Become more informed in minutes...

The U.S. IPO market has started slowly in 2026, but a strong pipeline of major listings, including potential debuts from high-profile tech firms, could drive a significant rebound later in the year. According to PwC, companies are shifting from timing IPOs around market windows to focusing on being fully prepared when opportunities arise, investing heavily in governance, financial reporting, and investor positioning well in advance. Investor expectations have tightened since the 2021 boom, with a clear preference for larger, cash-generative companies that demonstrate a credible path to profitability. This has led to more disciplined pricing, capital planning, and a stronger emphasis on efficient growth rather than scale at any cost. While short-term delays have been caused by factors such as regulatory backlogs and macroeconomic uncertainty, underlying demand for high-quality IPOs remains strong. Key sectors expected to lead activity include AI infrastructure, AI-enabled software, insurance, and industrials tied to reshoring trends.

 

Crunchbase News

Demo BILL, get Le Creuset

BILL Spend & Expense brings cards, expenses, and spend controls into one place—so finance teams spend less time chasing details and more time focused on what matters. Add it at no extra cost and see how much simpler spend management can feel.

Join a quick demo this March and receive a 2-quart Dutch oven from Le Creuset, chosen to reflect the value of tools built to last.

Request Demo

 

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts has said hostility toward individual Supreme Court members is creating a dangerous environment, in his first public comments since President Donald Trump slammed justices who had voted to strike down his global tariffs. Following that ruling, Trump said justices who ruled against him were “fools,” “lapdogs,” “unpatriotic,” “disloyal to our Constitution” and “an embarrassment to their families.” Roberts did not mention the U.S. president by name in his remarks at an event at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “The problem sometimes is that the criticism can move from a focus on legal analysis to personalities, and you see . . . that it’s more directed in a personal way,” Roberts said. “And that, frankly, can be quite dangerous.” He added: “Judges around the country work very hard to get it right. And if they don’t, their opinions are subject to criticism. But personally directed hostility is dangerous and it’s got to stop.”

 

The Hill

Bloomberg

Houston Chronicle

NBC News

The Guardian

Starbucks is facing growing pressure from shareholders as a group of major investors calls for the removal of two board members over the company’s handling of union negotiations. Investors are urging votes against directors Jørgen Vig Knudstorp and Beth Ford, arguing they bear responsibility for stalled labor talks, with no final union contracts reached despite more than 680 stores voting to unionize since 2021. Critics point to ongoing strikes, unresolved disputes, and rising reputational and financial risks, while proxy advisors have also flagged concerns about governance - particularly the removal of a board committee focused on labor relations. Starbucks says it remains committed to bargaining in good faith and highlights its pay and benefits, but the situation underscores continued tension between management, workers, and shareholders over the company’s labor strategy.

 

The Guardian

Jeff Bleich, former partner and group CEO at Dentons and now the general counsel at Anthropic, predicts that AI tools will accelerate the decline of the billable hour model in the legal profession. Speaking at the American Bar Association White Collar Crime Institute, he said: "Clients want you to solve the problem as efficiently as possible and with as little drama as possible." Bleich went on to say that the current model creates a conflict of interest between firms and clients and that law firms need to adapt to new economic models to remain competitive. Fellow panellist Damon Hart, lawyer at insurance company Liberty Mutual, added: "The value is no longer you putting in time. The value is your strategy, your results." 

 

AOL.com

Business Insider

Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster have sued OpenAI, alleging the company committed copyright infringement by scraping their articles to train its AI. Britannica also accuses OpenAI of violating copyright laws when it generates outputs that contain “full or partial verbatim reproductions” of its content and when the AI lab uses its articles in ChatGPT’s RAG (retrieval augmented generation) workflow. “ChatGPT starves web publishers like [Britannica] of revenue by generating responses to users’ queries that substitute, and directly compete with, the content from publishers like [Britannica],” the lawsuit says.

