Financial Mindset

Dozens of legal scholars and economists have issued stark warnings over attempts by the European Commission (EC) to weaken corporate accountability laws, saying the action will wreck corporate accountability commitments, slash human rights and environmental protections, and lead to higher costs for companies and society. Under pressure from corporate lobbyists, the EC has been discussing reshaping rules that govern how companies monitor and report their activity. Last month, both French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz escalated their campaign against the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which covers firms’ supply chains, claiming that the regulations threatened to make European businesses uncompetitive. In a speech, Macron told business executives the CSDDD should be “put off the table” entirely, expressing support for an EC “Omnibus Simplification Package” that would eliminate requirements for companies to monitor their sup...

Wilmar International, the Singapore -based agrifood giant, has handed over 11.9 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($729 million) to Indonesia as a “security deposit,” related to misconduct allegations over palm oil export permits. Wilmar’s shares dropped by 3% on the news, reaching their lowest point in a decade. Wilmar generated $67.4 billion in revenue last year, a 0.3% increase year-on-year. The agrifood giant earned $1.2 billion in annual profit, meaning its $729 million “security deposit” is equal to about 60% of Wilmar’s entire 2024 net income.  Indonesian prosecutors accuse Wilmar of bribing officials to obtain the permits in 2022, during a national cooking oil shortage. While an Indonesian court cleared Wilmar and two other companies in March, the three judges behind the ruling were arrested on graft charges a month later.  Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office claims that corruption tied to these export permits cost the state 12.3 trillion rupiah ($755 million).  ...

Fortune’ s Southeast Asia 500 , which measures the largest companies in the region by revenue, covers seven economies: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Singapore. Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy in terms of both GDP and population, has the biggest footprint on the list, covering more than a fifth of the total ranking with 109 companies. Thailand, the region’s second-largest economy, sits in second place with 100.  Singapore, the region’s wealthiest economy by GDP per capita, sits in the middle of the pack, with 81 companies on the Southeast Asia 500. Measured by revenue, however, the tiny city-state of six million ends up far ahead of its ASEAN peers.  Total revenue from Singapore-based Southeast Asia 500 companies reached $637 billion, or about a third of the list’s total revenue of $1.8 trillion. That’s twice as much of Thailand, which sits in second place with revenue of $352 billion.  What’s driving Singapore up ...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told hundreds of thousands of his employees on Tuesday that generative AI is coming for their jobs and that their best bet is to embrace the technology. “Those who embrace this change, become conversant in AI, help us build and improve our AI capabilities internally and deliver for customers, will be well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company,” he wrote in a company-wide email that was also published on Amazon’s corporate blog. But no matter how geeked Amazon employees get over new AI tools, Jassy also made a point to note that there’s not room on the bus for everybody: “We expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.” As I read this note – and I recommend reading the whole thing – some questions quickly came to mind. Are some parts of Amazon’s vast organization highly resistant to the new technology and perhaps in need of a public nudge (or, kick...

The Southeast Asian super apps GoTo and Grab have a lot in common. Both started in the early 2010s to fill a hole in the on-demand, private-hire transport and delivery service sector before moving toward the idea of a super app (much like what is seen in China), later adjusting their strategies to streamline offerings. Now, after a decade or so, Grab (No. 128 on the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 ) has arguably risen to the top. The firm’s on-demand services are available in eight of Southeast Asia’s 11 countries, while GoTo’s on-demand arm, Gojek, is lagging in the sector’s market share and has exited all Southeast Asia markets for on-demand services save for Singapore and its home market, Indonesia. But GoTo (No. 266) remains formidable in Indonesia, the region’s largest market—so much so that the rumor mill is spinning with talk of Grab seeking to buy some, or nearly all, of its chief competitor. Grab has denied reports of acquisition talks. And even if GoTo were to agree to sell it...

