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

Natural disasters caused economic losses of $100bn in the first half of 2026, according to Swiss Re. This figure is significantly lower than the $152bn reported in the same period last year and 10% below the 10-year average. "A less costly first half of the year does not mean the risk has gone away," cautioned Balz Grollimund, the group's director of Catastrophe Perils. "One major hurricane, earthquake, or wildfire can quickly change the picture." Swiss Re said: "Wildfire risk has so far accounted for only a relatively small share of insured losses in Europe. Yet it is the fastest-growing weather peril globally." The report warns that the El Niño climate pattern could increase costs from weather-related disasters later this year.

 

Daily Sabah

Researchers have reported that Kimi K3, an AI model developed by the Chinese company Moonshot, successfully escaped a cyber testing environment. Similar breaches have recently occurred with AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and the UK's AI Security Institute, prompting the creation of a website called Felony Bench to track these incidents.

 

Techcrunch

Music streaming platform Spotify is to label AI artists and exclude them from algorithm recommendations as part of a crackdown on fake performers. The company is creating a label for AI-generated artist identities called “AI personas” that will appear on the artist profile and on track listings on playlists. Spotify said it will use human review and AI tools to determine whether someone’s profile, including their name and image, “appears to represent photorealistic AI-generated identities.” The company said in announcing the initiative: “Listeners have been clear in telling us that they don’t like seeing an artist profile that seems human, only to find out that the persona is AI-generated . . . Listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are. That’s more essential than ever in the age of generative AI.”

 

Bloomberg

The Verge

The Guardian

A Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests that most Americans support more government rules for how ​social media companies conduct business. Some 61% of poll respondents - 71% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans - said social media companies require firmer oversight; meanwhile, 66% support laws that would make social media companies use age-verification tools to keep children under age 16 from accessing their platforms. 

 

Reuters

Eli Lilly has filed six lawsuits against U.S. companies it accuses of illegally selling black-market versions of its experimental obesity drug retatrutide. The drug is still being studied in clinical trials and has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective. CBS News reports that while federal law prohibits the commercial sale of unapproved drugs, many telehealth firms, clinics and peptide vendors online have decided to nevertheless offer the next-generation drug."This [illicit market] is a global problem and it's an enormous one," observed Max Denning, an associate vice president at Eli Lilly. He has urged regulators, social media companies, payment processors and others to help stem illicit sales of retatrutide. "Six lawsuits is not going to be the solution to everything, but it is a start," he said. Lilly’s lawsuits target the entities known as Aesthetic Envy, Astra Peptides, Legendary Peptides, Striker Pharmacy, Texas Peptides and Lone Star Peptide. They are filed in courts in California and Texas.

 

CBS News

Reuters

Washington Post

Wall Street Journal

Chloé Bakalar, OpenAI’s head of ethics, has left the start-up less than a year after joining, following a number of departures by safety researchers amid growing scrutiny of the company.

 

Financial Times

Apple has appointed American Airlines veteran Nate Gatten as vice president of government affairs from August 31st, putting him in charge of its global engagement with governments and policymakers as the company navigates tariffs and other policy challenges. Mr Gatten, who has led government affairs at American Airlines for nearly a decade and previously held a similar role at JPMorgan Chase, is expected to work closely with Tim Cook. The appointment forms part of a broader leadership transition at Apple, with Kate Adams remaining as an adviser until her retirement on October 1 and current government affairs head Nick Ammann reporting to Mr. Gatten. Mr. Cook is also set to hand the chief executive role to hardware chief John Ternus on September 1 while remaining executive chairman.

 

Bloomberg

U.S. consumer prices rose 0.1% in July, in line with expectations, bringing annual inflation down to 3.4% from 3.5% in June. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2% for the month and 2.5% year over year, while energy prices declined 1.5%, helping offset increases in medical care, airfares, and vehicle prices. The moderate inflation data, combined with renewed concerns about the labor market, has reduced expectations for an imminent Federal Reserve rate increase, with markets putting the probability of a September hike at 42%. The Fed will receive another month of inflation data before its September meeting, with policymakers expected to keep rates unchanged unless price pressures strengthen materially. “The economy isn’t out of the woods from the threat that inflation poses for everyday Americans, but price pressures aren’t hot to the touch either,” commented Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds, a financial research firm.

 

The Hill

CNBC

Washington Post

Wall Street Journal

The U.S. federal budget deficit widened to a record $432bn in July, up $141bn, or 48%, from a year earlier, as government spending increased and tariff refunds weighed on receipts. Adjusting for calendar-related shifts in benefit payments, the deficit was $333bn, an 18% year-over-year increase. Outlays rose 22% to a July record of $766bn, while receipts fell 1% to $334bn. Net customs receipts were negative for a third consecutive month, with $33.38bn of tariff refunds following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Trump administration’s broad emergency tariffs. The deficit for the first 10 months of fiscal 2026 reached $1.799tn, already exceeding the $1.775tn deficit recorded for the whole of fiscal 2025, with two months remaining in the current fiscal year.

 

CNBC

Reuters

Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management is preparing a potential take-private bid for Wendy’s, with a consortium that could include BlueFive Capital and major franchisee Flynn Group. Trian, Wendy’s largest shareholder with a 16% stake, could submit an offer in the coming weeks, although the proposal may still change or fail to materialize. Wendy’s shares have fallen 24% over the past year, giving the fast-food chain a market capitalization of $1.4bn and an enterprise value of $3.7bn, amid declining sales and higher ingredient and labor costs. Wendy’s said its board would thoroughly review any proposal from Trian with the aim of maximizing shareholder value.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

President Trump has criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's proposed "pied-à-terre" tax on second homes valued over $5m, calling it a "dangerous political ‘experiment'" in a Truth Social post. The tax aims to address the city's $12bn budget gap by targeting "ultra-wealthy and global elites" who own properties in the city. Governor Kathy Hochul supported the tax, saying: "If you can afford a $5 million second home that sits empty most of the year, you can afford to contribute like every other New Yorker." However, a Staten Island judge temporarily halted the tax's implementation, ordering the city to remove a public list of affected homes. Trump expressed concern over the tax's impact, saying: "This doesn't work in America, and must be stopped, NOW!" Mamdani's office remains confident in the legality of the tax, emphasizing its potential benefits for city funding.

 

The Hill

CNBC

US News and World Report

Reuters reports that President Donald Trump's order directing Americans to receive separate ⁠measles, ⁠mumps and rubella vaccines faces an immediate obstacle: ⁠none of the individual shots is licensed in the United States and experts say it could take ​years before any become available, if ever. Single disease shots for these ‌diseases have not been available in the U.S. since Merck stopped producing them in 2008. Two manufacturers, Merck & Co and GSK, are licensed to make combined shots for patients in the ‌United States, but the companies said in statements ⁠there is no published scientific evidence supporting the separation of the vaccines and decades of evidence ​supporting the safety of combination.

 

Reuters