Business Standard

Human rights advocates are reminding companies that they carry legal and ethical responsibilities under international standards, including conducting due diligence to avoid complicity in human rights violations or abuses. The message is being voiced in the context of the war in Palestine and ongoing ceasefire discussions, with critics urging firms to scrutinise their supply chains, investments and business ties to ensure they are not linked to abuses.

President Donald Trump says he has approved new fuel economy standards that roll back rules put in place during the Biden administration. The move relaxes emissions and efficiency requirements for automakers, a reversal of the previous administration's stricter climate-focused vehicle regulations. The announcement is being covered by major business outlets as a significant shift in US auto and environmental policy.

Microsoft is ending support for Internet Explorer mode in its Edge browser, retiring the feature that let businesses run legacy websites built for the old Internet Explorer engine. The move marks the final step in Microsoft's long phase-out of Internet Explorer technology, and companies still relying on outdated internal sites will need to migrate them to modern standards.

Medical marijuana businesses are bracing for major changes as the federal government moves to reschedule cannabis. The shift would alter how these companies are taxed, easing the current burden that bars standard business deductions, and could change day-to-day operations across the industry. Operators and analysts are watching closely to gauge how tax rules, banking access and compliance requirements will be affected.

China has widened its travel restrictions to cover not only leading AI researchers but also their family members, according to a report carried by Business Standard. The move signals Beijing's growing concern over retaining top artificial intelligence talent and preventing brain drain, as competition with the United States for expertise intensifies. The policy would effectively bar relatives of key AI specialists from leaving the country.

The European Union has updated its anti-greenwashing law, tightening rules on how companies make environmental claims about their products. The measures aim to stop vague or unverified sustainability labels, such as generic terms like 'eco-friendly' or 'climate neutral', unless backed by evidence. Businesses operating in the EU market will need to review their marketing, and consumer groups have broadly welcomed the stricter standards.

The US Senate is set to vote on a sweeping bill affecting college sports. The legislation would establish federal standards for how college athletes are treated, touching on issues such as name, image and likeness payments and athlete protections that have so far been handled in a patchwork of state laws. Coverage has focused on what the bill would actually change for schools, athletes and the NCAA if it passes.

The International Organization for Standardization has adopted a new standard for managing commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The standard gives organisations a formal framework for setting, tracking and reporting their contributions to the SDGs. Sustainability and corporate responsibility observers are expected to scrutinise how companies and institutions implement it.

A new study scanning 4,688 small-business websites found that 49.7% failed to meet any of seven standard security header criteria, including protections like strict transport security and content security policies. The findings suggest many small firms remain exposed to common web attacks such as clickjacking and script injection despite easy, low-cost fixes. Readers are debating whether small businesses lack awareness or simply lack the technical resources to implement the headers.

India's residential real estate market has stalled, with housing sales in the first half of 2026 remaining flat at ₹3.6 lakh crore, according to Business Standard. The figures suggest the sector, after years of post-pandemic growth, has reached a plateau, raising questions among analysts about affordability, buyer demand and whether developers can sustain momentum in the second half of the year.

A court case involving Pepsi could change how judges assess the strength of trademarks in US law, with potential consequences for how businesses protect their brands. The dispute raises questions about the legal standards used to determine whether a mark is strong enough to merit broad protection against infringement.

Najmul Hossain Shanto has been ruled out of Bangladesh's cricket campaign at the Asian Games after falling ill with a fever, and is returning home. The news, reported by The Business Standard, comes as a setback for the squad, which will now have to adjust its batting plans without its captain ahead of the tournament matches in China.

Bangladesh Bank has tightened rules on corporate ownership of banks, according to reporting by The Business Standard. The move is part of the central bank's ongoing effort to strengthen governance in the country's banking sector, where ownership concentration and connected lending have long been cited as sources of financial risk and weak oversight.

The Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) is taking part in the UN Business and Human Rights Conference held in Senegal. The gathering brings together civil society, business and government representatives to discuss corporate responsibility and human rights standards across Africa. MEJN's participation signals its continued engagement with regional efforts to hold companies accountable for human rights impacts.

Bank Indonesia is calling on small businesses to strengthen their governance standards in order to qualify for loans. The central bank's message is aimed at helping micro, small and medium enterprises become more creditworthy and access financing more easily. The appeal reflects ongoing efforts in Indonesia to broaden financial inclusion and support small business growth through better access to bank credit.

Apple is reportedly considering a return to the commercial server market as competition over accelerator interconnect technology intensifies among chipmakers. The move would mark a notable shift for a company that exited the server business years ago, and it comes as rivals race to define standards for linking AI accelerators in data centers. Details about timing, products or partners remain scarce, and Apple has not publicly commented on the reports.

Technology leaders are being urged to begin migrating corporate systems to post-quantum cryptography, encryption methods designed to withstand attacks from future quantum computers. The argument is that quantum advances could eventually break today's standard encryption, and that organisations which delay the transition risk exposing sensitive data. CIOs are advised to inventory cryptographic assets and plan upgrades now.

From 1 January 2026, Belgian businesses are required to exchange B2B invoices as structured electronic invoices via the Peppol network, following the EN 16931 standard. Developers are discussing open-source, self-hosted solutions, including adding Peppol e-invoicing support to a self-hosted Flask application, as small firms and software builders prepare for compliance.

French biopharmaceutical company Inventiva has published unaudited financial results for the first half of 2026, alongside a corporate update on its business. The company, known for developing treatments for metabolic diseases such as NASH, released the figures through standard financial news channels. Details on revenue, cash position and pipeline progress were included in the announcement.