What's happening: ESMA fines trade repository REGIS‑TR €1.374 million for EMIR and SFTR breaches
The European Securities and Markets Authority imposed a €1.374 million penalty on REGIS‑TR after finding seven violations of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation and the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation. This is the first enforcement action involving SFTR breaches and the largest fine ever levied on a trade repository. ESMA said the sanctions underscore its commitment to market integrity.
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Governor Michael Atingi‑Ego’s December 2025 speech honored the late Professor Emmanuel Mutebile while outlining Uganda’s current macroeconomic health and a forward‑looking digital agenda. He highlighted inflation averaging 3.6%, a 9.75% policy rate and 6.3% GDP growth as evidence of disciplined monetary policy. The speech underscored rising financial inclusion—73% of adults now hold an account—and detailed four innovation pillars: SupTech, a national payment switch, ISO 20022 RTGS upgrades and expanded fintech services. Atingi‑Ego called for intergenerational leadership to turn stability into inclusive transformation.
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U.S.-based AI server maker Super Micro Computer secured its first syndicated loan in Taiwan, amounting to $1.765 billion. The loan was administered by CTBC Bank and attracted participation from 21 financial institutions, resulting in an almost 1.8‑times oversubscription. Lenders cited Supermicro’s...
Compliance has shifted from isolated tasks to a systems‑wide challenge for CFOs, as payroll, tax, benefits and reporting obligations now intersect and cascade across workflows. Fragmented point solutions create data duplication, blind spots, and costly manual reconciliations that delay risk...
Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex index closed 1.96% higher at 32,404 points, gaining over 600 points after a late‑week U.S. market rally. The surge was led by AI‑related chips and electronics firms, with MediaTek up 7% and Winbond jumping 10%, while TSMC...
India’s household financial portfolio is shifting away from traditional safe assets toward equities and managed funds. Between March 2021 and March 2025, bank deposits fell from roughly 47.5% to 43.5% of total financial assets, while mutual‑fund and pension holdings rose...

Nigeria’s credit penetration has topped 40%, signaling a rapid shift toward broader financial inclusion. CRC Credit Bureau, the country’s largest licensed bureau, has built the most comprehensive credit data ecosystem by pulling information from banks, fintechs, utilities, telcos, and digital...
Governor Michael Atingi‑Ego used the National Content Conference to outline Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which seeks to expand GDP from $50 billion to $500 billion by 2040 through four interlinked pillars—science and technology, mineral‑based industrialisation, tourism and agro‑industrialisation. He stressed that oil...

The article warns that global equity markets are overly concentrated on the United States and the AI boom, exposing investors to a single dominant theme. It highlights three low‑risk stocks that can provide diversification: ADP and Accenture, which stand to...

Mid‑size accounting firms are accelerating consolidation, with 26% merging and 27% acquiring peers over the past three years, often backed by private‑equity investors. A shrinking pipeline of CPA graduates is intensifying talent competition, while AI adoption is reshaping workflows and...

The Mahindra Bolero remains a stalwart in India’s SUV market by championing practical utility over lifestyle flair. Built on a body‑on‑frame chassis with a simple 1.5‑litre mHawk diesel engine, it delivers reliable low‑end torque and rugged durability for rough roads....
Saudi Central Bank Governor Ayman Al‑Sayari warned that uneven implementation of the FSB’s crypto‑asset and stable‑coin guidelines threatens financial‑stability, especially through cross‑border spillovers. He urged G20 finance leaders to synchronize innovation with regulation, emphasizing robust supervisory cooperation for emerging markets....
Saudi Central Bank Governor Ayman Al‑Sayari warned that global debt has surged to historic levels, tightening fiscal space for low‑income economies. He emphasized that debt can be a catalyst for growth if directed toward infrastructure, education and digital networks, but...
The Bank of Canada kept its policy interest rate at 2.25% as it navigates heightened uncertainty from U.S. trade restrictions and geopolitical risks. Growth forecasts remain modest, with GDP expected to expand 1.1% in 2026 and 1.5% in 2027, while...
In a January 21, 2026 speech in London, Signe Krogstrup, Governor of Danmarks Nationalbank, addressed stablecoins from a monetary and financial perspective. She defined stablecoins as fiat‑backed digital tokens that aim to maintain a fixed value, likening them to money‑market...

