Societe Generale: Capital Decrease and Report on Share Buy-Back
Societe Generale announced a €1 billion capital decrease on 23 February 2026 by cancelling 15,170,791 treasury shares. The move reduces the bank’s share capital to €939.65 million, representing 751.7 million ordinary shares. In parallel, the bank reported that 34.3% of its €1.462 billion 2025‑2026 share‑buy‑back programme has been executed. Detailed daily transaction data show purchases across multiple markets at average prices between €68 and €72 per share.
3 Major Buybacks Just Dropped—Here’s the Signal Investors See
Retail giant Walmart announced a $30 billion share buyback, its largest ever, representing about 3.1% of its $980 billion market value, while reporting 24% YoY e‑commerce growth and a 5% dividend increase. Ride‑hailing firm Lyft unveiled a $1 billion repurchase plan, equal to...
Most US Ferts Cleared Under New Import Policy
The Trump administration announced a 10% import tariff effective Feb 24, but most fertilizers remain exempt, including urea, ammonium nitrate, UAN, DAP, MAP and other key products. The exemption does not cover sulfur, sulfuric acid and ammonia unless they enter through...
Sanctions, Seizures, and the Limits of Maritime Visibility
In late 2025 and early 2026 the U.S. Coast Guard and allied forces seized three oil tankers—M/T Skipper, M/T Centuries and Bella 1—after months of multi‑source intelligence proved they were moving sanctioned cargo. The operation underscores a new enforcement paradigm: governments...
A New Index Wants to Prepare African Startups for London IPOs
In January, African investors and executives launched the Africa Tech 50 Index (AT50) at the London Stock Exchange to benchmark how prepared African startups are for public listings. The index uses a six‑pillar framework covering valuation momentum, revenue strength, liquidity,...
Industry Participants Have Pulte’s Ear in First Year at FHFA
Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that FHFA Director Bill Pulte met with a broad array of industry participants during the first seven months of his tenure. The schedule shows more than 150 engagements with banks,...
Short Takes: Expanded-Credit MBS From Redwood / MSRs on Offer / Rate Launches Crypto Option / Sales of New Homes...
Redwood introduced an expanded‑credit mortgage‑backed security, widening the pool of agency‑eligible assets as banks see their residential MBS holdings dip in Q4. Mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) are now being offered directly, reflecting heightened M&A activity that is reshaping the conventional...
Spotify Rolls Out AI-Powered Prompted Playlists to the UK and Other Markets
Spotify is extending its AI‑powered Prompted Playlists to Premium users in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Sweden after earlier tests in New Zealand, the U.S. and Canada. The feature lets listeners generate custom playlists by typing natural‑language prompts that describe...
Central Park Towers: Tbilisi’s First Integrated Luxury Resort Set to Transform Georgia’s Tourism Market
Central Park Towers, a $500 million integrated luxury resort, is under construction on Kazbegi Avenue in Tbilisi and slated to open in 2027. The 24‑hour destination will combine roughly 1,200 hotel rooms with high‑end retail, dining, wellness, entertainment and a 4,000‑guest...
India’s NPK/NP Stocks Rise in January
India’s NPK and NP fertilizer stocks rose sharply in January as production climbed to 1.14 mn t, a 2% year‑on‑year increase and the highest monthly output of the 2025‑26 fertilizer year. Sales fell 14% YoY to 965,100 t and imports dropped 16% YoY...
The Bond Buyer Survey Shows Respondents' Concern About Politics
The Bond Buyer’s 2026 Predictions Survey, conducted with 74 public‑finance professionals, identified political uncertainty as the top five‑year threat to municipal finance, with 82% of respondents flagging it. Nearly half see tariff‑related volatility as a moderate to significant risk for...
Indonesia Restricts Crude Palm Oil Exports Waste
Indonesia confirmed that the ban on exporting crude palm‑oil mill effluent (POME) and used cooking oil (UCO) will remain in place, prioritising domestic energy security and its emerging aviation‑fuel sector. President Prabowo framed palm‑based residues as strategic feedstocks for a...
