What Matters Next: A Leader's Guide to Making Human-Friendly Tech Decisions in a World That's Moving Too Fast
Kate O’Neill’s new book *What Matters Next* offers a pragmatic framework for finance leaders navigating rapid tech adoption, balancing immediate liquidity pressures with long‑term strategic health. It quantifies the staggering $250 million annual loss that inefficient decision‑making can inflict on a Fortune 500 firm, urging treasury and credit teams to treat technology choices as core risk‑management. The Now‑Next Continuum and Insights‑Foresights Model provide tools to avoid shortsightedness and reckless long‑termism while extracting actionable foresight from noisy data. Ethical Acceleration stresses human‑in‑the‑loop oversight to prevent AI bias and preserve stakeholder trust.
Athora Raises €3.5bn to Fund Approved Pension Insurance Corporation Acquisition
Athora announced a €3.5 billion common‑equity raise, earmarked primarily for the acquisition of Pension Insurance Corporation Group (PICG). The deal, cleared by the PRA and FCA, is slated for completion around 27 March 2026, after which Athora’s assets under management and administration will...
The IPO Buzz: MiniMed (MMED) Prices IPO at $20 – 20 Percent Below Range – & Stock Falls
MiniMed priced its IPO at $20 per share, a 20% discount to the low end of its $25 range, raising $560 million and valuing the company at $5.62 billion. The stock opened below the IPO price and closed its first NASDAQ session...
We Need Fair and Balanced Audit Reports
Norman Marks argues that audit reports must be more than accurate; they need to be fair and balanced to preserve credibility with management and boards. He recounts an IT audit at a large financial institution where the report highlighted security...
The Boeing Company (BA): Our Calculation of Intrinsic Value
Each week we run a DCF model on Boeing, arriving at an intrinsic share price of roughly $85, far below the current market level near $230. The analysis uses a 10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth, and forecasts free cash...
COSO Releases New Guidance on Internal Controls for Generative AI
COSO released "Achieving Effective Internal Control Over Generative AI (GenAI)", a guidance that aligns its Internal Control‑Integrated Framework with the unique risks of generative AI. The publication translates the five COSO components into concrete controls for eight GenAI capability types...
Top 3 SPAC Targets – Agriculture
The column revives its Top 3 SPAC Targets list, spotlighting Costa Group, Amber Wave and Better Beef as prime agricultural merger candidates. It ties renewed SPAC activity to shifting trade policies, notably the Supreme Court’s removal of Trump‑era tariffs, and...
AI for Finance & Accounts
The post outlines how AI is reshaping finance and accounting in India, highlighting tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Notion AI, Dext, Microsoft Copilot, and Indian platforms ClearTax and TaxBuddy. It notes the massive market of ~1.4 crore GST filers and ~8.5 lakh chartered...
Your Finance Transformation Story Starts at SSOW 2026
The Shared Services & Outsourcing Week (SSOW) 2026, held March 16‑19 in Orlando, will host a Finance Transformation Program for finance shared‑services leaders. Over 1,200 shared‑services and GBS executives will gather to discuss modernizing finance operations, embedding AI responsibly, and...
Investor Skepticism Creates Opportunity
An asset manager’s bonds are priced 50‑75 basis points wider than those of its major peers. Rating agencies signal potential upgrades, while the bond market doubts the firm’s credit health. The company’s fourth‑quarter results revealed record fundraising, growing margins, and...
The SCOTUS Tariff Decision as a Subsequent Event
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Learning Resources v. Trump is being classified as a non‑recognized (Type 2) subsequent event under ASC 855 for firms that imported goods subject to IEEPA tariffs and have not yet issued financial statements as of February 20, 2026. The...
The Pros and Cons of IPOs and SPAC Mergers
The article examines whether fast‑growing firms should go public via a traditional IPO or a SPAC merger, emphasizing the role of forward‑looking statements. SPAC deals historically allow more detailed projections, which can attract both sophisticated and unsophisticated investors. The SEC’s...
PROPTECH-X : Gap Between How Sellers Value Their Businesses and How Buyers Assess Risk Widens
A leading UK construction investor warns that reliance on EBITDA for valuations is causing deal failures as buyers shift focus to net profit before tax and cash flow. Bradley Lay of Peak Capital notes the valuation gap has widened over...
David Ellison’s $18 Billion Question
David Ellison’s Skydance is set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a $111 billion transaction priced at $31 per share, representing roughly a five‑times multiple to the pre‑deal market price. The deal awards CEO David Zaslav about $800 million in proceeds and...
Pentane Review 2026: The Profit Operating System That Tells Shopify Brands Exactly What to Do Next
Pentane is a profit‑operating system for Shopify merchants that links ad spend, revenue, and accounting data to deliver real‑time net‑margin insights. Its Mission Control module defines a net‑margin target and instantly proposes four concrete actions—budget tweaks, pricing changes, expense cuts,...
