Events

Beijing – September 18, 2026 -- China's fixed-asset investment fell 7.2% year on year in the first eight months of 2026, yet the total remained substantial at roughly 29.3 trillion yuan (US$4.33 trillion), with capital increasingly redirected toward technological innovation and modern infrastructure.

Wang Guanhua, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), attributed the decline to heat waves, typhoons, and floods disrupting construction, alongside external uncertainty and a domestic shift from traditional to new growth drivers that has made businesses more cautious. She said investment performance should not be judged solely by growth rate, but by its role in supporting economic transformation.

London – September 18, 2026 -- Volkswagen has retained the No. 1 spot on the 2026 Fortune 500 Europe list with $363 billion in revenue, up 3%, widening its lead over Shell after the energy giant's revenue fell 5% to rank second.

UK overtakes Germany in company count for the first time

Britain now hosts 76 of the ranked firms, edging past Germany's 73 and France's 66, marking the first shift in national dominance since the list launched four years ago.

Combined revenues hit $15.5 trillion, equal to 13% of world GDP

Aggregate revenue across the 500 companies rose 4% year-on-year, representing half of Europe's GDP. Profits rebounded 3% to just over $1 trillion after a 5% decline the previous year, though overall profit margin slipped to 6.5% from a 2024 high of 7.1%.

Paris – September 18, 2026 -- Intellian Technologies Inc. and Network Innovations have signed a strategic partnership to jointly develop and distribute what they describe as the world's first tactical ground terminal capable of simultaneous Mil-X, Mil Ka-band, and commercial Ka and Ku-band connectivity for military and government customers.

Terminal supports electronic switching across an extended range of Ka-band frequencies

The flyaway platform is built for the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) constellation and is designed for multi-orbit operations spanning LEO, MEO, GEO, and HEO satellites. The deployable systems can be made operational in as little as 30 minutes, targeting expeditionary forces and mission-critical deployments requiring secure, high-capacity communications.

Washington, D.C. – – September 18, 2026 -- Advocates for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) held more than 60 meetings with congressional offices this week, representing patients from over 20 states, as part of The Speak Foundation's LGMD Day on the Hill.

No FDA-approved treatment exists for LGMD despite scientific progress

LGMD is a group of rare genetic diseases causing progressive muscle weakness, and no FDA-approved treatment currently targets the condition. Advocates urged lawmakers to increase federal investment in LGMD research, expand access to Department of Defense research funding, and push for clearer, more consistent regulatory pathways for rare-disease treatments.

Tokyo – September 18, 2026 -- The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund has launched NTDpedia, a digital encyclopedia targeting the awareness gap that keeps neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) underfunded despite affecting 1.5 billion people worldwide.

GHIT Fund targets awareness gap as root cause of NTD underfunding

The platform, titled "NTDpedia: Your Guide to Neglected Tropical Diseases," is designed as an accessible digital resource covering all 21 disease groups recognized by the World Health Organization, including viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal infections, snakebite envenoming, and noma. Supervised by Prof. Kenji Hirayama of Nagasaki University, the site aims to make complex health issues understandable to a general audience, including students, teachers, companies, and advocates.

Frankfurt – – September 18, 2026 -- CARKU unveiled a sodium-ion jump starter and two new starting batteries at Automechanika Frankfurt 2026, expanding its emergency-starting portfolio for passenger and commercial vehicles.

CARKU's jump starter series generates roughly 30% of company revenue in Europe

Europe ranks among CARKU's key overseas markets, with its jump starter line contributing approximately 30% of total revenue in 2025, according to internal sales data.

JS-617N jump starter starts vehicles at temperatures as low as -40°C

The 12V/24V JS-617N combines automatic voltage recognition with manual-start capability and 10 integrated protection functions covering electrical, thermal, and software safeguards. Internal testing showed the unit successfully starting vehicles at -40°C, according to the company.

Brussels – September 18, 2026 -- A global 5% cap on virgin plastics production would cut global household welfare by $128.4 billion, compared with just a $0.5 billion decline under targeted recycling policies achieving the same reduction in plastic leakage, according to a new Oxford Economics study commissioned by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA).