This Latin American Rival to Amazon Reports Earnings This Week. How to Trade It with Options
MercadoLibre, the dominant e‑commerce and fintech platform in Latin America, will report its Q4 2025 results on Tuesday, with analysts forecasting roughly $28.6 billion in revenue for the full year. The company posted a 39% year‑over‑year revenue jump to $7.41 billion in Q3 2025,...
Wieslander Published in Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences
Anna Wieslander, Director for Northern Europe, published an analysis in the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences critiquing the U.S. National Security Strategy released by the Trump administration in November 2025. She argues the strategy leaves Europe squeezed between an...
UBS Upgrades Real Estate Stock Hit by AI Fears: 'Rare Buying Opportunity'
UBS upgraded commercial‑real‑estate adviser CBRE to Buy, lifting its 12‑month price target to $185, implying about 21% upside from the current price. The upgrade follows a sharp 20% two‑day plunge in February as investors feared AI could erode office‑space demand....
Buy This Coffee and Peanut Butter Maker as Risks Ease, Says Bank of America
Bank of America upgraded J.M. Smucker to a buy rating, lifting its price target to $130, implying a 17.7% upside from the latest close. The analyst team cited reduced risk from the 2023 Hostess Brands acquisition after the company ended certain...
Wells Fargo Upgrades Google Parent Alphabet, Says It Has '3 Key Traits of AI Winner'
Wells Fargo upgraded Alphabet to overweight, raising its price target to $387, implying over 22% upside from the latest close. Analyst Ken Gawrelski highlighted three AI‑winner traits—data, distribution and massive compute capacity—that position Google to dominate the sector. The bank...
Zimbabwe: Small Scale Miners Dominate Fidelity Gold Deliveries
Artisanal and small‑scale miners (ASM) delivered 2.24 tons of gold in January 2026, far surpassing the 808.4 kg supplied by large‑scale producers. Both segments posted lower volumes than the same month a year earlier, with ASM falling from 3.17 tons and large‑scale from 903.2 kg....
North America Adds Rigs Week on Week
North America’s weekly rig count rose by two to 775, driven by a two‑rig increase in Canada while the U.S. total held steady at 551. The U.S. rig mix includes 409 oil rigs, 133 gas rigs and nine miscellaneous units,...
Chad Closes Border with Sudan After Clashes Kill Five Soldiers
Chad shut its eastern border with Sudan after weekend clashes killed five Chadian soldiers and three civilians in the border town of Tine. The fighting involved Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces and militia loyal to Khartoum, reflecting the spill‑over of Sudan’s...
Exclusive: Offshore CFDs Broker Zarvista Names Mohammed El Alaoui Essosse as CEO
Dubai‑based offshore CFD broker Zarvista Capital Markets has appointed Mohammed El Alaoui Essosse as its new chief executive officer, succeeding founder Jamsheer Thazhe Veettil. Essosse, who previously served as Head of Business Development and Director of Africa, has been with the firm for three years...
Why Japan Must Help Counter China’s Presence in the Pacific
The article argues that Japan must step up its role in Micronesia to help counter China’s expanding footprint across the Western Pacific. The United States relies on COFA agreements that provide billions in aid and unrestricted base access, yet implementation...
Lebanon Gold Sale Mooted to End Financial Crisis
Lebanese officials are debating selling or leasing part of the country’s 280‑ton gold reserves, now worth roughly $45 billion after a 70 % price surge. The gold, the largest Middle‑East reserve after Saudi Arabia, could fund a financial‑gap law essential for an...
Sebi Chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey Flags Big PMS Overhaul, to Examine New RBI Funding Rules
Sebi chair Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced a sweeping review of portfolio‑management‑services (PMS) regulations, citing the sector’s Rs 10.5 lakh‑crore asset base and 17% CAGR growth. The draft overhaul will prioritize investor suitability, governance, and technology, with a public consultation slated before the...
Stanley Druckenmiller Just Exited Sandisk Stock. Should You Buy SNDK After Its Blowout Earnings?
Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office disclosed a 13F filing that shows it exited Sandisk (SNDK) just before the memory‑chip maker posted a blockbuster earnings beat. Sandisk’s fiscal Q2 2026 revenue jumped 61% YoY to $3.03 billion, while GAAP EPS surged 615%...
Market Trading Guide: Tourism Finance and Cummins India Are Stocks to Buy on Tuesday for up to 16% Returns. Here’s...
India's benchmark indices rallied after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s global tariffs, but the Nifty stayed confined between the 21‑EMA (25,641) and the 50‑DMA (25,737). Technical analysts highlighted elevated VIX and indecisive RSI, suggesting a sideways short‑term range....
Potential of Grid Enhancing Technologies for Transmission in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Inter‑American Development Bank’s new market study highlights how rapid renewable‑energy growth is overloading transmission networks across Latin America and the Caribbean. It introduces Grid‑Enhancing Technologies (GETs) as a suite of solutions that can boost line capacity, improve stability, and...
Private Investors Eye Africa's Electricity Transmission Opportunity
Private investors are entering Africa’s electricity transmission sector, marked by Uganda’s $50 million Amari project—the continent’s first independent transmission project (ITP) to begin construction. Similar public‑private partnerships are emerging in Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa, where a new procurement programme has...
Correction to European Steel Plate Import Prices on February 19
Fastmarkets announced corrections to its European steel plate import price assessments after discovering currency conversion errors. The Northern Europe 8‑40 mm plate range (MB‑STE‑0049) is now €609‑650 per tonne, down from the mistakenly reported €720. The Southern Europe range (MB‑STE‑0050) is...
Uniper to Supply Gujarat with 0.5 MMtpa of LNG for 10 Years
Uniper SE has signed a ten‑year agreement to supply Gujarat State Petroleum Corp with 0.5 million metric tons per annum of LNG, with deliveries beginning in January 2028. The contract covers roughly one‑third of Gujarat’s gas demand, serving 2.3 million households and 20 000...
3 Big Dividend Stocks Just Raised Payouts—Here’s Who’s Leading in 2026
NextEra Energy, Prologis, and Restaurant Brands International announced dividend increases in February 2026, keeping yields above 2.5%. NextEra boosted its quarterly payout 10% to $0.62, targeting 6% annual dividend growth through 2028, while its regulated utility and renewable segments support...
Glasgow Prestwick Showcases Cool Chain Capability to India
Glasgow Prestwick Airport showcased its upgraded cool‑chain infrastructure to India’s Consul General, Siddharth Malik, as part of a push to capture a larger slice of post‑Brexit UK‑India trade. The visit highlighted the airport’s integrated, in‑house cargo model, bonded warehouse space...
As Tax Filing Opens, Awareness Gap Risks Millions of Canadians Missing Out on Work-From-Home Tax Claims
The 2025 Canadian tax filing season begins as new Employment Hero data reveals a sizable awareness gap around work‑from‑home (WFH) expense claims. While 26% of Canadians worked remotely at least half the time for four consecutive weeks—making them eligible for...
GHIG JV Approved for All-Electric Hotel in Boston’s Seaport District
Global Hospitality Investment Group (GHIG) and a partner have secured Boston Zoning Commission approval for a new all‑electric hotel on Anchor Street in the Seaport District. The 438‑room, 160,000‑sq‑ft property will join the existing Aloft and Element hotels, completing a...
German Distillate Demand Falls on Higher Prices
German demand for middle distillates weakened in mid‑February as higher ICE gasoil futures pushed up prices. Heating oil volumes fell nearly 13% and diesel sales dropped about 12%, while gasoline saw a modest rise on increased travel. Supply remains ample,...
Denmark Considers Extending N Sea Production Licences
Denmark announced it will start a process to consider extending one or more North Sea gas production licences beyond their 2042 expiry, potentially up to 2050. The move aims to bolster European energy security while still fitting within the 2020...
China, ASEAN, and Beyond: The UK Strategy for the Indo-Pacific
The United Kingdom has unveiled a comprehensive Indo‑Pacific strategy that ties Euro‑Atlantic security to a free and open Indo‑Pacific, emphasizing flexible, values‑based partnerships. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent China visit secured visa‑free travel for UK citizens and greater market access for...
