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Corporate software companies are proving more resilient to generative artificial intelligence (AI) than investors initially feared, as deeply integrated systems, complex maintenance requirements, and customer inertia make established platforms difficult to replace with AI-generated alternatives. Salesforce, ServiceNow, Snowflake, and Workday have recently reported strong results, with Salesforce beating sales and profit expectations, raising its outlook, and expanding its Anthropic partnership to integrate Claude into its software. While AI is making software development cheaper and creating competitive pressure, incumbent providers are also incorporating AI into their products and benefiting from their established positions within customers’ IT infrastructure. Longer term, analysts see potentially greater disruption from AI-native software companies, which could pressure established vendors to offer shorter contracts and pricing tied more closely to business outcomes.

 

Wall Street Journal

LIV Golf has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its financial backing earlier this year. The league reported $500m-$1bn in liabilities and $100m-$500m in assets, with players including Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson among its largest creditors. LIV has entered into a restructuring agreement with BC Partners and other potential investors, while PIF is providing a $49.6m loan to fund the bankruptcy process. The league hopes to continue in 2027 under a new model that would make players majority owners, although they could receive only a fraction of the money they were originally promised.

 

CNBC

Forbes

Financial Times

Wall Street Journal

U.S. consumer borrowing increased by $18.1bn in July, well above economists’ expectations for an $11.3bn rise and accelerating from a revised $14.6bn increase in June, according to Federal Reserve data. The increase was driven by non-revolving credit, including loans for vehicle purchases and education, which jumped $15.3bn — its largest advance in three years. Credit card and other revolving debt increased by a more modest $2.8bn. The rise comes as US consumer spending has remained resilient despite elevated prices. However, inflation has outpaced wage growth in recent months, raising the possibility that some households are increasingly turning to borrowing to maintain spending levels. The Federal Reserve figures cover consumer credit but exclude mortgage debt.

 

Bloomberg

The Los Angeles City Council has voted 10-2 to extend Fair Work Week protections to fast-food workers, directing the city attorney to draft rules requiring employers to provide schedules at least two weeks in advance, allow at least 10 hours of rest between shifts or provide additional pay, and offer available work to qualified existing employees before hiring new staff or contractors. The council also backed a framework for mandatory six-hour paid, in-person training covering minimum wage laws and other workplace protections. Labor groups argue the measures will give workers more predictable schedules and greater awareness of their rights, while restaurant owners say additional regulation and costs will put further pressure on already-thin margins. The city is targeting April 2027 implementation for businesses operating more than one franchise location, while single-location employers would have until October 2027 to comply.

 

Los Angeles Times

Amazon has been accused of systematically discriminating against thousands of pregnant employees in a proposed nationwide class action filed by four former warehouse workers. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon denied accommodations including chairs, bathroom and water breaks, and time off for prenatal appointments, while threatening or dismissing workers who took too much time off. The case seeks lost pay and benefits, punitive damages, and an injunction against pregnancy discrimination. Amazon disputes the allegations, saying it provides pregnancy-related accommodations to tens of thousands of employees annually and approved more than 99.9% of requests in the past year. The lawsuit follows similar legal action against Amazon by New Jersey and an earlier case brought by New York.

 

USA Today

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

The US Tax Court has added Austin, Charlotte, Newark, Orlando, and Sacramento to its list of trial locations, expanding its nationwide total to 79 cities. The changes follow an assessment using data from the court’s DAWSON case filing and management system, which was designed to better align trial locations with the cities where taxpayers are filing petitions and improve access to court proceedings.

 

Bloomberg Tax

More than 10 states, including Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, and Washington, have paused or eliminated tax incentives for data centers as the AI boom has dramatically increased the cost of exemptions and fueled concerns about power and water consumption. Ohio’s sales-tax exemption reached more than $1.5bn last year, prompting Gov. Mike DeWine to pause new applications, while some lawmakers want to repeal the exemption and renegotiate existing agreements with companies including Amazon, Meta, and Google. New Jersey recently canceled $250m in remaining data center tax credits, while Virginia has introduced a tax on electricity consumed by data centers. Industry representatives warn that reducing incentives could shift future investment toward states that retain favorable tax regimes.

 

Wall Street Journal

The Global Accounting Alliance (GAA) has published the first of three reports examining how sustainability disclosures can be more closely connected with financial reporting to provide a clearer picture of corporate performance, risk, and long-term value. The report argues that sustainability issues can affect cash flow, access to capital, asset valuations, and investment decisions, while reporting sustainability and financial information separately can lead to fragmented or inconsistent disclosures. Drawing on ten professional accounting bodies and more than 30 stakeholder interviews, the report identifies organizational silos, differing planning periods, skills shortages, and checklist-focused approaches as barriers to connected reporting. It highlights effective governance, common frameworks, and greater cooperation between functions as potential solutions, and aligns its findings with developments including IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and European Sustainability Reporting Standards. The GAA plans to publish the remaining two reports by the end of 2026.