Fiscal Rules in Emerging Market Economies
The World Bank’s January 2026 Global Economic Prospects report finds that more than half of emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) now operate under at least one fiscal rule, up from roughly 15 % in 2000. Fiscal rules are linked to medium‑term...
Aviation Week on the Value Airline Sector in 2030
Aviation Week’s Daily Memo projects a stark transformation for U.S. ultra‑low‑cost carriers (ULCCs) by 2030. Rising labor, airport and supply‑chain costs are eroding the traditional seat‑cost advantage, prompting all value airlines to add premium products and seek new revenue streams....
What the State of FinOps 2026 Means for ITSM
The FinOps Foundation’s 2026 State of FinOps survey reveals that FinOps has broadened from cloud‑cost management to a multi‑technology discipline, now handling AI, SaaS, licensing and data‑center spend. Collaboration with IT service management is highlighted, especially for automating remediation and...
Outsourcing Crime Control: How EU Anti-Money Laundering Rules Threaten Financial Privacy
The European Union’s revised anti‑money‑laundering (AML) and counter‑terrorist financing framework transfers crime‑detection duties from public authorities to private banks and other obliged entities. By mandating extensive collection of personal and transactional data, the rules compel institutions to flag customers as...
RFR Adoption in Cleared Rates Swaps – 2025 Update
The 2025 cleared rates‑swap data show that just over 62% of the $1,076 trillion notional is tied to risk‑free rate (RFR) indexes, leaving a 38% minority still anchored to legacy IBORs. Major currencies such as GBP, JPY and CAD have largely...
GalaxyEdge Acquisition Corporation (GLED.U) Prices $100M IPO
GalaxyEdge Acquisition Corporation announced pricing of its $100 million initial public offering, with units slated to begin trading on the NYSE under the ticker GLED.U on March 4, 2026. The SPAC, led by CEO Ping Zhang and a board that includes Qi Gong,...
Guest Post: Will Allowing Companies to Block Shareholder Suits Create a D&O Mess?
In September 2025 the SEC overturned decades‑old guidance and now allows public companies to include forced arbitration clauses in their IPO registration statements. The change is expected to drive up legal expenses for securities claims, as firms will face dozens...
MSDW Podcast: From Close to Confidence with Velixo
Velixo senior product manager and CPA Jim Norton discussed the challenges of year‑end closing in Dynamics 365 Business Central on the MSDW podcast. He warned that weak close processes, reliance on Excel‑based reports, and manual data exports heighten audit friction for...
Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. VI (KCAC.U) Prices $200M IPO
Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. VI priced a $200 million initial public offering and will begin trading on the NYSE under the ticker KCAC.U on March 4, 2026. The SPAC targets a high‑growth merger in automotive, defense, energy, or artificial‑intelligence sectors. Its sponsor team...
Ayar Labs Closes $500M Series E, Accelerates Volume Production of Co-Packaged Optics
Ayar Labs announced a $500 million Series E round led by Neuberger Berman, bringing total funding to $870 million and valuing the company at $3.75 billion. The capital will be used to scale high‑volume production and testing of its co‑packaged optics (CPO) solution, expand...
How Does the U.S. Tax System Stack Up?
The United States collects general‑government tax revenue equal to about 25.5% of GDP, roughly ten percentage points below the OECD average. Only two‑thirds of that revenue comes from the federal level, a share far lower than other industrial federations. Compliance...
Your Cap Table Didn't Kill Your Round
The article argues that a messy cap table is rarely the true cause of a failed funding round; investors often use vague equity complaints as a polite rejection. Real cap‑table issues are solvable with time, money, and transparency, but they...
NEW POD! How Credit Markets Shaped a Nation with Sarah Quinn
In the latest Net Interest Extra episode, sociologist Sarah Quinn discusses her book *American Bonds*, which argues that credit markets have been a foundational force in shaping the United States. Quinn traces how borrowing practices influenced industrial growth, urbanization, and...
How Formula 1 Makes Money: A Complete Business Breakdown Before The 2026 Season
Liberty Media’s 2025 earnings show Formula 1’s revenue climbing to $3.87 billion, a 14% increase, while operating income jumped 28% to $632 million. The franchise’s equity value rose to over $26 billion, delivering a 16% annualized return since the 2017 acquisition. Heading into the...
Chancery Interprets LLC Agreement as Not Eliminating Fiduciary Duties
The Delaware Court of Chancery held that the LLC’s Protection Provision did not fully eliminate fiduciary duties, allowing Calumet’s breach claim against manager Luke Darkow to survive. The court adopted the fiduciary‑exception view, treating the claim under tort law rather...
🛑 Stop Grabbing the Fastest Money.
The post warns that small businesses often suffer from cash‑flow leaks rather than sudden revenue spikes, prompting owners to chase the quickest financing instead of a strategic solution. It highlights common pressure points—unexpected taxes, tighter vendor terms, late payments, and...
