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Amy Hood, Microsoft's chief financial officer, has announced that the company anticipates a $1.5bn expense primarily due to expected investment losses at OpenAI. Despite investing nearly $14bn in OpenAI, which has generated significant revenue through its ChatGPT assistant, the company is projected to incur $5bn in losses this year against $4bn in revenue. Hood clarified that this loss is recorded under the equity method, reflecting Microsoft's share of OpenAI's financial performance. She emphasized that the partnership remains strong, stating, “Our partnership with OpenAI continues to deliver results.” Although Microsoft reported a strong earnings beat for the fiscal first quarter, its stock fell due to a forecast of slower growth. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella expressed confidence in the collaboration, highlighting its mutual benefits.

 

CNBC

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has rebuked the U.S. Justice Department over a $3bn money-laundering settlement with Toronto-based TD Bank that did not include the prosecution of bank executives. In a letter sent last week to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Warren criticized DOJ for not charging the bank with money laundering and for shifting some legal liability to its U.S. holding company, which she said allowed it to evade the full scope of penalties. “These charging decisions represent absurd legal gymnastics by DOJ that ultimately have allowed the bank and its top executives to avoid full responsibility for their actions. This is not an acceptable outcome,” Warren wrote. TD Bank is to pay around $3bn in penalties, and accept limits on its growth in the U.S., as part of the settlement with regulators and prosecutors over charges it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels. The lender’s failures enabled a Chinese money-laundering syndicate in New York and other criminals to funnel more than $670m in drug funds through the bank, federal prosecutors said.

 

Wall Street Journal

Brandon J. Broderick LLC, a New Jersey law firm, has filed a lawsuit against former finance chief Seth Gross, seeking repayment of $19,432—part of the $43,000 recruiting fee paid to CFO Strategies when Gross was hired in 2022. The suit claims Gross agreed to cover the recruiting costs through biweekly paycheck deductions but failed to complete the payments following his February 2023 termination for alleged underperformance. The law firm contends that Gross has ignored reminders and "willfully refused" to pay, despite not disputing the obligation. Legal recruiter Dan Binstock described the practice of requiring candidates to pay recruiting fees as highly unusual.

 

New Jersey Law Journal

French energy management and automation group Schneider Electric has removed Peter Herweck as chief executive and replaced him with company veteran Olivier Blum. Blum has been on the company’s executive committee since 2014 and most recently oversaw its energy management business. On an analyst call after the announcement of the appointment, Schneider Electric chief financial officer Hilary Maxson said the board felt the strategic roadmap was not being executed quickly enough or in a decisive and collaborative manner.

 

Wall Street Journal

A judge has ruled that Twitter executives fired when Elon Musk took over the company in 2022 – including former chief executive Parag Agrawal - can proceed with compensation claims over allegations that they were cheated out of severance pay. Agrawal is joined in the lawsuit by Vijaya Gadde, who was Twitter’s top legal and policy official; Ned Segal, the firm’s finance chief; and Sean Edgett, the company’s general counsel. The ousted executives say they are owed severance benefits equal to a year’s salary plus unvested stock awards valued at the acquisition price.

 

Bloomberg

Writing for Forbes, Paul Klein says all corporate leaders in the United States need to consider the impact of the election on their organizations and their people, observing that "A win on either side could result in radically disparate futures along with the potential for threats, protests, and other disruptions." He offers tips that he says leaders can use to help shape what their organizations can do proactively and how they can respond to events that are unexpected, including being authentic to what their organization stands for, staying neutral in company messaging, establishing a relationship with law enforcement, leveraging resources on security measures already implemented for the election which address common disinformation narratives, and ensuring chief diversity officers play a key role in fortifying organizations against internal disruption and division. He also highlights the importance of providing resources for emotional and psychological support, noting that this election is highly stressful for employees and mental health resources can help employees navigate emotions constructively. 

 

Forbes

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has passed a new antitrust rule regarding mergers and acquisitions with a rare unanimous 5-0 vote, surprising many observers. This bipartisan decision involved both Republican commissioners, Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak, who typically oppose Chair Lina Khan's initiatives. Ferguson stated, “While I would not have included every item in the Final Rule, overall, it modernises the filing requirements to be more congruous with today's economy.” The rule aims to enhance compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and follows months of negotiations, resulting in concessions for the Republican commissioners. The FTC plans to reinstate quicker reviews for non-problematic deals and has withdrawn from a controversial agreement with the Biden administration's labour agencies. The final rule will take effect 90 days after publication in the Federal Register. Democratic commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter acknowledged the compromises made, stating, “With the unanimous support of all the commission, we can have confidence that the rule will have staying power.”

