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Banks are benefiting from record trading profits, rising bonuses, a surge in mergers and acquisitions, and a more permissive regulatory climate under the Trump administration. Citi analysts said “the stars are aligning for banks” after years of tighter oversight following the 2008 financial crisis. Citizens Bank is highlighted as an example of the sector’s momentum, expanding through acquisitions, wealth-adviser hiring and new branches in affluent areas. Market volatility linked to the Middle East conflict has boosted trading revenue, while dealmaking and potential IPOs from major private companies could generate large fees. Banker pay is rising, but risks remain from AI-driven job cuts and reduced scrutiny of bank safety rules.

 

New York Times

Guide: Align FP&A and Cash Forecasting to Navigate Market Uncertainty with Confidence

FX swings, tariff pressure, and tighter capital markets are exposing a structural gap most finance teams already know exist. When FP&A and cash forecasting run on separate tracks, timing suffers, credibility with the board weakens, and capacity gets consumed by reconciliation instead of analysis. This 2026 guide gives finance leaders a practical framework and a 12-question scorecard to close the gap before market shifts force the issue.

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Workday chief executive and co-founder Aneel Bhusri said the company is undergoing a “re-founding” effort to adapt to the AI era, as investor concerns grow that generative AI could disrupt traditional enterprise software providers. Bhusri, who returned as CEO in February, said Workday has reorganized around AI development by creating a dedicated AI task force, streamlining product ownership, and reducing its AI agent lineup from 50 to about 20 products to focus on the most commercially important offerings. The company is also launching new AI agents for corporate travel and IT service management, expanding into areas dominated by rivals such as ServiceNow, while executives argue that Workday’s expertise in complex HR and finance systems gives it an advantage over AI-native startups and large language model providers.

 

Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal profiles Meta technology chief Andrew “Boz” Bosworth as a blunt, influential executive leading Mark Zuckerberg’s push to turn Meta into an AI-first company. The shift has caused tension, with employees facing layoffs, reassignment into AI roles and new monitoring of keystrokes and mouse clicks to train AI agents. Bosworth refused opt-outs and told staff not to use company devices for personal email. Mark Rabkin, a longtime Meta executive and former virtual reality leader, said Bosworth has a “rip-the-Band-Aid-off” style. The piece also traces Bosworth’s role in Facebook’s News Feed, mobile advertising, metaverse strategy and current applied AI engineering efforts.

 

Wall Street Journal

Oura, the maker of the Oura health-tracking smart ring, has confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC as the company continues to expand rapidly in the wearable health technology market. The company said it is on track to surpass 5m paid members this quarter, representing a fourfold increase over the past two years, while total revenue has also increased fourfold during the same period. Oura was valued at $11bn in October following a $900m Series E funding round and has raised more than $1.5bn in total funding. Chief executive Tom Hale previously said Oura could generate close to $2bn in revenue in 2026 after being on track for around $1bn in sales during 2025. The company has expanded beyond sleep tracking into broader health and wellness services, including artificial intelligence-driven analytics and preventative health features.

 

CNBC

Reuters

AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential have agreed to merge, creating a landlord with more than 180,000 apartments and one of the largest U.S. real estate companies. Executives say the deal would improve efficiency, expand market reach and strengthen scale across major coastal rental markets. The merger now faces shareholder and regulatory scrutiny, with investors, renters and local officials likely to examine whether consolidation among large landlords could affect competition and pricing.

 

CNBC

Senior corporate tax leaders surveyed by BDO USA have identified the inability to keep up with changing regulatory requirements as the primary source of tax risk for the next year, with 30% of respondents expressing concern. This marks a significant increase from 13% in 2025. The report, titled '2026 Tax Strategist Survey', highlights that 82% of companies experienced an increase in total tax liability over the past year. Mathew DeMong, national managing principal of tax at BDO USA, stated: "The pace of regulatory change, global economic shifts, and business transformation has made tax one of the most strategically important functions in an organization." The survey also reveals that 94% of tax leaders are now involved in enterprise decision-making, reflecting a growing recognition of tax risk as an enterprise-wide issue rather than just a finance concern.

 

CPA Practice Advisor

The PCAOB has appointed Randy Thornton as chief operating officer after he served in the role on an acting basis since July 2025. Thornton, who has also been the PCAOB’s chief human resources officer since December 2022, will oversee the organization’s HR, finance, technology, enterprise strategy, project management, facilities, and operations functions. PCAOB chair Demetrios Logothetis said Mr. Thornton’s leadership and operational expertise would support the regulator’s efforts to modernize operations and strengthen resource management. He joined the PCAOB in 2022 as deputy director for HR Delivery and previously held senior management positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the US Department of the Treasury, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Labor.