 

TechCrunch

Ryan Costello, a former U.S. congressman, emphasizes the urgent need for federal guidance on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in tax preparation. In his letter to Treasury Secretary and IRS Acting Commissioner Scott Bessent, he warns that without clear standards, businesses and CPAs may face significant compliance challenges. "Unregulated AI-powered providers . . . would exploit the gaps," he states, highlighting the risks of errors leading to audits and potential criminal liability for business owners. Costello advocates for mandatory disclosure of AI use, human oversight, and stricter audit scrutiny to protect taxpayers and ensure professional accountability. He points to international examples, such as Ireland and the U.K., where clear regulations have been established.

 

Bloomberg Tax

Lululemon has appointed former Levi Strauss chief executive Chip Bergh to its board, adding significant public company experience following his 13-year tenure in which Levi’s sales grew around 30%. The announcement coincides with board changes, as existing director David Mussafer will not seek re-election at the 2026 AGM, a move seen as a win for founder Chip Wilson, who had publicly criticised Mr Mussafer over governance concerns. Mr Wilson has also voiced broader dissatisfaction with the board, highlighting a disconnect between leadership and the brand’s creative direction, suggesting ongoing tensions around strategy and oversight. The announcements came ahead of the group's results for the fourth quarter ended February 1st. Sales rose around 1% to $3.64bn, while net income slipped to $586.9m, or $5.01 per share, from $748.4m. Revenues in the Americas declined 4%, but grew 17% internationally. 

 

Bloomberg

CNBC

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

IBM has finalized its $11bn acquisition of data-streaming company Confluent, aiming to enhance how businesses access and use data for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The deal positions Confluent’s technology as a core component of IBM’s platform, enabling real-time data access across complex IT systems - a key requirement for deploying AI agents. Chief executive Arvind Krishna said the acquisition supports IBM’s broader strategy to lead in hybrid cloud and AI, similar to its earlier Red Hat deal. As companies increasingly adopt AI tools, IBM is focusing on helping clients integrate and leverage their existing data infrastructure.

 

Wall Street Journal

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued guidance explaining how it will define cryptocurrencies as securities and how ​a "non-security" digital asset could meet certain conditions to become an investment contract. The SEC's new interpretation classifies crypto tokens into five categories: ​digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities. The agency specified that federal ​securities laws only apply to digital securities. SEC chair Paul Atkins also said the agency should consider a “safe harbor proposal” to give crypto companies and some tokens a regulatory carveout. Atkins said his safe harbor proposal was made up of a “startup exemption,” a “fundraising exemption,” and an “investment contract safe harbor.” He said: “It is past time for us to stop diagnosing the problem and start delivering the solution . . . Such a safe harbor would provide crypto innovators bespoke pathways to raise capital in the US, while providing appropriate investor protections.”

 

crypto.news

CoinDesk

Reuters

A strike at South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of ‌memory chips, could worsen bottlenecks in the global supply of semiconductors, the biggest workers' union at the company has said. "I expect there would be production disruption," Choi Seung-ho, who leads the Samsung Electronics Labour Union (SELU), said last week, as members began voting on a plan to strike in May. If a deal cannot be agreed, the union plans a strike for 18 days from May 21, Choi said. An official for Samsung said production ⁠stoppages caused by "even a single strike" could damage trust with customers and take years to recover.

 

Reuters

The war in the Middle East and surging energy costs are set to exacerbate soaring levels of financial distress among European companies, according to Alvarez & Marsal. “The escalating conflict in the Middle East is likely acting as a multiplier for the distress we are already tracking across the European landscape,” said Chris Johnston, a managing director in the consultancy firm’s European restructuring team. Referencing the surge in oil and gas prices, Johnston said: “This directly erodes the purchasing power of the European consumer, further destabilizing retail and other consumer focused sectors that are already struggling with market share erosion and high debt-servicing costs.”

 

Bloomberg