Author: Admin

The following is the fintech, digital and wider economic development overview of the Caribbean nation of Cuba in 2026. Cuba, an island nation shaped by revolution, state control, and decades of geopolitical tension, occupies a singular place in the global digital economy. Its troubled modern history, from post-revolution centralisation to the long shadow of the US embargo, has profoundly influenced the way its financial system has evolved. Historically, Cuba’s fintech ecosystem is not constrained by lack of need, but by structural isolation. By 2026, that reality still holds, though signs of cautious progress are increasingly visible. History, pressure and economic…

Apollo Global Management Inc. and Blackstone Inc. are among private credit lenders involved in talks with chipmaker Broadcom Inc. over a roughly $35 billion financing, the latest indication that companies are mobilizing all sources of capital to fund the AI build-out.

A logo of Cloudflare sits outside the company’s house on the opening day of the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 20, 2025.Yves Herman | ReutersCloudflare reported first-quarter earnings Thursday that beat analysts’ expectations, but the company announced a 20% reduction in its workforce. Shares sank 24% Friday.Here’s how the cloud company did versus LSEG estimates:Earnings per share: 25 cents vs. 23 cents expectedRevenue: $640 million vs. $622 million expectedIn a blog post, the company announced that it is cutting over 1,100 employees, writing that agentic artificial intelligence has “fundamentally changed” the company’s work.”This…

The bulk of interest-rate cuts in Brazil is likely to come only after October elections, according to former Central Bank director Bruno Serra.

Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday: Planet Fitness — Shares fell nearly 33% after the gym operator lowered its full-year earnings outlook. The company now sees its bottom line growing about 4% year on year. That’s down from a forecast that called for an expansion of 9% to 10%. Vital Farms — The egg producer’s stock dropped 20% on a surprise loss for the first quarter. Vital Farms lost 3 cents per share, excluding certain items. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a profit of 6 cents per share. The company also cut its full-year earnings outlook. Datadog…

Shiba Inu’s total holder base is inching toward 1.6 million. The team behind Shiba Inu unveiled certain ecosystem updates that may favor the bulls. Despite the progress, the token has underperformed lately and is no longer the second-largest meme coin. The New Record Earlier this week, Shibarium’s X account revealed that the total number of SHIB holders has surged by 1,100 in a single day, reaching a new all-time high of 1,585,022. This jump is generally seen as positive for the meme coin because a growing holder base often reflects rising interest and confidence in the project. More investors…

Companies such as Copa Holdings and Nova reporting earnings next week have a track record of beating Wall Street’s expectations. After the frenzy of the past two weeks, earnings season will take a breath in the next few days. Just eight stocks in the S & P 500 and one component in the Dow Jones Industrial Average are due to post results. The first-quarter earnings season has been very strong so far. Of the more than 420 S & P 500 companies that have reported, nearly 85% have posted earnings beats, FactSet data shows. Around 78% have released revenues that…

Free NewsletterGet the hottest Fintech Singapore News once a month in your InboxCIMB Group has appointed Mak Joon Nien as CEO of Growth Markets and CEO of CIMB Singapore, subject to regulatory approval.Mak will be based in Singapore and will join the CIMB Group Executive Committee.In his role as CEO of Growth Markets, he will lead CIMB Singapore and oversee CIMB Thailand and CIMB Cambodia.His focus will be on accelerating business growth, strengthening cross-border connectivity and advancing regional opportunities.Novan AmirudinNovan Amirudin, Group CEO of CIMB Group, said,“Growth Markets is a key pillar of CIMB’s ASEAN strategy, and Mak’s deep regional…

June WTI crude oil (CLM26) today is down -3.36 (-3.53%), and June RBOB gasoline (RBM26) is down -0.0862 (-2.49%).  Crude oil and gasoline prices are sharply lower for a second day today on optimism that a US-Iran peace deal is imminent.  The markets await further updates after the US presented a proposal to Iran that would gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the US blockade on Iranian ports.   Iran is expected to respond via Pakistan in the next few days.Crude prices slumped today after Al Arabiya, a Saudi-affiliated outlet, reported that agreements had been reached to ease…

IMF warns AI tools such as Mythos threaten financial stabilityNewsflash: The International Monetary Fund is warning that financial stability risks are rising as artificial intelligence fuels cyber-attacks.In a new blogpost, just published, the IMF singles out Claude Mythos as an example of how quickly risks are increasing.The Fund is calling for “resilience, supervision, and international coordination” to safeguard global financial markets, and protect them against attackers with new AI tools.It warns that AI tools such as Mythos can “dramatically” cut the time and cost needed to identify and exploit vulnerabilities, which raises the risk of weaknesses in key systems being…