Category: Business

BlackRock has announced its agreement to acquire ElmTree Funds, a St. Louis-based real estate private equity firm managing $7.3 billion in assets across 122 commercial properties in 31 U.S. states. ElmTree specializes in net-lease and build-to-suit industrial real estate, focusing on single-tenant corporate facilities that are considered mission-critical to tenants’ operations. The acquisition will integrate […]

London, 6 July 2025 – European savings and retirement services group Athora, backed by Apollo Global Management, has agreed to acquire Pension Insurance Corporation Group (PICG) for approximately £5.7 billion, marking one of the largest transactions in the UK’s pension risk transfer market. The deal will see PICG, the parent of Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC)—a […]

Digital technologies have the potential to drive progress and strengthen rights, including connecting people, improving access to health and education, and much more. But the pace of their evolution also poses serious risks, warned Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – from restrictions on free expression and privacy violations to discrimination and growing […]

7 July 2025 – The global automotive infotainment market is projected to grow from $35.78 billion in 2025 to $58.18 billion by 2032, driven by rising consumer demand for in-vehicle screens, voice assistants, and smart home integration. According to a new analyst note from PitchBook, infotainment systems are emerging as a key battleground for automakers […]

London, 7 July 2025 – UK-based precision measurement firm Spectris plc has agreed to a £4.1 billion cash takeover by private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), withdrawing its prior recommendation for a competing offer from Advent International. KKR’s bid of £40 per share, including a 20p dividend, values Spectris at £4.7 billion including debt, […]

Addressing delegates at a UN forum on peaceful uses of outer space, Amina Mohammed urged greater international cooperation as the world becomes increasingly reliant on satellites for everything from disaster response to climate monitoring. “Space is not the final frontier. It is the foundation of our present,” she said. “Without satellites orbiting overhead right now, […]

The promises were made at the opening of the Financing for Development Conference (FFD4), currently underway in the Spanish city of Sevilla, when delegates agreed on the Sevilla Commitment.  During the conference UN News spoke to Li Junhua, the UN Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the international summit. Li Junhua: The […]

Development benefits all countries because it is linked to other areas of activity and society, including basic security itself. Without it, there is no hope – and no stability. That is the key message from the Director of the UN Development Programme’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (UNDP), Marcos Neto, to all other nations […]

Cork, 4 July 2025 – Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary, has unveiled a new five-year contract to enhance heavy cargo transport services to four inhabited islands off the coast of County Cork: Oileán Chléire (Cape Clear), Sherkin, Long Island, and Heir Island. 📦 Expanded Service CommitmentThe contract, running from […]

On 3 July 2025 The Trump Administration has officially rescinded licensing requirements for U.S. ethane exports to China, restoring a critical energy trade route disrupted by recent regulatory tensions. The decision, enacted by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, reverses a mandate introduced in early June that required exporters to obtain […]