Today’s corporate performance updates include Norwegian Cruise Line facing pricing mix challenges, Marriott reporting luxury hotel profit, and Caterpillar targeting growth; Pfizer and Archer Daniels Midland saw profits fall or outlooks cut, while Yum Brands explores selling Pizza Hut, and Starbucks sold a stake in its China business.

• Norwegian Cruise Line Says Family Bookings Hurt Pricing Mix — Wall Street Journal -
• Archer Daniels Midland Cuts Outlook on Margin Pressure — Wall Street Journal -
• Marriott’s Luxury Hotels Help Lift Revenue, Profit — Wall Street Journal -

• Caterpillar Targets Bigger Sales Growth Through 2030 — Wall Street Journal -
• Pfizer Profit Falls Amid Lower Covid-19 Drug Demand — Wall Street Journal -
• Uber Expects Stable Growth on Continued Strength in Mobility, Delivery Services — Wall Street Journal -
• Hertz Logs First Profit in Two Years as it Modernizes Fleet, Grows Car Sales — Wall Street Journal -
• Shopify Revenue Tops Views, Guides to Strong Holiday Quarter — Wall Street Journal -
• Yum Brands Explores Sale of Pizza Hut — Wall Street Journal -
• Pizza Hut’s Parent Yum! Brands Says Struggling Chain May Need New Owner — The New York Times Business -
• TriMas to Sell Aerospace Segment for $1.45 Billion — Wall Street Journal -
• Major Investor in Victoria’s Secret Seeks Board Shake-Up — Wall Street Journal -
• Starbucks ducks for cover amid China’s coffee wars — Financial Times -
• Hormel Foods to Cut 250 Jobs in Restructuring — Wall Street Journal -
• The Gamble Behind a Takeover of Kenvue, Maker of Tylenol — The New York Times Business -
• Ferrari Confirms Guidance as Deliveries Top Estimates — Wall Street Journal -
• Saudi Aramco’s Net Profit Rises on Higher Production, Oil Prices — Wall Street Journal -
• Uber profit falls short after $479mn legal charge despite strong growth — Financial Times -
• Harley-Davidson Profit Rises Despite Weak Consumer Confidence — Wall Street Journal -
• Molson Coors Expects to Hit Low End of Outlook After Sales Fall — Wall Street Journal -
• Stanley Black & Decker Cuts Outlook Amid Tariffs and Weak Consumer Spending — Wall Street Journal -
• AB Foods Mulls Separation of Primark, Food Businesses — Wall Street Journal -
• Nintendo Raises Switch 2 Sales Forecast as Earnings Soar — Wall Street Journal -
• Spotify Gains Subscribers as App Offering Expands — Wall Street Journal -
• Rick Perry’s Nuclear Ambitions Begin With Gas Power — Wall Street Journal -
• Telefonica Shares Tumble After Plan to Halve 2026 Dividend — Wall Street Journal -
• BP Raises Full-Year Divestment Expectations After Results Beat Views — Wall Street Journal -
• Hugo Boss Expects Sales, Earnings at Lower End of Guidance Amid Economic Volatility — Wall Street Journal -
• Philips Expects Full-Year Profitability to Land at Upper-End of Range — Wall Street Journal -
• The CEO Behind Kimberly-Clark’s $40 Billion Gamble on Tylenol Maker — Wall Street Journal -
• Starbucks to Sell 60% of Its China Business to a Private Equity Firm — The New York Times Business -
• Starbucks to sell majority stake in China business to Boyu Capital — Financial Times -
• Starbucks to Sell Stake in China Business — Wall Street Journal -
• Denny’s to Go Private in $322 Million Deal — Wall Street Journal -

The White House moved to make SNAP payments amidst a potential government shutdown, while in the UK, Chancellor Rachel Reeves indicated potential income tax rises and a messy tax system needs reform, with US elections testing Trump's political mood and EU leaders skipping a summit due to Trump sanctions.

