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Switzerland's financial regulator, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), has found that wealth manager Julius Baer committed "serious" regulatory violations. The inquiry related to private debt loans to a European group, and client relationships tied to two Russians who were described as politically exposed. FINMA said it had established that the bank had "committed serious violations of supervisory provisions," highlighting breaches of "the requirements for appropriate risk management and the legal obligations relating to the prevention of money laundering." The regulator said the bank had "already implemented many immediate measures . . . to address the identified shortcomings and improve its culture," and had, at its request, "redefined its risk appetite . . .  strengthened its control functions, overhauled its remuneration system . . . (and) fundamentally overhauled its corporate governance framework." FINMA said it was "confiscating" around 10m Swiss francs ($12m) in ill-gotten gains and had opened proceedings against three former employees.

 

France 24

Bloomberg

Reuters

Businesses are becoming more cautious about adopting artificial intelligence amid concerns over cybersecurity, regulation and trust. An FTI survey of 1,600 senior executives in the US and Europe found 60% had slowed, paused or withdrawn an AI deployment during the past year. Cybersecurity emerged as the biggest concern, with 54% worried about employees using unapproved AI tools. Regulatory uncertainty was also significant, with 81% reporting material problems caused by unclear rules. Companies are increasingly shifting investment from experimenting with new technology towards cybersecurity, staff training and AI governance as they focus on managing existing deployments responsibly.

 

The Times

A 23-year-old, Pepijn van der S., has been arrested by Dutch authorities for his alleged involvement with ShinyHunters, the hacking group that claimed responsibility for the February 2026 attack on telecom provider Odido. The group stole data from over 6m customers after a man impersonated an IT employee to gain access to the firm's systems. Following Odido's refusal to pay a ransom, the stolen data was published on the dark web. Van der S. has a history of cybercrime, having previously been convicted for hacking and extortion, and was working as an offensive security lead at Neo Security at the time of his arrest. "I was trying to contribute positively to cybersecurity," he said.

 

NL Times

OpenAI has apologised for the hacking of an Australian government website by a rogue AI agent. In a blog post titled "How ‌we will do better for Australia", the ChatGPT maker acknowledged it had mishandled its response to the incursion, which occurred in June but was not made public until last week, and vowed to take accountability to "rebuild trust with the Australian people." OpenAI said in the blog post: "In June, during ​internal training and evaluation our models accessed Australian government websites in ways they were not authorised to . . . We also should have handled our response better. We are sorry and working to do better in the future." The Australian government has announced a rapid review into the incident, the first known hacking of a government website by an AI agent.

 

Reuters

Russian authorities have taken control of the assets of German retailer Metro, placing them under temporary administration. President Vladimir Putin's decree assigned management to a company called UK Torg RUS. The move follows similar actions against Nestle and Auchan. As of June 30, the cash reserves of Metro's Russian companies totalled €152m. Many Western firms have exited Russia, but some remain, citing concerns for their employees or citizens' well-being.

 

Daily Sabah

Chinese company Gotion is to invest €1.1bn ​in Volkswagen's battery plant in Spain. The facility in Valencia will become a European production hub for lithium ​iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. VW technology chief Thomas Schmall said the announcement "marks a major breakthrough for both companies ​and brings us ​one step ⁠closer to the forefront of electric mobility." The investment from Gotion is part of a ‌broader plan to jointly develop a European battery supply chain; PowerCo, Volkswagen's battery business, will ​invest €470m in two of the Chinese company's sites – a cell factory in Šurany, Slovakia, ‌and ⁠a new production plant for cathode material in Kenitra, Morocco.

 

Reuters

German chemicals group Evonik has rejected a €10.3bn offer from its larger German rival BASF. A tie-up could precipitate job losses and asset sales to remove overlaps between the businesses.

 

Financial Times

Andrea Orcel’s UniCredit is preparing to seize control of Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest bank, and overhaul its supervisory board as early as January, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

Financial Times

Over a dozen foreign diplomats have departed the UK due to alleged criminal activities in the last three years, leaving victims' families devastated. While diplomats enjoy immunity from the UK justice system, the government can request waivers from their home countries for prosecution. However, embassies often fail to comply, leading to the preemptive withdrawal of diplomats during investigations. Between 2023 and 2025, nine officials were removed following formal requests, while ten others left voluntarily.

 

The Times

China has expanded travel restrictions for top artificial intelligence professionals to include their families. Key personnel, including startup founders and executives in AI, must now obtain approval from Beijing for family members to travel abroad. The move broadens existing curbs on the movement of the country's influential tech talent, which has faced increasing restrictions since early 2026. The government aims to prevent the outflow of critical technology and expertise, particularly in light of recent foreign acquisitions. Affected individuals have been notified of the new requirements.

 

Business Times SG

US building company Caddell Construction has agreed to a $35m settlement regarding allegations of underpaying foreign workers at the new American consulate in Milan. Prosecutors claimed that workers were paid less than $2 an hour, despite promises of fair wages. Italian labour minister Marina Calderone described the investigation as “one of the most significant operations in recent years against illegal labour contracting and worker exploitation.” Nearly 300 workers will receive an average of $57,000, with some receiving up to $102,000 in unpaid wages and damages. Luca Stanzione, secretary-general of the Milan branch of CGIL, said: “The compensation is an excellent result achieved through the efforts of prosecutors and trade unions.” The settlement also includes funds for Italy's social security authorities and labour inspectorate. Most of the affected workers were recruited from India.

 

Los Angeles Times

Reuters

U.S. News

The English Premier League has revealed that Manchester City inflated revenue and reduced costs by more than £900m from 2009 to 2018. An Independent Commission found the club used "sham" schemes to circumvent spending rules. 

 

Financial Times

Daily Mail

Glencore is contesting a £264m tax bill from UK tax authority HMRC, arguing that the demands were issued too late to be valid. The case focuses on HMRC's claims for 2019 and 2020 under the diverted profits tax, which is aimed at preventing profit shifting to lower-tax jurisdictions. Glencore asserts that HMRC's preliminary notices were issued 18 months past the legal deadline.

 

Financial Times

Financial Times

The Times

Eiffel Tower chief Patrick Branco Ruivo will resign at the end of the year following the controversy over the removal of female staff during a visit by a Hindu sect. The landmark's operating company, SETE, said that an internal investigation had revealed "operational flaws and shortcomings" that led to the "unacceptable" incident, which precipitated a staff walkout on September 8 and widespread outrage in France, where politicians condemned what they said was an attack on fundamental liberties. Ariel Weil, chair of SETE, said she had requested measures and training programmes promoting gender equality to be implemented.

 

France 24

People who prefer working and sleeping later may face a higher risk of leaving work because of ill health, according to Finnish research. A 12-year study of 5,679 people found evening types were 1.7 times more likely to receive a disability pension than morning types, even after socioeconomic factors were considered. Researchers suggested poorer health choices and misalignment between natural sleep patterns and conventional working hours could contribute to the increased risk. "Although traditional working hours may be too early for late chronotypes, most of them need to work during regular office hours," the authors of the study wrote. "In the current study, more than 70 per cent of [evening types] who had reported their work schedule worked in a day job. People who are [evening types] represent a significant proportion of the population and their health and ability to continue working until retirement age pose challenges for sustainable economies."

 

Financial Times

The Times