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Global sustainability reporting is becoming increasingly standardized as more large companies adopt, or plan to adopt, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) framework and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), according to a study by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), AICPA, and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). The research, which reviewed approximately 1,400 companies across 22 jurisdictions, found that one-third of companies referenced ISSB standards in 2024, up from 16% the previous year, while about 20% said they use or plan to use ESRS. The study also found that sustainability reporting remains widespread, with 97% of companies providing some form of sustainability disclosure and 75% obtaining independent assurance over those disclosures, up from 73% in 2023. More companies are also integrating sustainability reporting into their annual reports, with the proportion rising to 76% in 2024 from 74% a year earlier.

 

The Accountant Online

Comcast has announced plans to separate NBCUniversal and Sky into an independent, publicly traded company through a tax-free spin-off expected to close in mid-2027, while former chief financial officer Michael Angelakis will return as chief executive of Comcast. Current co-CEO Mike Cavanagh will lead the new NBCUniversal company, and chair Brian Roberts will remain actively involved with both businesses. Angelakis, who served as Comcast's CFO from 2007 to 2015 before founding investment firm Atairos, will first act as a strategic advisor on the spin-off before assuming the CEO role. Comcast said the restructuring is intended to provide greater strategic flexibility as competition intensifies across the telecommunications and media sectors.

 

Fortune

Wall Street Journal

Companies investing most heavily in AI are adding workers faster than their peers, according to research from start-ups Ramp and Revelio Labs that challenges forecasts of broad AI-driven job losses. TechCrunch notes that the research data skews towards tech-forward, knowledge-work firms that are likely growing quickly anyway, making it difficult to say whether AI is contributing to hiring. “This paper does not show that AI universally creates jobs,” the paper’s authors write, “but it does counter claims that AI will lead to broad job losses.”

 

TechCrunch

Financial Times

British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced plans to cut 5,500 jobs by the end of the year and outsource a further 3,500 as the cigarette-maker looks for ways to push down costs. BAT is contending with falling demand for traditional cigarettes in many markets and shifting its focus to smoking alternatives such as its Vuse vapes and Velo nicotine pouches to drive growth. The company said the cuts were part of a “transformation program” that is expected to create £600m ($800m) of annual cost savings by the end of 2028. BAT chief executive Tadeu Marroco said the company was “building a future-ready organization” that was “more agile, cost disciplined and technology enabled.”

 

Reuters

BBC News

The Guardian

The Supreme Court has given President Trump the power to fire the heads of independent agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board. The court's decision, which overturns a 91-year-old precedent that said the agencies must be independent of the president, creates a limited carve-out to preserve Federal Reserve independence. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissent with fellow Democratic appointees Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, observed: “Dozens of independent commissions are now likely to become purely executive agencies, shifting tremendous power over broad swaths of American life into the president’s hands.” The Competitive Enterprise Institute said the opinion “continues the healing process as we dismantle an unchecked regulatory state.”

 

The Hill

Bloomberg

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating Polymarket as consumer protection advocates and states call for stricter oversight of fast-growing prediction market platforms. In a letter sent to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, senators John Curtis (R., Utah) and Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) said the allegations in recent Wall Street Journal reporting about the social media promotion of fake bets “are deeply troubling and demand immediate scrutiny . . . The public-facing behavior alleged here does not resemble a sober financial market designed for hedging or price discovery . . . We remain concerned that the Commission is neither enforcing the law appropriately, nor is equipped to serve as a federal gambling regulator.” A CFTC spokesperson said in a statement: “We are conducting a comprehensive audit of active promotional content to ensure it complies with our standards, as well as applicable regulatory and legal disclosure requirements.” 

 

CNBC

Financial Times

Wall Street Journal

The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 to block President Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the President didn't provide Cook enough process to contest allegations of mortgage fraud. “To be clear, the ultimate question of whether the President can remove Cook for cause will depend in part on the underlying facts,” Roberts wrote. “In this opinion, we have not addressed the facts , as they have yet to be found or analyzed under the relevant legal standards. Rather, we have simply addressed the parties' arguments about the appropriate legal standards under which the facts must be evaluated,” he continued.  Allowing Trump to remove Cook would open the door for “the President to remove a member of the Federal Reserve at any time, for any reason, without any notice before and without any judicial check after”, the chief justice wrote.

