium Publishers and Platforms
Kochava unveiled Atlas Performance, the first Supply Performance System designed for premium publishers and platforms. The solution integrates with existing ad servers, SSPs, and DSPs, delivering privacy‑safe first‑party data ingestion, AI‑driven optimization, and independent outcomes verification. A leading CTV OEM...
Wonder Acquires NYC's Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken
Wonder, the mealtime platform, announced the acquisition of Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, taking full ownership of the iconic NYC brand and its East Village location. Financial terms were undisclosed, but the deal aligns with Wonder’s strategy to absorb beloved restaurant...
This Kenyan Startup Promises School Pickups Digital Paper Trail
TerraGO, a Kenyan startup, has launched an NFC‑based platform that records school transport handovers through wristbands or bag tags and readers at buses and gates. The system creates time‑stamped, location‑specific logs of boarding, arrival and pickup events, providing parents and...
Attabotics Technology Revives as Part of LaFayette Systems
Attabotics, the robotic cube‑storage specialist, is restarting operations after its September 2025 acquisition by LaFayette Systems. The privately held LaFayette group will provide a stable financial base and engineering expertise, allowing Attabotics to retain its Calgary engineering, business, and manufacturing...
Leah Partners with PwC UK on Agentic AI
Leah, the creator of Leah Agentic OS, has teamed up with PwC UK to embed its enterprise‑grade, domain‑native agentic AI platform into global business services. The partnership combines PwC's industry and functional expertise with Leah's OS to design, deploy, and...
Uranium Market Gathers Momentum in 2026: Sprott
Uranium spot prices surged above $100 per pound in January 2026, the first breach of that level in two years, signaling renewed market vigor. Sprott Asset Management, a major buyer, added 4 million lb to its fund this year, bringing total holdings...
Non-Venture Space Startup Investment Hits Post-SPAC High
Non‑venture investment in space startups surged to a record $10 billion in 2025, the highest level since the 2021 SPAC boom, driven primarily by traditional IPOs and expanding debt financing. Venture capital also rose to $8.6 billion, up from $7.3 billion the prior...
CFOs to Prioritize Growth Functions, Technology and AI in 2026
CFOs are reshaping 2026 budgets to favor growth‑driving functions, technology and artificial intelligence, according to Gartner’s survey of over 300 finance leaders. More than half plan higher spending on sales and IT, with 28% targeting double‑digit growth, while marketing follows...
New Leadership at Target, Walmart and Bridgestone West Focus on Employee Connection
New CEOs at Walmart (John Furner) and Target (Michael Fiddelke) and Bridgestone West’s chief people officer (Michele Herlein) are launching people‑first campaigns that prioritize frontline listening and direct employee engagement. Furner began with a company‑wide memo and store visits, while...
We Need a Fresh Vision to Save Our High Streets | Letters
Letters to the Guardian call for a radical overhaul of the UK high‑street model, arguing that tinkering with business rates, rent levels and planning cannot reverse decline. Authors propose four pillars: reforming business rates, taxing online retailers, forcing reasonable rents,...
Linkup Raises $10M Seed Round Led by Gradient to Build Web Search for AI
Linkup announced a $10 million seed round headed by Gradient, with participation from Elaia, Seedcamp and several angel investors. The San Francisco‑Paris startup offers an API that feeds AI systems with real‑time, verifiable web information, moving beyond static training datasets. Founded by...
LMI Invests in Ara Partners’ Energy and Infrastructure Investment Platforms
LMI has announced a strategic investment in Ara Partners' energy and infrastructure investment platforms. The partnership will allow both firms to co‑invest and share deal flow across their respective mandates. By aligning with Ara Partners, LMI aims to deepen its...
Planview Releases Connected Work Graph to Provide Insights Into Relationships Across Teams and Initiatives
Planview unveiled its Connected Work Graph, an AI‑driven module embedded in the Planview Anvi platform. The solution maps relationships across OKRs, initiatives, teams, and resources, delivering real‑time visualizations of dependencies. By continuously analyzing millions of work connections, it flags bottlenecks...
