News 4 March 2026

Etihad Orders 10 Boeing Jets, Raising Talk of Hard-to-Get 787 Slots
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Stock Market Today: Live Updates 16.07.2026

LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 16, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 16, 2026, 9:33 PM EDT ASX Small Caps Jump on Exploration News, Strategic Funding Moves July 16, 2026, 9:28 PM EDT. Arrow Minerals (ASX:AMD) doubled after landing a three-year exploration permit for its Guinea bauxite project. Tartana Minerals (ASX:TAT) surged 40% on a $5.18 million strategic placement at a 165% premium to fuel exploration plans. Tlou Energy (ASX:TOU) slipped 33% and led declines among small caps. Other moves: Ausgold advanced on permitting, Barkly Rare Earths started a 10,000m drill program, and Frontier Energy locked in financing for a $280 million
July 16, 2026
AES Corporation buyout: BlackRock’s GIP and EQT seal $33.4 billion take-private deal
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AES Corporation buyout: BlackRock’s GIP and EQT seal $33.4 billion take-private deal

AES Corporation announced that BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, teaming up with Sweden’s EQT, has agreed to buy the U.S. power company for $15 a share in cash—a deal that puts AES’s enterprise value around $33.4 billion, debt included. “Maximizes value for existing stockholders,” CEO Andrés Gluski said. The buyer consortium targets closing by late 2026 or early 2027. U.S. power deal activity is heating up, with the surge in data center and AI demand straining the grid and pushing up electricity consumption. Blackstone is paying $11.5 billion for TXNM Energy, while Constellation Energy has struck a $16.4 billion agreement to acquire Calpine, according to Reuters, which links those moves to the same pressure. “AES now has improved access to capital
March 4, 2026
Nio orders hit 2026 high after March promos, Deutsche Bank says — but wait times shrink
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Nio orders hit 2026 high after March promos, Deutsche Bank says — but wait times shrink

Nio’s latest orders climbed to about 3,500 units in early March, the most in any week so far this year, Deutsche Bank analyst Wang Bin’s team wrote Wednesday, citing dealer checks. Notably, Nio is leaning harder into promotions as it tries to boost demand in China’s crowded EV market—a space now marked by regular price wars. What investors want now is evidence that these deals are actually drawing committed buyers, not just driving up foot traffic in showrooms.
March 4, 2026
MARA Holdings stock slides as SEC filing opens door to selling bitcoin stash
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MARA Holdings stock slides as SEC filing opens door to selling bitcoin stash

MARA Holdings, Inc. shares slipped roughly 8% Wednesday morning. The bitcoin miner said it's expanding its treasury policy, signaling it may start selling some of the bitcoin on its books. This shift is significant. MARA holds a hefty stash of bitcoin, which can serve as both a ready pool of cash and, possibly, a drag on the stock if investors worry about future sales. Right now, miners are scrambling for money to keep expansion plans alive. On top of that, the company is pouring more effort into AI-related data center projects, where spending often outpaces incoming cash.
March 4, 2026
Grab doubles Indonesia Eid bonus budget to Rp110 billion as new payout rule takes hold
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Grab doubles Indonesia Eid bonus budget to Rp110 billion as new payout rule takes hold

Grab Holdings Limited’s Indonesian arm announced it’s boosting its Bonus Hari Raya allowance for app-based drivers, setting the budget for 2026 between 100 billion and 110 billion rupiah—twice what it allocated previously. More than 400,000 drivers with high activity stand to benefit, according to Grab Indonesia chief Neneng Goenadi, who said the initiative is meant to ensure “support that is directly felt” by their partners. Indonesia’s decision hits now, as the country raises the bar for what gig-economy companies owe just before Eid al-Fitr, shifting what used to be a special bonus into a firmer expense. The manpower ministry has issued a circular, local media say, bumping up the minimum BHR to 25% of a driver’s average net income over
March 4, 2026
American Airlines waives fees as Iran conflict keeps Gulf skies shut and hits airline stocks
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American Airlines waives fees as Iran conflict keeps Gulf skies shut and hits airline stocks

American Airlines Group Inc dipped 6 cents, or roughly 0.5%, to $12.46 ahead of the bell on Wednesday. Airline shares have been jolted all week, with Middle East conflict driving fuel prices up. With the U.S. and Israel ramping up airstrikes on Iran, flight disruptions have hit hard across the Gulf. Dubai and other major hubs have either closed or put heavy limits on traffic, jamming up a crucial link for long-haul routes connecting Europe and Asia. Since the strikes started, Flightradar24 tallied roughly 21,300 canceled flights across seven big airports, stranding passengers and sending airlines into a scramble over how to juggle crews and planes. “There are important differences across carriers that will shape the actual impact,” said Karen
March 4, 2026
Nokia taps Google Cloud ‘agentic AI’ as Vodafone, Orange join its Network as Code push
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Nokia taps Google Cloud ‘agentic AI’ as Vodafone, Orange join its Network as Code push

