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Briefing Notes
Capital Markets
HM Treasury appoints six Joint Lead Managers for DIGIT, the UK's first digitally native government bond, targeting Q1 2027 pilot issuance
DIGIT tests whether London can turn DLT ambition into live sovereign debt infrastructure before rival centres do.
AI & Law
Former Allen & Overy senior partner Wim Dejonghe co-founds AI-native law firm Falcon, targeting fixed-fee contract review at a fraction of traditional costs
A Magic Circle founder offering AI contract review at £800 a month makes the billable hour's long-term survival a serious commercial question.
Energy & Tech
Equinor warns UK government that blocking Rosebank and Jackdaw oilfield approvals risks making UK 'uninvestable' for international energy firms
Equinor's capital withdrawal threat turns the Rosebank decision into an investment treaty and energy security question, not just a planning one.
Regulation
CMA accepts final undertakings in Vandemoortele's acquisition of Délifrance, fully determining its Phase 2 inquiry
The CMA's divestiture remedy in Vandemoortele confirms structural remedies remain the default response to horizontal concentration in specialist food markets.
Disputes
SRA Secures Leapfrog Certificate to Take Carter-Ruck Dispute Directly to Supreme Court
Leapfrog certificates are rare, this signals the High Court sees genuine public importance.
Disputes
Privy Council dismisses Mauritius director's appeal against order to repay £615,000 company loan in Aldridge v Mordaunt Estates
Privy Council rulings on director loan prohibitions carry weight across dozens of Commonwealth jurisdictions, not just the appeal's home country.
Banking & Finance
Bank of England Money Markets Code Sub-Committee launches triennial code review and flags CREST outage contingency risk for gilt and repo settlement
A CREST contingency gap in the repo market is a systemic settlement risk that sits beneath every gilt trade in the UK.
International
UK updates Steel Tariff Quotas reference document under the Customs (Tariff Quotas) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 as post-Brexit trade frameworks continue to evolve
Post-Brexit steel quota updates are quarterly events now, and each one resets cost assumptions for UK manufacturers relying on imported steel.