Finance & Investment

London and Singapore – October 08, 2026 -- CME Group posted international average daily volume (ADV) of 9 million contracts in the third quarter of 2026, up 22% from a year earlier, as geopolitical volatility drove risk-management demand across global markets.

Energy and agricultural contracts lead international surge

Growth outside the United States was driven largely by Energy products, up 40%, Agricultural products, up 28%, and Equity Index products, up 24%. Julie Winkler, Chief Commercial Officer at CME Group, said geopolitical issues fueled uncertainty and stoked inflation globally during the quarter, pushing customers worldwide toward the exchange to hedge risk.

Hong Kong – – October 08, 2026 -- OSL Group has been engaged by digital asset technology firm 2WA to power the on-chain tokenization of PrimePlus SPC - USDGO Plus SP, the first market-neutral fund built on the USDGO stablecoin. As of October 7, the fund had returned 16.67% since inception, with a 17.05% annualized return over the trailing 30 days before fees.

OSL takes on custody, distribution and tokenization of the fund's units

Under the arrangement, OSL (HKEX:863) tokenizes the fund on-chain and serves as the licensed platform for custody and distribution of its tokenized units. USDGO, the underlying asset of the fund, is also held in custody with OSL. Eligible professional investors in Hong Kong can subscribe to and redeem from the fund directly through the OSL HK app, the company's locally licensed digital asset trading platform.

New York – October 08, 2026 -- Gen Z collectors spent more than twice as much on fine art in 2025 and the first half of 2026 than any older generation, according to the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026, conducted by Arts Economics with responses from 3,100 high-net-worth individuals across 10 markets including the US, UK, Mainland China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Australia and Singapore.

Gen Z buyers now dominate the top end of the art market

Nearly half of all collectors who purchased artworks priced above USD 1 million in 2026 were from Gen Z, the survey found. The generation also outspent peers across virtually every collecting category, from fine art to broader collectibles.

New York – October 07, 2026 -- Orca and Loopscale have merged into a single entity called Formation, combining trading, credit and vault infrastructure to finance AI, robotics and defense companies that fall outside traditional capital market structures.

Formation targets a $3 trillion AI infrastructure financing gap

Apollo estimates nearly $3 trillion will be needed for AI infrastructure alone through 2028, capital that many frontier companies struggle to access because fixed underwriting, legal, servicing and distribution costs favor large, standardized deals. Formation says it will cut the cost and complexity of structuring, distributing and financing these assets by unifying origination, vault strategies and distribution on top of the existing Orca and Loopscale protocols.

New York – October 07, 2026 -- Arch Lending Co-Founder and CRO Himanshu Sahay used three separate corporate Bitcoin events in September to press institutional holders on a single question: when liquidity is needed, should they sell Bitcoin or borrow against it.

Sahay lists four questions borrowers must ask before signing a term sheet

At the invite-only Bitcoin Corporate Day in London on September 22, Sahay told corporates, funds and financial institutions to demand answers on four points before accepting a Bitcoin-backed loan: who holds the collateral keys, whether the collateral can be rehypothecated or reused, what specifically triggers a liquidation and whether it is partial or total, and what happens to the Bitcoin if the lender fails. The panel reviewed how institutional Bitcoin-backed credit mechanics have shifted since 2022.

LONDON – October 07, 2026 -- DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) has grown Assure Platform adoption to more than 275 customers as it rolls out new AI-enabled tools and London Market investments aimed at modernizing insurer operations without disrupting legacy systems.

DXC adds 18 Smart App customers in one year, reaching 450 insurers

Since launching Assure Smart Apps a year ago, DXC has signed 18 new Smart App customers supporting more than 450 insurers. The AI-enabled tools target underwriting, claims, broking, distribution and operations, letting insurers start with a single business priority and scale capabilities over time.

Bethesda – – October 07, 2026 -- AGNC Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC) has declared a cash dividend of $0.12 per share of common stock for October 2026, its Board of Directors confirmed.

Dividend payment set for November 10, 2026

Stockholders of record as of October 30, 2026 will receive the payout on November 10, 2026, continuing the mortgage REIT's monthly distribution schedule.

AGNC has distributed over $16 billion in dividends since 2008 founding

The Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment trust invests on a leveraged basis in Agency residential mortgage-backed securities, which carry credit-loss guarantees from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Ginnie Mae. The company finances these assets primarily through repurchase agreements and applies dynamic risk management strategies to manage interest rate exposure.

New York – October 07, 2026 -- Agentiq Sports, Inc. has closed a $4 million funding round led by Silicon Valley venture firm defy.vc and a group led by the owner of two major European football clubs, the fintech startup announced, aiming to launch a platform that lets fans indirectly invest in professional athletes' careers.

Singapore – October 07, 2026 -- Babylon Labs and HashKey Cloud announced an integration of Babylon's Trustless Bitcoin Vaults (TBV), enabling native Bitcoin-backed borrowing and yield services for institutional clients without wrapping, bridging, or centralized intermediaries.

TBV connects native Bitcoin to Ethereum lending liquidity via Aave v4

The integration allows Bitcoin holders to use native Bitcoin as collateral for borrowing through Aave v4, giving access to stablecoins and other supported assets while retaining title to the underlying asset. HashKey clients will be able to borrow against native Bitcoin and deploy the proceeds into yield strategies.

Vancouver – October 06, 2026 -- Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will release its third-quarter 2026 financial results on Thursday, November 5, 2026, after market close.

Conference call set for November 6 to discuss quarterly figures

The streaming company will host a conference call the following day, Friday, November 6, 2026, at 11:00 am ET (9:00 am PT) to review the results with investors and analysts. Participants can join via a toll-free dial-in at 1-800-715-9871 or 1-647-932-3411, using conference call ID 7288291#, or through a live webcast.