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Most U.S. public companies would continue providing investors with quarterly financial updates even if the SEC allows them to make formal regulatory filings only twice a year, according to a KPMG survey of 156 finance executives. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they would issue quarterly earnings releases while switching to semiannual regulatory filings, while another 39% would retain their existing quarterly 10-Q filings and earnings releases. Just 3% would move entirely to semiannual reporting, while 7% would provide selected interim financial data. Although supporters argue that less frequent filings could reduce costs and administrative work, many companies question the potential savings, with more than half of those surveyed bound by financing agreements requiring quarterly information and 94% planning to maintain quarterly internal governance and oversight. Some executives also warned that less frequent reporting could reduce transparency, weaken financial discipline, and make companies less attractive to investors.

 

Wall Street Journal

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Aon has announced the immediate departure of chief financial officer Edmund Reese, who is leaving to pursue opportunities outside the firm, with Nadin Virani appointed interim CFO while an internal and external search for a permanent successor begins. Mr. Reese will remain as a senior adviser to chief executive Greg Case through August 16th 2027, to support the transition. Alongside the leadership change, Aon reaffirmed its 2026 guidance for mid-single-digit or greater organic revenue growth, double-digit free cash flow growth, and 70 to 80 basis points of adjusted operating margin expansion. The broker reported 5% organic revenue growth in the second quarter, with total revenue rising 2% to $4.2bn, and said its 3x3 Plan remains on track to deliver approximately $350m in annualized savings by year-end.

 

Insurance Business

Intelligent Insurer

The Insurer

L3Harris Technologies has removed chair and chief executive Christopher Kubasik after an investigation, conducted with independent counsel, found that he violated the defense contractor’s code of conduct. The company said the matter had no impact on its financial reporting, controls, customer relationships, or operational performance, and Mr. Kubasik will receive no severance, benefits, or accelerated stock awards. Sam Mehta, who led businesses accounting for more than 80% of L3Harris’ revenue, has been appointed president and CEO, while lead independent director Lewis Hay III has become chair. Despite the leadership change, L3Harris has reaffirmed its 2026 financial targets, although its shares closed 4.6% lower following the announcement.

 

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Disney’s ABC has sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), alleging that the agency is illegally targeting its broadcast licenses and programming in retaliation for speech critical of the Trump administration. ABC is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt the FCC’s early license renewal process for its eight local stations, arguing that investigations into Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, as well as “The View’s” exemption from political equal-time rules, are attempts to interfere with the network’s editorial decisions. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has maintained that the license review concerns Disney’s DEI initiatives rather than its speech, and that the agency’s equal-time inquiry is focused on enforcing existing law. Broadcast license revocations are historically rare, and ABC argues that allowing the FCC proceedings to continue poses an immediate threat to its First Amendment rights.

 

ABC News

Wall Street Journal

Federal prosecutors looking into billionaire Mark Walter's empire are focused on four entities that served as intermediaries between insurance companies he controlled, the ​Wall Street Journal has reported. The report said prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating ‌whether Walter or his businesses committed fraud by concealing financial connections while borrowing billions of dollars from insurers he controls. “We have always acted in good faith, and insinuations that we have in any way attempted to circumvent our obligations is simply false,” a spokesman for TWG Global, Walter’s conglomerate, said in a statement. “We are proud of the business that we have built and the value we have created for our clients, investors and shareholders.”

 

Wall Street Journal

The average combined U.S. sales tax rate has risen for the first time in four years, reaching a 10-year high of 10.1881%, according to Vertex’s 2026 Mid-Year U.S. Sales Tax Rates and Rules Report. The increase comes as state and local governments adjust rates, expand tax bases, introduce new revenue mechanisms, and extend taxation to more services and digital transactions. Tax changes have accelerated at the local level, with 463 combined sales tax rate changes and new rates recorded during the first half of 2026, compared with 408 during the same period in 2025. Vertex said fiscal pressures, including declining pandemic-era funding and reduced federal support for some programs, are encouraging jurisdictions to consider higher rates, broader tax bases, excise taxes, and new fees. States are also increasingly targeting services and digital activities as spending shifts away from traditional goods. Texas has expanded the range of data processing services subject to sales tax, while Washington has extended retail sales tax to cover many business, personal, and professional services. Nebraska and Maryland have also explored broader taxation of services.

