Week of 10/26 Posts

The European Union has established itself as one of the world's most aggressive regulators of digital technology, positioning Brussels as the regulatory frontrunner for online services and emerging technologies for over a decade. In the past five years, the EU has adopted sweeping tech regulations such as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the AI Act, which are fundamentally reshaping how the world's largest tech companies operate within its bo

On October 1, the federal government entered a shutdown after a congressional failure to pass new federal-funding legislation. Since then, Americans nationwide have felt the hit. Over twenty days long, the shutdown is now the second-longest funding lapse in modern US history. With tens of millions and a wide array of agencies relying on federal funding, the shutdown has reminded American citizens of the wide-ranging nature of federal spending. In March, Congress was at risk o

On September 29, 2025, First Brands Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Cleveland-based auto parts manufacturer now faces allegations of fraud, as the Justice Department has opened an inquiry into the collapse. The bankruptcy filings revealed that First Brands had engaged in large-scale invoice factoring and off-balance sheet debt arrangements. More broadly, the First Brands collapse shows a potential crack in credit markets, which has worried investors of

The Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, manufacturer of the GLP-1 weight-loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy, is undergoing a complete overhaul in its governance structure. The Novo Nordisk Foundation, which holds 77% of the firm's voting rights, has executed a decisive boardroom shuffle, removing seven directors, including Chairman Helge Lund, who had been in the role since 2018. This aggressive intervention is a direct consequence of the Foundation’s profound dissat