Become more informed in minutes...

Global mergers and acquisitions are on pace to reach nearly $4tn in 2026, marking a 13% increase from last year as companies shift from cost-cutting to growth through larger, more strategic transactions. According to midyear PwC data, deal values are rising even as the number of transactions declines, reflecting a focus on "megadeals" that deliver scale and operational efficiencies. Activity has been particularly strong in banking and financial services, while overseas buyers have also been drawn to relatively lower valuations in the U.K. CFOs are increasingly relying on alternative financing sources, including all-equity transactions and private credit, as higher interest rates continue to make traditional borrowing more expensive. Artificial intelligence is also playing a growing role in target screening and due diligence, helping companies identify risks and accelerate decision-making, although investors continue to place significant value on leadership quality, strategy, and cultural fit. Companies that combine disciplined financing, AI-enabled analysis, and well-planned integration are best positioned to create long-term value as M&A activity accelerates.

 

The CFO

Microsoft is establishing a new subsidiary, Microsoft Frontier Co., to enhance its AI services, and is investing $2.5bn in the initiative. The move will see 6,000 employees embedded with clients to facilitate AI implementations, a strategy known as forward deployed engineering (FDE). Rodrigo Kede Lima, previously leader of  Microsoft's Asia operations, will serve as president of the new division. Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft's commercial business, emphasized the need for tailored AI solutions. "Customers are in very different places right now, and trying to really figure out AI . . . Do they snap to one model from OpenAI or one model from Anthropic, or a family of models?" Althoff said. "Do they take it from a technology first mindset? How do they look at their existing business processes and operations?" Leading AI labs Anthropic and OpenAI both established FDE groups in May.

 

CNBC

A growing number of Wall Street economists and analysts are questioning the reliability of the latest U.S. employment report after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Thursday that the leisure and hospitality sector lost 61,000 jobs in June, despite the economic boost expected from the FIFA World Cup. Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group, described the data as "misleading" and said it should be disregarded, arguing there was "zero chance" the hospitality industry shed jobs while the U.S. hosted one of the world's largest sporting events. Similar concerns were raised by economists at Pimco, RSM, UBS, and EY-Parthenon, who pointed to the sector's reported losses as inconsistent with broader economic activity. Bank of America data showed card spending increased 5.4% year over year during the tournament's group stage, with spending by visitors rising 17.4%, suggesting stronger demand for hotels, restaurants, and entertainment. Analysts said the broader labor market still appears to reflect cautious hiring rather than widespread layoffs, and some suggested that, excluding the unexpected hospitality decline, the employment data would have indicated a steadier trend in job growth.

 

Fortune

State legislatures largely avoided sweeping spending cuts while finalizing fiscal 2027 budgets, relying instead on a mix of tax relief, targeted affordability measures, healthy reserve balances, and one-time budget maneuvers to close funding gaps. Although tax revenue growth has stabilized and several states exceeded revenue forecasts, analysts warn that mounting structural deficits, slowing revenue growth, and shifting federal responsibilities will force more difficult budget decisions in the years ahead. States including North Carolina, Arkansas, and West Virginia enacted income tax cuts, while others, including Washington, Maine, and Rhode Island, raised taxes on high-income earners to fund education and family programs. Meanwhile, 16 states incorporated planned withdrawals from rainy day funds into their budgets, an unusually high number outside of a recession, highlighting growing fiscal pressure. Analysts said the biggest challenges may still lie ahead, as significant cost increases tied to recent federal policy changes are expected to take effect in fiscal 2028. States will also face rising Medicaid expenses, additional administrative responsibilities, and higher costs associated with nutrition assistance programs.

 

Governing

Continental has announced the sale of its ContiTech industrial unit to an affiliate of U.S. buyout firm Lone Star Funds for €4bn, in a deal that completes the German manufacturer’s shift to focus on its tires business. ContiTech makes industrial components including conveyor belts and air springs. The transaction also includes performance-based components of up to €250m in subsequent years. Bloomberg notes that private equity funds are increasingly targeting industrial assets that are seen as being more likely to benefit from artificial intelligence than be rendered obsolete by the technology.

 

Automotive News

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

Donald Trump will not establish a formal licensing regime for artificial intelligence, says Sriram Krishnan, the president’s departing AI adviser. “There will not be an FDA for AI,” Krishnan said.

 

Financial Times

China has implemented a new overseas investment law aimed at protecting national interests against foreign trade barriers. The Regulation on Overseas Investment allows for “necessary and defensive measures” to safeguard Chinese investors abroad. The government will investigate trade-related barriers and coordinate responses. Also known as the 2026 regulation on outbound direct investment (ODI), Beijing's new law requires Chinese investors to cooperate with authorities during any investigations overseas. Officials labelled the law a “milestone in the history of China's outbound-investment development.”

 

South China Morning Post

Accounting firms are being urged to accelerate hardware replacement planning as a global memory chip shortage drives up computer prices, with analysts forecasting PC prices to rise 17% in 2026 and memory component costs to increase by about 130% by year-end. The shortage, fueled by strong demand from AI data centers, is expected to persist beyond 2027, prompting firms to adopt phased replacement strategies to reduce operational disruptions, strengthen cybersecurity, and avoid higher long-term technology costs.

