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

Securities and Exchange Commission chair Paul Atkins has said federal regulators should take a back seat to states in policing executive conduct. Atkins told a conference in Miami, in comments posted on the SEC’s website: “we are focused on ensuring that states, and not the SEC, regulate matters of corporate governance . . . Over time, the agency has used its disclosure authority to attempt to indirectly establish governance standards that state corporate law should and can address. We must stay in our lane as a disclosure agency and not be a merit regulator.” 

 

Financial Times

SEC.gov

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said enforcement cases brought by the agency fell ‌more than 20% in fiscal 2025 as the regulator "recentered" its enforcement program. The SEC brought 456 enforcement actions in the fiscal year that ran through the end of September; that ​compares to 583 actions a year earlier. "We have redirected resources toward the types of misconduct that inflict the greatest harm - particularly fraud, market manipulation, and abuses of trust - and away from approaches that prioritized ​volume and record-setting penalties over true investor protection," SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said. Atkins has long been a critic of large corporate penalties for harming shareholders. Reuters notes a ​mass exodus of staff under the Trump administration. The SEC lost 18% of its staff in fiscal 2025, a recent government report showed.

 

Reuters

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is laying out guidelines for U.S. banks and their fintech units to use stablecoins. The new guidelines would establish requirements related to reserve assets, redemptions of outstanding stablecoins, permissible activities and capital, among other areas. The proposal would reaffirm by regulation that deposits in tokenized form remain deposits under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The FDIC plans to seek comment on 144 specific questions, FDIC Chair Travis Hill said. “We genuinely invite robust feedback on key issues in the proposal,” he said. “This includes feedback on permissible and prohibited activities, capital requirements for stablecoin issuers and for their parent companies, the FDIC’s approach to pass-through insurance, and the prohibition on yield.”

 

Bloomberg

CoinDesk

Forbes

The Environmental Protection Agency, the FBI and other agencies said in a joint statement Tuesday that Iran-linked cyberattackers are targeting critical U.S. infrastructure including drinking water systems and the energy sector, along with government facilities and services. “The FBI and its partners are issuing this advisory to ensure organizations are best positioned to defend themselves against exploitation by Iran-affiliated cyber actors,” Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI’s cyber division, said in the statement.

 

Bloomberg

Los Angeles Times

The IMF warns that rising defence spending amid escalating geopolitical tensions risks widening fiscal deficits and increasing global debt, despite providing a short-term boost to economic activity. Analysis of over 160 countries shows defence spending booms are largely financed through borrowing, with wartime surges particularly costly - raising public debt by around 14 percentage points of GDP while reducing real social spending. With global debt already at a record $348tn and countries ramping up military budgets in response to conflicts such as the Iran war, the IMF cautions that policymakers face growing trade-offs between security priorities and long-term fiscal sustainability.

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Federal Reserve officials have indicated they still expect to cut interest rates in 2026, despite heightened uncertainty from the Iran war and tariffs, according to minutes from the March meeting. Policymakers unanimously held rates at 3.5%–3.75%, with most signalling that easing would be appropriate if inflation continues to fall, though they stressed the need to remain “nimble” given risks from higher oil prices, persistent inflation and a fragile labor market. The minutes also highlighted downside risks to employment and growth - amid slowing economic activity and weak job creation - while noting that prolonged geopolitical tensions could alternatively sustain inflation and delay cuts or even require tighter policy.

 

CNBC

New York Times

Reuters

A panel of judges has ruled that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over the sports-related event contracts that Kalshi allows people to trade on its platform. The 2-1 ruling by the three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based third U.S. circuit court of appeals marks the first time a federal appeals court has ruled on what has become the central issue in an intensifying battle over the ability of state gaming regulators to police the activity of prediction market operators. “Kalshi has demonstrated a reasonable chance of success on its argument that the Commodity Exchange Act . . . preempts otherwise applicable state law, we will affirm,” Judge David J. Porter wrote for the majority. “This is a big win for the industry and millions of users,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour wrote on social media platform X. 

 

Bloomberg

The Guardian

OpenAI is calling on the California and Delaware attorneys general to consider investigating Elon Musk and his associates' "improper and anti-competitive behavior" ​ahead of a trial between the two sides that is due ‌to begin this month. The upcoming jury trial will consider claims that the generative AI company defrauded Musk by ditching the nonprofit structure that it had when he initially donated to the startup. OpenAI and Microsoft - a subsequent $13bn investor in the startup - have denied Musk's claims. Musk is seeking as much as $134bn in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft. On Monday, the ChatGPT maker sent a letter to ​California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, saying ‌the ⁠lawsuit would effectively cripple the organization.

 

Reuters

A federal judge has dismissed a consumer lawsuit accusing the maker of Stanley tumblers of concealing its use of lead in drinkware products. U.S. District Judge Tana Lin in Seattle said consumers did not demonstrate a "specific and plausible risk of harm" from lead ​by using the tumblers, which are made by the defendant Pacific Market International.

 

U.S. News

Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi will not attend a scheduled interview with a House of Representatives committee on the release of the Epstein files. The Justice Department informed Congress that the subpoena for her testimony is no longer valid due to her recent dismissal by President Donald Trump. Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis said: "The Department's position is that the subpoena no longer obligates her to appear on April 14." The House Oversight Committee had previously voted to subpoena Bondi to address concerns over the Justice Department's compliance with a bipartisan law mandating the release of Epstein-related documents. Representative Robert Garcia of California warned of potential contempt proceedings against Bondi if she fails to appear. The committee continues to investigate Epstein's connections with influential figures and the Justice Department's handling of related investigations.

 

U.S. News

Seven & i Holdings has postponed the planned IPO of its North American 7-Eleven business to 2027 or later, dealing a setback to its turnaround strategy designed to fend off a previous $47bn takeover approach from Couche-Tard. The listing had been a central element of the group’s plan to boost valuation, fund expansion, and return capital to shareholders, but has been delayed amid weak sales performance across more than 13,000 U.S. and Canadian stores and volatile equity markets linked to geopolitical tensions. The company continues to struggle with declining same-store sales as inflation-hit consumers shift toward discount retailers, raising investor doubts over its standalone growth strategy despite efforts to expand food offerings and restructure operations. Shares fell this morning following the announcement, with the group’s performance further highlighting challenges in its international business, where annual U.S. sales declined and overall revenues dropped 13% to ¥10.4tn ($65.4bn), although net profit rose 68% to ¥292.7bn due to one-off gains from divestments.

 

Financial Times

Japan Times

Nippon.com

Reuters

A Kimberly-Clark employee has been arrested on arson charges after a massive fire broke out at a California distribution center. The fire at the 1.2m-square-foot facility in Ontario destroyed all products inside, and could potentially lead to disruptions in a market that serves around 50m consumers. The Ontario Fire Department said it had identified a suspect: Chamel Abdulkarim, an employee of NFI Industries, a third-party logistics provider for Kimberly-Clark products.

 

Bloomberg

Mithril Defense is rolling out a school security system that uses ceiling-mounted high-speed drones to respond to active shooter incidents before law enforcement arrives. The “Campus Guardian Angel” system can provide live surveillance, navigate mapped campuses remotely, and deploy deterrents including strobe lights and pepper gel. The company says the drones can reach 100 miles per hour and operate in coordinated groups during emergencies. The technology is launching in schools in Florida and Georgia. Critics argue it could create new risks and draw funding away from stronger prevention strategies.

 

Wall Street Journal