Starfish Closes $100M+ Series B
Starfish Space announced a Series B round exceeding $100 million, led by Point72 Ventures and co‑led by Activate Capital and Shield Capital, with participation from several other investors. The capital will fund the company’s first full‑scale Otter mission, expand production capacity, and grow its workforce. Starfish has already secured a $37.5 million Department of Defense contract, a $52.5 million Space Force contract, completed the autonomous Remora docking demonstration, and placed the Otter Pup 2 satellite on an active docking trajectory. These milestones position the firm as a leading contender in the emerging on‑orbit servicing market.
Starfish Space Raises More than $100 Million
Starfish Space announced a Series B round that raised over $100 million, led by Point72 Ventures and co‑led by Activate Capital and Shield Capital. The capital will be used to scale production of its Otter line of satellite‑servicing spacecraft and to hire...
Episode Six CFO on Scaling a Fintech with Discipline
Episode Six co‑founder and CFO Chermaine Hu explains how her 14‑year Morgan Stanley M&A background shapes the fintech’s capital allocation and growth strategy. She emphasizes disciplined, goal‑driven expansion—building local reference clients before hiring en masse, especially in the U.S. market....
EdgeBeam Keeps Its First Acquisition in the Family
EdgeBeam Wireless, a broadcaster‑backed joint venture, has acquired Broadspan from Sinclair Broadcasting, adding a full control and data plane to its hybrid ATSC 3.0 and 4G network. Sinclair will keep exclusive international distribution rights to EdgeBeam’s software platform under a separate...
Britain’s Innovators Backed with Around £100m of New Investment
The UK government has launched a £100 million (≈ $127 million) annual investment boost by expanding the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme and doubling limits for the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCT). The reforms quadruple EMI’s asset ceiling to...
EY’s Agentic AI Pivot – A Watershed Moment for Audit Quality?
EY is rolling out an enterprise‑scale, multi‑agent AI framework across 160,000 audit engagements, embedding Microsoft Azure, Foundry and Fabric into its EY Canvas platform. The system processes about 1.4 trillion journal‑entry lines annually, moving the profession toward 100 % population testing and...
From Voluntary Commitment to Legal Mandate: How Sustainable Finance Arguments of the 1990s Became Today's Disclosure Rules
The EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), Taxonomy and the climate‑related provisions of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) are the latest embodiment of sustainability arguments first articulated in the mid‑1990s. In 1996 Stephan Schmidheiny and Federico Zorraquin warned that...
Blue Owl Seals $2.9bn Hard Cap Close for Opportunistic Asset-Backed Credit Fund
Blue Owl Capital announced a hard‑cap close of $2.9 billion for its newest opportunistic asset‑backed credit fund, marking the final fundraising round for the vehicle. The fund will pursue distressed loans, structured credit and other asset‑backed opportunities across North America. Investor...
Zoho Books Comes Full Circle with MTD for Income Tax
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is now fully supported in Zoho Books, adding end‑of‑year submissions and a complete tax‑return filing capability. Sole traders and landlords earning over £50,000 (≈ $63,500) in the 2024/25 tax year must use HMRC‑recognised software...
Many New York Elites See Financial Surges, But Gains Were Uneven
New York’s elite law firms posted strong financial results in 2025, with most achieving double‑digit revenue or profit growth. However, the gains were uneven, as declining deal inventory sparked concern among big‑law partners. Quinn Emanuel highlighted the trend with a 16%...
Fault Lines And Flashpoints: Navigating Credit Markets Through A Geopolitical Shock
Calamos Fixed Income managers expect Middle‑East tensions to ease within months, allowing energy prices to fall and the Federal Reserve to restart rate cuts in the latter half of 2026. Their defensive credit positioning, built in prior quarters, shielded the...
Sysco Makes $29 Billion Deal to Acquire Restaurant Depot
Sysco Corp. agreed to acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot for $29.1 billion, using $21 billion of new debt, $1 billion cash, and issuing roughly 19.1% of its shares. The deal adds more than 160 warehouses across 35 states to Sysco’s network, expanding its reach...
