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The Securities and Exchange Commission has ditched its focus on the oversight of companies offering crypto asset-related services for 2026, according to the regulator's annual statement. The SEC's Division of Examinations said it would focus on fiduciary duty, standards of conduct, and asset custody as well as new requirements for customer data privacy, among other subjects. The annual statement contained no standalone section explicitly focusing on crypto activity and the volatility of digital assets, Reuters notes.

 

Reuters

Ransomware Shifts You Must Act On

Ransomware is evolving faster than most security teams can respond, and the latest data from 1,300 organizations shows how quickly risk is escalating. With 900 victims hit by encryption or exfiltration in the past year alone, leaders can no longer rely on outdated assumptions about attacker behavior. Law enforcement crackdowns are reshaping threat dynamics. Data theft is rising even as ransom payments fall. Legal exposure is growing. These shifts demand sharper preparedness, stronger resilience and a clearer understanding of the operational and compliance risks that follow an attack. This report distills six critical trends and the real-world strategies organizations are using to harden defenses, improve recovery outcomes and limit business disruption. It is a concise, high-value briefing for anyone responsible for protecting data, ensuring continuity and reducing the financial and regulatory fallout of a breach.

 

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Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has told the BBC that every company would be affected if the AI bubble were to burst. Pichai said the growth of artificial intelligence investment had been an "extraordinary moment", but there was some "irrationality" in the current AI boom. Asked whether Google would be immune to the impact of the AI bubble bursting, Pichai said the Alphabet-owned tech giant could weather that potential storm, but also warned: "I think no company is going to be immune, including us." Pichai said Google's unique model of owning its own "full stack" of technologies - from semiconductors to YouTube data, to models and frontier science - meant it was in a better position than others to ride out any AI market turbulence.

 

BBC News

The board of the California Public Employment Retirement System (Calpers) has approved the adoption of a "total portfolio approach," making it the first U.S. public pension fund to fully embrace the strategy. The total portfolio approach views and manages portfolio assets under a single objective, in contrast to strategic asset allocation, in which separate asset classes are siloed and managed separately. “The overall objectives are to ensure that the system is sustainable and . . . improves the likelihood that we generate somewhat higher returns and improve the funded ratio,” said Stephen Gilmore, Calpers’ chief investment officer. 

 

Chief Investment Officer

Financial Times

Pensions & Investments

Zijin Gold International's IPO has put Morgan Stanley at risk of regulatory and reputational damage, according to a U.S. House committee. Zijin Gold, a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group, is on a U.S. government list banning imports due to alleged human rights abuses involving Uygurs. The committee questioned whether Morgan Stanley's involvement in the IPO helped Zijin Mining evade U.S. restrictions. Representative John Moolenaar said: "When U.S. financial institutions engage with Chinese firms linked to Uygur forced labor, they undermine the U.S. government's goal of deterring forced labor globally." Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

 

South China Morning Post

Bank of America and BNY Mellon have asked a federal judge to dismiss lawsuits alleging they enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking by providing banking services. A victim, identified as Jane Doe, claims the banks ignored clear signs of criminal activity to prioritise profits and failed to file suspicious activity reports. BofA has called the claims “threadbare and meritless,” asserting it only offered standard services. BNY argued there’s no evidence Epstein was even a customer. Both banks denied foreseeability of harm. The same legal team previously secured settlements from JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank totaling $365m. No wrongdoing was admitted in those cases.

 

Reuters

Chicago has reached an $18m settlement with DoorDash over allegations of deceptive practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city accused DoorDash of listing restaurants on its platform without their consent and failing to disclose full service costs to customers. Mayor Brandon Johnson said: “This settlement demonstrates Chicago's commitment to standing up for workers and small businesses.” As part of the settlement, DoorDash will provide $4m in credits to eligible users, $3.25m to restaurants listed without consent, and $500,000 to drivers affected by past pay practices. Additionally, DoorDash will pay $4.5m to cover legal fees. The company maintains that the settlement does not imply wrongdoing.

 

Chicago Sun Times

Chicago Tribune

A nonprofit organization, Jobs to Move America, has filed a lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia, alleging violations of California's unfair competition law through the use of exploited labor, including children and inmates. Meredith Stewart, litigation director at Jobs to Move America, said the automakers have “engaged in severe labor exploitation.” The lawsuit seeks to prevent the companies from receiving certifications for high-road employment standards until they undergo an independent audit of their supply chains.

 

Los Angeles Times

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to permit companies to exclude shareholder proposals from proxy materials, a move likely to limit shareholder activism. The SEC cited resource constraints and a high volume of filings as reasons for the decision. Sanford Lewis, director of Shareholder Rights Group, commented: "The SEC has essentially announced that it will not enforce its own rules." The policy shift follows the rescinding of guidance that facilitated shareholder proposals, potentially reshaping the current proxy season and making it more challenging for shareholders to advocate for changes.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

The diamond industry is calling for reform of the Kimberley Process, a certification scheme established in 2003 to eliminate conflict diamonds. Feriel Zerouki, president of the World Diamond Council, said: "The rules of yesteryear that were created 20 years ago, really need to be reformed." The current definition of "conflict" diamonds is too narrow, excluding regions like Russia despite ongoing conflicts. Critics argue the process enables "greenwashing" and lacks transparency. The council aims to broaden the definition to include armed groups and enhance protections for diamond-producing communities.

 

Financial Times

The Times

Dulux owner AkzoNobel will combine with paint and chemicals company Axalta to create a business with an enterprise value of $25bn. Amsterdam-listed Akzo and New York-listed Axalta said the "merger of equals" will create a global coatings company valued at approximately $25bn, generating $17bn in annual revenues. The combination will move to a single listing on the New York Stock Exchange following a transition period, with the deal expected to close in late 2026-early 2027, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. 

 

NL Times

Financial Times

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

President Donald Trump has withdrawn Donald Korb's nomination for the position of assistant general counsel at the Treasury Department, leaving the IRS without a permanent leader for the time being. The decision was made public on Friday, with no explanation provided. The withdrawal follows criticism from far-right activist Laura Loomer, who highlighted concerns regarding Mr. Korb's connections to a Democratic tax writer and past remarks about whistleblowers, labeling them as disqualifying “red flags.” As a result, plans for the Senate to confirm Mr. Korb this week have been scuttled.

 

Bloomberg Tax

New York Times

Politico

Zurich-based lender UBS has said it wants to continue operating from Switzerland in response to a Financial Times report that bank chair Colm Kelleher and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had privately discussed moving the bank's headquarters to the U.S. if the Swiss government did not back down on incoming new capital rules. UBS has argued that the new requirements go further than those required of global peers and would reduce its ability to compete internationally. "As we have said repeatedly, we want to continue to operate successfully as a global bank out of Switzerland," UBS told Reuters.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said an explosion on a railway line connecting the capital Warsaw to the southeastern city of Lublin was "an unprecedented act of sabotage." Tusk did not name any suspects or a potential motive for the alleged sabotage but did however note the line's importance in delivering aid to Ukraine.  “The blowing up of the railway track on the Warsaw-Lublin route is an unprecedented act of sabotage aimed at the security of the Polish state and its citizens,” Tusk wrote on X on Monday. “As in previous cases of this type, we will catch the perpetrators, regardless of who commissioned them.”

 

ABC News

Financial Times

Wall Street Journal