Banks are connecting fraud and AML defenses but still missing links

71% of financial institutions are converging detection technology, yet 86% report missed links between fraud and money laundering, finds global survey by Datos Insights and SAS

CARY, N.C., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Financial institutions are increasingly integrating their fraud and anti-money laundering (AML) systems, but intelligence and governance gaps remain. New fraud and AML convergence research from Datos Insights, commissioned by data and AI leader SAS, finds 86% report missed links between fraud activity and money laundering.

Fraud and AML Convergence: Closing the Speed Gap – based on a survey of 165 fraud and AML executives across 21 countries in seven global regions – examines the convergence of fraud prevention and AML compliance, commonly called FRAML. The report argues that real-time payments now move funds faster than institutions can connect their fraud and AML intelligence and intervene. Experts from Datos Insights, SAS and Amazon Web Services (AWS) will discuss the study’s findings in a live “Future of FRAML” webinar on Nov. 2 (available later on demand).

“Fraud and AML teams can look at different pieces of the same risk and still miss the connection,” said Serpil Hall, Strategic Advisor for Fraud and AML at Datos Insights. “Technology can help bridge those gaps, but technology alone is not the answer. The institutions making progress are also connecting data, case management, investigations and information sharing so they can see more of the risk in broader context and act sooner.”

Shared infrastructure ≠ shared intelligence

Historically, banks’ fraud and anti-money laundering units were not designed to operate as a unified function. Each answers to different regulations and runs on different legal clocks. Institutions are closing the gap where it’s least disruptive: the technology. Meanwhile, changes that require people and process shifts lag behind. The result is connected systems but disconnected intelligence.

• 71% are actively converging fraud and AML detection and monitoring technology, but only 13% are doing the same for governance, policies and organizational structure.
• 72% run fraud and AML analytics on shared infrastructure but keep separate models and processes; just 1% report sharing data, models, infrastructure and governance across both functions.
• 87% describe their ability to build a unified view of customer risk across fraud and AML as partial, with significant gaps.

Silos remain the biggest barrier to greater alignment between fraud and AML. Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) institutions rate organizational silos, including separate reporting lines, as a primary or major barrier, ahead of technology limitations (73%) and data governance and quality issues (70%).

The strain is felt in day-to-day operations, too: 64% cite legacy technology among their biggest internal challenges, while 63% call out high false-positive rates.

Inside the speed gap: real-time payments, next-day detection

Fraud systems score transactions in milliseconds, while AML monitoring typically runs after the fact, often in overnight batches. As real-time payments become the norm, the margin between the two is fading.

Nearly three-quarters of institutions (73%) say their fraud and AML teams share data often or always during active investigations. That figure drops to just 17% for automated monitoring – the layer that works without someone needing to notice a problem first. The result is often a connection made after an investigation is initiated rather than one flagged automatically before money moves.

Operating separately carries measurable consequences, too, including duplicate alerts or cases, cited by 81% of institutions, and higher operating costs from duplicated teams or technology (71%).

“Financial crime convergence is a risk problem, not just a compliance exercise,” said Stu Bradley, Senior Vice President of Risk, Fraud and Compliance Solutions at SAS. “Regulators will increasingly expect institutions to identify and prevent illicit behavior before the money laundering even starts. That’s only possible when fraud and AML are working from the same strategic playbook and sharing data up front.”

FRAML, from concept to market reality

The research findings arrive as fraud and AML convergence evolves from a long-discussed industry concept into a real-world operating model. Urgency is increasing as AI-charged scams, deepfakes, mule networks and real-time payments further blur traditional boundaries between fraud and money laundering.

“Many of the banks I speak with are already sharing data or exploring common case management, with the aim of getting fraud and AML working closer to real time,” added Hall.

For institutions still early in the process, the report outlines practical first steps, such as connecting their existing fraud and financial crime compliance solutions rather than replacing them.

“Institutions don’t have to rip and replace their entire financial crime ecosystem to make progress,” said SAS’ Bradley. “Modernize step by step. Start with the risks that matter most, strengthen data sharing across the monitoring lifecycle and ensure a shared investigative environment.”

