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Bill Briggs, chief technology officer at Deloitte, has flagged a critical imbalance in corporate artificial intelligence (AI) investment, revealing that companies are allocating 93% of AI budgets to technology and only 7% to people. In Deloitte’s latest Tech Trends report, Briggs warns this skewed strategy risks undermining AI’s potential, likening it to having “just cilantro” instead of the full recipe. He highlights a growing “shadow AI” problem, with 43% of employees using unauthorized AI tools, amid a 38% drop in trust towards employer-approved AI systems. Briggs urges firms to shift focus toward cultural change and employee training, or risk expensive tools that workers do not trust or use.

 

Fortune

Kraft Heinz has hired a new chief executive from Kellanova, adding that its current boss would no longer have a management role when a planned break-up takes place next year. The food conglomerate said that Steve Cahillane will take the helm at the firm on January 1st, with Carlos Abrams-Rivera stepping down. He will serve as an advisor to the firm until March 6th. In September, Kraft Heinz announced it will split into two companies, Global Taste Elevation Co and North American Grocery Co, with one focused on sauces and spreads and the other on groceries. After the split, Mr Callihane will serve as CEO of Global Taste Elevation. 

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

JPMorgan’s global chair of investment banking, Jamie Grant, will retire early next year after a 45-year career at the firm. Grant played a pivotal role in building the bank’s investment banking operations, including leading its Eurobond market entry, launching the U.S. equities business, and overseeing its first IPO and equity deals. He was appointed to his current role in 2013.

 

Reuters

Chanel has named Elisabetta Caldera as its new global chief people and organization officer, succeeding Claire Isnard, with effect from January. She joins the company from Aegon, where she spent more than four years as global chief human resources officer.

 

Bloomberg

McKinsey is planning to reduce its workforce by thousands over the next 18 to 24 months due to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. Senior partners have discussed cutting non-client-facing roles by up to 10%. A spokesperson said: "We’re on our own journey to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our support functions." The firm, which has already reduced its headcount from 45,000 to about 40,000, faces industry-wide challenges as client demand for consulting services has slowed. Discussions on the job cuts are still in early stages.

 

Bloomberg

The Times

Ford Motor has announced a $19.5bn writedown and the cancellation of several electric vehicle (EV) models, including the F-150 Lightning. The company will shift focus to hybrid and gas models, aiming for a mix of 50% hybrids and EVs by 2030. About $8.5bn of the writedown relates to scrapped EV plans, while $6bn is linked to a dissolved battery joint venture. Andrew Frick, head of Ford's gas and electric-vehicle operations, said: "Rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher-returning areas."

 

Forbes

U.S. News

A top executive at Bridgewater Associates has cautioned that the surge in artificial intelligence (AI) investment funding from external sources is "dangerous," signalling potential instability as companies struggle to cover rising costs with internal cash flows. Co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen expressed concerns that the current AI spending boom might lead to a market bubble if profits fail to materialise, saying: "there is a reasonable probability that we will soon find ourselves in a bubble." The warning follows a report indicating a dramatic increase in AI-related financing deals this year, raising questions about the sustainability of such investments amidst tightening market conditions.

 

Reuters

Manufacturing activity in New York State has dipped, with the Empire State Manufacturing Index falling 22.6 points to -3.9 in December, below the expected reading of 10.0 and marking the first negative print since September. Shipments and unfilled orders weakened, while price pressures eased slightly; however, future business conditions improved, with the forward-looking index rising to 35.7, its highest since January.

 

Investing

Advisor Perspectives

A federal judge in California has ruled that millions of Ticketmaster customers can proceed as a class in an antitrust lawsuit accusing Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary of using monopoly power to boost ticket prices. U.S. District Judge George Wu in Los Angeles said the plaintiffs met the criteria to expand their lawsuit into a class action seeking 15 years of alleged damages tied to the purchase of more than 400m tickets.

 

Music Business Worldwide

Reuters

Swiss Re estimates that insured losses from global natural disasters totalled $107bn in 2025, marking the sixth consecutive year above $100bn despite a quiet U.S. hurricane season. The U.S. accounted for $89bn of the total, with January’s Los Angeles wildfires causing $40bn in insured losses - making them the costliest wildfire event on record. Severe convective storms added a further $50bn globally, with economic losses worldwide reaching $220bn.

 

Bloomberg

The U.S. travel and tourism industry has expressed concerns over a proposed rule requiring foreign visitors to provide social media handles from the past five years. The U.S. Travel Association warned that the policy, set to take effect on February 8th, could deter millions of travellers and impact the billions they contribute to the economy. "If we get this policy wrong, millions of travelers could take their business and the billions of dollars they spend elsewhere," the association said. The proposal aims to enhance security.

 

US News and World Report

The Financial Accounting Foundation has appointed 13 new members to the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council. The group will advise the FASB on its agenda and priorities. Executives from McDonald's and Wells Fargo are among the new members. The council includes leaders from public accounting firms, C-Suite executives, academics, and analysts. They will provide insights on relevant issues and project priorities.

 

Bloomberg Tax

Amazon is set to lay off 370 employees in Luxembourg, around 8.5% of its workforce in the country. The move is part of a global restructuring following 14,000 job cuts announced earlier this year. Despite retaining its footprint and status as Luxembourg’s fifth-largest employer, the layoffs have raised concerns about the nation's reliance on foreign tech firms. Unions criticised Amazon’s approach, linking it to US-style “hire and fire” practices, while spotlighting the company’s minimal tax burden on €70bn in EU sales routed through the Grand Duchy.

 

Bloomberg

The U.K. accounting regulator has launched an investigation into EY’s audit of Shell’s accounts for last year. The Financial Reporting Council’s decision to open a probe comes after Shell said in a July regulatory filing that it breached U.K. rules on audit partner rotation which require listed companies to change the lead audit partner every five to seven years and impose cooling-off periods before they can return. At the time, the company also said it would amend its 2023 and 2024 annual reports after auditor EY failed to comply with SEC rules on partner rotation, though its financial statements would remain unchanged.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Coupang founder Bom Kim has told South Korean lawmakers that he won’t attend this week’s parliamentary hearing on the country’s largest-ever data breach. Two former heads of the retailer's Korean operations had already notified lawmakers that they would not attend after being summoned by the parliamentary committee, saying they had resigned from Coupang. The committee described the moves as a “systematic evasion of corporate responsibility” that betrays public trust.

 

Bloomberg