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.
Trade Desk Holds DSP Lead as Advertisers Shift to Amazon, Retail Media
The Trade Desk, the top demand‑side platform, posted $2.9 bn in revenue for 2025 and kept a 47% margin, but agencies are increasingly moving spend to Amazon DSP, retail‑media networks and direct buys. The trend was highlighted in interviews with more than ten ad executives at the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit in New York on March 17, 2026.
Celltrion Lands Record‑size CMO Deal up to 3.8 Trillion Won, Signaling Biotech’s CMO Surge
On March 17, South Korean biotech giant Celltrion announced a three‑year contract (2027‑2029) with an unnamed global pharmaceutical company to supply biopharmaceutical drug substances worth a guaranteed 2.949 trillion won, with the potential to expand to 3.754 trillion won. The deal marks...
Orlando Begins Demolition of Pulse Nightclub to Build Permanent Memorial
On March 18, 2026, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer oversaw the start of demolition at the former Pulse nightclub building, with crews arriving at 7 a.m. and demolition slated to finish by noon. The effort, led by Gomez Construction and Borrelli + Partners, is...
AI Agents Redefine Marketing Ops as Okara’s AI‑CMO and Candid’s Live Marketing Debut
On March 17, 2026, startup Okara unveiled its subscription‑based AI CMO platform and rival Candid rolled out a Live Marketing solution that claims AI will handle 90% of operational marketing tasks. Both products target founders and small teams seeking to replace...
Amplēo Marketing Merges with CMO Zen to Broaden Fractional CMO Services
Amplēo Marketing and CMO Zen announced a merger today via a joint press release, combining their fractional CMO platforms to offer a broader suite of on‑demand executive services. The deal, disclosed in the United States, aims to accelerate growth for...
Manulife Unveils Multi‑Asset Credit Fund ETF Series, Boosting Canada’s Fixed‑Income Landscape
Manulife Investments announced today the launch of the Manulife CQS Multi‑Asset Credit Fund ETF series, a new suite of exchange‑traded funds focused on credit markets. The series debuts in Canada, adding a diversified fixed‑income product line for retail and institutional...
U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Log Record 6-Day Inflow Streak, $1.1B in Three Days
From March 9 to March 15, 2026, U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange‑traded funds recorded a six‑day streak of net inflows, totaling $962.8 million, with $199.4 million added on Monday alone. Over three consecutive days the sector attracted $1.1 billion, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin...
Nigeria’s President Tinubu Makes Historic UK State Visit to Revive Trade
President Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu arrived in the United Kingdom on Wednesday for a two‑day state visit hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle. It is the first Nigerian state visit since 1989...
Sri Lanka Mandates Weekly Wednesday Shutdowns to Conserve Fuel
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced on Monday that Sri Lanka will close all public institutions, schools and universities every Wednesday, creating a four‑day work week to conserve fuel. The emergency measure takes effect immediately amid soaring oil prices of around...
Cuba Endures Islandwide Blackout as Energy Crisis Deepens
On Monday, March 16, 2026, Cuban officials announced a complete, islandwide blackout affecting the nation’s 11 million residents. The Ministry of Energy and Mines posted on X that the electrical system was fully disconnected and that investigations were underway, noting no...
Middle East Tensions Push Oil Past $100, Raising Energy Risk Premium for Emerging Markets
On March 16‑17, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that NATO allies were unwilling to join a U.S.-led escort coalition for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, sending Brent crude above $103 a barrel. The disruption threatens roughly 13 million barrels...
Sheraton Atlantic City Gets Approval to Convert Half Its Rooms to Senior Housing
On Tuesday, the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) approved Scannapieco Development Corp.’s proposal to convert roughly half of the Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel’s 502 rooms into 130 senior‑housing units, leaving 252 rooms for hotel use. The...
Hilton Signs First Conrad Hotel in Mongolia, Targeting Luxury Market by 2028
Hilton announced on March 18, 2026 that it has signed a development agreement for Conrad Ulaanbaatar, its first hotel in Mongolia. The 227‑room luxury property will sit in the Eco Tower mixed‑use complex in Ulaanbaatar’s central business district and is...