RTX Corporation, valued at $268 billion, dominates both civilian aerospace and defense markets. In 2025 the company posted $88.6 billion in revenue, adjusted EPS of $6.29 and expanded its order backlog to $268 billion, roughly three years of sales. Growth is underpinned by...

MSCI has cemented its role as the world’s premier index provider, with $18.3 trillion of assets benchmarked to its equity indexes, including $12 trillion in passive products and $2.2 trillion in ETFs. The firm posted a 9.4% subscription run‑rate increase in Q4 2025 and...
François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, delivered New Year wishes to the Paris financial centre, highlighting three 2025 targets that were met. He noted that the European key‑rate fell to a neutral 2% by summer, France’s...

Ten years after the 2016 vote, Brexit is viewed as a mixed economic outcome. While border frictions and policy uncertainty have curbed investment and growth, the UK still attracts foreign capital and its services sector, especially finance, remains robust. Labour’s...
The episode explores how UK accountancy firms are breaking the traditional time‑billing model by turning advisory services into repeatable, product‑style SKUs. Guests Adam Branch (Intuit QuickBooks) and Emily Betteridge (BDO Digital) explain that the “advisory gap” is a lack of standardized processes,...

Banking profitability has traditionally been measured at the product level, leading to siloed decisions that can harm overall performance. The article advocates adopting Client Lifetime Value (CLTV) to evaluate the full revenue potential of a customer across all products, combining...

The episode breaks down the ASEAN Inc. portfolio—a $1 million, equally weighted allocation across seven U.S.-listed ETFs covering Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and a regional ASEAN‑40 fund—and shows it delivered a 21.3% annualized total return through February 2026, beating...

The episode examines the resurgence of Singapore REITs (S-REITs), highlighted by the iEdge S-REIT Leaders Index posting a 16.3% gain in 2025—the strongest performance since 2019. Host Michelle Martin and REIT specialist Kenny Loh discuss which property sectors are leading...
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) has pledged up to AU$603 million to HMC Capital’s Energy Transition Platform, which already operates 652 MW of assets and holds a 5.7 GW battery‑storage and wind pipeline. The funding, drawn from KKR’s Global Climate Transition strategy, makes the...

Scotiabank fired three senior compliance officers in 2024 after they failed to escalate an insider‑trading investigation involving two banker brothers. A whistleblower’s complaint prompted a legal review that uncovered unregistered spouse accounts, leading to the bankers’ termination and the compliance...
The piece warns that the AI sector may be entering a bubble, drawing a parallel to the 2000 dot‑com frenzy highlighted by Super Bowl ads. It points out that AI valuations have accelerated, and investors are now seeing high‑profile marketing...

Rob Arnott argues AI is a genuine technological shift but its market pricing is overly optimistic, likening today’s hype to the 2000 dot‑com boom. He notes AI is already eroding incumbents such as Google’s ad model and cites ChatGPT’s research‑paper...

The UK Budget will cut the upfront income‑tax relief on new venture‑capital trust (VCT) shares from 30% to 20% starting April 2026, prompting a surge in investor demand this tax year. Sales have jumped to £140 million in the past three...

Food and drink conglomerates are confronting a three‑pronged crisis: GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs are slashing consumer calorie intake, digital platforms are eroding traditional branding moats, and volatile commodity markets are exposing fragile supply chains. To preserve margins, firms such as Nestlé...

Tony Blair’s New Labour era introduced a series of fiscal and structural reforms that, according to MoneyWeek, have left lasting scars on the UK economy. Key decisions—including the sale of 40% of the nation’s gold reserves, a windfall tax on...

Carabao Energy Drink (CBG TB) is being touted as Thailand’s equivalent to Monster Beverage, trading at roughly 12 times forward earnings. The forward P/E of 12× is well below the global energy‑drink peer average, indicating a potential valuation discount. Carabao commands about...

HMRC opened 3,977 inheritance‑tax investigations in the year to 5 April 2025, recovering roughly £246 million from estates. The rise follows the tax authority’s deployment of artificial intelligence, data‑matching and other big‑data tools to spot under‑payments. A frozen nil‑rate band since 2009, combined...

