San Diego – October 19, 2026 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Protego Biopharma's Investigational New Drug application for PROT-001, allowing the company to start SHIELD-AL, a global pivotal Phase 2/3 study in newly diagnosed light chain (AL) amyloidosis patients.

PROT-001 is an oral, investigational, first-in-class lambda light chain stabilizer. Protego will test it as an add-on to standard-of-care plasma cell-directed therapy, which reduces light chain production.

SHIELD-AL combines safety confirmation and pivotal efficacy testing in one randomized trial

The study is randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled, and enrolls newly diagnosed patients with lambda AL amyloidosis. Part A is an initial safety and dose confirmation study. Part B is the pivotal safety and efficacy study.

LONDON – October 19, 2026 -- Strategic advisory firm Hakluyt has appointed Julia Gillard, Australia's prime minister from 2010 to 2013 and current chair of Wellcome, to its international advisory board, effective immediately.

Gillard brings six years at the top of Australian government

Gillard served as deputy prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and then as prime minister until 2013, the first woman to hold the post. She was elected to the Australian House of Representatives in 1998. Earlier, she became a partner at the law firm Slater & Gordon and served as chief of staff to the premier of Victoria.

Chicago – October 19, 2026 -- CME Group plans to launch futures and options on four European dairy products before the end of 2026, extending a dairy franchise that hit an all-time daily open interest record of 461,493 contracts on September 29.

The launch is pending all regulatory reviews. The new contracts cover European Skimmed Milk Powder, European Butter, European Whey Powder and European Liquid Milk. CME Group describes the rollout as the first step in a regional expansion that follows an agreement with the European Energy Exchange (EEX) earlier this year.

CME Group's dairy complex averaged 420,922 contracts a day in September

That monthly open interest figure is a record and a 42% increase year over year, according to the company. The exchange is pitching the European contracts as an extension of that momentum.

Guangzhou – October 19, 2026 -- The 2026 Canton Fair Design Award (CF Award) selected 222 products from 174 companies out of 4,218 entries submitted by 2,112 companies, as the 140th Canton Fair opened. The winners are on display in Area D of the Canton Fair Complex.

A domestically developed high-performance sport motorcycle and an intelligent navigation capsule robot gastric endoscopy system received the Best of the Best Award, the competition's highest recognition.

Smart products account for over 30% of winners

AI-powered glasses, intelligent conference terminals and smart healthcare devices extend AI applications across home, office, medical and outdoor environments. Breakthrough entries ranged from an upper limb motor function assistance and enhancement system to exoskeleton robots.

Houston – October 19, 2026 -- Hornbeck Offshore Services (NYSE: HOS) will release its third quarter 2026 financial results on Thursday, November 5, 2026, ahead of a live conference call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern (8:00 a.m. Central).

Hornbeck offers dial-in and webcast access to the November 5 call

The company will host the call for investors and analysts, who can join by telephone or by webcast. Results will be published before the call begins.

Telephone replay stays available through November 19, 2026

Investors who miss the live session can access a telephonic replay until November 19, 2026. A webcast archive will remain available for 60 days after the call through the Investors section of the company's website.

Potter Adams, Executive Vice President and CFO, is the company contact for the announcement. Dennard Lascar Investor Relations, represented by Ken Dennard and Alex Harp, handles investor relations.

Perth – October 19, 2026 -- Hot Chili (ASX: HCH, TSXV: HCH, OTCQX: HHLKF) has confirmed a second porphyry centre, La Verde South, after its first step-out hole returned 148 m grading 0.44% copper equivalent (CuEq) at the La Verde copper-gold discovery in Chile. The company says the find near-doubles the growth potential of La Verde, which sits 30 km south of the planned central processing hub for its Costa Fuego project.

Step-out hole DKP084 intersects 148 m at 0.44% CuEq beneath shallow gravel

Reverse circulation hole DKP084 was collared about 250 m south of La Verde's +0.4% copper footprint, which more than 40,000 m of drilling has defined. It returned 148 m at 0.44% CuEq (0.39% Cu, 0.07 g/t Au) from 36 m. That includes 44 m at 0.56% CuEq (0.50% Cu, 0.06 g/t Au) from 138 m.

Jupiter, Florida – October 19, 2026 -- Bloomberg Television will broadcast a Discoveries Today episode hosted by Daymond John on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. ET, covering four segments: disability support services, AI security governance, automotive retail marketing and behavioral healthcare.

AI governance segment focuses on zero-trust security for critical infrastructure

The security segment addresses zero-trust architecture, operational technology protection, and verifying AI identities, permissions and actions before they can affect sensitive systems. It covers how AI governance is being designed for critical infrastructure and regulated environments. It also covers how AI governance software is being aligned with federal security requirements and frameworks. The segment stresses accountability and verifiable decision-making as ways for organizations to keep control over increasingly autonomous technologies.

Boston – October 19, 2026 -- PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) will publish its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter and full-year results on Wednesday, November 4, after the U.S. stock market closes, but the software maker has stopped earnings calls and guidance because of its pending acquisition by Schneider Electric.

PTC suspends earnings calls and withdraws guidance

PTC is suspending quarterly earnings conference calls. It also no longer provides quarterly or annual guidance. Investors will get no management commentary or forward-looking targets alongside the November 4 figures.

The company ties both changes directly to the pending transaction.

Schneider Electric agreement dates to October 5

PTC announced on October 5, 2026 that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Schneider Electric. The source material gives no purchase price, closing timeline or regulatory conditions for the deal.

New York – October 19, 2026 -- U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell about 17 basis points last week while the Nasdaq 100 dropped 5.5%, the largest same-week declines in both since the April 2025 tariff turmoil, Bloomberg reported. The move caught investors who had bet heavily on a deeper bond slump after 10-year yields climbed over seven months to their highest levels in more than two decades.

AI stock sell-off restores Treasuries' haven role

The trigger was a sell-off in AI-linked technology shares. Treasuries showed early signs of behaving as a safe haven again, a role they have failed to play for much of the past few years, partly because oil-driven sell-offs can push stocks and bonds lower together. Commodity trading advisers, the trend-following funds that had built bearish Treasury futures positions at what Bloomberg called 'extremely short' levels, exited those bets last week and added fuel to the rally.

Delray Beach – October 19, 2026 -- The global electric vehicle market will grow from USD 794.59 billion in 2026 to USD 1,312.73 billion in 2035, a 5.7% CAGR, according to MarketsandMarkets. The forecast rests on falling battery costs, faster charging and rising fuel prices that improve EV running economics.

EVs reached one in four new cars sold in 2025

More than 20 million electric cars were sold worldwide in 2025, up 20% year on year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That equals 25% of new car sales. The IEA projects the share will reach 29% in 2026, driven by a strong second quarter.

Fuel prices are adding to demand. The IEA estimates that 2026 oil price increases raised annual fuel savings from driving an EV in the European Union by 35% compared with 2025.