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Canadian goods imported into the U.S. will face a blanket 35% tariff starting next month, President Trump said Thursday, in an announcement that came in the midst of active trade negotiations between the two countries. However, an exemption for goods that comply with the nations’ free-trade agreement, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, would still apply, according to a White House official. “If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter," Mr. Trump said in the letter to Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney. “These Tariffs will be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country. You will never be disappointed with the United States of America."

 

Politico

Washington Post

Wall Street Journal

BDO USA has revealed that Matthew Becker, currently its national managing principal of tax, has been ratified to succeed Wayne Berson as the firm's chief executive, effective July 1st 2026. Mr. Becker is already a member of BDO's executive leadership team and a member of BDO International's global tax advisory committee. He has also served as chairperson of BDO USA's board of directors. Mr. Berson has served as CEO since 2012, since when the firm has grown nearly 400% to annual revenues of around $3bn, and transformed from a partnership to a corporation, and finally to an ESOP company in 2023. He will continue to serve on BDO USA's board of directors and BDO International's global board of directors until his retirement.

 

Accounting Today

CPA Practice Advisor

International Accounting Bulletin

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has announced that two senior partners are stepping down from leadership roles over their connection to the firm's involvement with an Israeli-backed aid project in Gaza. The project began as a pro bono effort to help solve food-supply challenges in Gaza. The firm says it turned into an unauthorized project by two other partners against the firm’s instructions. That work included a postwar financial model to voluntarily relocate Palestinians.  The firm is now working to contain the reputational fallout from its ties to a project that has been described as an “inhumane and deadly militarised scheme” disguised as a humanitarian aid distribution effort. In the latest leadership shuffle, BCG’s chief risk officer, Adam Farber, and the head of its social-impact practice, Rich Hutchinson, are stepping down from those roles but remain as senior partners. The moves follow the June firing of two partners, Matt Schlueter and Ryan Ordway, who had worked in BCG's public sector defense and security practice.

 

TRT Global

Financial Times

Wall Street Journal

Unilever has appointed a new chief executive for Ben & Jerry's, amid a legal dispute between the two over the removal of its former CEO Dave Stever, who had been with the ice cream maker since 1988 and was appointed to the top role in May 2023. Jochanan Senf previously worked as the managing director of Ben & Jerry's Europe and held senior roles in Unilever's foods division. Unilever plans to spin off its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry's, Magnum and Breyers, later this year.

 

Wall Street Journal

Amazon is weighing another multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic to deepen a strategic alliance that the firm's believe will provide an edge in the global competition to profit from AI. The U.S. firm has already invested $8bn in the San Francisco-based firm. Amazon is working to improve its AI offering, having seen rivals such as OpenAI and Google, take an early lead, particularly with consumer-focused models.

 

DealStreetAsia

Financial Times

PYMNTS

Apple, Visa, and Mastercard have persuaded a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to suppress competition in the payments network market and causing merchants to pay inflated transaction fees. The lawsuit, filed by beverage retailer Mirage Wine & Spirits and other businesses, was brought on behalf of a proposed class of thousands of merchants. It alleged that Visa and Mastercard paid Apple what amounted to a “very large and ongoing cash bribe” of hundreds of millions of dollars a year to keep it from competing with them. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge David Dugan in Illinois said the merchants’ allegations “completely ignore the difficulties, costs and time, risks, and potential for failure associated with such an endeavor".

 

Reuters

The Commerce Department's Census Bureau reported Wednesday that U.S. wholesale sales for May declined 0.3% from April, to $697.2bn. On an annual basis, they were 4.8% higher. Inventories were also down 0.3%, and totaled $905.5bn. Sales of durable goods crept up by 0.2% during the month, while sales of non-durable goods declined by 0.8%. The inventory to sales ratio was unchanged from April, at 1.3.

 

ForexLive

Investing

RTT News

Restore Capital, one of Hudson's Bay's biggest lenders, has asked an Ontario court to terminate the retailer’s “uneconomical and imprudent” sale of 25 leases to billionaire mall owner Ruby Liu. The motion filed on Tuesday also requested the appointment of a "super monitor" to more efficiently liquidate the remainder of its assets. "HBC has incurred exorbitant rent costs and professional fees in trying to obtain the necessary landlord consents with nothing to show for it, despite the landlords having indicated long ago that no consent will be provided," Restore's motion says. It notes that the latest financial forecasts show between June 30th and August 15th, Hudson's Bay will incur C$7.5m in rent costs in connection with pursuing the Liu deal and a significant portion of the C$8.5m in professional fees projected during the seven-week period are linked to it as well. Ms. Liu has said that, if a court approves the sale, she believes she can win landlords over.

