The Trump administration announced its first steps toward allowing retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs to invest in private‑market assets, including private equity and venture capital. The proposal would amend Department of Labor fiduciary rules, aiming to broaden investment options and potentially boost retirement returns. Officials estimate that opening the roughly $30 trillion U.S. retirement market to a $12 trillion private‑equity universe could generate billions in additional earnings. Consumer advocates and some regulators warn the move could increase risk and complicate fiduciary duties.
The Boston Retirement System (BRS) has issued a request for proposal for a $115 million private‑debt mandate. The pension fund is seeking an external manager to allocate capital in senior‑secured loans and ESG‑aligned credit. This RFP reflects BRS’s strategy to diversify...

Ani Tech has introduced a free AI‑driven cash‑flow modelling app for UK financial advisers, allowing them to build and compare complex scenarios using natural‑language commands. The tool, powered by an agentic AI called ‘Flo’, automates data entry and provides real‑time...

Zeidler Group has highlighted the regulatory hurdles UCITS funds face when seeking exposure to structured debt securities, noting that eligibility must align with Article 50(1) of the UCITS Directive and the Eligible Assets Directive. The firm recently guided a Luxembourg‑based...
Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s high‑yield co‑head John McClain says the post‑COVID high‑yield market remains robust, with scarce new issuance, minimal downgrades and strong investor demand anchored by elevated base rates. Credit spreads are holding at reasonable levels, reflecting solid underlying...

The IRS will retire the legacy FIRE system on December 31 2026, making the newer Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) mandatory for all 1099 and 1042‑S filings. IRIS, live since 2023, offers real‑time validation and multiple submission routes, from a web portal...

AWL Agri Business is accelerating growth of its newly acquired GD Foods brand, Tops, which posted roughly $60 million in revenue after an 80% stake purchase last year. The company plans to double Tops’ topline to about $120 million and eventually push...
The U.S. Treasury will hold its first meeting with domestic and international insurance regulators to address concerns in the $2 trillion private‑credit market. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans regular consultations starting in the second quarter, focusing on liquidity, transparency, fund‑level leverage,...

Administrators have been appointed to John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings Bidco, signalling the start of a formal insolvency process. The move puts the multi‑club empire – which includes RCD Mallorca, Botafogo and other assets – at risk of being broken...
The revised Basel III endgame proposal released this month marks a major step toward finalizing U.S. capital reforms. It introduces a suite of improvements, including the removal of the output floor for internal market‑risk models, enhanced cross‑product netting under SA‑CCR,...
The U.S. Treasury yield curve, which has been flattening throughout 2026, showed a modest steepening on Friday as the 5‑year note held at 4.07% and the 30‑year bond nudged up to 4.98% by market close. The move came after bullish...
Kayrros, the Paris‑based environmental data firm, has launched its Nature Impact Platform, a tool that quantifies biodiversity risk at the individual asset level using machine learning, satellite imagery, and geospatial analytics. The solution tackles the finance sector’s “biodiversity blind spot”...

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission announced that the city’s stock market will go fully digital on November 16, eliminating paper share certificates. Around 2,600 listed companies will migrate to the new uncertificated securities regime over the next five years, while...
Accounting firms are seeing valuation methods shift as private‑equity investors push EBITDA‑multiple pricing, with “good” multiples now 5‑7× and “outstanding” 9‑10×. The article outlines how factors such as organic growth, succession planning, industry specialization, and buyer competition influence those multiples....
A roundtable in London convened about 30 design, construction, facilities‑management and digital‑platform professionals to discuss the proposed British Standard BS 8544, a new life‑cycle costing code of practice for buildings and infrastructure. The draft updates the 2013 version, adding operation and...
T&G Global Limited has hired Goldman Sachs to run a sales process as its majority shareholder, Germany's BayWa AG, looks to divest its stake. BayWa, which posted a €1.6 bn (≈$1.86 bn) loss in 2024, announced the intention in December and T&G...
Erin Brewer joined Lyft as CFO in 2023 when the ride‑sharing firm was hemorrhaging cash after COVID‑related demand collapse. By tightening costs and refocusing the business, Lyft posted over $1 billion in revenue and generated positive free cash flow for the...
The January 2025 Palisades and Eaton wildfires in Los Angeles served as a real‑world stress test for U.S. wildfire catastrophe bonds. Swiss Re Capital Markets reported that, despite no per‑occurrence payouts, the events reinforced investor confidence and spurred record‑size issuance, including the...
XBP Global reported FY 2025 revenue of $791 million, a 9.4% decline, while GAAP net income surged to $1.1 billion after a $215 million loss the prior year. Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA fell 13.1% to $90.7 million, reflecting integration costs from the July 2025 BPA acquisition....
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Cost-benefitanalysis-3be1b4befc724d8ca1e69760344ece2f.jpg)
Cost‑benefit analysis (CBA) is a systematic method that quantifies both tangible and intangible costs and benefits to assess a project’s feasibility. It follows a five‑step workflow—defining scope, estimating costs, estimating benefits, performing calculations, and issuing recommendations—often using tools like net...

