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EY's 2025 Tax and Finance Operations survey highlights a critical moment for tax and finance functions as they adopt generative and agentic AI. While 86% of leaders prioritize data and technology, 80% face foundational data issues that hinder reliable AI outcomes. The survey reveals that 79% of executives aim to leverage AI for broader business insights, yet many struggle with data silos. “We are not yet at the place where we would use AI to make a tax filing,” noted a CFO, indicating the cautious approach to AI adoption. Despite challenges, 81% of respondents plan significant operational changes in response to global pressures. To thrive, tax and finance teams must modernize their operating models, focusing on trusted data and strategic partnerships to drive innovation and value in the AI era.

 

Bloomberg Tax

Kroger is reportedly planning to appoint Greg Foran, a former senior Walmart executive, as its next chief executive following a near year-long search triggered by the departure of longtime CEO Rodney McMullen over an ethics issue. The appointment is expected to be announced imminently. Mr Foran previously led Walmart’s U.S. business from 2014 to 2019, where he was credited with improving store operations, strengthening fresh food offerings and driving online grocery growth. More recently, he served as chief executive of Air New Zealand, steering the airline through the pandemic before stepping down in October 2025. His arrival comes at a challenging time for Kroger, which is grappling with cash-strapped consumers, rising competition from discount grocers such as Aldi and Walmart, and the collapse of its proposed $20bn merger with Albertsons in 2024. Since McMullen’s exit, Kroger has been run by chair Ron Sargent, who has overseen cost-cutting measures, job reductions and store closures while pushing promotions, private-label expansion and price restraint to defend market share.

 

Cincinnati Enquirer

CNBC

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Economists expect a moderate rise in January inflation, but many on Wall Street are bracing for a hotter-than-forecast reading. Consumer prices have a history of spiking early in the year, as businesses often raise fees, reverse holiday discounts, or reset prices in January. While official data is seasonally adjusted to smooth these patterns, economists say lingering “residual seasonality” still pushes January inflation higher than other months. This year, tariffs could add to the pressure, particularly if retailers pass higher import costs on to consumers during post-holiday price adjustments. Recent data from Adobe shows broad-based price increases in online goods such as electronics and appliances, which are heavily import-dependent. However, economists caution that a one-off January bump may not signal sustained inflation, as many companies remain wary of raising prices amid cost-conscious consumers and growing competition.

 

Wall Street Journal

Arguments are set to begin today in a landmark U.S. trial that could establish a legal precedent on whether social media companies deliberately designed their platforms to lead to addiction in children. Instagram's parent company Meta and Google's YouTube will face claims; TikTok and Snap, which were originally named in the lawsuit, settled for undisclosed sums. Executives, including Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, are expected to testify at the trial, which will last six to eight weeks. Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the claims against YouTube are “simply not true.” He said: “Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work.”

 

U.S. News

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether streaming giant Netflix used anti-competitive tactics as part of its proposed $82.7bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery's studios and streaming service. In a civil subpoena viewed by the Wall Street Journal, the DOJ asked another entertainment company to "describe any other exclusionary conduct on the part of Netflix that would reasonably appear capable of entrenching market or monopoly power." Netflix agreed in December to pay $27.75 a share in cash in a deal totaling $72bn. Paramount has made a rival $77.9bn hostile bid for all of Warner Discovery including its cable-networks unit that houses CNN, TNT, Food Network and other channels. 

 

Wall Street Journal

Jay Clayton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has said federal prosecutors plan to increase incentives for companies that cooperate during criminal investigations, including promises not to prosecute them. "Our approach is going to be: let's get [a non-prosecution agreement] signed as quickly as possible that calls for continued cooperation," Clayton said at the Securities Enforcement Forum in New York.

 

Reuters

Amazon sharply reduced its U.S. corporate tax bill in 2025 after benefiting from tax breaks in President Trump’s new tax law, even as its domestic profits surged. The company’s current U.S. tax expense fell to $1.2bn from $9bn a year earlier, while pretax U.S. profit jumped 44.5% to $89.5bn. On a cash basis, Amazon paid $2.8bn in federal income taxes, down from more than $7bn in each of the prior two years. The savings stem largely from two changes in the law: immediate deductions for certain capital investments, including data-center equipment, and the restoration of full, upfront deductions for domestic research spending. Amazon, which spent about $340bn in the U.S. last year, said the provisions were designed to encourage investment and innovation and reflected its heavy domestic spending. While Amazon’s current U.S. taxes fell, its global effective tax rate rose to 19.6% as profits increased and research credits declined. The company said the law mainly shifts the timing of tax payments rather than reducing them permanently and expects similar effects in 2026 as it ramps up capital spending, particularly on artificial intelligence.