The episode revisits Panda Perspectives' May 2025 deep‑dive on Chinese property developers, evaluating how its thesis—that state‑owned enterprises (SOEs) would outpace privately owned developers (POEs) across balance sheets, funding, land banks, margins, and market share—has held up after nine months. The...
Most people diversify across stocks and bonds. But ultra-high-net-worth families diversify across something most people never consider, countries, generations, and legal systems. Let me explain…

The episode explores whether appraisal rights—statutory protections for dissenting shareholders—can be waived or limited through contractual mechanisms such as merger agreement clauses, corporate articles, or shareholder agreements, and how the answer varies between public and closely held corporations. It explains...
Toyota announced a 43% drop in quarterly profit and named its CFO, Kenta Kon, as the new chief executive and president effective April. Kon, a veteran with expertise in automated driving, will replace Koji Sato, who will stay on as...
SAP Americas CFO Sonja Simon is championing a "failure culture" to speed AI and automation adoption within the finance organization. Her 30‑person team, responsible for roughly 40% of SAP's global revenue, integrates AI through regular discussions, volunteer showcases, and a...

More than 100 business associations have written to Treasury urging the destruction of beneficial ownership information (BOI) records for domestic companies that no longer must file under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). They also request a final rule exempting U.S....
Corporate leaders are increasingly turning to carve‑outs and divestitures to sharpen portfolio focus amid slowing growth and higher capital costs. The trend is driven by capital discipline, the need to eliminate conglomerate discounts, and the desire for strategic agility in...

Ørsted is exploring partnerships and M&A in Europe and the APAC region to sustain revenue growth after completing its 8.1 GW offshore construction portfolio by 2027. CEO Rasmus Errboe emphasized a value‑over‑volume approach, targeting fixed‑bottom schemes in core markets and reviewing upcoming...

Odell Beckham Jr. converted his $750,000 2025 Los Angeles Rams contract into Bitcoin, a move that initially suggested a $1.4 million windfall. Bitcoin’s price has since dropped more than 45 percent, shrinking the apparent gain to a modest $12,000 after taxes. The...

Global semiconductor sales are set to top $1 trillion in 2026 after a 25.6% jump to $792 billion in 2025. The surge is driven primarily by advanced AI chips, which grew nearly 40% to $302 billion, and memory chips, up 35% to $223 billion....
Barings Emerging Europe trust lost roughly 28% of its assets when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rendered its Russian holdings worthless, halving its share price by late 2023. The board responded by expanding the mandate to cover the Middle East, Africa,...

First‑time homebuyers often focus on deposits and mortgage rates, only to encounter a series of hidden expenses that can strain budgets. Common surprises include misunderstood Stamp Duty Land Tax relief, unexpected leasehold fees, and costly repairs uncovered after a survey....

President Trump appointed Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair, signaling a likely dovish tilt for monetary policy. Warsh is expected to pursue aggressive short‑term rate cuts while also shrinking the Fed’s bond holdings, which could push long‑term yields...

Regulatory frameworks are evolving faster than traditional compliance programs can keep up, prompting firms to adopt more dynamic learning solutions. The article outlines a suite of methods—including interactive workshops, e‑learning modules, microlearning, mentorship, simulations, briefings, job aids, assessments, and blended...
Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny revealed he’s been losing sleep as he prepares for his $13‑minute, $13 million Super Bowl halftime performance, the first show delivered entirely in Spanish. The artist described 4 a.m. awakenings, rehearsing beats and choreography while juggling a...

TotalEnergies is requesting up to $250 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to finance its 1 GW Mirny on‑shore wind farm in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region. The project will install roughly 140 Sany and Envision turbines ranging from 6.5 MW to...

Ib vogt has completed the sale of three Irish solar projects worth roughly €230 million, delivering a combined capacity of 272 MWp. The assets—Gaskinstown, Rathnaskilloge and Clonin North—secured 15‑year contracts under Ireland’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme 2 and together generate about 275 GWh annually. Two...

John Williams and Asha Cermak break down Indiana’s new Consumer Data Protection Act, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, outlining the consumer rights to access, correct, delete, and port personal data, as well as opt‑out of selling, targeted ads, and AI...