Origin Financial

Rui Pinto, the Portuguese hacker behind the Football Leaks disclosures that exposed Manchester City's financial irregularities, has made new remarks referencing Pep Guardiola. The comments come as Manchester City remain under scrutiny over the Premier League's charges related to alleged breaches of financial rules, keeping the leaked-documents affair in the spotlight.

Forbes reports that the profits of the first Avatar film exceeded the combined profits of Avatar: The Way of Water and the upcoming third installment. The claim highlights how, despite the sequels' enormous box-office grosses, the original 2009 film remains the franchise's financial high point, prompting discussion about rising production and marketing costs in big-budget filmmaking.

Fortune argues that cryptocurrency, once a rebellious outsider movement of hackers and free-market idealists, has become institutionalized, with major exchanges, stablecoin issuers and lobbying groups now operating like established financial powers aligned with regulators and governments. The piece asks what happens next for an industry that has traded its pirate roots for mainstream power, and what that shift means for its original ethos and users.

The Financial Times has published a video examining the bloody history behind the bond market, tracing how debt and lending have shaped conflicts and political power over the centuries. The piece is being shared among history and finance readers interested in the darker origins of modern capital markets and their role in wars and state-building.

Attention is turning to AI-powered financial advisor apps heading into 2026, with guides ranking the leading options for automated investing, budgeting and personal finance advice. Origin Financial is among the services featured in the roundups. Interest reflects the broader shift toward using AI tools for money management as consumers look for cheaper, more accessible alternatives to human financial advisors.

The Thief stealth video game franchise is set to expand with a graphic novel, backed by a new crowdfunding campaign. The project aims to bring the series' shadowy world of master thieves to comics, with fans invited to support its production financially. Thief, originally created by Looking Glass Studios, remains a cult favourite among stealth gaming enthusiasts.

Ad-tech company 33Across has rebranded as WealthStage, pivoting to serve banks, lenders, brokers, insurers and trading apps. The new platform offers an AI engine that scores household wealth, betting on an estimated $124 trillion in assets changing hands by 2048. Industry observers are questioning which data sources will feed the engine and how much of the original 33Across business will remain.

Entrepreneur Gary Cardone argues that Wall Street is taking over Bitcoin for good, as institutional involvement in the cryptocurrency deepens. The claim taps into ongoing debate among Bitcoin supporters about whether growing adoption by major financial firms is a victory for the asset's legitimacy or a departure from its original decentralised ethos.

A new essay in the CEU Review of Books examines the role of Jewish immigrant bankers in building American finance, arguing their contributions have not received proper recognition. The piece revisits how immigrant financiers shaped credit markets and banking institutions in the United States. It is prompting discussion about historical memory and the origins of American financial power.