Today's Finance Pulse
Autodesk to acquire MaintainX for $3.6B, expanding into operations software
Autodesk announced a $3.6 billion purchase of MaintainX, a leader in operational‑phase software for the built environment. The deal extends Autodesk’s portfolio from design and manufacturing into ongoing building operation, creating an end‑to‑end data loop. CEO Andrew Anagnost said the acquisition unlocks a $40 billion total addressable market.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Pemberton Asset Management closes $3.7B fourth vintage fund
GAO Says Tax Pros Helped Shape IRS Response to ERC Issues
The Government Accountability Office reported that tax practitioners shaped the IRS's response to the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), prompting a two‑part voluntary disclosure program, an updated eligibility‑tool website, and new professional‑responsibility guidance. The IRS says it has closed nearly five million ERC claims, leaving about 41,000 under examination or appeal. GAO recommendations call for public transparency on claim status, an improper‑payment estimate, and modernization of amended employment tax returns. The IRS accepted most recommendations but resisted the payment‑estimate request, offering a lessons‑learned summary instead.
Bloomberg Extends Financial Data to $25B Tokenized Markets via Kaiko
Bloomberg is partnering with Kaiko to embed the newswire’s licensed financial data directly onto blockchain platforms, tackling the fragmented information problem in tokenized markets. The collaboration targets tokenized U.S. Treasury and repo products on the permissioned Canton Network, offering a...
BlackSky’s Growth Contracts in 2025 for Second Year
BlackSky reported full‑year 2025 revenue of $106.6 million, a modest 4.4% increase year‑over‑year, marking a second consecutive slowdown after 8% growth in 2024 and 45% in 2023. The company’s net loss widened to $70.3 million, but its backlog jumped 32% to $345 million,...
LPs Highlight Red Flags Around Retail Capital Flowing Into Traditional PE
Retail investors are pouring unprecedented amounts of private wealth into traditional private‑equity funds, accelerating a shift that once belonged to institutional limited partners. This surge, driven by fintech platforms and low‑minimum‑investment products, has prompted seasoned LPs to flag potential red‑flags....
Austin OKs $1.4 Billion of Bonds for Airport Expansion
City Council approved up to $1.4 billion in revenue bonds to fund Austin‑Bergstrom International Airport’s expansion. The bond issuance includes a $1.05 billion Series B tranche subject to the alternative minimum tax and a $350 million non‑AMT Series A tranche, targeting roughly 75% of a...
Butterfly Equity Changes Control After Partner Dispute
Butterfly Equity, a private‑equity manager with roughly $7 billion in assets under management, has undergone a control shift following an internal partner dispute. Co‑founder Adam Waglay has emerged as the sole decision‑maker, consolidating ownership previously shared among partners. The restructuring resolves...
Nel ASA Stock Turns Positive After Weak Figures: Revenue Declines - Losses Widen - Order Intake Rises Significantly
Nel ASA posted a steep revenue decline in Q4 and the full‑year 2025, with Q4 revenue down 21% YoY to NOK 330 million and full‑year revenue falling 31% to NOK 963 million. Net losses widened dramatically, driven by a NOK 799 million impairment charge that pushed...
Puerto Rico Port Concessionaire Bond Outlook Lowered by S&P
S&P Global Ratings lowered the outlook on San Juan Cruise Port LLC's senior debt to negative, keeping the BBB‑minus rating but flagging heightened risk. The downgrade affects about $160.3 million of bonds issued by AFICA, which are not guaranteed by the...
SEP IRAs Limit Advanced Tax Strategies—Consider Better Options
SEP IRAs are a dead giveaway that somebody has room to do great planning 1.) They block backdoor Roths 2.) They reduce QBI more than solo 401ks do since SEP IRAs only allow employer contributions 3.) They do not support the mega backdoor...
