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OpenAI CFO Friar tells investors that enterprise business now bigger than consumer by revenue
OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar met with investors following a week of turmoil in the C-suite that included the sudden departure of revenue chief Denise Dresser.
What Do Media Businesses Look Like In 2026 And Beyond
Despite many news desks shrinking, some media companies are continuing to innovate their models to adapt to a modern consumer that wants both offline and online content.
Maryland’s new hospital payment model could drive up health insurance costs
Insurers warn the transition could shift more expenses to private payers and consumers while testing the stability of the state’s unique health care system.
US consumers cut retail spending sharply in July
Retail sales fell 0.6% in July from the prior month, marking the steepest drop since May 2025.
Rangers Sports Network Broadcasts Delivered to BZZR Now Available on Roku Devices
Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers, along with Rangers Sports Network presented by Progressive (RSN) and its direct-to-consumer distributor BZZR (pronounced ‘buzzer’), today announced that the BZZR television app is now available for download on Roku devices. Tonight’s telecast of the Rangers game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel
Nessel sues Oakland County nonprofit for ‘deceptive’ business practices
A lawsuit filed Tuesday by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel seeks to dissolve a Waterford-based nonprofit for misrepresenting its housing assistance services to consumers.
Triangle Group Raises $15 Million To Scale Asia-Pacific Live Entertainment Platform
Triangle Group has raised $15 million in equity and venture debt to expand its live touring and festival infrastructure across Asia-Pacific. The financing consists of a $10 million equity seed round led by DSG Consumer Partners, with participation from Golden Gate Ventures, the Oberoi Family Office, and angel investors, along with a $5 million venture debt facility from Genesis Alternative Ventures.
Microsoft kills off unsuccessful AI features while merging its separate Copilot apps
Microsoft is simplifying Copilot by combining its consumer and business apps, and dropping AI-generated podcasts, Group Chats, Deep Research, and its Mico character.
Microsoft starts merging its Copilot consumer and business apps in advance of ‘Super App’ rollout
Microsoft is combining its consumer and business Copilot apps into a single app, in a gradual transition starting this week. Copilot Podcasts, Group Chat and Deep Research will be retired beginning Aug. 18, along with Mico, the animated character added to Copilot's voice mode last year.
Microsoft starts merging its Copilot consumer and business apps in advance of ‘Super App’ rollout
Microsoft is combining its consumer and business Copilot apps into a single app, in a gradual transition starting this week. Copilot Podcasts, Group Chat and Deep Research will be retired beginning Aug. 18, along with Mico, the animated character added to Copilot's voice mode last year.
Think your business is too small for Louisiana’s new privacy law? Think again
Businesses have less than six months to prepare for a new law that will change how they collect and use consumers’ personal information.
Consumer Debt Data Shows ‘Overall’ Health Amid Persisting Divides
Homeowners with low fixed-rate mortgages lead a resilient picture of the economy. But many consumers are frustrated with declining real wages and other loans.
Consumer Reports: Should you trust AI with health questions?
More people are turning to ChatGPT and other AI tools for health questions. But Consumer Reports explains that they aren't always accurate.
Inflation cooled in July but remained elevated as Fed weighs rate hikes
The Labor Department released the consumer price index (CPI) for July which showed that inflation cooled, even as the pace of price growth remained elevated.
Stop Killing Games Joins Dutch Consumer Group's $457M Lawsuit Against Sony Over Digital Store 'Monopoly'
The Stop Killing Games movement is officially suing Sony, claiming the company’s “monopoly” over the video game market is blatantly “against the law.”
Saber's newest game trailer takes a shot at Gearbox's CEO, if you look closely
The first hint that something might be up with the recent debut trailer for Saber Interactive’s Rideshare Stimulator is an unusual choice of words—aside from that second one in the game’s title. “Don’t take your passengers too seriously,” the trailer’s narrator says, as he describes this upcoming game. It a car game about the gig work of driving eccentric people to their destinations, a riff on Crazy Taxi. And then, he says: “When I think I’ve met the randiest of passengers, someone even stranger gets in.” “Randiest”? That suggests “randy,” which usually means having strong sexual desire. Yet none of the oddball backseat occupants featured in the trailer seem particularly lustful. One is an old man who considers his grandson a failure, another shares the theory that birds might control traffic lights, another says he’s banned from an aquarium. A little later, there’s a license plate, shown 63 seconds into the trailer, on the front of an SUV: USB DRV It’s a Texas plate. The symbol between those letters is a cog wheel. If you know, you know. That’s a reference to Texas-based Borderlands game development studio Gearbox Software (their logo features a cog wheel). More specifically, it’s a reference to Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford, who in 2018 found himself explaining the nature of video he’d saved on a USB drive that was found at a Medieval Times restaurant before being returned to the studio: “It was ‘barely legal’ porn. This girl’s handle was ‘Only 18.’” The “girl” in the video had committed a solo sex act that Pitchford, an avid practitioner of magic, found remarkable. “I realized, this is not a sex worker…This is a fucking magician.” Back then, the USB drive was central to competing lawsuits against Gearbox by the studio’s former lawyer and by Gearbox against him. A settlement in late 2019 “exonerated” Pitchford, per the Hollywood