Finance, Banking & Insurance

NEW YORK – October 29, 2026 -- Talos, the institutional technology and data provider for digital asset trading and portfolio management, has hired Kelly Ye as Head of Research, putting a dedicated leader over a research program that follows liquidity, market structure and onchain finance.

Ye brings nearly two decades of finance experience, including 14 years in traditional markets

Ye will be based in New York. She held investment leadership roles in digital assets at Avenir Group and Decentral Park Capital. She also held research and product leadership roles at Fidelity Digital Asset Management and CoinDesk Indices. Most recently, she was building Coinbridge, a company focused on bridging the capital gap for tokenized real-world assets.

Ye holds a bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics from Peking University and a master's degree in Operations Research from MIT. She is a CFA charterholder.

PROVIDENCE – October 29, 2026 -- Wealthbox launched Wealthbox Vault, an add-on that gives advisory firms unlimited file storage, full-content search, retained file versions and a Compliance Monitor role with a complete audit log of file activity. Separately, Wealthbox AI can now read documents stored in the CRM on every Wealthbox plan.

Vault blocks file deletion, including by firm administrators

Files stored in Vault cannot be deleted by any user. Archiving removes a file from active view but preserves the record. When a new version is uploaded, every previous version is retained.

Firms can export all Vault files, or a filtered set, at any time as a .zip that preserves folder structure and includes a CSV manifest.

DELRAY BEACH – October 29, 2026 -- The global risk analytics market will grow from USD 35.68 billion in 2026 to USD 54.69 billion by 2031, a CAGR of 8.9%, according to MarketsandMarkets. The market stood at USD 31.61 billion in 2025.

Software holds 37.2% of 2026 spending, with GRC platforms leading

Software is estimated to account for 37.2% of the market in 2026. Within software, governance, risk and compliance (GRC) platforms are expected to hold the largest share through 2031. The report attributes this to increasingly complex, sector-specific regulation. Companies use GRC tools to automate compliance monitoring, maintain audit readiness and detect policy breaches in real time, as regulatory fines and reputational damage raise costs.

New York – October 29, 2026 -- Ibis, an onchain credit platform, has emerged from stealth with a $250 million credit facility from FalconX, giving eligible crypto trading firms institutional credit capacity from launch. The company also closed its pre-seed round, led by FalconX alongside investors and executives from digital assets, institutional credit, capital markets and financial infrastructure.

FalconX facility anchors Ibis launch for crypto trading firms

Ibis originates, tokenizes, risk-manages and services structured credit facilities. It connects institutional capital providers with companies seeking new sources of scalable credit. The company says traditional lending infrastructure is often not designed for emerging industries with complex risk profiles and rapidly evolving collateral.

FORT LAUDERDALE – October 29, 2026 -- iBusiness Funding has integrated its digital SBA financing capabilities into the Amazon seller experience, connecting eligible sellers with its network of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)-approved lenders. The announcement follows Amazon's recent introduction of the offering to its seller community.

AI workflows to handle the SBA loan process

Three proprietary tools, LenderAI, Lendsey AI-powered workflows and Platform0, anchor the program. According to iBusiness Funding, they cover document collection, application processing, compliance review, underwriting workflows and borrower communication.

The company says the automation is meant to speed up the seller experience while keeping the compliance and credit standards required by the SBA and participating lenders.

New York – October 29, 2026 -- Sava, a New York-based trust company, emerged from stealth with $10 million in seed funding led by Gradient Ventures. It is targeting the $6.5+ trillion U.S. trust and estate industry with AI agents orchestrated by human trust officers.

Y Combinator, SV Angel and Instacart's Max Mullen join Gradient in Sava's round

Other participants include Orange Collective and SurgePoint Capital. Strategic operators Tomer London, co-founder of Gusto, and Eleonora Sharef, former Head of Private Wealth at McKinsey, also joined the round.

Sava was founded by Nimit Maru, who founded Fullstack Academy (acquired in 2019) and Bloomspot (acquired in 2012 by JPMorgan Chase Bank), and by Rush Sadiwala, a repeat founder of VC-backed startups. Maru serves as CEO.

WINDSOR, Conn. – October 29, 2026 -- One in eight U.S. workers whose health insurance premiums rose this year responded by cutting retirement contributions, according to new LIMRA research released as open enrollment begins.

77% of insured workers faced higher premiums in 2026

LIMRA's 2026 Benefits and Employee Attitude Tracker (BEAT) Study found that 77% of employees with workplace medical coverage saw premiums increase this year. For 17%, the increase exceeded 10%. About half of those affected changed their spending or benefits choices:

Mainz – October 29, 2026 -- Credit insurer Coface downgraded the country risk ratings of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and expects the Middle East conflict alone to cut global growth by a combined 0.5 percentage points in 2026 and 2027. The rating changes, covering seven economies in total, come as escalating geopolitical tensions push up energy, commodity and financing costs.

Oil up more than 50%, gas prices nearly double

Renewed fighting between Iran and the United States and further escalation between Russia and Ukraine have strained global supply chains. Energy prices have climbed sharply despite a clear recovery in oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz and the rerouting of trade flows. Coface economist Markus Kuger said oil has risen by more than 50 percent, natural gas prices have almost doubled and industrial metals remain expensive.

London – October 29, 2026 -- Private equity firm Covalent Equity Partners has made a growth investment in AML Analytics (AMLA), a financial crime defense testing provider used by more than 50 supervisory authorities and over 1,450 financial institutions in nearly 60 countries. The announcement did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Capital targets engineering roadmap and global footprint

Covalent's capital and operational partnership will fund AMLA's engineering roadmap, introduce next-generation testing engines and expand the company's global footprint. Founder and Group CEO Justin Holder will continue to lead the business alongside the existing leadership team.

DALLAS – October 29, 2026 -- Kimberly-Clark Corporation extended the expiration of its exchange offers for any and all outstanding Kenvue Inc. notes, which cover up to $7 billion of new Kimberly-Clark notes, from 5:00 p.m. New York City time on October 29, 2026 to 5:00 p.m. on November 2, 2026.

All other terms of the exchange offers remain unchanged. Kimberly-Clark may extend the deadline further.

Exchange offers depend on the Kenvue acquisition closing

The offers are conditioned on completion of Kimberly-Clark's pending acquisition of Kenvue. Kimberly-Clark cannot waive that condition, though it may waive certain other conditions. Settlement is expected promptly after the expiration date.