To explore how institutions can put the report’s findings into practice, AWS and Datos Insights will join SAS for the live webinar Breaking the Silos: What Global Banks Reveal About the Future of FRAML on Nov. 2 at 10 a.m. EST / 4 p.m. CET, with on-demand viewing to follow.

Experts will discuss how banks are approaching fraud and AML convergence, the barriers slowing progress, and where data, analytics and AI can help institutions connect signals and identify financial crime earlier.

The full report is available at sas.com/framlreport.

About Datos Insights

Datos Insights is the leading research and advisory partner to the banking, insurance, securities, and payments industries, both the financial services firms and the technology providers who serve them.

In an era of rapid change, we empower firms across the financial services ecosystem to make high-stakes decisions with confidence and speed. Our distinctive combination of expert advice, proprietary data, and community provides actionable insights that enable clients to accelerate critical initiatives, inspire decisive action, and de-risk strategic investments to achieve faster, bolder transformation.

About SAS

SAS is a global leader in data and AI, helping organizations make confident decisions with AI they can trust. For decades, SAS has set the standard for delivering software that drives meaningful impact, incorporating deep industry expertise, transparency and governance. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW^®.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2026 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

Danielle Bates | danielle.bates@sas.com | 919-531-1959 | sas.com/news

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American Advanced Materials Raises $12.5 Million to Make Globally-Competitive Titanium Sponge in America and Announces Signed Letters of Intent with Industry Buyers Worth Over $1 Billion

Amity Ventures led the seed round for the advanced materials platform, with participation by Human Capital, Anti Fund, and Powerset

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — American Advanced Materials (AAM) today announced $12.5 million in seed funding led by Amity Ventures, with participation by Human Capital, Anti Fund, and Powerset. The company is developing an AI-native manufacturing platform for the advanced materials that underpin AI, energy, and defense, starting with titanium sponge. AAM will use the funding to grow its team and advance the front-end engineering and design of its manufacturing projects. The company plans to raise project financing to build and operate the integrated commercial facility. AAM’s founding team members have previously designed, built, and operated the world’s largest and most advanced titanium sponge and zirconium plants, both in the United States and abroad. They are joined by veterans of Tesla, ATI, TIMET, and Westinghouse.

Titanium sponge is the metal used by melters and alloy makers to manufacture America’s most important aerospace and defense programs. The United States is home to some of the world’s largest titanium melting operations, yet has produced no sponge since 2020. Meanwhile, titanium sponge imports hit a record 44,000 metric tons in 2025, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Industry experts project domestic demand to reach 60,000 metric tons over the coming 18 months, leaving America’s industrial base fully exposed to foreign supply chains that are fragile, unreliable, and capacity constrained. AAM is supporting the most strategic interests of America and allies by restoring the critical midstream process manufacturing layer that sits between upstream mineral mining and downstream end-product fabrication.

“America has the feedstock, energy, and expertise to lead in manufacturing these materials again,” said Alex Liegl, co-founder and CEO of AAM. “We aspire to build a next-generation DuPont, with globally competitive quality and cost as the starting point. Our goal is to make advanced materials abundant again so that their supply no longer limits what we can build.”

AAM’s first facility is designed with a vertically-integrated approach around the commercially proven Kroll process, drawing on the team’s direct experience building and operating large-scale titanium sponge plants. It is the first step toward an integrated manufacturing platform for titanium group materials that can add related materials using shared feedstock, infrastructure, and process expertise.

In addition, AAM is developing zirconium oxychloride (ZOC), the key precursor for all zirconium and hafnium materials used in nuclear fuel, gas turbines, rockets, and AI chips. Today, America fully relies on Chinese imports of ZOC. Over time, AAM intends to extend this model to offer America and its allies an advanced materials platform that manufactures the building blocks for all of their most important strategic interests.

AAM has signed offtake letters of intent for its future production of titanium sponge and zirconium oxychloride materials worth over $1 billion. Its prospective customers include domestic melters and alloy makers that supply the aerospace, AI infrastructure, defense, and energy sectors.