Hyatt to Add Over 30 Select‑Service Hotels Across the Southeast, Expanding Mid‑Scale Footprint
Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced today that it will develop more than 30 new select‑service properties—including Hyatt Studios, Hyatt Select, Hyatt Place, and Hyatt House—in the Southeast United States, targeting roughly 4,000 rooms across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi....
Marriott to Rebrand Kapalua Bay Resort as St. Regis, Expanding Luxury Footprint in Hawaii
Marriott International announced on March 18, 2026 that it will manage and rebrand The Resort at Kapalua Bay in Maui, Hawai‘i as a St. Regis Hotels & Resorts property by 2027. The 25‑acre oceanfront resort, owned by Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners...
New Orleans Pushes $500M Omni Hotel to Secure 2031 Super Bowl Bid
New Orleans officials and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center announced on March 11, 2026 that the city will seek demolition of the Sugar Mill venue to build the $500 million, 1,000‑room Omni Headquarters Hotel. The project, pending New Orleans City...
Wipro Teams Up with Harness to Speed AI‑Native Software Delivery for Global Enterprises
On March 18, 2026, Wipro Limited and Harness Inc. unveiled a strategic collaboration aimed at accelerating AI‑native software delivery for global enterprises. The partnership merges Wipro’s artificial‑intelligence services with Harness’s continuous delivery platform, targeting faster, scalable AI‑driven application rollouts.
SailPoint and AWS Team Up to Secure Agentic AI with Unified Identity Governance
SailPoint Inc. and Amazon Web Services announced today a multi‑year strategic collaboration to deliver a unified identity‑governance layer for AI agents running on AWS. The agreement expands an existing partnership, makes SailPoint the preferred governance solution for agentic AI on...
Cisco and NVIDIA Expand Secure AI Factory with 102.4Tbps N9100 Switch and Blackwell GPUs for Edge AI
Cisco and NVIDIA announced today, via a joint press release, an expansion of their Secure AI Factory that introduces a 102.4 Tbps Cisco N9100 switch powered by NVIDIA Spectrum‑6 silicon and support for NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs across Cisco’s...
IBM Completes Confluent Acquisition, Making Real‑Time Data Core of Enterprise AI
On March 18, 2026, IBM announced it had completed the acquisition of Confluent, the leading data‑streaming platform, in a move that embeds real‑time data into the heart of its enterprise AI and agent strategy.
Einride Launches Cabless Autonomous Freight Test on Texas Highway 130
On March 18, 2026, Swedish autonomous‑vehicle company Einride announced a partnership with the operator of Texas State Highway 130 to create a testbed for cabless freight trucks. The pilot will run on the toll‑road corridor, representing the first large‑scale autonomous...
Didi Autonomous Driving Teams Up with Raytron to Add Thermal Imaging to Next‑Gen Robotaxi Fleet
Today Didi Autonomous Driving announced a partnership with Chinese thermal‑imaging specialist Raytron to equip its upcoming robotaxi platform with advanced thermal cameras, enhancing perception and safety for passengers across China.
Uber and Nvidia Commit to 28 City Level‑4 Robotaxi Rollout by 2028
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Nvidia founder Jensen Huang announced on March 17 that Uber will launch Nvidia‑powered Level 4 robotaxis in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the first half of 2027, expanding to 28 cities across North America, Europe,...
Euronext Unveils Blueprint to Boost European Capital Market Infrastructure at 2026 Conference
On March 18, 2026, Euronext presented a comprehensive plan to reinforce European capital markets at its annual conference in Paris, with CEOs and finance ministers—including Nicolai Tangen, Eelco Heinen, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, and Roland Lescure—highlighting the urgency of deeper integration, sovereign‑debt...
U.S. Futures Slip as European Stocks Show Mixed Early Trade
On March 17, 2026, U.S. futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each dropped 0.4% in early trading, while European equities posted a mixed picture: the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.1%, the FTSE 100 rose 0.1%, and...
