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European financial services companies increased average nonexecutive director pay by 10% in 2025 to $314,148, more than double the 4.5% increase in North America, according to EY. The increase narrowed Europe’s pay gap with North America, where average remuneration reached $350,847, to 10.5% from 15% in 2024, as European firms competed more aggressively for senior talent and international experience. Wealth and asset management recorded the strongest pay growth, at 11.5%, compared with 6.5% in insurance and 4.5% in banking. Europe nevertheless continued to have the widest gender pay gap among the regions studied, with female nonexecutive directors earning 39% less than men, compared with gaps of 30% in Asia-Pacific and 7.1% in North America. Globally, average chair remuneration increased 14% to $755,136, while pay for other nonexecutive directors rose 5.8% to $296,706.

 

Wall Street Journal

Anthropic chief executiveDario Amodei has called for a slowdown in artificial intelligence (AI) development following warnings from industry researchers that a superintelligent AI would be a threat to humanity. In an essay, Amodei proposed inserting independent evaluators into frontier AI companies, applying common safety standards among developers and negotiating international cooperation. OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk have backed Amodei's call for a more measured approach. However, some are questioning Amodei's motives: sceptics suggest he may be trying to engineer state regulation to suppress open source competition. President Trump, meanwhile, told reporters on Sunday it was imperative for the U.S. to retain its international leadership in AI. “Look, we’re leading China in AI . . . and, frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI, wins,” Trump said.

 

Financial Times

CNBC

Reuters

The Verge

The Guardian

The New York Times has tripled its newsroom workforce from about 1,000 to 3,000 over the past decade, continuing to invest in original journalism despite widespread job cuts across the media industry. Chief financial officer William Bardeen said the company’s strategy centers on differentiation, with reporters filing from 150 countries last year, while video represents a significant opportunity for further expansion. The Times has also sought to embed its products into subscribers’ daily habits through news, games, cooking, and sports. Subscribers reached 12.78m in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 11.4m a year earlier, while revenue increased 10.4% to $802.3m. Bardeen said print remains profitable despite its long-term decline, and the company plans to continue offering it while it generates meaningful economic value.

 

CFO

Amazon has paused operations with cargo carrier 21 Air after an Amazon-branded aircraft overshot the runway at Miami International Airport, killing five people and crashing into nearby vehicles before stopping 1,300 feet beyond the runway with its right engine on fire. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident, with 21 Air’s safety practices, its relationship with Amazon and the pilots’ actions among the areas under scrutiny after investigators indicated that the pilots belatedly decided to redo their landing before opting to brake and stop the aircraft. 21 Air, which is owned by logistics businessman and Houston Astros owner Jim Crane, operates around 17 aircraft, including eight that fly for Amazon, and has worked with the ecommerce group for nearly two years.

 

Wall Street Journal

The Labor Department reported on Friday that U.S. inflation held at 3.4% in August, matching expectations but remaining well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and increasing pressure on policymakers to raise interest rates. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, was 2.4% year over year and rose 0.3% from July, prompting markets to price in about a 90% probability of a quarter-point rate increase at the Fed’s meeting next week, up from roughly 70% before the report. Inflationary pressures are being sustained by higher energy costs, tariffs, and the AI-driven technology build-out. Regular gasoline averaged $4.07 a gallon in August, while crude oil has since climbed above $99 a barrel, raising concerns that higher transportation costs could spread across the economy. Economists also estimate that core PCE inflation, the Fed’s preferred underlying measure, could reach about 3.4% annually, strengthening the case for tighter monetary policy.

 

AP News

CNBC

NBC News

Wall Street Journal

A federal appeals court has struck down an order from the White House that forced a coal plant in Michigan to stay open past its scheduled retirement date. The Energy Department has for more than a year ordered the J.H. Campbell facility in West Olive, Michigan, to maintain operations despite its plans to close in May 2025, citing an “energy emergency.” On Friday, a three-judge panel at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the Trump administration had overreached in its use of emergency powers. The challenge was brought by attorneys-general from Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois, and environmental groups.

 

Financial Times

Detroit Free Press

New York Times

A federal judge has ruled that the IRS may withhold disputed tax records sought by Tax Analysts because releasing them would effectively identify a prominent taxpayer. After reviewing the materials privately, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman concluded that the taxpayer was sufficiently prominent that the records, when combined with former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn’s disclosures and related news coverage, would make the individual identifiable. The parties had agreed that records meeting this threshold would be exempt from disclosure under federal tax law. The court ordered Tax Analysts and the IRS to meet and file a joint status report by September 23rd outlining the appropriate next steps in the case.