Reporter. The USB story has resurfaced at times, now in a trailer from a company that not long ago was corporate brethren with Gearbox. Saber vs. Gearbox The head of Saber told Game File that the reference is payback. “The dig is because Randy took shots at Embracer in Borderlands 4,” Saber CEO Matt Karch told me when I asked him about the license plate. “Without Embracer, Randy is performing magic tricks at birthday parties for a living.” Having interviewed Karch during a cross-country flight in late 2024, I can confirm that Karch was unimpressed with Pitchford during their time both working in the Embracer group. I’d approached him not out of surprise that there was animosity but that it was manifesting publicly now. Gearbox was founded in 1999, worked on a port of Halo early on, and developed hit series such as the loot-based sci-fi shooter Borderlands before it was purchased by The Embracer Group in early 2021 for $363 million (with a possible earn-out of over $1 billion, if certain targets were hit by 2027). Saber was founded in 2001, worked on a remaster of Halo early on, had a big hit with zombie shooter World War Z and was purchased by Embracer in early 2020 for $150 million, with a potential earn-out of up to $375 million. For a few years, the Embracer group was a voracious acquirer of game studios. Then, as investment dried up, it choked. In March 2024, Embracer sold Saber to an investment company controlled by Saber CEO Matt Karch, and it sold Gearbox in an all-stock deal to long-time Borderlands publisher Take Two Interactive. Other studios were shut down. Hundreds of developers were laid off. Gearbox didn’t say much about their Embracer experience, nothing too direct, at least. In the summer 2024, Pitchford told reporter and occasional Game File contributor Nicole Carpenter that Borderlands 4’s story was in some way thematically connected to Gearbox’s experience at Embracer: “There’s this cultural and emotional shift in me, personally, and at the studio. What does it mean to trade some autonomy for organization?” When Borderlands 4 came out, there was something stranger: the matter of “Embracer’s Bluff,” a location in the game featuring an AI-powered toilet and a large trash dump, according to a detailed Kotaku account of the place. Gearbox never commented on it; Take Two never got back to me about it when I asked them last year. By contrast, since Saber exited Embracer, Karch has been one of Embracer’s biggest defenders, casting their management as well-meaning and supportive despite the layoffs and studio closures that resulted from their excessive expansion. Like others, Saber’s Karch saw Embracer’s as a shot. With Rideshare Stimulator’s trailer, he’s returned fire. “It’s amazing to me how fast people forget those who went above and beyond for them,” Karch told Game File. A rep for Gearbox did not comment by press time. Game File is a reader-supported publication. Your backing makes my reporting—including any coverage of trailer-based beefs—possible. Good news! I’m currently running Game File’s first big sale of 2026. You can get a one-year subscription for 23% off. Click here to take advantage of the limited-time offer. And thank you for your support! Item 2: In brief… 🚫 Wal-Mart has laid off the staff of Restart, a games media outlet launched in 2024, Aftermath reports. 🟥 A GTA VI preview is on the way, at last, via an “extended look” that will premiere, unusually, on Netflix at 3pm ET on August 27, then officially go live elsewhere six hours later. Last week, Game File noted that Take Two label Rockstar Games is overdue for showing off GTA VI, based on the timing of the initial hands-off previews of GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2. During a call with investors, Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said pre-orders for GTA VI were “unprecedented and astonishing,” but added the company can’t predict how many of those pre-orders represent bonus sales vs. sales that otherwise would have been made at launch. During the same call, Zelnick was noticeably bullish on the future of playing games over streaming cloud connections (predicting wider adoption in three or so years). He sounded unbothered by Sony’s plans to stop making discs for new games (he said the business is 90% digital already and predicted that there could still be limited edition physical editions of games “in the same way there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business.”) 👀 Take Two wrote off $43 million in their spring quarter after deciding “not to proceed with further development of an unannounced title in its pipeline from a third-party developer.” 🤔 Some rare age-demographics from a big publisher: Capcom recently told investors that “users in their 20s account for approximately half of the users of both Pragamata and Resident Evil Requiem.” Item 3: The week ahead Tuesday, August 11 Game releases: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Switch 2; already out for PC, PS5, Xbox) continues the Bethesda strategy of putting Elder Scrolls games on everything; Royalty Free-For-All is a Smash Bros.-style fighting game featuring public domain characters such as Mother Goose brawling with Oliver Twist in a stage based on the original Little Shop of Horrors movie. Wednesday, August 12 Game release: Pro Jank Footy (PC, console) is an arcade-style Australian Rules Football game with increasingly ridiculous rules, the more you play (I enjoyed the Steam demo) Thursday, August 13 Game release: Super Mario Sunshine (Switch 2, originally released in 2002 on the GameCube) is released for Switch 2’s Nintendo Switch Online service. This game is the black sheep of 3D Mario games. It’s the successor to the breakthrough Super Mario 64 and the rare Mario game built around a single (vacation resort) theme. Mario’s got a water-spraying backpack, a Yoshi pal and a lot of blue coins to collect.
Brian McGrath Selected to Crain’s New York Business 2026 Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is excited to announce that Brian McGrath, partner and co-chair of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services group, has been selected by Crain’s New York Business as a 2026 Notable Leader in Accounting, Consulting & Law.