Why Some Founders in Startup Accelerators Do Better Than Others
Startup accelerators boost growth but outcomes vary dramatically, according to a new Strategic Management Journal study of 6,723 firms in 280 programs. The research shows founders' pre‑entry knowledge—education, industry experience, and prior ventures—drives revenue, headcount, and funding gains, with high‑knowledge...
Bretton AI Raises $75 Million To Expand Financial Crime Automation
Bretton AI, formerly Greenlite AI, announced a $75 million Series B funding round led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from existing backers and new investor TIAA Ventures. The capital will fuel expansion of its AI‑driven compliance platform, which automates high‑volume...
US Antimony, Americas Gold to Jointly Build Idaho Plant
United States Antimony and Americas Gold have formed a 51-49 joint venture to construct a hydrometallurgical processing plant in Idaho’s Silver Valley. The facility will treat antimony feed from Americas Gold’s Galena complex and could handle additional sources, aiming to...
UK Sleepwalking Into Joblessness Epidemic, Tesco Boss Warns
Tesco UK chief Ashwin Prasad warned that Britain is "sleepwalking" into a joblessness epidemic, with unemployment at a four‑year high of 5.1%. He highlighted that more than 9 million people aged 16‑64 are economically inactive, including 2.9 million young adults, and that...
Permira Acquires A Majority Stake in TeamViewer
Private equity firm Permira has completed a majority acquisition of Germany‑based enterprise software provider TeamViewer through a public tender offer, while the company remains listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The deal, finalized in January 2026, gives Permira control to...
Coca-Cola Forecasts Modest Growth Amid Demand Concerns
Coca‑Cola projects 2026 organic revenue growth of 4%‑5% and comparable earnings per share growth of 7%‑8%, despite a modest decline in overall beverage demand. Quarterly results showed adjusted earnings of 58 cents per share and net sales of $11.82 billion, slightly...
ACCA Future-Proofs Finance Professionals with New Tech-Focused Certificates
The episode explains ACCA's launch of a four‑part Technology in Finance certificate series, aimed at equipping accountants with practical skills in data analytics, cybersecurity, AI, and organisational transformation. It highlights that 50 % of finance leaders worry about skill gaps as...
Hand Gestures Can Help You Sell. Here’s Why
Wharton professor Jonah Berger and colleagues examined how hand gestures shape persuasive communication, using an automated video‑analysis system on 200,000 TED Talk segments. They grouped gestures into unrelated, highlighters and illustrators, discovering that illustrators most strongly increase audience understanding and perceived...
Disappointing Holiday Season: December Retail Sales Were Flat, Falling Well Short of Estimate
December retail sales were flat month‑over‑month, missing the 0.4% gain economists expected after a 0.6% rise in November. Year‑over‑year sales rose 2.4%, trailing the 2.7% inflation rate, indicating real spending erosion. The slowdown was driven by harsh weather, lingering tariff...
Competition Is Not Market Validation
The article argues that a crowded competitive landscape does not prove a large or attractive market. It explains that excess venture capital, low barriers to entry, and an oversupply of founders can create a swarm of startups even in modest...
First Quantum Credit Outlook Improves on Cobre Panama Progress
S&P Global Ratings upgraded First Quantum Minerals' credit outlook to positive, citing tangible progress toward restarting the Cobre Panama copper mine. The agency now expects the mine to resume operations in the first half of 2026, with a production ramp‑up later...
Annual VC Funding Into Irish SMEs Fell for First Time Since 2018
Annual venture capital funding for Irish tech SMEs fell 23% in 2025 to €1.1 billion, marking the first decline since 2018. The fourth quarter dropped 46% to €291.4 million, driven by a 71% retreat of international investors. Life‑science firms attracted the most...
Vega Raises $120M Series B to Rethink How Enterprises Detect Cyber Threats
Vega Security announced a $120 million Series B round, lifting its valuation to $700 million. The Boston‑based startup aims to overturn the traditional SIEM model by analyzing security data where it already resides—in cloud services, data lakes, and existing storage—using an AI‑native platform....