UniCredit’s €35bn Bid Boosts DAX Amid Banking Turmoil
On Monday, March 17, 2024, Italy’s UniCredit launched a €35 billion voluntary public takeover offer for Germany’s Commerzbank, sending Commerzbank shares up nearly 10% and lifting the Frankfurt‑based DAX 0.53% to 23,574 points. The move unfolded amid broader banking‑sector turbulence, rising...
European Stocks Edge Higher as Investors Await ECB and BoE Rate Decisions
On March 17, 2026, investors across the Eurozone lifted equities as the STOXX 600 rose 0.64% to 602.31 points and major indexes in Frankfurt, London, Paris, Madrid and Milan posted gains. The rally came ahead of the European Central Bank’s and...
European Stocks Rally as Oil Tops $100, Energy Leads Gains Across Stoxx, FTSE, DAX
On March 17, 2026, European equity indices – the Stoxx 600, FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 – posted gains of 0.6‑0.7% after Brent crude surged past $100 a barrel. Energy shares, led by TotalEnergies and Shell, were the primary...
Gartner Survey: Cost Optimization Leads 2026 CFO Agenda, Balancing Growth & AI
Gartner surveyed more than 200 chief financial officers worldwide for its 2026 CFO agenda report released today, finding cost optimization as the dominant priority. While many CFOs still focus on trimming expenses, a growing segment is earmarking funds for growth...
77% of Global CFOs Cite Security and Privacy Risks as the Biggest AI Trust Gap
In a Kyriba‑commissioned OPR Index survey of 1,400 CFOs across eight countries released this week, 77% flagged security and privacy concerns as the biggest trust gap slowing AI adoption. While 67% expect AI to transform finance over the next five...
NIH Shifts Funding Model, Sparking Debate Over Future of Biomedical Research
The U.S. National Institutes of Health announced a pivot away from agency‑directed solicitation calls toward a greater reliance on unsolicited research proposals, a change unveiled in Bethesda, Maryland. The shift, made under the agency’s new leadership following the 2025 presidential...
White House Pushes MFN Drug Pricing, Faces Congressional Resistance
On March 18, 2026, White House officials—including two former Trump administration aides—intensified a campaign to pass legislation that would lock U.S. drug prices to the lowest rates paid by peer nations. The push, aimed at lowering costs for patients, met...
CMS to Roll Out Centralized IDR Platform for Medicare Disputes in Late 2026
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on March 16 that it will transition to a secure, centralized independent dispute resolution (IDR) gateway for Medicare payment and coverage disputes in the second half of 2026. The new platform...
Trump Signals One‑Month Delay of US‑China Summit as Iran Takes Center Stage
On March 16, President Donald Trump told reporters he is willing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping as planned, but may push the March 31‑April 2 summit back by “a month or so.” The possible delay reflects the administration’s urgent focus on...
Starmer Chairs Cabinet Amid Trump Critique Over UK’s Iran Response
On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer chaired a weekly cabinet meeting in London to discuss the escalating Iran‑Hormuz crisis after US President Donald Trump publicly criticised Britain’s response. The meeting follows Trump’s remarks that the UK, dubbed the...
National Counterterrorism Center Director Resigns Over Iran War Strategy Dispute
On March 17, 2026, the director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) resigned in Washington, D.C., after publicly disagreeing with the administration’s approach to a possible war with Iran. The resignation, reported by CBS2 Iowa, underscores a rare public...
Israel Says Two Senior Iranian Leaders Killed; Iran Confirms Larijani’s Death Amid Escalating War
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that senior Iranian officials Ali Larijani, Iran's top security chief, and General Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the IRGC Basij militia, were killed in overnight Israeli strikes on Tehran. Iran later confirmed Larijani’s death,...
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Adds Goro Majima, Red, and Arle in Free DLC
On March 18, 2026, Sega launched Patch 3 for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, introducing three free crossover characters—Goro Majima from Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Red from Angry Birds, and Arle from Puyo Puyo—across PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox...
