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A survey of central banks by Central Banking Publications has found that concerns about geopolitical tensions have surged this year and ‌are now viewed as the top global risk. The great majority of responses to the survey were received before the February 28 strikes on Iran; January had witnessed the row between the US and Denmark over Greenland. Almost 70% ⁠of central banks said geopolitics was their top risk - a sharp increase from 35% of banks that cited geopolitics as the leading concern in 2024. The survey also suggested trust in the dollar is being tested. "Over the next five years, global FX reserves managers will rigorously assess whether the US dollar’s role as the dominant global ​reserve currency continues, amid rising global fragmentation," said one Asia-Pacific central banker.

 

Reuters

The UK's Fair Work Agency (FWA) has been granted extensive surveillance powers typically associated with police and intelligence services, the Times reports. New documents show the agency's officers will have powers under the Investigatory Powers Act. These include access to communications data to investigate serious labour market offences such as exploitation and modern slavery. Powers under the act are most widely used by police forces, the National Crime Agency and the intelligence services. A government spokesperson said: "The Fair Work Agency needs the ability to apply for access to communications data to investigate the most serious and organised forms of labour exploitation, where victims may be unable or too frightened to come forward. These powers are not new and will be limited to serious criminal cases, independent authorisation, and oversight by the investigatory powers commissioner."

 

The Times

FirstRand is selling Aldermore and exiting the UK car finance market due to what it called a "flawed" compensation scheme designed by the Financial Conduct Authority, impacting its earnings and risk appetite. As a result of the FCA’s scheme, the South African bank said it now expects its compensation bill to hit £750m, up from its previous estimate of £510m. 

 

Financial Times

The Daily Telegraph

The Times

Lufthansa cabin crew union UFO is ​calling on staff at the core brand and its ‌subsidiary airline Cityline to hold a one-day strike tomorrow. The union said the airline had ​shown no flexibility in talks over working conditions for the 19,000 ​cabin crew members or the redundancy package for roughly 800 employees of Cityline, ‌which ⁠is set to wind down. “This situation could have been avoided – the responsibility lies with Lufthansa, which has so far not even managed to put forward a proposal suitable for negotiation,” UFO chief ​Joachim Vázquez Bürger ​said.

 

Reuters

Reuters reports that some Western and Saudi firms in Riyadh extended work-from-home advisories earlier this week amid mounting concern over the US-imposed deadline for Iran ‌to open the Strait of Hormuz or face "hell." The advisories, which were sent out on Monday and Tuesday, related to work in Riyadh's King ​Abdullah Financial District, Faisaliah Tower, Business Gate and Laysen Valley, people familiar with the matter ​said. The locations are home to offices for major US banks and tech firms including Microsoft and Apple, and also Saudi entities such as the ​sovereign wealth fund. The US and Iran have now agreed a two-week ceasefire that would open the Strait of Hormuz shortly before Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to meet his demands or face strikes that he said would kill “a whole civilisation.”

 

Reuters

Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor faces a lawsuit in Norway over sharing data with authorities in Myanmar from local customers who were suspected of opposing the 2021 coup. Justice and Accountability Initiative, a Swedish nonprofit organization, said it filed a civil class action suit against the firm before Asker and Baerum District Court. “Based on what we have heard through the media, there is nothing in this potential lawsuit that has not already been addressed, and in our view it is unlikely that such a claim will succeed,” a Telenor spokesperson said.

 

Bloomberg

CK Hutchison has started arbitration against Maersk after Panama’s forced takeover of its two ports in the country. The arbitration, filed by CK Hutchison's local unit Panama Ports, will be heard in London and is separate from CK Hutchison's damages claim against the Panamanian government. The dispute over the Balboa and Cristobal ports along the strategic Panama Canal has become a proxy in US-China rivalry. Beijing has warned of a “heavy price” after the contract annulment and has advised state firms to halt talks over new projects in Panama.

 

Bloomberg

AI company Anthropic has built a new model that it claims is too powerful to be released to the public. Anthropic will instead make the Claude Mythos Preview available to a select 40 or so technology companies, including Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, which will use it to find and patch security vulnerabilities in critical software programs. Anthropic - which has recently been in dispute with the Pentagon over the use of its technology - said it had no plans to roll out its new technology more widely. The company said it was announcing the new model’s capabilities in the particular area of identifying security vulnerabilities in software in a bid to highlight what it believes will be a new, scarier era of AI threats, the New York Times reports. Anthropic's Logan Graham described the new model as “the starting point for what we think will be an industry change point, or reckoning, with what needs to happen now.”

 

Fast Company

New York Times

The Globe and Mail

Financial Times

Global law firm Jones Day has confirmed a cyber attack linked to the Silent Ransom Group which accessed files related to 10 clients. The firm described the incident as a "phishing incident" where an "unauthorised third party accessed a limited number of dated files." All affected clients have been informed, but the firm has not disclosed their identities. Hacker group Silent specifically targets American law firms, stealing data and extorting them, according to a 2025 FBI alert. The hackers take advantage of the “the highly sensitive nature of legal industry data,” according to the FBI.

 

Bloomberg

WH Smith has appointed Leo Quinn as executive chair as the UK retailer faces a series of challenges, including a Financial Conduct Authority probe into a £30m accounting error and weakened investor confidence following a sharp share price decline. Quinn takes over after a difficult year that saw the exit of the chief executive, a 42% share price fall, and the sale of its UK high street business. His turnaround credentials and incentive-linked remuneration aim to restore performance and shareholder value.

 

The Business Desk

Russia is expanding its A7 cryptocurrency payments network into Africa, with offices in Nigeria and Zimbabwe and plans for further growth, as part of efforts to bypass western financial restrictions.

 

Financial Times

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 1.2 million-square-foot facility in Ontario destroyed all products inside, and could potentially lead to disruptions in a market that serves around 50 million 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