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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has moved to drop a long-running bribery case against two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions. In a filing in the Newark, New Jersey federal court, the SEC said it dismissed claims against Gordon Coburn and Steven Schwartz "in the exercise of its discretion and as a policy matter," and not on the merits. Coburn and Schwartz were charged by U.S. authorities in February 2019 with authorizing a $2m bribe to an Indian official for helping to obtain a construction permit for a new Cognizant office in Chennai. Bloomberg describes the move as the latest sign of the Trump administration’s shift away from enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

 

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The 2025 Summer Risk and Compliance Report

Each quarter, Hyperproof takes a deep dive into market trends in the GRC space. A new report just released that compares their data against reports from Accenture, BDO, PWC, and more so that security pros have the best data available to finish the year strong. 

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Recent data indicates that the U.S. trade war is beginning to impact consumer prices significantly. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index rose to 2.7% in June compared to the previous year, with core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, at 2.9%. "With increases in categories like household furnishings, recreation, and apparel, import levies are slowly filtering through," wrote Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. "It would be wise for the Fed to remain on the sidelines for a few more months at least.” The inflation figures are moving further from the Federal Reserve's 2% target, with expectations that interest rates will remain steady at 4.25%-4.50%. Amidst political tensions, the futures market predicts a potential rate cut in September. President Donald Trump on social media said that consumer prices were "LOW" and repeated his call for the Fed to cut rates. The consumer price level was about 1.2% higher in June compared to December, the last full month before Mr. Trump started his second term.

 

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Wall Street Journal

Over half (57%) of some 300 U.S.-based chief financial officers and other senior executives reported tariffs are already squeezing gross margins, with about a quarter of respondents seeing margin declines above the 6%-10% range. In May and June, KPMG surveyed the execs, finding also that about one-third of the executives said they’ve already experienced a 16%-25% drop in foreign sales overall due to retaliatory tariffs. Additional price increases are expected in the next six months as companies revisit more contracts, Joe Lackner, a KPMG advisory partner in industrial manufacturing, commented. “Those things take a while to work out. The next supply agreement that the [original equipment manufacturer] has with its supply base is going to deal with tariff pass-throughs a little bit differently because now they’re a substantial burden." He also noted that only 14% of the companies are planning to reduce headcounts, and that companies are "investing in automation, rethinking supply chains, and prioritizing technology to protect margins and jobs - while preparing for longer-term shifts in cost structures, sourcing strategies, and global demand dynamics."

 

CFO Dive

Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, has warned the world’s largest investment banks against issuing their own stablecoins, saying that doing so could threaten financial stability. Warning that digital assets do not offer users the same guarantees as traditional forms of money, Bailey said he "would much rather" see central banks and private banks offer tokenized deposits, which are digital versions of traditional money. Bailey, who is the new chair of the Financial Stability Board, also suggested that it would be "sensible" for the U.K. to move towards digitising deposits rather than issuing central bank digital currencies. His comments come at a time when the U.S. is preparing to approve legislation under which commercial banks will be able to issue their own stablecoins. Citi, Bank of America and JPMorgan are among those exploring plans to issue such assets.

 

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In a monthly report published on Tuesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the world economy may perform better than expected in the second half of the year despite trade conflicts. "India, China, and Brazil are outperforming expectations so far, while the United States and the Eurozone are experiencing a continued rebound from last year," OPEC said in the report. "With this, the second-half 2025 economic growth may turn out better than currently expected."

 

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A report from the Convention on Wetlands says the destruction of the world's wetlands, which support fisheries, agriculture and flood control, may mean the loss of $39 trillion in economic benefits by 2050. "The scale of loss and degradation is beyond what we can afford to ignore," said Hugh Robertson, the lead author of the report, which calls for annual investments of $275bn to $550bn to reverse the threats to the remaining wetlands, and said current spending was a "substantial under-investment."

 

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President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order in the coming days designed to help make private-market investments more available to U.S. retirement plans, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The order would instruct the U.S. Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide guidance to employers and plan administrators on including investments like private assets in 401(k) plans, according to the report, which notes that it could help pave the way for big managers of private assets such as Apollo Global Management and Blackstone to access the vast sums of retirement savings held by workers who don’t have a traditional pension.

 

Wall Street Journal

Bruna Szego, chair of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority, Europe’s new anti-money laundering watchdog, has said the crypto market is “significantly exposed to money laundering and terrorism financing risks.”

 

Financial Times

A Mexican regulator has imposed administrative fines on three local financial institutions but the government said that despite U.S. sanctions on CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa for alleged money laundering, there was no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing. "If we have conclusive information that proves illicit activities of these three financial institutions, we will act with the full force of the law," the finance ministry said, adding: "However, to date we have no such information."

 

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The European Central Bank (ECB) is next year to test euro zone banks' resilience to geopolitical turmoil as part of a growing focus on risks. "In the 2026 thematic stress test exercise, we will follow up on this year’s stress test by asking banks to assess which firm-specific geopolitical risk scenarios could severely impact their solvency," chief ECB supervisor Claudia Buch told the European Parliament. The ECB runs thematic health checks on euro zone banks every other year, when there is no European Union-wide stress test by the European Banking Authority.

 

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The U.S. Commerce Department has initiated national security investigations into the import of drones and polysilicon, a crucial material for solar panels and semiconductors, which could lead to increased tariffs. These "Section 232" investigations, which were opened on July 1 but not previously disclosed, reflect ongoing concerns about the dominance of Chinese manufacturers in the drone market, particularly DJI, which accounts for over half of U.S. commercial drone sales. The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International supports the probe, highlighting issues related to supply chain concentration and the impact of foreign subsidies on the U.S. drone industry.

 

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The recent deployment of United Auto Workers (UAW) leaders to Korea suggests that union influence could become stronger with respect to joint ventures between Korean battery manufacturers and U.S. automakers. The U.S. labor union representing workers in the automotive industry met peers at Samsung SDI and WCP to discuss unionisation of workers in the battery sector. In solidarity with the militant Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), the UAW appears to be increasing pressure on BlueOval SK, the joint venture between SK On and Ford Motor, which remains the only union-free company among the joint ventures between Korean battery manufacturers and U.S. carmakers.

 

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President Donald Trump has said Attorney General Pam Bondi should release "whatever she thinks is credible" on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as he faces a backlash from supporters after seeking to draw a line under the case. Bondi has been criticized by some of Trump's political base after her department recently said there was no evidence that Epstein kept a "client list." This appeared to contradict her previous statements, and those of other Trump allies who have previously called for the release of more information on Epstein. Trump also said yesterday he did not understand "what the interest or what the fascination is" with the case. At a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bondi sidestepped questions about the fallout of the White House's decision not to release more records related to the wealthy financier's sex trafficking investigation. Some high profile members of Trump's base are calling for her resignation, but Bondi made clear she intends to remain Attorney General. “I'm going to be here for as long as the president wants to be here,” she said. “And I believe he's made that crystal clear.”

 

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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has come under fire for a job posting that includes political questions. The position, for a senior operations engineer, asks applicants how their commitment to the U.S. Constitution informs their work and how they would support the President's policies. Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesperson, said that the agency is adhering to Office of Personnel Management guidelines. However, former NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko described the questions as a "political litmus test," and suggested they undermine professional expertise. He remarked: "If I saw something like this as Chairman, I would tell the staff to replace them immediately with relevant professional questions."

 

U.S. News

International research into the human body’s proteins has revealed new clues about ageing and how to track and treat destructive neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The results, drawn from samples from 18,645 people, reveal biochemical fingerprints of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. 

 

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