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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said enforcement cases brought by the agency fell ‌more than 20% in fiscal 2025 as the regulator "recentered" its enforcement program. The SEC brought 456 enforcement actions in the fiscal year that ran through the end of September; that ​compares to 583 actions a year earlier. "We have redirected resources toward the types of misconduct that inflict the greatest harm - particularly fraud, market manipulation, and abuses of trust - and away from approaches that prioritized ​volume and record-setting penalties over true investor protection," SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said. Atkins has long been a critic of large corporate penalties for harming shareholders. Reuters notes a ​mass exodus of staff under the Trump administration. The SEC lost 18% of its staff in fiscal 2025, a recent government report showed.

 

Reuters

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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 U.S. 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 U.S. dollar’s role as the dominant global ​reserve currency continues, amid rising global fragmentation," said one Asia-Pacific central banker.

 

Reuters

The Environmental Protection Agency, the FBI and other agencies said in a joint statement Tuesday that Iran-linked cyberattackers are targeting critical U.S. infrastructure including drinking water systems and the energy sector, along with government facilities and services. “The FBI and its partners are issuing this advisory to ensure organizations are best positioned to defend themselves against exploitation by Iran-affiliated cyber actors,” Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI’s cyber division, said in the statement.

 

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

As public concern about artificial intelligence grows, leading companies are shifting from hype to reassurance. OpenAI has floated policy ideas such as a four-day workweek and a public wealth fund, while Anthropic is building partnerships, tools, and training programs to help industries adapt rather than resist disruption. Both companies are also working with consultants and private equity-backed businesses to manage AI-driven change. Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, said: “We do feel an urgency to this conversation,” as he highlighted the industry’s effort to address fears around jobs, inequality, and social disruption.

 

Wall Street Journal

EY has introduced a multi-agent, “agentic” AI system into its global audit platform, EY Canvas, aiming to modernize assurance work by embedding AI across all stages of the audit process. The framework, integrated with Microsoft Azure and related tools, enables audit teams to coordinate complex tasks more efficiently, adapt to risks in real time, and access continuously updated accounting guidance. EY said the technology is designed to reduce administrative burdens, enhance risk assessment, and generate deeper insights, while maintaining the central role of human judgment. Following extensive testing, the firm plans for the AI system to underpin all end-to-end audit activities by 2028, positioning it as a core part of its broader shift toward AI-enabled assurance and improved client outcomes.

 

International Accounting Bulletin

Modus, an AI-native audit technology platform, has successfully raised $85m in seed and Series A funding, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The funds will be utilized to enhance technology development and to invest in audit-first accounting firms. Modus aims to modernize audit processes, enabling firms to automate manual tasks and focus on critical judgment-driven work.

 

CPA Practice Advisor

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is laying out guidelines for U.S. banks and their fintech units to use stablecoins. The new guidelines would establish requirements related to reserve assets, redemptions of outstanding stablecoins, permissible activities and capital, among other areas. The proposal would reaffirm by regulation that deposits in tokenized form remain deposits under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The FDIC plans to seek comment on 144 specific questions, FDIC Chair Travis Hill said. “We genuinely invite robust feedback on key issues in the proposal,” he said. “This includes feedback on permissible and prohibited activities, capital requirements for stablecoin issuers and for their parent companies, the FDIC’s approach to pass-through insurance, and the prohibition on yield.”

 

Bloomberg

CoinDesk

Forbes

A federal judge has dismissed a consumer lawsuit accusing the maker of Stanley tumblers of concealing its use of lead in drinkware products. U.S. District Judge Tana Lin in Seattle said consumers did not demonstrate a "specific and plausible risk of harm" from lead ​by using the tumblers, which are made by the defendant Pacific Market International.

 

U.S. News

Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have told their Paris staff they can temporarily work from home after a thwarted bombing at Bank of America’s office in the French capital last week. The police have said they suspect the foiled plot is linked to HAYI, a pro-Iranian group that ‌had ⁠posted a video naming Bank of America's Paris headquarters. However, prosecutors say the link is yet to be confirmed, Reuters notes.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Large U.S. banks are expected to report stronger first-quarter earnings, supported by higher net interest income and healthier investment banking fees, but investor attention is likely to center on outlooks as geopolitical tensions rise. Analysts expect dealmaking and trading to have helped results, even as uncertainty around Iran, oil prices, and inflation clouds the path ahead. David George, a banking analyst at Baird, said: "We expect trading volumes to benefit from recent geopolitical risk."

 

Reuters

Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced a shift in business strategy, precipitating job cuts across its film, TV and corporate divisions. “As we lean into those priorities, we need to operate with greater focus, speed, and alignment to strengthen our differentiated capabilities,” Chief Executive Officer Ravi Ahuja wrote in a note to staff. “To support our growth, we are aligning our organization with where the business is going — not where it has been. That requires changes to how we are structured and where we invest.”  The company declined to specify how many would lose their jobs.

 

Bloomberg

Los Angeles Times

GoPro plans to cut 23% of its workforce, or 145 employees, as it tries to restore profitability amid weaker revenue and broader macroeconomic pressures. The layoffs, approved under a restructuring plan, are scheduled for the second quarter and should be completed by year end. GoPro expects to record $11.5m to $15m in related charges, including severance and healthcare costs. The company has already reduced expenses and expanded into new hardware, software, and AI products, but it still reported a fourth-quarter loss and faces ongoing tariff, memory cost, and supply challenges.

 

Wall Street Journal

Bill Ackman, through his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, has made a $64bn bid to acquire Universal Music Group (UMG), echoing the investment strategies of Warren Buffett. The offer marks one of the largest transactions in the music industry, reflecting UMG's extensive catalog and dominant market position. If successful, the acquisition could reshape the music landscape, influencing streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, as well as artist contracts. Stakeholders, including record labels and musicians, may experience significant changes in revenue distribution. Analysts are monitoring the market's response to this unprecedented move, as it could establish a new benchmark for future mega-deals within the entertainment sector, impacting investor sentiment and industry dynamics.

 

CNBC