Amid Israel’s punishing air strikes , Iranians clogged roads and highways on Sunday to leave Tehran, according to reports. That came as fresh attacks targeted Iran’s energy infrastructure, including fuel supplies and a top natural gas field. Reduced electricity supplies could worsen an energy crisis that had already been hitting Iranians for months. Israel’s sustained air campaign against Iran, including on Tehran, prompted residents of the capital to flee, clogging roads and highways. There were traffic jams on roads leading out of the city, while others trying to flee were hailing taxis as they held suitcases, according to the New York Times . One resident of Tehran who gave his name only as Alireza told the Washington Post that they left the capital Sunday for Iran’s northern Gilan province after a building near his home was hit by an air strike. “We were lucky to leave very early,” he said. “Right after us the roads got really crowded.” The Post and Times also reported th...

Iran has launched hundreds of missiles at Israel in response to its expansive air strikes, though not as many as expected. Meanwhile, Israel has targeted Iran’s missiles as well as its ability to launch them. The Institute for the Study of War said Iran’s rate of attack is already slowing down from its initial barrages. The conflict between Israel and Iran escalated over the weekend as both sides appeared to expand their range of targets, including energy infrastructure. But despite Israel’s aggressive air strikes and even suggestions that they are aimed at the regime itself, Iran has not responded in kind, launching fewer missiles than expected and at a declining rate. That’s because Israel has targeted Iran’s stockpile of missiles as well as its ability to launch them, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). “The frequency of Iran’s missile barrages targeting Israel has decreased since the start of the Israeli air campaign on June 12, which suggests that Israeli...

With Federal Reserve officials signaling an extended hold on interest rates, investors and economists will look to Chair Jerome Powell this week for clues on what might eventually prompt the central bank to make a move, and when. A fourth straight meeting without a cut could provoke another  tirade  from President Donald Trump. But policymakers have been clear: Before they can make a move they need the White House to resolve the big question marks around tariffs, immigration and taxes. Israel’s  attacks on Iranian  nuclear sites have also introduced another element of uncertainty for the global economy. At the same time, the generally healthy, if slowly cooling, US economy has few expecting a rate move any time soon. Investors are betting the central bank won’t lower borrowing costs until September at the earliest, according to pricing in futures contracts. “The safest path to take in that situation, when there is no urgency to cut rates right now, is to just sit ...

  Melissa Hortman’ s influence at the Minnesota Capitol and her power as a Democratic leader to shape the course of a deeply divided Legislature were a far cry from her job as a teenager making chili-cheese burritos and overshadowed her volunteer work training service dogs for veterans. She was a lifelong Minneapolis-area resident who went to college in Boston and then returned home for law school and, with degree fresh in hand, worked as a volunteer lawyer for a group fighting housing discrimination. Elected to the Minnesota House in 2004, she helped pass liberal initiatives like free lunches for pubic school students in 2023 as the chamber’s speaker. With the House split 67-67 between Democrats and Republicans this year, she helped break a budget impasse threatening to shut down state government. Tributes from friends and colleagues in both parties poured in after Hortman and her husband were  shot to death  early Saturday in their suburban Brooklyn Park home in what ...

Amid Israel’s punishing air strikes , Iranians clogged roads and highways on Sunday to leave Tehran, according to reports. That came as fresh attacks targeted Iran’s energy infrastructure, including fuel supplies and a top natural gas field. Reduced electricity supplies could worsen an energy crisis that had already been hitting Iranians for months. Israel’s sustained air campaign against Iran, including on Tehran, prompted residents of the capital to flee, clogging roads and highways. There were traffic jams on roads leading out of the city while others trying to flee were hailing taxis as they held suitcases, according to the New York Times . One resident of Tehran who gave his name only as Alireza told the Washington Post that they left the capital Sunday for Iran’s northern Gilan province after a building near his home was hit by an air strike. “We were lucky to leave very early,” he said. “Right after us the roads got really crowded.” The Post and Times also reported tha...

As freshly minted college graduates look ahead to a tough job market, some may be wondering how useful their degrees might be. But for those looking to climb the ladder in Corporate America, the path to success doesn’t always run through business school. Some top CEOs studied subjects that have nothing to do with their industries. If you just got a degree in medieval studies, then congratulations. But if you’re not going to pursue that subject further in grad school, then you may be wondering how useful it is in today’s job market. Buyer’s remorse for new college graduates is nothing new. But those entering the workforce now are facing a slowing economy, high uncertainty among businesses amid President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and AI eliminating many entry-level jobs . A deep dive into the leadership of the Fortune 500 shows that many, many, many, many CEOs did indeed get a bachelor’s degree in business or a master’s degree in business administration. Also, tech bosses often have...