SPS Commerce Embeds Agentic AI Into Supply Chain Execution
Supply chain network SPS Commerce launched MAX, an agentic AI suite embedded in its platform, to automate and coordinate retail trading workflows. MAX offers Chat, Monitor, and Connect capabilities that surface risks, guide resolutions, and interact with external systems via...
Lightspeed Selects 4 Deeptech Startups for Its India Ascends 2026 Cohort
Lightspeed India has announced its India Ascends 2026 cohort, selecting four deep‑tech startups founded by entrepreneurs under 25. The cohort targets frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, space, robotics, biotechnology, and defense, and is backed by partners Anthropic, Groq, Google...
Oracle Expands Cloud SCM Capabilities to Address Complex Needs of Process Manufacturers
Oracle announced new capabilities in its Fusion Cloud SCM suite tailored for process manufacturers. The updates introduce AI‑assisted recipe synchronization, dynamic batch sizing, and granular yield modeling to handle blending, mixing, and batch‑based production. Enhanced traceability features include lot‑specific unit‑of‑measure...
Tax Advice Has Become a Deal Risk Discipline — Not a Cost-Saving Exercise
Tax advice has moved from a cost‑saving exercise to a core deal‑risk discipline, with large corporates and private‑equity sponsors demanding certainty over clever tax tricks. Advisors now focus on historic tax positions that can surface during acquisitions, IPOs or refinancings,...
Hauler Hero Collects $16M for Its AI Waste Management Software
Hauler Hero announced a $16 million Series A round led by Frontier Growth, bringing its total venture funding above $27 million. The Boston‑based startup offers an all‑in‑one AI‑powered platform that manages CRM, billing, routing and now three AI agents for vision, chat and...
London Board Game Bar Draughts Faces Employment Tribunal Over Dismissal of Kitchen Worker
London board‑game bar Draughts will appear before an employment tribunal on 12–13 February after dismissing kitchen worker Awed, a Sudanese national and UVW union member, the day a strike ballot was announced. The company cited reduced staffing needs, while the...
Lightyear Capital Eyes Demand for Mobile Parking; New Catalyst Provides Capital to Ferghana, as Private Markets Firms Continue to Team...
Lightyear Capital announced plans to carve out PayByPhone, the mobile parking platform, from its current owner Corpay. The move reflects growing private‑equity interest in technology‑driven parking solutions as cities seek smarter street‑parking management. At the same time, New Catalyst has...
CVS Tops Quarterly Estimates, Reaffirms Profit Outlook as Turnaround Plan Takes Effect
CVS Health posted fourth‑quarter earnings that beat expectations, with adjusted EPS $1.09 versus the $0.99 forecast and revenue $105.69 billion versus $103.59 billion expected. The company reaffirmed its 2026 profit guidance of $7‑$7.20 per share and a revenue target of at least...
Jim Cramer Says “You Better Believe NVIDIA (NVDA)’s Getting a Big Cut” Of the AI CapEx By Mega-Cap Tech
Jim Cramer highlighted NVIDIA as the primary beneficiary of the massive AI‑focused capital expenditures announced by mega‑cap technology firms. He noted that while some spend will go to Broadcom and Marvell, the bulk will flow to NVIDIA, helping the stock...
AI Firm Multiverse Said to Hit €1.5 Billion Value With New Funds
Spanish AI software firm Multiverse Computing is negotiating a €500 million financing round. The capital raise would lift its post‑money valuation above €1.5 billion. Sources said the round is slated to close in the first half of 2026 and will introduce new...
Inside the Deal: Eudia’s $105M Series A to Transform Legal Work Through AI-Powered Augmented Intelligence
Eudia, a Palo Alto‑based legal‑tech startup, closed a Series A round of up to $105 million in February 2025, led by General Catalyst and backed by a slate of prominent investors. The funding follows an 18‑month stealth period and comes as the company...
I only Shop for 2, but Buying in Bulk Saves Me Money. Here Are 10 Things I Always Get at...
Longtime Costco shopper Rebecca Kaplan outlines how buying in bulk for a two‑person household slashes grocery costs. She highlights ten staple items—eggs, chicken nuggets, canned tuna, white bread, toilet paper, laundry and dishwasher detergent, drinks, protein pasta, and novelty snacks—along...