Opinion by: Joaquin Mendes, chief operating officer of Taiko For centuries, value moved between hands: gold for grain, livestock for land. No intermediary decided on arbitrary values; the price was determined directly between the parties. No intermediary decided how much a cow was worth, whether the deal was fair or whether someone was qualified to … Read more
Google Home users, your long nightmare is over. The platform has finally added support for buttons. The release notes for a February 2 update state that several new starter conditions for automations are now available, including “Switch or button pressed.” Smart buttons are physical, programmable switches that you can press to trigger automations or control … Read more
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Disney has named 28-year company veteran Josh D’Amaro as its next chief executive, bringing an end to an internal battle over who will succeed longtime boss Bob Iger. D’Amaro, who heads Disney’s theme parks business, … Read more
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro has been elevated to CEO of the Walt Disney Co., capping a closely watched multi-year process of identifying Bob Iger‘s successor. Dana Walden, Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman, has been named President and Chief Creative Officer, a newly created role. Disney’s board of directors voted unanimously on the moves, which will take … Read more
When the Olympics arrive in northern Italy this February, they won’t, like most years, be confined to a single city or venue cluster. Rather, the games will be scattered throughout a constellation of different towns and mountain valleys between Milan and Cortina, the two main hubs. The latter is situated in the heart of the … Read more
Germany’s ING Deutschland just made crypto exposure feel like buying an index fund, indicating the path Europe is taking in crypto adoption. Starting Feb. 2, the bank’s 3.2 million brokerage customers can purchase crypto exchange-traded notes with zero order fees above €1,000 and set up automatic savings plans. According to the announcement, there are no … Read more
Fifteen years in, Ronnie Fieg understands the appeal of a wearable wardrobe framed by a sporty lens. Not to mention, such an anniversary deserves to be celebrated. “Spring 2026 is our most luxurious approach to the season to date,” says Fieg. “The process began with a deep dive into fabrics and materials, followed by exploring … Read more
EXCLUSIVE: The psychological horror drama Broken Bird will receive a U.S. theatrical release from April 24 via Catalyst Studios and Seismic Releasing. The film stars Rebecca Calder (The Conjuring: Last Rites) and James Fleet (Scream of the Wolf), and is directed by Joanne Mitchell. Written by Dominic Brunt, Tracey Sheals, and Joanne Mitchell, Broken Bird … Read more
Ripple enters 2026 with new permissions in the UK and the EU. In January, Ripple said it received UK Financial Conduct Authority permissions covering an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license and cryptoasset registration. On Feb. 2, it said it received full EMI approval in Luxembourg. But what does that really mean for XRP investors? Ripple’s … Read more
Lord Peter Mandelson lobbied the US government on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein and Jes Staley in 2010 when he was a UK minister, using their talking points in conversations with an American official about financial-crisis reforms. Mandelson agreed with Epstein that he would urge Larry Summers, then director of Barack Obama’s National Economic Council, to … Read more