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The U.S. Treasury plans to meet domestic and international insurance regulators over the risks in private credit after recent upheaval in the multitrillion-dollar market. "This first series of meetings will facilitate greater ​regular communication with the state insurance regulators, who serve as the insurance ⁠industry's primary regulators, and lay the groundwork for sustained close collaboration," the department said. Initial meetings “will allow participants to survey recent market events, emerging risks, risk management practices and outlooks for the sector,” it added. The meetings are scheduled to begin this month and continue through early May.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Hackers have stolen $280m from Drift, the largest so-called perpetual futures exchange on the Solana blockchain. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said the heist shows multiple hallmarks of North Korean state-sponsored DPRK hackers. “It is a continuation of the DPRK’s sustained campaign of large-scale cryptoasset theft, which the U.S. government has linked to the funding of its weapons programs. DPRK-linked actors are believed to be responsible for billions of dollars in cryptoasset theft in recent years,” Elliptic said.

 

CoinDesk

Financial Times

Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have told their Paris staff they can temporarily work from home after a thwarted bombing at Bank of America’s office in the French capital last week. The police have said they suspect the foiled plot is linked to HAYI, a pro-Iranian group that ‌had ⁠posted a video naming Bank of America's Paris headquarters. However, prosecutors say the link is yet to be confirmed, Reuters notes.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Australia's federal court has fined Binance's local unit A$10m ($6.9m) for misclassifying over 85% of its Australian clients ‌that exposed them to high-risk crypto products. Binance ⁠Australia Derivatives admitted the failures in a statement of agreed ​facts with the Australian Securities and Investments ​Commission (ASIC). Reuters notes that in ​one instance, ⁠a client was incorrectly deemed a professional investor based solely on a self-certification as an "exempt ​public authority", without proper verification.

 

Reuters

Apple Distribution International (ADI) has been fined £390,000 ($520,000) by the U.K. government for breaching sanctions against Russia. The fine follows payments exceeding £635,000 made to the Russian streaming service Okko, which is linked to a sanctioned entity. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) stated that ADI had breached financial sanctions legislation. An Apple spokesperson noted that the company reported the payments after discovering their affiliation with a sanctioned entity.

 

Financial Times

The Guardian

A federal judge has mandated the University of Pennsylvania to provide records about its Jewish employees. The Trump administration claims the requested lists are part of a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigation into antisemitic discrimination at the university. U.S. District Judge Gerald Pappert said that while employees can opt out of the EEOC investigation, the agency "needs the opportunity to talk to them directly to learn if they have evidence of discrimination." The university is appealing the decision, emphasizing its commitment to combating antisemitism while raising concerns about privacy and First Amendment rights. The EEOC's investigation has been precipitated by several antisemitic incidents on campus, including vandalism and hate speech. The investigation aims to determine if the work environment is hostile for Jewish employees.

 

Los Angeles Times

U.S. News

The American Bar Association’s lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s attacks on law firms can move forward after a federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case. The ABA plausibly alleged “a realistic threat of sanctions to establish its standing,” Judge Amir Ali ruled. Ali said the ABA's suit "details at length the chilling effect the alleged policy has had on firms and lawyers," including claims that law firms have declined ​to take on some matters that challenge the Trump administration out of fear of retaliation. ABA President Michelle ​Behnke said the organization was "confident in the soundness" of its lawsuit. "The ABA believes this case is crucial to defending our members’ ​rights to represent clients of their choice and the public’s right to secure counsel of choice," Behnke said.

 

Law

Bloomberg Tax

Law

Reuters

A federal judge in Manhattan has ruled that former Twitter investors can pursue their case against Elon Musk as a class action. The investors accuse Musk of delaying the disclosure of his initial Twitter investment, causing them financial loss by selling their shares at depressed prices. Investors led by the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System said Musk ignored a March ​24, 2022 deadline set by Securities and Exchange Commission rules to reveal he owned 5% of Twitter shares, and waited 11 more days before disclosing a 9.2% stake.

 

Reuters

Inflation pressures across the U.S. services sector accelerated sharply in March, with the ISM prices index rising to 70.7 from 63.0, marking its largest monthly increase in more than 13 years and the highest level in four years. The surge was driven primarily by rising energy costs linked to the ongoing Iran war, with businesses warning that higher oil prices are feeding through into broader input costs and threatening to erode consumer purchasing power. Despite these mounting cost pressures, the services sector continued to expand, with the headline ISM index easing to 54 from 56.1, indicating slower but still positive growth. The majority of industries reported expansion, though retail, agriculture and public administration contracted, pointing to uneven performance across the economy. Notably, employment in the sector weakened, with the jobs index falling into contraction territory at 45.2 from 51.8, signalling potential softening in labor demand. The combination of persistent inflation and slowing growth highlights a more challenging outlook for the U.S. economy, as policymakers monitor whether energy-driven price increases begin to spread more broadly ahead of upcoming inflation data.

 

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Saks Global Enterprises has secured a $500m financing agreement with key bondholders to support its planned emergence from bankruptcy later this summer, as it works to reduce debt and improve liquidity following its Chapter 11 filing in January. The restructuring includes a significant downsizing of its store network, with plans to close a total of 20 Saks Fifth Avenue locations, leaving about 13 stores nationwide, while maintaining its flagship Manhattan site. Led by chief executive Geoffroy van Raemdonck, the company aims to stabilize operations by strengthening relationships with brands and refining its product offering across Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman, with a formal reorganization plan expected in the coming weeks.

 

Wall Street Journal

The U.S. has secured access to critical rare earth minerals as part of a $565m loan to Brazil’s Serra Verde, with the agreement including offtake controls to direct production toward the U.S. and allied buyers. The deal, led by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, aims to reduce reliance on China by securing supply from one of the few producers of heavy rare earths outside the country, while broader efforts - including potential equity stakes and additional financing deals - highlight Washington’s push to strengthen control over strategic mineral supply chains.

 

Latin Lawyer

Financial Times

Amnesty International has raised concerns that the upcoming soccer World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico may become a "stage for repression." In its report, called "Humanity Must Win", the organisation urged FIFA and the host nations to take immediate action to safeguard the rights of fans and players. Amnesty highlighted the U.S.'s "human rights emergency" under the Trump administration, citing issues including mass deportations and aggressive ICE operations. Steve Cockburn, Amnesty's head of economic and social justice, said: "While FIFA generates record revenues from the 2026 World Cup, fans, communities, players, journalists and workers cannot be made to pay the price . . . It is these people - not governments, sponsors or FIFA - to whom football belongs, and their rights must be at the center of the tournament."

 

France 24