
New research in the American Economic Review shows couples who fail to coordinate retirement contributions lose significant wealth. By directing contributions to the spouse with the highest employer match, an average couple could add $750 per year and avoid a $14,000 lifetime shortfall. The study, authored by MIT, Treasury, and Yale economists, finds one‑in‑five couples stand to benefit, with potential gains up to $40,000 for a minority. Experts recommend regular “money dates” to align benefits, debt repayment, and savings strategies.

Pet Valu Holdings reported a robust fourth‑quarter and full‑year 2025 performance, with system‑wide sales climbing 9.2% to $423.7 million and annual sales up 5.6% to $1.53 billion. The retailer opened 14 new stores, bringing its network to 863 locations, and posted adjusted...
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Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned Iran’s drone strike on the U.S. embassy in Riyadh as “cowardly” and a breach of international law, warning that such attacks could heighten regional escalation. The drones caused a fire and minor damage but no...
OneSpaWorld (OSW), a Zacks Rank #5 Strong Sell, operates spa and wellness centers on cruise ships and destination resorts. Its revenue is tightly linked to passenger spend per sailing, making it highly discretionary. Recent analyst downgrades trimmed earnings estimates, though...
IAMGOLD (IAG) is positioned to benefit from soaring gold prices and a strengthening macro backdrop. The company operates mines in the Americas and West Africa and is advancing its flagship Côté Gold project in Ontario. Recent restructuring and asset divestitures...

Argyll has launched a £3.5 million refurbishment of the grade‑II‑listed Hudson House in Covent Garden, converting 14,000 sq ft across seven floors into 48 private serviced offices. The project, slated for completion in June, preserves Edwin Lutyens’ original marble floor and vaulted ceilings...
Defiance ETFs announced the launch of DRNL, a 2x daily leveraged exchange‑traded fund that tracks the BITA Pure Drone and Aerial Automation Index. The ETF aims to deliver twice the daily percentage change of companies involved in drone manufacturing, software,...

HSBC upgraded Block (SQ) to a Buy, lifting its price target to $77, implying about 19% upside. The upgrade follows Block’s announcement of cutting more than 4,000 jobs, reducing its headcount to roughly 6,000 employees. HSBC’s analyst Saul Martinez highlighted...

Indian coffee exports are accelerating, with January‑February shipments up 40% to 80,931 tonnes and total 2025 sales surpassing $2 billion. The West Asia and North Africa region, accounting for roughly 20% of exports, is now a key growth market after Europe....
Nicholas Wealth’s XFUNDS platform has launched two new actively‑managed income ETFs: the Nicholas Nuclear Income ETF (NUKX) and the Nicholas Defense and Rare Earth Income ETF (WEPN). Both funds blend equity holdings, commodity‑linked ETFs, and an options overlay to generate...
SoftBank Group announced an additional $30 billion investment in OpenAI, raising its stake to about 13 percent. S&P Global responded by moving SoftBank’s credit outlook from stable to negative, though the BB+ long‑term rating remains unchanged. The agency warned that the larger...

Kazakhstan's manufacturing PMI fell to 48.1 in February, down from 49.8 in January, indicating sector contraction. The decline reflects weaker domestic demand, higher tax pressure from a January VAT increase, and firms cutting staff, purchases, and inventories. Despite the downturn,...
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Iranian Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi announced that Iran’s intelligence services have "complete oversight" of U.S. and Israeli targets and can pinpoint the locations of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meetings on March 3. He accused the United States of serving Israel’s interests,...

A federal immigration crackdown has driven ICE and CBP to contract heavily with major tech firms. From 2023 onward, Palantir received roughly $122 million from ICE, while Microsoft, Amazon, and Google together earned over $300 million from both agencies. The contracts fund...
Apple confirmed it will use Google’s generative AI models for the next Siri update and is now evaluating Google Cloud to host parts of the assistant’s backend. Google has already scoped dedicated servers that meet Apple’s stringent privacy rules. The...

Calgary’s retail investment slipped 31% in 2025, totaling $531.5 million across 54 transactions. Deal sizes shifted upward, with half of the sales above $5 million and the largest at $54.5 million for a 201,000‑sq‑ft centre. Average pricing remained steady at $419 per square...

