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The Supreme Court has made it easier for people from majority backgrounds to pursue claims alleging workplace "reverse" discrimination, reviving an Ohio woman's lawsuit claiming she was illegally denied a promotion and demoted because she is heterosexual. Marlean Ames said that despite working for the Ohio Department of Youth Services for more than 20 years, she was denied a promotion and then demoted. The decision effectively lowers the burden of proof required for people who are members of a majority group - such as white or heterosexual people - to make discrimination claims. U.S. court precedent covering some states, including Ohio, had required that members of majority groups show additional "background circumstances" to prove their case or evidence showing a pattern of discrimination. The court has now ruled that the standard of evidence for a discrimination claim should be the same, regardless of a person's identity.

 

BBC News

NPR

New York Times

Reuters

Google's Threat Intelligence Group has warned that a hacking group has been impersonating IT personnel to break into companies’ Salesforce tools, using the access for data theft and extortion. The hackers use voice calls to trick employees into visiting a purported Salesforce connected app setup page and unwittingly install a modified version of Salesforce's Data Loader tool. Technical infrastructure linked to the campaign shares characteristics with suspected ties to the loosely organized ecosystem known as “The Com,” known for small, disparate groups engaging in cybercriminal and sometimes violent activity. A Salesforce spokesperson said “there’s no indication the issue described stems from any vulnerability inherent in our platform.” The spokesperson said the voice calls used to trick employees “are targeted social engineering scams designed to exploit gaps in individual users’ cybersecurity awareness and best practices.”

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

Microsoft is offering to boost European governments' cybersecurity for free. The tech giant said its cybersecurity program, launched on Wednesday, will bolster governments' defences against cyber threats, including those enhanced by artificial intelligence. "If we can bring more to Europe of what we have developed in the United States, that will strengthen cybersecurity protection for more European institutions," Microsoft President Brad Smith told Reuters, adding "Our goal needs to be to keep AI advancing as a defensive tool faster than it advances as an offensive weapon." 

 

Reuters

JPMorgan Chase has told new graduates that if they accept future-dated job offers elsewhere within 18 months of starting their analyst program they will be fired. In a letter, the Wall Street bank has told incoming investment banking analysts that accepting offers at other firms before they join will mean "employment with the firm will end." Financial News says the letter did not single out private equity firms, but the move comes as buyout companies become increasingly aggressive with handing out pre-dated offers to incoming analysts.

 

Financial News

Financial Times

Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund manager, has ordered its London-based quants to temporarily return to the office five days a week amid a period of poor performance. 

 

Financial Times

The Labor Department reports that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 to 247,000 in the seven days to May 31st, the most since early October 2024. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 235,000 applications. The four-week moving average of new applications increased to 235,000, also the highest in eight months, while the total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits, reported with a one-week lag, was down 3,000 to 1.9m. “Economic uncertainty and slowing consumer demand are pushing businesses to delaying hiring, which will result in upward pressure on continuing claims and ultimately on the unemployment rate," commented economist Eliza Winger. The Labor Department's monthly employment report is out later today, with analysts expecting that U.S. employers added a slim 130,000 jobs in May. Meanwhile, a separate report from the department on Thursday found that U.S. worker productivity, measured in terms of hourly output per worker, decreased at a 1.5% annualized rate during the first quarter. The figure was revised down from the previously reported 0.8% pace of decline and marked the first drop since the second quarter of 2022. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the decline in productivity would be unrevised at a 0.8% rate. Unit labor costs, or the price of labor per single unit of output, grew at a 6.6% rate, and by 1.9% from the year prior.

 

ABC News

Bloomberg

Nasdaq

Reuters

A new report from the Federal Reserve suggests that economic activity declined slightly in the U.S. over the last several weeks, indicating tariffs and elevated concerns are rippling across the economy. The latest Beige Book compilation of anecdotes from businesses across the Fed's 12 member districts, published Wednesday, stated that they all "reported elevated levels of economic and policy uncertainty, which have led to hesitancy and a cautious approach to business and household decisions." Hiring was “little changed” across most of the Fed’s 12 districts, with seven describing employment as “flat” amid widespread growth in applicants and lower turnover rates. Prices increased at a “moderate” pace, with a few districts describing the increases as "strong, significant, or substantial." Regionally, Boston, New York and Philadelphia all reported declining economic activity, while Richmond, Atlanta and Chicago were among the districts reporting better growth.