“We’re combining decades of process knowledge with modern engineering, AI, and robotics automation,” said Diego Represas, co-founder, President, and Chief Technology Officer of AAM. “America doesn’t need to wait for new technologies to lead the world in production cost, quality, and volume. What it needs is to build quickly. For AAM, the factory is the product. We design the plant, its software, and its operations as one system to carry what we learn into every future facility we build.”

“The opportunity in advanced materials isn’t simply to invent a new process. It’s to rebuild the industrial capacity that America has lost,” said Patrick Yang, Co-Founder and General Partner at Amity Ventures, which manages more than $2 billion in assets. “Alex and Diego have brought together the rare team, technical ambition, and urgency required to do that, starting with titanium sponge. We believe AAM has the potential to become a cornerstone of the next generation of American reindustrialization.”

Liegl and Represas founded AAM in 2025 after years of considering solutions to the same problem: demand for AI, energy, and defense kept climbing, while the supply of the advanced materials required by America and its allies stayed flat or entirely vanished. Liegl previously founded Tenet Energy, a nationwide fintech platform for electric vehicles and home electrification backed by Human Capital, and Layer1, a renewable-energy bitcoin mining company backed by Peter Thiel. Represas, an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, previously founded Able AI, an AI data platform backed by Human Capital and Canapi Ventures, that was acquired by Moody’s Corp. The two met as freshmen at Stanford University.

About American Advanced Materials

American Advanced Materials (AAM) is an AI-native advanced materials platform that manufactures the building blocks for AI, energy, and defense Our mission is to restore American leadership in the materials that underpin our most important strategic interests. Founded in 2025 and based in Mountain View, California and New York City, New York, AAM brings together America’s top industry experts, industrial engineers, and AI talent to enable globally competitive production in the United States. Titanium sponge is its first commercial project, followed by zirconium oxychloride. Learn more at www.americanadvanced.com.

Media contact

Garrett Marquis | Throughline Global Advisors

garrett@throughline.global

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Equilend’s 1Source DLT Adds Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs joins BNY and National Bank of Canada on securities finance distributed ledger technology platform

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Equilend, the global financial technology, data and analytics company for the securities finance industry, today announced that Goldman Sachs is utilizing Equilend 1Source, the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform that increases efficiency, reduces breaks, and eliminates reconciliations in securities finance.

Goldman Sachs joins BNY and National Bank of Canada on 1Source. The two large securities lenders previously announced that they had begun transmitting live transactions onto the 1Source ledger last October.

1Source is transforming global securities finance workflows by establishing a single, golden source of truth for securities lending and financing transactions. The DLT-based platform was developed by Equilend with input and collaboration from a group of leading market participants to improve costs, automation, and overall efficiency in the market. 1Source directly improves users’ P&L by eliminating accrual errors, reducing third-party comparison fees, and improving settlement rates.

Additional counterparties are also in the process of adopting Equilend’s 1Source, which will benefit all members of the platform as inefficient reconciliation processes and transaction breaks are reduced.

“We are excited to welcome Goldman Sachs, one of the industry’s largest borrowers, onto the 1Source platform,” said Rich Grossi, CEO of Equilend. “Their involvement will drive greater platform benefit by reducing costs and increasing operational efficiency across the community of participants.”

According to third-party estimates, Equilend’s 1Source has the potential to save industry participants hundreds of millions of dollars through greater operational efficiency, optimized costs and resources, and improved profitability.

About Equilend

Equilend is a global financial technology firm offering Trading, Workflow Automation, Data & Insights, and Digital Solutions for the securities finance industry. With offices in North America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific, Equilend operates across various jurisdictions worldwide, adhering to the highest regulatory standards.

The company is committed to excellence and innovation, with more than $55 trillion in notional transactions on its platform. Equilend is Great Place to Work Certified™ in the U.S., UK, Ireland, and India.

For more information, please visit www.equilend.com

Media Contact:

media@equilend.com 

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Joint Commission Enterprise Appoints Dr. Subashnie Devkaran to Lead International Strategy, Operations

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Subashnie Devkaran, PhD, MSc, BSc, will join the Joint Commission enterprise as executive vice president and chief international officer on 2 November 2026. In this role, she will lead international strategy and strengthen the enterprise’s presence in key global markets to extend its mission.