Nokia Oyj announced it's bringing more major telecoms—Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, and Orange—into its Network as Code ecosystem, while also adding Google Cloud’s “agentic AI” to the network APIs. “Giving developers greater choice, flexibility, and security to create innovative new applications,” is the goal, according to Shkumbin Hamiti, a vice president at Nokia. Telecom operators keep searching for profitable 5G uses that go beyond just speedier mobile data. They’re also under the gun to automate their networks, as AI-powered apps drive up traffic and squeeze latency requirements.
March 4, 2026
SoFi’s SoFiUSD stablecoin gets a Mastercard settlement lane — and traders are watching
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SoFi’s SoFiUSD stablecoin gets a Mastercard settlement lane — and traders are watching

SoFi Technologies is deepening its relationship with Mastercard, now introducing SoFiUSD—its U.S. dollar stablecoin—as an added settlement option on Mastercard’s global payments network. So why does this project matter? Settlement marks the point where card payments wrap up—when the money actually shifts between the banks that handled the transaction. A stablecoin, for its part, is a kind of crypto token with a goal: keep its value steady, typically locked to the U.S. dollar.
March 4, 2026
VA Debt Relief Program for Veterans? Here’s Why Credit Card Debt Usually Won’t Be Forgiven
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VA Debt Relief Program for Veterans? Here’s Why Credit Card Debt Usually Won’t Be Forgiven

There’s no broad VA debt relief program covering veterans’ credit cards, personal loans, or private medical debts, CBS News reported Tuesday. For the most part, veterans have to seek assistance elsewhere, as the VA typically only offers relief for debts owed directly to the government, like benefit overpayments. Another point from CBS News: being a veteran doesn’t mean your credit card debt disappears through any federal program. Borrowers making just minimum payments are especially vulnerable, given that average card APRs remain stuck above 21%. High rates can make balances balloon fast.
March 4, 2026
Nvidia’s $4 billion photonics bet: why its Lumentum and Coherent deals matter now
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Nvidia’s $4 billion photonics bet: why its Lumentum and Coherent deals matter now

Nvidia Corp plans to pump $2 billion apiece into photonics suppliers Lumentum and Coherent, betting the move will accelerate connections inside its AI data-center platforms. The news sent Lumentum up roughly 5% and Coherent climbing 9% on Monday. This latest step zeroes in on an issue adjacent to the GPU. Photonics, which relies on light—think lasers and transceivers—to shuttle data more quickly and efficiently than old-school electrical links, comes into play as AI workloads move from training to inference, the routine process of running models to produce outputs.
March 4, 2026
BNAI stock jumps as Brand Engagement Network puts its AI Concierge live at Armenia’s Dvin resort
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BNAI stock jumps as Brand Engagement Network puts its AI Concierge live at Armenia’s Dvin resort

Brand Engagement Network, Inc. shares surged roughly 23% to $52.30 in premarket action Wednesday, lifted by news that it launched a live AI concierge trial for guests at a luxury Armenian resort. The stock, which closed at $42.67 on Tuesday, trades on Nasdaq, according to MarketScreener. For smaller AI vendors, getting their systems actually running in the field is crucial—many spent the past year pushing pilot projects that never turned into real deals. Across hotels and other service sectors, the push is on to respond to guests more quickly without ballooning payroll costs. Buyers now want tools that handle tasks, not just chat.
March 4, 2026
Sea Limited shares slide after Shopee spending jump and cooler 2026 growth target
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Sea Limited shares slide after Shopee spending jump and cooler 2026 growth target

Sea Limited’s shares sank in U.S. trading Tuesday after the Singapore-based company warned of ramped-up spending to shore up its Shopee unit and signaled a deceleration in gross merchandise value—the sum of goods sold on its platform. Operating expenses jumped over 28% to $2.43 billion for the quarter. Marketing outlays spiked at both Shopee and the digital finance business, Monee, Sea reported. This stumble comes at a tricky time for Sea. Lately, investors have started to view the company as a straightforward play on both growth and profit, with Shopee carrying most of the narrative. A spike in costs, though, prompts immediate questions: are those improvements real, or just purchased?
March 4, 2026
Iran war rattles oil, gold and stocks again as Seoul crashes and Wall Street hunts for an off‑ramp
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Iran war rattles oil, gold and stocks again as Seoul crashes and Wall Street hunts for an off‑ramp

Wednesday saw another slide across Asian markets, with South Korea’s KOSPI tumbling 12% and Brent crude holding firm at $83.76 a barrel as traders braced for a drawn-out energy jolt from the Iran conflict. Gold, battered by a 4% drop on Tuesday, clawed back 1.5% to $5,155 an ounce. U.S. futures ticked a bit lower; Europe’s STOXX 600 managed a 0.6% gain. “Asia’s selloff is turning disorderly,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo in Singapore, noting that investors are no longer shrugging off the war as a short-term shock. Energy typically channels geopolitical shocks straight into inflation — and that’s where traders are still pinning their bets on rate cuts. Trump announced he’d told the U.S. International Development
March 4, 2026
Lam Research stock slides after CFO stock sale; Bettinger talks $135 billion chip-tool market
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Lam Research stock slides after CFO stock sale; Bettinger talks $135 billion chip-tool market