Why Fixed Income ETFs Are Going Active
Fixed‑income ETFs have surged, yet most remain passive, contrasting sharply with the active dominance in mutual‑funds. J.P. Morgan’s report notes 85 % of global fixed‑income mutual‑fund assets are actively managed, while only about 17 % of fixed‑income ETF assets use active strategies....
Ghana's Tema Refinery Says RFCC Due Online by May
Ghana's 45,000 b/d Tema Oil Refinery is conducting a major turnaround on its 14,000 b/d residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC), which has been offline since the plant’s restart at the end of December. The work is slated to finish by late April...
When Growth Outpaces Accountability: Political Volatility in the Philippines
The Philippines’ political landscape is defined by sharp swings in civil liberties that correspond to changes in presidential leadership rather than formal rule changes. Family‑based dynastic networks and clientelistic coalitions amplify these shifts, producing periods of illiberal governance under leaders...
Kenya’s BasiGo Enters Fixed-Route Commuting Once Targeted by Swvl
Kenyan electric‑bus startup BasiGo is piloting a scheduled, fixed‑route commuter service in Nairobi, integrating electric mid‑size buses with existing matatu cooperatives. The three‑bus trial offers nonstop links between estates and business hubs at KES 150‑200 per seat, with 80% of...
Both Gold, Platinum Prices Consolidating in High Ranges
Gold prices have entered a consolidation phase, closing the week of Feb 20 at $5,067 per ounce, while a stronger dollar presents short‑term pressure. Ghana’s gold output rose to 187 t in 2023, positioning it as Africa’s top producer and potentially the...
Market Open: Gas Futures Climb Ahead of March Expiration as Weather Drives Trade
Natural gas futures for March surged early Monday as cold‑weather forecasts sparked heightened demand and a short‑covering rally. Prices tested key resistance levels ahead of the contract's Thursday expiration, prompting analysts to warn of increased volatility. While the immediate upside...
Broadridge Eyes Synergy, Client Focus After Acquiring CQG
A record influx of Designated Contract Market applications is straining an already depleted CFTC staff, marking the fastest cadence of new exchange filings in modern history. Meanwhile, the London Stock Exchange completed its first transaction under the new PISCES framework,...
Tungsten Crunch Can Be Fixed Before Prices Spike Further: BMO
BMO Global Commodities Research warns that tungsten prices have surged fivefold in the past year as chronic under‑investment and tightening Chinese supply create a looming shortage. With China providing about 75% of global output, ore‑grade declines, environmental limits and export...
European ETF Market Wrap: Flows, Performance and Leaders | Week 8, 2026
European equity ETFs recorded a record €7.69 billion net inflow during the week of 16‑20 February, dwarfing all other asset classes. Materials and Industrials led sector inflows, while Financials suffered the largest outflow at €382 million. Geographic flows were dominated by Developed Markets,...
When Is the Spring Statement and What Might Be in It?
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver the UK Spring Statement on 3 March 2026, presenting the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) economic forecasts. The OBR outlook on growth, inflation, unemployment and public finances will be published after the speech via the...
It’s a Buyer’s Market: America Has 44% More Home Sellers Than Buyers—A Near-Record Gap
In January 2026 the U.S. housing market recorded a near‑record imbalance, with 44% more home sellers than buyers – roughly 600,000 excess listings. This buyer’s market, defined by a gap exceeding 10%, has persisted since May 2024 and follows a...
Global Buyout Firms Face Exit Challenges in China
Major private‑equity firms such as KKR, Blackstone and CVC reported no publicly disclosed full exits from mainland Chinese portfolio companies in 2025. The exit drought reflects strained liquidity, higher interest rates and depressed valuations that have throttled deal activity. While...
Indian DAP Stocks Fall Again in January
Indian DAP stocks slipped to just under 1.9 million tonnes in January, marking the fourth consecutive monthly draw. Imports plunged to 70,000 t while domestic production held steady at 342,000 t, and sales rose to 535,000 t, outpacing the three‑year average. Despite the short‑term...