Agentic AI & Automation in Finance Summit 2026 Convenes Industry Leaders in Stockholm
The Agentic AI & Automation in Finance Summit 2026 convenes on 15 September in Stockholm, marking the ninth European edition of the global series. More than 25 leading speakers will address senior executives from banking, fintech, insurance and broader financial...
Automated Audits Can Slash M&A Fraud Risks
Acquirers face "buyer beware" fraud when target companies inflate revenue, mis‑capitalize expenses, and hide true financial results, often leading to EBITDA overstatements of up to five points. In the highlighted case, the M&A team completed due diligence, handed off the...
MLP/Midstream 2025 Total Shareholder Yields Rise
Total shareholder yields for MLPs and broader midstream rose in 2025 as dividend growth outpaced flat price returns. The Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (AMZI) saw its dividend yield climb to 7.5% while buyback yield slipped to 0.3% after repurchases fell...
Texas Confronts Eye-Popping Water Needs that Threaten Its Growth Story
Texas faces a looming water shortage that threatens its rapid population and economic growth. The Texas Water Development Board estimates $174 billion—about $3.5 billion per year—will be needed for water infrastructure over the next 50 years, with mega‑projects like $10 billion reservoirs on...
The Case For Convertibles... When Many Things Could Happen
In Q1 2026 convertible securities delivered strong performance as equity markets slipped, offering investors growth exposure while tempering downside volatility. The Calamos Convertible Fund (CICVX) remains confident amid heightened geopolitical risk, emphasizing a fundamentally driven approach. AI infrastructure is highlighted...
Markets on Edge as Trump’s Iran Ultimatum Looms
President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum demanding Iran lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern, threatening to “decimate” Tehran’s infrastructure if it fails. The warning sent oil prices soaring, with Brent crude around $111 a barrel...
What Is Accounts Payable Automation? AP Automation Benefits & Best Practices
Accounts payable (AP) automation replaces manual invoice handling with software that captures, validates, routes, and pays invoices. The technology slashes processing costs from $12‑$40 per invoice to $2‑$4 and reduces cycle times from roughly 15 days to 3‑5 days. Integrated...
Where Premiums Will Be Paid: Fashion and Beauty M&A Trends
2025 reshaped fashion and beauty M&A as brands pursued scale, supply‑chain resilience, and AI‑driven capabilities. Flagship deals—Prada’s €1.25 bn (≈$1.35 bn) purchase of Versace, Caleres’ $105 m acquisition of Stuart Weitzman, and e.l.f. Beauty’s $1 bn buyout of Rhode—highlighted a premium on tech‑enabled, culturally resonant...
Banks Are Missing Out on a Huge Wave of Infrastructure Finance Deals
Traditional banks ceded the fastest‑growing infrastructure finance segment—renewable energy—to private capital after the Net‑Zero Banking Alliance collapsed in 2025. Annual energy‑transition investment hit a record $2.3 trillion, while private equity and credit firms deployed multi‑billion‑dollar deals, outpacing banks constrained by Basel...
OVL: Your Chance To Outperform The S&P While Collecting A 10% Yield
Overlay Shares Large Cap Equity ETF (OVL) employs a covered‑call strategy that delivers a 10.49% yield while targeting outperformance of the S&P 500. The fund sells short‑dated puts on 75‑100% of its holdings, generating monthly return‑of‑capital distributions. Since its 2019 launch,...
KKR Raises $23bn for Biggest PE Fund Solely Dedicated to North American Dealmaking
KKR announced the final close of its newest North America‑focused private equity fund, raising approximately $23 billion. The vehicle is now the largest PE fund dedicated exclusively to dealmaking on the continent. It will target mid‑market buyouts across sectors such as...
Meet the Brand: Corpay
Corpay, an S&P 500 corporate payments firm, introduced its Corpay Complete platform in the UK in April 2025, uniting corporate and virtual cards, accounts‑payable automation, expense and supplier management, and cross‑border payments. The solution integrates with existing ERP systems to give finance...
