Pulse
Original reporting by Pulse, synthesizing breaking news from multiple sources with AI-powered analysis. Each story combines insights from leading publishers, expert commentary, and real-time data.
EverQuote Targets $1 B Revenue as Insurers Return to Digital Growth
EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER) announced a $1 billion revenue goal, citing a resurgence of property‑and‑casualty carriers that are now prioritizing policy growth over rate hikes. CFO Joseph Sanborn said the shift is opening digital channels and expanding the company’s addressable market.
South Carolina Prepares for Alex Murdaugh Murder Retrial Amid Jury‑selection Showdown
South Carolina prosecutors and defense attorney Dick Harpootlian are mapping divergent tactics for the upcoming Alex Murdaugh murder retrial after the state Supreme Court overturned his convictions. The defense seeks a venue change and tighter jury vetting, while the prosecutor...
Guggenheim Active Allocation Fund Short Interest Plummets 45.7% in April
Short interest in the Guggenheim Active Allocation Fund (NYSE:GUG) fell 45.7% in April, the steepest decline recorded this year. The drop coincides with modest insider selling, a 1.1% dip in the stock price, and renewed buying by several hedge‑fund managers,...
Slim Chickens CMO Patrick Noone Leverages Data to Drive Guest Loyalty Across 300+ Stores
Patrick Noone, the newly appointed chief marketing officer of Slim Chickens, is using transaction data, digital behavior and advanced analytics to sharpen brand positioning and boost guest loyalty across more than 300 locations. His approach balances rapid execution with disciplined...
U.S. Spot Ethereum ETFs Lose $65.6 Million in Five‑Day Outflow Streak
U.S. spot Ethereum exchange‑traded funds posted $65.64 million of net outflows on May 15, extending a five‑day losing streak. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust shed $50.35 million and Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund lost $11.08 million, reflecting heightened macro uncertainty and ETH price weakness.
Nigeria’s Debt Swells to N159 Trillion ($111 Bn) Amid Naira Devaluation
Nigeria’s public debt rose to N159 trillion ($111 bn) by December 2025, driven largely by a three‑fold naira devaluation and the re‑valuation of foreign‑currency liabilities. At the same time, a Federal High Court ruling overturning the Central Bank’s dissolution of Union Bank’s...
FirstService Residential Takes Management Reins of 42‑Story Art House St. Petersburg Luxury Tower
FirstService Residential has been selected to manage Art House St. Petersburg, a 42‑story, 244‑unit luxury high‑rise in downtown Florida. The partnership with developer Kolter Urban brings FirstService’s hospitality‑focused property‑management model to a flagship tower that blends residential living with hotel‑style...
Enterprise AI Momentum Stalls as Vendors Offer Similar Solutions, CIOs Warn
Arthur Goldstuck observes that enterprise AI is losing its edge because major tech giants are converging on the same solutions. The trend raises alarm for CIOs who fear commoditization and diminishing returns on AI investments.
Malaysia Sets 2030 Goal for Level 3 Driverless Cars in New Roadmap
Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Sim Tze Tzin, announced a national roadmap aiming for Level 3 autonomous vehicle capability by 2030. The plan tasks the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute with building the ecosystem, from semiconductor design...
3i Group Shares Dive as Action Sales Slow, £750m ($950m) Buyback Fails to Stem Drop
3i Group's shares slumped over 10% after Action's like‑for‑like sales growth fell to 2.4% YTD, eroding confidence in the firm's £750 million ($950 million) share‑buyback programme. The drop comes despite a dividend increase to 84.5p and a record‑size buyback, highlighting growing investor...
UC San Diego Study Links Teen Cannabis Use to Persistent Cognitive Deficits
Researchers at UC San Diego analyzed seven years of data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study and found that teens who use cannabis show slower growth in verbal memory, attention and processing speed. The findings, based on hair‑based...
Anthropic Founders Allocate 40% of Time to Culture, Release 36‑Page Playbook
Anthropic, the $380 billion‑valued AI firm, announced that CEOs Dario Amodei and President Daniela Amodei are spending roughly 40% of their workweek on culture‑building. The duo released a 36‑page "Founder's Playbook" that codifies their people‑first management approach as the company scales...