 

The Accountant Online

The American Bar Association (ABA) has eliminated its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirement for law schools as it seeks to preserve its longstanding role as the federally recognized accreditor of U.S. law schools. The ABA’s law school council said the decision was a pragmatic move intended to maintain recognition from state courts and the U.S. Department of Education, which recommended in August that the ABA lose the accreditation role it has held since 1952. The department cited concerns about the council’s independence from the broader ABA and its response to the DEI requirement. An Education Department committee is scheduled to consider the recommendation on September 23rd, with a final decision expected in the coming months. The repeal follows nearly two years of efforts to revise the diversity rule after the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision restricting the consideration of race in college admissions. The ABA has also faced growing pressure from the Trump administration and Republican-controlled states, with Texas, Florida, and Alabama taking steps to reduce its role in lawyer licensing and accreditation.

 

Reuters

U.S. small-business confidence declined modestly in August, with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) optimism index falling 1.1 points to 98.7, although it remained above its 52-year average. Business owners continued to face elevated uncertainty amid weaker sales, supply chain disruptions, and inflation pressures, with a net negative 9% reporting higher nominal sales over the previous three months, the weakest reading since November 2025. Inflation was cited as the most important problem by 16% of owners, while expectations for better business conditions fell five points to a net 10%. Hiring intentions also softened, with a seasonally adjusted net 17% of owners planning to create jobs over the next three months, down three points from July.

 

Wall Street Journal

Wealthy families face growing complexity when dividing inheritances, as equal distributions can create conflicts over family businesses, differing financial needs, previous gifts, and perceptions of favoritism. Advisers argue that equality and fairness are not necessarily the same, particularly when some heirs actively manage a family company while others are passive owners, potentially creating disagreements over control, investment, and distributions. High-profile succession disputes involving the Del Vecchio and Murdoch families illustrate the risks of both dividing control equally and concentrating it in one heir. Experts say clear governance, preparation of the next generation, and transparent communication about the reasoning behind inheritance decisions can reduce disputes, although perceptions of fairness often depend as much on family relationships as on the value of assets received.

 

Professional Wealth Management

The Trump administration has announced bans on imports of certain Canadian goods, including alcohol, motorcycles, molasses, and some dairy products, starting September 29th, marking a significant escalation in trade tensions between the two countries. A senior administration official said the measures would affect Canadian imports worth “single-digit billions” of dollars and follow the recent introduction of 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods and retaliatory Canadian tariffs on U.S. products. The White House has said the bans respond to what it considers discriminatory Canadian restrictions on U.S. alcohol, while separate proclamations have also altered the range of Canadian products subject to 50% tariffs, removing items including cement and adding some cheeses.

 

CBC News

New York Times

Politico

Washington Post

The U.K. government has proposed removing several mandatory ESG disclosure requirements from companies’ strategic reports as part of an effort to simplify annual reporting and focus disclosures on financially material information for investors and creditors. The consultation would eliminate explicit reporting requirements covering environmental impacts, employees, diversity, human rights, community relations, anti-corruption, and anti-bribery measures, although companies would still be expected to disclose these issues when financially material. Existing climate-related financial disclosure rules are being reviewed separately, while the government is also considering how its new U.K. Sustainability Reporting Standards should interact with company law. The proposals could additionally introduce a new “very large” company category for certain non-financial reporting requirements, potentially changing the obligations facing large private and public companies, with consultation responses due by November 30th.

 

ESG News

Ikea has won the right to take legal action against Belgian far-right party Vlaams Belang after the EU’s highest court ruled that its use of Ikea’s trademarks and distinctive graphics in a 2022 anti-immigration campaign could significantly damage the brand’s reputation. The Court of Justice of the European Union rejected the argument that freedom of expression should override Ikea’s trademark rights, finding that the branding appeared to have been used to amplify an unrelated political message by exploiting Ikea’s reputation. The ruling allows Ikea to proceed with legal action against the association behind Vlaams Belang, although the final outcome will be determined by a Belgian court.

 

DW

Politico

The Guardian

Brian Dyson, the former Coca-Cola executive who championed the controversial launch of New Coke in 1985 and helped lead the successful introduction of Diet Coke, has died at age 90 from complications of pneumonia. Despite New Coke becoming one of the most famous marketing failures in corporate history, Coca-Cola quickly recovered after restoring its original formula as Coca-Cola Classic, and Mr. Dyson’s career also rebounded. He later led Coca-Cola Enterprises, returned as Coca-Cola’s vice chair and chief operating officer, and remained an informal consultant to the company in recent years.

 

Wall Street Journal