The exploratory exercise, which will publish its final report in early 2027, will evaluate the impact on the UK economy rather than identify vulnerabilities at individual firms. The BoE cannot compel participation because it does not regulate private equity or investment funds, but a group of major global asset managers has agreed to take part. Participants include Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, Blackstone, Carlyle, CVC Credit Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, KKR, and Permira. Together they account for about one third of UK leveraged buyout activity, half of private credit lending to large UK corporates, and 40% of employment in private equity-backed businesses. The test will run in two stages, allowing firms to indicate how they would react to the decisions of others during a crisis. It will examine how investors fund themselves and how shocks could cascade through financing structures for large British businesses. Venture capital and commercial real estate will not be included....

'I'd never seen anything like the sort of organization that happened during the RIFs (layoffs, or reductions in force) in supporting each other with news, information and job resources,' said Anthony, a federal worker who'd been with the agency for almost a decade before his position was eliminated. He asked that his real name and other identifying details not be published, out of fear of retaliation. I'm an anthropologist, which means I study human nature and human diversity, and I'm an expert in how people cooperate to manage risk. Watching federal workers use social media to provide mutual support offered a rare real-time view of the process. To deepen my understanding, I interviewed several federal workers who work in different parts of government. They told me that in the past, federal workers haven't always interacted with their co-workers outside of work, much less connected across federal agencies. But thanks to online platforms, that's changing. As they've faced RIFs, operational changes from the Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE) and the longest government shutdown in history, current and former federal workers have come together in online spaces to support one another. The result is a vivid example of how people create resilient networks, often spanning group boundaries and distance, in response to uncertainty and threats....

Advancements in battery innovation are transforming both mobility and energy systems alike, according to Kurt Kelty, vice president of battery, propulsion, and sustainability at General Motors (GM). At the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) Fall Colloquium, Kelty explored how GM is bringing next-generation battery technologies from lab to commercialization, driving American battery innovation forward. The colloquium is part of the ongoing MITEI Presents: Advancing the Energy Transition speaker series. At GM, Kelty's team is primarily focused on three things: first, improving affordability to get more electric vehicles (EVs) on the road. 'How do you drive down the cost'' Kelty asked the audience. 'It's the batteries. The batteries make up about 30 percent of the cost of the vehicle.' Second, his team strives to improve battery performance, including charging speed and energy density. Third, they are working on localizing the supply chain. 'We've got to build up our resilience and our independence here in North America, so we're not relying on materials coming from China,' Kelty explained....

Leaders can't afford to mistake a team's endurance for resilience. Endurance is about performing despite sustained pressure. Resilience is about designing systems to absorb pressure so that no single person is taking on too much. Such systems dedicate time for recovery, distribute pressure across teams, and reward prevention over crisis response. Leaders can help their organizations make the shift to real resilience by modeling boundaries, celebrating foresight, sharing control, and protecting slack. Resilience has become one of the most overused words in management. Leaders praise teams for 'pushing through' and 'bouncing back,' as if the ability to absorb endless strain were proof of strength. But endurance and resilience are not the same. Endurance is about surviving pressure. Resilience is about designing systems so people don't break under it. Many organizations don't build resilience; they simply expect employees to endure more. The result is a quiet crisis of exhaustion disguised as dedication. Teams appear committed but are running on fumes. Managers talk about agility, but what they're really celebrating is overwork that hasn't yet collapsed....