Keeping High-Touch FX Execution Efficient, Transparent, and Connected
Automation has streamlined routine FX trades, but a sizable share of orders still demand high‑touch handling. Complex swaps, large sizes, and illiquid pairs often bypass electronic venues, forcing traders to negotiate, stage fills, and use manual tools. Disconnected workflows—spreadsheets, chats, and calls—fragment execution data, eroding visibility and post‑trade analysis. The article argues that keeping high‑touch activity inside a unified platform preserves discretion while delivering efficiency, traceability, and better decision‑making.
U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions Monthly Review: March 2026
U.S. merger and acquisition activity slowed sharply in March 2026, with announced deals falling 15.4% to 946 and total deal value plunging 51.3% from February. Twelve of the 21 tracked sectors posted three‑month gains, led by industrial services and non‑energy...
S&P 500 Financials Sector Earnings Preview: Q1 2026
The S&P 500 Financials sector will dominate the upcoming earnings week, with 21 of the 28 reporting companies belonging to the sector. Analysts forecast a robust 15.1% year‑over‑year earnings increase for Q1 2026, outpacing the 14.6% consensus. Insurance leads the charge with...
U.S. Offshore Wind Sees First Lease Buyout
The Trump administration’s aggressive regulatory stance has stalled U.S. offshore wind projects, prompting the Department of the Interior to purchase TotalEnergies' offshore wind leases for $928 million. TotalEnergies will redeploy the proceeds into LNG and Gulf of Mexico oil production. The...
S&P 500 Could Report Earnings Growth of 19% for Q1
The S&P 500 is projected to post a 19% year‑over‑year earnings gain for Q1 2026, up from the current 12.6% estimate. This projection relies on historical patterns where actual earnings typically exceed forecasts by about 7% and boost the growth rate...
Xcel’s Multistate Rate Case Push May Signal New Regulatory Strategy
Xcel Energy is simultaneously filing rate‑case requests in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Colorado and New Mexico, seeking more than $1.3 billion in base‑rate increases. The filings aim to recover capital outlays tied to coal retirements, nuclear extensions, renewable projects, transmission upgrades and...
Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March 2026 Is Projected to Rise 3.4% Year-Over-Year
FactSet’s median forecast shows the consumer price index rising 3.4% year‑over‑year in March 2026, the strongest gain since April 2024 and above the 12‑month average of 2.6%. The core CPI is expected to increase 2.7% YoY, while February’s CPI posted...
Credit Crunched: Surveying the State of Private Credit in 2026
Private credit faced a sharp sentiment reversal in Q1 2026 as large public firms recorded over $10 billion in redemption requests within two months, prompting managers to cap withdrawals. The sector had absorbed more than $200 billion of new capital over the prior...
Enhancing PM-Trader Decisions Through Unified Workflows
Many firms still rely on email, chat, and phone calls for PM‑trader orders, creating gaps in context, delays, and weak audit trails. A fragmented workflow leads to misunderstood instructions, uneven pre‑trade controls, and costly post‑trade reviews. Consolidating communication into a...
North Sea Carbon Capture Projects Showing Steady Progress
Carbon capture and storage projects in the North Sea are moving from experimental pilots to commercial operations. Legacy gas producers such as Equinor, TotalEnergies and Shell are leading initiatives like Northern Lights, Northern Endurance Partnership and Porthos, each targeting multi‑megaton...
Total Nonfarm Payrolls for March 2026 Are Projected to Rise By 60,000
The median forecast for March 2026 non‑farm payrolls predicts a gain of 60,000 jobs, a sharp rebound after February’s 92,000‑job decline. This estimate far exceeds the 12‑month average increase of 13,000, indicating a potential turnaround in hiring momentum. Unemployment is expected...
The Robotics Surge: Scale, Private Capital, and Competitive Moats
Robotics installations surged to 542,000 units in 2024, a 9% year‑over‑year increase, with Asia accounting for 74% of the volume and China alone delivering 295,000 units. Global deal flow hit a record $107 billion in 2025, driven by a $50 billion US...
U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions Monthly Review: February 2026
U.S. M&A activity slowed in February 2026, with announcements dropping 26.7% to 1,013 versus January, yet aggregate deal spending surged 236.8% month‑over‑month. Eleven of FactSet’s 21 tracked sectors posted higher three‑month deal volumes compared with a year earlier, led by...
Navigating AI Adoption on the Trading Desk
FactSet outlines how AI is reshaping trading‑desk workflows by accelerating decision‑making, cutting manual steps, and leveraging historical context. It stresses moving from pull‑based queries to proactive push models that surface insights directly within the trade execution flow. The article also...
West Virginia Commission Revises AEP Rate Case Decision
The West Virginia Public Service Commission revisited its August 2025 rate‑case ruling for AEP’s Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power, raising the approved revenue increase to $91 million—just 36 % of the original $250 million request—and setting the allowed return on equity (ROE) at 9.25%....
