Events

Iselin, N.J. – September 28, 2026 -- World Insurance Associates LLC, a Top 50 U.S. insurance brokerage, has acquired the business of American Insurance Agency of Hingham, Massachusetts, in a deal closed June 1, 2026. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

World expands its footprint in the greater Boston market

American Insurance, founded in 1991, has built specialized expertise across construction, manufacturing, hospitality, restaurants, real estate, auto services, energy, entertainment and amusement, special events, and skating and sports facilities. The agency's addition strengthens World's presence in the greater Boston area, according to Rich Eknoian, Executive Chairman and Founder of World.

Oakland, Calif. – September 28, 2026 -- The Clorox Company has officially launched Clorox Purell ProCare, a new business-to-business health and hygiene platform formed by merging CloroxPro with GOJO, the maker of Purell, following Clorox's acquisition of GOJO earlier in 2026.

Clorox Purell ProCare unifies sales and distribution under one network

The new entity operates a unified sales and service organization alongside a network of distributors, giving professional and healthcare customers access to a combined portfolio spanning Clorox, Purell, Pine-Sol and Glad brands. The business is headquartered in Akron, Ohio, with additional offices in Pleasanton, California, and Toronto, Ontario, plus operations in Ashland, Cuyahoga Falls and Wooster, Ohio, and Alpharetta, Georgia.

Huizhou – September 28, 2026 -- TCL inaugurated its Industrial Museum in Huizhou, China, marking the company's 45th anniversary on the site where its predecessor, TTK, first began operations in 1981.

Museum spans 23,000 square meters with 3,000 curated artifacts

The facility includes more than 9,000 square meters of exhibition space across six halls and a central atrium. Exhibits include a 1920s Nipkow mechanical scanning disk, China's first television set, China's first commercial computer, and the world's first mass-produced printed OLED 4K display, developed by TCL CSOT in 2024. The television gallery holds over 100 vintage TV sets from around the world.

Las Vegas – September 28, 2026 -- Schneider Electric has unveiled the world's first fully Software-Defined Medium Voltage (MV) switchgear, now live in an Equinix colocation data center, promising up to 3x faster ordering and manufacturing and up to 2x faster commissioning than conventional engineered-to-order systems.

The announcement, made at YOTTA 2026 in Las Vegas (September 28-30), targets the surging power demands of AI data centers, where operators need electrical infrastructure that can scale as fast as compute deployments.

Denver – – September 28, 2026 -- EverPeak Insurance used National Manufacturing Week to spotlight its workers' compensation coverage for light manufacturers and machine shops across the United States.

EverPeak ties its coverage model to Pinnacol Assurance's century of underwriting experience

The Denver-based insurer said its workers' comp offering draws on more than 100 years of underwriting, claims, and risk management experience from Pinnacol Assurance. EverPeak positions itself as a provider for businesses it describes as carrying some of the toughest operational risks, including precision manufacturing and machine shop operations.

Delray Beach, Fla. – September 28, 2026 -- The global smart shopping cart market is projected to grow from $0.59 billion in 2026 to $1.65 billion by 2032, a compound annual growth rate of 18.7%, according to new data from MarketsandMarkets. The market stood at $0.33 billion in 2025, reflecting near-doubling growth in a single year as retailers accelerate deployment of AI-enabled carts to automate checkout and deepen in-store digital engagement.

Los Angeles – September 28, 2026 -- Fewer than 15% of Los Angeles properties covered by the city's mandatory non-ductile concrete retrofit program had submitted retrofit plans more than a decade after the ordinance took effect, according to research published in Earthquake Spectra in July 2026.

Colombia's $13.28 Billion Earthquake Loss Underscores Retrofit Stakes

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia in August 2026, damaging more than 225,000 structures and causing an estimated $13.28 billion in direct physical damage, according to a United Nations Development Programme assessment. The scale of destruction has renewed scrutiny of Los Angeles buildings that share similar structural vulnerabilities.