The report, Evaluating Policy Pathways to End Plastic Pollution, is the second phase of Oxford Economics' analysis for ICCA, following its 2024 study Mapping the Plastics Value Chain.

Hong Kong – September 18, 2026 -- ViaBTC, a global multi-cryptocurrency mining pool, has partnered with Mempool to expand access to Bitcoin transaction acceleration services, deploying its mining pool infrastructure to help unconfirmed BTC transactions get processed faster.

ViaBTC has accelerated more than 800,000 BTC transactions since 2016

Bitcoin transactions can stall for extended periods when network congestion rises or fees are set too low. ViaBTC became one of the first providers to launch a Bitcoin transaction accelerator in 2016, offering both free and paid options, and has refined the technology since. As of September 16, 2026, the company has processed acceleration requests for over 800,000 BTC transactions.

Hamilton, Bermuda – September 18, 2026 -- Borr Drilling Limited (NYSE: BORR) (OSE: BORR) confirmed that its jack-up rig Odin began earning dayrate revenue offshore Texas on September 11, 2026, following mobilization in mid-August and completed acceptance testing.

Odin starts dayrate operations offshore Texas after August mobilization

The rig's contract activation marks the completion of a testing phase that followed its move to the U.S. Gulf Coast, giving Borr an active revenue-generating asset in the Americas region.

Idun wins three-well Vietnam campaign lasting an estimated 130 days

An undisclosed operator awarded the Idun a three-well drilling campaign in Vietnam, scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 as a direct continuation of the rig's current contract, extending its Southeast Asia workload without a gap in deployment.

Bellevue, Wash. – September 18, 2026 -- Travel Answers has launched BOOK26, a limited-time incentive paying Travel Advisors up to $250 in gift cards per qualifying new booking made by October 31, 2026, for travel commencing by December 31, 2026.

Advisors earn tiered rewards based on booking value

Under BOOK26, Advisors can earn $50, $100 or $250 per qualifying booking, with payouts scaled to the value of the reservation. The tour operator reports more than one-third of current inquiries already concern 2026 travel, driven by demand for last-minute getaways, holiday trips and cruise extensions.

Stony Brook – September 18, 2026 -- ZBeats Inc. has secured U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance (K261580) for its ZBPro Diagnostic v2.0 software, extending its independent ECG analysis platform to cover recordings ranging from one minute to 14 days.

FDA clearance broadens device compatibility to Holter monitors and wearable patches

The updated clearance allows ZBPro to process data from a wider range of recording technologies, including Holter configurations and wearable patch devices, positioning the software as a device-agnostic layer for cardiac diagnostics providers.

Washington – September 18, 2026 -- The Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (IPA) has named 21 leaders as recipients of its 2026 IPA Awards, recognizing executives from firms including Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Blackstone for their contributions to the alternative investments sector.

IPA honors 21 executives across five award categories at Atlanta conference

The awards were presented during IPAVision in Atlanta before more than 550 professionals representing asset management, wealth management and the broader alternatives ecosystem. Honorees were selected across five categories: Outstanding Service, Policy Leadership, Rising Voice, Emerging Champion and Lifetime Achievement.

Washington – September 18, 2026 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury has moved forward with fiscal year 2025 and 2026 awards across multiple Community Development Financial Institutions Fund programs, ending more than a year of advocacy by the CDFI industry for the release of the funds.

Opportunity Finance Network credits bipartisan pressure for the award release

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), which represents nearly 500 CDFI members, said the announcement followed sustained lobbying by OFN, the broader CDFI sector, industry partners, and congressional champions from both parties. Harold Pettigrew, President and CEO of OFN, said CDFIs form part of America's economic and financial infrastructure, financing small businesses, affordable housing, and community facilities nationwide. "The CDFI Fund has earned broad bipartisan support because it produces measurable economic results in rural, urban, and Native communities alike," Pettigrew said.

San Antonio – September 18, 2026 -- Frost & Sullivan has named Singtel its 2026 APAC Company of the Year in the 5G enterprise industry, citing the operator's enterprise connectivity strategy, innovation pipeline, and measurable customer impact across the region.

