Good Morning!
Happy New Year! The first Saturday of 2026 - are we still observing holiday hours or have you already started on your resolutions? I’d love to hear what are your goals for this year!
What You Missed This Week:
1. 🇺🇸 Dollar opens 2026 on a firmer footing after 2025 slide
After recording its largest annual decline in eight years, the U.S. dollar kicked off 2026 with tentative gains against major currencies. Last year’s weakness saw the dollar struggle broadly, with the yen sitting near 10-month lows as traders braced for economic data. Upcoming U.S. jobs and inflation reports are expected to help shape currency markets in the weeks ahead. (Reuters)
2. 📈 Set it & Forget it, Affordable SEO
Most SEO agencies will charge you $5,000 a month, promise the world, and deliver nothing but a confusing report and disappointment. Ranked is the exact opposite.
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3. 🤖 Meta buys AI chatbot maker Manus
The deal brings Singapore-based AI agent builder Manus into Meta’s fold as it doubles down on conversational AI and autonomous agents. Manus’ technology, which already serves millions of users and handles billions of tokens, will help strengthen Meta’s chatbot and AI tool stack. Meta plans to continue operating Manus while accelerating integration across its social and business products. (Meta)
4. 🫣 European banks to cut 200,000 jobs by 2030
A Morgan Stanley-cited analysis finds that AI adoption and branch closures could eliminate more than 200,000 jobs across 35 major European banks by 2030. The reductions would hit back-office, risk management and compliance roles hardest as lenders chase efficiency gains. Some firms, including ABN Amro and Société Générale, have already flagged significant workforce reductions. (Tech Crunch)
5. 😭 Spending too much time typing out your availability in emails?
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Same. That’s why I use LizCal to schedule all my meetings without needing to pay for an executive assistant.
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6. 🗓️ X rolls out 2026 marketing calendar
An interactive 2026 marketing calendar has been published to help brands plan around key global events and cultural moments. The guide highlights major dates like the World Cup and Winter Olympics, with filterable views by region or event type. X positions the tool as a strategic planning resource even as the platform evolves its broader feature set. (Social Media Today)
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