Middletown – September 28, 2026 -- Makera is enabling small businesses and independent entrepreneurs to move precision CNC manufacturing from outsourced suppliers into their own workshops with its Carvera Air desktop machine, cutting costs and shortening production cycles for niche manufacturers.

Knifemaker adds complex components without losing handcrafted quality

Jesse Jarosz, founder of Jarosz Knives, integrated Carvera Air into his workflow to produce precision handle scales, backspacers and custom inlays that traditional manual methods could not efficiently achieve. The desktop CNC allowed his small-batch knife business to scale design complexity while preserving craftsmanship. "CNC gave me an opportunity to effectively add greater complexity to my knives in a way that was actually practical from a business standpoint," Jarosz said.

New York – September 28, 2026 -- Boldyn Networks has signed 20 new and expanded agreements with U.S. colleges and universities to modernize campus connectivity and IT infrastructure, the company announced.

Boldyn expands ResNet and Managed Campus services across 20 institutions

The agreements are anchored by Boldyn's residential network services (ResNet) and include expanded Managed Campus network services, managed IT services, network monitoring and specialized professional services such as executive advisory, cloud assessments and security assessments.

The institutions range from community colleges and private universities to large public universities, with each engagement scoped to the specific technology needs of the campus.

Los Angeles – – September 28, 2026 -- An independent fairness assessment by FairPlay found no statistically significant disparities between protected class and non-protected class consumers evaluated using Prism Data's CashScore, a cash flow underwriting score built on real-time deposit transaction data.

CashScore shows no proxy risk for protected status

FairPlay's data study tested whether CashScore correlates with protected status in ways that could function as a proxy for discrimination. The assessment found no such correlation.

Underwriting outcomes match across consumer groups on a risk-adjusted basis

Protected class and non-protected class consumers evaluated using CashScore showed no statistically significant differences in underwriting outcomes once adjusted for risk. Protected class consumers were also equally likely as non-protected class consumers to have sufficient transaction data to generate a CashScore.

New York and London – September 28, 2026 -- The Visualize Group has completed its acquisition of eCOGRA, combining the gaming compliance provider with BMM Testlabs to create a testing, inspection, certification, and compliance (TICC) platform holding licenses or accreditations in more than 800 jurisdictions worldwide.

The deal, first announced June 30, 2026, closed after receiving customary regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Combined platform covers nearly every regulated gaming jurisdiction globally

The merger positions the combined entity to support gaming suppliers entering newly regulated markets immediately, according to Visualize. eCOGRA joins BMM Testlabs, which Visualize acquired earlier in 2026, as the private investment firm builds out its regulated-gaming services portfolio.

Las Vegas – September 28, 2026 -- IGT will unveil a new brand identity at the 2026 Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, running Sept. 28 through Oct. 1, marking a formal repositioning of the gaming technology provider following its combination with Everi Holdings.

IGT ties new identity to four operational pillars for casino operators

The rebrand centers on integrated solutions across the casino floor, in-demand game content, applied industry expertise, and a stated commitment to customer growth outcomes. IGT describes the identity as built on being 'fluid, frictionless and magnetic,' departing from its previous corporate visual style.

New York – September 28, 2026 -- Women trying to conceive spend a median of $543 and track three hormone cycles out of pocket before fertility insurance coverage typically begins, according to a real-world analysis released by Oova and Flora Fertility.

Analysis tracks 49 users who conceived using at-home hormone monitoring

The study examined data from 49 Oova users spanning 2021 to 2026 who subsequently reported a pregnancy. Users tracked a median of four hormone cycles overall, with some spending more than $2,000 across multiple years before conceiving.

Median conception journey runs three cycles, with 73% succeeding within six

Among the group, the median time to conception was three tracked cycles, and 73% conceived within six cycles. The average monitoring spend of roughly $543 compares with a published average of $1,000 for a fertility diagnostic workup and $38,000 for a single IVF cycle.

Jacksonville, Fla. – September 28, 2026 -- The U.S. independent workforce reached a record 74.9 million people in 2026, driven by a 114% surge in full-time independent professionals since 2020, according to the 16th annual State of Independence study released by MBO Partners by Beeline.