 

Tax Notes

Johnson & Johnson is in talks to sell its DePuy Synthes hips-and-knees business to private-equity firm Apollo Global Management for around $20bn as the healthcare group shifts its focus towards higher-growth areas. The orthopaedics unit, which also makes instruments used to repair bones and joints, generated $9.3bn of sales last year, accounting for less than a tenth of J&J’s total revenue, but its growth has slowed in recent years. J&J announced plans last year to separate the business within 18 to 24 months and has been considering several options, while talks with Apollo may not result in a deal and another bidder could still emerge.

 

Wall Street Journal

A bipartisan bill set to be introduced in Congress would offer federal tax credits potentially covering 20% to 30% of production costs for movies, television shows, and other entertainment projects made in the U.S. The incentive would supplement existing state programs, including those in California, Georgia, and Texas, as lawmakers seek to counter decades of productions moving overseas to take advantage of tax breaks, rebates, and lower costs. Supporters describe the proposal as a jobs measure for an industry that employs nearly 2.5 million people and supports thousands of small businesses nationwide. The legislation comes amid a decline in film and television production jobs in Los Angeles, with some workers leaving the industry, traveling for employment, or losing work to lower-cost overseas locations. President Donald Trump has endorsed the proposed legislation, called the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, after an earlier proposal to impose 100% tariffs on movies made outside the U.S. did not advance.

 

NPR

U.S. taxpayers paid a record $5.3tn to the IRS in fiscal 2025, up 13.2% from fiscal 2023, according to TIGTA. Individual income tax revenue increased by $232bn, or 8.6%, from fiscal 2024, offsetting a $79bn, or 14%, decline in business income tax revenue. However, IRS enforcement revenue fell nearly 5% from a record $98.7bn in fiscal 2024 to $93.8bn, driven primarily by a 35% decline in examination-related revenue. The IRS lost about 27% of its examination and collection workforce between fiscal 2024 and 2025, while the number of individual tax return examinations started fell 30%. TIGTA warned that the effects of staffing reductions could become more apparent over time, although it made no recommendations to the IRS.

 

CPA Practice Advisor

New York City is considering a $92.2m property tax break for Tishman Speyer’s proposed $2.7bn office tower at Hudson Yards, potentially the largest economic subsidy since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office. The planned 48-story, 1.3m-square-foot building, known as 99 Hudson Boulevard, is scheduled to begin construction in January and open in 2030. The city’s Industrial Development Agency estimates the project would generate nearly $860m in direct and indirect tax revenue. The proposal has prompted debate over whether Hudson Yards, now home to major corporations and some of New York’s highest office rents, still requires public subsidies. Critics argue that tax breaks are no longer justified in the established district, while business advocates say the incentive would support private investment, job creation, tax revenue, and New York’s competitiveness. The relevant city agency is scheduled to vote on the measure September 15th.

 

Accounting Today

IRS audits disproportionately target taxpayers at both ends of the income spectrum, according to an analysis of agency data by J David Tax Law. Taxpayers earning $10m or more faced the highest audit rate at 66 per 1,000 filers, followed by those earning $5m-$10m at 39 per 1,000, while taxpayers reporting no positive income ranked third at 18 per 1,000. Although wealthy taxpayers face greater individual audit risk, lower-income groups account for far more audits because they file substantially more returns. Nearly 225,000 audits involved taxpayers earning between $1 and $25,000, while approximately 52,700 involved those with no positive income. The latter figure may partly reflect increased scrutiny of Earned Income Tax Credit claims. Geographic differences were relatively modest, although audit rates tended to be higher in the South, with nine of the 10 states with the highest rates located in the Southeast or Southwest.

 

Accounting Today

The FASB has issued a new accounting standard requiring investment companies, including mutual funds, to consider contractual sale restrictions when measuring the fair value of equity securities. The change addresses concerns that current U.S. GAAP can overstate net asset values, distort performance reporting and management fees, and affect shareholders differently. Under the new rules, investment companies covered by Topic 946 must reflect contractual sale restrictions in fair value measurements and disclose the discount attributable to those restrictions. The amendments take effect for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15th 2027, with early adoption permitted. FASB is also developing separate guidance addressing fair value reporting for investment companies operating in the private credit market.

 

Accounting Today

CPA Practice Advisor

U.S. consumer sentiment fell sharply in September as rising energy prices and trade tensions increased concerns about household finances and the broader economy. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index dropped 7.5% from August to 47.8, its second-lowest reading on record and 13.2% below a year earlier, while the expectations component declined 11.1%. One-year inflation expectations rose to 4.6%, up 0.6 percentage point, as consumers faced higher fuel costs. Gasoline prices increased 3.9% in August and 27.4% year over year, while fuel oil prices rose 52% annually. Separately, annual inflation remained at 3.4%, pushing market expectations for a Federal Reserve rate increase next week above 85%.

