US Restricted Party Screening: Launching A New Program

Healthcare M&A activity maintained steady momentum through Q2 2026, driven by physician practice consolidation, AI-enabled technology acquisitions, and strategic outpatient expansion. Private equity investment persisted despite intensifying regulatory scrutiny of MSO arrangements, while digital health buyers paid significant premiums for platforms demonstrating production-grade AI capabilities and proprietary data assets.

The SEC and CFTC have fundamentally shifted their enforcement approach in 2026, moving away from high-volume technical violations toward targeted actions addressing serious fraud and market manipulation. This mid-year update examines new leadership priorities, enhanced inter-agency coordination, revised cooperation policies, the elimination of "no-deny" settlement provisions, and a landmark Supreme Court ruling on disgorgement that collectively reshape the regulatory landscape for market participants.

As we look ahead to 2025, the landscape of debt financing and M&A activity is poised for significant transformation.

On 30 September 2026, the SEC proposed rule amendments advancing Chairman Paul S. Atkins’ “responsible retailization” of private markets, expanding retail access to private-market strategies while adding key investor safeguards.

What Every Owner Needs to Know Before Signing on the Dotted Line

Law firms are one of the last major professional services segments without meaningful private equity (PE) penetration.

Simpson Thacher Sustainability And ESG: Regulatory Update – September 2026

The European Union's Cyber Resilience Act introduces mandatory cybersecurity requirements for software and connected hardware sold in the EU market, with vulnerability reporting obligations beginning September 2026...

SEC-registered investment advisers are subject to an array of reporting and compliance obligations in order to maintain registered investment adviser status.

State legislatures across the U.S. have enacted a complex web of AI regulations affecting private sector businesses, spanning employment decisions, healthcare applications, consumer interactions, and digital rights. These laws impose compliance obligations including bias audits, disclosure requirements, and restrictions on automated decision-making, with enforcement mechanisms ranging from regulatory oversight to private rights of action. Understanding which state laws apply to your AI systems is critical,

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted sweeping new restrictions targeting equipment containing components from entities on its Covered List, fundamentally reshaping how manufacturers, online marketplaces, and equipment modifiers must approach FCC compliance. These rules establish unprecedented prohibitions on logic-bearing hardware components, impose strict display requirements for e-commerce platforms, and clarify when existing authorizations can support equipment modifications.

The Trump administration's Venezuela oil deal and expanded General Licenses have opened unprecedented opportunities for multinationals to invest in Venezuela's energy, mining, and telecommunications sectors, while simultaneously launching "Operation Economic Outcast" to impose crushing economic pressure on Iran.

The Treasury Department intensifies economic pressure on Iran through Operation Economic Outcast, suspending aviation licenses and sanctioning dozens of entities while implementing a presumption of denial for Iran-related transactions. Meanwhile, new enforcement actions target Chinese cybercrime platforms, Ecuadorian terrorist organizations, and Israeli settlers, as Congress considers comprehensive Russia-Iran sanctions legislation.

The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 has become law, imposing sweeping sanctions on Russian officials, financial institutions, and shadow fleet vessels while authorizing tariffs up to 100 percent on major purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas. How will these new measures impact global trade relationships, particularly with China and India as the largest buyers of Russian crude?

Israel's upcoming elections represent a critical juncture as voters weigh Prime Minister Netanyahu's wartime leadership against mounting domestic crises including ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions...

Global sanctions enforcement intensifies as the US expands its economic pressure campaigns against Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela while the UK and EU strengthen their Russia sanctions frameworks. Meanwhile, China pushes back against US sanctions targeting its companies over alleged Iran ties, and a Dutch chipmaker faces asset freezes amid a complex ownership dispute involving Chinese courts.

President Trump's Executive Order 14421 declares a national emergency to secure the U.S. bulk-power system, imposing new restrictions on foreign-produced electric equipment that poses national security risks. The order prohibits certain imports and installations while directing the Department of Energy to identify and potentially replace existing vulnerable equipment already on the grid.

Western countries are increasingly using sanctions waivers as diplomatic bargaining chips to secure prisoner releases and achieve transactional geopolitical goals. Recent US-Belarus and France-Azerbaijan deals highlight this trend, raising questions about sanctions policy coherence, alliance coordination, and the long-term effectiveness of economic restrictions as foreign policy tools.

Brazil is embroiled in its most significant fraud investigation since the 2014 Lava Jato probe, following the largest bank fraud in the country’s history.

The US and China have extended their trade truce by two months, delaying potential tariffs while sanctions targeting Iranian aviation and Chinese entities continue. Multiple countries have banned Iranian airlines following US measures, and the EU has renewed its Russia sanctions regime for three years while removing two prominent Russian businessmen from its list.