 

Bloomberg

CNBC

Canadian firms and labor leaders are warning that the doubling of U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% will trigger immediate job losses and disrupt sales. The hike affects Canada as the top exporter of both metals to the U.S. It supplies more aluminum than the next ten countries combined. Unifor President Lana Payne stressed that the steel industry will feel an immediate impact, with ripple effects expected in the auto and aerospace sectors. Hundreds of steelworkers have already lost their jobs since initial tariffs began. Tim Houtsma, CEO of Marid Industries, said U.S. sales are no longer viable, forcing companies to cut costs. The Aluminium Association of Canada, which includes Rio Tinto, indicated members may pivot to European markets. Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed Canada is preparing retaliatory measures if ongoing U.S. negotiations fail.

 

Reuters

Boeing has reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) that could allow the company to avoid prosecution for defrauding aviation regulators, pending approval from a federal judge. The deal, detailed in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, permits Boeing to withdraw a previous guilty plea, which has upset the families of victims of two fatal 737 Max crashes that resulted in 346 deaths. A lawyer for 16 families of the victims described the deal as "morally repugnant," adding that it allowed Boeing to "sidestep true criminal accountability."

 

Financial Times

Wall Street Journal

The Guardian

A Washington woman, Misti Leon, has filed a groundbreaking wrongful-death lawsuit against seven major oil and gas companies, claiming their actions contributed to her mother Juliana Leon's death from hyperthermia during a record-breaking heat wave in June 2021. The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, alleges that these companies were aware of the climate-altering effects of their products and failed to warn the public. Legal experts, including Korey Silverman-Roati from Columbia Law School, suggest that this case could clarify the consequences of climate change and corporate behavior. Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, emphasised that “Big Oil companies have known for decades that their products would cause catastrophic climate disasters.”

 

The Columbian

Citigroup is to cut about 3,500 jobs at two of its technology centres in China as the bank seeks to reduce and simplify its global tech operations to improve risk and data management. The reduction of staff at the China Citi Solution Centres in Shanghai and Dalian is expected to be completed by the start of the fourth quarter this year, the bank said. Citigroup said some of the roles would be moved to technology centres elsewhere. "Citi continues to pursue the establishment of a wholly owned securities and futures company in China," Marc Luet, banking head of Japan, Asia North and Australia, said. Citi will have around 2,000 staff in China after the tech job cuts, a source said.

 

Reuters

A co-ordinated crackdown on retail crime across 28 states resulted in hundreds of arrests last week. More than 100 jurisdictions and over 30 retailers including Home Depot, Macy's, Target, and Walgreens took part in the campaign, which was led by Illinois’ Cook County regional organized crime task force. “When you give specific focus to a crime, it reverberates”, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart commented. “When they see it is being prosecuted and taken seriously, it deters conduct. They don’t want to get caught". “Organized retail crime remains one of the most significant challenges in our industry”, said Marty Maloney, director of media relations at Walgreens. “In this most recent operation we worked closely with law enforcement partners across nearly 20 cities and at over 40 locations to help curb this trend.” 

 

New York Post

CNBC

Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have rejected the multimillion-dollar pay packages of chief executive David Zaslav and his leadership team. More than 80% of Warner shareholders took part in a nonbinding vote on the executive compensation, including Mr. Zaslav’s $51.9m package, with just under 60% voting against the compensation. The company's stock has fallen by about 59% since the company was created from the merger of AT&T’s Warner Media and Discovery Communications in April 2022. The Warner Bros. Discovery board said it “takes the results of the annual advisory vote on executive compensation seriously” and that the board’s compensation committee “looks forward to continuing its regular practice of engaging in constructive dialogue with our shareholders.”

 

CNN

Financial Times

Wall Street Journal

JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon says that his retirement is still "several years away," adding that even though "it's always up to God and the board" he is open to staying at the company as executive chair. The 69-year-old, who has been CEO of the bank for nearly two decades, surprised investors last year when he said he would step down within five years, leading to speculation about who might take the helm in his place. In an interview broadcast on Fox Business earlier this week, he also told Maria Bartiromo what he would say to a younger person who “wants to become the next Jamie Dimon.” “Talk to everybody. Talk to every side. Don’t become weaponized by one side,” he said.

 

New York Post

Wall Street Journal