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U.S. semiconductor firm Broadcom is suing EU antitrust regulators in Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second-highest, over their requests for documents containing legal advice from the company's U.S. lawyers in ​a case related to VMware, which it acquired in 2023. "This filing is a ​procedural action solely to protect Broadcom's rights under the long-recognized rules ​on legal professional privilege in non-EU countries, including the U.S.," ⁠said the company, adding: "As a U.S.-headquartered company with global operations, ​Broadcom regards legal professional privilege as a fundamental right that must be protected ​and our action is narrowly tailored to address only this interest." Broadcom said it is acting on a matter of principle and is otherwise cooperating with the European Commission's requests for information.

 

U.S. News

Reuters

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed amendments to its rules and forms governing registered offerings that are designed to increase efficiency, flexibility, and cost savings for public companies while maintaining robust investor protections. The Commission also proposed rule amendments to simplify its public company reporting framework and better calibrate disclosure obligations with a company's size and maturity. “Today, the Commission proposed two rulemakings that serve as the foundation for my agenda to Make IPOs Great Again. These proposals build upon the legislative and regulatory concepts that have proven successful in the past and aim to extend that success to more companies – particularly small and mid-sized companies – and incentivize them to go and stay public,” said SEC chairman Paul S. Atkins. “Today’s proposed rulemakings are among the first important steps toward transforming the SEC’s regulatory framework for public companies.”

 

Reuters

SEC.gov

Ryan Breslow, the co-founder and chief executive of American fintech company Bolt, which makes software to speed up online checkouts, has defended his decision to fire its entire human resources team, arguing they were "creating problems that did not exist." Bolt laid off roughly 30% of its workforce in April. Breslow said: "We had an HR team, and that HR team was creating problems that didn't exist . . . Those problems disappeared when I let them go." He added: "We're back in startup mode again, and those HR professionals have really important insights when you're in a peacetime and when you're at a larger company." After stepping down in 2022, Breslow returned to Bolt as CEO in 2025, operating in what he calls “wartime.” The firm has established a smaller "people operations team" to oversee employee training and serve as a resource for staff. "We need a group of people who are very oriented around getting things done, and there is just a culture of not getting things done and complaining a lot," Breslow said. 

 

Fortune

New York Times

Fast Company

The Times

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague will today deliver a ruling on the right to strike that could have profound implications for global labour relations. The top United Nations court has been asked to issue a non-binding advisory opinion on whether a treaty drawn up in 1948 by the International Labour Organisation, known as Convention 87, implicitly enshrines such a right. The treaty includes the right for workers "in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities." Unions say this by extension enshrines the right to industrial action; employers disagree. Although not binding, the ruling will in practice clarify the right to strike in international law. Harold Koh, representing the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), said that if the court ruled the right to strike was not inherent in the Convention, "National employer groups would contest the right to strike country by country, focusing first on nations with compliant courts, weak civil societies and ineffective media."

 

France 24

The Supreme Court has declined ⁠to hear a challenge by ⁠drugmaker Eli Lilly to a Civil War-era whistleblower law that has recovered billions ​of dollars by allowing private individuals to bring fraud lawsuits on behalf of the federal government. Lilly ⁠had argued that ⁠handing government power to private citizens in this manner violates the U.S. Constitution. Ronald Streck, a lawyer and pharmacist, brought a whistleblower lawsuit against Lilly in 2014; he accused the company of short-changing drug rebates to Medicaid. Streck sued under the False Claims Act, which allows private individuals to ⁠sue ⁠on the government's behalf and ⁠share in recoveries ​through its so-called "qui tam" mechanism.

 

U.S. News

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has said the Supreme Court risks being seen as political following the court's decision allowing Louisiana to move quickly to use new maps after the court struck down a majority-Black district and weakened the Voting Rights Act. “Public confidence is really all the judiciary has,” she said at a talk before the American Law Institute in Washington, D.C. “Everyone believes the court system is outside the political sphere. I think that means it's incumbent on us to do things, to act in ways that shore up public confidence,” Jackson said. She has become a frequent dissenter from the decisions of the conservative majority court.

 

U.S. News

Federal Reserve officials signaled increasing openness to raising interest rates if inflation remains elevated, according to minutes from the central bank’s April meeting, as policymakers reassess the outlook amid higher energy prices and strong economic activity. The minutes showed that a majority of officials believed “some policy firming” could become necessary if inflation continued to run persistently above the Fed’s 2% target. While rates were ultimately left unchanged, several policymakers objected to retaining language suggesting the next move would likely be a cut rather than a hike. The discussions reflected shifting expectations following the conflict in the Middle East, which has pushed up energy prices and raised concerns that inflation could remain higher for longer. Investors have increasingly priced in the possibility of at least one rate increase by the end of 2026. The meeting also marked Jerome Powell’s final gathering as Fed chair before Kevin Warsh assumes leadership later this week. The next Federal Open Market Committee meeting is scheduled for June 16th-17th.

 

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

U.S. executives are placing a greater emphasis on cost-cutting as concerns grow over weakening economic conditions, declining profits, and geopolitical uncertainty, according to recent surveys of finance leaders and economists. A U.S. Bancorp survey of around 1,000 senior finance executives found that 39% now view expense reduction as their top priority, up from 33% in mid-2024. Separately, the National Association for Business Economics reported that nearly a quarter of respondents expect the conflict in Iran to negatively affect investment and hiring over the next six months. The NABE survey also found that nearly one-third of respondents expect corporate profits to weaken in the coming months, while almost half believe Middle East tensions will negatively impact business conditions through higher energy and transportation costs. Only 13% of respondents expect earnings to improve, the lowest level since 2023.

 

Bloomberg

Samsung Electronics has reached a tentative wage agreement with its labor union, avoiding a planned strike at the world’s largest memory chipmaker just hours before industrial action was due to begin. The South Korean technology group confirmed late on Wednesday that management and union representatives had agreed terms covering pay and collective bargaining. The union subsequently suspended strike plans that had been scheduled to run from 21 May to 7 June. The agreement followed days of tense negotiations and government mediation. Earlier on Wednesday, union leader Choi Seung-ho had said the strike would proceed after Samsung management rejected a proposal accepted by union representatives. The dispute had threatened disruption at a critical time for Samsung’s semiconductor business, which remains central to global memory chip supply chains. Labour Minister Kim Young-hoon attended the negotiations alongside union and company representatives.

 

Financial Times

The Japan Times

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has said doctors will probably need to wait many months for a vaccine to be ready for human trials to combat a rare strain of Ebola in central Africa. CEPI chief Richard Hatchett said the coalition and its partners will launch the vaccine development process immediately for multiple candidates, but lab testing and evidence from animal trials will be needed before human studies can start. Some potential candidates have undergone initial animal testing. “These are very, very early-stage vaccines,” he said.

 

Bloomberg

A Chinese court has ruled that companies cannot dismiss employees or reduce their salaries solely because artificial intelligence (AI) can perform their tasks. The case involved a quality control manager who was demoted and had his salary cut after AI was implemented. The Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court said that AI deployment does not constitute a valid reason for termination under Chinese labor law, and employers must explore reskilling and alternative roles instead of using AI as an excuse for layoffs. Kyle Chan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies China’s technology and industrial policy, said there were indications of a shift in Beijing’s approach to job losses caused by AI. “Previously, Chinese policymakers seemed to downplay these risks. Official messaging on AI focused on the new jobs that AI was creating . . . Now we see more language from Beijing about addressing unemployment related to AI.”

 

Bangkok Post

The Guardian