• Reeves insists she will not resign if she raises income tax in the Budget — Financial Times -
• White House Says It Will Make Some SNAP Payments After Trump Threatened to Defy Court — The New York Times Business -
• US government heads to longest shutdown as Trump resists calls to talk — Financial Times -

• What to Know About SNAP Amid Fight Over Funding — Wall Street Journal -
• The UK tax system is a mess — these are priorities for Reeves to reform — Financial Times -
• Small Businesses Gear Up for Tariff Fight at Supreme Court — The New York Times Business -
• EU leaders to skip summit in Colombia after Trump sanctions — Financial Times -
• US elections test political mood towards Trump’s second term — Financial Times -
• The mounting challenges to Fed independence — Financial Times -
• FirstFT: US voters go to the polls — Financial Times -
• Chancellor bets on the long-term — will she be around  to reap the benefits? — Financial Times -
• New Pentagon Press Crew Is All In on Trump — The New York Times Business -
• Rachel Reeves’ speech as it happened: Chancellor pledges to build bigger cushion in Budget to ‘withstand global turbulence’ — Financial Times -
• Jumble of tax proposals snarls up France’s painful budget process — Financial Times -
• America votes: five states to watch in the off-year elections — Financial Times -
• This Trillionaire Economy Thrived in a Global Order Trump Is Ditching — The New York Times Business -
• Has Modi’s big tax reform worked? — Financial Times -
• Starmer fuels expectations of income tax rise in the Budget — Financial Times -

The AI sector is causing white-collar political upheaval and raising Asian market bubble fears, while the UK faces criticism for slow big tech regulation; OpenAI seeks brand mascots for Gen AI videos, and China offers cheap power for domestic AI chips amid a Getty AI copyright case.

• Opinion | AI and the Coming White-Collar Political Upheaval — Wall Street Journal -
• City minister criticised as too slow to subject big tech to new UK regulation — Financial Times -
• Palantir shares slide after Michael Burry bets against stock — Financial Times -

• Right-Wing Chatbots Turbocharge America’s Political and Cultural Wars — The New York Times Business -
• Creative groups fail to secure UK legal precedent in Getty AI copyright case — Financial Times -
• OpenAI Wants Brands to Allow Their Mascots to Appear in Gen AI Videos — Wall Street Journal -
• Asian markets’ reliance on AI boom raises ‘bubble’ fears — Financial Times -
• Britain’s quantum software start-ups might be giants — Financial Times -
• What Happened When Small-Town America Became Data Center, U.S.A. — Wall Street Journal -
• China offers tech giants cheap power to boost domestic AI chips — Financial Times -

Sequoia Capital saw a leader exit, while major Tesla investors are rejecting Elon Musk's pay deal; Bank of America prepares a strategy refresh, and Kwasi Kwarteng backed a Bitcoin investment company as private credit loans surged for Apollo.

• Sequoia Capital Leader Exits in VC Shake-Up — Wall Street Journal -
• Major Tesla Investor Rejects Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Deal — Wall Street Journal -
• Bank of America 3.0? Moynihan set to pitch strategy refresh to investors — Financial Times -

• If an ex-chancellor pumps crypto and no one notices, does it make a noise? — Financial Times -
• Former UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng backs bitcoin investment company — Financial Times -
• BDO quit role supporting Singapore family office linked to scam empire — Financial Times -
• Apollo shrugs off rate fears with surge in private credit loans — Financial Times -
• Norway’s oil fund to vote against Elon Musk’s $1tn pay deal at Tesla — Financial Times -
• Private equity investor body sounds alarm over rush of retail money — Financial Times -

Novo Nordisk and Pfizer are in a bidding war for a weight-loss start-up, while Pfizer's profit declined due to lower Covid-19 drug demand and Eli Lilly called on Europe to ditch clawback taxes on drugmakers, as concerns rise over childhood obesity in England and a Listeria outbreak linked to pasta.

