Risk Channel delivers the latest, most relevant and useful business intelligence to key decision makers and influencers, each weekday morning.

David Miller, the new enforcement director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has said the regulator will focus on ‌policing misconduct including insider trading in prediction markets and manipulation in energy markets. The agency, which oversees commodities and swaps markets, will focus on a handful of enforcement areas, also including market abuse such ​as spoofing and willful violations of laws designed to prevent money laundering, Miller ​said in his first public remarks since joining the CFTC last month. “Unfortunately there’s a myth in mainstream media and social media that insider trading doesn’t apply in the prediction markets,” Miller said at a panel at New York University. “That is wrong.”

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

California is to impose new standards on artificial intelligence companies seeking to do business with the state, in defiance of Donald Trump’s demands to keep the AI industry as deregulated as possible. Democratic governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order that gives the state four months to develop AI policies that prioritize public safety. Companies hoping to sign contracts with the state will have to demonstrate how their models avoid incorporating “harmful bias” and detail policies to avoid “unlawful discrimination, detention, and surveillance.” Trump has warned states not to get involved in regulating artificial intelligence. In a recent set of policy guidelines, the White House said a “patchwork of conflicting state laws would undermine American innovation and our ability to lead in the global AI race.” 

 

CNET	New York Times

The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a strategic market status investigation into Microsoft's software ecosystem, including Windows, Office, Teams, and Copilot. The probe, starting in May, aims to address competition concerns in the cloud market. Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said the investigation shows that the competition watchdog is "getting ahead of emerging issues." The CMA has also announced that Microsoft and Amazon are taking action on cloud egress fees and interoperability to support greater choice for businesses and the public sector.

 

Financial Times

The Times

Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick is reassigning cases involving Elon Musk to other judges in the state’s business court. Last week, lawyers for Musk called for McCormick to step back from cases involving the billionaire entrepreneur after she  allegedly responded with a supportive emoji to a LinkedIn post that was viewed as critical of Musk. McCormick said in a subsequent letter to Musk’s attorneys that she didn’t intend to click any emoji expressing support for the post, and that she had reported possible “suspicious activity” on her account to LinkedIn. McCormick wrote in her order that “disproportionate media attention surrounding a judge’s handling of an action is detrimental to the administration of justice,” and said she has “complete faith” in her colleagues’ abilities to adjudicate the cases.

 

CNBC

Financial Times

Reuters

Vermont is defending in federal court its pioneering climate superfund law, which aims to make fossil fuel companies contribute to the costs of climate damage. In U.S. District Court in Rutland, Vermont argued against lawsuits from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute which claim the law is unconstitutional. Jonathan Rose from the Vermont attorney general's office said: “As a sovereign state, Vermont gets to do certain things that are exercises of a traditional state authority.” The law aims to fund climate adaptation projects following severe flooding in 2023. The outcome of the litigation could set a precedent for other states pursuing similar actions against fossil fuel companies. Jennifer Rushlow from the Conservation Law Foundation emphasized the significance of Vermont's initiative, saying: “This is the first time that a state legislature has taken the gigantic step of pursuing polluters and holding them accountable.”

 

U.S. News

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have introduced legislation to ban the federal government from obtaining or operating unmanned Chinese robots. The American Security Robotics Act seeks to bar government use of “unmanned ground vehicle systems” - including humanoid robots and remote surveillance vehicles - made by foreign adversaries such as China. “The Chinese Communist Party has shown that they are willing to lie and cheat to get ahead at the expense of the American people and our national security,” Schumer said, adding: “They are running their standard playbook - this time in robotics - trying to flood the U.S. market with their technology, which presents real security risks and threats to Americans’ privacy and American research and industry.”

 

The Hill

Reuters

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. job openings fell to 6.88m in February from an upwardly revised 7.24m in January, undershooting expectations and signalling a moderation in labor demand after a brief uptick at the start of the year. According to the Labor Department's latest JOLTS report, hiring also slowed markedly, to its lowest level since April 2020, reflecting weaker recruitment across sectors including construction, leisure and hospitality, and business services. The slowdown in vacancies was driven by declines in accommodation and food services, healthcare, and manufacturing, suggesting softness is concentrated in specific industries rather than broad-based. Meanwhile, the quits rate held at 1.9%, matching its lowest level since 2020, indicating reduced worker confidence in securing new roles, while layoffs edged up slightly but remained subdued overall. The ratio of job openings to unemployed workers fell to 0.9, down significantly from a peak of 2 in 2022, reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s view that the labor market is no longer a key source of inflationary pressure. 

 

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

The loss of small perks and the rise of AI in a push seemingly aimed at squeezing more work out of fewer people have conspired to strip the office of all fun, many employees are saying. The Wall Street Journal notes that chief financial officers at large U.S. companies mentioned “efficiency” at least once on 307 conference calls in the latest quarter as of March 26, up from 219 a year earlier and the highest level since at least 2020, according to AlphaSense. “There’s almost nobody who is feeling positive vibes about their job right now,” said Rocco Seyboth, a longtime software marketer outside Seattle. “Everyone I talked to is consumed by AI - either how to use it, how to pretend to use it, how much they hate using it, how it’s going to eliminate their position or their company’s product,” he said. Human resources executives say they are aware of the concerns of white-collar staff.  “There’s fear in the workforce,” said Jacqui Canney, chief people and AI enablement officer at the technology company ServiceNow. 

 

Wall Street Journal

Oracle has announced job cuts affecting around 10,000 employees. In a LinkedIn post, Michael Shepard, a senior manager, noted that senior engineers, architects, operations leaders, program managers, and technical specialists had been let go but noted that the "significant" reductions were not performance-related, saying: "The individuals affected were not let go because of anything they did or didn't do."

 

Business Insider

CNBC

BBC News

The U.S. Department of Justice has sent ​subpoenas in its investigation of Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, in a move which ‌shows the DOJ is moving ahead with its probe into the $110bn deal that would combine the two major studios, as well as the companies' streaming services and news operations. Reuters notes that Hollywood and Wall Street are intensely interested in the deal, which would bring together some of the entertainment industry's most lucrative franchises but be a blow ​to film and television jobs.

 

Reuters

Pharma companies are delaying launches of some new drugs in Europe as the sector tries to manage with U.S. pressure ​and pricing policy shifts from President Donald Trump, according to executives, an industry trade group and data shared with Reuters. "We're seeing first signs of delayed introductions into Europe," said Stefan Oelrich, president of trade body the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries ​and Associations and a senior executive at Bayer. He said it was "a consequence of uncertainty around what that ultimately does to U.S. pricing."

 

Reuters

The American Heart Association (AHA) has issued updated dietary advice recommending plant-based protein, low-fat dairy and healthier oils, directly contradicting recent U.S. government guidelines that promote red meat and full-fat dairy. The AHA says its guidance is based on decades of evidence linking diets rich in beans, lentils and vegetables, and low in processed meats, to reduced risk of heart disease, while warning that the government’s approach could harm public health. The divergence highlights growing tensions between medical bodies and policymakers, with experts concerned conflicting advice may confuse consumers and worsen already high rates of cardiovascular disease.

 

Wall Street Journal