Artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted workforce analytics and simpler changes to how reports are generated and reviewed can both help employers continuously monitor that data and correct issues earlier, reducing wage-and-hour exposure in California and beyond.
This article opens a new series, “Beyond the Data,” on turning existing workforce data into a preventive compliance program. It also introduces a simple, five-stage framework that the rest of the series will build on.
Quick Hits
Most employers already possess the workforce data and systems needed...
Domestic private-label commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) issuance reached $76.2 billion through July 2026, measured by loan balance when each deal was sold, according to Trepp data as of July 31.
Single-asset, single-borrower (SASB) deals, each backed by one property or one owner, made up $58.0 billion. Conduit deals, which pool many smaller loans from different owners, made up $16.1 billion. A small remainder came from large-loan deals. Office was the single largest property type at 22.7% of issuance, or $17.3...
Why middle market manufacturers and energy companies face rising volatility
Key takeaways
Supply chain risk stems from geographic concentration across mining, processing and refining.
That concentration risk is colliding with accelerating demand across multiple sectors.
Disciplined working capital strategies can help organizations balance resilience with liquidity.
Critical minerals—including rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt, copper and platinum group metals—are essential inputs for manufacturing and energy companies. They underpin everything from industrial components and advanced manufacturing to power generation, grid infrastructure, electric vehicles and defense applications.
Supply...
Key Takeaways:
Recent rule developments from major international institutions provide sophisticated frameworks for managing disputes as they arise. The American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR) is developing dispute board rules specifically tailored to the life sciences industry, signaling growing institutional focus on the sector’s unique dispute resolution needs. Rule developments from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) similarly reflect the...
In this week’s Roar: Are tariffs helping the U.S. trade deficit as intended? Ocean carriers rake in the profits, oil continues to be volatile, a mixed outlook for air cargo, and a likely extension of the Jones Act waiver.
Can we say at this point if tariffs are helping the U.S. trade deficit? Not definitively. The June data shows the deficit narrowing to $73.3 billion, down from $77.6 billion in May, and down 33.8% year-to-date versus 2025. That’s the direction tariff proponents...
Key Points
On August 6, 2026, President Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 15% ad valorem tariff and minimum import prices on polysilicon and its derivatives under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, effective December 4, 2026.
The minimum import price program sets price floors of $21/kg for polysilicon, $100/kg for ingots and wafers, $0.22/W for solar cells, and $0.38/W for solar modules, with materially inaccurate certifications triggering a permanent import ban.
Raw polysilicon is subject only to...