The AI investment frenzy is showing both its rewards and its risks. Prominent AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner has reportedly been forced to exit his public stock portfolio after heavy losses, while Oando is staging a strong turnaround by cutting its first-half losses by 77% and returning to quarterly profitability. Elsewhere, LinkedIn is cracking down on low-quality AI-generated content with a new reporting tool, and Sainsbury's is offloading Argos for £120 million as it sh

Mergers & Acquisitions News (M&A) $15B-listed GFL Environmental received takeover approaches at valuations “materially higher” than the current share price Bloomberg NYSE-parent ICE will buy credit electronic trading platform MarketAxess in a $5.7B deal Yahoo.Finance Dutch engineering ​consultancy group Arcadis rejected ‌an improved $5.7B takeover bid from Canada's WSP Global Reuters Johnson & Johnson acquired the option to buy immunology-focused biotech Sai

The AI boom and resilient consumer demand continue to power earnings across technology and industry. Microsoft crossed the $100 billion mark in annual cloud revenue as AI demand fueled another strong quarter, while Apple beat expectations after robust iPhone sales offset weaker performance in China. Back home, Dangote Cement delivered H1 2026 Profits, with a ₦318 billion in profit, on stronger exports, HBM Nigeria posted a solid H1 performance with a ₦318 billion profit , whi

China's AI-driven semiconductor push has produced another stock market sensation as CXMT surged 466% in its market debut to become the country's most valuable listed chipmaker, while S&P Global is expanding its African footprint through the acquisition of a majority stake in Nigeria's Agusto & Co. Elsewhere, Apple Partners With Klarna to launch iPhone leasing from $17.99 Per Month, while Nigeria's Federal Mortgage Bank is opening its National Housing Fund mortgage scheme to N

The race to build the infrastructure powering artificial intelligence is entering a new phase as Nvidia and OpenAI explore a $250 billion funding backstop for next-generation AI projects, while Africa's operational data centre capacity has surpassed 500MW, signalling the continent's growing role in the global digital economy. Elsewhere, Tesla's Cybertruck is being labelled one of the biggest commercial failures in automotive history as pressure mounts on the EV maker, while n

Mergers & Acquisitions News (M&A) Germany's $50B-listed Commerzbank is ready for takeover talks after Italian peer UniCredit secured a 48% stake in a hostile bid Reuters French warehouse specialist Argan and Belgian peer WDP will merge in an all-stock deal to form a $14.8B logistics real estate company Reuters Payments fintech Stripe is in talks to acquire LLM API startup OpenRouter for potentially $10B; the startup is valued at $1.3B Yahoo.Finance Jeff Bezos

The AI investment boom continues to power Wall Street and the global semiconductor industry. JPMorgan delivered a 41% jump in profit, fueled by record trading activity, a rebound in investment banking, and AI-driven efficiencies, while BlackRock crossed the $15 trillion mark in assets under management on strong investor inflows. Across the chip supply chain, TSMC posted another record quarter on relentless AI demand, and ASML raised its outlook again as manufacturers continue

Global dealmaking, expansion, and policy shifts are reshaping the business landscape. The Upstart, Stripe To Lead the $53 Billion Takeover Of Battered Incumbent Paypal, that could redefine the fintech industry, while Chipotle, is entering Mexico as it accelerates its international growth ambitions. Back home, Dangote Refinery has begun pricing petroleum products in U.S. dollars, a move that could alter Nigeria's downstream oil market, as digital lender Optasia redirects inves

Competition, accountability, and disruption are taking centre stage across the technology and business worlds. Apple has launched a high-stakes legal battle against OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft, while Nigeria's cement industry is set for fresh competition as a Chinese-backed investor enters the market with a $1 billion acquisition. Elsewhere, Phoebe Gates' AI shopping startup is facing scrutiny over alleged affiliate sales practices, and Monzo co-founder joins Anthr

Global markets are sending mixed signals as investors reward reform-driven economies while reassessing the AI trade. Nigeria has overtaken South Korea to become the world's best-performing stock market and is now under review for a potential frontier market classification by S&P, even as Nvidia has shed more than $1 trillion in value amid a broader AI stock correction. Meanwhile, Meta is pressing ahead with its AI ambitions by giving developers early access to its latest mode

