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President Trump has announced plans to launch a trade investigation into the European Union and threatened further tariffs following regulatory action against major American technology companies. The move follows the European Commission's €890m fine against Google over competition concerns. Trump accused the EU of unfairly targeting U.S. firms, including Google, Apple, Meta and Amazon, and called for penalties to be reversed. He said the U.S. would begin a Section 301 investigation into European regulatory practices while considering additional tariffs. Google said it had worked to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act but had expressed concerns about recent regulatory decisions.

 

CBC News

CNBC

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A U.S. federal appeals court has refused to reinstate the Trump administration's proposed $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, ruling it was unlikely to overturn a lower court decision that the charge amounted to an unlawful tax without congressional approval. The administration introduced the fee to discourage employers from hiring foreign workers over Americans. The ruling by the ​Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals leaves the injunction in place while legal proceedings continue, dealing a setback to the administration's immigration and labor policy. Trump, when imposing the new fee, said the H-1B program "has been deliberately ​exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers ​with lower-paid, ⁠lower-skilled labor."

 

The Times of India

Business Insider

Reuters

The Guardian

Life insurers Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co., both owned by Group 1001 and controlled by Mark Walter, are facing a federal investigation into whether they properly disclosed billions of dollars in related-party private credit investments. According to regulatory filings, the companies received grand jury subpoenas as part of a parallel investigation by federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, prompting internal reviews that resulted in a significant restatement of related-party investment disclosures. The review increased Delaware Life's reported related-party investments from about $1.4bn to more than $17bn, representing at least 39% of its invested assets. The insurer has launched a remediation plan to reduce affiliated investments and strengthen financial controls, while S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook from stable to negative but affirmed its A- financial strength rating. 

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Insurance Business

LIV Golf has agreed to pay $1m to settle a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Ohio-based golf tee manufacturer Stinger Golf, ending a dispute over the use of the Stinger Golf Club name. The lawsuit, which originally sought $100m in damages, followed LIV's use of the Stinger name for one of its original teams before it was rebranded as Southern Guards GC in January 2026. According to court filings, only LIV will make settlement payments, with Stinger Golf accepting the reduced amount in part due to concerns over the league's financial position and the potential risk of bankruptcy proceedings. 

 

Reuters

Democratic lawmakers have written to Skadden Arps executive ‌partner Jeremy London to request that the firm furnish additional details related to its deal with President Donald Trump to provide $100m in free legal services, including information about its work advising semiconductor manufacturer Intel on its ​sale of an almost 10% equity stake to the U.S. Commerce Department. The lawmakers ​want Skadden to provide any and all agreements with the White House and a list of all federal agencies the firm has worked for by August 4, and are also seeking a "detailed explanation of how Skadden’s advising of Intel in its transaction with the Trump Administration did not constitute a violation of the rules ​of professional conduct."

 

Reuters

The IRS and the Treasury Department are struggling to manage a growing volume of public comments on proposed tax regulations, many of which are generated or assisted by artificial intelligence, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. The GAO warned that AI-generated submissions make it more difficult to identify duplicate comments and recommended that the agencies develop formal policies for reviewing large-scale public feedback, particularly as they implement regulations stemming from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The report also called for improvements to virtual participation in tax rulemaking hearings, better documentation of public comments made during hearings, and stronger economic analyses of significant tax regulations. Treasury and the IRS agreed that improving the rulemaking process and public comment review is important, and said they will continue evaluating enhancements as technology and administrative law evolve.

 

Accounting Today

Nike has announced it will end online sales through many third-party distributors in China from January 2027, instead concentrating digital sales through its own website and app, alongside Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin. The company said the previous model, which involved more than 1,000 digital storefronts operated by retail partners, had become too fragmented and was no longer delivering the customer experience or growth it expected. The move comes as Nike looks to revive performance in one of its most important markets after greater China revenue fell 12% year on year to $1.3bn in the three months to the end of May amid intensifying competition from both international and domestic sportswear brands.

