Business

Business

Almost three quarters of businesses (73%) have undertaken financial investigations within the last five years, in an effort to root out fraud, financial crime, regulatory breaches or accounting anomalies, a survey from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO has found. The most common issues requiring investigation included financial statement manipulation, cross-border financial investigations and asset misappropriation. The survey uncovered some wide variation between different sectors.

After strong performance in 2025, the index is showing signs that future gains will depend less on liquidity and more on earnings quality and valuation resilience. "The market has shifted from being liquidity-driven to earnings-sensitive," said Saqib Iqbal, market analyst at Becoin.net. "With multiple rate cuts behind us and macro data softening, Nasdaq performance is now tied to profit growth and cash-flow resilience, rather than just cheap money."

Robinhood is betting that its customers want to trade on absolutely everything. On Tuesday, the popular stock-trading app unveiled a slate of updates to its prediction markets business, aggressively expanding into sports. Now, Robinhood users can trade contracts tied to specific professional football players' performances, as well as pre-packaged combos for individual games. Early next year, customers will be able to combine up to ten outcomes - such as winners, spreads, and totals - into a single, custom-built contract.

The velocity of change alone, says Constantine Alexandrakis, CEO of Russell Reynolds Associates, is unlike anything he has seen in his nearly twenty years at the executive recruitment firm. "Our clients are moving at a frenetic pace," he says. "Every company is driving transformation to either meet the moment or take advantage of it." The issues aren't new-trade, geopolitics, technology-but the intensity and overlap are. "The convergence of all these forces has made transformation ubiquitous and urgent," Alexandrakis says.

Chain restaurants have been having a tough few years, but even by the low standards of the industry, Jack in the Box has had a brutal run that seems unlikely to turn into a comeback in 2026. This year alone Wendy's has closed hundreds of locations, as has Denny's, with others also joining the cutback in smaller numbers. Jack in the Box has been doing the same, but its cratering has no end in sight.

After a year of stalled hiring and "ghost jobs," Americans are going back to school, retraining, and trying to get off the sidelines. But they've been flying blind after the longest federal government shutdown in history clouded the picture on job growth and unemployment. Finally, the October and November figures confirmed what most of them seem to feel already: The labor market has no room for them.

Kraft Heinz announced on Tuesday that new CEO Steve Cahillane will join the food giant to help steer its split into two companies. The former head of Kellanova joins the ailing food giant after years of declining sales and slow growth, and as shares are down 75% since 2017. In 2026, the company will split into two independent, publicly traded companies, Global Taste Elevation Co. and North American Grocery Co., with the first focused on condiments and the Heinz ketchup brand,

Nowadays, we're told quantum computing will be the next big thing. All with the ability to solve problems far too complex for typical computers within minutes, or even seconds. In fact, "Overall, the global quantum computing market is expected to grow from $1.6 billion in 2025 to $7.3 billion by 2030, according to BCC Research. That represents a compound annual growth rate of 34.6% over the next five years," added U.S. News & World Report.

The company has maintained its accumulation discipline even as its stock has suffered, recently announcing a $1.44 billion USD reserve specifically designed to pay dividends and debt obligations without forcing Bitcoin sales. This capital buffer theoretically eliminates the need for excessive dilutive share issuance or forced BTC liquidation, a critical distinction from weaker competitors. Many will likely face shareholder pressure and potential forced selling as their stock prices decline, creating a cascade of supply pressure that could paradoxically benefit the strongest players like MSTR.

To put this in perspective ... it is probably the most important launch of my career. ... This has been a personal journey of mine since I joined the company 43 years ago.

For investors wishing to mitigate currency fluctuation risk for European market investments, xTrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF (NYSE: DBEU) is one of a small few that fit the bill, yet still outpaces the Vanguard' S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: VOO) and State Street's S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY). Currency hedging is a nonexistent issue for US focused funds, since more than 99% of the time, all of the securities are entirely denominated in US dollars.

When Rivian reported Q3 earnings on Nov. 4, it beat on the top line but missed on the bottom line with quarterly EPS of 65 cents versus 72 expected, and revenue of $1.56 billion beating expectations of $1.5 billion. Institutional ownership remains somewhat wary of the stock, with 56.26% of its float currently held by institutions. The largest institutional holder of RIVN remains Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) with more than 158 million shares.

Among the key items I look at when I consider companies' income statements and balance sheets is how much gross and net margin they're creating. That's because these metrics are pretty solid estimations of how well a given company is operating. Indeed, at the end of the day, valuations come down to how much cash flow or earnings a given company will generate over their remaining years in operation.