War‑risk insurance for vessels is set to rise sharply as insurers cancel coverage amid the West Asia conflict. Premiums for hull and cargo have jumped to about 1 % of cargo value, up from 0.25‑0.5 % previously. Shipping lines are rerouting around...
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The International Atomic Energy Agency verified that recent strikes damaged the entrance buildings of Iran’s Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant, based on satellite imagery, but found no radiological release. The underground enrichment hall remains intact, limiting immediate safety concerns. Natanz, already...

Canada’s productivity has lagged its U.S. neighbour by roughly 20 percent per hour worked, prompting the Bank of Canada to call for urgent action. A key obstacle identified is the capital‑gains lock‑in effect, which discourages investors from selling appreciated assets. The...

The piece contrasts the Biden administration’s aggressive antitrust stance with the Trump administration’s pro‑merger agenda. It points to the blocked Spirit‑JetBlue and Amazon‑iRobot deals as regulatory missteps that resulted in bankruptcy and layoffs. It then highlights Kimberly‑Clark’s $48.7 billion acquisition of...

The U.S. housing supply gap widened to 4.03 million units in 2025 as new construction fell short, leaving nearly 2 million Gen Z and millennial households unformed. Affordability constraints—requiring roughly $86 k income and a 14.4% down payment—forced many young adults to stay with...

Mortgage originators are split on the value of trigger leads as the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act takes effect on March 5, forcing a shift to permission‑based marketing. Proponents argue trigger leads provide quick consumer access, but critics cite reliability issues and...

The U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict has triggered the largest oil price jump in four years as the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, sending crude markets into turmoil. Inflation concerns now dominate Treasury trading, pushing the 10‑year yield above 4% and raising mortgage‑rate...
The Morningstar UK Large‑Mid Cap Index climbed 3.8% in May, buoyed by a rally in the basic materials sector. Burberry led the best‑performing stocks with a 43% monthly gain, followed by Johnson Matthey, International Airlines Group, Diploma and St James’s Place. The worst‑performing names were...

Analysts at S&P Global warn that the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran could cause the largest oil‑supply disruption ever if tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz collapses. Recent data show only five tankers transited on March 1 versus the usual 60,...

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met South Korean President Lee Jae‑Myung in Manila, reaffirming Manila’s expectation of continued Korean support for flagship infrastructure works such as the new Dumaguete Airport, Samar Pacific Coastal Road, Jalaur River Multipurpose Project and Laguna Lakeshore...
Zacks Investment Research highlights three top‑ranked diversified bond mutual funds—DWS Short Duration, Goldman Sachs Dynamic Bond, and iShares U.S. Intermediate Credit Bond Index Fund—each holding a Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buy. These funds provide investors with broad sector exposure, high...

Eurozone February inflation rose modestly, with headline rates climbing from 1.7 % to 1.9 % and core inflation edging up to 2.4 %. The increase occurred despite a smaller energy contribution, signalling persistent price pressures in services and goods. The ongoing Middle East...

Philippine real estate is entering a new design era focused on regenerative, people‑centric environments that restore ecosystems and enhance wellbeing. Thought leaders highlight AI‑driven optimization, prefabricated construction, and material innovations such as engineered bamboo as key enablers. Mixed‑use, walkable neighborhoods...

China has reclaimed its position as Asia’s busiest buyout market, according to Deloitte’s latest private‑equity report. A surge in domestic and regional fund activity offset a decline in Western capital, driving a 28% increase in deal volume year‑over‑year. The market...

Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe outlined the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s policy roadmap for 2026, building on the macro‑economic stability achieved in 2025. He highlighted that despite global trade uncertainties, market volatility and geopolitical tensions, inflation fell below 5 % and...
Zacks.com released its daily Analyst Blog lineup, spotlighting Apple, TotalEnergies, Boston Scientific and micro‑cap Good Times Restaurants. The firm highlighted that Apple’s shares outpaced its sector with a 15.2% six‑month gain, while TotalEnergies posted a 29.9% rally driven by diversified...

In 2025 Norges Bank cut its policy rate twice, first to 4.25% in June and then to 4% in September, surprising markets despite the bank’s stated commitment to transparent communication. Governor Pål Longva highlighted ongoing efforts to convey forecast uncertainty,...