Pattern Posts Double-Digit Q1 Revenue Growth and Cuts Operating Losses
Pattern (PTRN) posted double‑digit revenue growth and narrowed operating losses in its Q1 2026 earnings call, highlighting strong global adoption of its e‑commerce platform. The company also unveiled AI‑driven product upgrades aimed at deepening brand engagement across North America, Europe...
ZIM CEO Resigns Ahead of Hapag‑Lloyd Merger Over Integration Hurdles
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services' chief executive announced his resignation as the company moves toward a merger with Hapag‑Lloyd. The departure is linked to concerns about integrating the two global carriers. The move adds uncertainty to a deal that could reshape...
LinkedIn Report Shows 93% of Talent Leaders Prioritize Human Skills Over Degrees in AI Hiring
LinkedIn’s Talent Velocity Report 2026, released on May 17, reveals that 93% of talent leaders consider human skills more important than degrees in AI‑driven hiring. The data shows only 14% of firms are ready for the AI shift, while 72%...
VerticalScope Q1 Revenue Falls 15% as Programmatic Ads Slump, Direct Ads Gain Ground
VerticalScope posted first‑quarter 2026 revenue of $11.6 million, down 15% year‑over‑year, as programmatic advertising revenue plunged 34%. The company said growth in direct advertising and new AI‑driven products could reverse the trend in the second half of the year.
Mexican Peso Slides to Multi‑Month Lows as Dollar Gains on Fed Rate Hike Odds
The Mexican peso closed at 17.34 per dollar on Friday, marking a 0.67% daily drop and a 0.87% weekly loss, its steepest slide in weeks. The slide reflects rising U.S. inflation, higher oil prices and market pricing of a December...
S&P Global Affirms Romania’s BBB‑/A‑3 Sovereign Rating with Negative Outlook, Citing Coalition Split
S&P Global Ratings affirmed Romania’s sovereign credit rating at BBB‑/A‑3 on May 16, 2026, but attached a negative outlook as the governing coalition disintegrates. The agency warned that political instability could hinder efforts to narrow the country’s twin current‑account and...
Oklahoma Senate Advances Bill to Repurpose 20,000 Abandoned Wells for Geothermal Energy
Oklahoma's Senate is pushing a bill that would let companies buy and convert thousands of orphaned oil and gas wells into geothermal or underground storage sites. The proposal follows similar legislation in New Mexico and comes as states across the...
U.S. and Nigerian Forces Eliminate IS Deputy Leader Abu‑Bilal Al‑Minuki in Lake Chad Strike
U.S. and Nigerian forces killed Abu‑Bilal al‑Minuki, the Islamic State’s second‑in‑command, in a midnight air‑land raid on a fortified enclave in the Lake Chad Basin. The strike, announced by President Bola Tinubu and President Donald Trump, comes as IS activity...
Boeing Shares Jump After Investor Hints at Large Chinese Orders Amid Trump‑Xi Meeting
Boeing stock surged after prominent investor Scott Bessent signaled the possibility of substantial new orders from China, comments that came as news of a Trump‑Xi meeting circulated. The speculation lifted the aerospace giant’s shares and revived expectations for a revenue...
Occidental and Ardmore Shipping Spotlighted as Overlooked High‑Growth Oil Plays
Research analysts have highlighted Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Ardmore Shipping (ASC) as two of the most overlooked oil‑related stocks, noting 36% and 75% price gains this year. Both companies posted record Q1 earnings, aggressive debt reduction and rising free cash...
India Stocks Slip as US‑Iran Tensions Lift Oil and Rupee Hits Record Low
India's benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices fell 0.21% and 0.19% respectively on Friday, snapping a two‑day rally amid rising crude prices, heightened US‑Iran tensions and a rupee slide to a fresh low of 96 per dollar. The moves have forced...
Revolut Gets FCA Nod to Launch Private Wealth and Banking Services in UK
Revolut secured UK Financial Conduct Authority approval on May 14 to provide private wealth services and leveraged investment products. The permission enables the fintech to open a private banking unit for clients with at least £500,000 (about $635,000) in deposits,...
Canada Deepens Arctic Defence Ties with Nordics to Boost Aerospace Surveillance
Canada has accelerated defence cooperation with Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, signing new agreements on military procurement and Arctic security. The partnership aims to strengthen aerospace surveillance and reduce reliance on the United States, a shift driven by recent...