 

The Hill

CNBC

NPR / National Public Radio

Apple has changed its software release strategy by making security updates available earlier than planned in response to growing concerns that artificial intelligence is enabling hackers to develop and exploit cyber threats more quickly. Rather than waiting to bundle security patches into its next major iOS release, the company is releasing fixes ahead of schedule to shorten the window between vulnerabilities being disclosed and protections reaching users. The move marks a significant shift from Apple's longstanding practice of delivering most security updates alongside broader iOS upgrades. Although the company said there is no evidence that the latest vulnerabilities have been actively exploited, it believes the rapid pace of AI-assisted cyberattacks requires faster deployment of security fixes to better protect customers.

 

Reuters

The U.S. government has given Anthropic the green light to put its Claude Mythos 5 artificial intelligence model back into the hands of 100 or so “trusted partners”, including many Fortune 500 companies and U.S. government departments. The Trump administration had been concerned that such powerful AI systems could be misused by military intelligence users in China, Russia or other countries. Reuters notes that the administration's vetting ​of which companies can gain access to Mythos has been widely criticized. "No one knows how these companies are picked and why everyone else is excluded," observed John Coleman, legislative counsel for the Philadelphia-based nonpartisan free speech organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. "This is putting too much power in the hands of the government. There's little transparency and it raises questions about the rule of law."

 

Financial Times

Reuters

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has warned that the rapid surge in artificial intelligence investment could lead to overcapacity, disappointing returns, and a sharp economic downturn if AI fails to deliver on lofty expectations. In its annual report, the BIS compared the current AI spending boom to previous technology investment cycles, including the railroad expansion, electrification, and the dot-com era, all of which ended with painful market corrections and broader economic recessions. The organization cautioned that a slowdown in AI investment could trigger significant declines in equity markets, reduce household wealth, weaken consumer spending, and create financial stress throughout the AI supply chain as companies dependent on hyperscaler spending struggle to service debt.

 

Financial Post

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

U.S. retailers are bringing forward orders from China by four to six weeks to secure stock for the Black Friday and Christmas shopping season before expected increases in U.S. import tariffs later this year, according to shipping executives. The move reflects continued uncertainty over U.S. trade policy despite last month's meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leaders, with the current 10% universal tariff due to expire on 24 July and higher duties widely anticipated. The U.S. Trade Representative has also proposed a 12.5% tariff on imports from China and other countries following a forced labor investigation. The early ordering has led to stronger-than-usual shipping demand during May and June, rather than the traditional July-to-September peak season. Shipping group Maersk said container capacity on China-U.S. routes has tightened since mid-May due to stronger customer demand and earlier seasonal bookings, while maritime consultancy Drewry reported that freight rates from Shanghai to New York have risen 25% year-on-year to $7,149 per 40-foot container. Rates to Los Angeles have climbed 54% over the same period to $5,750.

 

Reuters

McDonald’s has appointed Suheily Natal Davis as Chief Sustainability, Social Impact & Inclusion Officer, expanding its senior sustainability role to include responsibility for inclusion. Natal Davis, who has spent 12 years with the company and most recently served as Vice President of Global Inclusion, succeeds Beth Hart, who has been named Vice President, Global Category Lead for Beef. The appointment follows McDonald’s decision last year to revise its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, including ending aspirational representation goals and its supplier DEI pledge in response to a changing legal landscape. The company said the new combined leadership structure will help drive progress across its sustainability, social impact, and inclusion initiatives while maintaining its commitment to inclusion as a core value.

 

ESG Today

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on goods from countries that implement digital services taxes, intensifying pressure on European nations that recently ratified a trade agreement with the U.S. In a social media post, Trump stated, "Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America." This threat would override existing trade deals and comes after the European Union approved a trade pact with a 15% tariff ceiling on exports to the U.S. The Trump administration has long opposed digital services taxes, which it argues could impact major U.S. tech firms like Alphabet and Meta. A European Commission spokesperson emphasized the EU's right to regulate economic activity and expressed a preference for a global solution on digital taxes.

 

Accounting Today

Two junior EY employees have been accused of improperly accessing the bank account of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while on secondment at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, according to people familiar with the matter. The employees, who joined EY in March, were subsequently dismissed after the alleged breach was discovered. Reports also indicate that the pair accessed the account of at least one EY partner before the bank alerted the firm. The Australian Federal Police have charged two men, ages 21 and 25, with unlawfully accessing restricted personal banking information belonging to a federal parliamentarian. The case is due to be heard in a Sydney court, while Commonwealth Bank and the prime minister's office have declined to comment on the incident.

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

The Guardian

German designer Marius Dittmar has challenged Adidas's EU design rights for its World Cup Trionda ball, arguing it closely resembles his four-panel football design, with a ruling expected after August.

 

Financial Times