Full-time independents now account for 22% of all full-time U.S. workers

That share is nearly double the level recorded in 2019, marking a structural shift from supplemental gig work toward independence as a primary career path. Among independent professionals surveyed, 78% plan to remain independent or scale a larger business, with nearly six in 10 intending to continue working independently and one in five aiming to grow their operations.

Chicago – September 28, 2026 -- GTCR has closed its acquisition of Tactacam, a cellular-connected camera provider serving more than one million subscribers, buying the company from Bertram Capital and its founders in a deal with undisclosed terms.

Founders retain ownership as CEO stays on to lead the business

Jeff Peel, Tactacam's CEO and co-founder, will continue leading the Company and retain significant ownership alongside co-founder Ben Thorud. Peel said the partnership with GTCR will support continued investment in the Reveal and Defend product lines while preserving the company's customer-focused approach.

Coral Springs, Fla. – September 28, 2026 -- Zulu Pods, Inc. (ZPI) has completed altitude testing of its patented ZPOD lubrication system at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), recording bearing temperatures comparable to or lower than legacy systems on a 200 lbf class turbojet engine.

AFRL testing confirms no bearing degradation across mission-relevant flight conditions

ZPI's engineering team ran multiple test cycles on an engine OEM's turbojet, with post-test inspections by the OEM confirming no signs of bearing wear or concern. The milestone marks the first time the ZPOD has been validated under representative altitude conditions at a government facility, and the second OEM engine platform to successfully integrate the system following earlier ground testing.

Lakewood, Calif. – September 28, 2026 -- The City Councils of Artesia, Burbank and Lakewood have voted to approve Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) home improvement financing through Home Run Financing (HRF), bringing the total number of participating California jurisdictions to more than 360.

Three Los Angeles County cities join 39 others already offering HRF's PACE program

Artesia, Burbank and Lakewood follow Hawthorne, Calabasas and Lawndale, which approved the program last fall, expanding PACE access across Los Angeles County. Los Angeles was an early adopter of the financing model.

Turku, Finland – September 28, 2026 -- Teleste has introduced a new receiver for its Luminato 4X4 platform that converts live over-the-top (OTT) streams into formats compatible with conventional cable and IPTV distribution systems, becoming available in Q4 2026.

Receiver converts OTT streams for sites unable to use them directly

The adaptive bitrate (ABR) receiver supports live MPEG-DASH streams and can decrypt content protected by Widevine DRM. It converts these OTT services into MPEG transport streams for local IP multicast or QAM distribution, with IP and QAM outputs able to run simultaneously at the same installation.

Shanghai – – September 28, 2026 -- MOYOM Biotech, a Chinese developer of regenerative aesthetic biomaterials, has secured a new financing round from the Cathay Consumer Co-Creation Fund, managed by Cathay Capital, to fund international expansion of its flagship CaHA-based implant brand Aphranel®.

Cathay Capital Fund Backed by L'Oréal Targets Beauty and Skin Science Innovation

The investment vehicle was jointly established by Cathay Capital, L'Oréal and the Shanghai Jing'an District Government. Cathay Capital's broader portfolio includes Moonshot AI (Kimi), autonomous driving firm Momenta, U.S. fintech Chime, digital asset platform Ledger, delivery platform Glovo and AI biotech company Owkin.

London – September 28, 2026 -- TotalEnergies has accepted an offer for a 950,000-barrel Nigerian Qua Iboe crude cargo at a premium of $4.10 per barrel to Dated Brent, marking the first west African (WAF) crude transaction executed on the Argus Open Markets (AOM) platform. The deal carries an estimated value of more than $115mn.

First WAF crude deal completes on Argus screen-based platform

The transaction originated on the WAF crude AOM stack, a venue operated by price-reporting agency Argus Media that lets registered participants post bids and offers and initiate trades within a visible, auditable framework. The trade builds on rising participation from producers, traders and refiners who have used the platform to test liquidity and show value ahead of this first completed deal.