Snowflake Adds Dataiku, Bedrock, Valid Systems to AI Data Cloud, Backs OSI Push
Snowflake announced a suite of new native integrations—Dataiku Cobuild, Bedrock Data’s free governance tier and Valid Systems’ fraud‑decisioning tools—into its AI Data Cloud, while also championing the Open Semantic Interchange (OSI) standard to keep AI workloads on‑platform. The moves aim...
Tsinghua Team Unveils AI‑Driven Inverse Design Framework for Sub‑Wavelength Photonics
Researchers at Tsinghua University, headed by Professor Kaiyu Cui, introduced an artificial‑intelligence‑generated photonic (AIGP) framework that uses a latent diffusion model to translate optical performance targets directly into sub‑wavelength structures. The breakthrough, detailed in a May 16, 2026 paper in Light: Advanced...
Sygaldry Technologies Raises $139 Million to Build Quantum‑Accelerated AI Servers
Sygaldry Technologies closed a $139 million financing round—$105 million Series A led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and $34 million seed from Initialized Capital—to build quantum‑accelerated AI servers. The capital will fund hardware that integrates quantum processors with classical data‑center infrastructure, targeting the soaring...
Google Restores Data Studio Name in April 2026, Easing Marketers' Branding Confusion
Google announced in April 2026 that it is reverting the Looker Studio brand back to Data Studio, a move aimed at restoring continuity for marketers who built dashboards on the original platform. The shift reflects a broader push toward unified,...
Stitch Secures $25 Million Series A Led by Andreessen Horowitz, A16z’s First GCC Deal
Stitch, a cloud‑native fintech platform headquartered in Riyadh, closed a $25 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing its total funding to $35 million. The round, which also included Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures and Saudi Venture Capital, underscores growing...
African Space Agency Calls for $25 Billion Boost to Continental Space Economy
The African Space Agency urged investors and governments at Nairobi's African Forward Summit to pour more capital into Africa’s nascent space industry. The appeal coincided with French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of a €23 bn ($25 bn) investment package for the continent, underscoring...
Subotiz Launches AI‑Native Revenue Infrastructure Platform at SaaStr AI Annual
Subotiz unveiled its AI‑native revenue infrastructure platform at the SaaStr AI Annual 2026, showcasing a unified solution for billing, payments, fraud, tax and payouts. The live demo, attended by over 10,000 SaaS founders and AI leaders, highlighted how the platform...
Figure AI’s Humanoid Robot Sorts 101,000 Packages in 81‑Hour Continuous Run
Figure AI demonstrated its humanoid robot “Jim” sorting 101,391 packages over 81 continuous hours, a record for autonomous logistics. The livestream sparked debate over the feasibility of fully automated “dark factories” and highlighted both speed gains and accuracy concerns.
AI Framework CONSET Finds 7 Critical 5G Flaws in 542 Smartphone Models
University researchers deployed an AI‑driven testing system called CONSET to uncover seven new 5G vulnerabilities—three high‑severity—in 542 smartphone models. The findings, affecting 64 modem chipsets, triggered patches from MediaTek and a review by Qualcomm, highlighting a new AI‑enabled attack surface...
Chainalysis Maps $10.8M THORChain Hack Through Monero, Hyperliquid and Arbitrum
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis linked the $10.8 million THORChain exploit to a sophisticated laundering operation that moved funds through Monero, Hyperliquid and Arbitrum weeks before the attack. The findings expose how privacy‑focused bridges are being weaponized in DeFi, raising fresh concerns...
Denali Therapeutics Secures FDA Approval for AVLAYAH, First Gene Therapy for Hunter Syndrome
Denali Therapeutics announced that the FDA granted accelerated approval to AVLAYAH, the first gene‑therapy targeting the neurologic manifestations of Hunter syndrome. The company said early commercial activity is already exceeding its launch forecasts, signaling strong physician and payer interest in...
Costco Posts 13% Sales Jump, Underscoring B2B Wholesale Resilience
Costco reported $23.92 billion in net sales for April, a 13% year‑over‑year increase, while comparable sales rose 7.4% in the latest quarter. The results highlight how the retailer’s membership‑driven wholesale model can sustain growth even as consumer confidence wanes and inflation...