New appeals board could mean fines, stronger enforcement for businesses that violate laws, county ordinances
Cuyahoga County established an Administrative Appeals Board, enabling Consumer Affairs to impose fines on businesses violating consumer protection laws rather than just issuing warnings.
Expedia Is Using AI And Sports Tourism To Build A Connected Journey
Expedia is using AI and sports tourism as a path to stay connected to consumers.
Political Identity Now Drives Billions In Consumer Funding
Wearables, wallets and scanners show political and lifestyle identity now drives billions in venture funding across a 2x2 consumer market map.
UNCW Business School Students Travel to Prague for Real-Life Consulting Experience by David Glew
This article was contributed by Kestrel Smoot, International Programs Coordinator for UNCW’s Cameron School of Business. During the most recent spring semester, 33 upper-level finance and marketing students from the UNCW’s Cameron School of Business traveled to Prague, Czechia, to participate in an intensive international consulting project. Unlike traditional study-abroad programs, the Prague consultancy project focuses on real client engagement. Each year’s project is entirely new, designed through collaboration between faculty and industry partners to identify a current business challenge that students will address. This year, students worked with MAMS-Champi, a Czech non-alcoholic beverage company that is seeking to expand into other global markets. Throughout the first half of the semester, students attend class at UNCW and prepare for their time abroad by conducting preliminary research, developing analytical frameworks, and organizing themselves into specialized teams responsible for tasks such as marketing strategy, industry analysis, consumer segmentation, and competitive evaluation. The course emphasizes independence and teamwork, requiring students to take ownership of their work, manage deadlines, and collaborate across functional groups. Additionally, faculty serve as advisors, allowing students to navigate the complexities of the project much as they would in a professional consulting environment. Once in Prague, students met with company leadership, toured facilities, and refined their recommendations based on real-time feedback. The in-person component is widely regarded as the most transformative aspect of the program because students must synthesize weeks of work into a cohesive presentation and deliver it to the client, demonstrating professionalism, strategic thinking, and adaptability. Beyond the consulting work, students participated in cultural and educational activities that broadened their understanding of global business environments. They explored Prague’s historic districts, learned about Czech culture, and engaged with local professionals. These experiences helped students understand how economic, regulatory, and social factors shape market opportunities. The Prague consultancy project stands as a defining example of the Cameron School of Business’s commitment to experiential learning, consistently strengthening students’ confidence, enhancing their resumes, and serving as a focal point in job interviews. Employers recognize the value of the hands-on experience and transferable skills students gain, underscoring the program’s role in preparing industry-ready graduates for today’s fast-moving business landscape.
Rumored, Never-to-Be-Released Apple Feature May Have Been Too Much Truth for Most Consumers
You know Apple has all your data, but do you really want to be made aware of it?
Formula One is lagging other sport stocks. Why analysts think it's poised to race ahead
As the sports sector remains resilient among consumers, analysts are predicting big gains for this racing league.
Consumer Reports cautions using AI chatbots for health inquiries
As time goes on, more people are turning to ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools for health questions. However, as Consumer Reports explains, they are not always accurate or reliable.
Disney Topps Cards and Lorcana Drive Big Business for Company
From collectible card sets by Topps to card games by Hasbro and Ravensburger, the entertainment giant has found a growth business in a mature consumer products world.
Meta Ordered to Pay $567M in Youth Mental Health Lawsuit
Technology giant Meta will pay $567 million into a remediation fund after a New Mexico judge ruled the company behind social media platforms Facebook and Instagram misled consumers about the safety of its products and endangered children. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said Thursday that Meta’s platforms ...
Take-Two CEO On The Industry Going All Digital: 'Discs Don't Really Make Sense For The Consumer'
Strauss Zelnick thinks his company will still produce some physical games "now and then"
Take-Two Boss Defends No Disc Version of GTA 6, Equates Physical Releases to Vinyl Records
Strauss Zelnick, boss of Rockstar parent company Take-Two, has defended the company’s decision not to release GTA 6 on a physical disc, insisting when it comes to big games, discs “don’t really make sense for the consumer.”
Rockstar Owner Take-Two Confirms GTA 6 Release Date Still on Track, Says 'GTA 6: An Extended Look' Will Help Grow 'Consumers' Passion and Anticipation'
Rockstar owner Take-Two has confirmed the current November 19 GTA 6 release date is still on track, and insisted the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look will help grow “consumers’ passion and anticipation" for the game.
Data center politics shape Virginia scrutiny of NextEra-Dominion deal
Gov. Abigail Spanberger isn't opposing the tie-up yet but says she is "deeply skeptical" that consumers and public policy priorities are protected through the proposed utility merger.
China’s Export Boom Rolls On Despite Trade Backlash
China’s factories are finding eager buyers abroad even as weak consumer spending and a prolonged property slump weigh on growth at home.
PFAS legislation would set drinking water limits
PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” are a class of more than 15,000 toxic chemicals that appear in a vast range of everyday consumer products to industrial ones.
Why Normal People Aren’t Using AI Agents
The tech industry is realizing it needs to build agents based on what regular consumers want, not just what its AI models can do.
