UBS CEO, Ralph Hamers. is stepping down on April 5th after the company acquired financially troubled Credit Suisse. Sergio Ermotti is about to succeed Hamers, who was UBS’ CEO from 2011 to 2020. 

Five large banks in France were reportedly targeted by investigators as part of a €100 billion fraud probe. French and German  governments were involved because of a possible money laundering allegation. The banks under investigation are HSBC, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, Exane, and Natixis.

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced on Monday the start of the company’s mass layoffs. This follows the company’s plans last month to cut 7,000 workers this year in an effort to reduce costs by $5.5 billion.

Nasdaq is about to launch crypto custody services in the second quarter of this year. Nasdaq is reportedly moving forward to get all the necessary technical setup and regulatory approvals ready.

Trading platform eToro raised $250 million in an advanced investment agreement, topping the company’s valuation at $3.5 billion. ION Group, Social Leverage, SoftBank, and other major industry players invested in eToro in the recent deal. 

Enterprise blockchain adoption will be sped up thanks to a new partnership between Chainlink Labs and PwC Germany. Chainlink Labs will offer services to traditional businesses who are already working with PwC but have not yet adopted blockchain technology.

Virgin Orbit Holdings closed indefinitely due to cash-crunch concerns that have crippled many other tech businesses. Due to its inability to get funding, the company announced it was reducing 85% of its personnel as well. The stock (VORB) fell 42% as a result, down 98% from its peak of $10.

Boerse Stuttgart, one of the largest German stock exchanges, entered the crypto world. It has received a license as a crypto custodian from Germany’s financial regulator (BaFin). This license allows the exchange of custody and trading of digital assets for its clients.

The annual inflation rate in Euro Area fell from 8.5% in February to 6.9% in March. Netherlands’s inflation tumbled from 8% to 4.4%. French inflation eased from 6.3% to 5.6%. Poland’s inflation dropped from 18.4% to 16.2%. Austria’s inflation fell from 10.9% to 9.1%.

Crypto company Ledger has raised $109 million in the Series C round. This funding round put the company’s valuation at $1.4 billion. Some of the investors in the round included Cathay Innovation, True Global Ventures, Digital Finance Group and VaynerFund.

UBS CEO, Ralph Hamers. is stepping down on April 5th after the company acquired financially troubled Credit Suisse. Sergio Ermotti is about to succeed Hamers, who was UBS’ CEO from 2011 to 2020. 

The result of the annual inflation rate in Spain surprised, dropping from 6% in February to 3.3% in March. This is very close to the central bank’s goal. Germany’s inflation also fell, from 8.7% to 7.4%, a little above the estimated 7.3%. Belgium’s inflation held steady at 6.6%.