Lam Research shares slid about 6% in premarket trading Wednesday after filings revealed CFO Doug Bettinger offloaded 40,329 shares, pulling in around $9.3 million. Chief Legal Officer Ava Harter also unloaded 4,000 shares. Notably, neither Bettinger nor Harter checked the box to indicate these trades were made as part of a Rule 10b5-1 plan. It’s a rough patch for chip-tool makers. Investors are already wary, eyeing whether AI server and high-end memory spending is starting to slow, despite all the bullish talk from chipmakers about building out capacity for years to come.
March 4, 2026
GitLab earnings jolt: $400 million buyback meets softer 2027 profit view as AI tools race ahead
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GitLab earnings jolt: $400 million buyback meets softer 2027 profit view as AI tools race ahead

GitLab is projecting fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings that fall short of Wall Street’s estimates, even as the board greenlights a $400 million buyback. The company’s push into AI tools for developers continues. Shares ticked up roughly 2% before the bell. Software stocks are in a tricky zone right now. Miss on profit, and investors aren’t hesitating—they’re punishing companies, regardless of whether the revenue picture looks solid. With major clients tightening spending and boards demanding more cash handed back, it’s a tough crowd.
March 4, 2026
Zillow CEO draws a line on “selective” listings as Compass, Redfin widen private-home push
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Zillow CEO draws a line on “selective” listings as Compass, Redfin widen private-home push

Zillow Group, Inc. CEO Jeremy Wacksman defended the company’s decision to restrict certain home listings on Zillow when homeowners choose targeted marketing. According to Wacksman, this type of inventory holdback has the potential to drive up costs on both sides of a deal. https://www.theverge.com/podcast/887414/zillow-jeremy-wacksman-interview-ai-slop-housing-crisis Spring is on the horizon, but the U.S. housing market still faces slow deal flow, leaving brokerages searching for any small advantage they can get. They’re pressing for more control over how quickly fresh listings hit the main portals—and what information goes live with them.
March 4, 2026
Nuburu (BURU) signs Maddox Defense JV for mobile 3D printing of drone parts
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Nuburu (BURU) signs Maddox Defense JV for mobile 3D printing of drone parts

Nuburu, Inc. announced March 2 it’s teaming up with Maddox Defense Incorporated in a binding joint venture, targeting the development and rollout of a modular, containerized mobile 3D printing platform for drone parts and other defense applications. The additive manufacturing system, Nuburu said, links U.S. product work with European commercialization, backed by Tekne S.p.A. Alessandro Zamboni, Tekne’s chairman and co-CEO, described the move as “a deliberate expansion ... into deployable industrial capability.” Nuburu Defense CEO Dario Barisoni highlighted “disciplined development, validation, and technical certification,” while Jason Maddox, Maddox’s CEO, called out the project’s “adaptable, scalable production capabilities.” The move comes as militaries look to bulk up drone fleets and speed up repairs despite tighter shipping lines and shrinking parts inventories.
March 4, 2026
Circle Internet Group stock gets a rates boost as Mizuho lifts target to $100
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Circle Internet Group stock gets a rates boost as Mizuho lifts target to $100

Shares of Circle Internet Group climbed roughly 3.6% to $99.63 Wednesday, following Mizuho Securities’ move to boost its price target to $100 while maintaining a neutral stance on the stablecoin company. Analyst Dan Dolev pointed to higher oil prices as a possible inflation driver, warning, “Rising oil prices could drive up inflation, lowering the odds of rate cuts.” Investors are still wrestling with how to value Circle, mostly as a play on interest rates. The company, which runs the USDC stablecoin pegged to the dollar and backed by reserves, generates revenue from parking those reserves in bank accounts and short-term Treasuries. Seaport Research Partners’ Jeff Cantwell called out the ongoing fast growth for USDC, while CEO Jeremy Allaire flagged that
March 4, 2026
Korea stocks crash 12% as Iran war spikes oil and rewrites rate-cut bets
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Korea stocks crash 12% as Iran war spikes oil and rewrites rate-cut bets

Shares in South Korea tumbled 12% Wednesday—marking their sharpest one-day fall on record—as the Iran conflict escalated and oil prices rose, rattling economies reliant on energy imports and prompting investors to slash risk. This selloff hasn't stayed in just one part of the market. Traders are shifting focus—less on headline moves, more on a stubborn wave of oil-fueled inflation that threatens to keep borrowing costs elevated for an extended stretch.
March 4, 2026
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