Papa John’s Cuts Sales Forecast and Suspends Dividend
Papa John’s cut its outlook for the year and suspended its dividend, as the pizza chain’s North American business continues to face a soft consumer environment.
Unregulated use of peptides raises alarm among researchers
Driven by social media hype and a growing distrust of public health guidance, consumer demand for experimental peptides has exploded over the last decade.
Consumer Reports: AI chatbots can mislead users seeking health information
AI health advice can sound reassuring, but experts warn it may be wrong. Use chatbots as a starting point, not a diagnosis.
When these licenses can’t cross state lines, consumers suffer
Michigan is struggling to attract health care professionals because of the state’s strict licensing rules.
Procter & Gamble acquires Thorne for $3.8bn in bet on science-backed supplement growth
The deal, expected to close in Q4 2026, brings Thorne's clinically validated, practitioner-trusted supplement portfolio into P&G's consumer health stable — signalling mainstream consumer goods giants' accelerating move into premium VMS
CVS Health enhances its direct-to-consumer weight management offerings to improve access, affordability, care and support for GLP-1 medications
CVS Health® today announced a revamp of its weight management program, making it easier for eligible adults to access clinical care, navigate medication costs and get ongoing support for GLP-1 therapy.
Your favorite beauty brands are now also entertainment brands
Advertising has long existed alongside entertainment, either in the form of TV ad breaks or product placement. But as today’s consumers are up to their eyeballs in entertaining content just a scroll and a click away, many of today’s beauty brands are asking if entertainment and advertising can be one and the same.
Disney Consumer Products Division Moves Under Company's Studios Umbrella
Disney is moving its powerhouse Consumer Products division from the Experiences division to Disney Entertainment, specifically under the company's Studios umbrella.
Disney Moves Consumer Products to Studios
Disney is restructuring its Consumer Products division, moving operations from Experiences to Entertainment Studios in October.
McDonald’s Business Slows Amid Shakeup of Digital Deals
McDonald’s says an attempt to lure budget-conscious consumers backfired in its latest quarter. The fast food giant reported earnings Tuesday (Aug. 4)
MrBeast Sales Slow, Angel Stock Falls, MUBI and Neon Look for Hits, and Will an NBA Franchise Set a Sales Record?
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) You probably remember egg prices spiking a few years ago. This led to a lot of debate between the pro-market/pro-competition/antitrust/Neo-Brandesian crowd and the center/center-right/center-left/abundance/libertarian crowd over the cause, whether it was the avian flu outbreak or whether industry consolidation led to price fixing, using avian flu as a convenient cover. Basel Musharbash wrote a whole investigation at BIG looking at it. Well, two years later, we have our answer: it was price fixing. The Justice Department found proof, via emails, of price fixing. Indeed, just the threat of an investigation brought prices down two years ago: I bring this up because at least half a dozen of my favorite political writers and pundits, who were skeptical about price fixing at the time, haven’t written any mea culpas on this issue. It’s really dispiriting and makes it much, much harder to trust their work on other issues. If you take a hard stand on an issue, then you get it wrong, you need to explain how and why you got it wrong. Or update your priors. This is how epistemological bubbles are formed! All of which is to say, it’s time for another installment of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. Last issue, I mostly focused on the “wrong” side of the equation, so today’s is a bit more balanced, but with one big mea culpa (though I still stand by my original concerns). Let’s dive right in! Subscribe CORRECTION: UFC Didn’t Release Subscriber Data (But Seems to Have Bragged About It Internally) In my analysis of the viewership of UFC Freedom 250, I wrote... “Paramount has also released datecdotes bragging about their subscriber numbers. Earlier this year, they claimed that the first UFC fight on Paramount+ brought in 1 million subscribers.” Well, that datecdote did not come from a PR rep, but from great reporting from James Faris at Business Insider. The actual quote was this: “Paramount’s flagship streaming service generated about a million new subscribers on the day of its first-ever UFC event, Paramount product chief Dane Glasgow told employees in a town hall on Tuesday morning, three staffers who attended the meeting told Business Insider.“ This wasn’t the biggest goof in the world; even Faris emphasized to me that this is more a “clarification” than a correction. Still, it sounds like, internally, the folks at Paramount were very happy about this result—and I’m guessing they were happy with this news getting out—even though the gains didn’t last through the quarter, dropping to 700K adds. RIGHT: MrBeast’s Struggles Continue... I’m very skeptical about MrBeast’s burgeoning media “empire” and, in particular, its $5 billion valuation, as I wrote earlier this year and last year. Sure enough, according to Business Insider, regarding its “booming” consumer products division_:_ “US sales volume grew 13% year-over-year in 2025, following a 33% leap the previous year, according to a presentation deck dated May 2026....A February 2025 investor deck viewed by Business Insider showed Feastables’ net revenue more than doubled in 2024 from 2023, to $215 million, and was forecast to grow 74% in 2025, to $375 million.” [Emphasis mine.] If you told investors that you projected 74% growth but delivered 13%,1 that’s not ideal. But it’s not just MrBeast. Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime had sales drop in half for their energy drinks. It’s one thing to build a successful entertainment company and an entirely different thing to succeed in the heavily-consolidated-but-also-very-competitive consumer packaged goods space! CPGs are dominated by a few firms with very wide moats compared to YouTube, which has few barriers to entry. These businesses require different skill sets and have completely different business environments. WRONG: Does the NBA Have an $8 Billion Bidder? Almost as soon as I published my article about the NBA’s finances, casting skepticism on NBA expansion, I saw this Front Office Sports headline: One group “claims to have already raised $8 billion” for the Vegas expansion team. I mean, wow. That’s just $2 billion less than what the Los Angeles Lakers were valued at when they were sold just last year. And they’re arguably the most popular team in the NBA. (Side note: the new owner is now under an investigation for fraud in how he went about financing the Lakers and the Dodgers purchases.) So much for the “dried up” language I used in that article. (This is why I usually stick to my “Entertainment Nuance Guy” tone in articles...) I went off old information—from April, when I read/heard about the NBA downplaying expansion efforts—instead of doing a quick double-check for new news. That said...if you read the article, the market for Seattle is “slow”, with just one reported bidder. So I wasn’t entirely off. This goof has annoyed me since I first published it, mainly because it undercut that article’s real point, which I stand by: NBA franchises are really overvalued right now. Now, I get why NBA teams are overvalued. When it comes to owning sports teams, it’s basically never wrong to assume that some rich person somewhere will care more about owning a team (or just being part of a group since they’re so expensive) than the actual financials. There are only so many teams to own, and opportunities to buy in preferred markets don’t come along very often. This explains why the teams sell for such high multiples (usually above a 10 to 12.5 revenue multiple, which is very high). You only need one person to overpay! Beyond the ultra-wealthy luxury good explanation, I worry NBA teams are becoming speculative assets. More and more private equity investors are buying into NBA teams. But the value, in owning a team, comes from selling it later, not any meaningful relationship to revenue or profit growth. In other words, the newer NBA owners are increasingly expecting someone later to buy their inflated asset. That’s not sound economics; that’s the “greater fool” theory at work.2 At some point, actually making money has to matter. Especially since revenue growth is now below the growth of the stock market. (And this matters because the NBA doesn’t have easy levers to pull to drastically lower their costs—half of their revenue has to go to players and then you actually have to run a team, including coaching, training, travel, media expenses, and more—or raise revenues aside from one-off expansions in America and overseas.) I just don’t see how investors make their money back buying NBA teams, except for selling at a higher price later on down the line. But if revenue/profit growth continues to slow, at some point, someone will be left holding the bag. RIGHT: Baseball and Basketball are about equally popular. Related to the above, I wanted to cite two quick pieces of evidence for one of my other theories: that the NBA and MLB are about as popular as each other, but the NBA gets much, much better media coverage. One YouGov survey has that fans prefer basketball to baseball by 52% to 48%, which I’m guessing is within the margin of error for that poll. That’s virtually even, meaning they’re about the same popularity. Over on NBC, a recent Red Sox-Yankees game averaged 4 million viewers, higher than Sunday Night Basketball’s average of 3.4 million on the same network. A Yankees-Dodgers game averaged 3.9 million two weeks ago. Not every game averages this much, but it shows you that baseball isn’t far off from basketball, depending on the matchup. Altogether, the NBA is just slightly more popular than baseball, but NBC is paying MLB a fraction of what they pay the NBA, a point I’ve made before. RIGHT: Angel, MUBI and Neon Updates... I’ve long been skeptical about many of Hollywood’s buzziest startups/smaller indie studios. It’s not that they don’t make great movies—films like Anora and Everything Everywhere All at Once are amazing—or that they’re not (rightfully) pushing the majors to make better films, but...they get a ton of hype, and that hype often doesn’t live up to the reality or difficulty in scaling up. Starting with MUBI, well, The Wall Street Journal wrote a feature on MUBI’s struggles last April, best summarized by the subheader “After Sequoia valued Mubi at $1 billion, a left-wing revolt sent the indie film company into a tailspin”. MUBI lost $7.3 million on $200 million in revenue in Q4 2025, but reportedly hit a record 1.7 million subscribers at the end of Q1. As for Neon, Department M purchased a “significant stake” in the company earlier this year. How much is that “stake” worth? According to Deadline, “No financial figures for the Neon-Department M deal were disclosed.” So...that’s not great! If it was a big valuation, we’d hear about. Also, I found this curious: “Both Neon and Department M already have separate partnerships with Qatar. The Qatar Film Committee has a slate deal in place with the former, and a biopic production pact with the latter.” Color me skeptical about much Middle Eastern investment dollars. See: LIV Golf. Finally, as for Angel (formerly Angel Studios), their stock very, very slightly popped last month after Young Washington ($20 million budget) which made $45 million in the US, but their stock is still way down from its opening. Smaller Updates RIGHT: The WGA should focus on antitrust concerns! I’ve been on this for years. Post-WGA/AMTPT deal in 2023, I wrote an article for the Ankler calling on the WGA to focus and organize against industry consolidation. Sure enough, the WGA filed a lawsuit against the Paramount-WBD merger, and people are organizing around this issue now. I wish this energy had coalesced earlier (specifically to lobby Washington much earlier), but better late than never! WRONG: Actually, the chip shortage might be due to market manipulation. In my last “Long Reads for the Long Summer” article, I shared an article about how LLMs are causing memory chip prices to spike, which will make all electronics more expensive. Well, turns out, three RAM manufacturers control 90% of the market, and now a private lawsuit accuses them of price-fixing. So yeah. WRONG/UPDATE: The Odyssey will hold! Two weeks ago, I wrote, “As of this moment, we haven’t had a super-blockbuster, though The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday could all cross the $500 million mark. (At this point, The Odyssey would need a very strong hold to get there.)” Well, it’s safe to say it’s going to have that hold! It only dropped 30% in weekend two and IMAX screenings are sold out all month. