Risk Channel delivers the latest, most relevant and useful business intelligence to key decision makers and influencers, each weekday morning.

A court in the Netherlands has ruled that binding greenhouse gas emissions targets to reach net zero by 2050 must be set by the government to protect the Dutch-Caribbean island of Bonaire, and has ordered the state to develop a proper climate adaptation plan for the island. “This is an incredible victory for the people in Bonaire,” said Eefje de Kroon, a climate justice expert at Greenpeace Nederlands. “Not only has the court established that people from Bonaire are being discriminated against because of the climate crisis but also the Dutch government needs to do much more to protect them.” The court ruled that the Dutch government was breaching articles 8 and 14 of the European convention on human rights, which protect the right to respect for private and family life and prohibit discrimination.

 

Financial Times

New York Times

NL Times

The Guardian

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed new rules to regulate Google's AI-powered search. These aim to give publishers control over their content used in AI summaries, addressing concerns that generative AI could undermine the web's economic structure. CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said that the proposals ensure competition keeps pace with evolving search technologies. The regulator also said the way Google decides how content is ranked in search results, including AI Overviews and AI Mode, should be made "fair and transparent." Google responded by warning that excessive regulation could harm search functionality. The consultation period will last until 25 February 2026.

 

City AM

Daily Mail

The Guardian

The £1.5tn private credit sector faces scrutiny from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) amid concerns over unrecognised losses that could destabilise the financial system. The FCA is urging shadow banks to accurately assess loan values at risk of default. Critics accuse these institutions of "mark-to-myth" valuations, which inflate asset values. The FCA's Michelle Beck said: "Timely and reliable valuations help ensure that private markets work well." The industry is under pressure as it grows rapidly, with assets projected to reach nearly $4tn by 2030.

 

The Daily Telegraph

A Dutch court has overturned a 2021 ruling that had classified all Uber drivers as employees, covered by the country's Taxi Transport collective bargaining agreement, which sets wages, working hours, and benefits for taxi drivers. The Amsterdam court said six drivers who had joined the rideshare company in its appeal are self-employed rather than employees, given the investments they made in their vehicle, their freedom to choose working hours, and their ability to accept or reject fares.

 

NL Times

DutchNews.nl

Reuters

UBS has asked a Connecticut court to throw out a suit filed by former trader Tom Hayes that accuses the Swiss lender of handing him over to global prosecutors to protect the bank and its senior leadership during the Libor rigging scandal. Lawyers for UBS described Hayes' allegations as "spurious" and said that he cannot prove that UBS prosecuted him or acted maliciously, because UBS wasn't a party to the UK criminal proceedings. “Despite the bank’s efforts to deflect attention elsewhere, UBS’s purely procedural motion is a desperate attempt to avoid having discovery into the facts and having the case heard on its merits,” a spokesperson for Hayes said.

 

Bloomberg

The UK government has recruited a Meta-funded team of artificial intelligence experts who will spend the next year developing open-source tools to improve how authorities maintain transport networks, manage public safety, and make decisions on national security. The specialists' expertise spans areas including computer vision, applied machine learning, and robotics-driven imaging.

 

Reuters

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius has told German news site The Pioneer that he turned down an offer tabled by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick early last year to move the German carmaker's headquarters to the United States. Kaellenius said that, while the automaker was global and would invest in the US, it could not be "uprooted."

 

Reuters

French video games company Ubisoft has announced plans to reduce its workforce by up to 200 employees at its Paris headquarters, representing about 5% of the firm's French staff. The decision follows a negative investor response to a major restructuring plan. The company has previously cut around 3,000 jobs globally, but few were in France. Ubisoft said: "There will be no final decision until a collective agreement has been reached with worker representatives." The restructuring aims to reorganise development studios into "creative houses" and includes a €200m cost-cutting initiative, alongside the cancellation and delay of several game titles.

 

France 24

Spain is to grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, marking a shift from stricter immigration policies seen in the U.S. and Europe. Spanish Minister of Migration Elma Saiz said that eligible immigrants could receive up to one year of legal residency and work permission. The initiative could benefit around 500,000 to 800,000 individuals, primarily from Latin America and Africa. Saiz said the government is "dignifying and recognizing people who are already in our country."

 

Daily Sabah

Russia plans to recruit at least 40,000 Indian workers by 2026. The hiring initiative follows a labour mobility agreement signed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Around 70,000 to 80,000 Indians are already employed in Russia. An Indian diplomat observed: "Russia needs workers, India needs to export unemployment." Russian economist Igor Lipsits has said that a big challenge for most Indian citizens in Russia is overcoming the language barrier. "You bring people into the country with whom you cannot communicate. This means that they can only be employed for the simplest jobs such as hauling, cleaning and shoveling snow," he said.

 

Deutsche Welle (EN)

Ján Mizerák, an Amazon employee in Slovakia, was dismissed after founding the trade union United Voice to improve working conditions. His termination followed a meeting in which Amazon requested a list of union members, which is contrary to Slovak law. Mizerák, who had worked at the company for 12 years, returned from parental leave only to find himself sacked for "organisational reasons." The Technologický Odborový Zväz (TOZ) said that Amazon's actions violate the local Labour Code. Mizerák plans to seek help from the labour inspectorate.

 

The Slovak Spectator

The European Union and Vietnam are poised to enhance cooperation in critical areas including minerals, semiconductors, and trusted telecommunications. An agreement is set to be finalised during a visit by EU leaders to Hanoi which aims to elevate diplomatic relations to their highest level akin to those with major powers including the United States and China. The document suggests a focus on sustainable mining and infrastructure investment while indirectly addressing the influence of global powers within the region.

 

Reuters

France's finance minister, Roland Lescure, has called on Capgemini to clarify its contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid growing concerns over the agency's actions. Capgemini Government Solutions has signed a contract for "skip tracing services" to assist ICE in locating deportees. Lescure said: "I urge Capgemini to shed light . . . on its activities." The scrutiny follows incidents involving ICE officers that have raised international concerns, including the agency's involvement in the US security team for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy. Capgemini chief executive Aiman Ezzat noted that the US branch of the firm acted independently on the contract.

 

LE Monde

Financial Times

Many UK employees appear to be working heavily reduced Friday hours without approval from their superiors, and employers are said to be increasingly concerned with Friday absenteeism, the Financial Times reports.

 

Financial Times