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Erica Williams, chair of the PCAOB, is set to depart on July 22nd, following a narrow escape from a proposal to transfer the non-profit's responsibilities to the SEC. The Senate Parliamentarian recently rejected a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that would have dissolved the PCAOB. The announcement was made by SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who said he had asked her to resign. “I know you have questions about what is next for PCAOB leadership. Unfortunately, I do not have the answers you deserve,” Ms. Williams said in an email to staff. She added: "The PCAOB plays an essential role in protecting the investments and retirement savings of workers and families across the country while helping to ensure our capital markets remain the envy of the world. With high economic uncertainty increasing the risk of fraud, the PCAOB's mission is as important as ever. It's critical the expert PCAOB staff continue to be empowered to carry out their work of ensuring American investors are protected." Her leadership focused on modernizing auditing standards and enhancing enforcement, making her departure a pivotal moment for the PCAOB amid ongoing regulatory challenges.

 

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According to a survey published today by Mercer, over half of large U.S. employers are planning to reduce health care benefits in 2026 due to escalating costs associated with weight-loss and specialty drugs. Specifically, 51% of employers with 500 or more workers intend to increase cost-sharing measures, a rise from 45% in 2025. Alysha Fluno, a pharmacy innovation leader at Mercer, noted: "More clients are saying . . . 'I don't know how much longer we can sustain covering these medications'." The survey highlights that 77% of employers view GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, as a significant concern. With prescription drug costs having surged by 8% last year, employers are exploring alternatives to traditional pharmacy benefit managers, with 34% considering a switch to new models that promise greater transparency and cost efficiency.

 

U.S. News

President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" is poised to increase administrative costs for insurers including UnitedHealthcare and Aetna, complicating their management of Medicaid health plans. Experts predict that the insurers may reduce their Medicaid coverage and focus on retaining healthier members. The bill mandates that low-income adults in expanded Medicaid states verify their work status every six months, a requirement that could overwhelm state Medicaid departments. Nikita Singareddy, chief executive of Fortuna Health, said: "The expectation is that states are going to have to be ready by 2026 or 2027, and that's a fast turnaround window." The Congressional Budget Office estimates that these policy changes could leave 7.8m people uninsured by 2034, with disenrollments potentially starting in 2027. Insurers may also adjust their strategies to retain healthy members, which could lead to increased administrative costs in the short term.

 

US News and World Report

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

Manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in five months in New York State, according to the Empire State Manufacturing July survey. The diffusion index for General Business Conditions rose 21.5 points to 5.5, well above the forecast of -8.3.  The new orders index rose sixteen points to 2.0, suggesting that orders edged up, and the shipments index climbed nineteen points to 11.5, its highest reading in several months. The index for number of employees rose five points to 9.2, and the average workweek index rose to 4.2.

 

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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."

 

Arab News

Meta Platforms chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the Facebook parent company will invest hundreds of billions of dollars to construct several large artificial intelligence (AI) data centers aimed at advancing superintelligence, with the first center, Prometheus, expected to be operational by 2026. His ambitious plan includes the establishment of multiple "titan clusters," one of which will cover a significant area comparable to Manhattan, as Meta seeks to enhance its competitive edge in the AI sector amid a talent acquisition drive for top engineers.

 

Reuters

A coalition supported by Google, Stripe, and Shopify, known as Frontier, plans to invest $1.7m in carbon removal credits from three early-stage firms to help scale up carbon removal technologies. Hannah Bebbington, head of deployment at Frontier, said that the initiative "allows companies to demonstrate commercial viability" and aims to significantly contribute to the global need for carbon emissions reduction.

 

Reuters

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.

 

The Korea Times

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.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

Mississippi law firm Gore, Kilpatrick & Dambrino (GKD) has filed a lawsuit against its cyber insurer, Spinnaker Insurance Co., claiming wrongful denial of coverage for a loss of approximately £150,000 due to an elaborate email scam. The firm was tricked into wiring funds to scammers impersonating David Casteel of Brooks Machinery Inc. The lawsuit, filed on July 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, alleges breach of contract, bad faith denial, and gross negligence. GKD is seeking damages, interest, and punitive damages.

 

Bloomberg Law

Subway trains across the southern Chinese megacity of Shenzhen saw a fleet of delivery robots join passengers during off-peak hours to restock 7-Eleven's station outlet. The meter-tall robots, operated by a logistics subsidiary of Chinese property giant Vanke, are capable of autonomously riding lifts, entering and exiting platforms, boarding trains and delivering goods to 7-Eleven stores across the city. “These robots are specially designed with unique chassis systems that allow them to cross gaps to enter lifts and carriages”, said Hou Shangjie, head of automation at VX Logistics, the Vanke subsidiary. “They will continue to iterate based on real-world performance.” Li Yanyan, a manager at one of the 7-Eleven stores involved in the project, said: “In the past, delivery workers had to park above ground, unload goods, and manually push them into subway stations . . . Now, with robots, it’s much easier and more convenient."

 

South China Morning Post