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is also off to a great start. RIGHT: People are rushing to get shows out yearly. I’ve long been bullish on yearly, weekly-released shows, and Leslie Goldberg at The Ankler wrote about how many people in town are now listening. WRONG: Mark Carney reverses Canada’s stance on homegrown production. After writing about Canada installing domestic production quotas, Canada has backed off. WRONG: I don’t trust Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s online “views”. When I originally wrote about the latest Spider-Man film’s record-breaking trailer, I thought this was just YouTube views, but after watching this Corridor Crew video and doing more research, well, it’s all social views of the trailer globally. Really? That stat includes TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts views. Basically, I don’t trust it anymore. (This film will probably set record, but I trust the pre-sales data more.) RIGHT: Celebrity Production companies are still struggling. I’ve written about this for years, but the company that I didn’t track was Kevin Hart’s HartBeat, which was valued at $650 million but is struggling now and might just end soon, especially after Kevin Hart pulled his endorsement deals. And Bad Robot is moving to NYC. CORRECTION: SpongeBob is a “second run” title. In my 2025 recap article, I had _SpongeBob SquarePants_labelled as a “library” title, when it is still a “second run” show, with new episodes still coming out on Nickelodeon. CORRECTION: In my last “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong” update, I offered a correction from Doug Creutz and misspelled TD Cowen. Thanks, Grammarly! 1 Though he could have increased prices to make up for the gap, he couldn’t have increased them that much. 2 There’s a theory, which I think that Daryl Morey created and Bill Simmons popularized, that, to be successful building your team, you only need a handful of bad GMs in the league to take advantage of. To be clear, Daryl Morey’s theory was also for signing bad contracts, that you could always get out of bad contracts. Basically, there’s always someone who will make a bad trade. It’s not the same exact thing, but similar enough to the Greater Fool Theory that I really like it.
Thorne to Join P&G Health Care Portfolio
P&G shares intention to acquire Thorne, expanding Health Care's science-backed, practitioner-trusted wellness solutions for today's consumers.
Dolphin Subsidiary Shore Fire Media's Client Handcraft Entertainment Partners With Takasago to Develop Fragrances, Flavors and Consumer Products to Define the World of 'Global' J-Pop
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / August 4, 2026 / Handcraft Entertainment - a client of leading entertainment marketing and content production company Dolphin (NASDAQ:DLPN) subsidiary Shore Fire
Cone Health Hospitals Named No. 1 in Greensboro-Winston-Salem Metro Area by U.S. News & World Report
National recognition in rehabilitation and high-performing ratings across multiple specialties help consumers identify trusted local care.
Snap CEO sidesteps Specs pre-order questions on Q2 earnings call
When asked about product-market fit, Spiegel said he believes mass-market consumer adoption won't occur until the end of the decade.
U.S. Small Business Sales Hold Steady in July, Extending 2026's Modest Growth
Fiserv Small Business Index finds sales increased 1.6% year over year, driven by higher average transaction values as consumers remained selective in retail and dining spending MILWAUKEE, Aug. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of payments and
Nearly 23,000 pounds of Ukrop's baked spaghetti and chicken cobbler recalled over metal sliver concerns
A consumer complaint about metal found in a fully cooked product triggered the Ukrop's Homestyle Foods recall of baked spaghetti and chicken cobbler.
Good things come in smaller packages as household budgets tighten
Consumer brands are finding success in offering different pack sizes for two different Americas, with tighter budgets calling for smaller formats.
UNCW Business School Students Travel to Prague for Real-Life Consulting Experience by Robert Burrus
This article was contributed by Kestrel Smoot, International Programs Coordinator for UNCW’s Cameron School of Business. During the most recent spring semester, 33 upper-level finance and marketing students from the UNCW’s Cameron School of Business traveled to Prague, Czechia, to participate in an intensive international consulting project. Unlike traditional study-abroad programs, the Prague consultancy project focuses on real client engagement. Each year’s project is entirely new, designed through collaboration between faculty and industry partners to identify a current business challenge that students will address. This year, students worked with MAMS-Champi, a Czech non-alcoholic beverage company that is seeking to expand into other global markets. Throughout the first half of the semester, students attend class at UNCW and prepare for their time abroad by conducting preliminary research, developing analytical frameworks, and organizing themselves into specialized teams responsible for tasks such as marketing strategy, industry analysis, consumer segmentation, and competitive evaluation. The course emphasizes independence and teamwork, requiring students to take ownership of their work, manage deadlines, and collaborate across functional groups. Additionally, faculty serve as advisors, allowing students to navigate the complexities of the project much as they would in a professional consulting environment. Once in Prague, students met with company leadership, toured facilities, and refined their recommendations based on real-time feedback. The in-person component is widely regarded as the most transformative aspect of the program because students must synthesize weeks of work into a cohesive presentation and deliver it to the client, demonstrating professionalism, strategic thinking, and adaptability. Beyond the consulting work, students participated in cultural and educational activities that broadened their understanding of global business environments. They explored Prague’s historic districts, learned about Czech culture, and engaged with local professionals. These experiences helped students understand how economic, regulatory, and social factors shape market opportunities. The Prague consultancy project stands as a defining example of the Cameron School of Business’s commitment to experiential learning, consistently strengthening students’ confidence, enhancing their resumes, and serving as a focal point in job interviews. Employers recognize the value of the hands-on experience and transferable skills students gain, underscoring the program’s role in preparing industry-ready graduates for today’s fast-moving business landscape.