World Hypertension Day 2026 Urges Global Blood Pressure Checks
On May 17, 2026 the World Health Organization marked World Hypertension Day, urging individuals and health systems to check blood pressure regularly. With 1.4 billion people living with hypertension and only one in four achieving control, the campaign highlights a shared...
Three Boutique Resorts in Tulum and Holbox Launch Creative Season Artist Retreats
The Nômade Temple Tulum, The Nômade Temple Holbox and Be Destination Tulum have rolled out Creative Season, a rotating program that brings chefs, musicians, visual artists and wellness facilitators to the Mexican Caribbean. The initiative repurposes the slower summer months...
JWST Maps Cosmic Web in Unprecedented Detail as VLT Captures First Direct Filament Image
Astronomers using JWST’s COSMOS‑Web survey released the most detailed three‑dimensional map of the universe’s cosmic web, spanning 14 billion years of history. In parallel, ESO’s VLT captured the first direct image of a 3‑million‑light‑year filament, confirming long‑standing dark‑matter models.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Opens Up on Loneliness After $100 B IPO
Airbnb co‑founder and CEO Brian Chesky told host Steven Bartlett that the $100 billion market debut left him with a lingering sense of sadness. He cited advice from former President Barack Obama that true relief comes from cultivating friendships, not more...
Visceral Fat Loss Slows Brain Aging, Israeli MRI Study Finds
Researchers at Ben‑Gurion University reported that sustained reductions in abdominal (visceral) fat are associated with slower brain atrophy and better cognitive performance in late midlife. Published in Nature Communications, the study links metabolic health to neurological aging independent of overall...
Surfers Against Sewage Paddle‑Out Protests Mobilize 10,000 Across England Over Sewage Pollution
Surfers Against Sewage coordinated more than 50 paddle‑out protests on beaches, rivers and lakes across England, drawing roughly 10,000 participants. Demonstrators called for an end to sewage overflows, tighter regulation and a shift away from profit‑driven water utilities. The actions...
May Named Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month Nationwide
U.S. health officials and advocacy groups have designated May as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month. The campaign spotlights that one in five women experience perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, urging families and providers to prioritize mental‑health care for new and...
Tesla Hikes Model Y Prices by up to $1,000, Marking First Increase in Two Years
Tesla raised U.S. prices for its Model Y premium all‑wheel‑drive to $49,990, premium rear‑wheel‑drive to $45,990, and Performance AWD to $57,990, the first adjustment in two years. The move signals shifting dynamics in the luxury‑electric SUV market.
Taylor Swift's 'Lover' Hits 350 Weeks on Billboard 200, Cementing Record Longevity
Taylor Swift's 2019 pop album 'Lover' has logged 350 weeks on the Billboard 200, making it one of only three of her releases to surpass that mark. The milestone underscores Swift's enduring commercial pull and highlights a rare case of...
Father‑Son Duo Revives Barbershop Tradition at Tupelo’s The Hair Co.
Mike McBunch and his son John Michael are working side‑by‑side at The Hair Co. in downtown Tupelo, turning a family‑run barbershop into a living lesson in fatherhood. Their partnership, highlighted in a recent local feature, underscores how daily trade skills...
Farhadi’s ‘Parallel Tales’ Gets Polite Cannes Ovation
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi premiered his French‑language drama ‘Parallel Tales’ at Cannes, where the two‑hour‑twenty‑minute film received a five‑minute standing ovation. Critics praised the ensemble cast but noted the story’s meandering pace, highlighting a split between artistic appreciation and audience...
Nate Berkus Recreates His West Village Townhouse in Upper East Side Redesign
Nate Berkus is redesigning a four‑bedroom, four‑and‑a‑half‑bath Upper East Side townhouse for Los Angeles clients, using his own 2020 West Village residence as the primary inspiration. The project features a double‑height white‑oak bookshelf, vintage French iron details, and a light, timeless palette,...
Eight Daily Micro‑Habits Scientists Say Can Add Years to Your Life
A Times of India feature outlines eight science‑backed micro‑habits—movement, whole‑food eating, social connection, sleep, stress management, lifelong learning, and more—that can collectively add years to life. The piece argues that consistency, not intensity, drives longevity, positioning habit formation as a...