Australian Energy Regulator (AER) Chair Clare Savage has warned that regulators must be prepared to navigate the twin challenges of speed and complexity as markets transform, urging that risk awareness and compliance discipline remain central to regulatory responses.
The Trump administration has moved to tighten enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), designating five additional Chinese industry sectors as high-priority targets. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on August 19, 2025, that steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda, and red dates are now subject to heightened scrutiny under the law, which blocks the importation of goods linked to forced labor in China.
Allied Stone, a Dallas-based supplier of countertops and cabinetry, has agreed to pay $12.4 million alongside its president, Jia “Jerry” Lim, to resolve allegations that they skirted U.S. trade laws by dodging duties on Chinese quartz imports.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde has urged lawmakers not to dilute the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), warning that watering down requirements would undermine the bloc’s ability to manage financial risks tied to climate change.
For Allianz Life, July ended with a gut punch. The U.S. insurance giant admitted that hackers had slipped into one of its cloud-stored customer databases and made off with personal details belonging to most of its 1.4 million customers. The company didn’t say exactly how many were hit, but the independent breach notification site Have I Been Pwned filled in the blank this week: 1.1 million.
Fans who have stared at a frozen Ticketmaster page only to see “sold out” flashing back minutes later know the frustration. Now, the Federal Trade Commission says that frustration wasn’t always bad luck. It was, at least in part, the work of a Maryland-based ticket broker accused of gaming the system on a massive scale.
Qantas Airways has been hit with a record penalty of $58.6 million (AUD 90 million) after illegally sacking nearly 2,000 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision that a Federal Court judge said was more about protecting profits than people.