 

The Accountant Online

U.S. consumer sentiment dropped to a record low in May as Americans grew increasingly concerned about inflation, rising gasoline prices, and the economic impact of the Iran war. The University of Michigan’s sentiment index fell to 44.8 from 49.8 in April, while long-term inflation expectations climbed to 3.9%, the highest level in seven months, and one-year inflation expectations reached 4.8%. Consumers cited the rising cost of living as a major concern, with high fuel prices and persistent inflation continuing to pressure household finances, even as labor market expectations remained relatively stable.

 

Bloomberg

Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s region stalled in May, with the bank’s Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey showing its headline index falling sharply to -0.4 from 26.7 in April. The reading marked a return to contraction territory and came in well below Wall Street expectations for a figure of 19, indicating weakening momentum across the regional manufacturing sector. Key indicators also deteriorated, with indexes for shipments and new orders both declining significantly. The new orders index fell to -1.7, its lowest level since April 2025. Despite the weaker current conditions, manufacturers expressed growing optimism about the future. The survey’s future-activity index climbed to 53.2, its highest level in five years, suggesting firms expect conditions to improve over the longer term. The Philadelphia Fed survey covers manufacturers in Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

 

Wall Street Journal

Deloitte predicts private capital investments in U.S. defined contribution plans could reach $1tn by 2030, representing roughly 6% of total assets under management, driven largely by adoption within target-date funds following the Department of Labor’s proposed safe harbor rule supporting alternative assets in retirement plans. The consulting firm said allocations could approach 2% by 2027 and continue growing if fiduciaries become more comfortable with private equity, private debt, real estate, and infrastructure investments, although litigation concerns, fee sensitivity, liquidity issues, and operational complexity could slow adoption. Deloitte expects private equity to account for the largest share of private capital allocations, with larger plans and professionally managed investment structures leading the shift toward alternative assets in retirement portfolios.

 

Plan Adviser

The Trump administration is awarding $2bn in grants to nine quantum-computing companies, including IBM, GlobalFoundries, D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, and PsiQuantum, as part of an effort to accelerate U.S. leadership in quantum technology and domestic chip manufacturing. The Commerce Department said the deals, which also include government equity stakes in the companies, are funded through the 2022 Chips and Science Act and are intended to support breakthroughs in computing, artificial intelligence, national security, and scientific research. IBM will receive $1bn to help establish what it described as the nation’s first specialized quantum chip manufacturing facility, while other firms will receive smaller awards tied to new quantum-focused businesses and research initiatives.

 

Wall Street Journal

KPMG is facing mounting scrutiny after a whistleblower alleged that at least six audit partners accessed confidential Lendlease board documents containing rival audit proposals from PwC and EY during a tender process, with one senior partner, Eileen Hoggett, later promoted to chief operating officer after the firm had been alerted to the claims. The allegations, aired under parliamentary privilege by a former KPMG audit director, also claim the firm improperly relied on insider information and director relationships in bids involving Lendlease, Macquarie Group, and Westpac, although no wrongdoing has been proven against the individuals named. The scandal has intensified political pressure on the Big Four firms, with calls from Greens Senator Barbara Pocock to structurally separate audit divisions, while former NSW premier Mike Baird resigned as a KPMG independent director over concerns the firm had not investigated the allegations rigorously enough.

 

The Australian

Samsung Electronics workers in South Korea have begun voting on a ​pay deal. An 11th-hour government-mediated agreement precipitated a ​deal which primarily benefits workers in Samsung's memory chip business, which ⁠has seen profits soar amid the AI boom. "This round of ​negotiations has effectively been reduced to bargaining over bonuses for the semiconductor ​memory division," said Lee Ho-seop, a leader of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), who added that "a rushed outcome was produced." The ballot runs until 10:00 a.m. on May 27.

 

Reuters

One-third of Japanese companies are already using or considering deploying AI-powered robots, according to a Reuters survey. About 4% of respondents ​are already using AI robots, 5% plan to deploy them, and 25% are considering doing so; the ⁠remaining 66% have no such plans. Reuters notes that Japan's government expects the introduction of AI robots into the workplace ‌to be key in coping with the country's chronic labor shortage.

 

Reuters