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North American Edition
20th April 2026
 
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THE HOT STORY

Global cooperation on stablecoins critically important, BIS says

Bank for International Settlements General Manager Pablo Hernandez de Cos has said the potential for stablecoins to undermine monetary and fiscal ​policy, cause financial market stress and obstruct the fight against illicit financing, means ​global regulatory coordination is of "critical importance." Speaking in Japan, de Cos warned that without such cooperation, "divergent regulatory frameworks for stablecoins across jurisdictions could ⁠lead to severe market fragmentation or enable harmful regulatory arbitrage."
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CYBERSECURITY

White House to give U.S. agencies access to Anthropic Mythos

The U.S. government plans to make a version of Anthropic's AI model Mythos available to major federal ​agencies. Mythos is being deployed as part of Anthropic's "Project Glasswing," a controlled initiative in which select organizations are permitted to use ​the unreleased Claude Mythos Preview model for defensive cybersecurity purposes. The White House Office of Management and Budget is setting up protections to allow agencies to use Mythos, with more information to be provided "in the coming weeks."
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ECONOMY

Wall Street banks start trading derivatives to bet on pain in private credit

Wall Street banks have started trading products that would benefit if private credit funds run into trouble, as asset managers seek ways to bet on turmoil in the industry.
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GEOPOLITICAL

U.S. urges nations to back 'trade over aid' plan

The U.S. wants other nations to back a “trade over aid” initiative at the United Nations as part of the Trump administration’s broader shift away from donor-focused development assistance and toward greater private investment. “The idea that trade and free market capitalism is the surest path to prosperity has been proven by the facts and by history,” said Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman. “The U.S. remains the most generous country in the history of the world, but those arguing for ‘aid not trade’ are really arguing for lining the pockets of a corrupt NGO industrial complex.” The new U.S. position has drawn criticism from the non-profit sector and others working on economic development goals.
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LEGAL

Italian court accepts legal action over Facebook mass breach

A court in Milan has given the go-ahead to a class-action lawsuit on behalf of tens of millions of Facebook users affected by a data leak. According to the court ​order, the data scraping incident, ​which took place between January 2018 and ⁠September 2019 and was disclosed ​by Facebook parent Meta in 2021, affected around 533​m Facebook users globally. The CTCU consumer association seeks compensation on behalf of social media ​users who lost, or feared losing, ​control over their personal data in breach of ‌the ⁠EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). "We respectfully disagree with the court's decision, which is ​a procedural ruling only and ​makes ⁠no finding that Meta violated any law," a Meta spokesperson said, adding: "We are confident ⁠this ​meritless action will ultimately ​be dismissed."

Ex-employee sues Thomson Reuters over U.S. immigration work

A former Thomson Reuters employee has sued the company under a whistleblower retaliation law, saying she was illegally fired for raising concerns about how  immigration authorities are using its technology. The lawsuit on behalf of Billie Little, a senior attorney editor for the technology and content conglomerate, was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland. The suit contends that Little was dismissed last month following an internal investigation that Thomson Reuters launched after she and 169 other employees had called on the company’s leadership to halt its contracts with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

U.S. prepares antitrust case over egg price fixing

The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against major egg producers, including Cal-Maine Foods and Versova, for allegedly coordinating pricing through Expana, a service that benchmarks industry prices. This civil lawsuit follows a significant price hike in eggs during 2024 and 2025, attributed to an avian flu supply shortage. The investigation aligns with recent antitrust actions targeting companies sharing sensitive pricing information, such as RealPage and Agri Stats. While no final decision has been made, a lawsuit may be filed next month, amid ongoing scrutiny of food prices by the Trump administration. The egg producers contend that price increases are a result of supply and demand dynamics, while internal Justice Department remarks suggest otherwise. Cal-Maine is currently under investigation, having confirmed its participation in various state probes related to price gouging during the pandemic.
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TECHNOLOGY

AI threatens ‘jobs with dignity', Nobel-winning economist says

Simon Johnson, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in economics, warns that AI could erode middle-class jobs and widen inequality unless policymakers start tackling the issue now. Johnson tells Bloomberg that while technical transformations create jobs, the current trajectory suggests a net loss of "jobs with dignity", and while alternative paths are possible, they are not guaranteed. He believes that governments need to be prepared and that institutions should be created to manage the impact of the technology.
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STRATEGY

First wave of layoffs to cut about 10% of Meta's workforce

Meta is targeting May 20 for a first wave of layoffs, with more ‌coming later, three sources familiar with the company's plans have told Reuters. The parent of Facebook and Instagram will lay off about 10% of its global workforce, or close to 8,000 employees, in the initial round, one of the sources said. The company is planning further layoffs in the second half of the ​year, although details of these cuts, including date and size, are not yet settled, the sources said.

Stellantis invests €100m to keep open site near Paris

Stellantis has said it plans to invest €100m to transform its plant near Paris, which will keep making cars through at least the end of 2028, and then shift to activities including auto part production, recycling, and 3D printing. The company, which currently produces the Opel Mokka and DS compact sport utility vehicles at the Poissy facility, has vowed to retain 1,000 blue-collar jobs there by 2030, with no layoffs. Bloomberg notes that Stellantis has worked closely with labor unions on the project, which “guarantees an industrial future for the Poissy site at a time of rapid change for the automotive industry,” according to Xavier Chéreau, the group’s chief human resources and sustainability officer.
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OTHER

Nike pulls controversial Boston Marathon sign

Nike has removed a sign from its Newbury Street, Boston store that read “Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated” after it drew significant backlash online. The sign, intended to inspire participants in the Boston Marathon, was up for just over a week. Nike acknowledged the misstep, saying: “One of them missed the mark. We took it down, and we'll use this moment to do better.” The removal followed criticism from runners, including Robyn Michaud, who highlighted the need for inclusivity in the sport. In response, Asics displayed a billboard promoting inclusivity for all runners and walkers.
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