New Income Tax Regime: Monthly TDS Returns, HRA Tax Rule Recast on Wish List
The Indian government is preparing to shift Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) filing from a quarterly to a monthly cadence as part of the new income‑tax regime slated for April 1. A parallel proposal seeks to overhaul house‑rent allowance (HRA) exemptions,...
FC Bayern Moves to SAP Cloud ERP Private to Advance Clean Core Strategy
FC Bayern has migrated its core IT landscape to SAP Cloud ERP Private, consolidating over 9.5 million fan and member records and more than 25,000 product master data entries into a single cloud system. The move supports a clean‑core architecture...
CFO Corner: Nicola Perin, OVS
CFO Nicola Perin credits a solid administrative foundation for OVS’s growth, highlighted by the 2014 spin‑off of OVS‑Upim that paved the way for a public listing. He later led Italy’s first sustainability‑linked bond, raising €160 million at a 2.25% fixed rate...
GP-Led Credit Market Explores Different Deal and Return Opportunities as Growth Continues – NEXUS
The GP‑led credit secondary market is experiencing sustained growth as investors pursue more flexible deal structures and higher return potential. Industry leaders, such as Olga Kosters of Antares, emphasize that the ability to cherry‑pick assets and maintain strong GP‑investor alignment...
Liberty Launches Lender Collateral Insurance Program
Liberty Co. Insurance Brokers announced the launch of Liberty Collateral Protection, a new collateral protection facility aimed at lenders and loan servicers with large, multi‑state portfolios. The offering blends lender‑placed insurance, real‑estate‑owned (REO) coverage, and collateral protection insurance with centralized...
S&P Downgrades REIT, Citing $2B Of Upcoming Debt Maturities
S&P Global downgraded Service Properties Trust (SVC) to B‑ from B, citing $2 billion of debt maturing over the next two years. Roughly 40% of the REIT's capital structure faces imminent repayment, raising liquidity and covenant concerns. The company sold 112...
Papa Johns Announces 300 Store Closures and 7% Corporate Layoffs
Papa John’s announced a sweeping cost‑savings program that includes closing 300 under‑performing restaurants—200 of them this year—and laying off 7% of its corporate workforce. The plan aims to generate at least $25 million in savings through 2027, with $13 million expected in...
Mid‑market AI Success: Small Teams, Tight Budgets, Mature BI
Most of my clients are mid-market organizations, and they're all approaching AI the right way. And it has nothing to do with ChatGPT/Gemini/Claude. Here's what these organizations all have in common: 1 - Small teams. 2 - Tight budgets. 3 - Mature BI infrastructure. 4 -...
Balancing Rates Drives Predictable Credit Cycles
In order to have successful capital markets, you see the same things happen again and again. Since one man’s debts are another man’s assets, you have to keep interest rates not so high that they crush the debtor, without having them...
Fitch: Default Events in January Double Last Year’s Average
Fitch reported that private credit defaults surged in January, with 11 events—double the average monthly defaults recorded last year. Over the trailing twelve‑month period the sector logged 89 defaults, highlighting an accelerating distress trend. The uptick reflects tightening credit conditions...
Act Now to Battle Data Exfiltration
Accounting firms are facing a surge in data‑exfiltration attacks, where cybercriminals silently steal sensitive financial records to extort victims or sell the data. Traditional detection tools often miss covert channels, encrypted uploads, and traffic mimicry, leaving firms vulnerable. The average...
Medtech M&A Starts Off Strong in 2026
Medtech M&A kicks off 2026 with several multibillion‑dollar deals. Boston Scientific announced a $14.5 billion acquisition of Penumbra, while Danaher disclosed a $9.9 billion purchase of Masimo. At the same time, major divestitures are underway, including BD’s planned $17.5 billion sale of its...
From Sweepers to Engineers: Telangana’s Salaries Consume 45% of Revenue
Telangana’s wage and pension outlay has ballooned to nearly Rs 6,000 crore a month, consuming about 45 percent of the state’s revenue. Senior engineers in power utilities now earn up to Rs 7 lakh per month, while senior municipal sweepers can draw close to Rs 2 lakh....