• One in 10 children starting primary school in England now obese — Financial Times -
• Novo Nordisk and Pfizer escalate bidding war for US weight loss start-up — Financial Times -
• This Closed Factory Shows How Hard Reviving Drug Manufacturing Will Be — The New York Times Business -

• Eli Lilly calls on Europe to ditch clawback taxes on drugmakers — Financial Times -
• Pfizer plays hardball in weight-loss drug fight — Financial Times -
• Six Dead in Listeria Outbreak Linked to Pasta — The New York Times Business -

London Tube workers secured a pay deal after strikes, while a deeper look reveals England's broken care economy; performance reviews are being rethought, and migrants' job ladder challenges are highlighted, alongside Japanese convenience stores' labor issues.

• London Tube workers reach pay deal after five-day strike in September — Financial Times -
• How Did We End Up With Performance Reviews, Anyway? — Wall Street Journal -
• Inside England’s broken care economy — Financial Times -

• Why the job ladder matters for migrants — Financial Times -
• The dark side of Japanese convenience stores — Financial Times -

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer argued his FTX trial was unfair, while Shein faced controversy and boycotts in France over childlike sex dolls; First Brands sued its founder for alleged lavish spending, and Stellantis's Chrysler recalled hybrid Jeeps over a battery fire risk.

• Bankman-Fried’s lawyer says FTX founder’s trial was ‘fundamentally unfair’ — Financial Times -
• France Threatens to Ban Shein Over Sale of ‘Childlike’ Sex Dolls — The New York Times Business -
• First Brands Sues Founder, Accusing Him of Lavish Spending at Company’s Expense — Wall Street Journal -

• Shein rocked by childlike sex doll scandal in France — Financial Times -
• Post Office campaigner Bates settles compensation claim — Financial Times -
• Stellantis’s Chrysler Recalls 320,000 Hybrid Jeeps Over Battery Fire Risk — Wall Street Journal -
• Sex Dolls, Boycotts, Protests: Furor in France as Shein Opens Paris Store — Wall Street Journal -
• First Brands sues founder Patrick James over alleged fraud — Financial Times -

Concerns are rising about a new nuclear arms race, while US natural gas futures eased; **Gunvor's $22bn Lukoil deal prompted fuel shock warnings and Australia plans free daytime electricity to ease grid demand, as the EU moves to prevent 'Trojan horses'** from joining the bloc.

• The new nuclear arms race — Financial Times -
• U.S. Natural Gas Futures Ease After Rally — Wall Street Journal -
• Gunvor warns of fuel shock as $22bn Lukoil deal prompts concern over Russia ties — Financial Times -

• EU moves to prevent ‘Trojan horses’ from joining bloc — Financial Times -
• Australia to force energy groups to offer free daytime electricity — Financial Times -

MSNBC is rebranding to **MS … NOW?** with a $20 million effort, while Israel pushes a bill for government media control; Martha Stewart's 'Entertaining' cookbook is being reissued, and a beloved vintage store's items were bought by a customer.

• Things That Disappear by Jenny Erpenbeck — what was lost in the rubble of the Wall — Financial Times -
• Martha Stewart Transformed the Dinner Party. Was That a Good Thing? — The New York Times Business -
• MS … NOW? As MSNBC Rebrands, a $20 Million Effort to Avoid Confusion. — The New York Times Business -

• A Beloved Vintage Store Closed. A Customer Bought All 4,500 Items. — The New York Times Business -
• The world’s best bar merch — Financial Times -
• Israel pushes forward bill to hand government more control of media — Financial Times -

Former US vice-president Dick Cheney died aged 84, and Gopichand Hinduja, Britain's richest man, also passed away.

• Former US vice-president Dick Cheney dies aged 84 — Financial Times -
• Gopichand Hinduja, Britain’s richest man, dies aged 85 — Financial Times -
• Dick Cheney, former US vice-president, 1941-2025 — Financial Times -