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Fintech companies are increasingly treating risk management and compliance not as obstacles to innovation but as tools that can strengthen growth, build trust, and attract investors. According to a Deloitte report based on interviews with fintech executives, firms that integrate compliance and risk teams early in product development are better able to scale responsibly while avoiding regulatory problems. The research highlights common friction between product teams, which prioritize speed and experimentation, and risk teams, which focus on safety, transparency, and regulatory compliance. Product leaders often worry that compliance reviews slow development, while risk teams struggle to demonstrate the value of preventing problems that never occur, such as fraud or regulatory penalties. Successful fintechs address this tension through structured collaboration models that align innovation with oversight. These range from simple “approver” models, where compliance reviews products at the end of development, to more integrated approaches where risk teams work alongside product teams from the earliest stages. Executives say strong governance, board-level involvement from risk leaders, and shared accountability between teams are key indicators of mature fintech organizations.

 

Wall Street Journal

One year into President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, evidence suggests that closed borders are not improving employment opportunities for U.S.-born workers. Researchers from the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution estimate that net migration may have been negative in 2025 for the first time in at least 50 years, a situation coinciding with rising joblessness among native-born individuals. “Look at what we're seeing: The U.S.-born unemployment rate has been going up. The U.S.-born labor force participation rate has dropped,” said Mark Regets, a senior fellow at non-partisan research organization the National Foundation for American Policy. “So if we've had a big withdrawal of immigrants from the labor force, we don't see any sign of the U.S.-born workers getting more employment because of that.”

 

Los Angeles Times

Microsoft is backing Anthropic’s lawsuit against the Pentagon, warning that the “drastic” and “unprecedented” moves against the AI start-up would have “broad negative ramifications” for the U.S. tech industry. The technology giant has filed an amicus brief in Anthropic’s case against the Trump administration, calling on the court to temporarily block the implementation of the Pentagon's labelling of the maker of the Claude chatbot as a supply chain risk.  “The Department of War needs reliable access to the country’s best technology,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. “And everyone wants to ensure AI is not used for mass domestic surveillance or to start a war without human control. The government, the entire tech sector, and the American public need a path to achieve all these goals together.”  

 

The Hill

Financial Times

Reuters

Amazon sparked a record day for U.S. corporate bond sales on Tuesday, after launching an 11-tranche dollar debt offering expected to raise about $37bn, part of a wider financing push to support heavy investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Strong investor demand—around $123bn of orders—led the company to increase the size of the deal from an initial $25bn–$30bn target, while it also plans to raise roughly €10bn through its first euro-denominated bond sale. The issuance helped push total U.S. investment-grade corporate bond sales above $65bn in a single day, surpassing the previous record set in 2013, as companies rushed to tap calmer markets following signs that tensions in the Middle East may ease. The borrowing surge highlights intensifying spending by major technology groups on AI and data-centre capacity, with Amazon planning about $200bn in capital expenditure this year.

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Reuters

Loblaw is investigating a data breach after detecting suspicious activity on a contained, non-critical part of its IT network. The Canadian retailer said a third party accessed limited customer information, including names, phone numbers and email addresses, but passwords, health data and credit card details were not compromised. Loblaw has notified affected customers, logged users out of its digital services as a precaution, and said the incident did not impact its PC Financial unit or its expected financial performance.

 

Reuters

Toronto Star

Lloyd’s of London has said it will “still provide cover to basically anyone who asks” amid criticism over cancelling policies and raising prices for ships stuck in the Gulf.

 

Financial Times

Kohl’s has reported a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter, with revenues falling 3.9% to $4.97bn and comparable sales down 2.8% in the three months to January 31st, as winter weather disruptions, inventory allocation issues and weaker demand from value-conscious shoppers weighed on performance. Profits rose to $125m, or $1.07 per adjusted share, from $48m a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a 1.5% drop in like-for-likes, and adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share. Chief executive Michael Bender said the department-store chain ended 2025 in a stronger position than it began and remains focused on turnaround efforts in 2026, including improving promotional messaging, refining product assortments and investing in stronger-performing categories such as beauty through its Sephora partnership. Looking ahead it expects adjusted earnings of $1-$1.60 per share, and for comparable sales to be down 2% to flat.

 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal reports that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed the largest coordinated release of strategic oil reserves in its history - up to 400m barrels - to stabilize global crude prices following supply disruptions caused by the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. The plan, discussed at an emergency meeting of the agency’s 32 member countries, would more than double the previous record release of 182m barrels in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The move aims to offset disruptions linked to the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil supply normally passes. Member countries are expected to decide on the proposal imminently, as leaders also weigh broader energy responses amid concerns that surging oil prices could fuel inflation and economic instability.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

U.S. small-business optimism declined for a second consecutive month in February as owners grew less confident about future sales and economic conditions. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) optimism index fell 0.5 points to 98.8, reflecting softer sentiment before the Iran war pushed energy prices higher. Expectations for inflation-adjusted sales dropped sharply, with the net share of owners anticipating improved sales falling eight percentage points to 8%, after reaching a one-year high in January. Confidence in broader business conditions also weakened, while hiring plans declined to their lowest level since May, signalling caution in the labor market. Despite weaker outlooks, profit trends improved, reaching their strongest level since December 2021. Inflation pressures also eased slightly, with fewer businesses raising prices for a third straight month.

 

Bloomberg

Microsoft is bringing Anthropic's Claude Cowork to its Microsoft 365 Copilot AI platform. The Copilot Cowork service, which the tech giant said it developed in close collaboration with Anthropic, can handle long-running, multistep tasks such as preparing for a customer meeting by assembling a presentation, pulling together financials, emailing the team, and scheduling prep time. “We really believe right now is an inflection point,” Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s chief marketing officer for AI at Work, told Fortune. “The inflection point for us is Copilot taking on these agentic capabilities and going from assistance to real doing.”

 

The Register

Yahoo! Finance

Fortune

CNBC

Asahi Breweries plans to fully resume shipments of all products from April 7th following disruptions caused by a cyberattack on its parent company, Asahi Group Holdings, last September. Most alcoholic beverage shipments have already restarted, while logistics operations were fully normalised in February and shipments of non-alcoholic drinks and food products have resumed. The cyberattack forced the company to restrict shipments and delay its earnings announcement. For the first nine months of 2025, Asahi reported net profit of ¥102.8bn ($650m), down 26.2% year-on-year, on sales of ¥2.15tn. The company has kept its 2025 earnings outlook unchanged while it continues assessing the full impact of the cyberattack.

 

The Japan Times

Volkswagen plans to cut 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030 amid sliding profits and tough global competition. "In total, around 50,000 jobs are due to be cut by 2030 across the Volkswagen Group in Germany," Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said in a letter to shareholders in the firm's annual report. The carmaker had already struck a deal with unions at the end of 2024 to cut 35,000 jobs by 2030. Volkswagen was “operating in a fundamentally different environment,” which required “continuing our disciplined work on saving costs,” Blume said.

 

IOL	Financial Times