Federal Reserve Revenue: Cutsinger’s Solution
The Federal Reserve sets its own operating budget and remits any surplus to the Treasury, but it lacks a residual claimant who would benefit from cost savings. Because officials do not capture saved dollars, there is little incentive to minimize...
TalkTalk to Get £115m Funding Injection From Ares Management
TalkTalk secured a £115 million cash injection from Ares Management, comprising £65 million of senior debt and a £50 million short‑term facility to replace a £47 million debt due in March. The funding follows earlier capital raises of £235 million in December 2024 and £120 million...
InsideArbitrage Event Driven Monitor – March 3, 2026
The March 3 2026 InsideArbitrage Event‑Driven Monitor reports a flurry of high‑profile M&A activity, including Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT’s $33.4 billion acquisition of AES at a 13.2% discount and a co‑founder‑led consortium’s $3.9 billion purchase of Select Medical at a 10% premium. Pending...
Co-Founder Robert Ortenzio-Led Consortium to Take Select Medical Private for $3.9 Billion
Select Medical Holdings agreed to be taken private for $3.9 billion by a consortium led by co‑founder Robert Ortenzio, senior executive Martin Jackson, and private‑equity firm WCAS. The deal offers $16.5 in cash per share, a 10% premium to the prior...
U.S. Treasury Rates Weekly Update for February 27, 2026
U.S. Treasury yields slipped across the curve for the week ending February 27, 2026. The 30‑year note fell 0.08 percentage points, while the benchmark 10‑year yield dropped 0.11 points to 3.97%. The 3‑year Treasury rate held at 3.39%, indicating modest...
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How to Improve Your M&A Process Using Agile [Must Read]
Kison Patel’s new book *Agile M&A* proposes a project‑management framework that brings responsiveness, collaboration, and continuous improvement to the traditionally rigid M&A process. In a recent interview, Patel explains how techniques such as backlogs, short stand‑up meetings, and cross‑functional squads...
How DealRoom Pipeline Prevents Deals From Slipping Through the Cracks
DealRoom Pipeline introduces a unified platform for M&A deal management, consolidating emails, documents, notes, and task tracking in one view. The solution offers customizable Kanban or spreadsheet‑style pipelines, allowing teams to filter deals by priority, region, or financial metrics. Integrated...
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When to Work With Private Sellers Versus Advisors in M&A
National Express has completed roughly 30 acquisitions of family‑owned transportation firms, largely by contacting private sellers directly. The company balances the benefits of broker‑mediated deals—more organized processes—with the flexibility of unrepresented negotiations, where early valuation ranges help manage inflated seller...
New SPACs: RMG ML Sports Holdings (SHOTU), Mercator Acquisition Corp. (MRCOU) File for IPOs
RMG ML Sports Holdings and Mercator Acquisition Corp have each filed S‑1 registration statements to launch new special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). RMG ML Sports will trade under the ticker SHOTU and focuses on sports‑media and technology investments, while Mercator...
Strategy Makes Largest Bitcoin Purchase Since January
Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, announced a $204.1 million purchase of 3,015 Bitcoin on March 2, marking its largest acquisition since January. The buy raises the firm’s total holdings to 720,737 BTC, cementing its position as the world’s biggest corporate Bitcoin holder. In parallel,...
Finding Value in Numbers With Ehsan Ehsani – The Special Situations Report Episode 56
Episode 56 of the Special Situations Report features Ehsan Ehsani, executive director at Crescendo Partners and Columbia Business School adjunct, promoting his new book "Finding Value in Numbers." The interview delves into quantitative investing tools, the Kelly Criterion for portfolio...
February 2026 Corporate Actions Analysis
February 2026 saw a surge in SPAC‑related corporate actions, with 45 vehicles filing deadline extensions and redemption requests climbing 30% year‑over‑year to $1.2 billion. Twelve de‑SPAC mergers closed, delivering a median post‑merger share price uplift of roughly 15%. The activity reflects...
Canada Life Completes £80m Pensions Buy-In with Safeway Pension Scheme
Canada Life has completed an £80 million buy‑in transaction for the Safeway Pension Scheme, covering more than 350 deferred members and 1,450 pensioners. The deal was brokered by Aon, with Hymans Robertson providing investment advice and Clifford Chance and Gowling WLG handling...
Airbus: Repeatedly Missing the Mark on Delivery Guidance
Airbus has failed to meet its commercial aircraft delivery guidance for three consecutive years, with shortfalls driven by engine shortages, buyer‑furnished equipment delays, and quality‑control problems. The company repeatedly revised its outlooks as supply‑chain bottlenecks persisted, undermining the reliability of...
Steadfast’s Underlying Revenue Rises 14.6% to $1bn in H1’26
Steadfast Group reported underlying revenue of $1 billion for H1 2026, a 14.6% year‑on‑year increase. Underlying EBITA rose 12.6% to $293.6 million, while NPATA and NPAT grew 6.3% and 7.3% respectively. The Australasian Network brokers generated $6.4 billion in gross written premiums, up 4.4%,...