Good morning. A merchant selling T-shirts promoting Donald Trump. A public education organization favoring Democratic candidates. A company in the firearms industry looking for assistance on an initial public offering.

All were businesses that were denied services by some of America’s largest financial institutions, a Trump-appointed regulator said Wednesday.

• Yearlong probe: In a 45-page report, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or the OCC, detailed specific examples it found showing banks steering away from companies that they viewed as operating in politically sensitive areas. The banking regulator’s findings come after a yearlong investigation, sparked by President Trump’s claims that the largest banks in the country engaged in what the administration has termed “politicized or unlawful debanking activities.”

• Political fallout: The report intensifies a political storm for banks during Trump’s second term. Banks had initially brushed aside claims of bias, saying they don’t close accounts for political or religious reasons. They have said decisions to avoid certain industries or clients are in accord with laws that make banks watchdogs for criminal activity and money laundering or are in response to other regulatory pressures meant to safeguard the banks from what is known as reputational risk.

• Fines coming? Regulators could seek to levy financial penalties against banks for debanking certain customers, even though the legal basis for doing so remains unclear.

OpenAI alleges ex-employee took confidential files to Apple.

OpenAI is turning the tables on Apple in their trade secret theft case.

The ChatGPT-maker claimed in a legal filing Wednesday that an employee who left for Apple sent himself more than 100 “highly confidential” files about at least one unreleased OpenAI device under development. The filing is the latest development in the ongoing case that Apple filed against OpenAI in July, claiming that its own confidential information had been taken by employees who left for its AI rival.

OpenAI’s filing doesn’t name the ex-employee, although it uses a male possessive adjective to refer to the person. It claims the information taken included engineering and manufacturing data as well as supplier information and project files.

• The Engineer Accused of Bugging OpenAI’s Top-Secret Conference Room

• AI Companies Play Cat-and-Mouse With Secret-Stealing Spies

EU to delay methane rule amid high fuel prices.

Risk Journal reports: The European Union issued a proposal to delay reporting rules for oil-and-gas importers for one year to ease pressure on businesses wrestling with high energy prices (free link).

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said it is still committed to reducing methane emissions and “the proposed amendment does not affect the ambition, integrity and scope of the regulation.”

• ‘Macbeth’ can teach us about avoiding financial fraud, accounting professor Shivaram Rajgopal writes.

• The U.S. Justice Department charged 14 people and seized about 187 computer devices in coordinated actions against North Korean efforts to place remote information-technology workers at U.S. companies.

• UBS is preparing contingency plans to move its headquarters from Switzerland if Swiss lawmakers proceed with tougher capital requirements.

• The U.K.’s financial watchdog is using artificial intelligence in an effort to boost results and tackle more financial crime.

Apple’s approximate market capitalization at market close Wednesday. The company became the second after Nvidia to close above the $5 trillion line.

Two cargo ships sink near Strait of Hormuz as Iranian attacks increase.

Two Emirati cargo ships have sunk in the past 24 hours after being struck in the Strait of Hormuz, an escalation with little precedent as Iran ramps up attacks to levels not seen since the war started.

The GFS Pride and the Cape Dao have both gone down, said Pakistan’s National Hydrographic Office, which monitors maritime activities in Middle Eastern waters. Maritime-security companies confirmed the two losses Wednesday and said this was the first such incident in months.

• Houthi Strike Hits Building at Saudi Aramco Headquarters

• Saudi Airlines Rush to Save Scores of Planes From a War Zone

With China facing more trade barriers, it can’t afford to lose Europe.

For years, China pushed Europe to the breaking point, flooding it with exports that were crushing profits and killing jobs, while issuing tough warnings to the bloc not to fight back.

Now, Beijing is backing down, at least temporarily, as it buys time for further talks.

• Climate change is turning degrading farmland into a growing supply-chain risk for food companies, increasing the threat of volatile crop yields, shortages and higher prices, according to soil scientists.

• Argentina called on an international maritime tribunal to order the U.K. to stop exploring for oil and gas on the continental shelf off the Falkland Islands.

• Ukraine said Elon Musk’s SpaceX has imposed new limits on military-grade Starlink terminals without warning, hobbling Kyiv’s ability to conduct midrange drone attacks and intercept Russia’s new-generation of jet-powered drones. The limits have sparked panic among its officials and several U.S. lawmakers.

• The International Monetary Fund warned that Asia’s economic resilience faces tests from weak fiscal positions and uncertainty over the durability of the AI boom.