 

CPA Practice Advisor

Vinod Khosla, the billionaire venture capitalist and early OpenAI investor, has argued that wealthy investors like himself should pay higher capital gains taxes, saying the U.S. tax system should shift more of the economic benefits from capital toward labor. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Khosla also discussed Silicon Valley's growing support for President Donald Trump, the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, and his design-driven approach to innovation, which he credits as a key factor behind his business success.

 

Wall Street Journal

Open Standard has unveiled Open USD, a consortium-backed stablecoin expected to launch later this year with support from more than 140 financial institutions and technology companies, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, BlackRock, and Coinbase. Unlike traditional stablecoins, Open USD will be governed collectively by its partners, allowing participants to share reserve income and help shape operating standards, a model that could influence the future of cross-border payments, treasury management, and institutional settlement if it achieves broad commercial adoption.

 

Fortune

Small business employment increased for the fourth consecutive month in June, according to Paychex, with the strongest gains in the West and the leisure and hospitality sector, while education and health services also recorded solid job growth. However, hourly wage growth remained below 3% for the 20th straight month, as Paychex noted continued strength in new business formation, potentially driven by AI and corporate layoffs, while advising businesses to monitor upcoming federal AI legislation and numerous state-level regulatory changes taking effect in July.

 

Accounting Today

Private markets are entering a new phase in which disciplined investment selection, rather than favorable market conditions, is driving returns, according to BlackRock's Fabio Osta. While higher interest rates, slower exits, and liquidity concerns have prompted greater scrutiny of the asset class, Mr. Osta argues the market is not retreating but becoming more selective. Global private market assets under management have continued to grow to about $22tn, investor demand remains resilient, and private equity exit activity has begun to recover, although capital is increasingly flowing only to businesses with strong fundamentals, resilient cash flows, and credible growth prospects. The commentary argues that the current environment is creating wider differences in performance across private equity, private credit, and infrastructure, with underwriting quality, operational improvements, and disciplined portfolio construction becoming increasingly important. Mr. Osta concludes that private markets remain an attractive long-term diversification opportunity, but investors must take a more selective approach, focusing on manager quality, valuation discipline, and realistic expectations around liquidity and investment horizons.

 

Professional Wealth Management

Grassi nonprofit practice leader David Rottkamp argues that high-quality audits are essential to maintaining public trust in nonprofit organizations, emphasizing that auditors must combine technical expertise, rigorous processes, and a strong culture of accountability to address the sector's unique regulatory and financial reporting challenges. The article highlights common audit risks, including weaknesses in grant compliance, nonprofit accounting, related-party transactions, and decentralized operations, while recommending stronger nonprofit-specific risk assessments, enhanced technical training, greater use of professional judgment, and robust quality management practices. Rottkamp concludes that improving audit quality not only helps nonprofits meet regulatory requirements, but also protects donor confidence, strengthens governance, and supports the long-term sustainability of mission-driven organizations.

 

The CPA Journal

The Trump administration has directed federal agencies to deprioritize discrimination cases based on "disparate impact," leading the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Departments of Justice, Education, Housing, and other agencies to drop or curtail investigations and lawsuits involving policies that disproportionately affect minority groups without evidence of intentional discrimination. Supporters say the shift refocuses enforcement on explicit discrimination, while critics argue it weakens long-standing civil rights protections and leaves more individuals to pursue claims through private litigation.

 

New York Times

Goldman Sachs has named Michael Bosworth as acting ​general counsel. Kathryn Ruemmler, who resigned after emails showed her links with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, stays on as an adviser. Ruemmler will testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee investigating Epstein later this month.

 

Reuters

The European Commission has adopted finalized revisions to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and a voluntary reporting standard for smaller companies, marking a key step in simplifying sustainability reporting under the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The revised standards significantly reduce mandatory disclosure requirements, clarify that asset managers do not have to report sustainability information for client-managed investments, and align more closely with international reporting standards, following reforms that cut the number of companies subject to mandatory reporting by about 90%.

 

ESG Today

⁠Alibaba is to ban its employees ​from ‌using Claude Code ‌- Anthropic's AI coding assistant for software developers - in ⁠workspace ⁠environments from July 10 ​due to alleged ​security risks involving ⁠embedded backdoors. Developers say Claude Code contains mechanisms that inspect user environments, including timezone and proxy-related information, and insert subtle markers into prompts sent to Anthropic's servers. Alibaba employees are reportedly being told to use ⁠the ⁠company's own coding platform ⁠Qoder.

 

U.S. News

Bloomberg reports on how Ireland is more exposed to AI-driven labor market disruption than other European countries. More than 6% of the country's workforce is employed in the tech sector, higher than the European Union average, and Ireland is heavily exposed to U.S. multinationals including Google, Meta, Amazon, many of whom are cutting jobs as they invest in AI processes. There are also signs that AI is having an impact on early-stage hiring. Nevertheless, Colin Hunt, chief executive of financial services group AIB, says that Ireland’s longstanding reputation as a reliable location for multinational firms means it can withstand the pressure. “We are going through a period clearly of labor market loosening in the tech sector,” he said. “The impact is being felt. But will Ireland remain a key hub for tech in Europe? Yes.”

 

Bloomberg