Category: 3. Business

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today filed an amicus brief seeking to clarify the proper constraints and liberties that apply when a business decides to derisk by transferring its pension plan liabilities to an annuity provider. 

Filed as part of an ongoing effort to stop regulation by litigation, the brief in Konya v. Lockheed Martin, No. 25-2061, reiterates the appropriate standards for derisking transactions known as pension risk transfers. 

Today’s amicus brief marks the department’s first public position on pension risk transfer since a wave of class action litigation began in 2024. In the brief, the department said fiduciaries enjoy deference a long as they engage in the pension risk transfer process in a way that demonstrates prudence and loyalty. The department also explained that plaintiffs in the case misapplied retirement law and three decades of departmental guidance by claiming Lockheed breached its fiduciary obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act through their pension risk transfer transactions.

“The Department acted today to protect the voluntary employee benefit system as Congress intended,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. “ERISA expressly provides an off-ramp for employers making the business decision to annuitize their defined benefit obligations. The ability to engage in PRTs is necessary to ensure that employers will continue to offer quality retirement benefits to American employees in the first place.” 

“Our amicus brief reinforces ERISA as law of process in which plan fiduciaries have discretion and flexibility to make informed judgment calls,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security Daniel Aronowitz. “ERISA does not allow hindsight second-guessing or Monday-morning quarterbacking of discretionary fiduciary decisions.”

In its amicus brief, the department stated that “when left unencumbered, PRTs benefit employers and participants/beneficiaries alike, which is why ERISA provides for them (and the Secretary supports business’ right to engage in them). When PRT decisions are forced through the crucible of federal-court litigation, however, those upsides are (at best) obstructed or (at worst) obliterated … if employers are thwarted from conducting PRTs because of the ever-present specter of litigation, the delicately calibrated balance Congress established between federal and state regulatory prerogatives will deteriorate.”

The brief explains the plaintiffs lack Article III standing to sue, because they have received all the benefits they are owed and there is no evidence whatsoever of impending default. The department also made clear that the decision to enter a pension risk transfer is a settlor function reserved for the plan sponsor. As a result, it does not implicate fiduciary duties under ERISA, which are only triggered when the plan sponsor chooses an annuity provider. 

The brief also clears up the plaintiff bar’s misinterpretation of longstanding departmental guidance spelling out the process plan sponsors can use to select an annuity.

Read the department’s amicus brief in Konya v. Lockheed Martin.

Summary

This paper examines EU global value-chain (GVC) integration and analyzes its drivers using machine learning models, with case studies of Portugal and Belgium. GVC participation appears to boost productivity and technology upgrading, but also brings concentration risks in the current environment. Results indicate labor cost, labor productivity and human capital as key drivers, supported by infrastructure, manufacturing base, and governance quality. Portugal remains downstream, constrained by low high-tech intensity, while Belgium is highly integrated but exposed to sectoral shocks. Strengthening the EU single market, capital-market integration, and individual countries’ investment in skills, innovation, and diversification would bolster resilience while preserving the benefits of openness.

Subject: Economic sectors, Exports, Global value chains, Globalization, International trade, Manufacturing

Keywords: Backward Linkages, Europe, Export, Exports, Forward Linkages, Global, Global Value Chain Integration, Global value chains, Machine Learning Methods, Manufacturing

Summary

This paper examines how productivity dynamics and, as a consequence, potential output, are affected by energy price shocks. We do this through the lens of a model of endogenous technical change where firms adjust their investment in non-energy productivity and energy productivity in reaction to the economic environment. Higher energy prices prompt a shift in investment from enhancing non-energy (capital and labor) productivity to improving energy efficiency. The resulting gains in energy efficiency act as an important macroeconomic buffer, but cannot fully offset the adverse input price effect and the transitional cost of shifting investment away from non-energy productivity. We thus find that the change in European energy prices following the 2022 shock reduces the level of euro area potential GDP by 0.8 percent by 2027. The impact on potential growth is temporary, and will have dissipated by that time. Energy efficiency itself is projected to rise by about three percent, offering a silver lining to the crisis. We estimate that the output effect would have been around two-thirds larger had energy efficiency not cushioned the impact of the price shock.

Subject: Energy conservation, Energy prices, Environment, Fuel prices, Potential output, Prices, Production, Productivity

Keywords: Directed Technical Change, Energy conservation, Energy Efficiency, Energy Price, Energy prices, Europe, Fuel prices, Innovation, Potential output, Productivity, Productivity

KARACHI (Dunya News) – Gold and silver prices recorded an increase across Pakistan on Saturday, reflecting a bullish trend in the domestic precious metals market amid supportive global cues and steady local demand.

According to the All Pakistan Sarafa, Gems and Jewellers Associations, the price of 24-karat gold rose by Rs3,700 per tola to Rs473,262. The price of 10 grams of 24-karat gold increased by Rs3,172 to Rs405,745, while 10 grams of 22-karat gold climbed Rs2,908 to settle at Rs371,946.

Market analysts say the upward movement indicates renewed strength in the local gold market, driven by international price fluctuations and ongoing investor interest.

On the international front, gold prices also registered a modest gain, with the metal trading at $4,509 per ounce, up $37. The rise in global prices contributed to higher interbank rates in Pakistan.

Silver prices followed a similar upward trajectory. The price of 24-karat silver increased by Rs270 per tola to Rs8,465, while 10 grams of silver rose by Rs232 to Rs7,257. In the international market, silver was priced at $79.90 per ounce, up $2.7.

Experts note that the continued rise in gold and silver prices reflects growing demand for precious metals as a safe-haven investment amid ongoing economic and market uncertainties.

 

January 09, 2026 4:07pm EST

DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Triumph Financial, Inc. (NYSE: TFIN) today announced that it expects to release its fourth quarter financial results and management commentary after the market closes on Monday, January 26, 2026. Upon filing, the financial results and commentary will be available on the Company’s IR website at ir.triumph.io.

Aaron P. Graft, Vice Chairman and CEO, and Brad Voss, CFO, will review the financial results in a conference call with investors and analysts beginning at 9:30 a.m. central time on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

The live video conference may be accessed directly through this link, https://triumph-financial-q4-2025-earnings.open-exchange.net/registration or via the Company’s IR website at ir.triumph.io through the Financial Results link. An archive of this video conference will subsequently be available at the same location, referenced above, on the Company’s website.

About Triumph

Triumph (NYSE: TFIN) is a financial and technology company focused on payments, factoring, intelligence and banking to modernize and simplify freight transactions. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, its portfolio of brands includes Triumph, TBK Bank and LoadPay.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Investors are cautioned that such statements are predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. Triumph Financial’s expected financial results or other plans are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors” and the forward-looking statement disclosure contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 11, 2025. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and Triumph Financial undertakes no duty to update the information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260109105467/en/

Investor Relations:

Luke Wyse

Executive Vice President, Head of Investor Relations

lwyse@tfin.com

214-365-6936

Media Contact:

Amanda Tavackoli

Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Communication

atavackoli@tfin.com

214-365-6930

Source: Triumph Financial, Inc.

Released January 9, 2026