Starcloud, a Redmond‑based orbital data‑center startup, closed a $170 million Series A round that values the company at $1.1 billion. The financing, led by Benchmark and EQT Ventures with participation from institutional and angel investors, follows the successful November launch of Starcloud‑1, which...
AI is reshaping tax advisory in the UK and North America, moving from keyword‑based Boolean searches to generative, context‑aware analysis. Platforms like Blue J combine massive tax corpora with large language models, allowing practitioners to upload client documents and receive cited,...
This week’s restaurant finance briefing highlights recent equity deals for Nothing Bundt Cakes and Dave’s Hot Chicken, signaling a growing investor appetite for niche bakery and fast‑casual concepts. The coverage also notes that rising fuel costs are squeezing full‑service operators,...
Sysco announced a $29.1 billion cash‑and‑stock acquisition of Jetro Restaurant Depot, adding 166 cash‑and‑carry warehouses and access to roughly 725,000 independent restaurants. The deal values Restaurant Depot at a 14.6‑times EBITDA multiple, with shareholders receiving $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco...
Standard Lithium announced a series of Q4 2025 milestones, including a Definitive Feasibility Study for the SWA Project that targets 22,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year and the filing of an inferred resource for the Franklin Project, which boasts the highest...
On March 20, ISDA delivered a position paper to EU lawmakers outlining reforms to the European Commission’s Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP). The paper calls for synchronized Level 1 and Level 2 implementation dates, stronger no‑action relief, a secondary competitiveness mandate...
In 2026 collections teams face higher complaint volumes and tighter regulatory scrutiny, making auditability as critical as repayment rates. The industry shift is from adding more tools to building disciplined controls that ensure consistent, explainable actions across channels. Five essentials...

Tudor Investment Corp boosted its stake in the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) by 83.2% in the third quarter, adding 6,423 shares for a total of 14,142 shares worth roughly $1.42 million. The move follows a wave of new...
Kneipp, the German bath‑additive and natural cosmetics maker, announced that Maximilian von Kempis will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer on April 1. The CFO position had been vacant since the start of 2026, leaving the finance function without a...
Oaktree Capital Management fulfilled 100% of redemption requests in its Oaktree Strategic Credit Fund (OSC) for Q1, covering 8.5% of shares. The fund repurchased roughly 6.8% of outstanding shares, while parent Brookfield Asset Management absorbed an additional 1.7%. This contrasts...

Kong, a developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, announced Bruce Felt as its new chief financial officer. Felt brings extensive finance leadership, having guided FullTime Software, SuccessFactors and Domo through IPOs and global expansions. He also serves on the...

On-chain investment platform Midas announced a $50 million Series A round, bringing its total funding to $58.75 million. The round was led by RRE Ventures and Creandum, with participation from major crypto investors including Coinbase Ventures and Franklin Templeton. Midas’ technology tokenizes institutional‑grade...
Plaid’s CFO Seun Sodipo says the fintech firm can afford to wait for the optimal moment to go public after posting a 40% jump in annual recurring revenue to over $500 million and delivering a full‑year adjusted EBITDA profit. The company...