James I. Merlino, MD, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Joint Commission: “Subashnie brings an understanding of the safety and quality challenges facing healthcare systems around the world, along with a commitment to meaningful change. Her leadership will help us increase Joint Commission’s reach and impact globally, making a difference in the lives of more patients.”

Dr. Devkaran has more than 25 years healthcare experience across four continents, most recently at Mayo Clinic and Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery. She was also a Joint Commission International consultant for nine years and she was on the Board of Directors of Joint Commission Resources, a role she will step down from.

Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, president and CEO, Joint Commission: “As healthcare complexity grows around the world, healthcare organizations benefit from a partner to help support their commitment to the highest standards of quality and patient safety. Under Subashnie’s leadership, we will deepen our understanding of international healthcare systems, enabling global organizations to achieve meaningful improvement for patients.”

Dr. Devkaran: “I look forward to assessing opportunities for expansion, strengthening relationships, and ensuring Joint Commission’s international services reflect local healthcare priorities and market dynamics, ultimately helping health systems translate high standards into better outcomes for patients.”

Dr. Devkaran earned degrees from Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University, Royal College of Surgeons, and University of the Witwatersrand Medical School. Dr. Devkaran is a Fellow of American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua), and Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ).

About Joint Commission International

Joint Commission International (JCI), established in 1994, is a nonprofit affiliate of Joint Commission, dedicated to improving healthcare quality and patient safety worldwide. Through international accreditation and certification, advisory services, publications, and education programs, JCI works with healthcare organizations, public health agencies, and health ministries in more than 80 countries to enable and affirm the highest standards of healthcare quality and patient safety for all.

Learn more at https://www.jointcommission.org/en.

Media Contact

McKenzie Naylor

(480) 205-8189

press@jointcommission.org

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KPM Analytics Introduces UCAL™ 5, a Guided NIR Calibration Platform for SpectraStar™ XT Analyzer Users

New NIR calibration platform for SpectraStar™ XT analyzers reviews every calibration against ASTM and ISO recommendations as the user works, builds a comparison calibration automatically, and teaches with built-in lessons. A 30-day free trial of UCAL 5 Pro is available today.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — KPM Analytics today announced UCAL 5, a near-infrared (NIR) calibration customization platform for SpectraStar XT Series analyzers. Its patent-pending guided workflow lets users start from KPM calibration libraries with spectra, add their own samples, and publish a calibration for their own products in four steps. As they work, UCAL Insight™ reviews the data, calibration, and validation results using recommendations from ASTM E1655 and ISO 12099 for developing and validating NIR calibrations. It highlights items the user may want to check before publishing the calibration.

UCAL 5 comes in three editions: Lite, currently included with new SpectraStar XT analyzers, which provides guided calibration development with the essential methods and tools; Pro for the analyst who builds and maintains calibrations; and Enterprise for teams that share projects on a company server.

A reviewer, a builder, and a coach inside the platform

In practice, a user imports spectra and laboratory values, builds the calibration in the Workbench, and sees UCAL Insight’s marks on the screen as each step is completed. With UCAL Autopilot switched on, the software builds its own calibration alongside the user’s from the same data, and the two appear side by side with the settings that differ. The lessons open from inside the software whenever they are needed.

UCAL Insight is the reviewer. At each step it checks whether there are enough samples, how well the laboratory values cover the required range, and whether new samples confirm the calibration. Each point is marked green, yellow, or red with an explanation of what it means and what to check. They are suggestions, not rules: the user always decides.

UCAL Autopilot™ is the builder. It tries several methods, presents the best, and lists every setting that differs from the user’s choices. After validation, the user compares the two calibrations property by property and decides which to publish.

Built-in lessons are the coach. Fifteen lessons inside the software explain what a calibration is, how it is judged, and why calibrations go wrong, then walk through the real UCAL 5 screens, from adding spectra to publishing a validated calibration. A separate introduction helps experienced UCAL 4 users move over. No previous calibration experience is needed.

