The top 3 stories from today's briefing, narrated as a short audio episode.
Sign up free to listen. The briefing notes below are free to read.
Briefing Notes
Capital Markets
HM Treasury allocates lead manager roles for DIGIT, the UK's first digitally native government bond, with pilot issuance expected by Q1 2027
Digitally native gilts force lawyers to rethink settlement finality and custody doctrine from first principles.
Regulation
CMA issues open letter to online retailers warning that mandatory delivery fees must be included in total prices under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
The CMA's pre-Christmas timing turns a compliance letter into an enforcement threat with immediate commercial consequences.
M&A
Apollo Global Management launches European Credit Company with over 10 billion euros of lending capacity, backed by Abu Dhabi Investment Council and strategic partners
Sovereign-backed private credit platforms are filling the European lending gap that retreating banks have left open.
Disputes
CPS Prosecutor Cites AI-Hallucinated Case to High Court in Alleged Child Rape Proceeding
Citing a hallucinated case to the High Court is a professional conduct failure, not just a tech glitch.
Disputes
Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal refuses to lift practice restrictions on solicitor suspended in 2018, finding insufficient evidence of rehabilitation or work lost due to conditions
SDT conditions on ownership and management are presumed protective: reversing them demands contemporaneous evidence, not oral submissions.
AI & Law
Legal Cheek survey of over 2,000 junior lawyers finds AI tool investment racing ahead of basic hardware quality at City and major UK law firms
AI tools without reliable hardware create a productivity illusion: the gap is becoming a recruitment and client-service risk.
Banking & Finance
Reserve Bank of Australia raises official cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.85%, its fifth hike of 2026 and the highest rate since 2008, as inflation remains above target
Five RBA hikes in 2026 signal that energy-driven inflation is still winning: floating-rate borrowers have nowhere to hide.
Energy & Tech
HM Treasury publishes analysis showing government household energy support in 2026/27 averages around £160 per household in England, with lowest-income deciles receiving around £230
Progressively targeted energy support matters commercially because it shapes Ofgem's appetite for future supplier obligations on vulnerable customers.