Leadership changes, market milestones, and rising costs dominate today's headlines. Tony Elumelu is preparing to hand over the reins at UBA after more than a decade as chairman, while SpaceX is set to join the Nasdaq-100, cementing its place among Wall Street's biggest technology companies. Microsoft is trimming another 4,800 jobs as it reshapes its gaming business around AI, and back home, the average annual rent in Lekki Phase 1 has climbed to ₦10 million, the highest level

The race for capital, markets, and global influence is unfolding on multiple fronts. SK Hynix is looking to raise $28 billion from U.S. investors, Dangote Refinery has surpassed the entire United States in jet fuel exports to Europe, and European budget airline easyJet has agreed to a takeover by private equity firm Castlelake for just over £5 billion. Back home, Nigeria's SEC is taking another step toward regulating the country's fast-growing crypto industry with fresh appro

Nigerian investors are celebrating a record ₦753.8 billion dividend payout from Dangote Cement, while the Nigerian Exchange reshuffles its benchmark NGX-30 Index as Oando and Transcorp make way for NASCON and Unilever Nigeria. Elsewhere, Meta is reportedly looking to monetize its massive AI infrastructure by launching a cloud computing business, and Nigeria's securities dealers are defending the country's T+1 settlement reforms after FTSE Russell delayed its Frontier Market u

The semiconductor industry is under fresh legal scrutiny as three of the major suppliers of memory chips face a RAM price-fixing lawsuit, while Nigeria's capital market suffers a setback after FTSE Russell delayed its planned market upgrade. Elsewhere, Ford is bringing back human engineers after AI fell short in quality control, and Nigerian fintech Paga is expanding into tokenised investments as it deepens its push into digital financial infrastructure. All this and more in

The global AI race is entering a new phase as China reaches a key cybersecurity milestone that puts it on par with Anthropic, while Polymarket's explosive growth underscores the rising popularity of prediction markets. In Nigeria, Providus Bank and Unity Bank are set to begin operations as a single institution under the ProvidusUnity Bank brand, and a new report projects stronger vehicle sales in 2026, driven by the economic impact of the Dangote Refinery. All this and more i

Artificial intelligence is moving beyond chatbots into real-world applications as Paystack tests AI-powered payments and Meta is exploring the launch of its own prediction market to deepen its AI ambitions. Meanwhile Africa’s largest solar mini-grid operator has secured $31 million to expand electricity access across Nigeria, while OpenAI unveils its first custom AI chip in partnership with Broadcom All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat! Markets as of 25th of June 202

Questions around trust and regulation are taking center stage as Polymarket faces allegations of paying creators to promote misleading betting activity, while Nigeria’s SEC has moved to curb premature marketing of the highly anticipated Dangote Refinery IPO. In the technology space, Nigerian startup Talksign is using AI to break communication barriers with real-time sign language translation, and South Korea’s corporate hierarchy has been shaken as AI-driven chipmaker SK Hyni

India’s biggest tech listing in years is taking shape as Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms files for a much-anticipated mega IPO, while African fintech giant Flutterwave has reached a $3.25 billion valuation after securing fresh funding from Ripple-backed investors. Apple is warning consumers of potential price increases as soaring memory costs squeeze margins, and Nigeria’s stock market is entering a new era with the NGX rolling out changes to how share prices move during tradin

AI remained the biggest theme of earnings season as Accenture beat expectations on resilient demand for cloud and AI consulting services, while Oracle delivered a beat-and-raise but saw shares slide after unveiling massive AI infrastructure spending plans. Adobe also raised guidance as its AI strategy continued attracting new users, and CarMax surprised investors with stronger earnings driven by rising used-car demand and financing activity. All this and more in today’s Read

Britain is preparing one of its toughest digital regulations yet with plans to ban under-16s from major social media platforms, while Nigeria’s AI ecosystem scores a win as Bluechip Technologies acquires voice-AI startup YarnGPT. Elsewhere, SpaceX is doubling down on artificial intelligence with a $60 billion acquisition of coding startup Cursor, and the IMF is warning that the growing use of dollar-backed stablecoins could weaken demand for the naira. All this and more in to