“Most calibrations do not fail because the math is wrong. They fail because the samples did not cover the range, or because nobody checked the calibration against new samples before it went on the instrument,” said Yuegang Zhao, President of KPM Lab Solutions and Chief Commercial Officer at KPM Analytics. “UCAL 5 puts those checks in front of the user at every step, in the language of the standards the industry already trusts.”

Start from a proven KPM calibration

The KPM Analytics Web Store offers over 250 calibrations built and maintained by KPM’s application laboratories for food, feed, and agricultural products, from alfalfa hay and canola meal to cheddar cheese. They are sold by the property measured, such as moisture or protein, or in one of 15 ready-made bundles. A calibration is ready to use: it loads directly onto a SpectraStar XT analyzer, for one instrument or as a single file for a full fleet. Optionally, the same calibration can be bought as a calibration library with its spectra. The library opens in UCAL 5, where users add their own samples and keep the calibration current for their own products. The result is published as the user’s own calibration and loaded onto one analyzer or the whole fleet, like any KPM calibration.

“Our calibration library represents many years of application work with food, feed, and agricultural products,” said Zhao. “UCAL 5 is how a customer takes one of those calibrations and makes it their own.”

Four steps from data to a published calibration

UCAL 5 works in four steps: collect the data; clean the data and build the calibration in the Workbench; validate it against samples it has not seen; and combine and publish the final calibration. Every adjustment is saved apart from the original files, so any decision can be reversed. Users can try different settings on the same data, compare all results in one table, and publish the best result for each property as a single calibration file. Projects can be reopened and updated as crops, suppliers, and processes change. Through KPMLink® cloud-based management software, a finished calibration can be loaded onto every connected SpectraStar XT analyzer in the organization.

Editions for individual users and laboratory teams

UCAL 5 Lite provides guided calibration development: the lessons, UCAL Insight, UCAL Autopilot, and four calibration methods, with up to 500 samples per calibration from the user’s own files and no limit from KPM library files. It is currently included with new SpectraStar XT analyzers, available at an introductory price to other SpectraStar XT owners, and upgrades to Pro with a license key.

UCAL 5 Pro gives one analyst the full toolset: 18 calibration methods, including Modified PLS and three neural networks; advanced tools for sample selection and instrument standardization; and no limit on samples, so laboratories can build from years of historical data.

UCAL 5 Enterprise brings Pro to large teams. It installs on a company server, is used through a web browser, and is licensed per user, so data stays on the organization’s network. Each project can be private or shared.

UCAL 5 opens UCAL 4 files directly, and calibrations already on SpectraStar XT analyzers give the same results, so UCAL 4 users move their work without losing anything; they can upgrade to UCAL 5 Pro at a discount. Pro and Enterprise licenses include yearly maintenance for new versions. All editions are available in 11 languages.

Availability

A 30-day free trial of UCAL 5 Pro, Lite licenses, and calibrations are available today for current SpectraStar XT Series Analyzer users at https://store.kpmanalytics.com/join. Pro and Enterprise licenses are available now from KPM Analytics and its authorized distributors. See UCAL 5 in action at https://www.kpmanalytics.com/lp/ucal-5 or contact sales@kpmanalytics.com. 

About KPM Analytics

KPM Analytics is a global leader in scientific instrumentation, providing analytical and vision inspection solutions to laboratories and industrial operators in the food, feed, agriculture, industrial, and environmental sectors. KPM products have a long history of helping companies secure product quality, optimize production processes, and make confident, data-driven decisions through reliable solutions, supported by dedicated application expertise and local service. Visit https://www.kpmanalytics.com to learn more.

Media contacts:

Andy Dambeck

Product Marketing Manager

+1 774-399-0477

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USTA and IBM Announce Five-Year Renewal of Longstanding Partnership

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The USTA and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a five-year renewal of their longstanding and trailblazing partnership that will see IBM serve as the Official AI and Cloud Partner of the US Open through 2031. The renewal comes following the 2026 US Open which saw record engagement for its IBM-powered digital platforms, reaching more than 270 million total engagements across USOpen.org and the US Open app combined. 