The business of back-to-school
Back-to-school shopping is more than a seasonal ritual for families. It is one of the country's largest annual retail events, generating billions of dollars in spending.For retailers, it is a critical sales period. For economists, it offers an early snapshot of how Americans are responding to rising prices, shifting consumer confidence and broader economic uncertainty.
Sony Will Move Forward With Its Plans To Stop Making PS5 Discs Despite Backlash
Sony responded to widespread criticism of its plan to discontinue games on discs in its latest earnings call.
FTC Sues Hims & Hers Over Health Privacy And Billing Practices
By Ellyn Vohnoutka HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, July 31, 2026 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued telehealth company Hims & Hers, alleging it shared consumers' private health information with advertising platforms and unknowingly charged some customers for ...
What Businesses Are Saying: Steady Overall With Pockets of Stress
Businesses reported durable demand from consumers and are keeping headcounts flat through the end of 2026. Pricing pressures continued, but with some pullback from low- and middle-income customers.
Italy business and consumer confidence rise in July
Italian business and consumer confidence rose in July, data showed on Friday, in a positive sign for the prospects of the euro zone's third largest economy.
Sony raises outlook after entertainment drives earnings jump
Sony has been shifting its resources toward accumulating entertainment assets spanning music, games and anime, while scaling back in low-margin areas in consumer electronics.
5 reasons patients check with a chatbot before—and often instead of—going to the doctor
Warning healthcare consumers about the unreliability of AI for medical advice is like screaming at tourists for frolicking in a decorative fountain on an oppressively hot and humid day.
Utah joins FTC in lawsuit accusing Hims & Hers of sharing sensitive health information
Utah has joined the Federal Trade Commission and California in a lawsuit accusing telehealth company Hims & Hers of sharing consumers’ sensitive health informat
Apple revenue, profits beat expectations on iPhone, Mac sales
Apple on Thursday reported sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations, fueled by its customers snapping up iPhones and MacBooks amid price increases across the consumer electronics sector.
Health Privacy Legislation Advances in the Senate
CDT supports stronger privacy protections for consumer health data that falls outside of HIPAA. We’ve consistently called for privacy protections that move away from outdated notice and consent regimes and instead embrace limitations around corporate data practices that limit data collection, retention, sharing, and use of data that is necessary for the products and services […]
These Password Managers Are Consumer Reports' Top Picks For Keeping Your Data Safe
If you're looking for a password manager to keep all your login credentials safe, 1Password, Keeper, and Dashlane all get top scores from Consumer Reports.
Consumer Reports: Should you trust AI chatbots with your health questions?
More people are turning to ChatGPT and other AI tools for health questions. The answers are fast, and they often sound reassuring and trustworthy, but Consumer Reports warns they aren’t always accurate.
Sensodyne maker Haleon posts higher second-quarter organic revenue growth
British consumer health company Haleon reported second-quarter organic sales growth of 3.1% on Thursday, in line with market expectations, driven by strong demand for its oral health products and accelerating growth in North America, its largest market.
Microsoft Will Soon Release an AI Super App
The Copilot super app will span both consumer and enterprise use cases.
FTC sues Hims & Hers, alleging it shared people's health data with Meta and Snap
Telehealth platform disclosed users' "most private" health info and locked consumers into subscriptions, regulators allege.
Henkel Recognized as a 2026 World's Top Disability Inclusive Business
/PRNewswire/ -- Henkel, a leading manufacturer of well-known consumer and industrial brands such as Dial® soap, Schwarzkopf® hair care, all® laundry detergent,...
Hims misled consumers and violated their privacy, FTC alleges in a lawsuit
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued telehealth company Hims & Hers alleging business practices that agency says mislead consumers.
Should you trust AI to answer your health questions?
More people are turning to ChatGPT and other AI tools for health questions. The answers are fast, and they often sound reassuring and trustworthy, but, as Consumer Reports says, they aren’t always accurate.
Consumer confidence falls on worse business, labor views
An indicator of present conditions dropped to the lowest since 2021, while a measure of expectations for the next six months was unchanged.
Consumers who buy individual health insurance through ACA can expect premiums to rise next year
Rates for people who don’t get insurance through an employer could go up 11%.
Nike was once China's sneaker king. Here's why its sales have fallen 30%
China was once Nike's fastest-growing region but the company has lost relevance among young consumers and ceded market share to smaller, domestic brands.