 

CNBC	Wall Street Journal

Tax professionals are fielding increased questions after the Small Business Administration (SBA) referred nearly 500,000 delinquent COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs), worth tens of billions of dollars, to the Treasury Department for collection. Some borrowers were unaware they were delinquent or did not receive the required 60-day notice before referral, and transferred debts can incur collection fees of 28%-32%, as well as potential tax refund or Social Security offsets, wage garnishment, and private collection activity. Borrowers have more options while their loans remain with the SBA, including hardship assistance that can reduce payments by 50% for six months for qualifying borrowers. Once a loan is transferred to Treasury, options become more limited, although borrowers can dispute errors or inadequate notification, request timely hearings over wage garnishment, and verify private collection agencies. Tax professionals are being encouraged to help clients review loan terms, monitor SBA accounts, maintain documentation, and seek additional professional assistance for complex cases.

 

CPA Practice Advisor

The White House has agreed to updated ethics provision in the Clarity Act ahead of a key vote on the cryptocurrency regulation bill in the Senate tomorrow. The provision, which prohibits public officials from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, could be enforced by both state attorneys general and the Department of Justice (DOJ) under new language released by Senate Republicans late yesterday that was a key demand from Democrats. “After a year of intense daily bipartisan negotiations, this bill is ready,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said, adding: “A no vote on Tuesday means opposing real ethics reforms on politicians' personal investments, handing American leadership in digital assets to our foreign competitors, and leaving Americans with zero protections in the digital asset markets . . . Democrats got what they wanted; now they need to take yes for an answer.”

 

The Hill

Workers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) rather than their managers for workplace guidance, raising questions about trust and the role of leadership. An Adobe survey of more than 1,000 U.S. workers who use AI weekly found that 68% ask AI when they have an “obvious” workplace question, compared with just 4% who ask their manager. Separately, a Glean survey of 6,000 workers found that 61% consider AI more helpful than their manager. The article argues that the trend reflects management shortcomings rather than simply AI’s capabilities, with employees valuing chatbots because they are patient, readily available, and nonjudgmental. Managers can differentiate themselves by providing organizational context, asking questions that help employees solve problems independently, sharing information more openly, and creating an environment where workers feel comfortable asking basic or potentially embarrassing questions.

 

Inc

Wealthy investors have poured more than $170bn into tax-aware long-short strategies, up from $2bn in 2022, as they seek to generate investment losses that can offset capital gains. Demand has been driven by strong stock market gains, business sales, concentrated stock positions, and IPO-related wealth, while the products have become increasingly lucrative for wealth managers. The strategies can deliver substantial tax benefits but carry significant risks, including leverage, benchmark underperformance, fees of 1%-3%, and potentially large tax bills when investors unwind their positions. Experts also caution that the products generally defer rather than eliminate taxes, while Treasury officials have signaled increased scrutiny of investment products designed to generate tax losses, although they have not specifically said tax-aware long-short strategies are illegal or announced changes to their treatment.

 

CNBC

Australia’s Parliament has passed legislation aimed at strengthening the tax system, including changes requiring foreign residents to pay capital gains tax on a broader range of assets connected to Australian real property. The reforms are intended to bring Australia’s rules closer to OECD standards while providing greater certainty for investors. The legislation also introduces stronger sanctions for tax adviser misconduct following issues raised by the PwC tax leaks scandal. Measures include criminal penalties for unregistered tax preparers, new civil penalties for breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct, higher penalties, and expanded powers for the Tax Practitioners Board. Other measures include a time-limited concession for clean energy investments, improvements to the merger system, and changes supporting charitable giving through expanded deductible gift recipient status and reforms to giving funds.

 

The National Tribune

Novo Nordisk is rebranding itself as "Novo" and updating its corporate culture in a bid to regain market share in the obesity drug sector. The Danish pharmaceutical company described the shift as the start of a new chapter amid fierce competition from Eli Lilly and pressure from investors to introduce new blockbuster products. Novo said it aims to implement new principles focused on clarity and efficiency in its operations. The rebranding campaign, encapsulated by the slogan "Lasting Health Starts Now," seeks to foster trust and relevance with the public. Novo Nordisk will remain the legal name of the company, which has historical roots dating back to a 1989 merger. The company is set to unveil its updated business strategy on September 21.

 

CNBC