FTC advertiser war, defense is ESG at Allianz, yoga climate goals, Musk v. Trump, and immortal (rich) humans

Securities body considers rollback of DEI and ESG goals

1. International Securities Services Association debates changes as political climate shifts under Trump 2.0.

2. In the UK, both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority have scrapped mandatory DEI rules in the financial sector, citing costs and the additional regulatory burden.

1. F.T.C. Investigates Ad Groups and Watchdogs, Alleging Boycott Collusion

1. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether roughly a dozen prominent advertising and advocacy groups violated antitrust law by coordinating boycotts among advertisers that did not want their brands to appear alongside hateful online content

1. Climate Startups Are Pausing Operations, Cutting Staff and Entering Bankruptcy as Trump Policies Bite

1. Energy Department announced $3.7 billion worth of funding cuts for clean-energy and climate projects on Friday—in latest blow to green sector

1. AllianzGI Says First ESG Defense Allocations Likely This Year

1. Allianz Global Investors expects some of its ESG funds to start adding defense holdings in the coming months, as the money manager updates prospectuses to match the political mood in Europe.

1. EU to propose more flexible climate goal in July

1. The European Commission will propose a new EU climate target in July that includes flexibilities for how countries meet it, as Brussels attempts to fend off mounting criticism of Europe's environmental aims

2. The proposal will set an EU goal to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 90% by 2040, compared with 1990 levels.

3. However, the EU executive plans to add flexibilities to that target, which could reduce what it demands from domestic industries

4. The flexibilities include setting an emissions-cutting target for domestic industries that is lower than 90% and letting countries buy international carbon credits to make up the rest, to reach 90%.

1. Meta wants to replace its human workers with AI to review privacy and societal risks

1. It’s been revealed that Meta plans to replace its human staffers with AI in reviewing the platform’s privacy and societal risks.

2. According to the company’s internal documents obtained by NPR, the algorithm could automate up to 90% of all risk assessments previously done by people. This means that essential updates to Meta’s safety features, programming, and content-sharing capabilities will be mainly optimized by AI

1. ‘Something is awry in Delaware’: New study reveals lawyers in the smallest U.S. state are winning fee ‘multipliers’ from major companies up to 66 times their normal hourly rate

1. A new study shows attorneys in corporate cases in Delaware are earning as much as 66 times their hourly rate

2. That has prompted venture capitalists to increase calls for their businesses to incorporate elsewhere or move their corporation out of the state

1. Elon Musk Reportedly Owes Donald Trump a Colossal Sum of Money

1. Musk reportedly still owes president Donald Trump an eye-watering $100M out of the $300M he committed to get the reality TV star elected.

1. Secret OpenAI Memo Describes Plans to Make Users Rely on "Entity"

1. As The Verge reports, the Justice Department's ongoing attempts to break up Google's alleged monopoly garnered an OpenAI memo detailing the latter company's plans to build out ChatGPT an integral part of users' lives — acting as an "entity" that would "understand" them and be their "interface to the internet."

1. Humans will live forever by 2050 thanks to android bodies and AI minds'

1. the rich will use advanced tech to upload their brain to computers or android bodies

2. Futurologist Dr Ian Pearson believes advances in computing, genetic engineering, and robotics will let people become immortal: “By 2050, it will only really be for the rich and famous”

SPEED ROUND

1. CEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024, Associated Press analysis finds

2. Alaska Will Lose 69% of Its Glacier Mass Under Current Climate Change Pledges

3. Women run 11% of Fortune 500 companies in 2025—but progress is still slow

4. Dollar General posts record sales as bargain stores attract more people anxious about the economy

Jamie Dimon for president? Why the banking CEO would be a welcome alternative for many voters