 

CPA Practice Advisor

Manufacturing activity in New York strengthened sharply in August, with the Empire State Manufacturing Index rising to 20.60 from 15.60 the previous month and significantly exceeding the forecast of 10.60. A reading above zero indicates improving conditions, making the latest result a strong signal of expansion among the state’s manufacturers. The better-than-expected reading indicates improving business conditions in New York’s manufacturing sector and could bolster confidence in the broader U.S. economy. The report said the result may also be viewed as supportive of the U.S. dollar and could influence investor expectations around monetary policy.

 

Investing

Canadian Tire is expanding its use of AI and analytics to drive growth amid economic pressures on consumers. Working with Microsoft, it has developed Mosaic, a customer intelligence platform using transaction and loyalty data to improve pricing, marketing, inventory and product decisions. Chief executive Greg Hicks said the technology is ready for wider deployment. Second-quarter revenue rose to C$4.30bn ($3.09bn), while net income increased to C$214.2m despite subdued consumer sentiment and rising costs.

 

Global News

BNN Bloomberg

Personal information belonging to nearly 14,000 customers of hardware crypto wallet provider Trezor has been exposed following a data breach at one of its shipping providers, potentially increasing the risk of phishing, fraud, and physical attacks against digital asset holders. The breach exposed the names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of 11,742 customers, while the names, cities of residence, and emails of another 1,947 customers were compromised. The affected customers are in the U.S., U.K., Sweden, Colombia, Brazil, Italy, and Portugal, and received their devices between May 10th and August 8th. The incident is the second security problem involving hardware, or “cold,” wallets in two weeks. More than $100m was stolen from Coldcard wallet holders on July 30th after a vulnerability resulted in private keys being generated without sufficient security, highlighting how self-custody can shift rather than eliminate risks for crypto investors.

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Canada is preparing for new 50% U.S. tariffs on nearly $20bn of goods from Wednesday as negotiations with Washington remain far from an agreement, raising concerns over further job losses and weaker investment. The duties will cover products including wine, furniture, dairy, cement and clothing, affecting about 5.2% of the $383bn of U.S. goods imports from Canada in 2025, and will apply even to products qualifying for preferential treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Auto tariffs and Canada’s dairy system remain key sticking points in wider negotiations, while businesses have warned that a 50% levy could make some Canadian products uncompetitive in the U.S. and particularly hurt smaller exporters. The dispute also threatens to complicate the future of the USMCA after President Donald Trump declined to extend the agreement for another 16 years, leaving it subject to annual reviews.

 

US News and World Report

A correction in U.S. technology stocks is likely and could threaten the financial stability of the Eurozone, according to a blog post by a team of European Central Bank economists. "Economic research on past technological revolutions points to a worrisome ​conclusion: a correction of current stock market valuations is likely," ⁠said the post, which added that even if AI does live up to expectations and profits rise, stocks may still fall because it is ​hard to fulfil markets' excessively optimistic profit growth bets.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

The AI proprietor of a San Francisco-based retailer has fired one of its employees. The dismissal occurred at Andon Market, a shop operated by Luna, which has been described as “the world’s first AI store owner” by its developer, Andon Labs. The company gave Luna a corporate credit card, internet access, and a $100,000 budget to design and open a brick-and-mortar store, choose merchandise, and hire workers. “Luna’s decision to fire the employee is the first time (to our knowledge) an AI boss has fired a human employee . . . It’s a single event and admittedly one where we had to remind her [sic] to act. However, this event updated our understanding of AI, as we weren’t sure that current AI models would make this decision,”  Andon Labs wrote in a blog post. It is noted that the shop’s staff members are officially employed by Andon Labs.

 

Time

Business Insider

Inc.com