THE HOT STORY

Employment costs maintain steady growth in second quarter

U.S. employment costs increased at a steady pace in the second quarter, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the Employment Cost Index rising 0.9% from the previous quarter and 3.4% from a year earlier, indicating that labor costs are not adding significant inflationary pressure to the economy. However, after adjusting for inflation, both overall compensation and wages declined over the year, suggesting workers' purchasing power has weakened despite continued nominal pay increases. The report showed wages and salaries for civilian workers rose 0.9% during the quarter and 3.2% year over year, while private-sector employer spending on health benefits increased 6%, outpacing wage growth. The data support the Federal Reserve's assessment that the labor market remains broadly balanced as policymakers continue to monitor inflation and employment trends ahead of the July jobs report.

Bloomberg

WORKFORCE

WestJet flight attendants go on strike

Flight attendants at Calgary-based carrier WestJet are now on strike after ‌talks fell through with Canada's second-largest airline. Approximately 250,000 travellers, according to the airline, have had their flights cancelled on a three-day holiday weekend in Canada, and more passengers will be affected depending on how long the work stoppage lasts. The challenge is the latest by cabin crews across North America to the industry's pay structure. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) wants cabin crew to be paid from the time ⁠they check in to when they clock out, which is not currently the case.

Reuters

LEGAL

U.S. government may have to pay millions of dollars in legal bills

Bloomberg reports that the U.S. government may have to pay millions of dollars in legal bills to successful challengers of the Trump administration's executive actions and policies. Attorneys have sought fees exceeding $100,000 in at least 10 cases over the past year, totalling more than $2.5m, according to a Bloomberg analysis of court records. Federal agencies can be required to pay attorneys’ fees when they lose in court under the Equal Access to Justice Act of 1980, which entitles “prevailing parties” to recoup legal expenses if the government’s position wasn’t “substantially justified.” Steven Brown, a Houston-based lawyer who is seeking more than $180,000 in fees in lawsuits contesting the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel foreign students’ legal status, observed: “It’s important that when the government can’t justify itself, courts can award costs.”

Bloomberg

HIRING

Gibson Dunn hires prominent litigation team from Wachtell Lipton

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has hired six litigation partners from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The lawyers - William Savitt, Sarah Eddy, Randall Jackson, Ryan McLeod, Anitha Reddy and Bradley Wilson – have been described by Gibson Dunn as “one of the most accomplished trial, corporate governance, and merger and acquisitions (M&A) litigation teams in the country.” They join the firm's New York office. Barbara Becker, chair and managing partner of Gibson Dunn, said: “This is a rare and powerful combination. It brings together the nation's foremost corporate governance, M&A and high-stakes trial litigation team with the deepest trial, appellate and regulatory platform in the legal profession […] This team could have gone anywhere in the world. Gibson Dunn was the only firm they considered.”

Above the Law

CDR

The Global Legal Post

HEALTH & WELLBEING

Hospitals report sharp rise in uninsured patients after ACA subsidy cuts

U.S. hospitals are reporting a sharp increase in uninsured patients, higher levels of unpaid medical bills, and growing demand for charity care, which many executives attribute to reduced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that have made health insurance less affordable. Several major hospital systems, including HCA Healthcare, Community Health Systems, Tenet Healthcare, SSM Health, and Banner Health, said uninsured patient volumes have risen by around 20% in some cases, while Obamacare enrollment has fallen by approximately three million, or 13%, since the start of the year. Hospital leaders warn that the increase in uncompensated care is putting significant financial pressure on providers, with some delaying capital projects, cutting services, or considering facility closures to reduce costs. Industry experts expect the strain to intensify as Medicaid coverage declines in the coming years, potentially leading to higher healthcare costs for insured patients as hospitals seek to offset growing losses.

New York Times

ECONOMY

Consumer sentiment reaches five-month high as outlook improves

U.S. consumer sentiment rose to a five-month high in July, with the University of Michigan's final sentiment index increasing to 55.2 from a preliminary reading of 54.4, reflecting improved views of the economic outlook and lower gasoline prices for much of the survey period. Sentiment improved across income, age, education, and political groups, while consumers' assessment of long-term economic conditions reached its highest level in a year, although overall confidence remained 11% below its level a year earlier. Consumers continued to focus primarily on purchasing power, with expectations for inflation over the next year easing to 4.2%. The survey also showed buying conditions for durable goods improved to their strongest level since October, while respondents expressed mixed views on artificial intelligence, citing potential productivity gains alongside concerns about its impact on jobs.

Bloomberg

CYBERSECURITY

Apple struggles to keep pace with AI ‘bug’ hunters

Apple has introduced limits on the number of software vulnerability reports researchers can submit after a surge in AI-generated security findings overwhelmed its review system. The company said it introduced submission caps and a 30-day cooling-off period in June to manage a rise in low-quality reports, while continuing to use AI internally to help triage submissions. The move follows claims from Italian cyber security start-up Bynario that it identified more than 50 bugs in the latest Mac operating system using OpenAI's ChatGPT in just three weeks, including a critical privilege escalation vulnerability. Bynario said it was initially unable to report all of its findings because of Apple's new submission limits, although Apple has since confirmed it is reviewing the company's reports.

Digital Trends

Financial Times

INTERNATIONAL

Unilever agrees two-year worker protection following McCormick merger

Unilever has agreed to protect the employment terms of workers in its European and U.K. food unit until at least mid-2029 after the planned 2027 completion of its $65bn merger of the business with U.S. spice maker McCormick. The two year agreement, which will govern the treatment and pay of European employees regardless of changes in business conditions, is twice as long as is usual for such deals and goes beyond the protection that is typically afforded under European Union and British legislation, under which employee contracts and collective agreements can be renegotiated one year after merger deals. A Unilever spokesperson said: "We have made good progress over the past few weeks and have agreed commitments in Europe regarding the protection of employees’ terms and conditions and consultation timelines."

Reuters

P&G expands talent opportunities for Koreans

Korea Times reports on how Procter & Gamble continues to expand opportunities for talent in Korea through a range of talent development initiatives, from developing specialized research and development professionals to providing global learning experiences through its internship program. "At P&G, we believe people are our greatest asset," a P&G Korea spokesperson said. "We are committed to providing opportunities that help our people grow, develop their capabilities and succeed on the global stage. We will continue to support talented individuals as they develop into global experts.”

The Korea Times

Oman says fake overseas job offers are increasingly used by human trafficking networks

Oman has said that fake overseas job offers are increasingly being used by human trafficking networks to exploit victims. Sheikh Khalifa Ali Al Harthy, Undersecretary of Oman's Foreign Ministry, highlighted the need for international cooperation to combat these evolving threats. He said that traffickers often use fraudulent recruitment ads to lure individuals into forced labor or cybercrime. Authorities are urging the public to verify job offers and report suspicious activities. The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which is observed each year on July 30, seeks to strengthen global efforts to prevent trafficking, protect victims and reinforce international cooperation against one of the fastest-evolving forms of organized crime.

TimesofOman

OTHER

Merck, Wellcome venture to make Ebola vaccine for clinical trials

Hilleman Laboratories, a joint venture between Merck and the health research charity Wellcome, is preparing to manufacture doses of an experimental vaccine against the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for a fast-spreading outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The effort is backed by up to $8.5m in funding from the global partnership Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). "With Bundibugyo virus cases rising at worrying speed, the epidemic is fast becoming a humanitarian crisis,” CEPI chief executive Richard Hatchett said. “No vaccine is currently approved against the virus, so we are urgently advancing vaccine candidates ⁠into testing."

Reuters

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