Starfield Launches on PS5 April 7, Prices Cut, Terran Armada Expansion Announced
Bethesda Softworks announced that Starfield will launch on PlayStation 5 on April 7, 2024, ending its Xbox‑only window. The base edition will be priced at $49.99, the Premium at $69.99, and a new $9.99 Terran Armada story expansion will accompany...
Datavault AI Schedules Earnings Call for March 19, 2026 to Unveil Q4 and FY 2025 Results
Datavault AI will hold a conference call on Thursday, March 19, 2026 to discuss its fourth‑quarter and full‑year 2025 financial results. The call, announced via a press release, will provide investors and analysts with the company’s latest performance metrics and...
Cadre’s Q4 2025 Earnings Miss Sparks Sharp Stock Slide as Revenue and Margins Falter
Real‑estate fintech Cadre (NYSE:CDRE) reported a Q4 2025 earnings miss on both revenue and margins, prompting a 16% plunge in its share price from $40.69 to $33.30. CEO Warren Kanders and CFO Blaine Browers blamed timing shifts in large defense...
Elbit Systems Posts $7.9 Bn Revenue and Record Net Income in Q4 2025 Full‑Year Results
On March 18, 2026, Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems released its fourth‑quarter and full‑year 2025 earnings, reporting $7.9 bn in revenue and a record net income. The results were driven by heightened demand across its aerospace, land, and naval systems, and...
Hyperscale Data Reveals 622 BTC Treasury, Cash Holdings at 161% of Market Cap
Hyperscale Data announced today that it holds a treasury of 622.4378 Bitcoin and that its combined cash and Bitcoin assets equal roughly 161.23% of the company’s market capitalization, according to a press release issued on March 18, 2026.
Five9 Names Amit Mathradas CEO, Unveils OneVUE AI‑Driven Contact‑Center Dashboard
Five9 announced on March 18, 2026 that Amit Mathradas will assume the role of chief executive officer while simultaneously launching OneVUE, an AI‑driven, persona‑based contact‑center reporting dashboard. The dual announcement was made on the company’s website and marks a strategic...
Messari CEO Eric Turner Steps Down as Firm Accelerates AI-First Strategy
On Monday, Messari announced that interim CEO Eric Turner is stepping down and handing the reins to longtime CTO Diran Li, signaling the firm’s shift to an AI‑first model. The leadership change follows a 15% staff reduction and comes as Messari...
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Announces ‘Inference Inflection’ and Token‑Based Hiring to Fuel AI Boom
On March 16, 2026 in San Jose, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled an “Inference Inflection” phase for AI and introduced a token‑based recruitment model that would grant engineers bonuses equal to roughly half their annual salary. He forecasted a $1 trillion...
Meta and Oracle Plan AI‑Driven Layoffs Cutting Up to 45,000 Jobs
On March 14‑15, 2026, Meta Platforms and Oracle announced plans to slash their workforces by up to 20% and 18% respectively, driven by soaring AI‑related expenses. Meta could eliminate roughly 15,800 of its 79,000 employees, while Oracle may cut between...
Lucasfilm Drops First Trailer for Star Wars Series 'Maul – Shadow Lord'
On March 18, 2026, Lucasfilm released the official trailer for the upcoming Disney+ series 'Maul – Shadow Lord'. The teaser, posted on Disney+ and YouTube, introduces a darker, post‑Empire storyline centered on the iconic Sith Lord Darth Maul. The series...
Hulu Axes 'Buffy: New Sunnydale' Reboot; Sarah Michelle Gellar Announces Cancellation
On March 17, 2026, Hulu announced it will not move forward with the Buffy: New Sunnydale reboot, a series that would have seen original star Sarah Michelle Gellar reprise Buffy Summers under Oscar‑winning director Chloé Zhao. The decision was confirmed by Gellar...
Pound Slips 0.27% as Fed‑BoE Policy Divergence Fuels Market Unease
On Tuesday in European trading, the British pound (GBP) fell 0.27% to around $1.3280, underperforming against major currencies except the NZD. The slide reflects market uncertainty ahead of the Bank of England’s rate decision on Thursday and the Federal Reserve’s...