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KKR is to pay $250m to settle a Department of Justice lawsuit alleging the private equity firm repeatedly failed to properly file documents with the federal government related to more than a dozen buyouts between 2021 and 2022. The penalty is the largest-ever imposed for violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust ​Improvements Act, which mandates companies to notify antitrust regulators ⁠of certain mergers and acquisitions before they are completed. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the settlement "sends a powerful message: the Department is ⁠committed to ​vigorous enforcement." KKR said ​that although it had agreed to settle, it strongly disagreed with the DOJ's characterization of the matter.

 

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Is Your Compliance Program Ready for What's Next?

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The Federal Reserve, Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Senate, NASA, and other federal agencies including the Energy Department, the Health and Human Services Department and the National Institutes of Health, have fallen victim to a cyber intrusion by a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group, the DOJ said as it announced the seizure of internet domains used for hacking platforms. The hacking platforms, known as “QScan and QTRouter,” were “used to target U.S. critical infrastructure and other sensitive networks,” the DOJ said. Court documents unsealed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California said that a Chinese state-sponsored group known as “QTFY” created and operated the hacking platforms. “Other targeted networks include those operated by hospitals, telecommunications providers, power companies, financial institutions, and defense contractors,” a court filing said. Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “State-sponsored malicious hackers preying on America’s critical infrastructure will be stopped and prosecuted. We are here to ensure security for the American people and will use every tool we have to keep that promise.”

 

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ChatGPT maker OpenAI has published a 37-page report detailing how its AI models successfully breached Hugging Face, admitting that it did not detect for more than a week that its AI agents had broken free and hacked the start-up by themselves during a test. “This incident demonstrated that autonomous agents can work together, circumvent production security controls, and successfully attack hardened production environments, and underscores the need for organizations to update their security strategies, controls, and response capabilities to address this changing threat landscape,” OpenAI said in the report, in which it also explained the steps it is taking to try and prevent a similar event from happening again.

 

CNBC

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BBC News

Meta has agreed to pay as much as $18bn and introduce sweeping restrictions on how children use Facebook and Instagram as part of a landmark settlement with U.S. states over alleged harms to young users. The deal, which remains subject to judicial approval, includes an initial $12.7bn payment to fund youth online safety initiatives and will block under-18s from using the apps between midnight and 6am, switch off notifications by default during school hours, and limit daily use to two hours unless a verified parent removes the restriction. Meta will also introduce age-assurance technology and disable “like” counts by default on teenagers’ posts. The agreement could become stricter if YouTube and TikTok adopt equivalent measures, extending the overnight blackout to 10pm-7am and cutting usage to one hour per app per day, in which case Meta would pay an additional $5.3bn. In other Meta news, Poland has asked the European Commission to impose a €250m fine on the firm, accusing it of failing to adequately tackle fraudulent advertisements on its platforms. Digital affairs minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said tests by Poland’s national cybersecurity response team identified 122 fraudulent adverts, of which Meta declined to remove 106, or 86.8%, while only ten were removed and six received no response.

 

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Deloitte is to pay $21.5m ‌to settle U.S. Department of Justice claims that it discriminated against employees and job applicants on the basis of race or sex. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the settlement was another example of how the DOJ was “eliminating woke, unconstitutional practices from American workplaces,” adding: “Merit drives opportunity and promotion. Not someone’s sex or race.” The department said that business units within the audit giant received monthly summaries tracking "demographic goals" and alleged ‌that ⁠Deloitte's Partners, Principals and Managing Directors were evaluated, in part, based on their contributions to helping the firm achieve its workforce composition goals. In a statement, Deloitte said it was pleased to have resolved the matter “to avoid the cost and distraction of protracted litigation.”

 

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FTSE 100-listed Melrose Industries has launched a $100m compensation scheme after a toxic chemical scare at a plant in California forced the evacuation of residents and businesses for several days. GKN Aerospace, which is owned by Melrose, halted ⁠production at a factory outside Los Angeles in late May after a tank ​overheated. "The claims program, which is expected to become effective in the coming weeks and remain open into 2027, will reimburse those eligible for costs associated with the evacuation, including hotel stays, meals, transportation, loss of wages, and loss of use", Melrose explained.

