US Launches Section 301 Tariff Probe Targeting China, EU, Mexico, Japan and Others
The United States has opened a Section 301 investigation into alleged manufacturing overcapacity across 16 trading partners, including China, the EU, Japan, and Mexico. The probe gives the administration authority to impose new tariffs if state‑backed excess production is deemed unfair to U.S. industry. It follows a recent court decision that struck down elements of the previous Trump tariff regime and signals a broader trade‑policy shift. A separate forced‑labour investigation covering roughly 60 countries is also expected.
US to Release 172m Barrels From SPR over 3 Mths as US Intelligence Says Iran Regime Stable
The United States will release 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next 120 days, joining a 400‑million‑barrel drawdown coordinated by the International Energy Agency. The emergency release aims to ease the sharp rise in crude prices...
The Philippines: DEFA to Build a Resilient and Inclusive Digital ASEAN
ASEAN negotiators convened in Manila to advance the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), refining the draft over three days and targeting a November signing at the ASEAN Summit. The framework is designed to capture Southeast Asia’s projected $2 trillion digital economy...
Has the Ad Industry Stopped Speaking Up? Innocean Launches Cost of Quiet Audit
Innocean Australia has introduced the Cost of Quiet Audit, a research initiative aimed at measuring whether progress on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is stalling in the advertising sector. Partnering with activist group FckTheCupcakes, the pilot launches in March to...
Iran Raises Stakes on Hormuz in Oil Price Narrative Battle
Iran has escalated its rhetoric and threats around the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that moves roughly one‑fifth of the world’s oil and LNG. The move is part of a broader narrative battle with the United States amid the ongoing...
Barb Appoints Caroline Baxter as CEO
Barb, the UK’s joint‑industry audience measurement body, announced Caroline Baxter as its new chief executive. Baxter, who joined Barb in 2022 and was promoted to COO in 2024, will steer the firm through a new wave of innovation for linear,...
Analysis-Chinese Companies Race to Hedge Against a Swinging Yuan with Regulatory Encouragement
Chinese exporters are scrambling to hedge yuan appreciation, driving a record $39 bn net foreign‑currency sell‑off in January and $100 bn dollar net sales in December. Regulators have issued informal "window guidance" urging banks to lift corporate hedging ratios to roughly 40 %...
Startup Vima Adds Parkinson’s to Movement Disorder Scope, Expanding Series A Round to $100M
Vima Therapeutics announced an additional $40 million raise, taking its Series A funding to $100 million. The capital will support parallel Phase 2 trials of its lead candidate VIM0423 in isolated dystonia and Parkinson’s disease, expanding the startup’s focus beyond the rare movement disorder....
‘Mediabrands’ and ‘Magna’ on the Chopping Block as Omnicom Merger Bites
Omnicom is dismantling the Mediabrands and Magna brands in Australia as part of the post‑merger integration of its $13 billion IPG acquisition. The company will retire the Mediabrands name, migrate staff email addresses to OMC domains, and has already seen senior...
South Africa Summons New US Ambassador over ‘Undiplomatic Remarks’
South Africa’s foreign ministry summoned U.S. ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III after he labeled the "Kill the Boer" chant hate speech and likened Black Economic Empowerment policies to apartheid. The move underscores a widening diplomatic rift amplified by the Trump...
Kyocera Document Solutions Absorbs Huon IT, Creating Unified Services Offering
Kyocera Document Solutions Australia will fully absorb Huon IT under the Kyocera brand on April 1, completing a multi‑year integration that began with the 2019 acquisition. The merger combines Kyocera’s print and document workflow expertise with Huon IT’s managed IT...
Trump’s Iran War Pushes Petrol Past $3.50 in Test of US Voter Patience
President Trump’s decision to intensify military pressure on Iran sparked a sharp rally in global oil markets, pushing U.S. gasoline prices above $3.50 per gallon for the first time in years. The price surge coincided with the lead‑up to the...
Affirm's Point-of-Sale Loans Support $518.1 Million
Affirm announced a new securitization, the Master Trust series 2026‑2, raising $518.1 million to fund point‑of‑sale unsecured consumer loans. The pool carries a weighted‑average FICO of 672, the lowest among its recent trusts, and is divided into five tranches maturing on...