 

Bloomberg Law

Major tech companies have invested over $30bn in acquiring artificial intelligence (AI) startups, raising significant antitrust concerns. Roger Alford, a Notre Dame law professor, highlighted that these acquisitions may be disguised as “partnerships” or “acqui-hires” to evade scrutiny. This consolidation threatens market innovation and national security, as independent startups struggle to compete. In 2024, nearly 700 AI-related bills were introduced across states, a 400% increase from 2023, with Colorado leading the way in comprehensive AI regulations. Alford emphasized the need for stronger antitrust enforcement, stating, “if AI is to serve its proper role, we need a regulatory, economic, and financial environment capable of limiting the monopolizing power of a few.” As states continue to push for regulation, the landscape for AI technology is rapidly evolving.

 

PYMNTS

Canadian clothing company Gildan Activewear has said that a massive increase in the company’s tax rate this year can be attributed to the 15% global minimum tax taking effect around the world. “As expected, the company’s adjusted effective income tax-rate for the quarter was 18.7% compared to 5.1% last year, reflecting the enactment of global minimum tax in Canada and Barbados earlier this year,” Gildan Executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer Rhodri Harries said on an earnings call Thursday.

 

Bloomberg Tax

U.S. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has acknowledged taxes as one of many issues for overseas Americans that she would address if she wins the November 5 election. “I recognize the unique challenges faced by Americans living overseas, and I want to assure you that a Harris-Walz administration will take your concerns seriously — whether it’s improving access to consular services, addressing the complex challenges you face with banking, taxation, and financial services, or ensuring equal treatment in immigration and citizenship processes,” Harris wrote in a letter dated October 24. American Citizens Abroad, an advocacy group for overseas residents, said it welcomed the move. “A serious issue for the millions of U.S. citizens living overseas is tax policy . . . It is important for both major party candidates and members of Congress to commit to a tax policy that treats hard working Americans overseas fairly,” the organization responded. Tax Notes observes that Harris did not directly respond to American Citizens Abroad’s previous request that she make a pledge similar to the one made by former President Trump to end the potential “double taxation” of Americans living overseas.

 

Tax Notes

Dropbox chief executive Drew Houston has announced the layoff of 528 employees, equating to 20% of the company's global workforce. In an email to staff, Houston cited the need for greater efficiency and a "flatter" organisational structure as reasons for the cuts, which target areas considered "over-invested or underperforming." The move follows a previous reduction of 16% in April 2023. Houston acknowledged the challenges, stating, "We're in a transitional period as a company," and emphasised the necessity of these changes to strengthen core products and accelerate growth. Affected employees will receive severance packages, healthcare support, and job placement services.

 

The Times of India

Boeing U.S. West Coast machinists are to vote today on an improved contract offer that could end a seven-week strike and restart jet production at the beleaguered planemaker. The latest contract has been endorsed by International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751 President Jon Holden, who warned workers that if they reject the deal then the next offer will be worse. The company's latest offer includes a 38% wage increase spread over four years, up slightly from a 35% raise in a proposal that was rejected by around two-thirds of the 33,000 striking factory workers in a vote 12 days ago.

 

Reuters

CBIZ has completed its acquisition of Marcum LLP, creating a combined firm with approximately $2.8bn in annual revenue. The deal between the two was originally announced in July with publicly traded CBIZ acquiring the non-attest assets of Marcum. Concurrent with the closing of the $2.3bn cash-and-stock deal, the attest business of Marcum was acquired by CBIZ CPAs (formerly known as CBIZ MHM.) "Now, with over 10,000 team members, we will offer our clients an enhanced breadth of services and depth of expertise unmatched in our industries, all aimed at helping them grow their business," said CBIZ president and chief executive Jerry Grisko. "With even deeper subject matter expertise, industry resources, service lines and insights, we can provide actionable advice and new and innovative data-driven products and solutions."

 

Accounting Today

Liselott Kana, co-chair of the UN Tax Committee of Experts, has said that countries across the globe which adopt digital services taxes could violate obligations of tax treaties. Kana said, in her opinion, digital services taxes function like income taxes and thus violate treaties.  “And I do not like that because I am a tax treaty negotiator, and tax treaties should be respected,” Kana explained. Bloomberg notes that digital services taxes typically levy digital advertising, e-commerce and other platform services. Countries usually agree to double tax treaties to ensure income on companies is only levied once.

 

Bloomberg Tax