Laura Hyde

Argentine bank Banco Hipotecario has deployed two AI agents using Microsoft Copilot Studio to improve employee and customer services following a two-year migration from an on-premises deployment of Dynamics 365 to Dynamics 365 Online. The bank, which specialises in mortgage finance alongside personal loans, savings accounts and investment products, began its cloud migration in 2023 and went live with Dynamics 365 Sales and Dynamics 365 Customer Service in 2025. “Moving to Dynamics 365...

Poland’s Remontowa Shipbuilding has chosen Maritime Montering to deliver turnkey interior accommodation on seven newbuild electric ferries being constructed for Scottish ship owner Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL). Maritime Montering will be responsible for creating “comfortable, functional and high-quality” interior accommodation of both crew and passenger areas, with the project being managed locally by a team in Gdańsk, Poland. Delivery of all seven vessels is expected in...

Earlier this summer, Prince’s Golf Club in Kent, England, announced The Laddie, an 18-hole routing comprised of holes from the club’s Dunes, Himalayas and Shore nines. Devised by Mackenzie & Ebert, the composite course will be used to host tournaments, as well as being available to play at select times of the year. The Laddie is named after P.B. ‘Laddie’ Lucas, who was born in the old clubhouse at Prince’s in September 1915 and went on to become a Royal Air Force pilot, author and a...

Carnival Corporation has selected Silverstream Technologies to provide and install the Silverstream air lubrication system on Carnival Cruise Lines’ three Ace-class cruise ships, which are currently under construction at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. The three 230,000gt vessels, scheduled for delivery in 2029, 2031 and 2033, will be the largest ships ever built at Fincantieri and will accommodate almost 8,000 guests at full capacity. Construction began on the first vessel,...

Financial services organisations are now well versed in the ways AI tools can support their business so, to maximise their impact, they are turning their attention to the quality of the data and intelligence behind them. Moody’s and Microsoft have expanded their partnership to bring Moody’s credit intelligence directly into Microsoft’s AI ecosystem, including Microsoft 365 Copilot. The companies have developed a dedicated agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot, as well as integrations with...

Founded almost 130 years ago, Gerolamo Scorza continues to thrive. The Italian outfitter, which is part of the Genova Industrie Navali (GIN) group, increased its workforce by 20 per cent from 48 employees in 2024 to 62 in 2025 to meet growing demand for its bespoke services. Between April and May 2026, the firm delivered five dry dock projects simultaneously for some of the largest cruise brands in the industry, including Norwegian Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises, Seabourn and AIDA...

Orchard Valley Golf Course in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, will reopen for public play on 5 September 2026 following a 22-month, $8.8 million renovation by architect Greg Martin and contractor Wadsworth Golf Construction Company. The course was originally designed by Ken Kavanaugh and opened for play in 1993. It is owned by Fox Valley Park District and operated by Troon, with Martin hired to identify and advise on course repairs. The renovation began in November 2024 and...

Over 90 global industry leaders are expected to share their expertise on the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the cruise industry at Seatrade Cruise Med 2026, which will take place at Las Palmas Cruise Port on 16-17 September. The programme of content for the two-day event has been curated around the central theme ‘raising expectations’. With the Mediterranean adapting to shifting deployment patterns, growing demand for premium and year-round travel, infrastructure...

Expedition cruising is one of the fastest-growing sectors within the cruise industry. According to the Expedition Cruise Network’s 2025 Industry Insights Report, 100 per cent of ECN member cruise lines recorded growth in 2025, while Cruise Lines International Association’s 2026 State of the Industry Report found 84 per cent of travel advisors recorded steady to significant growth in bookings in the same year. Expedition cruises are often chosen for the promise of discovery they offer:...

Microsoft has warned AI governance must evolve for the agentic era in its 2026 Responsible AI Transparency Report. In the report Microsoft highlights how AI systems are becoming more capable of executing multi-step actions which is creating a new risk landscape in which factors such as access, permissions, memory and how AI is used over time are becoming increasingly important. Microsoft believes this shift requires a more dynamic approach to governance and has re-engineered its...