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North American Edition
17th April 2026
 
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THE HOT STORY

Boeing hires more than 100 factory workers a week

Boeing is hiring between 100 and 140 factory workers each week - the highest pace ‌since 2024 - as it replaces retirees and increases staffing to support higher production rates. The U.S. planemaker's unionized factory workers in the Pacific Northwest now number more than 34,000 and are "heading higher," Jon Holden told Reuters in his first interview as a vice president specializing in training and ​apprenticeships at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
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TECHNOLOGY

U.S. lawyers warn on AI ruling

Reuters reports that AI is presenting new issues for attorney confidentiality rules, particularly after a federal judge in New York ruled earlier this year that Bradley Heppner, the former chair of bankrupt financial services firm GWG Holdings, could not shield his AI chats from prosecutors pursuing securities fraud charges against him. More than a dozen major U.S. law ​firms have outlined advice for people and companies to decrease the chances of AI chats ending up in court. "We are telling our clients: You should proceed with caution," said Alexandria Gutiérrez Swette of New York-based law firm Kobre & Kim.
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WORKFORCE

IRS enforcement pullback deepens

The Trump administration sharply reduced IRS enforcement in 2025, cutting staffing across the agency and weakening efforts to pursue unpaid taxes. Reuters reports enforcement revenue fell 5%, or nearly $5n, while the IRS opened more than 120,000 fewer audits than a year earlier. Treasury officials said enforcement revenue rose 12% in the first five months of fiscal 2026, but the IRS still expects further workforce reductions. Natasha Sarin, president and cofounder of the Yale Budget Lab, warned the agency may have suffered “potentially irreparable harm.”

Jobless claims drop amid uncertainty

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits decreased by 11,000 to 207,000 for the week ending April 11, according to the Labor Department. This figure is below analysts' expectations of 217,000 and reflects a stable job market despite ongoing global economic uncertainties due to the war in Iran. The four-week moving average of claims rose slightly to 209,750. Meanwhile, inflation remains a concern, with consumer prices rising 3.3% in March, the largest increase since May 2024.
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LEADERSHIP

Trump weighs appointing Michael Murray to lead antitrust at DOJ

The White House is ​considering appointing attorney Michael Murray to lead ‌antitrust enforcement at the U.S. Justice Department. Murray served in various roles at ​the DOJ during the previous Trump administration, ⁠including as principal deputy assistant attorney general ​for the department’s antitrust division. “(Murray) understands how ‌the ⁠DOJ works . . . I expect him to be very much in favor of a predictable business climate,” Andrew Finch, who was a top ​DOJ antitrust official ⁠in the first Trump administration, told Bloomberg. The role is currently held by acting Assistant ​Attorney General Omeed Assefi.
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LEGAL

Landmark data center moratorium passes Maine Legislature

Maine legislators have passed the first statewide data center ban amid growing pushback across the United States to the rapid rollout of infrastructure underpinning the build-out of AI. The bill, LD 307, bans data centers larger than 20 megawatts until November 2027. “What we’re talking about here is an ability for us to absorb and understand the impact of data centers potentially on the State of Maine,” Sen. Mark Lawrence (D-York) said Wednesday ahead of the Senate vote. “The states that have had data centers come in have had tremendous impacts.”
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RISK

Cyber is the risk 'that never goes away,' BoE's Bailey says

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey ​has said the implications of Anthropic's new AI model must be quickly understood by central banks and financial regulators. "It would be reasonable to think that the events in the Gulf are the most ‌recent challenge to us in this world, until, I think it was last Friday, you wake up to find that Anthropic may have found a way to crack the whole cyber risk world open," he said at an event at Columbia University in New York. Bailey said cyber risks had in recent years rapidly risen up ​the list of regulators' concerns. "It's the one that never goes away. You have to keep mitigating it, but the threat actors will move on, so we have to deal with it," he observed.
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INTERNATIONAL

India to decide women's quota bill

India is preparing for a redrawing of its political map, driven by what the government says is a push to reserve one-third of seats for women in parliament and state assemblies. To do that, the government will unveil a constitutional amendment - requiring a two-thirds majority - backed by a three-day special session from Thursday. Women make up only about 14% of India's 543 lower house MPs. The reform would raise that to roughly a third, closer to global norms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (which loosely translates from Hindi to Saluting Women Power Act) as a historic leap, calling it "among the most significant decisions of our times," and arguing it honors women's empowerment. But opposition parties say a simple women's quota is being tied to a controversial redrawing of constituencies - a wider political overhaul masquerading as a gender reform.

Renault cuts engineer jobs amid China pressure

Renault plans to reduce its engineering workforce by as much as 20%, resulting in up to 2,400 job losses over the next two years. The French carmaker said it aims to enhance its competitiveness against Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. A spokesperson confirmed that the cuts would not involve forced layoffs, and the development of new technologies and fundamental design work would remain in France. Last month, Renault CEO Francois Provost announced a major restructuring, and said his intention was to "compete with Chinese vehicle manufacturers in terms of innovation, cost and speed."

Advocates have questions about Singapore's new housing complex for workers

Singapore's government has opened a new housing complex for workers called the NESST Tukang Dormitory. It is the first migrant worker housing to be wholly owned by the government and aims to address issues such as hygiene and overcrowding that helped Covid spread rapidly. Advocates for workers' rights nevertheless say that such infrastructure is not keeping pace with the growth in worker numbers, and many still live in poor conditions. Ethan Guo, executive director of Singaporean nonprofit Transient Workers Count Too, said of migrant workers' general impressions of the city-state: “[They] generally have a very good impression of Singapore. They see the photos on their phone and think it’s clean and beautiful. They arrive and see what’s provided to them, and they’re shocked.”
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OTHER

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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