“For 35 years, IBM and the USTA have worked together to redefine how technology can bring fans closer to the game,” said Kameryn Stanhouse, Vice President, Sports and Entertainment Partnerships, IBM. “This renewal builds on that legacy, bringing IBM technology to the next generation of the US Open fan experience. It’s also a powerful example of what’s possible when organizations turn complex data into meaningful experiences that create more value for their audiences.”

From the launch of USOpen.org in 1995 to the introduction of the mobile app in 2009, and this year’s debut of Live Updates, Key Moments, and Serve Quality, IBM and the USTA have collaborated for more than three decades, today delivering a world-class platform that provides unparalleled, first-of-its-kind fan experiences through hybrid cloud and AI technologies.

“Our partnership with IBM has produced decades of groundbreaking innovation for the US Open and for our fans,” said Brian Ryerson, Senior Director, Digital Strategy, USTA. “Every year we utilize cutting-edge technology to not only push the boundaries of digital engagement but to provide our fans the most useful and interesting ways to connect with our sport. We’re grateful for everything our partnership with IBM has produced and I’m very excited to see where our work goes over the next five years.”

The digital results were part of a record-setting year for the US Open. More than 1.2 million fans attended across all three weeks, including more than 300,000 during Fan Week. The USTA reported that the US Open’s owned and operated social channels generated more than 3.9 billion interactions, including engagements and video views, up 26 percent over 2025. ESPN’s coverage across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC achieved its best viewership since 2022, with the women’s and men’s singles championships combining to average 3 million viewers. Worldwide, the US Open also amassed a record 374 million global broadcast viewer hours in 2026.

About the USTA

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, along with approximately 100 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X) and TikTok.

About IBM

IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

Media contacts:

Paul Pettas

IBM

paulpettas@ibm.com

Pat Mitsch

USTA

mitsch@usta.com

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Firehawk Defense Tops $1.4 Billion Valuation: NYSE Content Update

NYSE issues a pre-market daily advisory direct from the trading floor.

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provides a daily pre-market update directly from the NYSE Trading Floor. Access today’s NYSE Pre-market update for market insights before trading begins. 

Kristen Scholer delivers the pre-market update on October 28th

• Firehawk Defense announces its latest $150 million funding round
  • The Dallas-based startup says that it expects to become the largest producer of artillery motors in the U.S. by the end of 2027.
  • Firehawk plans to produce over 100,000 artillery motors next year.
  • The company will use the funding to expand its Great Plains Arsenal in Oklahoma + integration facility in Mississippi.
• Hex boosts its valuation to $1.2 billion
  • The company also introduced Hex 4.0, which it says is a from-scratch rewrite for the era of agents.
  • Hex adds that it’s coming off the best revenue quarter in its history.
  • Founder + CEO Barry McCardel will join NYSE Live to discuss the company’s next moves.
• BigBear.ai to report its Q3 earnings following Tuesday’s market close
  • The defense tech company posted 31% year over year revenue growth.
  • BigBear.ai raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $150 million to $165 million.
  • CEO Kevin McAleenan will join NYSE Live to deliver his biggest takeaways.

Opening Bell

Blackstone Secured Lending (NYSE: BXSL) celebrates its 5^th anniversary

Closing Bell

Haymaker Acquisition V (NYSE: HYAC U) celebrates listing on the NYSE

For market insights, IPO activity, and today’s opening bell, download the NYSE TV App and check out the NYSE YouTube: TV.NYSE.com and YouTube.com/@NYSEofficial

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IFPA: World Psoriasis Day 2026, Young people speak up against stigma and discrimination

STOCKHOLM, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — More than 100 million people worldwide live with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and one in three develop first symptoms before age of 20. This World Psoriasis Day, October 29, IFPA (the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations) is launching a global campaign, Look Beyond My Skin, to challenge stigma and discrimination against young people with psoriasis.