The Trump administration directed immigration officers to pause arrests at  farms, restaurants and hotels , after President Donald Trump expressed alarm about the impact of aggressive enforcement, an official said Saturday. The move follows weeks of increased enforcement since Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump’s immigration policies, said  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement  officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump’s second term. Tatum King, an official with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, wrote regional leaders on Thursday to halt investigations of the agricultural industry, including meatpackers, restaurants and hotels, according to The New York Times. A U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to The Associated Press the contents of the directive. The Homeland Security De...

A 57-year-old man who has been named as a suspect in the shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers worked at a private-security company that says he has been involved in “security situations” around the world, including in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The suspect remains at large, and a manhunt is underway across the Minneapolis area. The suspect in the shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers on Saturday worked at a private-security company that claims he has experience around the world. State Rep. Melissa Hortman, 55 years old, and her husband were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park home. Elsewhere in Champlin, state Sen. John Hoffman, 60, and his wife were also shot at home and are recovering after undergoing surgery. Gov. Tim Walz described the shooting as “an act of targeted political violence.” State authorities said they are looking for 57-year-old Vance Boelter, who remains at large with a manhunt underway across the Minneapolis area.  According ...

Residents of Venice, already fed up with crowds of tourists cramming into their canal city, now have one more gripe: Jeff Bezos. The billionaire Amazon founder is due to marry journalist Lauren Sanchez in a celebration in Venice from June 24 to 26 that is expected to attract countless VIPs. Not everyone is feeling the love though, with some residents hanging a huge banner with an X over Bezos’s name on a belltower overlooking the Venice lagoon before the sign was removed on Thursday. “He’s not welcome, not in Venice, not anywhere!” wrote the “No Space for Bezos” collective on Facebook, which was responsible for the banner. Bezos is also the owner of space travel company Blue Origin, whose all-female flight in April carrying Sanchez, pop star Katy Perry and four others met with a public backlash for its high cost and environmental impact. The anti-Bezos group, whose posters and stickers have been seen in recent days across the city, has called a public assembly for Friday evening t...

Greetings, Term Sheeters. This is finance reporter Luisa Beltran, subbing for Allie. After Circle’s standout IPO performance last week, all eyes are turning to Chime Financial. The well-known neobank is scheduled to begin trading on Thursday and could benefit from a rush of IPO excitement.  The company is selling 32 million shares at a price range of $24 to $26, with the final price for the offering to be set on Wednesday. Nearly 26 million of the shares being sold are coming from the company itself, while the rest will come from selling stockholders. Chime will trade Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker CHYM. Founded in 2012, Chime offers traditional financial services, like fee-free checking and savings accounts, to lower income U.S. consumers who earn up to $100,000 a year. The Chime IPO appears to be oversubscribed and has seen investor demand exceeding the number of shares available by more than 10 times, according to Seeking Alpha, which cited a Bloomberg report. Aft...

In a village on Hong Kong’s outskirts, Wong Chin Ming inspects zucchini, watermelons, cherry tomatoes and kale growing in his greenhouses. For 19 years he’s been raising crops here on the site of what was once a factory. Soon his farm will be wiped off the map to make way for a massive development, which China hopes will be Hong Kong’s answer to Silicon Valley. The government is setting aside 300 square kilo­meters (116 square miles) for the project, an area more than twice the size of San Francisco. It’s called “ Northern Metropolis ,” yet, for now, it’s anything but. Hong Kong’s hinterland is a hodgepodge of sleepy hamlets, apartment blocks and stray dogs. Rusty fences surround warehouses, abandoned cars lie in bushes, and scores of cabins built to  quarantine  patients during the Covid-19 ­pandemic sit empty. Northern Metropolis won’t grow organically over decades like California’s storied tech hub near Stanford University or the glittering skyscrapers of Hong Kong, where ...