 

CNBC

Financial Times

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to impose 100% import tariffs on generic medicines has rattled Indian drugmakers: the U.S. is their biggest export market. Trump said non-patented drugmakers would have two years to move production to the U.S. or face the steep tariff, which would double a year later. “This is a very surprising news for the industry . . . None of us were expecting this,” said Mahesh Doshi, an executive committee member at the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), which represents over a thousand drugmakers. Nathan Gray, senior research fellow at the Institute for International Trade, Adelaide University, said such a proposed tariff “essentially closes the door to those generics going to the U.S.” and will make the drugs more expensive, unless there’s a carve-out for Indian drugmakers.

 

The Japan Times Online

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has approved ​legislation to toughen a ‌U.S. government ban on Chinese automakers entering the ​American market that ​could potentially bar German automaker Mercedes-Benz - which is 20% owned by Chinese companies - from ⁠selling vehicles in ​the United States. The bill would ban companies with ‌more ⁠than 15% ownership by Chinese entities from selling ​vehicles in ​the U.S. Senator ⁠Bernie Moreno said Mercedes-Benz would have until ⁠2030 ​to comply ​and could still get waivers if ​needed.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

The Middle East conflict has driven global operating costs to a record high, according to the latest Global Economic Conditions Survey from the ACCA and IMA, with more than three-quarters of accountants reporting higher costs in the second quarter of 2026. Respondents cited rising commodity prices and supply chain disruptions linked to the conflict as the primary drivers, while 83% of chief financial officers reported higher operating costs, close to the peaks seen following the Russia-Ukraine war. Despite mounting cost pressures, business confidence improved modestly from the previous quarter, although new orders, capital expenditure, and employment all weakened, pointing to slower global growth. The survey also found that economic pressures and geopolitical instability remain the biggest risks facing businesses, with respondents warning that sustained cost increases could fuel inflation and prompt tighter monetary policy from major central banks.

 

The Accountant Online

Nearly one in four Americans who receive health insurance through their employer remain in jobs they want to leave to avoid losing coverage, according to a new West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America survey. The report estimates that around 23 million workers are experiencing "job lock," up from 16% in 2021, with the problem particularly acute among people with three or more chronic health conditions, 41% of whom say they stay in their jobs for health insurance. Researchers say rising healthcare costs, worsening perceptions of the job market, and the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies have all contributed to the increase. Experts from West Health, KFF, and the Cato Institute, despite differing views on healthcare policy, agree that reforms are needed to reduce workers' dependence on employer-sponsored insurance and improve job mobility, entrepreneurship, and economic productivity.

 

NPR	US News and World Report

BlackRock, Carhartt, Ford, and Google have joined forces to address the growing shortage of skilled tradespeople in the U.S. through the Alliance for America's Skilled Trades. The initiative aims to collaborate with labor unions and trade associations, invest in apprenticeship programs, and raise awareness about career pathways. Bayo Ogunlesi, BlackRock's chairman, emphasized the importance of a skilled workforce, saying: “Investment in America's infrastructure will help shape the country's long-term economic trajectory.” The shortage is being exacerbated by an aging workforce, leading to increased job openings and pay for trades including electricians and plumbers. “Building the physical infrastructure for America's future requires significantly increasing the pipeline of skilled tradespeople across the country - a challenge that can only be addressed with collective action,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, said. Google is one of the largest builders and operators of data centers.

 

CNBC

U.S. private equity assets held in so-called zombie funds - funds that have exceeded their intended lifespans without fully exiting investments - have reached a record $348.5bn, according to PitchBook, as higher interest rates and weaker deal markets continue to delay asset sales. The growing backlog is limiting distributions to investors, including pension funds and insurers, while prompting greater use of secondary market transactions and continuation vehicles. Although some firms argue longer holding periods reflect deliberate value creation rather than distressed portfolios, industry experts expect a broader shakeout as aging funds struggle to monetize investments acquired during the low-interest-rate boom. 

 

Wall Street Journal

Fifteen federal agencies are to spend $5bn to tackle long-standing scientific problems across multiple fields. The funding will use AI to identify the root causes of ‌chronic diseases and accelerate drug discovery, among other tasks. "The White House is helping bring together all of ​the different agencies that work on different domains to make them part of this larger effort on AI for science," Michael Kratsios, chief technology adviser ​to U.S. President Donald Trump, told Reuters.

 

U.S. News