Italy's February preliminary HICP rose 1.6% year‑on‑year, beating the 1.1% consensus. Core inflation accelerated to 2.4% from 1.7% in January, with services inflation jumping to 3.6%. The hotter reading aligns with broader Eurozone CPI data, intensifying price‑pressure concerns. Analysts suggest...

BlackRock's iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Swap UCITS ETF launched in London on 23 February 2026, ticker ESWP, expanding its synthetic ETF suite. The fund tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Index via unfunded total‑return swaps, offering a 0.14% TER, 4 basis...
The Tax Foundation released its 2025 European Tax Policy Scorecard, ranking EU and select non‑EU European economies on tax competitiveness and neutrality. Estonia tops the list thanks to a 22% corporate tax on distributed profits, a flat 22% personal income...
India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies has opened a counter‑vailing duty investigation into imports of Chinese PVC resins after domestic producers filed complaints. The petitioners, including Chemplast Cuddalore Vinyls, DCM Shriram and DCW Ltd, claim Chinese manufacturers receive government subsidies that enable...

Blackstone is preparing a publicly traded REIT that will acquire stabilized, leased data‑centre properties, giving retail investors direct exposure to the cashflows powering AI compute. The vehicle avoids speculative land‑banking, focusing on income‑producing assets with predictable lease revenue. By listing,...

Turkey's annual inflation rose to 31.5% in February, driven primarily by a 2.96% month‑on‑month CPI increase. Food prices surged, with annual food inflation at 36.5%, while core inflation eased to 29.5%, its lowest since late 2021. Producer‑price inflation remained around...
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Holdings has fallen 11.1% year‑to‑date through February 24, underperforming the S&P 500’s modest gain. The London‑listed fund, which represents about $13 billion of the firm’s $20 billion AUM, is hit by weakness in key positions such as Fannie Mae,...

In a February 2026 speech to Italy’s Parliamentary Committee, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone outlined the digital euro initiative, stressing its role in modernising payments and reinforcing trust through democratic legitimacy. He framed the project as a strategic response...

ECB Governing Council member Francois Villeroy warned that forecasting a rate move too quickly would be a mistake, emphasizing that policy decisions will not hinge solely on volatile energy prices. He noted that France’s exposure to Middle‑East tensions remains limited,...
Devexperts announced that its DXtrade multi‑asset trading platform will integrate theScreener’s investment intelligence, giving brokers instant, actionable research within the trading interface. The partnership adds multi‑language equity, sector and market insights to DXtrade’s existing support for stocks, options, futures, crypto...

The United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Iran after the February 27 assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz and target regional airports. Iran’s resilient regime is now focused on defending its...
Safaricom’s Ziidi Trader, launched on the M‑Pay platform in early February, sparked a surge in Nairobi Securities Exchange activity, with daily equity trades climbing from under 8,000 to more than 25,000. The app gives roughly 38 million M‑Pay subscribers the ability...

President Donald Trump justified a large‑scale strike on Iran as the United States’ "last best chance to strike," despite his campaign rhetoric against "endless wars." The administration leans on perceived success from earlier limited actions—Soleimani’s killing, IS leader elimination, and...
Japan’s unemployment rate ticked up to 2.7% in January, ending a five‑month decline. The labor ministry reported a 0.4% dip in total employment and a 3.2% rise in the unemployed, driven largely by a 7.9% jump in voluntary quits. Job...

China is constructing a multi‑layered undersea warfare system, dubbed the "Underwater Great Wall," to counter U.S. submarine dominance and protect its nuclear deterrent. The People’s Liberation Army Navy now operates more than 60 submarines, including Shang III SSGNs with 24‑cell VLS...
Across Africa, governments are rolling out biometric digital ID systems to streamline access to voting, healthcare, education and social protection. A new report by the African Digital Rights Network, based on ten country case studies, finds millions excluded due to...

Starz posted Q4 2025 revenue of $322.8 million, a 6.3% decline year‑over‑year, driven by a 12% drop in streaming‑related sales. Linear and other revenue rose 6.6% to $112.5 million, partially offsetting the shortfall. The operating loss narrowed dramatically to $4.7...