Fiscal policy is driving bond yields higher in some developed economies

• Why are bond yields so high for developed countries? One possible reason is that fiscal probity appears to have weakened. Many countries currently have historically high debt levels and deficits compared to their gross domestic product. Moreover, this is happening despite the lack of a crisis, which is normally the time when fiscal probity come under greater pressure.

Read more

1. What is new under the EU e-Evidence Regulation?

The EU e-Evidence Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 takes effect on August 18, 2026. It enables law enforcement authorities in one EU member state to issue European production orders and preservation orders directly to service providers in another member state—in principle, without having to go through the authorities in that country as was previously required. In particular, subscriber, identification, traffic, and content data may be requested; the location where the data is stored is generally irrelevant. Production orders must generally be processed within ten (10) days, or within eight (8) hours in emergency situations. In addition, the Directive (EU) 2023/1544 requires certain providers to designate a place of business or an EU legal representative for receiving and processing such orders.

Read more

July was a relatively calm month in the foreign exchange market before activity exploded into life at the eleventh hour.

A wave of headwinds hit the US dollar all at once towards the end of last month. The main catalyst was the July meeting of the Federal Reserve, which failed to deliver the hawkish pivot that market participants had been anticipating. News of rare coordinated FX intervention in the yen between the US and Japan has further exacerbated the broad sell off as investors unwound long dollar positions. A weaker than expected second quarter growth figure out of the US did not exactly help the dollar’s cause.Andy Burnham has begun his stint as Britain’s fifth prime minister in four years, unveiling a blitz of policy announcements in his first few days in the job before disappearing on holiday after only a fortnight in Number 10 – a decision that has drawn a fair degree of criticism.

Read more

What automotive players need to know

The EU AI Act’s rules for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models are no longer a future compliance issue. With the Commission and AI Office now able to enforce them, automotive companies using, integrating, fine-tuning or developing broadly capable models should assess their role, documentation and supply-chain arrangements promptly.

Read more

CJEU approves targeting of personal devices in competition investigations

Can your employees’ personal WhatsApp messages and private email accounts be seized in an EU competition investigation? After two significant General Court rulings in June 2026, the answer is clearly yes. The Lagardère and Vivendi judgments confirm that personal devices are firmly within the Commission’s investigative reach, and that claiming you cannot access them is no defence. Read the full article by Peter Willis for an analysis of the judgments and the steps your business should be taking to avoid compliance failures in the event of an investigation.

Read more