The Business Standard

Commentators are stressing that companies carry human rights responsibilities and must conduct due diligence to avoid complicity in human rights violations or abuses, in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict and calls for a ceasefire. The message frames corporate conduct during the war as a matter of international human rights standards, prompting discussion about business accountability and whether firms are adequately assessing their involvement in the region.

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.

Microsoft has announced it is ending support for Internet Explorer mode in its Edge browser, retiring the compatibility feature that let businesses run legacy websites built for the old browser. The move pushes organisations still relying on IE-only applications to migrate to modern standards, and observers are weighing what it means for enterprises that have delayed upgrading their systems.

India's residential property market has stalled, with housing sales flat at ₹3.6 lakh crore in the first half of 2026, according to Business Standard. The figures suggest the sector has hit a plateau after years of growth, raising questions about buyer demand, affordability and whether developers' pricing has peaked.

A $202 billion settlement by the US Treasury is being framed as routine debt-management business rather than a catalyst for Bitcoin. Commentators are pushing back against speculation linking the massive figure to cryptocurrency price moves, urging markets not to read bull-run signals into standard Treasury operations.

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.

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.