 

CBC News

Toronto Star

Conagra Brands chief executive Sean Connolly said Thursday that the firm expects inflation to be elevated in its current fiscal year because of higher costs for goods such as proteins, cocoa and eggs, and the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum, which affect the company’s canned products. “We weren’t looking for another 7% total inflation this year, but we’ve got it", Mr Connolly said on a call with analysts regarding the firm's fourth-quarter results. Net sales fell 4.3% to $2.78bn in the three months to May 25th, missing analyst projections for $2.83bn. It posted a profit of $256m, or 56 cents per share, up from a net loss of $567.3m a year earlier.

 

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell to a seven-week low last week, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, suggesting employers may be holding on to workers despite other indications of a cooling labor market and creating no urgency for the Federal Reserve to resume its interest rate cuts. Initial claims fell for a fourth straight week in the seven days to July 5th, slipping 5,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 227,000. Economists were expecting claims to move higher to 238,000, according to FactSet. The four-week moving average fell to 235,500, the lowest since late May, while continuing claims, reported with a one-week lag, rose by 10,000 to 1.965m. “It’s difficult to find a new job right now. Young people are struggling to get their first jobs and anyone who has been laid off is having a hard time landing their next role,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote Thursday. “The labor market is frozen outside of healthcare, education and law enforcement jobs. Hiring is anemic in other sectors as companies remain cautious in this environment.”

 

CNN

Bloomberg

Reuters

Bloomberg reports that Meta Platforms has made record-breaking compensation offers to attract artificial intelligence (AI) experts to its “superintelligence” team, including a package exceeding $200m for ex-Apple engineer Ruoming Pang. These multi-year offers combine base salary, cash bonuses, and heavily performance-tied Meta stock. Apple reportedly did not counter due to internal pay norms. Meta’s AI recruitment push also includes former GitHub chief executive Nat Friedman and Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang, now Meta’s chief AI officer via a $14.3bn equity deal. Offers rival CEO pay at major banks and are structured to reward long-term loyalty and Meta stock performance. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said some employees received $100m signing bonuses but stayed due to OpenAI’s innovation culture. Nonetheless, Meta has hired over 10 OpenAI researchers along with talent from Anthropic and Google. The AI talent war continues, with Altman and Zuckerberg expected to cross paths at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley.

 

Bloomberg

CohnReznick has announced a strategic merger with PIASCIK & Associates, a tax firm based in Richmond, Virginia. This combination aims to enhance CohnReznick's private client services and international tax practices. The merger also extends CohnReznick's presence in the mid-Atlantic region, adding Richmond to its existing locations in Washington, Baltimore, Charlotte, and South Florida. The PIASCIK team officially became part of CohnReznick on July 1st. As stated in the announcement, this move will "bolster CohnReznick's private clients services and international tax practices."

 

Bloomberg Tax

Fraud continues to drain billions from businesses, with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' 2024 Report to the Nations revealing that 29% of fraud cases stem from inadequate internal controls. Small and medium-sized businesses are particularly vulnerable due to limited resources, which can lead to significant financial losses. While technology like AI can help detect fraud, the report emphasizes that "42% of frauds are detected through tips," highlighting the importance of fostering a strong ethical culture. Accountants play a crucial role in establishing internal controls and promoting transparency, ensuring that organizations do not overly rely on technology alone. The modern accountant must integrate technical skills with behavioral insights to effectively combat fraud and build resilient businesses.

 

Accounting Today

The original Birkin bag sold for a record €8.58m ($10m) at a Sotheby's auction in Paris on Thursday. The black leather Hermès handbag made some forty years ago for the late singer and actress Jane Birkin was sold to Valuence Japan, a Tokyo-based re-seller of designer goods, after a bidding war that lasted more than 10 minutes. The original Birkin was commissioned in 1984 for Jane Birkin by Hermès International SCA’s then-chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas. It was delivered to her a year later.

 

Bloomberg