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Goldman Sachs has added rules on prediction-market betting to its employee codes of conduct. The bank's personal trading policy bans employees from trading on prediction markets except for sports and entertainment bets. Trading on event contracts related to specific companies, election outcomes, or financial market performance is prohibited. Repeated violations of the policy may lead to dismissal or account closure, and employees may be required to forfeit profit or donate it to charity in cases of improper trades.

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Reuters

Research from the New ‌York Federal Reserve based on a new database powered by AI indicates that bank runs become more problematic when financial institutions' broader underlying health is ​under challenge. "Poor bank fundamentals are necessary for bank ⁠runs to translate into failure and for bank ​distress to generate severe economic distress," the research said, ​adding that "although runs can occur in both weak and strong banks, poor fundamentals are necessary for runs to result ​in bank failures."

 

Reuters

Sources have told Reuters that U.S. states concerned that Paramount's $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will hurt competition could challenge the deal in court as soon as next week. California Attorney General Rob Bonta ​is leading an investigation into whether the deal violates U.S. laws against mergers that would unlawfully harm ​competition, Reuters reports.

 

Reuters

TPG and Blackstone are seeking more than $4bn for medical technology company Hologic’s surgical unit, as they look to pay down debt and repay investors after last year’s leveraged buyout.

 

Financial Times

The United Nations' agency for digital technologies is establishing a focus group comprised ⁠of ​technical, policy and legal experts to improve trust in artificial ‌intelligence agents, amid growing concern about accountability and human oversight over these increasingly autonomous AI systems.  The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said that while AI agents - systems that act ​independently on behalf of users to carry out ⁠tasks - can improve productivity, they also run ​the risk of impersonating people and taking unauthorized decisions. The group will hold its first meeting in Paris in November and its ​second in Geneva in January.

 

Reuters

Apple has agreed to spend $30bn over the next five years on U.S.-made chips from Broadcom, marking the largest commitment under its pledge to invest $600bn in the U.S. during President Donald Trump's administration and reinforcing its strategy of expanding domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The agreement is expected to result in the production of 15bn chips in the U.S. and support a $1.5bn investment in Broadcom's manufacturing facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. Apple said the deal strengthens its U.S. semiconductor supply chain, while chief executive Tim Cook thanked the Trump administration for supporting domestic manufacturing projects. The announcement follows Broadcom's recent extension of its supply agreement with Apple until 2031, including the development of custom chips for future Apple products. 

 

Financial Times

Reuters

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed easing heavy-truck emissions standards introduced under former President Joe Biden, allowing manufacturers to continue selling some engines that do not yet meet stricter 2027 emissions requirements while they complete development of compliant models. The proposals would scale back emissions warranty requirements, extend implementation timelines and permit temporary sales of non-compliant heavy-duty diesel engines, while the EPA said nitrogen oxide (NOx) reductions would still achieve nearly 90% of those expected under the original rules. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the changes could save the industry around $12bn, or up to $6,000 per truck, although environmental groups warned the rollback would increase pollution and undermine public health protections.

 

The Hill

NPR

New York Times

Reuters

The European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), the EU's financial stability watchdog, is examining the risks private ‌credit poses to the region's banks and economy, according to Richard Portes, a member of the board's advisory committee and ​co-chair of a recently launched credit taskforce. He said this would involve assessing the potential of private credit to ⁠spread or amplify financial shocks and its interconnectedness with Europe's financial system. "It is those linkages ​that we as the ESRB and any macro-prudential authority will worry about. We want to know where the ​interconnections are. And honestly, not much is yet known about that," he said.

 

Reuters

Fierce Biotech reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has temporarily paused its policy of releasing complete response letters (CRLs) that explain drug application rejections. This decision follows a citizen's petition from an undisclosed pharmaceutical company, which raised concerns about the potential disclosure of proprietary information. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said that the agency is currently evaluating the process. The policy was part of a transparency initiative led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who has since left the agency.

 

Fierce Biotech

Oklahoma’s attorney general has sued Allstate, claiming the insurer sought to minimize payouts to homeowners for wind and hailstorm damage in order to boost  profits. Gentner Drummond said Allstate had since at least 2020 "secretly" required restrictive standards in assessing policyholder claims, "effectively predetermining outcomes" in order to lower indemnity ​payments and boost corporate profits. “This lawsuit is about protecting Oklahoma homeowners and holding insurance companies accountable when they fail to honor the promises they make to policyholders,” the state's top lawyer said. “Consumers pay their premiums expecting their insurance company to be there when disaster strikes.” The lawsuit seeks unspecified ​damages plus civil fines for violations of Oklahoma consumer protection and anti-racketeering laws.

 

Insurance Journal

Reuters

A federal judge has approved the Securities and Exchange Commission's settlement with Elon Musk over his ‌purchase of Twitter shares, despite observing "significant misgivings" about "red flags," including whether the world’s richest person was getting “special treatment” from the Trump administration. A lawsuit had accused Musk of cheating Twitter investors by missing a deadline in 2022 to disclose his growing stake in the company. “In approving the parties’ proposed consent judgment, the court stresses that its role is limited,” Sooknanan wrote. “That means that the court may not step in the shoes of the SEC, notwithstanding that the SEC’s decision-making in this case raises red flags.”

 

TechCrunch

Bloomberg

The Trump administration has launched an investigation into alleged H-1B and PERM visa abuse, labor trafficking, and the displacement of American workers. Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said: "This is another example where fraud is fueling violent crime . . . Much of the visa and the human trafficking that we see when it comes to this foreign labor is tied to cartels, is tied to transnational gangs, and this is the work that we should be doing, not only to make America safe again, but to make America more affordable again."

 

Economic Times

Fox Business

India Today

About two-thirds (67%) of U.S. companies reported an increase in mental health-related leaves of absence and accommodation requests over the past year, according to a survey by employment law specialists Littler Mendelson. Bloomberg reports on how a growing trend of workers using the Family and Medical Leave Act for mental health is prompting a resource strain, as employers hire temporary replacements or redistribute work. The estimated cost of a missed workday is said to be about $340 per day for full-time workers. Jeff Nowak, an employment attorney at Littler, observes: “Leaves have been consistently elevated coming out of Covid. This is a sustained shift, not a temporary disruption.”

 

Bloomberg

Companies’ growing use of non-compete clauses is harming productivity in rich economies, according to OECD research that found about a third of private sector employees restricted from joining a rival, limiting their outside options, and thereby weakening their bargaining power and reducing wage growth. The OECD said stronger rules alone may not stop the misuse of non-compete clauses, as unclear or overly broad terms are still common. Governments can improve transparency, simplify regulations and increase enforcement, including sanctions for clauses that are too broad.

 

Financial Times

OECD

Taco Bell has temporarily removed several fresh ingredients from its restaurants following a nationwide recall linked to a cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened people in 18 states, disrupting the availability of some menu items. The chain has suspended the use of lettuce, cilantro onion, pico de gallo, and guacamole while health authorities investigate the source of the outbreak. It remains unclear whether any Taco Bell customers have been infected, although Michigan has reported 1,251 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis as of July 9. The parasite can cause severe watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, fatigue, and other gastrointestinal symptoms, with public health officials advising consumers to thoroughly wash and properly store fresh produce to reduce the risk of infection.

 

Market Watch

NJ.com