Compensation Without Chaos: Designing Plans That Work
Sales compensation plans are under intense scrutiny as companies grapple with volatility. The article argues that overly complex plans hinder productivity, while overly simple ones miss revenue nuances, and proposes a balanced approach that keeps designs straightforward yet aligned with...
He Maxed Out $50K in Credit Cards to Start His First Business. Now It’s Worth $1.8 Billion.
Henry Schuck launched DiscoverOrg in law school by maxing out $50,000 in credit cards and working double shifts. The bootstrapped firm grew to $30 million in revenue before taking its first venture capital in 2014. A 2019 merger with ZoomInfo combined...
How the Iran War Could Jack Up Prices on Store Shelves
The Iran‑driven conflict has effectively shut down traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that handles roughly half of the world’s oil tankers and a comparable share of container vessels. Disruption of Tier‑3 Middle Eastern suppliers—particularly chemicals, plastics, aluminum...
Rights Violations Prompt World’s Largest Sovereign Wealth Fund to Divest From Bolloré
Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, has fully divested its 0.4% stake in French conglomerate Bolloré, valued at roughly $70 million. The move follows a 2024 recommendation from the fund’s ethics council citing documented human‑rights, gender‑based...
Atlassian Cuts 1600 Jobs in AI Restructure
Atlassian announced a restructuring that will eliminate roughly 1,600 positions, about 10% of its 16,000‑strong global workforce. The cuts, including 500 roles in Australia, are intended to self‑fund accelerated AI development and expand enterprise sales. Chief Technology Officer Rajeev Rajan...
Rheinmetall Withdraws From Mynaric Bidding Process; Rocket Lab Acquisition Clears Major Competitive Hurdle
Rheinmetall AG announced it will not submit a formal bid for laser‑communications specialist Mynaric AG, ending a brief period of speculation about a German “national solution” to block Rocket Lab’s $150 million acquisition. The withdrawal leaves Rocket Lab as the sole...
Mercedes Is Fear Mongering On EV Policies Again
Mercedes‑Benz CEO Ola Källenius warned the European Union that tightening auto‑emissions rules could destabilize the EU car market, urging policymakers to water down the planned 2035 ban on new gasoline and diesel sales. He framed the rapid shift to electric...
Trump on Iran: We Won, but Don't Want to Leave Early
U.S. President Donald Trump told a Kentucky rally that the United States has "won" the war against Iran, claiming the destruction of 58 Iranian naval vessels. He emphasized that the U.S. will stay engaged to "finish the job" and avoid...
The Cautionary Tale of an Advisor M&A Deal Gone Wrong
The Virginia Supreme Court affirmed a $2.07 million FINRA arbitration award to wealth advisor Jayne Di Vincenzo, rejecting Devin Garofalo’s bid to vacate the decision. The award stems from a 2020 $3.6 million acquisition of Di Vincenzo’s practice by Colonial River Wealth that unraveled...
Starbucks Founder Moves to Florida as Washington Advances Millionaires’ Tax—Read His Goodbye Message
Howard Schultz, the former CEO and founder of Starbucks, announced his relocation from Seattle to Miami, citing retirement. He will occupy a $44 million, 5,500‑square‑foot penthouse at the Four Seasons Private Residences. The move comes a day after Washington lawmakers advanced...
Skilled Nursing Dealbook: NY Nursing Home Sells for $75M; Selectis Selling 2 Facilities to Journey for $15.7M
The skilled‑nursing market saw several high‑profile transactions this week. Excelsior Group acquired the 280‑bed Union Plaza Care Center in Flushing, New York for $75 million, while Selectis Health agreed to sell its two Georgia facilities—Glen Eagle and Eastman Healthcare—totaling 201 beds...
Court Rules Employer Can't Zero Out Retired Officer's Disability Pay
The Connecticut Appellate Court’s decision in Martinoli v. Stamford Police Department reinforces that retirement does not extinguish workers’ compensation rights. Retired officer Louis Martinoli filed a heart‑related claim that later expanded to atrial fibrillation and stroke in 2015. When the...