Uneducated society – part of the problem

“No one in my class wanted to hug me or sit next to me. If I touched something in the classroom, one of the kids would go and clean it,” recalls Daniela Chapman, 29, from Panama, who has lived with psoriasis since infancy. Daniela lives with clinical depression, and those school memories remain difficult to forget.

Christine, 23, from Sweden was diagnosed with psoriasis at six. She also knows what it feels like to be judged because of her condition.

“She came to me and asked: ‘Are you allowed to work here with those things on your arms?'” Christine recalls a customer confronting her at the candy shop where she works. “I tried to explain that psoriasis is not contagious, but she just put her candy bag back on the counter and walked out,” says Christine.

Both Daniela and Christine are active in psoriasis associations in their home countries, educating others about the disease.

“Uneducated society is part of the problem for young people,” says Christine. “That’s why awareness campaigns are so important. Because if you don’t know about something, you can’t understand it either.”

Their stories are among those featured in IFPA’s global World Psoriasis Day campaign, which puts experiences of young people with psoriasis into the spotlight.

“Young people with psoriatic disease have been largely overlooked in global health agenda,” says Frida Dunger, IFPA’s Executive Director. “During these formative years, many face bullying, rejection and discrimination. One in three avoids opportunities for work or study because they fear judgement and exclusion. This comes at a cost, not only to individuals but to society, when young people cannot reach their full potential. With our global campaign ‘Look Beyond My Skin’, we are calling for more inclusive schools, universities and workplaces, where young people with psoriatic disease are treated with respect and have the same opportunities as everyone else.”

The impact on mental health.

Psoriatic disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the skin and joints and is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression and more. The impact on young people’s mental health is concerning. Research shows that young people with psoriasis are more likely to experience depression and suicidal thoughts than their peers without the disease.

“Psoriasis is a tough disease to live with during a vulnerable stage of life, when belonging and self-esteem are so important. Shame, anxiety, bullying, hurtful comments and stares are a daily reality for many. Some start avoiding social situations, creating a vicious circle of isolation and loneliness,” says Tarlan Oskooei, Chair of Young with Psoriasis (Ung med Psoriasis), a Swedish organization representing more than 2,000 members.

Young voices from around the world

For the campaign, IFPA interviewed 20 people aged 18–37 worldwide. Their stories are featured in a series of mini-documentaries. In addition, IFPA launches a global report focusing on young adults living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The report is a unique document providing space to young people to tell their stories.

Through this year’s World Psoriasis Day campaign, ‘Look Beyond My Skin’, IFPA and its member organizations are calling on society and policymakers to end stigma and discrimination against people with psoriasis and make mental health support a routine part of dermatological care.

Read more about the campaign: https://www.ifpa-pso.com/global-actions-overview/world-psoriasis-day

Read the report about young people with psoriasis: https://www.ifpa-pso.com/global-actions-overview/world-psoriasis-day/young-adults-living-with-psoriasis-global-report

About IFPA – International Federation of Psoriasis Associations

IFPA is a global non-profit organization, founded in 1971 and based in Stockholm, Sweden, represents people living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis worldwide, advocating for better care, greater awareness and improved quality of life.

www.ifpa-pso.com

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Waters Launches AI-Powered Peak Integration Expanding its Suite of Premium AI Subscription Capabilities for Empower Software

• Advances Waters’ strategy to bring trusted AI, ML, and automation capabilities to the 500,000 Empower™ Software users who run the world’s regulated chromatography labs and support the release of over 80% of medicines globally
• AI-Powered Peak Integration transforms chromatography data processing in regulated environments, using AI to reduce manual interventions by up to 95% while delivering 76% greater accuracy and a 72% reduction in user-to-user variability
• Joins a growing portfolio of premium AI capabilities Waters is building directly into Empower Software, uniquely enabling AI, ML, and automation inside the validated environment where highly protected customer data resides, with no compromise to integrity, traceability, or compliance

MILFORD, Mass., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) today announced AI-Powered Peak Integration, the next step in its strategy to build intelligent AI, machine learning, and automation cloud-based capabilities directly into Empower Software, the chromatography data system of record for regulated laboratories worldwide.

