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The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have published proposals to relax capital requirements for Wall Street banks which could potentially unleash billions of dollars for lending, share buybacks and dividends. Top regulatory officials appointed by President Donald Trump say rules imposed following the 2008 financial crisis have grown ​to be too onerous and are hindering lending and the economy. Proposed changes to the "Basel III" and "GSIB surcharge" rules, alongside ‌tweaks to banks' annual "stress test" health checks, will calibrate capital in line with real risks, while still keeping the financial system safe, the officials  said. “These changes would strengthen our overall capital framework, which would remain robust under the new regime,” Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said. Fed governor Michael Barr was the sole dissenting vote on the proposals. “I fear that, if this much weaker version of Basel III is adopted in the U.S., it could trigger a race to the bottom on standards, harming the global financial system,” he said.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is forming a new ‌enforcement unit for accounting matters while cutting staff at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), moves which Reuters says suggest the SEC is seeking to absorb some functions normally assigned ​to the PCAOB, a nonprofit which has fallen into disfavor in Republican-controlled Washington. The ⁠SEC has posted jobs online for a new "SOX" group, which will "investigate and litigate matters involving potential violations of auditing and related professional standards and provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other relevant federal securities laws." An SEC spokesperson said that auditors were "critical gatekeepers" for maintaining the integrity of financial markets and ​helping prevent ⁠fraud. "Additional hires in the enforcement division will continue the commission's longstanding efforts to crack down on bad actors in the profession," the spokesperson said.

 

Reuters

Bipartisan lawmakers are urging the SEC to take a closer look at how allowing Chinese companies to list on U.S. stock exchanges can undermine national security and threaten data privacy.

 

Financials Times

The EU plans to overhaul its merger rules to curb national powers to block corporate takeovers, in a bid to help European companies build the scale to compete with global rivals. A European Commission discussion paper says some national interventions have “unnecessarily hindered scaling-up.” The revised guidelines are intended to create greater legal certainty for businesses pursuing pan-European consolidation.

 

European Business Magazine

Financial Times

Google has said it is developing new ​search controls to let websites specifically opt out of its generative AI features, as ‌the company moved to address the concerns of the Competition and Markets Authority, Britain's competition regulator, about its dominance in search services. Reuters reports that Google has also proposed "a less intrusive" switch in a user's device settings to make it ​easier to change the default search engine, rather than frequent pop-ups, which it said would ​annoy users.

 

PYMNTS.com

Reuters

U.S. producer prices rose more than expected in February, increasing 0.7%, their largest monthly gain in seven months, driven by higher costs for services, food, and energy. The Labor Department's report noted that annual producer inflation reached 3.4%, the highest in a year, signaling persistent price pressures in the economy. The increase was led by services, particularly hospitality and transportation, while goods prices surged due to sharp rises in food and energy costs, including vegetables, eggs, and fuel. Core inflation also remained firm, reinforcing concerns about underlying price strength. Economists warn inflation could climb further as the Iran conflict pushes oil prices higher and tariffs continue to feed through supply chains. A separate report, from the Commerce Department, found that U.S. factory orders rose modestly by 0.1% in January, recovering slightly from a revised decline in December and matching expectations. The increase was supported by demand for machinery, metals, and electronics, partly driven by investment in artificial intelligence, while weakness in transportation equipment, especially defense aircraft, limited overall growth.

 

CNBC

Market Watch

Reuters

Reuters

U.S. wholesale inventories fell 0.5% in January, a sharper decline than December’s 0.1% drop, raising concerns that inventory investment could weigh on first-quarter GDP growth if the trend continues. The Commerce Department said the decline was broad-based, with notable reductions in stocks of motor vehicles, lumber, metals, chemicals, and petroleum, although some categories such as furniture, apparel, and electrical goods saw increases. Despite the inventory drawdown, wholesale sales rose 0.5% in January following a strong 1.3% increase in December, indicating steady demand and improving inventory turnover. The inventory-to-sales ratio edged lower to 1.25 months, suggesting businesses are holding leaner stock levels relative to sales.

 

US News and World Report

Live Nation chief executive Michael Rapino faced intense questioning on Thursday in a U.S. antitrust trial, as lawyers probed the company’s ticket pricing, fees, and alleged dominance following its merger with Ticketmaster. A coalition of more than 20 states argues the company has built an illegal monopoly by leveraging its scale to pressure venues into using Ticketmaster and limiting competition across the live events market. During testimony, Mr. Rapino was challenged on past comments highlighting Live Nation’s market strength and profitability, as well as internal remarks suggesting ticket fees were “too high.” He defended the company’s position, stating it had helped consolidate a fragmented industry into a more efficient global platform for artists, while attributing rising ticket prices in part to resale markets and broader industry dynamics. The case continues despite a settlement between Live Nation and the U.S. Department of Justice, with remaining states seeking structural remedies, including a potential breakup of the business.

 

CNN

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

Trump administration officials are drafting agreements to pay nearly $1bn to ​oil major TotalEnergies as compensation for the cancellation of leases for ‌wind farms in federal waters off New York State and North Carolina. Under the terms of the proposed settlements, the U.S. Interior ​Department will cancel the leases in federal waters for the Attentive Energy and Carolina Long Bay projects, while the Justice Department would pay more than $928m to the developers to reimburse them for their winning bids in lease sales. “It is quite unusual for the administration to do this cash outlay, seemingly just because Trump doesn’t like offshore wind,” observed John Leshy, who served as the general counsel for the Interior Department during the Clinton administration.

 

New York Times

The Securities and Exchange ‌Commission (SEC) and Elon Musk are in talks to settle the agency's lawsuit accusing the world's richest person of waiting too long in 2022 to disclose his initial purchases of Twitter, which he eventually purchased for $44bn. In a court filing, the SEC and Musk said ​they are "engaged in discussions of a potential resolution that would mean further proceedings might not be necessary."

 

CNBC

Reuters

JPMorgan Chase and Wall Street lenders have suspended more than $5bn of debt sales for software firm Qualtrics amid investor anxiety over whether its business model can withstand AI disruption. “Software is a tough sell right now,” observed a junk bond trader. “It wouldn’t be a deal that we want to participate in anyway.”

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

BP has locked out over 800 union workers at its Whiting, Indiana refinery after failing to reach a contract agreement with the United Steelworkers Local 7-1. Eric Schultz, president of USW Local 7-1, said: “We presented British Petroleum with an offer [Tuesday] that included accepting several of their proposals - only for them to reject that after just four hours and serve us with a lockout notice.” BP said the lockout was a result of the union's rejection of critical proposals necessary for the refinery's sustainability. The company has offered a revised six-year contract that includes job restructuring affecting 20% of employees and cuts to lump sum payments. Union leadership claims the revised offer limits their ability to strike and undermines bargaining rights. As tensions rise amid increasing gas prices, BP insists that production will not be disrupted during the lockout.

 

Chicago Sun Times

A new study has found that high consumption of ultraprocessed foods significantly increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular death, with people eating around nine servings a day facing a 67% higher risk compared to those consuming just one. The research, published in JACC: Advances, a journal of the American College of Cardiology and based on over 6,800 adults, shows risk rises steadily with each additional serving, with every extra portion linked to a 5.1% increase in cardiovascular risk. The impact was even greater among Black participants, potentially reflecting broader inequalities such as access to healthy food and chronic stress. Ultraprocessed foods, typically high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats and containing additives, may contribute to inflammation and overeating due to their calorie density and addictive combinations of ingredients. The findings add to growing evidence of the health dangers of highly processed diets and support efforts to encourage reduced consumption and greater intake of whole, unprocessed foods.

 

Wall Street Journal