Human Times

North American Edition

16th July 2025

THE HOT STORY

CFPB enforcement efforts come to a halt

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has become largely inactive under the Trump administration, with employees reporting a significant decline in productivity. One employee described the situation as “quite demoralizing,” highlighting a shift from protecting consumers to inaction. The bureau, which has returned approximately $21bn to consumers over its 15-year history, is now focused on reversing previous regulations. Recent actions include rescinding agreements with companies including Navy Federal Credit Union and Toyota, allowing them to avoid penalties for wrongdoing. A report by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) revealed that the bureau is processing only 2,200 complaints daily, a stark drop from 10,500. With funding cuts looming, the CFPB faces potential mass layoffs, leaving employees in a state of uncertainty and frustration.

US News and World Report

ECONOMY

Inflation rises as tariffs bite

Recent data indicates that the U.S. trade war is beginning to impact consumer prices significantly. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index rose to 2.7% in June compared to the previous year, with core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, at 2.9%. "With increases in categories like household furnishings, recreation, and apparel, import levies are slowly filtering through," wrote Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. "It would be wise for the Fed to remain on the sidelines for a few more months at least.” The inflation figures are moving further from the Federal Reserve's 2% target, with expectations that interest rates will remain steady at 4.25%-4.50%. Amidst political tensions, the futures market predicts a potential rate cut in September. President Donald Trump on social media said that consumer prices were "LOW" and repeated his call for the Fed to cut rates. The consumer price level was about 1.2% higher in June compared to December, the last full month before Mr. Trump started his second term.

HIRING

Meta offers mega pay for AI talent

Bloomberg reports that Meta Platforms has made record-breaking compensation offers to attract artificial intelligence experts to its "superintelligence" team, including a package exceeding $200m for ex-Apple engineer Ruoming Pang. These multi-year offers combine base salary, cash bonuses, and heavily performance-tied Meta stock. Apple reportedly did not counter due to internal pay norms. Meta’s AI recruitment push also includes former GitHub chief executive Nat Friedman and Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang, now Meta’s Chief AI Officer via a $14.3bn equity deal. Offers rival CEO pay at major banks and are structured to reward long-term loyalty and Meta stock performance. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said some employees received $100m signing bonuses but stayed due to OpenAI’s innovation culture. Nonetheless, Meta has hired over 10 OpenAI researchers along with talent from Anthropic and Google.

Bloomberg

LEGAL

UAW strengthens ties with Korean unions

The recent deployment of United Auto Workers (UAW) leaders to Korea suggests that union influence could become stronger with respect to joint ventures between Korean battery manufacturers and U.S. automakers. The U.S. labor union representing workers in the automotive industry met peers at Samsung SDI and WCP to discuss unionization of workers in the battery sector. In solidarity with the militant Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), the UAW appears to be increasing pressure on BlueOval SK, the joint venture between SK On and Ford Motor, which remains the only union-free company among the joint ventures between Korean battery manufacturers and U.S. carmakers.

The Korea Times

SEC drops bribery case against former Cognizant executives

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has moved to drop a long-running bribery case against two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions. In a filing in the Newark, New Jersey federal court, the SEC said it dismissed claims against Gordon Coburn and Steven Schwartz "in the exercise of its discretion and as a policy matter," and not on the merits. Coburn and Schwartz were charged by U.S. authorities in February 2019 with authorizing a $2m bribe to an Indian official for helping to obtain a construction permit for a new Cognizant office in Chennai. Bloomberg describes the move as the latest sign of the Trump administration’s shift away from enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Bloomberg

Reuters

Trump sues Corporation for Public Broadcasting to oust board members

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPS) who have not left their posts despite an attempt to fire them. In a complaint filed in federal court in Washington D.C., the U.S. Justice Department said President Donald Trump lawfully fired the three board members and requested a court order ousting them. In April, White House Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel Trent Morse sent emails to Laura Ross, Diane Kaplan and Tom Rothman saying they had been terminated from their posts. The CPB responded by filing its own lawsuit, saying that "because the president has no authority over the CPB, he has no authority to terminate its board members as he has purported to do here."

Washington Post

TECHNOLOGY

Meta to invest hundreds of billions in AI push

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the Facebook parent company will invest hundreds of billions of dollars to construct several large AI data centers aimed at advancing superintelligence, with the first center, Prometheus, expected to be operational by 2026. His ambitious plan includes the establishment of multiple "titan clusters," one of which will cover a significant area comparable to Manhattan, as Meta seeks to enhance its competitive edge in the AI sector amid a talent acquisition drive for top engineers.

Reuters

TAX

IRS audits for high earners in jeopardy

An IRS strategy to audit high-income taxpayers is facing significant challenges due to staffing and budget cuts initiated during the Trump administration. A Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report has highlighted that while the IRS aimed to increase audits on high-income individuals, the reduction in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has limited enforcement resources. The IRS has lost about 26% of its workforce this year, which may hinder its ability to meet the goals set by the 2022 Treasury Directive. The report does not provide recommendations, or include responses from IRS officials.

Accounting Today

INTERNATIONAL

France's prime minister looks to scrap two public holidays

France's Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed cutting two public holidays as part of a 2026 budget proposal to cut overall spending while also increasing defence expenditure. Bayrou suggested axing Easter Monday and 8 May, a day that commemorates the Allied victory at the end of World War Two in Europe. He said Easter Monday had "no religious significance" and the whole nation had to work and produce more, observing that the various bank holidays had turned the month of May into a gruyère - a Swiss cheese full of holes - although he added he was open to other suggestions. On Tuesday, Bayrou said that France was "in mortal danger" of being crushed by debt. The far-right National Rally (RN) party blasted Bayrou's proposal as an attack on French history and on French workers, while Green party leader Marine Tondelier lamented that the day that commemorated victory against Nazism would no longer be a holiday.

BBC News

New York Times

Reuters

Fukushima moves to retain young talent

Fukushima Prefecture is launching a public-private partnership to address a declining birth rate and youth exodus - particularly among women. The health and welfare ministry reported that Japan's births fell to 686,061 in 2024, with Fukushima experiencing a ninth consecutive year of decline, recording only 8,216 births and a fertility rate of 1.15. The initiative aims to foster collaboration between businesses and local organizations to create sustainable communities. Toyooka city serves as a model, having implemented measures to close gender gaps and improve workplace environments, resulting in increased female participation in the local workforce. Kiyomi Harada, head of the city's diversity and gender gap division, emphasized the need for ongoing efforts, saying: “As a government, we aim to offer opportunities for dialogue while raising awareness.”

The Japan Times Online

Greek port workers block arms shipment to Israel

Workers at Greece's Piraeus Port have halted a shipment of military-grade steel destined for Israel as they protest against the ongoing violence in Gaza. Markos Bekris, president of the ENEDEP union, said: "We will not let the port become an outpost of the U.S., NATO or the EU," as he highlighted a commitment to preventing the transport of what the union deems deadly cargo. Since October 2023, Israel's offensive has resulted in over 58,000 Palestinian deaths, predominantly women and children, alongside widespread destruction and humanitarian crises. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli officials for war crimes, and Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.

Daily Sabah

OTHER

Research reveals PFAS can be expelled by gut microbes

Research from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. has found that certain gut microbes can absorb and help eliminate toxic "forever chemicals" known as PFAS from the body, potentially offering a more effective solution than current methods like bloodletting or side-effect-inducing drugs. The study's authors are now working on developing probiotic supplements to enhance these beneficial microbes in humans, although they caution that this approach should not detract from addressing the broader PFAS contamination issue.

The Guardian

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