Appeals Court Revives Race Bias Lawsuit Thrown Out over Five-Day Late Filing
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals revived Phillip Beazer’s Title VII race‑bias lawsuit after finding he qualified for equitable tolling. The court held that Beazer exercised reasonable diligence despite his attorney’s abandonment and a Category 4 hurricane that delayed mail delivery. By...
Trump Says U.S. Will Tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve As Iran War Surges Gas Prices
President Donald Trump announced that the United States will draw 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next four months, the first release since 2022. The move comes as the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran has pushed...
Delaware Court Hammers Financial Advisor with $765K for Breaching Non-Solicitation Agreement
A Delaware Court of Chancery ordered former Blue Rock advisor James Whalen to pay $765,103 after he poached clients and stole confidential data. The court upheld a three‑year non‑solicitation clause and classified the extracted client lists as trade secrets. Damages were...
Employer's Workplace Violence Termination Backfires when Key Evidence Falls Apart
A Louisiana appellate court upheld the reinstatement of Sadra Hamilton, a long‑tenured water board supervisor, after her employer failed to substantiate a workplace‑violence claim. The board alleged Hamilton brandished scissors during a confrontation with a subordinate, but testimony showed she...
Timothée Chalamet Said ‘No One Cares About Opera.’ The Industry Turned It Into Viral Marketing
Actor Timothée Chalamet’s remark that “no one cares about opera” sparked a swift backlash that opera companies turned into a viral marketing campaign. Major houses such as Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera launched discount codes and...
Worker Sues Kinder Morgan for $25M Alleging Race Discrimination, Retaliation
Winston R. Gray, a longtime Kinder Morgan employee, filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was terminated after raising race‑discrimination concerns and replaced by a white worker. The complaint, filed March 10, 2026 in the Southern District of Mississippi, claims Gray faced harsher scrutiny,...
Marriott Faces Lawsuit for Allegedly Firing Employee Who Reported Discrimination
Marriott International is facing a federal lawsuit alleging it terminated an assistant rooms operations manager who reported workplace discrimination. The plaintiff, Roaldo Sulejmani, claims his complaints about race and gender bias were ignored, and he was subjected to intimidation, restricted...
Lawsuit Alleges Rocket Mortgage HR Botched Disability Accommodation at Every Turn
Rocket Mortgage is facing a federal lawsuit alleging that its human‑resources department systematically mishandled disability accommodations, FMLA leave, and return‑to‑work processes for senior analyst Ashley Isberg. The complaint details denied remote‑work requests, reassignment of duties, a pressured resignation offer, and...
27-Story Center City Building Refinanced For $145M: The Philadelphia Deal Sheet
Southern Land Co. has refinanced its 27‑story Josephine apartment tower in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square with a $145 million loan from Affinius Capital. The development, built at a total cost of $204.5 million—including a $24.5 million land purchase and $180 million construction—features 255 residential units...
Disruptions Reinforce China's Self-Sufficiency Drive
China is intensifying its drive for energy self‑sufficiency by accelerating investments in low‑carbon technologies such as solar, wind, batteries and electric vehicles. The ongoing war in the Middle East, which has disrupted oil and gas imports, underscores Beijing’s anxiety over...
Mideast War Brings Fresh Risks for Low-Carbon Investments
The Gulf conflict has jolted oil and gas supplies, reinforcing the long‑term economic case for clean‑energy projects. Yet the immediate fallout—rising inflation and tighter credit—could choke funding for low‑carbon initiatives. Analysts warn that the war’s duration and the speed of...
Real Customers Inspire CSC’s New ‘Made for Me’ Brand Campaign via HERO and The Media Store
Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) has launched its new “Made for Me” brand platform, a refresh aimed at its Australian Public Service and Defence Force members. Developed with creative agency HERO and media partner The Media Store, the campaign tells the...
Is Your Content Calendar Eroding Customer Trust?
Dr. Anna Harrison argues that traditional content calendars are built on a linear funnel model that assumes audiences progress uniformly, but trust actually develops in asynchronous loops. AI‑generated summaries further destabilize scheduled campaigns by reshaping how users discover content. The...