 

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The Times

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure remained hotter than expected in July, with the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rising 3.7% from a year earlier. The annual rate was unchanged from June, but came in above economists’ expectations for 3.6%, and remained well above the Fed’s 2% target. Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also remained unchanged from June at an annual rate of 3.3%, slightly above the 3.2% forecast. Although inflation has eased since reaching a three-year high in May, higher oil and gas prices associated with the Iran war have continued to put pressure on household budgets. Consumer spending showed signs of strain, with spending on goods falling by $49.9bn, while spending on services increased by $86.2bn.

 

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Wall Street Journal

The U.S. economy grew at a 1.5% annualized rate in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Commerce Department’s second estimate, unchanged from its initial reading last month. The updated figures contained only minor revisions and continued to show modest overall economic growth, supported by solid consumer spending and investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Imports of foreign products and a small decline in government spending weighed on headline GDP growth. However, real final sales to private domestic purchasers, which excludes government spending and trade and provides a measure of underlying private domestic demand, grew by a stronger 4.2%, revised up from the initial estimate of 3.9%. The Commerce Department will publish its third and final estimate of second-quarter GDP on September 30.

 

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Trian Fund Management has no current plans to make a take-private bid for Wendy’s, despite previously preparing a potential offer with a consortium of investors, according to sources close to the situation. The investment firm, which owns around 16% of Wendy’s, remains concerned about the fast-food chain’s performance, valuation, and strategic direction, but is keeping an open mind about its future intentions. Wendy’s shares fell more than 14% in after-hours trading following the news. The decision could give chief executive Bob Wright, who took the role in May, more time to implement a five-point turnaround plan after the company reported declining global sales, lower net income, and higher costs earlier this month.

 

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Kohl’s is reversing duplicate charges incorrectly applied to some customers who made online purchases between July 24th and August 5th, blaming the issue on a processing error. The retailer said affected shoppers do not need to take any action and should see the funds returned within one to three days, depending on their financial institution, although it has not disclosed how many customers were affected. Kohl’s yesterday reported second-quarter revenue of $3.32bn, below analysts’ $3.35bn forecast, while comparable sales fell 0.9%, marking an 18th consecutive quarterly decline, as inflationary pressures continued to constrain spending among lower- and middle-income customers. The retailer nevertheless raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $1.80-$2.40 per share from $1.00-$1.60, supported by $150m of tariff refunds, and plans to resume around $100m of share buybacks this year. 

 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

U.S. employers’ healthcare costs are projected to increase 9.5% in 2027, reaching an average of about $19,000 per employee, according to Aon. The forecast excludes employers’ typical cost-management measures, but follows an 8.8% increase in employer health plan costs from 2025 to 2026 even after such measures were implemented. Aon attributed the sustained increases to specialty medications and GLP-1 therapies, higher healthcare utilization, chronic diseases, high-cost claims, increased physician and outpatient spending, provider consolidation, and more intensive clinical coding. With healthcare becoming one of companies’ largest and fastest-growing workforce expenses, CFOs are increasingly involved in benefits strategy, risk management, and cost planning.

 

CFO

General Mills has removed artificial colors from all its U.S. cereals, including Lucky Charms and Trix, replacing synthetic dyes with colors derived from fruit, vegetables and spices such as turmeric and paprika. The company said 90% of its U.S. retail products are now free from artificial dyes, with remaining products, including some Betty Crocker cake mixes and Fruit Roll-Ups, set to transition by the end of 2027. The change comes amid growing pressure from consumers, politicians and major retailers to phase out synthetic food colorings, with Target and Walmart also taking steps to remove products or own-brand ranges containing artificial dyes. General Mills follows fellow cereal maker WK Kellogg, which plans to remove artificial colors from all its U.S. cereals by the end of 2026.

 

ABC News

The Hill

The Minnesota Star Tribune