From $187M Ecommerce to $5M ARR SaaS: Spresso's Post-Bankruptcy Pivot to Enterprise Software | Jared Yaman
In this episode, Jared Gaiman, co‑founder of Boxed and current CEO of Spresso, recounts the rise of Boxed from a $187 M e‑commerce business to its Chapter 11 filing and subsequent pivot to a $5 M ARR SaaS model focused on enterprise software...
Transparency Data: Government Major Projects Portfolio – Accounting Officer Assessments Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has released a comprehensive set of accounting officer assessments for its programmes and projects within the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). The page lists more than 70 documents, ranging from prison construction and houseblock expansions...
IRS Creates Tax Scam Reporting Web Page
The Internal Revenue Service unveiled a new, centralized web page (IRS.gov/SubmitATip) that lets taxpayers confidentially report tax fraud, scams, and evasion. By consolidating multiple reporting channels into a single "Report Fraud" button, the agency aims to simplify submissions and improve...
Onslow Bay Prepares to Sell $452.7 Million in ABS From HELOCs
Onslow Bay Financial is preparing a $452.7 million asset‑backed securities offering backed by a pool of 1,952 home‑equity lines of credit. The ABS will be issued in eight tranches under the OBX 2026‑HE1 Trust, benchmarked to SOFR and maturing in February 2056. The...
UBS Predicts Private Credit Defaults Surpass 2008 Crisis Level
UBS's worst-case default rate for private credit is 15%. Up from 13% a month ago. For context, the 2008 leveraged loan default rate peaked at 10.8%. UBS is now modeling a scenario worse than the financial crisis for private credit. And they...
Wall Street Fears Both AI Overload and AI Scarcity
How is Wall Street simultaneously afraid of too much AI and not enough AI? 👇
Debit Card Fraud Losses Rise
A Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank analysis shows debit card fraud loss rates rose between 2021 and 2023, driven primarily by card‑not‑present transactions. While online fraud increased, in‑person fraud declined on dual‑message networks but grew on single‑message networks. The report...
Why Your Exporter Clients Need to Hear About IC-DISC Right Now
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision limiting presidential tariff authority under the IEEPA has heightened uncertainty for exporters facing new duties. In this environment, the Interest‑Charge Domestic International Sales Corporation (IC‑DISC) offers a tax‑saving mechanism that converts export earnings into...
Fiserv Appoints New Executives
Fiserv announced three senior hires this month: Lia Cao as chief revenue officer for enterprise and platforms, Robert Clarkson as chief revenue officer for small‑business and Clover POS, and Adit Gadgil as global head of business development. All three are...
Dia Makes Impressive Comeback in Spain
Grupo Dia posted a profit in 2025 after seven consecutive loss‑making years, reporting €5.8 billion in total turnover, a 3.5% increase. In Spain, sales rose 8% to €4.6 billion, driven by a 7.4% rise in comparable turnover and the opening of 94...
SHINE Raises $240 Million in Funding to Advance Commercial Fusion Technology
SHINE Technologies announced a $240 million equity raise led by NantWorks, bringing its total funding above $1 billion. The round adds Dr. Patrick Soon‑Shiong to the board, linking the fusion firm with a serial biotech entrepreneur. SHINE will use the capital to...
Resolv and Centrifuge Launch $100 Million Tokenized Credit Strategy on Aave
Centrifuge and Resolv are deploying up to $100 million of JAAA, a tokenized AAA‑rated credit fund, as leveraged collateral on Aave Horizon, creating the largest real‑world asset loop in DeFi to date. Resolv will lock JAAA to generate yield for its...
Boomer's Blueprint: Mind the Gap: Change, Talent, and the CPA Future
Boomer Consulting warns that the accounting profession faces a widening transformation gap between firms that evolve and those that remain static. Leadership must address talent alignment, business‑model redesign, and technology as a unified front to stay relevant. Automation is removing...