Frost & Sullivan benchmarks Singtel on strategy effectiveness and execution

The research firm's evaluation process scored Singtel across two core dimensions -- strategy effectiveness and strategy execution -- with the company excelling in both categories. Mei Lee Quah, Senior Director of ICT Research at Frost & Sullivan, said Singtel is demonstrating how 5G infrastructure can evolve beyond connectivity into an agile, secure, and financially optimized enterprise utility.

Mountain View, Calif. – September 18, 2026 -- NewsBreak has appointed Nicolas Zylberstein as its first Chief Business Officer, tasking him with commercial growth across the core NewsBreak platform and two new AI ventures, Nearby AI and NDot AI.

NewsBreak creates first-ever Chief Business Officer role to scale two AI businesses

The newly created position places Zylberstein over strategic growth for NewsBreak's flagship local news and life platform, which serves more than 40 million monthly active users across the U.S. He will also oversee commercialization of Nearby AI, an agentic local intent marketplace connecting consumers to local businesses, and NDot AI, a B2B media technology platform offering publishers audience growth, personalization, engagement and monetization tools.

Airport City, Israel – September 18, 2026 -- MySize, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYSZ) has signed definitive agreements to sell 1,308,901 shares of common stock, or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof, at $1.91 per share, generating expected gross proceeds of approximately $2.5 million.

Private placement priced at-the-market carries dual warrant coverage

Alongside the common stock, MySize will issue unregistered Series C warrants for up to 1,308,901 shares and Series D warrants for up to 1,308,901 shares, both exercisable immediately at $1.66 per share. The Series C warrants run for five years from the effective date of the company's forthcoming resale registration statement, while the Series D warrants expire after 18 months from that same trigger date.

Seoul – September 18, 2026 -- Hanwha Power has secured Approval in Principle (AiP) from the American Bureau of Shipping for a 22,000-cubic-meter LNG bunkering vessel concept design, the company announced on September 15 at GASTECH 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Approval completes Hanwha Power's bunkering vessel lineup from 7,500 to 22,000 CBM

The certification rounds out a full range of medium- and large-scale LNG bunkering vessels for Hanwha Power, positioning the company across multiple vessel size classes for shipowners transitioning to alternative marine fuels.

New York – September 18, 2026 -- The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has named six winners of the 2026 ACLS Open Access Book Prizes and Arcadia Open Access Publishing Awards, distributing a combined $300,000 across humanities disciplines.

Six titles split $50,000 prizes each across authors and publishers

Each winning author receives a $20,000 cash award, while the corresponding publisher receives a $30,000 grant to fund immediate open access publication of at least two new books. Winners span Anthropology, Environmental Humanities, History, Literary/Media Studies, Multimodal scholarship, and Political Science categories, selected from shortlists of five finalists per category by a judging panel.

Hartford, Conn. – September 18, 2026 -- LAZ Parking, North America's largest privately owned parking and mobility company, unveiled a growth strategy dubbed "LAZ 3.0" that will add more than 1,000 jobs across North America within a year and expand its Hartford headquarters to house over 100 additional staff.

Tony DiPaolo and John Svendblad become Co-CEOs effective January 1, 2027

DiPaolo, who joined LAZ in 2005 and currently serves as President of the Midwest, and Svendblad, who joined in 2008 and leads the West Coast, will jointly assume the chief executive role. Combined, the two bring more than four decades of internal leadership experience at the company.

San Francisco – September 18, 2026 -- Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) has granted incoming President and Chief Executive Officer Marc Whitten inducement equity awards worth approximately $10 million in time-based restricted stock, plus a performance package that vests only if Dolby's share price climbs as high as $175.

Dolby ties CEO pay to five escalating stock-price hurdles

The compensation package, disclosed under Dolby's newly adopted 2026 Inducement Stock Plan, splits into two components. The first is a time-based award of 160,256 restricted stock units, valued at roughly $10 million using the average closing price of Dolby's Class A shares over the 30 trading days preceding the grant date. Those units vest semi-annually over two years, contingent on Whitten remaining employed at Dolby through each vesting date.