Cybersecurity Unicorn Torq Is in Talks to Acquire This AI Startup for $50 Million
Cybersecurity unicorn Torq, valued at $1.2 billion after a $140 million funding round, is in advanced talks to acquire Boston‑based AI security assistant Jit for about $50 million. The deal would merge Torq’s large security command center with Jit’s automated tools to create...
Afreximbank Launches $10bn Crisis Support for Africa, Caribbean
Afreximbank has approved a $10 billion Gulf Crisis Response Programme to cushion African and Caribbean economies from the fallout of the Middle‑East conflict. The fund will supply short‑term foreign‑exchange and liquidity to keep essential imports such as fuel, food and pharmaceuticals...
GLAAS Raises $5M From Co-Founder Devesh Sachdev
GLAAS, an embedded credit infrastructure platform for MSMEs, secured a $5 million investment from Devesh Sachdev, who also joined as co‑founder and managing director. Sachdev, former founder of Fusion Finance, will help strengthen GLAAS’s in‑house NBFC, Gromor Finance, and expand co‑lending...
Bed Bath & Beyond To Widen Offer In $150 Million Container Store Deal
Bed Bath & Beyond announced a $150 million acquisition of The Container Store, adding more than 100 physical locations to its portfolio. The deal, slated to close mid‑2026, will rebrand the stores as “The Container Store/Bed Bath & Beyond” and expand...
Why the US Treasury Is Confronting the Private Credit “Black Box” Now
The U.S. Treasury, together with the Financial Stability Oversight Council, has moved from observation to active oversight of the $1.7 trillion private‑credit market. Recent FSOC meetings and Treasury‑led discussions with insurers aim to illuminate the sector’s opaque structures and systemic risk...
ISDA Taps Gentek AI for DRR Traceability Tool
The International Securities Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has appointed Gentek AI to develop a traceability tool for Digital Regulatory Reporting (DRR). Gentek will adapt its existing attribution and retrieval engine to let users track the full history of DRR...
Canada's Accountant Shortage Is Starting to Add up Despite Quieter Tax Season
Canada’s accountant shortage remains acute even as the 2026 tax season is calmer than the chaotic years of 2023‑2025. A 2025 survey shows 86% of finance and accounting managers still struggle to fill vacancies, and CPA salaries have risen 7.7%...
How Smart Policy Can Unlock VAT’s Revenue Potential
European policymakers face a €773.5 billion actionable VAT policy gap in 2024, six times larger than the compliance gap. VAT provides roughly 20 % of EU tax revenue and underpins about 9.5 % of the EU budget. The gap stems from reduced rates...
Ending Quarterly Earnings Reports Might Be the Best Thing to Happen to U.S. Companies in Decades
The U.S. SEC is considering making quarterly earnings reports optional, shifting most public companies toward mandatory semiannual filings while retaining rapid disclosure of material events. Proponents argue that the current quarterly cadence forces executives into short‑term thinking and costly reporting...
United Petfood Enters Canada
United Petfood has entered the Canadian market by acquiring the Jupiter dry‑pet‑food plant in Drummondville, Quebec, from the Legault Group. The facility, which began operations in 2023, features the latest production technology and offers room for further expansion. CEO Dries...
Liquidity Meets Reality
Claire Madden of Connection Capital says the surge in private‑market secondaries reflects both structural maturation and a cyclical response to constrained exits. She positions secondaries as a portfolio‑management tool that enables rebalancing and exposure to high‑quality assets, but not a...
What You Need to Know Before Emissions Regulators Come Knocking
Regulators worldwide are tightening climate‑related financial disclosure, forcing companies to inventory Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, especially those tied to IT infrastructure. The IFRS standards have been transposed into law across major economies, and cloud providers now publish detailed emissions dashboards, though...
Nobody Knows How to File Taxes on Prediction Market Wins
Prediction‑market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket have surged, with Kalshi processing over $12 billion in monthly trade volume, yet the IRS has issued no clear guidance on how users should report winnings. Tax professionals are left to interpret existing rules...
Binance to Implement Spot Price Range Execution Rule
Binance will roll out a Spot Price Range Execution Rule (PRER) on April 14, 2026, limiting order fills to liquidity that trades within a dynamic price band. The band is calculated from a reference price and configurable percentages above and...