SA Express Wind-Up Nears End, Brand Value $10k
South African Express, the state‑owned carrier, is set to complete its liquidation by April 2026, six years after entering provisional liquidation. The liquidators have recovered movable assets, tax refunds and interest, leaving a free residue of roughly ZAR 3.7 million for distribution....
New Senate Bill May Double Trucking Rates, Boost Wages
The most significant legislation for freight since deregulation has been introduced in the Senate and could set off a trucking rate super cycle. This would create conditions that would bring back living wages to truck drivers, provide massive incentives to...
Top 5 Payment Processors Control 56% Market
Will anyone dislodge Stripe as the payments king? This chart is about the same as last year. Stripe lost a few points, but the same number of Do Not Accept / N/A remains the same. PayPal remained the same. Survey...
🎥 MSCI's Luke Flemmer - "Bringing Clarity to Investment Decisions"
In this episode, Luke Flemmer, head of private assets at MSCI, explains how standardizing and normalizing data can unlock transparency, price formation, and liquidity in private markets, drawing parallels to past evolutions in bonds, FX, and equities. He argues that...
BlackRock Adds 4,309 BTC, $290M in Hour
BlackRock continues to increase its #BTC holdings. Over the past hour, the company purchased 4,309 BTC worth $289.6 million. https://t.co/XHsOQfFWwO
CIOs Must Deliver Defensible, Audit-Ready Budget Forecasts
#CIOChat Q3: Yet CIOs still owe CFOs defensible numbers and audit-ready plans. How are you reconciling professional budget requirements with uncertainty. Are you using rolling forecasts, dynamic reserves, probabilistic models, or something else? https://t.co/OO17dBefNJ
Ryan Reynolds and Former Costco CFO Richard Galanti to Headline AICPA ENGAGE 2026
AICPA ENGAGE 2026 will feature a high‑profile keynote conversation between actor‑entrepreneur Ryan Reynolds and former Costco CFO Richard Galanti. The event, marking ENGAGE’s 10th anniversary, runs June 8–11 at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas under the theme “the next wave.” Their dialogue...
Amazon's $50B OpenAI Bet Depends on IPO or AGI
.@theInformation Exclusive: @Amazon’s potential $50B investment in @OpenAI may hinge on two triggers: an IPO or reaching AGI.
Fast 7-Year Auction Turn; Feb Extension Increases Friday
It will be a quick turn from today's 7y auction to month end tomorrow. Reminder Feb duration extension will be larger Friday as it always is in a refunding month.
BlackRock Appoints Citi to Provide Select ETF Middle Office Services on Aladdin
BlackRock has appointed Citi Investor Services to handle select middle‑office functions for roughly $4 trillion of U.S.-domiciled iShares ETFs on its Aladdin platform. The expanded role builds on a 2021 custodial mandate and aims to streamline the ETF order lifecycle, offering...
Adam Smith's Verdict on Today's Economy
March 9 will be the 250th anniversary of the publication of The Wealth of Nations. How would Adam Smith judge our economy today? We discuss it with @Jesse_Norman, author of Adam Smith, Father of Economics, and British MP. https://t.co/Y5fN0vHIkk
VITL Plunges 60%, Trades at 10x EV/
$VITL shares down >60% from the August 2025 highs EV down to ~$800 million, it trades at ~10x EV / EBIT
Full Review Must Return Air New Zealand to Profitability
Air New Zealand announced a comprehensive strategy review aimed at restoring profitability after posting a $40 million net loss for the first half of FY26. The carrier is grappling with recurring engine reliability problems that have grounded aircraft, while domestic demand...
LLMs Fail 85% of Investment Tasks, Math Weakness Evident
LLM-driven AI tools are much better with words than with math... at what point is the time to back-check the output calculations more time-consuming than just using established software providers for key investment research and financial planning functions? "Mass market AI...