Health100™ Earns Industry Accreditation for Consumer Data Privacy and Security
Health100™, a CVS Health company, earned CARIN Accreditation from DirectTrust, recognizing its commitment to secure, transparent access to personal health information.
Clock is ticking on Colorado’s new AI rules
By Aashis Luitel On Jan. 1, organizations using covered automated systems must begin complying with Senate Bill 26-189, Colorado’s new Automated Decision-Making Technology Act. They can identify those systems and start building the processes the statute clearly requires. What they cannot do is confidently finalize two key pieces: the disclosures consumers must receive after an […]
New microwave frying method could make french fries much healthier
A new cooking method could make French fries crispier in less time while significantly limiting how much oil they absorb. Researchers propose combining microwave heating, which keeps oil out, with conventional frying, which provides the crunch consumers expect.
Visa Third-Quarter Revenue Climbs, Citing Resilient Consumer, Business Spending
The payments company said profit came in at $5.63 billion amid resilient consumer and business spending.
Visa posted 14% revenue growth as consumer and business spending held up
The payments company reported net revenue of $11.6 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.32 for the quarter ended June 30
Big Pharma gets a lesson in trusting the science
J&J reached a relatively cheap $5.5 bln settlement that could end over a decade of litigation related to talc. The healthcare giant exited Kenvue, its former consumer goods unit, partly to escape similar legal worries. In retrospect, it looks to have handed a rival a deal.
AMD reveals the Radeon RX 9050—and 4GB graphics cards are back
AMD's first new graphics card in a year is the Radeon RX 9050. It'll be sold to consumers with 8GB of GDDR6, but some variants in pre-built desktops will have just 4GB.
US Consumer Confidence Falls on Worse Business, Labor Views
US consumer confidence fell in July as Americans’ views about current business conditions and the labor market deteriorated.
Dolphin Entertainment Subsidiaries Powered High-Profile Campaigns at San Diego Comic-Con 2026
The Agency Collective Executed Publicity, Experiential Marketing and Digital Campaigns for Major Film Releases, Television Franchises and Leading Fan-First Consumer Brands MIAMI, FL / ACCESS Newswire / July 28, 2026 / Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLPN) ...
Consumers who buy individual health insurance through ACA can expect premiums to rise next year
Rates for people who don’t get insurance through an employer could go up 11% .
Texas investigates major tampon, cosmetics manufacturers for alleged deceptive health claims
The Texas Attorney General's office has launched sweeping, industry-wide investigations into major manufacturers of feminine care and cosmetic products over concerns that companies may be misleading consumers about the presence of toxic chemicals and heavy metals.
Texas investigates major tampon, cosmetics manufacturers for alleged deceptive health claims
The Texas Attorney General's office has launched sweeping, industry-wide investigations into major manufacturers of feminine care and cosmetic products over concerns that companies may be misleading consumers about the presence of toxic chemicals and heavy metals.
KGK Science secures investment to expand nutraceutical clinical research
North American nutraceutical CRO KGK Science will use growth investment from Maxim Partners to expand clinical trials, decentralised research and regulatory services for dietary supplement and consumer health companies
Business Compliance Guidance for the New Vermont Data Privacy and Online Surveillance Act (VDPOSA)
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Glacier Fresh Launches the “Verified by Science” Initiative to Set a New Standard for Transparent Water Filter Testing
Glacier Fresh launched the Verified by Science Initiative to promote transparent water filter testing, scientific validation, and greater consumer trust....
Labcorp Launches Marker by Labcorp™ Genetic Health Panel, Expanding Consumer Access to Hereditary Genetic Risk Testing
/PRNewswire/ -- Labcorp (NYSE: LH), a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, today announced the launch of Marker by Labcorp™...
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 ‘Passport’ Design Is the Next Big Smartphone Trend
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Will you power down your PS5 for a week in protest of Sony's all-digital future? A new petition encourages you to pull the plug on PlayStation
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Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records
The tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety is pressuring hospitals to turn over patient records from emergency room visits, including about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products.
ChatGPT’s Health Launch Is Foreshadowing The Future Of Healthcare
The integration of health data into consumer AI platforms is rapidly growing.
ChatGPT’s Health Launch Is Foreshadowing The Future Of Healthcare
The integration of health data into consumer AI platforms is rapidly growing.
Business People: Edric Funk to take over as Toro Co. CEO
MANUFACTURING The Toro Co., a Bloomington-based maker of lawn mowers and snow removal machines for consumers and businesses, announced President and Chief Operating Officer Edric C. Funk will be promoted to chief executive officer,…
Business People
Jamie Stogsdill has been promoted to Regions Bank Arkansas and Louisiana consumer banking executive, a senior leadership role overseeing retail-banking operations in Fayetteville; Little Rock; New Orleans; Baton Rouge; Shreveport; and additional markets.
Samsung (KOSE:A005930) Launches Galaxy Watch Ultra2 And Watch9 With AI Health Features
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Broken Politics and AI Jailbreaks: The Week in Review
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FNB names retail manager, small business lender
FNB Oxford Bank announced the appointment of Austin Vardaman as Oxford Regional Retail Manager and Jacob Marker as Consumer and Small Business Lender. Austin Vardaman graduated from the University of […]
Albertsons warns of softer grocery demand as consumers pull back
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