West Asia Conflict May Trigger Layered Stress on Margins, Liquidity in India's Financial Sector: EY
EY warns that the West Asia conflict will cascade through India’s financial services sector, creating layered stress on margins, liquidity, and asset quality. Early signs include longer supply chains, higher freight and insurance costs, and tighter working‑capital cycles. Second‑order effects...
Washington Bullish on Spark, Sees ‘Almost Uncapped Upside’ for Venture
Washington’s large public pension system, overseeing more than $230 billion in assets, has completed a three‑year due‑diligence process and announced a bullish stance on Spark, a venture‑capital manager. The fund believes Spark can navigate today’s challenging investment environment and deliver what...
Australia M&A Financial Services Market Hits Turbulence
Two high‑profile M&A transactions in Australia’s financial services sector stalled in March, reflecting a tougher deal environment. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate by 0.25 % as part of a higher‑for‑longer interest‑rate stance, tightening liquidity. Simultaneously, heightened geopolitical...
Neurocrine to Acquire Soleno in $2.9bn Transaction
Neurocrine Biosciences announced a definitive agreement to acquire Soleno Therapeutics for $53 per share, valuing the deal at $2.9 bn. The transaction brings Soleno’s FDA‑approved Vykat XR, a first‑in‑class treatment for hyperphagia in Prader‑Willi syndrome, into Neurocrine’s pipeline. Vykat XR posted $190 m revenue...
How Smart Practices Improve Cash Flow Without Losing Focus on Care
Medical billing sits at the nexus of clinical care and revenue, and small errors can halt cash flow, costing practices thousands each year. The article outlines how routine audits, clear patient statements, and strategic billing models—whether in‑house, hybrid, or fully...
InterCement Completes Financial Restructuring
InterCement Participações announced the completion of the second closing step of its judicial reorganisation, effectively concluding the restructuring process on 6 April 2026. The plan transferred at least 99 percent of the company’s share capital to financial creditors, repurchased the Mover Group’s stake,...
The End of Year-End? Why 2026 Is Rewriting the Audit Playbook
The 2026 reporting season replaces the traditional “Big Crunch” with a continuous close model driven by Agentic AI. New FRC guidance and a technology sandbox force UK mid‑market firms to adopt audit‑ready systems as a survival requirement. Threshold hikes reclassify...
Opera Group Acquires Accuro and Meritus to Expand International Presence
Opera Group completed the acquisition of Accuro and Meritus Trust Company, marking the fourth and fifth deals in its five‑year Project Overture transformation. The purchases expand Opera’s footprint to eight jurisdictions, bringing total assets under administration to over $81 bn and...
Virgin Money Swallowed up by Nationwide as Top Boss Exits
Nationwide completed its £2.9bn ($3.6bn) acquisition of Virgin Money, creating the UK’s second‑largest retail bank behind Lloyds. The deal netted Nationwide about £2.3bn ($2.9bn) in synergies and gave Sir Richard Branson a £724m ($905m) windfall. Virgin Money CEO Chris Rhodes,...
Tom Nelson: What Advice Firms Need to Get Right About Targeted Support
Targeted support is a regulated middle‑ground service that bridges free guidance and full personalised advice, allowing firms to address groups of clients with similar financial needs. The FCA’s new gateway, launched in March, requires firms to document group definitions, demonstrate...
3 Financial Strategies for Young Farmers
Jordan Howe outlines three core financial tactics for young growers: making strategic land decisions that balance ownership versus rental, managing cash flow through disciplined working‑capital practices and selective financing, and cultivating strong credit relationships. He highlights a 40% rise in...
CFTC Issues No-Action Relief to Self-Custodial Crypto-Wallet Application
On March 17, 2026 the CFTC’s Market Participants Division issued a no‑action letter to Phantom Technologies, a self‑custodial crypto‑wallet provider, stating it will not enforce IB registration requirements. Phantom plans to let users access CFTC‑regulated derivatives through third‑party collaborators while...