Microsoft’s .NET 11 Preview 2 Offers Cleaner Stack Traces
Microsoft released .NET 11 Preview 2, highlighting runtime‑native async, smaller SDK installers and performance tweaks across the stack. The runtime now handles async suspension directly, delivering cleaner stack traces and lower overhead, while the JIT removes redundant bounds checks. SDK installers for...
G7 Explores Ship Escorts in Gulf as Middle East War Threatens Energy Supply Routes
G7 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to Russia sanctions while confronting the ripple effects of the U.S.–Israeli conflict on Iran and global energy markets. They agreed to deepen coordination with Gulf partners to safeguard shipping lanes and stabilize oil supplies. A...
Warner Music Group Signs New $1.645bn Credit Agreement with JPMorgan, Refinancing Existing Debt
Warner Music Group’s subsidiary WMG Acquisition Corp. has secured a $1.645 billion credit agreement with JPMorgan, consolidating its fragmented 2012‑era debt into a single package. The deal includes a $1.295 billion term loan to retire existing term‑loan obligations and a $350 million revolving...
Bravo, Warner Bros. Can’t Compel Arbitration in Former Real Housewives Cast Member Lawsuit, Judge Orders
Former Real Housewives of New York star Leah McSweeney won a procedural victory when U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ruled that Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Bravo Media and related defendants waived their right to compel arbitration in her disability‑discrimination lawsuit....
EEOC: Restaurant Fired Worker Who Had Seizure to Allow Her to ‘Focus on’ Her Health
An EEOC lawsuit alleges that Diamond Jim’s and Mrs. Donna’s Ole Farm Beef LLC, a Mississippi steakhouse, illegally terminated a worker after she suffered a seizure. The employee had informed the employer of her seizure disorder, which the ADA classifies...
EEOC Staffer Agrees to Settle Bias Lawsuit Against Agency
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission settled the discrimination lawsuit brought by enforcement manager Shweta Kandan after a jury trial ended in a mistrial. Kandan claimed the agency denied her a promotion to field director because of her sex, race...
Australian Unity's 'Shift Left' On Code Quality and Security Is Just in Time for AI
Australian Unity has made SonarQube Cloud its enterprise‑wide static application security testing platform, extending it to every codebase and infrastructure‑as‑code project. By enforcing automated quality gates at the earliest stage of development, the firm shifts left on security and quality...
Dow Jones Futures Fall As Oil Prices Surge Above $90 On Tanker Attacks, Port Disruption
Dow Jones futures fell 1.1% as crude oil prices jumped above $90 per barrel after tanker attacks in Iraq and Iranian‑linked threats in Oman. The International Energy Agency called for a record 400 million‑barrel strategic‑reserve release, with the U.S. committing 172 million...
Salem Media Posts $35 Million Financial Loss Amid Lower Revenue in 2025
Salem Media Group reported a 10.5% drop in 2025 revenue to $212.7 million, largely driven by $24 million in asset sales. Despite lower operating costs, the broadcaster posted a $34.6 million net loss, a swing of 313.9% from the prior year’s profit....
Healthcare Executives Must Adapt Decision Strategies as Crises Converge
At the 2026 HIMSS Global Health Conference, former VA deputy CIO Nathan Tierney warned that traditional leadership playbooks are failing amid intersecting financial pressures, workforce instability, cyber risks, and rapid tech change. He highlighted how executives often substitute endless meetings,...
Don’t Be Fooled: What Employers Need to Know About False Claims Act Enforcement
On April 1, 2026, Littler hosted a one‑hour webinar titled “Don’t Be Fooled: What Employers Need to Know About False Claims Act Enforcement.” The session examined how recent FCA enforcement and settlement trends are expanding scrutiny of employers’ internal compliance programs and...
![[Sara Albrecht] Refund Tariffs the Right Way](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/03/11/news-p.v1.20260311.e651f3bd62dd42b0826c913d354b87aa_T1.jpg)
[Sara Albrecht] Refund Tariffs the Right Way
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled recent tariffs unlawful, exposing a legal gap in how to reverse the economic fallout. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker proposes $1,700 checks for each household, totaling about $8.7 billion, to reimburse alleged consumer overcharges. The article argues refunds...