European transaction reporting has moved from deadline compliance to demonstrable data control, as regulators tighten focus on quality, reconciliation and traceability. The EMIR Refit, effective April 2024, raised granularity and validation demands, and by early 2026 regulators are actively enforcing...
Bloom Energy announced that Simon Edwards will assume the role of chief financial officer on April 13, 2026. Edwards arrives with nearly two decades of finance and technology leadership, most recently as CEO of AI‑hardware firm Groq and former CFO...

Zenkyoren, Japan’s agricultural mutual insurer, is pursuing mid‑guidance pricing of 2.1% for its $100 million Nakama Re 2026‑1 catastrophe bond, a slight reduction from the original 1.9‑2.4% spread range. The bond provides fully‑collateralized earthquake reinsurance covering losses from an attachment point...
Fastly (FSLY) is positioned as a cautious Buy after delivering strong cross‑selling of high‑margin security services, driving a 32% year‑over‑year revenue jump and net‑retention of 110%. Its edge compute architecture offers lower latency and programmable logic that rivals larger cloud...
Commercial electricity prices have jumped 19% since 2019, reaching 12.8 cents per kilowatt‑hour, while industrial rates hit 8.1 cents/kWh, driving unprecedented cost volatility for C&I firms. Traditional procurement and efficiency measures no longer shield margins, prompting a shift toward Distributed Energy Resource...
CFOs can transform benefits programs from a cost center into a strategic lever by asking three key questions about future P&L pressure, administrative complexity, and measurable ROI. Modeling retirement, health, and severance risks reveals hidden earnings volatility, while outsourcing to...
Global X Australia and Solactive have launched the Global X Humanoid Robotics ETF (ticker HMND) on the Australian Securities Exchange, debuting on 30 March 2026. The fund tracks the Solactive Global Humanoid Robotics AUD Index, which selects 30 companies deriving...
Meituan reported a loss in Q4, but analysts see the dip as superficial, noting stronger user quality and a recovering margin profile. The company’s upgraded membership program is lifting average revenue per user and reducing churn, while low‑margin orders are...
The Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) takes effect in 2026 with a three‑tier reporting model based on annual income, new impact and ESG disclosures, and revised cash‑flow and income‑recognition rules. Tier 1 covers charities up to £500,000, Tier 2 £500,000‑£15 million, and...

Universal Music Group announced its first‑ever share‑buyback programme worth €500 million (approximately $575 million). The move is framed as a response to a perceived valuation dislocation and signals strong confidence in the company’s long‑term strategy. UMG’s Q4 results showed 10.6% revenue growth...

Secured credit is being reinvented as a growth engine for banks and fintechs through dynamic funding models that lock only the amount actually spent. Traditional secured cards required double funding and separate collateral accounts, creating liquidity friction for underserved consumers....

The latest PYMNTS Intelligence report finds that 88% of firms receiving stablecoins immediately convert them into U.S. dollars, treating the tokens as a fast payment rail rather than a store of value. CFOs are leveraging stablecoins to accelerate cross‑border and...

The Australian regulator Austrac finalized AML/CTF amendment rules that exempt gift cards up to AU$5,000 (≈US$3,300) from additional customer due‑diligence requirements. The Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) lobbied for the change, arguing that gift‑card schemes are low‑risk and already...

David Kang argues that Los Angeles institutions must reassess long‑standing bond assumptions as market conditions evolve. Decades of low volatility and steady monetary policy gave way to wider non‑directional interest‑rate swings, challenging traditional duration‑heavy, long‑end allocations. Liquidity, once taken for granted,...

Finland‑based quantum computing startup IQM Quantum Computers has secured a €50 million financing package, roughly $55 million, from BlackRock‑managed funds. The capital will bolster IQM’s balance sheet ahead of its planned SPAC merger that would make it Europe’s first publicly listed quantum...
Mistral AI has secured an $830 million syndicated loan from seven banks to finance a new AI data centre near Paris, slated to launch in Q2 2026. The facility will house 13,800 Nvidia GPUs, giving the French startup direct control over its...

South Africa’s revenue service (SARS) is intensifying efforts to identify and tax online earners, from influencers to crypto traders, using platform data and advanced analytics. The crackdown arrives as more Africans generate income outside traditional employment, raising compliance challenges for...