"Younger investors just feel like the traditional playbook isn't working," said Gareth Kay, vice president of brand at Coinbase, about Gen Z and Millennials investing in crypto. Gen Z and Millennials, or younger investors, as the report calls them, say that 25% of their portfolio is in non-traditional assets, including crypto, derivatives, and NFTs. That is three times more than older investors, or Gen X and Baby Boomers, who say that just 8% of their portfolio is tied to such assets.

You've just been promoted to a new leadership position. But instead of being granted the necessary space to think strategically, you're being pulled back into the weeds and constantly getting entangled in tactical reviews and overly frequent check-ins. Unless something changes, not only could you squander the chance to be a strategic value creator, but you'll lose your team's confidence as they restlessly wait for your vision and direction.

They became members of BlackRock's Tech Fellows program, a group of 24 senior technologists playing a crucial role in the$13.5 trillion firm's vision and operations. This year's members underwent a rigorous application process - from being nominated to completing written evaluations and interviews - before being voted into the program by current fellows, Nish Ajitsaria, BlackRock's co-head of Aladdin product engineering and executive sponsor of AI, and the co-executive sponsor of the program, said.

XRP ETF inflows just hit $1 billion in under four weeks-the fastest institutional adoption since Ethereum ETFs launched. Yet XRP ( ) dropped 45% from its July 2025 peak of $3.66 to around $2.00, leaving 37% of XRP holders underwater with unrealized losses. The token climbed 480% over the prior year (from $0.63 in July 2024 to $3.66), minting fortunes for early holders before the reversal.

Standard conference rooms are losing their grip. UK companies are actively searching for formats outside the office because the old model simply isn't delivering. The predictable setting of a hotel suite or a rented seminar space now often stifles the very energy it aims to create. Teams walk in expecting monotony, and they usually get it. This dissatisfaction is driving a clear pivot toward premium, experience-driven off-sites, with water-based venues rising as a particularly compelling option for those seeking genuine impact.

"With two strong competitors vying to secure the future of this unique American asset, Affinity has decided no longer to pursue the opportunity," an Affinity spokesperson said. "The dynamics of the investment have changed significantly since we initially became involved in October. We continue to believe there is a strong strategic rationale for Paramount's offer."

This strategic partnership with Array is a key part of our network tower management strategy,

Opening February 2026 with a Grand Opening celebration scheduled for President's Day weekend, the Laugh Factory's arrival at Horseshoe Las Vegas marks a significant milestone in the venue's evolution. David Fuhrer, President of Laugh Factory, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: "Laugh Factory is built for the biggest stages, from Hollywood to Chicago and now onto the Las Vegas Strip - it doesn't get any bigger than that. We're ecstatic for our partnership with Horseshoe Las Vegas and to bring world-class comedians, viral stars and nonstop laughter to the heart of a city built for entertainment."

The brand management crew - including leader Authentic Brands Group, WHP Global, Marquee Brands and Bluestar Alliance - have made their mark by focusing in, owning just the brand and working with broad networks of partners for everything else. It's an approach that only kept growing this year. Authentic is the largest player by far, with brands that drive some $32 billion in retail sales annually. With its deal to buy control of the Guess brand, that's slated to grow to $38 billion soon.

All as it continues to gap higher on strong earnings and a dividend. Not only did the company just declare a 59-cent dividend (payable on January 20 to shareholders of record as of January 6), it also just earned a profit of $1.28, up 44% year over year, and 35 cents better than expected. Sales of $10.65 billion, up 4.6% year over year, beat estimates by $50 million.

More recently, Lumen partnered with IBM to unlock scalable AI for businesses, as well as with Google Cloud to provide advanced cloud and network solutions to meet the growing demands of AI workloads. Lumen strengthened its financial position and freed up capital for long-term growth by refinancing its term loans, as well as selling off its fiber-to-the-home business to AT&T. CEO Kate Johnson projected the company's return to growth by 2029.

holiday season wasn't looking like a very joyful one for the tween- and teen-focused retailer. The Philadelphia-based company was on its way to posting its fourth-straight quarter with negative or flat comparable sales, and that was coming off several prior years of underwhelming performance. While Five Below was managing to grow overall sales through the addition of new stores, existing stores weren't resonating with shoppers. It was also dealing with industry-wide challenges, including shoplifting and the rise of low-priced e-commerce players like Shein and Temu.