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The Competition Commission of India (CCI), India's antitrust watchdog, has told a court that a 2024 law used to calculate fines on the basis of a company's global turnover will discourage breaches by multinationals. In November, Apple asked judges in New Delhi to strike down the law, which could also have implications for other foreign companies facing antitrust scrutiny, including Pernod Ricard, Publicis and Amazon. The law "aligns Indian competition law enforcement with established international practice," the CCI said, adding "This approach ensures that penalties retain real deterrent value in complex, digital and cross-border markets, rather than becoming nominal or easily absorbable for large multinational players." 

 

Economic Times

Reuters

Business Standard

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U.S. tech giants including Alphabet's Google, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Amazon will not face heavy-handed regulations in Europe's forthcoming rule revamp known as the Digital Networks Act, which aims to boost the region's competitiveness and investments in telecoms infrastructure, sources say. "They will be asked to cooperate and discuss voluntarily, moderated by EU telecoms regulators' group BEREC. There will be no new obligations. It will be a best practices regime," one of the people said. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen will present the rule overhaul on January 20.

 

Reuters

About 17.5m Instagram users have had their personal information exposed in a data breach. Cybersecurity researchers at Malwarebytes discovered the leak, which was later confirmed on dark web forums. The compromised data includes full names, email addresses, phone numbers, and user IDs. Experts warn the breach has led to a surge in password reset attacks, with users receiving unsolicited emails. Davey Winder, a cybersecurity expert, noted the connection between the data leak and the increase in password reset notifications. Instagram advises users to enable two-factor authentication and remain vigilant against phishing attempts.

 

Daily Mail

Vice President JD Vance has announced plans for a Senate-confirmed DOJ assistant attorney general with “nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud” to be “run out of the White House.” Vance said the appointee will initially focus on alleged fraud in Minnesota - but that it will be a “nationwide effort, because unfortunately, the American people have been defrauded in a very nationwide way.”

 

Politico

U.S. prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell relating to his testimony before Congress last summer about the $2.5bn renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. "No one - certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve - is above the law . . . But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure" for lower interest rates and more broadly for greater say over the Fed, Powell said. President Donald Trump told NBC News Sunday that he had no knowledge of the Justice Department's actions. A DOJ spokesperson didn't comment specifically on the case but observed: “The Attorney General has instructed her U.S. Attorneys to prioritize investigating any abuse of tax payer dollars.”

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Bloomberg Law reports that Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, is using social media to single out anti-DEI targets, including Knoxville Symphony Orchestra CEO Rachel Ford following a series of viral X posts by a musician alleging he was denied a role at the orchestra due to DEI initiatives. “Rachel, we have questions,” Dhillon wrote in a post she shared which listed Ford's email and phone number. “Suggesting a violation of the law has occurred - through social media or press - before a full investigation risks vilifying the target before all the facts are known,” and “undermines the credibility of the department,” said Regan Rush, former chief of the division’s special litigation section.

 

Bloomberg Law

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the United States has a “legal obligation” to keep paying its dues that fund U.N. agencies after the Trump administration said it will withdraw from dozens of international organizations operated by the world body, including the U.N.'s population agency and the U.N. treaty that establishes international climate negotiations. “As we have consistently underscored, assessed contributions to the United Nations regular budget and peacekeeping budget, as approved by the General Assembly, are a legal obligation under the U.N. Charter for all Member States, including the United States,” Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for Guterres, said in a statement.

 

AP News

The Labor Department published its December job report on Friday, revealing that American employers added a seasonally-adjusted 50,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.4%. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected 73,000 new jobs to be added. Losses for October and November were revised down, meaning employment was 76,000 lower than previously reported in those two months. Job gains in December were largely driven by food services, health care and social assistance, with losses concentrated in retail trade and manufacturing. Average hourly earnings increased 3.8% from a year earlier to $37.02. “It’s fair to say that 2025 was a hiring recession in the United States,” commented Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “The United States is experiencing a jobless boom where growth is strong, but hiring is not. It’s a great scenario for Wall Street, but an uneasy feeling on Main Street.”

 

ABC News

Bloomberg

CNBC

Wall Street Journal

U.S. housing starts fell 4.6% in October to an annualised pace of 1.25m, the lowest since the early pandemic period, driven by a 26% slump in multifamily construction. Despite lower mortgage rates and declining home prices, builders continue to scale back amid fragile demand and weak sentiment. Building permits also dipped 0.2%, signaling continued caution heading into 2026.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

Thousands of nurses at major New York City hospitals went on strike on Monday. Nearly 15,000 nurses walked off the job after the failure of negotiations over a complicated array of issues, marking the largest strike in city history, according to Nancy Hagans, president of the New York State Nurses Association. Key issues included staffing levels and safety measures, particularly regarding the use of artificial intelligence. Hospitals claim they have improved staffing since 2023, but nurses argue that promises are not being met.

 

U.S. News

The managing director of Energy Transition Minerals, an Australian miner with a rare earth project in Greenland, has said resource security is increasingly driving prices. “Supply chains for critical minerals like rare earths are now not just priced based on cost, but more importantly on security of supply,” Daniel Mamadou told Bloomberg Television. “What the West is realizing, and taking steps towards now, is the fact that tough projects need to be funded,” Mamadou said.

 

Mining

The parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus is nearing a $1.25bn bankruptcy financing package as it prepares for a Chapter 11 filing. A bondholder group led by Bracebridge Capital and Pentwater Capital is offering this debtor-in-possession loan, which is conditioned on the termination of Saks Global's management. Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco) has proposed a competing $1.5bn loan to support the business during the bankruptcy process. The two luxury retailers, both over a century old, have faced challenges as luxury brand competition has intensified, leading to a 13% drop in sales to $1.6bn and a net loss of $288m. Saks missed a crucial debt payment, resulting in the resignation of CEO Marc Metrick, with Richard Baker stepping in as interim CEO. The company is also addressing reputational issues following a fraud charge against a stylist in its Boston store.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

The Wall Street Journal

Ford plans to introduce its first eyes-off driver-assistance system by 2028, allowing drivers to take their hands and eyes off the road in certain conditions. The system will be available on a new electric vehicle platform, with pricing details pending. The initiative reflects Ford's push to develop in-house technologies, reducing reliance on external suppliers while aiming to deliver more advanced systems at lower costs.

 

Reuters