 

Wall Street Journal

Publicly traded crypto-hoarding companies are emerging as a new source of risk for digital-asset markets after a sharp selloff that has cut Bitcoin prices nearly in half from their October peak above $126,000. These firms, known as digital-asset treasuries (DATs), built their business models on accumulating cryptocurrencies to drive equity premiums, but that strategy is now under strain amid the worst crypto downturn since the FTX collapse. Bitcoin’s slump has already erased nearly $2 trillion from the broader crypto market, and DAT stocks have fared even worse, with median share prices down about 62% over the past year. Some firms have already sold portions of their holdings to repay debt or buy back shares, highlighting vulnerabilities in the model. Analysts say the most exposed DATs are those holding illiquid tokens or lacking sustainable businesses, while companies with operating revenues or equity-funded purchases are better positioned to survive the downturn.

 

Bloomberg

Jack Dorsey's fintech Block is weighing cutting up to 10% of its workforce during annual performance reviews. The company missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit amid persistent economic uncertainty and intensifying competition in the payments sector, Reuters notes.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

Goldman Sachs is partnering with technology startup Anthropic to develop AI-powered agents aimed at automating a variety of internal functions. The Wall Street bank has spent the past six months collaborating with Anthropic engineers embedded within its teams to build autonomous agents for tasks including trade and transaction accounting as well as client due diligence and onboarding, Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti told CNBC.

 

CNBC

A U.S. federal appeals court has rejected a legal challenge seeking to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs across federal agencies and among businesses that contract with the government. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court injunction that had paused enforcement of the orders, allowing the administration to proceed with eliminating DEI initiatives and requiring contractors and grant recipients to certify they do not operate such programs. The court said the directives cannot be challenged in broad terms, but may be contested later based on how individual agencies apply them. The lawsuit was brought by the city of Baltimore and higher-education groups, which argued the orders violated constitutional free speech and due process protections. The decision leaves the door open for future legal challenges tied to specific enforcement actions.

 

Insurance Journal

Rising healthcare costs and limited transparency are pushing chief executives to move employee benefits oversight from HR to the finance chief. Benefits make up nearly 30% of compensation, yet many companies manage them reactively due to complex plan designs and lack of data. Shifting benefits oversight to finance enables scenario modeling based on workforce data, clearer identification of cost drivers and more predictable expense management. This approach can improve both employee satisfaction and EBITDA, while signaling operational discipline to investors and acquirers.

 

Forbes

The landscape of compensation for elite engineers is undergoing a significant transformation, with salaries reaching staggering heights due to a competitive talent war in AI and technology. The average compensation for AI professionals has soared into the millions, driven by complex equity packages and bonuses. This shift presents challenges for CFOs and tax leaders, particularly in substantiating R&D tax credits under IRC §41, as IRS examiners are increasingly scrutinizing high-wage claims.

 

Bloomberg Tax

The U.S. government is stepping up efforts to strengthen cybersecurity as Chinese and Russian cyber operations intensify, according to recent congressional testimony and policy moves. Senior defense officials told lawmakers that the Department of War’s Cyber Force Generation Plan, launched in late 2025, aims to better organize, train and equip cyber forces to defend critical infrastructure and improve offensive and defensive capabilities. Cybersecurity has been elevated as a top national security priority under the Trump administration, amid growing concerns over state-backed hacking, data breaches and influence operations by China, Russia and Iran. Recent attacks on U.S. government agencies, energy infrastructure and major corporations have underscored vulnerabilities, prompting tougher sanctions and closer public-private cooperation.

 

Forbes

Shell has selected PwC as its new external auditor following a competitive tender process, to replace EY from 2027. The decision comes after scrutiny of EY’s audit work, including an investigation opened by the U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council into EY’s audit of Shell’s 2024 accounts over potential breaches of audit partner rotation rules. Shell previously disclosed that EY had failed to comply with both U.K. and U.S. partner rotation requirements, prompting the company to amend its 2023 and 2024 annual reports, though the underlying financial statements were not affected. Shell said its Audit and Risk Committee based the auditor change on standard selection criteria, including independence, audit team quality, scope and regulatory compliance.

 

Reuters

An estimated 26.2 million U.S. employees will miss work the day after the Super Bowl and about 4.9 million workers plan to arrive late to work without giving their managers advance notice, according to UKG's annual Super Bowl Absenteeism Survey. The absences could cost upwards of $5.2bn in lost work and productivity, UKG said. "We are not advocating for it to be a holiday but a lot of people treat it as such," said Julie Develin, Senior Partner, Human Insights at UKG, a global AI platform for HR, pay, and workforce management.

 

Reuters