Early investment data suggest trade uncertainty is changing the scale and character of investment into the US, even as project numbers remain broadly stable. Early 2025 already feels like a foreign country: familiar enough to recognise, strange enough to need explaining. For a few months, tariffs were everywhere. Steel. Aluminium. Reciprocal tariffs. Trade deficits. And, of course, “Liberation Day”. Washington argued that exemptions had weakened domestic industry and left critical supply chains exposed. Europe warned of higher costs, disruption and retaliation. In...

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The provisional agreement reached on 7 May 2026 between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union regarding the Digital Omnibus on AI falls short of its stated aim of promoting innovation. Against this backdrop, the yet-to-be-reached agreement on the Digital Omnibus (on data law) is of paramount importance for Europe’s attractiveness as a business location. Rather than rushing to close a deal, the EU should seize this opportunity to enact genuine reforms that avoid stifling AI innovation at...

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The House on July 22 passed by a vote of 216 to 214 a fiscal year 2027 budget resolution that would authorize a third budget reconciliation bill in the 119th Congress to address military spending, election security, and farm assistance. The proposed budget resolution contains $95 billion in reconciliation instructions for four House committees to approve their portions of the reconciliation legislation by September 11. The reconciliation instructions are for the Agriculture ($12 billion), Armed Services ($60 billion), Intelligence ($10 billion),...

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(excerpt) Retail sales increased in May for the fourth straight month, while consumer sentiment—as measured by the University of Michigan's monthly survey of consumers—fell to a record low. How, then, are consumers financing their spending? The answer had been credit cards. Card balances grew in March and April at the strongest back-to-back pace in three years, but they fell by a 4.7% seasonally adjusted annualized rate in May, with the decline likely the result of repayment after heavy spring borrowing....

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On 30 June 2026, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published revised Guidelines on product oversight and governance (POG) for retail banking products. The revised Guidelines strengthen the existing POG framework by explicitly incorporating ESG and greenwashing considerations. Embedding ESG features into the POG framework The amended Guidelines clarify that product oversight and governance arrangements for retail banking products for both manufacturers and distributors should also apply to products with ESG features. Manufacturers and distributors are expected to take ESG features of a product into...

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