“Waters is using AI to help customers bring drugs to market faster and to increase the quality testing of manufactured molecules,” said Tina Wu, Senior Vice President, Waters Analytical Sciences, Waters Corporation. “Our Empower Software has been the system of record for regulated chromatography for decades, holding terabytes of validated data for each customer, inside their own workflows, and under their own control. The potential behind compliant data at scale is one that no other platform can offer as we enable customers to realize the benefits of AI within their regulated workflows.”

Wu continued, “Our customers want the greater speed, accuracy, and productivity that AI brings, without giving up control of their data or the compliant audit trail behind it. That is why it is a central pillar of how we are advancing Empower Software as AI transforms the laboratory. Every one of these premium subscription-based capabilities reaches our large and growing installed base, so each release makes Empower Software more valuable to the laboratories already running it. We have a full pipeline of capabilities ahead as we deliver on our strategy to advance Empower Software into the connected, intelligent platform on which regulated science runs.”

Enabling Unique AI Capabilities Customers Can Use Beyond Research in a Deliberate Strategy Developed in Deep Partnership with Pharma

Waters is collaborating with several large pharmaceutical customers and academic institutions to create autonomous, AI-enabled research, development and QA/QC capabilities that follow the molecule, from discovery to release. This builds on two abilities unique to Waters: 1) supporting research workflows and then subsequently moving them directly into compliant settings on a single platform, and 2) enabling AI inside that compliant environment, so customers realize the benefits of AI without giving up control of their data or the compliant audit trail behind it.

The same approach is advancing in biologics, where Waters is applying AI, automation, and analytical instrumentation to bioanalytical characterization, bringing large molecule workflows more closely toward the compliant foundation customers already expect for small molecules.

Turning Decades of Compliant Data into an AI Advantage for Customers

Designed for high-throughput, compliant applications, where consistency and audit traceability are key, Waters Empower AI capabilities drive significant efficiency and productivity gains by reducing manual effort and variability in pharmaceutical late-stage development and manufacturing QC applications, while improving accuracy of results. Because the capabilities are being built directly into Empower Software, they operate inside the validated environment where highly protected customer data already resides, bringing AI and ML directly to the data, with no compromise to integrity, traceability, or compliance.

Using AI to Automate One of the Most Manual Steps in Chromatography

Manual peak integration is the largest source of variability in chromatographic results and one of the most time-consuming steps in data review. Waters’ AI/ML-powered peak integration automates this step in Empower Software using artificial intelligence and machine learning trained on each laboratory’s own data, removing noise peaks, combining high molecular weight peaks and editing baselines, with explainable outputs that allow analysts to review results quickly and with confidence. Version-controlled, no-drift models maintain consistent performance until the laboratory chooses to retrain and approve a new model.

In a pilot with a large pharmaceutical customer, side-by-side review of 400 chromatograms reduced manual interventions from 90 under current practice to 4 with AI/ML-powered peak integration, a 95% reduction.¹ User testing also showed 50% faster review and 72% lower user-to-user variability, reducing analyst bias and supporting data integrity.²

AI-Powered Peak Integration is a new premium tier capability available to customers on subscription. Waters is enrolling customers now for early access beginning in December 2026, with validated, compliant deployment to follow in mid-2027.

Building on AI-Powered Anomaly Detection, Launched in 2025

Peak integration is the latest step in Waters’ strategy to make Empower Software the connected, intelligent platform on which regulated science runs. The first was AI/ML Anomaly Detection, launched in Empower Software in February 2025, which uses machine learning to compare target results across chromatography data, surface deviations for review, and explain the attributes contributing to each anomaly.

About Waters Corporation:

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~15,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide. For more information, please visit www.waters.com/about.

Waters and Empower are trademarks of Waters Corporation or its affiliates.

References:

1. Waters internal pilot study with a global pharmaceutical partner, 2025. Data on file, Waters Corporation.
2. Waters Immerse Research Lab customer evaluation, 2026. Data on file, Waters Corporation.

Contact:

Molly Gluck

Director, Product and Thought Leadership Communications

Waters Corporation

+1.508.498.9732

pr@waters.com

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