UK PM Starmer to weigh future over the weekend - report
UK politics is incredible. In 2024, Starmer delivered 411 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons and now he's on the way out. "Consider it over the weekend" is generally a code phrase for "I'll resign on Monday" but we will see.UK politics is an intense Game of Thrones and the non-stop backstabbin
Inside the Prediction Markets: Kalshi Hits $100B as Questions Keep Piling Up
Prediction markets spent the week facing a familiar mix of growth and resistance. A dispute over Polymarket’s Iran market reignited questions about how event contracts should be settled. A coalition of 56 organizations asked Congress to curb the industry’s expansion. At the same time, Canada moved
Finastra sells UB core banking software unit to Pollen Street Capital
Finastra has sold its Universal Banking (UB) global core banking software business to UK-based private equity firm Pollen Street Capital. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Crypto
Amazon Won't Release Sam Altman Film 'Artificial' Following $50 Billion OpenAI Investment
Amazon is pulling out of "Artificial," a film about Sam Altman's brief ouster from OpenAI, not long after investing $50 billion in the firm.
Months After IG Deal, Freetrade Names New CFO Following CEO Appointment
Freetrade has appointed Nick Robinson as its new Chief Financial Officer, according to a LinkedIn post published by him today (Friday). Robinson wrote that he is working with "everyone in the Freetrade and IG Group teams."The appointment comes during a period of change at the UK investment platform.
Eltropy expands agentic AI certification
Eltropy, the leading agentic AI platform for credit unions and community banks, is expanding access to its AI Certification program — opening free enrollment to credit union and community bank professionals, and deepening the program's reach through league partnerships and industry events.
Crypto
Anime Girls Could Steal Your Crypto as Wallpaper Malware Targets Steam Gamers
Researchers found malicious Wallpaper Engine downloads on Steam Workshop distributing infostealers, backdoors, and account-hijacking malware.
NatWest CEO Thwaite says AI will take some banking jobs
NatWest's Paul Thwaite has become the latest bank CEO to predict that artificial intelligence will take over some jobs in the sector but says that this does not necessarily mean overall headcounts will drop.
Iran foreign min says plans underway for future meeting with US
Today's meeting between the US and Iran was postponed in light of the ongoing fighting in Lebanon but that looks to have been cleared up by today's ceasefire (hopefully). Now Iran's foreign minister says plans are underway for a meeting in the coming days.He said the talks will be about a final agre
"Multiple" cabinet ministers will tell Starmer to set out a timeline for leaving - report
A report from The Times says multiple cabinet ministers will tell UK PM Starmer that his "time is up" and to set out a timeline for his departure.UK politics are brutal.Update: We learned that UK transport minister Heidi Alexander Calls was one of them. This article was w
First Commerce Bank picks FIS core banking platform
FIS (NYSE: FIS), a global leader in financial services technology, announced that First Commerce Bank, a $1.8B-asset community bank based in New Jersey, has selected FIS as its go-forward core banking platform – giving the institution a modern, AI-ready foundation as community banks of its size face
Elavon expands all-in-one payments platform across North America
Elavon, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB) and a global payments provider, announced the expansion of its All-In-One payments platform across North America to help businesses deliver more seamless commerce experiences in-store, on mobile and online.
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire to start almost immediately
A 'senior US official' cited by Reuters says that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire from 4 pm local time, which is just minutes from now. Oil prices gave up a 50 cent gain and turned negative on the headline. That's now extended to being down 64 cents to $75.96.Earlier today, four Israel
Danish startup Festina raises $25m for pensions platform
Festina Finance, a Denmark-based provider of cloud platforms for the pensions and financial planning industry, has secured €25m from its latest fundraising round.
Retail Traders Gain Banking and CFD Access as Dukascopy Combines Services in New App
The Swiss broker-bank Dukascopy Bank has launched a new flagship mobile application that combines banking services, retail CFD trading, foreign exchange, payments, and investment tools in a single interface.The launch follows a recent expansion of Dukascopy’s trading infrastructure, including a dedi
Commodities
Higher inflation drives jump in UK budget deficit in May
Canada April retail sales +0.5% vs +0.6% expected
Prior was +0.9%The advanced April reading was +0.6%April retail sales ex autos +0.1% vs +0.7% expectedPrior ex autos +1.4% (revised to +1.2%)Sales were up in five of nine subsectorsCore sales excluding gas stations were down 0.7%Advanced May sales +1.0%This is a poor report and highlights how hard g
Crypto
GoMining challenges Jack Dorsey's Square with payments system designed around bitcoin
Commodities
Sterling today: Pound steadies near two-month low as political risks mount
investingLive European FX news wrap: Markets consolidate on US Juneteenth
How have interest rate expectations changed after this week's events?ECB policymaker Wunsch says upside surprises in inflation would justify further tighteningECB policymaker Lane sees the current inflation shock as "mid-sized", defends rate hikeUSD/JPY is near the highest level since 1986 as diverg