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The Supreme Court is to consider putting new limits on lawsuits against companies over atrocities abroad, and has agreed to hear Cisco's bid to stop claims that it was complicit in China's torture of Falun Gong adherents. Plaintiffs claim the company worked closely with Beijing to create a so-called "Golden Shield" surveillance system which enabled officials to identify, apprehend and torture followers of the spiritual movement, which China declared illegal in 1999. Cisco has said it doesn’t customize products to facilitate repression.

 

Bloomberg

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National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett says the Trump administration has a backup plan to reimpose tariffs if the Supreme Court strikes down its global levies. “We’ve got a very, very detailed backup plan. We’re confident that if we were to lose this case, that we can get all of the president’s policies in place almost immediately with alternative authorities,” Hassett told Fox News. The administration will weigh using Section 301 powers or Section 122 of the Trade Act as alternative authorities to impose tariffs if the current ones are struck down.

 

Bloomberg

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that countries "doing business" with Iran will be subject to a 25% tariff on trade with the U.S., a move that could hit major economies such as China, Russia and India. The threat follows reports from human rights groups that hundreds of people have been killed in a brutal crackdown on protests against the Iranian regime that intensified over the weekend. Mr Trump has previously warned that the U.S. could intervene if Iran’s government uses violence against the protesters. The latest proclamation did not define what qualifies as "doing business" with Iran, raising questions regarding how these additional tariffs could work, exactly which countries would be targeted and whether services and not just goods would face higher duties.

 

CNN

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Politico

Central bank governors from 11 major institutions, including the European Central Bank, Bank of England, and Bank of Canada, have issued a joint statement backing U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell as he faces a criminal investigation into a $2.5bn Fed headquarters renovation. The show of solidarity comes amid concerns that the probe, launched by the Trump administration, threatens the Fed’s independence. Mr. Powell has called the investigation a political pretext to undermine monetary policy autonomy.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Americans grew more concerned about job security in December, with expectations for finding a new job hitting the lowest point since 2013, particularly among households earning under $100,000, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Despite job market concerns, inflation expectations for the year ahead rose to 3.4%, while households felt more optimistic about their personal finances, even as credit access tightened and debt worries increased.

 

CNBC

Reuters

The U.K. government has announced that a new law will come into force this week making it a criminal offense to create or request non-consensual intimate images, including AI deepfakes, and plans to criminalize companies that supply AI tools which are used in the creation of such images. U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned social media firm X about its AI tool Grok, saying that if it cannot control the AI chatbot, "we will." He added that the social media site could lose the "right to self regulate." Meanwhile, U.K. media regulator Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into X over a feature of Grok which has been used to create "deeply disturbing" images. The regulator said it launched the probe having reviewed the available evidence "as a matter of urgency." Ofcom said the investigation will look to establish whether X has failed to comply with its legal obligations under the Online Safety Act.

 

BBC News

Daily Mail

The Times

Bloomberg reports on how Colorado sparked an international trend for salary transparency when it started forcing employers to include pay ranges in job postings in 2021. Since then, about a dozen other U.S. states have adopted similar requirements, and the European Union will follow suit later this year. Colorado’s law mandates employers to specify pay ranges, and also related benefits such as healthcare, in all job postings. The rule also prohibits employers from asking job candidates about their pay history or using it to determine wages. Such practices have been identified as perpetuating the pay discrimination often faced by women. 

 

Bloomberg

The Supreme Court is to consider invalidating the Federal Communications Commission’s system for imposing financial penalties in a case involving AT&T and Verizon Communications which stems from FCC claims that the wireless carriers illegally shared access to customers’ location data and did not take adequate measures to protect against unauthorized disclosure. Bloomberg notes that the Trump administration is defending the regulator’s adjudication system, saying it gives companies and individuals an adequate right to make their case to a jury before they have to pay any penalties.

 

Bloomberg

The Dutch tax court has ruled that the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) must repay €213.5m in tax refunds and interest. The court found that HOOPP was not the true beneficial owner of shares that generated dividends between 2013 and 2018. Scott White, a spokesperson for HOOPP, expressed disappointment and said: "This initial ruling . . . will have no impact on HOOPP's ability to pay pensions to our members today or in the future." The ruling follows allegations that HOOPP exploited its tax status through complex financial strategies.

 

The Globe and Mail

Exxon Mobil has said it remains interested in sending an assessment team to Venezuela, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he might keep the oil company out of the country. At the White House last week, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said Venezuela needed to make legal changes and protect investments before the company would commit to operating there. Trump later said that he "didn't like Exxon's response." 

 

Reuters

Lululemon has raised its fourth-quarter profit and revenue forecasts to the high end of prior guidance, driven by strong holiday season performance. The Canadian athletic-wear brand now expects earnings close to $4.76 per share on revenue of up to $3.59bn. Despite solid results, the company faces internal challenges, including chief executive Calvin McDonald’s planned departure and a proxy fight led by founder Chip Wilson, who is pushing to reshape the board amid concerns over U.S. sales stagnation and rising competition.

 

Toronto Star

Wall Street Journal

Residential brokerage Compass closed its acquisition of Anywhere, its largest rival, after Justice Department leaders overruled staff concerns that the deal could hurt competition in the real estate market. The DOJ allowed the official waiting period for a federal antitrust review to expire on Jan. 2 even after staff had recommended further scrutiny, sources said. Compass was thus able to close the deal months ahead of schedule.

 

Bloomberg

Citigroup is set to cut about 1,000 jobs this week as part of a plan announced two years ago to reduce its workforce by 20,000 by the end of this year. “We will continue to reduce our headcount in 2026,” a Citigroup spokesperson said. “These changes reflect adjustments we’re making to ensure our staffing levels, locations and expertise align with current business needs; efficiencies we have gained through technology; and progress against our transformation work.”

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

An analysis by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism reveals that human errors and track defects have caused over 3,000 rail accidents in the past decade, resulting in 23 fatalities and nearly 1,200 injuries. Despite 81 safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has only fully implemented five. The analysis highlights a cycle of industry opposition and federal inaction.

 

U.S. News

Several U.S. states are moving to distance themselves from Donald Trump’s 2025 federal tax overhaul, as concerns grow about its impact on state revenues. Legislators in Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have already passed measures to decouple parts of their tax codes from Trump’s tax-cutting agenda. Now governors and lawmakers in nearly two dozen states are studying those approaches as they grapple with budget pressures created by the law. The debate highlights widening divergence between federal tax policy and state-level fiscal priorities as states seek flexibility to manage their own finances.

 

Bloomberg Tax